The Home Improvement Thread

Drop ceiling is much more practical, dads are right as usual. Don't you have any electrical running along the ceiling in your basement? We did. How about your backup FiOS battery, or whatever other support system you have for phone. All that kind of stuff needs to remain accessible.

News flash. You have electrical and plumbing running along your house every where. Might as well have drop ceiling and removable panels on the walls throughout. It really isn't a major issue to access the ceiling through drywall. Sure if you have to do it on any type of regular basis it could make sense to drop it but there should be no need for that type of access really.

Drop ceiling is much more practical, dads are right as usual. Don't you have any electrical running along the ceiling in your basement? We did. How about your backup FiOS battery, or whatever other support system you have for phone. All that kind of stuff needs to remain accessible.

I'll have wires, but FiOS remains a distant dream where I live.

I'll have wires, but FiOS remains a distant dream where I live.

Same here in rural Pennsyltucky. I have no clue what these FiOS batteries for your home are.

Been waiting for and calling Verizon for years asking if they've hit the boonies with their FiOS yet...nope.


I wouldn't make any permanent building designs based on the technology of today anyway...it changes so frequently and the current technology is often short-lived.

You can build to accommodate, but you shouldn't base your home's design/structure around current technology.


Look how many people have built-in holes in their wall that were designed for tube TVs...that are now just a waste of space and don't work for flat panels very well. They just toss a statue or potted plant in the hole.

http://uglyhousephotos.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/120126j.jpg

http://imagesus.homeaway.com/mda01/74ca57c3-a4a6-49ec-8696-4ac0a31e37b7.1.12

Same here in rural Pennsyltucky. I have no clue what these FiOS batteries for your home are.

Been waiting for and calling Verizon for years asking if they've hit the boonies with their FiOS yet...nope.


I wouldn't make any permanent building designs based on the technology of today anyway...it changes so frequently and the current technology is often short-lived.

You can build to accommodate, but you shouldn't base your home's design/structure around current technology.


Look how many people have built-in holes in their wall that were designed for tube TVs...that are now just a waste of space and don't work for flat panels very well. They just toss a statue or potted plant in the hole.

http://uglyhousephotos.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/120126j.jpg

http://imagesus.homeaway.com/mda01/74ca57c3-a4a6-49ec-8696-4ac0a31e37b7.1.12

The house we are building our TV cabnet is going to be built after every thing has been done. Its in the corner so if we decide to remove it the only thing we will have to do is patch some nail holes and do a little painting.

How is that stuff? I have a water stain on one of my ceilings, I'm not crazy about the idea of re-painting the whole damn thing so is this stuff any good?

matty if you are covering up a water stain you have to use an oil based paint. it's a pain in the ass to clean up, but water stains will bleed through water based latex paint. best bet is to buy some oil based primer sealer in a spray can, spray the area and come back and go over it w flat white ceiling paint. it sounds like a pain, but isn't too bad, just takes time, it's the only water to properly cover up a water stain.


and as for drop ceiling vs drywall, only use drop ceilings where you are forced to. no matter how well built the ceiling is it will require more maintence than a drywalled ceiling 9 times out of 10. THE MAIN THING YOU NEED TO DO WHEN INSTALLING DRYWALL IS USE SCREWS AND GLUE. if you hire someone make sure they do this. it will save you from many nail pops down the line.

and lastly as far as pricing goes, not sure about where you are in va, but in northen va you are looking at around $40 a sheet, hung and finished. you could probably find someone to do it a little cheaper, but then you'd be calling someone like me to come and fix their mistakes. it's easier and cheaper to do it right the first time.

ive learned 2 things with my home improvement adventures . .

1 - it is really hard fixing things with one hand but i am getting better and better each time

2- caulk is very hard to get to look smooth, is a pain to get out of brick and you should use caulk rope if you have to cover a gap bigger than 1/4 inch

3- the caulk jokes are not appreciated by the female race. they have a very low tolerance to "hon, can you help with this caulk", "while i got my caulk out, you got any holes you need me for?", insert any generic caulk joke.

4- i apologize for this post

What happened to your other hand...if you don't mind my asking

ive learned 2 things with my home improvement adventures . .

1 - it is really hard fixing things with one hand but i am getting better and better each time

2- caulk is very hard to get to look smooth, is a pain to get out of brick and you should use caulk rope if you have to cover a gap bigger than 1/4 inch

3- the caulk jokes are not appreciated by the female race. they have a very low tolerance to "hon, can you help with this caulk", "while i got my caulk out, you got any holes you need me for?", insert any generic caulk joke.

4- i apologize for this post


http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_8572.jpg

SS - ice cold can of beer, preferably without paint chips floating in it. i just cannot sacrifice the beer, i dont even really drink it, i pretty much just hold it and wish i had 2 hands ... im a really stubborn idiot

Mred - i tried one of those, i tried a damp finger, i tried the foaming insulation then tried to sand paper it down.

i think my real problem was i was trying to use acrylic caulk around my entire front door frame which had an exposed gap going all the way around varying from 1/2 to 2 inches wide and very deep . . .

I prefer drop ceilings because they have various size and you can buy it at a cheap or expensive rate. Therefore you should go to buy them because they can buy in even low cost and high quality.