The New, Improved Home Improvement Thread

[Doohicksie]

Wanna see my new kitchen?

It just came in today from IKEA.  With some assembly it should look like this:

Before I put in the cabinets though I need to remove the old ones, probably do some repair of the floorboards under the sink, extend the plank flooring I put in 4 years ago all the way to the walls, cut out the backsplash and put in new sheetrock because we're re-doing the backsplash too.  Then... the cabinets. 

I didn't want to start the other stuff until the IKEA got here though.

[GASabresIUFAN]

I hope you have help.

[JKB1646]

Hope you don’t plan on staying there long.

[matter2003]

No way I could do all this myself. I'm illiterate when it comes to that stuff...

 

[Indabuff]

37 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

No way I could do all this myself. I'm illiterate when it comes to that stuff...

 

Me either, all those boxes are giving me anxiety.  

[Scottysabres]

Easy peasy

[Sabres Fan in NS]

*some assembly*

LOL !!

 

Don't yous dare to attempt that with your wife.  You need your @Spoonman !!  Yup, indeed !!

[JohnC]

8 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Wanna see my new kitchen?

It just came in today from IKEA.  With some assembly it should look like this:

Before I put in the cabinets though I need to remove the old ones, probably do some repair of the floorboards under the sink, extend the plank flooring I put in 4 years ago all the way to the walls, cut out the backsplash and put in new sheetrock because we're re-doing the backsplash too.  Then... the cabinets. 

I didn't want to start the other stuff until the IKEA got here though.

Are you mostly doing the work by yourself? If so, I'm impressed. I'm incapable of hammering in a nail without mangling my fingers. When it comes to manual labor I'm an incompetent smuck! 

[North Buffalo]

I could do it but IKea direction drive me to distraction... always miss a step and have to go back and redo... grr

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

Are you mostly doing the work by yourself? If so, I'm impressed. I'm incapable of hammering in a nail without mangling my fingers. When it comes to manual labor I'm an incompetent smuck! 

Me and my sons.  This is a good excuse to buy new tools.  🙂

[Doohicksie]

53 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

I could do it but IKea direction drive me to distraction... always miss a step and have to go back and redo... grr

I put this one in previously.  It's the one you see from the backside in the plan:

And I took some online courses at the University of YouTube.  This guy makes particularly good videos:

 

[Pimlach]

11 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Wanna see my new kitchen?

It just came in today from IKEA.  With some assembly it should look like this:

Before I put in the cabinets though I need to remove the old ones, probably do some repair of the floorboards under the sink, extend the plank flooring I put in 4 years ago all the way to the walls, cut out the backsplash and put in new sheetrock because we're re-doing the backsplash too.  Then... the cabinets. 

I didn't want to start the other stuff until the IKEA got here though.

You seem to be handy.   No more big projects like this for me, I will help my sons with their houses but they do the bull work.  I provide the experience and finesse and try to keep them from cutting the wrong corners.   LOL.  

I would consider building all the cabinets first and doing a trial install.  Do not expect your walls and corners to be true, so you typically install the cabinets first, use shims to get them both level and plumb side to side and front to back. Then do the backsplash last - assuming tile.  Then add cabinet trim pieces to cover the seams and any gaps to the walls and ceiling.  

My experience with IKEA is limited to storage projects and shelving for my vast vintage audio equipment and record collection --- you have to be careful building them as you can weaken a joint if you don't have good alignment when fastening.  I used extra bracing on certain non-visible joints that would carry a big load.  Think about the load distribution both down and lateral.   If you do a trial install you will be glad you added extra bracing.  

Good luck with your project.  Keep us updated.  

[Doohicksie]

Yep, all good advice.  I bought a new cordless drill/driver with adjustable max torque so that should prevent damage to over torquing.  The side-to-side leveling is largely taken care of by the mounting system:  A rail mounts to the wall and the cabinets mount to the rail.  If you make the rail level, the cabinets will be level. Then front-to-back level is done with the adjustable legs on the front of the cabinets.

The video I posted provides a ton of tips for the build:  Build all the cabinet shells first, then mount them, then level them, then put in all the innards at the end.

[RangerDave]

I can help you with the demo part of the project!  I'm really good at demolition!  😈

[Taro T]

Anybody else read the title of this thread and expect it's going to be about ideas for how to win more games in the MMArena?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pimlach]

5 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Yep, all good advice.  I bought a new cordless drill/driver with adjustable max torque so that should prevent damage to over torquing.  The side-to-side leveling is largely taken care of by the mounting system:  A rail mounts to the wall and the cabinets mount to the rail.  If you make the rail level, the cabinets will be level. Then front-to-back level is done with the adjustable legs on the front of the cabinets.

The video I posted provides a ton of tips for the build:  Build all the cabinet shells first, then mount them, then level them, then put in all the innards at the end.

Excellent.  Still be careful with the power drill/driver, set the adjustable torque low to start and don't get greedy with he speed (from my own experience). The mounting rails should help a lot and really eases the handling aspect, which is huge.  Put on the rails and square 'em up.  

 

[shrader]

My home improvement went off the rails today. I was replacing the fill valve and flapper in a toilet. I didn’t notice that the washer fell out of the connector to the water line. So when I turned that back on water was spraying everywhere. Then when I put the new flapper on, the plastic connection snapped and I had to run out and buy another one.  

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, RangerDave said:

I can help you with the demo part of the project!  I'm really good at demolition!  😈

The trick is to just demo the stuff that's going to be replaced and NOT the stuff that's supposed to stay, you know, like the gas line, the plumbing, etc.  Today I learned that the old cabinets were built in place and need to be disassembled to remove them.  This is gonna take longer than I thought.

 

 

2 hours ago, shrader said:

My home improvement went off the rails today. I was replacing the fill valve and flapper in a toilet. I didn’t notice that the washer fell out of the connector to the water line. So when I turned that back on water was spraying everywhere. Then when I put the new flapper on, the plastic connection snapped and I had to run out and buy another one.  

I can almost here you cussin' from here!

[Sabres Fan in NS]

@Taro T with the huge blank space sytem issue, eh.

[Doohicksie]

41 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

@Taro T with the huge blank space sytem issue, eh.

I wish I had that much blank space in my kitchen.  Just sayin'.

[sabills]

On 2/25/2023 at 11:03 AM, Doohickie said:

Me and my sons.  This is a good excuse to buy new tools.  🙂

My wife and I have been renovating our home for the last 2 years (it was a forclosure that had been a rental for many years. Not horrible shape, but just ugly), with major help from my FIL. I think the main reason he's helped is that he gets to buy all sorts of new toys. Which is great, because then I get to BORROW said toys. 

[Weave]

51 minutes ago, sabills said:

My wife and I have been renovating our home for the last 2 years (it was a forclosure that had been a rental for many years. Not horrible shape, but just ugly), with major help from my FIL. I think the main reason he's helped is that he gets to buy all sorts of new toys. Which is great, because then I get to BORROW said toys. 

Funny.  My son bought a house that was a flipped foreclosure.  Now I am buying new toys just so he can borrow them.

[nfreeman]

This a minor item, but I've used toggle bolts recently to fix a loose towel bar and TP holder in a bathroom, and in both spots they have worked fantastically well.

[Doohicksie]

My son came over Saturday to help with the demolition.  Productive, destructive lad:

 

Together we got all the upper cabinets down.

[Doohicksie]

We have to get the rest of the lowers out... the sink cabinet will be tricky because I have plumbing feeds coming up from below and going into the wall (for the outdoor faucet).

Then we will replace the drywall where the backsplash tile is.  We will replace it with new tile after we get the cabinets up.  This is the pattern we've got picked out.