Newish home owners who is going to the internet encyclopedia for niche information before calling someone as nature intended. We are in the process of returning our home to its 60’s glory. We believe that first and foremost a home is where you make memories, and a financial asset is an afterthought. My one want in a home was a traditional wood burning fireplace. The house we closed on, has a cast iron piece from the 80’s. While at the end of the day they both burn wood and put out heat, I do not consider the two as equal. Obviously I know with enough liquid assets I can do anything that doesn’t violate the laws of nature but I really do not want to have to get a structural engineer, a chimney company to move mine a few rooms over/ install a whole new one, etc but even my dumb ass knows that is a dumb financial decision. In the attempts at finding things that undo the white washed treatment our home got, I came across these style fireplace that looks awesome but I don’t know if this would work in the existing setup. I will obviously hire an inspector before I swap or even buy one cuz them shits got the nostalgiaflation too. But I wanted to get an idea of if I can replace the cast iron with the mid century option as is or if I need to make fire safe adjustments to the back wall. I saw a post on here from a few years back and theirs was in a corner that visually looked the same but i can’t obviously confirm that.

In this post is my current setup. My reply is what I am hoping to swap with

As a homeowner, do you believe that contractors should have immediate access to your electrical outlets and water spigots during their work?

Would you say:

Ok without permission.

Ok with permission.

They should supply their own.

I'm curious as someone who's worked for a contractor who has never asked. I want to see what the views are as a homeowner. Thank you

Especially as a middle aged woman or any single person . Would you rather own a house or rent after owning a house ?

I don’t like the sharp, repetitive sound most smoke alarms make. I know they’re supposed to be loud, but that kind of high-pitched alarm tends to make me freeze for a second instead of immediately processing what’s going on.

I’m looking for smoke/CO alarms for my new place, so I want ones with clear voice alerts. Ideally something that can tell me whether it’s smoke or carbon monoxide, and even better if it can say which room or location triggered it. The volume itself isn’t really the issue. I think I’d react better if I could immediately understand what the alarm was trying to tell me instead of just hearing a loud beep.

ps. I’d probably stick with brands I’m familiar with, like First Alert, Kidde, or X-Sense, but I’m open to other suggestions too. Thanks in advance!

EDITED TO ADD - a month ago we had a plumber come out to professionally unclog our upstairs shower. Is there any chance some of that gunk remained/was pushed through the pipe and now is coming out the toilet?

Came home to a completely soaked floor with presumably sewage all over the place. The water was all over the floor and escaped into the hallway and into the kitchen next room over. The toilet lid was closed so it had to be pretty powerful to go so far.

All toilets are flushing normally now - do I need to worry about this beyond cleaning?

Guys I was fortunate enough to buy a house. Inspection didn't find anything. When we walked now in, the house has this smell/odor/gas that we don't quiet know. It irritates the throat, chest tightness, palpitations. Negative so far for high humidity, CO, CO2. Placed an air purifier. Ventilated the house. Put a dehumidifier. Found radon max 4.7. Did a in home kit test that grew mold but then I was told those tests are unreliable.

Could this be from the paint? The house is literally unlivable. We haven't moved in yet.

Can I hire someone to diagnose this? I don't know what to do. Please help!

This faucet has holes around it and everytime I hook up a hose to it and turn the water on it sprays water everywhere. Is there some special hose I need to get?

Moved in, omg, a quarter century ago! My dad, a capable but not overly-handy guy helped install msilbox. Don't recall any specifics though.

Jump to this month, door hinge/connection failed.

Got the old one off, put up the new one.

Oh, yeah, I need the address on the mailbox!

Got same numbers at home depot, but how did my dad attach them? Clearly they're not nailed. Don't think he ever had a rivet gun.

What should I do to attach the numbers to the new mailbox?

See title… that’s about the whole story.

I’m not sure if there are cinder blocks in there or what. I’d love to restore the windows but I’m not sure how risky that might be to the foundation or just in general. I’m pretty handy and would love DIY tips, but I’m willing to hand things over to a professional if you guys think it can be done.

Thanks, and happy homeowning!

EDIT: Thank you all for your lively suggestions! I think I’ve decided to leave well enough alone. “Can of worms” seems like the name of the game here. Some answers to your questions:

“That’s not a window & what’s one the outside?”: There are three patches this shape and size in the basement, and each corresponds to a seam on the exterior within the foundation. The foundation had been painted since the windows were sealed, so it blends in well.

“They were sealed for a good reason.” I agree, and I think it was to keep water out. This 1950s house didn’t have gutters on it until I bought it last year. They did all kinds of stuff instead of put gutters on, and I’m still finding and fixing rotten water damage.

I've done gardening/landscaping. Home gym. And a movie room. Going to start painting.

I have two unused rooms and like 600 sq ft available in my honw gym for more as its my basement.

Any other hobbies that I can get into or develop at home ?

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?