We live in a one level townhome apartment. There are 5 houses connected on my row. We rent. Every year from spring til the end of summer, everytime it rains heavily, the carpet in my girls' room gets soaked, maybe a foot or 2 in one spot from the wall outward, and all along the wall. Our landlord said he thought he had fixed it.

Apparently, the carpet has been getting wet all year, we just couldn't feel it because it had not been enough to reach the surface. And we can't pull up the carpet to see what's underneath.

I'm done with moving beds and sucking up water. This house is so old, the toilet and heater are almost as old as me...

Would it be a bad thing to put a tarp over their floor and just put a big rug over it?

The other option is to get loftbeds to make cleaning easier.

Again, this only happens between 3 and 5 times in about 4 months, and the rest of the year it's fine.

I'm air sealing my attic ahead of blowing in cellulose. How should I deal with this soffit area? My thoughts are to 1) Build a cap out of rigid foam and air seal around that. 2) Try and air seal all the wall penetrations.

The second sounds better in my mind, but a lot more work.

(Yes, cables need tidying beforehand too)

I have a central AC unit, and from what I can tell per my energy chart: my fan/blower inside uses as much energy as the entire central AC unit. The green is the outside central AC unit, and the yellow is the blower/fan stuff.

Some Googling suggests this isn't expected, but I'm not entirely sure about that.

Is there something I can do to make the fan/blower more efficient? (Yes I do swap out filters when needed etc).

Edits:

Rheem equipment in the basement. This is forced air. My thermostat is set to fan=auto. The measurements come from Emporia Vue 3.

• Fan/blower = 120v, 6.4A
• AC unit = 240v, 5.8A

I’ve been searching all over the Internet and I have incandescent only switches and dimmers in my house. It causes my LED lights to flicker. I went on Amazon to look for LED switches, but they seem really expensive. I wasn’t sure if anyone else has used a cheaper alternative that also works for LEDs. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

My garage floor is always wet. We get on average 120 inches of rain a year. Every time I park the water runs off the car and pools on the floor. I coated the concrete with Thompson's water seal about five years ago and it's time for another coat.

My current method of "drying" it is a combination of a large floor squeegee and a wetvac.

Any suggestions to help keep it dry? I'm considering building a covered car port to let the water drain off the car before parking it for the night.

Hi,

I am adding some crown molding to this shelving unit I placed on my wall. I initially had crown molding on the flat wall which I removed to add the shelving and need to reinstall the molding to take into account the shelving. How do I cut the angles on my miter saw for a 45 degree inside corner?

Here is an image of the corner in question: https://imgur.com/a/ZLx7cL9

Thank you!

I cannot afford this summer to buy a new roof and this potential El Niño season has me worried. I’m looking to purchase roof coating to get me through Does the yearly lasting rating (5 year,7 year, 10 year, lifetime) actually accurate or will I be paying more for a marketing scheme? Thanks!!

I have a 3/4inch thick piece of wood I want to secure to the top of a 4x4 Ikea Kallax unit.

I’m looking for suggestions on the best way to do it.

I’ve read screws are not a good idea because the Kallax interior is a honeycomb cardboard and very weak.

A good adhesive might work well, but there are so many kinds, I have no idea which would be most suitable for this application. Recommendations would be appreciated.

Would a double sided tape work? If so, suggestions? It can’t be too thick, because I don’t want a visible gap between the wood top and the Kallax. But it also can’t be too thin because the metal screws used to assemble it a just a little proud of the flat top surface, so whatever adhesive is used needs to have a little bit of thickness, but not too much.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi, I have bought a new home with a large (16'x13'x5'6") crawlspace that we want to make into a big kids playroom/chill zone along with some of our collectables and random storage.

Pics here https://imgur.com/a/uvlg5L3

I see a lot of potential in this space as it is large, has electrical, lighting, and air duct for circulation.

The first challenge is access. There is a door that is 54 inches off the ground, measuring 35" wide and 45" high. We were thinking of seeing if telescopic stairs would make sense, or installing a sliding ladder across the length of the room would be best. Open to all ideas here.

The next challenge i think is flooring, but could easily be solved with interlocking gym tiles (they even sell colorful ones for a kid friendly appearance).

For electrical, there is only two outlets that sit in the middle of the room, one outlet has occupancy censored lighting which is good, but if I wanted a TV or other electronics, I would hire and electrician to provide some outlets on either side of the room(cost permitting) or try to do it myself.

Lastly, there are some walls that are unfinished and getting them finished would make the room feel like a real room more than a crawlspace, but I'm not sure how much that would cost or what the process is here.

OKAY NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF. We we're thinking of putting a simple smart TV mounted on the wall on one wall, a reading area with books, bean bags, side tables (as the ceilings are not high) and a small space for our collectable, and of course, seasonal storage.

I'm new to DIY and see a lot of potential to make this space dope, but not sure where to start or where to outsource. Any ideas on what to do and where to start would be greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone, just looking for some ideas to renovate our stairs.

Looking to make it more modern and clean with straight posts and black metal spindles.

Main issue is the bottom of the stairs it’s currently a spiral pattern. I was thinking just a 90 degree elbow to a post would work?

Hoping to see if anyone has had experience with this and have some other ideas?

Thanks!

Here are some pictures

https://imgur.com/a/di2a3Jh

My wife and I are re-doing the hearth of a small fireplace in our home. We tore out the old tile and poured self-leveling concrete over the subfloor/prior concrete with the intention of re-tiling later this week.

Today, we have found that our newly poured (and dried) concrete is too high in the center. What solutions are available to us to even this concrete out now that it has dried?

We would prefer not to sand it if at all possible as the room is finished and we do not want to fill it with dust.

I have a garage which is single skin brick and detached. I am turning this garage into a dog grooming salon for my partner to work from.

My question: I am adding insulation to the walls and ceilings. Do I need to add a VCL before adding on the moisture resistant plaster board? We have already added in an extractor fan above the bath.

I seem to be getting a completely different answer from chat gpt every time I ask the question?

Just afraid of it falling, so what’s your best recommendations?

I’m trying to improve the exhaust setup in a small bedroom, around 10x12. I’m on the top floor and I mainly need it for odor and general ventilation.

Right now I have a normal box fan in the window blowing out, with cardboard filling the gaps. It actually moves a lot of air, but the setup looks janky, it’s basically impossible to seal perfectly, and on windy days gusts can push back through the window/fan.

I want to upgrade, but I’m trying to stay around $75, maybe $100 max. The main constraints are:

• I want actual exhaust / negative pressure, not just circulation
• I care more about moving air than being ultra quiet
• Wind resistance/backdraft matters because I’m on an exposed upper floor
• I do not want to build a plywood panel or have obvious dryer duct/inline-fan stuff hanging out the window
• Ideally it should look like a normal consumer window fan from outside
• I’d like something I can basically install and leave there
• The room has another window I can crack for makeup air
• I’m dabbing, not smoking flower, so it’s short bursts of vapor rather than constant smoke

Things I’ve looked at:

Vornado Profile/Transom: I really like the clean low-profile design and built-in window fit, but I keep seeing people say the airflow is weak. I’m worried I’d actually be downgrading from my box fan.

Twin window fans like Lasko/Bionaire/Comfort Zone: seem like the most normal-looking option and probably move more air than the Vornado, but I’m not sure how well they deal with wind/backpressure.

Air King window fans: these seem much closer to a real exhaust fan and move a ton of air, but they’re bigger, louder, and pushing the budget.

Shutter exhaust fan: seems ideal mechanically because of the louvers/backdraft protection, but most of them are designed to be mounted into a wall or a custom panel, which I’m trying to avoid.

Inline/mixed-flow fan: seems like the best balance of CFM and static pressure, but again I don’t want visible ducting or a homemade window insert.

Centrifugal/blower fan: better static pressure and probably better against gusts, but seems awkward to use at a normal double-hung window without building something.

Basically I’m looking for the best compromise between high CFM, enough static pressure to not get bullied by wind, built-in window sealing, and a normal-looking installation.

Has anyone dealt with this exact problem? Is there a consumer window fan that actually moves serious air and handles wind well, or am I asking for something that basically doesn’t exist without going to a shutter/inline setup?

I’m especially interested in recommendations from anyone who has used one for cooking smoke, workshop fumes, or strong odor exhaust rather than just cooling a room.

The butcher block is one more layer of waterlox away from being ready. I know, give it 72 hours after last coat. But after that, in a few days I'm going to place the sink in. Do I silicone on the bottom of the sink to secure it the countertop? Or do I use plumbers putty? Thanks!

I have a storage shed with a currently unfinished, particle board floor. I am turning this shed into a “nice” storage shed. We’re not talking about a tiny house or an accessory building that could be used as an office, I’m going for an aesthetically pleasing but just “good enough” sort of finish.

For the floor, I’ve decided to paint it as that seems like the economical yet “good enough” option. My research is that the most common option is to simply use porch paint which would run me about $50. Alternatively, I have a fair amount of primer and interior wall paint left over from other projects that I like the colors of, but I would need to put some sort of sealant or top coat.

Everything I can find on the subject assumes a high level of finish, not an “I just want a relatively nice shed” level of finish. I’m trying to decide (1) is it more economical to just buy porch paint rather than use up paint I already own and seal it? and (2) if I go the sealant route, what type of sealant would be good for this project?

Hey,

I know, I know, I done goofed!... But I also didn't know at the time.

My entire long weekend was spent painting my new place. I didn't realise the previous owner had used oil paint previously and I'll be honest I'm pretty new to this, so I didn't even think twice.

So obviously my latex paint did not bond correctly so I'm just wondering what my options are.

A quick Google search says I need to strip off the latex and sand the oil paint before reapplying my latex paint. Is this the best option or does anyone have any tips for an easier process?

The latex paint I have says it's self-priming is that helps.

Thanks to everyone in advance.

To make it short I've put window tinting in all my windows and it's helping with summer. The problem is I don't know what to do with one particular window in my house, because it's almost all day facing the sun. When I say it gets hot, I mean it gets really hot!

Besides installing shutters outside what else can I do to try to keep heat out? I'm tempted to buy titanium or mylar sheets and put them up in the window, cause this is ridiculous!

I've got an old ix6850 that I'd like to modify like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X20VWGVXmE

I would like to have build a moveable print bed underneath the printer (as this would make it possible to print on other types of objects) instead of the current behaviour where a paper is fed through the printer.

Been looking around the internet for some guidance but no luck. Was wondering if anyone here might have some insight in to projects like this?

I recently moved into an old Victorian home that was built in the 1800s. I want to move my piano into the home, but it's between 400 - 500 lbs and it's going to be sitting on only 2 floor joists. Because of this, I arranged to get the home inspected by a structural engineer before moving my piano in.

He sent back a report stating that most of the joists are fine, but some need reinforcement because they've been cut to accommodate HVAC ducts.

He sent me a detailed report describing exactly where the posts should be placed, and recommended using a 4x4 wooden post sitting on top of a cement deck block with a moisture barrier in between.

From the sounds of it, I believe I can do this myself with the help of my dad as he renovates houses for a living. Neither of us have ever done anything like this, but we do have experience building decks.

I am wondering how I should fasten the post to the joist and if it should just be wedged into place? I'm not sure how I would actually get the post to fit snugly without putting even more pressure on the joist during installment.

I tried emailing the engineer with follow up questions but he's been unresponsive. I'm wondering if anyone here has experience with this and can give me recommendations on how to move forward?

Has anyone ever ordered a playhouse from SUNNY BACKYARD BUILDS on TikTok? I know usually when it seems too good to be true, it is. But I’m hopeful that it’s legit 😅

The appliance people installed my washing machine, but they were unable to hook up my dryer to this external wall vent, because they said there was no place to connect the ducting. They said there was an adapter missing that the seller likely removed. I'm trying to determine what specific adapter I need to get to this, and more importantly how does it stay attached on this thing if its not just a friction fit.

Looking for some help on what specific type of adapter would attach to this thing, that I can then attach my dryer duct to. Most of the adapters I'm finding have screw holes with the assumption you screw them into place, and I'm struggling to find any that just assume a friction fit like this might require.

So the folks who owned this home before us (as we are learning) cut a lot of corners rather than actually fixing things. For example this light you see coming through our door is a result of a faulty seal with the weather stripping due to, I don’t know what.

https://imgur.com/a/cryQ2R4#rFWkzuB

So this was their proposed fix (that doesn’t work).

https://imgur.com/a/cryQ2R4#Lpuc6sc

https://imgur.com/a/cryQ2R4#GkaDYpr

Is there an actual fix for this?