u/Gregan32

Installing my first ever glass railing and shocked at how easily tempered glass cracks on its edges. Three of twenty chipped, luckily two of them will be covered by the top cap... Unluckily one has to be installed upside down to hide the chip... But then puts the glass engraving right in the middle of the view... Any way to polish this out and make it less noticeable? This is DIY, so all hiding shenanigans will be known by the end customer :).

Fifteen Fifteen by Bosa in Vancouver: https://fifteen-fifteen.bosaproperties.com/

I'm not a structural engineer, in my head I imagine most of you spend time designing mundane things and rarely get the chance to do something like this. I'm not trying to poke a stick in your eye with it, rather share something awe inspiring that hopefully gets you guys more excited/interested than me.

Vancouver is building so many unique/crazy buildings these days... it's awesome and depressing all at the same time. Awesome for obvious reasons, depressing for the fact that these buildings are all for the ultra wealthy and are killing the soul of the city.

This bicyclist was just bombing down the cut on HWY1 yesterday morning, even slaloming near the bottom. there is barely any shoulder to this highway on most of the hill. Why take this risk? Mountain "Highway" is literally parallel to this and is a much safer option.

My house has a cute shed and my wife and I feel that it's integral to the look of the home.

After four years of renovating other parts of the house, with the thought of repairing the shed looming over me, I'm finally getting around to sorting out the shed.

I've dreaded the work for some reason and at one point was convinced it was best just to demo the shed. But as with all projects once you get going it's cathartic and totally manageable.

Still a fair bit to go but making great progress.

Hey everyone, I'm looking for help confirm what Gemini AI has advised me on my exterior foam insulation and residing project. Gemini nearly made me create a vapour sandwich with foiled durospan closed cell foam. So I would appreciate your insights on my plans.

High Level Advice from AI: Because I'm near the ocean in climate zone 4 (Pacific Northwest) it doesn't matter what thickness of Rockwool Comfortboard 80 I use under my siding. The AI's logic is that strict exterior R-value ratios matter less due to 1) high exterior humidity, 2) very few days below freezing, 3) Rockwool’s high vapor permeability allows outward drying into the vented rainscreen.

I was hoping to do 1.5" of Comfortboard (R6) @ $3400, but I've found a killer deal for 1" comfortboard (R4) @ $1800.

What do you recommend in this situation?

Current Structure:

• Interior: Standard drywall (painted) with top edges sealed with caulking to shiplap ceiling (I had major cold air blowing in issues!).
• Framing: 2x4 studs with 16" with the main structural load carried by 6x6 posts spaced 60" on center.
• Cavity Insulation: Existing R-13 fiberglass batts with paper backing.
• Sheathing: A patchwork of 1/2" plywood (literally scraps screwed on!) that isn't very airtight (though I can spray some foam into the gaps).

Proposed Adding to Exterior:

• Simpsons Strapping: Crossed on the front between posts to help compensate structurally for the patchwork sheathing.
• Tyvek
• 1" or 1.5" Rockwool Comfortboard 80 (R-4.7)
• Strapping: 1/2" Angled strapping
• Aluminum Siding: Snap Panel 12" wide.

My roof cleaner sent me this picture and expressed concerns this wasn't repaired properly. What are your thoughts here?

I'm not really sure what I'm looking at (it's a bit grainy of a shot), but it looks like one of the flaps on a shingle is broken off.

I had a tree branch fall on my house last year and it damaged my roof, fascia and smashed through a window. I had the roof and fascia repaired by the company that installed the roof a few years back. They are considered a reputable company and they do a lot of roofs in my neighborhood.

It looks like they tarred the shingles down around this area. Is this acceptable?

I have a sweet little terrier mix that hates baths, in particular when 1) I shower water onto his head, 2) when I brush out matted hair on his belly. He cowers under the furniture when he figures out its bath time and he can get pretty bitey in the bath when I'm brushing out the matted hair. I use a hand held shower head, shampoo, rinse, conditioner, brush then rinse. I double up on the shampoo/conditioner rinses depending on how dirty he is and how short his hair is. Recently I've put a bath mat in the tub to give his paws more grip and I've showered him with treats afterwards...

Any ideas on what else I can do to improve how I bathe him?

I'm currently residing my 50-year-old home and wondering if it's wise to add an exterior rigid foam to my old home.

The current wall setup is old school 2x4 framing between 6x6posts with what looks like R-13 fiberglass batts in the cavities, covered by a fairly "patchwork" layer of 1/2" plywood sheathing.

My original plan was to wrap the entire exterior in tyvek then add a 1" rigid foam with R3.75 to break the thermal bridging before putting up new siding. However, looking into dew points has me worried about pushing the dew point directly into my plywood sheathing.

My Details:

Location/Climate Zone: Spitting distance of the ocean north of Vancouver, Canada.

Interior Cavity: 2x4 walls with R-13 fiberglass.

Proposed Exterior: 1" EPS rigid foam R-3.75, Planning on taping the foam seams.

My Questions:

Is 1" rigid foam with R3.75 good enough to keep the sheathing above the dew point in the winter here, or do I need to step up to be safe?

If I have to go thicker, how do you guys handle the window/door jamb extensions for DIY installs?

Since my plywood sheathing underneath is a bit "patchwork" (previous owner DIY), does that increase my risk of interior air leakage hitting that condensation plane?

How challenging is it to properly secure aluminun siding through 1" or more of foam insulation?

Appreciate any insight or math you guys can throw at this!

I've always wanted a hot tub at my house and I'm finally getting to a place where it makes sense to invest some money in this area on my home.

I've been shocked at the prices of hot tubs, easily $10k, and frankly I don't care for molded fiberglass seats and thirty jets pointed at my back at various angles.

I'm very handy and have zero issues tackling building decks, residing my home, redoing bathrooms ect... And I'm about to venture down the DIY hot tub route and looking for some words of advice and caution.

I'm about to start looking around online for plans but I'm thinking a cement board hexagonal tub, supported with metal frame, built above ground on a wooden deck. Simple aeration holes and jets... nothing fancy.

Is this a fools errand? Or have you guys seen great DIY hot tubs out there that were made at a fraction of the cost? Would love to hear people's thoughts.

Is this deck support acceptable? Serious question. This was an Airbnb I stayed at.

I'm trying to self service my Nortek GH12 unit and I'm struggling to find the blowers set screw. There is no gap in the fan blades, there is no shaft that goes all the way down the center of the blower, the motor is totally surrounded by the power supply and the cooling coils.

Anyone got any ideas what I should look for here?

Also annoying is that the drain pan is part of the main plastic frame of the unit so it can be pulled away and cleaned easily!

I'm trying to find a clean looking all metal outdoor "while in use" cover and single gang box. I've ordered two from Amazon, one is HUGE but is the look I want, the other is too small but has a busy front with branding and a shape that's trying to hard. I'm looking for the Goldilocks approved version between these two. I'm putting three of them in high visibility locations and want them to blend into my aluminum siding as much as possible.

Anyone got any recommendations for me to check out?