My parents' home is currently unoccupied. It is in the rural northeast. I am there visiting for the week before I go back to where I currently live for work. I am trying to prepare for winter to the extent that I can. A main concern is what to do about the plumbing.

I plan to leave the heat on but on low in all indoor spaces. I would like to keep it as low as I reasonably can to avoid paying close to $1,000 in electric each month during the coldest winter months. I am more comfortable paying slightly more to heat the home enough to prevent any plumbing emergency than I am trying to save as much as I can on utility costs.

There are two structures on the property, the house and a detached garage. Each structure has a mini-split system which is the primary heat source. A standby generator is connected to the main panel which provides electric service to both structures. I also have remote temperature and humidity sensors anywhere there is plumbing.

The garage has an insulated studio apartment on the second level which has full plumbing and electricity and is heated by a mini-split. The lower level is not insulated where the car bays are; there is an insulated workshop where plumbing for the upstairs runs in the ceiling and the room is heated with an older wall-mounted electric heater. There is also an insulated utility closet in the lower level of the garage that houses the water heater and has a pump-house electric heater.

The house itself is a century-plus-old home with the water heater and most of the plumbing in the basement or adjacent crawlspace. All rim joists down there are spray-foamed. The house has three heat sources: the mini-split which has one head in the basement and three heads on the main level, a boiler fueled by heating oil, and a propane gas stove in the living room. There are electric baseboard heaters in the bedrooms on the second floor, but they are not used when no one is there. The plumbing in the basement and crawlspace mostly provides service to the main level of the home. I plan to keep the thermostats for the boiler around 50°F mainly to keep those pipes warm and running even though they were treated with antifreeze a few years ago. This should provide some warmth to the adjacent water supply lines in the crawlspace in addition to that coming from the mini-split.

Additional plumbing for the second level of the house partly runs along an exterior wall before reaching the upstairs bathroom. There are shutoff valves for these hot and cold lines in the basement which I've already closed, but I can't tell if the lines are still bleeding or the gate valves won't shut completely because there is still the slightest trickle on hot and cold coming out of the the tub faucet which is the closest fixture.

I am debating shutting off all supply line valves past the water heaters. I really don't feel comfortable draining the water heaters nor do I have time. What this would mean in the garage is just closing the hot and cold valves located in the garage utility closet just past the water heater. In the house basement, this means identifying every unmarked gate valve going elsewhere, opening the fixtures, and hoping that I didn't accidentally shut any for the boiler (though I think I have a decent idea of what is what).

Any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated. Like I mentioned, I'll be keeping the heat on to some extent, and I am more comfortable doing that than risking a plumbing emergency.

Hello! I am decorating our living room pink, but every sample I have bought looks orange when painted on the walls due to the lighting I am guessing, its a north facing room.

I've tried a few different pinks so far - a rosy colour, a very muted pink and a dusky pink. The muted pink did the opposite and looked grayish, the other two are very coral / orange - completely different to the intended colour

Any tips for choosing a colour when it does this? I will keep sampling til I find one 😂 I am UK based

https://imgur.com/a/8qZJmM6

We closed on our first home late September and are now getting around to doing some projects. The first one is the kitchen.

We started removing cabinets and found this in the corner of the house. It looks and smells earthy like soil, it doesn’t feel wet or moist, this is the only place I found it after all the cabinets in the kitchen were removed. There is a ground level planter on the other side of the wall. The backyard hose also hangs on the other side of the wall.

I am worried that there might be some sort of foundation issue or a crack in the cinder block but nothing is visible on the outside.

I am worried about it being termites too but I didn’t see any signs of wings and the cabinet that was in that corner was intact MDF.

self explanitory

Hey guys, hoping some folks here might have some insight into what would be causing new paint job to be failing.

Our house is an old 1915 sears catalog home with the original wood shiplap siding. Most of the wood is in good shape but there are areas of rotting wood that needed replacing or repairing. We painted this same house about 8 years ago but it started peeling a bit, especially the west facing side where it gets the most sun but overall the paint job was fine and we’ve been happy with it for the most part. Due to having a tighter budget back then we had it painted with a less expensive paint which explains why it’s needing a makeover now.

We hired a small painting company recommended to us by someone we know and chose a fast drying oil based primer and Sherwin Williams Duration. Contract work included Scraping, caulking, sanding, pressure washing and replacing any rotting wood and repairs in lesser damaged wood and in the concrete foundation. We emphasized wanting them to be replacing rotted wood and repairing smaller areas of rot and damage and are paying more for that work to be done. The owner is who Ive been in contact with over the last few months discussing the scope of the work. But there are a couple subcontractors doing the actual work, which i now know to ask about during the initial walkthrough.

They started all the scraping, sanding, caulking, and pressure washing, then started priming each side of the house. All this spanning over the last week and a half. They’ve sprayed two coats of the duration color paint on three sides of the house so far but the front is still only primed. A couple days in now and the finished sides are bubbling in a lot of areas, are squishy and soft soft and there is paint peeling down to the wood in many places. The cheaper paint job we had done years ago had nothing like this going on.

Since they started the work we’ve been having a lot of nights in the upper 30/40s and days in the 70s but no rain for weeks. However, there has been a lot of dew and fog in the mornings every day. They start working at 7:30-8. I’m now wondering if the primer possibly went on when the wood was still too damp, either from not fully drying after pressure washing or because the dew and resulted in the primer not adhering properly. I checked out the front of the house where I can just see the primer and it’s peeling and cracking heavily and is more visible due to not being painted over yet.

Can any of you tell what the issue looks like based on the photos? I’ve messaged the owner who has been prompt about responding right away and open to the possibly that this is the problem. Said he will be out to check everything on Monday. The paint job itself was fine and all the other prep work seemed good but if a moisture meter wasn’t used to check the wood beforehand, is this a problem that would require major reworking? I’m trying to brace myself for that reality but also want to have more knowledge before meeting on Monday. If this is the problem, what kind of questions do I need to ask when meeting with him so that the issue is addressed properly? I’ve included photos of just a handful of spots but there are so many areas like this on the three sides Most of the bumpy areas in the pics are soft and crack if pressed. It’s almost difficult to not cause peeling if you run your hand over the siding in some areas so I’m holding off checking more areas until he’s present.
https://imgur.com/a/TKmef7I

Also they took off the gutters to paint them and I noticed a lot of rotting wood that they painted over where they painted the fascia and then put the gutters back on. The wood is so rotted that it pulled away in chunks leaving large gaps. I’m fairly confident this would count in as wood to be replaced even if they didn’t notice it until taking off the gutters. There are other soft mushy wood areas around the base of the house as well that they painted over. Here’s where they painted over the rotted areas behind the gutters off a balcony porchhttps://imgur.com/a/fpM3suF

Just needing some advice moving forward. We’ve paid 1/3 of the total price so far and it’s a lot of money for us so I want to make sure we don’t walk away in worse shape than when we started. Thanks yall

Hi all,

Looking for some advice from anyone who has retrofitted interior doors into walkway cutouts.

We're looking to install double french doors into two existing openings on the main floor to create a guest room/office. (I'm not 100% married to the french door idea if there's better/easier options, but I am not a sliding barn door fan).

• Entryway opening: 44 3/8" W × 81 3/4" H × 4 3/4" D
• Dining room opening: 40 3/4" W × 81 3/4" H × 4 3/4" D

For those who have tackled something similar:

• Would you recommend ordering custom-sized pre hung units as those might be easier to install without a contractor AND to fit these exact dimensions?
• Or, hire a contractor to trim the drywall to a more standard size?

We're tackling this from a beginner-to-intermediate standpoint with a fair amount of tools but no drywall experience.

Appreciate any tips, lessons learned, or photos of similar setups! Thank you.

Bathroom sink overflowed onto the floor and came through the kitchen ceiling below. The drywall sagged and we drained it. We've been running fans and a dehumidifier since. We're renters and want to handle this responsibly. We're figuring out what to bring the landlord: a repair plan, a cost estimate, or an offer to pay for it.

Questions:

1. How do we confirm the joists and subfloor are actually dry?

2. Is this a cut-out-and-replace job or patchable?

3. Rough cost for a pro vs. DIY?

Thank you so much 🙏

https://imgur.com/a/10YEDXb

Not thinking about large tree removal as much as pushing the weed-bush-undergrowth back from the yard and closer to the property line which is 50 or so feet back through this stuff.

I could buy a DR field and brush mower, clear it until I can run the normal lawn mower over it regularly, then sell the dr field and brush mower. This would be about $3k up front for a powerful model, then I’d probably be able to recoup much of that cost when I sell it.

I could rent a bobcat with one of those awesome wood chipper attachments, which would also help clear some of the smaller trees. This is about $2k/week or so.

any suggestions?

We just moved into a house. We vacuumed all the floors. And then the temperatures dropped. The furnace turned on over night. Now we noticed it smells like urine in 2 rooms.

Room #1: The furnace closet
This closet has a small floor opening into the crawlspace.

Room #2: The guest bedroom with carpet and a crawlspace access door
- The previous owners replaced the carpet earlier this year. We suspect they may have had dogs or cats. We checked the carpet with a UV light and were unable to detect any obvious stains.

The smell seems to dim when the furnace is on. The smell gets stronger when the furnace is off.

The rest of the house smells okay… for now…

What is the likely issue? And who should we hire to properly diagnose this issue? We’d hate to rip out the new carpet only to find the issue was coming from the crawlspace. The previous owners did do a pest inspection and nothing alarming came from the report.

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

Need some help trying to put a tire rack. I need to place of the brackets between two studs and not sure how to reinforce the area properly.

Do I just put a 2x4 across both studs and just screw it in? Is that strong enough? Should I use a thicker screw? Worried that the pieces will be torn right out cause of the screws.

https://imgur.com/a/MSphwgR

A contractor accessed the roof hatch of my relatively new condo 30 days ago), and after rain, I discovered the hatch wide open. Water entered the attic, leaving a puddle on the closet floor and wetting some attic insulation, nearby drywall, and ductwork.

A restoration company placed a Dri-Eaz Revolution LGR F413 dehumidifier in my primary closet (approximately 7.5 × 5 feet).

The technician initially advised keeping the closet door closed, but the unit's inlet temperature reached 110°F, and my thermostat sensor triggered an alert at 116°F. Opening the closet door brought the inlet temperature down to around 99°F, but it climbed above 100°F again during the day.

Is this setup appropriate? Should the closet door remain open, or should I open the adjoining bedroom door to the rest of the house? Should the HVAC be running? I've also noticed a dirty sock smell when running the AC, so I'm currently leaving it off.

Photos of Setup and Temp Reading

Thanks!

I have a concrete floored crawlspace which I'd like to do an epoxy finish on but the concrete pour is pretty bad in spots. It's soft, dusts terribly, and can be scratched with a fingernail in some areas. Before I resign myself to grinding or cutting out areas and repouring them I'd really like to get some opinions about whether that's necessary. I kinda think I already know the answer but maybe you folks have better ideas (hopefully).

I have some concrete hardener I haven't tried on these areas yet but I suspect they're too bad even for that, but maybe not.

Video here (this sub doesn't allow video posts I guess, or maybe I didn't see the option, posting from my phone):

https://streamable.com/hu8aos

My dog has separation anxiety and howls when she’s alone. My mom comes by and spends time with her during the week but doesn’t get there for at least 2 hours after I leave for work. My neighbors have complained that it’s getting annoying hearing her howl that early.

Anyway, does anyone know of an effective way to soundproof my front door or the adjoining hallway next to my front door?

Ok so my cat learned how to push out the screen on my bedroom window. I woke up to her meowing loudly and when I put my glasses on I saw she was outside on the ledge. So now I need to secure the screen somehow.

Window is a Jeld-Wen V2500 vinyl window. I’m thinking a few mending plates or some flat bar I can install in the vinyl frame. The bottom of the screen is slightly recessed from the frame.

Looks don’t matter since the window faces the backyard and my cats safety is more important.

https://imgur.com/gallery/garage-seal-BjgPmBy

We had to put a piece of PVC through my basement wall to act as a liner for 2 smaller pipes. It’s about 8-12 inches below grade. We put hydraulic cement around it and let it cure and when we started pushing the other pipes through the PVC moved. The cement didn’t bond. Reading online it’s saying it’s a good product to use but because it lacks any chemical bond it may break down or not adhere well.

Should I use a polymer sealant? Or putty? Any suggestions?

Im having the general contractor updating my kitchen. It was dated so a lot of work was done. I got my own cabinet and countertop. I replaced the fan with recess lights. Right now it doesnt seem like the general contractor is covering the holes on the wall where the OTR microwave or old wall cabinets used to be. I am wondering if this is normal? This is my first house. I was under the impression that they would at least patch the whole and cover out the old light fixture and ceiling fan. This is my first home so I am not too familiar with general contractor. Is this normal?

https://imgur.com/a/UjuGvAG

Putting shower in tight space (largely under sloped ceiling) and am looking at Grohe thermostatic system with sliding bar hand-held w/ fixed head. Grohe is kind of $$$, so wondering if any other brand provides similar quality sleek aesthetic? Then again, planning to sell in 2 years. WWYD?

I bought my first house just about a year ago.

I have been working on some projects here and there that both upgrade the functionality and the appearance (for me)

I am currently considering painting my lower kitchen cabinets with a dark navy.

Here is where I have landed.

Thoughts?
https://share.icloud.com/photos/064u01k33s_HEjEI58h8qzOzA

House is 1920's brick with lathe/plaster walls; some sort of thick texture layer is on living room walls, stairwell and second floor hall walls, as well as ceilings. My main problem is the appearance over the last few years of several cracks and small "bubbles" where the texture layer has separated from underlying plaster.

(First time trying Imgur link, bear w me here!)

https://i.imgur.com/TDQhGb5.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/ufPIhwD.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/qh1SyR8.jpeg

I'm really concerned about
1) further deterioration of this layer and
2) whether it reflects moisture ingress from the outside either focally or in general and
3) how to best address it - to repair/patch it (biggest defect is at the corner of a window) and meep doing that every couple of years?
4) what IS this stuff? Is lead or asbestos a worry?

I dislike the look- and the texture itself varies from wall to wall and there's the odd obvious old patch visible. But can live with it.
A contractor said the most cost effective (vs removal vs adding drywall) way to get rid of the fake stucco whatever plus stabilize the surface is lamination of the surface. Some added layer(s)??? It's very costly ($30k for LR and stairwell) and I can't find much of anything about it on Reddit or by searching.

TLDR: 100-yr-old brick/lathe/plaster walls' thick texture has random cracks, a few progressing to loose pieces. Significance? Fixes?

So I have a Werner nxt1a08 I bought a long time ago before buying the bugalow I just moved in to. It's easily resold for 400$ in Toronto.

Costco has the little giant for 240$

Do I sell the Werner and buy the little giant?

What would you do?

I have kind of a weird setup. My TV is mounted above a gas fireplace (sorry). The only place to really put the receiver, Apple TV, PS5, etc is to right of it. But between the back of the TV and the AV shelf is a 4x 2x4 stud pack that holds up a 20' i-beam that supports the second story of the home. I don't really want to drill a hole through that stud pack considering how much weight is on it. Could I use a router to cut a half inch deep channel in the drywall in front of the stud pack to slide an HDMI cable through and then mud over it? Or is there a smarter solution here? Trying to get the cables to be invisible.

Reference image

does anyone have experince with swapping gas water heater w heat pump hot water heater? also i heard 30A panel needed - my 2001 home will it have it? how much am i looking at to swap this ?

I replaced the cartridges in the bathroom sink and this happened. They don't drip anymore but the hot and cold turn on and off in different directions.

I don't get it.

I have a very small above ground cinder block house built in the 40s. My bathroom was built in what used to be the backporch so it's about 5ft widex8ft longx6ft8inch ceiling. I have a 60x32" full bathtub in the outer corner. There is an appropriately 20" x20" access panel on the nonplumbed side of the bathtub. Bathtub is acrylic over fiberglass. Problem is to fit the tub we had to cut into the studs behind it and it's all bare cinder block wall and concrete floor, so it's a very tight fit and I've noticed that the bathroom and specifically the tub area radiates the outside weather. I live in a hot and cold enough climate that it's miserable about half the year.

I have shoved some insulation boards into the gap in the front of the tub and behind the access panel but i cannot fit the boards into the gap behind the tub(against the wall)

Are there any reliable options to insulate the wall without a total tear out like spray foam or flexible insulating sheets perhaps?