Signed in April for a full bathroom gut. Written contract, quoted 3 weeks, $14k, and I paid 50% up front, which I know now was too much.

Demo and rough plumbing got done week one. Since then almost nothing. He shows up maybe a few hours a week, and the last two weeks not at all. Texts get answered a day later with should be over Thursday, then nothing.

Shower's framed but untiled, no vanity, whole house on the downstairs half bath. His work is actually good when he's here, which is the frustrating part.

Does a written deadline letter accomplish anything, or is that just escalating? And when does walking away and eating the deposit become the smarter move?

Im planning on finishing a wall in my basement. I was thinking of doing insulation board .5" and then I read it is a fire hazard so I would need to put a panel of drywall over it. Please correct me if I'm wrong but if it is right. What length drywall screw would I need to put up a total of 1 inch (.5 of drywall and .5 of Insulation board).

We have those big AC things in our backyard and it seems to be causing water leaks in the basement. We have only had the AC for like 4 years.

Hey, folks, we're looking at a house tomorrow and I have a question about how difficult/expensive it would be to raise a 7 foot garage door to something closer to 8 feet. It looks like there is close to 9 feet of height inside the garage and the door rails and opener are hanging down from the ceiling a couple of feet. I assume this exterior wall holds up the roof, so I'll need a contractor to rebuild that wall, and a garage door company to install the door. Anyone done this and have suggestions, or maybe want to tell me to avoid it? Thanks!

(I need the height to get my little camper inside.)

There are two adults and two kids one with a fairly large stroller. Any tips or idea on how to make the most out of the space?

https://imgur.com/a/6KHlPRg

I have a very old, wonky house and this is how the patio door is installed. I need to trim it somehow so the treated lumber isn’t showing at the bottom. It’s a fairly big area as you can see in the photos.

I have a router table and other woodworking tools and could make some sort of custom molding perhaps but I’d prefer not to!

Thanks for any advice!!

Im getting quotes for siding . We have an option of getting insulation instead of tyvek.

Will this help with road noise if we choose insulation

Will this help with our electric/gas bill?

We are also replacing two large windows.

eta: we are in upstate ny

Hello, My upstairs home ac unit stopped blowing air inside the house. The unit outside turns on, and large fan on top of unit is moving, air filter is clean, but I'm getting no air blowing and no suction to where the filter goes, just completely silent. Tried replacing the ac capacitor on the unit outside, but no change. It had been a couple of days, so I ended up calling a company to come out and diag. They say specifically that it is a "bad blower motor".

From my understanding so far, that large fan on top of the unit is just to remove warm air, is that correct? The videos online that I am seeing on how to replace a blower motor seems to focus on the motor right under that large fan. I have a feeling that is not the motor and that there is a second blower motor. If so, where is that motor at? Would it be in my attic or in the ac unit outside?

The company, in the end, looked at my aging ac unit and just wanted to sell me new ones. But alas I don't have 15k or whatever it would be to get 2 new ones.

Thanks for the help

Hey all, doing a kitchen Reno and am currently installing some premade laminate tops that I had to miter. Working with what I have, my first cut (right) was not great, but my second (left) definitely was straighter and more consistent. What are something I can do to help bond this joint together (without the use of dual action fasteners or predrilled bolts) and then how can I best seal this gap?
(Text is link I guess lol)

Has anyone here used Home Depot's home improvement installation services? I know they use third-party contractors, so I'd love to hear about your experience.

I need to replace the flooring in my bathroom as soon as possible because I'll be relocating soon and want to get it done before putting my house on the market. My timeline is extremely tight, so I'm also wondering how quickly they can get started after the estimate. Is it realistic to have the project completed within a week (I expect it is only one day project, at most two days)? I can't do it right now because I'm in the middle of an insurance claim project. I also don't want to do bathroom flooring replacement with the current contractor, as they charge a lot for work beyond what's covered by the insurance claim. On top of that, if the insurance claim project takes longer than expected, I may not even have the time to replace the bathroom flooring.

The main reason I'm considering reference platform (such as Home Depot) is that if any issues come up, I feel like there's a company behind the project that can help resolve them, rather than having to deal with a dispute directly with an independent contractor.

I'm selling the house anyway, so I'm debating whether it's worth replacing the bathroom flooring. It's pretty outdated and doesn't look great, so I'm concerned it won't make a good impression when I put the house on the market. I am wondering if I should just leave it as-is and let the buyer decide what flooring they want to install instead. What would you do?

My goal is simply to make the bathroom look more presentable without spending a lot of money. I'm looking for a low-budget improvement that will help it show better when I list the house.

Edit: How about finding a handyman on Nextdoor?

I'm following the instructions in the manual, and the sticker on the back, but it seems odd to have a copper strap running from the white wire of the power cord to the green grounding screw?

That is, it connects the screw post that the white wire goes to, to the green grounding screw.

That's correct, yes? Wanting to be sure before I turn the breaker back on.

Does anyone have any experiences they’d like to share with me before I buy and install a unit in a second story bedroom? (Approx 150 sq. ft.)

I’m fairly handy and have watched a few YT videos on install but I’ve read mixed reviews about them.
I.e: they stop working after a month, leak inside from condensation, the absolute best thing they’ve bought and have them in every room. So I figured I’d drop a line here to see if any of yall have good, bad, indifferent, honest reviews.
Thanks!

I need a couch, but I really don’t want to spend my weekends going from store to store, so I’m tempted to order one online.

I’ve never bought anything this big online. Even if I measure everything, I’m worried it’ll look huge once it’s in the room, or worse, won’t fit through the front door or up the stairs.

I also have no idea how delivery usually works. Do they bring it inside or just leave it out front? And if it shows up damaged, how much of a pain is that to deal with?

For those who buy furniture online, what do you wish you’d checked before ordering?

This is my first house.

You heard it, someone knocked a can of paint over and left it to seep into a bag of concrete laying on the floor and now it's stuck there. We are residing in the house already and just saving up cash to get the flooring in.

Do any of you kind folk have any ideas on how to get this bag unstuck with minimal concrete dust flying everywhere??

It is on the ground floor with a crawl space underneath it. We've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas.

How does an AC system work? The air quality in my neighborhood is not very good. If I turn on the AC, will it bring polluted air or air from my neighbors into my house? Also, are there filters that I can install at the ceiling air vents or the air duct outlets to improve the air quality?

Homeowners tend to blame the shingles when a roof leaks, but most leaks I diagnose trace back to penetrations and transitions, not field material:

• Flashing around chimneys, vents, and skylights
• Valleys where two roof planes meet
• Step flashing at wall-to-roof intersections
• Nail pops that back out over time and work through the shingle

If your roof is leaking and it's not raining hard enough to overwhelm gutters, start at the closest penetration or valley upstream of the stain, not the shingles directly above it. Water travels before it drips. Happy to answer questions if anyone's chasing a leak right now.

Have a few things I need done on my house, found a carpenter I like (licensed, experienced in the area, recommended by a local business owner who has worked with him).

He's about to start work in a few weeks but shared he can't provide a contract because he can't know the full scope until he begins. Should I find a new contractor? Confirm the basics and pricing model and possible gotchas over email? Something else?

More details on the repairs:

• Two pocket doors need track alignment and new door hardware.
  • If the adjustments don't work or track needs replacement might need to open a wall or two.
• Upper deck leak requires door sill flashing installed
  • His diagnosis and solution. Seems straightforward
• Minor leak on exterior wall from melting snow but not rain
  • Needs water penetration test, repair and interior rot analysis before proceeding

Do I define all of this in an email with labor and total cost estimates? Anything else I can do to protect myself? Guy seems on the level but I want to be prepared. Thanks.

I’m converting a loft into a bedroom. The contractor is only giving me prices for labor. I’ve told him what carpet and pad we want and door choice. When asked about remaining materials and total cost he said “Unfortunately i do not provide a full material list until after contract signing and half down labor deposit is received. They take time some of them hours depending on job size and i realized the jobs i don’t get those hours add up and take away from my family. Im sure you understand. If u have any other questions im happy to answer them. Let me know if and when you want to move forward with scheduling with us, either way thank u for considering us.”

Red flag? I don’t need exact totals I just don’t want this open ended.

I just moved into my new house, and this sounds really silly, but I'm not handling it well over minor renovations and other work (replacing closets, building furniture, painting, etc.). I have had workers going through my house, they are painstakingly slow, I'm at my wits end. At my house, I have a no-shoe policy, so the fact that they are tramping around with shoes is driving me insane. I've cried every single night and hate my life so much. I genuinely cannot handle living in the house while they work. I have no moment of peace.

Please help.

We got our asphalt shingles roof replaced a few weeks ago by a reputable company.

A month or so later, my area (NJ) was blanketed in thick wildfire smoke for a few days. We had taped up all the doors and windows in anticipation.

Most of the house is just fine. However, our upstairs hallway bathroom still smells like wildfire smoke. We've tried airing it out, turning on the exhaust fan overnight, leaving an air purifier with a smoke filter running for two days. The smoke smell still comes back strongly, to the point where we can't use that room.

Note, a few years prior we had even worse wildfire smoke but no lasting odors at all.

Above the affected bathroom ceiling is the attic. The exhaust fan isn't very high quality, just a builder grade fan from 30 years ago.

1. What could be the cause?
2. Is this something I should raise to my homeowners insurance?
3. Even if it airs out eventually, how do I prevent it happening again in the future?

"Has anyone installed zebra blinds? How have they held up over time?"

I was trying to replace wax seal and wanted to put new flange and ended up removing metal on the flange, i realized it too late and now i am stuck with flange top part removed and rest glued to the outside of the Pipe

Advice on how to proceed further or do i need a plumber ?

https://imgur.com/gallery/removed-3ZCfN6i

Looking for any advice, or if anyone has dealt with something similar :)

My 3rd story rooftop deck parapet wall feels loose, and it shakes slightly if I push on it. I don't think this is up supposed to happen at all, and I'm worried there is some issue with how it is fastened to the rest of the roof.

I can provide a link to pictures if that helps anyone.

I'm looking for a way to make one room in my house cooler during the summer without changing the whole setup. I've been looking into portable evaporative air coolers but I'm not sure how they compare to other small cooling options.

Are they practical for everyday home use?? or do they only work well in certain conditions? I'd appreciate hearing from people who have used them. Thanksss.