[Captainofiron]

Originally Posted by 65Mark

Is the roof cavity open to the parapet wall? The roof sheathing "should" go to the outside edge of the wall for sheer. Anything is possible though. You have all your vents up high, are you putting any low for intake?
Just curious.

I reached down (reaching for my phillips bit for my drill hahaha) and it does seem to be open to the roof cavity, Im not 100% sure, this is my first experience with flat roofs

I think the beams go all the way to the edge of the wall, but not the sheathing

I didnt put any low because I didnt want to mess with the stucco

so far I have recorded about a 2 degree temperature difference in the living room without the AC running with the new vents

Im pretty happy with that, should get even better when I put the elastomeric reflective coating on the roof

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Captainofiron

I reached down (reaching for my phillips bit for my drill hahaha) and it does seem to be open to the roof cavity, Im not 100% sure, this is my first experience with flat roofs

I think the beams go all the way to the edge of the wall, but not the sheathing

I didnt put any low because I didnt want to mess with the stucco

so far I have recorded about a 2 degree temperature difference in the living room without the AC running with the new vents

Im pretty happy with that, should get even better when I put the elastomeric reflective coating on the roof

Indeed! Especially if you are allowed a light color (white) installation by your HOA. Have had many commercial projects with these speced and installed.
Locations such as Burmuda commonly use light color roofs (required there) to maximize radiant solar heat reflection.

Although often cost prohibitive initially, long term energy savings are a payoff and justification of elastomeric use.

IIRC - elastomeric roofing repairs often performed with specific patch materials, adhesives, and heat devices (sealing heat guns).
To minimize penetrations...just keep MECHANICAL and ELECTRICAL Contractors rooftop sharp objects, tools and dropped screws clean off of the roof.

[Captainofiron]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Indeed! Especially if you are allowed a light color (white) installation by your HOA. Have had many commercial projects with these speced and installed.
Locations such as Burmuda commonly use light color roofs (required there) to maximize radiant solar heat reflection.

Although often cost prohibitive initially, long term energy savings are a payoff and justification of elastomeric use.

IIRC - elastomeric roofing repairs often performed with specific patch materials, adhesives, and heat devices (sealing heat guns).
To minimize penetrations...just keep MECHANICAL and ELECTRICAL Contractors rooftop sharp objects, tools and dropped screws clean off of the roof.

our HOA has no restrictions on the color and many of my neighbors have it already.

I crunched the numbers and if I buy the one with the highest reflective rate, it will be around 900 bucks, which is steep if you just look at initial cost (which my wife did and made this face )

but I think it will help energy cost and help the roof last longer, so its like a 1 stone 2 birds thing

After looking around, I bought this stuff
http://henry.com/roofing/coolroofcoa...iteroofcoating

On my roof there are areas where the AC ducts routing pop up higher than the roof, and I think these littel roof sections will benefit me the most by coating them

[Captainofiron]

So this weekend I got up on the roof, cleaned it (scrubbed, pressure washed and used chemicals in some areas) and prepped it to put down the elastomeric coating.

I got the thickest nap roller I could and I carried the 5 gallon buckets up on the roof (that was hard enough)

So the first coat I put down was in the north-south direction. I decided to first put a thick coat on the portion of the parapet wall that was vertical and curved down to the flat part of the roof.


Then I attacked the flat part. What I did was apply the coating first to the part of the roof furthest away from where I got on the roof, then worked my way in.




I had calculated that I would need 10.8 gallons for this portion of the roof. I think I was right above 10.

If you want to do this, make sure to get good quality rollers and handles. I thought I was going to reuse the ones that I bought to paint the inside of the house, baaaaad choice, those lasted maybe an hour and they broke. So I went to home depot and got mid-grade wood ones with metal thread inserts. bad choice again

the metal thread insert started loosening and didnt want to stay on the wood, then the extension handle snapped in half.



I finally got the first coat down after about 5-6 hours, I let it dry for a few hours and the first part I had applied it to wasnt tacky anymore so I started on those. The second coat went on way faster. At first I wasnt using enought of the coating, so I had to go back and redo some of the stuff I had first done, but after I figured that out (about one dip per roll) it went super fast and I was done the same afternoon. Rough way to spend a Saturday

[David Jones]

Replaced the "tree ring" in the front yard last week. Tools needed? Wheelbarrow. Shovel. Short level. Skil saw with a diamond concrete blade. Concrete chisel and 3lb hammer.etc etc etc. I have all that stuff. I also recommend a good back and and 2 good arms. I have a bad back and one arm recovering from a little muscular mishap. Before/after.

[Captainofiron]

Originally Posted by David Jones

Replaced the "tree ring" in the front yard last week. Tools needed? Wheelbarrow. Shovel. Short level. Skil saw with a diamond concrete blade. Concrete chisel and 3lb hammer.etc etc etc. I have all that stuff. I also recommend a good back and and 2 good arms. I have a bad back and one arm recovering from a little muscular mishap. Before/after.

what is that green stuff on the ground?

haha my wife would kill to have grass and trees, but the water bill would kill us here in the desert, nice work David

[The Boss]

Very nicely updated David!

[Captainofiron]

So Im thinking about redoing the kitchen countertops and the backsplash, I had been wanting to do it for a while, but I think the possibility of leaving NM has moved this to the forefront as I think it would help with sale
Here is pretty much how the kitchen looks as of right now (I installed the over the range microwave a little after we moved in)



what do you guys think?
I think the cabinet color really limits our options, my wife would like to refinish them in a darker color, and we could since they are fully oak and no particleboard, but I think the countertops and the backsplash will give it enough of an updated look

[Captainofiron]

Need some kitchen remodel opinions

Basically this is how my kitchen looks now:


What do you guys think of these options:
1) Cabinets refinished to "Rustic" color and Olive Rust quartz countertops


2) Cabinets refinished to "Chocolate" color and Olive Rust quartz countertops


3) Cabinets refinished to "Espresso" color and Seleno quartz countertops

[72pontiac]

love the last one. and ive done probably 25 kitchens

[Alvin]

1st consult your wife

2nd if you're planning on placing your home on the market in the near future I'd suggest you consult with a highly recommended local Successful Real Estate Agent who specializes in your area. The RE Agent could be the best to advise you what will "sell" and is "in fashion" in the current market.

[hurryinhoosier62]

My honey do list is NO WHERE near to completion. The tile layers STILL haven't finished either bath which means I can't paint them, install the new baseboard and trim, ........

[FirebirdHank]

I agree with you about changing the backsplash and counter tops only. I also agree with Alvin about consulting a Realtor.
You could spend a lot of money changing the cabinte color and not increase the asking price at all. The cabinets you have look to be in very good shape.

[Captainofiron]

Originally Posted by Alvin

1st consult your wife

2nd if you're planning on placing your home on the market in the near future I'd suggest you consult with a highly recommended local Successful Real Estate Agent who specializes in your area. The RE Agent could be the best to advise you what will "sell" and is "in fashion" in the current market.

hahaha

yea my wife is on board with the remodel plans and actually the one that has been pushing

2nd, our realtor is probably the best in town and I havent had a chance to meet up with her because she is battling some serious medical problems. I will probably meet up with her assistant this weekend to see if it will be profitable

The hard part is trying to match the regions taste (who wants a stucco flat roof house that is mono-chromatically brown/tan anyways...)

Originally Posted by FirebirdHank

I agree with you about changing the backsplash and counter tops only. I also agree with Alvin about consulting a Realtor.
You could spend a lot of money changing the cabinte color and not increase the asking price at all. The cabinets you have look to be in very good shape.

the cabinet refinishing I will do myself and I have already crunched the numbers and I will only need to spend $150, so its not that bad

they are in good shape, but the previous owner didnt take care of the house at all and the places where you open the doors/drawers are much lighter than the rest of the cabinet and oil hasnt fixed it (also the first picture isnt a photograph its just the 3d model made to match my kitchen colors/materials)

[FirebirdHank]

My wife has been wanting to get the 20+ year old carpeting out of our master bedroom.
Work has been a little slow so what better time then now. I didn't think of taking the before pictures until the project was already underway.
Here is the room with most of the furniture out.





Home Depot had the best match of the hardwood in the rest of the house and with the 10% vets discount the price was pretty good.
Three days later here is the finished job.





I know, I know, how may f****** pillows do you need on your bed. But if that is my only complaint I guess I don't have it too bad.

[The Boss]

Looks great!

[Captainofiron]

looks really good, amazing how flooring can really change a room

[Captainofiron]

So this weekend I pulled the trigger on the granite countertops.
I got a 10% discount if they installed it, I got a 320$ granite sink free, and 6 months same as cash, feels pretty good man

Here is what we chose on top of the current floor tile

[72pontiac]

are you going to undermount that sink

[GT182]

David, I did the same for the front of my house 2 years ago. Had the same wood rails as you which were all rotted out. Those stone wall pavers make a big difference on how everything else around looks too. Looks great.