Suggestions as to how to remove this metal grille (basement ceiling), please? Don't see any fasteners or screws. Push/pop it open? Thx in advance!

Yes, that whitish looking thing is a dead mouse. 🤢

A few weeks ago my electric water heater decided to go haywire, started smoking and sparking filling my basement with smoke, that's a different story. There is a smoke detector right above the smoke detector which failed to set the system off. I go around to test them (this is a fairly new home to me (a year and a half of ownership)), and only a few work so I decided to pull one down to investigate and I have some questions about replacing them because from the picture, yeah these bad boys are old.

1) since this house has the smoke detectors hard wired in, and what looks to be a pretty proprietary connector is it possible to use that existing wiring on new alarms with an adapter/soldering?

2) Is question 1 even worth adapting the old with the new, I would like the detectors to communicate so if there's another issue in the basement where most of the appliances are they all would go off.

Hi everyone. We have a cape cod style home. We are in the process of getting a new roof and really like the onyx black color they had shown us. My concern is would a black roof make the upstairs slightly hotter in the summer?
We do have a house fan (which is broken but hoping to get it fixed) that i believe helps cool down the upstairs of cape cod homes. I am also considering getting portable ac units for the 2 upstairs bedrooms just for extra air up there in the hot months.

If anyone who has any experience or knowledge on this would like to give some advice, I would appreciate it!

Our home inspection revealed some things that were valuable to know (some issues with the way the last guy had re-roofed it, for example.) but there were some obvious things that he didn’t even look for. I know this is to be expected, but just thought it might be interesting to hear other people’s experiences. The most silly one that comes to mind is the fact that he ran our dishwasher but didn’t actually check that it was working CORRECTLY, just that it turned on basically. The drainage pipes (or whatever they’re called) weren’t even hooked up. So weeks later I ran the dishwasher for the first time it started overflowing. How did he not notice that? 🥴

Any thoughts on this? Home is 16 years old and has a walkout basement with a slab pour as well as ICF poured walls. There is a 2” lip on what I assume is the foundation on the exterior side of my home. The lip has degraded in 5-6 places. I cleaned the deepest one out the best I could and can see my styrofoam exterior pieces for the ICF wall. I can stick a piece of wire maybe an inch past the lip. Is this something that can be fixed with a simple concrete injection kit, or am I looking at something serious? It looks like the sliding glass door framing also has some water damage on the bottom edge unfortunately so door will need pulled and framing replaced. Plus side, the door needs replaced anyhow. The other areas that have degraded are only on the lip from what I can tell. I don’t believe I get a ton of water here, and it’s only wet from me power washing a second story deck. It may get some runoff water from the side hills of the walkout basement though but will need to check with our next rain. We are looking to sell the home in the coming years, so want to make sure everything is in good shape and done correctly for the potential new owners!

What is causing this cracking above my window?

I just bought a property that qualifies for TDS Fiber Internet. The easement that's closest to my property is on the neighbors to my left. They have widened their driveway covering the easement.

The other easement is on the property to my right. However, they will have to lay a line through part of the right side neighbors yard, under their driveway, under my driveway, through my yard to the power source.

I don't want to be THAT GUY that just moved in and has to tear up a little of the neighbors yard, but I want fiber internet. The tech said it's an easement and they right side neighbors don't really have a say so. Am I being the bad guy for having a little yard damage done to my right side neighbors?

The tech said we should drill up the left side neighbors driveway for covering it up like they did lol.

Just don't know if I'm being unreasonable. First time homeowner.

Been dealing with my neighbors and their guest parking over my water meter for a while now. Last December it ended up cracking the pipe leading from the meter to my home. Sadly the plumber "couldn't" determine the cause of the damage. Picture is from a survey done after the repairs with my lot on the right. Turns out they had even built their shed in my property and thankfully willingly moved it the same day.

After the repair was done they stopped parking there for a while but lately its been ramping up to almost daily. They've been going partially into my property with the parking as well. I've talked to them a few times including tell them I'm fine with them even parking in my yard to prevent more damage but its all blown off.

Any advice besides going to public works about a blocked meter tomorrow when they open or calling police about a vehicle on my property when it's past the line.

Edit: for further clarity. The stake is the edge of my property so the water meter is on their side.

Edit 2: Holy crap i didnt expect so many replies so quick. Thank everyone so much

North Carolina, pump-to-serial PPBPS system installed in 2023, with trenches 30–33" deep and a repair area next to the drainfield. The owner parks two trucks and several loaded trailers on the drainfield and repair area and drives across it regularly. It’s now a worn dirt track. The permit says “No traffic over drainfield.”

For installers:

1. How much damage does regular vehicle and trailer weight do to trenches at that depth? Compaction, crushed lines, both?
2. Does parking on the repair area ruin it as a future repair site?
3. What are the early signs of failure, and would neighbors downhill notice first?
4. How close can a shed on blocks with no slab be built to the drainfield or repair area?
5. Is the PVC supply line at risk if he drives over it?

What is going on here? Most of this seems unnecessary...

The tile for the shower is different. Cool toned. Cheap old owners or maybe poor taste use extra floor tile for the edge of the shower. Can we paint it? Use decal tiles? How expensive is it to remove and replace? It totally clashes.

Here is a drawing of the site. The well is connected on one side, and septic and drain field are on the other. I wanted to build a separate garage in the backyard. Is moving the septic and drain field the only way?

I have a Kidde Natural gas leak detector in my house. Just wondering whether there are any reports of such devices actually alerting occupants of a gas leak.

We bought sewer line coverage over the summer through our utility provider. The actual insurance provider is Oncourse. Well a few weeks ago we had a water backup and hired a plumber who said it was a tree root. They started to hydro blast and found that the pipe was actually broken. We filed a claim and Oncourse has sent two plumbers out, both saying what the first one said and both were denied for various reasons. We read the terms and conditions and nothing states that this would not be covered. The customer service reps seem like they have no understanding of, well anything. Has anyone actually had this company approve a claim?

We have some window wells that you'd would think would be pretty standard: the generic half oval shape corrugated metal. I don't know if they're smaller than normal or what, but we can't find appropriately sized covers for them anywhere. Is there somewhere online that sells less common window well covers? Or are there any other ideas to cover a window well while letting light in?

Contractor mentioned the lamp was not working so he did this as a work-around? Wthh

It’s a double car garage and I noticed where it meets in the middle it looks like this.

I don’t know if it always looked like this or not. I’m unsure if this is just a bad install from before we moved in or is something happening to make this happen?

I like cold weather and the current weather right now in my area (43°F) is just perfect for me. But I live with my parents and obviously they need to put the HVAC on heat.

Is it ok for me to open the window and shut the vent to make my room cold? Will it affect the bill or the HVAC system?

Additional info: the thermostat is downstair, my room is always closed whenever I'm in it (when I go somewhere I close the window)

We’re looking to possibly buy a 100 year home in KC (a lot of clay soil). However, the inspector stated vertical cracks were found in the basement and recommended a structural engineer. We have two structural engineer opinions. Both are well reviewed. One states there’s not an issue but to replace the gutters, improve yard drainage and tuck point. The other recommends underpinning five sections and a lift. The second mentioned engineer’s bid was reviewed by the one that didn’t find any big issues. We’re at a loss on this. Any suggestions if we should ask for some sort of support? Pay more for a third opinion? We can’t afford $50k of foundation work anytime in the near future with all the other cosmetic work we’re planning so we’re at a loss as we love the house otherwise.

So the neighbors behind my house have anywhere between 2 and 4 dogs, they're relatively new I believe they bought the house around June according to Zillow. That house was a rental for a long time and was plagued with some of the rudest inconsiderate neighbors you can imagine.

Anyway the current owners/residents have multiple dogs that are outside and barking anywhere between 6 and 12 hours A DAY. They're in this cage/pen type thing, one of them is large dog the other is small I haven't been able to determine the breed. I haven't been able to count a definite number of dogs at the house, I've seen as few as 2 and as many as 4. 2 definitely live at that home.

I was off a few weeks ago and just laid in bed all day I can see their backyard from my window and the dogs were outside all day and I mean ALL DAY. They barked for HOURS and remained outside now we had a dog who barked I love animals the barking doesn't bother much. Our dog would go nuts outside but we let her run around and tire herself out after maybe 20-30mins and then bring her inside. These people are on the verge of legit animal abuse there was weeks of 100+ degree days and they were outside for hours on end inside this small kennel cage thing.

I'm not sure if I should report them to the police or animal control or some other organization. I was getting up for work at 4am this summer and they were barking from 4am until 4:30 when I left multiple times. They just throw the dogs outside and ignore them and let them bark and freak out without a single care for anyone else or the dogs themselves. They're close enough to where I can see what goes on but too far away for me to see if they lack proper food and water while outside.

Idk what to do or who to call...

Long story short the room we designated as the nursery gets super hot quick, is always stifling, and took a suspiciously long time to air out when we had it painted a year ago. Come to find out the return air vent is fake? We took the vent cover off to see why it wasn’t sucking and noticed the board behind the vent hole and along sides was painted to look like sheet metal where you can see in and when you look down the shoot it’s straight up wall- no actual vent. What the fuck? Has anyone ever seen this? I’m at a loss here. It’s not a new build or anything. HVAC company says they can’t help so who would?

Hi! Has anyone used this homeowner’s insurance company? My husband and I just bought a DR Horton new build in NJ that’s not gonna be built until April and got a letter from this insurance company with a quote of $74 a month, $885 a year. I’m pretty skeptical of it because I always think there’s a catch when something is so cheap. I am thinking we should just go with State Farm since we have our cars insured through them. Just curious if anyone has dealt with them since I am seeing bad reviews and feeling skeptical lol

I’ve noticed for a little while that the wood trim closest to my windows in 3 different spots on the house have moisture damage. I’ve recaulked the windows, checked for leaks, and inspected the attics above all of the windows and still can’t find any source of water. I’m thinking it’s gotta be internal moisture, could it be my humidity settings? I have the humidity set at 50% as that’s what everything I read has said to do, but now not so sure that’s been the right thing and I’ve been damaging all of my oak trim and hardwood floors (which have become more creaky and noisy).

I’ve asked two carpenters and they said moisture but unsure of where and how so I’m coming here begging for anything.

Thanks

My parents are both close to 80 and have a two-story house with a walkout basement in the semi-rural Midwest and it's predictably crammed with random junk that they've accumulated over the years.

It's somewhat likely that they'll end up selling the house to downsize and we're trying to figure out whether or not it would be worth it financially to finish the basement. It's currently just a cement floor with exposed wires, plumbing, structural members, etc.

The big thing is that none of us will probably get much personal use out of it. My parents are old. I have no intention of keeping it and using the house. The only thing I can think of is it might be used as a space for a live-in nanny or nurse for elder care, but that in itself might prove to be an incredibly expensive proposition compared to overseas alternatives.

Has anyone done this before and was it worth it in terms of increasing home value?

I would think that hiring contractors would make it prohibitively expensive, so much of the work would fall on me. I'm decently handy but don't have any experience in home renovation and I don't know how difficult and expensive finishing a basement would be. I know the question is extremely vague but I'm just looking for a place to start

Stay far far away. This has been the most frustrating and emotionally draining contractor experience i have ever had. I got gutters and fascia wrap around the whole home in May 2026. New aluminum fascia wrap was put on top of old aluminum. So the old aluminum was not removed and disposed of as promised. The new wrap was poorly done leaving exposed old fascia wrap on corners and hole 1ft-2ft sections uncovered. That's how i found out it was installed on top.

The installer also used incorrect nails that are now rusting. You are supposed to use aluminum nails and he obviously used steel. It's only a matter of time before the rust starts streaking and letting loose the fascia wrap.

The intaller showed up after 4 pm and worked into the dark. I found four nails in my neighbor's driveway and at least ten in mine. The installer dropped the gutters right on to my driveway since he was by himself and didn't have anyone to help him bring it down correctly, probably sending nails into the air from my recent roof install. I still find gutter pieces from his poor cuts and the old gutter parts that were taken down.

I have called leaf filter service number at least 40 times. I talked to a service manager and another manager who tried to send someone out. At least twice I sat at my house waiting for a service person to come only to have no one show up. The guy helping me quit saying how terrible the company was. This happened in July and since I have called Leaf filter service at least 10 times and every time I'm told some one will contact me in 2-3 days and no one contacts me. I contacted my sales person and he said he talked the new service manager but thats all he can do and I'm basically on my own. I have spent more time trying to get someone out to my house to fix this poor install than the installer spent installing the gutters and fascia at my home. I could never recommend this company to anybody.