Home Improvement: Everything in my house has paint on it. A little rant. |
- Everything in my house has paint on it. A little rant.
- PSA: Don’t be like me and get aggravated and start rushing through home improvements
- Theres nothing wrong with planing a cupped deck board, right?
- Old vs new homes.
- Follow the installation manual or known good practice?
- Wet spot outside near ALL the utilities
- Best option for running coaxial cable through interior walls?
- Basement walls seem to be crumbling in spots
- Stuck/Overwhelmed
- Renewing stone patio tiles
- Kind of a stupid question: Is it safe to push back an oven after pulling it out to pick up debris that fell behind it?
- Kitchen sink hose went down the faucet. How do I get it out?
- How much can I save by pulling up the old carpet myself before I have new carpet professionally installed?(about 900sq ft worth)
- Grading around house to keep water away
- I just want the pigeons gone. How do I make the pigeons gone?
- Is this normal for contractors?
- Needs somewhat easy replacement for a crumbling sidewalk on a slope
- What to do with old blinds?
- Swapping light switch for Alexa enabled, do i need 3 way?
- Would it be a bad idea to pour boiling water down the shower drain
- Studs at 32 inches?
- Is it Normal to Give a Large Deposit for Fence Installation?
- Build up in water valve
- Handle broke off hose valve, I either want to replace the ‘bibb’ or figure out how to turn on the hose
- Replacing weather stripping on 1986 sliding glass door
| Everything in my house has paint on it. A little rant. Posted: 21 Jun 2020 11:38 AM PDT I've been in the process of renovating my house the last several years and whoever lived here last loved painting over things. Not sure if that's what people did in the 60's, because this isn't the first old house I've lived in where they just painted over shit, but Jesus. Nails and eye hooks in the wall? Paint em Light switch and socket covers? Paint em Window sashes? Paint em so opening a window is impossible. Door jambs? Paint the jambs, hinges, and the whole fucking door. DOOR KNOBS? Fuckin paint em. They painted the goddamn door knobs. Surprisingly the only thing that doesn't have paint on it is that hardwood flooring. [link] [comments] |
| PSA: Don’t be like me and get aggravated and start rushing through home improvements Posted: 21 Jun 2020 04:53 PM PDT Was demoing the basement of a newly purchased house and there was paneling on all the walls. After a handful of pain in the ass (why did the owners do this) moments around other parts of the house, a hot and humid work environment, I had to get the paneling out from behind the water main Pulled out the recip and went to work cutting a portion above the pipe to separate the upper and lower halves of the panel. Didn't feel like changing the large blade. 2 seconds into cutting and fountain of water started spraying out of the back of the panel. Luckily I only nicked the pipe to the house and not the service pipe I learned my fucking lesson and I'm extremely lucky that it didn't go the other way. Slow down and take a breather when you're frustrated. [link] [comments] |
| Theres nothing wrong with planing a cupped deck board, right? Posted: 21 Jun 2020 06:11 AM PDT New deck boards being installed and there are some high spots where boards are cupped. Not sure if I'm over looking anything about wood shrinking/expanding in the future. Thanks Edit: I'll be replacing the board, the other side is too ugly to flip over. Thanks everyone. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Jun 2020 07:36 AM PDT When about did homes stop being built with such lovely character? The built in wooden shelves, heavy oak doors, beautiful hardwood floors. Neat little nook's. My friend is renting out a beautiful 1910 home and I own a cookie cutter house in 2009. Just curious when the trend started gong away from prideful character homes. [link] [comments] |
| Follow the installation manual or known good practice? Posted: 21 Jun 2020 06:33 AM PDT I bought a Andersen window (nee construction, series 200) and on checking the installation manual, it says I should caulk and flash the bottom. Everywhere else, throughout forums, articles, videos, builders say to leave bottom uncaulked and unflashed so if water does come in, it can runoff. Interestingly, it does suggest not to insulate around the rough opening all the way against the fin/flange. Which seems to me has the goal to allow some air movement to dry water. But if theres insulation foam in the inside and flashing all around the outside, I don't see the point. Any ideas or explanations? Anyone came across this before? How are you installing your andersen windows? Here's the manual: https://techpub1.andersenwindows.com//api/publications/File?answerIds=12,87,152,66,64,51,137,9,141,213,103,18,41,193,138 [link] [comments] |
| Wet spot outside near ALL the utilities Posted: 21 Jun 2020 07:37 PM PDT Hay guys, I have a very old house to which city utilities were added as an afterthought. Thus, in just a few feet of wall, I have my sewer, gas, city water, irrigation, and hose spigot entering/leaving the house. Naturally, that's the area where a large and persistent damp area has developed over the last few months. I've dug up the area partially and can't see any obvious leaks or defects, but with four candidate lines and apparently a small leak (no running water sound, meter movement, pooling water), it's going to be tough to find. I might be willing to ignore it, but the damp is seeping into my crawlspace. Does anyone know any tricks to narrow down which line could be the problem, or to find the exact leak? Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Best option for running coaxial cable through interior walls? Posted: 21 Jun 2020 06:00 PM PDT I'm planning on running a coaxial cable from my cable box inside, but due to the layout of the house to get to where I need it to go I have to run it in from the box into the garage and then into the living room (this is to hook up to the modem). I've been doing a bunch of research on what I need to do to properly get this up and running, but the one thing I can't find any information on is any sort of etiquette or best practices when it comes to threading coaxial through an interior wall. I know I should get some bushings for the exterior wall, but once the cable is inside do I use bushings for every wall face, or do I just drill a hole through the interior wall and thread the cable through with no other steps, or a third option? All the pictures and explanations I've found are simple outside box -> inside panel. I don't know if this is a dumb question or not (I know I won't need weather protection when it comes to interior walls which is why I'm not sure about the bushing), but I figured I'd check. If it helps any, I'm in Oregon. I'm planning to run the cable along the ceiling of the garage, though the garage wall, across a hall, and then through the living room wall. Secondary question: is it strictly necessary to end the connection with a bracket/plate, or can I continue running the cable through the wall without a plate without any major disadvantages? Thanks a lot! I haven't done this kind of thing before so I don't know a whole lot but I'm trying to do my research and learn so I don't screw everything up Dx [link] [comments] |
| Basement walls seem to be crumbling in spots Posted: 21 Jun 2020 04:33 AM PDT What should I use to help seal these areas up before I paint the walls? It's only happening on two of the walls and in specific areas. Kinda looks like salt formed on the inside? Not sure if that is correct or not but it looks like it. The house was built in 55, I run a dehumidifier now (old one was broken for years), no sump pump, and basement is actually quite dry besides this problem. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Jun 2020 05:02 PM PDT I bought a 200 year old house in September 2019. It took forever to find what I wanted, which was a garage big enough to function as a shop and park my big old truck in. The house was dirty but liveable, and I was on a really good roll for about 6 months. Recently it's like routine maintenance, yard work, my actual exhausting job, and my habit of working on projects I enjoy (repairing tools, my truck and truck camper) and not what I need to do (finish the upstairs, add a hose, find a new way to heat). It's comfortable and liveable and that may be the problem. I don't hold myself accountable, or when I enter the weekend my list is unrealistic (major problem in the beginning) and then I need to do everything myself because I'm either too cheap or too proud to hire someone when I can generally figure it out at the expense of time (and electrocution). I have begun to see similarities in how different systems function in similar ways which has been helpful. But I'm just stuck. It's hot, there was no standard practice 200 years ago so studs are all over the place and the walls have 3 inches of wallpaper on them. I knew it would be a lot of work, and I'm honestly close to having it fully liveable. The downstairs is complete and comfortable and will be improved over time, upstairs we have a temporary bedroom but the main room is what needs the most work and I just can't seem to find the hours. Any tips? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Jun 2020 06:32 PM PDT Hi there! Any recommendations? What are some options? There is no nearby access to an outdoor faucet, will not be able to connect a power washer unfortunately. This is a 1st floor patio to a 3 story building. These tiles were new, part of a renovation around 10 years ago. 1st picture: Area is exposed to elements all year long. Lighter grey tiles on the right are shielded by wall and roof running up to the 3rd floor. 2nd picture: Area under 2nd floor balcony. Minimal foot traffic, mainly for storage bin and chair storage. Rocky and half tiles get wet during rain and snow only. 3rd picture: Area under 2nd floor balcony. Occasional watering from 2nd floor drips down where the chair is. High traffic area to the bottom half of picture, some spray paint spillage stained the tiles. Any help is greatly appreciated. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Jun 2020 09:33 PM PDT So a bit of food fell behind our oven, and I pulled it out enough that I could get it and throw it away. I pushed it back, but it doesn't seem to want to go as far back as it used to go. Should I try to push it back further, or is that not safe with gas lines and all? Should I have moved it to begin with? If you're going to downvote me, please at least tell me why. It would put my mind at ease for people who know what they're talking about to tell me I'm just being paranoid, even if I get downvoted. [link] [comments] |
| Kitchen sink hose went down the faucet. How do I get it out? Posted: 21 Jun 2020 05:35 PM PDT Please don't judge me. I have no clue what I'm doing, lol. I tried a hanger, I stuck it in, can't pull it out. I tried pushing it up from underneath. The end part won't screw on because it's too deep. We can't use it like this because it's spraying out violently now lol. I can't unscrew the base because it's up against the wall and the faucet is too long to rotate. Any ideas? LMK. Edit: spelling Edit 2: Here's some photos as requested. Thanks so much for being kind enough to respond. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Jun 2020 07:06 PM PDT |
| Grading around house to keep water away Posted: 21 Jun 2020 07:25 AM PDT My house was built in the 1950's and my sump is pretty active. I have done what I can to keep water away from the house, most of my gutters discharge at least 10 feet away. My backyard is fine, they discharge 15 feet away and then gravity takes over. The problem in my front is that it's very flat. The topo survey I have says that it's completely flat from the street to the house. My big problem is that I can't really figure out how to grade my house in the front. Most newer houses have a foot of foundation that show so they can build it up there and then slope away from the house. My house has not more than a couple inches before the siding starts. So if I grade down, it'll basically hit the edge of the mulch/grass and then tends to pool there. Anyone know of a way to address this? [link] [comments] |
| I just want the pigeons gone. How do I make the pigeons gone? Posted: 21 Jun 2020 06:31 PM PDT Hey, all! Recently moved into our first house, and have quickly discovered that we are the neighborhood's pigeon haven. Our roof is sort of like the normal "gable" shaped roofs, except that the tops of the two sides do not connect but rather drop down to a sort of flat landing as the connection. Like this... /l_l\ There are plenty of other houses in the neighborhood with this design, but almost none except ours where the air condition is conveniently placed on that flat landing area between. Great for aesthetically hiding the AC I guess, but this creates an excellent pigeon escape from the sun/heat (I'm in Arizona) + space for nests. I can honestly live with them crapping all over the roof, but I'm worried about the potential damage to the AC or vents. Without further ado, The Pigeon Zone created by AC/Roof combo (note that those metal pieces were already up there when I bought the place, probably when the previous owner reached this same point of trying whatever came to mind) I originally put a bunch of spikes in, but they just found ways to (1) squeeze under the AC itself and make homes underneath; (2) literally crap on top of + throw twigs/materials on top of the spikes until they could just land right on it and make nests. I'm telling you, they're evil geniuses. My current plans, based on interweb suggestions:
So yeah, any feedback on these plans OR inevitably better ideas, PLEASE send them my way PS...other things that don't seem to help at all:
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| Is this normal for contractors? Posted: 21 Jun 2020 03:43 PM PDT Hello r/HomeImprovement! Not sure if this is the correct place to post this but I had some questions in regards to a home improvement project that I recently had done at my home. We hired an HVAC/electrical company to install fans and GFCI outlets in the bathrooms. Basically they ran the power from the basement(unfinished) into the attic(also unfinished) and put an in-line fan in the attic. The cfm's from the fans are great and overall I cannot complain. However the work they did to install it left more to be desired for the price that I had paid (a little over 6k). -the work area was left very dirty and they did very minimal clean up (I was vaccuming up pieces of ceiling and insulation from my bathtubs and most of the house. -they left holes in ceiling of both bathrooms (I believe they used the holes to judge where the attic was in relation to the bathrooms for running the cables) -the actual switches have glaring holes around the hole where they installed them. -left trash in my attic (including parts of unused power cables), screws, wood from the holes that they cut out for the fan exhaust was left right next to said exchaust -didn't bother to screw in all breaker box screws The other glaring issue for me was despite my attic being unfinished there is insulation below the wood boards. But above the bathrooms where they installed the fans the insulation was moved almost entirely where you can tell there is no insulation between the 2nd floor ceiling and the area with the fan (the boards were thrown to the side.) I've had ice dams form on that particular side of the house and I'm very worried that moving insulation in that area may cause that again. If you've made it this far in reading this thank you, if you have any advice to offer it would be greatly appreciated. I just wonder if this is the norm for contractors and if I should pursue any kind of recourse in regards to the insulation/flooring in my attic or if that is normal work and I am just nit picking at these guys. Overall I am happy that we have bathrooms fans and that they even came out during a pandemic but for the work they completed I personally feel like I should have waited for someone else.. [link] [comments] |
| Needs somewhat easy replacement for a crumbling sidewalk on a slope Posted: 21 Jun 2020 08:12 PM PDT Long story short, I'm probably going to need to replace my front walkway ASAP. It's currently a sidewalk that wasn't built properly on a significant slope and is about to collapse. What are some options that I can DIY? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Jun 2020 07:10 AM PDT We're replacing our corded blinds next weekend with cordless ones. The old ones are only a few years old and in good shape. It occurred to me this morning that I don't know what to do with the existing ones once we take them down. I know they're not all a standard size and I don't even know if donation is possible amid the pandemic. Are there organizations that take donations like this? Can they be repurposed for something else? Should they just be disposed of? [link] [comments] |
| Swapping light switch for Alexa enabled, do i need 3 way? Posted: 21 Jun 2020 08:08 PM PDT There are a few packs, those that have a single switch and another that has 2 switches that says its for 3 way wiring where there are 2 switches I do have 2 switches in my room that control the same light, but i dont ever use the 2nd switch, do i need the 3 way 2 pack switch or can i just use a single switch? [link] [comments] |
| Would it be a bad idea to pour boiling water down the shower drain Posted: 21 Jun 2020 03:07 PM PDT So my moms shower is clogged. The pipe has already been slowly leaking through the ceiling for a while. Anyway, my mom asked me to pour some draino down the drain. Wait 15 minutes, then pour boiling water down. Couldnt brat potentially melt the pipe, seeing as its plastic? I told her that, but she wants to do it anyway. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Jun 2020 07:51 AM PDT So I decided to do some shelves in my attached garage and fasten them to studs. The walls are thick and not smooth, so either kind of stud finder is useless (magnetic or the beeping one). I know the locations of some studs from preexisting shelving. The fasteners are 64 in. apart and are definitely hitting a stud. I drilled bunch of holes at 16 in. ± 1 in, 24 in ± 1 in. to just hit empty space. However, my pilot holes at 32 inches hit a stud. Now I am confused. Was that ever a construction method with studs 32 inches on center? Any help is appreciated. Garage: almost standalone, but attached via den. Ceiling is about 14 feet high. Update: house of 1953 [link] [comments] |
| Is it Normal to Give a Large Deposit for Fence Installation? Posted: 21 Jun 2020 07:58 PM PDT We got a fence quote from a company for $5700 and it was the best price out of the bunch. However, they are booked until September and require a $3,000 deposit upfront now to book the appointment. I felt that was a lot given they won't be here for almost 3 more months. Just wanted to make sure if this was normal or what. They have great reviews and were well recommended. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Jun 2020 06:05 AM PDT What is this gunk? Should I try to clean it out? Water flow does not seem to be an issue, but was replacing hose and noticed the build up. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Jun 2020 12:28 PM PDT Hello!! I know nothing about tools and valves so pls don't make fun of me. I planted a new garden and I need the hose to work SOON because it's sweltering out and the garden will dry out. The handle has broken off (I can't find it, it was like this when I moved in) and the front piece wont twist (I've tried WD40, a wrench, and hammering it). So, I purchased a new hose bibb but I cannot figure out how to take off the front piece! How would I go about twisting off the old bibb? Thanks Photo of the old bibb https://imgur.com/gallery/VHkN0Xr [link] [comments] |
| Replacing weather stripping on 1986 sliding glass door Posted: 21 Jun 2020 11:02 PM PDT Is it possible for 1 person to replace the weather stripping on a large sliding glass door? If so, how? The bottom weather stripping, which seems like a brush, is shot and occasionally i can hear critters squeezing under it and popping up in the room. I'm worried since the door is so large, and it's the bottom, I'd need to remove it from the tracks? Thanks in advance [link] [comments] |
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