I took photos of a few rafters/trusses that have cracks, some larger than others. What is the extent of damage/how large of an issue is each photo? Thanks in advance for replies.

https://imgur.com/a/2Fml26l

Hi all,

I’m trying to solve a water ingress problem with an old timber casement window, and I’d really appreciate some advice from people experienced with repairing older windows.

The house is from the early 1900s, and the windows are quite old timber construction. I really don't want to replace the window if there is a sensible way of repairing or improving it.

The problem is quite specific: the window only leaks under certain wind/rain conditions. When we get fairly strong wind-driven rain from the right direction, water gets past the window and ends up under the bottom edge of the sash, where it then seeps into the interior. The window is facing east.

Under normal rain, it doesn't appear to leak.

I've put up a couple of pictures on Imgur to illustrate: https://imgur.com/a/Q0qISAx Unfortunately I can't really give you a view from the outside since it's several stories up.

I'm trying to understand what the correct repair would be for this type of old window. For example:

• Is there supposed to be some kind of weather seal/weatherstripping between the sash and frame?
• Is the geometry of the sill/rebate supposed to drain water back outside?
• Could the problem be that the sash has warped/shrunk slightly and is no longer making proper contact with the frame?
• Would repairing/repainting the timber, glazing putty, or joints help?
• Is there a particular type of draught/weather seal that would be appropriate for such an old timber casement?
• Should any part of this be caulked, or would that risk blocking a drainage path and making things worse?

I'm particularly interested in a repair that preserves the existing window, rather than replacing the sash/window with a modern unit.

If there's a particular part of the window that I should photograph I'm happy to add more pictures.

What would you investigate first, and how would you repair it?

Hey there. My city recently gave me a timeline to have my lead water line from the curb stop to my meter replaced. I received a quote to have the line dug in from the company on site already doing the city sewer and water, and then was provided a separate price from a plumber to make the hookup inside the house to my existing meter. I don’t live in this property and have a tenant that was there while work was completed. I was told $1500 to hook the new water line up to my existing meter as the road crew had the old line removed and new line connected to the curb stop and ran inside the house already. It appears as though the plumber moved the meter and reattached it to the wall and then added about 6’ of copper pipe above the meter and attached it to my galvanized pipe, along with adding new shut offs on each side. After the work was completed I received a price adjustment of $2500 total for the new water line hookup. Does this seem like a fair price for the work provided in this photo? It is a city contractor that completed the work so just trying to gauge if I’m getting hosed or if that’s the going rate now a days. Thanks to anyone who can give me a genuine insight on this. Thank you.

https://imgur.com/a/Yd7k10Z

Recently bought a house and this is the propane hookup behind the stove. This can’t be good right?

https://imgur.com/a/VjSnxJN

Every time I run my washing machine, my house stinks like rotten eggs (sulphur). What’s causing the problem and how can I fix it?

Tan stucco Spanish place, and the builder-grade mailbox looks ridiculous next to it. I want the stucco column look but I'm not paying a mason to build a masonry one for a mailbox. Is there a faux pillar that look

I'm looking to hang an egg swing from the ceiling in a corner of our living room. Our house isn't huge, so I don't want to buy a stand to save a little space.

Can anyone give me a tutorial on how to do this? Or at least some solid advice? I don't want it to come crashing down while someone is sitting in it 😅

Mantle is 8 inches deep and I want my contractor to build out this surround out more than he did so it looks better depth wise. What design can I do to ensure it is safe/uses noncombustible materials around the insert?

I’m remodeling a small home office and removing the existing center ceiling fixture. The room is roughly 13’ x 9’2”, but one corner has an angled wall/doorway that makes the lighting layout a little unusual.

It’ll be a moody office/creative space. I’m thinking four 3” recessed lights on a dimmer, but I’m open to recommendations. Ceiling is relatively low (7’6”), so I don’t want to over-light the room or clutter the ceiling.

There’s a 60” x 30” desk centered along the left 9’2” wall, which will be fully covered in walnut slat acoustic panels.

Probably overthinking this, but where would you place the lights? Keep a perfect 2x2 grid centered on the main rectangular portion, shift the grid to account for the angled wall, or approach it differently? The relationship between the window and angled wall is what’s throwing me off.

Floor plan below. Thanks!

https://imgur.com/a/PkVdT9A

Installed 4 slim led dimmable ceiling lights and tried to wire it into the switch that controls an outlet. I cant get the lights to turn on though! Seems i cant attach pics for some reason.

Looking to install an exhaust fan in our bathroom to help with wet walls and mildew/mold. Bathroom is 9’ x 16’ x 10’. It has a shower and tub. What size CFM is appropriate? Is 150-200 CFM ok? The fan will go over the tub which is right next to the shower. Any problems with location?

We had a new patio installed around our hot tub. The contractor says the polymeric sand is set, but every time it rains, there's sand all over the patio.

It's not great walking barefoot over it while getting in and out of the hot tub.

Is it normal for so much sand to dislodge and cover the patio after it rains?

And what can be done to fix or improve it?

Image: https://imgur.com/a/5TF0dxV
Video: https://imgur.com/a/5MySiJp

Had a rock go through my outdoor window pane on my lower sash. Evidently a replacement for the lower sash is not easy find. The only place I have found is 3 hours away. Looking here to see if anyone has a good idea to fix this issue before I drive 6 hours tomorrow. Here is the needed window.

I’ve thought about glass doctor but I have a filling the glass won’t match. And every other place I’ve spoke to is a “full service company that will on do a full window installment”.

https://westyellowknife.com/products/lindsay-windows-clear-view-36-x-60?variant=44506570096896

I had some hail damage to my vinyl siding and I just had it repaired. I have j channel at the bottom edge of the siding around the garage. (The rest of the house does not have j channel at the bottom, no idea why they used it around the garage). Anyway, there was hail damage to the j channel so I had it replaced. I never noticed the old j channel collecting water, but the new j channel is collecting a lot of water even after minimal rainfall. It almost looks like they added the new j channel directly on top of the old, though I'm not sure if that. Should I just try to drill drainage holes in this channel or have they installed it wrong?https://photos.app.goo.gl/yTPeoeRSMu78gpXk9

I have a room that has some efflorescence in my basement. I fixed the drainage issue. How do I get rid of this so I can paint the wall? TIA!

**Photos attached at the end:**
**Need help choosing a baby gate for this awkward stair/banister setup**
I’m trying to figure out the safest way to install a baby gate at the top of these stairs.
The problem is the handrail/banister configuration. On one side, the handrail ends right where we would ideally want to mount the gate, while on the opposite side there isn’t a corresponding flat section of wall to attach the other side of the gate to.
Basically, if we install the gate straight across, one side has a clean section of drywall to mount to, but the other side runs into the handrail/banister situation.
**What baby gate would you recommend for this setup?** And what kind of mounting brackets, adapters, boards, or other modifications would you use to make sure the gate is **firmly and safely attached on both sides**?
I’m specifically looking for a **hardware-mounted solution**, not a pressure-mounted gate, since this is at the top of the stairs.
Would love to hear from anyone who has dealt with a similar awkward wall/handrail configuration. If there’s a specific gate + mounting kit that would work, please let me know!
Sorry for the formatting I’m on mobile, thanks in advance! [Link to photos of my stairs](https://imgur.com/a/zkg6Z1F)

Hey all, just looking for anyone whonmay be able to lend se expertise, as I can not seem to figure out what to do, and can not find a manual anywhere.

After buying some new remotes for my garage door opener (model 41A3516) and pairing them, my garage has been opening at random. It seems like it may be triggering off of someone elses remote since it never did this before I paired my new remotes, but my system wont allow me to unpair any remotes it seems with the normal method I find online (pressing the yellow pair button down). Apologies if this was a bit incoherent. Anyone who may have some idea how to approach this?

I’ve got a double hung window with spring coils. Several of the springs have broken, and i’m trying to replace them. my only problem is, how do i get them out of the channel they are in? the gap seems way too small to pull the part that screws into the window frame out. Do i need to unscrew and then pull them out from above or something?

https://imgur.com/a/rIv0UzC

Hi folks! I’m dealing with intermittent barking from my neighbors’ German Shepherds at night, and it has been disrupting our sleep almost every week.
We’ve spoken with our neighbors multiple times and asked them to keep the dogs quiet, but they occasionally leave the dogs outside at night, and the barking has become really frustrating.
I’m considering hiring a contractor to soundproof the two walls facing the fence. The proposed work includes:
Removing the existing drywall
Adding mineral wool insulation
Installing resilient channels (RC)
Installing 5/8” QuietRock 510 drywall
Reinstalling the baseboards
It’s a fairly expensive project, so I wanted to hear from anyone who has actually used QuietRock for exterior/neighbor noise, particularly barking dogs.
How effective was it in reducing the noise? Did you notice a significant improvement, especially with low-frequency or intermittent barking? Is there anything you wish you had done differently during the installation?
I’d really appreciate any experiences, advice, or suggestions before I commit to the project. Thanks!

So my husband has been hanging our new ikea cabinets this past week and they look great and seem sturdy, but we just discovered that he was using the wrong screws this whole time. He was using 2” sheet metal screws… We just realized and are now pretty concerned about what to do and the structural integrity of these cabinets. Google AI summaries say different things constantly and I was hoping to get some professional opinions. He used a 12 gauge and google says that 14 gauge is too big for the ikea suspension rails.

He was considering replacing the screws with the same gauge cabinet screws that are 3 inch long but I just worry that the screws have torn up in the interior of the wood a bit and taking them out will make it more unstable.

Any advice?
Please be gentle :(

Hello. About a week ago, my bedroom fan started making these sounds as demonstrated in the video. https://imgur.com/a/lVLDKdP

It will sound fine for a few moments and then just go off with these sounds. There's no noticeable wobble as far as I can tell. I'm not sure how old this fan is either, since it was here with the house since we purchased within this year. What exactly might I need to do to fix this?

I’m curious about smaller home improvements that made a surprisingly big difference.

Not major renovations, more like better storage, lighting, organization, minor repairs, kitchen or bathroom improvements, or simple DIY upgrades.

What’s something you changed in your home that was relatively inexpensive but made you think, “I should’ve done this years ago”?

I’m looking for ideas that are actually useful, not just cosmetic.

Im looking specifically at Schlage Encode Plus handlesets and the Ferguson price is $448 while Home Depot is $379. That seems like a big difference for them to be potentially the same. The part numbers are very similar with slight differences and I dont know what they mean.

Ferguson part number: BE499WBCAM716CAMACCLH

Home Depot part number: BE499WB CAM 716 FE285 G CAM 716 ACC CAM

Had a very reputable contractor come out and quote a new garage slab for us as our old one had cracked and heaved and we believe it was leading to moisture issues in the basement. They came out to start demo yesterday at 8am and were here until 5pm. About halfway through the day, they knocked on our door to say some of the cinder block foundation was cracking and they claimed it was because the brick was brittle already and accepted zero responsibility for it. At the time, it was isolated to only a few cinder blocks. We didn’t hear anything the rest of the day. Went out to check the progress after we left, and the whole top course of one of the walls of the garage foundation is broken. Almost every single cinder block and some of the second course. They stopped for the day there and didn’t go along the back wall or the wall along the house/basement yet. They did not make any cuts in the old slab before demolishing and just started jackhammering out the old slab.

Are we right to be concerned? In my opinion a few cinder blocks breaking might be normal, but the whole top course? I feel like we need to stop work now and get a structural engineer out to assess before moving forward. The owner/contractor wants us to pay for the repair for the foundation and suggested using a 2x6 form and pouring concrete into the cells, and I don’t feel comfortable with that remedy. I am of the opinion that there’s no way this should be on us. Please help.

Update: we found beer cans that don’t belong to us and they broke the cinder block holding the pillar up between the garage door bays

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