Coat#3 on the bathtub refinishing did the trick! A ton of work, most certainly very labor intensive, and the epoxy fumes are 10/10 bad, but it was acceptable in an empty house. #diy#remodeling
Re-caulked the tub (exciting, I know!) - next, to remove the old corroded drain plug (wanted to wait until I had completed resurfacing...). Need to remember to do that sooner, rather than later. #diy#remodeling
Prep instructions: clean tub. Sand/steel wool. Clean tub. Steel wool. Clean the tub again, why don't you. Do it again for good measure. Hey, why aren't you scrubbing your tub. Do it again. #remodeling#tub#tubrefinishing#diy#bathroom
Replaced a single pane, 1978-79 window with a very, very expensive modern equivalent. Why? Heatwaves. Lots of them in the future. Don't know how much it will help... but better than what was there before. #remodeling#windows
Exercised the "never say no to contractors moving up an install" rule. (window contractors had a cancellation, so they're showing up at 8am tomorrow!!). #remodeling
Interesting, there is paint with additives to prevent growth of mold and mildew. Going with that for my bathroom repainting (plus adding a fan, hopefully). The original design of the 1979 bathrooms in my tract were abysmal, and even after we changed things out, not great. Originally they had a window, and then a glass bath/shower door (to the window), and then another bath/shower door to the rest of the bathroom, thus trapping moisture up against a window with NO ESCAPE. (note: all the recently sold homes in my neighborhood appear to have full remodels of their bathrooms... probably ran into those issues). #random#remodeling
Men in hazmat suits have left... and they should have followed all the proper procedures... but going to run the Corsi Rosenthal box anyway, LOL. #hazmat#remodeling
Remodeling tip: good idea to have extra lighting in the rooms you have contractors working on. One room we had in our disaster remodel had no lights (due to the disaster) and they hadn't done a great job. I installed track lighting in there last week and I think they noticed all the stuff they missed because they couldn't see with their piddly work lights... they're working on stuff in there now. 🤔 #remodeling#random
PNNL guide to building homes to be more resistant to wildfires.
"The guides in this section of the Disaster Resistance tool will focus less on structural fires caused from within, by cooking, heating or electrical malfunctions, and more on the threat that comes from outside, the threat of wildfire to homes located in the WUI. These guides focus on measures builders and home owners can take to increase the home’s chances of surviving even without suppression activities by firefighters..."
(Re) installed track lighting today. It turns out the Hampton Bay (Home Depot) track lighting is standard "H-type", so it is actually compatible with a significant number of alternative fixtures (even hanging pendant lamps, spotlights). #disasterremodeling#remodeling
Adding to the renovation to-do list: adding a bathroom fan to an exterior wall through stucco. (have a good idea of how to do it, but drilling holes in stucco in the right place will require care; and the vent will be on a second floor, which is a PITA). Ventilation in 1970's era bathrooms here is dismal (unless you LIKE mold) #remodeling
Hmm, will likely be wiping down walls and everything else for awhile, not to mention HEPA vacuuming the (disaster remodeled) house, I suspect drywall dust will be a major contributor to PM2.5. Might even do a wet mop of the floors before they start re-flooring... #dust#remodeling
Finding windows which meet the "Energy Star Most Efficient" U-factor (insulation measurement) of <= 0.20 looks to be a challenge for suppliers in Southern California. Was able to get close, but not to the highest standard. (SHGC--a measure of how much heat your windows absorb in the sun--I did manage to beat by a significant factor). #Windows#EnergyEfficiency#climate#energy#remodeling#retrofit
Today's home improvement task: cut an access hole in a ceiling, install insulation the remodeling crew missed (because I was not there that day to cross check them), close up access hole. Detected via FLIR. I had mentioned it to the project manager but they still didn't do it (should have documented it in an email). It's about $20 worth of insulation plus the hassle of cutting a temporary hatch, but getting them to fix it would be a major hassle. It just gets mentioned on the after-install report to the insurance company, ie. "how would you rate their work". 🤨 #disaster#remodeling
Ha, it appears that (by code), I actually am supposed to have an attic access opening above my garage (for firefighting/safety reasons). I guess I'll do that (and finish off insulating those walls). Basically, cut a hole, add 2x4's around the hole, put in framing, drop in a piece of plywood, paint it. #diy#remodeling#attic
Home renovation lesson of the day. Fireblock foam expands. A lot. Sealed up all the between floor intrusions, which was not required in the 1970's, but is now. #remodeling#diy
Today's lesson for running Ethernet cabling: do not affix box to the wall until AFTER running cabling. It's way easier to fish cable from the hole than through the teeny opening. #Ethernet#diy#remodeling
LVP Luxury Vinyl Plank (not mine, this is a commercial location). Not a bad flooring option, definitely can handle abuse and pets, from what I am hearing. I guess the main issue is outgassing after install for a few days. #remodeling
#Random stuff I learned this week: Low voltage devices should be routed independently and away from any kind of power, to separately colored/marked low voltage boxes (NEVER next to AC). And you need to use Plenum grade Ethernet cabling to meet code compliance (for fire safety). And there are nifty things called "Nail plates" to prevent people from accidentally nailing or drilling through your important stuff (i.e. electrical, plumbing) #Ethernet#remodeling