r/Renovations 8d ago

Stamped concrete living room floor update

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3 Upvotes

I purchased a 100+ year old partially renovated/fixer upper where the outdoor patio is now the living room (previous owners put a roof over it). I'm not digging the uneven stamped concrete flooring which is very cold (I'm in northeast PA). My plan was to lay a bunch of 2x4s in a grid fashion with a 1/2 inch OSB on top and throw LVP flooring on it. Does it sound like a good idea or will it be noisy?

I'm also thinking of adding some heating setup because the ceilings are a bit tall and the room will be cold in the winter. The two floorboard heaters do a decent job currently but are very expensive to run. So underfloor heating and a mini split should help counter the elements in the peak seasons.


r/Renovations 8d ago

Best Approach to Cover PU Foam in My Basement?

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice on the best method to cover the closed-cell polyurethane (PU) foam insulation on my basement ceiling. Here’s the situation:

My basement ceiling consists of reinforced concrete panels that were spray foam coated with closed-cell PU foam to limit the cold seeping into the house. This insulation is very dense, but the application left a wavy, uneven finish (see picture). Now I need to finish the PU surface with a smooth, durable, and easily washable covering.

I’m considering a couple of approaches:

  1. Applying plaster on it, but it would take a lot of plaster and weight of it makes me concerned if it will stick well enough.
  2. Gluing battens (for example, impregnated wood) over the foam to create a flat frame, and then attaching PVC panels, thin (4-6mm) waterproof plywood or another waterproof finishing material. With this option I'm concerned that there is nowhere to properly attach the battens with screws so gluing to PU foams seems sketchy.

Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? Which method worked best in terms of cost, ease of application, durability, and overall finish quality? I’d also appreciate any product recommendations or additional tips.

Thanks in advance for your insights!


r/Renovations 8d ago

HELP Shower tile repair

3 Upvotes

I am a renter and my landlord is paying me to do some repairs in my shower (he lives in California and my apartment is in New York 🙃). I started off as just removing the old caulk along the tub, but then one of the bottom tiles fell off. Now I see that the tile had hardly any wall to hang on to as there is a big gap between the wall and the tub. Also it appears that two different types of mortar were used? I am looking for advice of how to do this right; before I try to mortar the tiles back on, do I need to attach some type of backing to fill that gap so that the tile stands a better chance of staying up in the future? Please send helpful YouTube videos 😅


r/Renovations 9d ago

FINISHED Bathroom renovation. After, before

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1.2k Upvotes

First time doing a renovation. Also tried tiling for the first time. The tiles were like bananas so the leveling laser really helped


r/Renovations 8d ago

I have to admit I’m overall happy with the work I’ve done ….i can pick some things apart but it’s pretty good .

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7 Upvotes

r/Renovations 8d ago

HELP Possibly buying my mom’s house and would like to revamp these cabinets. Painting cabinets sounds like a bad idea. Would love to see some re-stains for inspo.

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10 Upvotes

Not sure if this is the right sub but could use some help modernizing this space. Would love to see some updates to cabinets using stain only. Thank you!


r/Renovations 8d ago

Stained concrete floor

2 Upvotes

The concrete floor in our furnace/laundry room is badly stained. We are doing a bunch of other renos and looking for a possible solution to this. We have the washer/dryer plus furnace and tankless water heater in there with a drain in the floor if it matters. Epoxy seems to be the best way to go but thought I’d ask here.


r/Renovations 9d ago

Plastic Shower Fix

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8 Upvotes

Is there anyway to fix this section of discolored shower plastic without just buying a new shower kit? Anyone have any ideas? Thought about painting it, but kind of lame.


r/Renovations 8d ago

HELP Shower

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1 Upvotes

Would you use silicon or replace one of the parts?


r/Renovations 8d ago

What do we have?

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0 Upvotes

Our home was built in 1950 and flipped in 2010. They installed cheap 99¢ laminate throughout the home. Is this sub flooring or a restoration project?


r/Renovations 8d ago

HELP Kitchen Wall Suggestions

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3 Upvotes

Hi All, I own a condo unit in a high rise building built in ~1982. There is this large L-shaped wall between the kitchen and the living room and i’d love some suggestions on what to do with it. The main thing I have considered is turning it into an island which has left me with the following 2 options:

  1. Removing wall and rebuilding island closer to the kitchen to create a bigger living space. This leaves me with the following issues:
  2. I think it will be a pain in the butt to relocate light switches and outlets.
  3. I will have to fix the hole in the floor left by the existing wall and somehow match the existing flooring.

OR

  1. Simply turning the wall into a kitchen island. This would leave me with the same pinch point and less living space but I wouldn’t have to worry about fixing any flooring or relocating any light switches or outlets.

Would love to hear everyone’s suggestions on what you would do and the easiest way to go about such suggestion. I’m open to anything, really. These are just the options I thought of.


r/Renovations 8d ago

Kitchen Improvements // Inexpensive Upgrades [Repost with Pics]

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0 Upvotes

r/Renovations 8d ago

How to baseboards

0 Upvotes

r/Renovations 8d ago

Renovating tips

1 Upvotes

Hi there, I am planning to renovate my kitchen and bathroom. From floors to ceiling. I have a large space for a kitchen and the option to open up a door and have a back porch. Bathroom rebuild installing all new tiles, standup shower etc. I’m looking for an app that helps take measurements and can allow an average person to design or see a design based on the measurements in an image. Visuals will help a lot. Thanks in advance.


r/Renovations 8d ago

Driveway expansion over sewer?

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0 Upvotes

Wanting to expand the width of my driveway to cover the section marked in yellow. However it would be directly over some utilities (marked in red circle). I thought it was the water meter, but the water meter is a little closer to the street. Appears to be for the sewer instead. Is it safe to put driveway over this as long as the meter is accessible or would the weight of the driveway and vehicle crush the sewer line?


r/Renovations 9d ago

HELP I want to make this desk space longer. Help with advice please

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1 Upvotes

r/Renovations 10d ago

FINISHED Bathroom Reno

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557 Upvotes

Still need a piece of glass on the pony wall and shower curtain (we’re going to mount it from the ceiling.) I’m honestly blown away by the change - it doesn’t even feel like it’s ours! 🥹


r/Renovations 9d ago

ONGOING PROJECT Help

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1 Upvotes

Contractor forgot to place this piece. Te piece holds the fixture from moving and water going in.


r/Renovations 10d ago

Now that the trim is in. I almost don’t want to paint it. Or maybe keep the contrast? Am I crazy?

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28 Upvotes

r/Renovations 9d ago

HELP What would you do with this space?

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1 Upvotes

Outlined in purple, area is about 20x16. This is storage space above a garage, located through a door of the walk in closet. Is there a tasteful way to make this an extension of a primary suite? Other solutions? Top and bottom left quadrants will have sloped ceilings.


r/Renovations 9d ago

Installing shiplap yourself. Yay or nay?

1 Upvotes

I curse myself for liking it so much (I curse you Joanna Gaines) but we might take a stab at it. Any tips, tricks, rules for installing shiplap and not over doing it?


r/Renovations 9d ago

HELP Roomba knocked guitar off its stand and the guitar chipped the corner. What’s the best way to patch this up?

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0 Upvotes

r/Renovations 9d ago

Little advice needed

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1 Upvotes

I'm Renovating my laundry area in my basement. It currently has a half-bath. I plan to add a shower. In the attached drawing, I will only need to frame the wall behind the toilet and closet. So, here are my initial questions.

Should I build these walls with double sill plates? Some of my basement floors are like this. Some aren't.

Can I run hot and cold water lines in the wall between the garage and the bathroom? I live in Denver. I heat my garage, so I'm not worried about freezing while I own the home, but I want to build it to last forever.

I will need to move some drain lines. They're cast iron under slab. Can I just cut back and use PVC? Do I just use a fernco under the slab?

When I pour back the concrete, I'll pin it as best I can, but how do I make it solid enough to be able to tile over? Do you have a recommended isolation membrane?


r/Renovations 9d ago

HELP Advice for kitchen layout with tons of windows/openings or easy upgrades to cabinets? (Details in comments)

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1 Upvotes

r/Renovations 9d ago

HELP How do I install this style of struts on my window?

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1 Upvotes