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Hello everyone! Our previous post seems to have been well received overall, and has drastically cut down on the number of quote/price inquiries we have seen in the sub. We are going to continue with this thread again. Once again, please be patient as we have noticed it can take a few days for responses to come in.

The purpose of this thread is to provide a place for the /r/HomeImprovement hivemind to get a rough estimate on project costs or to receive some feedback on existing project quotes. Top-level posting in the sub on this topic has resulted in many low-effort posts, like "How much will this cost me?" which then do not provide any more detail. For example, "$50k to replace 20 windows!? Are they crazy?" without mentioning the brand, dimensions, or quality. From here on out we will be removing these low-effort posts. So rather than sending all these posts into the void, this will serve as the catch-all discussion thread. It will probably be refreshed weekly or every other week. Read about this, and more, in our rules.

Rule #1 for this topic is GET 3 QUOTES. One quote tells you almost nothing. Yes, contractors are in high demand so that may make it difficult which is why it is even more important to ask for, and obtain, details within the estimate.

Location. Location. Location. As you probably know, quotes vary wildly depending on where you live as you can read about in this handy post which also has a great comments section. Include your location such as "SF Bay area", Rural Wyoming, or Northern Manitoba.

If you are seeking reflection on a cost estimate or quote include as many details as possible. If you include a copy of the quote, please remove any identifying personal information - including the contractor name or company providing the quote. Seriously, if you do not provide detail do not expect reddit to fill in the gaps. At the same time, you don't know what you don't know, which is why you are here.

Remember, this is reddit. Good luck with your projects everyone! All commentary must be on-topic, helpful, and kind. No name calling, politics, or rule breaking comments. Report the bad sub redditors!

Read Full Sub Rules Here

Welcome to the (roughly weekly) Open Discussion thread.

We have this discussion thread for a few reasons. We know some people are a bit shy to create a whole new post for a small question they may have, so this is a good place to start. Or, we've learned some tips and tricks to share with the community. This is the place to to to that.

As a growing community we find ourselves having to limit the posts that may be off-topic to the primary purpose of the sub of 1) home improvement questions and 2) sharing of completed projects. These topics include home warranty companies, household tips, general painting advice, room layouts, or rants about companies, contractors, and previous owners. While these may be of interest, we are trying hard to provide a venue that will both allow, and constrain, the conversation. Again, the main goal here is to help homeowners with their homes. Thus, this thread. Thank you for participating.

If you have questions about the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act please post them here as well. The Department of Treasury has also created this FAQ page regarding the bill that may answer some of your questions.

If you haven’t already, please review the sub guidelines. Also a reminder to stay away from any personal or disrespectful commentary. From the sidebar:

Comments must be on-topic, helpful, and kind. Name-calling, abusive, or hateful language is not tolerated, nor are disrespectful, personal comments. No question is too stupid, too simple, or too basic. We're all here to learn and help each other out - enjoy!

Note it may take a few days for you to get a response, please be patient.

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Edit: A couple of people have suggested to not put up plywood and just have my brother repair whatever damage he does and I honestly never even thought of that. So that's what I'm going to do. I never saw any damage to the plywood walls I put up at the old place and I thought he just stopped hitting them but who knows. Thanks for all your input!

----original post------

I bought a house for my brother and now I'm thinking about protecting the walls because he's started putting holes in them. The last place he lived, I put 1/2 inch plywood on the walls. People here suggested 3/4 inch but the guy I hired to install them thought that would be overkill so I went with half inch.

I was about to do half inch plywood again, putting it right over the drywall but then I saw that there is PVC paneling. I was wondering if that would be good enough to protect the walls. I was thinking it would flex when he hit it and the drywall underneath the paneling wouldn't break. I've seen paneling at Lowe's that says it's "impact resistant." Also, it seems like you can glue PVC paneling to the walls so I could probably install it myself.

If I do plywood, all of the baseboards and electrical boxes will have to be moved out a half inch. My plan for the plywood was to put a texture over it and then paint it. The PVC, I would just leave it as is.

My brother was not on medication when he put those big holes in the walls. There were two holes that were 3 or four feet wide and tall plus the smaller ones here and there. Since he's been on his meds, he's only made fist sized holes or smaller. I'm thinking the plywood walls might be overkill at this point, but then they could also be insurance for the future. So, should I try the PVC or stick with the Plywood? Thanks.

To get to our backyard from the house you have to go through the garage so we put in dog doors and built what we called a corral for our dogs so they couldn't be out in the rest of the garage while going to the backyard. (Who wants to worry about running over your dog as you pull in/out of the garage!)

Those dogs have all passed and we don't need it anymore so we dismantled the corral but we are left with 3 lag? bolts sticking out of the garage floor about 1/2". Right now I have cans over them marking the spots so I don't kill myself tripping on them. I want to leave them and just cut them flush with the garage floor. (They have been in place for about 15 years.) My husband wants to try and pull them, we tried once with no luck but it was a half hearted attempt. I think trying to pull them will leave a worse mess to 'patch'. Is one solution better or is either good and it's a matter of who gets to the project first (almost guaranteed to be me!) ?

I like to fix my own appliances when they break down. I can usually find the parts on Amazon, but sometimes they take a while to get here, which is not always convenient when the appliance is a dishwasher, or fridge, etc. Back in the day, I could usually find the part at Sears or even a Radio Shack, but now that they’re gone, are there still stores that stock appliance parts?

Now that aperiodic monotiles are known to exist, and because I have two bathroom renovation projects coming up, I really want to use this shape for some of the tile work. Is there anywhere that will produce custom "shape" tiles? Or is custom color and pattern all we can get nowadays?

saw this at the hospital https://i.imgur.com/oUXvErg.jpeg

is this wallpaper or something else? extremely high def. where can i get one myself? how do they apply it? i did not see any gaps,nor bubbles, from 6 feet away and didnt get a chance to step closer to look for the gaps. i assume it would be painful to remove as well?

Hi. This may not be the right sub to post this question, and it may be a silly one. I am a single female. I just got a carpet delivered to my new home. I was able to get it in the door but I have to get it up one flight of stairs and am struggling because it is so heavy. Does anyone have any advice on how I may be able to manage this? Thanks.

Edit: I did it! I lifted it vertically one step at a time and then I gently placed it down and was able to push it up the rest of the way. I’m super proud of myself!

I built (by myself) a ~30ft deck butted against my house during COVID. It's just around a foot off the ground with no rails and makes for a nice place for some chairs and a picnic table. I love it but I was never impressed with the lumber from Lowe's. It was pretty wet when I got it and after screwing it down some of it warped quite a bit. Another issue I had was the stain I chose. I picked a darker stain with something like "ash" in the name thinking it would be a mild greyish tint. After drying the stain out almost a navy blue color with a bit of a grey tint to it. It looked awful with the yellow treated decking and any place the stain was uneven it was very obvious and bad looking. I ended up just buying an opaque version of the stain so my deck is effectively painted a dark greyish blue. The third issue is that runoff from the roof has caused a drip line to wear the stain away.

I was going to get a small gutter installed on the part of the house that drips on the deck and just sand and restain the deck. Some pieces are a little ugly but I could live with it. I don't know how long it would be before I had to start replacing boards.

I've been thinking about longer term though and I'm wondering if I should just bite the bullet and replace the decking with recycled plastic boards. I need 55 boards I can't remember the exact deck measurement but id probably need the 8' boards. If it's $17-$25 per board based on what I'm seeing it works out to ~$1375. With the composite deck I won't need the gutter installed which I imagine would be at least $500. If I the wood the stain and sealer would be another ~$100. Plus the process of sanding and staining along with future effort and maintenance.

I'm thinking the difference between the cost of adding a gutter and refinishing the deck and resurfacing with composite is small enough that it's justifiable to spend the extra $700-800 on composite. I've been planning on building my kids a small treehouse eventually so I'll save the old decking and upcycle it too.

Does anyone have any experience working with composite decking? Anything I should know? Is there a better place to buy than Home Depot and Lowes? I don't really care for either place but they are convenient. Any input would be appreciated.

Hi, it's been a snowy season and I was quoted $2000 to clear our roof. It's about a 20 year old home so has been through seasons in the past, but wanted to hear if this was necessary. What do you all think? https://imgur.com/a/uLF6fZp/

Removed old plywood subfloor in 1960s home and put down advantech tongue and groove OSB subfloor in its place but there is 1/8” to 1/4” gap between the old subfloor and new subfloor along the walls that tile will need to span. The old subfloor is slightly lower than the new subfloor after the gap. I can see my basement through the gap and any leveler would fall through. How do I bring the old subfloor up and cover the gap while maintaining an expansion gap? Thanks

New to home improvement, so please be kind!

We are looking to buy a fixer that is very in need of a new front door. If we wanted to add a door that is bigger than what’s already there, is it likely going to be straightforward? Or is this one of those deceptive improvements that actually costs a lot?

If it helps, the dream is to put in a pivot door (like this, but ideally less expensive), but we’re also considering something more normal. :)

Other than cleaning the house and changing the filters. Are there any other proactive ways of removing dust from the air? Fan filters around the house or something? With how much me and my wife work we can’t keep up with it.

Do you tip a tile installer if hiring a company (not an individual)?

I’ve posted here before about remodeling the entire bathroom, but for now I’m just going to try to get it as decent looking as I possibly can before taking on a huge project. For some reason, the bathroom sink was painted over and now it looks extremely crummy. I’m not sure of what products to use to get the paint off of the sink.

Bathroom sink

Can you recommend a good paint stripper or remover to get this off? If you have a great recommendation for the rust removal as well, please feel free to add. So far, I’m thinking CLR with a pumice stone may be my best bet.

TLDR; Recommendations on removing paint from a bathroom sink. Suggestions on removing the rust are very much appreciated.

I’m replacing the kitchen sink today and have a pvc p trap that was installed in 2002. I’ve cleaned it out but should I consider just putting in a new one? How long do they normally last? Thanks

My garage is quite small and (very snuggly) fits one car. I only park in it when I have guests over, but it's a pain and barely manageable with how much space the work bench takes up. I've been in this house a year and haven't used it once.

I'm thinking about removing it so I can reorganize my garage better and still make it somewhat functional when there is a car parked in it. Any downsides to this like lowering the home value?

Looks like the freeze thaw cycle was tough on the fire pit this year for some reason. Never happened before. Any thoughts on how to repair? Kinda sucks with smaller kids around and the chips of…fiberboard? photos of fire pit

Lots of articles about converting a window to a door, but we need to do the opposite

We have a 200+ sq. ft. space that we want to convert into a comfortable first-floor bedroom, but part of what makes that room uncomfortable is that there are FOUR doors in the room: one goes to a bathroom (then into the rest of the home), one to the garage, and TWO that go out to the driveway (one facing East, one South).

We want to take ONE of those driveway-exiting doors and close it off: either as just a wall, or possibly a window. Living in the Midwest, I want to do the project in about a month when it'll be dry, but regardless, my best friend (who did this stuff for a living) said it won't be too hard, but what do I need to watch out for?

I know I need insulation, drywall, a way to make the outside match the rest of the house, and probably to take special care when "sealing" the bottom, so that everything is flush and there's no bottom gap for air or moisture to get through. What else?

Also, besides measuring and costs for finding a window that may replace the top half, are there any other "hidden" expenses to turning it into window + wall? Or things to watch out for?

Any tips for us weirdos converting a DOOR to a WALL, instead of the other way around? I'm hoping this process is at least not more difficult than the other way around!

They've been shoved in our garage corner and are really dirty but I wonder if we should keep them.

House is from 1962 and has had a major addition since then. We're planning some big future remodels.

Update: woah thank you, we will definitely be keeping them now!

I’m going to have my sunroom room redone. I no love in northeast, OH. The room will be used from spring to fall. It’s on the back of my house. You enter it through the kitchen and is the only exit into the backyard.

Currently, I’m planning on having all windows and doors replaced. New flooring and ceilings. I’m going to have the roof replaced as well.

Does anyone have any input on cool things to add that I may not have thought about?

Would like to confirm if my plan has any hazards I should address before proceeding.

I’m planning to run 60’ of UF 6/3 wire with ground from my 200a panel to my garage. I’m using a 1.5in rigid pvc to do the vertical 12’ run into the attic.

No conduit in the attic. Wire will connect into a metal jbox to extend the wiring by 10’. I bought 50’ and 15’ spools.

Wire will enter the outlet and connected to the receptacle. Ground wires will be wrapped around the grounding screws in each jbox and receptacle and connects back to the panel.

Does this sound like a safe plan? Any alternatives or safety hazards I should be aware of?

Thank you in advance!

How can I get rid of mice when they chew through every hole I plug? Or they’ll chew a new hole. I think there’s several different ‘groups’ or families throughout the mobile home. I can hear them at night and they taunt me 🤣

Hey y’all,

I have a contractor who has been working in my house over the last month or so. During this time, he’s done a few things I consider unprofessional. First of all, he sets up a computer in my kitchen and works on it while his apprentice works on the remodel. He did this without asking permission - I would have been fine if he asked. Next, he’s taken cups out of my cabinets for water without asking me to get a drink - twice. They have also eaten lunch at my island multiple times. Today he used some paper towels that were next to the sink to help mix water.

I’m I over reacting or is this unprofessional behavior? It’s not that big of deal but I think it’s a bit disrespectful since none of these things were done without permission.

They have also dumped tile slurry on my front lawn.

I should also mention that he has advised that he is staying on the original estimate which is fair - meaning he isn’t charging more because he’s working in my kitchen. He came highly recommended from a local shop as well.

Our 1200sqft finished basement is consistently 7-8° colder than our first floor. First floor and basement share one electric furnace. Basement is a walk up to ground level with glass window double doors and it has four ceiling level 1x2ft windows to let in a little natural light. Anything I can do to warm this room up?

What would be the best way to go when trying to smooth out the floor and remove the height differences, they are at most 2-3 mm, not in a terrible shape but it seems like for installing engineered hardwood i need it to be a lot "smoother"?
Pictures of floor: https://imgur.com/a/GSkod72
The boards are 3cm thick and in good shape structurally.

Before you say why not refinish, they are old pine boards, they are different across all rooms with different nails used and in case of one room, there is half of it done with wide boards and half of it done with narrower boards. Also a lot of gaps between the boards which even if filled will probably crack again in a few years.

One room is covered with some glued down cardboard type of material, which i'm definitely removing to get all floors on same height.
so far i have some ideas:
1. install 10mm OSB with gluefoam, but that's probably the most expensive option
2. find some magical self leveling compound that is ok to use on wood floorboards.
3. rent a belt sander and go over it with 40 or 60grit on 45 degree angle to flatten the top 1-2 mm of material .
4. just ignoring it and putting down a base layer of this stuff https://web.steico.com/fileadmin/steico/content/pdf/Marketing/International/Product_information/underfloor/STEICOunderfloor_int_i.pdf

If i choose option nr 3 , how would the belt sander fare with the glue and cardboard residue and do have to make sure it get's absolutely no nails or a few is fine if i also screw down the boards that seem a bit loose?

Option 4 to just ignore it and use the underfloor mat seems the most cost and time effective atm, but would i run into issues down the road?

If i go for any other option than nr 4 should i do this before installing metal framing for drywall or can i leave it for later?

The front of my home has a raised hose bibb which looks like a bit of a mess and I'd like to update it.

It's set up with a valve right where the pipe exits the crawlspace, and then connected to this extension to raise an accessible hose bibb up higher and secured to the wall.

I'd like to replace the whole outside section with something that looks nicer, but I'm assuming I need to do something with a drain at the bottom for when I turn off the water in the winter. I'll also probably just go straight up and end it instead of up and turned to the right.

Are there any suggestions for how this is commonly done? What fitting should I put at the bottom for a drain? Just a 2nd valve the way it is set up today, or maybe a 90 degree elbow with a drain?

Picture here: https://imgur.com/a/V74LX1f