Hi all,

I’m trying to be as patient and understanding as possible, but struggling here and need to understand if I’m working with a bad company or if this is normal. I am new at this so definitely willing to learn where I can be better too.

We hired them to redo part of our bathroom and the total was roughly 16k (materials excluded besides the basic stuff) with 50% downpayment. This was the cheapest quote amongst 3, but still super expensive for us and we saved for a long time to make it happen.

We’ve had a series of issues since the beginning: for instance, both invoices I have paid so far were originally calculated wrong (too high) and I had to remind them to please fix those. I didn’t get an apology or anything but whatever I guess.

Then, I wasn’t told when I needed to order materials by (like tile, shower cap, tub filler) so one day I asked the guy when I should order those and he said asap because they needed them by like next day or two. I was flabbergasted and did what I could to get expedited shipping but this delayed the whole thing by about 4-5 days.

Then, I went to look upstairs and the tile in the shower niche was the floor tile and not the shower floor tile - when I asked the guy why that is, he said they didn’t have enough of the other tile as 50% of the tiles arrived broken so they just put the floor tile in instead. I was a bit upset and asked him to please let me know when that’s the case so that I can order replacements instead of doing something I did not authorize. So now they’ve wasted floor tile and time cutting that tile that I didn’t want there. He did apologize and said he was trying to be proactive.

A couple days ago I was told the floor tile wasn’t enough as half of it arrived broken too so I ordered more but now they don’t have anymore and I wondered why they didn’t tell me before that the tile came broken. Now we have to wait until next week till replacement comes in.

A while ago I had to delay the whole thing for 4 days due to a work trip and they said okay, so that was nice of them to work with me on that. Today though I get another invoice (wrong amount again, I pointed it out) but last month the guy said next payment will be due once all tile is in and tub is in, but none of those things have happened yet. Now he’s blaming my delay and saying I need to pay it anyways.

Any thoughts here? I’m really struggling.

Thanks

A relative had their kitchen floors done with vinyl flooring plank flooring -life proof.

They had the store install it- or whatever contractor the store picked for it.

They were left over with one new box of flooring. Only like $60ish dollars.

And then another box full of scraps. Big pieces and small pieces( lots of scraps left over!). But, I packed the box up for them to take it to their storage.

The store had ordered 8 boxes for them. So 6 boxes in reality were used.

The new box I think has 7 planks in it?

The lady at the store said its maybe good to keep one box in case the floor has issues and needs fixed in the future and they don't sell that color of flooring anymore?

Thoughts? I mean we got one new box and then the other box has all kinds of shapes and sizes of the boards the installer cut up.

After 10+ years my disposal decided it didn’t owe me anything. I’m in my 60s and under the delusion that I don’t need to call The Guy for every little thing. I bought the same model and it looks like a pretty basic procedure … what do I need to watch for so I don’t end up crying on the kitchen floor in the fetal position?

I recently bought a condo that I am updating. I have decided on these two options. I will be painting the whole room, replacing the toilet, flooring, and light fixture at some point.

Current status: Imgur Images

(Budget) Paint the current vanity, add drawer handles, replace the sink and top with an all in one. Replace the mirror with something slightly smaller with a border.

(Expensive) Since there is a large gap between the vanity and toilet, making it so the toilet paper holder is a bit of a reach, replace the whole vanity and top with a 48" option, maybe with a modern legged style so it sits on the new flooring. I feel like the gained counter space would be nice, along with bringing the toilet paper within reasonable reach of the toilet. It used to be on the other wall in front of the toilet and got in the way of getting out of the shower.

Any pros and cons to either option to consider?

I’m in the process of interviewing contractors to replace my siding, soffits, fascia, and gutters and I wanted to come to seek advice from the Reddit hivemind before proceeding.

Trying to decide between vinyl and hardie board, different insulation and wrappings etc.

Any advice? What did you learn that you wish you knew from the beginning?

Our baby's room has been feeling pretty muggy at night, and I've noticed condensation on the window almost every morning. I've been running a Veagaso dehumidifier in the room for a while, and so far, I’ve noticed the condensation has improved.

One thing I've noticed, though, I'm still figuring out the best placement for the unit and cord with a crawling baby.

For those with a nursery or baby's room, what humidity level (RH) do you usually aim for? Do you run your dehumidifier overnight, or mostly during the day with the door closed?

Hi everyone,

My in-laws have this attic space that we really want to convert into a usable loft room(s). However, there’s this low horizontal wooden beam running across the floor/base (highlighted in red) that gets in the way.

https://imgur.com/gallery/1KeHvHi

would love to remove it (or move it) to open up the space, but I’m assuming it’s super important for holding up the roof and/or supporting the chimney. Since I don't have a background in construction and don't know the proper terminology, I wanted to ask:

1.Is it even possible to remove/replace a beam like this? Or is this a "do not touch" situation?

2.If it is possible, what is the usual way this is done? (e.g. Do they install new supports higher up first?)

We are absolutely going to hire a structural engineer and professionals (if we can communicate with them sufficiently), to design and do this, especially because we have a language barrier locally (Poland, I'm British), and want to know what "good" or normal looks like before we start getting quotes and, talking to contractors.

Thank you for any simple, non-expert explanations or advice!

I live in New York and I have a steam radiator system, powered by oil. My oil tank is rusting on the bottom and it is definitely time to replace the tank. My oil furnace is about 14 years old, and my hot water heater is about 11 years old.

I already have gas lines running into my home - since the tank needs to be replaced anyway, is it worth just switching to gas at this point rather than replacing the tank? The cost to replace the whole system (with permits, new furnace, hot water heater, chimney flue, etc) is $19k.

By the way, I do have 4 Fujitsu mini splits in my house, which offer both AC and heat. However, I don't know how efficient they are when the temperature gets really cold and there's not enough of them to use them as primary heat source.

I have a Mueller metal home with R panel siding that is rusting along the bottom (the first 12 to 18 inches or so). It is two story so I'd rather not replace the entire sheets. I'm trying to think if an "after the fact" wainscoting repair would work, or even be possible. Anyone tried this, or have a better solution, please feel free to comment.

I have a 8' x 12' deck that I'd like to convert to year-round living space. It's well-built, already has a roof over it and electric (overhead lights and a GFI). My basic idea is to put in insulated walls and windows and replace the decking with a subfloor and vinyl flooring. 

I live in a cold climate, so am looking for recommendations on heating and insulating the space. 

Under the decking: the deck is elevated off the ground so it's easy to get underneath it. It has 2x8 joists spaced 16". I'm thinking I'll put in fiberglass insulation batts that fill the depth of the joists, spray foam any gaps, and then screw 2" rigid foam on the bottom of the joists, taping the seams. Then, I would use long screws to attach plywood to the underside, and replace the fascia with something ~3" wider so it covers the exposed edge of the rigid foam. Does this seem like the right approach, or are there alternative options? Will I need an additional vapor barrier? 

Insulating the ceiling: I'd pull out the existing tongue-and-groove ceiling boards, put in as much fiberglass insulation as possible, spray foam gaps and seams, and then either replace the ceiling boards (and paint them white) or put up sheetrock. Currently there is no venting, so I'm wondering if that would be an issue with fiberglass insulation and/or if there are better options. I'm also wondering about a vapor barrier. 

Heating: the house is heated with forced-hydronic baseboards. One option would be to add another loop (ideally with its own thermostat), but I'm curious if installing an electric heater of some kind might be more sensible given the small space. I plan to use the space as an office, so there will be days where it can be a cold room. 

Feel free to chime in if there are any other considerations that I may not be thinking about. Thanks in advance! 
 

I had part of the gutters come off my house and got 3 highly reviewed companies to come and give me a quote. All three agreed that I'd be better off replacing all of the gutters as there's already water damage showing on several parts of the facia and the current gutters are between 20 - 25 years old.

I would really appreciate advice on which to use. I live in a major city in central NC if that helps. I'm sure there's more I need to consider besides price and there may be items I can try to haggle down in price. Please share any and all advice or tips as I know very little about home repairs. Thanks in advance!

All estimates are for 6" gutters and our house is around 1400 square feet, one story.

Company 1

• Gutters and 3 kickout flashing at 3 locations $4200
• Drip edge $1100
• 80 ft of facia replacement $2800 or $4900 for whole house
• forgot to ask for gutter guards quote
• 15 year workmanship warranty
• Total after taxes $8687

Company 2

• Gutters $5945
• Raindrop gutter guards $3120
• Fascia 60 ft $2545
• Fascia guard service $1440
• 10 year warranty
• Total after taxes $13,995

Company 3

• New gutters
• Fascia replacement at $22 per linear foot, soffit replacement at $22 per linear foot & sub-fascia replacement at $12 per linear foot.
• Inspect the roof decking for any rot and replace it if needed for $3.00 a square foot.
  
• Ice and water shield
• Repair up to 70 linear feet of fascia with Hardie siding for the fascia.
• All of the above for $5158
• Gutter guards $2860
• 1 year workmanship warranty

If it's helpful I can upload the actual quotes and add links, just let me know!

Hi everyone.

We bought a house that has all original windows from 1987. Most are Pella casement style, double pane. None of the thermals are blown, no fogging. The only potential issue is the exterior wood frames, but previous owners have meticulously maintained and painted them over the years. No signs of rot or water infiltration anywhere.

We budgeted to change the windows when we bought this house, but now that we are getting quotes back, we find it hard to justify $50+k for windows that work well for the most part.

There are a few things we'd like to change (sliding windows, patio doors) because they just don't work well anymore but everything else seems fine.

Is there any reason to actually change them apart from the fact that they are outside the technical lifespan? Apart from aesthetics. We would like all exterior frames to be black but our plan would just be to paint the outside frames.

For the past few months, I have noticed a change in the filters I used for our refrigerator. Typically, i change these every 4 months or so, but lately I've noticed the filters effeciency decrease very quickly. I recently changed my filter 2 week ago, and it's already showing signs of struggling. I've used the same filters for years and I've never had such an issue. For context, I live in suburban area in Illinois. My home was built around 7 years ago, 5 of which we have lived in. Many of the homes are less than 12 years old, but a new subdivision is going up soon adjacent to ours my questions is: How would you go about finding the root cause? I'm worried the utility work for the new subdivision has introduced something in our water.

Looks like this absolute DIY job from the previous owner doesn't have an external bonnet nut or anything I can see to loosen and remove this spigot. In the PNW so it's probably a 12", even so, I don't think a nut behind it would even be accessible from the crawl space... here are some photos.

We’re figuring out outlets and lighting for a bathroom renovation, and I realized I had only thought about the vanity area. Two outlets by the sink, one for the mirror, exhaust fan, done.

Then I started looking at bidet seats and smart toilets and realized I’d need to think about power near the toilet too. Not exactly something I had on my original bathroom mood board

For anyone who’s redone their bathroom, what small electrical or plumbing details are easy to overlook until it’s too late?

Hello all,

Would Primed White Pine Wood Shiplap be sustainable in my bathroom? I am wanting to redo the walls in my bathroom, and I love the look of shiplap to match our farmhouse. But, I was wondering if Primed shiplap would be okay to handle the moisture in the bathroom? I would not put it in the shower obviously, but I would put it on all other walls and the ceiling too.

Does anyone have any experience or opinions on this? I just don't want to cause any mold, or have to redo the bathroom again in a couple of years because of water damage. Any advice is helpful!

I want to put a tv out on my screened patio but dedicated outdoor models are crazy expensive so i am looking into just buying a cheap indoor tv and putting it in a weatherproof enclosure

i saw there is an ongoing discount on sylvox recently so i am comparing their actual outdoor tvs to just buying a fifty dollar plastic box for a regular tv but i dont know if the enclosure actually solves the weather problem or just makes things worse

my big worry is that a sealed box will just trap humidity and heat around the tv and turn it into a mini sauna every afternoon does the ventilation on these things actually work or does it just let bugs in while keeping the damp air trapped inside

also what happens when i need to plug in a firestick or run a new cable do i have to take the whole tv off the wall and open the box every time that sounds like a huge pain in the ass

for anyone who used an enclosure for an indoor tv how long did it actually last out there did it survive more than one summer or is the enclosure just a complicated way to slowly kill a normal tv

Hello all, I have a backyard that is all weeds and dirt. I tried grass seeds this past spring but I might have done it too late and it didn’t work. Now the temperatures are too cold from what I have read for grass seeds to stick and grow. I am getting tired of all the weed pulling and I am wondering what can I do that would cover to dirt so that my dogs don’t always have dirty paws? Is there any type of rock that is recommended for yard landscape? Any ideas or tips that can help me with the weeds?

Looking to get a 2k sq ft paver driveway completed in Jan. What is the current price per sq ft? Or is there anything I should be on the lookout for in bids? It’s a rectangular shape with no crazy rounding design. It’ll be more narrow at the entrance but overall it’s a rectangular shape.

My sliding door between my breezeway and garage stopped working. it was here when I purchased the house. it looks pretty DIY and I cannot locate the part I need to replace that broke.

basically there is a screw that goes through the bracket for the slider connected to some kind of plug that is screwed into on the other side. that plug came off and I cannot find it so I need to replace the whole part. the hardware stores I went to said they had no idea.

anybody have any idea what this is and where I can buy a replacement? Pics attached. https://imgur.com/a/FcBkVo3

I have a 2nd floor deck and its too expensive to replace. What is a more economical idea to keep a ldoor and have stairs outside? The deck contractor said just building stairs and a small landing outside of the door was going to be exoensive. Besides a spiral staircase, what else could I get?

I currently have removed most of the caulk but there is some of this almost like caulk grout pieces left that I can’t seem to get out. What do you guys recommend? And at the top I’m not sure if it’s the same material or they actually used grout because my caulk took barely did anything. Had to take the old caulk off because a lot of the lower middle had hairline cracks. I have a title ceramic title shower.

Last summer, I placed a black floor mat against a window to block sunlight, and the glass cracked, apparently from the heat buildup.

It's a double-pane window, and only the inner pane is cracked. The crack is near the middle of the glass (see photo). The outer pane is still intact.

I'm not trying to make the crack disappear. My goal is simply to prevent it from spreading or the glass from eventually falling apart, if that's possible.

I'm considering applying clear glass repair tape over the crack. Has anyone tried this, or found another DIY method to stabilize cracked window glass without replacing the entire pane?

I'd appreciate any practical suggestions or experiences.

About a month ago, I posted looking for advice on how to restain my deck because I didn't want to pay my HOA $680 for them to do it. I was ripped apart about this so let me tell you what I did since I got no advice.

I rented a pressure washer for $41 from Menards and took 2.5 hours of my time to pressure wash the dirt and badly chipped stain off my deck. I did not need to sand it down because the pressure washer did all the work I needed it to. My HOA agreed that I just needed to get the dirt and old stain off.

I spent about $110 on stain and supplies. We tried two different color samples for $12, bought a gallon of solid stain for $50, bought brushes for $17, a paint tray liner for $1, and I needed a hose for the pressure washer so $30 for that.

My husband did the staining in just around 2 hours.

Total time 4.5 hours, total cost $151. I learned how to do something on my own as a DIY project and knowledge on how to take care of the aspects of my home is priceless. I also bought everything but the hose from Menards so all my receipts were sent in for their 11% rebate. Had I planned this better, I could have borrowed a pressure washer from either of my in laws and saved the $41. Unfortunately, we asked after they both left their second homes where they both keep theirs.