Home Improvement: My neighbors peed in the fuel tank of my lawn mower... is it ruined? |
- My neighbors peed in the fuel tank of my lawn mower... is it ruined?
- Contractor didn't pull permits - what do I do?
- Comcast dug up my garden, how much do I tell their insurance adjuster it costs to fix?
- Is it considered bad form to show other contractors an estimate you received?
- Sanding mud on painted wall
- Add stairs to inclined driveway?
- 2x4 Framing a wall of arbitrary length - stud spacing
- Tub faucet spout won’t sit back on
- Attic/basement refinishing - what kind of experts do I need to consult before making a decision?
- Settle our debate on lighting the living room
- Sound reduction for neighbour apartment wall
- Metal frame eating away the sliding mirror door
- Window in Shower to Waterproof
- bigbox installed windows still leaking after 4 months and several follow ups
- Floor Air Return Vent/Grate
- New House But Hate Media Center Built-In
- Looking for a Good Solution to Hanging Drapes in Bedroom With Dip in Ceiling on Side Where Window Opens
- Can I stick magnets with adhesive on velcro?
- Island won't fit in elevator. Can either have them cut a seam or build a ledge. Thought? (Pics in comments)
- Painting Concrete Basement Walls?
- Excess of 1" poly iso insulation. Should I add more to the south facing wall or to the underside over an unimproved space?
- Asbestos removal question
- Does anyone know what this outlet is for?
- Getting ready to build a lean to shed
| My neighbors peed in the fuel tank of my lawn mower... is it ruined? Posted: 10 Sep 2020 05:13 PM PDT (Sorry if this is the wrong sub to post in, let me know where to post it if so.) To be fair.. my neighbors didn't pee in my lawn mower when it was MY lawn mower. I just bought a house and the previous owners gave me the lawn mower they had. Well after meeting the neighbors and chatting with them, I found out that they didn't get along with the previous home owners and as a "joke" the husband urinated in the fuel tank of their lawn mower right before they moved out of the house (I think that's why the previous owners just gave it to me)... luckily I haven't used the lawn mower yet. Is it ruined or dangerous to use? Do I need to buy a whole new one or is there a way to clean out the fuel tank? [link] [comments] |
| Contractor didn't pull permits - what do I do? Posted: 10 Sep 2020 10:35 AM PDT I'm a first time homebuyer who feels like an idiot but could use some guidance. I've owned a home for 4 weeks. We paid a licensed, insured master plumber to replace the stack between the toilet & the sewer line. We assumed the plumber would pull a permit (and he said he would) but... he didn't. We contacted our county permit office and they stated it's essentially the homeowner's responsibility to get a permit pulled for all work. They said we could get a permit pulled, & that it would lead to an inspection & likely fines that could be up to the cost of replacing the stack. We're talking $3300 in fines for a $3300 repair. They also said it's possible, as a punishment, that the county would order a homeowner to reverse all changes made to the home & then redo the original work. Again, another nightmare scenario. What do we do? I feel stuck. Should I take this as a learning lesson and move on, or should I contact the permit office and try to resolve this? Just to be clear, I'm taking this as a painful learning lesson. I honestly had no idea the homeowner had to pull a permit or at least confirm the permit was pulled. I just assumed if I worked with a licensed/insured plumber they would operate above-board. Edit: The contract detailed the repairs, but never explicitly stated the plumber would pull the permit. He stated he would during the on-site visit. I guess at the time we thought that was an assumed part of the transaction, since the guy was licensed & insured. [link] [comments] |
| Comcast dug up my garden, how much do I tell their insurance adjuster it costs to fix? Posted: 10 Sep 2020 07:38 PM PDT Long story short, some dick heads from Comcast showed up in my yard, dug up my plants, and trampled the ones they didn't dig up. I called and complained and they sent someone out to look at the damage. That person is contacting their insurance adjuster, who will come take a look at some point (not sure when). When they asked I said it would cost at least $200 to fix, but I have no idea if that's fair. I don't want to leave money on the table, so how do I figure out what it costs to replace? The area is roughly 4x4 and was previously populated with flowers that seem like they've been there a while (we just moved in so not 100% sure). [link] [comments] |
| Is it considered bad form to show other contractors an estimate you received? Posted: 10 Sep 2020 10:44 AM PDT We got an estimate for a major home reno, it was typed up very professionally and it addresses everything we were thinking of doing. Would it be looked down on by other industry professionals giving me an estimate if I just handed them that estimate so I didn't have to re explain everything? The home improvement company who did the original estimate and the actual price itself would be removed, obviously. Thanks for the help. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Sep 2020 08:13 PM PDT Realized I'm no good at mudding after I painted and didn't sand very good. Can I sand the mud down and paint again? [link] [comments] |
| Add stairs to inclined driveway? Posted: 10 Sep 2020 08:41 AM PDT I have a steep inclined driveway running along the side of my house, which sits on a hill. My house comes up to the edge on one side and the neighbor's privacy fence is against the edge on the other side, so there is no margin of error when driving through this narrow, one lane passage. A foot to the right or left and you will lose a side mirror. I am looking for improvements to remedy some of the many problems with this arrangement. We can't see the end of the driveway from the top, so it is hard to aim the car and keep it centered when driving down. There is also no room at the top for turning around, so we have to drive down backwards. There are no stairs from the sidewalk up to the front door, so the driveway also serves as the pedestrian path to our house. We get a lot of snow and ice, so this is a dangerous climb in the winter with no steps or railing to prevent you from slipping and sliding. For that matter it is dangerous to drive the car up and it often slips back down. Any suggestions are appreciated. Edit: Here is a picture [link] [comments] |
| 2x4 Framing a wall of arbitrary length - stud spacing Posted: 10 Sep 2020 10:10 AM PDT I know that I should place my studs 16" from centre. The problem is, that when working with a nominal top/bottom plate 8' 2x4, (92 5/8" length), it is impossible to perfectly space the studs 16" apart. The last studs will be 11 1/8" apart. How do people overcome this? Do you:
Obviously Option A is easier, but would lead to many studs not being 16" apart, which could then later create complications. Option B would require measuring out your studs on each wall differently, and the first/last studs on a random wall segment would not be flush with the end of the bottom/top plates. https://i.imgur.com/YuZHYwz.png Thanks, I have never done this before. [link] [comments] |
| Tub faucet spout won’t sit back on Posted: 10 Sep 2020 09:03 PM PDT So the tub faucet spout fell off, and I am unable to get it to sit back on. I did research numerous sources, videos, etc, but I think I'm missing something. This is the kind of spout that does not have a screw. Rotating it doesn't get it to catch or tighten. I know I am probably missing something simple, but don't know what. Any advice would be much appreciated! I am in the northeast of US. I will try to add pics if I can figure out how. [link] [comments] |
| Attic/basement refinishing - what kind of experts do I need to consult before making a decision? Posted: 10 Sep 2020 03:47 PM PDT 1930s era Dutch Colonial in New England. Like everybody else in the world, we're both suddenly WFH indefinitely trying to figure out where we can reclaim space in our house for an office and possibly a playroom/rec room. Looking to our attic and basement as possibilities - we're usually diyers but feeling very over our heads. Trying to figure out what will be most cost-effective, feasible within permit guidelines, and create the most useful space. Any ideas based on your experience and the details below? What type of experts should I be consulting/hiring/getting quotes from? Extra space candidate #1 is a "finished attic" that's dormered (in the most architecturally unattractive manner possible) on one side with two rooms. "Finished" is in quotes because we are talking the best of 70s paneling and shag carpeting. The rooms have full size windows, heat, and insulation, but the flat ceiling is only ~ 6' 5" and our sense is there may only be a few feet of roof above it at the peak. It's included in our official assessed square footage as two additional bedrooms, but I can't tell if it was permitted from the records and I can't imagine it would be legal today. Oh, and it has a full size staircase, but it's accessed from the main bathroom and there's no good place to add/move it (I know, awesome). Extra space candidate #2 is our totally unfinished basement. The ceiling is well over 8' and it has a number of typical basement windows so it's not totally dark. We have a dehumidifier since it gets a bit musty but we've never seen water. There's an exit through a not quite regular sized door to our backyard. However, the chimney,boiler and hot water are directly in the center of the space, there are random pipes and wires literally everywhere, and the stairs from the kitchen are probably too narrow for code. Behind door #3 is us saying f it, just slightly cleaning up the spaces and using them as is. The attic would be dealable as an office for the shorter of us if we just pull up the shag carpeting and slap down some vinyl. If we did this, we would keep saving and likely move a little earlier than we planned (i.e. spend 5 years here instead of 10-15). [link] [comments] |
| Settle our debate on lighting the living room Posted: 10 Sep 2020 08:09 AM PDT The house was built in the 1980s and the living room area has a high, exposed beam tongue and groove ceiling and absolutely NO LIGHTING up there....like, at all. I don't know exactly how thick the ceiling is, but there is zero insulation, it is just our roof on the other side. My husband says we should redo the t&g ceiling and drop it down a few inches so we can easily run cables to the walls for switches and use recessed lights. We could also add some insulation behind it and I could finish the new ceiling as I'd like (lightening it up, the current wood stains through the house are very dark and look dated). To me this sounds like super expensive overkill, especially when you consider the length of time we would have to rent scaffolding, on top of the materials cost. I suggested we have an electrician install some decent looking, modern track lighting and run the cables along the beams so they arent very visible from below. I can also do a thin whitewash along the ceiling and from a distance it should just look like the natural wood was stained in a lighter color. My husband is worried track lighting will look cheap and hurt our resale value down the line. Tell me Reddit, who is in the right here? [link] [comments] |
| Sound reduction for neighbour apartment wall Posted: 10 Sep 2020 08:02 PM PDT My neighbour and I have our bedrooms on adjoining walls. Lately I am being woken up by the noise of a squeaking bed. My apartment has carpet, theirs has hard floor. Due to the room layout it's not really feasible to rearrange my furniture to move my bed head away from that wall. If I put sound absorbing tiles on my side of the wall will it help? Do I have to cover the whole wall or just parts of the wall. I have been looking at these panelsBXI Sound Absorber - Acoustic Absorption Panel - Polyester Fiber - Multiple Color Options - 16'' X 12'' X 3/8'' - 6 PACK (Shallow Camel) [link] [comments] |
| Metal frame eating away the sliding mirror door Posted: 10 Sep 2020 03:39 PM PDT Here is a video to describe what the issue is: https://imgur.com/a/803a79b I live in Toronto Canada. This is the second place I lived in that has this issue now. These mirror sliding door for the closets seem to be waaay to heavy to be hanging on the top frame. I think the metal plate used to be pointing downward and be parallel with the door. Now it seems like it just sagged so much, the metal plate is pointing inward and eating away the mirror door slowly. I just can't seem to find anything on the internet regarding this issue. Does anyone know what I can do to fix it? [link] [comments] |
| Window in Shower to Waterproof Posted: 10 Sep 2020 07:06 PM PDT I have a window in my shower that will get wet. Bathroom size doesn't really leave me any other config options. I'm replacing the window, so thoughts on waterproofing? Will do a vinyl window unless anyone here has anything better, but want to make sure the jamb is waterproofed. Do I cover the jamb with something like Kerdi? Thanks [link] [comments] |
| bigbox installed windows still leaking after 4 months and several follow ups Posted: 10 Sep 2020 04:32 PM PDT so the orange guys installed windows for me. The contractor seemed to do a sloppy job so I complained and his manager came back to clean up job. 3 months later one window is leaking bad after storm. I call they send same guy out. I notice he does nothing to find source but just slaps on coat of caulk outside. Next week after storm I cut into caulk on inside to see if it is wet in the wall, it is. I call and they send the district manager out and he goes up with guys and says he inspected everything and it is good to go. Month later I smell a wet towel in room of said window after storm so cut caulk again and water pours out. At this point it has been 4 months with a window clearly leaking in the wall. I do some research and it seems the install was not done as one would expect - expanding foam seal in gaps and special sealant tape - i saw none of that going up at time. Do I need to call a lawyer at this point? I would think by now I need to check and fix for water damage. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Sep 2020 06:36 PM PDT Hello all, I have a 30 inch x 12 inch air return vent and grate on my floor in one of my hallways. My house is close to 100 years old, so this is more common. The voids in the grate are about 2 inches x 1 inch. I was wondering if anyone here has one and if they have any advice on not losing things down there (cat toys mostly..lol). Are there mesh products or alternate grates I could look for? Do the grates need a specific amount of void space? Thank you! [link] [comments] |
| New House But Hate Media Center Built-In Posted: 10 Sep 2020 10:05 PM PDT |
| Posted: 10 Sep 2020 03:59 PM PDT Hi everyone, this is my first time posting here but while pondering over the many creative solutions that may work for my small dillema, asking the Reddit community popped in my head as the ultimate solution. As you can see by the image, there's a dip in the ceiling on the left side. The same side that the window slides open on. With that said, what is the most efficient and clean looking method to install blackout curtains (to help the baby sleep). In other words, if I was going to buy a curtain rod at Ikea, how would I cover the window gap underneath the ceiling protrusion where the window opens? I can't wait to see what you all suggest! 😁 [link] [comments] |
| Can I stick magnets with adhesive on velcro? Posted: 10 Sep 2020 09:55 PM PDT I want to install a door screen like this but the problem is that the left, right and top are attached to the door using velcro. Another strip of velcro with adhesive is applied to the frame. We have a metallic door frame, so I didn't want to use the velcro adhesive and instead attach magnetic strips to the screen itself but it has sewn velcro on the sides. This is the door screen I'm planning to get: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnetic-Curtain-Adhesive-Mounting-Drilling/dp/B07G9782L6 [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Sep 2020 09:49 PM PDT Pics of space and ledges: https://imgur.com/a/LoLmDB8 So the island won't fit in an elevator. Like the title says, I can either have them cut a seam (in middle of sink?) or build a sort of ledge thing against the wall which would allow them to cut it short enough to fit in the elevator and cover up the seam. Its quartzite, so the seam would not be completely hidden. I've never done this before, so I'm not sure what to do. What would you do if it was your kitchen? [link] [comments] |
| Painting Concrete Basement Walls? Posted: 10 Sep 2020 09:43 PM PDT Dry unfinished basement in the Midwest. Concrete foundation. Looking to paint the walls a brighter color to make it not so dark. Is this a good idea or bad? Reading both sides. Some say avoid it. Others report no problem. I've read Dryloc is the way to go. Not trying to fix water issues or anything. Should I just invest in better lights? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Sep 2020 09:31 PM PDT I got my hands on some excess 1" poly-iso rigid foam board, and on the south face of the house is a generally very poorly insulated wall that transmits an overwhelming amount of heat into that room, and of course bleeds a lot of heat out in the winter. In a very redneck test sort of way, I added the insulation to that south wall, and even in this late autumn summer, it's doing really well at keeping the excess heat out of that room. I still have an excess of that insulation, and don't have any other places to add insulation to except for that room. Should I double up the insulation on that wall so it's 2" of insulation with that marginal gain of increased r value (compared to not having it at all, or would it go to better use to insulate the underside of that room over the unimproved space? That floor just has fiberglass insulation, but the joists are still exposed, and heat being what it is, would the poly iso be better used in the walls where the heat rises in the winter? Also the unimproved space being what it is, is much cooler in the summer time, so keeping the joists uninsulated might have a secondary benefit of bleeding some heat into the cooler unimproved space in the summer. I generally hate being hot. I generally thrive in the winter time, so having cold floors isn't that big of a deal for me. They're carpeted somewhat so the cold floor isn't so bad. I think I"m talking myself into putting 2" into the walls. It will keep more heat out from the sun, and in the winter it will help keep the heat in as well as heat rises and tries to squeeze itself up and out. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Sep 2020 01:46 PM PDT I am buying a house that has asbestos tiles in the basement. The seller is going to have them professionally removed and she has to move out of the house while they do the removal. Do licensed asbestos removal companies also verify that the air quality is safe after they do the removal? It makes me anxious about not knowing if the asbestos is in the air of the house and it's safe to live at. [link] [comments] |
| Does anyone know what this outlet is for? Posted: 10 Sep 2020 09:17 PM PDT Here's the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OM_keHw_5CtSMdV-T4gHUt3b6sw5iyci/view?usp=drivesdk Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Getting ready to build a lean to shed Posted: 10 Sep 2020 09:12 PM PDT It's going to be built on top of a 7' x 20' concrete pad, against a brick house (with siding above). Does this framing plan look okay? Walls are 16" O.C. and rafters are 12" O.C. All lumber is 2x4. Plan to cover outside with plywood and siding to match the house, roof just plywood and shingle. Thanks! [link] [comments] |
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