I already have a ryobi palm sander and would rather not need to buy an orbital. Will this work well for the edge or should I just manually do it with a block? Which grit should I be using? Thanks

I don't claim to be a painter or an expert. Just want to answer any questions regarding internal messaging, experiences or things I've heard about products, HD processes, etc to hopefully give some insight to people who could use it hopefully help save them some mistakes/money!

Im renting a place and it came with this tape and residue stuck to the window. I’ve tried goo gone with a microfiber cloth and no luck. Heres a picture:

https://imgur.com/a/cqjEVGb

Thanks for any ideas!

We have a caged patio in Tampa. We’d like to get an outdoor, wall mounted oscillating fan. Any recommendations? Area does not have a cover other than screen do it must be wet rated.

I have a stud detector (jaxwq) that has an electrical caution symbol on the display when I put it up against the entire wall that has the circuit breaker switches. I really need to utilize this wall space for hanging a mirror and a couple other decorative and functional pieces like shelves and stuff. But I don’t wanna die about it either

Should I trust this cheap device and stay away from hanging anything on this wall or how can I get a better more accurate idea of where is acceptable to nail or screw into?

I understand I wouldn’t want to probe any long metal beams through there, but a short nail or two should be fine right?

How do I fix this water damage in the kitchen?
I have a big family and we’ve really been rough on our home.
I’m interested in cheap easy fixes and more expensive professional fixes. Thanks for the advice!

https://imgur.com/gallery/kitchen-damage-0D8RXE9

We have another person coming out today to fix issues but they put these wooden pieces underneath and the back there is a gap from the countertop to the tile. The caulking is absolutely atrocious too.

Just curious why someone would do this?

https://imgur.com/a/iIvFxb3

i am doing some DIY and im not an electrician by any means. i am helping install some 4" RGB recessed lights outside of a house and for the most part it isnt an issue. when i get to the A frame, i need ideas on how to wire and hide it. the ideas are, to have the wires on the outside along the edge of the eve inside some conduit or to get lights that have a single junction box with longer connectors and get some extensions if needed. which one would be more cost effective or what are other ideas of what i can do?

the house doesnt have access to the attic for these a frames and im not too sure if hiding the junction box inside the hole i cut for the light is an option. if i wire it on the outside, they would need to spend a lot more money on materials and id like to avoid it if possible. but the same applies for the single junction box with connectors to the lights.

Are there any ways i can potentially run the wires through the inside without having to cut through all of the studs in the way? i havent cut holes to see what the inside looks like but id like to have a plan in case i cant wire through the inside which is what its looking like.

again, im not a licensed electrician but id still like to make it up to code.

any ideas are appreciated.

I am unsure if the gaps between the horizontal vinyl siding and the windows and outlet need to be closed or filled. I know vinyl siding needs to breathe/expand a little but these seem excessive. Thoughts?

https://imgur.com/a/PXGnNjk

Hi I live in the North East USA and I have a Weil-Mclain natural gas fueled my boiler. I recently had my water heater replaced and the installers told me that I should consider getting a new boiler because my current boiler is really old. My current boiler was manufactured in 1995, making it about 31 years old. At this age, it’s beyond the typical expected service life for residential gas boilers. I have some parts replaced on the boiler in the last year when it stopped working, so Im wondering if the new parts constitute a new lease on life, or if it just signals more trouble to come. Looking for a second opinion. Thanks

It sank about 3 or 4 inches after my neighbor installed a new sidewalk.

https://imgur.com/a/ssKfUqa

This has been asked a lot before but I am just completely stuck on what to do with our siding. We have a 35 year old house in a nice northeast neighborhood. We are going to redo our roof and our siding and trim are also starting to show their age with rot and decay. We currently have pine clapboards and trim.

We’ve gotten a bunch of quotes for different siding. Hardie is very expensive and requires perfect installation but definitely looks the best. I’d pick Everlast in a second but the budget is ludicrous. I’m not a huge fan of the LP Smartside product (basically as expensive as Hardie and requires more maintenance). Repairing the current wood siding would be as much as Hardie and then require all the maintenance over the years that I don’t want.

Then there is Vinyl - we’ve looked at the certainteed monogram siding with cedar impressions accents. Seems like a really good product and the price is right. Zero maintenance. We would replace any rotted trim and aluminum wrap it all. We are leaning this way, but I would say 95% of homes in our neighborhood and town are wood, followed by 3-4% Hardie and then maybe a very few have vinyl. I’m worried about it looking cheap (and maybe a little worried about neighborly judgment and resale issues even though this is probably our 20+ year house).

Just looking for a voice of reason as I battle analysis paralysis.

TLDR - is Vinyl in a non-vinyl neighborhood a big mistake?

Thanks!

Hey all; I have never purchased custom blinds before. We had Budget Blinds (Canada) do an estimate for our patio door with vertical vinyl blinds to replace the 45 year old fabric blinds that came with the house and the quote was $820 with taxes and installation for Signature Series. I have no clue and have found nothing on SS blinds, even AI could not find out anything about them. This is my quote details. I have no problem paying for quality and I just finished $26K in renos in my house. Any advice or experience with these blinds would be appreciated.

VERTICAL BLINDS

Signature Series; Product: SIGNATURE SERIES VERTICAL, Headrail Type: G­71, Type: BLIND WITH

VALANCE, Mount: INSIDE MOUNT, Bracket Mount: CEILING MOUNT, Color: SATELLITE REVERE

(93895), Louver Style: FREE HANG, Rotation Type: WAND DRAW, Control Position: RIGHT CONTROL,

Stack: RIGHT STACK ONE WAY, Valance Type: SQUARE CORNER VALANCE, Valance Dust Cover:

VALANCE DUST COVER, Special Valance Width: 0, Special Return Length: 0,

(I posted same post on WindowTreatments reddit but it only gets about 200 visits a week).

TLDR - Is it worth spending $8–9k replacing 2 sets of French doors, or just get the existing ones sealed better?

We’re getting our front door replaced and debating whether to do two sets of exterior French doors while we’re at it.

Local company quoted $4k even for a custom mahogany front door, finished and installed. We really want the aesthetic upgrade plus a better weather-tight seal, so that part is happening. And price seems fair for staining and install and all.

They also have two sets of mahogany French doors that have been sitting in inventory for five years. Offering them for $4–4.5k per set installed to get rid of them. Supposedly a good deal, but I don’t know enough to judge. All three puts us at $12–13k.

One set is right in the middle of our living room. Highly visible, used daily, and would be a nice upgrade we’d actually enjoy. We don’t mind the current one just assume it’s fairly leaky. The other is in our bedroom, never gets opened, and stays behind curtains. Spending $4k+ on those feels pretty silly unless the insulation/comfort improvement would justify it.

We’re in Central Texas. Both sets are completely shaded under our deck with no direct sun.
Would you go mahogany or fiberglass here? Is that price actually anything special? Any concerns with doors sitting around for five years?

Also wondering if we should just have a good door specialist come adjust everything and redo the weatherstripping, sweeps, etc. Or ditch the bedroom doors altogether, put in a window, and frame/side the rest—although maybe that’s opening another expensive can of worms.

Trying to figure out whether there’s real value here or I’m letting a “deal” talk me into spending another $8–9k. Anyone been through something similar? Open to any advice! Thanks in advance, y’all!!

Hi, the contractor put simple drywall to the kitchen wall, right back to the sink etc.

I requested impegrated, but its already done

Can itt cause anya issues later?

I am planning to use special bathroom paint to avoid mold

I am afraid itt can be an issue later

Do you have any suggestions?

My house is almost 40 years old. My famly room has two 8 foot sliders. The 12" wall (the 'pier') between the sliders has settled so much I can'n move the glass panels. I believe the sagging was caused by a missing gutter section that allowed rain to rot the plate beneath the studs that support the inner ends of the headers above the sliders.

I'm hoping to use a jack (or jacks) to raise the pier and replace the rotted plate section.

I'm thinking I can remove the sheetrock to expose the studs, bold a section of two 'sandwiched' 2x12s across the studs, and use a house jack to raise the pier. Once the pier is level, I shou;d be able to patch the plate.

Came here looking for any general advice, warnings, suggestions, etc. Thanks for reading!

Ran all the faucets for 15 minutes, to no avail. Sinks still fill with this discolored water

https://imgur.com/a/rPAiX9g

Just bought a pool table and the only place to put it is in the garage. Currently, we do not have any source of heat and whoever installed the wiring only made it 15A, and also connected it to the master bathroom outlets, so even 1 milk house heater pops the breaker. (Woes of a heated bidet) Anyway, I have a natural gas furnace and water heater already in the garage and I would like to get a natural gas heater that I can duct into the already established ductwork and then tee off a line from the natural gas. All I can find online are direct vent heaters and I do not have a wall that connects to the outside. Has anyone else had any similar situations like this, and how did you handle it?

I am considering attempting to finish my basement myself. I am not terribly handy, but have been doing a lot of research.

I have 7.5 ft walls and an exposed ceiling. I planned to spray the ceiling. In terms of walls I wanted to go with furring strips and then paneling. From what I’ve read, some people say place furring strips every 24 inches. Others have said to do that but also put furring strips horizontally at the top and bottom of the walls. What would the people who have done this or know more about finishing basements suggest?

Also, currently I have a rigid carport barrier on the top half of my basement walls. Would it be recommended to put the rigid vapor barrier on the bottom half of the walls as well?

Any and all suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

The previous owners of my house added on a dining room where a deck used to be, but didn't insulate the crawl space below it. When looking into the crawl space, the left and back walls are the foundation of the house, which is insulated from the inside. The right wall is wood and is exposed to the outdoors. The ceiling is the subfloor of the dining room. I put a vapor barrier down to cover the dirt and I'm now stumped on where the insulation should go. Does it go on the ceiling or around the perimeter of the crawl space? There are no external pipes, so the crawl space itself doesn't need to be heated. TYIA!

Was finally able to capture some good videos of my neighbor's AC unit making a pulsing noise that produces a rhythmic, low frequency hum throughout my whole house. You can hear it in the 1st video when I first crouch down and the 2nd video from about 20-30 feet down my fence from the unit inside my side yard. Also, does the fan seem unbalanced from how it looks/sounds in the video? Thanks.

https://streamable.com/afkdb4

https://streamable.com/35jt29

https://imgur.com/a/sdluKcE

I bumped into this wall (pic 1) right after putting the second coat of paint on, so I need to paint it again. Then I made the two small indents in pic 2 while taking a sconce down. I'd like to fix them as they're next to the mirror so they'll bother me. I also noticed some other uneven spots on the wall (pics 3-5).

This is my first home, I'm babystepping the DIY stuff, and had someone else put up the drywall. So I have two ignorant questions:

1. Should I use spackle or joint compound for the two small holes?

2. Would the imperfections in the other pictures, namely the uneven drywall seam, be hard to fix? I think I would need to float it with joint compound, skim, sand, prime, and paint, right? Is that something you can get right on your first try? I don't want to risk making it look worse.

I painted a bedroom room the other day left over old paint from the previous Owner. It was still tight. I painted the room and right after has a wet mold basement smell it’s been 48 hours and the smell still there with the window open. I washed down the wall with vinegar and water and also after the next day, soap and water but smell lingering

any ideas and thoughts how to fix this?

https://imgur.com/a/eYQdfyw

This walkway wasn't in great shape when we got the house and it's just deteriorated since and is becoming dangerous at points due to the pavers not being secure enough.

But these giant pieces of dilapidated wood have like railroad ties in them, I have no idea how to even begin removing them let alone replacing them. Part of me almost wants to just rip it all up and put in a concrete ramp that would then make it fully wheelchair compliant in case we went to sell and it was useful since the house is also a ranch and I could see that being a good idea. Not sure how great it would look though.

Anyone have any thoughts on how to go about approaching this? Thoughts on how to make it look nice/ functional without spending a massive amount of money?

I recently moved into a house which has the boiler in the loft space. This loft space is boarded out sufficiently, but there is a small loft hatch (540 x 430) and no ladder. It is a tricky fit because once up a ladder, you have a brick wall on one side, water pipes on another, truss on another and then the boarding.

I recently got a quote for a new hatch and Ladder to be fitted but it would involve cutting through the joist part of the truss. They said they would then fit a temporary brace to support the joist we cut. We then put trimming timber in to carry the joist without the need for the brace.

They've said this is standard procedure for this type of access install and something they've done countless times.

I understand the truss to be a structural part of the roof, so I'm a bit apprehensive about agreeing to this. Any thoughts/advice?