Home Improvement: Anyone else have an underground tunnel at their home? |
- Anyone else have an underground tunnel at their home?
- Late invoice from subcontractor 9 months later
- Wanting a privacy fence in the backyard. Both adjacent neighbors have preexisting non-privacy fences
- Simple deck drainage?
- Gap in crawl space - Visible sunlight
- Mosquitos in dishwasher (Help)
- Post Setting Methods
- Is this grass or a weed?
- How to cover up holes under sink?
- Samsung over-the-range microwave recently blew a fuse. I replaced both thermal fuses, and now the vent fan doesn't turn off.
- Tried unclogging our sink, and it made our bathroom stink.
- I think I screwed up my tub install
- Retractable outlet or extension cord for kitchen?
- Terrible tiling?
- Horizontal fence, non dog-eared boards?
- Can someone please help me fix the closests in my house?
- Rigid foam and floating desk
- Painting kitchen cabinets
- Loose banister and newel post
- Outlet renovations, please help!
- How far under a driveway will there be concrete/rocks/etc?
- Is combed plaster over existing panted drywall possible? If so, how to?
- Is there an actual way to sound proof a room? I heard those rigid panels don’t actually work?
- Retaining wall drainage installation
| Anyone else have an underground tunnel at their home? Posted: 21 Apr 2020 06:08 AM PDT I have an underground tunnel that runs from my basement to garage (built into a hill). The walls of the tunnel and garage are starting to bow inward and I want to keep this from collapsing since it is an interesting/useful part of the home. It is not to the point that it will collapse on me as I walk down the tunnel, but it would be nice if I could prevent it from getting any worse. My wife would rather let this portion of the house go and eventually build a garage above ground since this one clearly needs some work to maintain. I'm hoping for any insight into what actions could be taken to prevent the walls from falling apart. The walls are large brick and there is clear separation at mortar joints at one end of the tunnel. I'm assuming digging out the outside of the tunnel/garage walls like fixing the foundation of a house is the best starting point. Any suggestions would be helpful. Pic of tunnel: https://imgur.com/Fr1MwFU [link] [comments] |
| Late invoice from subcontractor 9 months later Posted: 21 Apr 2020 06:36 PM PDT I am a home owner. I did a >$200k renovation on my home. I had a contractor. The work finished in August 2019. The subcontracted HVAC company sent my contractor an invoice for their work LAST WEEK which is over 7k. Since we only paid the contractor, I didn't have any way to know the HVAC company never got paid. Our contractor said "I'm going to let you decide whether to pay them". He sent us the invoice and said he doesn't want to be the middle man. I feel like he's telling us we are legally allowed to not pay, but he doesn't want to come right out and say that. Or I feel like maybe he's actually on the hook somehow and doesn't want to be the one paying the bill. What's the right thing to do? We don't have money to pay this bill (because those credit cards from the reno are long paid off and cancelled, and hello, covid-19!) I want to do the right thing but I just can't understand how this is good business practice to send a $7k bill this late. Thanks for input! [link] [comments] |
| Wanting a privacy fence in the backyard. Both adjacent neighbors have preexisting non-privacy fences Posted: 21 Apr 2020 09:19 PM PDT Anyone have experience with this? On one side, my neighbor has a chain-link fence. On the other side, there's an iron bar fence. I don't have a property survey but let's assume these fences are just on their side of the line. Could I build a fence right up against theirs? If I got a survey that happened to say their fence was 6" back, and I built a fence the same way, who would have to deal with the weeds in between? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Apr 2020 05:56 PM PDT I have a wooden deck (pressure treated softwood, age unknown; I think the last owner resurfaced it) and the boards are installed a bit too close. In wet weather, they swell and the gaps close in some places and water pools. The boards are installed diagonally, so remounting with a larger gap would require recutting every board and replacing quite a few. Is there some simple way to keep the gaps from closing completely? Like a few small metal tubes hammered in between, or even through the boards? [link] [comments] |
| Gap in crawl space - Visible sunlight Posted: 21 Apr 2020 05:40 PM PDT I have a gap in my foundation where my crawl space is located. I can see daylight from the crawl space opening when in my basement. How should I go about filling it in? Just with stone as it is a stone foundation or do I need some kind of protective weather blocker thingamajig? Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Mosquitos in dishwasher (Help) Posted: 21 Apr 2020 04:25 PM PDT We rent. Our garbage disposal broke, and the land lord hasn't sent someone. Now there is standing water in the dishwasher that has bred mosquitos. Does anyone know how to go about this problem? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Apr 2020 06:08 PM PDT Plan on building an 11x22' deck attached to the house that will eventually become a screened in porch. Looking for advise on which post setting method is best. Location will be in Charleston, SC ( so frostline really isn't an issue) and I plan on keeping the house/property for a long time so trying to keep durability and longevity in mind. The deck will roughly be 2' off the ground so posts will not be very tall. Method 1 would be digging a deep hole. Laying gravel at the bottom for drainage, laying 6x6 post and pouring concrete. Covering base of post with dirt. Method 2 is digging hole. setting a tube and filling with concrete to create a concrete footer that sits a few inches off the ground. Install a J bolt while concrete is still wet and then installing a bracket that'll hold the 6x6. This way post never really touches the ground, avoids sitting water and is easy to replace. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Apr 2020 04:28 PM PDT Hey, i just reseeded my lawn and was wondering if the thick part is a weed or grass? Thanks [link] [comments] |
| How to cover up holes under sink? Posted: 21 Apr 2020 08:38 PM PDT Hey guys. Long story but had a terrible pinhole leak in a pipe between walls where only access was through kitchen sink or bathroom vanity (between the 2 rooms). Plumber did emergency call, and 4.5 hours and $850 later, its complete! He cut out the copper and spliced in pex. Anyway, now I have these awful openings under the sinks. What's the best way to clean these up? I know I can't make them 100% perfect but want them cleaned up to some extent, and so you can't peak at people in the bathroom from the kitchen sink! Thanks guys. Pics here. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Apr 2020 04:51 PM PDT Title says it all. I recently boiled water in my microwave (a Samsung SMH8165ST) which seemed to blow a fuse. I did some googling, discovered thermal fuses, and, after using a multimeter to test the three fuses I found in the device (one standard ceramic cylindrical fuse and two thermal fuses), found that one was blown. I replaced it. The microwave now turns on! Hooray! But the vent fan doesn't turn off - it only switches between "high" and "low" modes. After looking online, I saw anecdotal reports that the vent fan does this to prevent overheating, and that it indicates one of the thermal fuses may be registering the temp wrong. So I replaced the other one with no change. Any ideas? The fan being on all the time will drive us nuts, so I've been keeping the breaker off. It seems crazy to replace a functional microwave over something like this, but I don't think I'd be able to stand it. [link] [comments] |
| Tried unclogging our sink, and it made our bathroom stink. Posted: 21 Apr 2020 10:32 PM PDT I'll start off by saying we are not plumbers or anything. My wife and I are pretty savvy with the majority of home related things but this turned into something we've never experienced before. We've scoured the Internet, and haven't had much luck and we're mainly concerned about the odor, the fumes from earlier, and what we can do in the meantime to potentially remedy the situation. We can manage without the sink for now, but our main concern is health reason for us and our kids due to what we've collectively gathered from the information we've obtained from the Internet. Our bathroom sink has been slow draining/super slow draining for a while now. We've been using Draino and a few other products that have worked for the most part but the issue keeps recurring. We were at Walmart today and found Liquid Lightning Virgin Sulfuric Acid and decided to give it a try. So we went ahead and poured some into the sink. I'd say 5-15 minutes in, the water turned brown and this "rotten egg" smell began to engulf the entire bathroom, and our bedroom. Not only that, but when my wife tried to add some water to it, it literally started fuming. Our neighbor came over and unhooked the small U shaped pipe and drained it out for us, the water was black, no blockage underneath the sink from what we could gather. So we were thinking it's further in the pipes. Even after shutting the water off, draining it, we still have this god awful smell in our drain. We just put a rag over the drain, and a smaller rag in the smaller hole up by the top of the bowl. Because the drain still stinks. Any information, insight, opinions, or remedies are beyond appreciated! [link] [comments] |
| I think I screwed up my tub install Posted: 21 Apr 2020 06:01 PM PDT I installed my Delta curve 400 tub in a mortar bed. Got it perfectly level. Now that the mortar has dried I realized that the bottom of the face isn't touching the floor. There is a 1/4" gap, which causes a flex when pushing down on the outside front edge. My thought is to shim it from behind (I can still get in through the sides). It might need a little extra caulk once the flooring is in though. Unless anyone has a better solution, I'm all ears. Now that I'm thinking about it, is this a common problem? I don't see how a mortar bed under the tub would ever allow this piece to touch the ground. Thoughts? Edit: shims would barely come out under the front and make the flooring be that much further from the tub. And the shim would be a sliver higher than the floor. That's what I mean about needing more caulk [link] [comments] |
| Retractable outlet or extension cord for kitchen? Posted: 21 Apr 2020 07:14 PM PDT Our kitchen has a big island with no outlet. Unfortunately, the house is on a concrete slab and we aren't willing to rip up our floors and cut the concrete for an outlet. My SO wants to use the island for appliances and cooking. Anyone have any creative ideas on a retractable extension cord or outlet that would look decent? It's fairly close to our actual countertops. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Apr 2020 04:18 PM PDT This may be super obvious but wanted to verify.. My parents have a guy doing their bathroom and up until now everything seemed great until they mentioned the wrong tile came in to the store and they would be delayed a few days(my parents said that) and the person got upset. Then my parents came in after they left and this was the back wall.. It's so bad that I wanted to double check that there isn't some kind of 'test fit' that would show this because I can see the wall but I can also see a little bit of the white mortar or mastic behind it. And if it is just that bad it makes me wonder what else is bad. [link] [comments] |
| Horizontal fence, non dog-eared boards? Posted: 21 Apr 2020 08:59 PM PDT I recently took down an ugly chain link fence and would like to use the remaining metal posts to build a wood fence in its place. I don't know what boards to use because common fence pickets are dog-eared, which look fine for vertical fences, but would look weird when placed horizontally. The problem is that money isn't abundant, and the price of common pickets is easily the cheapest. What can i do here? [link] [comments] |
| Can someone please help me fix the closests in my house? Posted: 21 Apr 2020 04:53 PM PDT Hello, Started moving into new place and figured out closet rails are all loose I'm a total noob at this, so can someone please help me fix this or point to a relevant YouTube video? Any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Apr 2020 08:32 PM PDT We are building a cedar floating deck on top of our torch on carport. We talked to one friend who suggested using rigid foam underneath our sleeper boards to protect the torch on roof. Has anyone heard of this or other alternatives? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Apr 2020 04:30 PM PDT Could anyone give some tips on painting these white? http://imgur.com/gallery/fvKJi7M [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Apr 2020 04:28 PM PDT New home owner here. This newel post and banister are very loose. Part of me thinks the previous owners may have removed it to get larger things up the stairs (we couldn't get a queen box spring up and would like to). So, in the long run I want to make it solid. But in the short term I'd like to remove it if possible without causing damage. From the basement, all I can see is a single nail coming through the floor, so it isn't tied into a floor joist. [link] [comments] |
| Outlet renovations, please help! Posted: 21 Apr 2020 04:51 PM PDT electrical wiring receptacle I'm replacing sone outlets and came across one that I'm not sure how to replace. It has 3 white wires, 2 black, 1 blue, and a ground. It would appear that there is a white wire connected to the hot side as well. Do I need a different outlet than the one I'm trying to replace it with so I can try to copy the wiring? The setup now works, but I need to replace the outlet. Edit: adding thread with pictures [link] [comments] |
| How far under a driveway will there be concrete/rocks/etc? Posted: 21 Apr 2020 10:43 PM PDT I am trying to run a sprinkler system, and reaching part of the yard would be easiest if I can run the pipe and wire under the driveway. I've looking up the pipe fittings that jet water to push their way through, but those seem to depend on going through primarily dirt. So how deep should I reasonably expect the gravel base and concrete to be under the driveway itself? Thanks [link] [comments] |
| Is combed plaster over existing panted drywall possible? If so, how to? Posted: 21 Apr 2020 10:30 PM PDT So wife loves this texture and is wanting to convert a small room. Is this something that is relatively easily achievable? I've read about putting plaster over drywall and understand a binder would be needed, but everything I read talks about a thin coat. Has anyone done a heavy texture over drywall? Looking for something like this [link] [comments] |
| Is there an actual way to sound proof a room? I heard those rigid panels don’t actually work? Posted: 21 Apr 2020 10:20 PM PDT If you live in a tiny apartment and want to sound proof your walls so the person in the next room over cant hear you, how does one do this? Does anyone have any suggestions? [link] [comments] |
| Retaining wall drainage installation Posted: 21 Apr 2020 10:18 PM PDT I have a concrete retaining wall in my backyard with rebar support that has no drainage. I was wondering what the best way to insert drainage would be. The wall is 7.5" thick, 4'6"/5'2" tall, and 75' long. It appears to be a cinder block wall filled with rebar and poured concrete. I'm almost certain there is no gravel or drainage preparation behind the wall. My property line goes up to the chain link fence in the picture linked below, which is about 8' beyond the retaining wall and another 4' higher in elevation at the fence. I live on Guam where the average monthly rainfall is 7.6" (3" and 13.7" in driest and wettest months). Is it okay just to drill holes into the wall at the base to create drainage (if so: what diameter, how far apart, and how high?), or should I spend the time and money to excavate all the way to the fence and have a proper retaining wall with drainage system installed (what's the typical price for something like that?) picture links: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AoQIzQJHKG6vhIIiEpoIxKUe0R08nA?e=PLWR09 https://1drv.ms/u/s!AoQIzQJHKG6vhIIj-Hb0EqEZRoRU1w?e=XEOkIg Any advice would be much appreciated! [link] [comments] |
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