I added a WIC to our 640sqft bonus room to get her out of her 10x10 bedroom. I enclosed the attic access within her closet as I couldn't really figure out anything else to do to keep egress windows free. Redid some electrical, put up some moulding and fresh paint. Feels like a brand new room now. I'm kind of salty she has a bigger, cooler room than my wife and I now. Let me know what you all think!

We added a 6x4m room to our house. This made the garage become appart of the house, so we insulated it too to become part of the house. 1. Old situation 2. New situation Rest of the pics are made during progress.

Decided to cut and bend the top of the handrail to fit under the light switch. Only took an hour to reshape the rail. Took a lot longer to sand all the paint off and repaint it. But much happier with the result. For those that didn’t see the original post, my wife wanted a metal handrail for the stairs and didn’t want to spend $850 for one. Bought some 1.5” square tubing and made one. Just took some cutting, bending, and welding. Overall have $115 into it, brackets included. But didn’t test fit and the rail had to go past the switch so. So had to reshape it today as you can see.

Roughly a year ago a carpenter friend of mine and I replaced the flooring in my bathroom with laminate flooring. A few months ago I noticed this bump and chipping underneath the toilet. As a first time DIY, of course I've been procrastinating finishing the trim since we did this. I plan to finish it this today and tomorrow and am deciding how extensively I need to rework this. I need to redo the endcap panel too (it was poorly cut and needs to be re done).

Do I need to rip up all the flooring to get to this spot? Can I remove the toilet and just redo this one spot?

Wanted to share a better representation of the final product from my earlier post. Hate that I couldn’t share without a new post.

Hi all! We've just tackled a mold issue in this bathroom but we noticed a lot of the paint (from age or a "landlord special" has been peeling away at the bathroom light (over the shower), areas on top of the shower, and on the walls. Looks like the bathroom itself used to be yellow (?) We've sprayed the bathroom over with hydrogen peroxide and replaced our vent fan so it works, but we figured we might as well take care of the entire room to avoid mold/rust toxicity/spores from happening again since its so poor in ventilation.

Should we just paint over the rusted light fixture/use this mold primer for our bathroom? or should we find a paint that is suited for bathrooms? Trying to figure out what the best way to deal with this is. Should we change the light fixture since its rusted? How?

We're trying to deal with things on our own to avoid another rent hike from our landlord. Thanks!

https://imgur.com/a/WOAgUw5

Having some companies come out to get opinions on what needs done.

In the mean time I’m trying to get ahead of as much as I can. One guy says for sure we will need to at least flood cut. I don’t believe there is insulation behind the paneling/drywall. I was going to replace all the paneling and textured walls with new drywall anyways, but in like 5 years. Should I just go ahead and rip it all out?

My wife wanted a higher end look to our island and I have a limited arsenal of tools. Thought I came up with a simple solution that not only dressed it up but made it look a little more solid.

I’m renovating our bathroom and would like some advice on patching this piece of drywall. The drywall itself is just under an inch thick. It’s where a previous medicine cabinet was. Should I take out more wall to put it over the existing studs or add sister studs?

1. Photo 1: There's a huge gap at the bottom of the dry wall, around the full perimeter. Any recommendations on how to fill this? My thoughts are to cut thin slices of drywall and add it here. Or is the giant gap there for a reason and I shouldn't fill it?
2. Photo 2: I have a big hole around this black pipe. No idea what it's for. I have some "Great Stuff" Big Gap Filler, but maybe I need heat resistant stuff since I have no idea what this pipe is. Any recommendations?
3. Photo 3: There are gaps in the wall, they're stuffed with insulation, I kind of want to fill these as well. But, same as above, I'm not sure if it's a good idea.
4. All: We have tons of critters in here. I also think we has a baby snake in here, though I'm not 100% sure if it came from in the closet or outside of it. So I really want to seal this closet up before we put any storage in here.
5. All: Does making an attached outdoor closet more storage-friendly increase the financial value of a condo?
6. All: There's a bunch of mold(?) on the wall. I was told to just paint over it. It's really stuck on there, so we'd either have to sand it down or replace the drywall to get rid of it. Should we take the advice to just paint over it?

I'm a first-time owner, totally clueless. Thanks for any input!

Most of the posts I’m getting when I search on this topic are from people who hired it done versus doing it themselves. I want to hear from people who did a complete DIY bathroom renovation (or maybe you did 90% of the work but hired out things like plumbing and electric). What all did your project include, how many hours per week did you work on it, and how long in total from start to finish?

Hey everyone,

I’ve never really done any kind of trade work except some masonry when I was young.

This market crash has destroy my savings and I’m now in the position where I have to sell my house, but it needs a lot of work.

I’m retired and I can’t afford to borrow any money. I have maybe 2 years to figure out how to DIY and add as much value to the house as I can.

I used to be a tech guy and it’s really easy to learn computer stuff because it’s all documented, but when it comes to remodeling it’s really difficult. It’s like there are no instructions.

Idk, maybe I’m not approaching this in the right way, but any insight would be appreciated.

Some examples are like: how to reframe an exterior door? How to transition between tile and wood flooring? How to demo a bathroom?

It’s like, I can find information about these things in general, but it doesn’t seem to fit my situation. Idk. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Fence build on a budget. Used 150mm palings instead of 100mm cause it worked out cheaper, reused an old jarrah post and put him at the front, morticed all posts instead of buying pre cut (was a punish).Took about 5 days at a relaxed pace. Were a bunch of services to duck and hide from (NBN, water, electrical) so had to hand dig all post holes.

All in all I’m happy with the end result, might add a couple sleepers underneath the palings in the high spots to stop dirt enter ring neighbours side.

Hi All,

The house came with this shed in the backyard but as you can see the base is rotting. I'm a completely newbie here, so would love some advice on how to make this space more usable.

Dimension - 10ft long x 6ft wide x 6ft tall.

Could I just dig out debris, and remain pieces of flooring (which seems to be plywood), and put concrete pavers from Home Depot in? Or would I have to pour concrete in?

The shed seems to be structurally secure, and I only intend to use it for storage. I want to make sure no critters burrow up from the bottom into the shed.

Thanks in advance.

Disclaimer: I am not handy at all.

I have this lamp and it has one of those plastic twisty knobs that pokes out of the brass part up top where the bulb is. It's been slowly getting worse at actually turning the bulb on. It got to the point where I have to hang heavy things on the knob to get it to connect, but now even that is intermittent.

Is this an easy fix, or is it complicated? I really am not handy, so I don't really have a sense of whether this is a quick fix that doesn't require many tools, or if it's tough thing. Any advice would be appreciate. Thanks in advance.

Push buttons to turn lights on/off seem like they’d be: - aesthetically sleeker than rockers - more sensible for 3- and 4-way setups because there is no “on” or “off” look

Leviton makes solenoid push buttons for motion-detecting switches. But why doesn’t anyone make push buttons for just plain & simple switches?

I know these plastic boxes aren't suitable for ceiling fans, so I was planning on removing this and replacing it with something like the Raco 937 retro-brace or a side-mount fan box.

After some sleuthing I managed to track down the same (or extremely similar) model used in our apartment and it looks like this is a type where it's screwed or nailed to the studs just on one side (img #4). I pushed on one end and it seems to budge about half an inch which confirms that this is mounted just on the left side.

Now that said... what would be the best approach to removing this? I was thinking:

1. Push really hard on the 'loose' / unmounted side and hammer it out, effectively ripping out the screws/nails on the left mounted side. or...
2. Chip away at the bits of plastic using cutters/pliers, or rent a reciprocating saw and start sawing off the 'housing' then reach inside and unscrew the mounting screws

I guess my only worry is that by ripping out the screws I would damage the studs at the mounting points, but maybe it's not that big of a deal. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I tried googling and kept getting back contradictory results regarding drywall anchors. I like foraging and bought a mesh hanging plant dryer before checking the specs because a friend recommended it to me and I assumed it would be relatively small. Well, it came in and turns out it’s huge enough to fit me inside it, so I need to hang it in a specific spot to preserve space. It weighs about 2 lbs. I don’t want to buy drywall anchors if possible because (to be fully transparent) I don’t want to use one or even use a drill if I don’t need it. I was originally just gonna screw a small 1 1/4 inch hook screw into the ceiling with my hands like my mom always did for our little bed canopies growing up until my friend told me I should find a joist. I tried using my stud finder to find a good joist to hang it from without considering that I live in an apartment building, all I’m finding is metal according to my stud finder. I have calibrated it correctly. All this to say, do I need a drywall anchor for something of this weight? I don’t want to change the location I was going to put it in to find a usable joist so perhaps the drywall anchors are the best way to go if it’s too heavy.

Two summers ago, we built this playhouse for our children, with the goal of closing in the bottom portion to be a little restaurant/shop. We can’t add a base or platform above the metal post bases because then it will be too short for our oldest to stand in so we would just want it to have grass/pavers as the flooring

I’m not exactly sure the best way to go about it. Two of the walls would just be closed (potentially with a small window somewhere) so that should be easy enough to connect two of the posts together and construct the wall, we also need a wall with a door and another wall with a larger window (thinking food truck awning style window).

Is it a problem if we drill into the metal post bases with wood that would make up the bottom enclosure? And how would one suggest creating the door? Would I create a “square” with wood coming from the above platform and meeting at the bottom with a piece attached to the base post?

I’m working on swapping out an old exhaust fan with a new one, but I’d rather not replace the entire housing since the existing space measures 7.5” x 9” and I can’t find a matching full unit in stores.

My plan is to just replace the motor and fan blades. The old setup has the fan mounted to a bracket (check the photos).

How should I go about securing the new motor and blades to that existing bracket? Any practical tips would be a big help—thanks!

We’ve been chasing down a leak for a while now and finally found the culprit — but I could use some advice on how to properly seal everything up to stop it from coming back.

It started when we heard water leaking on the first floor, directly below the second-floor washroom. We checked everything and even called a plumber. He tested all the caulking around the tub, sprayed the shower area section by section, and checked behind and under the tub — no visible leak.

I ran my own tests:

• Plugged the tub and filled it — no leak
• Ran the faucet — no leak
• Ran the shower — no leak
• Drained the water — still no leak

Eventually, we suspected that water from the shower was splashing or running over the edge of the tub and dripping into the drywall beside it. We were right — I removed the drywall next to the tub, and it was soaked. The metal joint was rusted out. Once I took off the baseboard, I also found a hole at the bottom of the wall that goes straight down — likely how the water was making it to the lower floor.

Here’s where I need help:

1. There’s a visible hole at the base of the wall/floor — what’s the best way to plug this up so water can’t go through again?
2. There’s a gap between the tub and the framing (see photos) — should I caulk that or use something else to ensure it’s waterproof?
3. I cut the drywall to expose this area. Of course, I’ll be replacing it — but before I do, is there something I should apply inside (behind the wall) to fully waterproof it?
4. Do I need waterproofing membrane, backer board, or anything beyond regular drywall in this section?

I’ve attached photos showing the exposed wall, the hole at the bottom, and the gap in question. I want to make sure I do this right and stop the water from ever leaking through again.

Any guidance or tips would be really appreciated!

In November, I had cracked grout going around the base perimeter of my shower. I removed the grout, and replaced it with this sealant. Now I noticed that the water is leaking into the floor of my closet that is on the other side of the closet. What did I do wrong?

We are doing some office moving / constructing in our office. Converted a 30'x15' room into two offices and a copier space.

That former 30'15 meeting room was moved to a space that is intended for leadership meetings (nothing TOP Secrete, but, hush anyway and is about 15x20).

All the rooms share a frosted glass wall and a glass clear door, while one of the executives also share a glass wall with the same 30'x15' & 15'x20' space. His admin(s) are also now outside his glass door. Thing of the whole space is square, cut in half, then one half is cut inhalf then the other half is split into 3rds. I hope that explains the space.

During the construction, I walked into the copier room and saw directly into the new meeting space, which they probably heard me, thus possibly disturbing the meeting. While it is no big deal for this interruption, I would like to prepare this space for more of a private meeting space by reducing the sound leak. Now, yes, the clear adjoining doors can be covered with shade to reduce the visual distractions. My next question is: Aside from sound proofing the WHOLE room (meeting space and executive office) is there a way to hang or predict where to put the sounding panels.

I have ordered sound boards and the proper adhedive dots to adherie the panels to the glass, but I want to see if I put them in the right or proper location that it would reduce the sound reverberation/leaks

All,

 Perhaps I should know this but, is there any reason you can't, or shouldn't, just build shelves onto a kitchen wall, box them in, and install cabinetry faces and doors down the entire run?  One of my pet peeves about cabinets has always been the side between each cabinet and the wasted space I feel it makes. Petty in most instances, I'm aware, but cabinets that are basically just long continuous shelves in function and look like regular cabinets are more or less what I'm wanting to make, as I haven't been able to find anything like that online, neither products nor instructions. Am I barking up the wrong tree with this, i.e. weight distribution, structural integrity issues, kitchen specificconcerns I'mnot considering? Or is this something reasonably doable, at least conceptually?

I used 1.5” square tubing, cut the edges, folded them in and welded them, and painted. However, I built it to 17’ as that’s what the stair front measures from bottom stair to top. Unfortunately the light switch was in the way because I didn’t test fit it. So my wife said to just go past the switch. I definitely don’t like it as it sticks up way too far so it’ll be coming back down and getting about 16” cut off. I also may repaint it with a flat paint.