What home improvement work did you do today?

Is this standard in your area to install tile directly over slab?

 

It may be a Southern thing but I've taken construction pics for a few different builders in Central Texas and that's the way I've seen it done with tile, unless they are laying some kind of heating element underneath. If it's wood or laminate, it gets an underlayment/moisture barrier.

 

Yeah, as @TaquitoBandito and @Squatting Pigeon said, this is the norm. Once the tiling is done everything should come together quickly. Can't wait to post up some finished pics.

 

Perfect! Great idea right there

 

What brand stud finder do you use? I like to think that me being in such close proximity to one makes them constantly go off, but I've yet to find one that actually detects anything correctly in the wall.

 

I've been an electrician for 16 years and I have one go to tool for finding studs. Its actually going to look for the screws that were used when they hung the rock. Place a piece of tape over it so it doesn't scratch the paint and slide it along the wall, its really powerful and will stick to the screws under the mud/tape. It wont work if you're going to look from the outside in (through stucco) but I will physical find a stud by measuring before I trust an electronic stud finder.

 

There's more than one way to do anything but I've found this to be a sure thing. Here's a couple pics I snapped just now so you can see it in action

 

Any strong magnet will get the job done. Before the days of Amazon and Ebay these little super magnets were a little harder to find. Guys would salvage the rare earth magnets out of old hard drives and cover them in tape and a string. Boom, instant stud finder.

 

It’s more common to install the tile directly to the concrete slab in my area. However you can install a Schluter Ditra membrane system to prevent cracks from transferring from the concrete to the tile floor. It also helps with waterproofing applications. This same system can also be used if you want to add heated flooring below the tile. So it’s very versatile.

 

If anyone is removing lead based paint from their older home, this is the hot set up, it really works well, it’s a little pricey but nice to use and non-toxic, you brush on this paste type stuff and then you put this paper over it, let it set for around 24 hours and then literally peel all the paint off, best thing I’ve ever found

 

Filled and running. Almost done, have to install the self cleaning system heads, but need to purge start up debris first.

 

Been working on my new house. Fixed a leak I found caused by an idiot who screwed the cabinets to a drain pipe. That’s not mud on the pipe...
Before


During


After fixing the leak, multiple coats of germicidal spray, reframing supports for my subfloor patches and new particle board to match the existing subfloor height.





Was a bit of a pain in the ass and time suck but didn’t cost much to fix and could have been WAY worse. Glad it’s done.

 

The bathroom toilet overflowed

so my next project consists of

Replacing a toilet,doing trim work/replacing all trim and Corner round, CLeaning/sealing the tile floors and sealing/caulking everything and finally painting

What Fun!!

 

Kitchen cabinets started going in today. Drove around looking for quartz countertops, but didn't see anything that caught our eye. Will be on the hunt for countertops again tomorrow. Changed our mind on the backsplash - new one pictured below.

 

Hall bathroom tile was finished today and the grout will be going on tomorrow. Poor quality pictures due to no light in there at the moment.

 

Concrete countertops? You can make them look just like quartz

 

I would be totally fine with concrete countertops, but the wife is set on quartz. We found a look that we both liked today, although it was marble which doesn't hold up as well as granite or quartz.

 

I hear ya! I had to send the wife 8 countertop photos that she liked and told her to pick the one that was quartz. All photos were concrete. After being mad that I “tricked” her she finally agreed to go with concrete

 

Check out Silestone Eternal Statuario. We got it installed in June and ordered the suede finish which is more of a matte look and has a slight texture, than the normal glossy polished looks. I’ll upload a photo tomorrow.

 

Granite installed.
Routed in 1/2” stainless steel plates for support.

 

Nice job on the supports, I did the exact thing on my island high top it worked out well. Wayyy better than corbels or any other options.

 

That was the granite installers suggestion. They had the steel plates made.
I was going to use a slightly smaller round of 3/4 plywood for support. Very happy that I went with their suggestion.

 

Don't have a furniture dolly handy? Or a skateboard?

 

Question:
My garage ceiling is 12' roof about 20. I am thinking about getting one of those ladders that you can use as an A frame and extension ladder. Has anyone purchased one of these? If so what brand and how did you like it? From what I understand that 22' and above could be quite heavy and hard to use.
Please let me know if it was worth it or should I just get 2 different ladders.

 

I'd buy 2 we've got a multi position at work and it's stupid heavy. Really the only time it gets used is in stairwells where there's no other option.

If you're not using it often and have help available when you need to reach the roof it probably wouldn't be terrible.