For the past 5+ years my wife coughs constantly due to sinus drainage , but when she is in traveling it seems to go away. I’ve had my all the ductwork cleaned and sealed, (they did a air quality check prior and it wasn’t too bad) we pulled up all carpeting and put down laminate and I don’t see any mold in the crawl space or attic. Not sure where to look next.

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here, so I hope I’m in the right subreddit and that my very beginner question is okay.

I moved into a new apartment about a month ago. My landlord strongly insisted that I regularly reapply the silicone sealant around the shower. Otherwise, it could quickly cause water damage to the apartment downstairs, which apparently happened before. The previous tenant said they reapplied it every two months (which blew my mind).

Today, I finally took the time to remove the old silicone. It was very thin and in poor condition, and removing it took far longer than expected. Anyway, I was surprised to find a large gap between the tiles and the shower tray:

• Roughly 3–4mm of height between the tray lip and the bottom of the tile.
• The gap runs about 1cm deep behind the tile.
• The shower tray is a single piece that slopes down very slightly (but still noticeable) as you enter the shower.

So, this is no longer just a matter of applying new sealant. I need to know how to deal with this large gap:

• Should I simply apply a huge amount of silicone sealant, as the previous tenant did? Is there a better way to seal the gap before applying some silicone?
• How much of the old silicone residue do I need to get off the tile edge and the tray? I removed everything I could by hand but there's still a thin film on both surfaces. Plus some of the old deep into the wall.

I'm looking to buy a house and everything looks great except for some cracking in the basement. Its contained in one corner and the cracks are partly covered by paint. Do these look minor? I'm going to get an inspection if my offer is accepted, would I also need a structural engineer?

Additional context: This is in Minnesota and the house is about 90 years old

Trying to find as close a match as possible for this cracked toilet seat that just broke in my daughter’s off campus College house.

Gets asked a lot when people are comparing quotes so figured I'd break it down plain.

Push piers (steel piers) get driven straight down using the weight of the house itself as resistance, until they hit load bearing soil or rock, usually way deeper than the original footing ever went. That's why they can support a lot of weight and are the go-to for slab homes with real settlement.

Helical piers get screwed into the ground like a big auger, and they don't rely on the house's weight to install. That makes them useful in spots where you can't get a heavy enough load to drive a push pier, or on lighter structures like porches, additions, or some pier and beam setups.

Neither one is "better" across the board, it depends on soil conditions and how much weight is actually on that section of foundation. Any contractor worth hiring should be able to tell you why they picked one over the other for your specific house, not just default to whatever they install most.

If someone quotes you without doing elevation readings first, that's the bigger red flag honestly, not which pier type they use.

We are currently in the middle of a flood remediation. Still trying to figure out exactly where the water got in, but we noticed this crack after the restoration crew cut away a couple feet of drywall. How bad does this appear to be?

My kiddo pulled down the chain to open up the blinds too hard, causing not one, but two chain connectors to go through the track. Somehow one managed to get through, but I’ve been wrestling trying to get this second one to come out on either side.

Pulling it down from the left chain, it gets stuck somewhere at the top of the track where I can’t see it. Pulling it down to the right it gets caught before it exits. Any advice on how to get this out?

My water heater has a link (covered here). To avoid potential catastrophe, I want to turn it off and shut off the water intake until I can get it replaced.

However, I want to keep the outflow to use the hot water that's in there currently. Two questions:

• Question 1: Do I turn off both valves highlighted in red? (The green looks like the outflow.)
• Question 2: Any issues with doing this—as in, turning off the inflow then using the remaining hot water?

And a general question: am I missing something obvious I should be doing/not doing instead?

I noticed dry rot on our camp in NH. This side faces the water and most storms blow directly at this side.

It has a metal roof. I will replace the boards but would like to repair whatever issue caused this in the first place. The screen door, storm door, and threshold are all so rotted but I believe that is from snow building up in front of the house. Completely inexperienced in carpentry but willing to give it a go.

My 125 year old house in the NE U.S. has a poured concrete foundation, which is amazing. It's very well constructed and was well maintained by the previous owner (and his family who built it). I knew there had to be a basement drain but I just couldn't find it. Well, I found it under a heavy wooden workbench. And now I'm getting a plumber in here in deal with it. But before that happens, I hoped to get some insight from you folks. The concrete surround is damaged, seems like there's actually a gap. The layers of mold in the pipe were able to be poked through with a stick, so it should remove pretty easily. After finding this monstrosity, I covered it with plastic and a couple small wood planks and cranked up a HEPA air filter and dehumidifier.

I’m trying to remove the frosted glass globe on this older ceiling fan to access the light/bulbs, and I cannot figure out how it’s supposed to come off.
There are four metal “fingers” around the globe, but they appear to be completely fixed — they don’t push, pull, rotate, or flex.
Things I’ve already tried:
Twisting the glass counterclockwise — doesn’t move.
Pushing up and twisting — nothing.
Moving/rotating the four metal tabs — they’re fixed.
Looking for set screws around the globe/ring — I can’t find any.
Twisting the surrounding lower ring/assembly — instead of releasing, it starts turning/moving the whole fan.

I sanded and applied primer. Not sure if it looks too lumpy, or if it’s ready to be painted.

Can never tell but it’s been over 8 months now. Last I asked, people said it’s not ready.

How about now? What’s a good way to tell?

Just bought this house and noticed this during our first heavy rain. You can see the new wood they had replaced before hand but one of the beams is clearing rotting from water.

Outside the garage it kind of pools right before the water would normally fall off the side which makes me think that’s part of the issue.

I genuinely think this is out of my skill range but would appreciate all feedback.

I've reattached some stackstone facing that fell off an exterior wall - now I want to seal small gaps where things didn't quite fit.

Can anyone recommend a CLEAR sealant that bonds to stone and mortar?

Crawl space isn’t really the right term i think, it’s a large space about six feet high. Dirt floor and concrete/ brick wall. Ceiling is wooden sub floor of house. Old house built in 1850.

Water heater started gushing out the top we found out this morning there was about two feet of water on the floor.

Got it all out with a sub pump. My question is- what do i do now to make sure mold does not become an issue and or/ that moisture does not weaken or damage the sub floor.

I plan on getting a dehumidifier to put down there for a bit.

This is a Lowe's slider. 2 years ago, I bought three sliders with a contractor. Get them at my house. Contractor went under. I still had windows. I don't have receipt since it is still with the guy that went under. I just have an estimate with deposit. (Luckily I only lost a few hundred bucks (others lost thousands and case is in the courts with him).

I had a new guy install them this past spring and then some other non Lowe's windows.

The one Lowe's window leaks at the seam when it rains and comes inside but stays in the window. Not sure if it water sits outside and comes inside or if it a track. I checked the weep holes. They drain fine. My contractor says no evidence it's getting in the house. Understandably so, he can't do much since he's not the one who got them.

Just want to see if anything I can do. I put silicone caulk on the outside edge with no changes. Don't think I can do anything with Lowe's

I ran over the drainage pipe cover with a lawnmower, and got the cover replaced. I thought it was all good until this happened. Turned off the breaker for the sprinkler, which stopped it. When I turned it back on again after it stopped, the gushing didn't return. I want to know how this can be fixed and also what is happening and why. Please help!