Purchased a very old century home a few months ago and have been renovating room by room. This is not a "down to the studs" job, just making things nice enough to actually live in. Figured I'd post because why not, slow board and not in the mood for a stone thread.I started by levelling off a very nasty section of the floor. The posts in the basement collapsed and were repaired maybe 50 years ago and nobody fixed the top floor. I'm not in a position to level things up the proper way, so for now I'm doing the worst areas so I can move in without my chair rolling into the low spot. No,the existing boards are not salvageable, extremely warped and damaged pine, not to mention layers of possibly lead based paint.
Did my best to feather it into the existing floor
The corner of the room had this weird and poorly built shelf hiding the main vent stack. It looked stupid so I confirmed I can put some elbows in it and went to town
Built a new shelf that tucks into the new vent shape. I'm not a carpenter but pretty happy with this
It was at this point I noticed we had no ground on any plugs, so I had to pull some new wires, luckily I had a few open slots on my panel. One of those plugs was put into my not so great framing job pictured here... At least my computer will be grounded now.
The shelf and wall got drywall and plaster and I moved on to making a few floating shelves. I bought these brackets thinking I'd just slide some drilled planks up, but they looked thin. Having to carve into the plaster down to the lathe sucked, and having to use a magnet to find studs was a pain in the ass too.
Here is where things were with the brackets up, plastered my channels etc.
I built the shelves out of quarter inch birch veneer plywood and the internals are 3/4 plywood. A bit janky but strong and very light weight. The shelves are 12 feet long.
Once I had my desk built, cleats on the wall etc I finished wiring some 12v LEDs into two zones and installed them in the shelves. The front is capped with 14 foot lengths of poplar, a pain to get in the room but I really didn't want to see any joint. The poplar was very green compared to the birch, needed to be treated with oxalic acid to brighten them up. Not perfect but looks good enough for me.
For flooring I went with glue down vinyl, it's robust and has no issue following the wobbly slopes of the floor. The last thing I wanted was a floating floor with gaps under it
For cabinets I used Ikea Alex. Custom cabinets were expensive. I had to build podiums for them and trimmed them out to match the rest of my quarter round. The desk top is 3/4 birch plywood.
Now time to run some wire channels into the wall, mount monitors etc. it's been about two months since ive had a computer.
Forgot this photo. There is a transformer built into the wall with an access panel on the next room stepping things down from 120v to 12v. Then two dimmer switches inside the shelf. I hope nothing breaks, would be a pain to access these dimmers. The shelf also has cleats and is screwed from the top, it's not just resting on the metal brackets. In theory I could pull the entire shelf off if I remove the top screws.
came here to be a dick but i think you ok, op
>>2982678I'm open to all criticisms, I'm a tradie but not very good with carpentry (I work with stone). I'm proud of my fake trim filing cabinet door though
>>2982680This is better than what 99% of this board can accomplish. Nice job OP.
>>2982680A lot better than I could do
>>2982663this is the only thing i can comment on.as boomer as it sounds, i would never ever use anything but common sockets for lighting, like e14, e27,gu10 and g13. an led retrofit tube is something they will still sell in half a century, when the chink strip breaks its a pain in the ass to swap
>>2982659Nice work but I gotta ask: why use the cheap stuff for flooring? If you are going through the effort, real wood is a better option.
>>2982649Always fun to see how others solve a problem.
>>2982702Real wood is heavy, expensive and would require me to properly level the floors. I have acres of land around me that have been neglected for a very long time, I can't make things perfect for now. Glue down vinyl looks nice and plays well with this very very unlevel floor>>2982705My options were this or to pull boards and sister new joists to proper height, but it would have set me back a little too far on my schedule. Like I said in the last comment, tons of land on my property that needs attention, I have leaking foundations, a massive unkept pond, downed trees, a garage that leans to one side... I just needed a habitable space before spring.
>>2982649>>2982661Always sad to see some vintage lead painted hardwood flooring get covered up by modern plastic, but yeah no that pit is gnarly I don't blame you.
Looking good OP. Make sure the room gets some sovl though, don't go full apple store. I also modified an Alex drawer. It looks completely normal and the top drawer is original. But I turned the faces of the bottom 4 drawers into a door so I can hide my PC behind it without having to change the look. But I feel like my desk can't accomodate a sufficient distance between me and the monitors, despite the monitors being mounted flush to the walls. Is that not an issue for you?
>>2982715>Alex faces joined This is a smart idea, I should have done that instead of getting the one with the single big door, this is eventually where my PC will go. >Sovl It's going to be an office/painting studio, should be quite cozy when it's done.
>>2982715Oh, on the monitors side of things, I have about 26 inches of depth, my main problem is with my CRT monitor, not sure how I'll sort that out or if it will even go here. I'm so busy I don't think I'll be spending much time here, maybe next winter.
>>2982729>this is eventually where my PC will goI drilled a big ass hole in the back plate and put a computer fan in said hole to get some air flow. I suppose in your setup you could put the hole on the side? I made another hole for the cables. Works like a charm, but it does collect dust. I also put some rails underneath the desk to prevent it from sagging over time, something to consider.>This is a smart ideaThanks. I like to think so. I don't have too many of those.
>>2982649How do you find the energy to renovate your own home and work at the same time?
>>2982734Sometimes things need to just get done I guess? I also have no tv or computer right now so I can't distract myself even if I wanted to, I've started to unpack...
Looks great anon. Please have my updoot.
>>2982656is that the sunset? looks like a nice viewgood luck
>>2982657whats keeping the shelf from just being pulled off the brackets
>>2982871Sunrise >>2982876I have blocks of wood mounted to the wall between the brackets, once the shelf is slid into place I put screws from above into the blocks so the shelf can't be pulled forward.
>>2982649ive been doing shit like this for 4 years now OP, looking mighty fine so far. Keep it up while you still have the motivation
>>2985255Since you bumped the thread. I did continue now into my living room. It was in decent shape but needed some TLC
I started with some crown molding. I don't have a big enough mitre saw, had to use a hand saw and box. I hate doing crown, lots of filling...
A long section of wall had no baseboards. Since the original baseboards are 150 years old, I had no chance of buying them and no budget to have them milled. Got creative...
Lots of sanding to do ...
Original baseboards are on the far side of the photo. Im happy with the match
Since this will be my tv/theatre room I went dark ceiling to floor. I disassembled that old chandelier to check wiring and hung it.
Bonus. Tv stand I built a few weeks ago, it houses a subwoofer (properly ported), center channel and my AV receiver plus a computer. Fabric is acoustically neutral. It looks small in the photo but it's around 7 feet wide.
The insides
>>2982649good job, op. must be nice to own property to do this kind of work.
>>2985291It's very fulfilling, and a bit daunting. I am a lot older than most here I thinki
>>2982681>This is better than what 99% of this board can accomplish.No kidding.
>>2985284How is the sound? I'm looking to integrate speakers into my tv stand. I didn't even consider adding a sub because I figured it wouldn't work.
>>2985276The crown molding makes a huge difference in this old house. Before, with no molding and that cheap light fixture this room looked like a half assed cheap airbnb conversion.The dark green paint is a cool color but a bold move, same with the chandelier. I'm curious to see how this room pans out.
>>2985275>>2985276>>2985277Looks good as well. Unfortunately I started off with something in much worse shape and I'm not nearly as talented as you. The crown and baseboards look good, thats my next challenge after the gutted kitchen. What kind of shape is the outside in? I had quite the forest to tackle outside as well
>>2982649>This is not a "down to the studs" joblooks impressive outcome dont get me wrong but it cant have been easier or less work than just lifting the floor, packing the joists and boarding over surely??
>>2985457If I could go back in time, with the knowledge of the floor construction I have now, I likely would have done this. At the time we were very worried about asbestos, vermiculite and removing the strength offered by the very thick floor boards, figuring let's just attack the one bad spot and move on. Because I had to dig into the flooring to pull new wiring later I ended up under there either way. Next year/phase 2 of this is going to be the other half of the upstairs, new shower and plumbing repairs etc. I will likely do new joists to proper height for that.
>>2985454>Outside This is the main reason I'm stopping interior work for a while. Outside has about a decade of neglect @ 5+ acres. Many fallen trees, water pooling in weird areas, thick grasses left to die and dry out on the ground making perfect mouse habitats etc. I also have a 1/3 acre pond loaded with large fish I'll need to learn how to care for. Going to get familiarized with the axe and chainsaw very soon. Your land, simply clearing bush or more complicated?
>>2985461Nice, I only had an acre to deal with but very overgrown and my wonderful elderly neighbor had dumped things where my back patio is going for many years and had to cut down some 100+ foot pine trees I was afraid would fall on the house.
>>2985463Dealing with trees is terrifying. Dealing with shitty neighbors equally terrifying. My situation is wind and the property across the road cut their forest down to nothing, so my trees are literally falling at the roots in places due to the high wind speeds. Literally considering going with a turbine for power in the near future.
>>2985474>Literally considering going with a turbine for power in the near future.God help you, you have not seen "shitty neighbors" til you talk about putting up solar or a wind rig. You'll get every NIMBY asshat and karen in the county bitching about what you do on your property.
>>2985302How old are you?
>>2985480>Shit neighborIt would be mutually assured destruction. So far they've been very cool though, I wouldn't ask permission, just do it and keep it away from their side (only one neighbor) >>2985482Pushing 40 :/
>>2982661>>2982680Didn't read whole thread, but covering that pipe with the shelf like you did was a dumb move. Unless it wasn't in use, then you're fine.
>>2985492It's just a vent, not a drain. Plumber told me to just slope it a bit so rain doesn't pool in there.
>>2985489She's actually a decent neighbor just lacks foresight or doesn't give a fuck or something, she dumps stuff on her own property now. She had some strokes a year or two ago so lady karma struck back already. 40 is the new 20 and isnt old on 4chinz especially this board (or at least thats what i tell myself)
Very nice work! Had a similar situation with leveling a floor in my house I did recently. Did carrying thicknesses of plywood till I could get it close enough to get with leveling compound. Going to put hardwood floors in though pretty soon. I'll try and take some pictures and bump the thread later. Only thing I don't like is moving your main vent stack like that. It is just a vent and you'll probably be fine, but going back in the direction you just came from irks my sense of piping layout. If you're worried about rain coming in you could do a gooseneck on the roof.
>>2985460>y worried about asbestos, vermiculitefair enough lol dnt blame you. good luck!
>>2985489>Pushing 40 :/Are you married?
>>2985512Had 1.5" of fall in around 10'. Ended up just cutting strips of plywood down to 1/8" then mixed up leveling compound to feather it out in the gaps.
>>2985822If my floor wasn't so bouncy I would have done something similar with a self levelling material. My fear twofold, 1 was having it crumble later on and 2 was the sheer weight of it. If I was going to strap to reduce weight I may as well just do it 100%. Third option was foam but unknown how well it would have worked.>>2985672Indeed I am >Photo75 inch tv looking awfully small...
>>2985898Love the furniture you built for the equipment. What kind of wood did you use?
>>2985906It's just pine board @ 15 inches deep and 1x2 dimensional pine. About $100 or less in material. Eventually I want a full wall built in, but no time or budget.
>>2985914Stained pretty well for pine. Imo pine not bad for doing stuff like that especially if you paint it. Made a changing table outta just finish 1/2" plywood for when my kids were little and just used trim paint on it.
>>2985928I used prestain. Provincial stain (oil) and minwax poly (also oil)
>>2985898>Indeed I am Your wife just lets you tear up the house?
>>2985938"Tearing up" usually leads to an improvement. Some rooms are designed to my choosing, others to hers or we compromise. Ultimately as long as it is in the budget we are good.
>>2985277You'd be surprise. Most contours haven't been dropped since it became a thing. Like check at a real lumber place next time.
>>2985938Does your mom not?
how would you build a balcony
>>2982661Nice work OP.I’m sitting in a room right now where I built the same solution as you with Alex. The tabletop isn’t quite as wide as yours but I found a nice sheet of Merbau at our local hardware on special that went on top. Looks like you now have a very functional room. Is that floor ducted AC in the bottom corner?
>>2985284Niiiiice.>>2982653I guess I don't understand why you wouldn't have just turned that into a straight pipe so you wouldn't have to design some crazy bookshelf to hide it.>>2982650Also I didn't know you could cheat a floor leveling like this. Wouldn't you be worried about to squeaking/creaking after a while?>37 yo here, weighing his options about buying a fixer-upper
>>2987871Fuck I'm stupid. You Added the elbows to move it out of the way.
>>2987871>>2987872>Moving pipeYeah it was in a dumb spot, also these old houses have no closets so, I wanted to put a built in there in the corner either way, it's for arts/crafts/hobbies etc. >Cheat floor levelling The proper way would be to open up the boards and mate a new joist to the old ones but at the right height, it's slightly more involved than the repair I chose. Floor isn't squeaky at all..- Started by screwing all the boards down- All has PL adhesive between wood - Larger gaps were spray foamed - There is 1/4 surply plywood stapled across it all>Fixer upperIf you are going to live in it, yes, go for it, but get an inspection of major items like septic, electrical, plumbing and foundations. If you want to do it for profit its a gamble. This is a forever home for me, at least that is the plan.
>>2982649what the fuck am I looking at?never do anything to a house again.
