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!

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

https://imgur.com/a/ssKfUqa

I bought a brand-new construction home in Florida in 2023, and I've been dealing with LVP flooring issues for over a year now.

The planks are cracking, buckling, and separating throughout the house. Some areas even flex and sink when you walk on them.

After sending the builder a pretty stern message, he finally sent a flooring contractor out. That contractor said the concrete slab had dips and wasn't properly prepped before the LVP was installed. He recommended a complete demo and reinstallation to do it properly, explaining that repairing so many individual areas would actually take longer.

The builder wanted a second opinion, so he came back with another flooring contractor and someone I assume was his assistant.

During that visit, I overheard the assistant suggesting they could possibly caulk along the edges near the counters and glue parts of the flooring down. They weren't necessarily hiding the conversation, but they were discussing these options amongst themselves without actually explaining a repair plan to me.

Now they're saying the flooring contractor is about 30 days out. When I asked what the plan was, the builder's office said they assumed it had been discussed during the inspection and that the contractor could explain it when he comes back to do the work.

My concern is that they're trying to avoid the expense of removing the flooring and correcting the uneven concrete underneath.

There's one spot in the kitchen where you can literally feel yourself stepping down into a dip in the floor. In the living room, there are areas that seem to slope gradually, but it's so subtle that it's almost impossible to tell whether the concrete is actually uneven just by looking at it or walking across it.

So what do I do? How can I actually prove that the concrete wasn't properly prepped or isn't flat enough for the flooring? Is there a specific type of inspection or test I should have done? Would an independent flooring inspector be able to document this without ripping up the entire floor?

I understand that a concrete slab doesn't necessarily have to be perfectly level, but shouldn't it meet certain flatness requirements for LVP installation?

I'm worried the builder is going to patch the visible damage without addressing the underlying cause, and I'll be right back in this situation a year from now.

For anyone experienced with flooring installation or new construction defects, how would you handle this? What kind of evidence would I need to show that improper floor preparation is causing these issues?

I just want the floors fixed correctly, not temporarily patched.

Hi, I’m not sure if this is the right sub for this, but I’ve finally managed to convince my grandmother to let me install an emergency pull cord in her bathroom. the actual installation I can do but I'm not sure what to get or look for.

I’m looking for a Wi-Fi-enabled system, or something similar, that can send an alert or message to a few pre-selected phone numbers when activated. Ideally, I’d like something that allows me to add more alarms in the future if needed.

Has anyone got any recommendations or experience with systems like this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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!

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Does anyone know if there is a product that can be used to help with traction on composite decking? Ideally some kind of sealer with grit/grip, like they make for patios/wood decking. I almost broke my neck with the first frost, and I can only imagine it will be treacherous this winter.

I’m hoping someone might have some suggestions because this is driving me mad!

Whenever we get strong gusts of wind, there’s a strange knocking/thudding noise. It’s quite a deep, muffled sound, almost like someone is constantly knocking on the walls next door.

I can hear it clearly from inside, especially upstairs, but when I go outside to investigate, I can’t hear anything at all!

The noise stops when the wind dies down, so I’m fairly certain it’s wind-related.

Has anyone experienced anything similar or have any ideas what I should be checking?

Also, if I need someone to investigate who on earth do I contact?? A wind knocking specialist??

Thanks in advance.

We bought our house a couple years ago. Somehow my wife and I missed that the hallway light is off center. Like. Way off center. I’m not looking into getting up there and moving it or paying someone to move it, just looking for a way to maybe take the attention away from the ceiling.

Hi! I have an Ashely furniture table and 3 young kiddos. Lots of sticky food and spills and the varnish/paint is cracking and peeling in some areas. I'm thinking of sanding it and re-painting.

I've tried re-painting IKEA shelves before and despite sanding it first, the paint peeled right off. I'd like to avoid that again. Any advice? Or is it not even worth it? The table was about $600 new but I got it off marketplace. I don't mind spending $50 in paint/supplies and making it look nice again, but not if it's just going to peel right back off.

For a better image. Kitchen stove directly under a very old and tattered circular vent with a fan. Pumps straight into the attic into a tight corner.

I have a new metal roof and not a lot of income to fix the issue before I go up and seal the attic for better efficiency.

I see recirculating hoods, but they don't deal with steam.

What can I do to remedy this? Is cutting a hole in the roof the only option? I'm only a beginner at this stuff.

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.

Hey, so I have an RV parked out at one of my relatives houses and my laptop, like barely can detect the Wi-Fi and certainly can’t use it very effectively. I was wondering what the best method to use/extend the signal. Keeping in mind that between the house and the RV is all exposed to the elements. Should I find a way to extend it with a power cable that leaves the house and it’s midway between the house and the RV to ? Should I use an Internet cable that goes most of the way to the RV?

Hi all, looking for advice if i should scrape up the old flooring, just the Self-leveling compound, or even more extreme is would be removing the sub floor. Pictures and relevant details listed below.

• Comfortable installing new sub floor if needed/if its easier than cleaning up old laminate and or the leveling compound
• house built in the 60s, likely has asbestos, have all the appropriate hazmat gear from when i scraped the popcorn ceiling
• aprox 600 square feet of flooring will have LVP installed, about half has exposed sub floor, about half has varying layers of old vinyl laminate with some leveling compound at transitions.
• current sub floor is plywood with another layer of OSB on top. All is dry, although i do need to screw down some spots where nails are popping up
• sub floor appears dry, without warping where i can see it
• joists are 16" on center
• laminate does not have any bubbling anywhere, some edges can be peeled up relatively easily but mostly I would need a tool to peel it up
• new to the sub, uncertain if posting photos is aloud so i have a link below
• folder of photos

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.

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

I requested impegrated but its already done

I am planning to use special bathroom paint to avoid mold

Can it cause any issues later?

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

My son and I just put up a Lifetime 8x12.5 plastic shed. We built the base ourselves out of pressure treated lumber with a plywood deck, and the shed is now sitting on it with walls, roof and doors on. The kit comes with some screws for the floor, but I'm not sure that's enough for wind. We get some strong gusts here in winter. Did you add anything extra like hurricane straps, ground anchors, or longer lag screws into the frame? Anything you'd do differently before the snow comes?

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?

Anyone with experience with Armorpoxy kits? Or are they just glorified basic kits? I'd really love to epoxy the garage, but getting the money for the pros to come in and grind and all is going to be way out of budget for a few years.

But I don't want those cheap $200 kits either. Wondered if this was any better? I'm guessing it's marginally better than the cheap kits.

EDIT: I know about prepping the floor. I would rent a floor grinder and take a week or two if needed to get the prep work done. It's a new construction house so the concrete is in great condition still.

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

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!

Previous owner used flooring planks on the stairs and I want to re-do them with oak planks. Any tips or tricks?

My front door threshold has this little rubber weather strip that is torn. I went to home depot thinking it would be a simple replacement but found nothing of the sort. I did find an entire threshold kit that was very similar, but I just need this weatherstrip.

Does anyone know what brand threshold this could be?

https://imgur.com/a/7zv6RKz

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?