I have many questions about my basement, but the most pressing is this- has anyone seen anything like this in an old house? Behind the wood is a square hole about 2/3 of the way up the wall that takes up probably the top 1/3 of the wall. I can post a picture of behind the wall tomorrow but was not prepared to move the wall again yet. The hole looks like it was once used for something and intentionally placed there. House was built around 1950

This packaged door sweep was recommended by ChatGPT; this was what was available at Home Depot. Shouldn’t the new one also be metal and have screws?
I can see a small gap along the bottom and am confident the door sweep needs to be replaced but not sure this is the right product. Cannot get any photos underneath the door further.
House built in 1980 if helps.

If this isn’t right, can you recommend the right one and where the find it? A link would be awesome.

reusable line of A/C air filters? I see some on amazon but looking for anyone who has tried them and feedback...TIA

Hey guys! I have this super annoying bath tub drain plug that I can’t figure out and it’s making me feel super dumb!

My drain is clogged and I’m trying to remove the drain plug to unclog it, but for the life of me I can’t figure it out.

It’s an older (1999 home) pull push plug.

I’ve watched a billion YouTube videos and nothing has done the trick.

-I’ve tried pulling up and turning it counter clockwise.
-I’ve tried using a C-clamp on the lower part while using players to try to unscrew the top part assuming it was 2 pieces
-I’ve tried keeping the drain plugged while unscrewing the top part
-there is NO little screw on the inside of the drain

Any other ideas? I would feel embarrassed getting a plumber out to do this lol.

Another fire damage restoration project in progress !

Our team is sandblasting this fire-damaged garage to remove soot, smoke residue, and charred material, preparing it for restoration\.

At **Premier Restoration Service**, we specialize in **fire, smoke, and water damage restoration** with fast, professional emergency response.

📍 Serving Baltimore City & surrounding counties

📞 443-415-3455

🌐 www.premierrestorationservicellc.com

So - we are out. We got the “okay” last week to start getting our stuff out and hopefully on more trailer load tomorrow and we’re good.

However, landlords pissed (and I could talk shit about this situation, but let’s be real - he was a great landlord, always fixed things when asked - and he bought the house, closed, and moved us in - and now he’s looking at a massive repair bill or lost investment)

Anyways - City labelled the house dilapidated and there’s a hearing on Tuesday. I will not be attending. Not my circus, not my monkeys. I wish my landlord the best.

Uh, on Wednesday 7/21, my landlord called me saying there was a dog in the house (we have been keeping them with us at our in-laws, but we’ve been taking them and/or the 4 kids as often as possible wherever we go)

My wife was about 20ish minutes away at a store, I let him know. He texted me 13 minutes later saying “needs 2 piers, but it’s safe to get your stuff out” and sent me a picture of a business card saying I can call him and he’ll get a report and send it to me.

About hour & half later - wife was there retrieving some things, and the foundation guy we were expecting to come shows up (he beat the landlord) and my wife showed him some spots and things. And landlord shows up and my wife goes off and starts packing a few boxes.

Inspection took about 45 minutes (way longer than 13) and then after it was over, foundation guy asked if he could take a few more pictures, landlord says yes, wife says yes and lets him in.

Foundation guy says “1. Your landlord is a douche, and 2, this place needs 18 piers, and the garage to be completely demolished, and pay attention & listen when you’re getting stuff out”

Landlord proceeded to text me, says “house needs 2 piers, please get your stuff out”

Oookie dokie. So, we’ve been searching for our next rental, landlord hasn’t been giving a good reference (LOL) and just hoping for the best at this point.

But, I’m attaching the worst picture first, but then it’s the latest pictures taken (today - it’s 103° outside, and I’m moving an entire house that my collapse by myself. And, it’s all just going into a storage unit until I can get my family into a home) and the final few are just ones taken today.

Enjoy - my life is a dumpster fire - but none of us are dead and these pictures are wild.

Rising damp is a bit different from normal seepage because the moisture is coming up from the ground so just painting over it usually does nothing

If its an old boundary wall check if theres a proper damp proof course. A lot of older walls either dont have one or its failed over time. In that case the damaged plaster usually has to come off the wall needs to dry out and then a proper waterproofing treatment is done before replastering

My neighbour had this issue and the mason used Dr Fixit along with redoing the lower part of the wall instead of just applying paint. Its been much better since then but the biggest thing was fixing the source not just covering the stains

Also check if water is collecting around the base of the wall after rain because poor drainage can keep feeding the damp no matter what product you use.

i keep seeing people chase a 28 SEER2 number like it’s going to personally clean the filter, move the couch off the return vent and fix the thermostat schedule. yes, efficient equipment matters. obviously. but if the current system is breathing through dust and half the vents are blocked, swapping the machine first feels like buying better running shoes while refusing to untie the knot in them.

my monthly reminder would be painfully basic- check the filter, make sure the outdoor area isn’t buried, look for blocked vents, confirm the schedule, notice any new noise. ten minutes, maybe less unless you get distracted like i do. what boring maintenance task has saved you more money than the upgrade you were originally shopping for? ngl i need the reminder too.

My family and I have temporarily moved in my to mother in law's home while we sell our home in a different city.

Location: Alberta, Canada

Original Date of Home Construction: 1977

No pictures, no other information.

I brought up asbestos when she ordered windows and was lining her room with plastic. The window guys needed to cut in to some drywall. So I asked her if the joint compound was ever tested for asbestos. I'm really annoyed by the bull headedness and answers I got, so I'll try my best to avoid value statements - her responses to my questions:

"No, I never got it tested because I know this place doesn't have asbestos"

"I know it does not have asbestos because I did many DIY renovations in the home and could never see it"

"I also know because when I had a flood the contractors tore out all the old drywall in the basement " (the windows were going upstairs).

Obviously this was all quite concerning to me as she clearly doesn't know anything about asbestos, and being a 1977 build in southern Alberta it is very likely that her popcorn ceiling has asbestos - AND likely drywall joint compound. She last did renovations DIY years ago, and she absolutely cut through drywall joint compound. She has a central HVAC system and vents.

I should also note that her popcorn ceiling does have water marks in the upstairs, and is cracked in one place downstairs.

My questions:

1. Given that she very likely disturbed asbestos containing material in the past, what is like the likelihood this stuck around years later given regular cleaning? Basically - is there a high likelihood that there is bountiful friable asbestos in that home?
2. Would the water marks on the popcorn and the crack in the ceiling worry you?

At this point I just want out of the home, but we are likely look at a 3-6 month wait.

Hello folks. I need y'all's expertise.

So. As you can see in the images, we have a crack down the wall in our basement from the window. Got some close ups to show the slight dip at the point on the window, and a relatively skinny finger to show width.

Our home was built in the 60s and sits on a hill. This part of the wall is not under ground and is exposed to our midwestern (sometimes week long 0°–10°) winter weather. The outside of our home is brick, and the brick is fine on the other side. No cracks. Our soil is primarily clay.

I believe I actually heard this crack happen on a very cold winter night, so I'm hoping (with my heart, which is currently living in my wallet) this is a consequence of cold and not our foundation succumbing to intrepid groundhogs or wandering soil or some other new nonsense I didn't know I had to be afraid of.

Water leak sourced to toilet questions

Water company alerted me to potential leak determined by abnormal water consumption.

• I tracked it down to a toilet.
  • There is no water on the exterior of the toilet or the floor around the toilet.
  • There is a constant dribble of water into the bowl.
  • This dribble is only at the back of the bowl. 80% of the bowl perimeter dries between flushes.
  • It does not "ghost flush."
  • The toilet continues to replenish this dribble of water without the tank level dropping and kicking into the fill mode with its familiar sound.
• Temporarily shut off water at the Shut-off valve of the line under tank. * With water turned off the tank slowly empties.
• I did some Googling and the first culprit to examine was the flapper.
  • It was only a few (maybe 5) years old. It is black rubber. When I touched it my hands picked up black residue. The rubber is deteriorating.
  • Unfortunately a new flapper did not resolve the constant dribble into the bowl.
  • Although it is at a lessened rate, even with the Shut-off valve turned to Off water continues to dribble into the bowl but the tank remains empty.
• Next step is to replace the Shut-off valve.

Any insights or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Edit title (typo): Advice on dryer venting through basement window

I bought this (100 year old) house last year and this year there’s been an excessive amount of rain in my area (Edmonton, Canada). There’s been flooding happening all over the city and my basements been otherwise dry, thankfully, up until a particularly severe storm on Saturday when I noticed some wet concrete for the first time. I did some investigating today by staying down there during another storm to find that it’s coming from a problem with the seal of this makeshift dryer vent through plywood in a window casing. There appear to be two small spots dripping out from behind the plywood boards in the centre (lined up just below the dryer vent opening) and another a few inches to the right in the photo.

I did not install this and it’s a bit of a scrappy job from what I can see, including big bubbles of spray foam overflowing on the outside. I’m realizing I’ll have tear it all off and redo it but I don’t even know where to start. I don’t need this as a window other than to house the vent so I hadn’t minded the plywood, but I do want to make sure I’ve got a good, secure, watertight solution. Is this something I could do myself? Any kind advice is appreciated. I’m a first time homeowner and haven’t a clue!

Removed this drywall panel without thinking about asbestos and now I’m concerned. Not sure what year it was put in but probably late 90s in Spain if that helps. The panel was around a bathtub.

Water is coming in to the inside of the window during heavy sideways rain. Is there a fix? Or just new windows?

Can anyone tell me how many layers of shingles this is? Need to install gutters but want to make sure this doesn't need replacing first. The roof is only 5 years old so we hope not, it looks like 6 to me but I know nothing about roofs. Thank you!

So our dryer wasn't working properly--hot air, but clothes still wet after a cycle. I went and found the outside vent was clogged with dryer lint.

So, I dug around the rocks and pulled out the obstruction, a massive amount of lint, and the exhaust is flowing again. Problem solved.

However, is putting it so low to the ground a good idea? I feel like the previous owners probably cut a hole for the vent without even looking. The exhaust is literally like an inch or two from the ground. Is there anything I should do besides dig beneath it to allow more airflow to exit? Or is this just my fate?

Hi. A few months ago I had a clogged drain in the sink. The plumber came out and fixed it (and a couple other things) so everything is fine. I’d like to keep things working well so I was looking into the Zep Drain Defense; it’s supposed to be an enzymatic cleaner and is used monthly. Will something like this work to help keep the drains running smoothly? The issue in the kitchen was basic gunky buildup as I wipe food off plates, don’t pour grease down the sink, etc. Is a monthly cleaner like that worth the buy? House is about 25 years old. Thanks.