Home Improvement: New homeowner :) Destroyed my brick mailbox as I drove the U-Haul into the driveway :( |
- New homeowner :) Destroyed my brick mailbox as I drove the U-Haul into the driveway :(
- When Breakers Go Bad
- Any idea what is causing a small water mark near hot water heater?
- How important are permits and applications? I'm just trying to build a small floating deck in my backyard
- Toilet Flange Options
- Out of my element on a bathroom remodel. Planned for several months and this is what I've come up with. Can any of you see any issues?
- [question] Use thinset to tile over uneven brick fireplace?
- FIRE ANT Problem
- How to remove chain link concrete fence post anchors
- Going to run network cable. Question about cutting holes in the wall for faceplates
- Soundproofing Advice Please
- Our first spring in our first house (NY State). I’d like to replace the ground covering in this raised stone bed with some easy pretty perennials. Ideas?
- Replacing cabinets and stove hood with undermounted microwave. Need advice on setting up the vent.
- Painting a block wall.
- Help! The dreaded sliver tile
- Help me figure out what to do with these cabinets!
- Super beginner trying to prep walls for painting - how do I fix this? Screen Patches? California patch? Other?
- Stripping exterior paint. Need bulk strip discs
- Panasonic bathroom exhaust - pricing help
- Crumbling Front Steps: DIY?
- Help identifying footer and mystery concrete
- Fridge next to a wall
- Help with ceiling lights
- Calculating Loads for Climbing Wall
| New homeowner :) Destroyed my brick mailbox as I drove the U-Haul into the driveway :( Posted: 25 Apr 2020 03:45 PM PDT Was driving the U-Haul into the driveway of my new home, not being familiar with driving large trucks, I cut it too close and destroyed the brick mailbox. https://i.imgur.com/29pZaTl.jpg Any hope in salvaging it? The base seems to be intact but it got caught clean in half. It doesn't seem like it was built well in the first place. Been kicking myself for making such a big mistake. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2020 10:12 AM PDT I figured you all might enjoy this. I'll admit this story is about 9 months old but it was an interesting one for me. I purchased my house in June of last year. Built in the 80ies and lived most of its life as an unloved rental unit owned by slum lords (3 lays of shingles, washing machine pluming rigged up without a p-trap, half the drawers in the kitchen don't work, and so on) so I knew I was going to have some bumps in the road with this house, but I was determined to make it mine. We're working on it and clicking right along when in the middle of August I notice the house getting a bit warm. The thermostat says the AC is running, the fan is on, but the compressor isn't turning on. I check the breakers and all looks good and at this point I'm out of my depth. So I call up my HVAC folks. They're out in 2 hours (damn good service, Meade HVAC if you're in the Philly area) and start poking around. They quickly work out that the compressor isn't getting consistent voltage at the box and advise I call an electrician, no charge for the call out. Thankfully I have an electrician in the family and a quick FaceTime later he's given me the skinny on what I need to do to pull and check the breakers along with how to be safe while doing so. Right, so time to get to it. I setup and start pulling out the questionable breaker. The sound I was greeted with can only describe as smashing lays potato chips followed by a shower of metal and plastic. This was the horror I discovered once pulled. It had slowly been cooking itself to death with ever increasing resistance until finally, game over. Thankfully it didn't burn my house down! My theory is the poorly installed dryer duct that was dumping warm, moist, lint filled air into the basement directly over the box for who knows how long played a large hand in this but that's just a guess. I ended up pulling the also destroy dryer breaker across from it (also shown) and after a brief chat ended up opting to take a count of all the breakers and fully replace all of them. At this point I'm just left with one slot in my breaker box with a slightly cooked contact and an otherwise refreshed box. Ah the wonders of home ownership. :-) [link] [comments] |
| Any idea what is causing a small water mark near hot water heater? Posted: 25 Apr 2020 04:21 PM PDT Brand new Hot Water Heater (2 years old, new construction house) and went downstairs today, and noticed the cement a bit moist and a small discoloration. Any idea what would be causing this, and if I need to have someone come out and take a look at it? It seems situated at the bottom of the pipe. there seems to be hot moisture and this gook on the hot water pipe going into the tank.... update have someone coming out Monday. They said it looks like oxidation on the pipe and may have to cut out fitting and replace [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2020 10:39 AM PDT Going through the online permit application now, and there is just so much stuff to fill out. What if I just skip this red tape and build my deck without it? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2020 06:23 PM PDT Hi, I was wondering if I could get some suggestions on my toilet flange. I am remodeling my bathroom in the basement so it is a concrete floor (currently tile over top, that will be removed and replaced with vinyl planks). The old toilet flange is rusted up pretty good. Does this need to replaced or can a repair kit be used? If replacing, how does that work on concrete? Many thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2020 05:02 PM PDT What I have now is an old cast iron tub (63.5" L x 29" W) that is up against the back and right walls of the room. So there's no confusion there. But there is a full wall built on the left side that will need to be extended to fit the new tub. What I am installing is an acrylic jet tub (59.5" L x 41.5"W), in the same spot as the old tub. We bought the jet tub at auction and it did not come with an acrylic front skirt. I am going to build up a wall instead of getting a skirt. And this is really the main area I'm not so confident about. I want the front flange of the tub to be dead even with the new front wall I will build the whole length of the tub. So when I set the tub in it will cover the width of the entire 2x4 + .5" Hardie Backer Board. And this is my main concern as far as leaks and future water damage goes. My plan is to lay a nice thick bead of silicone on the top of the new wall before I set the tub in. Press it down and smooth the silcone with my finger. Then re-apply a 2nd bead of silicone after the 1st one sets. Edit for more detail - the top of the tub is flat (with no flange that comes up), but there is a narrow lip/flange on the bottom of the tub. The bottom lip is all thr way around the tub and is approx. 1/8" thick and comes down approx 1/4". The new wall will have plastic wrap stapled to the front and back for sure. But I am also considering wrapping the entire wall with the plastic wrap after I frame it; like you would wrap a christmas present. I'm just not sure how well the silicone would bond to the plastic wrap though...even if I got it as tight as humanly possible. Another option is to paint 2 coats of the Mapie waterproofing membrane on the board that the tub will be resting on, but I understand that won't help if the water makes it passed and down to the floor under the tub. The other part of my plan I'm unsure of is having painted walls around the shower. I've seen VERY few pictures of this, but several accounts on other forums where people have done this successfully. I am going to put plastic wrap over the studs all the way around the tub/shower, then hang the cement board over that. (I am using the Hardie Backer Board) Then silicone the seams. I'm still back 'n forth on using the thinset on the seams, as I have seen several contractors on Youtube just use the Mapie waterproofing membrane with the fiberglass "tape" (looks more like cloth). But I will most likely end up putting the thinset on just so I can sleep better at night lol. After the seams are finished, I'm going to cover the entire area with 2 coats of the waterproofing membrane using a paint roller. I'll give it a full 24 hours to dry, and then prime the walls with at least 3 coats of the Zinsser Bullseye 123 Mold Killing primer, followed by a few coats of semi-gloss acrylic paint that's designed for bathrooms. I'm pretty confident in having painted walls around the shower as I've used that primer and paint on the ceiling of my current shower and have no problems. I'd also like to put in a nice deep pocket shelf on the left wall, since it will have to be brought out 4" to make up the difference in lengths from the longer old tub, to the short new one. I'm just going to furr out the existing wall, and frame up the extension with 2x10" lumber (which I may possibly have to rip down to the needed width. I know about pitching the bottom board down toward the tub when I frame it to keep water from pooling up. But I don't know if I should put a piece of tile on the bottom part of the shelf or not to finish it. So that's the plan, for the parts I'm unsure of anyway (it's long enough without the entire plan). If anyone sees any red flags in it I would greatly appreciate some guideance! [link] [comments] |
| [question] Use thinset to tile over uneven brick fireplace? Posted: 25 Apr 2020 07:43 PM PDT Hey guys, I am going to tile over my brick fireplace surround and landing with marble herringbone tiles. There are a few areas of the fireplace that are quite uneven. Can I just get some thinset and do a leveling pass first to bring this region up to the rest of the brick? The fireplace landing is also pretty unevan. Some kind of adhesive was used to put down the quarter bricks that were there before. I have gotten most of it up, but because the origional surface was not flat, I am not going to be able to get it all. I also have some omni tile adhesive which I bought by accident. I thought it was thinset. Any thoughts on using that? Help appreciated. Thoughts on best course of prep work? Thanks for the help. Pics here https://i.imgur.com/CpKM0pG.jpg [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2020 09:53 PM PDT Live in central Texas, half an acre of land. Can't let my kids play outside because of multiple ant hills that I've previously tried to treat both with ant bait and a spray. Looking for other options or a professional company?? Thanks in advance. [link] [comments] |
| How to remove chain link concrete fence post anchors Posted: 25 Apr 2020 09:50 PM PDT So a few years back I hired a company to remove a chain link fence and install a cedar privacy fence. Instead of pulling out the steel posts with concrete anchors, they sawed off the galvanized steel post and left the concrete anchors in the ground. How do I remove them now??? There are a few product on the market that can pull these concrete anchors out with the poll, but how would I remove them now without the poll? [link] [comments] |
| Going to run network cable. Question about cutting holes in the wall for faceplates Posted: 25 Apr 2020 09:19 PM PDT Been getting advice here and there on how to run the cable. Once you figure out where you want one of your drops go, cut your hole in the wall where you face place will go and use that for access to drill a hole into the floor within the wall (It's a mobile home with vaulted ceilings, the easiest place to do cable runs would be under the house). Once I get it through the floor and under the house, I have a general idea of what I am going to do with it and where it's all going to meet up. However, I just thought of something, and I'm really glad that I did before starting this. In various videos, I've seen electrical wiring within walls either run up from the floor to each outlet, or run from outlet to outlet horizontally within the wall. If I'm going to be putting my faceplates for the network jacks at the same height as the electrical outlets, that means I would run the risk of going through a wire when I make my cuts if they are running horizonal. What's a quick way I can figure out how these wires are running? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2020 05:24 PM PDT In advance, I don't really know much more about soundproofing than your average person who researched this for a couple weeks, so if I sound like I have no idea what I'm talking about, I probably don't :) Having said that, I'm a percussionist living in an apartment complex. I've talked to all my neighbors who mostly told me they can't really hear much sound. My upstairs neighbor, however, has been complaining quite a bit, so I'd like to find a solution that I could use. For reference here, I'm talking mostly about soundproofing a room with muted drums (as in stuff on everything dampening the sound) and marimba. I obviously can't tear the room down so im considering putting a layer of rockwool around the walls and putting up a second layer of drywall. I'm not totally sure if I want to try something like that for the ceiling or put up a layer of mass loaded vinyl (advice about this would be much appreciated). This mostly leaves a glass door and two wooden doors that I'm not totally sure about yet. After this, I've considered putting up some thick blankets or something to minimize the amount of reverb bouncing off the drywall. I work as a musician and am planning on living in my apartment for at least another year so I'm not afraid to invest a decent chunk of money into this as long as I can practice in peace and know my neighbors are all happy. I'm hoping to keep it under or in the ballpark of $1000 if possible. Any advice is appreciated! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2020 05:20 PM PDT |
| Replacing cabinets and stove hood with undermounted microwave. Need advice on setting up the vent. Posted: 25 Apr 2020 05:18 PM PDT This is my first post on this sub so apologies if I do anything incorrectly or if this is a ridiculously dumb question. Also, please forgive any misused terminology. We're (newly) located in Alabama, but I'm not sure that's relevant to this question. Edit: Tl;dr how much does it matter if a microwave over a stove vents externally? Our current project involves replacing cabinets over our stove and refrigerator. The old cabinets had a stove hood mounted underneath. Here's a link (https://imgur.com/a/NDF6HW1) to a picture of the current state of affairs as well as what it will look like when it's done (hopefully). The wall shown is an interior, non-structural wall. As you can see, the vent for the hood went vertical up through the old cabinets, through the ceiling into the attic and vents out a roof cap. The microwave we're mounting can vent vertically, out the back into the wall, or out the front into the room. So my question is, what is our best option for the vent? (I'd say we're of average handiness.) Venting out the rear of the microwave and vertically up through the wall would give us the most use of the cabinet space and retain external ventilation. But I'm not sure how to/whether you can run a duct up through the top 2x4 of the wall. Another option would be to vent out the back, take it vertical up the wall, pull it back out of the wall with a 90 degree elbow then send it vertical into the existing duct. This saves us some cabinet space but seems like a real hassle and probably not worth it. Third option is just bite the bullet and couple the existing duct with the new microwave and always have a duct cutting right down through the middle of the whole thing. I'd estimate we'd lose a third of the usable cabinet space. This is probably the simplest solution that still gives us external ventilation. Last option would be to just let the microwave room vent just out the front into the kitchen. This is definitely easiest and gives us all of the cabinet space. I just don't know how important it is to vent this externally. Also, I would think if we go this route we can just cover the hole in the ceiling live all of the duct work above the ceiling in place. So, I'd appreciate any thoughts/advice. To the extent any of this is interesting to people, we went with Lowe's cabinets mostly because we have a Lowe's card so we could get a discount and free delivery. We had them delivered raw and we're going to paint them ourselves and install our own hardware. Overall we've had a good experience with them except they messed up the dimensions on one cabinet section. We're putting a pull-out spice rack on one side and they gave us a 12" deep cabinet for it rather than the 16" that we ordered. They've said they'll replace it though. Probably a couple weeks to have it delivered. I think the cabinets were about $1,600. Also, we had to have an electrician install a dedicated circuit for the microwave. That was about $350. Thanks in advance for any input! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2020 08:57 PM PDT |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2020 06:39 PM PDT We are tiling our shower with plain old white subway tile. We believed we measured appropriately so that the tile at the top would be a full tile, but we have a newborn and are very tired and apparently distracted. We have now gotten to the top of our wall and... there is a half inch gap between our last tile and the ceiling. A tile that small is going to look terrible. Any thoughts? I know, I know, the best thing to do would have been to avoid this issue altogether, but now that we are here what should we do? I thought about doing a pencil tile all the way around top, any thoughts on that? Any help would be so appreciated. [link] [comments] |
| Help me figure out what to do with these cabinets! Posted: 25 Apr 2020 06:20 PM PDT We bought this house a year ago and then I got pregnant so stuff has been on hold. I did the backsplash, husband did the tile floor. Counters are our next purchase after the new roof that's about to be underway. Butttt I don't want to buy new cabinets since these are relatively new and real wood. I just hate the yellow tone to them. I need something we can do ourselves... like a stain? Just not sure what color direction to go. Hardware ideas? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2020 04:38 PM PDT My husband and I inherited a home that needs some love. We are new at this. We are overwhelmed but ready to learn. Our mantra through all this is, we are smart and capable people who can totally deal with the projects at hand. How would you go about fixing this? Can we address the holes individually or should we cut out the whole section and fix it as one? aggressive curtain rod removal drywall holes Bonus question: do you have a solid home improvement resource (website/book) that is especially useful for beginners diving into home improvement projects? [link] [comments] |
| Stripping exterior paint. Need bulk strip discs Posted: 25 Apr 2020 06:06 PM PDT Anyone know where to get stripping discs for the Wagner Paint Eater? Need like ten of them and can't find them in bulk anywhere [link] [comments] |
| Panasonic bathroom exhaust - pricing help Posted: 25 Apr 2020 06:03 PM PDT I'm looking at getting some Panasonic bathroom exhausts, which I've heard many great comments about. It seems like the unit with a humidification sensor is $185. If you add a light to this, it's closer to $300! Is this about right? Is there something I'm missing? I'd like the $300 unit, but am debating due to the price. Any tips are appreciated - maybe I'm looking at a bad time when prices are higher due to COVID-19? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2020 04:28 PM PDT My front steps are crumbling. Structurally I think the are okay but the decorative bricks are falling apart. Is this a DIY job? [link] [comments] |
| Help identifying footer and mystery concrete Posted: 25 Apr 2020 06:01 PM PDT Hello! I am trying to install a foundation drain. I want to make sure I get the placement of the perf pipe correct in terms of depth. However upon digging up a section of the foundation (house built in the 1940's) I have two sources of confusion:
Here is a picture of the situation with markups - sorry for bad handwriting). Area annotated in yellow is biggest mystery. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2020 05:59 PM PDT We're just finishing up a kitchen renovation and the only area we could put a fridge is next to a wall that turns into the kitchen entry. Depth-wise I don't see any issues with the handle clearing the wall. But the space is a touch under 39 inches. Would I be able to have a 36 inch French door without feeling limited? Our only other option would be a bottom freezer 33 inch and I don't really want it because there's an island across from the fridge. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2020 05:40 PM PDT I am planning on installing LED recessed lights in my new home. Can anyone tell me how I can retrofit LED lights given this housing? As you can see in the picture there is no can, allowing insulation to fall from the ceiling. I am concerned about a fire hazard if I use a screw in retrofit since the "housing" will be free to move in the attic. What're your thoughts? [link] [comments] |
| Calculating Loads for Climbing Wall Posted: 25 Apr 2020 03:55 PM PDT Long time reader, first time poster. Looking at building a climbing wall in our backyard, here in the great Pacific Northwest. We will be using Tension Board holds, for those who are climbers in the crowd. I have built home walls in basements before, so I feel comfortable with the general build. What I haven't done before is figuring out lateral loads. My hope is to make the wall "free standing," with as few posts as possible. As you might be able to tell, I was planning 6" posts, 10' tall out of the ground, buried 4' deep, surrounded by concrete. Much in a way you would do fence posts. Do you fine folks of Home Improvement think these posts would be strong enough to support a 8'x12' climbing wall, maybe 20lbs of climbing holds, and 200lbs of a climber? [link] [comments] |
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