Woodworking/DIY/Home Improvement Mega Thread

[847badgerfan]

Wolf

Wolf 48" Sealed Burner Rangetop - 4 Burners and Wok Burner (SRT484W)
Wolf 48" Sealed Burner Rangetop - 4 Burners and Wok Burner (SRT484W)

[847badgerfan]

Woo, you have some expensive tastes, bf.


We're probably moving out of this house in 4-5 years so I'm not going to go crazy with the appliances.  Just something that'll do the trick.  The next owner can install the true commercial stuff if they want (and in our next home, I'll probably do the same!).

It's an acquired taste. 

[MikeDeTiger]

Adding the top face frame trim piece, with vintage industrial library lights mounted through it, and the side lights also mounted and lit up.



And now the crown molding at the very top

Did you have to run wiring for the new lights and install a switch?

[utee94]

It's also only a 30" space for a cooktop and hood, so the really big commercial stuff won't fit, anyway.

Something like this:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/GE-30-in-5-Burners-Stainless-Steel-Gas-Cooktop-Common-30-in-Actual-30-in/1000295477

[847badgerfan]

It's also only a 30" space for a cooktop and hood, so the really big commercial stuff won't fit, anyway.

Something like this:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/GE-30-in-5-Burners-Stainless-Steel-Gas-Cooktop-Common-30-in-Actual-30-in/1000295477

GE Cafe is good stuff. It's what we had before the Wolf and Sub Zero.

[utee94]

Did you have to run wiring for the new lights and install a switch?

Yes, new wiring runs from a standard outlet behind that antique bar cabinet (and eventually behind the piano that will replace it) in a special track along the baseboard, into the chase (open area) behind each vertical stack, and up to the side lights, and also up to the top lights.  I was originally going to hardwire a switch into the cabinetry, but then I decided to install smart plugs at the wall plate and so now it's either app-controlled from your phone, or voice-controlled from the Amazon Alexa device installed alongside the amplifier and turntable.

ETA: The wireless smart plugs are also dimmable and I have them on two separate circuits, so you can operate the top lights and side lights independently, and you can get a decent range from around 30%-100%.  Anything lower than 30% doesn't really work with the vintage-style Edison LED bulbs I used.

[MikeDeTiger]

Yeah, I'm out at the first sign of any electrical jobs. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Yeah, I'm out at the first sign of any electrical jobs. 

I'm out at plumbing / pipefitting. 

As an electrical engineer, I know what I'm doing enough not to kill myself or light my house on fire. I'm sure utee is the same. 

But the idea of anything involving potential water damage or natural gas fires is a big fat nope. I'll pay a pro. 

[847badgerfan]

I ran gas, plumbing and electric when I did my basement.

NEW plumbing is not a problem. I just ain't crawling under any sinks anymore. I write checks.

[utee94]

Yeah, I'm out at the first sign of any electrical jobs. 

I'm pretty good with electrical stuff, but this was super-easy.  I didn't have to open any walls because the bookshelves themselves have a "hollow" bit behind them-- they don't sit flush against the wall because I left the base molding and chair rail molding intact, and then coped the bookcase face-frame trim around the moldings to make it look built-in against the wall.

For the wiring I just used standard off-the-shelf extension cords, cut off the ends, and wired them directly into the bases of the light fixtures.  You don't even need to turn a circuit breaker off because as you work, you can just leave the cord unplugged from the wall.  Then plug it in and test your work.  It's a little more expensive than buying romex and running it straight, but not a whole lot more, and it's way easier than creating multiple junctions and terminations with the romex.

[utee94]

I've replaced gas appliances numerous times.  Modern houses have a cutoff valve at every appliance, so all you have to do is switch that valve to "off" and then you can unfasten the existing pipes and fittings, and replace with new.  For water connections I'm fine with using teflon tape to seal the threads but for gas appliances I use the squeeze bottle pipe dope-- it's thick nasty stuff that you don't want to get on your hands or tools because it's tough to come off even using gasoline as a solvent-- but it takes care of things.

Just make your connections (always use a main wrench and a backing wrench with plumbing), turn the gas back on, leak check with some soapy water, and when that tests okay, you're good to go.

[MikeDeTiger]

Water plumbing doesn't bother me, but getting into the walls to do it does, because I'm kinda crap at carpentry and thus fixing anything I tear up to do the job to look nice again. 

But if it's sinks, toilets, or anything outside I can dig up and just put dirt and grass back on top of and be happy, I'm okay doing that. 

Although I'd rather not, and am inclined to take Badger's approach.  I was fortunate a while back to find a plumber who has very reasonable rates.  

[utee94]

Yeah I'm good with carpentry but terrible with sheetrock.  Anything that requires going into a wall, is going to get hired out by me.

I got so much really valuable experience when I restored the vintage Airstream.  I had to do everything on it.  I rewired about half of it, completely replumbed all of the water lines, and completely replumbed all of the propane gas lines as well.  Plus all of the new build and restorative carpentry.  I made plenty of mistakes but it's such a small space, it's easy to fix them.

[medinabuckeye1]

My dad's business was taking care of Rental Property so I was an assistant plumber/electrician/carpenter/drywaller/painter from the time I could walk.  

As such, commenting on the comments above about electrical/plumbing:

Electrical:
For a complete novice, I think the biggest thing to understand is the difference between 220 and 120.  If you screw up with 120, you'll shock yourself.  It really doesn't hurt and almost certainly wont kill you.  One of the older electricians I worked with tested circuits by putting his thumb on one wire and running his finger across the other.  If it buzzed him, it was live.  220 is a completely different animal, it can kill you.  When I do 120 projects I almost always do them hot (breaker on) so that I know if it is working or not.  When I do anything 220, I do that cold then turn the breaker on after I am completely done.  

Another thing about electrical that will help you if you hadn't already thought of it is this:  ALWAYS START AT THE END.  Ie, lets say you are popping breakers in your kitchen so you want to add a new breaker and circuit.  If you start at the breaker box and work your way out to the kitchen, everything is hot from the start.  Instead, start in the kitchen and work back to the breaker box. Even if you don't want to do ANYTHING hot that is fine, have an electrician come in and hook up the breaker but everything beyond that is already done.  Saves a lot of money without actually doing ANYTHING hot.  

Plumbing:
It amazes me how much this has changed in my lifetime.  When I was a kid we did drains in cast iron.  A 10' stick of 4" Cast Iron Sewer weighs 170.9 lbs (I had to look that up, I only knew that they were freaking heavy).  Lifting those onto threaders and then lifting them into place and threading them together was backbreaking work.  According to the interwebs a 10' stick of 4" PVC sewer pipe weighs 10 to 14 pounds.  Oh, and you don't have to thread the pipes anymore, just smear adhesive on the ends and stick them together.  

I've said many times that modern technology led to women's lib.  When I was a little kid there weren't any female plumbers.  It wasn't so much because they weren't allowed as because how many women do you know that can lift up their end of a 171# stick of sewer pipe?  

Anyway, I've done lots of plumbing with Iron Sewer Pipes and, in the old days, galvanized supplies.  Then Copper.  Now I have a pex tool and I'm pretty sure everything I've installed in the last 10 years probably weighed less than 171#.