Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Thursday, June 29, 2017
2 HBAs Awarded Legal Action Fund Grants
NAHB has awarded two Legal Action Fund grants to NAHB members locked in litigation that stands to impact the housing industry in their states. The Legal Action Fund is administered by NAHB’s Legal Action Committee, and provides grants, friend-of-the-court or “amicus” briefs, and strategy assistance to HBAs and members.
New Orleans HBA Volunteers Come to Local Resident’s Rescue
Volunteers from the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans and local community members assembled this week to assist a very appreciative local resident whose home was in need of repairs.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
OSHA Provides Clarification on Confined Spaces Rule
OSHA recently consulted with NAHB to develop a fact sheet to aid residential builders in meeting the standard issued in 2015 to protect workers from hazards related to confined spaces in construction work.
Tips on How to Remove Old Shower Tile
As you might have already picked up on previous posts, my Instagram, or if you just have a pretty awesome streak of ESP this week, I’ve decided that my master bathroom is finally going to get my focus this summer. It’s not going to be just my floor that gets some tile help, though — I’m redoing the shower, too!
But before I get into the whole do-it-yourself project of how to tile a new shower (I’ve actually already had some trial and error in the last week I need to share with you, and I’m trying to shoot some video too!), there’s a part of this whole process that I really have a fondness for: DEMO… DEMO… DEMO
However!
Demo isn’t just jump right in, hammers a-swingin’ — if you want to remove an old tiled shower properly and efficiently, you are probably going to need this handy list of tips. Not because I don’t think you aren’t perfectly capable of figuring this out on your own (and a lot of it is common sense, really), but because the temptation to swing a hammer at ugly tile you can’t wait to remove is VERY hard to resist. So, you might be a little premature (like I was) and get all giddy from seeing the tile fall off the wall and ignore some important stuff. These tips will not only help you from damaging the things you don’t want to, but it will prepare yourself a little more than I did to avoid injury.
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How to Demo A Tiled Shower — Effectively and Quickly!
Protect the Tub
In my case, I wanted to keep the tub. So, I laid down some old sheets and taped up the edges with painter’s tape to give the tiles something to land on. The tiles may not seem razor sharp, but if it breaks at a weird angle, it can still chip the tub below. Even if you don’t plan on keeping the tub and want to sell it or something, it’s still better to sell it damage-free. And don’t forget to plug the drain with something!
Start at the Edges
This seems obvious, but outside > in works best. If your shower is as old as mine, you might even have some looser tiles around the tub base and can start there first (and note to self: any areas you find water damage or areas of the tub where water tends to drip should be spots you’re sure to waterproof when you install new tile).
Hammer a Putty Knife at Grout Lines
One of the things I least expected was that using a putty knife blade (more specifically, one of those 6-in-1 painter’s tools) along grout lines and hammering on the end of the handle (sort of like a chisel) before trying to pry at each tile seemed very effective. I tried it mainly out of curiosity at first. My impression was that the tiles were still stuck on pretty well, but I assume the hammering at weak points created enough vibrations to fracture underlying spots of old thinset and grout. I only know that this was more effective than not because I started secretly (aka, unbeknownst to him, but for my own demolishing pride) competing with a very helpful bearded dude who was removing tile on the opposite side of the shower* — I wound up smoking his ass in demo. He swore it was only because I had the better putty knife, and while I can’t deny that I used a better quality tool, after a while he wanted me to whack at the grout lines on his side when mine started coming off in larger chunks.
*And yes, this is how we do date night sometimes, and I really like that we haven’t tried to stab each other with so many weapons tools at our disposal to do so (so far). There were plenty of “this is not how I pictured being in the shower together” jokes made that night.
Wear Protection
You know I’m laughing at myself for yet again having a suggestive tip for DIY, but honestly: if you are regularly doing DIY or woodworking projects and you don’t find yourself thinking “that’s what she said” at least once during each project, you might be doing something wrong. Or don’t have my sense of humor. Or aren’t in the U.S. and haven’t watched The Office (in the British version I’m pretty sure it was “said the actress to the bishop”).
But anyway, back to the important tip: wear ear protection, eye protection, and proper clothing. Hitting anything with a hammer in general tends to be noisy, and tile and grout in particular is very loud. And even if your removal is perfect, tile will chip and send little bits flying, like in parts of the room that might also contain an eye or two. In my case, I wound up with a bloody calf.
…
… (allowing those of you time to scroll past this spot if you don’t like the sight of blood or feet)
It was a small cut, and due to all of the debris falling, it didn’t register that I had been cut until after I was outside about thirty minutes later and felt my leg itching (then looked down and saw that I had been bleeding). It was small and easily dealt with, but still rather surprising! In hindsight, I probably should have worn pants instead of shorts (it’s Georgia summer, though — it’s shorts weather unless something has the potential to be really dangerous). Though now is a pretty good time to remind you guys to be up to date on all of your shots (like a tetanus booster… it’s easy to forget, but if you’re around rusty things and friends having babies like I am, use your friend’s kid’s birthday as a quick reminder of whether or not it’s been less than five years since you got a Tdap update, since you can get tetanus and whooping cough knocked out in one swoop).
Score, Then Hammer Old Drywall
I suppose a person could potentially reuse the old drywall, but with mine so wrecked from old tile adhesive, the easier approach seemed to be to replace the damaged areas. So, we tore into the old drywall with a hammer (so satisfying!) and then broke down the larger pieces for the trash.
To get a clean edge, I first scored the drywall with one of my favorite heavy duty utility knife and then made deeper cuts until it broke away.
Oh – and be mindful of pipes and other things. I reached a stubborn section and realized there was duct work behind the wall, so I’m really glad I wasn’t too aggressive with the hammer. As you weaken each section, the drywall will start to just fold off in pieces.
Take Out Nails/Screws
My house has nails holding up the drywall (this house was built in the early 80’s, so pretty much a house that had a lot of bare-minimum, “I’m going on a break in 5”-type of quality as it was built — if you remember the backyard sinkhole project, you’re already aware of the types of things these guys got away with!), so I had to pry them all out of the studs after the drywall panels came off. The only ones I left were around the bottom near the tub. These seemed to be where the original drywaller rested the old drywall to nail it in, creating a small gap above the tub and wall (this gap is later covered up by the first row of tile, but its function is to help prevent water from wicking up the drywall from the lip and corners of the tub). So, I planned to use the same nails to help me install the new board and give me something to prop it on.
Another thing I noticed that seemed kind of odd? The builders also used glue on the drywall when it came in contact with the studs, but not on most studs or on studs where it might make the most sense (such as near a pipe, where you might not want to chance the nail going in the wrong place). I haven’t really seen this before, so I even texted a couple of DIY buddies and they all thought it was weird, too. If someone has the answer on that, do tell!
Do Some Research
Here’s where I almost failed: I saw that the drywall I was taking out was the moisture-resistant kind, also commonly known as “greenboard” (called that because it’s covered in color-coded green paper to distinguish it from regular drywall). So, I assumed that to begin my new shower, all I needed to do was replace like for like and put it back in. I even did it and started taping the seams:
Except I also knew about waterproofing materials being a thing I’ve seen other people using in DIY projects, and after buying some of it and reading the instructions, I realized that greenboard is actually outdated (and even no longer up to code) for putting in a shower because it often still has moisture problems. I wound up calling a few friends for advice before ripping out the new greenboard and putting cement backerboard in instead. It was not a fun hiccup, considering that these materials are heavy and cumbersome when you want to hang them! But, at least I caught my own mistake before tiling over it or having to rip it out after waterproofing.
Alrighty… so I’ll leave this post as-is for now, but more posts are on their way! Any of your own tips to share? We’ve still got how-tos on replacing the drywall, waterproofing, tiling, and several videos I haven’t even had time to edit yet but I’ve committed to making, so I’m sure I’ll regret that decision later. And on Friday, I’ll cover a trip I took last month that serendipitously inspired my new tile choice. Stay tuned for all of that… definitely more to come.
The post Tips on How to Remove Old Shower Tile appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.
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Tips on How to Remove Old Shower Tile published first on https://noambouzaglou.wordpress.com/
New Webinar Says Namaste to the Zen Builder
Learn how to maintain calm and handle difficult clients in the Wisdom from the Zen Builder webinar Wednesday, July 12, 2-3 p.m. ET.
Members of Congress, Dignitaries Laud NAHB’s 75 Years of Service
To honor NAHB’s diamond anniversary, dozens of VIPs shared recorded congratulatory remarks at the 75th Anniversary Gala held earlier this month during the Midyear Board Meeting. The comments from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), actor/philanthropist Gary Sinise, and many more are now available to watch on nahb.org.
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
WOTUS Rule Definitions on the Way Out
The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers today proposed to replace the 2015 definition of the term “waters of the United States” (the Clean Water Rule) with the same text that existed between 1997 and 2015.
OSHA Proposes to Delay Deadline for Electronic Injury Reporting
OSHA is proposing to delay to Dec. 1 the date by which certain employers are required to electronically submit workplace injury information from 2016.
Timber Towers Reach for the Skies
Are 20-story timber high-rises the future of building? Perhaps, if code changes under development by a committee of the International Code Council are eventually approved for the 2021 International Building Code.
Lumber Tariffs Threaten Thousands of U.S. Jobs, Raise Housing Costs
In a move that will raise housing costs and price countless American households out of the housing market, the Commerce Department on June 26 imposed a preliminary 6.87% anti-dumping duty on Canadian lumber imports on top of the 19.88% countervailing duties announced in April.
Monday, June 26, 2017
Smart Storage for Your Bathroom Remodel
Bathroom storage is something that will never go out of style. So if you’re remodeling your bathroom and need a little push in the right direction as far as storage is concerned, check out our tips!
Consider Open Shelving
Looking for something different when it comes to your bathroom shelving? Maybe you’ve seen open shelving work for kitchens, but you’re not sure if it’s really the right fit for your bathroom. But we’ve seen visible storage work in beautiful ways with rustic metal storage bins or baskets to keep all of your most important items within reach.
The main benefit of open shelving is that it can make the bathroom feel larger without solid cabinetry jutting out into the room. When you are remodeling a small bathroom, and there’s not much you can do to extend the square footage, a lot of the bathroom remodeling process involves tricks of the eye. Open shelving will take up space, but being able to see the wall makes it seem like a bigger space.
Floor-to-Ceiling Is Always in Style
Floor-to-ceiling shelving won’t date your bathroom, and can be integrated into most spaces. Just make sure you still leave room for some of the other essentials, like lighting around your mirror. Floor-to-ceiling shelving is a blessing to those with large families.
Get Rustic
Set your bathroom apart with a converted wardrobe or antique cabinet. Sometimes, it’s worth it to go bold and choose a shelving unit that may not perfectly match all of the materials in your bathroom but accents the décor nonetheless. Shop antique stores for the perfect fit, and you might be surprised to see how much storage vintage pieces can hold.
Forgo Something Else
If you want to fit more bathroom storage in, you might consider giving up something else. You might have your eye on that pedestal sink, but is it really worth it if your bathroom constantly feels cluttered and storage is difficult to manage? Prioritize your needs first and foremost, and then you can find the beautiful accent pieces that make it feel complete. For example, while you might not have the pedestal sink you wanted at first, you can have under-sink storage and plenty of counter space and a vessel sink instead.
Store Things Elsewhere
While it’s nice to have all of your things in one place, it might not necessarily be the best choice in a smaller bathroom. If you’re worried about storage space, try reassessing your current storage needs. Maybe there are things you can throw out, perhaps that extensive nail polish collection belongs elsewhere, or maybe you can store some of those spare towels in the hall closet.
Contact Advanced Builders & Contractors for licensed and bonded contractors in Los Angeles.
Legal Action Funded Case Wins Big in Vermont
A case that was awarded funding from NAHB’s Legal Action Fund received a favorable decision on June 23, providing an additional dose of much-needed clarity to Vermont employers.
Remodeler of the Month: Quality Always Trumps Quantity
No matter what type of business you run, working with the right people is key to boosting revenue and sustaining long-term growth. That’s how David Jackson, CAPS, principal of Jackson Design Build in Centennial, Colo., says he’s kept his home building and remodeling business steadily growing since 1978. When looking for leads, Jackson’s focus has […]
Friday, June 23, 2017
The Reason The Master Bath Makeover Has Taken So Long
Raise your hand if you remember when I took out the flooring in my master bath?
I know. It’s been a long time. I honestly had to look it up myself. And the sobering answer? 2013. I had just nearly finished the guest bath reno and through some enthusiastic encouragement from my dad, decided he and I should immediately start on the master. Because, after all, taking the shit that’s still fully functional out of my house is exactly what will make me get things done, right?
Well, it happened that I was also working on my kitchen and my dining room at the time. Oh, and my staircase, too. My house was one giant blob of chaos. But we did it anyway. I learned new, disgusting things about my house (I still want to make a “What the FRASS?” t-shirt at some point), and assumed that in less than a year’s time (at the most, knowing how I can drag things out!), my master bath would be put back together again.
As it turned out, the bath would be unfinished for much longer than that. I have been using the nearly-(but not really, either)-finished guest bathroom ever since. But why, exactly? Have I just been lazy? Do I hate showering? Or is it something else?
Well, I can assure you, lazy isn’t how I’d defend this DIY tale — I have been working on a lot. of. other. shit. since. then.
The short answer for why it’s not finished comes down to simple momentum: this bathroom just didn’t want to get made. It has been filled with good intentions and a lot of bad juju. Through one mishap or another, I’ve had false start after false start. And in the end, I had to learn to overcome obstacles in my own time.
- There was the fact that I was already working on too many projects to begin with — a lot to get distracted with when I don’t really feel like doing tile work (and trust me, you need to be in the mood to do tile work).
- There was when I thought a pipe burst and flooded the room. It turned out to be just a leaky valve, but I felt pretty defeated from the stress and I ignored the bathroom once more.
And finally, there was the tile floor install. In 2015, I decided enough was enough at one point and thought hiring some outside help would be a good way to jumpstart progress. Unfortunately, it wound up being one of the bigger setbacks. I was hesitant at first, but still really excited when I hired the job and when I left home to allow the work to be done without my hovering (Dad supervised in my absence). I was thrilled to come home and see tile instead of nothing on the floor. Finally!
But as I took a closer and closer look after it was done and prepped to start grouting, I realized that there had been a lot of miscommunication and the job was not up to my liking. Womp, womp.
I told the guy I didn’t care whether he used a 1/16″ grout line or 1/8″ grout line. He wound up using both rather than picking one, without really much distinction (it wasn’t like all horizontal lines with one thickness and vertical lines with another; some would taper, some would just be thin or thicker, etc.).
I told him not to worry too much about cleaning up the buckets and sponges and stuff after he was done (I was home right after he wrapped up the work, so I would have time to pick up all that stuff). But what I didn’t expect to find was extra globs of thinset all over the room (since this was rectified porcelain tile, we had to use a bag and mix it instead of just buying a bucket of mastic). It was on the tub, squished up between the tiles, etc.
Many of the tiles weren’t level with each other, which would also be a problem once grout went in. Tiles should pass what’s called a “quarter test”, which means you can run a quarter on the surface without it getting caught on the lip of another tile. As you can see, mine was up to 1/8″ difference in height between some of the corners. My guess is that there had been some stepping on the tiles after they went in, which would mash some of them down and squeeze the underlying thinset out between grout lines (in general, you want to avoid stepping on freshly laid tiles because your body weight will undo your leveling work!).
And finally, the tiles around the toilet flange were not cut to fit well, so part of the tile was resting on top instead of around the toilet opening. The tile itself was too hard to try to correct with a ceramic blade (there are some multi-tools that have certain blades that can cut through tile, but this was not that kind of tile). I was able to pry several pieces up successfully and cut new ones before things cured, but the second tile on the front side of the flange was already hardened. This wouldn’t be just an aesthetic problem like the grout lines; if I didn’t correct this, there was a strong chance that the toilet would not sit flat on the tile or I would eventually have leaks. And no one wants to sit on a rocking, leaking toilet!
Cleaning up all of that wasn’t really what I anticipated, and it wound up being a couple of extra hours that night of scraping half-cured thinset and inspecting everything to try to get it ready for grout. Even though I said you kind of have to really be in the mood to do tile work, tile isn’t really forgiving once it’s in, so if I hadn’t cleaned it up as soon as I found it, I would be in bigger trouble the longer I waited. Fully cured thinset is kind of like concrete when it hardens, and while it wasn’t that tough to get up on glazed areas like the tub, there was a much higher risk of chipping the tile trying to remove adhesive (the floor tile isn’t glazed). If I didn’t get it up between tiles, grout could also be an issue if it’s too thin (it has a greater chance for cracking later on).
After a couple of hours on my knees and hurriedly trying to clean up the thinset and cut new tiles, I was really upset; not just about the job, or the idea of paying for work that didn’t meet expectations, or having to remove tile and redo the work myself — it was the added layer of family dynamics that also made me feel really conflicted. I hired a family friend to do the work (not the one I’ve had help in the past… a different guy), and I took his word on how much experience he’d had at installing tile (I agreed after he’d done a different type of flooring job for my dad). My dad had only the best of intentions when he kept nudging me to just hire it out and arranged for someone to do it, and the family friend was also just a friendly guy looking for some work and wanted to help.
So, basically, I was stuck between a bad execution and knowing I’d have to confess this at some point and possibly make people unhappy by telling them (it would be inevitable that it would come up; my dad and I discuss progress with my house just about every time I see him, so he would ask more and more questions if I still kept pushing back the grout job after years of not getting this done already). My gut told me to wait and do the floor myself, and I’d ignored it because it seemed like moving ahead was the thing that everyone else wanted to do, and it made sense… and sheesh, I couldn’t argue that it hadn’t been damn long enough! The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that this was a lesson I needed to learn. I’m in my thirties, yet the dynamic with my parents hasn’t changed much; I have often listened to their advice over my own, even with a house they don’t live in. I’m sure that others can relate, but it’s still weird, right?
I don’t mean to say that they don’t have my best interest in mind, but I do think that learning to listen to your own inner voice is a huge thing that a lot of us stumble with — especially if it’s in conflict in some way with those we love and whose intentions are good. I’ve gained a lot of my own skills and developed my own instincts, and I need to learn to trust those more.
I took a few hours to make as many corrections as I could, and while it isn’t perfect and needed at least one more fix (the tile that is resting on the flange), I was a lot happier with the way it looked. Not perfect, but maybe okay enough to not have to rip it all out.
When it comes to DIY, eventually, your mojo just starts to wane after a few setbacks in a single room. This tile issue was kind of my last straw of trying to get it done sooner rather than later, so once again I put it off. Sure, it was ridiculous that I had an entire room and square footage I wasn’t using, but it’s only me that lives here, so if I wasn’t ready and had a working bathroom, I just plain stopped caring. I told myself it was fine to wait, and it’s ok to let yourself work on the other things you’re passionate about and wait for inspiration. To get my momentum back, I had to work on other things that made me feel like I was accomplishing something. Lots of somethings. So, I did.
And now, finally, I found that inspiration and the materials to get things done right — even after another setback yet again, but that’s for a different post. This time, I have a deadline and I’m setting that goal to meet it, head on, challenges and all. I’m even doing more upgrades than I thought when I first started. I can’t wait to show you the plans! More on my inspiration should be posted by next Friday, but demo posts begin first thing next week!
The post The Reason The Master Bath Makeover Has Taken So Long appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.
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The Reason The Master Bath Makeover Has Taken So Long published first on https://noambouzaglou.wordpress.com/
NAHB Celebrates a Diamond Jubilee
NAHB members kicked up their heels and celebrated the association’s 75th anniversary with a gala and directors’ reception during its recent Midyear Meeting in Washington, D.C.