Shameless self promotion - New Blog - DIY Nightmares

**Greebo** · 10-04-2011, 01:20 PM

I'm a regular reader over at DIY Stack Exchange, a public use Q&A site which encourages community participation and self-policing, devoted to questions and answers pertaining to home repair by and for do-it-yourselfers. It's an excellent resource or any frugally minded people who want to improve their home but save money while doing so by doing the work themselves.

Self promotion: DIY Stack Exchange has started a community blog, and I happen to have the honor of being the first contributor. Hop on over and read my first submission, DIY Nightmares - an Introduction to Home Owner Hell.

Personal accountability: I aim to publish a new article on a weekly basis to continue building traffic for the site. I'm hoping you good people (*cough cough and russ cough cough*) will help keep me accountable.

**Russ** · 10-04-2011, 01:45 PM

I'll check it out.

**NicJean** · 10-04-2011, 01:55 PM

Very (dare I say it) cute, Greebo! Love your writing style. Can't imagine the state of things in the basement - wow. Best of luck on this venture (well, both actually, the blog and the construction).

**Incognito** · 10-04-2011, 02:10 PM

Hi Greebo,
I took a look at it, and posted a comment, which seems to have got lost somewhere. Anyway, best of luck as you go through your project.
I've personally worked on many renos, including upgrading various rental units. Simplify, deal with the most important factors first: consolidate the electrical & plumbing into accessible areas, then wall up some of those useless nooks and crannies to create a smaller, but more attractive & efficient work space. Keep photos of everything, you will probably need to get into something again sometime.
Paint can really brighten up a basement. I've used latex on the cement floor and walls to prime it (tinted same colour as the finish coat), then 1 coat of latex semi-gloss to finish it. 13 years later, and it still looks great, though with a few scratches & bubbles on the floor from flooding. Paint a rug design onto the floor for eye-appeal below the stairs or main area. Keep your drywall high above the floor, just in case of flooding. Maybe use cinder blocks to close off areas. Find them at the college garbage sites, the students throw them away after semester.

PS: you buy rags???

**ktsmama** · 10-04-2011, 02:19 PM

Great intro. Love the writing style!

**Greebo** · 10-04-2011, 02:19 PM

Can't speak to your lost comment, but your know-how would definitely be helpful at Home Improvement - Stack Exchange !

**Incognito** · 10-04-2011, 02:31 PM

Greebo, I was actually shocked when I saw your photos. They reminded me of a condemned building. I wonder how much your home cost you. But if it has the main 'bones', you can change the rest, and someday it will be a pleasure and a picture to live in. (I've had my eye on a little house for $10,000 but I don't think I have what it takes to buy and reno it at this stage of my life.)

What's the plan for that outside storage cubby-hole?
Could you fill that hole with gravel, and level it off with concrete; maybe build a tiny storage room on top of it, or a small deck over it for a little patio nook? A few ferns and a table and chairs.

So how come you're buying rags?

**Ramona** · 10-04-2011, 02:36 PM

Funny! I've bookmarked it for later, thanks.

**nodmicks** · 10-04-2011, 02:49 PM

Great writing style! Looks like you will be busy

**Greebo** · 10-04-2011, 03:15 PM

Originally Posted by Incognito

Greebo, I was actually shocked when I saw your photos. They reminded me of a condemned building. I wonder how much your home cost you. But if it has the main 'bones', you can change the rest, and someday it will be a pleasure and a picture to live in. (I've had my eye on a little house for $10,000 but I don't think I have what it takes to buy and reno it at this stage of my life.)

The house was pretty to look at when I bought it - most of the issues I've found were either not obvious or overtly hidden, such as when we discovered that the main water shutoff valve had been dry-walled over... Ceashels had fun finding that valve while there was a slow but steady drip coming through the ceiling from a leaking pipe...

What's the plan for that outside storage cubby-hole?

Those are the steps to the basement.

Could you fill that hole with gravel, and level it off with concrete; maybe build a tiny storage room on top of it, or a small deck over it for a little patio nook? A few ferns and a table and chairs.

No the objective is to be able to use them again.

So how come you're buying rags?

We're just that high class.

**Incognito** · 10-04-2011, 03:55 PM

OK, Greebo; you had me fooled about those basement steps, what with all that greenery/shrubbery behind it.

It will take some doing to get it all the way you want it, but I'm sure you'll do just that, in time.

Hope you weren't offended by any of my comments; I like renos, and just say what comes to mind. Biggest project I worked on was tearing down a train station and salvaging the materials, many of which were subsequently used for building addition onto a mobile home, to make it look like a house.

All the best!

**Greebo** · 10-04-2011, 04:04 PM

Oh you mean you didn't realize those were two shots of the same space?

And no, I'm not offended - as it said in the blog post - I'm just a smart-ass

**frugalfriend** · 10-04-2011, 04:24 PM

WTG, Greebo! I'm going to enjoy reading your blog! We lived in a house built in 1957 with LOTS of "projects" prior to our current house. Couldn't hack it any more and now live in a newer house and just have regular maintenance. I so admire those who can jump in and get their hands dirty and do all that amazing work and remodeling, and have the before and after pictures to prove it!

**Incognito** · 10-04-2011, 04:27 PM

I can see that they are shots of the same space, but I thought the space was outdoors against the outside wall, because of the trees in the background. It looked like some sort of outside cubby-hole for storage, and I thought that was why there was a lawnmower in 1 one of the photos. So those are the basement stairs, eh? Are you building a wall against the railing to enclose the whole thing, then?

**Greebo** · 10-04-2011, 07:27 PM

Originally Posted by Incognito

I can see that they are shots of the same space, but I thought the space was outdoors against the outside wall, because of the trees in the background. It looked like some sort of outside cubby-hole for storage, and I thought that was why there was a lawnmower in 1 one of the photos. So those are the basement stairs, eh? Are you building a wall against the railing to enclose the whole thing, then?

They are after/before/after shots. Did you read my description of the space?