Home Improvement: Help! House under renovation burned down |
- Help! House under renovation burned down
- I painted my living room without covering the floor which is now completely splattered with dots and spots. I am an idiot sandwich. Please help me.
- Windows Rant
- Help me, I’m an idiot. Behr Deck Over textured paint splattered all over black aluminum deck railings. Tips for removal?
- Junction box not flush with drywall
- Updated the lighting in our hallway
- Cat Urine Odor after installing Radon Mitigation System.
- Creating New Doorway in Load Bearing Brick Wall
- Expensive high efficiency furnace vs upgrading 80% furnace, AC, and thermostat?
- Wet Basement Walls
- Need advice on special door hinge for inset door -- don't know what to google
- How can I spruce up my guest bath vanity and medicine cabinet without replacing them? (Chicago suburbs)
- Spreadstone for Kitchen Countertops?
- Steam shower system - is it worth the $$$ for Kohler?
- This outlet hole is way too big causing the outlet to wobble. How can I make it secure?
- My A/C unit is too small. What does that mean really?
- Living Underwater!
- Light bulb help?
- Advice needed. Ductless vs ducted ac - 4 ductless units vs central air.
- Should there be water in this thing ? Dishwasher question
- Need help with lawn decisions!
- Bath Tub Restoration/improvement
- Recommend me an a Central A/C system
- Help with patching drywall beneath countertop
| Help! House under renovation burned down Posted: 22 Jul 2020 09:51 AM PDT Hi, Last night, our family home (under remodel) burned down due to contractor negligence (we believe due to poor plumbing welding). No one was harmed but the damage is extensive. We are under a ton of stress and somewhat at a loss for next steps. Would appreciate any advice or help on how to deal with our insurance, their insurance, should we involve a fire lawyer, anything we should be careful about. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 22 Jul 2020 06:46 PM PDT The pain comes of easily if I rub every spot individually but the room is pretty big. I used lemon juice and rubbing alcohol on a towel to clean 2 square feet and that took 45 minutes. I will take any advice I can get. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 22 Jul 2020 06:54 PM PDT Yes, already read the sidebars and am currently have several good options. But.. Before i wised up and realized "surely there is a wonderfully written reddit guide", i called a half dozen places to get quotes. Why does every single window replacement business seem hellbent on forcing you to sit through an hour long demonstration? None of them actually take any measurements, they just look at the windows and then bust out the old heat lamp and tiny window sample. If i wanted a demonstration, i would have called to schedule a demonstration, not a quote. I finally got one place to admit that they dont actually do anything when they look at the windows and they could give me a quote over the phone. Did they give me a quote over the phone? Nope, they said they'd have someone call me back over a week ago. Someone's probably going to tell me to man up and just ask them to leave... well. tried that. the guy refused to give me a quote unless "i knew what i was buying". MY wife's presence was the only thing keeping me from blowing up at the guy. I realize every industry has its quirks, but i can't for the life of me figure out where this one came from. Does that actually work? do people actually listen to the demonstration and decide to go with company A over company B? It kinda makes me want to start my own window company and only advertise "we have good windows - won't make you sit through a demo to buy them" [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 22 Jul 2020 05:50 PM PDT Painted our approximately 700sq foot deck last summer with Behr Deck Over paint. My husband picked the most heavily textured formula, much to my consternation. Stuff spread like concrete and resulted in splatters all over the railings which I wasn't quick enough to wipe away. It's been a year because I found out I was pregnant shortly after painting and couldn't handle being out in the blazing sun with chemicals trying to remove it. We're planning to list our home in a month and I really want to figure out how to clean the rails off. I've tried power washing, goo gone, mineral spirits, krud cutter, etc without any success. I know I probably need to move onto a solvent but I'm terrified I'll remove the black finish from the railings. Help! [link] [comments] |
| Junction box not flush with drywall Posted: 22 Jul 2020 07:35 PM PDT While replacing my bathroom vanity lights I found that the old junction box doesn't sit flush with the wall and with my new vanity it is an issue. I tried getting a 'old work' junction box that latches on to the drywall but the hole is a little too big for the junction box to sit flush. I guess using the I've to use the older junction box but I'm not sure how to get it flush with the drywall. Any ideas? pics below Pics of backside of vanity Backside of vanity https://imgur.com/a/7OxNcWW [link] [comments] |
| Updated the lighting in our hallway Posted: 22 Jul 2020 08:14 PM PDT Finally got rid of the cigarette tar encrusted fluorescent fixtures that came with our house. Replaced them with LED strips. Cut, stained, and routed lips on the wood for the glass pieces to rest on. Really happy with how much livelier the room feels. [link] [comments] |
| Cat Urine Odor after installing Radon Mitigation System. Posted: 22 Jul 2020 07:58 PM PDT Hello Everyone, We recently purchased a home and performed a radon test which came back very high. We decided to put in a Radon Mitigation System. This was about 3 months ago. All was well for a while and the radon levels dropped dramatically. However, a few weeks ago we started noticing a pretty strong cat urine odor coming from our HVAC vents when we ran the AC. When we went into the crawl space to investigate you could notice the smell lingering all around the crawl space. We looked all over for a source but couldn't really find one. We called an HVAC guy and he had no clue. Called the radon guy back and he had no clue either. We have been scratching our heads about this for weeks and now the odor has worsened and can be smelled in the downstairs without the HVAC running at all. From all the research I could find, this can be caused by some sort of off-balance in the soil under the vapor barrier. But for most people the solution was to actually to put in a Radon Mitigation System which we already have. So any odors coming from the soil should be carried away by the Radon system I'm assuming. Was hoping to see if anyone has had any experience with this or has some suggestions. Thanks in advance for any feedback or insights! [link] [comments] |
| Creating New Doorway in Load Bearing Brick Wall Posted: 22 Jul 2020 06:36 PM PDT I want to move a doorway that is in the interior of my house on a load bearing wall. It's a victorian house...the wall is triple brick. The doorway is on the second floor. Our house is essentially 3 stories tall. The 3rd story is the attic which has cathedral ceilings. First and second floors have 11 ft ceilings. (For whatever it's worth!) Will the old doorway need to be patched with brick, or can it be studded to support the weight? I plan on hiring someone to move the doorway but if possible, I'd like to save on the cost by studding the old doorway. Since I don't know what to expect, I'd like to get some other opinions (any structural engineers on here???) before having a professional come out and try to take advantage of the situation. Thanks so much! [link] [comments] |
| Expensive high efficiency furnace vs upgrading 80% furnace, AC, and thermostat? Posted: 22 Jul 2020 04:14 PM PDT My 15 year old AC and 30 year old furnace need replacing in Minnesota. I have gotten a couple of quotes now that left me with lots of questions (Bryant vs Daikin; why a humidifier, etc.) But my biggest question: there is no real way to route a high efficiency furnace out my house other than going up straight up the existing vent and power venting both my furnace and my water heater. Doing this adds the normal costs of the high efficiency furnace, plus the cost of a new water heater, and the cost of the power-venting. I won't make up my money from the fuel saving, but I like efficiency and the environment. I need to ask, would I be better off just putting in the 80% and spending the "savings" on a better AC (16 seer single stage to a 19 seer variable speed) and a variable speed blower, and a communicating thermostat, etc. vs dumping it all into a high efficiency furnace and power venting set up. Can I make up a lot of the efficiency with the fancy communicating thermostat and 2 stage ac? TLDR: 96% furnace plus water heater, vs fancy thermostat and ac [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 22 Jul 2020 06:49 PM PDT We have a sump pump. We have French drains. We have re-directed our gutters. We have built up the wall around our window well. We have regraded some of the yard. Nonetheless, multiple intense rain storms over a few days have resulted in a damp wall. Suggestions? We aren't sure what else we can do. [link] [comments] |
| Need advice on special door hinge for inset door -- don't know what to google Posted: 22 Jul 2020 09:50 PM PDT I'm struggling to find this product, even though I'm sure it exists. We'll see if I can actually explain my conundrum effectively... So I've built a chicken coop, and I'm essentially siding it with plywood. There's a structural frame, and a frame for a door that fits into an opening in the structural frame. I'm putting ply over the whole thing, but the cutout for the ply that covers the door is actually bigger than the door frame -- it overlaps the structural frame all around for a better seal when closed (gets cold here, so I don't want drafts). Think of it kind of like an inset cabinet door, but more dramatic? I'd love to have a hidden hinge, rather than something attached to the outside like a strap hinge. But if I just install a "normal" butt or mortise hinge, the exterior ply will stop the door from opening. So I need a hinge that kind of lifts the door away from the opening as it opens. Kind of like hinges on cabinets, but intended for sturdier uses. Anyone have ideas, or know the right words for what I'm talking about? I can add pictures if the situation remains a mystery after that pile of words. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 22 Jul 2020 07:27 PM PDT Hi everyone. Brand new to this sub and to desktop Reddit so sorry in advance if I'm doing anything wrong. My husband and I might put our house on the market, and one thing our realtor suggested was giving our guest bath a small face lift by painting the vanity cabinet, taking out the medicine cabinet, and installing a flat mirror with a light fixture above it. Replacing the medicine cabinet is unfortunately not an option; it contains the only outlet in the bathroom, and we can't find a modern replacement with an outlet that isn't stupidly expensive or the right size. We're not willing to put a ton of money into the bathroom to replace the whole medicine cabinet, install a new outlet, etc. if we're going to possibly leave, and it's functional for our purposes if we stay. At the bare minimum, to prepare for a possible sale, we will replace the faucet and handles (why are the handles wooden??) and the hardware on the vanity cabinet doors and drawers, since they're pretty banged up. We are not planning to paint the walls, change the tile, or do anything to the tub/shower. It's really just the vanity cabinet and the medicine cabinet/light in question; we are focusing the rest of our energy and money on the parts of the house that need actual repairs, not just a cosmetic update. What could we do to make those parts of the bathroom look nicer for a potential buyer (or, just for us if we don't sell!) and how much do you think it'd cost to DIY? Or, do we do nothing to the bathroom at all? Thank you for reading! [link] [comments] |
| Spreadstone for Kitchen Countertops? Posted: 22 Jul 2020 11:48 AM PDT I've got laminate in now, and it's pretty tired. Trying to save a buck on what will ultimately be a rental unit (I'm living in it while I renovate). Dropping cash for quartz or granite seems a little steep right now, and might not be worth the investment. Yet, I still need to do something, and this product (or ones like it) seem pretty straightforward to do myself. Has anyone worked with these types of surface coverings? Are there brands to avoid? I see a price differential at my local hardware store, and I don't know if that's just branding at play. [link] [comments] |
| Steam shower system - is it worth the $$$ for Kohler? Posted: 22 Jul 2020 07:07 PM PDT Kohler seems to have the best all in one package for a high end shower, but I'm wondering if there are other options out there that are just as or almost as good and don't have the high price? Is it actually worth paying the $10k+ for all the Kohler stuff? The Kohler DTV+ that controls everything - steam, water to whichever shower heads you choose, app control, music & lighting if you want - seems to be everything you'd want in an all-in-one system, but good lord those costs add up quick. Any other thoughts on this? Anyone have this or any of the Kohler components and can comment? Thanks [link] [comments] |
| This outlet hole is way too big causing the outlet to wobble. How can I make it secure? Posted: 22 Jul 2020 03:39 PM PDT So I am located in New York and as the title says the outlet hole is way too big. I did not make this hole. Also, the box is not connected to a stud and there is no stud in sight to even attempt to secure it to. The outlet is extremely loose and wobbly. I've tried spacers. How can I fix this? Will taping and mudding work? [link] [comments] |
| My A/C unit is too small. What does that mean really? Posted: 22 Jul 2020 08:22 PM PDT We bought a house last fall with a 1991 HVAC system. It still works without issues. Inspector noted it was old as hell but still trucking. We've had zero issues. I had it serviced, and the HVAC technician was flabbergasted at how our AC unit is working at all, based on its capacity vs the size of our house. Apparently we have a 1000 sqft unit on a 2200 sqft house. But it cools the house no problem, and our electric bill is completely reasonable. Lower now that we switched to electric AC from our gas furnace winter times, actually. We keep our house at 74 all year round, and it's 100 outside, so it's not like we're barely using it. So what does this mean exactly? I assume nothing? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 22 Jul 2020 07:57 PM PDT It doesn't rain a lot in Oklahoma but it has been recently and my yard can't take it. How do I fix this? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 22 Jul 2020 07:34 PM PDT Lol I can't seem to get this light bulb into the socket so here I am asking how. The shape seems to match as well as the prongs but for some reason it won't click no matter how hard I push. Am I just too weak or do I actually need to buy the same size/brand/ matching numbers? Original is on the left, the right is a spare. Help how to change a light bulb for real [link] [comments] |
| Advice needed. Ductless vs ducted ac - 4 ductless units vs central air. Posted: 22 Jul 2020 07:02 PM PDT Currently renovating my house, we have central air with a nice Bryant Evolution system. However it is always warmer in the upstairs then In the downstairs and basement. In the past I use to run a portable ac unit with the ducts connected to the window. But they were loud units. Then I was considering a ductless unit for my master bedroom and my son's bedroom and eventually adding two more ductless units into my other two bedrooms. However after getting some quotes, a couple of contractors have said it would be cheaper to just put a ducted system in the attic. Also wanted to add that I have a new roof with a high flow ridge vent and was also thinking about adding more insulation to the attic. Now I doubting if I should go ductless or not, when cost wise it will be cheaper to install a ducted system. The other two bedrooms are a small office and a medium guest bedroom. We live on the east coast so it gets pretty humid here. My wife uses the small office while working from home and the guest bedroom is only used 3-4 months in year. What am I missing here? Which one should I get? Just want people to weight in their opinions to see if I am missing anything. [link] [comments] |
| Should there be water in this thing ? Dishwasher question Posted: 22 Jul 2020 07:01 PM PDT I was cleaning the dishwasher cause it smells weird, I removed the filter, cleaned it but then I notice that there's water accumulation in that area. Is that normal ? Is that area supposed to be dry ? Thank you [link] [comments] |
| Need help with lawn decisions! Posted: 22 Jul 2020 06:54 PM PDT We just moved into a home that had tiftuf grass sodded in the front and side yard but in the back they planted tall fescue (NC weather). Now I love the tiftuf and I know I am not keeping tall fescue in the back. I don't know that I have the money to sod the back with tiftuf though. Can I get similar results by planting Bermuda in the back and doing the same maintenance in the back as the tiftuf in the front? Any help would be greatly appreciated because I feel like a fish out of water here. [link] [comments] |
| Bath Tub Restoration/improvement Posted: 22 Jul 2020 06:47 PM PDT Upon removing our glass shower door, the one that is on a metal track, we were left with discoloration and gashes in our bathtub from my poor use of a utility knife haha. Anyways what type of product can I use to patch the gashes; would something like Bondo, putty, or spackle work well and could then be sanded down before paint? Thanks for help in advance...link to pictures! [link] [comments] |
| Recommend me an a Central A/C system Posted: 22 Jul 2020 06:44 PM PDT I'm preparing to do a full replacement of my A/C system in my house - Furnace, coil, and A/C unit. All of the above are approaching end-of-life due to age. My house is a north/south facing 3-story townhome with about 1,800 total sq ft. The furnace is in the basement, A/C unit is outside on the west side of the building. I live in Denver where it can regularly get to 100 degrees during the summer. The upstairs floor has been the hardest to keep cool, as my current central A/C fails miserably at it. I am looking to get a system that would do a much better job at keeping the upstairs cool. And yes, I know that it's harder to keep upstairs cool, but surely a new A/C could do a better job of it than my current system. Price is no object. All recommendations welcome. [link] [comments] |
| Help with patching drywall beneath countertop Posted: 22 Jul 2020 04:20 PM PDT I have an interesting scenario left me here by a contractor we used for our countertops. He had to raise the counter and in doing so he left this gap. What would be the best way to go about patching this? It seems I can't really screw in a piece of wood to line up a drywall sheet because it's not just hollow behind the existing drywall that comes up to that halfway line of the outlet. Any suggestions would be appreciated. [link] [comments] |
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