Home Improvement: [CELEBRATE] Nominations open for our 2020 Best Of awards! |
- [CELEBRATE] Nominations open for our 2020 Best Of awards!
- Electric Drill vs Impact Driver
- Swapping out bath and bedroom privacy door knobs throughout house. Any considerations?
- Self-leveling cement still not level - what should I try next?
- Question: Tankless water heaters
- Caulk separating above crown molding (2nd time)
- Replacing outlet - keep getting shocked
- Finished basement gets down to 56-60°F. First time owning a home with a basement, is this normal?
- Gutter Covers (LeafGutter, etc.): Are they worth it?
- Surprise discovery.. mold!! Severity of this mold?
- Half of my breakers went out
- Granite repair
- Losing my mind over my foul-smelling bathroom
- Attic is freezing cold and full of frost/condensation
- Is this as horrible as a family member made it feel like?
- Thoughts on this pressure washer?
- Most water efficient, 18" dishwasher?
- Expired HVAC Ducts?
- Ceiling stain
- Pulling tab from Lutron created a popping sound and now there is no power to lights
- Marco Gas Fireplace
- How to smooth textured wall paint?
- Painting Ceramic Tile
- Frost everywhere on roof of house except over second floor bathroom, and the ceiling is wet on the main floor underneath the bathroom.
- Furnace won't turn on until well below the temperature set on thermostat.
| [CELEBRATE] Nominations open for our 2020 Best Of awards! Posted: 26 Dec 2020 07:49 AM PST I's time again to kick of the BEST OF awards, this time the 2020 PANDEMIC EDITION. The community will be voting on a number of categories this year.
If you have other award ideas, throw them out there. This is a great opportunity to reward those that help others and make this subreddit great or just to share a cringe moment with the hivemind.
Reply to the post in the TOP LEVEL Category with the redditors username using the /u/%username% format (e.g /u/dapeche) and, if needed, a link to the appropriate thread.
Highest scoring submissions from the past year: Sub statistics thanks to /r/subreddit_stats The subredditstats.com results for the entire year. We broke 1 million subscribers in 2020 and keep growing at a great rate. Thanks to you all for making this a welcoming community! This is the time of year to look back on the fun and heartache that our homes bring us, and thank those that helped along the way. [link] [comments] |
| Electric Drill vs Impact Driver Posted: 26 Dec 2020 03:30 PM PST I just bought a 2 Drill combo with a power drill and a separate electric impact driver. Generally speaking, what kind of jobs would you use the drill and what jobs would you use the impact driver for? Also, can you use the same bits for each tool? Thanks so much, love this sub! Edit: Great responses here. Think I'll be using the impact driver a little more often now! [link] [comments] |
| Swapping out bath and bedroom privacy door knobs throughout house. Any considerations? Posted: 26 Dec 2020 11:15 AM PST My house was built in the late 70's in Virginia. All the bedroom and bathroom door knobs are a plated gold covered knob with a spring loaded button lock system. On top of the plating starting to flake off and look ugly the lock mechanism is finnicky. Long story short I'm replacing them all with brushed nickel twist locks. There's a range of prices and brands for what is seemingly a similar product. Should i spend extra to get Schlage? What are some things to consider regarding longterm care, maintenance ease of use etc? Thanks for any help or advice. I'm considering this type for an example: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Defiant-Hartford-Satin-Nickel-Bed-and-Bath-Door-Knob-Contractor-Pack-6-Piece-32TGX210BD6/302211632 [link] [comments] |
| Self-leveling cement still not level - what should I try next? Posted: 26 Dec 2020 10:33 AM PST I've been working in putting in a new tile floor and I finally got around to pouring the self-leveling cement. Unfortunately it isn't as flat as I need it to be. There is a a 5/16" dip in the middle of the room when measured with a 6' level - the product looked fine when we poured it, but I guess it is hard to see that the middle of the floor is dipping like that. What can I do to correct this? I've poured already 9 bags of it over ~160 sq ft. I still have another bag left, could I safely whip that up and feather it into the other stuff I've poured or am I asking for trouble? [link] [comments] |
| Question: Tankless water heaters Posted: 26 Dec 2020 07:08 AM PST So we need to get a new water heater (Merry Christmas to us) - and I have looked at both types of water heaters but I am still unsure which is better. Does anyone know anything about the tankless water heater? What exactly are the pros and cons of this. All I can find are videos of "buy our product because it's great" but I can't find any real feedback. [link] [comments] |
| Caulk separating above crown molding (2nd time) Posted: 26 Dec 2020 01:34 PM PST My wife and I purchased a home built in the late 80s recently. It is a great home in a great, upscale neighborhood but was terribly outdated. We are nearing the end of a 5 month $130k remodel. We primed and painted all walls, trim, doors, and ceilings in the entire house. In certain rooms the caulk seemed like it wasn't originally applied correctly and was pulling away from either the crown or the ceiling leaving black cracks between the two. We hired a paint crew who cut out all of the old caulk (which took forever) and then recaulked it with an expandable caulk (I don't know which brand). However, 3-4 months later, the same crap is happening again!! It's killing me. Our house is gorgeous except you have these damn cracks between the crown and ceiling. Funny enough, it isn't doing it between the wall and the crown though. I've shown it to the painters and other contractors and everyone seems baffled. Anyone have any idea? Pics: https://imgur.com/a/kq0Hla0 Video: https://imgur.com/a/MWVIYmS [link] [comments] |
| Replacing outlet - keep getting shocked Posted: 26 Dec 2020 09:23 AM PST Hi guys, trying to understand the logic of what i'm doing wrong or if something else is going on here. Just bought my first home that was built in the early 70's, since all the outlets have turned yellow I have decided to go ahead and change all of them. Most of them have the same configuration of 2 black wires and 2 white wires, which i have copied over to the new outlets. The issue i'm running into is that while changing out the outlets, So specifically in one example, i began the replacement of the outlet transferring 2 of the black wires to the new outlet. I then started working on the white wire and it shocked me, I then tested the wire again with the non contact tester and it was showing that it was hot. I ended up just shutting off the power to the entire house and working on it, but I wanted to understand the logic of what was going on to make this wire that was not powered before, powered again. Thanks [link] [comments] |
| Finished basement gets down to 56-60°F. First time owning a home with a basement, is this normal? Posted: 26 Dec 2020 07:44 AM PST Bought a home built in 2001 this past September and put my office in one of the finished basement rooms. I've noticed as the weather gets cooler it gets very cold in the basement. I put a thermometer to measure and found that the basement gets as cold as 56°F, with a normal temp of 64°F during the day. I could see this being normal for a crawlspace and unfinished basement, but this seems a bit too cold for a finished space. I put plastic film over the basement windows to help with this, but it hasn't changed the temperature much. I also noticed the supply vents in the ceiling deliver a weak amount of air compared to the vents on the main floor. Looking through the unfinished utility room and sump pump closet, I don't see any insulation between the drywall framing and the foundation. Are there solutions I can investigate that won't require a teardown and rebuild of the basement to add insulation to the foundation walls? Edit: you all are great, thanks for thinking with me! [link] [comments] |
| Gutter Covers (LeafGutter, etc.): Are they worth it? Posted: 26 Dec 2020 10:24 PM PST I cannot clean my own gutters due to suffering from vertigo. I hire a company to come out once a year and do it for $150-200. My question is: Are these various types of gutter guards worth it? Open gutters seem to be such a stupid design for so many houses. What has been your experience with any form of gutter guard? Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Surprise discovery.. mold!! Severity of this mold? Posted: 26 Dec 2020 01:16 PM PST http://imgur.com/gallery/tMrhJvm When I moved a storage unit away from one of my bedroom walls, I came across mold on the trim. The windows collect a lot of condensation, and admitedly, I don't do the best job of wiping things down and drying them off. I live in the Pacific Northwest, so it's very damp up here in the winter months. I will likely call a mold inspector to take a look, but would cleaning this with bleach and disinfectant and keeping things dryer do the trick? I don't want to be swindled into spending thousands of dollars for remediation, but maybe it's more extreme than I am thinking. Any advice would be appreciated! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 26 Dec 2020 05:42 PM PST Any ideas what this could be? I just had all of my odd numbered breakers go out. Not tripped. They just went out. I tested the breakers with a multimeter and the odds all showing around 5v while the evens are 120. I shut all the odd ones off and turned one back on. Started around 120 but it quickly drops back down to ~5v. I'm scared. Edit: https://imgur.com/a/IqyHp7M the ones marked in yellow are the ones that read 5v Edit 2: One phase is not working right. Called the power company and they tested the meter and confirmed something is wrong so hopefully they'll be out sometime to fix it. Now I'll go run extension cords to get my fridge working again. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 26 Dec 2020 09:17 AM PST My in-laws have granite counters and the narrow portion in front of the sink has broken in half causing a portion of it to drop down and separate from the sink. I'm worried that this will cause long term issues for them if water keeps getting in. Is this repairable? Any diy kits or products you would recommend? In my mind I should be able to get a glue in to reattach to the sink and then epoxy the broken pieces back together and clamp it down. Even if it isn't flawless I think something is better than leaving it. Appreciate any advice. [link] [comments] |
| Losing my mind over my foul-smelling bathroom Posted: 26 Dec 2020 07:28 PM PST In the past year of living in my current home, I've noticed that my (only) bathroom, specifically the toilet, consistently smells of old, stale, urine-y tobacco. It is absolutely foul. The toilet is relatively new and I keep it clean, and we flush regularly. What confuses me is where the odor is coming from. I need to get to the root of the issue before I commence rage-demolition. The former owners did smoke in the house and we've spent a great deal of time cleaning nicotine stains off of ceilings everywhere else in the house. No other room has this problem. Air fresheners won't help and I'm not sure what else to try. The bathroom has paneling which I'm in the process of removing. My thought was that maybe the old cigarette odors were trapped behind the panels, but it really seems like the toilet is the source of the problem. Any ideas/speculation/tips would be lovely :) Thanks in advance. tl;dr My toilet smells bad and is making the bathroom reek, and I don't know why. [link] [comments] |
| Attic is freezing cold and full of frost/condensation Posted: 26 Dec 2020 01:52 PM PST My house had a flat roof that's not insulated. Then they built a peaked roof over the top of it. The peaked roof is frosting over inside my attic. I have condensate or water trickling in on the chimney walls. The plywood is drenched with water on the peaked roof and has frost built up. The attic is vented from the soffit as well. My dad says to throw insulation on top of flat roof without covering soffit vents to stop condensation from building up and freezing inside my attic. Like I said earlier I have water coming inside my house running down my chimney from my attic into my basement. Does anybody have any suggestions on what I should do to my attic? I'd hate to buy a bunch of insulation and it not even work. [link] [comments] |
| Is this as horrible as a family member made it feel like? Posted: 26 Dec 2020 08:19 AM PST So yesterday I (26F) actually posted here on behalf of my aunt and got help (thank you) however today I am now so overwhelmed with something that happened last night. After we left my aunts place - we came to my house until the late hours and my cousin came who did some handyman work back in the day. My anxiety is how he treated my house and told me so much needs to be done. New windows needed as I'm just "wasting money" as they are old. I actually sanded down the wood outside the window this year and painted them as it was cracking a bit. New soffits and new siding as my wood soffit / siding looks "just okay" and then some spot which I know about that need some work (inch or so around chimney leaked years ago and the wood looks rough around it - most likely needing replaced - small amount of wood unless I have a surprise above there ) the soffit was done with really nice quality wood it looks like and the siding itself is like old barn board stuff but held up okay. I know I need to paint it soon as I haven't in 6 years I have lived here and couldn't tell you when it was done before. There is some cracking on the front of the house (just starting) so I know I would need to sand it down. My attic isn't up to snuff to him (I have 12 inches of blown in but it's bumpy and not fully even but my attic is dry to my eyes. My roof stays full of snow when it's cold so I don't "think" I have bad heat loss. I don't see any issues. It's strapped with the plywood on top under the 3-4 inch straps of wood. My attic is super cold in the winter and hot in the attic. I do need a few more soffit vents as I have 6 / 7 but he said "I am killing my roof" I have the only vent in there insulated and well sealed. It's cold here (near Toronto Ontario). I plan on adding 2-3 more vents if I stay with the wood soffit. My electrical isn't "good enough". I've had no issues but there are a few ungrounded lines that I just don't use much (lamp, sound machine for my son, etc). It's 100amp and based on when I bought the place - as per a permit - was upgraded in 2005 (new panel that doesn't have room now so can't even fix the ungrounded stuff at the box and some re runs) My basement isn't insulated and I'm just throwing energy money away and I agree but I can't afford to insulate it right now as it's not that simple (it's finished but not insulated) and not even really framed so that job turns into a much bigger job too). I'm saving for this right now (few years at best). My indoor humidity upstairs ranges from 28-42 in the winter depending on if I have company over, cooking lots etc. My basement mirrors pretty close too (dry basement knock on wood) I have never tossed a humidity measuring item in my attic to check but I guess I could. It was just so overwhelming to be told what's wrong and while it started off helpful - I am just so mentally torn up now thinking my house is just a money pit and I've made such bad choices as I plan on living here forever. I got a good deal on it and based on the current market I am around 150k in home equity so I certainly don't want to leave and buy a house that costs double mine to just "get the same house with everything fixed". If I stay here - I feel I "should" be better financially off in the future but now I'm terrified I am not. I feel so alone as my family just said "I would listen to him" because he did this work for 2 years. I know I have stuff to fix but am I crazy to just go with what's needed. I plan on maybe trying to do soffits and siding myself this year but seems kind of hard (more so the fascia and removing the gutters) and then my panic of what if it rains a night with no gutters up if I mess up so hence why I might just paint. Sorry I feel this isn't what Reddit is for on this sub but maybe I just need to hear a calm voice. It's like he just kept looking for anything wrong. I know if you look - you'll find stuff but my goodness. I feel if I had I pay for all the stuff he listed it's like 60k-75k which isn't a ton BUT I would take me years to get there. Edit: I hope I did that right. I googled how to reply to everyone on a thread and it brought me back to Reddit where someone said to just edit your post so I'll try that. Thanks all! You made me feel so much better. You are all so kind and helpful. I feel so much less stressed just having read every single comment. I will certainly look into energy audits, if and when I am ready to take on such a project and then do my items as I can. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. [link] [comments] |
| Thoughts on this pressure washer? Posted: 26 Dec 2020 06:57 PM PST I've been looking for a pressure washer and found a 2800 PSI 2.3 GPM Simpson with a Honda engine. I'm looking to clean my concrete driveway, wooden fence, vinyl siding, cars, etc. [link] [comments] |
| Most water efficient, 18" dishwasher? Posted: 26 Dec 2020 08:05 AM PST I want to get my mom a dishwasher. Her fine detail vision is going and her hands hurt sometimes and this makes hand washing harder than it should be. She's on septic. So I'm looking for recommendations for the most water efficient, truly excellent dishwasher, people have personal experience with. Purchase budget: Up to $1500 (but less is obviously better, a bang for the buck recommendation is welcome) Thank you in advance! Edit: You are all very wonderful people. Thank you!!! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 26 Dec 2020 12:26 PM PST I just moved into a house built in 1994 and had the HVAC serviced. Tech said the ducts were fiber board and were degraded and should be replaced. He wrote me up a quote for replacing the ducts and some other "sanitizing equipment." How full of shit is he? Are my 25 year old ducts actually degraded to the point of needing to be replaced? Relevant part of the quote: "CONTRACTOR also recommends extracting all expired fiberboard ducting in attic and replace with round galvanized graduated trunk custom wrapped with R-8 insulation. All feeder lines to be R-8 flexible equipped with air flow dampers. Replace return with R-8 flexible. Mastic seal all duct. $3,900.00" [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 26 Dec 2020 08:22 PM PST Good day everyone. I've moved into a my house 6 months ago and have recently noticed changes in my house 2011 build. The latest one was this evening when I noticed a small stain roughly 2 inches in diameter above my basement ceiling. After inspection it doesn't seem to be wet on the ceiling nor have I noticed any drips on the floor (carpet). I have attached a link with the picture of it. Any advice could be of help. The only thing above the celiling is a bedroom without any bathroom. Thank you Ceiling stain https://imgur.com/gallery/yALvNDW [link] [comments] |
| Pulling tab from Lutron created a popping sound and now there is no power to lights Posted: 26 Dec 2020 12:33 PM PST I have 2 Lutron light dimmers and switches in my kitchen that are also controlled online. This morning they would not turn off from either of the two control panels (both control the kitchen lights) and I noticed that the main one had the green indicators lights going up and down and blinking rapidly in a loop. I went online and read that you can pull the tab out from the bottom and I did and right after doing this I heard a pop and now the main panel does not get any power, no green indicators and the lights do not work at all. The green indicator still works on the other control panel. I checked the breaker and that does not seem to be the problem. I have tried pulling the tab out and putting it back in though nothing changes. Anyone have any idea of what may have caused all this and what needs to be done? Thanks [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 26 Dec 2020 07:34 PM PST My parents have a Marco Gas Fireplace, they've had it for just over 20 years. Google tells me that the Marco corporation out of Cali is no longer in business. The blower stopped working, there is voltage getting to it, but it's not spinning, so this blower is like a bird cage, but more longer than round. The fan takes 120V AC as it has a small transformer mounted on it. Where is the best place to get these at, I've seen a few on Amazon, if that'll do the trick. [link] [comments] |
| How to smooth textured wall paint? Posted: 26 Dec 2020 06:49 PM PST I recently bought my first house and it is cosmetically pretty outdated. The living room has stripes painted on the walls and every other stripe has this swirl like design/texture to it. The other color of stripe has what I would consider a "normal" wall texture to it. My question is how to best go about making the wall texture look even before I repaint. Do I sand down the stripes that have the swirl like texture (if that's even possible), or do I put a layer of something over top to fill it in? I'm sure I will have to retexture the entire wall before painting but feel like I need to get rid of this existing swirl texture first. Any help would be appreciated, thank you in advance!! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 26 Dec 2020 08:43 PM PST Hello, Lots of painting experience but never on Ceramic tile in a bathroom. Is this a feasible alternative to ripping out all the tile and retiling? The tile in the bathroom is just too dark. This would be the walls which are tiled and also the tile floor. How do you paint Ceramic tile correctly? Or is this a horrible irreversible idea altogether? Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 26 Dec 2020 01:38 PM PST I have a 2 story home in Alberta, Canada. Today we noticed some water staining/ wet ceiling on the main floor ceiling, under the second story bathroom. This is underneath the shower/tub. Assumed the water was coming from a leak related to the plumbing, but looking at the house from outside, there is frost on all of the roof EXCEPT for the area directly over the bathroom. Is it possible this is related? Just a coincidence they are occurring at the same time? Any ideas for investigation or repair would be appreciated [link] [comments] |
| Furnace won't turn on until well below the temperature set on thermostat. Posted: 26 Dec 2020 06:43 AM PST Last night before bed, we set our heating to 70. I just woke up 40 minutes ago (9:00 am) and felt freezing. The heat was blowing in it's own and still is blowing atm but I looked at the thermostat and it said it's 60 degrees in here! Idk if it had just started blowing or what. We noticed it yesterday as well, although it was a less concerning amount of degrees. It was set at 70 and it was 67 in the house and I felt cold so I went to put it up only to notice the issue. My boyfriend and I turned off the heat and put it back on but we heard the furnace rev up and then immediately stop. We changed the batteries for the thermostat and clicked it one degree higher and it turned on and was fine. Three degrees is not to much to worry about but having it drop TEN degrees while sleeping is a terrifying thought. Anyone have any advice on what it could be? I'm terrified of it breaking because right now with COVID I don't know if we can afford to fix it and it was 19 degrees last night! I'm so so nervous. The AC doesn't work and needs to be replaced and if the heater goes too, I really don't know what to do. We can't afford to do one, much less both. [link] [comments] |
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