Home Improvement: I just want to say thank you to this subreddit. You guys are the best! |
- I just want to say thank you to this subreddit. You guys are the best!
- Whatever you do, don't do shake a can of paint upside down.
- I just got an $8,000 quote (installed) for a 3.5 ton air conditioner. Is this reasonable?
- Called 811 to mark utility lines. Was cleared for my area then I chopped a power line going to my detached garage. What can I do?
- Help me understand my home sewage system
- Cleaning Up Our Dock
- Hot Water heater questions
- First time home buyer
- Should I risk trying to change my circuit breakers on my own?
- Neighbors mad at me for burning yet I’ve never burned
- Help me replace my living room lights.
- How do I lower my toilet tank's water level to keep it from leaking?
- Potential roofer does not have insurance, can I purchase insurance for this one job? (Ontario Canada)
- Got Landscape lighting install in new construction build. Transformer locations are a huge eyesore.
- Delete outlet for range vent?
- Rained today and have a water bubble in one of the room walls
- What color do you paint ceilings?
- Crack in sewer cleanout
- “Floor city.” Anyone use them?
- First time homeowners here
- Moisture Shield for Flooring - Will It Crinkle?
- Has anyone used Solitex Mento 1000 (or any alternative) instead of Tyvek?
- looking for a more ���������������� floor threshold
- What is this pipe?
| I just want to say thank you to this subreddit. You guys are the best! Posted: 28 Sep 2020 06:55 AM PDT I bought a house a month ago and I've always loved working on decorating and fixing houses. But I don't have much experience besides painting and refinishing furniture. This is where I have to YouTube everything and when I can't find it on YouTube I come here. You guys have been amazing! I constantly feel like I'm asking too many dumb questions but everyone is so so so nice and helpful. I will probably still be asking 1 or 2 questions once a week until my major projects are done, but I don't feel embarrassed at all asking since everyone is so nice! I love you guys! Thank you for being the teachers on home maintenance and home improvement I didn't have growing up! I hope to some day have enough knowledge that I can pay it forward. Thank you so much for being so amazing!! Again love you guys! [link] [comments] |
| Whatever you do, don't do shake a can of paint upside down. Posted: 28 Sep 2020 03:46 PM PDT |
| I just got an $8,000 quote (installed) for a 3.5 ton air conditioner. Is this reasonable? Posted: 28 Sep 2020 04:13 PM PDT First time home owner. No idea what's fair. We already have a furnace, already have central ducts/heating, already have a breaker box that will accept AC. Meanwhile I look at Home Depot and see units for $2500-4000. So somehow I'm paying $4k for install and permits. Is that right? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Sep 2020 06:18 PM PDT The whole reason I called was to not hit a line. Now my garage is dead and I dont know what to do. Is it their fault at all? Im planning on calling but want to get an idea of if theyll just tell me too bad. [link] [comments] |
| Help me understand my home sewage system Posted: 28 Sep 2020 07:54 PM PDT Hey Reddit, I'm learning my home's sewage/drainage system this week and I'm hoping you can help me make sense of a few things.
Now for the fun part of this story: 1. Sunday evening, we tried to flush one of our toilets which backed up. This is the toilet closest to the septic, the only fixture closer is the shower/tub. We'll call this "Toilet Alpha". 2. After plunging and snaking the toilet with no success, I tried flushing my other toilet which is the furthest away from septic, only the shower is further. We'll call this "Toilet Bravo". 3. I tried plunging bravo with the same effect after which I tried Dawn dish soap and hot water to some small success. 4. I tried the same soap and hot water on alpha but it didn't do much of anything. 5. In between all of this, I tested the tub by alpha, closest to the septic. In spite of my best efforts, the tub didn't back up. 6. I gave up my plumbing efforts for the night and took a quick shower in the shower by bravo, furthest from the septic. 7. The next morning, I woke up and realized I could flush bravo without issue and the alpha had drained enough where I could clean it, but I still couldn't flush it without it backing up. 8. Septic company came out, found my tank and pried two lids off, noting that water started bubbling out while they were trying to break the seal (they had to make a small hole in the lid to break the suction). 9. They emptied my tank, cleaned my filter, and noted two issues: First water was running back in from the drain field. I know that could be a sign of a failed drain field, but it seems more likely that we've had so much rain, that the field was inundated. We discovered about four inches of water on top of the field the night before when this all started that had already drained by the time the septic company came out. Second, after the tank was pumped, and I confirmed I could flush my toilets, he noted we still had water running to the tank from the house. By the time they had closed everything up, it had slowed to a trickle. 10. Fast forward six hours and we try to flush alpha and it backed up again. Same with bravo, but the shower and sinks are all still fine. For now, we're back where we started. I'm pretty sure it's not a clog in the main line as I was able to successfully flush both toilets once the drain was clear. From what I can see, here are my options:
I'm leaning towards option 3 as we've had an ungodly amount of rain over the past two weeks and the standing water on the drain field tells me the ground can't soak it up fast enough. Thing I can't understand is why it's just the toilets. I'd understand if my tub was backing up, but that's just not happening. I'm here to learn so I look forward to reading your thoughts on this. Thanks Reddit. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Sep 2020 03:08 PM PDT We purchased a house a few months ago and this dock came with it. The previous owner threw the railings on quickly before closing, and they were very wobbly and poorly cut/fitted. When dropping trees, we accidentally hit the dock and took out one of the railings. Shit happens. The wife decided she didn't want to fix it and would rather go for the floating look. So I got out the skillsaw and power washer and we went to work! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Sep 2020 05:31 PM PDT I was doing my yearly flush of my hot water tank and noticed the hot water outlet, as seen in the pic. The cold water inlet has no rust/corrosion at all. I think maybe when I replaced the anode rod a few months ago I may have shifted it slightly? There was no moisture around it, but I'm assuming this needs to be replaced. How do I do it? Is it better to use Pex here to connect to the hot water, or just a new piece of copper pipe? I've never welded pipe before. Edit: I added a few more pics of the outlet as well as one of the cold water inlet [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Sep 2020 02:24 PM PDT Hello everyone. Hopefully this is the right place to ask, but I'm looking to buy my first home. Made an offer on a place today and I have a slight concern about the property. It's a bit of an older house, and while walking through, I noticed there's cracks in the ceiling of just one of the bedrooms. It spans across from one side of the room to the next, but it's little bigger than a hairline crack. Is this anything to worry about, or is it just because the plaster is most likely old? I would've just asked for inspection, but I'm the current market, it basically knocks you out immediately (ridiculous I know) Didn't think to grab any photos unfortunately. Any thoughts? [link] [comments] |
| Should I risk trying to change my circuit breakers on my own? Posted: 28 Sep 2020 08:32 PM PDT I had an electrician come out last week and he suggested I should change all the circuit breakers in my box after I started having issues with several things around the house: some outlets in rooms don't work, my appliances stopped working. I bought the circuit breakers and am waiting for them to all get shipped here since they were not in stock locally. I watched some YouTube videos and it seems relatively easy plus I have an electricity meter but I'm wondering if it's worth the risk or if I should just let a professional do it. He charged me $200 for diagnosis plus he got my appliances to work again and total for the breakers was also about $211. He says he will charge $100 for the installation of breakers. Since he came my AC has also stopped working but luckily I had a spare window unit but he believes it is also because of the old circuit breakers. What do you guys think? Do it and save $100 or be safe and have the professional change it? [link] [comments] |
| Neighbors mad at me for burning yet I’ve never burned Posted: 28 Sep 2020 08:24 PM PDT My house sits on an acre and is mostly wooded. I've slowly been clearing brush and trees for the past two years or so however I struck up a deal with a local company to allow me to use their heavy equipment in order to knock down and clear out about half an acre in exchange for dirt. Now we were going to apply for a burn permit however the forestry services needs approval from the neighbors. With the burn permit we would burn everything in one day rather than having to burn little by little in 8 ft piles without a permit. 3/4 neighbors signed off, the ones that refused to sign off are saying that they hate when I burn because ashes fall on their cars and they say my fires give them coughing fits as they have lung problems. The thing is I've never burned and this isn't the first time they've given me a hard time about doing stuff to my land. Long story short they got pissed when I cleared vines from the trees in my front yard. Should I just burn all day everyday in 8 ft piles or does anyone have other suggestions to get rid of this stuff. [link] [comments] |
| Help me replace my living room lights. Posted: 28 Sep 2020 07:53 PM PDT current lighting (four wall sconces on upper left) and living room. Fans don't have lights. I recently replaced my dining area lights. My living room lights runs on a halogen t4 mini candelabra E11 bulb 75watts each- and it can dim. I feel it's a bit outdated and also kind of dark. I have one other table lamp in the living room. My ceiling is slanted on one side. I need your opinions and suggestions on what to get. I also want to know what you guys think my overall interior style is? Here are other ones I'm looking at ideas but I would love other suggestions. I want something modern and striking/ quirky that provides me with good lighting. Southern California [link] [comments] |
| How do I lower my toilet tank's water level to keep it from leaking? Posted: 28 Sep 2020 07:45 PM PDT PS: fuck the GC who said his plumber "fixed" it. https://imgur.com/iz8BiCJ.jpg [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Sep 2020 04:58 PM PDT As the title states, I need a new roof. I got a reasonable quote from a friend of a friend. Only issue is he doesn't have contractors insurance. Is this something I can purchase for a one time project to insure I'm covered from any liability? [link] [comments] |
| Got Landscape lighting install in new construction build. Transformer locations are a huge eyesore. Posted: 28 Sep 2020 09:53 PM PDT We checked out our new build today and were ecstatic to finally see the landscape lighting installed. That feeling was short-lived once we saw the location of the transformers. We are noobs when it comes to home improvement/construction so we had no idea transformers needed to be installed and had no idea they would look so tacky. Is it normal for them to be installed right in the front of the house like this? Shouldn't they have installed them more inconspicuously like on the sides of the house? The whole point of the landscape lighting was to improve aesthetics of the house and we feel these big shiny boxes do the opposite. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Sep 2020 07:40 PM PDT Installing a new range vent fan/light. Currently there is an empty duct and shelf over the range. There is also an electrical outlet. My plan is to also add a tile backsplash. The new fan needs to be hardwired in and would sit just above the outlet. My question is this: 1) Should I just delete the outlet and use the wiring to come out of the wall higher up and into the vent fan? I'll be tiling so can easily hide the old outlet, Or; 2) Buy a hardwire kit I can plug in then run the wire into the fan? This would allow the outlet to remain and keep 1 outlet open. Are there any code/safety considerations to have an outlet above a range? Any functional reason to do this? All thoughts are much appreciated. [link] [comments] |
| Rained today and have a water bubble in one of the room walls Posted: 28 Sep 2020 03:51 PM PDT |
| What color do you paint ceilings? Posted: 28 Sep 2020 10:29 AM PDT It may seem like a silly question.... but here's my plan: - Ultra Pure White Trim and doors - Grey/Blue walls So... what color do you paint the ceiling typically? Especially if I may want to add crown molding which would be the same ultra pure white? Also what's the typical sheen for these things? First time painting house interior! All advice wanted! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Sep 2020 02:55 PM PDT Went down into my crawlspace to verify a new wax ring wasn't leaking, which it wasn't, and came across this... I was wondering if you guys could tell me how bad, and how urgent of a fix is. I'm imagining this is not a cheap fix, at all, and should be done pretty soon, before I have a serious interior sewage problem. Thanks [link] [comments] |
| “Floor city.” Anyone use them? Posted: 28 Sep 2020 07:26 PM PDT Looking into buying LVP to redo our floors and I've read Coretec plus is highly recommended. Theres s company called Floor City that distributes all around the country to local warehouses, it seems. You can get it delivered or pick up at the designated warehouse, which in our case is like an hour from us. I emailed them for a quote on Coretec floors and the price per square foot is about half of what the Coretec company lists it as on their own website— like $2.20 sq ft when Coretec lists it for about $5.35. Should I be skeptical? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Sep 2020 07:23 PM PDT What are some things I can do to increase the value of my home? I got a 130x60 lot and 600sqft house for $18k I've been in construction 8 years and can do all the labor myself. What has been some of the more profitable investments you guys have done to the home to see a higher ROI when selling? [link] [comments] |
| Moisture Shield for Flooring - Will It Crinkle? Posted: 28 Sep 2020 07:10 PM PDT TLDR: We've experienced a nightmare with our flooring, and need to have it reinstalled. I'm considering a moisture shield, but I've heard it'll crinkle as you walk on it. Is this accurate? It's floating LVP, and has a plastic underlayment. — My wife and I bought our first home in South Florida last October. Among many things that we immediately did, we had new LVP flooring put down on the concrete subfloor. Everything seemed fine until we noticed cupping about a month or two ago throughout the floor. We had two separate flooring inspectors, and four separate installers come in to evaluate. First Installer (originally did the install): "I've never seen this happen with vinyl before." Second Installer: "Looks like spacing issues, and it needs to be re-done." Third Installer: "It all needs to be ripped up and re-done, but I've never seen this." First Inspector: "It's warping due to spacing issues." Second Inspector: "It's warping due to spacing issues at one doorway". Fourth Installer: "You have some water that I see under the planks when I push down. You have a slab leak." The spacing issues were never verified. In fact, our installer repeatedly showed that we had expansion space (minus at said doorway). He hasn't been back to check that one. We could see the moisture on the floor, and so we had a plumber come out to do a leak detection. He said there is no active leak, the drain lines are fine, and he said that it looks to be water intrusion at the windows and I should recaulk. I know that we had sprinklers hitting the house, and so I've turned those off until I can adjust them this week. I'm also having everything caulked and sealed so that I can prevent water from coming in. However, I wonder if we should also do a moisture shield underneath the flooring. I would just pay for it, but I've been told that it can have an annoying crinkling noise as you walk on the floor. Is that as bad as it sounds? I just need to prevent this from happening again, because the flooring plus install is very expensive.. and this has been particularly stressful. [link] [comments] |
| Has anyone used Solitex Mento 1000 (or any alternative) instead of Tyvek? Posted: 28 Sep 2020 07:08 PM PDT I'm looking for a good vapor barrier for a tiny house. I lean towards green/passive/healthy materials. I've read the Mento breathes much better but I haven't been able to find unbiased opinions so far. Has anyone used Mento or anything other than Tyvek that is better and worth the cost? [link] [comments] |
| looking for a more ���������������� floor threshold Posted: 28 Sep 2020 01:46 PM PDT 1st world problem incoming... I completely redid my kitchen and the transition from the hardwood in my living room to tiled kitchen is a pretty thick, uneven transition. I bought a stock wooden threshold from HD and it looks fine but here's my first world problem: my robot vacuum can't get over it...lol. So I came to ask if you guys had any idea if there's such thing as longer thresholds that aren't as steep, kinda like a mini ramp. EDIT: pics [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Sep 2020 05:25 PM PDT Found this in the back of the house. No traces inside the basement. Does anyone know what this could be? If the stopcock on top serve any purpose? Not sure if I need to leave it off or on. [link] [comments] |
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