Home Improvement: Ode to the previous homeowners who painted over every screw and latch in the house |
- Ode to the previous homeowners who painted over every screw and latch in the house
- Caulk appreciation post
- Called plumber to house to fix a pinhole leak. We have galvanized pipes. He cut out a section and put in copper. Family friend came over and said its not to code. Didn't use a dielectric union on either side. We called plumber and he laughed at us. Now what
- City Patio Project (Updated)
- Venting 8x6 shed
- How to Build an Observation Tower
- Replaced my first ever door today
- Refurbishing deck questions
- Central Air Question
- Do dark blackout curtains heat up rooms?
- Looking for bi-fold automated trackless gate for residence
- Is there a name for open-top curtains?
- Excavating basement, worth it?
- Entrance to Basement Torture Chamber
- What are these holes in my basement foundation walls?
- Dumb question: Is a 4" thick concrete slab actually 3.5"?
- Bought a home yesterday. Found tons of termite damage today. Any advice?
- Broken load bearing wood under roof.
- Moving in to a new place with an atrocious medicine cabinet. The inset part is permanent, so thinking I can replace the door form the hinges. Thoughts? Advice?
- How can I reduce exterior LED light output before my neighbors start leaving letters.
- Woodlice and silverfish
- Has anyone used the harbor freight airless sprayer?
- Estimating heat pump operating costs from gas furnace costs
| Ode to the previous homeowners who painted over every screw and latch in the house Posted: 03 Jun 2020 03:35 PM PDT Thank you for making my life a living hell!!!! What is wrong with you?????? AND WHY!!!!!!? I can't even open the goddamn windows. And why is the paint so THICK? If anyone knows how to remove centimeter thick paint please let me know. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Jun 2020 11:18 AM PDT I bought an old home about two years ago now, and caulk has been a godsend for my various home improvement projects. Caulk has literally saved my sanity and my engagement on multiple occasions. Thank you, caulk, for seeing my work for all that it is, and without judgement, doing your best to perfect my imperfections. Thank you for filling in my flaws, hiding my shortcomings, and easily washing off of my fingers when I'm finished. I never knew how much I needed you, caulk, and now I couldn't possibly live without you. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Jun 2020 04:41 PM PDT So, just what my title states. What do we do now. This is a 20 min fix, the welding part, if thats what you call it looks terrible, and it isn't to code. We paid $300 dollars for this and when we called to ask why it wasn't to code, the plumbing company laughed at us and said we don't know what we are talking about. What to do? ......help! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Jun 2020 08:12 AM PDT Originally posted this a couple weeks ago, but I've since made a few improvements Added: barrel planter and projector [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Jun 2020 02:55 PM PDT I'm about to start construction on an 8x6 tool shed in Austin TX. Gable roof. I've bought one vent that I plan to put in the back wall towards the top. Do I need a second vent? [link] [comments] |
| How to Build an Observation Tower Posted: 03 Jun 2020 08:43 PM PDT This question has popped up over the years on reddit and reading through those posts I've yet to find any concrete answers. I'm looking to build a tower of some sort above the treeline on my property. We're talking between 30 and 40 feet. Apart from the height and an observation platform that can fit a couple lawn chairs I have no other requirements. My local ordinances do not prohibit it. I have zero construction background (and so I throw myself at the feet of the reddit community)...am I crazy or can I just pour a foundation, stick a couple telephone poles in it, and build a 8x8 wooden platform on the top? My thought was to use a ladder to climb up, through a trap door of some type. The property is close to Lake Michigan, so the earth is mostly likely sand. Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Replaced my first ever door today Posted: 03 Jun 2020 06:20 PM PDT Had an exterior side entry door on my garage that was rotting out. Frame was shot, water got in the door, it was ugly. Got to the point that water was sleeping in under it so I took the plunge. It was an inswing door, and essentially useless due to the narrow width of our garage (builder grade). Could only open it about 1/3 before hitting my wife's car. So, I decided to purchase an outswing door so it could be utilized. The old one came right now. Handles and deadbolt transferred right over, hinges that came on it were security hinges. I used 3 inch screws on the lock strikers for added security. Unfortunately, I had to remove the brick mold and rip it down to a bit thinner width. It was about 5/8 an inch too wide at the molding. Before the new door went in, I installed flashing all around to try to prevent any further water issues. And repaired the J channel as it had gaping holes at the corners. I'm pretty pleased with myself. Never done a door before and was skeptical I'd get it right the first time. Just one finished pic. Was too busy working today, lol. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Jun 2020 04:53 PM PDT So first thing first, I have no idea what I'm doing. If anyone has any pointers please send them my way. The last two weeks I sanded the whole deck (rails and all) with a 60 grit belt sander. So here is where the questions start 1. Should I go over the deck with higher grit paper? 2. Should I power wash the deck after sanding is completed to get rid all the dusk? 3. Is there a step that I'm missing before I prime/paint the deck. we plan on paint the deck a solid color if that matter Thank you in advance for all your help! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Jun 2020 02:36 PM PDT We just had central air installed in our house. The condenser is single staged and the air handler is a variable speed model. My understanding is that variable speed air handlers are always at running at least a little bit. But it seems that once my house gets down to temperature, the system shuts off. We have a nest thermostat hooked up to the system and I did some research and have been reading about communicating thermostats. I'm confused as to whether these are necessary for my system to work properly? Any help would be great, Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Do dark blackout curtains heat up rooms? Posted: 03 Jun 2020 01:52 PM PDT I've been reading on blackout curtains, and am getting some contradictory information: * Curtains will help block heat. * Light curtains will let light and heat in. * Dark curtains will absorb heat. * Blackout curtains will help shield the room from heat as well as light * Blackout curtains need to be darker to work better. I'm confused then if a dark blackout curtain will heat up a room because it'll absorb heat, or not because it shield the room from heat. I want my room to be dark during the day, but I don't want it to get hotter either. [link] [comments] |
| Looking for bi-fold automated trackless gate for residence Posted: 03 Jun 2020 03:12 PM PDT We are looking for a specific kind of gate (due to the restrictions of our driveway space). I've found exactly what we are looking for from an Australian company but the company doesn't ship to the US and we've had no luck finding something similar here. Any ideas where I can find a bi-fold automatic trackless gate like this one? See https://www.talbotautodoors.com.au/residential/automatic-gates-domestic/trackless-bi-fold-gates/. We are in Seattle. Thanks for any pointers. [link] [comments] |
| Is there a name for open-top curtains? Posted: 03 Jun 2020 09:59 PM PDT I've walked around my neighborhood, and seen curtains that leave around the top 1/4 of the window open. It seems to provide the same amount of privacy, but also let in a good amount of direct sunlight even if they're closed. I've tried searching, but nothing really seems to come up. Are these a common design? Is there a name for them? Are there any drawbacks or hangups to doing them? [link] [comments] |
| Excavating basement, worth it? Posted: 03 Jun 2020 03:36 PM PDT Hi, My basement is pretty big but it only spans half my house. I really want to do a home theater but the kids rooms are right above, so not too keen to put it there. I am toying with the idea of excavating the crawlspace side. Is this a terrible idea? https://imgur.com/a/dGSgyY1/ [link] [comments] |
| Entrance to Basement Torture Chamber Posted: 03 Jun 2020 06:00 PM PDT Hi All, My partner and I bought this 100 year old home in upstate NY four years ago. We have taken down the drop ceilings, refinished the original wood that was underneath tile/carpet and taken down all of the wood paneling - among many other things. We finally took down the last area of paneling and we are not sure how to approach this project. Should we water-seal, stud and drywall the concrete? Do you think the new pieces of wood are structural in nature? What is that square filled with insulation? Any ideas appreciated! We haven't been great about documenting our work, but I am including a before/after of the living room for good measure: https://imgur.com/a/qf4bFy2 [link] [comments] |
| What are these holes in my basement foundation walls? Posted: 03 Jun 2020 08:03 PM PDT Our house was built in 1927 and we've gotten water in our basement ever since we bought it five years ago. I'm having exterior waterproofing work down in a few weeks and started tearing down the water-damaged walls as well. I discovered these holes about two inches in diameter across the block foundation wall. They were clearly placed there intentionally because they're the same size, at the same height and spaced evenly across the walls. They're also in the locations where we get the most water and wood in the areas is entirely rotted from water damage, so I'd like to repair the holes. Does anyone have any idea why they are there or know if it's a bad idea for me to fill them with hydraulic cement?photo [link] [comments] |
| Dumb question: Is a 4" thick concrete slab actually 3.5"? Posted: 03 Jun 2020 10:47 AM PDT Starting to research driveway replacement and checking out concrete calculators. Everything I read about concrete tends to reference thickness in whole numbers like 4" or 6". But when I watch videos about how it's done, everyone's mostly using 2x4 or 2x6 as forms which, of course, are actually 3.5" or 5.5". And what does it mean for the strength and longevity of your driveway when everyone says, "it should be at least 4" thick" and everyone actually forms it with a 2x4? [link] [comments] |
| Bought a home yesterday. Found tons of termite damage today. Any advice? Posted: 03 Jun 2020 02:41 PM PDT Throwaway just in case. Title says most of it. First time home buyers. We knew there were a couple of small spots, but previous owners said that they were gone and they had damage repaired. Our mistake on the trust. Inspector said just a few baseboard replacements needed. Nothing major. Needless to say, we found a lot. 2 corners of the house complete rotted out at the bottom. One corner continues up almost to the ceiling. Board above window is eaten through. 2x4 along the foundation is completely gone in one room's corner. Also, it looks like they plastered over termite droppings in the kitchen. Fresh plaster and paint, but a ton of dirt and droppings behind it. What a way to ruin a move-in. [link] [comments] |
| Broken load bearing wood under roof. Posted: 03 Jun 2020 09:46 AM PDT Hey sorry about the title, not sure if it's called a tie beam, or joist, or rafter, etc... So I'm fixing up this 1926 house in Washington, DC and there's a 2*10 inch old growth (maybe) wood beam that looks load bearing and is cracked, snapped, and broken. It goes across the center of the middle of house in the shorter direction. The longer 2*6" wood sits on top of this 2*10 and supports the actually roof. What do I call this beam? And any ideas on how to fix or replace it? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Jun 2020 11:09 PM PDT |
| How can I reduce exterior LED light output before my neighbors start leaving letters. Posted: 03 Jun 2020 07:10 PM PDT This is kind of ridiculous... contractor just finished my siding/soffit project and it included a change from two carriage style exterior lights to four flat disc LED lights in the soffit on the back porch. Well, I just turned them on for the first time at dusk and it is like a commercial greenhouse /daylight. They were described as 60w equivalents and the two previous fixtures had 75w LED bulbs in each and it's not even close to the same lighting... Granted it would be 240w vs 150w but all the reviews said they weren't very strong.. I think the downward focus of the light directionality just amplifies the effect? The carriage lights just kinda shot light everywhere? I don't know if that makes sense. Wondering if anyone knows if I could use like window tint or a piece of colored glass over them? I don't think they are dimmable... I'm worried about changing them as the holes are already cut in the soffit and I'd need to find the same size... [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Jun 2020 10:55 PM PDT My partner and I bought a house last year and in that time there has been tonnes of woodlice and silverfish found in the kitchen. Neither of us had ever seen or even heard of silverfish before this. My OH isn't too worried about them but I'm convinced that this should be a priority. We are seeing a couple of bugs everyday, usually on the floor around the cabinets near the sink. I think this suggests that there's invisible water somewhere there shouldn't be. And a large colony of creepy bugs living in the vicinity of it. I have since trained the cat to eat the silverfish and my bf is satisfied that the issue is sorted and I should stop worrying. If I had the money, I would gut the kitchen and have a new one installed but I don't think we do. We only have around £400 in joint savings, but I have personal savings of £700 that could be used in an emergency. So, what are we supposed to do? Is this urgent? Can it be ignored or will we need to get work done? Can you get half a kitchen fitted? How much does it cost to fit a kitchen? Why won't the cat eat woodlice? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We are in Northern Ireland. [link] [comments] |
| Has anyone used the harbor freight airless sprayer? Posted: 03 Jun 2020 09:50 AM PDT I was just curious if anyone has ever used the harbor freight airless sprayer for paint. I'm looking to get one, the price is pretty good on this one here [link] [comments] |
| Estimating heat pump operating costs from gas furnace costs Posted: 03 Jun 2020 03:15 PM PDT I would like to switch from a gas furnace to an electric heat pump. Is there a way to estimate how much it would cost me to run a heat pump based on my current gas usage? I would like to have a way to know when I've made enough improvements to my house that a heat pump would cost about what gas costs before the improvements. [link] [comments] |
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