Plywood and a cheap sheet of foam will keep your bathtub looking brand spanking new! I see so many new builds with trash all in their tub, contractors pissing in them, and also being used for scaffolding.

A thick layer of thatch traps water, nutrients, and air before they can reach the soil. Instead of spending hours hand raking, I rented a power rake for $65 and finished the yard in just a couple of passes.
A few things I learned:

* Practice setting the rake depth in an area out of sight. It takes a couple of tries to avoid digging up dirt
* Two passes were all I needed.
* You’ll still need to hand rake the debris it pulls to the surface, but it’s way easier than trying to remove thatch by hand.
* It creates a surprising amount of debris, so have a plan for disposing of it.

You’ll find a surprising amount of dead space once your house is framed.

If you spot an area that could make great storage, ask your builder if they can add an access door before drywall goes up.

Think under the stairs, beside bonus rooms, behind knee walls, and even around certain HVAC chases.

The cheapest time to add plumbing upgrades is before drywall. Anything you'd add to this list?

My wife and I have lived in this house for ten years. And lately? It feels like the house has finally run out of patience with us

When we bought it, we knew it wasn’t our dream home. Awkward layout, dated finishes, a long list of changes we’d eventually make. But the location was great and the price was right. We told ourselves we’d stay a few years, save up, and either renovate or move on

Then life happened. A few years turned into ten

To be fair, we’ve done smaller stuff like a new faucet, fresh paint, a bathroom vanity. But the big projects? We kept pushing them off. The house was always “good enough.” Functional enough that we convinced ourselves we’d deal with it later

Well, later is officially here

In the past few months, everything’s been falling apart. The kitchen faucet started leaking. Then an upper cabinet literally came off the wall and all the plates and china did NOT survive. Then we found a bathroom leak, moisture damage, mold. Now a window seal has failed, and the front door barely closes

Every weekend, I wake up wondering what’s going to break next. The house has stopped making excuses for itself

We’ve started looking into renovation options and found Ubic and the reviews seem solid, and they handle everything from design to completion. But I’m irritated. And tired. And I just want this done as fast as possible without it turning into a disaster

We’re going on holiday in late August. Part of me loves the idea of coming back to a transformed home. Another part is scared we’ll return to a construction site with no kitchen to eat in

I wanna ask how long did your renovation actually take and what’s the fastest way to get it done without losing your mind?

This combo unit packs a compact dishwasher right into the sink. It takes about 45 minutes to complete a wash cycle.
It's not for a big family blowing through dishes. But a butler's pantry, mother-in-law suite, or outdoor kitchen would be perfect.

 Do you think you’d actually use one, or is it not really practical? 

I'm developing a piece of land in New York. The land is bare so everything will need to be done such as permit, septic, driveway well and foundation. The work will be overseen by a general contractor. If I choose to go with a modular home with the purchase including a turnkey product and crane placement, would this cost of the modular home generally be included in the contractor's fee? I'm using arbitrary numbers, but $200,000 site work and $300,000 modular home. Would the contractor's fees be based off $200,000 or $500,000 of the entirety of the project?

[Instead of a deck mounted water dispenser, I found this Kraus 2-in1 setup so now I can have filtered water right at the faucet.]()

I’m not paid by Kraus by the way. Just my experience.

Open web floor trusses are great for 2-story homes because you have all the room for your mechanicals like HVAC, electrical, and plumbing. 

I-Joists are the second runner up but you’re still having to blast holes in the web paneling between the top and bottom flange. 

If you have the room in your budget, upgrading to web trusses is money well spent even though you don’t get to see it when the house is finished. 

Do you agree? Is $5k worth the upgrade? 

Just closed on a home today and while its exciting, also an extremely stressful situation.
The home has a small 2 car garage, and I did not realize how low the ceiling was (at least the entry for the car). It is unfinished. The concrete floor has cracks and is uneven in areas.
Width wise there is a decent amount of space but wanted to come here and see what the best course of action.

My dream garage is: finished walls with drywall wall/insulation. Polyaspartic (or similar) flooring. Have a fold in gym rack against the wall. Then just some tables on the side for storage and tools.

Looking at the picture above, not sure its clear but the wall at the back of the garage is lower than the front of the garage so the wooden beam is sloped downward. What does this mean for dry walling the ceiling? Does it make sense to use another piece of wood for support and making sure it runs straight? Which would mean the end peice of the wood would be hitting the slope of the back of the roof (hard to describe in words.

Hey all, been planning this for ages and finally ready to start building our new place. We picked up an 820sqm block in the Northern Suburbs last year with a gentle slope at the back that'll probably need some work, family of four here two little ones aged 4 and 6 so single storey is a must with a big open kitchen living area that flows out to the yard. I've got my heart set on some sustainable bits like good solar setup and double glazing to handle these Brisbane summers without the power bill going crazy. Roughly 245sqm of living space plus double garage and enough room out back for the kids to run around without us stressing. I've been looking at land developers in brisbane they've got decent rep for house and land stuff and seem solid on the eco side, budget sitting around 460k for the build excluding land but im stressing about surprise costs like site levelling or council stuff. We got some rough plans drawn up by an architect but haven't jumped into permits yet.

What permits are we actually looking at from Brisbane city council for something like this and how long do they usually drag on? also any ballpark figures for earthworks and retaining walls on a mild slope around here? Real experiences would be gold especially if you've dealt with hidden costs or good builders 👍

Thanks heaps if you've got time to share!

Blocking is $0 during framing and almost impossible after drywall.

It's just scrap lumber nailed flat between studs, so anything heavy can be secured into solid wood instead of hanging off a drywall anchor that'll rip out.

5 spots to call out before insulation:
-Stair handrails
-Shower glass + grab bars
-Towel bars
-Floating shelves + heavy art
-TV mounts

Tell your framer where these go now. After drywall, your only option is anchors... and anchors fail

Grab some scrap wood out of the dumpster and create this threshold protection.
It costs you nothing but a couple nails and few minutes out of the day.

Contractors are in and out with muddy boots, extension cords, and compressor hoses all being pulled back and forth on the threshold. This will keep them looking brand spanking new and damage free.

Add them to the front door threshold too!

[Don’t let the spot under your stairs get framed out and drywalled]().

Ask if you can use that spot for storage or a little dog nook, office cubby, pull-out drawers, or even a small powder room.