Home Improvement: I just entered my house and it didn’t stink! |
- I just entered my house and it didn’t stink!
- First owner, talk to me like a child. Please.
- Finished laying pex for new garage radiant heat floor
- Replaced our closet with an entry bench which grew into a much larger project in the entryway
- Redoing bedroom with bed bugs.
- How much does it cost to have someone drill a soap dispenser hole in my granite countertop?
- Share your decking knowledge - tips for a new deck installation?
- Better Than Wax Question
- Best way to fix the seal around a drafty arched door?
- Worth upgrading/fixing central vac?
- What are good ways to learn about engineering shelves (material, dimensions, supports, joins, etc.)?
- Could somebody help me figure out this wonky switch wiring?
- Carpet is killing me, is it stupid to temporarily have none?
- Roofer didn't tarp unfinished job and I have over 10 leaks on the 2nd floor of my townhome.
- Basement Insulation Confusion - Foam or Batt, is R10 Enough?
- Plumbing clog, please help!
- My cheapest, most-impactful reno in my 100-yo Tudor
- Would I need new drywall?
- Spray foam between foundation and patio
- Exposed Area?
- Help remounting bracket to garage door
- How can I fix the floorboard lifting up here? There's no way to push it back in
- How to Fix Concrete Steps
- Black Locust Deck Cracking - Qs
| I just entered my house and it didn’t stink! Posted: 28 May 2020 07:03 AM PDT I've been working on a century home since 2016, complete gut and re-do, this morning was the first time I entered the house and didn't smell that distinctive 'old' smell mixed with faint hints of rotting animals. It made me so happy that I just had to share. Progress! [link] [comments] |
| First owner, talk to me like a child. Please. Posted: 28 May 2020 04:16 PM PDT As the title states I'm a first time home owner (and a first time reddit poster!), my girlfriend of 4 years and I moved into her grandparents house towards the end of their lives to help with bills and housework. We've recently been made owners of the house and will inherit it when they pass. I'm 24 as is my gf, I'm a very mechanical inclined person and my dad tried to teach me about house work when I was younger. However, I just don't know what I should have on the top of my list to work on. Or even where to start on projects. If anyone on here has the time and the knowledge to share that'd be greatly appreciated. The house was built in the late 70's in New England weather. With a big acre property surrounding it. My real question here I guess is how do I go about learning how to properly care for my house. Please help and if you need any extra info I'm willing to provide it!! Please help me! Edit: Thanks so much for the quick responses everybody! Thank god I at least have a good looking lawn! (Golf course job is why) thanks for keeping my house together with me!! [link] [comments] |
| Finished laying pex for new garage radiant heat floor Posted: 28 May 2020 03:22 PM PDT It was backbreaking work. It rained off and on all day, 77F with crazy humidity walking on rebar in my construction loafers bent over putting tube in clips. But I'm glad it's done. All I need to do now is pick up long long turn 90* 1.5" pvc for it to come out of the slab, hook it up to the manifold, and pressure test it. Behold: https://i.imgur.com/MQIoXwe.jpg [link] [comments] |
| Replaced our closet with an entry bench which grew into a much larger project in the entryway Posted: 28 May 2020 08:44 AM PDT My wife and I found the small bench in our entry way restricted movement and made the left half of the closet unusable. Also, the builders back in 1979, decided to have the shelf in the closet not flush with the wall, so if we pushed something back on the shelf it often fell off the shelf and onto the floor. We decided to remove the closet doors and build in a bench, this quickly grew in scope as we found ourselves adding more and more items to the list. In the end, this is what we did:
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| Redoing bedroom with bed bugs. Posted: 28 May 2020 06:42 PM PDT Does anyone have experience re-doing a bedroom with bed bugs? It will include removing carpet, padding, floor trim, and the trim around windows. Any tips or tricks to prevent spread to other parts of the house as furniture and carpeting is removed? Would it make sense to treat before, during, and/or after the redo? I'm hoping to do at least the carpet and trim removal myself to save on costs but I'm a complete novice. Will likely hire someone to replace with laminate or other "hard" flooring.Any help or direction to resources is appreciated. Edit: Maybe should have mentioned I have pets (a dog and a cat), so I have to take them into consideration when deciding what methods of control and extermination to use. [link] [comments] |
| How much does it cost to have someone drill a soap dispenser hole in my granite countertop? Posted: 28 May 2020 04:21 PM PDT I need to drill a hole but don't have the tools. I think buying the tools to do this would be more expensive than to have someone do it one time. How much would you charge to just drill a hole? I can install the unit myself after. Thanks. [link] [comments] |
| Share your decking knowledge - tips for a new deck installation? Posted: 28 May 2020 05:27 PM PDT My husband and I are thinking of having a deck built in the front of our house but we've never dealt with anything like this before. We are planning to go with composite but don't know much beyond that. Does anyone have any specific material recommendations or common pitfalls/things to look out for when putting in a new deck? Any advice would be appreciated, thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 May 2020 04:48 PM PDT I was doing some new flooring in my bathroom and had to remove/reinstall my toilet. I used a Fluidmaster Better Than Wax seal for the install. I've done a few flush tests and all seems fine. My question is, if I had a leak would I know it at this point? I don't see any water coming out from under the toilet. I know this might seem like a dumb question but with my DIY history I am surprised that this went so smooth. [link] [comments] |
| Best way to fix the seal around a drafty arched door? Posted: 28 May 2020 06:44 PM PDT We have a nearly 100 year old house with a pretty awesome front door. The problem is, this old arched door has a very bad seal around it and it lets a lot of air. There is a lot of old copper (I believe) lining the door frame. I tried bending this back and placing weather stripping underneath it but the door wouldn't close anymore. Maybe I need thinner weather stripping, but does anyone know the best way to fix this? The copper playing is protecting wood, so I don't want to remove it if I don't have to. But if that's the best way to do it, I'd consider it. Here are some photos: https://i.imgur.com/XsPa0WK.jpg https://i.imgur.com/rwwOmZ8.jpg https://i.imgur.com/bPHndX1.jpg [link] [comments] |
| Worth upgrading/fixing central vac? Posted: 28 May 2020 05:27 PM PDT My house has a central vac from what I guess is the very early 80s that's not been used in 15 or so years. Most of the outlets still work but some of the connections have minor leaks here and there. There's one or two that have very little suction which I attribute to some dog toy blockage or sock that's become lodged in there over the years. I have the original hose but the vacuum attachments are missing and the canister/motor seems to be functional but old. All of the plumbing and wiring is easily accessible in the crawlspace and I'm pretty handy and can do all the work myself but all you central vac owners do you find yourself using your systems? The house is all one level and is all hard surfaces. I have a dog that sheds. Is this worth spending time and money on to get fully operational or should I just keep using my canister vac? [link] [comments] |
| What are good ways to learn about engineering shelves (material, dimensions, supports, joins, etc.)? Posted: 28 May 2020 07:17 PM PDT How's that for a broad, naive question? 😊 In short, I'm looking to build some built-in wooden shelves in a home office closet for storage. I've got a 16" deep, 48" span I want to fill, and I'm hoping for really solid support for everything from paint cans to printer paper. I'm also hoping to avoid any intrusive supports in the middle of the span. So, my initial thought was just to run some ledgers around three sides, screwed to the wall studs and the shelves screwed to those from above all around. Easy peasy for a novice, right? RIGHT? Then I started trying to figure out materials and dimensions and see how much I have to learn to do this right. I don't mind over-engineering them, but I don't want some crappy DIY job that sags in a few months because of what I don't know. Obviously, someone could just take this info and probably give me the right answer (and that wouldn't be awful), but I'd like to read and understand the engineering behind it to know the options and trade-offs while still keeping it a beginner project. Ideas on where I could start learning more? Thanks [link] [comments] |
| Could somebody help me figure out this wonky switch wiring? Posted: 28 May 2020 06:50 PM PDT So I tried to wire in a no-neutral fan timer in my bathroom and the timer (I thought) turned out to be a dud. Even bought another and thought it was a dud as well. The reviews on the switch were pretty good but the negative reviews were all pretty much saying they received duds. Chalked it up to shitty QC and went to put the switches back how they were. Now only one switch works. I drew up the switch but I'll type it up here for clarity. Two switches - One for the light fixtures, one for the fan. The wire bundle for these switches has one hot coming in. One hot going out to an outlet. Switch is connected to the hot and pigtailed to the 2nd switch. When it was working, before I did anything, the neutral from the light fixture (told this is used as a switched hot) was also in this bundle tied to the hot. Here's a diagram: https://imgur.com/a/7UPpSMn So the switch was a dud, or at least I thought it was, so I'm wiring it back up as it was for now. The problem I'm running in to is that the light fixture doesn't work when both switches are hooked up. If I take the hot off of the fan switch the light fixture works fine, switch turns it on/off. If I put the fan hot in the circuit the light fixture doesn't work at all and the switch is unresponsive but the fan works normally. I'm at a loss and from what I've read and been advised from friends with experience is that this wiring is a clusterfuck to begin with and I should rewire it. I'd like to just get it back up and running for the time being before I dive into that. [link] [comments] |
| Carpet is killing me, is it stupid to temporarily have none? Posted: 28 May 2020 10:28 AM PDT We moved into a house built in 1973 last year, one room has original, or close to original carpet in it. When we first moved in it was on the list of things to fix "eventually", but when locked down I discovered being in that room all day makes me cough and get badly congested. Unfortunately that room was planned to be my home office, and is the only secluded place in the house. I got laid off and can't currently afford to replace the carpet, but I am getting closer and closer to ripping it out myself and living with just the subfloor until I get a job again and can afford to get laminate floor. Am I crazy? Is this stupid? Am I going to regret this? It's a wood subfloor on the ground level. [link] [comments] |
| Roofer didn't tarp unfinished job and I have over 10 leaks on the 2nd floor of my townhome. Posted: 28 May 2020 06:28 PM PDT My townhome is getting the roof replaced by my HOA. The old roof has been completely removed and the paper/felt was covered over. Came home today from work and found leaks all over my 2nd floor ceiling due to the rain. Went outside in the rain and told the roofers cleaning up for the day that there were leaks. There was a language barrier but they got what I was trying to say. Pointed out the various locations from outside where the leaks were. They said they patched them up and the leaking seemed to stop but the rain was also slowing down by that time. Found more leaks later at night after they left. They said they will have the roof completed tomorrow which is another confirmed rainy day. So many questions: -Can you put shingles down over wet plywood and felt? -Water was dripping into lights and fans. Is there more damage that I can't physically see? -Can I get mold issues from this? Sincerely thanks for any info before I talk to roofing company and owner tomorrow morning. [link] [comments] |
| Basement Insulation Confusion - Foam or Batt, is R10 Enough? Posted: 28 May 2020 03:13 PM PDT I've been trying to figure out what is a good, or acceptable option for my basement insulation. I live in mid Michigan with poured concrete walls. I'm going to frame the whole basement with 2x4s. I've seen people say to use 2" rigid foam board (foamular 150 is what I'm eyeing at HD) and then others say to use fiberglass batts and a vapor barrier. With fiberglass it'll be cheaper and warmer but I've seen that there's mold potential. With foam, it seems easier and better against moisture but I can only do 2" for budget reasons, so that's R-10. Is 2" rigid foam board at R-10 good enough in a Michigan basement, or should I do batt insulation between the studs? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 May 2020 02:55 PM PDT Not sure if i can post this here,, if i need to post elsewhere, let me know.. My brother's plumbing has clogged up bad. Started with toilets not flushing properly, the next day he discovered that thsi little house in his backyard (used as storage, had a toilet once that was removed but not capped properly) had water everywhere, and it was backed up. Then it started backing up into the showers in the house. We haven't been using water if we can help it.. taking showers in the backyard, camping toilet. The whole 9 yards. Called the city, they installed an access in the alley because there wasn't one anywhere. Their lines were clear. He snaked the pipe into the yard (the city did mark where the pipes are in the yard) and hit the clog, but can't get it to move. The main line running from the house to the storage house has a 90 degree split to go to the storage house.. the clog is somewhere after that split,, between there and the alley. Bought an auger today, apparently it didn't help, but i haven't gotten the details yet. He said he called a plumber to come tomorrow, but has since heard this guy isn't a real plumber. Not a lot of money to waste here, so ik trying to see if there is anything else he can try to avoid getting the plumber. If I need to provide more details, let me know. [link] [comments] |
| My cheapest, most-impactful reno in my 100-yo Tudor Posted: 28 May 2020 10:39 AM PDT My "3-Seasons" room in NW Akron was an eyesore. It was the one room in the house that frustrated me the most. After being turned down by 6 window companies, and a 36k quote from Andersen, I decided to completely pull out the window units and keep it open instead. As you'll see in the before pic, the original fan was not meant for outdoor use. I made sure to replace with an indoor/outdoor unit. I also added angled spotlights to each corner of the ceiling to fill the room with light at night (brick really drinks up light). I removed the radiators that ran the perimeter of the room, capped the ends, and stored them in the basement. Who knows, I might build a new window unit this fall and decide to reinstall. This took only one day of hard labor, but I'm happy with how it turned out! Now working on an indoor/outdoor sofa... Cheapest and most-impactful renovation yet! before/after https://imgur.com/gallery/s6uvK4b [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 May 2020 06:11 PM PDT https://ibb.co/PYmSsvK. Hopefully this link works! We just rent this house so we don't have the money or the option for anything really expensive. Is there anything that I could fill this in with? I never really thought about it until today when I found just a stream of ants coming in. [link] [comments] |
| Spray foam between foundation and patio Posted: 28 May 2020 07:42 PM PDT My front patio has a small gap between the patio slab and the house foundation (as expected). However, weeds have a tendency to grow in the gap. Would a spray foam like Good Stuff be safe to use in a small outside gap? I'm located in Indiana, which has extreme temperature swings like most of the Midwest. My concern is that I don't want to risk damaging the foundation due to expansion/contraction due to season temperature changes. I thought about using a concrete fix caulk like Sika Flex, but that seemed riskier and harder to fix if there was a problem. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 May 2020 07:42 PM PDT There is this area under the entry door from the garage. I'm not sure how to best cover it up. Any advice is appreciated. [link] [comments] |
| Help remounting bracket to garage door Posted: 28 May 2020 03:01 PM PDT The screws for a bracket on my garage door ripped out and the holes are completely stripped. Any suggestions for remounting the bracket? [link] [comments] |
| How can I fix the floorboard lifting up here? There's no way to push it back in Posted: 28 May 2020 09:43 PM PDT |
| Posted: 28 May 2020 02:07 PM PDT Hi, first time homeowner here. I have a simple set of three concrete steps leading up to my front porch. They're maybe 3-4 feet wide. The sides are completely crumbling and it seems to be slowly detatching itself from the rest of the cement around the bottom of the porch foundation. About how much would that take to get repaired and any recommendations for what type of services to use? [link] [comments] |
| Black Locust Deck Cracking - Qs Posted: 28 May 2020 04:37 PM PDT Hi, first time posting, great information here, so thank you already, We recently had a new deck installed, in September 2019. It is black locust, which we chose because it was marketed as a hardwood alternative to Ipe and Mahogany. Our contractor is very experienced in working with the exotic hardwoods, but it was his first time using black locust (at our request). We did not want to have to do maintenance on it and wanted it to weather naturally, so we did not treat it, which the supplier said was optional. We had a very mild winter, and yet, we now have pretty significant (imo) cracking in several places on the deck. Our contractor has contacted the supplier and they are now saying because a) we get a lot of moisture (? pretty sure we get as much as anyone else - we're in the middle of Washington DC, not a rain-forest—just a swamp ;)), b) we have limited airflow (? it's a normal deck as far as I can tell), and C) the deck isn't sloped (is that normal? our contractor says no), we should have had the deck treated in the first place and basically its our fault. My wife is pretty unhappy aesthetically with some spots, but mainly we're worried about the integrity. We were told a hardwood deck will last us fifty years (or something like that) with minimum maintenance. See pics HERE. This was shortly after we received some rain. So my questions: a) Is this an actual issue with the integrity of the deck? I imagine if water gets in those cracks and freezes in coming years it will be a real problem. b) Is our contractor correct in the install and belief that if this wood were to perform like the exotics this shouldn't occur, or is the supplier correct that wood should have unquestionably have been treated? Is this normal, or did someone screw up? c) Any suggested fixes? They've offered to replace the cracked boards, which feels like half the deck, but then would we need to treat and treat annually? We were really trying to avoid that... Bonus question: anyone know what that black spot is in the first pick? Seems like some kind of rot. A sliver of wood separated from the board in that spot. Again, thought hardwood was rot resistant? Ok, that seems like a lot, thank you anyone that has insight, [link] [comments] |
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