Topic: What you Buy or DIY show off thread

[Fobroader]

You guys are crazy with these high end appliances.  I learned awhile ago going cheap and basic is the best way.  You can still get energy efficient, but they aren’t “pretty” or have Bluetooth and Wifi and god knows what other features.  Top load washer, range with a coil top, and eventually a fridge that is fully white and old school setup with fridge on bottom and freezer on top. 

All of our basic appliances over the years have vastly outlasted with fewer issues than any of our more higher end appliances.  Our stupid fridge leaks and it does not have water or ice function.  But it still works so just keep it going until it dies.

My buddy said the same thing.

Then his cheap dishwasher crapped out. And leaked all over his floor. And that caused his wood floor to swell.

And when he went downstairs, his ceiling had water damage.

Cost him many thousands to fix..but I'm sure he was glad he saved a few hundred by buying a cheap dishwasher. LOL [emoji38]

For the record, I like nice appliances too. Just not $4k+ nice appliances.

Why people insist on having a wood floor in a kitchen is beyond me. Yet almost every friggin reno on HGTV has a wood floor put in kitchen. The floors are subject to spills and if an appliance leaks your screwed. There ceramic and porcelain floors that look just like wood so if you want that look there are options that can hold up to water spills.

My friend put wood in against my advice and his fridge leaked 1st year after reno. Floor was toast.

Ceramic and porcelain are cold and hard. Wood floors are much warmer and easier on the feet/legs. And are quieter. Yes, enough water will damage them, but you can repair them. I’ll take a wood floor in my kitchen over tile any day.

With the advent of vinyl plank flooring, the decision for me is easy. Looks like wood, can take an atom bomb, decision is easy for me. I remember older homes that had carpet in the bathrooms and kitchen when my parents were looking for house, gross, just hell no.

[bridgecity]

^ Yes, vinyl plank is another good option. 

[Firm]

I wouldn't want vinyl plank in a kitchen, in my experience it doesn't hold up nearly as well as tile or real hardwood. I did vinyl plank in my old basement, loved it down there, easy to install, looked fantastic, but my office was down there and I spent many hours sitting at my desk on a rolly chair. After about a year, there was noticeable wear on the floor where my chair was. I ended up putting one of those clear acrylic mats down in that area to protect it. I'd do it again, but don't expect miracles in terms of durability. 

[Fobroader]

I wouldn't want vinyl plank in a kitchen, in my experience it doesn't hold up nearly as well as tile or real hardwood. I did vinyl plank in my old basement, loved it down there, easy to install, looked fantastic, but my office was down there and I spent many hours sitting at my desk on a rolly chair. After about a year, there was noticeable wear on the floor where my chair was. I ended up putting one of those clear acrylic mats down in that area to protect it. I'd do it again, but don't expect miracles in terms of durability.

Our neighbor did vinyl plank about 5-6 years ago in his kitchen. With two small kids and a dog, it looks brand new.

[bridgecity]

I wouldn't want vinyl plank in a kitchen, in my experience it doesn't hold up nearly as well as tile or real hardwood. I did vinyl plank in my old basement, loved it down there, easy to install, looked fantastic, but my office was down there and I spent many hours sitting at my desk on a rolly chair. After about a year, there was noticeable wear on the floor where my chair was. I ended up putting one of those clear acrylic mats down in that area to protect it. I'd do it again, but don't expect miracles in terms of durability.

Our neighbor did vinyl plank about 5-6 years ago in his kitchen. With two small kids and a dog, it looks brand new.

Ya, same with my BIL.  He built a custom timber frame home and put in vinyl plan throughout.  It looks awesome, been about 8 years.  He did say his was commercial grade though, maybe that's the difference. 

[Firm]

I can't remember the specs on mine, got it from a local flooring specialist....wasn't cheap, but don't think it was the top of the line either. I just think the the abuse a floor takes from a chair rolling around on the same spot for 8-10 hours a day is a lot tougher than the majority of peoples kitchens. Big variances though between how people use their kitchens, and the conditions; are they wearing shoes indoors? slippers? Using a mat in high-traffic location, etc...

Our house now has a finished concrete floor in the kitchen (not a fan, but it's popular here....cooler for the heat, and durable) and the previous owners were heavy users (parents and 3 adult children, some with their partners and kids lived in here) who wore their outdoor shoes inside (also a US thing....gross IMO) and the friggin concrete finish is worn in front of the kitchen sink.

[Fobroader]

Shoes in the house  friggin gross!!!

[PJungnitsch]

Yuck, that seems to be a bit of a European thing as well, have yelled at my relatives a time or two. Not sure if that's because basically everything is paved over there, but still.....not like you still can't step in dog sh*t on a sidewalk

[Firm]

I'd say at least 80% of people here keep their shoes on....I hate it, and typically request people take them off coming into our place, usually just make some Canadian joke to lighten it a bit and people are fine with it. Weird habit though, not sure why anyone would want to do that.

[bridgecity]

My uncle from the US put it this way to me "why would I want your dirty stinky feet on my flooring".  I look at it the other way; my feet are a lot cleaner than the bottom of shoes that have been through public washrooms, etc. 

[Firm]

My uncle from the US put it this way to me "why would I want your dirty stinky feet on my flooring".  I look at it the other way; my feet are a lot cleaner than the bottom of shoes that have been through public washrooms, etc.

 

[ArticSteve]

Looks great!

Thanks, next up is the garage door, it's old so I'm thinking to replace it with a new insulated one & then do the trim around the door in black.

Here's the whole look... black 997 in the garage to compliment the pic





Sent from my SM-S901W using Tapatalk

That's a very attractive front.  That is definitely yester year stuff.

[ArticSteve]

I wouldn't want vinyl plank in a kitchen, in my experience it doesn't hold up nearly as well as tile or real hardwood. I did vinyl plank in my old basement, loved it down there, easy to install, looked fantastic, but my office was down there and I spent many hours sitting at my desk on a rolly chair. After about a year, there was noticeable wear on the floor where my chair was. I ended up putting one of those clear acrylic mats down in that area to protect it. I'd do it again, but don't expect miracles in terms of durability.

You had yesterday's product.  I was skeptical at the time about "luxury" plank vinyl when we installed in it the son's lower concrete slab on graded hadronic.  It's 8.5 mils.  It's indestructible.  People think it's wood.  Consequently, that's what I'm installing in the new place sans the bath rooms of course.

[ArticSteve]

Why people insist on having a wood floor in a kitchen is beyond me. Yet almost every friggin reno on HGTV has a wood floor put in kitchen. The floors are subject to spills and if an appliance leaks your screwed. There ceramic and porcelain floors that look just like wood so if you want that look there are options that can hold up to water spills.

My friend put wood in against my advice and his fridge leaked 1st year after reno. Floor was toast.

This is the same argument when people say I bought a car for $35K, why on earth would spend $90K.  Maybe because they are not the same    Does that make any sense. 

In 2003 I installed 3/4 inch hardwood on a 3/4 inch sub floor on a new build.  I did the entire upper floor sans two baths and the on suite laundry room.  I spent 7 days nailing the hell out of it.  Excess nails for sure.

A month ago my wife runs down into the lower level were I was in a solid sex dream screaming that water was pouring thru the ceiling.  She had packed the front loader Samsung and left for shopping.  10 years in and the plastic discharge hose disconnected itself.  5 bucks more for a rubber one this would not have happened.  Thank you Samsung.  The same crappy replacement hose cost me $120.  The washer was originally $700.  Ya, no wonder people have gone nuts. 

The wash cycle is over an hour and she does extra rinse.  The flood on the first floor was huge.  I got the shop vac and did what I could.  Then I opened windows, air exchanger was on 24/7, so we left.  I came back 5 days later and everything as it was before.  Why?  Because it was a solid wood floor.  Not subdivision grade.  These stories you read about that the dishwasher leaked or the frig leaked and the kitchen floor heaved is because the dwellings in question are low grade JUNK.

Unless your Italian or Portuguese, ceramic tile in open concept kitchens suck.  In baths it's a must. 

[2JDM]

The whole shoes in the house thing is extremely weird. Makes no sense to me.

[TheHire]

You guys are crazy with these high end appliances.  I learned awhile ago going cheap and basic is the best way.  You can still get energy efficient, but they aren’t “pretty” or have Bluetooth and Wifi and god knows what other features.  Top load washer, range with a coil top, and eventually a fridge that is fully white and old school setup with fridge on bottom and freezer on top. 

All of our basic appliances over the years have vastly outlasted with fewer issues than any of our more higher end appliances.  Our stupid fridge leaks and it does not have water or ice function.  But it still works so just keep it going until it dies.

My buddy said the same thing.

Then his cheap dishwasher crapped out. And leaked all over his floor. And that caused his wood floor to swell.

And when he went downstairs, his ceiling had water damage.

Cost him many thousands to fix..but I'm sure he was glad he saved a few hundred by buying a cheap dishwasher. LOL [emoji38]

For the record, I like nice appliances too. Just not $4k+ nice appliances.

Why people insist on having a wood floor in a kitchen is beyond me. Yet almost every friggin reno on HGTV has a wood floor put in kitchen. The floors are subject to spills and if an appliance leaks your screwed. There ceramic and porcelain floors that look just like wood so if you want that look there are options that can hold up to water spills.

My friend put wood in against my advice and his fridge leaked 1st year after reno. Floor was toast.

Ceramic and porcelain are cold and hard. Wood floors are much warmer and easier on the feet/legs. And are quieter. Yes, enough water will damage them, but you can repair them. I’ll take a wood floor in my kitchen over tile any day.

My wife wanted hardwood floors in the kitchen when we did our gut reno last winter... I couldn't stand the look. Compromised with doing heated porcelain, to get that warmth.

Heated floors are 10/10 game changing...

[PJungnitsch]

Dunno if they still do it but years ago when I was working in construction we put in a lot of particle board (K3?) as underfloor.

I understood it was cheap, perfectly flat, and hard, but.....my God, remember one of my co workers spilling his thermos and that spot swelled up to the point you could trip over it, almost immediately

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Our AC packed up this week.  New one is $4k.  We're not going with anything super high end, just a basic 14.5seer unit.  Can't afford to go more expensive after all the damn dog surgeries this summer.

Also replacing our hot water heater - our current one is 15 years old, and I think it's a disaster waiting to happen.  We're going with a new power vented model, so no pilot light!

Still kinda the best time of year for this to happen.  All the Cooling companies have big sales on AZ. Units right now.

[PJungnitsch]

^ getting AC now is a big win if you have the cash flow

Getting on to wheel changing time, and the cordless impact I bought a couple years ago never really had quite the punch I'd like. Researched batteries for a bit and what I was finding is at least with Ryobi the 'high performance' battery packs don't make much difference to power but the larger battery packs do. The extra amp hours are apparently not just for longer run times, but can also supply a lot more current at once

Got a couple 6 Ah packs on sale. Have not tested the impact yet but the weed whipper is a beast now, so that's a good sign 

[tortoise]

I tend to just loosen them by hand then finish with the driver. Takes no time.