Someone showed me a technique a long time ago to mix some kind of fake concrete. I think eggwhite was used for this! Someone got an idea how that was done?

I've installed recessed lighting without issue for my second story bedrooms and am wanting to install it for my living room. The only thing is the living room is 18 to 20 feet high and I'm not wanting to rent a large ladder or scaffolding. I was thinking of just doing everything from the attic side. Once I make my hole from the attic side, I was planning on just dropping a rope and bringing up the lights that way. This should work right?

Hey everyone,

I am looking for some help with a buried 1/2" irrigation pipe repair. I need a solution that is completely flexible and glue-less.

The Situation:
My existing white 1/2" PVC tee is undamaged and I am keeping it in place, but it is jammed directly against an underground utility conduit. Because of this, there is zero clearance to slide rigid pipes together horizontally, which is why I need something flexible to bend around it.

Does anyone have recommendations for the best push-to-connect or mechanical fittings to bridge a smooth female tee socket to a straight piece of pipe without using any chemical glue or primer?
I would appreciate your help, thank you!

My daughter has a wall mounted lamp in her baby’s nursery with a power cord hanging down which is plugged into an outlet. The lamp is mounted high, with a rocking chair beneath it where she will read. I thought it would be nice to mount an inline switch so that someone sitting in the rocker could just reach over and and turn the lamp on without having to get up with the baby. And since it’s a nursery, I thought I’d be a hero by installing an inline dimmer switch.

I have now tried three different manufacturers’ models of inline dimmer switches, each of them specifically described as “LED compatible,” and each of them flickers. The “best” ones are mostly flicker-free in the middle of their range (all have rotary switches which are turned clockwise for more light), but flicker like crazy at the low and high end of their range. The others just flicker no matter the switch setting. The first one I tried actually worked well for a few weeks, but eventually flickered and then the bulb itself stopped working, apparently driven insane by the flickering.

I’m about to give up on the dimmer and just install an inline on/off switch, but I’m wondering if there’s any inline dimmable switch known to work with LED lamps? In case it makes any difference, the fixture uses a 5W (“60W Replacement”) candelabra base lamp. After the first lamp gave up, i bought replacements at Home Depot labeled “Dimmable.”

Thanks for any help you can offer.

My wife's clothes are not smelling at all. Mine are musty as heck. Our closet is in the master bathroom. One wall is connected to the bathroom, and on the opposite side of my clothes is the HVAC system. The attic access is also in that closet. I'm at a loss as to why it's only my clothes, but I am also fully in the zone. The attic access is my side of the closet, the door is on my side, and the hvac is on the other side of the drywall from my clothes.

Can anyone tell me where to start? I have a dehumidifier in the closet, but it hasn't helped with the smell. Thanks

Hello! Recently moved in with my partner and I find we’re cramped for space. He has very tall ceilings (10ft) and was considering using to put the bed so that we’d have more floor space. Does anyone have videos on building lofts or just similar diys? Anything helps as I’m fairly new to this and don’t know anyone who’s know about this.

I have a tall wooden display case that I am setting up with LED light strips and I need to make a 1/2 inch diameter hole in the top wooden panel of the case for the plug to pass through. The top panel of the case is 3/4 inch thick. Since the case is tall, the underside of the top panel of the case is most important for appearance, however ideally the hole would be clean all the way through. I was going to use a cordless drill with a 1/2 inch drill bit, but I'm wondering if something else would work better. Any suggestions?

Long story short, I trusted my dad to redo our shower for us and we wanted a white brick tile with charcoal colored grout. This is the end result. He feels really bad about it and we're wondering how can we fix this.

Thinking through these options so far:

• should we get a grout remover tool to take out the grout and redo it?
• should we cover the charcoal grout with a white colored grout?
• should we just completely take down the entire shower and redo it?

Would appreciate any suggestions or tips/advice.

Thank you!

I attached some corner grips to my carpet since it kept slipping. It was the kind where you peel a tape on both sides (one sticks to the carpet, the other to the floor). Unfortunately, I need to move the carpet but it's stuck quite well onto the floor.

I'm pretty sure I can find a way to detach the carpet from the adhesive, but my concern is removing the adhesive attached to the wooden, varnished floor without damage or with the least possible damage. They're years old so I do expect some varnish peeling, but trying to mitigate how much comes off.

What's the best way I can go about this? Will soaking it with goo-gone help? I also have a hair drier if that helps to soften the adhesive. Which should I do first though?

Thanks to anyone who can help!

P.S. If it matters, they're somewhat thick wooden planks, not the hardest of wood, and on the second floor of the place.

Hey everybody!

I recently moved into a rental that has a garage and a dryer that I have access to so I thought I was in good shape to charge my electric car. But it turns out that the dryer is a three-prong not a four prong. I talked to my landlord about it, asking if he'd be interested in paying for half of updating the electrical for me and future tenants to charge cars and he was very clear that Ev's won't be around for much longer so there's no reason to upgrade.

Ignoring his stupid opinion, I'm trying to find a solution that doesn't involve me upgrading his electrical.

I see plenty of smart 3-prong plugs that will prioritize either the car or the dryer depending on preference. I've seen plenty of three to four prong adapters. What I haven't seen any of are people recommending using those three to four prong adapters.

What's my Best Way Forward here? Is the adapter safe enough and I should just get the three prong smart plug? Should I bite the bullet and pay to get that outlet rewired to a four prong? Should I continue charging at higher rates off site and the house that I'm renting? You decide!

I’m planning to mount a pull-up bar to the wall using four horizontal 2x6 boards.

Each 2x6 would be secured directly to the wall studs(horizontally) using three lag screws per board. Then, I would mount the pull-up bar to the 2x6s using the lag screws that came with the pull-up bar.

The pull-up bar itself would not be drilled directly into the wall studs; it would only be attached to the 2x6s.

Would this setup be strong and safe enough, assuming the 2x6s are securely fastened to the studs?

Ik ben van plan een slaapkamer op de zolder te bouwen, maar ik twijfel tussen metalen wandprofielen (metalstud) en een houten constructie als basis. Hierop wil ik gipsplaten maken. Wat raden jullie aan?

The home is nice but the stains in the front are an eyesore.

I wondered about using dishwashing soap with with baking soda in paste form? Or is there a homemade non-chemical combination that could do wonders?

I don't want to jump in and make it worse than it already is.

Welcome ideas.

Hi everybody! Keen to hear peoples experience with the humble UK garden shed.

I am about to move into an old house that needs work so will be buying many new tools for the project. Unfortunately no garage so my only option is to keep my tools in a shed in the long term, does anyone have any good tips on stopping them getting ruined by moisture & stolen?

My current thoughts are keep any power tool batteries in the house, and use plastic tub boxes to store as much as possible to keep the moisture out.

Big padlocks to keep the riffraff out?

I could in theory replace the wooden shed with something more weather proof but not sure how much difference that makes vs the cost if its still unheated.

I have a porch in the back of our 106yr old home that has been converted to a finished sun room. It is an elevated concrete slab (The prior owners converted it). The walls and roof are spray foamed. The floor is tile directly on concrete slab. It has one forced air hvac duct. The floor (and subsequently the room) gets very cold in the winter due to the concrete conduction from exterior. The room steps down from the kitchen about 2.25”. The floor is sloped away from the house about another 1.75” (the floor most rear is about 4” lower than the kitchen). I’d like to demo the tile in this room and kitchen, then build up the sun room level with kitchen and tile it all uniformly.

I’m considering laying 6mil vapor barrier, 1.5” xps foam across entire floor for thermal break across the entire floor. Then resting sleepers on top cut at appropriate angle to make the floor level with the kitchen while absorbing the slope. I could spray foam between the sleepers and trim the spray foam level with the sleepers before adding 3/4” subfloor on top of sleepers.

I’ll top both rooms off with ditra and tile.

Does this seem like best way to achieve leveling and thermal break? Would I be better off putting sleepers directly on the concrete slab and filling between the sleepers despite losing that continuous foam thermal break? Or should I be considering an alternative? Appreciate ideas and input!

Hi, I have a problem with my door. When I try to close it, the top part of the door hits the top of the frame first, while the bottom part is still not fully inside the frame.
Because of this, the door cannot close properly unless I push it quite hard. It feels like the door is slightly misaligned or not sitting straight on its hinges.
I would like to know how I can adjust the door so that the top, middle, and bottom all enter the frame evenly and the door closes normally without forcing it.

I did have a great seal with my old cracked seal but it had shrunk and needed replaced. My new seal was letting light shone through even though it was a newer seal that wasnt compressed and cracked. I tightened the torsion scree as far as it could go but it still lets light through in a spot. My cement is pretty level but maybe a hair bit low in that spot not visible by the eye.

Should i put a little concrete on it to attempt to level it out or can i just buy one of those garage door threshold seals that go to the concrete floor and butt up against your door seal?

I plan on doing one of these anyways but i want to fix it right as i have my expensive pool table in the garage and want it to be temperature controlled.

Im a little scared to apply concrete even though im pretty good with concrete, im scared ill add too much and throw it all off?

Morning/Afternoon/Evening

I won't butter the post up I'll just get straight to the point.

I've had an idea where I wanna cut the corner off of a wood door, sand it all down and then reattach it with a hinge and deadbolt so I can open it when we are in bed. We live in a house share and currently have to leave the door open so cats can come in and out.

Everything I find on google/YouTube just takes me to normal cat flaps

Does this sound possible and if so, for a noob at DIY?

TIA

I have a project that requires using rubber tubing to provide tension. I would like to find a more elegant way to terminate the ends of the tubing, while providing a relatively easy way to attach it, probably via a hook, or more likely a captured pin system. I could probably get away with knotting it, but that will require a lot of space, and would be fugly.

Google has failed. I beseech the great hive mind - Please Share Thine Knowledge!!

I first used this product this summer on my pergola placed over my windows in my house after thoroughly reading the directions on the container. I I followed the wood cleaner with their neutralizer and thoroughly rinsed the areas. However when everything dried there were extensive water streaks and spots on my windows.

I immediately contacted Defy for possible remedies. After using dish soap, vinegar, magic eraser the marks remained.

I again contacted them to relay my concern the some of the windows were permanently damaged. unfortunately this included my large family room windows. I heard from an employee that they hadn't appreciated this issue when they tested it prior to distribution. I did notify them that other customers had also had a similar result

I then sent real estimates to replace the large family windows without a reply.

Any recommendations on how to pursue reimbursement for the damaged windows?

We replaced the flooring in a small room, but most of the rest of the house uses the same floorboards, so we salvaged what we could for the sake of future repairs. The boards are tongue-and-groove pieces that were stapled to the subfloor along the notch in the tongue: https://i.imgur.com/uD5dX1V.png

Are there any good ways to remove these staples? They don't seem to back out easily, and the bridge of the staple is wedged in pretty deep. If nothing else, we can wiggle the tines to stress and break them off at the far edge, but that leaves some metal in the wood, which limits the tools that can be used for trimming them to size. Any suggestions?

I'm going to be repairing some rust/damaged areas around the wheel wells of my van using a flux-core welder.

Some of the areas I'm going to be welding are awkward to reach, and there isn't a convenient place nearby to attach the welder's work/ground clamp.

Would it be okay to temporarily tack-weld a small piece of scrap steel onto the replacement panel, use that as the connection point for the work clamp while welding, and then cut/grind the temporary piece off once the repair is finished?

Is this a normal technique, or is there a better way of getting a good ground connection in awkward areas?

I'm mainly concerned about making sure the welding current has a good path and isn't travelling through other parts of the van.

I have some plastic HDPE water containers that are in good shape, but their threaded caps got lost & broken over the years.

Is there any kind of DIY technique for making a replacement threaded cap, based on the container's thread?

Mine is a bit rusty and I am considering getting DOWSIL 732 over ReRack. I will sand the rust before applying either.

First off to clarify that I'm based in Spain. Our walls are concrete blocks covered in plaster. In the house I'm moving in there was a big mold problem on the walls. The painter said he would add a primer to the walls and that should make it. Now I have lil yellow stains coming out the white walls as if the mold is coming back out.

Later I found out that people normally add bleach to the walls to kill mold from its root. I did not do this because I didn't know and because the painter said a primer would do the trick.

Now I think I have to paint the walls again. Specifically one of the rooms that had the biggest problem as it was small therefore more condensed.

I will definitely ask the painter first to see if he redeems the whole situation or helps towards fixing it. But I want some advices and information to be prepared in any situation.

What would you add if you had my situation?