jm1fd Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 I don't think there is a whole lot of difference between gas and electric dryers, unlike ranges, where some people like the gas better. The biggest issue is how easy it is to get gas service or electricity to the location where you need it. It is usually easier to run electricity than gas.Unless you are very comfortable with electricity, I would draw the line with 220v service. You will need to hook it up at the breaker box, and that can get pretty dicey. I play with 110v circuits all the time, but I never do 220.Pfffft. 220 is just two 110 circuits. All you have to do is make sure the lugs are tight everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Pfffft. Yeah, that's the sound you make when your screwdriver touches a live bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarthaG Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Gas dryers work much faster and cost much less to operate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heightsfan Posted December 7, 2005 Author Share Posted December 7, 2005 Good Afternoon, hope your day goes well !Any feedback on the following ? What makes custom built kitchen cabinets costly ? The type of wood ? Stained or painted ? The handles ? Should the entire cabinet be made of oak, birch , ash or just the doors and frame ? Are granite counter tops the most economical or durable for quality ? If not what is ? Is travertine flooring best for kitchen and bath floors ? Thank You make it a great day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 Good Afternoon, hope your day goes well !Any feedback on the following ? What makes custom built kitchen cabinets costly ? The type of wood ? Stained or painted ? The handles ? Should the entire cabinet be made of oak, birch , ash or just the doors and frame ? Are granite counter tops the most economical or durable for quality ? If not what is ? Is travertine flooring best for kitchen and bath floors ? Thank You make it a great dayWe have granite counter tops in our kitchen. They are not the least expensive but are incredibly durable and beautiful. We roll dough, make pastry, hammer meat and chicken and have no scratches or mars. It cleans up well because it does'nt absorb those things. If you want inexpensive, go with formica. I assure you, you will grow to hate them.We have porcelean floors in our kitchen and dining room and ceramic tile in our baths and shower. Travertine is great if you can afford it. Alot of people won't do tile or porcelean in a pier and beam house but we did in our almost 100 year old home and have had no problems at all. You just need to be sure of your base. When we bought our house you could put a marble on the floor and it wouldn't move. All the windows opened and the doors closed flush. Maybe we lucked out or maybe our home was just constructed on very stable ground. Every house is different. Our kitchen cabinets are pickled and have glass knobs from Atkins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeightsGuy Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 Is travertine flooring best for kitchen and bath floors ?Travertine is very heavy and very rigid. If you have pier and beam in the Heights, chances are it wasn't built with stone floors in mind. Some were (like nmainguy's house sounds) built stronger with subfloors built 12" on center, but most older P&B houses were built for wood floors that flex. You may need to get an engineer to look at the subfloor structure to make sure it can handle the load. I don't mean to say the floor will fall through, but all that added weight means there will be additional flex. In layman's terms, if you're standing in your living room, and someone else is walking by and you can feel their footsteps, or if you stomp your feet on the floor and the lampshade on the table at the other end of the room starts moving, you may have to add support before adding travertine or it's going to crack all over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREASER Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Awesome feedback !What exactly is meant by a wax finish on the floors as opposed to Polyurathane?Is there a difference in the roll in version of insulation or certain brand,thickness, design ? Also why would you highly suggest the roll in vs the blown machine insulation ? PS . . . original owner of home stated floors are pine is that good or bad ? Thank You "make it a great day "Wax floors look great but need rewaxing every 6 months, and forget it if you spill water on them, it leaves a white discoloration. Its basically wax over shellac. Oil based finishes on floors look best in my opinion. They tend to have a amber glow about them, in the light, that looks awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldogg Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 Forgive my pedantry, but I doubt if a 1925 house is Victorian. 'Victorian' refers to the styles in vogue during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). Not a lot of houses built after the first decade of the 20th century could be classified as Victorians. By the 1920s, Craftsman and Four Square houses were popular, and used a different color palate. Victorian colors would be inappropriate.you can doubt it all you want, but you haven't seen it... our office/house has turned posts on the porch, gingerbread trim, decorative scalloping on the gabled sections, substantial decorative moulding inside... it most definitely IS a Victorian and not a craftsman... there are indeed an abundance of craftsmans in the area, but ours was built in the Victorian style... heightsfan.... there are several factors that play into cabinet pricing... wood choice, style, stain, hardware (hinges, drawer sliders etc).... go to Armstrong cabinets... they are located off of Dacoma just north of 290 past the DL renewal place... they are basically semi-custom prefab cabinets... custom ordered to your specs, and then installed using fillers, spacers etc.... I did my entire kitchen in a gorgeous solid Cherry for $7k... we had a lot of cabinets and also had several upgrade features like pull outs, tilt front under the sink..etc..etc... the ones we really wanted from them were similar in door style, but a different wood and had a 2 step stain/glaze on them... beautiful, but would have cost $11k.... unlike Home Depot these guys will come measure your space and work up plans for free... also, you can buy brand new claw foot tubs... check online or call some plumbing supply places (like Westheimer P & S).. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heightsfan Posted December 15, 2005 Author Share Posted December 15, 2005 Good Afternoon All, hope your day goes well !Question: When should electric wiring be replaced,repaired, or left alone ? How much of a challenge if the house is wired 110 as opposed to 220 ? What are the pros and cons ? Is relocating the gas water heater from the kitchen to maybe the garage a plus or minus ? Thank You "make it a great day" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 Good Afternoon All, hope your day goes well !Question: When should electric wiring be replaced,repaired, or left alone ? Ask a licenced electrician.How much of a challenge if the house is wired 110 as opposed to 220 ? What are the pros and cons ? b]The pros are that virtualy everything you would have in a home is 110: TV's, radios, microwaves, washers, dishwashers...everything else I can think of as everything in our home works off 110 except the central air and heat.Is relocating the gas water heater from the kitchen to maybe the garage a plus or minus ? Depends on how far the garage is from the locations required to recieve hot H2O. Personally we did not feel comfortable with a gas heater inside our home so we choose to remove the hazard and went with an on-demand water heater for safty and economic reasons.Thank You "make it a great day" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 Good Afternoon All, hope your day goes well !Question: When should electric wiring be replaced,repaired, or left alone ? How much of a challenge if the house is wired 110 as opposed to 220 ? What are the pros and cons ? Is relocating the gas water heater from the kitchen to maybe the garage a plus or minus ? Thank You "make it a great day"Your entire house will not be wired for 220v. Only the Stove, dryer, if electric, and heating and AC will be 220v. Occasionally, a big window unit may be 220v as well. 220v is merely two 110v hot wires combined with a neutral wire.Relocating your gas heater to the garage would involve relocating the gas line as well as hot and cold water lines to the new location...very time consuming and expensive. Also, the farther the heater is from the faucet, the longer it takes to get hot water and the more energy you use. A heater in an uninsulated garage loses heat as well. You might consider a tankless water heater to save space, if that is your goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelguy_73 Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 If I could just jump in an recommend a couple of links for you, and I didn't read the entire thread so hopefully they haven't already been mentioned. These links were invaluable when I had my old house.Old house web:http://www.oldhouseweb.com/phpBB/viewforum...475b038d9e7f1e5That home site! forums & Gardenwebhttp://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/John Bridge tile forum (he is a local guy, incredible site for flooring DIY)http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/forumd...y.php?forumid=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heightsfan Posted December 28, 2005 Author Share Posted December 28, 2005 Good Afternoon, hope your day goes well !Question: What did U Plumb It ( On Montrose) charge for refinishing or refacing an old claw foot tub ? I did see several at Adkins older rusted used ones sell for $150 and a refinish one starts at $795. Where is my best bang for the buck to locate for purchase stain glass to hang on my window ? I have seen several homes with what appears to be removable stained glass ? Thank You "make it a great day" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Good Afternoon, hope your day goes well ! Question: What did U Plumb It ( On Montrose) charge for refinishing or refacing an old claw foot tub ? I did see several at Adkins older rusted used ones sell for $150 and a refinish one starts at $795. Where is my best bang for the buck to locate for purchase stain glass to hang on my window ? I have seen several homes with what appears to be removable stained glass ? Thank You "make it a great day" We paid U-Plumb it $350 + $15 for pick-up in 2004. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heightsfan Posted January 5, 2006 Author Share Posted January 5, 2006 Good Afternoon , What is an avg cost and the best place to purchase fixtures for a clawfoot tub ? Also where to purchase and the cost for the shower curtain rod ? Thank You Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyps Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 for the feet...I know there is a restoration store somewhere in town, I ran into it once...it was in the midtown area...but also, there is (or was) a "store" on 19th st that had all kinds of iron stuff...I'm SURE he had the feet. I have no idea how much they would go for.as for the rod, you need to go new. and probably to a specialty store. I have one in my house which is new, but bought it after the renovation, so I have no idea where it came from or how much...just that they are out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 maybe historic houston's shop runs into feet occasionally? as for the "store" on 19th, they are open (well, open when he wants to be). i would ask him if he knows if he has any, because rummaging, while fun, will make you weary after a while! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heightsfan Posted January 5, 2006 Author Share Posted January 5, 2006 Thank You . . . Thank You . . . What about best deal for the buck on the handles , faucet parts etc . . for a clwfoot tub ? Are those costly ? Who has the best and reasonable selection ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Thank You . . . Thank You . . . What about best deal for the buck on the handles , faucet parts etc . . for a clwfoot tub ? Are those costly ? Who has the best and reasonable selection ? I'm not pushing U-Plumb It but that's where we got our plumbing fixtures for our clawfoot. We searched all over-in town and on the internet but never found what we really wanted within our price range. I can't find the receipt but I seem to recall it was less than $200 for the faucet, porcelain handles and a hand held shower with the cradle. I'm the kind of person who denies himself maybe too much because I think everything should cost $4. So yeah, I'm cheap...but not easy! That said, I don't regret spending on a quality item like our tub set because I've gotten many a Sunday morning's enjoyment soaking while reading the Times and calling out to my better half for MORE COFFEE!! Above all enjoy your new home, suffer through the headaches and revel in the satisfaction of an ultimate job done well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Great feedback & Thank You !What colors would be adequate for a home built in the 1920s ? For the interior walls including kitchen and baths ? Also any good places for ideas in books,magazines, or places to decide on paint color and crown moldings ? Thank You "make it a great day " The color "Summertime" goes with everything for interior walls. It is a nice alternative to off-white, and is very warm feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnu Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 for the feet...I know there is a restoration store somewhere in town, I ran into it once...it was in the midtown area... The place in Midtown was probably Adkins. 3515 Fannin Street http://www.adkinsantiques.com/aa/ The color "Summertime" goes with everything for interior walls. It is a nice alternative to off-white, and is very warm feeling. Yep..its a nice color but your house will look like every other new and/or remodelled house in Houston. I liked it about 5 years ago but now it's almost worse than white. When I see an old house for sale on HAR.com and it has every room in it painted in Summertime, it makes me feel sad. It makes me think someone came in a did a quick flip and didn't care didley for the character of the house. Instead, I would go with something that plays off your furniture or decor in each room and be unique. If you want historic..look at Sherwin Williams. They have a selection of historic colors called their "Preservation Pallette". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heightsfan Posted January 10, 2006 Author Share Posted January 10, 2006 Good Afternoon All, hope you have a great week!I really appreciate all the helpful tips, ideas, and feedback !Question: ( any electricians out there ??? ) Will the original wiring to an older Heights home suffice for changing to Recessed Lighting ? I also noticed there are some that are 4 , 5, and 6 inch Recessed Lighting Kits. What tips do you have cause I have seen the lighting kits that mention Non-IC Housing and IC housing which is for Non Insulation Contact and Insulation Contact ??Lastly, is it necessary for the pipes to come from under the floor for a clawfoot tub ??What are some options if any ? Thank You "make it a great day" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwrm4 Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 The color "Summertime" goes with everything for interior walls. It is a nice alternative to off-white, and is very warm feeling.Ugh! "Summertime"...the only colour Perry townhomes are available in. When I briefly rented one in Midtown, I needed to cover up a few "marks" on the wall. I called Perry, and they said go to some place on West Alabama for paint. I went there, and before I could finish saying "...for my Perry townhome", the guy pointed to a big stack of paint cans and said "Summertime, that's works for all of 'em".Back to the original question...there are actually a number of great books on historically accurate bungalow interior design...go to www.americanbungalow.com and click on the "Bungalow Bookstore" link at the bottom of the page for a list of related titles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Question: ( any electricians out there ??? ) Will the original wiring to an older Heights home suffice for changing to Recessed Lighting ? I also noticed there are some that are 4 , 5, and 6 inch Recessed Lighting Kits.No. Knob and tube is not practical to use with recessed lights. I'm sure it could be done, but it won't be code compliant. You should rewire the house, or at the very least wire a new circuit for the recessed lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldogg Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 heightsfan... you'd be well off to upgrade your sevice panel and add several new circuits if you are updating the house... it'll give you the flexibility you need and you won't have power drains or spikes when using hair dryers/microwaves etc at the same time.... you'll need new wiring for the can lights.... as for size, 4" and 6" seem to be the most common... just depends on the look you want in your house and the amount of light required... I put 4" lights in the soffitts outside and over my kitchen sink but have 6" everywhere else.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heightsfan Posted January 21, 2006 Author Share Posted January 21, 2006 Good Afternoon All, hope your day goes well !I really appreciate all the awesome tips,ideas and feedback my house is coming along great!Any idea where to have my clawfoot tub feet glazed or chromed ? What about cost ? Who has the best deal for stained glass ? My bungalow house has a guest shower and toilet kind of small and the showerlooks like a built in with formica panel . Any economical ideas to replace or change up ? Thank You "make it great " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnu Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 I really appreciate all the awesome tips,ideas and feedback my house is coming along great!... My bungalow house has a guest shower and toilet kind of small and the shower looks like a built in with formica panel . Any economical ideas to replace or change up ? You need to post some pictures of everything you are doing! I like to live vicariously through others hard work. Seriously though, It would be great to see it now and then when you are finished...it also might help people give you some ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest danax Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 My bungalow house has a guest shower and toilet kind of small and the showerlooks like a built in with formica panel . Any economical ideas to replace or change up ? Since you're in a location where people appreciate original features, and it sounds like that bath is not original, I would definitely go back to a 1930s "Art Deco" appearance, which will enhance any future resale potential greatly. Are you handy? Here's some shots of a guy's work. He spent $7500 and did most of it himself. With all that tile, an investment in a deep pier foundation would be ideal. Small bathrooms can be cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 What a great looking shower! ...although the light fixture might be problematic for the freakishly tall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Any idea where to have my clawfoot tub feet glazed or chromed ? What about cost ? Thank You "make it great " Try U Plumb It on Montrose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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