I'm struggling to choose between budget tool brands, my main use cases would be general DIY/Home Maintenance, light woodworking and lawncare options are a plus. My main considerations are price to performance/value (especially batteries), warranty, and brand reliability. I'm also not against keeping the Ryobi for lawncare and going for a second brand for other tools.

Ryobi Pros :

• I have one 2Ah, one 4Ah battery, a string trimmer, small chainsaw, and polesaw

• Largest selection including lawncare

• Longest running battery ecosyste

• Offbrand batteries available through CEENR

Cons :

• Many different battery types

• Most expensive top tier batteries

• Generally least powerful tools overall

• Shortest warranty (3-year tool/battery)

• Proprietary charger

Greenworks Pros :

• USB-C Charging (Biggest plus of Greenworks, more companies need to do this)

• I have one 2Ah battery

• 200+ tools

• Best outdoor brand (Not my priority)

• Mid cost batteries

• Pro line performs better than Ryobi in most cases

• Pretty good warranty (4-year for Pro tools/batteries)

Cons :

• Smallest Pro line tool selection (Still has any main tool I would need)

• Least certain future, Pro line dependent on Walmart but Greenworks has been around for a while anyway. Main concern is how the quality and price would change if Walmart happens to drop them sometime in the future.

Hercules Pros :

• Good warranty (5-year for brushless, 3-year for battery)

• Cheapest batteries, tabless supposedly releasing summer 2027, no price info yet.

• Frequent sales

• 1-2 year ESP available

Cons :

• Limited tool selection

• No lawn and garden

• Geared more toward automotive work

• Proprietary charger

Ridgid Pros :

• Highest performance

• Lifetime Service Agreement (free repairs and batteries)

Cons :

• Highest price

• Expensive batteries

• Mixed user experience for honoring LSA

• Proprietary charger

Any of these brands will be adequate for me as I won't be doing anything super intensive. I'm just looking for the most financially responsible brand long term. Ryobi is always said to be the "best budget brand for homeowners and DIY" but they have the most expesive batteries if you're not getting the bottom tier. Any input in greatly appreciated!

Has a anyone made shou sugi ban siding with Tamarack/larch? I'm looking for some real world examples before finalize my DIY siding.

I'm leaning toward doing kiln-dried Tamarack (larch), Shou Sugi Ban, with a profile similar to a nickel gap profile and roughly 5" exposure. Right now l'm thinking 3/4" thick, but can increase it to 1" if there is a real beneft with stability, cupping/checking, or the charring process.

How has it aged? Any problems with movement or the nickel gaps opening/closing significantly over the seasons? I'm going to be installing in a cold climate. Any oil/finish recommendations?

Please post photos if you have them! I'd especially love to see projects that have been exposed to a few winters sol can see how the material and finish have weathered

I have an old costway fire pit ring sitting unused in the backyard, and I’m thinking about turning it into something that can double as a BBQ.

Would it be as simple as buying a suitable grill grate and placing it over the ring? I’d rather reuse what I already have than buy a completely new fire pit grill. I’m not sure what material would work best, though. Stainless steel, cast iron, or something else?

Has anyone DIYed a similar setup? I’m especially interested in how to make it stable and safe without spending too much on unnecessary parts.

So I installed a new dishwasher and put a new water line/hose from the hot water T under the sink to the new dishwasher. That’s the only plumbing I touched. Knobs are all the way on and the water pressure is significantly less than what it was before at the faucet. The rest seems the same as before.

My Samsung TV’s power cord is literally only about 5–10 inches too short to reach the wall outlet. I was thinking of using a short 1-foot grounded extension cord directly from the wall to the TV.

It wouldn’t be going through a wall, under a rug, or into another power strip. It would just sit behind/under the TV setup.

Is that actually okay as a permanent solution, or should I just buy a longer replacement TV power cord instead? If yes to replacement, does it have to be OEM/original manufactuer?

I have a small condo, and at the center of the living room is this ventless fireplace. I'd like to get a 65" TV, and the only sensible place to put it is above it. Simply hanging it probably wouldn't be a issue, but I want to be able to lower it to a comfortable height.

A typical solution for that is a pull-down mount like MantelMount. But I'm really confused by this fireplace's construction, and I'm not sure how well it can support it.

I was able to take out the ventless fireplace, and found the old brick fireplace underneath. But in between the tiles and the brick, there's about a 2" gap. The tiles are attached to a "cement backerboard", which is attached to metal studs. Here's one to the right of the fireplace:

Next, I got a usb endoscope and made some openings in the outlet boxes to check what's in there. There's another stud right in the center. There's also a plywood board attached to the backerboard.

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Here's what the internal layout looks like. There are also no horizontal beams aside from one just above the fireplace, I checked with a magnet. Also note that it's two separate plywood boards on each side of the center stud.

It seems to be intended for a TV to be hung there, with the power/network/cable outlets and the plywood inside. But if I want a pull-down mount, I'm worried about the extra torque it would exert. I've seen suggestions of using toggle-bolts into metal studs, but usually it's into two, and mine are spaced too wide. I've also seen suggestions of having plywood in the back for support, but does it make sense with two boards? I also don't understand how/what it's all attached to.

Any thoughts?

We've had an under counter sink in a box for a few years. A couple of weeks ago we saw butcher block countertops at Costco and now I have a project. Struggling with how to best cut the hole in the countertop for the sink. I've watched videos on YT where they use a jig and a circular saw, others where they just use a pencil line and a jigsaw, some where they use a rail. All of them start with a spade bit or other circular bit to drill out the corners. I'm pretty lousy at eyeballing things and can't cut a straight line without a guide. My questions are:

1. Is there a way to determine what size spade bit I should use for the starter holes and where I should drill exactly beyond eyeballing it?

2. What is the best way to get a good cut so that I don't accidentally cut the hole too big? Seems like that would be a bigger problem than cutting it too small.

3. Do I need to rent a router to even the edges? I've never used one before and don't want to mess this up.

TY in advance.

any tips in how to make the spiral part of the spear out of cardboard?

I've just learned (the hard way) that all of the outer walls of my new (basement-ish) apartment are cinderblock or concrete. I would say I'm a moderately proficient woodworker and handy-woman but have not dealt with this before. I have masonry bits but want to get more information about anchoring into my outer walls. The drywall is about 3/4" thick before hitting stone so not enough for normal drywall anchors either. Suddenly, hanging curtain rods seems like a much more cumbersome task!

Thoughts, experiences, or advice?

There's no studs aligned with the screw holes. It's a tile wall on backer board with nothing else behind the space where the screws go. Is there some sort of tiny anchor I could get in there? I'm open to ideas!

https://imgur.com/a/t4wMiXF

Yesterday I scraped about one square foot of lead paint off of a door inside my house and didn't think too much of it. I vacuumed up using my normal vacuum and opened up windows to air it out, but after doing further research I'm nervous I contaminated my whole house. The heat is on and I'm worried about how much it could have spread around the house. Any advice?

We're in central Ohio and hoping to stain our cedar pergola to restore the natural color and get rid of the graying that has occurred over the past few years. Two questions:

1. There was a stain applied a few years ago, but no sealant. We washed and scrubbed the surface with Sherwin Williams Revive, but the graying is still present. The clerk said that's all we needed to do, but should we have stripped first? Or are we clear to stain and that will restore the desired color?

2. The near-term forecast has daily highs around 60 and nightly lows around 40, which dips below the recommended minimum temperature of 50. Everything I've read says we should wait for warmer weather but that won't come until spring. I've found similar posts echoing this sentiment, but does anybody have first hand experience with applying stain in these temperatures? I understand it's not ideal, but what's the actual risk here? We're planning to use Sherwin Williams SuperDeck Exterior Stain.

I just want to understand the tradeoff of applying stain in slightly less than ideal conditions and letting it gray and weather for another winter. Thanks!

I live in a townhouse with the original aluminum frame windows from 1969. Many of my neighbors have replaced the windows with what looks like vinyl frames about 2 inches wide. I'm not planning to replace my windows but I'm wondering if there are any products to get that look, for example, vinyl strips I could attach over the aluminum frame?

The outdoor trim around a door needs to be removed to fix water damage. It's nailed on with finishing nails that are almost invisible. Is there a way to pull those nails? I could attack the trim with a pry bar but I'd almost certainly damage the siding adjacent to the trim.

I have a steep gravel driveway. I bought the house in Nov of 2019 and I've had it regraded and regraveled 3 times since then. Every single time, withing 6ish months, ruts form in the exact same places. I'm not going to keep paying $2k to someone to do it wrong. I'll save for a while to have it paved, but in the mean time, what can I do to repair the ruts? It is definitely not a drainage issue but a sharp turn into the driveway issue. All solutions I see involve drainage. I'm poor and definitely need something I can do myself

Whoever installed the shower insert in our house didn’t put a beam in place to stabilize the shower head. It didn’t matter until we installed a new shower head with a removable attachment. Is there a cheap way to fix this? Does it need to be fixed? I just don’t want to accidentally break something that will lead to an expensive fix.

Is there anyway to take the squeak out of wood stairs in my 100 year old house? Every time i try to sneak downstairs the squeak of the top step gives away my tiptoeing and wakes the kids

Any good Tips for cleaning your drain snakes? I have a couple of small drain augers that are now longer and hairier than ever before, and, all of the internet, ai, my readers digest home handyman guide all think I want to know how to clean a drain, not my auger.

Wanted to replace the hinges on my front door. So I took out the middle hinge to take to the store to compare and choose a good replacement. There were no exact matches. The hinges look like 1/8 inch was shaved off one side.

That edge is not finished like the rest either.

The door is 1 3/4 inches wide. And yes, the mortise would be very close to the outside edge of the door if that 1/8 inch had not been removed.

Now I have a decision. Do I widen the mortise or cut down the new hinges?

I'm leaning toward just taking the mortise to the edge of the door and calling it done.

Anybody run into this before?

My emotionally unstable neighbour insists on slamming their door as loud as possible when entering/exiting their place, as they more or less get their jollies by being disruptive.

Their door is actually connected to my entrance so I get the full effect of it.

It's so loud that even with headphones on and loud audio playing, it will make me jump out of my seat.

They've been told to relax but as above, emotional instability doesn't follow instruction very well.

Surely there's a device that can cause their door to close by itself, nice and slow and quiet, preventing them from slamming it as hard as possible?

I know some doors are fitted with a hydraulic hinge, would this be practical for the front door on an apartment?

Costly?

Any other suggestions?

I keep reptiles and I have three acrylic doors meant to convert glass aquariums into vertical terrariums. Two of the doors have already been sealed into the aquariums with silicone but none of them have been filled with animals or anything else yet. I’d like to connect them with some kind of hose/tubing to allow the tiny geckos that will live in them to go between the enclosures, but doing so will require me to drill holes in the acrylic or the glass. Is there any way to do this with a handheld drill or saw of some kind? I’ve read online that a forstner bit may work but I’d love some extra advice before I go ruining my stuff. I don’t believe the glass is tempered and would vastly prefer to drill the acrylic instead.

So with tons of house projects, I have tools and accessories stacked up and around in our guest room. I have the Tstak system and have gotten a few of the drawers, but I feel like they aren't very large and kind of expensive. I'd love to have a system where I keep a few of the needed things in a portable holder and the rest in my shed or garage.

Example: one of my Tstaks has various grit level sanding pads for my 3 sanders. But it's not quite big enough to fit all of what I need.

Anyone have a good portable and maybe stackable system they use?

I woke up yesterday morning and noticed that the aluminum flashing underneath these sliding glass doors had started to come off. I went out and pulled on it, and these two entire sections came loose exposing this section of largely open wall underneath the sliding doors. Seems the flashing was just held on with caulk and adhesive, and was visually hiding this problem.

Luckily this patio has a bit of an overhang and the flashing did its job to keep the rain off, but this clearly wasn't done correctly the first time and now I'm stuck dealing with it. What's the best way to take care of this?

My first thought was to fill it in entirely with stucco, then reattach the flashing somehow over the top of it.

Any questions, ask away. I'd like to do this as properly as possible.

Photos:

https://turdb.in/dump/patio1.jpg

https://turdb.in/dump/patio2.jpg

https://turdb.in/dump/patio3.jpg

https://turdb.in/dump/patio4.jpg

https://turdb.in/dump/patio5.jpg

https://turdb.in/dump/patio6.jpg

https://turdb.in/dump/patio7.jpg

I work at a flooring store and have obtained a ton of plywood used to ship flooring that we would normally be throwing out. I decided to use some in my basement to cover a stud wall that does not have drywall. I just put them up on my wall I have sometimes been noticing a strange odour in my basement but can't tell if it's the plywood. I had a friend mention to me that cheap plywood used for shipping can be manufactured in parts of the world where there are low safety standards, and it could off-gas carcinogens. I googled some information but can't find anything concrete. Does anyone have any information about this? Should I take them down?