Today's home improvement tip from GOPisEvil.

When replacing a bathroom sink and fixture on a budget, make sure the new sink DOES NOT have anything other than 4-inch centers for the faucet. If you fail to heed this advice, you will the cheapest option for a new faucet at about $100. If you DO heed this advice, you can get a nice faucet with lifetime warranty and all for well under $50.

My budget sink was only $34. The faucet was $99. Oh well. It will look good once it's installed (after the painting in there is done).

I'll remember that for when I'm 30-something and remodeling my faux-bathroom with my imaginary partner. :crazy:

I do have a temporary roommate however. He is helping.

When choosing your new tub/shower be sure the drain is in the corresponding location to your existing drain. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen that mistake made.

I hate those plastic things I have! x( Thanks for the tip!

:hi:

The plastic ones sometimes develop cracks that can leak and cause mold damage or worse. Keep an eye on them until you're able to replace them. :)

I hesistate to think how long it was cracked before I bought this house. :scared:

If it didn't it was probably not too old. When you do get a chance to replace the tub if you see mold kill it with some bleach. If it was a small crack I doubt it did too much damage.

I exaggerate for effect. :-)

But those tubs STILL have to go! I replaced the PLASTIC sink with a porcelain again today. The PLASTIC tubs are next. It's not like the porcelain ones cost a million bucks, why the hell do builders put those fakeroonie tubs in houses? Meh!

I would kill one of those things in a jiffy. I'm somehow really tough on my faucets.

Builders only have to warranty for one year and the plastic stuff usually outlast their warranty. I guess that's really all they care about.

:7

If I were having a house built, I would personally select things like bathroom fixtures. Of course, I'll have a house built for me at about the time the next ice age starts, so I don't have to sweat it. :D

Edit - left out a word.

2 cans of spray foam insulation applied to the underside of a plastic shower pan prior to installation will strengthen it.

Make sure your partner knows what he or she is doing before they get happy with a sledgehammer and take down a wall. Because that electrical stuff can be more complicated than you think.

That is all.

Oh and my daughter wants to get rid of her bunk bed and get a regular full sized bed with a headboard. Well all the headboards she wants are too expensive, so I had an idea: I'm gonna buy a section of wood fence (six foot high), paint it white, then use stencils to paint on designs in blue and green (what her room colors will be), then put little white hooks here and there way up high on the fence portion (which is a headboard) to hang all her cute little purses. The purses can hold things and can be moved around to change the look. Or she can hang different things there. The hooks will be high enough not to be near her.

And I'm going to find some fabric and do a padded section on the fence portion down where the head of the bed will be and attach it. I will probably have to attach this fence headboard to the wall somehow.

Does that sound cool?

I've seen people use wrought iron gates for headboards, so fencing is not a bad idea. Now, after all this painting, stenciling, hook-hanging, fabricing and padding, will you still pay less than a pre-made headboard? Even if you aren't, yours will be original, which is cool.

The piece of fence is $38, I've already got the white paint, and we're getting the blue and green paint anyway for the walls (two walls blue, two walls green) and the hooks, fabric and batting are cheap. I'll use my staple gun to attach the fabric to the back side of the fence (stretch it out across the front and the batting).

I'm thinking it'll be very girly-bordering-on-being-a-teenager chic. Hey I'll post a pic when I have it done! You post a pic of the bathroom when it's done! Did you take a before picture?

Dog-eared? Pointy?

Just your basic standard section of six foot wood fence you can get at Lowe's (BUT NOT AT HOME DEPOT THOSE BASTAGES).

I think both Lowe's and HD are bastiges, but I still shop at both places. I tried the local hardware store, and after 10 minutes of walking around, with no assistance from staff, I left.

So...I have fed the beast in the last couple of days. Sigh.

I bought cheap 1x3 yellow pine and dog eared the tops. I painted it and screwed it to the walls. She added little bird houses to it to go with her daughters room. It came out cute and was fast and simple.

my daughter's bed. It was a section of white picket fence that I had picked up salvage. I just sanded lightly and whitewashed it, then attached it to the wall itself. It was pretty easy.
I also notice that many of the headboards now are pretty simple but usually padded. I am thinking about buying some plywood, bunting and some fabric and making a new headboard for my bed. Most of the styles I have looked at are a basic shape, no wood details-so it would be really easy for me to pad the wood and stretch the fabric across it.

Group?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=287


lots of us go there for Home improvement hints and suggestions.

Even if you're on a budget, don't skimp on paint. You can get some crapola-in-a-can at home depot for $17, but it's money well spent to get the Benjamin Moore for $35. It covers better, goes on better, stays on better, cleans better, etc. Two coats of expensive paint is like 3 or 4 coats of the cheap stuff.

For bathrooms and high-humidity rooms, I use oil-based paint. It's very expensive ($45+ per gallon) and a little more difficult to work with, but it won't peel off the walls like regular paint will.

I just painted my bathroom. The original paint job was holding up okay but it's been over six years and I thought it was just due for another coat.

divorce. You're going to make a fine ex-husband.

Your repairs will look a better to you if you use a quality gin while working, instead of the cheap shit. Use good paint, use good fixtures, use good tools, and use good gin.