r/HomeImprovement

Hi!

I recently hooked up the condensation run off line from my AC to a rain barrel, mostly because the ground on that side of the house wasn't draining the water well. I was then very surprised to find that the 50gal barrel filled up in a little over a week. I've started filling up some watering cans to use in the garden, but this turns into a very manual process and in the long run I would much prefer to tap into the rain barrel for more automated drip irrigation.

Here's my problem: I can gauge when the barrel fills up and it's rough water level, but I have no way to know how much water I have in there at any given point (and quick searches for applicable tools led to ones hundreds of dollars meant for the big water storage tanks). My next thought was to measure how much water is flowing through the pipe via some kind of electronic sensor, but the outflow pipe is not pressurized and does not have a consistent flow of water (variable, and only when the AC runs).

Are there any reliable tools that can help give a digital (and ideally remote) reading for this irregular water flow? Or alternatively a more exact reading of the water in the barrel - at least better than my sharpie scratches on my diy water level?

The home is turn-key, but we bought knowing it will need updated plumbing soon. But now we’re questioning if we get it over with or keep it as long as we’re not having any issues. I personally like the thought of having copper plumbing.

I noticed a cloudy edge to three tiles that my tiler replaced this afternoon — he had laid the others yesterday but had to replace three. Tomorrow morning he’s laying the last eight and then is due to apply the sealant but everything I’m reading online suggests that he should be waiting at least 24 hours between laying the tiles and applying the sealant to avoid trapping the moisture. The cloudy edge to the tiles indicates that the edges are drying but the rest of the tile has absorbed moisture from the adhesive, and if he applies the sealant to them before they finish drying they’ll trap that moisture. Is that correct? Should I ask him to lay the tiles tomorrow and then come back the next day to seal them and grout..?

Edited to add: the sealant is Lithofin stain stop eco. However I just ordered another one online that will arrive tomorrow morning, called Mapei Ultracare Stain Protector Plus, which states on the packaging: “Suitable both for interior and exterior application, even on slightly damp surfaces as long as they have an even appearance (no stains or humidity halos).”

I am inheriting a fairly large garage space, the only kicker is there is no foundation, its an old school build with dirt floor.

what are some ways i can add flooring, aswell as seal it from leaks, water damage etc without tearing the whole thing down.

i dont currently store anything in there as i dont want my things to eventually rust over through the winter.

I've got a bedroom over an unheated garage in a house from around 1962, and it sits about seven degrees colder than the rest of the upstairs all winter. I closed down the dampers on a couple of the other runs and it moved maybe a degree, so I'm fairly sure this is a floor insulation problem and not an airflow one. I'd rather not pull the garage ceiling down since that's the fire-rated drywall and it means redoing the whole bay.

What worked for getting that room up to temperature without taking the garage ceiling down?

Recently purchased my second home. Since we’ve moved in 4 months ago we have occasionally heard a loud buzzing noise. Lasts about 3-4 seconds and seems to come from the kitchen. It sounds like the end of a stop clock like an end of game buzzer or a buzz that a washer makes to let you know the cycle is done. When it happens there aren’t any appliances running. Any thoughts?

…to a bathroom exhaust fan twisted wire for neutral. And is it worth risking heat stroke to fix a bathroom exhaust fan neutral that I connected to the house neutral with black electrical tape?

I was having a helluva time using a wire nut…I would tug on it, think it was secure, then it would fall out as I moved things just a little bit.

And what happens if the ground comes loose? (Ground fault circuit if that matters.)

This sounds silly to ask, but I recently bought my second home and it has a dedicated laundry room. The dryer venting runs through the enclosed wall, through the bathroom ceiling and out the side of the house. My first home and my home growing up had the tubing exposed and we used to change it out once a year. How to change/clean this one out?

I asked this elsewhere before, but I'm still confused, since I didn't get many replies. I live in the northern US, and I'm very confused how to insulate the concrete walls for our basement. The framing is already up and it's a 40 year old project my father did, but I'm having to redo the insulation/drywall due to mold issues(from flooding/broken pipes). I see suggestions of putting foam behind the framing(there is about an inch or 3/4 inch gap behind the frame and concrete) and foaming it around the corners of the bays. However, behind the framing between the concrete wall and framing there is a drainage channel that goes out to our sump pump. Meaning it's not really possible to seal it all around on the bottom.

Previously, there was faced R-11 fiberglass (facing towards the living space) in this bay solely by my father. The wall seemed dry and there didn't seem to be any evidence of mineral buildup(I guess if water was trapped?) on the wall. The back of the fiberglass seemed clean, but the front facing/drywall was damaged. We have had sump failure, pipe breaks, amongst other things like water heater leakage over the years that caused mold in many areas, so I'm trying to go back and redo a lot of it. My father made the mistake of using faced fiberglass batts in the interior basement wall framings facing the drywall, and I just discovered that yesterday, mold city hiding behind the batts lol.

I just recently redid it and added faced R-15 fiberglass to this (concrete wall) area. Is there really any other way I could've done it given the drainage trench going to our sump pump?

My father recently died, and I unfortunately can't ask him much about it, but he wouldn't have remembered much anyway since it's been so long. No one even remembered the drainage channel cut out along the edge of the basement(paid for as part of the sump install).

Edit: Photos in replies.

Hi,
Yesterday the water heater started leaking in the drum and they came to stop the water in my condo unit. I have no water as of now and I think they may get the cold water running.
But they said my water heater has to be replaced and are quoting me 8,750-14,750. I have no idea if this is average or not. In northern Virginia
I was thinking instead of the company the condos provided if I should maybe call Home Depot?

I want to know if I’m overthinking this.
My front steps are cracking so I signed a contact in April 2026 for my old steps to be jack-hammered and then re-poured with a new railing. It’s three steps and a landing.

It’s August, and I have followed up multiple times with the contractor. He is saying that weather has delayed this project and it may not happen until the start of October. Is that ridiculous? Should I cancel? I didn’t pay him anything yet. It seems like someone else has canceled the contract - they have one bad review out of hundreds.

Do I just keep it? I understand weather is a factor but I also feel like my project is not being prioritized. It’s my most expensive home improvement so far, and it’s needed.

Long story short I had a broken storm window that I finally got replaced. The old one cracked as it was seemingly hit with a rock from a lawn mower or something.

It is a metal frame with a thin glass pane inside. Two screws. Easy fix. Right???

The glass company has come out and after multiple attempts finally got the window up.

The first time the glass was too small and they couldn't install it. The second time they took the frame with them and still managed to mess something up. Something with the edges of the frame didn't fit anymore after adding some reinforcement?

And now they finally reinstalled it while I was away and there doesn't even seem to be the mounting screws.

I can't tell if they glued it in or something else, but this seems very precarious.

There are also smudges all over the window. I don't know if they're inside and outside but I'm afraid to touch it to clean it to find out.

I called them and they are just offering to come by and run new screws through the frame... Not even in the original positions.

Is this normal these days?

My instincts are telling me these are all red flags.

Photo in this post for clarity:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Home/comments/1vslwbo/glass_shop_glued_in_my_replacement_window_instead/

Hey all

We just started having an issue with our shower

basically the shower will be on for about 10 minutes and then the water will just shut off, power button is still on but after a few minutes the water will come back on again but only for about 1 minute and will shut off again until i press the power button off

anyone know what might cause this issue?

As title says, but the problem escalated a few days ago and we had to call a plumber because water from the sink and toilet where also coming up the shower. After the plumber left everything was fine for a day, but today the washer started doing the same thing, is it worth calling again to AGAIN clean the pipes or could it be a problem in the whole house not just the plumbing in my part. For context i am renting an apartment in an old wooden house with some cheap plumbing. What should i do?

I have owned my house for a couple years now and since i purchased it i have never had floor insulation in the crawspace, my crawspace is completely blocked around but once get in obviously it’s just the exposed subfloor above you. So would it make sense to put insulation under the floor and would it make a difference in the wintertime. I live in WVA and it gets pretty cold at times and i just wanted to see if it is justifiable to buy the insulation and put it in.

Were in the foothills east of LA. Lost power twice last october during santa ana winds, longest was 31 hours. Threw away about $200 in freezer food, worked from my phone hotspot for two days, slept in 90 degree heat with windows open. We said never again and then procrastinated for 6 months like normal.

Put in an anker e10 three weeks ago. Two battery packs, 12kWh, power dock into our main panel. Went with Anker's install service, they have a flat rate in socal through end of august. The electrician they sent was local and clearly had done a bunch of these already. Wall mounted in the garage, power dock wired into 12 circuits, tested the automatic switchover. About 5 hours start to finish.

We killed the main breaker to test and everything stayed on. AC kept running, fridge didnt skip, wifi stayed up. The switchover is supposed to be under 20ms which is fast enough that nothing notices. My UPS on the office computer didnt even beep.

Running it in self consumption mode right now. It charges from rooftop solar during the day, runs the house through peak hours. After peak the battery usually dips below the reserve level I set, so the system tops it back up overnight during off-peak. First full month bill just came in and we saved about $190 compared to same month last year. That wasnt even the main reason we got it but its a nice bonus.

Main thing for me was knowing the install cost upfront. Every electrician I called had a different price and they all added caveats about panel upgrades and extra materials.