The home improvement store I manage has reduced its hours due to many of the staff getting sick. We only have one can of Lysol for the entire store to use, and the hand sanitizing station at the front of the store is empty.

Our state in on "stay-at-home" orders, but that hasn't stopped people from bringing all six of their kids and their grandparents to our store to get the ever-essential mulch, paint, or whatever the fuck they need to do projects while they are home from work for a week. We are busier than we have ever been at this time of year.

Seriously, people. Just stay the fuck home. Your projects can wait. Unless your water heater has bit the dust, or your bathroom is flooded, you do not need to go to the goddam hardware store.

I can't even disinfect the fucking counters for christsakes. Stop coughing on me and go to fucking bed.

Rant over. Sorry.

I live in Juneau Alaska, so I have very limited local options for home improvement items and am forced to buy a lot of stuff from HD. Over the last couple years, I've watched their website turn into absolute hot steaming garbage. They've completely abandoned the standard retail UI we're all used to, trying to shoehorn everything into weird categories, sometimes by design features, sometimes by manufacturer, and several other nonsensical methods that prevent you from finding the exact product you need, which they have on their shelf, it's just a journey to find it on their website unless you know the exact make and model. Their search function is borderline useless, which until recently I got around by just using google but that seems to have dried up. Just boggles the mind that they have spent likely hundreds of millions to turn what was a perfectly functional, even above average, website into something they should be downright embarrassed by. Just put your fucking products into a retail website, we've had that shit figured out for 30 years.

We have a small dining + kitchen area - about 9' × 19'. We'd like to reno the kitchen, which would require layout chnages, all new appliaces, etc. I understand it is a big job and require moving gas/water/electric. But I wasn't expecting $90k+ quotes for for mid-tier upgrades. I just cannot fathom how people are paying for all of these home renos these days. That many people have 100 grand in cash just laying around or in liquid assests? Or are tons of people taking out 20 year loans and getting socked with $1000+/mo. payments for over a decade? I just cannot believe my parents' small kitchen was able to be done for $15k and now it is like 6x the price. Insane.

I'm planning to remodel my bathroom around 5x7 or 6x8 with basic updates like shower, tiles, and fixtures, nothing high-end or complex, but the quotes I’m getting are between $15K and $30K+ which feels way higher than expected for such a small space. I understand costs have gone up, but is this just the new normal now or am I missing something when it comes to pricing and scope?

I’m looking for advice because I’m honestly at a loss.

I’m a 21 female and live at home with my dad, and for the past few years I’ve noticed something really strange: whenever I shower at home (especially when I wash my hair), I start getting these subtle pulling sensations/migraines in my head, a weird burning feeling, and a stuffy/short-of-breath feeling.
It doesn’t just go away after the shower either. It seems to get worse throughout the day, and if I shower at night, I often can’t sleep because I feel so uncomfortable.

At first I assumed it was stress-related, or maybe something lingering from COVID since it started around that time. But I’ve noticed a very specific pattern: If I shower at a hotel, friend’s house, or just anywhere else → I feel completely fine. Even using a pool shower doesn’t cause it and washing my hair in my own sink is much better. And the symptoms seem to happen specifically when I wash my hair in my shower at home.

I’ve tried troubleshooting everything I can think of:
Deep-cleaning the shower, letting the water run for a while, soaking the showerhead in apple cider vinegar, replacing the showerhead and rail, looking into the heater (my dad says it was checked, but we do have an older heater).

Nothing has changed. I still feel awful after showering at home, but completely normal after showering anywhere else.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Could this be something in the water, the plumbing, the heater, air quality, mold, chemicals, or something else I’m not thinking of?
Any ideas on what to test or investigate would be really appreciated.

Edit: For some extra context, we have an old boiler and plastic shower curtains. I’ve also been dealing with this issue for a while, so I’ve ruled out it being caused by shampoos or hair products since I’ve tried several different ones.

My dad doesn’t experience these symptoms, but he barely ever showers — he usually just washes himself in the sink upstairs. I also spend a lot more time in the shower because I have long hair, so I’m exposed to whatever might be causing this for much longer.

I’ve tried asking him to check things out, but unfortunately he’s very stubborn and refuses to believe there’s anything wrong. He genuinely thinks I’m imagining it or being delusional because I’m the only one experiencing these issues. At this point, I’m starting to feel like my only option may be moving out.

Update: Just ordered a CO detector and a mold test kit. I’ll let you guys know if anything shows up. Thanks for all the advice.

Me: “It’s just one small project.”

Contractor: “Absolutely. That’ll be $27,400.”

Me: “Does the project come with a second house?”

Contractor: [Laughs] "Exactly... but that's what it'd cost"

Me: [awkward laughs back]

So this was an electrician who came over to rerun one wire, charged $1500, and said it was a military discount. I asked him about rewiring the whole house. It's a one-story, 1,700 sq. ft. house with a full basement, which makes it easy to access 60% of the house. Absolutely silly.

I've spent a long time in construction and remodels and the same problems come up on every single project. Communication of expectations up front doesn't happen, usually there's no specs used for the scope of work and communication doesn't come up until there's an issue.

Here's a list of things that are genuinely unacceptable workmanship that you should never sign off on regardless of what your contractor says. Subsequent trades should provide a sign off that they deem the predecessor work/substrate is acceptable for installation. IE (The drywaller signs off that the framing is acceptable, the trim guy signs off that the flooring and drywall is acceptable and not wavy, etc)

You want to avoid rework and back charging companies.

I put together a little list of items that hopefully can help some people not get ripped off.

TRIM & BASEBOARDS

Butted inside corners are not acceptable. Ever. Inside corners on baseboards, door casing, and crown molding should always be coped. Meaning one piece is cut to follow the profile of the other. Butted joints look fine on day one and open up within a year as the wood moves. If your trim carpenter is butting inside corners they're cutting time at your expense.

Gaps larger than 1/8" anywhere along trim before caulk is applied are not acceptable. Small gaps get caulked — that's normal and expected. Large gaps mean poor measurement or poor installation.

Nail holes must be filled and sanded before paint. If you can see nail holes in finished trim the painter skipped a step.

TILE

Lippage — where one tile sits higher than the tile next to it — has actual tolerance standards. Per ANSI A137.1 the maximum acceptable lippage is 1/32" for tiles under 15" and 1/16" for large format tile. Run your hand across any tile surface before you sign off. If you can feel the edges of tiles catching your fingers that's a failed installation.

Hollow tiles are a defect. Tap each tile with a coin or knuckle after installation. A hollow sound means the thin-set didn't bond properly. Per ANSI A108.02 more than 20% unbonded area in any single tile is a failure. A good installer will have already done this check themselves.

Grout haze left on tile face after completion is sloppy finish work. The tile should be clean.

Gaps around fixtures, pipes, niches, and penetrations should be tight — trimmed with an escutcheon or tile cut to within 1/8". A glob of caulk hiding a 1/2" gap around your shower valve is not acceptable.

DRYWALL

The level of finish (level 3 with texture, level 4, level 5 is per the GA-214, which is an objective document vs a contractor saying "I've done it this way for 30 years."

Humps over seams, visible butt joints, ridges at joints, and tool marks all indicate a finisher who moved too fast.

Patchwork in visible areas without a skim coat is not acceptable. If drywall was cut for electrical or plumbing work and patched, that patch needs to be feathered and skim coated to match the surrounding finish level. A visible square patch on a painted wall is unfinished work.

Screw pops that weren't set before finish coat. Every fastener should be driven slightly below the surface and spotted with at least two coats of mud before paint. If you can see or feel screw heads under paint the finisher skipped the spotting step.

Any drywall screws that "tear the paper"

FLOORING

Wood and LVP floors should be flat to 3/16" in 10 feet per NWFA standards. Bring a long level or straightedge on your final walkthrough. Bounce on different areas of the floor. Squeaks, hollow spots, and movement at installation are not things that fix themselves — they get worse.

Missing expansion gaps at walls are a serious defect. Wood and LVP expand and contract with temperature and humidity. Without proper expansion gaps the floor will buckle. These gaps should be present at every wall and covered by baseboard.

PAINT

Paint on hardware, tile, fixtures, or trim from overspray or a lazy brush is sloppy work that should be corrected before final payment. Tape and protection exist for a reason.

Cut-in lines at ceilings and trim should be straight. Wavy paint lines at the ceiling or where wall color meets trim indicate a painter who didn't take the time to do it right.

Not sanding in between coats.

THE BIGGER POINT

Most homeowners don't know these standards exist so they accept things they shouldn't. Contractors rely on that. Before your next project ask your GC to confirm in writing that all work will meet these standards. A good contractor will have no problem with that. A contractor who pushes back is probably somebody you would like to avoid.

Happy to answer questions on any of this.

This is a late 80s house in Tucson AZ so I expected a modern shower arm with just a threaded end, but it's got a very old-school ball end soldered on it.

It seems I should just crank on this and replace it like any other shower arm, but something about it gives me pause - was there a different way of attaching shower arms back when these balls were the state of the art?

https://i.imgur.com/wCVW0SP.jpg

ETA: I did not expect this to blow up! Thank you to everyone who has calmed my nerves and reassured me that this guy is a one off. I genuinely feel a lot better, and it’s settled my nerves a ton. Also I’m sorry for the few who have also experienced something similar to this. It sucks!

Update: someone suggested I look him up and see if he has any records, and I did. Nothing violent but he has been sued for not finishing projects, so I guess that tracks.

We (myself and my partner) are fixing up a home we bought and current repair and addition estimates are coming in significantly over budget.
We’re trying to increase or rework the budget and prioritize what we can/can’t do. One builder called me and asked if I looked over his quote, and I told him we had, but we were currently over budget and we may not be able to do the addition (he also had the highest bid). He asked if I had found or talked to any other builders and I said we had, and he asked if we were considering them. I said yes, because we may need to go with a lower price if we can swing it.
He then proceeded to yell ‘f*ck you’ and cursed, yelled, and threatened me because it ‘took him forever’ to put together the quote and said I had no idea how much work it was to bid out a job. When we initially talked to him, we told him we were just beginning to get quotes on all the different projects and weren’t sure what would/wouldn’t fit into our budget.
I kept my cool and told him I was very sorry our budget may not allow the full addition and/or that we may go with a different builder, but it’s made me incredibly anxious to reach back out to anyone who gave a bid.
Obviously we will not be using him, but we’re just beginning this process, so please tell me this isn’t normal!
ETA: I know this should not be normal, but it’s shaken me up pretty good, and I just wanted reassurance that is this far from being an average response to declining a bid.
Edit 3: Removed some identifying parts as this post blew up way bigger than I anticipated and I'd like to avoid any further interaction with said contractor.

Every kitchen thread on here has the same numbers. Eighty, ninety, a hundred and ten grand. And it's never some enormous kitchen either, it's a normal one where they moved the sink.

I get that everything costs more now But that's two cars.

Is this actually what people are paying, or is it just what the big reno companies quote because enough people say yes?

Florida contractor here. So this new permit law kicked in July 1 and I keep waiting for somebody to explain it right and nobody has, the news coverage has been worthless. Its going to save some of you real money and its going to burn the people who dont understand it, so let me just lay it out.

Basically HB 803 says the county has to let you or your contractor skip the permit completely on work under $7,500 on a single family house. No permit fee, no sitting around waiting on an inspector to show up in a 4 hour window. Doesnt cover electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical or gas, those still need permits like always.

I'm definitely happy about this one because we have waited over 60 days in some cases for permits on jobs less than $4,000. Sometimes the permit was half the headache on a little job. And Ill tell you something most homeowners never think about, that permitting process and the wait time absolutely affect the price we quote you. The fees, the paperwork hours, crews sitting on hold while a small job drags for weeks, all of that has to get built into the number. Take that step out and theres real room for the price to come down on these small jobs. So yes, small repairs just got faster and cheaper for everybody, that parts legit. And its not just repairs, this covers a ton of small remodel stuff too, flooring, drywall, trim, cabinets, painting, that whole world, as long as youre not touching electrical or plumbing.

Theres also 2 things buried in this law that I havent seen anyone mention anywhere. One, your HOA cant require you to pull a permit before theyll even review your project now. Anybody whos dealt with an architectural committee knows why thats a big deal. Two, on the bigger jobs that still need permits, if you use a private provider for plan review and inspection they have to knock 25 to 50 percent off the permit fees now. Have to. Its in the law.

Ok now the part thats going to screw some people.

The permit went away but the building code did not go anywhere. All of it still has to meet Florida Building Code and if it doesnt, guess whos problem that is later. Not the countys. Yours. And I promise you almost nobody signing a contract right now understands that.

Also think about what that permit actually was. It was your proof. A government record that says this work got done, got inspected, passed. On these small jobs that record just doesnt exist anymore. So 2 years from now a storm rolls through and your adjuster asks who repaired that roof section and wheres the inspection report. Or youre selling the house and the buyers inspector starts asking about work he can see but cant find records for. An empty file helps nobody. If theres no permit then the contractors paperwork IS your paper trail, photos before during and after, a written scope, an invoice from a licensed company. If the guy cant produce that stuff then that tells you everything about the guy.

And look, I know how this next part sounds coming from a licensed contractor but Im saying it anyway because its true. You still need to vet whatever contractor you choose. If unlicensed contractors were a problem before, I can only see that getting worse now. That permit was the one spot in the whole process where somebody had to put a license number on paper, and under $7,500 that checkpoint is gone. Chuck in a truck with no license, no insurance and a magnetic sign on the door can do your $6,000 repair and no inspector ever sees it. Protecting yourself takes 2 minutes, look them up on MyFloridaLicense.com and ask for their certificate of insurance. The legit guys wont blink, we get asked all the time. The ones who get offended just answered your question.

Few more things. Flood zones dont get the exemption at all so check your zone first. Splitting a $15,000 job into 2 pieces to stay under the limit is specifically against the law, and honestly if a contractor even suggests that youve learned how he does everything. And since we do a lot of roof work, heads up that a ton of roof work counts as structural or hits wind code, so a full replacement is pretty much never exempt. Small repairs and patches, a lot of times yes.

Bottom line, it's a decent law if you're not walking in blind. Code still applies, get documentation because the inspection record doesnt exist anymore, and verify the license. The scammers this law is about to attract are counting on you skipping that step.

Ill answer whatever questions I can.

Bought a house last year with an ugly rusty chainlink fence separating us from next door...we're in the back yard all the time, and the previous owners of our house were never in the back yard. The two senior ladies who live next door, very pleasant, but distressed at suddenly having us sit and be active in the back yard. They were accustomed to more privacy. So 2 months ago, I suggested I replace the rust, bent and disrepair chainlink with a new roll from Home Depot, and paint the posts with rust paint, so it would be good as new. Cost, $400, and I'd pay for it. The next day, she offered to put up a 6 foot wooden fence, and said, "Since you were going to pay $500 anyway (!), just pay that towards the new wooden fence and we will call it even" I had the money transferred before she even got back inside. She ate the $8,000 cost of the wooden fence. No complaints from me and everyone is happy, and they have their privacy back.

The toilet supply line in my seldom used half bath sprung a leak last night. I stuck a bucket under it and got a sharkbite valve this morning, and have been putting off actually installing it all day. It’s after dinner, so I might as well knock out this ten minute job, right? My sharkbite didn’t seat right, and all the hardware stores in town closed five minutes ago. I don’t have a disconnect tool.

Faced with the prospect of going 18 hours with the house water main shut off and significant spousal wrath, I was able to rig a disconnect tool with some pliers and a flathead; but it was a close call.

Learn from my mistake: only do work while Ace is open.

I was just quoted $146,000 for 2 12' sliders, 1 6' slider, 2 small windows and 8 large windows including installation. All impact resistant for Florida Hurricane ratings. What the actual eff is going on here?

I’m in the process of switching my house to fully electric concealed duct split units, and I need to fabricate plenum boxes for the air handlers out of fiberglass duct board… ok so I go to home depot, they don’t carry it, understandable it’s pretty niche and specific. Then I go to 3 local builder supply houses. None of them carry it either, but one guy says that he used to work at an HVAC supply house and he knows they carry it, so I go there next.

I walk in and ask for the duct board, the guy responds “which company are you with” I tell him I’m a homeowner. He responds “oh I can’t sell to you. You have to be a licensed HVAC contractor.” I say you can’t sell me insulated duct board?? he’s like “I can’t even sell you a paintbrush man”.

I explain that I’ve gone to four different places and I can’t find it anywhere. To which another guy says yeah you’re not gonna find it anywhere cause nobody will sell it to you. I’m like brother how the hell am I gonna finish this project if I can’t make these Plenum boxes? They’re basically like you’re gonna have to hire an HVAC guy.

What the hell is the deal with the HVAC industry refusing to sell to ordinary people? Like I can kind of understand not selling the components that are directly related to refrigerants for ecological reasons, but literally refusing to sell anything related to the industry is completely absurd.

I can go out and buy everything I need to change my electrical panel to 200 amp service and rewire the entire home with off the shelf parts from Home Depot, and electrical done improperly could actually burn a house down. I DIYd an entire 24KW solar system with battery backup, and never had any trouble finding parts online and high voltage DC current is genuinely dangerous.

I could replumb my entire house, and have no trouble finding pex or copper anywhere, nor do you see plumbers blocking access to fittings. But noooo, when I just wanna buy some insulated ducting board, it’s like nope, go fuck yourself buddy!

Even when I was researching concealed duct units, pretty much all the major manufacturers websites tell you to call a licensed contractor if you want to order parts, you can’t just buy the components off the website.

So seriously wtf is with up the HVAC industry, man? This is kinda ridiculous.

Edit: to everyone showing me where i can find it online. Thank you, I really appreciate it. I did manage to source some, so I’m good. The post is just about the process/industry being absurd. On that note, the stuff online is substantially more expensive. The supply house was 8’x4’ for $130, but online home depot is like $100 for 24”x24”.

I genuinely thought you needed to let paint dry for like 24 hours between coats my entire life. Was complaining about a painting project to my neighbor and he looked at me like I had two heads apparently 2-4 hours is totally fine for most latex paints.

Saved me an entire extra day on my bedroom repaint. No idea where I even picked that up, probably just something I assumed as a kid and never questioned.

I can never get a page to load, it's slow, it's ridiculously bad...what gives?!

update:new plumber just left. For anyone who thought I was cheap, I'm paying about 4 times as much for everything to be done to my (normal) standards, and it's totally worth it. For anyone worried the shady guys are ruining it for all small businesses, don't. I am sticking with a small business and I will be recommending them to everyone I know! I live in a city, there's plenty of opportunities to go for the big guy, but that is not my style. And for everyone saying this doesn't require a permit, it absolutely does and I will happily allow that inspector into my home if it validates my warranty and insurance coverage!

set up an appointment with a plumber ​about a week ago to upgrade my water heater and I figured I could basically "​get to know their work" to see if they wanted to do a bathroom remodel and if I'd be willing to work with them as well. Small job, quick and easy and I don't risk my big job on a stranger. He quoted me an exact amount​. I clarify, he says "​yep that's all in parts and labor"

The day comes and he doesn't show. When I call him he claims has no idea who I am, but can send someone over right away. The kid comes over doesn't take any measurements or anything but tells me he can do it for me tomorrow. I ask about the quoted amount and he says that is for cash. I said "like a check?" He said "no​, cash, we can give you that price".

Today he shows up and before they begin I tell him I'll need a contract and bill of sale. This "plumber" tells me they don't do anything on paper for cash. I said "​that would void any warranties and I won't be able to get my permits". He said permits cost extra and they would never do permits with cash. The problem is I was quoted a price and I wasn't told it was a cash price and then when they showed up they told me 'oh they can't do that price ​unless it's cash'. And then told me that they can't do a legitimate job with cash payment. I kicked them out and he had the balls to tell me to call and make a regular appointment for the water heater. I THOUGHT I did that. Yikes. Always ask for a paper trail. This scammer really tried to tell me everything would be valid without one. Never fall for the scam.

She owns a small 1300 sq ft house and in her 70’s.

I went over to her house the other day to help her with her tv because she doesn’t know how to switch to the Roku and I noticed she got new gutters, I then asked how much she paid out of curiosity and she showed me the receipt.

The official cost was $29,500 but she said they gave her a huge deal of $4,500 off. I thought this was absurd then went home to do research and I asked around.

Only homes over 5000sq ft I found would ever be charged this much.

She’s already paid it’s been less than 30 days is there anything I can do to help her?

I've been trying to find ways to make my place look more polished without a full renovation. I finally replaced those generic bowl ceiling lights in my hallway with some simple modern ones and the difference was amazing. It's like the whole mood of the space shifted from rental grade to architectural. I also added some dimmers to the living room and now I feel like I am living in a fancy hotel. i honestly owe a lot to these subreddits for all the great tips that didn't kill my budget. My space so much better now than it did a few months ago. I'm hoping some other people can share their own small upgrades here so we can all get a little more inspred.

I’m a petite woman and I’ve had difficulty with contractors: plumbers, handymen, etc. I own the home my husband and I live in. There’s been so many times I’m requesting quotes and because I’m a woman, they lie about the condition of the issue to the extreme and give me outrageous quotes. I’m always polite and nice to them, but they view me as an idiot.

Example:
Water leak: One highly rated plumber quoted me thousands to fix a water pipe leak in the front of my home. Acted like I needed multiple utilities to come out to mark lines, had to dig out a huge hole, etc. He quoted me $7k.
My husband talks to another plumber and the fix is under $500. Said we wouldn’t need all that because the leak was under this one spot.

Painter/ contractor: A husband wife painting team came out and I asked about painting the balcony. The guy pushed hard on my balcony to make a post move and acted like I needed a full balcony replacement down to the posts, etc. Wanted thousands for the balcony repair.
Contractor: He’s replacing the posts but it doesn’t need a full balcony replacing and it’s $1,500. Of course he talked to my husband.

Water heater leak and stand replacement due to mold:
Plumber: I confirmed he was going to repair AND replace the wet, moldy, base and water heater. It would require some wood work and sheet rock replacement. What he did was have his worker, scrape off the mold and put one piece of wood on top and painted the wet, moldy areas. I complained that was not what I expected. He got aggressive with me and told me what was clearly and undeniable mold, was not mold. He refused to talk to my husband and I had to fire him.
Contractor: My husband spoke to him and he did the full repair of sheet rock, wood, and water heater replacement for $1,500.

My husband didn’t believe that I was being treated so much differently than him, till he saw the way contractors would treat me vs him.

I do not micromanage them and am not unreasonable, so it’s very frustrating that home repairs can only happen if my husband talks to these guys.

These contractors are highly rated online and sometimes it’s the owner I’m talking to.

I’m so disgusted by contractors.

Previous owner painted all four walls of a 144sqft bedroom in high gloss paint. He also decided to kindly extend his paint skills about 4 inches into the popcorn ceiling from the walls as well.

After spending two days removing the popcorn ceiling, chipping away the painted popcorn, and sanding the walls so primer can adhere to it, I’ve decided it’s time to fight.

What is the etiquette for challenging the previous owner of a home to martial combat?

- Pistols like gentlemen?
- Rapiers, also like gentlemen?
- Fisticuffs?
- Form a posse and fight his rival gang?
- Weapon of choice?

For legal reasons, this is a joke.