House Makeovers

House Makeovers Transforming houses into dream homes with stunning makeovers and creative designs

Everyone told me not to try to restore this 1920s brick chimney… 60% done and obsessed
11/15/2025

Everyone told me not to try to restore this 1920s brick chimney… 60% done and obsessed

How much would removing shingles myself take off a job?Amateur here helping my Dad with leak. Wanted to re-shingle this ...
11/10/2025

How much would removing shingles myself take off a job?

Amateur here helping my Dad with leak. Wanted to re-shingle this section where we think the leak might be but found 2 more layers of joy.

He's located in Sacramento, CA and the roof is around 2700 sq/ft.

First off gonna try and temporarily fix theses sections so any tips would be appreciated.

But what kind of estimate would be for full job with and without having to remove shingles? Should we even consider that and just try and fix the leak? Thanks for your responses positive and negative.

Does anyone know what this niche would have been used for? It's in an old house built around 1900.
11/08/2025

Does anyone know what this niche would have been used for? It's in an old house built around 1900.

Our 1902 staircase. Thank you to the 4 families who lived here before us that never painted this thing. (Maxine says hi ...
11/08/2025

Our 1902 staircase. Thank you to the 4 families who lived here before us that never painted this thing. (Maxine says hi from the last photo)

Over 100 years of landlord special finally removed.
10/15/2025

Over 100 years of landlord special finally removed.

A drag queen’s stiletto punched a hold in my original finished kitchen subfloor… how best to fix this?So my kitchen has ...
10/12/2025

A drag queen’s stiletto punched a hold in my original finished kitchen subfloor… how best to fix this?

So my kitchen has clearly been reconfigured countless times (including by myself), and I suspect this hole was once home to a water or gas pipe (there are a few other patches like this around, so our kitchen floor is already pretty filled with character).

I would like to repair this in a way that is in-keeping with the prior patches (some are filled like this, others seem to have been filled with a wooden plug and sanded flush).

What would be the best way to tackle this?

I appreciate everyone chiming in to offer insight into this situation, even those who offered no insight but comic relie...
10/03/2025

I appreciate everyone chiming in to offer insight into this situation, even those who offered no insight but comic relief - that too is appreciated. After reading through all the responses, I find the following to be the most probable solution to this mystery:

Hygroscopic. A word I'd never heard until this thread, so I did some research.

It turns out that urine is hygroscopic. So it's possible that the toilet overflowed & deposited its contents across the floor in a relatively uniform pattern multiple times, gradually seeping into the floorboards. This process could have repeated itself many times & over the course of years, I suppose, permanently embedding the urine & uric salts into the fibers of the wood.

From what I read, "...urine can chemically react with the tannins in wood, causing permanent dark stains. It seeps in, crystallizes, chemically alters the wood, and can leave behind lasting stains and smells." The stains & smells of urine damage are pretty much common knowledge. The key phrase there is "...chemically alters the wood...". The chemical alteration of the wood itself is irreversible, & the hygroscopic nature of urine & uric salts will continue to attract moisture indefinitely.

This would explain why the floorboard that I removed continues to become saturated even though it's no longer in the floor or in the same room as the floor or, at times, in the same house as the floor.

As for the ghost theories: I'm not yet completely convinced that something otherworldly is not at the root of this. Time will tell

Turning our unfinished basement storm shelter into a cozy 70s denWe had a lot of storms this year (including softball-si...
09/24/2025

Turning our unfinished basement storm shelter into a cozy 70s den

We had a lot of storms this year (including softball-sized hail and a lightning strike to our house) so we’ve been spending way more time in the basement than we expected. It also became our dog’s safe space whenever he’s anxious, which is a lot these days.

We decided if we were going to spend so much time down there, we should make part of it less depressing. This last week we framed out one area and leaned into a cozy 70s lounge vibe to make use of some random MCM pieces we had in storage and leftover materials from my partner’s contracting jobs. Our home is mostly craftsman style, so the basement is our excuse to use the vintage odds and ends we’ve been hanging onto.

Also, I know it’s not recommended to ‘finish’ a century home basement, and we kept this in mind (no drywall, left gaps for airflow, dehumidifier running). Thankfully, our basement has very high ceilings and stayed dry too.

How to properly trim stairsGot a cheap house that needs some serious care and attention to detail. The last owners seemi...
09/12/2025

How to properly trim stairs

Got a cheap house that needs some serious care and attention to detail. The last owners seemingly did a very sh*tty job diy-ing everything. See the painted over stickers all over? Ugh. Anyway.

The dry wall ends at the angled molding. The wood stringer is painted and a decorative luan bracket is placed on top. The bull nose of the stairs is not deep enough to properly cap the bracket on every step. The riser facing is also inconsistent.

I'm looking for creative solutions to make this look way better. I think the ultimate solution is replacing the treads so it could have the proper overhang to accommodate a (new) decrotive bracket. Any ideas short of that?

This is very visible in my living room and I look at it sadly from my couch A LOT. It's a row home.

Tl/dr

This looks ugly as hell. Help make less ugly.

My sister's decorating her kitchen, wants to pick up a ceramic wall. Ask me for an opinion, and I'm confused. It all loo...
08/25/2025

My sister's decorating her kitchen, wants to pick up a ceramic wall. Ask me for an opinion, and I'm confused. It all looks good, get some ideas here.

Coped joints in crown open at bottom.Why is this happening? Tried every angle from 43-47. Actual wall is 88.6.
08/15/2025

Coped joints in crown open at bottom.

Why is this happening? Tried every angle from 43-47. Actual wall is 88.6.

Which stain does everyone prefer?We’re having our floors refinished and I thought I would ask for peoples input! The hou...
08/14/2025

Which stain does everyone prefer?

We’re having our floors refinished and I thought I would ask for peoples input! The house was built in 1922 and the flooring people said the wood is heart pine. TIA

Address

Kamloops, BC

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when House Makeovers posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to House Makeovers:

Shortcuts

Share