Century home and the entire basement is fully finished except for this annoying cellar that had a termite problem. The day after receiving keys to the home, I opened a wall to inspect damage from the termites. After remediation the cellar sat for a year while I tackled other projects until now

I gutted the entire room down to the brick. Half the room had a 1-2” rat slab while the other half had a mound of dirt encased in a wood sarcophagus.

I dug out 6’ x 7’ x 20” of dirt, benched the foundation, poured a 4” slab over the dirt half, self leveled the entire room, all new framing, rigid ducting for the dryer to replace the previous flex duct which was caked with lint, electrical, insulation, smart vapor retarder, drywall, paint, trim, lights and lvp flooring.

Now I have a place to store tools.

I have a desk job working on a computer all day, so I really wanted to challenge myself and do something I’ve never done before.

We were so sick of looking at our dated bathroom/laundry room every day, so decided to take on this project and make it into something really cool. This room is right next to our main entrance to the house, so it’s the first thing people see when they come in. I wanted something unique since I’m sick of seeing the same boring bathrooms everywhere.

I did 100% of the work myself over the course of a couple weeks. Definitely got my practice in with the miter saw…

Budget: around $1,000
Flooring: cheated with the vinyl tile
Wainscoting color: SW Alabaster
Wall color: SW Ripe Olive
Vanity: $100 vintage dresser that I cut a hole and put a sink in

Is someone able to tell me how you cal the square grey steel plates (3 of them on this photo) with bolts in it which are connected to the wooden floor construction inside?

Also is this a normal thing to connect a wooden floor with bolts on the outside of the building? I have never seen it before.

Third and last question, is plastering possible with these things?

Hey everyone,

We’re currently remodeling our house and replaced all our exterior doors (slider, French doors, and front door). As part of the install, the crew added metal flashing below the new door thresholds.

While I get that flashing is essential for waterproofing, it’s super noticeable and looks pretty unfinished right now. The contractor’s solution is to screw pressure-treated wood over/below it to trim it out, but I’m worried that’s going to look clunky and cheap.

Is using PT wood standard here, or are there better, cleaner-looking options to cover or trim out exposed flashing below a door threshold?

Would love to hear how others have handled this or see photos of what looks good. Thanks!

I am worried about renovation due to the current political and economical climate. I inherited a house that's a 4/2, with my wife and kids. House was built in the 70s and has been updated 1990 and 2000, but we would like to do a whole home remodel and expansion. It has two living rooms, a closed in kitchen, and a separate dining room. We'd like to further expand it (yea sounds like a giant house,but could use some room), eliminate one of the smaller living rooms which houses a fireplace, which will unfortunately have to go to expand back, do an open floor plan with the kitchen and one really big living room, raise the roof and ceiling, turn the garage into an arcade room (I got some Japanese arcade cabs), add solar paneling to the roof, and build a separate Warehouse garage in the backyard. There is a lot more like downing some trees and landscaping, and getting rid of pool concrete (pool collapsed and was filled in).

Basically we want to make an old house new. We don't have to buy a new house if we do this, and the neighborhood is quiet, nice, 5 minutes drive from a hospital, a grocery store etc etc, and the land for the location is huge.

With all the crap happening with gas prices, tarriffs, supply shortages, no rebates on renewables or construction, should we just wait it out till all this crap fizzles out? Any rebates or tax cuts to take advantage of that may disappear?

I appreciate your advice and input.

Hi everyone,

Currently working through a bathroom renovation, and I’ve decided on a glue-up shower surround. However, most shower surrounds are only ~6ft tall. Im wondering if it would be possible to extend the height using another kit and cutting to fit my space. I’m thinking of using this kit, and buying a second so that I can take it to the ceiling. Has anyone tried this? If so, was it a terrible idea?

Thank you!!

A good amount of water got under the vinyl tiling in our upstairs bathroom since the tub was never sealed along its edge. Two of the closet tiles to the tub were soggy and slightly warped and the 3rd behind them had a puddle under it.

I’ve been drying it for a day but now I’m considering pulling up more tiling and cutting into the subfloor due to the amount of water I found under the last tile and the appearance of the subfloor.

There may have been some amounts getting under them previously but this incident was the most. I am pretty sure there is a small yellow spot on our first floor ceiling from this last spill.

Tbh I am not sure if there is visible mold on the subfloor, but I am not willing to risk it so I will either cut the floor up myself or call someone to do it.

I am an experienced DIYer but have never cut subfloor, investigated underneath or replaced a wax ring on a toilet.

Am I biting too much off trying this myself or should I hire a professional? If so, who do I call? I’m thinking it will be multiple companies unless I do some of the work myself.

The last 2 photos are results of drying for a full day.

Bought a 1950s colonial in Parma, Ohio (Cleveland area) last fall and the heating bills genuinely scared us. Original windows with storms, attic insulation looks thin and patchy, furnace is 15 years old but runs. We can afford one major project before this winter. Everyone sells their own thing so I’m asking people with no skin in it: where does the first dollar actually go?

Hi!

I am currently working on my first house renovation.

After we removed the wallpaper, some sort of an underlay was left.

It is pretty easy to remove with hot water and spstula, but take sooooo much time to clear every nook and crevice.

My question is it possible to just apply mud/putty on top if the drywall is okay? Or will it fal dramatically?

My house was built in 1923
I had a Contractor replace the walls when I moved from knob & tube to reg wiring.
My house is 700 ft.². It’s tiny.
I’ve been in this house for 20 years

The reason why the house is in the condition is below, but I’m gonna get right to the point here:
This is the kitchen walls. I’ll put up many other projects I’m working / stuck on our projects and see if anyone’s willing to help me through all my Little do it yourself Project
This wall was very uneven. I did a major attempt to make it flat. I did not do a great job. I wish I didn’t primer / paint it so many times but I did. 9 months to get it where it’s at. I wanted to make a perfect but I was novice.
I had one shelf up. I paid a Handyman to hang it. when I came into the kitchen he had sanded down the wall because he put the bracket in the wrong place & he made a hole in the wall. 😆😩
So I decided to finish it on my ownI using YouTube,buying tools & doing all the things. I spent too much time & money on this.

This wall will have a prob 2 foot backsplash & then a cabinet on the right side of the window. I’m gonna put a glass shelf & a 1 foot gap to put tea cups and things like that on that shelf.

I used a semi gloss paint. You can see lap marks, gaps, gauges, uneven edges, mistake because I didn’t texture the wall. I in all the videos I watched for muddy did not see videos that showed next step is doing texture before you primer.
If I had put in texture, I would’ve seen those videos, but I’m a dummy
So now I have this chewed up wall, but I wanna move forward & just put the shelf. I need someone to shake me & give me their two cents as kindly as possible lol. I already feel like a dummy as it is 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️😆😩🫡😃

Should I start from scratch?
Outlets are getting updated so please ignore the paint.

Can lightly sand it with maybe 125 with normal sander & paint it less high paint? If so, does that mean I just need to make it flat and ignore any texture?

Or do you recommend I just leave it as is and put the shelf up?

Also, should I put the shelf into the tile in the backsplash or above it when I put the brackets in the clamps. They are brass clamps so it almost makes the glass shelf a floating shelf.

Below is the extra info on the reasons for to this stage. Essentially, I had so many projects & limited skills & I got overwhelmed. I also Rescue Dogs in a different times. I’ve had this house full of dogs so trying to do foster and Rescue around this. Reno has not been easy and I totally needed to stop. This is my last week until I get the house done

Any advice is appreciated

How feasible/easy is it to remove these foot tall baseboards and put in 3-6 inch ones? Feeling like the taller baseboards are making the room appear shorter than it is. Ceiling height is ~7ft in the basement.

Hey, all. I’m sistering joists to level an enclosed porch floor that was previously pitched for drainage. Original joists are all in good shape. I’m 2/3 done and am doubting my choice of R4 screws for sistering the joists and tying to the ledgers. I’m at a stage where I can easily add RSS screws. Overkill or a good idea? Thanks!

Cape cod style house, and every afternoon the second floor turns into an oven while the first floor is fine. The AC runs constantly and barely moves the upstairs number. I’ve had three opinions so far. One company says attic insulation, one says a ridge vent because the attic has almost no airflow, and one says the windows up there are the problem. They each happen to sell the thing they recommended, which is not lost on me. What actually fixed this for people, especially in a cape cod where the attic space is weird?

I am trying to put the “ceiling” of the crawlspace under my cantilevered addition back together, but have a few questions about how it was originally and how it’s supposed to be.

What is this brown paper hanging loosely in these two locations? Is the paper supposed to be inside the wood ceiling panel, outside it (between the panel and ground), both (i.e., outside but tucked in), or neither (as in, I can cut it out, throw it away and not replace it)? What is its purpose (if any)? I would love to just toss it and not replace if I can, but am hesitant to get rid of things I don’t understand the purpose of.

Any ideas how the panel was originally affixed here? There’s a piece of wood above the panel on the right side that a U-nail that was helping hold the loose end up apparently came out of, but there’s nothing up there on the left to nail into. Did they just leave the left side loose like that and the right collapsed over time as a result? Thinking I might use some metal L-brackets & screws on the left here to get support on both sides and prevent a recurrence (or even more of the panel falling down next time).

What’s the purpose of the tape in the right corner here? Just sealing the gap between the panel and the big piece perpendicular to it? Any support function for the panel or just sealing? Again, like the support piece, there’s no such tape on the left side. What’s the product name, if I need to add it there? Would caulk work just as well? Quarter round, maybe?

Our closet collapsed, so my husband decided to make us a custom closet. He did all the work himself. I helped design and he built :) He isn’t a professional but he did an awesome job!!! We estimate the cost was around $1200-$1400. Still need to hang the full length mirror and add a couple missing shelves to the closet system.

Shelf units and rods are from Home Depot and he built around them.

Paint color is Western Reserve by Sherwin Williams
Light is Possini Euro Caliari from Lamps Plus
Handles are from Etsy
Flooring is Coretec is the color Cairo oak

***Edit: sorry the closet system was from Lowe’s:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/ClosetMaid-ClosetMaid-Brightwood-25-in-White-Tower-Organizer/5000258695

https://www.lowes.com/pd/ClosetMaid-Brightwood-24-8-in-x-9-96-in-x-13-43-in-White-Drawer-Unit/5000258699

I am planning on separating a large bedroom into 2 bedrooms. Was going to do a staggered wall for sound dampening purposes but wife wants to do a pocket door between the rooms. I can’t figure out how to install a pocket door without the jack studs and king studs being 2x6’s which seems to defeats the purpose of staggering the studs.

For reference was planning on using 2x6 top/bottom sill and 2x4 for studs. Total wall height is a little over 9ft.

Trying to not make the wall thicker to keep both rooms a decent size.

Any one have any experience doing this or helpful ideas?

In the midst of renovating the basement as the old basement was finished but very outdated. I did the demo and found that the old framing has very inconsistent spacing (40 inches vs 16 inches for some spaces).

I wanted to check whether this framing can be reused when I put up drywall. Also, wondering if the wall on the left is of concern as there has been no water leaks in this house but the wall looks visibly moist.

Thanks for any advice!

Obviously the wood needs to be replaced (unless there is some magic epoxy) but I believe the wood is connected to the foundation with J bolts and I don’t know how to get them out or get new ones in. I was thinking of going in the crawl space under it (the wood looks fine from that side) and putting a piece of wood under the floor joists and a few house jacks under that. Wish I could afford to pay a professional to do it but this is something I’m going to have to do on my own.

Edit: thank you everyone for all the advice. Apologizes for not replying individually, I do really appreciate all the help.

Hi, I live in Florida, so hot and humid. This is a 70s block home, I have a garage that has a conditioned bedroom above it, and they finished the garage in a very odd way. It has an old drop/hung ceiling with 2x4 tiles, and blown in cellulose above the tiles. When I pull out a tile and look, I can see the joists of the bedroom above. Of course this makes maintenance like changing garage lights annoying because the blown insulation just falls out. There’s also probably a few decades of dead roaches etc mixed into the insulation. I’m okay keeping the false ceiling, probably changing out the tiles to something newer so it doesn’t look so janky, but should I change to batt insulation when I do this? There doesn’t seem to be any moisture barrier above. Just joists and subfloor. The garage is mostly unconditioned, it has a mini split that I run if I spend any prolonged periods of time but that’s insignificant

We would like to add some square footage to our master bedroom and adjacent bedroom . We would also like to redo the 2 adjoining bathrooms. We reached out to a contractor and they said they could do the project. We said our budget is less than 100k. They quoted us 95k to 100k with a 10k deposit. Is this how it’s supposed to go? I asked about drawings but they said they get the deposit first and then they get the dimensions and elevations. Is this the usual process? Plus, we want to get a home equity loan to cover the cost. Does the bank need to be involved in the beginning stages? Just want to make sure we’re doing this right.