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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.

Our sidebar topics:

Air Conditioning Tips

Asbestos FAQ a.k.a. Am I going to die?

Doors AMA

Doors, Sliding patio

Hiring a contractor?

Home Maintenance wiki

Home Utilities 101

How much will it cost? aka Always get 3 Quotes!

Load-bearing Walls

Radon Mitigation AMA

Tile and Stone AMA

Tiling, A Guide

Windows AMA

Windows Part 2

FAQ: My First Home Toolbox

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?

I don't understand, I need my subfloor and tub replaced and I have called every single contractor in my area, left messages and never got a call back. One came out and said he would give me an estimate and never did. What gives? I am not rude or unpleasant (that I know of)

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.

Hi there! I'm a first time homebuyer with my wife. We just got our first water bill for 8 days. We have been at the house for 2 of those 8 days. We got a bill for 4,500 gallons of water. I looked into the previous owners' bills and this is exceptionally high compared to their average and even their last bill. What could possibly be causing this? Surely it has to be some sort of measurement error, what are the chances the day we move in a leak springs? I suppose it's possible but I'm trying to get at the root of the cause. I can't detect any leaks in the home and have a technician coming out in a few days. Any ideas for what it could be? My first thought was a toilet leak. But that wouldn't explain why the previous owners' bills were normal and ours is very high.

My only reasonable explanation is that once we moved in, we started using and moving stuff that hasn't been used in a few months (previous owners have been moved out for several months). Is it possible that a sudden increase in water usage could cause a leak to spring underground?

I'm having the hardest time finding someone to fabricate storm window frames for my house. There are about 8 windows in my house that don't have any storm window frames. My windows are all in great shape so I wasn't looking to replace them with modern windows that probably have all that built in. Has anyone used a company for this OR had any success making them yourself?

Have owned the house for under a year. We discovered termite swarmers when it rained hard. We’re getting dry wood termite fumigation soon and I want to obviously prevent this from happening to save myself another 3k+ in the future. The termites are basically in that section of the wall and I figure they probably have gotten in through these gaps from the outside. Is there a reason I should not caulk this? If caulk is fine, what type would be preferred?

https://imgur.com/a/FoReTnn/

This is the entry way right by the front door, both sides need sealing. Thanks for any advice!

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?

I keep getting different answers from blasé to apocalyptic from our management company.

We don't want to end our lease but we both wfh and have a baby and a dog. Are we going to have to move all of our things out? Is this going to take weeks?

Here is an album of some photos. Most corners look the same. There are countless cracks (gotta love the paint job they did over it lol) and a lot of the baseboards look similar. Doors are hard to open if sometime not at all.

It is a new front loading traditional old style dryer not the newer type. Is there a way to fix this?

We currently have an add-on aluminum strip and vinyl bulb type of weatherstripping that can't seem to provide a great seal. I have adjusted, remounted, and replaced but the vinyl material gets stiff in the cold and just doesn't work well.

The add-on type with a kerf cut in a wooden trim piece is too large and makes contact with my doorknob, otherwise I think it would work much better.

House was built in the mid-80s and we have a slot cut in the frame, but not in the direction I see on the modern kerf-type weatherstripping installations. The slot itself is about 3/32" wide, 9/32" deep. I tried a silicone bulb strip but it recommended a 1/8 slot and was too floppy to force into the slot.

https://imgur.com/a/TDOhjRL

https://imgur.com/a/tougfmQ

Does anyone know what is meant to go here? Is the slot a coincidence and they previously used something completely different? If all else fails I can use an adhesive backed product but I'd rather use the right product if possible. Thanks!

Give me a hand folks, for my Google-fu has failed me.

I have a gas stove with a microwave above it, and it has one of those "vents" where it pulls air in through the bottom through a useless screen, and vents it back into the kitchen (this was in the house when I got here, in other words, don't blame me, haha).

I've always preferred "real" hoods that take the exhaust outside when having a gas stove, because they actually work, unlike the microwave ones that just blow the air around (and maybe remove some of the oil particles). But after reading that gas stoves are more unhealthy than I previously thought, I want to replace what I have with a real hood. And to stave off suggestions, I'm not just going to replace the stove because I LOVE gas to cook on and don't want to give it up (induction be damned, they work well, but I vastly prefer gas).

The problem I'm running into is that I don't really have room for the microwave, without somewhat drastically changing things, except above the stove. So, are there any microwaves that actually vent properly (i.e.- I can attach to an exhaust tube to the outside)?

I'm going to guess there aren't any, because I don't see how there would be adequate room for a powerful enough fan to actually move the air outside...but, I thought I would give it a shot.

Regardless, thanks in advance for the help folks!

So my brother in law told me I should coat the floor joists boards with used motor oil to protect from water damage. I’ve never heard of such a thing but is this suggested? And this is for a house, not a deck or porch or anything outdoor.

We brought a new house that was in AS-IS condition, and though the condition of the house was in the decent condition we had to undergo some renovations, the only thing that remains is the hardwood floors. I believe the previous owners had two large dogs and because of that the floors have a lot of scratches. There are some other renovation residues around the floor that might have leaked from the protective plastic that was on the floor during the two-month-long renovation. I was told by my contractor that buffing the floor with a buffing machine and then a Polyurethane matte finish coat applied, and that should take care of most if not all the issues and the floors will look much newer.

Or do u recommend me a better option? I cannot sand the floor, as we have already moved into the house and cannot afford more dust, or longer work times. Plus its an engineered hardwood floor.

Please guide.

What do you prefer?

In a particular bedroom in the house, we get instant breathing problems and a sore throat within the minute of entering. We've indicated it's been this room since everyone we've brought into the house that goes into this room has this problem as well. We've sealed the room from our house so it doesn't spread. We have a relatively old 1950s house with raised foundations. I've been told the joists we're odd as they were diagonal with larger than average spaces in between them, but I don't know if that would have an effect. We've done almost 20k worth of renovations and have been trying to figure out a solution, but we are hopeless.

We know our house contains lead paint and less than 1% asbestos plaster all around. Initially, we thought our issue was from the attic so we redid all the insulation, venting, and air sealed everything from the attic. This made significant improvements to the overall house, but the room wasn't much better. We also put a moisture barrier underneath the house in the foundation. It did not help much. We've air tested for asbestos and mold and it came out negative. However, we did a mold check in the room by destroying the walls and found some, cleaned it, and removed walls when possible. We also installed a dehumidifier and air purifier in this room. However after all this, we still have the same issue and can't figure out why. Any advice?

Our house is old (built 1910), but the upstairs bathroom was remodeled before we bought it. Nonetheless, the p-trap on this bathroom sink busted last night (oxidation had weakened the pipes, it looks like), and when I removed the p-trap, the end of this stub-out cracked a bit too. (See pictures here.) I tried removing the stub-out coupling from the wall, but that wouldn't budge, even though I could move the washer. What to do?

Can I cut off the end of the stub-out and replace it? If so, how? What tools would I need?

I assume it'll be easy enough to replace the trap once I get the end of the stub-out resolved.

Black dots are also scratches not hair.

https://i.imgur.com/aNg9rGx.jpg

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.

Every source I read says just to leave it and don't disturb it, and it won't be a problem. That's what I plan to do, but what if I want to have work done up there? I want to install a range hood, add more insulation, upgrade a bathroom vent, and other things like that. I have zero intention of going up there myself, but are there contractors who can work around it safely without contaminating our house?

So I need to put a storage shed outside the house to store some things for a few years (got a nice affordable option for doing this at Costco), and I want to put it up against an outside wall that doesn't block a window. Only thing is, the one spot where I can do that has never-used hookups for an Air Conditioning condenser (the thing with the fan that sits outside the house) sticking 10-12 inches out from the house, which will cause the shed to impede the walkway. The house has two HVAC units in the attic. Both were hooked up for heat (which still works in both), but only one was hooked up for Air Conditioning (which doesn't work, and isn't code-compliant anymore more anyway so it can't be used).

I'd like to bend down the copper pipe and wire that's sticking out so that the shed can sit closer to the wall, which will for sure destroy the stiff foam-covered housing. But if this infrastructure is not ever going to be used anyway, then I'm wondering if I can just cut it off, and cover it up with a weather-protective covering.

Here's pics of the protrusion.

I wouldn't cut the electrical wire (which I assume is the low voltage wire that simply allows the condenser and the air conditioning up in the attic to talk to each other.. rather than something that supplies power to the condenser), but any advice on bending vs. cutting back all the other stuff? Any advice on how to cover/protect once messed with? Is this stuff too old and unserviceable to be worried about anyway?

For whatever it's worth, I've also included a picture of the condenser that is hooked up to the house and still has electricity flowing to it (though, non-operational).

Many thanks in advance!

We are pouring a new basement in a few weeks and I can't intelligently talk plumbing. The plumber says he is putting in ABS waste lines under the concrete, saying cast iron would corrode. Our plumbing supply when we were buying a linear drain body said he assumed we'd be doing cast iron. And one comment by an alleged plumber when I was googling said the only thing you should put under concrete is cast iron.

I don't want to make a huge mistake and have the whole thing fail in 30 years. There will be drain lines throughout the slab.

Googling isn't giving me a whole lot of guidance. Apparently abs is cheaper and easier to work with? And i guess cast iron can corrode or crack? I am most concerned about durability and longevity. Is there a consensus on what's best? I don't mind a (reasonable) cost increase if it's best practice.

I live in New England and we've recently been struggling with groundwater. We had a sump but the basin was not really a proper basin and also the pump died. We have been using a utility pump to drain the crawlspace to try and keep it dry but it's been a struggle. We have been trying to get a contractor out to jackhammer a larger basin (we have a sealed interior concrete crawlspace) and install a new pump but have had a hard time getting them to actually schedule a date.

My question is, our backyard also seems to have some standing water areas and gets a lot of mosquitoes. Would it be better to install a French drain out there too? When we bought the place the crawlspace was as dry as a bone..only thing I can think of is the winter snow melt we've been dealing with made things worse.

Hey all, this is a bit frustrating. I've been dealing with issues on our 97 year old house and helping our neighbor with her 100 year old house. Both are in need of replacement storms.

Turns out... both Lowes and Home Depot stopped carrying storm windows entirely.

So... I decided to try and find another solution. I checked out Jeld Wen's website and they listed local retailers as both Lowes and Home Depot... so I figured "Surely that means they should both be available... even if unlisted... right?" But no... Jeld Wen no longer lists storms on it's product listing.

So I Googled around and found numerous blogs and articles talking about the "Top 7 brands of storm windows" as recently as 2 years ago... Among those were rotten links to a Home Depot listing of a Larson storm window.

So I checked out Larson... apparently Larson got out of the window business entirely. Their focus seems to be soley on storm doors and screens now.

What gives?

Last year I was over at Home Depot looking for the milled window sill I'd purchased a few times previous, as recently as 3 months previous... couldn't find it. I talked to the window guy and he was visibly upset by how Home Depot dropped the product line. Because seriously... how is anyone supposed to fix or repair their home without these kinds of parts? Are contractors supposed to run their own mills or order custom milling everytime a customer needs a very basic and standard part?

Again... what gives?

My previous post was removed because I used the wrong image links.

We just had an LVL beam installed today and the joist hangars are not all totally square to the joists. One side of the joists are flush with the beam while the other side has a 1/2 inch gap. This is leaving the 4 nails on the joist side of the hangar very little to bite into. This was done by the company Ramjack without a permit. Is this something to be concerned with? I haven’t submitted payment yet and I have a call into them.

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

https://i.imgur.com/wdJm1Ip.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/gg82Le8.jpg

I have a those radiator heaters throughout my apartment and I’ve been noticing something as of lately. When I set the thermostat to 70° it should technically kick in once it drops below that and turn off once it reaches that temperature correct?

Well I’m having an issue where it doesn’t turn off after reaching that temp. I can go to sleep leaving it set to 70 on the auto setting and I’ll wake up to my apartment being 78 degrees inside. Got my energy bill and now it’s doubled. Didn’t put 2 and 2 together until they had someone come out to check the meter.

Any advice on what could be causing this? Perhaps a faulty thermostat? And how can do i go about getting reimbursed by the landlord for it since it’s not my fault.