Some Home Improvements & DIY

[bobby_lu]

Been doing a few things around the house since the weather is nice, wanted to help/opinions on some stuff.

- Just finished drywalling/taping/painting the garage, going for the fully finished garage look.

Suggest some light fixtures for the garage that are decently bright (not going to be doing tooo much work in there) but I want something better than the plain old bulbs on their own.

Gonna put some mouldings around the doors and window in there, just wondering if Home Depot or anyone will cut them for you? Dont want to/have time to do it myself, but I will I guess if I have no other choice.


Also, looking to add a staircase from the deck to the walkout level, its a necessity IMO. Definately not DIY for me, anyone have any experience or can refer a deck person? Is this very costly? (if you have experience)


Another question, I have two bedrooms where there are two ceiling lights in each but both are controlled by one switch. The switch panel has a second switch for the outlet by the bed (for lamp) which I dont really care for. I wanted to have both lights controlled seperately, and not have a control for the outlet and leave it permanently on.

Is it as easy at taking one wire from the light switch and "hooking" it up to the other one? Or is there more to it?

Will post more as I think of it.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by bobby_lu

Is it as easy at taking one wire from the light switch and "hooking" it up to the other one? Or is there more to it?

Chances are likely (though not definite) that the wires going to one ceiling lamp, are coming from the other ceiling lamp, so there will only be one 14/2 wire going from the switch to the first lamp.

In order to change this, you'll have to cut open some drywall to string a new wire from the 2nd light, to the 2nd switch, and then find a new power supply for the outlet.

If the outlet has only one of the 2 receptacles operated by the switch, it would be as easy as taking the duplex receptacle out, replacing it with one that doesn't have the broken tabs on the sides (isolating the 2 receptacles), and capping the wires in the box. If you've never done electrical before though, don't just do it as per my post, learn a bit more first.

[djayz]

flourescent lights for the garage....i just switch from 4 regular 60watt bulbs to two 4 foot fixtures with a total of 4 tubes and its a world of difference. The whole garage is evenly lit up and the light gets everywhere. Fixtures were $18 a piece at rona and the bulbs were $4 for two I think.

Also for door mouldings youll need exact measurements and I dont think they would cut them for you. Best thing to do is rent a mitre saw its pretty easy.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by djayz
flourescent lights for the garage....i just switch from 4 regular 60watt bulbs to two 4 foot fixtures with a total of 4 tubes and its a world of difference. The whole garage is evenly lit up and the light gets everywhere. Fixtures were $18 a piece at rona and the bulbs were $4 for two I think.

+100!


I replaced mine in my 3 bay garage with 9 - 2 bulb 4' flourescents, SOOO bright now.

[bobby_lu]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


Chances are likely (though not definite) that the wires going to one ceiling lamp, are coming from the other ceiling lamp, so there will only be one 14/2 wire going from the switch to the first lamp.

If there are two at the switch, then is it easy?

Otherwise I wont bother with that, not that big of a deal.

As for the lights, will it be a direct replacement (wiring) to the exisiting one bulb fixtures?

[Doozer]

Originally posted by bobby_lu
Gonna put some mouldings around the doors and window in there, just wondering if Home Depot or anyone will cut them for you? Dont want to/have time to do it myself, but I will I guess if I have no other choice.


Also, looking to add a staircase from the deck to the walkout level, its a necessity IMO. Definately not DIY for me, anyone have any experience or can refer a deck person? Is this very costly? (if you have experience)

Definitely pick up a mitre saw (buy or rent - I bought mine on sale from Totem last year for a steal), and you'll defiinitely get your money's worth, especially if you do your own projects around the house. You don't want to have to mess around with doing ALL the measurements, making some mistakes, having to get pieces re-cut at the store ... that's just no good.

As for the deck stairs, how far down do you have to go? Anything under 5 or 6 feet-ish, you can get stringers from Rona for cheap, and just screw the boards to it. Very easy. I'm not sure about bigger heights though. Anything that goes down more than that might need an inspector to look at it.

[bobby_lu]

Originally posted by Doozer




As for the deck stairs, how far down do you have to go? Anything under 5 or 6 feet-ish, you can get stringers from Rona for cheap, and just screw the boards to it. Very easy. I'm not sure about bigger heights though. Anything that goes down more than that might need an inspector to look at it.

One floor down, from the main floor to the walkout level. I dont want something ghetto, its a nice house. I want steps/railings that match the deck!

[djayz]

Pick up one of those kits from that one company. They make deck kits out of some special plastic that you never have to paint. Looks great and last forever. I have no idea what the name of the company is but im sure the phonebook should have a large ad of it.

[Doozer]

Originally posted by bobby_lu

One floor down, from the main floor to the walkout level. I dont want something ghetto, its a nice house. I want steps/railings that match the deck!

Stair stringers aren't 'ghetto', they're required. That's just what you call the supports under the footboards. Unless you want something a little more elegant (like spiral or something), chances are high you'll be using stringers.

What's the deck made of? Pressure-treated wood is easy to match. If the deck is made of that composite material, get out your chequebook because that stuff is pricey. It might be a little tougher to color-match too. You'd think it would be easier, but like wood, it still fades in the sun. A friend of mine bought the composite steps this year from the same supplier, in the same shade, as the composite deck that he built last year, and the color is significantly off.

I'm not saying that it will be easy, but based on the talk you've done of other things around the house, it just didn't sound out of your league. However, you gotta do what you're comfortable with. Unfortunately, I did my own deck and stairs and therefore can't help you with finding a contractor.

[bobby_lu]

LOL, when you said string steps...It made me thing of those little rope ladders that hang off helicopters and stuff The deck has a metal railing with a composite surface/floor type. Not necessarily a spiral, but that type. Its not going to be something I will be doing myself, just wanted to see if anybody had experience with that type of thing. Unless its real easy, which I gather its not!


On an unrelated note, anyone know where I can find Pittsburgh Paints in Calgary?

[Doozer]

Originally posted by bobby_lu
LOL, when you said string steps...It made me thing of those little rope ladders that hang off helicopters and stuff

heheh ... that's what I thought you were thinking of...

As far as Pittsuburgh Paints, I think Totem has them.


EDIT: Yup, they do http://www.ppg.com/ppgaf/pittsburgh/index.htm (click the "Where to buy" button on the bottom right)

[bobby_lu]

Thanks man! Appreciate it.

Guess I will have to call some decking people and get some estimates. Its a pain going back through the house to the walkout level if you just want to stay outside.

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by djayz
flourescent lights for the garage....i just switch from 4 regular 60watt bulbs to two 4 foot fixtures with a total of 4 tubes and its a world of difference. The whole garage is evenly lit up and the light gets everywhere. Fixtures were $18 a piece at rona and the bulbs were $4 for two I think.

Consider getting outdoor ballasts so they'll work when it's cold. You'll encounter flickering and dimness with normal ballasts when the garage temperature dips below 12ºC.

[djayz]

Originally posted by FiveFreshFish


Consider getting outdoor ballasts so they'll work when it's cold. You'll encounter flickering and dimness with normal ballasts when the garage temperature dips below 12ºC.

I did have some problems this past winter but for the most part it was good. I avoid working in the garage when its freezing outside anyways so dont need the lights haha...maybe after a garage heater is installed.

[bobby_lu]

Oh yeah, itll be heated soon so I dont need to worry about that.