Buster's Reno Thread

[Buster]

Thanks!

The railing is black lacquer. It was a shit-ton of masking and prep work for the spray guys. And the price of that upgrade relfects it. But it adds to the overall look tremendously.

Didn't go black with the doors. I didn't actually thinks about it. Maybe I should have. All of the doors ot filled, bondo'd and lacquered white. The doors are solid oak, take two people to move, and are one of those things that people don't put in houses anymore. So I couldn't get rid of them. God knows how much a solid oak door costs nowadays.

My door hardware is all matte black though.

[JustinMCS]

ah, i thought this would go really well with your look



Was it sanded prior then? I am guiding my dad on his reno and he has a similar 90s house that needs updating and we were going to do do white spindles, black railing, black doors, white trim and pillars, dark oak floor, white kitchen, white quartz, etc.

[Buster]

Ya, that would look great too. Honestly, the black doors wasn't something I seriously considered. But seeing how the black lacquer on the built in's worked, I would consider it. But it is a more "modern" look and I would be careful about moving too much towards modern in a reno. You can over-do it.

That picture is of a house with more modern detailing. It has wide baseboards and trim. One reason I went white with my trim and walls is to have the trim blend in rather than stand out. If I had replaced all of the base and case, then maybe I would consider something different. But base and case replacement is big $$$, and I preferred to allocate my bucks elsewhere.

The end of the hall in our living area is 4 doors all facing into the hall, and I would be worried about it looking TOO dark down there.

Also, black doors are a pain to keep looking nice with little kids.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by Buster


Here's a before and after on that shot above. More pics to come.

the difference omg!

[Buster]

Okay, some updates. Things have been busy so I haven't had time to post.

Some interior shots showing painting and carpets. Painting is a few days form being done.









Some painting shots:



You can see the trim in the skylihgts, which needs to be brushed out, for comparison on what it used to look like.







3 car spray booth!



Doors lacquered in white. That lacquer shit STIIINKS.



Ceiling looks like a white marshmallow. Totally flat. Totally flat paint, it almost disappears. The mudder and the painter did a GREAT job.






Cabinets will go, when I get over the reno fatigue. The design is almost complete on kitchen, according to my designer. Probably will be next year. I'm tired. New pendant lights, though (with halogens in them).



Found these while looking for a cold air path for some data lines.




Some ceiling speakers installed, now functional with my Chromecast audio units, and my amp up and running.

[Buster]

New smart irrigation controller, by Rachio.



Half completed rack, very messy.



Kids bathroom has been split into two, with a pocket door carving off a separate vanity so one kid can use a vanity while the other one showers.



Kids bathroom shower wall tile waiting for Dave. I have four different types of tile between the bathrooms. In floor heating in both bathrooms.



Dave finished the backing for the shower today. After breaking up an old-style cement shower pan with that rubber bullshit, I'm glad we went this direction.





Header above the kitchen with some Cat5e waiting for a ubiquiti WAP.

[benyl]

Originally posted by Buster

Don't know what you plan for a wap mount. Here are some ideas.

http://oberoninc.com/products/right-angle-brackets

We are using 1011 at work.

[Buster]

Honestly, I was just going to be lazy and wall mount it. Obviously not ideal from an rf dispersion perspective, but I will have one upstairs and in the basement both ceiling mounted.

[TomcoPDR]

Keep it up

[Buster]

I totally lost momentum updating this thread. I'll get some more updates up shortly, but in the meantime I may as well put up today's progress:

New foyer light. It's about 4 feet tall and 3 feet in diameter.





New ceiling fan for the stairs. It's a Haiku fan. Build quality is amazing, and it integrates with my nest, detects if people are in the room, and is just generally cool. DC motor. I have one in each of the bedrooms as well.



And the boys from Armeron putting up the foyer chandelier.

[cam_wmh]

Just read through the whole thread. Great looking reno Buster!

[mzdspd]

That foyer light is incredible! What a nice piece!

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by cam_wmh
Just read through the whole thread. Great looking reno Buster!

I love how the oak painting turned out. I'm getting Greg to give me a quote on my oak cabinets and wainscoting.

Did you catch the final pics of his bathrooms?

[Buster]

Originally posted by cam_wmh
Just read through the whole thread. Great looking reno Buster!

Thanks!

Originally posted by mzdspd
That foyer light is incredible! What a nice piece!

I've got a new dining room chandelier coming tomorrow, too. Can't wait.

Originally posted by C_Dave45


I love how the oak painting turned out. I'm getting Greg to give me a quote on my oak cabinets and wainscoting.

Did you catch the final pics of his bathrooms?

Greg's spray guy Simon is awesome. I'm half considering getting the guys into the garage to do the oak in there. But who knows.

Also, you should put the "before" bathrooms pictures second in that thread...haha

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by Buster


Also, you should put the "before" bathrooms pictures second in that thread...haha

A la Reddit style! Good idea. Lol. I'll do that!

[Buster]

Somebody asked me to post some additional pictures. These aren't staged or even tidied obviously. I'm not sure what else there is to show. I'm also going to be updating this thread shortly with some discussion on Phase 2.

When we do the kitchen, I'm going to replace this fireplace and built-ins with all new stuff, and probably a gas fireplace. Marble will be going (although it has grown on me).

[vengie]

That view though!

Anymore pics of the yard??

[Buster]

I'm baaaaaaaaaack. Phase 2 is underway.

It's been almost 4 years since I started this thread, which amazes me. Since then we've been living in the house mostly the same as when the renos in this thread were completed. The house is showing some wear and tear from three small kids doing their thing, but it's been great so far. With the recent reno threads like @dezmarez , I thought it was worth an update here as well.

After the recent cold snap a couple of weeks ago I noticed some evidence of shifting in the house that I did not like. It resulted in some drywall cracking and some door alignment issues. It went back to normal a week later, but I was unhappy enough about it that I brought in a structural engineer to determine where/how the shifting was occurring. They determined that I likely have some foundation settling. But their primary concern was that the posts holding up the kitchen expansion were of insufficient depth and that because they were posts/piles I was getting "differential heaving" in extreme conditions. They also are concerned that the columns which support the large beam across the open kitchen area are not sufficient for the point loads created by the beam. Upshot is that they are going to tear some holes in the walls in the kitchen to look at the column spec. They are also going to dig up the backyard to test the depth of the piles/columns under the kitchen area. They suspect they are only 4 feet as they were likely repurposed from the original deck. Whew!

So I'm going to have holes in the backyard, and holes in the kitchen come summer. Being the irrepressible optimist that I am ....great time to do the kitchen finally! My plan is to get a design together over the summer, do whatever testing and foundation work they need to do in September-ish. Then do the kitchen reno from January - May when we can live in my parents house for the winter while they are in Arizona.

So, some potential plans:

1. The kitchen posts:

The engineers suggested it might actually be cost effective to pour a new foundation under the kitchen extension and actually fill in that area as more floorspace in the basement. I'm seriously considering it. I might also extend the deck beside the kitchen to expand it significantly, and perhaps wrap around the house for an "outdoor living room" type idea.



2. The trees in the above picture are actually gone now. They were pretty old poplars that were starting to look a bit dangerous.





3. Here's some winter shots if people are interested, with a summer one for comparison.

[Buster]

4. Here's a pic of the original kitchen from earlier in the thread, which has remained almost untouched. I'm going to basically tear the entire kitchen side of the house out to the studs and start again - relocating appliances and everything.



5. And thinking of finally doing the epoxy flooring in the garage. I covered the walls in the garage with proslat.

[The_Rural_Juror]

It's not Aspen but that will do.

In all seriousness, I was just contemplating extending my basement about 20 meters into my backyard to create a secret lair. I wasn't sure if that was even feasible.