Home improvement Q's

[Sean]

Actually, this may be a thread that goes on for awhile. At least until I get the perfect house. So, yup, should take awhile. If others have home improvement questions, feel free to jump in.

Today's question:

I have a crawl space underneath my entire main floor (roughly 700 sqft). Half of the floor is a tile and it gets cold as shit. I'm pretty sure they cut corners when constructing the house. When talking to a friend, he suggested putting plywood up to contain the heat. Only I have a very small opening to access the crawl space, so I didn't want to dick around nailing up tiny sheets of wood. So instead, I stapled 6mm plastic to the ceiling in the crawl space. If it doesn't work, I'm only out $20 and 30 of my time. If it does work, sweet!

Question- Am I missing something obvious? Whether or not this works, is there a safety hazard that I'm completely missing? The plastic is touching some pipes, so that could be an issue, but not sure. Yes, there are pipes above the plastic. Thoughts?

Example of what I'm talking about:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j254/mr7string/IMG_0442_zps76d02beb.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j254/mr7string/IMG_0441_zps65bf325e.jpg

[#1Townie]

No safty issues but a better result would have been filling the joist bays with insulation and then putting the plastic up. Tile floors get cold. Its just how it is. If you really want to do away with that cold the only thing i have ever heard of truly working is radiant floors.

[Sean]

Sorry, I guess I should have stated that there is insulation already above the plastic.

[#1Townie]

Damn doesnt look like it. Lol. You could try ehats called a critter warmer. Basically you run a heat run into the crawl space to heat that area. We used to put them in a retirement community.

[sloridr]

Sean this is standard practice in other parts of the country. I have done it in a few houses in WA. Townie is correct the only way to truly heat tile is with radiant heat. If your crawl space was warm then in turn the floor would be too.

One option would be to put down some throw rugs in the high traffic areas. Or an area rug in the living room. My $0.02

[mdub]

or wear house slippers. i have same thing. cept the dirt is covered with plastic. really is a shame that the original owners did not want a full basement.

[Dietrich_R1]

The Family had a house in Minnesota with similar situation... What looked to be an addition, underneath was a dirt floor & about 3' above was thin plywood that the carpet was put down on (Looks very similar). That room was COLD in comparison to the house!!!!!

Anyway, I crawled my ass underneath & put some simple insulation between the trusses. Because we were replacing the carpeting at the time, I laid down another layer of plywood. WORKED GREAT!! The room was actually warm for once!!

What you did with the insulation & plastic should work great!!

BIG question... Is the floor warm enough after your improvement???????????????

[Dietrich_R1]

Besides the toilet return... are there any heated pipes that you should insulate?

[Sean]

Cool, thanks guys! After I was done doing it, I was kind of worried I was having moment that would nominate me for a Darwin award. Normally I would be worried about moisture, but it's so freaking dry here that I don't think anything will come of it. The floor feels a little warmer....but not a ton. Hopefully it'll help more then it's not 15 degrees.

Dietrich- There is the insulation (although I could add more) and I think it's just one sheet of ply wood with tile on top. I suspect this because the tile is cracking randomly throughout the floor. Which is why we're going to replace the floor when we can.

No, luckily almost all of the pipes are insulated.

[bluedogok]

As we replace flooring in our new house I plan on adding in electric radiant heat under the tile or wood floors with a thermostat in each room. With an exposed joist floor you could do hydronic but electric is an easier retrofit as it goes on top of the base floor and finish goes over it. When we build I plan on doing a hydronic system with sidewalk and driveway melting as well. We will probably do stained concrete floors so the pipes will be in the concrete and the concrete acts like a heat sink.

[Sean]

As we replace flooring in our new house I plan on adding in electric radiant heat under the tile or wood floors with a thermostat in each room. With an exposed joist floor you could do hydronic but electric is an easier retrofit as it goes on top of the base floor and finish goes over it. When we build I plan on doing a hydronic system with sidewalk and driveway melting as well. We will probably do stained concrete floors so the pipes will be in the concrete and the concrete acts like a heat sink.That's what I was thinking about doing when I replace the tiles with hardwood/pergo, putting in a few heating elements. No need to cover the entire floor, but putting a few elements in where the heaviest traffic is, would be nice. Although I'm not even sure I can do that, I haven't researched it at all. I'm def doing a heating element in the master bath when I rip that bitch apart. :rock:

[Grant H.]

We looked at adding the electric radiant floor heating to our house when we did all the floors.

Get ready for sticker shock. That stuff is expensive.

When we get to build a house (maybe this year if all goes well with contracts) I plan to do hydronic RFH in the whole house, garage slab, and as Bluedogok said, the sidewalks and driveways.

My plan will be to use either solar panels or geothermal to heat all this and keep costs low.

[bluedogok]

I know the electric radiant heat is expensive up front but with allergies I have just grown to hate forced-air heating....and cold tile floors like our new house has. One reason why we are considering doing it one room at a time and trying to use standard mats instead of a bunch of custom mats.

[sloridr]

The mat is also very expensive to run from what I've been told. However I cannot put fact behind that.

On a side note when I build a shop it will have radiant floor heat. The tube, antifreeze, boiler style. So nice to work on cars with a warm floor.

Also I agree with the above allergy statement!

Sean do your research.

[Aaron]

My house has radiant floor heating. I'm overall happy with it, I'm told it's very efficient. It's nice to walk around on warm floors, but having 100% concrete floors gets old too.

[sag]

id throw plastic on the dirt while youre at it.

[Penadam]

The mat is also very expensive to run from what I've been told. However I cannot put fact behind that.

On a side note when I build a shop it will have radiant floor heat. The tube, antifreeze, boiler style. So nice to work on cars with a warm floor.

Also I agree with the above allergy statement!

Sean do your research.

The mats are expensive, as they're electric heat, but you normally can set them lower than you would a forced air system because they make you feel warmer for a given temperature so you'll see some savings there.

[Dietrich_R1]

Due to costs.... before I made the investment of floor heating, I would get back under there & put up some very high R value insulation like foam, etc. Then I would remove the plastic & install some thick plywood. You'ld have a nice insulation samwich.

Floor heating is expensive to start & then expensive to run. For the really cold years, like this one, I would invest in a room heater. Probably one that looks like a fireplace to warm things up.

If getting plywood in that area is to difficult... blow some foam insulation in there (the sticky stuff) & maybe find a barrier with a better R value than the plastic sheeting. The plastic isn't really keeping the cold out that much. With the right foam, you probably wouldn't even need the barrier anyway.

[Ezzzzy1]

id throw plastic on the dirt while youre at it.

Id throw the plastic on the dirt and walls and NOT the ceiling. In some houses there is already a heater vent installed in this area and if there is opening it a bit and not having plastic on the ceiling will heat the floor above (heat rises). If there is not a vent installed its not hard to do.

[sloridr]

Due to costs.... before I made the investment of floor heating, I would get back under there & put up some very high R value insulation like foam, etc. Then I would remove the plastic & install some thick plywood. You'ld have a nice insulation samwich.

Floor heating is expensive to start & then expensive to run. For the really cold years, like this one, I would invest in a room heater. Probably one that looks like a fireplace to warm things up.

If getting plywood in that area is to difficult... blow some foam insulation in there (the sticky stuff) & maybe find a barrier with a better R value than the plastic sheeting. The plastic isn't really keeping the cold out that much. With the right foam, you probably wouldn't even need the barrier anyway.

What about just installing a 2" foam across the bottom of the joists?

[Dietrich_R1]

What about just installing a 2" foam across the bottom of the joists?

IMO... I think it would be better than plastic, but not the end-all to a cold room. I also thought about putting 2" foam between the joists next to the insulation & then another layer where the plastic was. This would create air buffers. I think that would be a time-consuming messy project.

All you need is 1 BIG ASS Can of this stuff...
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100029171/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=foam+insulation&storeId=10051

Down here in AZ, there are a lot of companies that will foam fill the inside of blocks. Don't know if there is a DIY option for something like this.

[sloridr]

http://www.sprayfoamdirect.com/

Just one of the many DIY kits that popped up. I didn't look into price but I'd bet a grand for a kit...

And in PHX they come in and will spray your bar walls before you rock them... Also they do foam roofs.

[Dietrich_R1]

http://www.sprayfoamdirect.com/

Just one of the many DIY kits that popped up. I didn't look into price but I'd bet a grand for a kit...

And in PHX they come in and will spray your bar walls before you rock them... Also they do foam roofs.

Yup... exactly what I was thinking... then put foam board & plywood to completely fix it.

I learned an important lesson with Insulation... I rented the Home-E Depot insulation blower & bought insulation to fill the attic (a boat-load).... Spent 3 hours up there in temps that sucked!! Barely even "coated" the current insulation! Got a quote off Craigslist & had them do it... A FRACTION OF THE COST FOR WHAT I COULD DO IT. THEY DID IT IN A FRACTION OF THE TIME I COULD HAVE DONE IT. THEY PUT 10X MORE INSULATION IN THAN I EVEN THOUGHT... Let's just say my attic is now a "sea" of insulation!!!!!!! Insulation is 1 of those things best kept to letting someone else do it!!!

[Sean]

Here's my latest question and it's about landscaping:

I have an in-ground sprinkler system in the back yard. Some of the heads work, some don't. All and all it looks pretty cheap and seriously lacking in quality. I am redesigning the backyard and am only going to put grass on half of the original area, so the majority of the original sprinkler heads (some working, some not) will not even be used. Almost all of them would need a new location.

Question- should I dig up the old lines and relocate them? Should I not go through the trouble of digging them up and just water by hand?

Thoughts?

:cheers:

[bodhizafa]

Watering by hand gets really old, especially when the sun is going to bake that yard. I would at least try to salvage the usable sprinkler heads. Last year I gave up watering my yard......really wish I had a sprinkler system.

[Ezzzzy1]

Diving into the sprinkler system isnt that complicated but it really helps to have someone around that has done it a time or two.

A great alternative is to run an above ground sprinkler that has a dedicated hose (that you could even run underground) to it. In other words, buy something like this:
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/Ezzzzy1/depositphotos_1704838-Lawn-sprinkler-water_zps025b34f6.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/Ezzzzy1/media/depositphotos_1704838-Lawn-sprinkler-water_zps025b34f6.jpg.html)

and make it a little more permanent by burying the hose and running that to the spigot so all you have to do is either just hook it up or you can get a "Y" adapter and then just turn that on. Hell they even sell timers now so you could put that inline and have it run for 30 at 8am everyday....

There are also a few options for doing the same thing and making it more like a sprinkler system but it sounds like revamping the one you have would be easier then that.

Heres an example of that...

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/Ezzzzy1/easy-lawn-sprinkler-769763_zps4d38b925.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/Ezzzzy1/media/easy-lawn-sprinkler-769763_zps4d38b925.jpg.html)

[Grim2.0]

Ej do you know of any adaptors they make where you can run a drip system from your spigot?

[Ezzzzy1]

Not off the top of my head but I know it can be done. Its just through a series of down sizing connections at some point.
Like this
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/Ezzzzy1/Connection-Hose-Swivel-CHS-250-Quarter-Inch-Installing-HPR-30-Micro-Tubing_zps23b2fc81.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/Ezzzzy1/media/Connection-Hose-Swivel-CHS-250-Quarter-Inch-Installing-HPR-30-Micro-Tubing_zps23b2fc81.jpg.html)


I was just a Home Depot and they have a hose thats made for what you are talking about.

You need to run regular hose to where you want the drip and then you hook up the drip hose and let it do its thing. If the holes are facing up then it sprays and if they are down its a drip.
Like this
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/Ezzzzy1/soaker_drip_irrigation_kit_zps1f8a6060.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/Ezzzzy1/media/soaker_drip_irrigation_kit_zps1f8a6060.jpg.html)

And here is the hose
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/Ezzzzy1/Flat_Soaker_Hose_15m_zps845d3ff9.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/Ezzzzy1/media/Flat_Soaker_Hose_15m_zps845d3ff9.jpg.html)


They also had a seeping hose that does just that. Lets a small amount of water out throughout the whole line.

Here (http://www.gardeners.com/flat-soaker-hose/37-904,default,pd.html?SC=XNET9221&utm_campaign=cse&utm_medium=googleshopping&utm_term=&mr:referralID=32f4edb7-c553-11e2-9389-001b2166c62d&kwid=productads-sku^37@ADL4904-adtype^PLA-device^c-adid^23773415078)

[Sean]

So you think it might be better leaving the exsisting system in the ground, not digging it up, and trying something semi above ground? It would save me two days if digging by hand! I can just disconnect the existing stuff, remove the heads and bury it.

[Ezzzzy1]

Well, thats kinda tricky. I would agree because the condition of the whole system sounds shady at best. I mean how shitty would it be to replace the heads to find out that there several breaks in the underground line? Then you fix those and the control units broken and on and on...

So yeah, a simple solution would be to just bury it and move on. If the area isnt that big you could even run a real underground sprinkler with a quick disconnect like the last picture in my first post to you.

If it were me I would probably get the system running but thats because I love self mutilation and torture when it comes to Landscaping :lol:

[Ezzzzy1]

Anyone want to come over and help me finish my back yard? :lol: Probably about 75% finished.

This is by far the largest job I have done by myself (well 90%). The kids are going to love it.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/Ezzzzy1/photo39-1_zps36c8992e.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/Ezzzzy1/media/photo39-1_zps36c8992e.jpg.html)

[Ezzzzy1]

When I first started 9/25/12...

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/Ezzzzy1/photo41-1_zpsc1815a01.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/Ezzzzy1/media/photo41-1_zpsc1815a01.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/Ezzzzy1/photo42_zps0e49c06c.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/Ezzzzy1/media/photo42_zps0e49c06c.jpg.html)

Had a bobcat (again) all day yesterday. Almost as much fun as riding. Almost

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/Ezzzzy1/photo40-1_zpse42265b2.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/Ezzzzy1/media/photo40-1_zpse42265b2.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/Ezzzzy1/photo38-1_zpsf6c50062.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/Ezzzzy1/media/photo38-1_zpsf6c50062.jpg.html)

[mxer]

Here's my latest question and it's about landscaping:

I have an in-ground sprinkler system in the back yard. Some of the heads work, some don't. All and all it looks pretty cheap and seriously lacking in quality. I am redesigning the backyard and am only going to put grass on half of the original area, so the majority of the original sprinkler heads (some working, some not) will not even be used. Almost all of them would need a new location.

Question- should I dig up the old lines and relocate them? Should I not go through the trouble of digging them up and just water by hand?

Thoughts?

:cheers:

It depends on how far you have to relocate them. I wouldn't dig up the lines. I would funny pipe them over to where they need to be and plug the ones you don't need.

[Ezzzzy1]

I agree with mxer as well, giving you a few options. Only down side is that you kinda leave future home owners with a mess because there are pipes running everywhere in odd places and whatnot.

Sean you should post a picture of what you are talking about.

[bodhizafa]

Damn sweet yard!

You think it's worth popping a really small system in a small yard. I hate watering my yard but would love to have it on some timer all hidden away and stuff.

[Ezzzzy1]

Thanks man!

If its small I would take a look at that same thing I told Sean about.... instead of running a whole system you could just dig a few heads in and then hook your hose up to it. They do make a watering timer for hoses so instead of spending maybe $500 on a small system maybe you could get away with spending >$200.

[Grim2.0]

Went and picked up some 1/4" tubing, and the adaptor for the spigot, some 1/4" wide spray sprinkler heads, dug the yard a little bit and ran the tubing, worked like a charm I managed to get a head on 13 shrubs and trees. Thanks for the advice Ej! I like the hose that has the holes in it but my shrubs are spaced out and there would have been a lot of wasted water getting sprayed. My little project cost me $25.00 for everything!

[Sean]

Sorry I didn't post up again, too busy drinking beer.....I mean, in the yard. I just decided to scrap the existing system and I'll put a temporary, above ground system in. We've already changed our minds too many times to put something permanent in.


Sean you should post a picture of what you are talking about.I'll get something up today. Thanks for the help!


I hate watering my yard but would love to have it on some timer all hidden away and stuff.They have timers that you can attach to the hose now. $30ish I think at Walmart/Home Depot/Lowes.

[asp_125]

Damn sweet yard!

You think it's worth popping a really small system in a small yard. I hate watering my yard but would love to have it on some timer all hidden away and stuff.

I have a programmable timer that runs off batteries, attaches on the spigot head and the hose on top of that. I just converted it all to quick release fittings and it's a breeze to hook up an above ground system.

[Grant H.]

I buried sprinkler systems in the back yard during this "little" project...

How the back yard looked when we bought the house:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7381/8874942674_5ce0d65d38.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61071044@N08/8874942674/)
How it started (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61071044@N08/8874942674/) by ARNEWB (http://www.flickr.com/people/61071044@N08/), on Flickr

Thank goodness my brother owns a Skid Steer:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7383/8874946968_e8498ffd17.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61071044@N08/8874946968/)
Lets just dig it all up (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61071044@N08/8874946968/) by ARNEWB (http://www.flickr.com/people/61071044@N08/), on Flickr

Retaining wall blocks (just over 100lbs each) (had to pull the top layer off to get the Skid Steer to pick the pallets up) 18K pounds of Concrete Block:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3705/8874952710_b3dffc2d43.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61071044@N08/8874952710/)
Concrete (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61071044@N08/8874952710/) by ARNEWB (http://www.flickr.com/people/61071044@N08/), on Flickr

Laying the first layer, and the pile of dirt (almost all of that dirt went back into the wall area):
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8255/8874341481_cf1891384c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61071044@N08/8874341481/)
First layer and yard carnage (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61071044@N08/8874341481/) by ARNEWB (http://www.flickr.com/people/61071044@N08/), on Flickr

Mostly assembled wall:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5335/8874960594_a3ba62d1c1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61071044@N08/8874960594/)
Wall mostly assembled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61071044@N08/8874960594/) by ARNEWB (http://www.flickr.com/people/61071044@N08/), on Flickr

Working on back filling. The Skid steer has lights, so who cares about the sun going down:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7458/8874347269_a35c59da82.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61071044@N08/8874347269/)
Almost done (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61071044@N08/8874347269/) by ARNEWB (http://www.flickr.com/people/61071044@N08/), on Flickr

Since then I rototilled sand, saw dust/saw shavings, and horse manure into the dirt (adds drainage, decomposing material that holds water, and fertilizer into the soil), buried my sprinklers, seeded it, and have finished in the top sections of the wall area.

I need to get some pics of it finished in.

I just use a tractor sprinkler in the front yard (at least until I have time to get after the landscaping in the front...