This post is about construction and home improvement.
It is also about self-awareness and self-direction, I guess. Kind of interesting, actually, as I've observed this change in me: in my childhood and early teens, I was "raised" and whipped into a good boy on the outside, emotional derelict on the inside kind of a fool. I spent years being miserable and chasing external goals that didn't even fit my personality. Kept at it through my early twenties, didn't exactly become self-aware till the age of 25 or so. Even then, becoming self-aware was (and still is) a painful process.
Now, I just want to do things, to put myself first, and to change the unsatisfactory instead of bitching about it. The house is relatively big, but I do share the same floor with my dad - and they guy can be a bit of a little Hitler at times. So, fuck that. I want to rebuild the attic of the house. This involves, more or less, this:
-
Throw out the enormous amounts of junk other people put there (such as TVs from the 60s, you can imagine...)
-
Come up with an architectonic design for the place
-
Redo the roof cover as a whole
-
Insulate the insides
-
Do the walls, and the floor
-
Heating, electricity, furniture, appliances
An attic - what for? Oh, a floor of my own, to do it my way. The purpose?
-
A place to sleep undisturbed
-
An artistic studio (something I'd really like to do)
-
A place to invite girls over for "Netflix and cuddles" (and fuckies, obviously)
Its only an attic, because with my shit pay, I can't afford a house. Might hit that stride of well-paid jobs in about five years; but this, this is here and now. Feels good to make a decision like that (hell, that goes for any decision that has a long(ish) positive effect on one's life).
So I guess that:
-
I'm accepting tips and tricks regarding this whole construction business. Looking for ways to save money, thinking about which of the aforementioned construction tasks are easily done in a DIY fashion.
-
We can also talk about that self-awareness / self-direction thing. Different guys have different experiences in there, I guess. Some of them are "I'm 17, high school sloots suck, and I want to go MGTOW". Some of them wake up from the blue-pill bliss through their marriage, into an actual nightmare.
[+][deleted] [recovered] (2 children) | Copy Link
Do not throw away TV sets from 60s... check eBuy and maybe if you lucky those will turn to $.
Before you insulate walls/roof in that space, make sure what temperatures it has during different seasons. It might get terribly cold in winter and you will insulate just to suffer unbearable heat in summer. Hint... its cheaper to use additional space heater when needed + extra layer of clothes than AC unit.. I would highly advise to research materials you want to find to insulate or consult some pros. I cannot help too much .. I live in a state that does not have winter so we don't insulate at all, my bro lives in Midwest and he said it might be a pain to achieve correct balance (summer heat/winter cold)
Walls. Before you close walls... rethink about possible cable management.. For example I put a Electrical outlet on the wall where I want TV to hang but I also incorporated a PVC pipe behind a wall creating a tube from that height to floor level.. super easy and handy to stuff cables from media console up to TV behind a wall. Like this: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/19/6d/48/196d484c3246f5a24628f6f382f4d9ea.jpg
Also ethernet cable.. I get that we have WiFi as a standard now but having a decent cable for your Console/PC might be very handy.
DIY Videos online will show you everything you want to know about doing walls, flooring and painting, this is the part of a remodel that given free time everyone should do and save money.
Plumbing, electricity I would leave for professionals unless its something really simple like maintenance or fixing stuff. (Example: I can replace an outlet/switch or a recess lamp but will not attempt to do wiring, I would replace shower head, faucet or fix toilet but not the pipes.
Bed! - I would advice you not to buy used mattresses.. Invest and get a decent new one, most stores will give you a simple metal frame with wheels and a under mattress spring box..
Furniture/appliances - go thrift store hunting for some furniture.. Also check if you have a Habitat for Humanity store in your area or something similar.. people donate used appliances there as well as furniture. I often get furniture there to refurbish/repaint but I also do carpentry as a hobby.
For a great idea of a workbench to do artistic stuff.. get a pair of sawhorses and a long piece of plywood and viola ... a desk.
[+]rahl_r [recovered] (1 child) | Copy Link
Hey there, Mr. Panda, and thanks for giving me such thorough response. I had thought "ohh, this is such a borderline-narcisistic post, and I'm not sure how are people gonna react to it (if at all)." And yet, you're giving out gold.
Temperate climate, man. -10C (14F) through winter nights and 30C (86F) in middays of summer is standard. If we talk extremes, we get to -25C (-13F) winters and 40C (104F) summers. I could probably do without using the place in July/August, when its the hottest, but no more. So I'll have to look into this insulation magic, as suggested...
I get you. You don't want to trip over the wires in the night, break something in your body, and that 80" TV, too.
Once all the hell regarding the roofing, insulation and floor cover/straightening is done, this will be, like, a cherry on the top (once upon a time in high school, I studied to become an electrician (forgot 90% of it, but this stuff, it seems easy)).
I think I can handle Google, lol. Even Youtube has a searchbar. Still, if you know of any good DYI channels (the kind of good & burried underneath mediocre content of others), posting a link would be greatly appreciated.
No plumbing, actually. Sinks, a toilet, and a shower are right below it, one floor down (and they are a closed system, and modifying/extending this system would make a huge mess & skyrocket the prices).
That! And there's even something about getting some raw pieces of wood, and proceeding with manufacturing these furnitures yourself. As I kid, I once created this shitty, wobbly bookcase, lol (but uncle used to do this professionally, so he would know what's up - advice-wise / request-wise).
Regarding your carpentry, if you have any posts / stories / images on the internet, please do show.
Terrific! Smart, cheap, effective. Might even look good.
[–]sadpandathrowaway761 point [recovered] | Copy Link
[–]feedmecarrots1 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy Link