Home Improvement

EDIT: I ended up using epoxy. Thank you for the help.

I've tried scrubbing it several times with bar keepers friend soft cleanser and although it improves, it never goes away completely and it always comes back.

We have a motion activated sprinkler to deter deer from eating our tomatoes and I'm looking for a timer that will shut off the water flow during the day. The ones I've seen at the store seem to only want to water intermittently, instead of completely off/on. Does anyone know of one?

So my home office is in our basement while my wife’s is in a finished attic space. We have a mini split system, but it has to be all heat or all cooling, and many days it’s cold in my office, but hot in my wife’s office.

Thanks to a defunct chimney, I have a pretty decent path from the attic to the basement that could easily accommodate some kind of ducting.

I’d like to make a system that can push air from my office to hers or vice versa as needed. I think this would really help the house in general as cold air tends to pool in the basement.

I’ve seen plenty of ducting booster fans, but I’d like something with a speed (or at least direction) control accessible from the outside.

Does something like this exist? It would need to force air through maybe 30-40’ of ducting.

Had a nice little foundation leak during the last rain storm. Installed a drain line last fall to divert two downspouts and front walkway run off away from the house which helped a lot. Front walkway and a big retaining wall next to it ultimately need to be removed and reinstalled with proper grading and drainage. That's going to be a huge and expensive project so for now I'm just replacing all the worn out concrete sealant and hoping for the best.

I am not familiar with this bronze colored nut that is holding my current Grohë Ladylux kitchen faucet to the counter. Does anyone know the best way to remove this? Thanks very much in advance!

EDIT: I figured it out. You CANT unscrew the bronze colored piece from below. You have to Disassemble the upper part and then there's an internal threaded bit in the upper part that you have to unscrew. The guy in the video whips out some special tool that hasn't been seen or mentioned before in the video and uses it to unscrew the interior threads. I don't have that magical tool, so I just used pliers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRZ1QOinJsE

Renovating the bathroom and found these dark patches in the joists and roof lumber surrounding the old vent pipe. The PVC part is new.

Anything bad here? Anything we need to address?

Bathroom renovation revealed this black staining in the ceiling lumber next to a vent pipe. Is it a problem? (The PVC pipe is new.)

I seriously suck at Lemmy. I deleted this post I guess?

General info: Looking to get current attic ventilator fan replaced. The attic is about 1400 sq. ft. Current attic ventilation fan is a foot from the ridge of the roof. Live in USA.

Handyman wants: To install two 1500 CFM fans. Two 120 volt 20amp dedicated circuits, one for each fan. He wants to install the second fan 4 feet away from the current fan. He stated that the attic ventilator fan would need to be replaced within 6 years.

My questions: Would two fans be better than one fan? Would I need two 120 volt circuits to run two fans? Is there an attic ventilator that has a user replaceable fan?

Thank you in advance for any help.

It's on everything, my fingernails are glued to my skin underneath, I hate everything and most of all I hate spray foam.

Thanks for letting me rant. I normally read instructions before using a product and now I'm avoiding the room where it's on everything... How fucked am I?

Update: We've cleaned most of it up from the room... Our hands, not so much lol. I appreciate the advice and support, hopefully y'all got a good laugh on our behalf :)

Ps. It works great as a diy wax for hairy arms!

Okay, my first ever drywall and I know what I did wrong. I just didn't think that small indifference would make it look obviously bad.

But here it is, I will do it different on the rest of the walls but I'm just gonna leave it for what it is: me acting like someone who can do drywalls and wanted to save money lol

Didn't do the bottom part yet so I am def not done but holy moly...

How bad can someone mud? Me: Hm My wife: "Well atleast it's done. Not good, but done and we saved money for vacation"

What makes it even more hilarious is that in my mind I was sure if I use paint that has sand in it it's gonna cover that LOL. Fail....

So I was using a wood sealer (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AQTX3XU) on my newly built catio. Unfortunately I didn't notice how much I had sprayed on the adjacent window.

Now I have cloudy/foggy windows (https://imgur.com/a/TKD9wim). I've tried cleaning them with:- - - -

• water via the hose directly on the window.. very little progress
• windex.. very little progress
• dish soap followed by host.. very little progress
• vinegar.. very little progress

Any ideas for what might get this stuff off easily?---

Looking for help in solving a problem where the lower door hinge pin on my entry door keeps creeping up and causing the deadbolt to become slightly misaligned making it more difficult to lock. Reading online, I keep coming across suggestions of tightening a screw that’s supposed to lock the pin in place but my hinges don’t seem to have that screw.

Anyone have any other ideas on how to fix this problem?

Currently installed is a recent (about 10 years) Harbor Bay 5 blade ceiling fan with 44" blade diameter.

In a box I have a recent (about 10 years) Harbor Bay 5 blade ceiling fan with 52" blade diameter.

Yes, the large blades will run the motor harder.

Would these two fans likely use the same motor, so that I can just swap the larger blades and leave the current motor? Or is there a high chance the motors are sized specific to their blades, and I would need to fully swap the motor to use the larger blades?

The blades appear to use the same connection.

Hi folks,

I want to refinish and paint my kitchen cabinets, but before touching the doors I want to ask opinions on how to repair this peeling on edges of 3 cabinets. Looks like steam from the range and kettle did this.

I was thinking to trim off the excess bit that has peeled and expanded, then sand down and fill with wood/general filler before painting with bullseye 123. Is there a better approach?

I'm pretty new to this. I was considering replacing it with something else because it leaks slightly from the valve if it gets moved around at all, but I don't know what this connection is to start with. It goes to a dishwasher.

I am currently redesigning my kitchen in a 1930's Midwestern USA house. The kitchen has a decent floor area but the floor plan is oddly restrictive.

My space next to the sink is such that I can either have a standard 24" dishwasher next to the sink and a slightly weird cabinet adjacent to it, or I could have an 18 inch dishwasher at 45 degrees flanked by two small but reasonably sized cabinet doors (or drawers), although the 45 degree plan would dictate a somewhat shallow custom counter depth on the flanks (like 18-20 inches).

I think I would be more proud of the accomplishment of building the angled design, and I think the ergonomics would be optimal.

But I'm not sure about the smaller dishwasher. I have never used a smaller one. It seems like it would be enough for my small family and still plenty helpful for gatherings.

This is not the first time I've ranted about the previous owner's wiring jobs, though I think they were on the other site (and I had a different username there).

His greatest hits include:

• Above a drop ceiling in the basement, a wire that went into a metal box without a strain relief, so it eventually wore through (for whatever reason) and started shorting out. Since it was above the drop ceiling I had no idea why that breaker would occasionally trip, then reset without complaint. Also, there are other things on that circuit, but the offending wire was only live when the light switch in the room was on, so it was harder to diagnose. It wasn't until we demolished the room that we found the problem...black marks on the box and wires and all.

• A duct fan to route heat from the pellet stove into the master bedroom...with the wiring completely enclosed in the ceiling, with no access to the box. Said duct fan has started making noise, so I'm going to have to cut that ceiling open and replace it, and I'll probably install one of those spring-loaded covers so there is access in the future.

• A fascinating wiring job in the shed that is unnecessarily complicated and certainly a violation of the code on how many conductors can be in a box. I'm going to fix that some time this spring. This is actually a REALLY great one, so maybe I'll post it as a comment.

On to today's hilarity. A few weeks ago I noticed the UPS for my computer in the basement had a red light on the back warning of a wiring fault. I never noticed it before, or I did and forgot, and it's not very bright, so you almost have to be looking for it to see it. Well, I got out one of those testers that you plug in, with three lights that diagnose the issue, and it showed no ground. Odd.

I checked the other two outlets on the same wall, the one closer to the panel tested fine, but the one on the other side of the outlet in question also showed an open ground.

Today I dug in to find out what was up. It turns out the ground was cut on both wires in the outlet the computer was using (supply from the previous outlet and the wire to the next outlet). It was not connected to the metal box or the outlet.

WHY WHY WHY? Why did he do this? I can't fathom why you'd do this.

I replaced all three outlets on that wall with new ones and made sure the grounds were connected. Nothing really wrong with the original outlets and covers, but they were old and beige, and I like white.

Years ago I found an outlet in our closet that only had two prongs, no ground. The house was built in 1987, well after three prongs were standard. With some trepidation - what am I going to find here? - I opened it up and found that...there was a good ground there (to my relief) but he apparently just decided to use a two prong outlet. WHY? He had to have gone to special effort to find a two prong outlet to install. (Actually it is theoretically possible that was done by the builders, but everything else in the house is three prongs, and I can't believe it would have passed inspection.)

Hey... I bought tiles a year ago and they looked good in the store.

Please dont junge they dont lign up with wall tiles. Wall has 30x60 inch and floor 59,5x59,5 so I couldnt lign them up properly.

Are the colors from floor and wall "Okay" or should I find new wall tiles? Maybe it looks different when lights are installed and wall above is white and not just plasterboard grey?

What you all think?

I have recently moved to this place, and before winter I went to install trvs on the water circulated radiators in order to have some more control over the temp (there used to be manual valves).

Now that the colder days are about to end, I have a question on how would be the best (or recommended) way to maintain those valves when not used. I have read that the thermic piece on the valve may get stuck after a long period of no use, so I am wondering if it would be best to have the valve fully closed (if it gets stuck, should it loose after the circuit warms up again?), or to leave it fully open (so it looses by closing it when needed),

I am from a more tropical climate country where heating in winter is not really necessary, so I am a total strange on how these things should work. All advice is welcome.

This corner of the shower seems to be having some mold issues from regular use. Water seems to be collecting in that spot after a shower and doesn't seem to be draining properly. Is there anything I can do for a permanent fix?

I've tried keeping my bath fan on for an hour after the shower and don't want to have to squeegy it after each use.

Our laundry room sink has this bizarre attachment to to the back of the drain line clean out. It would almost seem like it was or is supposed to be a vent. Recently it’s started to give off a foul sewer smell when our washing machine rinses.

Can I safely plug it? Maybe remove it if I can manage to pry it off? When I asked our plumber what it was, he just smirked and said it was a “crazy thing.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.crimedad.work/post/63959

cross-posted from: https://pixelfed.crimedad.work/p/crimedad/675140687607015636

The flowerbeds in front of my house could use some work.

I'd like to replace what I've got with some colorful plants, but I'm not sure what to pick that's appropriate for the environment or even what sort of design guidelines to follow that will lead to a handsome result. Would anyone care to offer some suggestions? This side of the house gets plenty of sun and faces South. The location is in Essex County, New Jersey.

#gardening #landscaping #design #diy

@[email protected]

We have a standing shower with a strange leak. It was built with a small tiled wall/step that the frame-less glass shower wall panel sits on. I noticed water pooling outside the door after a shower. At first I thought it was the door seal but upon closer inspection it is coming out of the grout. See pics (right where the arrow is pointing). The shower was already in the house when we bought it so I don't know anything about how it was constructed.

How should I proceed trying to fix this leak? Do I need to re-do the grout? Should I just use grout sealer? Any help appreciated.

Update #1: Thanks for the help everyone. Do ya'll have any thoughts on where the water could be entering from? The silicone caulking was recently redone. My thought was that I have a hairline crack along the grout somewhere that is allowing water to wick in and and along to the outside.

Update #2: It's Fixed! Thanks everyone for the suggestions and advice. My working theory was that water was wicking down under the bottom frame and finding its way into the frame attachment holes. This appears to be what was happening. I ended up pulling out all the caulk around the inside of the shower on that side and replaced it with fresh silicone. That seems to have done the trick. Bingo, no more water on the ground!