Comments on: Email Answer: DIY Damage?

By: YoungHouseLove

YoungHouseLove — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:05:30 +0000

We generally just google specific problems/projects to see what comes up. There are some great videos on youtube and sites like ask.com can answer basic things. We also might find ourselves on specific home and garden forums (like one specifically devoted to how to hang a range hood). Hope it helps!

xo,
s

By: Megan

Megan — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:57:23 +0000

You guys have always been an inspiration- love love love this blog. I’ve been reading for years (found you when I was getting married) but I am still a renter so haven’t been able to put a lot of what you talk about into action- until possibly now!
We have put in an offer to buy a run down little cottage. We can’t get to it during the winter (it would be a seasonal 2nd home…sounds so swanky, but it really isn’t!) so we have almost no idea what we’re getting into.
We may need to level it off and start fresh or just gut it to renovate. I am excited, but scared.
Are there any sites that you guys regularly check in with when you are learning new things? I’ve tried looking, but haven’t come up with much. I know you talk a lot about how to figure it out on your own, but are the local reno shops really that helpful?
Any tips would be great!
Thanks!

By: YoungHouseLove

YoungHouseLove — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 03:53:17 +0000

You can do it! Just hire out whatever you know you can’t tackle and break the other stuff into bite sized manageable pieces (and hire someone to rescue you if anything gets out of hand). Going one step at a time and taking it day by day really is key!

xo,
s

By: myra

myra — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 02:47:53 +0000

I love your blog! I now have a long to-do list for my BF’s old 1920s house that he hasn’t bothered with the up-keep and I will be moving into soon! I guess I have higher standards than he does and now a bit of time as well. I’m just feeling a bit overwhelmed with wanting to paint cabinets, walls, refinish flooring (calling in a professional for that) and redoing the bathroom. The bathroom needs a lot of work and it’s so expensive to get it contracted out. My BF thinks I’m in over my head with even tiling! Maybe I’m overconfident but it just doesn’t seem that difficult. I know I’ll have to get a professional to install a bathtub or drywall the ceiling…but am I crazy to think it’s possible for us to do the bathroom ourselves?? Anyway, I’ll start with the cabinets first and see where it goes! And then the problem with the kitchen floor not being even to do something about the linoleum. I’m overwhelmed but I should start. My researching is a bit endless. Thanks for all the info; your blog is inspiring!

By: YoungHouseLove

YoungHouseLove — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:35:25 +0000

Hey Amy,

Hmm, this is a toughie. On one hand, sanding for a day to get everything flat doesn’t sound like the worst thing in the world (if you think it truly would result in getting things flat) because skim coating can take a looong time and requires a few rounds of application and sanding to get things looking even. With drying time it’ll take you a few days to skim, sand, skim, and sand… so sanding alone might be your best bet if it’ll work. If you do opt to go for skim coating (which is extremely helpful for uneven walls) just do a lot of googling and online research for tips and tricks and ask around at the home improvement store so you’re sure to pick up the best tools for the job (flat-handled sanders help to keep the walls straight and large (even up to 8″) trowels also help you keep things flat instead of bumpy and inconsistent. In short: consider just sanding if it’ll work, and do a heckova lot of research if you go to skim coating and prepare for it to take a few days of work. Either way it’ll all be worth it in the end when you’re painting a smooth gorgeous wall. Hope it helps!

xo,
s

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:54:38 +0000

As many other people have said, this post was well timed! My husband and I are new first time homeowners, and we recently took down wallpaper in our kitchen with the intention of painting; we figured it would be a super-easy, 1 day job. Well, the walls underneath are not in the best shape – the old paint is peeling off several layers deep, causing the surface of the wall to look majorly uneven. We tried sanding and realized that we would likely have to spend an entire day on just sanding to get everything even. Plan B is to skim coat the entire wall and then prime (do you guys have any experience with skim coating? Or working with uneven wall surfaces?). I started to freak a little bit – what if we mess it up and make it even worse? But, I remembered this post and tried to keep my cool. I guess if it still looks bad, we can hire somebody to help us out. Thanks for helping me keep some perspective!

By: YoungHouseLove

YoungHouseLove — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:05:09 +0000

So fun! Thanks for sharing the link!

xo,
s (& j)

By: Maddie

Maddie — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:28:33 +0000

I tweeted but forgot to send you a link – have run with your coloured wall post and posted some inspirational nurseries on my blog. Post numbers: 114, 092, 089, 086, 076, 074. I’m loving the grey rooms the most!

By: Katharine

Katharine — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:50:36 +0000

I’d just like to say PREACH IT, because my husband and I have pretty much exactly the same DIY philosophy. We did some of the smaller things on our first house – like painting and our first-ever tile project. This time we were ready for a challenge when we bought our little foreclosure fixer-upper. We put in about ten weeks and hundreds of hours of work before we moved in. (Um, yes, we were motivated.) Which included plumbing – honestly, Sherry, I bet you guys could do plumbing too. I keep telling people we learned how to do plumbing from a library book, which is literally true! We were replacing entire sections, though, which IMO is easier than stopping a leak.

My DIY advice, having seen the scary results of DIY projects gone wrong is this: once you’ve done the research, follow directions exactly and don’t take shortcuts before you know what you’re doing! i.e. when you put down tile, YES you really need backer board so the tiles don’t crack. And if the plumbing book says glue PVC with primer first, THEN glue, DO THAT. (The people who had this house before us had “fixed” some plumbing with no primer, and guess what, it was leaking.)

By: Kellie

Kellie — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:32:28 +0000

Yea, I figured as much. It’s just something I didn’t notice before!! We make sure to gear up for the big stuff too….I even got DH some snazzy protective glasses that are like sunglasses. They worked great….until he was cutting wood indoors and was like “Why’s it so dark in here?” Um, Opps.
Sorry Honey! LOL!!
Nice to know we’re not the only ‘clueless’ folks out there. The internet is my friend….as well as this
http://www.amazon.com/Better-Homes-Gardens-Complete-Improvement/dp/069620469X
I love it!