apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

we have two projects in the works. one, a bathroom redo. and two, building a built-in cabinet for our tv and av equipment. we'll do #2 while waiting for all of the fixtures to arrive for #1.

Does anyone have any experience with cutting down an expedit bookshelf? My room is only a few centimeters too short to hold two book shelves along a low wall. I was wondering if it's difficult to 'shave off' one set of cubes from the 2x4 shelf? It's a little annoying that Ikea doesn't offer a 2x3 cube options!

i'm working on designing a set of floor to ceiling bookcases -- about 14'w x 10'h. my challenge is that i'd like to keep it thin -- ideally 1 ft, although shelving could be significantly deeper in the center -- w/o screwing into the wall. compression again the ceiling/floor is an option, but no screws. thoughts?

CHGAM...I would be careful, the sides of the unit are hollow meaning it might not hold up well or require reinforcements. Perhaps you could check the As-Is section for a scrap piece of the Expedit or similar board and test it out first.

Despite my ceiling ineptitude discussed in the DIY gone wrong article, I would very much like to proceed with making over my apartment. I have a little room which is the main entryway, but it's bigger than an entryway, not quite a living room. It's approximately 8'x13' with an application of cottage cheese/popcorn ceiling. It's the only room in my apartment with this type of ceiling, and I would like to remove it.

I have learned here and researched online about the dangers of possible asbestos content therein. Although my estimate is that the ceiling must be too new to be in danger, of course I would still like to test it. This would be where I get stuck. I have also read you should get this independently tested to avoid crooked contractors who will lie to get the job of removing the hazardous material safely. Has anyone tested their popcorn ceiling for asbestos in town (Boston proper)? What agency would be reputable for testing? If positive for asbestos, who would be a good choice for removal?

Of course, there is the other option of just counting my blessings and don't look up, but it bothers me. Thanks in advance.

K T G,

A contractor can sometimes determine how old the popcorn is just by eyeballing it, but it sounds as if you don't already one you can trust. If you can find an honest contractor, however, it may save you a lot of trouble and expense. I agree wholeheartedly that you should get rid of the popcorn ceiling. No matter how many blessings you may have, popcorn is a curse!

Good luck.

Somebody should get this!:
http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/fuo/1017933880.html
Antique Desk and chair - Haywood Wakefield - $100 (North Reading)

Thanks for the advice Henrietta!

I want to tackle painting our office, but first, we'll need to fix some cracks in our plaster walls.

Anyone have experience with this product?

http://www.plastermagic.com/

Or have other advice for dealing with cracks in your plaster?

Hi everyone,
I hope I am posting this in the right area... if not, i beg forgiveness and advice on better post spot....
I am starting a kitchen redo in our 3rd floor condo. We hope to do most of the demo ourselves, including getting rid of all cabinets, countertops and cracked tile floor. Unfortunately we can't DIY the whole thing so we are looking for a contractor and also looking to purchase ready-made cabinets. Does anyone have recommendations on either of these in the Boston area? We need to keep the budget tight, tight, tight so any advice on where you have found the best quality for the lowest price would be appreciated!!!
thanks in advance...........

Hi everyone,

I am in need of wooden pegboard, which poses a problem because it isn't available in my part of the world. I discovered that ikea makes a perforated metal panel that accompanies their Antonius closet system.

I figure I can buy a few panels and make an interested arrangement with them, but the problem is that I hate the steel color. The panels are powder coated, and my question is that I wonder if it is possible to just spray paint these with Krylon or some other type of spray paint? Do I need to sand them and prime? I have no experience with spraying metal so I would love some advice!

CHGAM,

It would be best if you gave it a light sand, primed and then spray painted several light coats...if you want it to last at all. Spray paint is your best option to get a nice even finish. Make sure you do nice light coats as to not plug up the holes.

Thanks Expat Decorator!

Hello Boston ATers...Does anyone have any tips on curbing dust? My tiny loft has very little ventilation, and the problem is exacerbated by the inability to throw open my windows every once in a while (and, of course, the blasting of heat). I feel like I'm constantly dusting and vacuuming to no avail. Any help?

Hi CHGAM,

Now you have me curious! :) What part of the world do you live in? Maybe we can help out with resources for finding peg board that isn't metal like Ikea's is?

Jeanine

lostinprojection,

try getting your duct work cleaned. Makes a world of difference in my house.

Can anyone recommend a way to remove the existing cabinet latches that are caked on with hundred of layers of paint and replace them with similar ones. These are the typical Boston apartment latches and cabinets so I think you all will know what I'm talking about. Im just concerned about making big holes in the wood frames when I try to remove them!

Thanks!

I've actually taken some of those dreadful hinges with the layers upon layers of rusty pain, so I know just what you mean, d_bean!

Ability to fix it depends on if you can get a similar paint color to your cabinets, and if you can still reach the screws or if they're rusted to nothing.

In my case the screws were okay, but hidden in tons of paint. I used an X-acto knife to scrape out enough of the paint in the screw-head that I was able to put the screwdriver in and unscrew them.

I also used the knife to cut through the paint along the edges of the hinges, so they would pull off more easily without trying to rip through lots of paint.

Once the hinges were off, there were some big ugly holes and a thick edge of paint where the hinge used to be. So I just grabbed one of those sandpaper sponges with a rough grit on one side, and sanded it down until it looked much smoother. I filled the hole with some wood putty, let it dry, and then sanded again with the finer side of the sandpaper-sponge.

A little coat of paint, and you couldn't tell anything had ever been moved.

It is amazing how much you can hide with a little bit of putty, some sanding, and paint.

Hi Jeanine-

I'm in Southern Germany!

CHGAM

I have some Sound Proofing Windows installed on the inside of my windows. Is it possible to install blinds between the two windows? Usually the windows stay closed, so would I have to install motorized/remote control blinds? (That sounds expensive).

This isn't a Boston-specific question, but my link to one of the craigslist image proxies no longer works and I don't know any of the other ones.

http://boston.clpic.com is redirecting to http://picclick.com/
(an eBay image browsing tool).

I found this extremely convenient for browsing and now it's suddenly gone. I know there are other tools that do essentially the same thing but I don't know what they were. Help?

Just tried newyork.clpic.com and got the same redirect. So frustrating! I'd also like to hear if there are other pictoral browsers for craigslist.