General Upgrades & Ideas

[Pelado]

That is really cool. Total cost?

Not too terrible, even accounting for all the wasted epoxy under that top layer. Here's a list of what I purchased that has gone or is going into the project. Keep in mind, though, that I still have a lot of product remaining. I way overestimated how much stain and polyurethane I would need and still have almost a full gallon remaining of each. I have half the epoxy left which is just enough to do the rest of the kitchen countertops. It will be a while before we do the rest of the counters because it's a bit more involved - we'll likely be removing and replacing the sink and faucet, we'll have to move the fridge and stove out, etc. I might get a bit more epoxy before we do the rest of the counters so I have extra just in case. We're also planning to redo the countertops in two of the bathrooms, too.

Description	Cost
3/4" MDF board 4' x 8'	62.52
1" x 2" Pine board	16.07
1 gallon Miniwax wood stain	67.84
1 gallon Miniwax polyurethane	56.70
4 gallons Stone Coat epoxy, undercoat, dye, and metallic pigments	470.01
Stone Coat Ultimate Top Coat	74.26
Black Diamond metallic pigments	33.75
Supplies (glue, tape, plastic coverings, brushes, rollers, wood filler, mixing containers, spray paint, etc.) - estimate	100.00
Total	881.15

The list doesn't include supplies that I already had, which wasn't really much, nor does it detail the value of the assistance I got from my brother-in-law. He provided know-how as well as many tools that made the project much easier and smoother. For example, he cut each of the pieces using his (new) track saw. He also brought his brad nailer which made installing the MDF countertop much easier.

The list also excludes tools that I bought and used for this project, but that should have ongoing benefit for me going forward.

Description	Cost
Cordless Makita drill, impact driver, compact router, jigsaw	422.94
Makita router dust extraction attachment	19.38
Ryobi router bit set	42.37
Dewalt variable speed random orbital sander (corded)	94.34
Wagner heat gun	28.62
Bernzomatic propane torch	46.62
Total	654.27

The Makita lithium-ion drill and impact driver are replacing old Dewalt 18V nickel-cadmium tools. I didn't have a portable router or jigsaw before.

I didn't really need both the heat gun and the torch for this project - either one should have been sufficient. I got the heat gun first and didn't like the results I was getting with it, so I got the torch later. But I'm keeping the heat gun because I see additional uses for it (like the vacuum adapter I made).

The quote I got from a professional epoxy countertop contractor was just under $4k which would have included the following:

• Fabrication and installation of an MDF island countertop
• Fabrication and installation of an MDF island end piece
• Epoxy over new and existing countertops

[Bo Diddley]

Love the results. I'd be interested in hearing long term how durable they are. I imagine the extra coats of epoxy will help.

[BigPiney]

Thank you. Looks great.

[Moliere]

What are you talking about? It's a veritable orgy of penises:

Countertop.png

You know what they say. If you see a dick, then you saw a dick. If you see dicks all day, then you are the dick.

[Non Sequitur]

What are you talking about? It's a veritable orgy of penises:

Countertop.png

We all see what we want to see. I just see a bunch of vaginas and boobs.

[chrisrenrut]

You know what they say. If you see a dick, then you saw a dick. If you see dicks all day, then you are the dick.

That is a common phallicy. I judge more harshly those that see it at first glans.

[falafel]

That is a common phallicy. I judge more harshly those that see it at first glans.

[BigFatMeanie]

You know what they say. If you see a dick, then you saw a dick. If you see dicks all day, then you are the dick.

Hey, don't blame the messenger. It's not my fault Pelado has penises on his countertop.

[Pelado]

Hey, don't blame the messenger. It's not my fault Pelado has penises on his countertop.

I blame my wife, who performed most of the pouring and touch-up work this time. She claims size doesn't matter but this incident seems to prove otherwise.

[falafel]

I blame my wife, who performed most of the pouring and touch-up work this time. She claims size doesn't matter but this incident seems to prove otherwise.

At least she's still up for the touch up work. That's something.

[Pelado]

I saw gutter guards on sale at Costco several weeks ago, so I picked up 8 boxes, thinking that must be enough and I could return any extras. I installed them myself at our last house (single level) but felt a bit of trepidation about installing them at our new place.

Fortuitously, when I arrived home one day last week, I saw that my next door neighbor had a local gutter contractor out at his house. They gave me an acceptable bid to clean out the gutters, repair an issue with an existing gutter, install a little bit of new gutter, and install the gutter guards.

They told me I saved a lot of money by buying the product at Costco. Apparently the Costco price was cheaper than their supplier charges them for similar stuff. Plus, I avoided any markup on the product. Their boss had considered going and buying out as much as he could from Costco.

I think I also got a less expensive price because the guys just did it on their own instead of through their employer.

When they started going up their ladders today, I was even more glad to have contracted it out. Seeing how much wobble there was in those tall ladders did not make me want to use them. My 13-year-old daughter was similarly uninterested in climbing up.

Overall, they seem to have done a really thorough job of cleaning the roof and gutters, and of installing the new gutters and the guards. I didn't see what they did to repair the one gutter issue but next time it rains, I should be able to see if it was effective.

When they were finished, i had one full box remaining (9 4-foot segments) and another box with about 8 and 2/3 segments. I didn't want to try returning the nearly-full box, so I offered it to them in exchange for a small discount on their price, which they accepted.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the $430 transaction.

[Pelado]

I'm not a big fan of hanging things on the walls, much to my wife's chagrin. She wanted me to hang a big mirror on one of the walls in our bedroom shortly after we moved about a year and a half ago. I was able to put it off for quite some time saying that we should first paint the wall (which I still haven't done).

The reasons for my disdain of hanging things is in part because my wife can be very particular about appearance but not as much about methodology. She doesn't appreciate the technical aspects involved in making a picture/mirror/grouping hang properly - the studfinding, measurements, the leveling, the measurements, etc. So it's particularly frustrating when - in spite of everything that goes into it - it still doesn't look quite right.

So I decided to use a different method this time to make it easier to acheive an acceptable result. I ripped a 2-foot piece of scrap 2x4 into quarter-inch strips. Then, ran them through the table sawagain, this time shaving off the top edge at a 45 degree angle. I sanded the resultant pieces to remove any sharp points and rough edges.

I secured one piece to the wall into the studs (leveled). I secured another piece to the back of the frame, using a Milescraft Exactor to ensure the piece was secured the same distance from the top of the frame the whole way across.

After both pieces were secured in place, I placed the mirroe o the wall with the 45 degree angles interlocking in a French cleat style. It worked well and is holding great.

The most difficult part was the table saw usage. I got the table saw from my BIL who I think got it from my dad (though maybe indirectly). It's a cheap jobsite table saw with plastic components. Both the height adjustment and the bevel adjustment are broken, so I have to use some alternative tools to get it adjusted.

The more risky aspect is that I was trying to get by with a homemade push stick that was somewhat inadequate for how thin the pieces were. My fingers were closer to the blade than I'd prefer. On one of the cuts, I stopped short of the blade, trying to use the push stick to finish it, but the piece didn't stay in place and didn't finish the 45 degree cut all the way through.

There were no injuries but I think Im going to order a Milescraft GrabberPro (or similar) and maybe a featherboard or two so as to avoid any precarious future situations.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Hanging things on walls is one of my super powers.

[clackamascoug]

Hanging things on walls is one of my super powers.

You must be a big fan Jack Reacher - The Killing Floor - hanging things on wall was a crucial portion of the book/TV show.

[Jeff Lebowski]

You must be a big fan Jack Reacher - The Killing Floor - hanging things on wall was a crucial portion of the book/TV show.

Never read or watched.

I have a stud finder, multiple sized levels, a laser level, cordless drill/driver, tape measures, and 2 cases of various screws, nails, hooks, wires, anchors, etc. I live for this kind of thing.