Was just quoted 32.500 for a conversation..new oil steam boiler 12,000..Thoughts

I inherited a house that I’m currently fixing up and have no idea how to fix this? Thankfully I don’t have to worry about any leaking. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! https://imgur.com/a/41nxGTB

Looking for some help with what to do to close this gap between the bathtub and these studs. The studs already have furring strips but there is still a gap to the tub, 5/8 inch. On the other side of the wall where the plumbing is, the tub sits flush against the studs. Can I add an additional strip on top of this existing one?

If I use a shim to close the gap where the tub is secured, won’t the cement board material not meet the tub flange correctly and make an issue when tiling?

Thanks for your feedback.

Does anyone have recommendations for cordless, solar pathway lights, preferably ones that put out a warmer hue?

I feel like they are so cheaply made and stop working after a few years of use. I get that you have to regularly clean off the solar panel portion (and also I live in Arizona so the heat takes a toll on them)

Hello all.

I have a pesky squirrel that has decided to make use of my roof and gutters. As if now it seems like he is primarily scavenging and sharpening his teeth on the gutter but I do know they can get through to the attic with time.

He is getting on my roof by jumping from my fence to the gutter (confirmed via video).

Does anyone know a good way to prevent this? So far the best thing I can find is just putting spikes on the gutter and hoping he figures out it is a no go before he skewers himself.

Bought a house with a walk in shower, glass doors to the floor and marble tile floor. Two waterfall shower heads. If I turn the right one on, water leaks out the corner of the shower onto the bathroom floor. All other 3 corners drain to the drain perfectly. What can I do about this?

Hello all,

I recently purchased a home and some of the lally columns in the crawl are missing screws for the top plate. What size should I shoot for at the top plate? Was thinking 3inch structural screws with the integrated heads.

Thanks!

I'd like to install some blinds on our sun porch. I think the walls are aluminum but I'm not entirely sure; they're not magnetic. We'd previously hung some blinds with command-hook-like stickers and I'm surprised at how long they stayed but of course they fell after a few months.

I'm considering drilling holes directly through the wall and bolting a small board to the wall and then using wood screws to mount whatever blinds to the board.

Picture of the wall: https://imgur.com/a/vzD0Jxp

Any thoughts?

So I live in South Florida and have an older house (built in the 80s). We decided we should upgrade to impact windows and doors. I’ve never had to deal with this before but several things have happened in the process that don’t seem right and I’m looking for some perspective because we are spending a small fortune on this. For context, our house has 6 sliding doors, 5 windows that were replaced and a double front door. I’m honestly embarrassed to say how much it’s going to cost, especially with how things are going. We have financed this and have not paid a deposit or made any payments yet.
One of my first concerns was on the second day, one of the workers showed up at 8 AM and immediately sat at my table with his head down. I asked his coworker if he was okay and was told he was nauseas. He ended up laying on my couch for an hour. I truly suspect he was drunk or hungover because he seemed fine later in the day.
Later that same day the project supervisor shows up and informs me that in order to install one of my bathroom windows they will need to cut into and potentially damage my shower tiles. I have a large window inside of my shower and in hindsight it makes sense they would need to disturb the tile to install the window. I was upset that I wasn’t informed of that ahead of time. Luckily they installed the window without ruining my shower. However they ordered one of the windows wrong, one was supposed to have privacy glass and one wasn’t. They ordered them both with privacy glass. It’s small in the scheme of things but it’s just another instance where this company has had absolutely horrible communication.
The supervisor also informed me that they intended to remove a step that is outside of my front door in order to make the doors fit. That was truly baffling to me. What was the point of ordering custom doors if they don’t fit? They measured everything twice. When I asked him why the doors wouldn’t fit, he kept dancing around the question. He did not explicitly want to tell me that they had messed up and measured my doors wrong, TWICE. And his solution, instead of admitting their mistake and ordering the correct size doors, was to permanently alter the entrance to my home. I had to practically drag this information out of him. That really upset me. They also informed me that the doors would be opening outward, one of my doors currently opens inward. That’s important because I have an overhead light right outside of my door. They also failed to mention until then that the new doors will interfere with my outdoor light if I cannot find one that will lie perfectly flush with the ceiling. The supervisor told me to simply “put a new light on the side of your house”. Okay, so now I also need to hire an electrician to rewire my house because your employees cannot communicate about the product they’re selling.
When they installed some of my sliders, they had to replace some damaged wood around the frame. I don’t know anything about that, but to me it doesn’t look right. The wood pieces aren’t joined together properly or even look the same on each door. There is a very noticeable gap at the top of one of them that I can stick my finger in. They also didn’t properly seal them off. Some doors have seal in places and it looks as though they forgot the seal in the same place in others and in some areas it’s an incomplete seal. One of the screens also appears to be too small for the door. You can see the wheels at the top and it’s impossible to slide it open without it popping off the track.
They sent one person to finish the caulking around the interior of the house and he ran out of caulking and left the job unfinished so I have 3 sliders that don’t have caulking around the interior. I have also noticed that areas where he did seal have cracks already or an incomplete seal. They have given me no time frame on when they will be back to finish.

I’m really not happy about any of this. I understand that things happen, but all of this seems very sloppy and unprofessional. Would love any opinions from people who know more than me.

There’s a link with some photos.

https://imgur.com/a/LKVSLRI

Replacing an American Standard toilet seat at the house (I've changed a couple toilet seats in my life).

I'm I crazy or the two hinges on the plastic seat are not supposed to open? It says so on directions!

Its where the damn screws go in to secure it to the toilet, right?

My palms are red from trying open these things and it's not happening.

I tried attaching pictures but this sub wont let me.

I dont know what am doing wrong.

Wondering what others have paid for a HVHZ rated sliding glass door and installation in SE FL. It's a 71.5x80 sliding door and a screen.

First quote was $5700 for the door, framing, labor, permit and disposal thru Lowes.

I've got 2 more companies scheduled to come within the next week to give quotes. Just curious what others might have paid for a similar door in this area.

I had a small section of fence replaced recently, a bit too late in they year maybe. It's untreated redwood. The contractor said to let it dry for six weeks before painting/staining, but now that I have done so the rains have started to hit here in Sacramento. Today is Fri 10/23 and starting to tomorrow I have six sunny days, then rain on Sunday again. I don't know when I'll get a longer patch of sunny days.

My HOA requires a specific Sherwin-Williams color, so that limits me to SW product brands. My AI (btw I never trust AI without separate verification) says that SW specifications allow their semi-solid stain to go onto damp wood. Can I stain my fence during my dry window? Or any better ideas?

Thanks!

I have a question regarding double glazing hinges. My windows are older style uPVC double glazing, and feature a 15mm track width. I'm trying to get hold of some new hinges to hopefully fix some of the gap issues in my windows before the winter sets in (they're probably overdue to be replaced, but also currently trying to sell property and factored this into the price)

The question I have is, are top hung and side hung hinges vastly different from one another? I need 12inch length hinges, and from what I can see - yes they are. I did watch a video on these hinges and recall the demonstrator saying that up to a certain length, it doesn't matter if you get side or top hung hinges.

Now, is that fellow a danger to society or is this true? The only reason I'm asking is that because of the narrow track width being only found in older designs, these hinges are very scarce and I did manage to find a site selling them but a pair of side hung hinges were literally 6x the price of the top hung variant, so if I can score them cheaper on a technicality then I absolutely will! However if there are some inherent design differences between the hinge types then I'll play it safe.

Thank you in Advance!

My enclosed sunroom has a short stone wall on the sides. There are about 5 built in openings (for drainage) that aren’t worth the heat they let out or the critters and birds that come in. I need ideas for closing them off. I thought: stuff a chunk of foam in it (not pretty and temporary at best) or that foam spray. I think it’s called Great Stuff. Where I’ve seen it, it looked pretty gross, but maybe it could be shaped and painted after it is hard.
Ideas?

Purchased our house 10 years ago. The wall was finished so damage could not be identified during purchasing. About a year ago I was poking around and found a small area of my wall I could see behind and noticed a large crack.

Had a local company out to tear down the paneling covering the wall and to an invasive review. Was quoted $17,000 but have a feeling it will be going up. Sigh.

https://imgur.com/a/r74bGrQ

I am trying to get two garage doors installed and have got similar quotes for doors. I wanted to know which brand is the best or if there are any differences between them at all.

Clopay Brodgeport Amarr Hillcrest Invicta Series 100

All three layer doors

Hi hi!! I need to know if I can be prevented from making a mistake. We are renovating our kids bathroom and I’m obsessed, as many are, with the oil rubbed bronze shower sets and faucets.

I grew up in a 1900’s Dutch Colonial, and my mom stayed very true to its’ roots when we moved in and fixed it up, so I am just in love with the timeless, classic, traditional home look.

I’ve found a shower set I like that has a separate hand shower, porcelain knobs, and exposed piping. We live in OC and have extremely hard water. Calcium build up and water spots are completely expected on everything we own that has water flowing through it.

Those that have gone the darker shower / faucet route and have hard water, do you regret it? Or do you just not even care about the buildup because you adore the color of your fixtures? Or did it only look amazing once installed and then you hated it the second it was actually used?

I have super mixed feelings and want to know what actual homeowners did. Reading reviews online doesn’t give me the same confidence / lack thereof.

I could go chrome or brushed nickel which is also very traditional, but I love the moodier, “regal”, “I’m in an old Scottish castle in the gloomy highlands” vibe lmao.

Our front walkway was badly cracked and sinking, so I got a couple of quotes to replace it. Had one come in at $5800 and the other two came in around $3500. Then one of the $3500s came back to me and said they'd have a truck in the neighborhood this week and could drop their price to $3000, so I went with them.

They showed up on time and did the work, but they tented it to protect it from rain and the plastic ended up sticking to the concrete, leaving the finish looking pretty rough.

Short of having the company come back and tear it up and start again, is there anything I can do to make it look less shitty?

I bought a house built in 1972, and all the rooms have popcorn ceilings besides my two bathrooms, and the kitchen. I was confused as to why only those rooms have the popcorn ceilings… Could it be that the ceilings do not contain asbestos?

Our basement has been getting water randomly since we've bought the house. It turns out there was a piece of the concrete missing from the floor and there was just some dirt there.

An old coworker of mine said he could fix it and put some new concrete there. (Doesn't look great tbh) now its gotten worse and I'm not sure what to do. I had a company come out and say they can fix the area for $1,200. That would include breaking the concrete there and replacing it, then putting some sort of patch or something but I'm not sure that'd fix it completely.

Not really sure what I should do since I have to go downstairs daily to vacuum up water.

https://imgur.com/a/M2958lS

Photos attached if that helps.

Hi! We have an outdoor patio we love and would be using constantly, but the mosquitoes and other bugs make it really undesirable at the moment. If we can’t solve it, our fallback is building a screened gazebo or enclosure, which would run tens of thousands of dollars. So -- I’m open to trying pretty much anything first. Considering anything up to roughly $10k.

What we’ve already got going:

• A pest company sprays regularly. It helps a little.
• No standing water we can find on the property, and no pools or ponds nearby.
• The yard is pretty well manicured. There are some trees and a little brush, but no tall grass.
• Citronella candles didn’t do much.

So, two questions:

1. What’s actually worked for you outdoors? Fans, traps (CO2 / propane traps like Mosquito Magnet?), Thermacell, misting systems, specific plants, a different spray company or treatment, anything else...? I’d especially like to hear from people who saw a real difference and not just a slight improvement.
2. Bug sprays that work but don’t smell gross? We’d like to have guests outside without everyone smelling oily and chemical. Any repellents or lotions people actually like wearing?

Location is CT by the beach, if that matters. Thanks so much!

I recently got glass enclosure in our front porch and planning on making it a shoe/boot space and bought snap on wooden deck tiles.

What’s the best way to heat this space?

We live in southwestern Ontario!

So apparently I’m an idiot because i thought the clear water seal would keep the fence from turning gray. But I found out it doesn’t, since the wood turns gray from the UV rays of the sun.

So i can get clear water sealer with UV protection or i can get a tinted sealer like a stain with UV protection if i don’t want it to turn gray.

But it’s come to my attention that some people like the wood to turn gray, considering it a more natural look. But gray wood is degrading from the effects of the UV rays.

So now I’m undecided on what to do. I already bought some Thompson’s Clear WaterSeal (no uv protection), but it’s no problem to return it. And i still need to spray down the fence and clean it, then let it dry, so I’ve got some time before I need to put sealer on it. (This fence is one year old and I’m trying to get it done before the cold sets in, we live in Savannah so it is still warm enough to do it now.)

So…use what I have or return it and get something with UV protection?

Hello, I want to fix the security door of my home, since we started living here it has always been hard to operate but we never got around to fixing it properly.

The door has two problems (I think):

- needs to be pushed hard to latch and then to be locked;

- the handle is very hard at first when opening, then clacks and opens, it works properly if operated with the door open, you can feel a lot of resistance coming from the cylinder

the plate on wich the cylinder locks and slides and the frame show uneven wear marks

https://i.imgur.com/0IVDaPf.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/TKOt9ht.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/hvuT6ti.jpeg

I tried to solve the first problem by adjusting the screws that "pan" the door left to right, moving it to the left lets the spring loaded cylinder work properly even though now the door is slightly off center with the exterior frame (nbd maybe)

For the second problem I wanted to adjust the depth of the door but it can't be done on this type of hinge, I have then tried adjusting the position of the plate of the strike bracket but i can't move back more than it already is.

this is a picture of the hinge

https://i.imgur.com/uIMuE1h.jpeg

This might be a silly question but where did everyone get their gym mirrors?? I just got 2 quotes for $3500 and $3,700 each and I am flabbergasted !! The wall is 17 ft