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08-20-2008 at 11:07 AM
MISSD2U
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Joined on 08-31-2006
Nashville, TN
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MISSD2U is not online. Last active: 12-03-2008, 11:12 PMSilver

Q: DIY Renovations

For those that have tackled your own home renovations and did all the work yourself, how did you go about doing that?  Did you read books to learn about how to do work in the different areas of the house (i.e. how to lay tile, install granite, etc.) or did you have someone in your family or a friend to go to as a reference?

DH and I would like to do some fairly small scale upgrades in our home, but we are SO not DIY people.  LOL.  However, we'd love to do the upgrades as economically as possible.  So if we can save money on labor costs, that would be great!

TIA for any advice you can give!



    
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08-20-2008 at 11:11 AM
sjh722
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Joined on 12-11-2003
Midwest
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sjh722 is online. Last active: 12-04-2008, 8:04 PMSilver
DH's dad was a custom home builder for 30+ years and so DH soaked all that knowledge up from the time he was 7 or 8, LOL! He's always liked building things so it's second nature to him...he worked in the construction field for awhile as a carpenter and still does, but now he does management for commercial projects so his job's a little different.



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08-20-2008 at 11:15 AM
BeckysinLuv
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Joined on 02-07-2005
Pittsburgh, PA
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BeckysinLuv is not online. Last active: 12-04-2008, 3:26 PMSilver

We did quite a few in our old house.  We actually just did a lot of research (mainly on the internet).  We also had friends/family that had done it before so we asked them questions too.  Here's a list of what we did:

- tiling (floors and shower)

- replaced kitchen countertops

- wood trim

- beadboard

- stone patio




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08-20-2008 at 11:16 AM
Mrs.KLF
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Joined on 10-08-2007
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Mrs.KLF is online. Last active: 12-04-2008, 8:07 PMBronze

We did two things.  First, we relied on family members that knew what they were doing and could teach us.  DH's dad owns a contracting business (that's right.  My FIL is a contractor, yet my DH barely knows how to yield a hammer), and both my mom and brother are handy.  I've learned a lot from the three of them.  I also did a ton of online research for specific projects - like laying ceramic tile or hanging kitchen cabinets.  That way I would at least have a frame of reference for the steps that needed to be taken and supplies I would need.

Good luck!
 



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08-20-2008 at 11:19 AM
big_noise
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Joined on 10-26-2006
Minnesota
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big_noise is not online. Last active: 12-04-2008, 1:47 PMBronze
Google helped a lot.  There's also some good tips on the HD and Lowe's Web sites about stuff. I know I found something about sheetrocking on one.  I'm lucky in that my DH is pretty good at figuring out how to do stuff, but most of what we just did neither of us have done before (we gutted our kitchen completely, changed some walls, etc.) but I'd say I know a lot more now!  With tiling, it helped that we got the tile from a local shop that specializes in it, so they people there could answer a TON of questions about it.  Also, some friends and family who have done a few things before were quite helpful. 
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08-20-2008 at 11:22 AM
Chrissymarie98
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Joined on 12-05-2007
Georgia
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Chrissymarie98 is online. Last active: 12-04-2008, 8:02 PMSilver

We have alot of experience in our family..so thats who is helping us.

 
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08-20-2008 at 11:24 AM
NicED538
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Joined on 11-28-2007
Northern Kentucky
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NicED538 is not online. Last active: 12-04-2008, 2:46 PMBronze

For us we have relied on our family members  and friends knowledge of home renovations to help us complete our own home renovations. And by showing DH how to do things right the first time, he knows how to do it correctly the next time. So far our friends/family have helped us with: plumbing, concrete work, putting up a new chain link fence, minor electric work, installing new cabinets, framing, laying floors, and I'm sure much more. DH has learned a lot in the year we have owned our house.

I am lucky to have a lot of DIY knowledge in our family, we are all tight wads and can't fathom paying someone to come in and do something we can learn to do ourselves. LOL. If we didn't have such good DIY family/friends, I think we would turn to google or still ask around.

Hope my ramblings  helped some! :-)
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08-20-2008 at 1:03 PM
stacylu
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Bellevue, WA
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stacylu is not online. Last active: 12-04-2008, 6:13 PMBronze
DH is very handy which helped tremendously. I did a lot of internet research as well (ths.gardenweb.com is a good site) for things that we weren't sure of and everything turned out well (bathroom and kitchen gut and remodels mainly)



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08-21-2008 at 1:43 PM
dls77
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Joined on 07-02-2007
Baltimore, MD
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783 Points
dls77 is not online. Last active: 09-05-2008, 12:44 PMNewbie

Great post...my DH and I just bought our house last Thursday (1 week- yahoo!), but it needs some updating in the kitchen and bathrooms.  My husband is kinda handy, but undertaking big renovations is kind of scary to us; however, we need to save some $, so we may try.  Please share your experiences and resources, once you're done.

 

Good Luck and TIA!


 
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