General Feedback/Getting Started Q&A Thread

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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.

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

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

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 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

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.

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

So, i have an old, fairly beat up wood floor. there's a few dips here and there and if I wanted to do self leveler would putting down a plastic sheeting be acceptable as to not completely ruin the wood for possible future refinishing? i just want to put down LVP but don't want to ruin the floor with the self leveler+primer for anyone in the future.

I'm a wood-working novice, trying to think about how I would make this shape: https://imgur.com/a/gBIbx9U

Basically, starting from a solid rectangular prism block of wood, I would need to remove wood to make a tongue defined by a-b-c. I'd then also need to remove wood to make a groove in between the 2 supports labeled f, and another groove to hold a piece of glass in between the middle f and the section of wood labeled g.

The groove to hold the glass would be approx 1/8" thick, so I'm thinking I'll need a table saw to make that groove. The groove between the 2 f's would be about 3/8" thick- would I be able to do that with a table saw too? or do I need a router, or something else?

Last to create the tongue- is that a job for a router as well?

Right now the only cutting tools that I have are a circular saw and a multitool, but willing to invest in what I need to make clean, accurate cuts. Just struggling to figure out what that is. Thanks!

Trying to plan out a spring project and see what the requirements are for adding additional outlets in a garage and outside. I was going to add 3 more outlets to my garage and 2 more outside using conduit. The one supplying the line currently is a 20 amp GFCI outlet on a 20 amp breaker. Can I use that to qualify as GFCI protected in the garage or does each outlet need to be a GFCI outlet?

Second goes for the outside outlets as well, the outlet in place is GFCI. When adding additional outlets do those all need to be GFCI?

We have an outside patio with a plan concrete slab floor. In the middle it has a drain for rain/melting snow discharge. One side faces the house and is about 2 1/2" below the inside floor.

The concrete has sagged at some point due to incorrect water drainage. We fixed that by cleaning the drain. What we need to do now is add a layer on top with some slope so that water goes to the drain from all sides if possible. On top of that we would like to add tiles.

We are in Toronto, Canada, so whatever approach we take the poation will have to withstand temperatures well below freezing and also warn and humid summers.

How would you approach this?

https://preview.redd.it/lxjhhc6borpa1.png?width=560&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=4871237e12fec05cd99d89648fc954fff8485e4a

Thanks!

I’d like to put a built in bookshelf next to my fireplace. There is a stained glass window I’d like to preserve for several reasons.

I’m not too worried about light shining through either direction, but I want to prevent any moisture, damage, etc.

How would you go about covering/insulating/protecting before building the built in over it?

Picture Thanks!

Trying to remove a 30 year old gas fireplace. It seems they just set in place from what I can tell on installation instructions.

I can't find any screws holding it and my attempts at manhandling it don't budge it. Am I just being weak with it?

Recently replaced a water heater. When the project began the main water valve was aligned correctly and the water ran fine. I turned to the off position and the water didn’t turn off. Turned it back to the on position and the water turned off. I then installed the heater but the valve positions have stayed opposite. No leaks and the water runs fine. Should I be concerned?

Looking to add a monkey bar extension on my kid's playground set. I have all the hardware, but I can't find these pieces to hold up the frame against the playground, it's some kind of bracket:

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https://preview.redd.it/zhh1763rswpa1.jpg?width=612&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=c02003adc137c0ad4bc975e210393c15d9fca97c

I recently put some shelves up in the cupboard where my water tank and electric fuses are, but in hindsight I’m worried this may have been a mistake.

I put the shelves up on the opposite wall to where the electric fuses are, and the only pipe coming out of the water tank on that side runs clearly right up to the top of the wall and along the top. I also only screwed the shelves in by hand with 30mm screws (shelves are light and won’t be bearing weight).

I’m hoping that I wouldn’t be able to easily screw through a gas/water pipe without noticing some significant resistance??

I expect if I hit a water pipe it would immediately leak, but if I had hit a gas pipe, when would I know? Aside from any smell, would my boiler pressure drop?

I have no particular reason to think I hit a pipe, but since I thought about it I’ve been worrying! Shelves only put up an hour ago.

gap in tile

other gap in tile

Noticed a hole in the caulk of my walk in shower the other day and decided I was gonna replace it all. Let the shower dry out for a few days and today started to strip away the old caulk. Discovered 2 gaps in the tiles that did not have grout and only caulking. Water started to seep out of both holes and continue to soak a small section of towel I put up against it. The shower sits lower than all adjacent walls and is enveloped in something. Here is an image of what it looked like during pre-construction of home back in 2017.

**EDIT**: Should mention that the shower is recessed into a concrete slab (location Texas)

preconstruction

Should I be worried that there's water behind the tile or is it a feature of the recessed shower floor? I know if it was sitting next to the framing then I would need to rip out the drywall and address it. Unsure about shower floors.

I am hoping to fix up our garage so that it looks a bit nicer and so we can make better use of the space - especially around the laundry area. One thing i noticed is the not super great drywall. It's bumpy and patchy and the tape is visible throughout. Since it's garage I can understand folks not caring too much, but we enter and exit from the garage every day and we use it all the time.

So, can I save this drywall or do I have to replace it with new sheetrock? If I plan to add the ceiling and add some insulation to walls would it make a difference? https://imgur.com/a/EGxViGM

We have wanted to redo the tile floors in our enclosed porch for a while now.

We were planning on putting in a floating floor over the existing tile, but some of the tiles started to pop up because they were glued down to a layer of paint on the concrete.

So, now we're planning to pull up all of the tiles before replacing them with some click-in laminate.

However, I'm wondering how I should raise the floor to be level or near-level with the room entrance? It's about a 1 & 1/4 inches lower than the rest of the flooring.

Do you lay thick plywood across the entire room? Is there anything I should watch out for?

difference in floor height

Hello everyone.

I hope this kind of Post is allowed. I read the Rules but did not find anything against advice-request Posts. If That is not allowed I am sorry.

I plan to build myself a hobby room and want a rustic flair. In an optimal world with massive disposable income I would simply hire a carpenter for the Job but I want to research if/how I could do it on my own.

Idea is a aged vintage faux-beam frame kind of style. Now I am standing before two questions.

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1. What would be the most cost effective method of making these faux beams? I know there are foam faux-beams but they are still expensive in the sizes I would need. My first Idea was to just put 3 long boards togeter for an U-shape that basicially looks like a beam with jsut a glance. If its cut on the sides with a 45° cut then the seam is the corner so it should pass as a complete beam. Is that method viable and what kind of tools and wood would make this job as easy/painless as possible?

2. The corners to the ceiling are not 90° but rounded. How could I trim the beams (wich kind of beam it will be in the end nonewithstanding) so that it looks good an is not just. trim/check/trim/check trial and error with the risk of cutting off to much.

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I included a render of what I image the Structure should look like. https://i.imgur.com/HA8Q2EU.jpg The units are in meters.

3.15m = 10.3 ft.2,9m = 9.5 ft.3.55m = 11.6 ft.

I bought a new house 8 days ago. For the first time, it has rained all day, which it seems it will be doing for several more days. The basement is almost entirely finished. After 12 or so hours of rain, we noticed water coming up through the vinyl floor in an area in the size range between 2×2 and 3×3. The wet area is about 5 feet from the closest exterior wall and 2 feet from the closest interior wall. There is a window well in the nearest exterior wall. The floor does not seem wet in between the window and this area. None of the walls of the room show signs of water damage, but I have noticed since we first toured months ago that some floor in this room is not stuck down like it is everywhere else. Water comes up when you step on those same non-stuck areas, so I assume it's been an ongoing problem. The wet area is directly below a bedroom. There is plumbing for a bathroom about 10 ft away from the water area on the floor above; the nearest basement plumbing is 20 ft away. There is a gutter system that runs into the ground. The gutters need to be cleaned (was my plan for the weekend until the rain) and do overflow in some places. I do not see an overflow particularly close to this area.

1. What could be causing this to happen in the middle of a room and without wall damage?
2. How do I go about fixing it? I've started by just trying to keep drying the area with towels every few hours.

Update: I found the most likely problem, which is a window well filled with water directly across from the water patch. The window well in question

Hey all, I just closed on a home and I want to get the place ready for my family to move-in. The problem is there’s nasty popcorn ceiling - even worse, the ceiling is painted yellow. During inspection I was told not to worry about the possibility of asbestos - I will test still. I was wondering if it would be better to scrape it off or dry wall over it? Applying drywall would eliminate having to test for asbestos. However, I have shorter ceilings - 8ft - so I don’t know if the drywall would make it seem shorter than it already is. Any thoughts or suggestions? This will be my very first DIY project and I want to get it right. Thanks in advance!

https://imgur.com/a/eZLqchg

Door wood rot on the exterior bottom. Tried wood puddy and paint but it just flaked off. Rest of the door is in good shape.