r/OldHomeRepair

The exterior of my house is stucco, which I feel should be illegal in the Midwest or anywhere with hot summers and cold winters. In previous years (been here for 15 years) I’ve had zero luck finding a stucco repair company/person in my area that doesn’t charge an insane amount of money for basic repairs. Now this happened. Water was getting behind the stucco for some time as seen by the water damage here. The wall came off after repeated days of heavy wind and rain. The few people I’ve called out to inspect and quote me are either asking way too much ($3,250 in one case) to being reasonable but have alarmingly terrible reviews (took deposit and didn’t do work, etc).

I was hanging with some friends and they said that they’d help me repair this for a case of beer. They convinced me it’s pretty simple: replace the wood, slap some stucco on it, and let it dry. Then do it again.

Is it really that simple? I’ve decided I’m going to try this myself. I’ve already bought the plywood strips and just need to wait until the weather cooperates (area is currently covered by plastic sheeting.

Please help a frustrated homeowner take matters into his own hands.

I purchased a home from a relative that was used as a rental for the last 20 years. I knew it would be rough, but I bought it as-is and am stuck. Pics are of the Cellar/Basement, last 3 are of kitchen. Planning to hire a structural engineer asap, but do you think I’m screwed? Built in 1909

How can you dry out a wet basement quickly when the humidity is 86% ?

Noticed drywall was staining and I cut out a piece and found this

Recently I walked through the roof and accidentally made a hole in it. A called a man to fix it, he put a patch in it, another day he put some expansive foam and he’ll come 2 days more.

I have absolutely no clue about these things. Would appreciate a quick check and feedback (?) Thanks!

Recently bought a house (built in 1959) with knowing this is possible asbestos tape. Just this week I walked down and noticed this piece hanging (middle image is the one I’m most worried about). I am wanting to remove it but quotes have been from $1500 to $2300 which is insane for one piece of tape removed and then others encapsulated. Is this something I should just do with P100, mist the tape and double bag? Live in MO for reference. Thanks for any help!

Hi all, I wanted to get some advice on two things I'd like to tackle first in my new-to-us home. Built in the 20s, I think the wood flooring is actually the second installation of wood flooring since it was built. It has been refinished a couple times and it is not completely level (as old homes rarely are). I'd like to coat it or something for the time being as I don't think there is enough above the tongue and groove to sand down. We'd like to replace with similar wood in the future to keep its charm and warmth, but for now looking to extend its life as much as possible.

What is the best place to start? I like the color, so some sort of clear finish or waxing is preferable. We do have a toddler, dog, and cat if that impacts suggestions. There are also a few gaps I'd consider filling for the time being if anyone thinks that is doable.

Additionally, is it worth skim coating the ceiling, or should we just consider drywalling over the bathroom ceiling here and adding some nice trim? I have never skim coated above my head and both options seem fairly daunting despite the small size of the room, lol.

I want to remove this older dish dispenser but what’s the best way to go about it without damaging it or the wall in the process?

Hello! We have a crack in one panel of our wooden garage door after we backed into it slightly before it was fully open. Ugh.

It doesn’t go all the way through. The panels are made of two thin layers of wood with maybe foam or something on the inside, but it sounds hollow when you knock on it. It’s from 1969 if that tells you anything.

I took a video but doesn’t look like I can post it. The crack does flex slightly when the door is moving.

We can’t afford to replace it now, and we’re starting to repaint so are there any suggestions for how to deal with this in a way that will last us a few years until we can replace the door properly?

For context, we’re in northern Illinois where the summers are hot and humid and the winters bring a ton of snow and ice.

Hey y’all! DIY noob here trying to replace a bathroom ceiling fan in my 1890s home. After considerable time and swearing I managed to remove the housing for the old fan and was surprised by how many layers there are up there. The walls and ceilings are always crumbly whenever I need to hang something (or more often fix something the previous owners hung incorrectly) so I’ve assumed there’s plaster… but that’s not what I expected lath to look like? It looks more like plaster, then more plaster, then concrete, then plywood, then random broken wood shims, then joists, with little tufts of broken-up insulation scattered around.

What’s going on? Is this typical? Should I replace the insulation while I’m up here? Anything I should know before widening the hole to accommodate the new fan? I bought an oscillating multi-tool and grout blade to make the cut but have never used one before. Above this is mostly finished attic space.

Thanks so much in advance. ❤️

i doubt i'm even in the right place BUT! my pitbull has recently been dealing with some separation anxiety and has torn up the walls in my apartment. my roommate is fuming and I wanna get our deposit back at some point. since rehoming the dog isn't an option (left by my dad after he passed) how can i fix this or who should i call?

Hi, for many years my basement has had major water problems during rainy seasons making the whole space unusable for anything but storage (on raised pallets), so I finally decided to repair/replace/install new perimeter drain, but unlike the foundations I have experience with from working in construction it seems my house is so old that when it was poured they only made fourms on the inside leaving the exterior to take the rough shape of the hole that was dug, my question is how can I property waterproof the uneven surface of this foundation? In construction we used dimpled membrane on the foundation walls down to the footer where we laid the perimeter drain but I'm not sure if that way will work with how uneven it is. Anyone encountered this kind of old foundation before? It's only about 3ft deep but I'd like to do it properly if possible.

My home has many of these old knobs - some of which no longer work properly. Any advice on if repairing them is worth the time/effort? If not, can they easily be replaced? I’d like to keep these solid wood doors if I can.

We have three of these basement windows and I am trying to understand them so I can replace or repair them. They slope inward which is bizarre to me as it lets water just flow inside. There is an interior wooden framed window that you can see in these photos, it opens inward and lifts upward. Plus an unattached metal window that theoretically attached to the metal frame remnants and opened outward (we have the windows though two have broken glass). And then there appears to have once been a nailed in screen on top of that.

So fellow old house owners of reddit, how would you tackle these windows? Repair and reinstall the original windows? Scrap it all and do new windows? What about that weird slopping inside?

TLDR; Do we think I can DIY a decade's worth of water damage in my kitchen? The length of the entire window.

My dad gave me this house, and there is... so much.... He let it sit and rot for at least a decade if not two. No siding, no gutters, roof leaks, foundation settling badly, many cracks from that, and the usual cabinets/doors not sliding...

I'm completely overwhelmed. I picked this because it seemed like a small patch, at first; I wanted to show myself I could do something. But of course, it was secretly a Big Thing.

Anyway: This is water damage from an improperly installed window unit AC. The bubbled patches were what I was going after first, but then I discovered the entire bottom of the length has give. In the sense that I can wiggle the whole board, not puncture it like the ends.

I want to DIY because I am, frankly, poor, of the lower class.

Can I? What do I even look up?

The problem with the main access is the tension/pulley system. there was another mangled spring that got caught in the pulley with the rope. The rope that is attached in the images acts as a brake for the stairs (I think) and the other rope is attached to the underside of the second step. The stairs do come down, but not controlled, same with closing but it does not retract when closing the door. Has anyone restored something like this? Or know how the mechanism works?

My house is 86 years old (built in 1940) and the attic was screwed shut. There is another attic access in a closet, but no or ladder for it.

There is no brand on this and I don't think it is Bessler based on the center pulley and no side pulleys. I would like to restore it rather than replace it and would appreciate any help.

Found this crack, how do I fill it, and what should I use for radon testing? We are redoing our office with laminate but obviously need to tackle this first.

We bought our house a couple years back, and slowly but surely the cracks are starting to show... literally :)

I've been fixing a bunch of stuff around the house these past months, but this issue (that started as a crack in the paint and finally parted a couple weeks back) I honestly have no clue on how to even get started.

Any help is more than appreciated!

Should I repair all of this or pull it out? Or add some layer of drywall on top?

https://imgur.com/a/SHp4Rjk