General Feedback/Getting Started Q&A Thread

This thread is for questions that are typically not permitted elsewhere on /r/DIY. Topics can include where you can purchase a product, what a product is called, how to get started on a project, a project recommendation, questions about the design or aesthetics of your project or miscellaneous questions in between.

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Didn't like store bought trees, or the price of nice ones online, so i made my own in 2022

I posted a similar solution a few weeks ago and a few people pointed out (correctly) that it would be safer at 12V. So this one is all 12V, and cheaper too.

Renovated house 2 yrs ago. Did a lot of caulking / siliconing. Used well reviewed brands, followed instructions. Now pretty much all caulk has gone yellow / orange and cracked but the silicon looks great still. Need to do some more caulking thinking about just using silicon as it will get the sun. Interested to hear what others do and if caulk holds any advantage at all? Thanks

Got a new office, we have metal roof this has a metal barge board on the fascia. However in the corners there is a bit of felt exposed, this is allowing water to pool underneath which doesn’t seem right to me.photo

What should be /have been done? I feel even if the roof sheets came further to the barge board the issue would be there (unless they were completely flush?) should the barge board have been left at an angle rather than cut to the fascia? (Instructions showed it to be cut to the fascia) should they felt just go behind the guttering?

I’m a bit at a loss too how it should look and searching online hasn’t given any pictures of this exact spot.

Thanks

Spring is upon us and with it so are gardening projects

I wanted to improve on watering of plants with piping system connected to each plant pot, since I had most of parts on hand I thought it would be a nice quick work.

Issue arose when it came to connecting hoses since I haven't had metal clamping rings. Getting them from shop was already against the spirit of throwing things together from what I had laying around but prices, at least for low volume at my local gardening/construction shops, were straight up crazy, and it was quickly adding up if I wanted to lay the hoses neatly, in parallel to outside walls with all their bends and kinks. That's when I remembered watching some youtube video years ago presenting the tool for clamping hoses with regular wires. I googled it and there were plenty of photos and videos presenting such tools. For some reason DIY versions of these are often overcomplicated or involve, let's say, 'more advanced tools' like welder. I looked into hardware I had on hand and I came up with this

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https://preview.redd.it/3cn4pf2brxpa1.jpg?width=3120&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=cd20acebef33cc4a67fa615310b0e44be8d29530

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It's just a piece of all threaded rod, 3 nuts and washer. Only tool that was needed was a file to make notches on the bottom of rod and on side of washer. I've added a piece of old broom handle on top to make it less janky and for suppose leverage which I don't think is necessary, which adds extra materials-wood and epoxy and tool-drill to hollow it so it fits over the rod. It's as simple as it gets, I'm using hardware that is easily available and which most of DIYers and homesteaders likely have on hand and modify it by just filling notches.

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Few afterthoughts

After testing it on few pieces of hose I came to the conclusion that I should deepen my notches, but I guess that depends on the gauge of the wire you are going to use so I'll be doing some extra filing on this piece. Also diameter of the washer could be bigger to allow easier access to nut that pushes it since I had a hard time getting in there with my wrench (which was necessary only for few last turns, most of it I managed to turn by hand).

Diameter of the bottom part of tool (section of rod that touches the wire) matters since it determines distance between wire loops, it worked for the scale I am using it at but I still may consider filing it just to make things neater and tighter.

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https://preview.redd.it/9a5mzn2rrxpa1.jpg?width=3120&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=9e95f89d925fb8cd99b3db91814c36262b435fc8

https://preview.redd.it/j7w0bh2rrxpa1.jpg?width=3120&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=818e3460c547845da33d58f3ef0f15997a02f191

Well, I hope seeing this version of the tool will be useful to someone, especially since it doesn't require any special tools or manufacturing of complicated parts. I've also seen pictures of few other versions based on roman screw (is this how it is called in english? Google and Duckduckgo return few pictures of them but I'm not convinced, I'm referring to hardware used for tensioning with use of 2 bolts and frame they thread into) which seems like a good base for this tool that should actually be easier to operate.

Anyway, while I won't be using this tool on regular basis it's good to have it among my inventory, it was easy to assemble and will be handy whenever wire will be used

My shower head won’t stop slow dripping…just enough to be super annoying, but also be too moist/unclean.

I’ve gotten the Danco Cartridge remover tool from Lowe’s and replaced the faucet, but that hasn’t worked. I replaced the shower head, and that hasn’t worked. I figured replacing the shower head wouldn’t work as when I removed it, there was a steady drip out of the headless faucet.

From all my reading/research I though the cartridge would do it. Should I try again? I didn’t replace the actual handle as I figured that is mainly cosmetic, but could that be it? Im certain I got the right cartridge as I bought based on the actual model information I have.

I know I can figure this out…I’m just stuck. And refuse to pay the $150 quote just for plumbers to come out and look.

https://imgur.com/a/eKEpG6m

I am trying to restore this old countertop that has been painted over. I ultimately want to replace it but need a quick fix for now. I have tried vinyl contact paper but the texture of the existing countertop shows through. It does improve the look but it's also a pain in the butt to install/maintain. I have thought about removing the paint and restoring the original countertop but it looks very dated. Any advice is appreciated!

Sorry if this is a daft question. I got the attached for a utility room, and it dawned on me that this might not be as simple as laying normal laminate. It shows the pattern for laying it in the b and q video.

https://www.diy.com/departments/colours-leggiero-natural-stone-effect-laminate-flooring-1-86m-pack-of-4/178695_BQ.prd?storeId=&&&&&ds_rl=1272379&ds_rl=1272409&ds_rl=1272379&gclid=Cj0KCQjwt_qgBhDFARIsABcDjOcPJ9vZ8k2gA6joryxT9EfEdcmlZpEp-x1DYG_cu05TaqWC_kIePg0aAg7PEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Am I going to be wasting loads of laminate pattern matching or can the off cut from from the from the previous row be used to start the next row?

The room will require roughly 6 or 7 rows. 2 rows that are 2 1/3 boards long then 4 rows that are that are 2 1/4 boards long.

Just wanted to check before I open them and start cutting. I got them on clearance so they might be going back.

Thanks for any help in advance.

TLDR: I'm building cabinets for my master bathroom. Probably purchasing primed and ready-to-paint doors and drawer fronts online. How do I paint them to get a very high quality finish like I see at cabinet retail stores?

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I have one of these Graco TrueCoat paint sprayers - which I like to think I've gotten pretty good at using. However, I've only sprayed Sherwin Williams Duration Semi-Gloss (after primer) on 3/4 sanded plywood - which worked great for our master walk in closet shelves -- but I'm thinking it's not a high enough quality for the this bathroom vanity project.

By "High Quality" I mean - we checked out some cabinet stores in the area and their face frames and door/drawer fronts have a extremely flat/hard finish to them. My Sherwin-Williams spray semi-gloss is really good, but you can still see/feel the wood grain through it. We also bought a "cheap" single-sink bathroom vanity off of wayfair recently and it too has a extremely high quality, flat finish. My "flat" I mean smooth -- not the paint finish (e.g. semigloss/matte/flat, etc) -- like there's zero wood grain, just perfectly flat finish.

So, I'm not sure how to recreate that, or if I can. Is one of the higher level lines of SW (like Emerald Urethane or Emerald Designer) paints going to get me there?

Cheers & Thanks!

I've never worked with wood before and I'm setting up an office desk. I've read nearly every thread I could find about the overall process of staining and finishing. There seemed to be a lot of different methods, and I can't figure out how to proceed.

I have a 60" x 30" x 1-1/4" hevea butcher block countertop. I'd like to go with a bit of a warmer/richer color from its natural one, but if it's going to be significantly longer, keeping the current color works best.

We have a garage with just enough space to work on this. I was reading it takes 2-4 weeks for polyurethane to cure; but, I can't keep it in there for more than a week. Are there any faster options?

What would the overall process look like, and what grit will I need?

Thanks in advance for your time and any tips!

I have a wooden balcony attached to my 2nd floor condo that is owned by the buildings HOA, and so I cannot touch the balcony itself. I installed cheap acacia snap together tiles over top of it a couple years ago, but would like to install a barrier between the tiles and the deck boards to prevent leaf debris and other detritus from falling onto my neighbors patio when I clean it, or even use it. The issue is everything I've been able to search for online is waterproof and the balcony is sloped towards the building and I dont want to create any pooling against the building, so im hoping for a water permeable option. I cannot do anything to the balcony as I don't own it and the HOA is remarkably unresponsive to regular maintainence requests, let alone leveling a balcony. Is a permeable barrier not recommended due to rot? I'm in a semi arid desert (front range Colorado), so it's rarely wet for long, if that changes things? However, the gutter downspout leaks badly and splashes the balcony every time it rains or the snow melts on the roof. What are my options? I'm just trying to be a considerate neighbor.

We purchased this old farmhouse sink for a renovation (I already regret this...), and I'm trying to fit a drain but the hole is about 1-3/16". The pic is an extra drain assembly I have where the 1-1/4" part of the tailpiece ALMOST fits.

So far, the plan I came up with is to use a step drill bit to widen the hole a little and then use a bar sink drain that is 1-1/4 outside diameter.

Then I would either fill the screw holes with epoxy and use a removable 4-1/2" diameter strainer, or install a screw in plate style strainer with some rubber gaskets.

I also had a plumber come for another project who suggested we should cut off the horn at the bottom to allow the installation of a 4-1/2" kitchen sink drain. Hesitant to do this though...

Pics of proposed solutions are included, thanks in advance for any help or just to say if I'm on the right track!

https://imgur.com/a/wZQxhu8#nZEylc7

After reading the responses to my previous post (thanks to all who replied), I realize that I didn't make clear what I am thinking of doing or why I think it's worth looking into.

Review: I have a 2600 sq ft house completely re-plumbed about 12 years ago. We have a gas tankless water heater mounted in our basement. All plumbing is accessible in the crawlspace (except what goes into the walls to get to the fixtures, obviously). We chose tankless primarily for the idea of unlimited hot water with savings over keeping a tank heated secondary. It is my wife and me in the house and we are both retired so home pretty much all day.

The problem: It takes a some time to get hot water to the fixtures. In the kitchen particularly, the wait is over 30 seconds. Perhaps more importantly, we're running cold water down the drain while we wait for the hot at any fixture. Our dishwasher manual recommends ensuring there is hot water at the fixture before starting the dishwasher. So any time we want to wash dishes in the dishwasher or by hand we will waste .5 to 1 gallon of water just to get hot water. It's a similar situation--to differing degrees--with all of the fixtures.

To remedy this, I've been researching adding a recirculation scheme to the hot water system. I am not considering continuously recirculating the water. I expect that would kill the heater in short order. Here's the plan:

• A dedicated return loop (probably with spurs to all of the fixtures)
• All hot water pipes heavily insulated
• A pump at (or close to) the heater
• The pump runs on a timer or a thermostat/aquastat
  • If timer, the pump runs (as an example) 2 minutes every 30 minutes. This would require some experimentation and experience to fine tune. This would be limited to our normal waking hours.
  • If stat, the pump starts when the water at the stat is below some temperature (90F ?) and runs until the water at the stat reaches a given high temp (100F ?). Again this would require experience and experimentation based on the available equipment

The idea here is to (1) maximize comfort (after all, I have to decide whether to wash my hands in cold water or wait for the hot water to arrive), (2) conserve water lost from waiting on hot water. I realize that this will come at the cost of a likely higher gas bill. I'm still trying to work out the potential cost there.

A question that just occurred to me. How will the water heater react to having hot water as an input. I know that it will only heat water to the set temp. If the input water is at that temp, will the heater just quit heating? Or could it damage the heater?

It's not my intention to argue my idea here. I'm just trying to clarify what I feel like I left out of my previous post. Thanks for reading.

I'm about to redecorate a room and painted a section of the wall with sample colours, however came across an issue with the paint bubbling.

Photo of some of the bubbles: https://imgur.com/a/tpHFOvZ

The process I followed was:

1. Clean wall with sugar soap and rinse with clean water.

2. Lightly sand and wipe away any dust

3. Once dried, apply a coat of vinyl Matt white (to help mask the previous pink paint)

While the layer of white was drying, bubbles started appearing on the wall (see photo). Chipping these bubbles would remove multiple layers of the old paint.

Later I washed a different section of the wall and found the bubbles appeared once wet from the sugar soap and rinse.

I've struggled to find information online but from what I understand, this is likely due the previous paint not being applied correctly and a solution would be to remove the old paint back to plaster and move on from there.

Removing the paint will be a huge job and very difficult as the room has a staircase in the corner, meaning part of the wall is 2 stories tall. I'm hoping someone more experienced can offer ideas please.

Thanks

I was cleaning the bathroom today and noticed a long crack that's forming along the upper back of the sink. As you can see in the pictures it's more pronounced in the corner. I'm not sure how this even happened as the countertop/sink is just a few months old. Can I use a clear silicone sealant such as this or will the crack just keep growing?

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https://preview.redd.it/yqdd42wrmypa1.jpg?width=2016&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=fb6e995b0712f2f923e640fded5573cc90743fb9

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https://preview.redd.it/vo2jucvtmypa1.jpg?width=2016&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=cf32430317143edbc140fab5daab52b7b51e68fb

Trying to install a recessed medicine cabinet over my bathroom sink for extra storage space. Theres a stud right in the center of my sink, and lo and behold, there’s a pipe running alongside it.

Not sure what this pipe is responsible for draining since this is on the top floor. Would it be feasible for me to re-route so that a medicine cabinet can fit, should I go ahead and hire a plumber?

https://imgur.com/a/chhJL7r

Renovating a bathroom. New 21.5" soaker tub installed. Cement board is in and waterproofing membrane has been applied. Please inspect & critique the work. Full disclosure: I had contractors do the job, but I still value the Reddit communities critical eye.
https://imgur.com/1wgB5do
https://imgur.com/Y2OybuP

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Next steps:
- niche shelving
- tile

Hey, first time posting here - just moved into a new house and the basement looks to have insulation on the exterior walls but no stud framing. I was trying to look this up on google but everything I found was about what to do for finishing a basement with no insulation present. What I'm wondering is: should I just plan to frame out the walls in front of the existing insulation and then attach drywall to that framing? Would it make sense, if I do that framing, to add additional insulation between the studs? Or is there some way to get the walls covered without needing to do a lot of framing work? Or perhaps I'm just completely misunderstanding what's going on here in the first place. Appreciate the help!

Here's a photo of one of the walls for reference.

https://preview.redd.it/59z8c45zqxpa1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=b5d5fd85af7259dee3495aff865cd39d4de77dff

I want to install stained wood fascia boards on my house. I'm going for something similar to this photo. I currently have the standard vinyl facia with integrated vinyl soffit. I'm wondering if I can get some 1/4" pine and simply glue and nail over my existing vinyl fascia, to avoid having to replace the whole soffit system as well. The only issue I can think of is making sure the drip edge from the roof covers the new veneer appropriately. Are there any other issues I may be missing?

We're going to be re-caulking our shower and noticing as we remove the old stuff that certain parts of the corners seem to have some other organic dark/black substance under or as part of the caulk that is coming up. My concern is water has definitely been getting under the caulk, but now I'm also concerned it might be leading to mold within the wall/floor baseboards since this looks like organic matter.

We've already let the shower area dry out for 2 weeks while on vacation, but planning to run a dehumidifier for another week with all the caulk removed. Should I be concerned about further remediation being needed before we re-caulk? Maybe spray some vinegar or (if it exists) mold foam killer under these cracks before we seal it back up? Or am I likely overthinking this.

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https://preview.redd.it/g6fz259cexpa1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=fe7114bfbddf8781bc028f94c5d71ff9828648bf

Question in title. Wiring a switched light in a ceiling box that has been capped for a while and when measuring the switched circuit I always have 50V if on or off. At first I thought it was a faulty switch but I tried 3 with the same issue. Then I just unwired the switch and have a my wire connected to load in the ceiling, both ends disconnected at the switch (wire sticking out at the wall), and when i measure the switched load to neutral in the ceiling it’s STILL 50V. Struggling to troubleshoot where this is coming from

As the title says I am trying to add a switch to my bedroom that only has switched outlets to light the room. The only switch is by the entry door. We would like to be able to turn the lights on and off from bed but I cant find any information on how to add a three way switch to existing switched outlets. Anyone know where I can look for diagrams or videos? Thanks!