u/SoundAcceptable3381

Hi all,

I have a direct vent fireplace in my home and I am a new homeowner. I'm currently in the process of trying to exclude rodents from the home and found that outside where the fireplace attaches to the home, the floor has a large gap and had some bite marks and a lot of feces inside (when I stuck a borescope inside). The floor is in rough shape and has a large gap along the side. For the time being I have turned off the pilot light and the gas line for the fireplace, and have shoved steel wool and some spray foam in the crevice. I don't know if that's of any use if rodents can just chew the wood.

Here are pictures of the current situation. https://imgur.com/a/E8xvRd5

My big question is, how difficult will it be to replace the floor? Is that something I should contact a fireplace company about? We were already getting a lot of draft through the fireplace (a lot of cold air coming in during winter) so I know that it has issues already.

How much might it cost to have the floor replaced professionally and ensure the fireplace is properly sealed? I know each situation is different, but I'm just asking for a ballpark if that's possible. Or any other possible advice.

Thank you!

Hi all,

My parents' home has a water heater which was installed a few years back. They live in an area with hard water and so it's time to inspect the anode rod. However, when they had their basement finished, the general contractor moved the water heater and h must have plumbed the hot water line right over the anode rod access. 

Any advice on how to do this properly? Will this require turning off water to the whole house, or just the cold and hot water lines leading in and out of the water heater? And I'm assuming removing the pipes and relocating them a few inches out of the way? I'm a homeowner with very little plumbing experiences. Replaced shut off valves, toilets, and p traps. But nothing like this before.

Thank you!

Hi all,

My parents' home has a water heater which was installed a few years back. They live in an area with hard water and so it's time to inspect the anode rod. However, when they had their basement finished, the general contractor moved the water heater and h must have plumbed the hot water line right over the anode rod access. Here are a few pictures: https://imgur.com/a/IlUW0v3

Any advice on how to do this properly? Will this require turning off water to the whole house, or just the cold and hot water lines leading in and out of the water heater? And I'm assuming removing the pipes and relocating them a few inches out of the way? I'm a homeowner with very little plumbing experiences. Replaced shut off valves, toilets, and p traps. But nothing like this before.

Thank you!

Hi all,

I have a low deck and sunroom on the back side of my house that makes it impossible to get under my house to seal an entry point that mice are getting in through. My options are to pull insulation and cut ceiling in the basement to try to find the point of entry and seal it, or seal off the entire deck and crawlspace with hardware cloth.

Here are pictures of the deck, sunroom, and crawlspace. https://imgur.com/a/O5maQwl

What is the best practice for laying hardware cloth? I was thinking of layering 1/4" and 1/2", and digging 6" down and 12" out along the entire perimeter. Laying the cloth down in an L shape, and then backfilling.

Another, more important question I have is with the front of the deck, that is at ground level. Should I dig in front of it and do the same thing with the hardware cloth? I'm worried about causing structural issues by digging there, but also think it's a weak point as mice could burrow there to get past any hardware cloth installed along the sides.

When I pull all the trellis off, I will also try again to get into the low crawlspace and try to seal things off, though I've tried before and unsuccessfully. I gotta lose some weight. Or make friends with someone much smaller.

Hi all,

My dishwasher sits on the subfloor, and unfortunately I cannot get it out from under the counter. I have decreased the leveling feet all the way down, have even tried to clamp the top of the dishwasher to the countertop to try to lift it, and I still need about half an inch clearance. Counters are stone and with backsplash so I don't believe I can lift the counter. I have already removed the screws that secure the dishwasher to the cabinets.

This is a Bosch 800 dishwasher that is only a few years old. Bought the house last year, so wasn't here for the install. I wanted to try to repair it myself before resorting to replacing it. But now with this new obstacle, I assume plumbers and installers charge double to get something like this out because it takes more time.

Anyone have any idea what to do? Do I have to cut the feet off and sand the wood floor down? Is there an easier way?

Pictures of dishwasher and how it meets the floor here: https://imgur.com/a/9FWJBiG

Hi all,

I have a sunroom with an aluminum panel roof and two skylights. One of the skylights is leaking through the base (not the glass, but where the skylight attaches to the aluminum roof). Here are some pictures of the skylight on the roof. Would an elastomeric roof patch (silicone) like Gaco Patch with fleece strips work to create a good leak proof seal around the base of the window? And while I'm up there getting all the caulk off and cleaning, I'm thinking of doing the same for both windows and all other screws, seams, etc.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm doing this myself if I can. Thank you!

Link to pictures again: https://imgur.com/a/6Gdf6eG