Re: House Projects
 

So the kitchen is basically done. Just need to paint the little wall. That won't get done for awhile though because I'll do it when I paint the whole level.

You will notice there's a huge chunk of area that is missing carpet now. That will be getting carpet when I re-carpet the whole level this spring!!

Re: House Projects
 

Looks nice.

Re: House Projects
 

I've done dick with my house for the last year, went crazy! The weekend before thanksgiving we picked up a new king size euro-top bed for makin sweet sweet love on, re-arranged a bunch of stuff in the bedroom.

Last weekend we ended up re-insulating our attic (perfect timing!) and it worked out pretty awesome! $240 worth of insulation, face masks, and eye protection at Home Depot, free blower rental. Three people loading the hopper/blower outside and Rosey and me up in the attic at the other end of the 100' hose. Sprayed for about 3 hours straight, added 8-12" and brought the whole attic up to between R38 and R49 standards. Overall I'm SUPER pleased, I've noticed a difference already.

Oh, also cost me some beers and meals, taking care of my helpers :) My parents paid someone $.99/sq foot to get this done this spring. 1000 sq foot house (attic area) is pretty typical, plus they charge cost of materials on top of that. So I got mine done for ~$300 and they paid $1350. Ouch.


During prep for the insulation project, I managed to get some time in on this tv project at the same time. Got a new 40" LCD for the living room and moved my old 32" samsung lcd into the bedroom.

I WAS going to wire power from the attic down into the wall, but my house is pretty old (1913) and has undergone some changes through the years. Half of the current master bedroom used to be a porch or deck (please note the kink in the wall to the left of where I'm mounting the TV in the following pics), and getting any wiring into the walls turned out to be a nightmare. So, I ended up going with this kit:
http://www.mycablemart.com/store/car..._detail&p=1448
https://www.mycablemart.com/store/im...1448_large.jpg

For anyone else doing this, get some new single-gang boxes as the ones that come in the kit are garbage! Also the extension cord that comes with it is way too meaty imho; I used my own for a bit lower-profile. Mycablemart.com is awesome since its local, I picked it up the same day I ordered it :)

http://www.scheides.com/albums/bedro...1500.sized.jpg

http://www.scheides.com/albums/bedro...1506.sized.jpg

Also went with this mount from monoprice. ~$21 shipped, best deal ever, comes with built-in level (which I verified):
http://www.scheides.com/albums/bedro...1510.sized.jpg

http://www.scheides.com/albums/bedro...1508.sized.jpg

And here it is all installed!
http://www.scheides.com/albums/bedro...1511.sized.jpg

http://www.scheides.com/albums/bedro...1512.sized.jpg

Sooner or later I'll pick up a HD cable box and a nice long hdmi cable and set the box over on the dresser. There might be room to mount it behind the tv, not sure.

Bedroom project is about 90% done, going to get a dressing table and mirror from ikea for anna to do her hair/makeup at. Prolly a stool and some lighting to go with it, I'm sure I'll end up spending another $250 pretty quick on that last part of this project.

Re: House Projects
 

Lookin good! what is that box on the floor under the tv for?

Re: House Projects
 

Basically its an extension cord that runs behind the wall.

I couldn't actually get power to the outlet behind the TV, so I used the kit I linked above. You take your average extension cord, plug one end into an outlet somewhere, or power strip. Then plug the other end into the outlet beneath the TV (it has a male plug on it). It then supplies power to the normal outlet that is behind the tv mount.

It's a *bit* goofy but it's clean, meets code, and also has the low-voltage ducts to run media cables (gotta get coax, hdmi, or something to watch on the thing up there!) through as well. Given the way my house was built, it was my only option. If someone were less handy with wiring electrical and had a normal drywall, this kit would be a freaking breeze to install and you wouldn't have to hire an electrician to do it.

Re: House Projects
 

Ahhh ok nice! That makes sense. You couldnt run any new wires from the basement up that wall? Im guessing the walls are stucco and arent hollow 2X4 style.

Re: House Projects
 

even so, how are you getting the cable to the back of the box you installed behind the tv? run it through the wall. I wouldn't think this is any more difficult then running wire through the wall, and cutting out a square for a box and wiring it up! Am I missing something here?

Re: House Projects
 

Looks good!

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Nope the outside walls are off-set from the foundation slightly (on purpose). Yes they're hollow but there's 2-3 layers of different kinds of sheetrock on top of old wood paneling and nothing is consistent, horizontal 2x4's in random spots (old railing/window framing?) etc etc etc. I promise, I would have just wired it directly if I could have. :)

Re: House Projects
 

Getting through various parts of the wall is possible but really not the problem. Getting power, cable, cat5 etc into said wall from the attic or basement is basically impossible. THAT is the problem :) Unless of course, I were to simply run the wires on the outside of the house!

Re: House Projects
 

Hey now, NOTHING is impossible, you just gotta believe, and trust your skillz!

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Maybe not impossible, but not worth the hours of headache when this setup works just fine..

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Ya, these pics are with the big plug on the bottom too, I put a smaller cord on it that drapes really nicely down and hugs the wall, no big plug on the end of it. I got up last night in the dark, walked past, no tripping, no eye stabbing, no massive bloody head, etc. All good. :)

Re: House Projects
 

Cant wait to purchase a house. First order of business is going to be tearing down sheetrock in one room for a dedicated home theater wiring. Placing power and network/video/audio cables exactly where i want them. putting up new sheetrock and recessed area for projector. It sounds like lots of fun.

Re: House Projects
 

Looking good man! House projects are quite fun. I have yet to get my carpet replaced though. I have my quote, just gotta pick a day for them to come out and do it!

Re: House Projects
 

lol are you even tall enough to be able to hit your head on it? haha



:TVsurf:

Re: House Projects
 

I was trying to find this thread and now that I did Ill post up my work. I dont have too many photos yet but I have done alot since buying my house early this year. New roof, carpet upstairs, all appliances, hardwood floor in the kitchen dining and entry, and recently put in new carpet in the upstairs family room as well as down in the lower living room 2 weekends ago. Also I put tile in the upstairs bathroom and around the wet bar as well as in the entire laundry/utility room and into the basement hall. The best room is going to take a while but that is converting the basement room into a theater. I have already taken down the previous door and moved it to a different wall and next is to put up a dividing wall to separate the entry from the seating area. After that, I will be building a 8" platform for the rear seating and put down black granite floor in the entrance to the room. More info and photos to come.

Re: House Projects
 

Granite?

http://downlowflow.com/external/xang...ics/ballin.jpg

Re: House Projects
 

Ohh Shit!

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I don't have any good before pics right now, but I know they are somewhere in this thread. I can just find some later and put them up too.

But anyhow, I have been working more on my "main level" project. I did the kitchen hard wood floor that I showed a little earlier. No I'm working on the rest. The carpet is just aweful in my house, so I've decided it's time to upgrade. I have about 70% of the old carpet removed. My cousins husband ordered me up some new Frizie style carpet that I'll be getting that I really like. So hopefully that'll be installed in the next week or so. But for now I laid some tile right in front of the sliding deck door. It used to be carpet right there, but thought since I'm getting nice new carpet, I'd put tile at this entry here to prevent people from coming in and out and getting the carpet all dirty with their shoes. So now there's a nice little landing there! Me and my cousin did this in about 2 hrs. We were real happy with how quick and easy it went, and how well it all fit together. It'll dry over night and I will grout it in the next few days. Just gotta figure out which grout to go with. Might just use the same grout I used in the entry way.

OK sorry for rambling, here's some pics. Don't mind the mess out on the deck, that's all the carpet i ripped out, ha.