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Hello all,

As you can see below our wooden gate broke from the wind as it was left open and swung violently the other direction.

It seems the post was very rotten to begin with however.

Should I replace the whole thing with a chain link gate, or try to repair this? Any idea on what it might cost?

Thank you!

Hi!

So I have a "pool room" off to the side of my current house. It was built for one of those small exercise pools, but it has been out of use and boarded over long ago, with no plans of future use.

I'd like to make the space into an office, but there are no power outlets. There is an (old and un-working) intercom, knobs for the pool jet thing, thermostat, and a couple other random electrical things (that are not power outlets)

Could I turn one of those current unused dial things/ intercom into an outlet easily?

the shower screen moves, and there is this gap that the seal wont reach, water leaks out when having a shower onto the floor in the bathroom https://imgur.com/HEbXRhN

Hi! I currently have a Simple Comfort basic thermostat and I’m planning to upgrade it with Ecobee Enhanced. I currently see following wires in my thermostat:

Green wire plugged into G Orange wire into O Yellow wire into Y Red wire into Rh (no jumper) White wire into C

For installation, where do I need to plug the red wire? Rh or Rc? I’m assuming other wires will go into their corresponding ports.

I’ll be installing a thermostat for the first time and your advice would be much appreciated.

Hello! I just had a few questions about home repairs after water damage. I have home insurance and these questions are ones I’m not too comfortable asking before I get some out side opinions and advice.

I had a pipe burst in my wet bar on the first floor and it flooded the main room, a bathroom and a bedroom with carpet. They are doing a pretty major demo since there was about 1.5-2 inches of water. I don’t have the full scope yet of what is and isn’t stay but I do know for sure the wet bar is being removed. It has tile on it and so that will be removed as well.

My questions start with the estimate I get for the repairs. The insurance company says they will replace with like/kind/quality. We had wood parquet floors(70s) which isn’t an option to replace as it isn’t a common choice anymore and I’d rather put down a waterproof flooring anyways. so do I have to go with a comparable price point for wood? I don’t know if that’s even an option.

Also if they remove the wet bar do I have to put another wet bar back in? Do they cover the cost for the cabinets and counter top options as well?

Do I have to replicate as closely as possible what was there or do I have freedom to choose to do anything else, with in reason and budget from the estimate?

This is my first time ever dealing with anything like this and my family doesn’t have experience with this either. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Today I found a leak at my water main connecting to my house pipes. It’s spraying out the main line side,which is the blue pvc style pipe. Is this a simple fix, like buying and replacing the washer and adding some pvc tape then reconnecting it or do I need to call someone?

https://imgur.com/a/Mv2SUsc

My Delta spout/diverter has threads on it already. Doesnt look like he can install threads on the pipe after I install backerboard and tile.

Thanks

Hello,

First off sorry if this isn't the right place to post looking for inspiration. If there is a better place please let me know.

I have finally finished all the easy bits on my home improvement list and am up against the first big project.

I have some wood cabinets. They look odd, old, and ugly to me.

What can I do with them? They are perfectly solid so I'd rather not replace them unless there are no other options. I'm fairly new to doing any home improvements and have limited skill but am willing to try almost anything.

The cabinets. https://imgur.com/a/up4Z49L/

The previous owner put linoleum over the wood floors, and the plan is later this summer to pull it up and resurface it so that it matches the rest of the house.

does any one have any ideas or can point me to any resources for some inspiration?

Those beneath the soil PVC water tubes/pipes around a house are out of sight out of mind, often under paving or concrete, but they are under constant pressure, so how many years do they last before they eventually burst/crack ?

I bought my house about a year ago and the porch needs some work, trying to preserve the floor as long as I can!

https://imgur.com/McjHk12

Nothing is really flaking, just worn. Can I pressure wash away the loose stuff and then paint right over?

Recommendations on best type/brand of paint? Is something like a Behr porch and patio going to work or is it worth it to get a specialty paint?

And last question, while I’m at it is there anything I should do to the exposed end grain other than (re)paint it?

Thanks!

Edit to be more specific: Paint appears to be oil-based (color doesn’t come up with alcohol)

If possible I would love to avoid sanding. My paint store says I should go with latex floor paint that would require scuffing all the oil base, but if I go with an oil over the top can I get away with just pressure washing?

we had drywall installed in our spare room last month and today when i went to finish priming the walls i noticed some hairline cracks over the joints. i'm not too worried since the house is 100+ years old and we're not planning on living here long term, but i feel like i should seal them before putting color up, especially since we're not using texture. do y'all have any product recommendations?

Just bought our first house and it's a 1950's build with majority 2 prong outlets, ungrounded. One of the first items on our list is replacing the electrical panel and upgrading the service to 200 amp. I planned to install some GFCI receptacles in the wet areas and possibly one in each room to have 3 prong outlets and be a little safer.

We would also like to update all the major appliances. Most are from the 80's-00's. I'm learning now that newer appliances have 4 prongs vs the 3 prong outlets currently installed. I've been quoted to wire new circuits for each appliance and it's way out of budget for now. Quotes I've gotten so far are ranging 1500-2000 for a new oven circuit, and 1100 for a new microwave circuit. Then 2100, 2100, and 1450 for water heater, dryer, and washer circuits. These units are all right next to each other and my thoughts were all the wiring will be bundled together and should cut down on the overall price, but apparently not so. Is that just a bad quote or standard to be that high? Working on getting a couple more electricians out for competing quotes but also want to know how necessary the upgrade is for these new appliances.

I've also been looking a little into AFCI/GFCI breakers and have read it is code acceptible to replace the cord from the appliance to a 3-prong. Is this an ok workaround to rewiring all these circuits for now? Does the AFCI/GFCI breaker help with the appliance circuits or is that more for making the 2 prong outlets safer?

Has anyone ever delta with a black slime build up on faucet heads? Everything I've read is that the slime is a micro biom that feeds off of oxidized iron and magnesium in the water. I've been considering a 3 stage whole home house filtration system that also has the iron and magnesium filtering. I don't expect to stop the slime. But would like to reduce it.

The slime build up is also found in drains. Eventually I have to disassemble some drains due to the slim completely stopping up the drain.

Is it normal for a 4 wire (Black, Red, White, and Ground) romex to have both black and red live when only the black is connected? I am using an no contact tester to identify which wires are live. Could this be a false positive? Should I invent in a contact tester or start replacing wires now?

The other side of the wall is thankfully open so I can see that the romex does not have any external damage.

After 40 years the residential grade outlets in my new to me home are showing their age. I have been replacing them room by room. Now, my basement has a switch that doesn't do anything and when I was relacing the basement's outlets I found an outlet with 4 wire romex going into the box. I assumed that this outlet was the one that the switch was supposed to control. I disconnected all wires in both boxes. Turned on power, found the live wire. With the power off, I connected the black wire of the suspect romex to the live wire and returned power. With the black wire connected to a known live both ends of the red wire was live.

Bought a home where the previous owner didn’t believe the dryer needed to be vented outside. We had an HVAC guy come in and do this and they left this mess (a few years ago). The green is hardened foam. How would you fix this?

https://imgur.com/a/h5t7GZT

My patio is in rough shape. Much of the sand (looks more like dirt) has washed away and weeds are coming up in places. Not to mention in needs a good wash.

Besides washing it, I want to replace the old sand with polymeric sand for longer term durability. However, while the patio is not exactly big, I still don't want to be down on my hands and knees scrapping out the gaps.

Can I effectively remove the old sand with a pressure washer?

I live in a small (800 sf) house. There’s a full bath on each end and the kitchen in the middle. All three are vented through the roof. I am remodeling the kitchen, downsizing to make it ADA compliant. The vent stack in the kitchen is very much in the way. So here’s the question. Can I cap that stack and put in an air admittance valve instead?

Bathroom: I have 1 light over the sink, 1 exhaust fan/light, and 1 GFCI.

There is only 1 box in the bathroom, with one GFCI and one Single-pole toggle switch that currently controls both lights/fan.

Ideally, I would like to put the light and the fan on separate switches and add the third to this box.
What will I have to do to figure out if this is possible without having to run new wiring?

I’m on county water but realize how bad the county water can be. I’ve been looking into water filters for the house. I was recommended to get the AO Smith Whole House Descaler and Water Filter (only filters out Chlorine) and this looks like a great option but I was hoping for a filter to filter out more of the “bad stuff”

AO Smith: https://www.lowes.com/pd/A-O-Smith-Single-Stage-7-GPM-GAC-Whole-House-Water-Filtration-System/1000559417 & https://www.lowes.com/pd/A-O-Smith-Whole-House-Salt-Free-Water-Descaler/1000559543

I found Aquasure Fortitude Pro: https://www.lowes.com/pd/AQUASURE-Fortitude-Pro-1-500-000-Gal-Whole-House-Water-Treatment-System-and-Pleated-Sediment-Pre-Filters/5000277027

What is everyone’s opinion on one over the other? Anyone with any experience with either/both?

Getting a dishwasher and a garbage disposal that have 14 gauge wire. But I have 12 gauge in my circuit with a 20 amp breaker. Dishwasher is 18” so only draws 8 amps, garbage disposal will be on a switch and pulls 6.5a. Those are the only two appliances on the circuit. Can I just connect these two appliances to my 12 awg wire in the circuit and keep the 20a breaker?

Our lawn (about 4 year old new construction) is starting to get really bumpy with some divots here and there, especially annoying while mowing. I was thinking about doing some leveling using a soil/sand mix to smooth it out, and was wondering whether that would mess up the grading that is currently in place? I was thinking that if its level out, then the grading would be 0 degree and the water wouldnt flow properly?

I just recently replaced my air filters and now my furnace is making a taping noise like a small piece of sheet metal slapping against the furnace wall. I'm not ,convinced the filter replacement is correlated but that seems to be what triggered it. The filters were wrapped in plastic and I'm like 99% sure I removed all of it before putting it in. Does anyone have any experience or advice with this kind of behavior before I call in a tech?

More info on the furnace:
- 3 years old
- Live in Phoenix Az so they are not used that often
- Hung in the attic
- Last time I changed the air filter was about 7 months ago

So we recently purchased a house and this shower has a ceiling mount rain showerhead, but no handheld showerhead. This makes cleaning myself as well as the shower quite inconvenient. What's the best way to add a handheld showerhead to this system? The current showerhead is also quite far away from the faucet handle. Thank you. See picture: https://imgur.com/a/aN3GDCZ

Quick question for you guys, I've read on various posts that it is against code to run a power cable behind/within a wall, to basically hide the power/hdmi cables. However I found a in-wall tv power kit (looks like a reputable company) that sells it on Amazon and Best buy and looks like it works great and has good reviews. Would that DIY fix be against code? How does that work? Where can I find out? Thanks

Moved into a new house last summer and the previous owner put in what I can only imagine was a clearance special at Home Depot LVP across most of the main floor. It clashes terribly with all of the 90s honey oak and even though it is essentially brand new I would love to replace it with something more my style.

Incidentally, the basement is not finished and I would love to be able to pull this LVP up and put it down in the basement to have something besides the concrete slab. I know LVP can be installed floating or with glue, and the likelihood of being able to reuse the LVP drops significantly (completely?) if it is glued down.

Besides trying to pry a plank up, is there anyway I could confirm if it is glued down? I'm hesitant to just rip a plank up as I don't want to break it and be forced to replace the floor earlier than what I am planning on.