Home Improvement: [OPEN DISCUSSION] Weekly thread |
- [OPEN DISCUSSION] Weekly thread
- Never forget to check the GFCI's first
- What do you consider absolute must items/tasks in preparation for fall/winter?
- Would it be stupid to raise the height of everything?
- Hoping to soundproof a "window" in the wall
- Keypad Doorlocks?
- Best washer/dryer sets?
- How to make your home smell fresh/good
- $1850 for diagnosis, drain clear, duct butter on return, float switch, and 6 feet of Armaflex??
- What Was The Previous Owner Thinking: Episode 142
- What material has gone up in price due to shortage?
- Can I lay laminate over existing (linoleum?) floor?
- Preinstalled security cameras help
- Replacing countertops without altering the cabinets...is it possible?
- Sewage smell in bathroom
- Order of operations - pre-slope + deck mud pan + Kerdi board
- Roof Replacement Without Permit
- Who has painted fireplace brick before? What do I need to know?
- How to make these floors flush with the wall?
- How important is insulation to a home?
- Mold in my vent?
- I need help with window treatment ideas.
- Front Step Improvement - Ideas
- New Garage - How Do You Insulate A Metal Roof Building Without Adding A Ceiling?
- How do I move my dryer vent pipe? Is there something I should be aware of?
- Load bearing Wall?
| [OPEN DISCUSSION] Weekly thread Posted: 28 Aug 2020 01:25 PM PDT Welcome to the (roughly weekly) Open Discussion thread.
We do this for a few reasons. We know some folks are hesitant to create a new post for a small question they may have. Well, this is the place to ask, and discuss. At the same time, with a growing community we find ourselves having to limit the posts that may be off-topic to the primary purpose of the sub (home improvement questions and project-sharing posts). These topics include home warranty companies, general painting advice, room layouts, or rants about companies, contractors, and previous owners. While these may be of interest, we are trying hard to provide a venue that will both allow, and constrain, the conversation. Thus, this thread. Thank you for participating.
Just a reminder to stay away from any personal or disrespectful commentary. From the sidebar:
If you haven't already, please review the sub guidelines.
Have fun and stay safe folks! [link] [comments] |
| Never forget to check the GFCI's first Posted: 01 Sep 2020 05:34 PM PDT Hi, I just spent longer than I'd like to admit watching videos on and tearing apart my water heater when the problem was a tripped GFCI. Thank you for your time [link] [comments] |
| What do you consider absolute must items/tasks in preparation for fall/winter? Posted: 01 Sep 2020 05:30 AM PDT Anything mundane to "I WISH SOMEONE HAD TOLD ME" - pretend *cough cough* that I've only lived in apartments my entire life until now. And it's never too early to start planning for winter (they get brutal here.) Any fall tips very welcome. [link] [comments] |
| Would it be stupid to raise the height of everything? Posted: 01 Sep 2020 04:39 PM PDT I'm 6'4" so I'm relatively tall but not a giant. I've just purchased my first home and a problem I've been dreaming of solving is the height of cabinets, countertops, vanities, sinks etc. I've always been frustrated that the standard height of things is low and I'm constantly bending over. However, would it be a foolish endeavour to have cabinets etc custom made so things are more at my level? I'm wondering how it may affect the value should I wish to relocate in a few years time. How do tall or even short people cope when things aren't quite at the right level for them? Thanks [link] [comments] |
| Hoping to soundproof a "window" in the wall Posted: 01 Sep 2020 08:31 PM PDT Hello everyone, I recently moved into a new apartment with a roommate, and it turns out there is a large "window" in each bedroom, opening up to the living room. I have attached a photo of this hole to depict the situation. As you can imagine, this creates many auditory issues considering there is a big hole in each bedroom so sound waves travel throughout every part of the apartment fairly easily. I was hoping to find some sort of soundproofing solution to prevent this from happening, and wanted to ask you all for advice. I have considered the following options: - Drywalling the hole over - Purchasing a soundproof curtain Now, I am worried drywalling may be beyond my expertise level (I am not well versed in home improvement) and it also prevents access to the net behind the hole, which I use as a laundry hamper. The reasons I am worried about a soundproof curtain are that it may not effectively block sound from entering my room. Looking forward to hearing your responses! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 01 Sep 2020 07:13 PM PDT |
| Posted: 01 Sep 2020 01:36 AM PDT Hey all! Moving into a new home this week, and our first major appliance purchase will be a washer dryer set. Any recommendations, or brands to stay away from? Not looking for anything too fancy - I don't need anything 'smart' or WiFi capable. Just looking for something basic and reliable to wash the day away. [link] [comments] |
| How to make your home smell fresh/good Posted: 01 Sep 2020 05:24 PM PDT I'm a working student who lives a fairly small 2 room appt, but I spend a lot of time there, and it tends quite smelly (no AC + strong natural smell + wierd glue smell in the bedroom, my landlord has to change the floor, but I'll have wait the better part of the year before he does), so I regularly wash my sheets, I never have dirty clothing roaming around, but after 1-2 days after changing the sheets the nice odour settles, any ideas ? Cheap would be better Edit : the housing unit is good shape, without coakroaches, the glue smell comes from the linoleum floor I have, I have a cat, she does her needs on the balcony, she isn't smelly). There are no "smell disturbance" coming from my neighbors. [link] [comments] |
| $1850 for diagnosis, drain clear, duct butter on return, float switch, and 6 feet of Armaflex?? Posted: 01 Sep 2020 05:45 PM PDT Had an HVAC company come out and give me an estimate of $2500 to repair an AC that keeps leaking water all over the ceiling and only managing a 10 degree split. This estimate included:
I agreed to this price. Considering the attic is a very tight crawl in this house, I felt I was getting a good deal. They were going to have to jack up this air handler with only 18" of real clearance and hardly any room to work. When the tech came out to do the work, he felt there was no need to replace the pan or the wood, as it was not rotten. I called out a second company to treat the mold, and then the tech came back and investigated further. The work he actually performed was:
Since he did not have to jack up the air handler and change out the plywood deck, he decided to "discount" my original estimate by $250. I felt the work he did was barely worth $600. Because I am happy to have a working AC in Gulf Coast Mississippi, I was willing to part with $1250. I felt that was an extremely large tip for the work he did. After much negotiation, he stopped on and would not budge from $1850. Does that not seem like an outrageous price for the work he did? Can anyone help me reason this? Or is he trying to screw me? If I refuse to pay this price, can he hold my signature of the original estimate against me, considering he did not perform the work on the estimate? [link] [comments] |
| What Was The Previous Owner Thinking: Episode 142 Posted: 01 Sep 2020 02:33 PM PDT I wanted to put up some patio lights, but had concerns about Previous Owner's wonton disregard for electrical safety. This is the same Previous Owner who installed exterior lights without an electrical box and incorrectly wired two-phase multiwire branch circuits (he rewired the main circuit panel such that every two circuits of the same phase shared a neutral). So when it came to the outlet he installed by the patio, I was cautious and figured I should double check it was ok. Glad I did. To be fair, the outlet had a cover on it... Just no gasket or caulk. It was hanging over the edge of the siding board it was installed on and was so loose water could run into the box. Receptacle was rusting. Screws were so rusted they snapped. Box was mounted behind the siding, exposing 1/2" of dried wood to the electrical. Box is installed right into the brick and mortar chimney (below any fireplaces). I need a box extender. Scrap 1x6 made a mounting block. New WR GFCI outlet. In-use cover. Caulk, primer, and paint. Finished minutes before the next rainstorm. What was the previous owner thinking? [link] [comments] |
| What material has gone up in price due to shortage? Posted: 01 Sep 2020 06:08 PM PDT I know there is currently a shortage on lumber, specifically treated lumber. I was at Home Depot talking to someone there who said the $25 4x4 was probably closer to $14 a year ago. This is putting some of my Summer/Fall projects on hold as I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount more on lumber. I think I might just wait until Spring and see what happens with the price. This made me start thinking though, I never new what the cost of lumber was before the pandemic, so saying $25 for a 4x4 didn't seem outrageous until I found out what it was previously. What other material is facing a shortage that is driving up the price, similar to lumber? Any ideas? [link] [comments] |
| Can I lay laminate over existing (linoleum?) floor? Posted: 01 Sep 2020 07:10 PM PDT Hi all, we just got this this laminate floor with attached pad and are hoping to start installing it this weekend. When we pulled up the carpet in our living room the plywood underneath lined up perfectly level with our existing kitchen floor. We're planning on putting the laminate throughout the kitchen and living room. Is it okay to put the laminate down right over the existing linoleum or would we need to pull it up and put plywood on top? Thanks! Any laminate laying tips would be great. [link] [comments] |
| Preinstalled security cameras help Posted: 01 Sep 2020 08:24 PM PDT Hey all recently purchased a home that has preinstalled security cameras and a camera power supply mode PIDB-12VDC-9B and I have absolutely no idea how to use it. It powers on as far as I can tell at least, everything lights up. Here is a link to some images https://imgur.com/gallery/38AddIt I believe I need some sort of a DVR or sorts if you will to record the footage but idk where to start. Any advice? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Replacing countertops without altering the cabinets...is it possible? Posted: 01 Sep 2020 04:31 PM PDT Hi... My cabinets have one of those integrated"bread boxes" in the corner of the kitchen. I actually use this for liquor and I kinda like it. However my countertops are terrible and go underneath the area where the breadbox is. So if I were to have someone remove the bread box, I would need to find a matching backsplash tile because it would expose the wall behind where it's currently located. Is it possible to remove the current countertops by 'sliding' it out from under the bread box and sliding the new one into place? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 01 Sep 2020 02:51 AM PDT Dear r/HomeImprovement About a month ago, my fiancee and I moved in together in a nice appartement. We've noticed, however, a very pungent sewage smell roaming around in our bathroom. I believe it is coming from the toilet, though I am not sure. My fiancee thinks it might not be the toilet. There's also a bathtub, two sinks and a shower. I've checked the drains, which aren't blocked. I really wanna know how to get rid of the odor. Any ideas in case it is the toilet how to get rid of it? The water level doesn't seem to be too low. Should it be one of the drains, any ideas for that? I don't wanna just dump a bunch of chemicals in the drains out of fear I'll make it worse. We live on the 1st floor (one above the ground level) Many thanks! Edit: I'd like to add that cleaning the toilet seems to help, albeit temporarily. [link] [comments] |
| Order of operations - pre-slope + deck mud pan + Kerdi board Posted: 01 Sep 2020 07:45 PM PDT Getting ready to tile a bathroom and shower. I've gotten some high quality advice here (thank you!) and am hoping for a little more. I usually read all kinds of content from all over before taking on home projects, and when I'm patient, it tends to go OK. In this case, I've seen conflicting information from sources that all seem knowledgeable, so I'd just like clarity. I'm a non-professional in the extreme, but every time I've been HUMBLE and patient and read up amply beforehand, I've been able to do work I've been very proud of. Hoping to continue that, especially since the stakes are kinda high. :) For my shower, here's the order of things as I think I should be doing them.
Now. Do I put the Kerdi board on the wall and then put in the final slope, or do I put in the final slope then mount the Kerdi board? If the latter, do I tape the bottom with Kerdi Band? I'll also build the kerb up about another half inch with deck mud (same pour as the pan) after the PVC liner goes on. That will be the final dimensions, and I'll set the tile directly on that at the same time that I set the pan. Once that's all done and cured, I'll come back to do the walls. Other than my question about when the Kerdi board goes on, any flags on the rest? Thanks!! [link] [comments] |
| Roof Replacement Without Permit Posted: 01 Sep 2020 03:53 PM PDT So my wife and I splurged and paid an exorbitant amount of money for a metal roof on our Tudor home in Detroit. It has taken 6 weeks (still replacing the gutters) and I've found what seems to be a leak coming from the new roof. I am now realizing that they never pulled a permit for this work and now I'm just worried the work won't be done correctly and I can't get anyone to inspect it (outside of the company that at this point I don't trust). Is there anything I can do to ensure the work is done correctly without sinking more money into this roof? [link] [comments] |
| Who has painted fireplace brick before? What do I need to know? Posted: 01 Sep 2020 05:08 PM PDT Wife wants to paint our fireplace bricks (currently a red brick) to black. Not thick, but something like whitewashing (only with black instead of white). I've never painted brick before. What should I be considering? [link] [comments] |
| How to make these floors flush with the wall? Posted: 01 Sep 2020 02:54 AM PDT Hey all, we'recurrently in the process of renovating our apartment and an idea has taken hold about clean looking walls and floors without trim. The question is how to achieve that on these wood laminate floors - pictures We thought that maybe it would be feasible to cut a straight line on the flooring along the wall and then add a new strip of flooring in the ridge. Something like here - example How would be best to approach this? Or is this a dumb idea and we should think of something else? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| How important is insulation to a home? Posted: 01 Sep 2020 06:58 PM PDT I had insulation removed from my home and am waiting on maintenance to come in and replace it for me. I'm noticing a spike my electricity usage since they stripped it out of about half of my apartment and am wondering what it does. They cut a two foot high gap in my inner wall and left only the studs and the outwall and did this for a good length. I want to say that they cut out about 20- 30 ft of wall at 2 ft high and removed all the insulation [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 01 Sep 2020 06:53 PM PDT Mildly freaking out because I found this in my vent. Is this possibly dust? Or is it definitely mold? How big a deal is this? [link] [comments] |
| I need help with window treatment ideas. Posted: 01 Sep 2020 10:25 PM PDT We just bought a new house, and the large window in our living room is oddly sized. It is one single window that is 9'W x 4'H (~275cm W x ~122cm H). My husband and I like our privacy, and being as all the houses on our street are squished close together, and the front window of the house across the street looks directly into our front window, we'd like something we can completely close for total privacy (especially at night), but also open partially during the day to maintain some privacy, but also allow in some light. The previous owners had blackout curtains (that don't even fit the window?!) with sheers underneath. This is essentially the lighting effect we want, but that solution won't work for us because we have cats. If we could get curtains that are only 4' in length as opposed to floor length, the cats might be OK with them. But the sheers would be destroyed instantly, regardless. We considered pleated shades under the curtains that we could adjust for light and privacy, since we have some now, and the cats don't seem overly interested in them. We have also been looking at the possibility of wood blinds to go under the curtains, since some can be made with "privacy panels" that close tighter than normal. The big problem we're running into with these options is that even if they are custom made, most places are saying the maximum feasible width of either pleated shades or wood blinds is 8'.That means we'd pretty much have to buy 2 sets, and put them up side-by-side, which would likely leave a small gap down the middle, which really isn't ideal for privacy or aesthetics. Does anyone know if 8' (96") really is the realistically maximum width? We'll probably end up hiring someone to come out and measure and install, and they will be able to give us options for sure, but I was just wondering if anyone here had any ideas or suggestions before we got to that. (We can afford to have custom treatments made, as long as we're not talking thousands of dollars.) Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Front Step Improvement - Ideas Posted: 01 Sep 2020 04:31 AM PDT Hi everyone! I am currently in the middle of couple diy projects on my house and one of them on my list is improving my front steps. We have some old rotted steps that come off the sidewalk then a small brick section and then a set of precast concrete steps. I am only looking to replace the old wood and re-level the bricks but I'm stumped on how to replace the wood cheap and quick. I have looked at just putting in another precast step in place of the wood or trying to build a small riser and new deck board but wondering if anyone here has any ideas! You'll also see from the pictures that the walkway isn't square with the concrete steps, I'm not worried about addressing that, just trying to clean it up a little bit. Thanks in advanced to anyone interested in lending their thoughts! https://i.imgur.com/nsJw1da.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/CxzY1ca.jpg Edit: Thanks so far for all the ideas guys! I'm leaning towards the 2 step stringer but also considering the large stone idea as well. [link] [comments] |
| New Garage - How Do You Insulate A Metal Roof Building Without Adding A Ceiling? Posted: 01 Sep 2020 10:21 PM PDT Hello, Just had a new 30x40 garage built in the backyard. 2x6 wall construction (14 ft. tall walls) with trusses tying the building together at the top. The building has a metal roof which seems to be minimally insulated from the inside with some thin fabric type material just stuck to the underside of the metal roof panels. I'm not sure what purpose that fabric serves, but I can't imagine it has a very high insulation value. The building has soffit vents along the sides and a ridge vent on the peak. I had planned on insulating the walls normally with fiberglass insulation, but I am at a loss when it comes to insulating the ceiling. I didn't plan on installing a ceiling or making an attic space since I use the truss area for storage (long boards and such) and there's a 10x30 loft area (which has 2 scissor-type trusses to allow for more headroom) that I can't cover the space over. So I didn't plan on putting drywall up for a ceiling (or in the building at all, really.) Any suggestions on how to insulate the underside of the ceiling? I live in the NE United States so winters can get pretty cold and plan on heating the garage, so I'd like to have it completely insulated. I appreciate any insight on this, thank you! [link] [comments] |
| How do I move my dryer vent pipe? Is there something I should be aware of? Posted: 01 Sep 2020 06:24 PM PDT The pipe is outside the drywall positioned such that I cannot move my dryer all the way to the wall. Also it's right in the middle of the room positioned in an ugly way. I just hate how it makes the laundry room look bad [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 01 Sep 2020 10:09 PM PDT Hello everyone. I am working on my first home renovation and intended to open up the kitchen. It had a square ceiling dip which I was going to open as well as a little ceiling along the outside. It is the latter that I am unsure if it is load bearing. I am looking for you opinions on the matter and will certainly get an experts opinion in the coming week. It doesn't run to the floor as shown in the pictures however I was reading that some may be lateral load bearing. This is all quite new to me. I've attached pictures below. Thank you for your input [link] [comments] |
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