Home Improvement: The deck I spent about a year building. Finished this Summer. |
- The deck I spent about a year building. Finished this Summer.
- Updated an awkwardly shaped wall in our rental with some tape for an art deco vibe!
- I learned on this sub dishwashers have filters that need cleaning. I learned IRL my dishwasher doesn't have a filter but may have broke it in the process
- How to Replace Garage Door Trim
- Do these steps look ok - update!
- Neighbors complaining the pergola we just built is blocking their view
- When to get cracks fixed?
- Help!!! Water under hardwood floors
- Irregularly spaced garage studs - is my plan to hang shelves ok?
- Feel Good Final Project
- My shower door is falling.
- White grout driving us crazy
- What can I do to help my girlfriend’s bedroom from getting cold?
- What kind of unpermitted work on your house will get you in trouble when selling?
- Soundproof remedies for bedroom/Noise reduction
- Dirty ice?
- Did you build (or have built) your own house?
- Caught in the middle between utility inspector and electrician on home electrical work (Northern CA)
- Suggestions on Checking my own Chimney?
- Would it be OK to hang a heavy bag on the second floor of my home?
- Help with my ancient furnace! Mueller Climatrol from 1950s, I think.
- What to include when getting quotes?
- Sump pump drainage question...again.
- Help with (potential) crack in basement wall
| The deck I spent about a year building. Finished this Summer. Posted: 18 Nov 2020 08:59 AM PST I started this deck in summer 2019. Thankfully before the pandemic I was able to get materials. It was on hold for most of the winter, as I had planned, and I finished it up in July 2020, about 1 year after starting. It has been amazing to have this summer while my kids were home every day. I did everything myself except some friends and family helping, mostly with the foundation work. The hardest part was doing the foundation with the 5 foot frost line where I live. I used concrete piers with flared bases, and built a pressure treated frame on top of that, with flashing over the tops of the beams and joists to extend the life. The rest of the deck is pretty mostly made of plastic. Composite deck boards (Trex), composite railing, vinyl trim, and vinyl skirting. Hopefully that will mean little maintenance. Total cost of the materials was $10,500, and I can post more details if you are interested. If you have any questions, please comment and I will try to answer them. Edit: So I need to add brands and purchase locations. My tracking spredsheet has almost 300 items so I am not going to list all of them.
Here is a link to a spreadsheet with more details of the cost breakdown. The bulk of the material was ordered through Lowes (framing lumber) and Home Depot (Decking), with smaller amounts of stuff ordered online wherever I found it cheapest (ebay often) or local discount stores. Another edit: I actually made a longer, more detailed album that has more technical construction details, for those interested. [link] [comments] |
| Updated an awkwardly shaped wall in our rental with some tape for an art deco vibe! Posted: 18 Nov 2020 11:14 AM PST Electric tape wall update - https://imgur.com/a/5DfC7Q5 - there's some details in the photo descriptions. Ultimately I'm happy with the end result and the price tag, but I'm mostly just ready to buy a house and be able to paint my damn walls. Very, very, very sick of renting. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 18 Nov 2020 05:35 PM PST If I don't fix this before my wife notices I'll be in trouble. I got over zealous after learning of dishwasher filters on this sub and decided my 2 year old Maytag dishwasher's filter likely needed cleaning. So I googled it and started. But the instructions on Maytag's website literally starts with: STEP 1: FIND YOUR DISHWASHER FILTER. I tried, and pried up the screen that covers the bottom basin. It popped right up after I removed the lower spray arm. I then discovered that there is no filter. Now I can't get the bottom screen to sit properly. I push it down and it pops up one side: Where it pops up, there's a pipe on the screen going down into a pipe rising from the basis. It feels like either that's pushing it up or there should be something snapping in place. Do I need to fix this? Any idea how? I can unload the dishwasher and cover this up indefinitely, but I can never admit to my wife that I damaged the dishwasher. Thanks for any guidance. [link] [comments] |
| How to Replace Garage Door Trim Posted: 18 Nov 2020 07:46 AM PST New homeowner here and the area where our address numbers hang has been slowly rotting out since I bought the place last year. I'm intrigued in attempting to replace it myself and am not sure the best method/means. YouTube has a lot of examples, but I thought I'd check if there was anything I'd be drastically missing. I would imagine I'm going to need to buy long pieces of wood to slot back into there, but was wondering also about the layering on top of that. Or open to any other suggestions! This is in Wisconsin. So any weather/longevity tips are also appreciated. Thank you! [link] [comments] |
| Do these steps look ok - update! Posted: 18 Nov 2020 10:41 AM PST First thanks everyone for your great comments and input on the hack job I got from a contractor for my outdoor steps. Tons of advice. Link to original post: https://reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/comments/jsvar2/do_these_outdoor_steps_look_ok/ I had them come back and fix up a few things based on your comments. They're still not the prettiest steps but I feel a lot more safe using them now at least. I know they didn't fix all the issues brought up in the original thread but I'm satisfied for now. Main updates:
Here's a pic of the before and after. https://i.imgur.com/A6pUgEp.jpg Thanks again! We are new to all this as relatively new home buyers. [link] [comments] |
| Neighbors complaining the pergola we just built is blocking their view Posted: 18 Nov 2020 03:47 PM PST We just finished building a 250 square foot pergola and suddenly the neighbors came by to complain it's blocking their view. It's one story and lower than the height of the rest of our house. It was built on our property of course. We didn't get a permit, but pretty sure they've built a bunch of stuff without a permit too. They asked us to change the roof to something flatter, which is a) a negligible in terms of the view and b) would cost us money to tear it down and rebuild it. Thoughts on how to handle it? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 18 Nov 2020 08:01 PM PST We have cracks on walls, where the wall meets the ceiling, on the ceiling, where framing is, etc. and cracks continue to grow or appear. At what point do we get someone to fix them? Does everything need to settle first or will fixing them now help with the spread? Thank you! [link] [comments] |
| Help!!! Water under hardwood floors Posted: 18 Nov 2020 07:27 PM PST Looks like the wax ring on my toilet went and leaked water under the hardwood floors in the bathroom as I can hear squishing noise when I walk around. I have the toilet pulled but wanted to get an idea what my options are and what I should be doing next. Already contacted the insurance company but they wont be able to get out for a few days. Should I try to pry a board up to get some air flow under there? The bathroom is small 5x8 and wonder if I should just start pulling up the floor. Any feedback would be helpful. [link] [comments] |
| Irregularly spaced garage studs - is my plan to hang shelves ok? Posted: 18 Nov 2020 06:59 PM PST So I purchased 4 sets of these shelves with the plan to run them along the 30' back wall of my garage continuously. Once I got the shelves, I started marking off my studs and ran into 2 irregular stud spacings of 24" and 20"' with the rest being 16". These irregular spacings fall exactly where I don't want them and prohibit me from hanging the shelves - as they need brackets every 48". I figure toggle bolts for a couple of the brackets isn't the best idea for storage shelving. So my plan is just to run a few 2"x8"s across all the studs across the wall, then install the shelves into the 2x8s. Any issues with my plan? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 18 Nov 2020 08:53 PM PST Winter is here in MN and my side entry door doesn't allow for proper weatherstripping on the bottom of the door. Today I installed a new aluminum storm door. It installed without a hitch and will definitely help seal out the elements this winter. Just wanted to share some positive vibes from what might be the last outdoor project here in the North! Cheers, everyone! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 18 Nov 2020 08:43 PM PST So. Like the title says. My shower door is falling. Slowly but surely. My wife and I recently bought this house and as expected it's coming with some quirks. This is the newest one. Anyone have any experience with this type of shower door and if so any advice on how to adjust it? Any help is appreciated. http://imgur.com/a/N2ggtA5 [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 18 Nov 2020 04:53 PM PST Hi all - we have this beautiful tile on our entire bottom floor, but they used white grout, sadly. This gets very, very dirty. We end up having to bleach it once a month or so. We've noticed that the grout level appears to be going down, each time we scrub it, but we can't stand how dirty it looks all the time with all the foot traffic. Is there any advice you could give on what to do? Do companies replace just the grout? Is there a sealer? Should we not be bleaching it? How do we get it clean and keep it clean? Product solutions would be super helpful, as grout is not an area that I know anything about!! Please help! [link] [comments] |
| What can I do to help my girlfriend’s bedroom from getting cold? Posted: 18 Nov 2020 06:10 PM PST First time posting on here ever so please bare with me. When my girlfriend moved into her apartment I was helping her and I accidentally broke her window. It wasn't in pieces or anything it just didn't close all the way. Since it was summertime I managed to put an AC in it so it wouldn't be so hot. But now with the cold weather, her room gets really cold. The heater in the apartment doesn't work too well and turns off periodically. Since the window was broken I didn't take the AC out and instead put a plastic over the entire window. That's not enough to prevent the room from getting cold though. Is there something I buy at a store like Lowe's or Home Depot or Walmart, etc. so that the room is more insulated? I'm not too familiar with these things so any type of help is really appreciated. Thanks guys. [link] [comments] |
| What kind of unpermitted work on your house will get you in trouble when selling? Posted: 18 Nov 2020 12:30 PM PST Basically the title. What kind of unpermitted work will become a problem when selling the house, and what are the consequences? Best, AnonWilder EDIT: Great replies, thanks! Completely area dependent of course. In our area, the value of the land is far greater than the value of the house and therefore it's likely not a big deal to do most work unpermitted. Any major structural work, or work that will change the number of bedrooms/bathrooms I would consider getting permits. [link] [comments] |
| Soundproof remedies for bedroom/Noise reduction Posted: 18 Nov 2020 07:48 PM PST Hello friends. I moved to a new house 2 days ago and I constantly hear some noise from the highway that is nearby. The highway is not very close but the house is on the hill and there is technically nothing between the house and the highway, I can see the highway from my window.. It doesn't bother me during the day however I hear it when I go to bed and at night. I was wondering if there are any remedies you could recommend to reduce this kind of noise in my bedroom. I have a lot of windows in my bedroom so I bought Nicetown blackout curtains from amazon yesterday and they help but only a little bit... I'm thinking about soundproof panels.. maybe put them on the windows. Or possibly hang another pair of curtains so that there are 4 layers of material. Please share your experience.. If you bought something that worked for you please share links so I can buy the same. Thank you all very much! I appreciate your help!!! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 18 Nov 2020 07:46 PM PST My family and I just recently moved into a new home and we noticed with our ice, whenever water or any other liquid hits it, these little white specs and flakes melt out of the ice. I have no idea what this is or what we need to do for a fix. [link] [comments] |
| Did you build (or have built) your own house? Posted: 18 Nov 2020 01:38 PM PST Hi! Looking for some personal experiences and ideas on building your own house. We are a family of 5 (4, 3, and 1 year old children) with a goal of building our own homestead. We previously owned a mid-century modern on half an acre but decided we wanted something more custom for us. We currently live in an apartment while saving money to buy land and have gotten close to our goal. We are now starting to talk about what our house might look like. Our priorities in a home would be comfort for a family of 5, for all of the stages of our lives, so multi-use spaces are desired, also is sustainability and cost effectiveness. We are considering conventional construction, custom and on your lot style, also modular homes, barndominiums, manufactured homes, log kits, etc. We would love to hear your experiences on any of these. Or is there something different that you did? Or something you've heard about? TIA [link] [comments] |
| Caught in the middle between utility inspector and electrician on home electrical work (Northern CA) Posted: 18 Nov 2020 06:52 PM PST Hi all, not sure where to ask this. We had new, larger conduit installed at our house to draw more power. Our utility company (PG&E) and the city (Oakland) approved/permitted the planned work before we started. The work is now done, the city has approved and certified it as done, but the utility has not. They are recommending changes to the work that would be significantly extra work for the electrician to do, specifically: -install a *single* conduit & weatherhead (as opposed to the double that was done) through the roof, extending 24"-36" above roofline. They are saying this is necessary because even though the double-weatherhead is more than 36" from the window, the associated cables are not, so the weatherhead must be extended higher, through the roof to avoid our window. The electrician is saying the work the utility is requiring is unnecessary and arbitrary. That there is no need to require a single conduit/weatherhead, and it's ok for the cables to be about 30" from the window. He is challenging the utility inspector's judgement, and has filed a formal complaint to a utility supervisor. The electrician has advised us to wait before taking any action until he hears back from the supervisor. Since then the inspector has found a few more things for us to change (but will take less work). In the intervening weeks while we've been waiting, we've now been advised that we now have a new utility inspector, the old one is no longer working on this case. I'm really at a loss for what to do here. What are the consequences if we don't do what the utility company has recommended? It's also worth noting that we paid the electrician in full after the city approved the work. Thanks for any advice you may have. [link] [comments] |
| Suggestions on Checking my own Chimney? Posted: 18 Nov 2020 07:14 AM PST We have one Chimney sweep within 200 miles, and I left about 5 voicemails since Early October, he finally called me back last week, and I was in the shower, and I have called many times since then with no answer. Is there any recommendations to check this myself? we just bought this house, it has an insert in it. All Original. [link] [comments] |
| Would it be OK to hang a heavy bag on the second floor of my home? Posted: 18 Nov 2020 06:51 PM PST Hi all, I have a 100lb heavy bag (bought it quite some time ago) that I'd like to hang on a stand like this on the second floor of my home. In a perfect world the bag would be in a garage or basement but I don't have either of those. I know the weight shouldn't be a problem but what about my thunderous blows? Could the kinetic energy reverberate into the stand and then the floor and walls, causing cracks and structural damage? The house is a small (1250 square feet) cape cod. It's more like 1 1/2 stories. Thanks a bunch. [link] [comments] |
| Help with my ancient furnace! Mueller Climatrol from 1950s, I think. Posted: 18 Nov 2020 08:55 AM PST Hello r/homeimprovement! I'm having trouble with my old furnace and I'm wondering if there's a simple fix. It's a Mueller Climatrol, I think from the mid-50s. Total beast, has been working fantastic after a spotty first winter together a few years ago. I replaced all the easily replaceable parts (many of the names of which I've now forgotten because it was three years ago) and cleaned a bunch of buildup out of the pilot casing, and she's been running like a dream ever since, until this week. Lately every couple times the heat clicks on, there's a huge burst, like when the gas runs under a pan before clicking on and makes a little fireball. I haven't seen it happen, but I've heard it a few times. There's never been any damage or fire started, the whole thing is cased in metal, but I feel like if I don't do something about this soon it's gonna blow up and that would suck! Is there a reason why the unit might be releasing gas but not igniting right away? I can't figure it out for the life of me. Thanks for your help! Also I took some pics of the unit itself and the little plaque with all the specs, but I don't know how to post a picture to Reddit! Do I need to upload somewhere else first? [link] [comments] |
| What to include when getting quotes? Posted: 18 Nov 2020 06:13 PM PST I'll be looking at some contractors to build a fence, building a deck and relevelling a mobile home. The deck would be 10' x 16' freestanding. And the fence is roughly 36 linear feet. What kind of things Should I ensure the contractor includes in their quote or should I be asking for them to include in their quote? [link] [comments] |
| Sump pump drainage question...again. Posted: 18 Nov 2020 09:52 PM PST Working on a sump pump discharge line here again. From my last post I've decided to put in either a dry well or pop up emitters. Here's the situation. The sump has to drain out the back of the house. Where it leaves the foundation I'm in trouble. The house sits roughly 20 ft from the garage. I can't go around the garage to the rear of the property like I wanted to because the garage sits on the property line and on the other side is the drive way. Do I drain to a dry well between the garage and house? Or, do I drain it around the house, catch the gutters and plumb out near the street to pop-up emitters? Multiple emitters because if I put one on one side I might as well do the same to last gutter on the other side of the house while I'm invested. EDIT: Or do I say F it, drain it back to the the main drain like I bought it and let the next dummy deal with it after I sell? I just found out the drain has to be 10' off the property line according to the town. The house sits maybe 15' if that from the street. [link] [comments] |
| Help with (potential) crack in basement wall Posted: 18 Nov 2020 09:50 PM PST When replacing some drywall and inspecting basement walls in my basement, I spotted what appears to be a potential crack (link below). Looks like at some point a portion of the foundation was cut out and replaced with whatever material this is. Also appears to be more "crumbly" than the foundation material next to it. Basement hasn't had any water that I know of (nor the previous homeowner), but it is a super old house (1954). Is this something I need to address? If so, any tips on how to address? Very much a novice in my home improvement skills, so any advice is appreciated. Thanks. [link] [comments] |
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