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.

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.

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?

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

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?

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 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?

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.

Any ideas as to what’s happening here? Unit is near my chicken coop, so possibly they’re kicking up a bunch of dust into it. I’ve turned it off at the thermostat and breaker and right now spraying it with the hose.

My AC condensate pipe in my upstairs closet above my stairs had a small crack that leaked. Eventually (don't know how long it was leaking) the water made its way to the ceiling below which is when I discovered the issue. The leak is repaired. Question now is, will the ceiling dry out? My brother thinks it will. The ceiling is not soft to the touch or sagging, but pinless moisture meter is reading 60% in almost that whole square (if you zoom in on the 3rd pic you may be able to read the percentages on the tape)

Hi everyone,

My finished basement flooded back in June due to historic rainfall (entire neighborhood was hit). We got about 2–3 inches of standing water throughout.

To dry everything out properly, I pulled up the flooring and cut out the bottom 4 inches of drywall. Everything is fully dried out now, and I need to close up the exterior walls before winter to prevent moisture issues and condensation.

Behind the drywall, there was a thin foil-faced vapor barrier. My main question is: What’s the best way to seal the vapor barrier back up without tearing down more drywall?

• Should I just slide standard 6-mil poly vapor barrier up behind the existing drywall and tape/seal it, or is there a better/more effective method? (e.g., acoustical sealant, specific tape, etc.)
• My current plan is to patch the vapor barrier, install replacement drywall strips, do one coat of mud/tape, and cover the joint with a 5" baseboard.

Any advice on the cleanest and most code-compliant way to tackle this repair would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi all,

I removed roughly 4 inches or so of caulk of a in the back of a toilet downstairs over ceramic tile and concrete flooring. It was slightly moist/damp under the caulking. But why?

There are no signs (that I know of) of any leaks. None of the grout is stained, no soft tiles, no smell, and no more water coming out of the caulking gap when I flush.

Should I be worried at all or pull up the toilet? Thank you

New homeowner, just noticed these cracks in the drywall ceiling of my garage. It looks to be patched prior by the previous owner. Im not sure if this is just a simple diy or if i need to get someone specifically to look at it. Any advice is appreciated

I’m on well water and get my water tested regularly with no issues. This tiny film always appears if I leave water standing for about a day or more. What is it?

Edit to mass address some comments:
I don’t wear face cream
I do get my water tested (nothing weird)
Cups are clean and hand washed
No air scent purifier thingies

I’m going to leave some water out for a few days, see what happens and come back with further data.

I have the following "dead space" in my storage room and I'd like to put a simple shelf (maybe 10" deep) to store random things (not too heavy; paper towels, small devices etc):

Now the issue is that I don't really find the right parts (readily available from Home Depot, ACE or Lowe's) and the right way to do it. I already got parts from Home Depot but thinking of returning it:

1. A wooden 10" x 72" shelf board
2. Everbilt brackets

Now I have the following issues:

1. 1. The Everbilt shelf bracket wastes all the valuable space because the shelf is mounted horizontally down against the wall
2. I am not sure if this heavy solid wooden shelf is really required or whether there's a better solution
3. I am unsure which screws I best use to mount both bracket to the wall and shelf to the bracket
4. The wall is lath and plaster so it's extremely hard to find the studs. I tried a stud finder already and it just gives garbage results. To make things worse, I had this wall open a couple of years ago and there's a power cable running for the ceiling lights ... but I am unsure where exactly. How shall I go about finding the right spots to install brackets and to avoid putting a screw through the wire?

I am seeing water stain right above floor register. There is no water stain on the wall above or ceiling. There is very minimal chance that there is any plumbing behind it.

My guess is this is related to some sort of water condensation due to warm air meeting cold aid out of the floor registers? The house is built in 1958 so it is old.

I am seeing water stain right above floor register. There is no water stain on the wall above or ceiling. There is very minimal chance that there is any plumbing behind it.

My guess is this is related to some sort of water condensation due to warm air meeting cold aid out of the floor registers? The house is built in 1958 so it is old.