Home Improvement: Mirror, mirror glued to the wall. TIP: Tape your frameless mirror before trying to remove it! |
- Mirror, mirror glued to the wall. TIP: Tape your frameless mirror before trying to remove it!
- People with double oven ovens, would you recommend buying one?
- Painting Our Bedroom
- Getting cigarette smell out of house
- Fire damage
- Vinyl floor "crinkly" noise from FloorComfort underlayment. Will it go away?
- Looking for advice on what to do next. Very unhappy with tile job done by contractor.
- Should I repair a 15 year old dishwasher
- 1936 house. Squeaky stairs. Access to underside. No center stringer. Cracks in risers.
- First timer building a playset in the backyard. Should i be removing the grass and laying down something like mulch beforehand?
- Attic Soffit Vent Importance
- When home improvement stores suggest you “add insulation to your home”, what on earth do they expect you to do?
- Condo building is getting estimates for new roof. What are important questions to ask and things to look for when getting quotes and deciding what we need?
- I bought the house, now what?
- Unsure About New Windows
- How do I unscrew this?
- What kind of flooring for condo?
- Paint Bubbles appearing on Garage! Help!
- Best way to hang ring toss game on post?
- Circuit Breaker Is Suddenly Tripping Repeatedly During Regular Use
- What are the proper steps to remove chimney to ensure structural integrity?
- Ants
- 2 1/2 inch space from wall to ceiling what kind of molding can I put or another way to close the gap ideas?
- What are the risks of hiring a handyman?
- Looking for advice on my plan of attack to replace and paint baseboards
| Mirror, mirror glued to the wall. TIP: Tape your frameless mirror before trying to remove it! Posted: 07 Oct 2020 03:36 PM PDT This is one of those things that seem borderline "common practice" in the industry, but it's one of those things that DIYers may not know to do. Those wonderful frameless mirrors glued to bathroom walls across the country are being ripped down on the daily. It's a simple enough task, but ten minutes of prep and a $3 roll of tape can save you time, cleanup, and could prevent a serious injury. No matter what the size, before you try to pry that mirror off the wall - prep that baby first. Take a roll of 2" wide painters tape (or stronger) and run tape across the mirror every 6"-8" or so, vertically and horizontally. By the time you're done it should almost look like more tape than mirror, checkerboard style. This tape will keep the mirror/glass intact (for the most part) should it break during removal, and removing the chance of a shard flying off and causing damage to your fixtures/finishes, or worse, yourself. Once you're taped up, throw a nice, wide taping knife behind the mirror and slowly try to break the adhesive away from the wall/mirror. Slow and steady, working entire sides of the mirror before moving on to another side. If you hear a crack, stop working that side and move to another. In most cases the mirror will come out just as it was installed and can be reused, or sold, keeping more waste out of the landfill. Wear gloves, be gentle, and take your time. Glass is nothing to rush with! [link] [comments] |
| People with double oven ovens, would you recommend buying one? Posted: 06 Oct 2020 10:33 PM PDT Not sure if this is the place to post this.. Thinking about getting an oven that has the two separate ovens for 2 reasons:
I realize a down side is the lack of the whole oven if the space is needed. For say... a giant turkey. But people who have bought them do you love them or hate them? EDIT: Did not expect this to blow up! The overwhelming majority of people say do it! I don't have the option for wall ovens even though I would love to have that in my dream kitchen. No counter space for a convection/toaster/air fryer counter top version. But honestly that is what I was looking into originally because I didn't want to always heat up my whole oven for something small. Especially in the summer when it made the house hot AF. I'll be looking at a 30" standalone with the double ovens. But I will have to make sure the top oven cooks evenly as many replies mentioned the top not cooking well due to the element being on the top. I want to be able to preheat quickly and cook fast! Thank you for the many responses. There is a lot to think about :) [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2020 11:18 AM PDT My wife, our infant, and I want to paint our bedroom. We don't have anywhere else to stay but I'm concerned about the fumes. Will the fumes still be strong if I paint in the morning and run a fan all day? [link] [comments] |
| Getting cigarette smell out of house Posted: 07 Oct 2020 02:43 PM PDT my boyfriend and i bought a house that the previous owner smoked in for atleast 10 years. we have pulled up the carpet and padding. and also have started cleaning the windows and walls. do i have to clean the walls if im going to go over it with kilz? we will take any recommendations at this point! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2020 10:17 AM PDT My SO and I just had an offer accepted on our first house! One of the things we love about it is that pretty much everything (electrical, plumbing, hvac, walls, floors, etc) is brand new. However, the reason for this is because the house suffered some pretty major fire damage about five years ago which required it to be ripped down to the studs and rehabbed. We have an inspector coming next week to check it out, but I figured I'd ask this sub if anyone has experience with a fire damaged property. Should I be concerned about buying a house that was fire damaged? Are there any sneaky red flags that I should look out for? Is there anything in particular that I should ask the seller about the rehab? Thanks in advance. [link] [comments] |
| Vinyl floor "crinkly" noise from FloorComfort underlayment. Will it go away? Posted: 07 Oct 2020 02:01 PM PDT I'm about halfway done laying down vinyl flooring across our kitchen and dining room. We went with the SMARTCORE brand from Lowes. Underneath we used the FloorComfort 2mm foldout foam underlayment. This is all installed over concrete slab. I noticed when I walk across vinyl that is installed already, that the underlayment makes little crackly noises and pops. What is causing this and will it go away as I finish the floor? I was wondering if I should have chosen a different product. [link] [comments] |
| Looking for advice on what to do next. Very unhappy with tile job done by contractor. Posted: 07 Oct 2020 04:41 PM PDT I'm not sure where to start. We found a contractor through a co-worker and their reviews are all excellent. We felt great about working with him. Once the work started, several red flags appeared. Against our better judgement we decided to go ahead and move forward. We were already in the middle of the project and didn't want to start over. After having a chance to walk into the bathroom and see the tile job in progress, I immediately started pointing out what I, a novice with no experience, thought looked like a bad tile job. They made excuses and didn't acknowledge my concerns. Am I overreacting or is this really as bad as it looks to me? What are my options? Can anything be done to salvage this? I haven't paid for anything yet, other than this tile you see on the wall. Thanks in advance for any advice you all can offer. [link] [comments] |
| Should I repair a 15 year old dishwasher Posted: 07 Oct 2020 02:33 PM PDT I have a very noisy dishwasher that used to be whisper quiet. After $95, local repair shop says it's a motor that needs to be replaced (along with a rubber ring and water intake valve). Repairs will run another $380 so I'll be close to $500 to repair a 15 year old dishwasher. Any feedback on if I might be better off buying a new one? Clearly cheaper to repair now but at 15 years, am I approaching the end of expected life span anyway? [link] [comments] |
| 1936 house. Squeaky stairs. Access to underside. No center stringer. Cracks in risers. Posted: 07 Oct 2020 11:43 AM PDT The stairs between the first and second floor of my 1936 hours squeak loudly enough that it wakes my kids up in the morning when I head downstairs. A bad way to start the day. I'd like to address this if it's not going to be a total beast of a project. Pictures are here The underside of the stairs is accessible from the stairs to the basement, so I figure I have a good shot at fixing this. There is no center stringer: only the side stringers, and those may even just be brackets rather than proper stringers (see the pictures), it's hard to tell. It appears that each treads connect to the riser above it via a pair of dowels. Many of the risers have horizontal cracks that appears to originate with the dowels. I figure this is where a great deal of the squeaking comes from. I'm currently thinking that the best thing to do might be to drive a series of vertical screws up into each riser to close up the cracks and minimize movement. I haven't considered what kind of screws to use yet. Each stair also has a pair of blocks. I don't know if those were part of the original construction or a later attempt to address the squeaking. Some of the blocks have slight gap between them and the corresponding tread, but it's not clear that it's the source of much of the squeaking, or that it can be much improved. Anyway, how does the plan of screws in the risers sound and, if it's a good idea, what hardware should I use? Are there any other solutions to consider? Edit: Added pictures of top of stairs. No carpet to deal with. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2020 10:18 AM PDT First time homeowner and really new to any type of DIY work. I purchased a playset for the yard and i've been looking into other posts around this. Do I need to or should I be removing the grass and replacing it with playground mulch? Any disadvantages to throwing the mulch on top of the existing grass? Thanks in advance for any help! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2020 02:41 PM PDT Hi all. I just purchased a new house built in the 80's. The attic currently has 6-8 inches of batt insulation and I would like to have it blown in with more insulation. I went up to check it out and there are no soffit vents, but instead 2 gable vents, one on each end of the attic. The roof is very narrow and the batt insulation goes right up against the surroundings of the attic. My question is, how important is it to have soffit vents installed? My thought process was if the attic is in great condition with no soffit vents after 40 years it's probably not a large concern and I should be fine to blow in insulation without them. Is this a bad idea? I would install them myself but it seems rather difficult since the roof is so narrow and the batt insulation is already right against the end which is effectively closing off any air from coming in the soffits. Nothing bad has happened yet! Anyone have experience with this or been in a similar position? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2020 07:58 PM PDT It's that time of year for insulation advertisements, including insulation rolls and spray foam and solid foam boards. Menards and other stores tell me I should add insulation to my home, but I'm looking around at my vaulted ceilings (no attic) and plaster walls and wondering, "huh, wonder how I'd do that?" So how does one actually add insulation to a home that's already boarded up from floor to ceiling? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2020 11:55 AM PDT I'm on the board of my condo and we are due to replace the roof because it's old and has soft spots. After a few years of patching it's time to get a new one. I've never had to replace a roof before, so we're getting at least 3 quotes, but I'm looking for tips on the process if anyone has some to share. We have a flat roof on the building, and are in Chicago if it makes a difference. Thank you. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2020 09:17 PM PDT I closed on my house in July and was all gung ho! And now I realize I have no skills to fix up my place, no decorating acumen and a good portion of the time I forget I am the owner, lol. I watched so many home improvement shows and just knew that would be me! I thought owning a home would be way cooler than this. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2020 01:43 PM PDT Hi, all! So happy to have found this sub. I just purchased a tiny 1940s home that has twelve windows (including the two in the garage). They're wooden, and cute, except for one that's broken and the loads of peeling paint + some rot in a few... and half don't open anymore. I got a quote for new windows and it was more than I'm comfortable spending. Is it worth the debt to buy new windows? Or is it better to scrape down the old ones and repaint them, and just live with a few windows that don't open? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2020 01:12 PM PDT |
| What kind of flooring for condo? Posted: 07 Oct 2020 01:47 PM PDT Been going back and forth over what flooring to go with in my condo. It's a 1200Sqft, 2nd floor unit currently with tile in kitchen/bathrooms and carpet everywhere else. I've been planning on going with Home Depot's LifeProof LVP which would be $2.79/sqft. I'd get this installed everywhere in the unit including kitchen/bathrooms. But I've been contemplating going with new tile in kitchen/bathrooms and laminate everywhere else. Would likely be cheaper, but I think like the idea of having the same flooring throughout the entire unit? Any thoughts or opinions? Edit: As a note, I purchased this condo at ~20k less than the other units in the area, so I'm not averse to putting flooring in that would help increase its value. [link] [comments] |
| Paint Bubbles appearing on Garage! Help! Posted: 07 Oct 2020 12:21 PM PDT Photo here: https://imgur.com/a/rhGEhD6 Getting frustrated with painting my garage after everything went perfectly with the house. Scraped, sanded, and power-washed the garage and then applied Sherwin Williams Peel Bond to the entire surface and Sherwin Williams outdoor oil based wood primer to the really bad spots. After that applied Emerald and am getting these bubbles, at first I thought caused by moisture. Scraped the bubbles and surrounding areas off, let garage dry out for a week, applied oil based wood primer to spots that had been scraped, and then another coat of Emerald. MORE BUBBLES! What is going on here? I did the whole house with the same process without a single bubble. Went to Sherwin Williams and they weren't any help. Thanks for any help! [link] [comments] |
| Best way to hang ring toss game on post? Posted: 07 Oct 2020 03:29 PM PDT I got one of those ring toss bar games recently and I want to hang it outside on one of my posts. Problem is that I need some way to hang the string and ring about 5 feet from the post to swing it to the hook. My thought was to hang a 2x4 using a hinge and a chain with a hook on the top of the 2x4 so I can set it up and it won't be hanging out over my yard at all times. Anyone have any suggestions? Edit: post and game pics Edit 2: rough sketch of my idea [link] [comments] |
| Circuit Breaker Is Suddenly Tripping Repeatedly During Regular Use Posted: 07 Oct 2020 07:18 AM PDT I have a feeling I need to hire an electrician, but I am hoping this sub might have some insight into what is potentially happening. Yesterday, I had one AFCI breaker that tripped repeatedly. It tripped a few times on seemingly innocuous events (for instance, opening a microwave door), and then it tripped a couple of times on its own, without any action from my wife or me. The circuit provides power to a few things in my home:
For the entire summer, we've been using these sockets pretty heavily without any issue. In our living room, we were running a window A/C unit off it in addition to our TV, modem, xbox, and wi-fi router. We have had occasional issues over the years in the kitchen where using the microwave would cause the kitchen lights to flicker and dim. Following some advice I found online, we unplugged everything that the circuit powered, turned the breaker back on, and started to slowly plug things back in to see if it tripped at a certain point. The only thing we didn't plug back in was the microwave, which we moved to a different socket. Since then, it has been working without issue. Could this just be a strange circuit overload? Is this a sign of an arc fault? From the events, it seemed to be related to the microwave and/or the kitchen socket. Is there anything I can do to test this myself? Thank you for any advice you might have! Location: NY State EDIT: Correct bullets, add location UPDATE: Thank you all for the advice. After investigating, I've discovered a couple of things. One, the wiring that runs into my kitchen is really old. Opening up the socket in my kitchen reveal that whoever installed the GFCI plug hooked it up old insulated cloth wires. The box behind the socket wasn't attached to the socket or anything else and have fallen back a bit into the wall. I knew the electric was old (we still have some tube-and-knob remnants in the basement), but I thought the kitchen would've had newer connections since it's been upgraded in recent decades. I went ahead and swapped out the kitchen socket with a new one and properly attached it to the box. Since then, the circuit has been fine, but the other thing I've realized - we had some work done on our home recently, including a bathroom remodel. An electrician wired all the new stuff (bathroom lights, patio socket, driveway light, basement lights) to this one circuit, I'm guessing because it was the only one that was AFCI. UPDATE 2: After reading some replies here, I went and checked the connections to the AFCI circuit, since I now know that the electrician was directly working on this circuit. I'm not 100% sure what I should be looking for in terms of loose connections, but the white (neutral?) line seemed like it was not seated well - although it was tightly attached, it was only connected near the end, where the wire was a bit mangled. I reconnected it and the hot wire. I went around and turned on all the lights and my TV, plugged in the A/C and microwave and had everything running without a problem. I know I've got some bad old wiring, so if it ends up tripping again, I'll definitely call an electrician, but thank you all for your advice on this! [link] [comments] |
| What are the proper steps to remove chimney to ensure structural integrity? Posted: 07 Oct 2020 08:58 AM PDT Hi everyone, I have a question! Location: SF Bay Area, CA Background: Our home has an attached garage, but there isn't a door leading into the main house. The door opens to the backyard instead. There is an unused chimney in the middle of the wall between the garage and the main house. See pictures here Intention: We'd like to hire a contractor to remove the chimney and install a door where the chimney is now. But we are unsure if this will potentially compromise the structural integrity of the house. question: what are the proper steps? Specifically, which professional should we consult with first? What kinds of permits do we need from the city? And roughly how much cost should we be prepared to spend? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2020 08:01 PM PDT I live in AZ. About 2 years ago we purchased a home in east mesa, were greated with bark scorpions and we dealt. 3 months after purchasing our house I woke up to find ants everywhere in the kitchen, we cleaned it up and placed some liquid terro bait it was horrifying but it worked. Fast forward a year and roughly the same time and we have ants again, same process. Fast forward this year and yep you guessed it ants. But on a much larger and more horrifying scale. We have pest control for the scorpions and they also treat ants. In the last month I have calle dour pest guy 5 times to re treat. They infested our dishwasher (in between the 2 panels) ,ive seen them come in by the windowsill, ive seen them trail off behind the stove and into a small hole. And this morning out from an outlet. Terro isn't killing them anymore and it's gotten to the point that I'm constantly checking the kitchen. We keep food sealed and most things off the counter, ive always been one to ensure the kitchen is clean before bed. But have upped it since the ants started. Last week I let the mess sit for 2 hours after we finished dinner and came back to my counters moving there were so many. It took over an hour to clean them enough that I could then identify where they were coming from. I don't know what else to do. Everytime I see an ant I have to stop myself from panicking and crying. I know they are just ants but the level at which we're seeing them is overwhelming and panic inducing. My neighborhood does have an ant problem, my pest control services a few others houses and said they're seeing ants right now too. My immediate neighbor is also suddenly experiencing a large amount of ants. There is a hugely amount of construction going on at the nearest intersection. Does anyone have any insight? Tips? Anything? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2020 01:42 PM PDT what kind of molding can I put or another way to close the gap ideas? [link] [comments] |
| What are the risks of hiring a handyman? Posted: 07 Oct 2020 02:41 PM PDT By handyman, I mean a self-employed guy with a truck and some tools who works for time and materials on smaller jobs. Probably not licensed, probably has no insurance. My state, California, does provide for a handyman's license, but I don't know how many handymen bother to get one, and I don't know if they can get insurance if they have a California handyman's license. I just looked at Yelp. There are quite a few guys (no women) listed on Yelp, in my area, as handymen. I can't tell who has a California license, who has insurance. There are always hard-working guys, often pretty smart and capable, hanging around big home improvement stores, early in the morning, hoping to get picked up for day labor, by homeowners, and sometimes by contractors. Around here, they are usually immigrants from Mexico, often undocumented. So, I'm wondering about them, too. What I've heard is that if I employ a handyman to do some small job for me and he gets injured, I am responsible for all his medical care, possibly disability payments, lawyers' fees, and so on. I've also heard that there are doctors, particularly chiropractors, who team up with lawyers and specialize in this kind of case, and know how to take all of the homeowner's assets. In some cases, this is basically organized crime, and they might have coached the handyman before I called him. I don't know how much of this is true. I have talked with my homeowner's insurance agent. She basically tried to bullshit her way out of it. She said I have "coverage," but when I looked into the details, the coverage I have falls somewhere between minimal and zero, with many exclusions, and so on. Of course, it's "better" to hire a licensed contractor. But sometimes I have a small job that a licensed contractor just wouldn't want to bother with. Meanwhile, all the contractors in my area are booked months in advance. So that is not always realistic. I'm happy to hear your advice, suggestions, warnings, horror stories and happy endings. [link] [comments] |
| Looking for advice on my plan of attack to replace and paint baseboards Posted: 07 Oct 2020 03:22 PM PDT I'm in the middle of a flooring job and decided I need to get the baseboards painted NOW while it's still warm enough to do it outside. I'm installing all new baseboards as I broke half of them while removing and purchasing them in bulk like this would be most cost effective. I was thinking THESE from HD as they are pretty standard and match the second floor baseboards. They are primed MDF. For paint, I'm pretty sure the rest of the door jambs and casing are just plain white so it shouldn't be a problem color matching, however I will probably repaint the rest of the trim with the same paint at some point. On the higher end I read good things about SW Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel or on the budget friendly side Behr Urethane Alkyd Semi-Gloss Enamel Interior/Exterior Paint. Satin or Semi-gloss? In an effort to cut down on time spent painting with a brush, I would like to pick up a cheap corded sprayer like this one I saw another redditor use on a project. From what I read, it's important to use water to thin the paint a little till it meets the viscosity requirements of the sprayer. Not sure how this will impact my choice of paint. Was planning on shooting the baseboards outside on sawhorses then storing in the basement until i'm ready to cut and install them after the floor is down. Does anyone see any issues with my plan of attack? Any advice? [link] [comments] |
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