Extended my house from existing stumps (tile area) into the floor boarded concrete slab. Recently, this sound after 3 years is occurring in the hallway before the transition.
Is this sound normal on stumps?
The sound sounds a little like a bobble but all grout looks fine and it seems to happen in different spots near transition.
Apologies about the sound in the background.
Imagine finding a charming century old home that had tons of updates and taking care of. You walk in, go "aaaaaaa beautiful" as you see the staircase. Walk into the first room, floors been redone, not bad. Hear the air conditioner kick in and a second later cat urine smell hits. Oh no. Tried to ignore the smell for a little and walked upstairs, found the culprit. Thick carpet with urine stains all over. I know I would need to rip out all carpet. But what are the chances I don't need to rip out the floors and subfloors? Anyone with actual expertise? Love the woodwork, huge updates kitchen and a lot of good, but dang!
I'm not afraid of bigger projects, but looking for some insight.
Thanks!
A few years ago we had a large amount of concrete poured in our backyard. We asked for relief cuts and they were crooked. Because of this, we didn’t like the finish product so then we had a 2nd contractor come and put a “topper” on the concrete (just another 1/2” of concrete). That topper is now chipping and cracking badly.
What’s the most cost efficient way to make the concrete look good?
I made the mistake of paying him half upfront. He did an OK job with replacing some siding, spray painting the house. Now he's ghosting me and I can't get the gutters put up until he fixes the fascia. This sucks. It's been 3 weeks and my gutter guys are pissed. He texts me every once in a while to tell me he's camping and doesn't have service.
Should I cut my losses and hire someone else? I already paid this guy 12.5k
having some trouble with this awful hard clay. have a 1.5% slope. area right under the lines are good but having trouble leveling the areas in between without setting up 20 more lines. Also any other comments are appreciated if you see something I need to fix/did Wrong. I plan on installing a drain at the end of the paver patio. Using Brock’s paver base panels and red paver bricks.
thank you!
Fixing up a townhouse and hit a job I can’t DIY: the backyard retaining wall and interlock. No experience with this trade, so before I waste a contractors valuable time coming out for a quote - I’d love a ballpark range to know what’s realistic.
Details:
- Wall is ~50 ft long, 4 ft high for ~20 ft, then tapers to 0 ft
- Bricks/interlock are unmortared, mostly in good condition, just shifted out of alignment
Any rough numbers or rules of thumb would help a lot. Thanks!
Thinking about getting this roof. Installer says 50 yr domed fasteners. Would this make it conditionally worth doing? Thanks in advance
How should this shoe molding have been installed? Had carpet replaced with LVP and there is a larger than normal gap underneath the door trim. Is it supposed to stop and start around the door trim? Thanks all!
We have a 12×30 porch that we’re converting into a bedroom. Ideally, I’d like the ceiling to follow the roofline and be vaulted all the way to the peak.
However, the contractor says that isn’t possible. He says the ceiling needs to be dropped about 6 inches to create an air gap between the insulation and the drywall to prevent condensation (“sweating”).
Is this accurate? Is an air gap always required, or are there other ways to build a vaulted ceiling in this situation? I’d appreciate any insight from those with roofing or framing experience.
I've attached pictures of it for reference. Ideally we will be removing the existing ceiling boards that was used for the porch and the supporting boards will be moved back onto the house. I would just like for the ceiling to be all the way up.
Family friend referred a contractor after paying him $300K+ for a full home gut and we’re happy with his work.
He’s now quoted us $27,690 for a patio addition:
Scope:
Widen existing patio to the edge of the house, new posts/footers per engineering specs
Frame new overhang (conventional trusses, beam, columns) to match existing, tie into existing roofline, new flashing/underlayment/shingles
Demo and relocate HVAC drain lines and anything else obstructing
Hardie lap siding + soffit/fascia to match existing
4 recess cans + ceiling fan wiring (fan itself owner-supplied)
Prime/paint rear elevation to match
Remove topsoil, install 2” pavers on new area, 1” pavers over existing slab
Excluded: ceiling fan, sprinkler relocation Optional add-ons: screened enclosure ($6,500), 6” gutters w/ 2 downspouts ($620) Payment terms: 30% at mobilization, 30% at completion of siding, 40% at completion
This is a real structural addition — new footers, roof tie-in, electrical — not just a paver job, and I’ve never hired a contractor before. His online footprint is basically a LinkedIn profile; no reviews, no visible portfolio. I’ve confirmed his license is active/in good standing via DBPR, but still waiting on his certificate of insurance.
For something with structural, electrical, and roofing scope, does $27.7K and a one-page quote seem thin on detail to you?
What would you push back on or ask for before signing?
Hey all!
I have this really nice drain in my backyard that for some reason is only 3/4 surrounded by concrete. With our new landscaping the neighboring mulch is getting caught in the water and clogging the drain. I'd like to dig down around the pipe and pour some more cement but I would want to use a crescent shaped form. I was hoping someone would be able to give me an idea on how to make a form with this shape.
Thanks!
I am replacing tub due to cracking and when I pulled the tub I noticed the subfloor beneath had damage and needed to be replaced. I cut out the subfloor and I am trying to figure out how to properly support the new subfloor, specifically around the edges.
On the sides, the joists are about 5 inches back underneath the tile and wall. I am not replacing the tile. I dont think I could scab or sister them to have a proper lip. No access beneath the bathroom. Is it okay to just add blocking around the edge between the joists to add strength and prevent sag? See pic of general idea.
What is this hole and the crack that goes above it and around to the door? I haven’t noticed it until today so I imagine it happened fairly quickly. Do I need to be very concerned? This is in the Phoenix area.
My mom hired a really cheap contractor who has messed up a lot of stuff in our house (she loves anything cheap). Please don’t recommend me going back to him.
He didn’t build the shower all the way up to the ceiling and the closet in the next room is exposed. What’s the fix for this?
Going through some photos from my project… will be revisiting the framing and blocking of my project …should I also be discussing these joists for a brand new deck?
I hired a painter to paint and repair the wood sidings on the front of my house. The paint wasn't in poor shape but there were some cracks on the ends that needed to be sealed. I had the whole front side painted back in November, by March of this year, I noticed the cracks were back and even some splits in the middle of the boards.
My painter came back to fix the cracks with the system described below, but a few of the cracks reappeared in just a few weeks. My painter takes full responsibility for his work but is unsure what to do next.
Has anyone else run into this situation? If so how were you able to seal the cracks so they don't reappear in just a few weeks?! Appreciate any tips you can share!!
For context, we live in a region where the temperature is pretty moderate - 30s to 50s in the winter, 60s-80s the rest of the year. Indoor humidity in the raining season usually hovers around 65-70+% and 60% or below otherwise. During winter and spring time, there's usually a pretty thick layer of condensation everywhere until at least late morning. The front side of our house is south facing so it is in the sun all day and gets hit harder during the raining season. The wood panels on the front side look newer than the rest but the rest are holding up better (probably originals).
Steps taken by my painter:
what do I do about this? I took over as my own contractor. They put 8’ osb and then a separate foot tall piece on top. I can see gaps like this many places throughout the home.
Ok guys I messed up. I hired a local fly-by-night shed builder to build a 10x12 shed. My girlfriend has chemical sensitivity so I asked for a double layer of cedar on the exterior instead of cedar over plywood. GF wanted something with all wood and no glues so I asked for this without really thinking. Only after the build was complete did the term "shear wall" emerge from somewhere deep in my memory bank. Did a little bit of Googling and realized the error.
The interior siding was not a part of the shed package so the interior studs are still exposed. We will do the inerior siding later on our own.
The question - is there a way to create a shear wall by adding interior cross bracing of some sort? If so, what is the methodology? We could of course add plywood to the inside, but that solution is not ideal for the stated reasons. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I could use a reality check on a bid if anyone is willing.
I have a mostly flat backyard with a crappy 10x12 patio pad that I want to replace with a 30x14. Problem is that access isn't great and contractor wants to come in through back fence where there are some apartments.... raising his bid from 6k to 7.5k. He also said my backyard would need extra work and grading (even though to my eye the area is flat...ish)
Is that still a reasonable bid or is he adding on just because I seemed overly eager to agree to 6k initial bid?
Edit: Also, this sub is great. So many responses so quickly.