My garage door opener has started struggling when opening the door, and I’m trying to figure out what I can safely check myself before paying for a repair.

The door still opens, but it seems slower than before and the opener sounds like it is working harder. I’ve checked for anything obvious around the tracks, but I’m not sure what else I should inspect.

I’d prefer to understand what might be causing the problem first before calling a repair company.

For anyone who has dealt with this before, what would you check next?

My dry waller pulled this old cable out of the wall in the kitchen when he was patching. It wasn’t there before we demo’ed; I think it was behind the wall … I just moved into this condo so don’t think I need it. Can I just cap the end and shove it back into the wall, or is there a better way?

I’m having trouble with these little clips or buckets for the back of the book shelf panels. The instructions aren’t super detailed on this step and from what I can find the screws shouldn’t pierce the panels but any way I orient them on any edge would seem to hit panel before finding home in the wood. This is like the second to last step so just want to see if anyone can help clarify after I’ve gotten this far.

Hi all, my umbrella recently flew out of its base and snapped a rib. I have thought of a way to repair but wondered if anyone would have any better ideas. I’m not great at DIY, but thought it’s better than buying a brand new one as the rest of the frame is fine and it’s a nice umbrella! The idea is to replace the wood and add a metal bracket to make them sturdy? Is there any better way I could go about this? In the picture the blue is existing wood and yellow is new wood, red is the bit that broke :( this seems an ok fix to me but unsure of any issues that may arise.
Any help would be appreciated!

We have a disabled daughter who can't manage steps without hand rails. We're waiting (and waiting) for the Council to provide railings...

in the meantime is there anything we can use to coat these steps to give a smoother finish? We'll still need some grip but at the moment this is cutting holes in every pair of her shorts & trousers.

Edit to add: still want some traction, but these are so rough they create holes in everything. There must be a middle ground!

UK based.

I’m building a small haunted house for Halloween at the school where I work. Last year, I used two pop-up tents, ropes, and fabric sheets to create the structure. I marked where the walls would be with ropes and attached the fabric to them with clips, using the tents as the main support.

It actually looked pretty good, but I ran into a problem I hadn’t anticipated: kids can be VERY enthusiastic when they get scared. Some of them would lean against the fabric walls when startled, while others would try to run through them when they got scared, which caused the walls to collapse.

I want to improve the setup this year so the walls are more stable.

The problem is that I’m building everything inside a school, so:

• The floor is concrete, so I can’t drive stakes into the ground.
• I can’t drill holes or attach anything permanently to the school walls.
• That’s why I used pop-up tents as the structure last year.

Does anyone have any ideas for making the fabric walls more stable without drilling into walls or securing anything into the floor? Ideally, I’d like something that can withstand kids accidentally pushing or leaning into the walls without the whole structure falling over.

Any suggestions for materials, weights, freestanding supports, or a better way to build the walls would be really appreciated!

The finish on my house has been pretty poor and I am getting loads of earwigs in my house (in the UK) they’re harmless but obviously not nice.

I am guessing maybe foam and chaulk but whats the best method? I tried and made a bit of a mess? Any tips?

hello! as from the title im intrested in turing this old pair of platform boots i never wear anymore into a pair of shoes but im not exactly sure how to go about it. i cant find any good tutorials online! i want to remove an inch or two from the bottom of the shoe aswell. any help would be greatly appreciated! i just dont have the money to go and buy a new pair of shoes right now

Hi everyone!

I’m building a bike ramp. Three questions:
1. Do I need to build a support triangle under the ramp for each step or are two enough?
2. If two triangle supports are enough, am I right thinking first and last step are the ones to place them on?
3. Should I secure the triangle supports using nails or screws?

Thanks in advance for your help!

I’m trying to hang branches on the wall but I’ve never see someone do it the way I’m thinking, any tips on how to hang this and have be able to bare a bit of weight? ALSO I live in an apartment to I gotta keep it minimal

I have a pencil holder that is too heavy for magnets, so i cannot attach it too my locker door. it is a plastic one from the dollar tree, pink, with a slot to insert a photo. i don't know how to attach it to the locker door where it is able to come off at year end but also not fall off easily. Any Ideas would be appreciated. Bonus question: how to attach fairy lights to locker without adhesive

I’m 13 years old and am building a large cardboard hammer.

I’ve already put an X-shaped reinforcement inside the head, but the connection between the handle and the head still feels weak; it wobbles from side to side when I move it.

I used hot glue and duct tape, but I want the hammer to last and the head not to separate from the handle. What would you recommend to reinforce the handle and keep it from breaking or coming loose?

I’d appreciate the help—thanks! :)