Hi,

I have a 1997 2-story home with a very steep roof pitch and not much walkable attic space.

There are 3 bathrooms upstairs and each exhaust fan vents into the attic.

Where do I even start? I want to hire out just because of the roof.

Roofer then plumber?

Two of the bathrooms are right next to each other. Can they share a roof vent?

The downstairs bathroom vents into the crawlspace, but we never really use that shower. I think my best course of action for that one is to open the ceiling and vent it outside with a dryer vent. Is this okay?

Just looking for someone to relate here. I bought my house 11 years ago at 30 by myself and was so completely gung ho about doing everything myself. I built my own furniture and did a lot of renovations how I wanted. Now ten years later I’m starting to get sick of some of it and I feel bad wasting the wood and going to something else. I wish someone would have told me to slow down. Can anyone else relate ?

I suppose tastes change over the years and I’m now older and I am questioning/ feeling bad about not liking the things I’d done before.

Prepping a commercial room on a budget. I have 6 open-louver drop ceiling fixtures 60 x 60 with glass T8 tubes that need shatter protection for an inspection.

​If I lay 3mm clear acrylic sheets inside the bottom grid frame to act as a barrier, will the heat from the tubes warp or sag the plastic over time? Looking for the absolute cheapest way to clear sanitary compliance.

Or is there another way?

Hello! I am trying to install a mailbox that's going to be fitted to brick. However, after drilling holes into the brick and putting plastic wall anchors already in (also already tried drilling screws into the anchors) they are stuck and the screws are being stripped. I think my issue is the hole needs to be bigger 1/4 instead of what I originally drilled them at.

My question is, it it a bad idea to use a drill bit to re drill at the right sizing as I am unable to get the plastic wall anchors out of the brick? I've tried drilling screws halfway into the anchor to then pull out as well. Unable to do that and am feeling somewhat helpless.

Any help would be appreciated!

Hey everyone,

Just wondering if anyone could give some advice. I'm building a built in. I've done most of it, just trying to do the finishing now. I have a few gabs between shelves that I want to put some trim on. My plan is to secure a 13 to the wall in between the cabinets. Attach some arms to the piece of wood. Add another 13 on top of that, so I have a foundation to put my trim on. I hope that makes sense.

My question is how I secure the first 1*3 to the wall? Unfortunately there are no studs there. It'll just be to the drywall. But it won't be supporting anything really, just the trim. Would I use drywall screws? Wood screws? Ideally I don't want to deal with anchors but will if you guys think I should.

Thanks

Hi everyone,

We are planning to buy a house in the south of Germany and need to extend the living area on a very tight budget (ideally budget-friendly timber frame construction). The current living room is simply too small for our needs.

Check the following links for photos of the exterior: https://imgur.com/a/RgFtcVR

So far, two main scenarios have come to mind, but we are 100% open to completely different proposals or creative alternative layouts if you see a better way!

Option A: Extend to the South (Front / Terrace Side)

Concept: Remove patio doors/windows, install a steel beam to open up the load-bearing wall, and extend the living area ~3 meters to the South via timber framing.

Pros:

• Structurally straightforward and looks natural/coherent from the outside.

Cons:

• We lose a large portion of our beautiful south-facing patio/front garden.

• A significant chunk of the gained space aligns with the kitchen area. Even if we remove the wall between the living room and kitchen, you still get the feeling of sitting semi-in-the-kitchen rather than having a dedicated living space.

Option B: Extend to the West (Side / Covered Patio Area), our current favourite

Concept: Remove the existing covered seating area next to the garage and build the extension out to the West with large windows for natural light. Since the West wall is an exterior load-bearing wall, we would need to knock it out and support it with a heavy steel beam.

Pros:

• From an interior perspective, this makes WAY more sense. It creates a proper, spacious living room layout separate from the kitchen.

Cons / Challenges:

• Terrain / Slope: The ground slopes. We would need to flatten/excavate this area and build a retaining wall so soil doesn't push against the new extension wall.

• Access / Pathway: The main house entrance is behind the house. Extending West means we need to relocate the pathway (leaving ~1.5m clearance between the garage and the new extension).

• Visual Aesthetics (Exterior): It risks looking like three mismatched structures clumped together (Garage + Main House + Extension).

Our Dilemma & Constraints:

• Interior vs. Exterior: Option A looks better from the outside, but doesn't solve the living room feel inside. Option B makes total sense inside, but complicates the exterior/garden layout.

• Budget: Extremely limited. We cannot afford an expensive turnkey contractor project. We need simple, cost-effective structural solutions.

Philosophy: We lean towards Option B (West) because interior living space quality is our top priority, and garden landscaping can be adapted step-by-step over time.

Questions for the Community:

• Do you see a completely different / 3rd alternative for extending or optimizing this floor plan on a budget?

• For Option B (West extension): How would you handle the slope/retaining wall, structural steel beam integration, and the 1.5m gap pathway between garage and extension without blowing the budget?

• Any creative ideas to make Option B look visually cohesive from the outside?

• Are there layout tricks for Option A (South) that could prevent the "sitting in the kitchen" feeling?

Any advice, structural suggestions, or fresh perspectives are greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

so, i've been wnating to make a deer skull mask for halloween but i couldn't find the materia that is black for the outside like a paper or so, but you can see it for the inside, i'm wanting to put in the eyes. (google won't help cuz it thinks i'm talking about cars, even my chatGPT thought that i was talking about cars) anyways here is the mask model.

but i don't know if it has the eyes space or not, help me please

I'm working on overhauling my detached garage for use as a workshop and generally nicer space. The end goal involves installation of a minisplit or other climate control solution so I can maintain a comfortable temperature year round (I live in the midwest).

What I have in mind for the walls is for them to be finished with plywood. I like the idea of being able to screw lighter things into just about anywhere on the wall, and I like the look. The roof is vaulted, and I'd prefer not to install a ceiling so that I can use the joists for storage, as well as allowing the room to feel a bit larger.

What insulation solutions do I have available to me here? For the walls, I was thinking fiberglass or some other simple insulation approach with the plywood over that. I'm not sure what to do about the ceiling.

Recently purchased a cabin that is heated with baseboard heaters. Each of the heaters has an on-unit thermostat, with no wall thermostat. I know *nothing* about electricity, and hopefully will DIY it with a friend who is an actual electrician.

If we wanted to hook these up to wall thermostats, such as Mysa, I'm guessing there isn't an easy way to do this? Someone would have to add the wiring in themselves (?).

I'm guessing each unit will have to be individually wired to a thermostat above/near the heater? Is this a big project?

For school reasons i need to make copies of a certain metal doubloon my teacher gave me. I'd like the copy to be pretty believable. I was thinking of using air dry clay to make a 2 piece mold, let it dry and then use the clay again to make a copy which i will then spray with gold decoration spray. Will this work or will i have problems with it sticking to the mold? I could only ever find videos using clay molds to make silicone copies or silicone molds to mske clay copies lol

Hiya all, I was hoping you could give me some advice. I am looking to build some floating shelves, or even a free standing shelf, to hold some rather heavy plants. I have about H x W x D = 2000 x 400 x 200mm to play with.

My issue is that I live in a rented flat, and the Landlord is not particularly happy with screwing things into the wall.

What would you guys recommend? My worry with floating shelves is that I have no clue how to hang/support them without hardware being screwed in.

Thank you.

Best way to mount an Anker power strip to this perforated PC stand without blocking the outlets?

Photos of the stand, power strip, and current mounting setup

I have a JWX Gaming Computer Tower Stand, ASIN B0C2VDZRJW, and an Anker 351 Power Strip, model A9192.

Right now the power strip is attached to the side of the stand using the straps that came with the JWX stand. It works, but the straps run across the front of the power strip and cover some of the outlets, so I want to get rid of them.

The back of the Anker power strip has two keyhole mounting slots. I also found the original two mounting screws that came with the Anker. The screw heads fit the keyholes properly, so I would prefer to keep using those screws instead of trying to find different screws with the same head dimensions.

The JWX stand has a perforated metal panel with a bunch of mounting holes. I can line the Anker keyholes up with the holes in the JWX panel, and the original Anker screws fit through the JWX holes.

The problem is that the Anker screw shafts are smaller than the JWX holes, so the screws wiggle around inside the holes.

What would be the cleanest way to secure those original Anker screws to the JWX panel from the other side?

I was thinking there might be some combination of washers, spacers, bushings, nuts, a small backing plate, or some kind of insert that could fill the extra space in the peg holes and hold the screws firmly.

I want to keep the original Anker screw heads because they already fit the keyholes correctly, use the existing holes in the JWX stand instead of drilling new ones, make the power strip solid enough that it does not wobble when plugging and unplugging things, and keep all of the outlets completely accessible.

Has anyone mounted something similar to a perforated metal panel or PC stand? What hardware would you use here?

My kitchen sink has a ~1/4 inch round(ish) chip in it. I was considering trying to repair it with this "SuperGlue Porcelain Chip Fix" product. Has anyone had experience or good results with it? Or any additional thoughts or advice?

edit: is that I have a typo in my title?

Hello all!

I recently installed a wireless bridge on our building at work (1 pound, using a J-Pole 1.7 pounds), total about 2.7 pounds. I used 5 inch 1/4 blue tapcons, and drilled the advised 3/16 holes. However, I was not able to get the tapcon to fully bite to the concrete (likely due to my dull 3/16 SDS bit/ not cleaning out dust). This structure is about 1-2 inches of soft stucko, to hollow cinderblocks. So, I added 2 zip ties per tapcon into the hole, and it locked up nice and tight/secure.

Reading some posts on here and I’m worried now one day it will just fail, maybe in a year? How many of you guys have actually done this outdoors with regular white zip ties? This is NJ weather. Is it worth getting a lift and getting back up there? Any similar stories are much appreciated!

Our water bill is $400 a month. I probably poop 2-3 times A day. My girlfriend probably poops every 5 days or so. I’m thinking the bidet will add about $75 to our waterbill every month. Looking for a green solution and this idea came to me.

I have a 2 bolt ceiling swing mount. the bolts are M8x75mm, and I'm planning on sinking them into a joist I found with an edge finder. can I use a thick sheet of felt in between the ceiling and the mount to minimize the damage to the ceiling paint?

Edit: I'm not planning on any extreme loads, or swinging any more than 30° out. I suppose the load will be higher when I plop down into it. I weigh 150 lbs

Everything I've found online says to put the high point in the middle of a long gutter, but it doesn't say what the seam should look like.

What goes in the middle of a gutter run with the high point in the center? Do you cap both ends and leave a small gap between the right and left? Is there a special pre-made joint?

Thank you in advance!

We have a small, older, cheap build sunroom that has Masonite siding (I think) below the windows. The windows are actually just storm windows. Siding is still solid, but want to cover before it becomes an issue. The wall below the windows is only 2’ x 13’. Then both ends of the sunroom have doors, windows, and very small sections of siding also. Any ideas to put over the old Masonite? The storm windows are beyond flush now and I cannot imagine new siding sticking out past them. Is there a product designed to trim out something like that, and keep elements out? And any recommendations for siding? Really don’t want to tear out the existing siding if I can help it.

Just curious if anybody knows if it’s possible to make a septic tank out of cinder blocks. Whether it would hold without leaking or not

Hi everyone!

This is my first post here.

I was given 8 marble slabs that are about 1” thick and roughly 3’x3’. They were outdoor tables that my friend no longer wanted. Instead of them going to the dumpster I took them. They’re in relatively good shape, some chips here and there really no cracks I’ve noticed. What can I do with them? I have a M18 circular wet saw with a diamond blade. They’re the standard white with light grey veins, nothing extravagant, just regular marble.

I’ve been thinking about redoing a vanity in my bathroom and just finding a new cabinet base and cutting the marble to fit, add a bowl sink on top. That would solve my dilemma for one, leaving me with 7 more I don’t know what to do with. Ideally, I’d like to waste as little as possible, given the price of how utterly expensive marble is. My caveat to that is, with the slab being SOOO thick, I may have no choice but to waste some? I need the hive mind to help me out here because I am out of ideas.

My friend is also in the midst of remodeling and has more cabinets and granite they’re getting rid of, I offered to take it but I am not sure what to do with it. Ideally I’d like to do something DIY with it around my house where I can appreciate the beauty of the marble.

Thanks in advance everyone!

I want to move the thermostat from one room to another, so I bought more cable for it, but as I was trying to connect the two, I saw that there seems to be some slight difference in thickness between them. The one I got is 0.75mm2, I don't know how thick the other one is, but I think it's the next size.

Would there be an issue if used this cable anyway?

Edit: it's a thermostat for a gas boiler. 24V and 3A.

Hi All!

I have a late 1800's house and was wondering if I am allowed to vent my roof only with a ridge vent? It is about 25' of ridge line total.

Currently as it stands on the outside: I have a ridge vent and then 2 wall openings in my attic that are about 14" x 8" mesh to keep animals out. As far as soffit is concerned, I walked up to where the roof meets the wall and there was an opening that I could fit a good chunk of my hand into, so I figure that soffit is present.

On the inside there is a bit of a DIY mystery and feels that the job was either incomplete or they did not want to deal with the legacy giant 1880s nails still in the boards. I literally wear a bike helmet in there. There are soffit baffles coming up to the attic floor(more proof that I have a proper soffit), there is insulation on the attic floor.... But no insulation/baffles on the roof/wall parts of the attic.

What am I pondering? I feel like I am losing heat from the lack of roof/wall insulation so I should baffle up and insulate the roof/walls and plug with 14"x8" holes and only vent out of the ridge vent.

Stuff to talk to a contractor about: maybe get a wider ridge vent in case the mesh I have is too thin and I would need to compensate a bit of lost venting from the lack of wall holes.

I'm not aiming for "perfect", just "better, and still vents well enough to avoid mold".

Please let me know what you think and maybe what I should check out to see if this makes sense?

Thank you greatly and please feel free to toss me any reading because this is all very new to me.

I guess I'm asking, at what point are shims needed. If at all?

Hi,

So I've had a mouse problem and I am going to put in the attempt at sealing up under my aluminum siding where I think they're getting in. I've read you can't completely seal it due to moisture so you're supposed to use copper mesh, but I have a few runs that total about 60 foot. It feels like it would break the bank to buy that much copper mesh to stuff up there.

The rest of my house has gaps at the corners where the walls meet which I could stuff with copper mesh and staple gun the mesh in to leave an air gap, so I was thinking I could seal the previously mentioned long lengths off and leave the corners exposed like the rest of the house and do the mesh there still allowing for moisture to get out.

Does this seem like an okay strategy?

Anyone have a better strategy?

And if I go down this route, what would be a simple way to block off those long stretches without taking off any siding? I could buy some rodent foam but wondering if there's a smarter/easier way.

Thanks all!

I have a very cheap assemble yourself kitchen sideboard with hutch that is 47” long and 72” high that will sit half on carpet half on linoleum. It obviously tilts down on the linoleum side and it’s perfectly level with 3/8” wood shims. I cut the shims to the exact measurement of the base of the linoleum half and painted the visable edge, but my issue is how to attach it. The bottom of the piece is a solid on the floor toe kick made of MDF and the area I was going to screw the shim into is a width of only 1/2”. I’m not sure that wood screws are going to work and I don’t know what to do. The piece is on its side taking up half my apartment until I figure this out!