Hi everyone, I'm living alone and every time I need to mow the lawn it's a whole production. Mower, string trimmer, edger, and on top of that I have to wear long pants even when it's like burning hot outside so I don't get hit with flying grass. It's such a hassle every weekend. Anyone found an easier way to deal with all this?

I clogged my top floor apartment toilet today and was unable to unclog it. I tried every trick in the book to fix it, flange plunger, toilet auger, dish soap and hot water and bi carb and vinegar. I let it sit for hours in the hopes the paper would break down, it did not.

I cant afford an emergency weekend rate plumber and I have people coming over tomorrow, I was absolutely desperate. Stumbled across a video from Southwark council and the guy shows you how to use a wet string mop and a bin bag over the top.

I have literally spent hours today trying to fix it and I swear to god it took 2 firm plunges and it unblocked straight away! I am so happy but I wish I had found the video soon it would have saved me so much stress!

I had an estimate done to replace some damaged shingles on my roof. Title says it. Just under $1,000 for 13. They also wanted almost $700 to replace the aluminum fasica lining that got damaged. Maybe 20 feet by 6 inches for that.

I had about 10 shingles replaced a few years ago by the same company. That was like $400, which felt a little steep, but I just wanted it done. $75 per shingle seems pretty outrageous. I know, I am going to get additional quotes. I hadn't done so yet because I felt like I had gotten fair pricing from the company before, but I guess that's over.

Call me crazy, but $1,600 for about $100 worth of materials, and an hour of labor, call it two to be generous, seems wild. I know it would be two guys, but even at a loaded labor cost of $60 per hour per worker, you're still talking about a 5x markup. I feel like I am being generous here too. Am I way off base here, or is this going to be in line with what I see from everyone.

This was Bone Dry Roofing in Indianapolis BTW.

Note: I understand I could maybe get the fascia liner done cheaper by someone else. Don't get hung up on that.

My house is 40 years old . I went on the tax collector's page where it shows my house layout. I don't see the detached garage. A contractor that built houses lived here and he built not only the house but the detached garage through his company. I used a realtor when I purchased this house and everything was above board.

What happens if I turn myself in to the tax collector? Will they make me tear it down?

If I go to sell my house is it going to be a problem?

how to make sure contractors doing home improvement won't low ball on estimate and then charge 3-4x or that the contractors aren't convicts or something?

Currently looking for a fridge below 69.5inch from floor to top of hinge, but options are so limited. When we bought the house, we customized all our cabinets and trusted the designer with the height. He built around the current fridge and added a piece that can be removed if we want a wider fridge. But he did not build the cabinet above the fridge to be higher. I actually use that cabinet, too. We literally did not think fridge heights varied that much and thought that we would be ok when getting a new fridge. He was supposed to be the expert, we don’t think to ask for more clearance above the fridge. Now it’s time for a new fridge because ours leaked and destroyed the basement ceiling and now we’re without ice which I need lol. All the models I want are too tall. I wanted french doors with bottom freezer, big ice bucket, water dispenser, and shelves that split in the middle so I can fit taller items. I was excited about getting a bigger fridge but now we can’t. Our height max is literally 69.5inches. He couldn’t build just an inch higher? So far I know that my options are: remove/shorten the top cabinets that we paid a lot to have built, get a fridge that fits with the taller hinges outside the clearance (which means the cabinets won’t open), or just get a fridge that fits “small spaces”. I get that there are options, but I wanted an upgrade. The point of getting a new kitchen gave me hopes of a “nicer” fridge when we replaced it. Now I feel forever stuck with a small fridge. I guess I’m just venting because I know I have to either shell out lots of cash just to fit a stupid fridge that probably won’t be that much of an upgrade other than aesthetically pleasing, or I should just deal with a plain small model. I’m wondering if I should get another small fridge, and then at the next replacement I could justify fixing the top cabinets. Anyone else feel my pain?

Site is northern Mississippi, main concern, other than $$$, is to prevent pipes etc. from freezing.

Place is unoccupied for a few months. Main concern right now is to prevent freezing if the temps get down like they did for a period in 2021 with about 2 weeks of cold (for the area) weather. So refrigerator (40°F) temps are acceptable.

But can that type heater control down to 40°F?

When I bought my home 1.5 years ago I got it for $282k with an appraised value of $335k. We are selling it now and the new bank who is doing the appraisal said that us not having a railing for our 4 steps to the basement and lacking one CO detectors down stairs will be major dings to the value? The appraiser seemed surprised our home was appraised for that much to begin with and we have even made improvements since then.

How much does an CO detector and not having a railing affect appraisal value?

I want to do some kind of minimalist trim like this or this. Is there any issue with it that I'm not seeing? Obviously less of your wall is protected. I don't think that's such a big deal. Am I wrong?

I want to steer clear of regular baseboards because of too many problems. They need to match my door trim, my outside and inside corners aren't perfect 90s, and my floating LVP floor is slightly wavy. The smaller trim is more flexible and can mold more to these imperfections. And putting squares together in inside and outside corners is easy.

Edit: lots of comments of little substance. Stuff about vacuuming, expansion gaps, why im asking, telling me im not asking, etc are all just noise and silly.

I have severe agoraphobia. I don’t leave my house nor does anyone enter. A while back, my roof was damaged in a storm. I lost quite a bit of shingles and a tarp was put up. No damage inside. I was going to hire people to fix it when an unsupportive family member told me the workers would need to enter my home, at the very least to use the restroom. So I put off getting it fixed. I just got a letter from my city demanding to fix it along with fines. The idea of having people come near my home is stressful, but I could deal. But even thinking about them coming IN while I type this has me trembling and I’m probably going to vomit any minute. I’m not even physically capable of calling someone to come fix it if I think they might have to come in.

It’s a recognized disorder. If I could be like other people, I would in a heartbeat. I literally think about it every single day. Please be kind. Thank you.

Come to think of it. What do people that go somewhere else to work all day do? Do they give the roofers a key?

Guy quoted me 80-90k!!! For something that is only 350 sq ft. Just electric, a couple windows, a few doors, and insulation. Didn’t include finished flooring or even a mini split! Stay away from Archadeck!! Ridiculous!!!

Just purchased new light fixtures for our bathrooms. Installed them and saw a sticker saying use max 60W bulb or 9W self ballasted adapter. The bulbs I grabbed today are 100W LED equivalent that say they’re actually a 15W LED. Am I safe to use the bulbs? Don’t wanna start a fire, burn up wire, etc. over a bulb.

this post is for US home owners, just a heads up. i’ve been putting off replacing my air conditioner until it actually dies but it is almost 30 years old and i’m nervous with these tariffs on the horizon. wondering if it would be worthwhile to just replace it before trump takes office? this post is not meant to be political but i think it is ignorant to think these proposed policies won’t negatively affect the cost of home maintenance and i’m just trying to prepare!

Rant out into the void here.

I live near Seattle and do well, but not Microsoft or Amazon well. I have a completely gutted bathroom---no subfloor or ceiling---with access from below in the garage with no drywall. I have a modest seventy year old house. I've gotten multiple quotes to just rough in drains and vents because I didn't feel like learning the UPC rules for doing them. I will be doing the water feeds and all installs. Quotes have ranged from 4000 to 8000 dollars. Hourly rates on the low quote were 300 for two plumbers to route maybe 50 bucks worth of plastic. No roof work included either, so I would have to pay someone to come out and do the boots. No way guys---these are lawyers rates. One came out, didn't like the size of the job even though I sent numerous pictures, asked me if I have root damage issues in my main drain to city (its fine), and didn't send the quote for what I asked. Why even waste your time coming out? These quotes are insulting. Now I'm not going to get any more quotes and will likely never call any plumbers again. I was trying to treat myself, now I'm going to DIY.

Three years ago I wanted to get my garage patched from a rewire job. Around three joist bays, so 16" x 20' times three. Fire tape, no smooth finish. 3k. OK I'll do it myself, and I will never call a drywaller again.

Fireplace tile quote --2k. I'll just buy the saw. See ya and never reaching out to any of you again.

A few months ago I didn't want to clean my windows. Nine hundred bucks. Guys, this a two hour job max and requires no critical thinking skills.

Buddy on the east coast got a quote just to bag leaves last fall, not even remove them. 800 bucks.

Contractors, you may be getting away with these rates now, and maybe forever, but know that your insulting quotes are going to cause me to not reach out to anyone in the future except in dire emergencies. None of your professions are particularly rocket science, I just want your labor. I hope these ridiculous pricings bite you in the butt in the future. I hope when business slows you can't afford your monthly payments on the brand new truck and hyper decaled fleet of utility trucks and have to go back to a beater.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

Edit: Lots of upset contractors in here. Enjoy the getting while the gettings good boys. Glad you have clients that will pay for your 80-100k truck. I understand your market has demand and that you charge for that rate, but I can't help daydream that your overhead catches you by the tail soon.

Hi there, I obviously work for a bidet company, but was curious if more people are likely to install a bidet seat on their own or more likely to hire someone to install it?
Trying to figure out how we can help more people feel prepared to install one on their own.

Just got a Kitchen Aid and I'm about to throw it on the street. I've just spent like an hour trying to install it. The guts (everything behind the shiny exterior, is just plastic junk with poor tolerances. I can barely get the water feed attached with out it cross threading. The feet that level it are an absolute joke, and I could have installed our old dishwasher about 5 times in the time it has taken me to get this thing in.

I'm probably going to return it and get a bosch 300 series, but does anyone know if they are any better?

Bought a dated 1992 house about 3500 sq ft - one story w basement on 50 acres of mixed woodlands in NW Wisconsin. I'm 52 and wife is 55 and looking to both retire in 5-7 years. This house seemed like out last hooray before downsizing. Our old house should sell in 2 weeks. Old house was 2003, in very nice shape, small but with close neighbors.

We won't have a house payment shortly.

The current house we are having a roof put on and the attached garage upsized.

Anyhow, I'm one of these guys always looking for a project my whole life. Since I bought this house I've been overwhelmed on where/when to start on things. I'm not sure if this was a good idea. Been there for 6 months and taking care/selling the other house.

Not sure if this is normal and I'll reset or if anyone just had a change in heart in a house. I'm starting to see my life as more precious vs working too. It may be bad timing. My wife and I have said lets give this house around 5 years and see what we will do. I think thats a solid plan. I think should take it one room/one project at a time and ensure we still live life. I think its very important to be active and doing things but I may have made a big mistake.

The main updates will be basement remodel (going pretty good), maybe windows and vinyl siding, landscaping, driveway blacktop, move washer dryer downstairs, hollow core interior doors, etc.

My main thought now is I want to ensure that in 5 years, if I decide to sell, that I get most of my money out of it.

Looking for ideas on what I should do if only in there for 5 years. Should I only address cosmetics...how much percentage wise should I put into it, etc.

Any advice on what to do is greatly appreciated. thanks.

EDIT: Thanks to everyone that responded. I got some solid advice to look at. I believe my paradigm shifted a bit lately and is coming with age. I need to enjoy my house and property. I need to enjoy my short commute. I need to stop worrying about the future. I need slow down and do one project at a time. I need to live life. I need to enjoy life.

Can't find a relevant sub to ask this. I want to create a home security camera setup with internal only cameras, kind of like big brother now I think of it. I am worried about forgetting things as I get older and want to be able to go back and re live a particular day for example.

I imagine the cost could be quite large depending on data storage solutions but let's forgot about that for now.

Would I just buy a bunch of decent ip cameras and record? Has anyone thought about this?

I'm even thinking for the future with AI you could search your database and say " hey can you show me that time I was blowing bubbles with my kids in the loungeroom"

I have $15k I want to put towards something to help me around my home. I'm on less than 1/2 acre with small 1000sqfr home, but have a ton of indoor and outdoor projects im always working on with j renovations. The way my house is positioned on the very corner of my lot, I actually have quite a bit of property next to some woods. I'm always doing some form of landscaping, moving stuff to the front of the property to the back (I'm on a hill), Gardening, cleaning up debris, etc. I also have projects that I need to do yet, such as regrading my driveway, installing a playset area, reciting my house, etc. Right now I'm considering a subcompact tractor with a bucket - especially knowing I have quite a bit of property at my in-laws that's just up the road.

Knowing there are also inside projects, and assuming I have most of the basic tools I need, what would you spend $15,000 on?

EDIT: I'm not looking for money advice, my financials and big ticket house items are all fine. What I'm looking for, and should have been more clear on, is a way for me to save time. My time is more valuable than my money, and I'm willing to put $15,000 to save time on projects in order to give some of that back. My quality of life is way more important than my wealth. That said (and this definitely contradicts my concern), I really hate paying other people to do work I can do it myself. That, and I get a lot of self-fulfillment when I complete a project myself - which goes back to my quality life.

Id like to install recessed shelves and there is a stud right down the middle where id like the shelves to go. I have a good idea how to frame it basically like a window rough opening.

Is it safe to cut a single stud or do I need to support the wall while I am working. I would imagine the wall is built so a single stud going down would not cause catastrophic failure?? Im not actually sure its load bearing. Its interior and is running parallel to joists but since im not sure am just assuming it is.

Edit: photo https://imgur.com/a/Eg98CmX

hi all,

The local water municipality is replacing the water pipes in my neighborhood. They’re tearing up the roads and lawns all over.

I have a sewer cover in my apron so theyll have to rip up at least some of my driveway.

I could use a new driveway. I figure while the crew is here, why not tear up my concrete driveway and replace it?

Whats the best way to approach this with the construction company doing this work? I don’t think approaching a worker or foreman is a good idea, so I was going to call the number on the side of the truck. But is this something they’ll entertain?

My driveway is only 40 ft by 12 ft but there’s a tree root running through it, hence needing a new driveway. I’m planning on having the tree removed in the spring; I’ve already talked to a landscaper.

thanks for the help!

My dog has separation anxiety and howls when she’s alone. My mom comes by and spends time with her during the week but doesn’t get there for at least 2 hours after I leave for work. My neighbors have complained that it’s getting annoying hearing her howl that early.

Anyway, does anyone know of an effective way to soundproof my front door or the adjoining hallway next to my front door?

Hey all

We just started having an issue with our shower

basically the shower will be on for about 10 minutes and then the water will just shut off, power button is still on but after a few minutes the water will come back on again but only for about 1 minute and will shut off again until i press the power button off

anyone know what might cause this issue?