Enough of COVID...what are you doing to the house? | Page 322 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Enough of COVID...what are you doing to the house?

Kitchen countertops measured and ordered. Custom cabinet measured and ordered. $1200 taxes in is a great price for both as our contractor passed on the unpadded price to us.

Sink delivered. Delta, lifetime warranty very, very nice. More than we wanted to pay but it’s the only one that had everything we required.

Faucet from Costco, professional style kitchen faucet at a deep discount from anywhere else. Vigo brand but apparently quite good, all brass innards, ceramic cartridge.

Backsplash chosen. Polished marble tiles on a mesh backer. Will need to seal them but as they are on the wall shouldn’t be too bad.

Cabinet hardware purchased (we happened to like the model in the bulk packs so that saved a bunch of cash)

Now…just waiting for some range hoods to go on sale and the budget reno will be on track. Contractor coming in under 2 months to resurface and epoxy paint the existing cabinets, route the hood to vent outside and do the backsplash.
 
Apparently we need a new sign for the house address ... because why not?
 
Not sure of the brand name used at the time but we bought one of those Costco pro-style Chinese faucets. Lasted about six years and then the hose separated from the body and good luck getting parts to fix it. I rigged it up with a hose clamp until our kitchen reno happens (only option I had other than full replacement). I will not go that route again. The valve was and has been solid (and still works well), the body to hose connection was a joke. For not much more money Costco lists a Kohler Semiprofessional in that same pro-style for what that is worth. Ot just get a good name brand one from somewhere else.

It is just not a place to cheap out IMO. False savings.
 
backmarkerducati said:
Not sure of the brand name used at the time but we bought one of those Costco pro-style Chinese faucets. Lasted about six years and then the hose separated from the body and good luck getting parts to fix it. I rigged it up with a hose clamp until our kitchen reno happens (only option I had other than full replacement). I will not go that route again. The valve was and has been solid (and still works well), the body to hose connection was a joke. For not much more money Costco lists a Kohler Semiprofessional in that same pro-style for what that is worth. Ot just get a good name brand one from somewhere else.

It is just not a place to cheap out IMO. False savings.
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I’ve been burnt before with bad faucets (some Pfister ones actually) and we looked at the Kohler (which is about the same price). So I did a fair bit of reading about the Vigo ones and they are actually semi decent (not top tier like Kohler) but not far off. This faucet itself is extremely solid and well built. If it seemed a bit flimsy it was going to be sent straight back to Costco and replaced with the Kohler.

This is a pretty honest account. Vigo Faucets: Best In-Depth Independent Review average to above average rating and the cartridges are fine according to that rundown.
 
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mimico_polak said:
Speaking of lights...I got photos of exterior lights that 'will definitely need to be upgraded with the new siding'...
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Add some electrical box extensions to your budget.

Pay close attention to colour temperature. Make everything outside the same temp or it will look like a hot mess. I like 2700, 3000 will do in a pinch. Lots of people like 4000 or 5000. I think 5000 looks awful. Sometimes it gets dictated by a light you really want that only comes in one temp.

Is the mud room/porch part of this project yet?
 
GreyGhost said:
Add some electrical box extensions to your budget.

Pay close attention to colour temperature. Make everything outside the same temp or it will look like a hot mess. I like 2700, 3000 will do in a pinch. Lots of people like 4000 or 5000. I think 5000 looks awful. Sometimes it gets dictated by a light you really want that only comes in one temp.

Is the mud room/porch part of this project yet?
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No. I cut that down for the time being as it's something that can easily be added later once budget allows for more. Plus 5k for drawings right now is a bit beyond my scope.

I'll wait until I pay down more of the mortgage and see how the cash flow situation is in 3 years once we're up for renewal.

So this one's a weird one...I called City of Mississauga for my original house plans, they said they only keep for 7 years and as it was built in the 50s...well good luck w/ that.

Anybody know how/where/who to contact in order to even start the search for original plans?
 
mimico_polak said:
No. I cut that down for the time being as it's something that can easily be added later once budget allows for more. Plus 5k for drawings right now is a bit beyond my scope.

I'll wait until I pay down more of the mortgage and see how the cash flow situation is in 3 years once we're up for renewal.

So this one's a weird one...I called City of Mississauga for my original house plans, they said they only keep for 7 years and as it was built in the 50s...well good luck w/ that.

Anybody know how/where/who to contact in order to even start the search for original plans?
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Gfl. I was able to get some plans from my municipality. I had to specifically ask for each plan but due to privacy reasons they couldnt tell me what they had. Grr. I managed to get a decent set by randomly guessing what they should have. IThey then blacked out any personal information on the drawings and sent them to me. I had to pay but cost was unknown until they were done. Cost wasnt bad in the end. I asked for permit drawings that I know they have as I saw reviewed drawings during home inspection but municipality they told me they didnt exist.

I got "as-built" drawings that bear some resemblance to what is here but there are many differences (especially mechanical which is barely related to what they built).

As for your plans, get out the laser and start drawing.
 
GreyGhost said:
Gfl. I was able to get some plans from my municipality. I had to specifically ask for each plan but due to privacy reasons they couldnt tell me what they had. Grr. I managed to get a decent set by randomly guessing what they should have. IThey then blacked out any personal information on the drawings and sent them to me. I had to pay but cost was unknown until they were done. Cost wasnt bad in the end. I asked for permit drawings that I know they have as I saw reviewed drawings during home inspection but municipality they told me they didnt exist.

I got "as-built" drawings that bear some resemblance to what is here but there are many differences (especially mechanical which is barely related to what they built).

As for your plans, get out the laser and start drawing.
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Ugh...that's what I thought. If I could even find the builder from the 50s I could start there...or an architect. But I don't see any reference within the house interior / exterior of that info.

Measuring and drawing is easy...but I was more curious about the structural bones of the house because (I'm over thinking it) I have an irrational fear of the entire wall of JH siding coming off with my brick/block.
 
mimico_polak said:
Ugh...that's what I thought. If I could even find the builder from the 50s I could start there...or an architect. But I don't see any reference within the house interior / exterior of that info.

Measuring and drawing is easy...but I was more curious about the structural bones of the house because (I'm over thinking it) I have an irrational fear of the entire wall of JH siding coming off with my brick/block.
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12" long hammer drill bit and a little finesse and it's easy enough to figure out the thickness and composition of everything in your wall. Shoot sprayfoam or mortar in the hole to close it up when your done and the ugliness will be hidden anyway. If you have an SDS max drill, I have bits you could use.
 
GreyGhost said:
12" long hammer drill bit and a little finesse and it's easy enough to figure out the thickness and composition of everything in your wall. Shoot sprayfoam or mortar in the hole to close it up when your done and the ugliness will be hidden anyway. If you have an SDS max drill, I have bits you could use.
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Thanks. Dad has a big *** Hilti drill for this exact purpose.
 
mimico_polak said:
Thanks. Dad has a big *** Hilti drill for this exact purpose.
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The upside to the drill is you get a good feel for how good (or not) each layer of masonry is in addition to knowing thickness. Drawings would never tell you that (at best they would tell you what the spec was but that could have been wrong from day one).
 
jc100 said:
I’ve been burnt before with bad faucets (some Pfister ones actually) and we looked at the Kohler (which is about the same price). So I did a fair bit of reading about the Vigo ones and they are actually semi decent (not top tier like Kohler) but not far off. This faucet itself is extremely solid and well built. If it seemed a bit flimsy it was going to be sent straight back to Costco and replaced with the Kohler.

This is a pretty honest account. Vigo Faucets: Best In-Depth Independent Review average to above average rating and the cartridges are fine according to that rundown.
Click to expand...
Hopefully you have better luck. For the record ours seemed super solid and had great reviews (which are all short term...) until it fell apart. Was even top mount (only water connections are done in the cabinet), everything else from the top.

If you had asked me the day before it broke...could not be fixed or warrantied, I would have said it was great.
 
jc100 said:
I’ve been burnt before with bad faucets (some Pfister ones actually) and we looked at the Kohler (which is about the same price). So I did a fair bit of reading about the Vigo ones and they are actually semi decent (not top tier like Kohler) but not far off. This faucet itself is extremely solid and well built. If it seemed a bit flimsy it was going to be sent straight back to Costco and replaced with the Kohler.

This is a pretty honest account. Vigo Faucets: Best In-Depth Independent Review average to above average rating and the cartridges are fine according to that rundown.
Click to expand...
FYI Kohler sold a big box stores isn't the same a Kohler sold at bath-kitchen centres or plumbing supply stores. Like many things these days.
 
mimico_polak said:
No. I cut that down for the time being as it's something that can easily be added later once budget allows for more. Plus 5k for drawings right now is a bit beyond my scope.

I'll wait until I pay down more of the mortgage and see how the cash flow situation is in 3 years once we're up for renewal.

So this one's a weird one...I called City of Mississauga for my original house plans, they said they only keep for 7 years and as it was built in the 50s...well good luck w/ that.

Anybody know how/where/who to contact in order to even start the search for original plans?
Click to expand...
Ask the neighbors. One of ours has the plans for all the houses on the street.
 
Baggsy said:
Ask the neighbors. One of ours has the plans for all the houses on the street.
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Damn. That's a goldmine. Some of our neighbours have been here since the beginning so they know the dirt (some builders went bankrupt during 2008 mess) but nobody has plans (or names of builders or anything else).
 
GreyGhost said:
Replaced some some lights in the kids play room/workout room. It had one boob light (that ate two bulbs a year) and two CFL fixtures. One of the cfl bulbs burned out so it was time the throw everything out. Wanted to find 2700k but that was almost impossible without also having stupid tricks based on the light switch. Turn on/off twice to change colour temp or activate a nightlight. Boo. No way three fixtures will stay synched so not interested in any of those. Found some with a physical colour temp switch but sadly 3000k is their low point. 28 watts each so they are reasonably bright though. Wife is happy. As expected, the last time they painted the ceiling, they were too lazy to drop the lights.

Need to replace a bunch more boob lights in the basement. Led bulbs dont last long in them. We'll see how these hold up before I buy more.
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I had some tricky problem like that. I installed multi way wireless switches in the wall, and Sonoff switches in the boxes. The wall switches trigger scenes that hit the Sonoff switches.
20230322_184346.jpg

The one above is in my bedroom, the top is for the rooms light, the bottom triggers a scene that shuts off every light and wall socket in the house.
The 3way below has no connections to lights, just wifi and programming. It controls the 3 lights on the bottom pic, those are brightness controlled thru on/off toggling.

20230322_184704.jpg

20230322_184445.jpg
 
backmarkerducati said:
Not sure of the brand name used at the time but we bought one of those Costco pro-style Chinese faucets. Lasted about six years and then the hose separated from the body and good luck getting parts to fix it. I rigged it up with a hose clamp until our kitchen reno happens (only option I had other than full replacement). I will not go that route again. The valve was and has been solid (and still works well), the body to hose connection was a joke. For not much more money Costco lists a Kohler Semiprofessional in that same pro-style for what that is worth. Ot just get a good name brand one from somewhere else.

It is just not a place to cheap out IMO. False savings.
Click to expand...
Me too, beauty Costco Chinesium. My kid runs a huge plumbing supply, parts unobtanium, so it had to come out. Changing it out was a bear, the machined column was brass plate over steel, the locknut was fused and had to be surgically removed with a Zip wheel.

Real American brass is in there now.
 
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Mad Mike said:
Me too, beauty Costco Chinesium. My kid runs a huge plumbing supply, parts unobtanium, so it had to come out. Changing it out was a bear, the machined column was brass plate over steel, the lockout was fused and had to be surgically removed with a Zip wheel.

Real American brass is in there now.
Click to expand...

I’m aware that many reviews can be bought these days but there were 1400+ 4*+ reviews for this particular faucet. Time will tell. It’s also Costco so back it goes if not satisfied.
 
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