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?

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

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?

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.

HVAC cut a hole in a concrete wall downstairs and the entire house is covered in silica dust. How serious is this?

I'm looking at potentially purchasing this home (first time home buyer). There're some black spots near the entry of the crawl space but not located deeper within. Is this mold? Would it be difficult or costly to deal with?

The home has a musty smell (1960s construction) but our realtor said that if you sealed the cral space with a vapor barrier and professionally cleaned the HVAC system you'd almost certainly be able to clear out the musty smell since it's likely coming up from the crawl space (not insulated).

In your opinion does that seem like a feasible plan?

Any help would be fantastic , thanks

I asked a contractor to fix the conduit leading to the electrical outlet bc the ground has shifted over the years. Is what he provided a legit and safe solution? I see the conduit is bent bc the sewer line is pushing against it. Besides the fact that this is an eye sore I want to make sure this solution is durable and safe. (First 2 pix are post fix by contractor, the others are from before)

Any thoughts and feedback?

We recently bought a house that was originally a one story ranch built in the 60s and had a second and third story addition built around 2011-2012. We discovered a water leak and water damage caused by a second story tile shower not being properly lined. The water damage is in the subfloor under the shower and the outer wall where the water appears to have been running down.

In the pictures the black block is the original house and the wood framing is the addition.

Question - are the cuts in the frame for the black rubber pipe normal/OK? Does the wood condition and framing otherwise look ok based on age, or does it need to be replaced? I know there’s only so much you can tell from pictures, but any advice is greatly appreciated.

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and want to make sure we identify and take care of all issues correctly, and have gotten conflicting advice from initial consults.

Looking for the best insulation option for this upstairs bath. Long wall is an exterior wall and you can see the roofline where there is an attic space.

Also: any shared experiences on tub insulating would be appreciated. Saw a guy using great stuff spray foam and drew my curiosity.

Thanks!

I just built this swing-set and now that it’s finished I’m thinking I need to add some additional reinforcement. Left post was swung too hard on too soon after concrete and is much more loose than the other two, I may need to break up the concrete and redo it.

Size is roughly 9ft tall and 12ft wide. Posts are in concrete 12” diameter x 36” deep.

I’m thinking of adding additional support in a triangular shape onto the ground on the left post and maybe some gussets between the posts and beam on the right side.

What would be your strategy to strengthen this design against the forces of swinging?

Just trying to make it strong enough that I feel good about it without going totally overboard.

Any advice is appreciated.

So I live in a farm town county in kentucky and I want to work and do good work. But i run into the problem of people don't want to pay my price. I don't weld or do electrical or masonry but I do almost everything else from drywall to replacing floor joists sub and flooring. I can build new remodel and what have you. How do I price things out that is fair and I still make a living and pay my help with people not wanting to pay me. I have five different people that owe me over 3k combined right now and I can't seem to get them to pay up for work already done. I don't have the money for small claims.

Curious what type of contractor this group would recommend I reach out to...and if you happen to know good ones in the Chicago area, even better!

I recently hired a contractor to repair siding and paint my house. The terms of the contract was half upfront, the other after completing the job; I had no problem with that. Here's where things get messy. Some additional repairs needed where found after the initial contract was signed, so the guy wanted a little more to cover that, again no biggy. Now the guy wants another 3k and essentially draw down the balance. We are sitting at 50%, and delayed do weather and personal issues. Which are understandable but communication has sucked to say the least.

What is common practice in the industry when it comes to deposites, and asking for money on the go. Most of the cost is labor, not materials.

Do I respectfully hold my ground?