r/HomeImprovement

After acceptance of my offer, during the inspection we found a little bit of water intrusion and mold in a couple spots in the basement. The house was built in 1928, it has like a clay tile and mortar foundation for the top half appears to be block. I don’t think a lot of water is getting in but some is. The front corner of the house has a little damage and cracking that they said they were going to repair, which obviously could be the cause of water in that corner. There are also a couple blocks on the front wall that are slightly pushed in and a little bit of cracking. So I’m worried about the structural integrity of the house overall. But I told my realtor that I wanted a waterproofing company to come out and give a quote and ideally dig up waterproof the exterior. The sellers had a waterproofing company out that day, and they even took it upon themselves to say they will pay to fix it. But when the quote was sent to me, their fix is an interior French drain running to a sump pump, and then covering the walls with plastic . So it’s not getting waterproof at all, the water is still getting in the home, just controlled. I don’t like this fix because I’m worried about mold building up behind the plastic, them digging up a foot around the whole entire foundation inside makes me concerned that it’s gonna cause structural issues, settling, cracking and whatever else. Also I live in a high rate on area and I was told doing it this way would increase the risk of radon getting in. I’m just really failing to see any positive out of doing it this way and I would really like the exterior dug up and waterproofed. Would you accept this?

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I refuse to pay $65/month for a pest control service that comes quarterly and sprays around the outside of my house for 10 minutes. That's $780 a year for something I'm pretty sure I can do myself.

I cancelled the service 3 months ago and here's what I've spent so far:

Bugmd essential pest concentrate. About $30 and it makes multiple bottles of spray when you mix it with water. I use this for perimeter spraying around doors and windows.

Caulk and steel wool for sealing gaps. $15 total.

Terro ant baits. $8 for a pack.

Snap traps for the garage. $3 for a 4 pack.

Total: roughly $56 for 3 months of coverage. That's $19/month vs $65/month for the service.

Results have been comparable honestly. I haven't noticed any increase in bugs since I cancelled. The main difference is I spend about 30 minutes a month spraying and checking traps instead of having someone else do it.

Anyone else made this switch? How long have you been doing DIY and have you hit any situations where you wished you had the pro?

Sorry in advance for the long post…

We are in the final days of a year-long full gut renovation, which included all new mechanicals and HVAC. Our home is a 1960 expanded cape (the expansion was done 15 years prior to us owning the home) and has one large primary bedroom upstairs with a bathroom and walk-in closets and nine foot ceilings. This week has had temperatures of 90+ and when turning on the AC for the first time since the system was completed about a month ago, we noticed that the upstairs is getting barely a trickle of cold air out of the four vents (two in the bedroom and then one each in the bathroom and closet). It was unbearably hot up there but the first floor and basement were comfortable. The basement was actually freezing.

Our GC initially said that closing the vents in the basement would allow the cold air to be directed to the upstairs bedroom but it’s still barely a trickle. Then he said it might possibly be that the ducts are the incorrect sizing because they did not redo the system for the second floor and will have his HVAC guy out to check what is going on. The solution might be opening a wall and redoing it. However, our contract states the following for HVAC:

Remove existing furnace and AC unit. Remove existing duct work, vents and
registers.
• Contractor will provide and install two zone central air heating and cooling unit.
Provide one new condenser on a new pad.
• Provide and install all required sheet metal ductwork, supply and return air to
and from new air handler.
• All new duct and flu work for entire house. Supply and install needed diffusers.
Vent out laundry, hood, and exhaust fans for bathrooms.
• Install new wall/ceiling registers and return air grills.
• New forced air HVAC system. The condensing unit to be installed on the rear yard.
• Install Rheem 4.5 Ton 85k BTU 14 SEER; 92% efficiency with coordinating Air
Handler Units. (Contractor will perform appropriate sizing calculations for all
mechanical units)
• Grilles assume (2) units per room.
• All bath, laundry, hood and dryer venting.

The all new duct and flu work for the entire house and contractor will perform appropriate sizing calculations should mean this is on them, correct? I do not want to have to pay extra for this. Am I reading the contract scope for work correctly that the upstairs was supposed to be included?

We just bought our first home in the DFW area and the previous owners clearly did not maintain the fireplace or dryer vent. There is a lot of creosote buildup and the dryer vent is completely clogged with lint. I want to get both cleaned before summer storms hit, but I am not sure if now is the right time or if I should wait until fall. Has anyone here dealt with this? What time of year do you usually schedule these services? Also, should I look for a company that does both chimney and dryer vent cleaning, or is it better to hire separate specialists? Any tips on what to look for in a reputable service would be appreciated.

My mother in law is moving in with us next spring and we've been slowly getting the downstairs bedroom set up for her. Most of it has been the obvious stuff, swapped the door knobs for levers, took the threshold strip out, lever faucet in the bathroom, walk-in shower install is on the books for January. All that part i kind of knew was coming.

What blindsided me a bit is the windows. The room has two regular double-hung windows with the old corded blinds the previous owner left up. She physically can't work them. Cords are too thin for her grip, and one of them needs a yank to break the friction at the top which she doesn't have the wrist strength for anymore. Looked at the tilt-wand mini blinds too but the twisting motion is also a fine motor thing she struggles with.

Motorized is probably where this ends up but i honestly don't know enough about it yet to commit. Just wants the room to feel normal. Mostly trying to figure out if motorized is overkill for one room or if it's just the most normal-looking option once it's actually up.

this is probably a dumb question but we moved into our house about 6 months ago and every night I hear this faint clicking/ticking sound and it's driving me a little crazy trying to figure out what it is. it's not loud at all, more like a soft tick tick tick. happens mostly when it's quiet and late. my partner says I'm overthinking it and it's just the house settling but idk that feels like a cop out answer lol. is this a thing? like do houses just make noise? or should I be looking into something specific. pipes, HVAC, something else? first time homeowner so I genuinely have no idea what's normal

What was your favorite episode? Mine is "The Longest Day" (Season 5, Episode 22): it’s a more serious episode for sure where Randy receives news that he might have cancer. I think it really expands the show's deeper emotional range and Tim's vulnerability.

I had my home built about 5 years ago. Its a 2100 square foot ranch on a crawl space. Specifically in my kitchen, i notice that there is a little bit of floor flex/shaking when walking through the room. Specifically, i have a large island in the kitchen and you can see vibrations in water glasses and such when someone walks through the room. From the LVL mid-house beam to the exterior wall is roughly 16 feet. Can i use a large post, i.e. 6x6 and some screw-type jacks in the crawl space to stabilize this area? The current design is up to code, but i just dont like the flex and want to eliminate it with minimal expense. FWIW, i have no intention of selling this house in my lifetime, so inspections are irrelevant to me, i just want something to soothe my nerves on this issue. If i ever had to sell the house, i could just remove the jacks/post before the sale.

Open to other DIY solutions as well.

Did this last saturday. Posting because the youtube videos all gloss over the one thing that actually matters.

Setup: replacing a 10 yr old single speed pump with a variable speed one. inground pool, equipment pad in the corner of the yard, schedule 40 PVC plumbing, standard stuff.

The actual swap is 30 minutes of work. unscrew two unions, lift old pump out, drop new one in, screw unions back on. easy.

Here's the part nobody mentions:

The unions don't always line up. My old pump was set up so the suction side and return side were at slightly different heights than the new pump. I had about a 3/4 inch offset on the return side that I didn't notice until I tried to thread the union and it just... wouldn't.

Solution was a flexible coupling (like $9 at home depot) and one short piece of 2" PVC. But I didn't have one on hand and ended up making a 45-min trip to home depot at 7pm on a saturday.

Tools you actually need:

• channellocks (two pairs ideally, one to hold one to turn)
• teflon tape
• a flathead to pry the union o-rings if they're stuck
• maybe a flexible coupling if your alignment is off
• towels for the inevitable water

Don't bother with the "pool pump installation kit" they sell. it's just teflon tape and a brush in a $30 box.

Took me 90 mins start to finish including the home depot run. wife thinks I'm a hero, can finally hear the pool kids over the equipment.

If anyone's about to do this and worried, the actual swap is the easy part. it's the misalignment ambush that gets you.

my ceiling fan suddenly stopped working. i flipped the switch on and it would start spinning for 2 seconds before stopping. anyone have any suggestions?

Since moving in 3 years ago the downstairs bathroom has had a smell. Back then it was just somewhat unpleasant, which I chocked up to just being an old bathroom. Between then and now we have ripped up the carpet in the connected bedroom and replaced it with LVP. At some point along the way, a smell has gotten so bad that it fills the tv room and lately has been making it up to the entryway landing.

additional details

- the bathroom is small, includes a shower, and has full wood panel walls

- I have used a moisture reader on the tile and walls and they seem okay

- we had an air test done the other day and it came back perfect in the bathroom (he also did moisture readings and they were good)

- we have visible mold in a crawl space (which we are treating) and this smell is entirely different

- we lifted up a few of the lvp up tonight and the smell is not coming

- my throat hurts after being in the room for more than a few minutes which didn’t happen a year ago

- when we open the small window in the bathroom the connected room doesn’t smell as bad BUT then I can smell the smell when outside in the backyard (where the window opens to)

- my husband does not smell it which is truly mind blowing bc it’s all I can smell

if you read this far, thank you and I appreciate any advice. I am certain that if I end up in hell, it will smell like this, for eternal torture.

ETA: I did not expect this to blow up! Thank you to everyone who has calmed my nerves and reassured me that this guy is a one off. I genuinely feel a lot better, and it’s settled my nerves a ton. Also I’m sorry for the few who have also experienced something similar to this. It sucks!

Update: someone suggested I look him up and see if he has any records, and I did. Nothing violent but he has been sued for not finishing projects, so I guess that tracks.

We (myself and my partner) are fixing up a home we bought and current repair and addition estimates are coming in significantly over budget.
We’re trying to increase or rework the budget and prioritize what we can/can’t do. One builder called me and asked if I looked over his quote, and I told him we had, but we were currently over budget and we may not be able to do the addition (he also had the highest bid). He asked if I had found or talked to any other builders and I said we had, and he asked if we were considering them. I said yes, because we may need to go with a lower price if we can swing it.
He then proceeded to yell ‘f*ck you’ and cursed, yelled, and threatened me because it ‘took him forever’ to put together the quote and said I had no idea how much work it was to bid out a job. When we initially talked to him, we told him we were just beginning to get quotes on all the different projects and weren’t sure what would/wouldn’t fit into our budget.
I kept my cool and told him I was very sorry our budget may not allow the full addition and/or that we may go with a different builder, but it’s made me incredibly anxious to reach back out to anyone who gave a bid.
Obviously we will not be using him, but we’re just beginning this process, so please tell me this isn’t normal!
ETA: I know this should not be normal, but it’s shaken me up pretty good, and I just wanted reassurance that is this far from being an average response to declining a bid.
Edit 3: Removed some identifying parts as this post blew up way bigger than I anticipated and I'd like to avoid any further interaction with said contractor.

Hello,

I recently had some concrete poured near my home, and marked off the grounding rod to be kept in a small open circle around the new pad. I came home today and noticed they covered it entirely with concrete, no part is able to be seen.

My question is, is this safe? I’m debating if it’s fine or if I should have them uncover it.

Thank you!

I mow a little over an acre and it feels like I spend more time turning around trees and landscaping than cutting grass. I'm planning to upgrade from my old riding mower to a zero turn mower, but I’m trying to figure out if it’s really worth it for regular homeowners.

Did the lap bar controls feel weird at first? And what ended up mattering most long term, comfort, cut quality, or saving time? Just looking for something comfortable, easy to use, and fast enough to make mowing less of a chore.

I have a new construction home with a three car garage that I want to get a protective flooring on before I move in. I have been getting quotes from various local companies and all the quotes are coming in at $4-5K. It's a standard three car garage with brand new concrete, minimal prep work would be required. I understand that pretty much everything is expensive these days, but these prices feel like a ripoff.

I've been looking into the various kits available at home improvement stores, and even if I went with the most expensive one they offer, it's still 25% of these prices. I'm a fairly competent painter and stainer, so I am pretty sure I can knock this out myself in a weekend. Right now I'm looking at two of the Gorilla kits, roughly $400 each. Including prep, shoe spikes, rollers, brushes, buckets, I'd be under $1K all in.

For those of you that have done this yourself, what are your wins and / or regrets? Do you wish you had done more prep? Do you think one kit's materials was better or worse than another? Do you regret your color choice?

Hi friends. Both my bedrooms have sliding glass doors. One of the rooms currently have curtains but I’m not a huge fan. But I’m also not a huge fans of vertical blinds since they remind me of my apartment I rented for 5 years. What are some alternatives or brands I can look into? Maybe vertical blinds but with some kind of cloth material? Thanks

Every spring we start noticing tiny black ants around our kitchen counters and pantry.

We clean regularly and keep food sealed, but they still manage to show up. We tried bait stations and natural remedies, but they keep returning after a week or two.

I’m starting to think there may be a colony somewhere inside the walls.

A neighbor recommended AMPM Exterminators, saying they were able to eliminate a similar issue quickly and also explained how to prevent future infestations.

Has anyone here dealt with these little black ants successfully? Did you solve it yourself, or was hiring an exterminator the better option?

I’m getting a bathroom added and the contractor wants to run the bathroom duct fan through one joist. My joists are 2x8 and he mentioned that it’ll just be one hole and that he’ll sister the joist to add stability. However my online research has led me to believe this may cause issues. Anybody have any advice. He’s really not a fan of soffiting the duct at all