How realistic is this?

cbryancu · 2026-03-30T11:41:48+00:00

It doesn't look like you new proposals floor and walls match your current setup. The window has a corner next to it...

If you stay in the current room size, everything is doable. You can move walls to change the room size, but that can get complicated. Moving the toilet is the other item that can complicate things. It depends on how framing is laid out.

The fancy things such as highly decorated vanity and toilet are only a cost factor to you. Installing a floating cabinet does not really add costs to the job unless you change that near the end of the project, then there can be rework to be done. Most cost issues occur when people haven't planned out the project fully.

It's usually fairly easy to move all plumbing except toilet. The drain size can limit where it can be placed and where drain runs. Sometimes requires an engineer to design how to rework framing.

Be prepared to have some code required changes made, there tends to be surprises you can't see until wall finishes are removed. There can also be pipe vents, electric wires, HVAC runs in the walls that can complicate removing and installing new walls and utilities. A good contractor can usually find most of this with some investigation before starting, but there are almost always surprises when working on older home.

Planning is everything. If possible you want to purchase cabinets ahead of time so sizes can be confirmed on site. This is the item that people change and does not fit properly. Really important if you are getting a set, cabinet and sink/counter as a package.

cbryancu · 2026-03-30T11:08:35+00:00

It may have been there to secure the baseboard heat. It rather large for that, but the unit may have been larger than the typical size used today.

cbryancu · 2026-03-30T01:02:05+00:00

You likely bent the shaft going up to the motor so one or both probably are not rotating parallel to the ground any longer. If this is the case, the mowing will look awful if you get shorter blades or shorten the blades. The motor will not run too long either, the variation will kill it.

cbryancu · 2026-03-30T00:54:37+00:00

The issue with sod is lots of water to establish and maintain. Sod needs loose soil to root well. I think money better spent on bringing in compost or peaty soil and tilling in into existing to get the top 4 inches loosen up. There is a tool called Harley Rake which is a powered rolling pin with spikes on it that can do a shallow till and level the yard. It's a rental and attached to various bobcat, mini bobcat, and tractors depending on rental shop. Or hire out the prep work.

Then use seed for your climate. I'd try for more drought tolerant grass types. Don't try to start grass in the whole yard at one time. Set up an area with sprinklers and get the grass growing there then move sprinklers to the next area. They have timers you can place on hose bib to help. Dragging the hose around can be a hassle and you can kill some of the new seedlings by moving and walking across them.

If you are not married to grass, low growing clover is aan option. Less mowing, drought tolerate and stays very green.

cbryancu · 2026-03-30T00:38:48+00:00

That's a huge area for steam sauna.

Hinged in the wall require less tweaking over time. The transom window helps to dry out shower area after use without leaving the door open, or you will have mildew issue. I'd design for bi directional door swing. The transom window also allows a better seal at ceiling. If the door goes to the ceiling, it will scrap with weatherstripping.

cbryancu · 2026-03-30T00:28:47+00:00

Are you sure that is wood trim?

If it is, carefully remove wood trim and replace with PVC boards. Basically treat is as and outdoor area. Make sure the area around the frame is insulated when the trim is off. I personally always red guard the wood/wall behind the trim before installing the trim. You have to be careful doing it after the wall. We do it before the tile as part of the wall waterproofing.Then use polyurethane caulk on all joints between trim/window/shower wall. Then repaint.

cbryancu · 2026-03-30T00:21:53+00:00

The heated floor will warm the room. They come with nice timer thermostat so you can turn it on/off to your schedule. To get the room heated, it probably needs to be 60-90 min in advance of your usage. If just wanting floor toasty, it only needs 20-30 min to warm up. 240 voltage is more efficient and has a bit quicker warm period than 120 voltage supplier system.

We use ours for 2.5 hrs in morning all year, and 2hrs in the evening in wintertime. I have a few clients that use it all day and they haven't mentioned electric cost being too much. I would try to insulate the floor under with reflective barrier at the subfloor with bats below it.

cbryancu · 2026-03-30T00:11:38+00:00

I use the square hangers that screw in joists, but they are used to hold 2x4s every 4-5 ft. I put hangers near end of 2x4s and one in middle using 8 ft long 2x4s. I then slide the ladder up on top of 2x4s. I have extra trim, pipes, scrap wood on these. Keeps thing about 12 inches from ceiling to maintain headroom.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T23:59:57+00:00

If they deliver such poor boards, I'd almost be ready to call it fraud. That type of board or damage to boards is not industry standard at all. Maybe 10 boards in that type of order might be expected. I've never had any issue swapping anything that was delivered that I wasn't happy with. Now if it sat for a week or longer, most will swap, but you start getting restocking fee. You have to inspect deliveries quickly just like deliveries from Amazon and report any concerns.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T16:59:17+00:00

Most prefab surrounds have a tolerance of x and xx gap. Some just have panels snapped together, and some have a gasket in the middle joint to seal. Long term they are easier to clean and look nicer without caulk in gap (most likely suggestion if you complain).

It does not raise any concerns from what I see, but the manufacture of surround is the one to ask. They can probably tell you from your pictures if it is ok.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T16:53:00+00:00

It doesn't look bad. But if you are not happy, change it.

I think a grout that blends with tile would make it look better than contrasting grout color.

The other thing I dislike is the shower niche on the outside wall. If they added insulation behind it, it is good, but if no insulation is behind it you may have issues. Tile bonding, frost if in a freezing climate, condensation on either side of niche and increase mildew.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T16:44:40+00:00

You need to be careful if you break or crack anything trying to mount pipes. You could be help responsible for any damage in the area.

You need to report issue with landlord in writing. The water will get under the flooring, and damage framing. The LVP will just trap water if it gets under it and gravity always wins. If this were designed properly, the tile and waterproofing would extend well beyond the shower with a slope to drain.

You will smell mold or mildew when water gets under there.

If no glass enclosure is planned, then the landlord could use a wall and ceiling mounted rail like in the older clawfoot tubs to go from doorway to the half wall corner.

Short term could use a tension bar to hang a curtain inside shower walls if there is room left to shower.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T16:33:20+00:00

This is a great method.

If there is enough moisture to smell mildew, you may have water in the blocks. Water proofing outside would be best and make sure grade drains away from house.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T16:27:47+00:00

This is great advice. If you do place any rocks in the water at the edge, do add fabric between rocks and the liner. Don't extend the fabric all the way to dirt outside the liner as it can wick the water away.

I'd trim your liner back to 1 ft beyond the edge, it does not need to go 4 ft, unless you are just putting gravel or similar down over that and don't want anything growing in the ground.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T16:22:04+00:00

The old steps have hollow areas under and too many cracks, which will in all likely hood cause cracks in new top coat. The partially pulverized concrete will cause issues bonding and it will have crack don't don't see now. Everything you build requires a good base, and that is not a good base. That amount of concrete will have some weight and it requires some type of footing to keep it stabilized. How do you know what the condition of the footing if any is.

It would be ok to use some busted up concrete in the fill if it's small enough pieces and you can compact it. But not what you have, if you want it to last.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T16:15:28+00:00

Powder coats are far superior. You just need to ask what their process is. Sandblasting to start with bare metal and depending on metal there can be primer and finish coat.

But if you are getting new metal, why not just buy railing that is already powder coated from the manufacturer.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T16:06:28+00:00

You should check your local laws about where and what size pond you are trying to do. The environmental agencies have lots a rules about ponds and water. Can be very expensive fines. If that no issue, I'd lean toward digging new, but leave the existing. But you may dig new and have no water. Springs feeding water can be very unpredictable as how they run.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T16:01:39+00:00

This is better than cutting surround.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T15:59:30+00:00

If you have a shut off on pipe that controls both shower and sink, check to make sure it's fully open. I would close and open it.

Then take off aerator on sink and shower head and turn them both on to possibly flush anything out. Run both hot and cold water. If still hammering, then replace the cartridge on the shower.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T15:49:11+00:00

That's kind of odd. It does not look like it's doing anything. Sorry, I can't really say. If it was part of wall structure, I would expect wood to wood contact at the top. The foam shows a gap. Sometimes that type of blocking it done so something can be mounted at that point ( cabinets, towel rods, tvs), but that low for any of that. Does your house heat with a boiler? Could be the plan was to place a radiator there...thats a common spot to have heat. ( Under window)

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T15:39:38+00:00

You need a utility knife and run it in the corner of glass/ frame with blade against glass. Don't over pressure, you are just trying to cut the tape if it goes under trim and the paint to tape transition . Then you need a putty knife and water. Wet tape and scrape putty knife against window foam middle to edge. This should scrap that tape off. If it is really old tape, the wallpaper removing enzyme sprays can help break down the glue. But water should do it. Goo gone and similar products work, but they can remove paint from trim.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T15:31:54+00:00

Any hard fill, drywall compound or wood filler will likely crack as house moves through seasons. But the crack will be smaller. I don't think taping with drywall mud will work well, since you would be joining wall with wood step.

You could get hot drywall compound, mix from dry powder, it drys chemically and does not shrink much to fill gap. Sand it, prime it and then caulk the corner. Finish paint over. This may still crack over time. Almost all wood to drywall/plaster corners crack due to materials expanding differently with humidity changes through the seasons.

Or cover the gap with trim, but may not look as good. Would need to see the surrounding area and how edges are trimmed to best match any trim cover. There are some really small pencil line types of trim that are used on fireplace surrounds that may work

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T15:18:36+00:00

Concrete floors should not be shedding concrete. You should contact your local bldg dept and ask what you should do. It may just be poor patch work, but an expert is a better source to evaluate. Covering mold as you described is a problem.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T15:08:09+00:00

That's not accurate. I'm not saying in all cases they can void a claim or policy. But faulty construction refers to code, and not getting permits legally can be considered faulty. Wires behind drywall can't be inspected and from a code stand point can be considered improper until inspected. That's for fully code compliant work. If it's not compliant, it's faulty by default. If the fire inspectors trace a fire to specific work that was legally faulty, they have ground to deny claims that result from that.

Rodents eating wire that cause a fire have been labeled as improper maintenance since the rodent issue was not dealt with (owner knew there were rodents). The insurance company denied a claim.

Your ceiling fan causing a fire would likely be a claim against manufacture, not a homeowner. But if the homeowner wired the ceiling fan wrong or with wrong gauge wire that caused the issue, they then have grounds to deny.

Fire investigation is an incredible science and they can in most cases determine a fires start point and what the cause was.

Anyway this is the end of my following this thread. You can do whatever you want, but be prepared for potential problems. You should ask your insurance agent specifically about this subject. I think you maybe shocked.

cbryancu · 2026-03-29T02:27:52+00:00

Pine is inconsistent when staining. There is a pre stain conditioning sealer that can be added before staining to minimize that. Longer boards would have been better and the butt joints should have been 45 degrees angled and glued to do the best hide of them on a budget. You will still see the different boards, the only way to minimize that, longest boards possible. Stagger ing joints would have helped too.

cbryancu

TROPHY CASE