Home Improvement: What are the best home upgrades for under $150 |
- What are the best home upgrades for under $150
- I can’t figure out how to change these lightbulbs.. help please!
- (Question) Deck care
- What are your thoughts on epoxy for a garage floor?
- Tile prep for fireplace
- Bathroom Remodel - Vanity Installation
- Near boiling water GUSHING from water heater release valve
- No permit done for siding, contractor now trying to talk me out of pushing for one.
- Door not flush with jamb -- frame fix or pre-hung?
- How to Make Two Different Concrete Pours Look More Uniform
- Kitchen renovation Gone Wrong! What now?
- Deck Post Buried. Need Help Mitigating
- I want to add a dryer vent, concrete wall
- Fix hairline crack in plaster/cement wall
- Please share your magic potion to remove stubborn leaf stains from outside porch!
- We bought a house a couple years ago. Our neighbors came to us asking if they could build a privacy fence. Yes! Problem though..
- Which one looks better, blinds or shades? (PICTURE)
- Rotting casted joists
- Extending drainage and water tubes on the portable washing machine in my 1BR apartment?
- Something seems wrong about this Radon Mitigation install
- One way window film?
- AC fan is squeaking/screeching
- Dryer element turned red hot and broke in two. Why did that happen?
- Painting ceiling advice
- french door gap
| What are the best home upgrades for under $150 Posted: 27 Aug 2020 04:15 AM PDT I got some gift cards from work and would like to use them towards something in the house. I moved in a couple of months ago and have completed my major to do list, so I don't mind being a little frivolous with the gift cards. I'm just looking for ideas to add some "cool" to the house. Thanks! Edit: Thank you everyone for all of the wonderful ideas! I haven't narrowed down what to pick quite yet, but I truly appreciate all the ideas for now, and in the future. You guys are awesome! [link] [comments] |
| I can’t figure out how to change these lightbulbs.. help please! Posted: 27 Aug 2020 03:38 PM PDT Lights blew. Were here when moved in. I can't seem to get access to the bulb to take it out and order new ones. Thanks [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Aug 2020 08:52 PM PDT We have an year or two old deck that's a simple 12'x12'. It's pressure treated wood but not sure of the type. I'm in PNW. I see some splinters on the edges of a couple and few hairline cracks in the middle. Being a new homeowner, I don't know what and how to care for the deck. Do I have to worry about these? Should I scrub and "seal" nevertheless? Thank you. [link] [comments] |
| What are your thoughts on epoxy for a garage floor? Posted: 27 Aug 2020 07:59 PM PDT I have a Two car garage, and the concrete is in good shape, but I was debating on using epoxy on it. Is it a good idea or should I leave it as concrete? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Aug 2020 06:08 PM PDT Hello, Currently have a gas fireplace that was cover with brick and tile and now am left with drywall. Since I will not have to deal with any moisture, I assume it would be ok to tile over this. Would it be as simple as sanding down the drywall or do I need to prep the surface with additional steps? Thank you in advanced! [link] [comments] |
| Bathroom Remodel - Vanity Installation Posted: 27 Aug 2020 08:57 PM PDT Did I mess up? I put baseboard in around the entire bathroom after tiling, but now our new vanity doesn't fit snug to the wall. Should it? Pic 1 - Overview: https://i.imgur.com/bRaAbYa.jpg Pic 2 - Detail: https://i.imgur.com/xaTar1q.jpg If it should be snug to the wall, I believe I can cut out the baseboard fairly easily. Of course I'll have to do a little bit of cleanup/rebuild, but that's what I get for doing my own work. Also, any thoughts on making it snug to the wall on the left (see the Overview image above)? Ideally, I would like for it to be tight to the wall, but the vanity top is designed to hang over the edge by around a baseboard-widths amount. [I'm afraid it's going to get super ugly/dirty in that crack.] Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks! Edit: As per sub rules, Location = near Denver, CO [link] [comments] |
| Near boiling water GUSHING from water heater release valve Posted: 27 Aug 2020 10:49 PM PDT Hey guys, so my bedroom is right next to the furnace and water heater. I started hearing water trickling and opened the door to check it out and water is just gushing from the relief valve. It's pouring out at the speed/power that turning on a bathroom faucet full blast would. It is so hot I burnt my fingers touching it and it's literally steaming. This is a new heater that replaced an old one about 2 months ago. Can a faulty valve really cause water to release at this volume? I turned the unit off and closed off the water valve to it. No more water coming out but is it at least safe to be sleeping next too right now? Here is the valve. The water was coming right out of the blue pipe. Thank you so much if anyone can help me, kind of panicking right now. [link] [comments] |
| No permit done for siding, contractor now trying to talk me out of pushing for one. Posted: 27 Aug 2020 10:33 PM PDT My house was damaged by hurricane Michael in 2018, I've spent two years fighting with insurance and contractors and just finally got our repairs done. It took the contractor forever to finish and they still aren't completely done. They tried to convince me no permit was required for my vinyl siding, but I found on the county website where it is required and requested the permit be done. The contractor is now trying to convince me not to push for it because he says they may require all the finished siding to be removed from the house and that will be an "expensive" task. I'm torn because I just want this all done and over with and we are so close, but I also want things done the right way. Should I continue to push for the permit? Will the expense of taking down all the siding be something that I will be on the line for? How important is a permit? What are the odds the county will make them completely remove the siding to inspect ? I'm clueless on how to continue. [link] [comments] |
| Door not flush with jamb -- frame fix or pre-hung? Posted: 27 Aug 2020 10:22 PM PDT Hi, old fixer-up home (1947 so-cal) owner here. First post on reddit. :) I jumped in head first attempting to replace an entry door for the fist time. I'm a techie that likes to learn new things. I had an inexpensive test door milled to match the previous door. Once I'm happy with how it's installed, I'll buy the door I want. I was able to adjust the original hinges to get it closing properly without drag, but one of the top corners does not contact the jamb. One side of the frame may not be plumb? Using a 48" level, both vertical sides of the frame are between the lines, but one side does seem closer to the line than the other. There is a 3/8 gap at the top corner in the pictures. Is this a frame issue? I've had door sales and GC recommend generally (not specific to this problem) to replace the doors with pre-hung. I don't prefer this route as it's more expensive with 7 other doors I want to replace. I'd like to learn how to fix it myself unless it's not a beginner/intermediate task and I'm more likely to make things worse. I'm willing to fall back to the pre-hung route. I felt some were pushing pre-hung because the alternative was out of their comfort zone (maybe rightly so). Labor cost isn't an issue since I'm doing the work. I'm open to hiring someone to assist but I'm not really sure whether I'm looking for a GC, carpenter, framer, handyman? Who would be most comfortable fixing a door frame? Is there a simple fix for this or am I getting ahead of my current skillset? In my position would you settle for pre-hung or search for an expert to lend a hand? Thanks! Door photos: https://imgur.com/a/r9ivdRE [link] [comments] |
| How to Make Two Different Concrete Pours Look More Uniform Posted: 27 Aug 2020 06:30 PM PDT Moved in to my house almost 4 years ago. Had a single car driveway widened. Concrete contractor told me in a year the old and new concrete would look the same. It doesn't. Old concrete is due for power washing. What's the best way to make them look more similar? Anything to apply pre power-wash? Apply something post power wash? I don't want to stain too much, want to keep it natural looking, if possible. [link] [comments] |
| Kitchen renovation Gone Wrong! What now? Posted: 27 Aug 2020 05:00 PM PDT https://imgur.com/gallery/RwcYqT8 I need some sound advice. Myself and husband consider ourselves to be fairly good humble nice people. We both work in a serving professional field. He's on the side of the law. After purchasing our home two years ago, we made a deal to redo the kitchen for me. It was solely for me. My husband is a "if it's not broke don't fix it" type of guy. We searched for several contractors and found one. He showed us pictures of his work and offered references. We went with him. Due to the pandemic, the Reno was paused but started this summer. He replaced the floors, the cabinets, and did the backsplash. Now, the floors are a little uneven but honestly I thought it was me. They're tile but you can't notice the mistakes. I'm a perfectionist so I really thought it was me, until he finished up the backsplash. I am going to link the pictures to the backsplash. I'm not sure if he didn't know how to do the backsplash or what. This is the final outcome and I hate it. The rest of the kitchen is nice but this. First, for some reason some of the tiles look dirty. The tiles are a glossy white with a crack in the glass to give a different texture. In the box, it's white. When he put it up, some of them are brown. A few were so bad that he popped them out and replaced them. This is the second attempt after I spoke with him about the first job. He did the tiles to the end and didn't have anything to hide the sides of the tiles. He painted these pieces white and put them up. In my opinion, it looks like something my husband could have done. The bottom has sticky caulk or something on it. I don't know what it is. He asked me to go to the store and pick it up and I did so, however, he then said "I put it on but it's the wrong one". He was contracted to redo our bathroom in September, but after what we went through This summer, I have no plans to hire him for another job. I considered asking him to come and redo it but my parents said this May not be his forte since he called himself repairing it the second time. I don't know how people typically handle situations like this. I don't want to take a small business to court. I know he's working to save and purchase his wife a house. In addition, he's not American and I don't want to take anyone to court for the chances of anything happening but I'm also bummed that I'll have to pay someone another 1k to rip this out and fix it. I'll also have to purchase the tile and everything. I was hoping maybe out of the 1.3 million people on this subreddit, someone could give me some advice of how to handle this situation. What next steps to take? Is this a complete gut job? Can it be fixed? Can you tell what went wrong? Do you know why the tiles turned a brown color? The designer picked the tiles out and checked the boxes for the ones we replaced. They were white when she gave them to him and now they're brown. I've scrubbed them but I can't get them clean? I've spent a lot of money on the countertops and I hate the caulk on the countertops. Christmas is coming and I want the kitchen I paid for not this backsplash. Any advice is appreciated [link] [comments] |
| Deck Post Buried. Need Help Mitigating Posted: 27 Aug 2020 06:08 PM PDT Hey guys, I recently had my deck rebuilt and extended to the East. The contractor did a great job (I think) but didn't investigate the current posts. A recent reddit thread made me question how my existing posts were set in the ground. It appears they're set in concrete the buried in soil. Which the internet seems to agree is the worst way. I've included images below that show the new post, and two existing. Should I backfill with gravel? Are these repairable without completely redoing the deck? (Just did that) Any help is very much appreciated! *edit - just in case it wasn't clear - these posts were cleanly buried. I just spent the last two hours clearing the ground and rock. Making it look like crap like the images. [link] [comments] |
| I want to add a dryer vent, concrete wall Posted: 27 Aug 2020 07:34 PM PDT So, doing a reno on my basement. Previously the dryer vented through a window. That window has been replaced, and I'm not planning to vent out of it anymore. So, once I got the wall down, I realized that the rimjoist in the area I'd run the vent out is full of plumbing / hvac, so I'm now planning to go out through the concrete. Also the rimjoist has a brick facade on the other side, and I'd rather not mess that up. My question is this: I have a sds plus drill, bosch bulldog, but it is only rated to do a 1 inch hole. Rather than rent a core drill, I was thinking I would just buy a 3/4 inch bit and drill out a circle of holes, so that I have a 4 1/4 inch diameter then using a chisel bit to break up the rest of it. Is this a bad idea and I should just suck it up and rent a core drill? Kind of trying to use what I have (Buying a couple bits means I can reuse them for other things later).. [link] [comments] |
| Fix hairline crack in plaster/cement wall Posted: 27 Aug 2020 07:34 PM PDT I've got a hairline crack, about .3mm wide in an apartment building from the 20's. The wall is the common wall between me and my neighbor's apartment. I'm not sure what it's made of - it's harder than plaster, but it's not brick. Something in between. Although I don't think it matters. I was thinking I could try to fill it with joint compound but I'm not sure if I'll need to expand the crack first since it's so narrow. [link] [comments] |
| Please share your magic potion to remove stubborn leaf stains from outside porch! Posted: 27 Aug 2020 05:10 AM PDT https://i.imgur.com/9OL7uPv.jpg Hi all, I've had 0 success removing these stubborn leaf stains since we moved in. Pressure washer didn't do anything. Tried bleach. Tried other stain removers. Tried a rust remover. Nothing. It has to come out somehow, am I not using the right product?! Can you all share the magic secret?? Update: here's an after pic https://i.imgur.com/A7JNnQm.jpg [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Aug 2020 05:37 PM PDT our sprinklers, we just found out, are somehow on their property in the back yard and have been since who knows how long. What are our first steps to getting this fixed? How does this even happen? What an annoying random expense! [link] [comments] |
| Which one looks better, blinds or shades? (PICTURE) Posted: 27 Aug 2020 08:50 PM PDT I can't decide which of these looks better, the blinds or the shades (or neither, maybe go with wooden blinds?). What do you think Reddit? Thank you! https://imgur.com/a/9HMswW4?fbclid=IwAR3IvWU58wwuL34bBwBWRf20JiorHxc0PM5fHaYzvm-AP68OMIJFxM0VvYU [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Aug 2020 08:32 PM PDT Well I had planned to jack up my 1st level floor to replace some rotted rim and floor joists however only one section is accessible as it was raised and the field stone foundation was replaced with block. All the rest has the joists casted in the concrete almost up to the floor boards. Casting joists is semi common up north here (ND) and even more common just overly the boarder in CA. Any way to repair rotting casted joists? Or is this place ready to be condemned? [link] [comments] |
| Extending drainage and water tubes on the portable washing machine in my 1BR apartment? Posted: 27 Aug 2020 06:07 PM PDT Hi all, I just posted this in r/DIY but thought I would try it out here as well. Thanks in advance! tldr; the portable washing machine in my new place is annoying and in the way. I found a good spot where it's tucked away and semi close to the kitchen sink, but the tubes don't reach it. I don't want to move it every time. Should I extend the tubes so it can stay there? Will it work? Hello hello! So I just moved into a 1BR apartment for the first time and it's so exciting!!! It is nearly perfect...but I suspected there would be one thing that would annoy me...and it's the compact washing machine. It's an oldish Haier model, idk which one (not there right now) Prior to me moving in, it fit halfway underneath a kitchen counter, but the landlord redid the kitchen tiles (super sweet of him), and now it doesn't fit under the counter. It's annoying to walk around in the kitchen and the tubes only seem to reach the sink when it's blocking one of the cabinets. It also doesn't fit anywhere snuggly in the bathroom. In both rooms it can be maneuvered around, but it's just in the middle of everything being all bulky and annoying. There is a large closet close to the kitchen that it fits in (attached to the kitchen counter, facing away, maybe 5 feet from the sink) which is nice because it's not in the way there...but I really don't want to lug it out every time I need to use it. I've been doing manual labor for a few years now and want to be more conscious of how I exert my body, and moving this thing that's bigger than me in volume is less than desirable. Especially if I have to do it semi often (I get dirty at work and understand I'll have to be strategic in minimizing dirty laundry, but I'll still have to wash my clothes regularly) I was wondering what things I should keep in mind if I were to keep it in the closet, but extend the drainage and water tubes? I saw on google that it's "not recommended" to extend washing machine tubes, but it's a compact portable washing machine, and the length would need to be only a little less than 10 ft I think, if either of those things make a difference. The tubes now are like...3 ft long probably. Are "extension kits" universal? I didn't find any on Haier's website. Any suggestions on how to make my own? I'm envisioning it running from the closet out the door (facing away) to the counter (behind it) to the sink. So like, the tubes would make a J shape, with the washing machine at the tail end of the J and the sink at the top of the J. They'd run across the counter roughly at the same height of the washing machine. Down for suggestions for other subreddits to post this in, too! Any and all advice! Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Something seems wrong about this Radon Mitigation install Posted: 27 Aug 2020 08:08 PM PDT I had to work during the install, and I just expected them to plug it into the sump pump. Instead he installed it in a window well 20' down, and it doesn't seem to get under the slab, nor get near the sump pump, at all. It this effective? Yes, I know it is ugly, but is it effective? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Aug 2020 04:52 AM PDT Our house is in an urban area and one of the bedroom windows looks directly into the window of a neighboring home. About 9' in between the two. Any recommendations for window coverings that will give some privacy but still allow natural light in? [link] [comments] |
| AC fan is squeaking/screeching Posted: 27 Aug 2020 07:47 PM PDT Making a screeching sound occasionally and this morning I smelled a burnt dust/lint smell from the vents, and it went away in like 3 minutes. Does anybody know if the fans are typically accesible from the attic? Or should I call my AC guy? I was thinking about looking at it, maybe using grease or a lube on the fan. I might be dumb for thinking this, just looking for some advice [link] [comments] |
| Dryer element turned red hot and broke in two. Why did that happen? Posted: 27 Aug 2020 05:24 PM PDT Stackable Whirlpool washer dryer (about 10 years old). Problem: No heat from Dryer, blower fuse blown. Replaced identical to the original (took pictures of the old and made sure all the wiring was correct) Turn on, it buzzes, so I turn the dial and the element turned red hot and broke. Ok, what happened? The fuse is the same rating, same part, same numbers. I wired it EXACTLY the same way. The only thing I can think is if the sticker on the back of the fuse was upside down, then I would have wired backwards....?! And I noticed the drum belt also somehow came off the the motor and of course the drum wasn't spinning. Somehow it slipped off between ordering a new fuse and installing it. Might be the tenants, as this is a tenant unit. I didn't hear the motor turning either when I started the dryer and the element got too hot and broke in two. Anyone have an idea as to what has happened? Is the switch wired wrong even though I connected it identical to the old one? It is rated "L135-15F." It must work because it did get hot.. Ha ha.. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Aug 2020 07:17 PM PDT Hey guys, hoping there's some painting pros on here. So I'm doing my ceiling in a white, specifically ceiling paint. The problem is on the first floor of the house, the entire ceiling is connected and not divided rooms. Will painting sections at a time show seams where I left off? Will I have to try painting the entire ceiling all at once? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Aug 2020 07:13 PM PDT I have about an 1-1/2 gap between my french doors when i close them. What is the best way to close this gap? Should i just take the door and trim off and add another board to my door jamb? [link] [comments] |
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