Around the House - Projects, Tips etc.

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Cerise

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Are you working on any projects (decorating, etc.) in your home you want to share; or have any questions or tips?

I have some picture/metal wall art & candleholders I want to share. Bought a level & picture hangers, but don't want to make umpteen holes in the walls. Not sure what the walls are made of, & most of the time nails don't hold & anchors are not too easy, for me. Any tips on picture/wall hanging? Would you use nails or screws, & what kind would work best?

Here's the metal art wall sculpture I won at auction (w/ certificate of authenticity & signed by the artist). I don't want to screw it up.

 
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The candle/tealight holder is similar to this one. Will probably hang it over the fireplace or in the bedroom:


 
Redoing my entire bedroom decor, as i'm moving and think I need a 'fresh' and clean slate. I never realized how many walls my new bedroom has! (7!) but, i'll admit, the kitty-corner walls are pretty gorgeous, just a pain to paint. I ended up pulling a muscle in my hand in the middle of the second coat, went to the doctor today and was told to not use my hand (also the one I write with). So I now have a half-pained room.

Hows that for shabby chic? A half painted room LOL.
 
Are you working on any projects (decorating, etc.) in your home you want to share; or have any questions or tips?

I have some picture/metal wall art & candleholders I want to share. Bought a level & picture hangers, but don't want to make umpteen holes in the walls. Not sure what the walls are made of, & most of the time nails don't hold & anchors are not too easy, for me. Any tips on picture/wall hanging? Would you use nails or screws, & what kind would work best?

Here's the metal art wall sculpture I won at auction (w/ certificate of authenticity & signed by the artist). I don't want to screw it up.


They sell those hooks, by that tape brand. (Total mind blank) that come off and go on walls pretty easy. If your art has a border on the back, like a canvas does (the wood part), you can just rest it on top of the plastic hooks.
 
They sell those hooks, by that tape brand. (Total mind blank) that come off and go on walls pretty easy. If your art has a border on the back, like a canvas does (the wood part), you can just rest it on top of the plastic hooks.
Bella, I think you mean 3m/Scotch. You can get them in various sizes and they do work great. I just took some off the sliding doors in my Dad's room. He used them to keep his cane and picker-uper handy. They didn't leave a mark!

Cerise the hooks probably won't work on the candle display because they would show too much - it is too open. I don't know what to suggest for that one.
 
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Bella, I think you mean 3m/Scotch. You can get them in various sizes and they do work great. I just took some off the sliding doors in my Dad's room. He used them to keep his cane and picker-uper handy. They didn't leave a mark!

Cerise the hooks probably won't work on the candle display because they would show too much - it is too open. I don't know what to suggest for that one.


Yes!

If it weren't used for candles, i'd suggest putting two strings on either side, and screwing in O hooks on the ceiling, and tying them. I've seen this done infront of brick walls, so they don't damage. But I wouldn't suggest it for candles :LOL:
 
Here's the metal art wall sculpture I won at auction (w/ certificate of authenticity & signed by the artist). I don't want to screw it up.
Is it backed by some sort of brackets intended to be used for mounting?

I interpret "not screw it up" as not wanting it to fall off the wall and get ruined. IMO you should use expansion anchors, available in a huge variety at HD and other hardware stores. You select type and size depending on weight of hanging and method of attachment. Assuming 20-30 pounds perhaps two anchors. If you don't have the skills then get somebody to do the job for you.

(You probably have wallboard over studs for your wall. For the anchors you drill a hole--some have sharp points and you pound them in without needing a hole--then they expand as they are tightened down. Some day when they are not needed they are easy to remove and fill over with spackle and paint, wall is then good as new.)
 
Greg Who Cooks said:
Is it backed by some sort of brackets intended to be used for mounting?

I interpret "not screw it up" as not wanting it to fall off the wall and get ruined. IMO you should use expansion anchors, available in a huge variety at HD and other hardware stores. You select type and size depending on weight of hanging and method of attachment. Assuming 20-30 pounds perhaps two anchors. If you don't have the skills then get somebody to do the job for you.

(You probably have wallboard over studs for your wall. For the anchors you drill a hole--some have sharp points and you pound them in without needing a hole--then they expand as they are tightened down. Some day when they are not needed they are easy to remove and fill over with spackle and paint, wall is then good as new.)

+1

They're really very easy to use.
 
Don't get me started on "around the house" projects. The bathroom sink/vanity is concrete--I love it, but it was a challenge (and yes, we did it ourselves); the floors, the doors, I assume you mean "around the house" but not for those with a workshop/milling machines/sawmill/forge/cupala/etc. where you can do just about anything you can see in your mind's eye--the hardware in one of the spare rooms was something we casted...the floor is something we did--starting with the saw logs.
 
As a total DIY'er I'm constantly overwhelmed by the number of on-going projects I've got going around the house. I get tired of working on one project and will move on to another, then come back to the one I left off 6 months ago....and so on. It's never ending. This is what happens if you're too cheap to hire a contractor.
 
I'm afraid that after ten years of living in a 160 year old house, we know that almost any job we might start winds up being a bust, so we're better off waiting and saving and hiring a pro. Even minor jobs seem to wind up involving a lot more than our abilities, and more often than not, we spend the money for DIY jobs, then turn around and spend money for the pros. In spite of trying to research first, we find we didn't buy the right products, or a little job done uncovers major stuff that needs to be done right when we thought it was a cosmetic job.
 
As a total DIY'er I'm constantly overwhelmed by the number of on-going projects I've got going around the house. I get tired of working on one project and will move on to another, then come back to the one I left off 6 months ago....and so on. It's never ending. This is what happens if you're too cheap to hire a contractor.
That is my pet peeve--projects that don't get finished. I have to live with the unfinished projects, so I like to finish a project before moving onto another project. That doesn't always work. I see the house in the City as a work in progress. It isn't that I'm too cheap to hire a contractor--being self-employed in today's economy, I can't justify the money, so have to do it myself/ourselves. I think we've done well--we have replaced the kitchen counter top with an ash butcher block top. Total cost was under $100. Labor time was 4 weeks. Concrete sink/vanity in the bathroom was $90 in materials, labor time 4 weeks. hardwood floor in the bedroom, materials were $290, labor was 8 weeks (had to turn the birch logs into lumber, dry it in the loft for a year, plane, tongue and groove it, put it down, sand it, finish it). We're not just DYI, we are start with the raw ingredients and go from there.
 
Working full time and being self-employed, it's very difficult to finish a large project in a timely manner. A friend helped me demolish a large, termite infested, 2,500 sq/ft hillside deck in the summer of 2009 and I've been slowly re-building the deck, but on a smaller scale, entirely in concrete and brick this time, no wood. This project is about three quarters of the way finished now. Lucky for me I was able to get several dump truck loads of free fill dirt from a nearby townhome community building project.
The house also needs a new roof but that will be done in sections, over several dry months. I have no idea when I'll get to it. Wife's been nagging me about a new roof for the last 5 years. It's waaaay over due. Good thing we live in LA where we don't get much rain.
 
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Working full time and being self-employed, it's very difficult to finish a large project in a timely manner. A friend helped me demolish a large, termite infested, 2,500 sq/ft hillside deck in the summer of 2009 and I've been slowly re-building the deck, but on a smaller scale, entirely in concrete and brick this time, no wood. This project is about three quarters of the way finished now. Lucky for me I was able to get several dump truck loads of free fill dirt from a nearby townhome community building project.
The house also needs a new roof but that will be done in sections, over several dry months. I have no idea when I'll get to it. Wife's been nagging me about a new roof for the last 5 years.
I hear you--there are baseboards to put on, the deck to do (the cedar boards are ready--the time to do it is not), the floor to finish, and then there are those furniture-refinishing projects. We go to a lot of auctions. Auctions = more projects.
 
Is it backed by some sort of brackets intended to be used for mounting?

I interpret "not screw it up" as not wanting it to fall off the wall and get ruined. IMO you should use expansion anchors, available in a huge variety at HD and other hardware stores. You select type and size depending on weight of hanging and method of attachment. Assuming 20-30 pounds perhaps two anchors. If you don't have the skills then get somebody to do the job for you.

(You probably have wallboard over studs for your wall. For the anchors you drill a hole--some have sharp points and you pound them in without needing a hole--then they expand as they are tightened down. Some day when they are not needed they are easy to remove and fill over with spackle and paint, wall is then good as new.)

I think that's the way to go. Thank you, Greg, and for all the tips. :cool:

P.S. In the past, I bought the 3M (Command?) peel and stick hooks, but they didn't stick & fell off the wall before I could hang some light-weight mirrors & pics.
 
Re candles...
I have a plethora of candleholders in almost every room. I was happy to come across "flameless" candles & "flameless" tealight candles. (I put some in the fireplace, as well.) Some are on timers. That way, you don't have to worry about falling asleep, & burning down the house. :cool:
 
i just finished redoing my living room. painted one wall yellow, rest of walls are white. hung new pictures , a city somewhere, all done in bright reds, yellows and oranges on a dark blue background.hung this on the yellow wall. bought a metal sculpture for one wall, redid a chair, and cushion for another chair. new padded seat cushion for a bench that i just love pulled bits and things in yellow from rest of house. it is bright and cheery and the room looks larger.

sewing room is next and what a job that will be. it is sure a jumble, i can never find what i need. anyway diy is fine, and it just takes time and (hopefully not to much money.

forgot, made new kitchen curtains.
 
Done painting :)

6-8 hours of painting
4 coats of white
3 coats of purple
A sprained thumb
A couple dog paws around the house, in paint of course
A Barney impersonation

AND a partridge in a pear tree



Before :
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After :
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