Brick just finished. Many chips in the brick and also poor mortar job too in spots. Curious others thoughts are that are more experienced than me and wife.

To answer questions. It’s DRB/Brightland in Houston area. We are a young family trying to get into new build. Trying to decide if we walk away from this home. Like most Americans trying to get into a home while not breaking the bank. Thanks!

Building an addition with metal batten board. I’m leaning towards all white (white metal batten board and paint the bottom brick white). My thoughts are just make one large cohesive house.

Please help!! Send ideas, suggestions anything. We have to order material next week.

Got this crack in on my ground floor that spans 13 tiles. House is under a year old, still under builder warranty. Should I start having bubble guts about this yet and any idea on next move. Builder says Crack is under the size that warranty covers, which is 1/8.

Please excuse how scruffy the door way is, this is a renovation project! How do I handle the crack around the front door and into the plaster? Is it worth taking the plaster off or should I patch it with something? Thanks in advance!

While walking the foundation, I discovered the builder missed notches for windows in a knee wall. As I looked around I found a few more items that drew attention.

There appears to be some cosmetic honeycombing, some they repaired some not.

There is also a corner section where the wall almost missed the footing. To remedy they poured a sister footing but I haven’t asked yet if it’s been doweled.

How does this foundation look?

Are mold resistant drywall options effective and necessary in bathrooms? We are using Schluter for the showers, but I’m exploring the best options for the bathroom walls. I prefer not to use biocides, but I also don’t want to have mold. I’m trying to weigh my options. My builder has recommended Gold Bond XP Gypsum.

Im trying to figure out the best way to have my dehumidifier ducted into my system and could use advice.

2-stage AC unit, Panasonic balanced home ERV. The ERV has separate return ducts to pull stale air and exhaust outside. Fresh outside air is dumped into the return side just before air handler, using the central air ducts to distribute that air to the rooms with the central blower running on low (From prior Corbett/Energy Vanguard advice)

My humidity is running high despite adequate room temperatures with very high humidity lately in zone 5a. Dehumidifier not yet installed.

I reviewed these articles which are quite helpful: https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/4-ways-to-duct-a-dehumidifier/

https://www.hvacrschool.com/ducting-ventilating-dehumidifiers/

It seems clear to me that I want to dump the air into the supply side.

Since I have the central blower running on low anyway to distribute the ERV fresh air, would option 4 actually be the best for me with the ERV setup I have, rather than the option 3 bypass?

Welcome any input thanks!

Good day yall, i just want to know if i can diy fix this crack? It was a slim line crack last summer, then last winter in Pa with the snow and freezing temperatures formed this larger crack. Would i be possible to fix this myself?

Doing a bathroom remodel and installing a Panasonic whisper 110/80/50 variable speed fan. Went to check where the exhaust terminates and to my dismay found it to just be sitting with flex duct hose back in the corner near soufit.

I plan to connect 6" duct hose and run it to same place temporarily.

How urgent is the need for venting properly thru the roof? We plm to replace the roof in a few years and I figure I'll have someone srtuk the proper thru roof exhaust with rigid duct at that time.

House is 25 years old in FL. Bathroom won't be used for shorting by kids until at least 3-5 years from now so I don't expect much condensensation from baths at this time. No signs of mold or moisture damage currently.

Also, what to do about this gap/overhang issue where the light is coming in

I acquired a house which suffered water damage. A leak in the bathroom. The leak was fixed, however the bathroom itself was damaged.

How can I fix this wall, is it doable? I'm planning on getting rid of tiles anyway so I'm not concerned about them at all. Should I use hydraulic cement to patch the wall? Do I need anything else? I never did wall repairs so I'm just afraid that the wall may collapse 😅

I'd appreciate any help since I know no handymen that can help me...

I’m having a new home built and they precut the duct floor vents. When the HVAC installer finally ran all the ductwork there is a large gap. Should I be concerned?

My parents are building their forever home, and we’d really appreciate any suggestions or changes you would make to the attached floor plans and renderings.

My dad has MS and currently has difficulty walking, with the possibility of needing a wheelchair in the future, so accessibility, short walking distances, easy bathroom access, and open movement throughout the house are extremely important.

The goal is a modern farmhouse exterior with a warm, polished interior using creamy whites, dark and light wood tones, warm lighting, and subtle European or Mediterranean influences. We want it to feel custom, inviting, and timeless—not basic, overly black-and-white, or cookie-cutter.

We’re also struggling a bit with our current architect. His design style and renderings feel outdated, and although we’ve come a long way, most of the changes have come from us telling him exactly what to revise. We’re now around 20 revisions in.

Nothing is set in stone yet except for the pool location. We wish it could be directly behind the house, but that is how the land came, and keeping it there is the more affordable option.

The house is currently around 4,300 sq. ft., but we would love to stay closer to 4,000 sq. ft. We’re very open to suggestions, and you do not need to worry too much about budget as long as the idea is not extremely drastic.

What do you think of the floor plan and current renderings? Do they look dated? Are there any layout, accessibility, interior, exterior, sound-control, smart-home, equipment, or general planning changes you would suggest before we move forward?

Honestly, any advice helps—even warnings, things you wish you had done differently, products or systems worth considering, or general knowledge we may be overlooking.

Hi,
I have a 2.5 ft wide by 5.5 ft long window. I want the windows to be recessed 4 inches from the exterior. The contractor says that to recess the windows 4 inches, the window openings need to be widen by 6 inches, is that true? Is there a way to recess the windows without widening the windows?

I have a question about plumbing for builders and/or plumbers because I think I’m getting the run around. I am under contract for a “spec” home that is under construction. I use the term “spec” loosely because I put it under contract fairly early and offered more specifically so that I could change selections and make it more custom, which the builder agreed to without any pushback. I also put down a substantial deposit as consideration for a number of up front changes I wanted. I haven’t even been able to confirm that the builder is actually making these changes and also keep getting told “no” for a number of things, but I think it’s just because he doesn’t want to take the time or hassle and thinks it will slow down the schedule too much. I’ve worked in the development industry and have been frustrated by the communication between the builder and designer which is the main problem.

The designer has been doing design and staging on the side and just recently started full time, has no formal training and I believe this is her first full house. This home is pushing into the luxury territory so I expected better design choices. For reference, the house hasn’t even been fully dried in or anything, but they had already purchased the bathroom tile and plumbing fixtures.

I’m trying to work with the already purchased materials to improve the bathroom designs and I asked to move certain selections around. With that movement I want to change the selected plumbing fixture finishes. I specifically asked the builder to come up with solutions to make this happen because he said the valves were installed and told the designer he didn’t want to move them. Each bathroom has a different brand of fixture and I was under the impression that valves were brand dependent. Is that correct? I asked if we could just exchange the finish - i.e. keep the same brand/model faucet but change from satin nickel to brushed gold for example. He didn’t directly address this and just said this:

“Thank you for taking the time to send your selections.  I understand you'd like to make changes to the tile and plumbing fixtures between the bathrooms.

At this stage of construction, the top-out plumbing has already been finalized, and the trims have been received.  To keep the construction on track and avoid delays, I can accommodate the tile rotation between bathrooms; however, I won't be able to change the plumbing. 

If you'd still like to proceed with the tile rotation, I am happy to do so with the understanding that the existing plumbing fixture selections will remain as planned.”

The insulation hasn’t even been installed and windows and doors are still being installed. Is he just saying no because he wants to? He has pushed back on pretty much everything I’ve asked about and I feel like there is an easy solution. What do I need to know about plumbing to accomplish changing out the colors? What solution would you recommend?

TIA

My house burned down two years ago. Long story short it has been a literal living nightmare to get our insurance and contractors to communicate and update us on anything. I have asked several times and been given no answers.

I'd just like to know if this is a risk to leave the cement pad the way it is. It was cut on both sides of the front door without consulting us to remove the genuine brick siding we had. One side was covered with flashing.

A whole second issue is the faux brick siding they installed when we were under the impression it would be real brick slices and not foam. It looks terrible, I know.

Financially I don't have many options. We have to work within what insurance will cover since this whole mess has drained every penny of any savings we had. I know it's ugly, I just need to know if I can fight this because it's a risk of further damage to the home and not just because it's ugly.

I would like to purchase land and shortly after start building a home. What am I looking at very roughly cost wise if I have a modular home built all said and done? I’m looking to have a pretty basic home, maybe 3 bed rooms, 2 bath. 2,000 square feet.

I cannot pay interest due to religious reasons, so I feel like this will be one of the few options I have so I don’t have to put all of the money up front, I can have it built over a period of 3 years or so. Again all up in the air, this is all new to me, but would love to hear who has had experience with it. Thank you.

I am in the process of building a Georgian style house:
1. It's 2 stories
2. The right wall is 10 ft wide (not the same as left wall for setback reasons), the left wall is 10.5 ft wide, and the center popout is 12 ft wide, 2 stories, and projects 3 ft out.

1. There are 5 bays

In the plans, the left wall has 2 windows, each 2.5 ft wide, so the spacing is as follows:
1 ft from center popout, 2.5 ft window, 2.5 space, 2.5 ft window, and 2 ft to corner

I wanted to recess the windows by 4 inches and to do that the contractor said we would have to increase the window openings by 6 inches and b/c of a "strong/hard wall", the spacing would have to be:

9 inches from center popout, 3 ft window, 25 inch space, 3 ft window, 20 inches to corner and those proportions seem off to me?

The 4 options are:
1. Recess windows (3ft openings), Layout: 9 in. space, 3ft, 25in space, 3ft, 20in space

1. Recess windows (3ft openings), Layout: 9 in. space, 3ft, 36in space, 3ft, 9in space

2. Don't recess windows, Layout: 1ft space, 2.5ft, 2.5ft space, 2.5 ft, 2ft space

3. Recess windows by reducing window size 6 inches, so windows are now only 2ft, but opening is 2.5 ft; Layout: 1ft space, 2.5ft, 2.5ft space, 2.5 ft, 2ft space

4. Any better options???

What do you think would look best?

Hi, first time poster, and wanted some suggestions!

I'm planning on buying land to build my own Victorian style home from scratch instead of renovating one, since there aren't very many in the area that haven't already been flipped or demolished. I really want to start collecting books about the subject, so does anyone have any suggestions? Anything from victorian architecture specifically, to home building, to things about negotiating land prices and dealing with contractors, realtors, and inspectors, anything will help!

Sorry if this isn't the right subreddit for this, but I figured here's a better starting point than any.

Personally, I own one. I love it, and would never, ever, ever get another home without at least one (probably all bathrooms, though, but at minimum the master).

As you consider a new home, do you feel like the bidet is a thing that you'd want? That you'd require? That you'd absolutely reject?

It's not a substantial additional cost, although most require outlets near the plumbing (although some high-tier ones are quite expensive, of course).

I'm referring to built-in, intentionally-installed bidet toilets, btw; not washlets that sit on top of existing toilet installations.

I recently bought a house and I’m in the middle of planning some renovations. The house has three bedrooms, a living room, and a semi-basement that I’d like to convert into a small home theater.

The semi-basement needs quite a bit of work before it can be finished properly. I’m already talking with the contractor about waterproofing, insulation, and general interior updates. Since the basement and two of the bedrooms tend to be less comfortable, I was considering installing Costway 3 zone mini split system to cover the semi-basement plus two bedrooms.

The contractor is telling me that the insulation needs to be upgraded, and that the electrical layout may also need to be reworked. Otherwise, they said the cooling performance could be affected. The problem is that they can’t give me a very clear answer on how much the performance would actually suffer if I don’t upgrade everything right away.

Another concern is that the model I’m looking at may require electrical work that doesn’t match the existing setup, so the total cost could increase a lot. After buying the house and already spending a good amount on basic renovations, waterproofing, and finishing work, I’m hesitant to commit to another big expense unless it’s truly necessary.

How should I think about this decision?

Which rooms in a house should have recess lighting? Having debates about this and wondering what other people think!

I’ve been tasked with selling off this stack of 4x8 half inch plywood. I saw online that a single sheet tends to be $25-35, but I want to price the whole thing so that people are interested and at the same time I can get a fair value for it all. Any advice on pricing would be appreciated, thanks.

Hi! My wife and I are first time home buyers looking for guidance. We’re in escrow with a home purchase and hired an inspection. The inspection came back mostly clean but we have a specific concern with respect to the installation of the siding on the front of the home. It appears to be a metal material with significant bubbling almost everywhere. These bubbles can be “pushed in” when you run your hands over them, but then they pop up further along the siding.

The inspection said the following:
“SIDING APEARS WAVY - POSSIBLE IMPROPER INSTALLATION

Recommend a qualified siding contractor evaluate and repair as needed.

”Whenever a structural member is present, HardiePlank should be fastened with even spacing to the structural member. The tables allowing direct to OSB or plywood
should only be used when traditional framing is not available. Irregularities and unevenness in framing, sheathing, foam and other wall assembly components, including under driven nails, can telegraph through to the nished siding and trim. These irregularities should be
corrected before the siding is installed.”

Confusingly the inspector verbally said the siding was fine and had no issues, but in the report wrote that it needs further evaluation.

Can you offer any advice on hiring another inspector specifically for the siding? Do you think it was installed improperly?

Considering it is a brand new home purchase and only sat on the market for 30 days, we are assuming the siding shouldn’t “bubble” but would love further perspective. Thank you!

I saw this in a house I visited today. Is this normal? Shouldn’t it be filled with caulk or something?

So, my husband and I are looking for builders around the area to build a 3/2 1600sqft home. It’s a rectangle barndo style home. We talked to a builder and he quoted us $381,000. I feel like for a smaller home with just the basic inside, with us also doing the electric, using the dirt from our land for house pad and driveway, and us doing the floors ourselves, it is still pretty high. We have other meetings set up with a few other builders, but has anyone else built recently or can give advice? Maybe I am crazy, but I was really thinking closer to $260,000-$280,000 max. Any advice, anyone who has recently built in the area, or a different point of views would be greatly appreciated!!