The DIY thread - DIYourself

Lesson learned changing a ceiling light fixture. Had the house 15 years, figued out with an eye opening moment that someone decided to switch the neutral and not the hot. WTF. Usually i throw the breaker and i check with pen tester if nothing else but was lazy, flipped the light switch not the breaker.....hell I've had the house 15 years and had been through everything (I thought). Anyway, light looks good and we are switching the hot .....now.
 
Fat Trout said:
Lesson learned changing a ceiling light fixture. Had the house 15 years, figued out with an eye opening moment that someone decided to switch the neutral and not the hot. WTF. Usually i throw the breaker and i check with pen tester if nothing else but was lazy, flipped the light switch not the breaker.....hell I've had the house 15 years and had been through everything (I thought). Anyway, light looks good and we are switching the hot .....now.
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bzzzt!

the switched neutral happens when a single 14-2 is used from the fixture to the switch - it should be wrapped with black tape to indicate it is hot.
although with the switch off, the neutral should be ded. doesn't sound like this was the situation.
 
Floor decisions. Have to decide on what to use for subfloor. Installing electric radiant heating pads in part of the floor, and the floor will likely need some leveling. Previous installation was 16x16 tile on thinset on 1/2” cement board and then thinset on original plank floor (and some 1/4” plywood in places). Floor felt solid without any squeaks but was cracked in three places since they layed the cement board seams right on top of the plank seams. Feel like I should use concrete leveler and at least a layer of plywood. And maybe the heating pads above the plywood, then the concrete board. Adjoining wood flooring is 1 1/2” above the planks. New tile will either be 4x8 in herringbone or 8” hexagon. Definitely not my wheelhouse. C29BC5E6-80F6-4EFB-8FB9-C4523AFA659D.jpeg
 
Jmann said:
Floor decisions. Have to decide on what to use for subfloor. Installing electric radiant heating pads in part of the floor, and the floor will likely need some leveling. Previous installation was 16x16 tile on thinset on 1/2” cement board and then thinset on original plank floor (and some 1/4” plywood in places). Floor felt solid without any squeaks but was cracked in three places since they layed the cement board seams right on top of the plank seams. Feel like I should use concrete leveler and at least a layer of plywood. And maybe the heating pads above the plywood, then the concrete board. Adjoining wood flooring is 1 1/2” above the planks. New tile will either be 4x8 in herringbone or 8” hexagon. Definitely not my wheelhouse. View attachment 70738
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tear out all of the subfloor, install structural warmboard, a layer of ditra, and tile right over it. this will give you a hydronic heated floor solution that will not require any additional heat, and minimal height increase. you may need to twin up the joists to form a level plane for the warmboard, but that is easy.

i have the install kit, and necessary router and drill bits if you go this way - welcome to borrow them. Good project!
 
fidodie said:
tear out all of the subfloor, install structural warmboard, a layer of ditra, and tile right over it. this will give you a hydronic heated floor solution that will not require any additional heat, and minimal height increase. you may need to twin up the joists to form a level plane for the warmboard, but that is easy.

i have the install kit, and necessary router and drill bits if you go this way - welcome to borrow them. Good project!
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Thanks. We have steam heat so the hydronic warmboard would require a lot more work. I’m just learning about ditra and they also have a heated option. Any radiant heating we install would be more of an added feature as there is already a radiator in the room (and may get a mini split in the near future if I end up doing my sunroom and attic).

The ditra is pretty cool though, I might be able to do 3/4 plywood and ditra and be really solid and still maintain a low profile. I have about 1/3 of the tile left to get up to see the overall health of the plank subfloor.
 
fidodie said:
tear out all of the subfloor, install structural warmboard, a layer of ditra, and tile right over it. this will give you a hydronic heated floor solution that will not require any additional heat, and minimal height increase. you may need to twin up the joists to form a level plane for the warmboard, but that is easy.

i have the install kit, and necessary router and drill bits if you go this way - welcome to borrow them. Good project!
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How thick would end up be the structural warmboard + ditra + tiles once installed ? It would very much fit yet another project for real money pit (my house).
 
serviceguy said:
How thick would end up be the structural warmboard + ditra + tiles once installed ? It would very much fit yet another project for real money pit (my house).
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1-1/8 for warmboard-s, 1/8 for ditra, 3/8 for good tile + mortar, bit more than 1-3/4 off the joists -
@ktmrider, what say you?

i can take a picture of the bathroom saddle where i did this.
 
The section of the floor I maybe interested in doing already has a subfloor (23/32" Plywood) and should be matching the adjacent section that has been tiled using an additional 1/2" plywood layer (not sure why, when I ask the contractor he replied 'because the owner is particular, never mind I never asked for it), hardy baker board then thin set and tiles. I was wondering if removing the current 23/32" plywood subfloor would allow me to match the structural warm board to the existing floor maybe playing with the mortar thickness...also, is there any chance you could actually build your own board using a router and aluminum sheet ?
 
serviceguy said:
The section of the floor I maybe interested in doing already has a subfloor (23/32" Plywood) and should be matching the adjacent section that has been tiled using an additional 1/2" plywood layer (not sure why, when I ask the contractor he replied 'because the owner is particular, never mind I never asked for it), hardy baker board then thin set and tiles. I was wondering if removing the current 23/32" plywood subfloor would allow me to match the structural warm board to the existing floor maybe playing with the mortar thickness...also, is there any chance you could actually build your own board using a router and aluminum sheet ?
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The second sheet of plywood keeps the tile from cracking - somewhat performs like ditra. it should be run in the opposite direction, and not fastened to the joists, so it can move independently. hardibacker provides the same function in a wet area.

i wouldn't try to build up mortar above 1/8" - just use self-leveler, and pour it. a bit of feathering might be necessary at the junction to get it to transition smoothly.
just don't be high!!! :D

you could probably get a roll of annealed aluminum and form it into the straights. isn't hydronic out, because it would require replacing your hw heater, or a hw zone?
 
But would you use both the second layer of plywood and hardy baker on the same floor as our contractor did? The room currently has baseboards on two sides, which is fine even if old, we want to take that out in that area to replace a window with a sliding door. Does the radiant section have to be on a separated zone from the rest of the system? Our new heating system already has one of those multiple zones controller. Need to do more research.
 
serviceguy said:
But would you use both the second layer of plywood and hardy baker on the same floor as our contractor did? The room currently has baseboards on two sides, which is fine even if old, we want to take that out in that area to replace a window with a sliding door. Does the radiant section have to be on a separated zone from the rest of the system? Our new heating system already has one of those multiple zones controller. Need to do more research.
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radiant runs at a lower temp, and the thermostats has air and floor sensors - so the answer is
yes, it needs its own zone, and a mixing valve (it mixes return water with hot from boiler), but it can be done with the current pump and zone valves.

only would add another layer if trying to achieve a certain height. if trying to get rid of floor flex, ya gotta twin up the joists or add a beam - which is a good choice in many homes.

one question is will the floor keep up with the room on the coldest days. The answer is to leave the baseboards on their own zone, and
have a thermostat that can call for second stage heat if the temps fall below a second low.....
 
are there good sources other than CL for second hand building materials?
We're close to getting a rental property which needs work. Looking for good kitchen cabinets and solid doors and don't want to spend a ton.
 
I have never gone there but i spent a few years doing Habitat for Humanity build days as part of a work event, and i know they have 2nd hand stores around NJ for all kinds of stuff:

Double win since you recycle decent stuff and the money they make goes back into the program for people who are in hard times and can't get a decent home:

https://www.habitat.org/restores
 
iman29 said:
I have never gone there but i spent a few years doing Habitat for Humanity build days as part of a work event, and i know they have 2nd hand stores around NJ for all kinds of stuff:

Double win since you recycle decent stuff and the money they make goes back into the program for people who are in hard times and can't get a decent home:

https://www.habitat.org/restores
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Cool. I didn’t know about those stores. I have a bunch of stuff I could donate.
 
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