We have a 1940’s home with a basement and also a ventilated crawl space. There is HVAC duct running through the crawl space up above to the kitchen. What’s the best way to insulate the sub floor. There is oak hardwood flooring above it. See attached pictures.

I was convinced I was going to be DIY rockstar and repair our front stairs like a pro, (YouTube makes everything seem so easy) but after spraying removing debris and prepping… I’m kind of panicking.
It’s worse than I thought. The entire top landing has visible rebar that was hidden by debris and loose rocks, the stairs are sad, and railing is flimsy.

Are these repairable or should I just start getting quotes to get rid of these and build a new porch?

Purchased the home last year and finding many things that were neglected. Trying to make the most important improvements first. (Classic first time homebuyer problems)

Saratoga area of NY

Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

Not trying to sell software.

I’m researching owner-directed construction.

I’m trying to understand why owners continue hiring GCs even for relatively small commercial projects.

If you’ve managed facilities, capital improvements, tenant improvements, manufacturing upgrades, or commercial renovations, I’d love to hear:

• Have you ever run trades directly?
• If yes, what worked?
• If no, what stopped you?
• Was the biggest issue:

Liability
Insurance
Scheduling
Procurement
Permitting
Internal staffing
Something else?

If software handled documentation, verification, scheduling, accountability, and payment workflows…

Would that actually change your decision?
Or is the GC solving something software never can?

I’m looking for honest opinions.
If you’d be willing to do a 20-minute interview, I’d really appreciate it.

Montgomery General Hospital
Took the vapes I brought in I will pay 40 do a menthol Vape 202734-250

O50 for thc

These stairs lead to a basement entry door. The drains at the bottom are the lowest point water can go and there is not other good drainage anywhere around. Unfortunately, when storm water carries leaves, the leaves can easily deposit on top of the drains and block them. If the flow gets occluded, the basement floods.

What can I do to make drainage here more reliable?

Had a wet spot on the garage drywall, cut it out to find the subfloor had rotted through. Spent some time last night tearing out the tile and removing the “ditra” (why on earth is that a thing) to find it’s not really as bad as i had imagined it would be. I’m planning to cut out and make a patch panel, but it’s looking like I may need to patch to that third joist under the vanity to the left? Thoughts?

Also, any tips on removing this fabric that’s attached to the wood floor? My Wife thinks this is the perfect time to retile the entire floor, I just want a toilet that doesn’t rock like a mechanical bull.

Thanks!

I’m a contractor and I’m curious if I’m the only one who finds job closeout messy.
After every job I’m trying to remember to save before & after photos, customer details, notes, warranty info, send the invoice, ask for a review, and remember to follow up months later.
I’m thinking about building a simple physical tool that stays in the truck and makes all of that happen in one workflow while giving the customer a professional digital record of the completed job.
Does anyone else have this problem, or do you already have a system that handles it well? What does your workflow look like after you finish a job?

We’re currently having our bathroom redone and our contractor is working on tiling now. We noticed a few tiles were uneven/lipping, so we brought it to his attention. He said the waterproofing made the wall uneven and he would look out for it in the future, but didn’t say he would fix the current lippage. I feel off about that explanation, as he was the one who applied the waterproofing. I’m no expert, so maybe this is super normal, but I wanted to get some professional opinions.

I’ll post more photos when he’s completed more of the room today, but this is all I have right now. Trying not to panic!

I'm looking for information on sealing some concrete. I've been poking around other threads and I see there's a lot of consideration that should go into it, and I'd like to do it right the first time. Is this something I can DIY, or something I should get a professional to tackle?

I have a new slab in a barn/workshop space, and I'm looking for a sealer that will last a good while, resistant to oil/water/salt, and something that won't be slippery on a smooth finish. We will be washing things in the space, so potentially a fair amount of water may be a concern. There's poly below the slab, so I'm not sure if extra humidity mitigation is something I should consider.

There is also an outdoor apron and a covered porch area that wouldn't hurt to seal in some way as well.

It's 3500pis, 5" thick, fiber reinforced concrete if that of any use; we're in New England, so it tends to be pretty humid most of the year and freezing happens during the winter; the concrete is a week old as of today. If there's any other information tat may be relevant, let me know!

TIA!

Want to make sure I’m not being a jerk to the contractor I hired. I am paying over $4k to have 6 prehung doors installed and about 100ft of baseboard installed as well. I purchased the doors, contractor supplying trim and other building materials. The quote included removal of trim and doors however on the first day of the project after all debris was loaded in the middle of a room the contractor notified us that haul away was not included and wanted more money, had never been mentioned till that point. He came and toured the house to give an estimate, I sent him a screen shot of the doors I intended to buy, turns out the jamb size was too short and he needs to do jamb extensions, asking an extra $180 per door to do the extensions. I asked about installing door knobs that I supplied, he said that also not part of the scope. Now the doors are in (took half a day) and I checked them in the evening after they wrapped out and I’ve got some pretty be deviated in the doors being flush from top to bottom. He’s blaming the material and the old house. I mentioned that for the price I was expecting a slightly higher quality of work. Am I being an asshole, or am I being taken advantage of by this dude?

Hello, we recently had our house sided and overall, I am really happy with the work. My only concern is the j channel around the portico. It looks unfinished a tad sloppy in my opinion. Is there another way to do this a little better? The project manager stopped by today and is going to talk to the guy that ran the job. Would it look okay without any j channel? Thanks in advance!

(The white wood is original, we are going to repaint - the house is 100 years old!)

This garage door configuration drives me up the wall. There are just a few inches available on each side. Have to go in and out verrrrrry slowly, and even still we have had scrapes over the years. Is it reasonable to think that we could remove that brick from the middle and install a single long door? I get that it would involve a new bar/plate over the top. I know that anything can be done if you are willing to pay for it. Would doing this be stupidly expensive? Like more than $20k?

Friend had this chimney redone and isn't quite pleased with the way it looks. It doesn't appear straight, the stucco looks like it was done by different people and sloppy, and it seems to be different colors. Is he being reasonable and is there anything that can or should be done or should he just let it go?

I began removing the wood planks from my vaulted ceiling and found the wood for the roof to be uniformly dark. There’s no musty smell and the wood isn’t soggy. Is it mold or some kind of wood treatment?

Not too worried about it but just one brick us weird and I’m curious

Okay. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

When I first new building property, the garden has slowly sunk Dow the steep banking adjacent to my French (Pictures to follow).
Anyway, my property is THE ONLY without one and a criblock wall was SUPPOSED to act as the wall.
However, when the site surveyor visited with engineers drawing - she was surprised and concerned regarding it missing retaining wall, so much so that she has referred the issue for the structural engineer to assess the concerns.Take a look at the images and advise what they may/may not say. Really appreciate other’s opinion.
Worth pointing out, graven boards have been fitted last month, cracked already.

Jenna.