Is it worth it to demo yourself?
nancita
12 years ago
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12 years agoRelated Discussions
How to remove an inground pool yourself
Comments (12)Well, we did it. It was a record-breaking 100+ degree summer here, so we took SEVERAL weekends, but here is how we managed, along with some hints: Step 1, Concrete & rebar removal (1 person, 3 Saturdays) This could have taken only one weekend with the proper jackhammer. 80 lb worked twice as well as a 60 lb. Plus, rent it from a company who's not open on weekends, and you'll get a better rate for a weekend. Step 2, Metal braces and metal wall removal, (2 people, I lost count on the Saturdays.) Again, proper tools! We didn't have a great sawsall or rotary cutter and went through probably 20 blades. We cut the metal about 2 feet down, all around and found someone to haul it off as free scrap; Step 3, Remove posts. (1 guy, 2 Saturdays - one to dig them out, one to pull them out.) For some reason there were about 15 4-foot hollow posts standing filled with concrete around the pool that had been under the concrete. We pulled those out with a tractor, but had to dig them out first. Step 4, Fill (1 guy, one Saturday). We hauled in a load of donnafill, and had to spread that out across the pool manually b/c it ended up all on one end of the pool. Step 5, Level and fill some more. (2 guys, 2 Saturdays) We hired a friend with a decent tractor ($40 an hour) to scrape the area surrounding the pool, level the ground a bit. Then brought in two loads of fill dirt, again our tractor guy spread that out and scraped some more. We haven't had rain here in two months, so we're letting that settle before we top off with topsoil, but right now we have a flat backyard at a cost of just over $1000. My husband did 80% of the work himself, which is why it took 3 months+, plus we skipped a few weekends and most he only worked one day of the weekend. Poor fella. Was it worth saving $4000? Maybe, but having him work out in the heat, I'm not so sure. There were days I thought about just hanging it up and calling someone in. Good luck to any of you who undertake this. It's much harder than it looks. Don't do it in the summer....See MoreDemo Day is here! Hooray and Holy C#$P!
Comments (13)Thank you so much for all your tips and support! I truly appreciate it. I know that others have gone through this and survived and seen their vision come alive-so I am hoping we will get there at the end. I walked in after work yesterday and oh my! was it different. All the walls and ceilings down to studs, wires hanging everywhere, and was it HOT! Didn't realize how much heat the attic reflects off. I stood for a long time at the front door trying to see in my head how it will look all together and wasn't succeeding at all. Things look so much better after a full night's sleep. I can see where we are going and not feel like all the $$$ we are throwing in as a waste. Some of you asked about interesting findings from the demo. Nothing cool here-other than a old Beatles trading card. Showed it to my 8 yr old and he just shrugged!! kids these days :-).They also found my missing cutting boards(i use the thin plastic ones for some things), some old knives and placemats. It is amazing how much space was there between the framed cabinets and the pantry for thin things to slip through. Good thing we are doing frameless now! Yes, I found my stash of wine in the midst of all the chaos in the basement. Spent all evening cleaning up the basement and now at least there is a path from one end to the other. Today morning was much smoother for everyone. Hope we will get into a groove by the weekend. Once again, thanks for all the support....See MoreKitchen Tear Out - Did you do it yourself?
Comments (22)We did ours ourselves too. I'm so glad we did. We just went slowly. Most of our cabinets were impossible to take out in one piece, here's some of the stuff I remember. 1-We took the time to pound any nails sticking out over. I thought it was a waste of time, until later when we were dropping off at the city site. Worth the time to make safer. 2-We had a soffit I was planning on leaving so that we wouldn't have to make repairs to the ceiling. That didn't work out, it was attached to the cabinets. Don't go in expecting exact results. Things change around. 3-SLOW AND CAREFUL!! I had to repair two unnecessary holes in the wall because my fiance was having fun doing 'demo' like they do on TV. We were trying to salvage the walls (to save on costs and avoid turning it into a 'permit' job). 4-Plumbing and gas - I went shopping before hand to find a cap for the gas for the stove, it was a little confusing because I'm not well-versed in gas pipes. I managed to have the right thing on hand, though, thanks to the friendly neighborhood hardware store - it made me feel safer. The sink, though, I was unprepared for - apparently gases can come out of a uncapped waste pipe for the sink. We ended up just stuffing ours with a rag and duct taping it - worked out. 5-Like anything else, if you're doing with a significant other, schedule breaks and have snacks. This is the sort of project that is PRIME for starting a ridiculous tension filled fight (see #3, with unnecessary wall holes!) It just took us a few hours, we were pleasantly surprised. One more thing, if it's just two of you doing it and there are appliances involved, I HIGHLY recommend getting a set of those 'forearm forklifts' - it made moving appliances SO much easier, and I'm pretty wimpy Have fun! There was something really satisfying about doing the demo ourselves. And, if we HAD had our contractor do it, I'm sure I would have been kicking myself for 'wasting' the money. Unless, like folks said, you need abatement for asbestos. Some things are worth paying the professionals for! Here is a link that might be useful: Forearm Forklift...See MoreHelp - lead dust after ceramic tile demo?
Comments (3)Well, if i were to know for certain it was lead, I might have a lead risk assessor come out and take wipe samples of the floor. etc to make sure I cleaned up sufficiently....See Morebrickeyee
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