Hello all,
I need help with removing layers of paint and possible epoxy off of the outside of my cinderblock home. I am prepping it to have professionally stuccoed. I was told some of the cost would be decreased if I was able to remove preexisting paint/layers off cinderblock before company arrives.
I have tried citristrip paint and varnish stripping gel, as well as Jasco premium paint and epoxy remover. Jasco premium paint and epoxy remover worked a little bit but I was only able to scrape tiny little slivers off my home. I need something more practical. Any ideas?
Building a DIY potters kickwheel. The vertical shaft will have ~200 lbs of weight on it and needs to spin freely. I considered a flange bearing but I'm trying to overbuild this thing so it'll last and I'd rather not rely on set screws to support the weight.
I think a thrust bearing would be more appropriate but after searching McMaster and all the other websites I could find on google, I can't find a thrust bearing with mounting flanges. It's unclear to me how to install a thrust bearing onto wood without a flange.
Looking for suggestions of off-the-shelf components that might work. I only have woodworking tools, no machining tools to work with metal. Thanks!
I live in a house built in 1893. There's bats in my attic, have been for the past 2 seasons.
Obviously, this is no bueno. After their migration season passes, I'm going to seal up the areas around damn near the entire house where they're getting in. Winter time so I'm not sweating my ass off in a tyvek suit.
The other issue is cleaning up after them in the attic. Two seasons of them being up there has completely ruined the shredded cotton insulation.
I wanted that basically solid rocket fuel insulation out of there anyway.
I understand that if I hire someone to do this, it'll cost seventeen trillion dollars, so I might as well do it myself.
So what do I do to get rid of this stuff? Regular dumpster? How do I get rid of all of their urine and stuff on the wood? Spray it down with bleach & scrub?
I own a powered air purifying respirator, and had planned to just wear that.
My cat likes the texture of stone pavers so I picked up a 16"x16" paver slab from lowes, but obviously its dusty and will continue to create more dust as its rubbed against. What are your recommendations for a sealant that will prevent the concrete from breaking down into dust/sand etc but still safe? Thanks!
My wife and I recently bought a home and are torn on the best option for a tool system. We are torn between Dewalt, Ryobi, and the harbor freight brands.
We will likely just be doing light basic jobs around the house and yard. No framing or sheet rock work.
We have experience with dewalt from growing up with family members in Labor union that liked it, but open to Makita or Milwaukee. We are attracted to Ryobi and harbor freight for the low cost of course. Live close to Home Depot and harbor freight.
Interested in hearing pros and cons for any of the brands, especially things that a Google search won’t tell us. Thanks y’all!
Hi, I’m trying to put up a hanging pot rack in my new apartment. The apartment has metal studs and I got snap toggle anchors and drilled half inch wide holes through the studs to put them in, but then realized there is t enough space to insert the whole anchor. It hits the outside concrete wall of the building 2.25 inches in. The drywall itself is about 1.5 inches thick.
Any advice here on how I can install this pot rack? Am I just SOL? Thanks
Eventually a corner Pile caused cracking inside/above, so we had it replaced from 600mm to 1500mm (incased in concrete). Oddly between 2-4 weeks the new one has raised 15mm, causing the kitchen ceiling to be too high and both sliding doors are leaning to the side. Im not sure of the totals, but it had packers on the problem pile, but needed a 60mm packer. I know it must have been bowing down at least 30mm for a decade minimum, which caused cracks inside and out and we got worried about shattering double glazed windows etc.
Clearly we have reactive clay and the house piles have settled unevenly but nicely flat overall given the design of the home.
But if it was sagging 30mm+ for 10-20 years, could this be the cause for spring back? It has oddly raised 15mm over 2-4 weeks. It only moves in extreme long periods of rain like winter. This was during summer. So there is no logical explanation, 2-4 weeks given the earth was the same during this period.
My whole life I've been drywall and studs. Just moved into an apartment with plaster. Does not appear to have lath behind but I only drilled 2 exploratory holes. How well can I mount on plaster? What experiences do you all have? Do I need special hardware for like mounted shelves and stuff?
I’m about to sand / stain / finish hw floors. I have red oak pre-installed on 800 sq ft. Just installed fresh unfinished red oak to match on another 400 sq ft for 1200 sq ft total.
What grits are recommended? I’m going to rent drum and edger but I have an orbital and multi-tool for detailing.
I’ve heard standard would be sand new floors on low grit like 40, then entire thing at 60, 80, then detail at 100. Then something like large orbital at 120. Also recommended 2 passes with edger, on after the 40 and 80, each at a higher grit.
I also spoke to a contractor - he recommended 2 passes at 60g bc it is more forgiving than 40. Then one at 80 at finish at 100 or 120.
If you were sanding down 1200 sq ft, 400 of which was new unfinished red oak, what grits would you use?
I have bought and thrown our snakes because I didn’t understand how to use it. Well after my last sink problem I bought another snake and kind of figured it out which brings me to nowish.
Last night wife said shower was pooling and slow draining. Today I got the snake out, popped the drain cover and went to work. Took me two times to really get it, but I freaking did it! Even showered after to verify my work.
I have been waiting and paying for help on these for years, wasted a ton of money. But today I was triumphant!
I haven't realized how hard dentil crown can be, but I tried my best to get until here (images attached). I tried to cope but it was way too tough with dentil so I ended up doing 45deg. I know the corners still have a good bit of gap and some areas along the moulding where I plugged in pieces.
Question is if I can move forward by using wood filler, caulk before I paint or rather take the L and spend another $150 for another 30ft of dentil crown moulding and do it again from my lessons learnt - like doing corner pieces first and run the middle pieces flat?
I really want to fix this than start all over again tbh
I went to clean the back on our wedding “stained glass” sign and used undiluted pure acetone. Where I wiped left blueish hued smude marks but no changes in texture. Using google searches I’ve tried coconut oil, wd-40, and car wax spray. I also tested a headlight restoration kit on another piece of plexiglass and it just made it worse. Am I just SOL??! Even just reducing how noticeable the marks are would be a huge help. Thank you!!
EDIT: I was in fact drilling into a stud. Properly measured from the nearby speaker and i was dead center on a stud, drilled in a new spot and went through fine. However in my excitement I forgot to pass the hdmi cable down for my PC and only passed the speaker wire… so I still have to go back up and drill another hole 😂
I'm trying to run wires from attic into bonus room directly below. I had previously drilled holes through the top plate on one of the walls and had to go through what I think was 3 2x4's (a drywall nailer as the wall runs parallel to the joist + double top plate).
Now i'm drilling similar holes on a different wall with that same double top plate + drywall nailer and i'm unable to get through all the wood. I'm drilling near the connection to the exterior wall. There's a sub cable already run in the 2nd stud bay from the exterior wall, and i'm drilling in the studbay closest to the exterior wall.
I'm already 5" in and still just pure wood. Does anyone know how much more blocking could be in the way? I'm not sure if there's additional blocking given the proximity to an exterior wall.
I'm trying to install a closet rod into my closet beneath the stairs. One end can go into a wall with a stud, but the other is a plain stair riser. Will it be able to support the rod or will I need to reinforce it? End to end the rod will extend to about 4.5 feet and need to support a lot of clothes.
My husband recently purchased a 10" lapidary saw (used but looks mint). We are both entertaining the idea of doing some sort of DIY project in our home with the rockslabs we cut but I haven't been able to find much info online about doing so and can't find any real photos of projects that aren't ai for reference or inspiration.
Doing a diy remodel of shower due to a leaky drop ear elbow. Found regular drywall used around the entire area above a shower insert and just opted to rip it out.
The old shower door was gold colored and complete shit and so it needed to go as well. It had side support rails on either side of the shower insert, screwed into the fiberglass and held with molly's. It had a top rail that didn't fit right, so whoever installed it cut a stair step notch into it, to make it fit over the top lip of the shower insert.
I have 1/2" goboard up now. I have vinyl tiles that I am ready to glue down but held off till I unpacked the door kit to look at it in case I needed any cuts. Here is my problem and I have lack of experience here to figure out the best route forward.
I bought a P6 delta door that is 70.25" tall and adjustable width up to 48"
The width works fine, the insert is 44" wide and it is kind of chunky and old, which causes my problem.
Height of the insert is 68"
The template is this grey plastic strip delta provided with the door shows exactly where the U bracket would mount. The top screw would just skim the top edge of the insert, while the bottom would be anchored into the insert itself. But the distance of the damn shower insert to the wall is around 2".
The top bar for this door has to sit in a damn U bracket that is mounted at the height of the screw holes in the template.
So do I create a flush mounting block? Do I get a taller door and let the glass sit proud above the shower insert and mount the bar a bit higher?
The glass for the doors for this door would fit perfect because they are also around 68"
I am looking to add an apron from my garage to my driveway. Approx 20' long, 1' in with, and a depth at 2.5" at the most.
I am also looking to patch up the part between the sidewalk and the driveway. It has separated over the years and weeds have started to grow in that spot, approx 1.5" separation.
No one will be living there for a few months, so it can take time to cure.
I tried looking at Aquaphalt and cold patch methods on youtube, but I'm worried that it will fall apart in a year.
We just purchased a home with second floor laundry and when the water was turned on for the first time we discovered that one of the faucet knobs was completely stripped, causing water to pour into the floor and through the ceiling of the kitchen below. The kitchen floor has thick linoleum and thankfully the water just pooled there and we were able to remove it. But the ceiling of the kitchen is damaged. We can see pockets of water, and I’m sure that there is more underneath the wood floor upstairs. All we had access to at the time was a box fan which we ran for a few days and now it seems that our homeowners insurance isn’t going to cover any repairs. What’s the best way to resolve it so it doesn’t get worse in the meantime? TIA!
hi i wanted to drape a lot of different fabrics, but my mom threw away the metal frame that connects to my bed poles? i was trying to look up alternatives, but i doubt metal wire will support it... and i tried looking on amazon for solutions, but i keep hitting dead ends. i also cannot do anything to the ceiling bc my fan is right above my bed. i saw this girl on tiktok that made hers look so dreamy! she uses a bunch of like table cloths and things like that so its gonna be a lot of weight? if anyone has tips i googled and everything lol
I want to make a custom made desk to fit in my office better, but I’ve never really done something like this before. My goal is to basically wrap my office with a L-shaped desk that goes into a book case next to a window, with almost an exact mirror on the opposite side. Kind of want to be able to stain it to match the rest of the house a bit better.
Is there anything I should be aware of doing this? Wood types, stain types, anything like that. Seriously new to DIY. I saw one of my friends do something like this but they painted it and after a few years the area by their arms on the desk kind of rubbed away. So any advice would be appreciated.
I would like some practical advice on designing a safe outdoor walkway for my cat between my balcony and a plum tree.
The balcony is approximately 3–3.2 metres above ground level. I have not been able to measure the exact height yet because it is currently raining. The plum tree is approximately 7.4 metres horizontally from the balcony.
In the past, there was a grapevine growing between the balcony and the tree. My cat used to climb into the plum tree, and the grapevine provided a stable route/support between the building and the tree. The grapevine no longer exists, so I am looking for a simple replacement.
I am not trying to build a walkway for people. It would be used only by one domestic cat. However, I want it to be reasonably safe, weather-resistant, and able to tolerate wind and storms without damaging the tree or putting excessive force on the balcony.
My main questions are:
I don't have a lot, but , it is good to use some sintetic grass to staple around the stairs for grip? Like when it rains or snows the cat can walk safely. Thanks!
I am looking for a simple, low-cost design, but I do not want to save money by using unsuitable rope, weak hardware or an unsafe tree attachment.
Thank you in advance for any advice, criticism or alternative ideas.
My water heater is 2 years old. It suddenly stopped working. I checked the breaker panel and found that the switches were mysteriously off. I pressed the reset button on the water heater (top panel of Bradford White 50 gallon; couldn't get the bottom panel off, not sure if there's another button in there) and reset the breaker switches (they seemed snappy and working fine). Water heater still doesn't seem to be working.
I’m trying to enclose an attached porch of a single family house. I have this corrugated polycarbonate roofing material to serve as the roof for the porch, and it ends right next to the house right under the soffit, with maybe 1-2 inches of clearance. The porch roof is on a slope of 12 run / 1 rise (I know this is really shallow).
The issue is during heavy wind, the roofing material under the soffit moves and hits the soffit. It is quite loud in the interior room next to the porch.
I’m wondering what is the best way to secure the roofing material to the soffit so there’s no loud noises during heavy wind. The portion of the roofing material under the soffit is not secured on purlins as I can’t drill fasteners in top down due to the soffit being in the way.
I need to dig / bore post holes for a short chain link fence into an area that is covered with pavers. It was laid as it should have been 5 years ago. pavers > sand> gravel > fabric etc. Anyone have a less messy way to to this?
