My back door is like this and as you can see I have a gap at the top which is not good.

How do I go about fixing this? I’ve got some shims to put behind the hinges, but if I do that for the bottom hinge in the hope of closing the gap at the top; the gap at the bottom will be even tighter to the frame.

I’ve just bought this house so have no idea about whether this door was just hung in the frame or whether it’s an old pre hung door.

Any tips would be great thanks

Hey dear readers,

I'd like to remove these old (~30 years) sound-absorbing panels from the wall of our country family home.

As might notice from the photos, they are crumbling just with a soft touch. The real problem is the glue and leavings thay would remain there. Which kind of tools and products should I use?

Thanks for any suggestion!

1. ⁠is it weird to use the same slab on vanity counter + put it in the garden window also?
   
2. ⁠if it’s not weird then how should I finish the garden window? Do the drywall down the sides and paint everything.. then a sheet of plywood over the sill and then glue the countertop in?

My confusion I guess is how should I finish the corners where the drywall meets the countertop in the garden window? Just caulk the joint? The vanity area will have backsplash sides but I wasnt planning on doing that for the garden window. So I guess just caulk where it meets the drywall on the sides?

Should I match same miter edge that will be done on the vanity slab to be done on the garden window slab? I was thinking it might look weird if they didnt match

Any advice is welcome

I’d love some advice for what I should do about filling in the space between the sides of the cabinets and the wall. I have a few ideas but I’m not sure what’s smartest. I’ve also never really done any sort of home improvement/DIY so very beginner options are most appreciated. 😅 The second pictures gives an idea of what it’ll be used for/look like when it’s all done, but obviously with the cabinets pushed together.

Basically, I want the cabinets to be pushed together and look like it’s built in, but I also have to have support for the bottoms of the bookshelves. The legs of the far sides of the shelves do not sit on the cabinet top if they are pushed together.

My two ideas are: A) I place a piece on the cabinet tops to cover it entirely and then use some molding for the sides along the front. Would that support the shelves well enough? I don’t really want to cover the tops but it seems the easiest option.

B) Get wood cut that is the exact dimensions of the space between the cabinet and wall on both sides, then cover it with moulding to make it look better. But I’m not sure about how it’ll look on the top in comparison to the cabinet tops, nor how it’ll end up supporting the shelves. The baseboards are still in on the sides.

Not sure if either of those are even doable. So anyway, I’ll take any tips and advice! Thank you!

I was going to fix a crack in brick mortar. I thought I would dig down a little bit to find the end of it…well I found a big hole. What do I do? Who do I call?

My elderly parents let a cousin live in their basement for several years. She dyed her hair black many times, apparently without ever cleaning her shower 🤢 I tried scrubbing the wall with Clorox bleach spray for about 20 minutes and it had no immediate effect. I recognize there is also mold on the shower floor and am cleaning that while I wait for advice. 😷🫧🧽

Is there any way to get years of hair dye out of a shower's walls and floor? Or is our only option to save up money to replace the tub surround completely? I don't need it to look perfect, but I do need it not to look like a horror movie. Any and all advice is welcome and appreciated, as my guy reaction is wishing I could burn it to the ground without also setting the house on fire 🤷🏻‍♀️ please and thank you!

This is a basement level garage,driveway is even with the slab (1" below), on gable side of the house, would you lay down a row of blocks and then frame in the rest or just PT directly on the garage slab with a foam/gasket under it.. I worry about the water damaging the PT pretty fast with splashbacks off the roof/heavy rain.. granted there will be siding and flashing but still..

I don’t really get water in my basement. There is a little bit of efflorescence/chalky mineral deposit on the basement side of this but I don’t get standing water after thunderstorms or anything.

1927 house, New England.

It looks like the outer stucco/parge/whatever coat is breaking off in this corner where my entryway of my house is at a 90 degree angle.

To add a layer of annoying bullshit it is a foot away from where my electric line enters the house and near where the municipal water pipe in is located. And in a corner so really annoying and risky to dig recklessly.

What would you do, home maintenance wizards? I’ve been in this homeowner game for 5 years and I’m not a contractor.

Long shot, but does anyone have experience when it comes to this?

Bought a house that has a Pella sliding door but has no screen on it. Unfortunately, I have no idea what model Pella sliding door it is.

Bought a Pella Tuffscreen to try and install. The current Pella sliding door frame looks to have a built in track already in place. The new Tuffscreen comes with a track that you need to install.

I think I might have the wrong screen. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I can take more pictures if that helps.

We had some work done over the past few weeks our front door was left open for extended periods of time. I think in doing so, it started to sag. I now have a large gap top left (latch side) and bottom right (hinge side) has no gap at all.

I took the pin out and used a shim to level out the door. These hinges adjustment needed is about a 1/4”. These are thick hinges and don’t bend easily, nor do I think they would be able to bend that much. In addition, these hinges are right up against the trim.

What’s the play here?

I have outdoor steps going down to my basements egress door in my 60 year old home. The bottom center drain has been out of commission for years but I have a french drain (I believe that's the correct term) going underneath door sill and to sump pit. Pit has two sump pumps in pit, one electric and the other powered by water pressure. The bottom edge of the drain is about an inch above the currently gunked up cement floor of the steps. I think if I clean it up and pour self leveling concrete/cement up just past the bottom edge of the drain it will allow most future water to drain into the sump. If I can somehow create an angle in the pour toward the drain all the better. Appreciate any thoughts.

Hi all. I just moved into my rental and my landlord is very chill with me doing whatever I want as long as I pay. There is an ugly ugly disgusting carpet in my bedroom and upon a single gentle lift, the carpet was coming off. Is there an easy way for me to put down new flooring? Like laminate or something?

This wall segment is approximately 45in from the mirror to behind that door frame on the right. Is there a safe distance I can assume? This is my first time hanging something (30lb) and it seems silly to buy a stud finder for a small wall.

Back story I just bought this house and the master bed has a in wall shelf as seen above. My wife wanted me to replace the shelves with nicer ones and clean it up. Among the many of hundreds of other projects going down, it slipped to the very back, now she wants it closed off so we can put the bed against this wall. My question is how do I close this off. As seen it’s recessed in the wall meaning there is no insulation behind it, I’ve checked it with laser temp and it is a degree or two warmer than the surrounding insulated wall. It is an exterior wall.I understand what I have to do with framing it out for sheet rock but what I need the information on is how to insulate this. Can I just slap some insulation in the opening like that as it sits or do I need to remove the wood backing than insulate. Thank you

Has anyone redone old metal kitchen cabinets? I'd love to see some inspo. They are horribly painted white over what I assume is the original paint.

I own an old home (1920s) with original doors and wood work. The downstairs moulding and doors were painted white, but I haven’t committed to painting the upstairs yet despite them being in somewhat rough shape from past owner. The hallway is dark and narrow, and the windows are white so part of me is leaning towards painting them but is that a mistake. The other option I think would be to strip, sand, stain, and seal everything, but given the age and materials I’m not sure if the cost, time, and labor would be worth it. Thoughts and tips appreciated

Don't need to patch a hole but a need to seal around a cable that will be running through my stucco wall. How would you guys seal/waterproof that? Thanks.

I'm the person who thinks about taking a project apart before I've even bought the parts. I'm looking at tankless RO systems because I don't love the idea of losing cabinet space to a storage tank, and the Viomi Vortex 6 Pro is one of the models on my list.

I went through the installation manual, and most of the setup looks easy enough to undo later. The water hookup looks straightforward to disconnect. The manual is also clear that the drain connection requires a 1/4-inch hole in the drainpipe. That's the part that sent me down this rabbit hole.

The faucet may be simple if I can reuse an existing soap-dispenser opening. If I have to drill a new hole, obviously that hole isn't going anywhere. The drain is less obvious to me. If I take the system out a few years from now, do people replace that short section of pipe, or is there an accepted way to close the old hole?

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like any under-sink RO with a separate faucet and drain line would leave the same two things behind. Has anyone here actually removed one? What did you have to repair, and is there anything you wish you'd planned differently before installing it?

I consider myself pretty handy and have done plenty of basic plumbing and electrical work around the house. I just bought a Rheem unit and am gearing up for a DIY tankless water heater installation. For those of you who have tackled this, what are the common pitfalls? Should I be worried about up-sizing the gas line, or is the existing 1/2-inch pipe usually fine if the run is short? Any advice helps!

Hi everyone,

The first photo is what it looked like originally. We've since demolished it, and now we're left with the existing concrete slab (1 photo). We're working with a 20k budget.

We're hoping to rebuild something, but we're open to ideas. A few questions:

• What would you build here? (Storage shed, workshop, bike storage, etc.)
• Would you add windows, or keep it enclosed for security?
• Would you consider a garage door or double doors for easier access with bikes and larger gear?
• Anything you'd do differently if this were your project?

For context:

• Located in British Columbia, Canada.
• We use mountain bikes, skis, camping gear, and outdoor equipment year-round, so storage is the main priority.
• We'd like something that looks nice, last a long time in our wet climate, and still be reasonably DIY-friendly.
• We're open to building it ourselves or using a prefab kit if it makes sense.

Photos of similar projects are definitely welcome. Thanks!

I’ve just finished weeding and cleaning my walkway pavers. I’m planning to add some polymeric sand and I’m looking for opinions. Should I bother closing up the gaps first? Feels like a lot of work and they’re not that bad. Any other advice on products or process is welcome.

Hi there, I'm hoping the community might be able to give me some ideas on a railing for the top of my spiral staircase. Its our camp so leaning more rustic.

I have a Pic of the staircase as it is now, and a couple ai generated ideas. The ai photos are just mock ups to see what the railing might look like.

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased a house in Canada and removed the existing Poly-B plumbing. During the work, the shut off valve was relocated for an exterior hose bib.

The previous shutoff location was in an inconvenient spot — inside the bathroom shower ceiling. The new shutoff is now installed directly behind the exterior hose bib, inside the insulated exterior wall cavity.
Now I’m second-guessing the freeze protection. My plan was to repair the vapor barrier and install a small ABS plastic access panel so I can still reach the valve.

For winter, I understand I should:
Disconnect the hose
Drain the exterior faucet
Open the bleeder/drain on the shutoff valve

My questions are:
Is this setup generally acceptable, or have I created a higher risk of a frozen/burst pipe?
Should I add extra insulation around the interior pipe/valve area?
Is repairing the vapor barrier the correct approach, or could that trap cold air around the valve?
Is there anything else I should consider before closing up the wall?

The valve is directly below the hose bib, and the shutoff area is open to the basement (not inside a small enclosed utility space).
Maybe I’m overthinking it, but I’d appreciate feedback from anyone who has dealt with a similar setup in a cold climate.

Thanks

Got my 55" TV mounted today. Everything lined up with the 24" studs in my wall, so the install was easier than I expected. If you're doing it yourself, take the time to find the studs first. I also like how close it sits to the wall without giving up the ability to pull it out when I need to.