Home Improvement & DIY

I was thinking about making a thread like this this morning.

My current situation: I have a room with vinyl tiles on a hardwood floor. I wanna remove the tiles and I'm gonna need a solvent to dissolve the glue so I can scrape it off. Anybody here ever done anything like that, and if so, what solvent would you recommend?

I've remodeled pretty much my entire house by myelf with some help from my pops. I did contract out a couple things, but not much. I grew up with with an electrician father and his father was a carpenter and his uncle did tile. I'm definitely not a pro, but I'm comfortable. My least favorite trade I kinda fuck around with is plumbing. I fucking hate plumbing. I just hate hiring expensive plumbers because they know people hate plumbing more than actual plumbing itself.


I'll post some before and after pictures when I get access to a computer. I might even be able to help with a basic question or two as well.


Here's a photo of an after:

By Jay Whatever Go To PostI was thinking about making a thread like this this morning.

My current situation: I have a room with vinyl tiles on a hardwood floor. I wanna remove the tiles and I'm gonna need a solvent to dissolve the glue so I can scrape it off. Anybody here ever done anything like that, and if so, what solvent would you recommend?

Was the vinyl done before 1984 (asbestos)? Also some of the options I'm looking at actually suggest dry ice in order to avoid damaging the wood from solvents.

By Fenderputty Go To PostHere's a photo of an after:

I miss the open plan of my old home a bit because the kitchen was like this and could look out into a room. My home now the the kitchen is mostly in its own quarters and has an awkward layout where the stove/oven is in it's own little corner with barely a foot of countertop next to it. Pain in the ass.

By Jay Whatever Go To PostI was thinking about making a thread like this this morning.

My current situation: I have a room with vinyl tiles on a hardwood floor. I wanna remove the tiles and I'm gonna need a solvent to dissolve the glue so I can scrape it off. Anybody here ever done anything like that, and if so, what solvent would you recommend?

Do you have to remove them? You can treat vinyl tile like a subfloor.

By 33MillionDollarMen Go To PostI miss the open plan of my old home a bit because the kitchen was like this and could look out into a room. My home now the the kitchen is mostly in its own quarters and has an awkward layout where the stove/oven is in it's own little corner with barely a foot of countertop next to it. Pain in the ass.

I knocked down a block wall to open it up. I thought the wall was faux brick, but it ended out being brick block with rebar and concrete. Total hell. Can't believe anyone would build a home with a block wall. Their vaulted ceilings too. So the wall didn't even go all the way up. I'll post pictures later

Yeah mine is situated in a way where you can't open it up without a huge renovation of it and another room. It's not too bad though, as a result of the plan we have now the dining room looks into the living room so we can sit on one side of our table in a built in bench looking towards the tv. We've watched many basketball games this way during dinner.

The tiles are about 8 years old. I've looked at a bunch of different options, and some are supposed to be easier on wood than others. I read about dry ice as well, but apparently it won't work as well as a chemical solution if the glue is too old. I just want the wood floor back, I can refinish it later if necessary.

By Jay Whatever Go To PostThe tiles are about 8 years old. I've looked at a bunch of different options, and some are supposed to be easier on wood than others. I read about dry ice as well, but apparently it won't work as well as a chemical solution if the glue is too old. I just want the wood floor back, I can refinish it later if necessary.

After the glue is gone, do you plan on sanding and refinishing yourself?

Yes.

By Jay Whatever Go To PostYes.

Ohh cool. It's a lot of work and requires one be out of the house while the lacquer sets. But if you can do it, it's better than laying laminat or pre-engineered wood floors over the linoleum.

I think I read about using a heat gun to remove glue when i was weighing the options on my old house. (We went with laminate flooring due to logistics.

I read up on the heat gun too. It seems like a safer option for the wood, but it would be even more time consuming.

I live in an apartment, so I can't do drastic shit like laying a whole new floor. I technically shouldn't have even put the tiles there to begin with.

By Jay Whatever Go To PostI read up on the heat gun too. It seems like a safer option for the wood, but it would be even more time consuming.

I live in an apartment, so I can't do drastic shit like laying a whole new floor. I technically shouldn't have even put the tiles there to begin with.

Is the wood below the old school solid wood floors or, are they pre-engineered / laminate?

You'll want to be as safe as possible regardless, since you'll want to preserve whatever is below the glue, but if it's laminate / pre-engineered you won't be able to refinish if the flooring gets damaged by removing the vinyl / glue

It's regular wood.

By Jay Whatever Go To PostIt's regular wood.

I would definitely do whatever the safest is. The whole process is going to take time.

Starting a project in my new house: entire kitchen getting backsplash treatment. My best friend is going to be doing most of the work, and I'll be helping out.

Went here today: https://www.rejuvenation.com/

If I had a lot of money I could go pretty nuts here.

By AlphaSnacks Go To PostStarting a project in my new house: entire kitchen getting backsplash treatment. My best friend is going to be doing most of the work, and I'll be helping out.

Good learning experience. Take some pics

By AlphaSnacks Go To PostStarting a project in my new house: entire kitchen getting backsplash treatment. My best friend is going to be doing most of the work, and I'll be helping out.

When my parents did that to their place, dad threw some of the same tiles on the fireplace because ours just kind of had ugly exposed red brick. Since the kitchen/living room were open to each other it made for a really nice tie-in/design.

Fuck rose bushes and the asshole that planted them in this yard.

Pruning rose bushes is a total pain. LIterally. I hated doing it as a child at my parents house and because of that have refused to plant them in my own.

Great idea tying the kitchen and fireplace together BTW>

The jerk who planted them in this one put them right by the house but near the path to walk in and out of the yard. I just basically tree clippers nuked all 3 of them.

By 33MillionDollarMen Go To PostWent here today: https://www.rejuvenation.com/

If I had a lot of money I could go pretty nuts here.

Oh god. Why did you have to post this.

All of that stuff would look awesome in my house.

On another note, I'll have to take some pics of my house soon and get some feedback. Thinking of doing a bathroom remodel.

Clearing a yard of weeds ain't no joke. Also I wish I could find landscape lighting that isn't the cheap malibu plastic lighting but also not 100+ per path light.

By 33MillionDollarMen Go To PostClearing a yard of weeds ain't no joke. Also I wish I could find landscape lighting that isn't the cheap malibu plastic lighting but also not 100+ per path light.

I've found that paying for a weed and fertilizer service is well worth it.

I like doing it myself actually (weather's been great) I just didn't realize some of them were going to be so tough to remove. Yard hasn't really been tended to in quite some time. Technically the hardest aren't even weeds just left over plants in the flower bed I'm not interested in keeping because I want to redo the flower bed entirely. Rhubarb requires a trowel and digging almost a foot down basically.

Found a kitty jaw bone in the yard. I'm fairly sure I'm going to dig up more shit.

By KingGondo Go To PostI've found that paying for a weed and fertilizer service is well worth it.

It's first on my list of things to get as my disposable income increase.


Today I mowed the lawn, did a weed and feed, edged lawn, planted tomatoe, chili and basil, planted a lemon tree, trimmed a front hedge and weeded two planters. I hated every moment

I'm taking rocks out of various areas that look like they were just haphazardly tossed where ever. I also want to remove 2 rose bushes. Ugggggh.

Are the rose bushes down to numbs from your previous pruning?

Yeah. No way I was going to dig around them or mess with them with any stalks. The worst part is they're under a bunch of rocks and soil that needs to be dealt with first.

Yeah I mean ... Now is the perfect time

By Fenderputty Go To PostIt's first on my list of things to get as my disposable income increase.


Today I mowed the lawn, did a weed and feed, edged lawn, planted tomatoe, chili and basil, planted a lemon tree, trimmed a front hedge and weeded two planters. I hated every moment

It's worth it.

In fact, I try to pay other people to do as much as I possibly can. Even if you do something yourself, it still costs money, time, and effort for an often worse result than just paying a pro.

The only yard work I still do is watering, mowing and edging.

Panoramic cell phone shot of my kitchen with new all glass backsplash and apron. It looks even better in person.

Nice! Pretty sure that's my wife's dream kitchen. Ours was renovated right before we moved in, but it's quite dark. Dark brown cabinets, wrought-iron accents, and the marble countertops are also dark and make it hard to tell whether it's clean or not.

Maybe we'll redo it in a few years.

Nice Island. My wife and I almost never eat at the table because of our Island. Quartz Counters?

By AlphaSnacks Go To PostPanoramic cell phone shot of my kitchen with new all glass backsplash and apron. It looks even better in person.

I'd love some better lighting in my kitchen and an actual slab countertop. Right now it's just some awful layer of who knows what on top of cheap plyboard. One thing we did though was replace the double sink with a nice big single tub.

I don't mind doing the gardening myself since I have time to spare and some very specific ideas in mind. Also I've been nerding out organizing the various mexican beach pebbles.

By KingGondo Go To PostNice! Pretty sure that's my wife's dream kitchen.

Thank you :)

By Fenderputty Go To PostNice Island. My wife and I almost never eat at the table because of our Island. Quartz Counters?

Yep, quartz all around. Extremely durable, resistant to heat damage, scratches, etc.

Rose bushes gone (got the big root bulb) but I left some roots still because I wasn't about to dig a grave. Now it's stones that I have a bunch of in the backyard, been cleaning and arranging them. I got some white paint pens to draw designs on the rocks that will be on top. Plan to do simple stuff like this and typography inspired things.

I've got a 40" by 60" mirror that I want to hang. It has cleats installed on the back but nothing for the wall. I called Home Depot and they got 12" cleats that'll hold 200 pounds so that should work, but I'm worried about the drywall not being able to take it. Would plastic anchors solve the problem or do I need to find the studs?

So I'm remodeling my Master Bath finally. (It's a really small Master Bath lol). I pulled out the old cheap fiberglass shower and tub enclosure and redid the drain connection and put in a shower pan. The pan comes water proof so I don't have to build a bed and then hotmop like the old school way. So far I'm happy with the results. I have to change out the old valve and raise the shower stub to 7'. Then duroc and water proof the walls and I can start tiling.


Almost had a heart attack this weekend though ...

When I was working on this drain:


This motherfucker came out of the hole:

New shower valve added and outlet stubbed up at 7'.


Framed in Soap Niche and Shaving Stool.


Put up concrete board and taped joints


Added thin set to joints and leveled surface as much as I could


Water Proofing added


Started Tiling

Idk why but I love watching the progress over time. Nice pics

By RobNBanks Go To PostIdk why but I love watching the progress over time. Nice pics

Thanks man! There's so much prep work that goes into getting to the point of tiling. It sucks because tiling is instant results you can visualize. I'm hoping to get a ton done this weekend and I'll post some more results.

I hate plumbing. lol

I appreciate the in-progress pics the most. You can't imagine how many countless hours I spent looking at various builds people do of their BMW E30s that inspire me to do the same, so shit like this is right up my wheelhouse.

I'll post another progress pic since its appreciated. It should help visualize how to start tiling. Generally speaking you want to find your center point and build out from there (in this intance the shower niche is the center focal point even though it's slightly off center from the wall). Many times you can start from the bottom and build up, but we didn't. If we had started from the bottom I would have had to have had a cut edge against the glass tile that I have going horizontal through the middle of the soap niche (If I didn't have the glass I could have tiled from bottom up and had my cut edge at the very top.) So I pre measured the distance down from the center point of the niche to find a line to start tiling from so that when it hits the glass it does as a solid piece. This has a dual benefit. The shower pan isn't level (it has to slope towards to drain for water to run towards it). So if you start from the bottom it's extremely difficult to keep your grout lines and the tiles themselves level. A lot of times the thin set has some "sag" in it when you place a tile on. So I built a wedge that was level across the wall and started from there. Those little plastic pieces are the spacers to keep a consistent grout line. You can't see but I have pencil lines drawn on the surface.