Home Improvement/Repair Questions

[knight1fox3]

Looking for a drill and driver kit for the new Dewalt cordless drills I got for Xmas. I've narrowed it down to these (2):

http://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-100-Piece-drilling-driving/dp/B00692T2ZW/ref=sr_1_6?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1422917850&sr=1-6&keywords=drill+kit

Craftsman made in China? :huh:

http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW2583-Heavy-Duty-Container-Accessory/dp/B000VRCYWY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422977374&sr=8-1&keywords=DW2583

The Dewalt kit is nice but the reviews say the case is unnecessarily huge.

Any comments or other recommendations?

 

[mudpuppy]

^My advice is unless you're using the stuff on a daily basis and/or need true precision, go to Harbor Freight and get the cheapest Chinese stuff you can find. If it breaks you can get another one (or two or three) for less than the price of a single good quality one.

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

For general purpose, the cheap stuff works just fine. When you need to do very specific/precision drilling, go with the expensive stuff.

 

[Road Guy]

Buy Quality, Buy once, have forever.

I have a similar Dewalt set (even though I am not a huge fan of Dewalt tools) but I have a split set (bits and drivers and such) had 20+ years.. gone through a few of the larger size bits when drilling holes through trailers and other thicker metals, its not really meant for that but it will get you buy..

this summer I am looking to build some plywood cabinets (as a base) with some shelving above for storage along the side of my garage. Anyone come across some decent plywood cabinet plans? I cant really seem to find a whole lot out there..

Also I am thinking of using some galvanized pipe for the shelves(instead of 2 X 4's) as supports (above the base cabinets if you can envision) and then cut some 1/2 in plywood for the shelves...

I saw this on one of those home improvement shows and it looked nice, what I Like about it is it makes it a little easier to disassemble and move say in the event I move in a few years, whereas 2X4's tend to become permanent fixtures. a 8' section of pipe runs about the same as a 2X4 does these days...

 

[Supe]

Harbor Freight drill bits are not worth the cost, even if they give them away for free, and I'm a huge proponent of stuff from HF. I have a set of Dewalt bits, and they hold a point, flex very little, and have been generally very reliable.

Most Crapsman stuff is made in China anymore.

 

[Supe]

Tile backsplash - When removing existing tile for a kitchen backsplash, is is acceptable to mud the existing drywall as a substrate and re-tile over that, or is it mandatory to cut out that drywall and replace with a fresh hardiboard?  

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

I believe you can just re-mud it.

 

[Road Guy]

yes, so long as you can remove the old one and keep the "paper" part intact?

we tried using the old sheetrock but when we removed the existing tile most of the sheetrock came off so we used the thinner "wonderboard" and ended up removing all the old sheetrock- probably my demolition method

 

[Supe]

That's the question.  In most cases, I think the paper face comes off in a lot of areas.  That said, I've patched drywall where the paper was torn, I just used a razor to clean the edges up and went to town, just didn't know if it would create problems with fresh tile adhering.  

The reason I lean towards reusing it is because the backsplash comes right up to the cabinets and countertops, and there's no way to mud and tape to blend with a fresh piece without removing it.  You'd inevitably end up with some sort of visible seam.  

 

[MA_PE]

Are the cabinets hung units or custom?  If they are hung, it might be easier to pull the cabinets, refurbish the backsplash and then  rehang them.

 

[knight1fox3]

Are the cabinets hung units or custom?  If they are hung, it might be easier to pull the cabinets, refurbish the backsplash and then  rehang them.

Heh heh.... @csb

 

[csb]

I prefer naturally hung units. 

 

[Road Guy]

That's the question.  In most cases, I think the paper face comes off in a lot of areas.  That said, I've patched drywall where the paper was torn, I just used a razor to clean the edges up and went to town, just didn't know if it would create problems with fresh tile adhering.  

The reason I lean towards reusing it is because the backsplash comes right up to the cabinets and countertops, and there's no way to mud and tape to blend with a fresh piece without removing it.  You'd inevitably end up with some sort of visible seam.  

what I had to do was leave the sheetrock in place where the cabinets end and then transition (about a foot before the cabinet / counter ended) you can get the wonder board to match, or you can reinstall new sheetrock-note you don't have to mud & tape the sheetrock if your using it just for tile

 

[Supe]

I just think I would have to get really creative with grout or caulk to hide the transition in spots.  Guess I can figure it out as I go.  MA - they're hung cabinets, but taking them down would be a biiiiiiiitch.  I'm not even pulling them down to paint when the time comes, only the doors.  

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

With some planning, you can set the sheetrock seams to line up with the edges of the new tile backspash and then not have to worry about blending/matching. (assuming you're covering the entire area with tile)

 

[Road Guy]

maybe I need to see a picture? I thought your were worried about the vertical seam?

you should be able to cut it down to the counter or top of the backsplash and make it work, just use some of that blue painters tape and cover the counter top (backsplash) and then grout it like normal, maybe use a little stiffer grout on it.  (that's what I did) 

I don't have a pic, but the wife changed her mind on our bar backsplash after I started and had to change it out, I fucked up the sheetrock and had to cut it all out and then put wonder board back (mainly cause I had some laying around)   see the basement finish thread if you can find it

 

[goodal]

So weird.  We talked about this today at lunch.  I've got two small tile projects going at home.  One is above our shower and the other at the back door.  I'm using concrete board for both, but both are a little different than a backsplash.

 

[Supe]

maybe I need to see a picture? I thought your were worried about the vertical seam?

you should be able to cut it down to the counter or top of the backsplash and make it work, just use some of that blue painters tape and cover the counter top (backsplash) and then grout it like normal, maybe use a little stiffer grout on it.  (that's what I did) 

I don't have a pic, but the wife changed her mind on our bar backsplash after I started and had to change it out, I fucked up the sheetrock and had to cut it all out and then put wonder board back (mainly cause I had some laying around)   see the basement finish thread if you can find it

It's the horizontal seam.  Stone butts right up the cabinet in spots.  I can probably fudge it if I did it like you said, which is grout it up to the backsplash and the cabinet lips.  

While we're at it, any thoughts on converting a standard open/close window to a sealed fixed window?  I want to yank out the soaker tub in the master bath and do a big tiled walk-in shower there.  However, there is a slider window on the right hand side that would have to be swapped over to a fixed window (presumably glass block).  Maybe I can replace with a new vinyl window and PVC trim, but the prospect of water intrusion/rot scares me to death. 

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

For the window, the only thought would be egress to meet fire code? Typically that only applies to "living" areas (bedrooms, living room), but it may apply to your house based on it's configuration.

 

[Supe]

Two windows already in the adjoining bedroom, so I shouldn't need to worry about the bathroom any more than the garage or laundry room not having windows.  Also, bathroom on the other side is on an interior wall and has nothing either.