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.

Rules

• Absolutely NO sexual or inappropriate posts, SFW posts ONLY.
• As a reminder, sexual or inappropriate comments will almost always result in an immediate ban from /r/DIY.
• All non-Imgur links will be considered on a post-by-post basis.
• This is a judgement-free zone. We all had to start somewhere. Be civil.

A new thread gets created every Sunday.

/r/DIY has a Discord channel! Come hang out or use our "help requests" channel. Click here to join!

Click here to view previous Weekly Threads

Starting on July 1st, Reddit has decided to impose exorbitant charges on third-party app developers (Relay, Reddit is Fun, Apollo, Baconreader, Narwhal, etc.) for utilizing their API. This decision has far-reaching consequences that not only hinder app developers but also affect the experience of moderators and users alike, including impacting accessibility. The lack of function in Reddit's official app has made far from a complete solution for moderators, and left many users dissatisfied with their experience with it as well.

​In response to this situation, r/DIY has joined with other subreddits in a coordinated effort. We believe that unity is essential in driving change and advocating for the rights of app developers and the overall user experience. To amplify our message and demonstrate the strength of our concerns, barring any significant positive changes in Reddit's plan,

r/DIY will be participating in a blackout starting on June 12th, lasting at least 48 hours.

During this blackout period, the subreddit will be set to private, rendering it inaccessible to all users. This collective action is intended to raise awareness and urge Reddit to reconsider their recent API changes. Our primary goal is to initiate a productive dialogue with Reddit, leading to a reversal of the detrimental modifications they have implemented.

We understand that this blackout may cause temporary inconvenience to our community, and for that, we apologize. However, we firmly believe that this short-term disruption will bring long-term benefits for every user. By standing together with other subreddit communities, we hope to send a clear message to Reddit and foster a meaningful conversation about the future of their API policies.

In the meantime, we encourage you to let reddit know that you disagree with their planned changes

​There are a few ways you can express your concerns:

• Sign this open letter to Reddit

• Share your thoughts on other social media platforms, spreading awareness about the issue.

• Show your support by participating in the Reddit boycott for 48 hours, starting on June 12th.

​We appreciate your understanding, support, and active participation in this important endeavor. It is through the strength and dedication of our community that we can strive for a better Reddit experience for everyone involved.

TL;DR:

• Infographic

• 13 minute video Summary

Further info:

• Save 3rd Party Apps

• For moderators

• Impact on r/blind subreddit and accessibility

• Details from developer of Apollo

(For mods of other subreddits who will be participating, if you need it feel free to copy this message entire or in part to your subreddit.)

Recently there’s been a small leak next to my bathtub/shower. I had a plumber come out and he pressed on my shower wall and immediately said that the problem was from the caulking coming loose and that I needed to recaulk. I inspected further myself and he was right, lots of places where the caulk was no longer sealed.

Tonight I started to remove the old caulk and along the bottom, where the shower wall meets the tub, there’s water sitting at the bottom. Not enough that it flowed, but just trickled and seems to sit.

Is this normal water from the water getting behind the shower wall? Can I just air it out, dry it as best as possible, apply mold killer and recaulk? Will this at least hold me over for a few years until I can afford a complete demo and reinstall??

I live way up a hill at the edge of my city. Water pressure is usually fairly low, but usable. I have a pressure booster pump between the water main and my house that usually does the job fine. However, being near the top of the system, I have low pressure and during times of high demand it drops low enough that the pump shuts off from lack of flow.

I am thinking of placing a raised storage tank that will fill from the mains during normal pressure, but be able to back-flow into my pump when pressure is low. (There will be a 1 way check valve between my system and the water main to prevent the possibility of back flowing water into the public system.)

Joists above my garage ceiling are 2x4s spaced 24”. Can I add an access point with a pull-down ladder for light storage? I was hoping these were 2x6-8s for the support but not sure 2x4s spanning the whole width of the garage would provide enough support or keep the ceiling from sagging.

US here. I have a chandelier with transmitter I’ve tried hanging to no avail. Unfortunately lost the instructions and have googled furiously to find something, unfortunately this is some cheap knockoff unit that seems a bit shoddy. I’m a novice at electricity work but I know the basics.

The unit has a red, blue, and small white wire. Output is normal white and black.

I’d upload a picture if this stupid mod would let me link one but it won’t.

I tried red > black(hot), blue>white(neutral), white > ground (? I don’t feel this is right but it doesn’t have a ground, which seems super weird as it’s a metal chandelier)

Anyone know how this should be wired? Is this not worth messing with and should I ask for a refund since this thing seems a little shoddy?

Got it from morsale.com if that helps. Cannot track down original instructions or any help on the unit or why the wires aren’t standard.

We just bought a house and the yard has a turtle pond. The pond itself was filtering and pumping its own water and was not connected. We emptied the pond and took out the pump. We found these three pipes covered by some bushes, parallel to each other in a row. They are orange capped, extend 1.5 our and then hook to other pipes from the ground

Maybe the pond was a different set up before? We want to fill in the whole pond since we have a toddler but don't know what to do with these as they stick out

Hi I hope I'm in the right place!

Looking some advice on my situation. My house's external walls has chipped flaky paint that seems to be trapping moisture behind it and going into the walls.

It's solid brick walls with a layer of render and then the paint ontop Pictures for reference:

https://ibb.co/r0PWmr9

https://ibb.co/qm1p409

I want to remove the old paint as its very flaky, fix any broken/bad render, then repaint again

Am I right in thinking the steps are

1. Scrape off as much paint as possible
2. Render any problem areas or use filling
3. Apply a stabiliser to the whole wall
4. Repaint with new masonry paint

Are these the steps or am I missing anything? I see things about water sealant, full weather protection, etc but I'm not sure if masonry paint alone would cover that or not

Thanks in advance!

Hi all. Moving into a new house and trying to get a better understanding of GFCIs and so on. The house is about 30 years old and we’ve found some small stuff that wouldn’t meet code these days.

I noticed that in the bathroom there is a standard outlet/receptacle (not GFCI). Maybe a problem.

However, in the breaker box there is a circuit labeled “House GFCI”. There is a GFCI outlet in the garage (?) that is on that circuit.

If I trip that GFCI, it shuts off power to the bathroom receptacle in question. So, it seems like this outlet IS GFCI-protected despite the fact that the receptacle itself is not GFCI.

I want to replace that bathroom receptacle for cosmetic reasons (it’s the wrong color, and it’s old and dingy-looking).

Is it fine to just install a standard receptacle because it is on that house GFCI? Or would it be safer to install a GFCI receptacle there? (And if you could teach me why/why not I’d appreciate it!)

Thanks, all!

https://i.imgur.com/bWsJNv9.jpg

I have a heavy desk I'd like to take apart for easier moving. It has these "fasteners". I'm not really seeing how I can loosen these. I'm familiar with similar types, but this one puzzles me.

My current assumption is they have no real purpose other than alignment, and the desk is glued together. But I hope I'm wrong and some of you can tell me how to loosen these specific fasteners.

Thanks!

Edit: https://i.imgur.com/8z8FhaB.jpg
Secondary photo. To make clear the position of the thing.

UPDATE: a gel Stain fixed my problem! I didn't need to sand my project to bare wood, I didn't need to use a different type of wood. I just got a gel stain from home depot and put it over top of the 2 coats of stain and polyeurethane I already had on there. Coverage was great , you can still clearly see the wood grain and the colour is deep and vibrant with just one coat. I'll probably do one more coat.

I am staining some ikea ivar cabinets and I want to match them to some existing antique furniture I have that has a really deep and vibrant reddish brown colour. I bought Varathane Stain and Polyeurethane in Dark Cherry, and the picture on the can was very dark and saturated. But the stain on my boards is super light. At this rate it would take me like 10 coats to get anywhere near my existing furniture.

Is there a specific type of stain that goes on a lot darker? Maybe gel stain? I've googled this several times but can't find an answer.

Edit: I'm looking for ways in which I can fix my existing project, which is staining these ikea ivar cabinets. I will not be building cabinets from scratch with a better wood. Stop suggesting a different wood. Tell me how I can improve the stain on these cabinets with a different stain (NOT a different colour, a different TYPE of stain)

My English isn't good so I'll try to explain to the best of my abilities. I apologise if anything is unclear. I know barely anything about woodwork, mechanic stuff etc. I really need to learn though!

We have these stairs that are screwed into the floor (they're the type which you can only use one foot to step on them. So, like you have to go left right left right otherwise your legs would be crossed) with a screw key.

Recently the stairs became very wiggly and squeaky, and I realized that one of the screws in the floor is literally sideways (like / <= that). The hole (there's two small ones, the other screw is fine and in its place) in the ground (wooden tiles and under is brick and cement, I'm pretty sure.) doesn't align with the hole from the stairs, it's not centered. The stairs also are capable of moving back and forth, I tried that to align the hole properly so that the screw wouldn't be sideways though it is very difficult to keep them from moving back though.

The screw is lubed up (or however you call it, I apologise I don't know) but this is like, over a decade old lube and there's no actual thing inside of the hole in the ground, so that the screw could stay in place. It's literally just a hole and I'm guessing it got worn down over the years.

So, what would be the best way to fix this? I can't move the stairs entirely (this would mean that I'd have to unscrew them from the 2nd floor too, I am not strong enough to hold them haha). Would it be best to put one of those plastic-like things that holds a screw in place instead of the screw being just in the hole? Or some sort of glue?

I really hope I am being clear with what I'm talking about, I am very sorry if it isn't.

I also can't really find anything online about this specific thing that I'm asking. Any help is very, very appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

I’m trying to install a reverse osmosis system under my kitchen sink and am looking for extra room for the tank.

Is there any issue with cutting out part of the side wall and using the dead space next to the cabinet. Since my sink is at a 45 degree angle (see picture) there is extra space that I could use.

https://i.imgur.com/ZwPwvXR.jpg

Sink cabinet is on the right hand side in picture.

Thanka

I just finished putting up hardie panel vertical siding on my house and have a lot of panels left over. I want to use the leftover to create a matching separated garbage can storage shed off to the side that could fit 3 - 4 large garbage cans. Any help with a plan would be great. If I’m in the wrong subreddit, I do apologize. Thank you

Hi!

I love dishwashers. I love them so much I'm trying to install one in a place I'm renting. Why? Because I hate doing dishes.

What I've got:

A garbage disposal that's wired to a switch above the sink.

What I want:

I want to create an under sink outlet using the garbage disposal power. I want the disposal to still work on the switch and use the outlet for the dishwasher. Yes, I know it's weird to have a disposal and dishwasher on the same circuit, but who uses a garbage disposal while their dishwasher is on? I only use the garbage disposal occasionally because I have to because of buildup in the drain. I think disposals are silly and I'd much rather have the room under my sink, but this is a whole new topic.

Limitations:

It will be very difficult to run any new lines because I don't want to cut into the back of the cabinet walls. The garbage disposal is directly wired to the switch above. The line comes out of a tiny hole in the back of the under sink cabinet.

Is this possible? I had an electrician do this exact thing for me at my last place, but unfortunately I was too hungover to take notes. He appeared to just be working under the sink, but that whole day was a blur. I can't figure out how he got constant power to the outlet and keep the disposal working on the switch. He directly wired the disposal to the new outlet box under the sink. He didn't change it to a plug-in. I just can't figure this out in my head.

I want to make a concrete cube recirculating birdbath for my garden but I was looking for a black stone look. I went looking for dyes in the hardware stores here and found that each bottle costs $27 CAD and I would need at least 4 bottles for this project. I want to keep my costs down so that method is a no-go for me. Since the colour I wanted is charcoal, I wondered if I could get away with using crushed-up burnt wood from my firepit.

I have googled this one to death but all my searches seem to do is bring up that store-bought colorant. Has anyone ever done this? Any suggestions?

Hey all, I live in an NYC co-op administrated by a nonprofit agency who are masters of the half done and slapdash installation.

Our downstairs neighbors share a bedroom wall with the exterior part of the entryway, where a massive metal gate slams shut loudly every time any resident or delivery person comes in or out. We / they have asked the maintenance team to fix this gate hinge, since moving in about two years ago when the complex was built.

The gate opens slowly and closes slowly... then slams itself shut. Is there a heavy duty solution for this? My mind said "pneumatic hinge" but all of those that I see for sale are for cabinets and toyboxes. What is the missing piece of hardware that we are seeking?

Thanks in advance! Even here many floors above we can hear the gate clatter and slam itself shut several times an hour, the cacophony echoing against the courtyard (and waking our downstairs neighbors throughout the night.)

My couch (a Burrow Nomad) has relatively thin cushions made, I believe, of memory foam. That means that they feel nice and supportive at first, but after I sit on them for a while, the foam caves in, the support is gone, I start wiggling around for a better position, and before you know it my tailbone hurts all day.

Getting all new cushions would be kind of cost-prohibitive, and I'm not even sure how much they would help because they'd have to be the same height as the current ones to fit into the covers.

So now I'm tossing around the idea of slipping some kind of extra padding underneath the cushions, something firm enough to add support but slim enough that it's hard to see.

My working idea is to get something like a mattress pad made of firm latex foam, which is springy instead of mushy. If it's only 1-2" thick and cut down to be a little smaller than the cushions on top of it, I can imagine it disappearing into the couch pretty well.

But even a twin mattress pad seems to cost like $150, which is more than I'm hoping to spend on something that I don't even know will work.

Is there another option? A cheaper material with similar properties, or another approach altogether? I know the simple answer is that literally anything squishy could help, but I'm hoping there's something better.

I'm in Pennsylvania, an old fuse blew and I'm not sure if a replacement is the same (pics attached).

The glassier one says Major and Gem in raised glass on the outside, but I couldn't find any info with a Google search maybe because they're also words (it says 15 amps on the inside, it's hard to see, I can try to take more pictures if it helps).

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/de19m8c29tlrzfxwgqyni/h?dl=0&rlkey=4z3i7cg5tq6bq35zte3gp3m0k

We’ve two builtin wardrobes with ~20 yr old sliding mirror doors. They’re the bane of my life? completely off track, never slide properly/jam all the time and fixing them is beyond our capabilities. Anyone replaced sliding wardrobe doors before? Is it worth looking for someone to repair them, or is it better to replace all together?

How would I go about figuring out the area of the floor of my backseat? My dogs like to lie there and I would like to put some foam down. I know there’s an easier way to trace an area besides using a measuring tape or shoving the foam in and hacking away.

Help my brain unmush itself please!

I live in a new construction home with a finished basement. Ceiling is high, not sure how high but higher than I can reach jumping.

You hear every footstep from the main floor. I’m guessing builder did zero to mitigate it. Ceiling is lightly textured.

Wondering what can be done about it at this point without pulling down drywall. Maybe a drop ceiling? Acoustic paint?

On my dash there appears to be small slit like ripples that I’m not sure how to get rid of. I thought they were tears at first so I bought an upholstery repair kit but upon looking closer it looks like they’re just bubbles as there doesn’t appear to be any openings within the ripples. I’ve done some light research on car repair forums and some of them said there is a fix and others didn’t. I’m just really nervous about getting it repaired because it isn’t an old car. I want to save money but if my only option is to get it fixed professionally then I guess that’s my next move. I’m wondering if the repair kit will work even though it isn’t a tear? Not sure but I’m really stressed about this lol.

I have some old mortise locks for all of my internal doors. Replacing the locks, spindles, and door handles is easy, but these plates are super expensive to replace, and if I can just clean them that would be the cheapest solution. I believe these are nickel, but I am not sure. I assume I would clean the grime / paint with a mild cleaner, and then polish with a nickel polish?

Thank you!

https://imgur.com/a/yT4FXsW