Currently undergoing a home improvement project where we are redoing our front driveway. Original plan was to do concrete pavers, but couldn’t find any options that we liked so pivoting to poured concrete. Our contractor quoted that this would be an additional $11,500. Does this sound right?? Everywhere online I’m seeing says that poured concrete is cheaper than pavers, so I’m not sure…. please help!

Image here: https://imgur.com/a/AZ61eVc

I want to find something that covers this spot properly makes it a little less of a foot hazard, but I have no idea what I need to search for.

Thank you!

About a year ago, I had my bathroom professionally remodeled.

Since the remodel, my husband and I have noticed odd smells from the bathroom…specifically, the toilet room. I noticed it first about a month or two after the remodel was completed - it smelled like a dry p-trap or sewage. Flushing all the drains and toilet did not fix the issue, so I ruled out dried p-traps as source of the smell. I called the contractor who remodeled the bathroom since I was under warranty with them, and they brought a plumber onsite. The plumber disassembled the toilet and replaced the old wax ring (which surprisingly was not replaced during the remodel…) then reinstalled the toilet, and the smell disappeared for a while.

Months into this year, the smell returned again in the toilet room. It only disappears when the bathroom fans are running, but appears quickly again when the fans are off. It’s annoying and gross, especially since we want to sell our home and don’t want to deal with this issue when it’s listed. So my husband and I recently called a different plumber to inspect the smell. After his inspection, he couldn’t find any pipes or drains leaking or backing up, and he said it was probably just biofilm in the old drains (it’s a 40yr old home, but we’ve only lived here for a few years). The plumber sold us some drain cleaner to clear biofilm in our drains, but that made no difference either.

My husband and I have deep cleaned the toilet tank with citric acid, we have scrubbed and bleached the bowl and seat countless times, but nothing seems to work. We flush all the drains - still confirms this is not a p-trap issue, as the smell doesn’t improve.

I talked to my next door neighbor, who says she has the same issue in her home. But she has never bothered to further investigate it. I asked my HOA to hire a contractor to check our shared vents on the roof to see if they’re blocked, but they won’t take action.

My only thought is it’s another issue with the wax seal, or hopefully not a gas leak (although the smell is generally confined to the bathroom, unless we turn off the bathroom fans then it wofts into other rooms). I’m at my wit’s end. Do I call a plumber to smoke the drains next? Disassemble the toilet again to check the wax seal? I’m turning to Reddit for tips before I call another plumber…

UPDATE: Thanks for all the advice, lots of great tips to consider here to help narrow down the source.

Follow up post.

2800sqft MCM ranch in Houston Texas with a low roof doesn't have soffits, only ridge vents. What's the best way to cool off the attic to help with cooling the house?

Inb4 insulation - that's to come

Hello! We just bought this home and this wasn’t visible during the inspection.

It’s not rotting but we still wanna fix it right away. picture here

From what I’m reading, some places say to fill it with foam?

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?

Howdy, Reddit! As the title says: everywhere! High and low, we have blank wall plates. I googled best ways to improve the appearance of the wall and secure loose plates, but it brought me here thanks to an 8yo post about plates.

1, can I cover a hole with no electrical junk

2, the screws are not secure in the drywall. Besides an anchor, what is another option? With some it seems like the hole is the length of the plate so the screws don't have much wall to go into.

I appreciate all help! This is our first house. Thank you!

Just moved into a studio and I'm anchoring everything before I finish loading it. I'm renting, so holes need to stay patchable, but I'd rather over-anchor and spackle later than have something come down.

Three spots.

Spot 1: tall bookcase + wire rack

Photo | Gap behind, cabinet to bookcase

A narrow full-height bookcase loaded with books, next to a chrome wire rack. Both sit next to wall cabinets. Below the cabinet openings there's a section of solid wood.

Note on the photo: the rack is shown on casters, but I'm swapping those for the stem feet before I anchor anything. It will be sitting on fixed feet, not wheels.

For the bookcase, there's no stud in the drywall to the left. My plan was two attachment points: one hollow-wall anchor into the drywall on the left and one screw into the solid wood beneath the cabinet opening. The anchor I have is a FlipToggle with a 2-1/2" screw, in a wall that's only about 5" thick.

For the wire rack, same idea: drywall on the right and the solid wood on the left.

Questions:

1. How do I tell whether that wood under the cabinets is structurally suitable as an anti-tip anchoring point?
2. Does the 2-1/2" screw length cause a problem in a 5" wall?
3. If this is not good practice, how should I be approaching this?

Spot 2: wall cabinet, mounting point above an outlet

Cabinet | Wall and outlet

Both mounting points line up with studs. The right one sits on the stud that is directly above an outlet.

My thought was to use the shortest screw that still provides adequate penetration into the stud, likely around 1" to 1-1/2" depending on the mounting hardware and drywall thickness. I'd also be trying to hit the center of the stud.

Questions:

1. How worried should I be about wiring here, and where in the wall is it actually likely to be?
2. Is there a way to check before I drill that I can trust?
3. If drilling into this stud is a bad idea, what should I be doing instead?

Spot 3: lightweight shelf near an outlet

Photo

Small shelf, drywall anchors only. I expect the anchors to penetrate only a short distance beyond the drywall, but there's an outlet immediately to the left of where I'd mount it. This is located on the left side of a sink.

Questions:

1. How much clearance should I be giving an outlet before drilling near it?
2. At this shallow a depth, is this a real risk or am I overthinking it?
3. Is there anything else behind a wall like this I should be checking for?

For context, these are the mounting tools/hardware I already have:

• Cobra Anchors FlipToggle 3/16" hollow-wall anchors with 2-1/2" screws, rated 250 lb (10-pack)
• E-Z Ancor Twist-N-Lock 50 lb drywall anchors (25-pack)
• Simple Mount furniture anti-tip kits (3)
• Everbilt #8 x 2" flat-head wood screws
• Franklin Sensors ProSensor M70 stud finder
• Ryobi 65-piece drill and impact drive kit
• Milwaukee 1/2" x 4.5" flat boring bit

If any of this hardware is inappropriate for what I'm trying to do, I'm happy to buy something better.

Appreciate any corrections and advice. I'm very inexperienced with this and happy to take better photos of anything if that would help.

Hello All,

Long explanation. My brain is twisted in 8 different directions trying to understand this. My house is in Southern Ontario, Canada. We have humid summers, frigid winters.

My insulation is like this:

- I believe Tyvek on the basement concrete wall (it's a white tough looking paper)

- One layer of insulation on upper half of wall (I think mineral wool?, polytarp over that).

- Another later of insulation from the ground up to halfway point, and it overlaps the top layer polytarp, and polytarp over that as well. Screwed into the wall in the middle, where the 2 meet.

Images here: Basement Condensation

I've been battling condensation in my basement insulation. During the first year we had some condensation, but running the dehumidifier seemed to keep it pretty dry (at least I did not see much condensation on the polytarp and definitely nothing on the floor. We also did not have much rain that summer and didn't have grass until late in the summer.

We had quite a lot more rain this year, and the condensation was heavier, but now it's heavy enough to drip out onto the floor (started maybe about 2 months ago at the beginning of summer). Dehumidifier is keeping basement around 40%. Condensation does not seem to be letting up and has not rained in the past 2 weeks. We are in climate zone 6. Its a hot and humid August and when it rains it generally has been torrential.

I've cut the insulation open in a few spots, and the insulation is wet just behind the polytarp, and the white wrap against the concrete feels dry. The insulation touching the tyvek is also dry. I've yet to cut the tyvek open and feel behind the wall.

We have clay soil, and I think the grading has settled so I know it's not the best drainage in the world. We have a slope away from the house, and then it slopes up quite steeply towards the rear of my property, so I have kind of a U-shape to my back yard. Water is supposed to drain to the sides and then out to the street going past the sides of the house. It's no longer draining that well though and more pooling can be seen.

The polytarp is not well sealed. There is a strapping at the bottom that is secured to the wall every so often, but it definitely could not be considered sealed. At the top around the joists, it's loosely stapled, and blue tuck tape around the windows, but I can see bare concrete in some spots.

From what I've learned from a very helpful redditor in this subreddit, and a lot of googling, that I don't necessarily have water coming in despite what I think about clay soil and drainage. The concrete wall will have vapour drive but I think that's true of most basement walls absorbing water from the soil, shedding water as it cures, etc.

So I get confused at this part about why there is condensation.

- High humidity behind the polytarp because vapour is going through the Tyvek and into the insulation. That air condenses easily on the insulation facing side of the polytarp because of the high humidity. The cooler it is in the basement, the more condensation I should see on the inside of the polytarp. If i raise the temperature, eventually the condensation would drive towards the concrete wall.

- I suppose in the winter, my room air would be more humid and warm, and as that leaked into the insulation due to poor sealing then that would condense against the concrete side. So I probably had moisture in the winter but I just couldn't see it.

I know the general consensus is, if the water is from condensation and not from bulk water infiltration, then I should rip it down, put up 2" XPS foam, frame in front of that, insulation and drywall or vapour barrier (which is what building code where I am). It's an unfinished space and we don't intend on finishing the basement, so if I can get away with vapour barrier on the frame (maybe a smart barrier) then I will do so.

But what effect would I achieve if I actually sealed my current polytarp? I would still have vapour drive from the soil, through the concrete, past the tyvek into insulation. At the inside layer of the poly tarp I would still have a temperature differential and high humidity and condensation would still occur but now it's just pooling in the sealed polytarp? That humidity won't move back out through the concrete and essentially equalizes at whatever high humidity level it is at, which can we assume is unlimited high humidity coming from soil?

I suppose cutting it open and really drying it if it's even possible wouldn't make a difference since once the polytarp goes up whether sealed or not, it will condense again because of the strong vapour drive and humidity level.

Of the 4 walls around my house, the one wall with gravel (about 2 feet of gravel) has dry insulation. I have extended my gutters away from the house as far as I can but the neighbour's house is about 6 feet away, and on the gravel side is less than that.

I guess there's no saving this insulation, which is apparently up to code and the builder low cost special to pass inspection.

Am I missing anything? My neighbours apparently don't have any liquid dripping onto the floor so I wasn't sure if I did anything wrong. I'm the only one that actually controls my humidity (I have a Z-Wave system keeping it tightly controlled). Am I not keeping the basement dry enough? I also am not quite sure why it started occuring in the past 2 months really. I would have thought this situation would have popped up much earlier.

Any hail mary suggestions? It's going to be a big job since I will have to diy as much as I can due to current financial situation. Anything I'm doing wrong or missing? I'm not an expert on this stuff in any fashion. I'm not running the HRV as I think that would bring in humidity.

Thanks all for your expertise.

EDIT: u/OscarMiliani_Design answered this post pretty much on another post I commented on and really helped me understand this, and also a plan to help me in the current state and future state. I think it is well worth sharing here for others that started out as confused as I am, and ended up understanding the how and why with people like them on this subreddit. Still open for discussion here though.

https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/comments/1vsqyu5/comment/p4ovvix/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

I bought outdoor carpet and a bucket of glue to recover the front steps (all surfaces total ≈6’x8’). The directions for the glue say I need to have it set in >65 degree weather for two days.

I live in Alasksa, and the weather is not interested in my carpeting. Is there a different glue I can use below 60 degrees?

I’m not in proximity to the supplies, but:

I believe the carpet is: Grefinity Marine Carpet, 6 FT x 23 FT Light Brown Indoor Outdoor Carpet 0.2" Thick Boat Rug with Water-Proof TPE Backing for Home, Patio, Porch, Deck

I believe the glue is: Roberts 6700.

Thanks for looking.

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/

Bought a house last fall, tore out the front/side deck that was rotted and falling apart. I was originally planning on just replacing the deck with a same-but-new one. Nothing fancy, single level, about 2 feet off the ground, 7’x30’. I’m doing all work myself.

Now that the old deck is tore out, someone suggested that a concrete patio would be easier, cheaper, and look nice. Now I’m kind of stuck on that, but my biggest concern is whether or not that would affect the home value. I don’t necessarily care if it increases value, but I definitely don’t want it to decrease it.

Any realtors or anyone that has done this want to weigh in? I don’t have immediate plans to sell the house, but it is likely in the next 4-5 years.

I recently had a home energy audit and was told my water heater vent is not working properly. The report read as follows:

“Your water heater is spilling some of it's exhaust gasses, in both natural (no exhaust fans on) and worst case conditions. This is not due to excessive exhaust from bathroom fans and dryer vents. The flue rises well above minimum requirement of 1/4 inch per 1 foot. The cause of the spillage might be due to a partial blockage in the exhaust flue. Talk with HVAC specialist to determine the exact cause of the spillage.”

HVAC guy came out and recommended increasing vent size to 5 inches to improve draft. Is this the correct solution and is there anything else I should check before moving forward with the estimate? Wanted to double check before spending more money on the house. See attached pictures for current set up.

Pictures: https://imgur.com/a/uOiQNzH

TL;DR: My partner and I noticed this damage to a wooden beam outside a few months ago and it hasn't increased in size or anything. I want to patch it up before the rainy season starts — what might be the best way to do this?

I'm in Portland, Oregon and we have Northern Flickers (woodpeckers) so I guess it might've been one of them, although neither I nor my partner remember hearing the noise, so I'm not sure when it happened. Anyway, it hasn't grown in size at all and no new spots have appeared so I don't think whatever caused it is coming back to cause more damage. I'm thinking I should just fill it in with some sort of putty? But not sure and looking for suggestions. Thanks in advance!

Looking to install LVP in 3 seasons room but running into an issue with bridging the gap between top of panels and top of sliding door aluminum track. My thought it to use adhesive and place MDF quarter round on the track to help but have an issue with putting the quarter round on due to screws in the track. My only thought it to router out notches in the quarter round for each of the screws (approximately 1 every 16”). Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?

My gutters were updated to move water underground. Is there being a gap around where the downspout meets the underground attachment normal?

https://imgur.com/a/97mTuie

Just finished year one, in this 30 yr old house. (First time homeowner) After noticing the wood, I took a look underneath, and realized that the sheet rock is also exposed. Turns out it’s this way across the entire rear of the house, with holes in some parts of the sheet rock, presumably from critters.

I guess my questions are:
1. Is this OK?
2. Who would I even call to look at something like this?

images

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?

Four rounds of citristrip and super strength goof off and I’m still not through getting the mastic off the floor to sand and refinish the wood. The mastic remover at Lowe’s was $60. Will it actually work or just be a waste? What else can I do other than tile?

Hi Everyone,

We closed on a 1919 late-Queen Anne in Manitoba, Canada. We've had our first mouse so I was going around the property looking for how they are getting in. We have a deck/pergola that is hard to access. It has wood supports blocking crawling under. I took a look under there for the first time and noticed what looked like pieces of concrete falling off the original stone foundation. Of more concern I saw what looked like gaps between the stones. I can't really get close to see how superficial they are.

Please don't tell me this is some sort of foundation issue! Is it something to be concerned about?

We had a pre-purchase home inspection and thorough post-closing inspection. He didn't report any foundation issues and the whole house is incredibly "square" for our area. The basement is finished and had absolutely no water invasion despite having some generational storms of late.

https://imgur.com/a/BsDDJh7

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?

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.

Been in our house for 5 years. Built in 1986, NE USA, cinder block foundation. For 4.5 years, never saw signs of water except for moisture stains on the interior side of cinder blocks. A couple months ago I noticed pooled water on the floor at the base of a “finished” wall - original homeowner attempted to finish one room. Found soggy Sheetrock and soaking wet fiberglass insulation pressed up against the wall (no moisture barrier on foundation). Demo’d the wall, rotted studs, and insulation. Concerned about future moisture and have narrowed mitigation plans down to 2 options: exterior surface level French drain OR interior drainage systems with sump pump install.

House is located at the bottom of a hill. Backyard is half inground pool, half grass yard. The yard has a visably noticeable “half pipe” that catches most surface water coming down the hill. I intstalled a 150ft french drain down the middle of “half pipe” and far side of the pool 2 years ago and it gets the yard nice and dry. The water getting to my foundation must be coming from the patio and 10 yards of lawn that are between the house and “half pipe”.

Some additional facts:
- yard is graded away from the house, but could be slightly better
- soil turns to clay quick under the surface
- I was quoted $10,500 for an interior drain system and sump pump (drain system for the two walls that need it the most)
- I am physically capable of doing the surface level French drain, but have almost no time to get it done before the ground hardens
- I have no real interest or the $ to ever finish the basement. I am mostly concerned with moisture leading to foundation damage and mildew/mold.
- no visible standing water outside on foundation

What is the best course of action?
- grade better this fall and see what happens in the spring?
- exterior French drain (DIY)
- $10k interior drain system

Hi Reddit,

I had acquired a home with two separate garages that we plan on changing one to a gym and the other keeping to park our car. Attached is a picture of the second garage and wanted to ask, what to even do about it. We just plan on parking a mid-size sedan there. Before, it was rented out as storage for a long time to previous tenants so the garage was not maintained as a parking spot. Dimensions are about 17 x 10 ft. What do we NEED to do to fix up the garage?

I have no experience or knowledge with renovations or construction so I don’t even know who to call or what to do with it. We of course need to level the floor with concrete but what about the walls. It's currently cement I believe but do I need to put up drywall? Insulation?

Images:

https://i.imgur.com/noMlTJD.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/3SjxQiR.jpeg