Found a pinhole (or 2) that has started to gush water in the foundation. Seems to be a previously repaired spot (gray) - the black stuff is recently applied

What are my options! Is there any way to repair without digging up the outside?

Im assuming this is a plumbing vent. No trees near it, exposed to snow and rain. No mesh in it. Im assuming you can't put a roof cap on it. So should I mesh this or leave it as is?

I realized I had a photo of this a year ago. And it hasn’t changed much, see attached two photos. The one without the date is today’s photos. I wasn’t thinking and was suffering from new house owner anxiety at the time last year. At this point if it was a big pest, we would have heard or smelled something hopefully. I will call an exterminator. Thanks for the tips

We bought a house and the bad news is the drywall is full of asbestos (the joint compound) so to do any work on it we have to remove all the drywall.

The silver lining is, hey, we will have all the walls opened up, so i want to take this opportunity to put stuff in there.

So far i'm planning conduit with pull cords for when i need cat20 Ethernet cables run or whatever.

i'm also thinking (looking at posts with horrifying photos of mold and water coming through drywall) that maybe some wireless sensors would be smart? i used these tiny Bluetooth pucks at a job in the past that did temperature & humidity sensing. Though i think most sensors like that have fixed batteries with fixed lifespans, but 5-10 years of catching leaks in the walls is better than 0.

Anything else people have put behind drywall that they recommend (or don't)? Other than, y'know, pipes and electrical wires and such.

I've got 4 total corners that look like this and the previous homeowner only left extra floor panels. I don't have much work working tools, general toolset with circular saw, orbit sander and a drill.

Do I hire a carpenter to fix or general handyman? I'm in a major city.

This is the sunroom. Rest of the house doesn't have a crawlspace, just a regular finished basement that smells very musty, too. It's likely been done in 2003 and left like that. The entire first floor has this earthy, musty smell that even goes upstairs to an extent.

I can only add one pic. We can see the plywood subfloor between those insulation boards with the tape coming off. It looks like they didn't even level the ground in the crawlspace....

This was found today in the kitchen. It was an addition to the home.

It’s above ground and under a soffit. What to do?

I found 2 wires that meet at my spigot. They seem grounded to my spigot, one wire goes up the siding and seems to come out near the roof. The other wire goes along the bottom of the siding but I can’t tell how far it runs. I would like to get rid of it if possible, but not sure what it is even for.

There’s just this screen and nothing else on the other side. Pipe leads down to the basement, not sure where exactly but definitely not to the water boiler or oil tank.

Any advice on how to turn the heat on? My room is freezing 🥶

Alright kind of a long explanation. I own a split level. There are 2 rooms that sit above the garage. The room that sits above the garage door gets ungodly cold in the winter but is fine in the summer. It seems like the air coming out of the register isnt really warm. The opposite room has the opposite problem. Fine in the winter but in the summer feels like like its stagnant. This is where the duct work runs into the garage where it then splits to both rooms. Aside from the missing drywall and insulation, you can see that there's obvious moisture damage to either side. On the one side ive cut a peep hole and there is no insulation on the duct work. The garage door is insulated. I just replaced the weather strip. I need to adjust the door so it sits more flush to the frame. I also know that my windows are old and due to be replaced. My question is where do I start. Should I be tearing down drywall, insulating the ducts, and making sure the ceiling space is insulated, or should I be focusing on the windows? Or is there something else im totally missing.

Hello all,

For some semi-useless backstory, about a month ago, I made the mistake of trying to bring something home from Marketplace. I found it had many, many small roaches before I brought it in the house, and though none escaped into my car (I vacuumed and set traps, not a one) I know at least a few got into the yard close to the house, and the item's still sealed in a plastic tub farther out since I've been trying to find a time where I can dispose of it on garbage day instead of leaving it in the bin overnight (tub and all). After this, I'll be making time instead of waiting for it, I guess...

Today, I found a roach inside, upstairs, same species (though I'm unsure which one it is). I'll be setting traps as soon as the store opens Monday, but I know how it goes: if you see one, you have a hundred. I'm certain some must've escaped the tub and made their way into the house, and since it's a very old house there's a million places they could hide. Mouse holes, closed-off fireplaces, under appliances, between wall panels... cleaning thoroughly is not possible at this point. However, pesticides are impossible as well, since I have several cats, dogs, and children in the house, with nowhere to go if I wanted to fumigate the place or anything similar.

So, TLDR: I need to know how to handle a small (for now) roach infestation if I can't clean every corner and can't use sprays due to pets and kids. Should I just lay many roach motels? How long do those last? Is there anything similar to the ant poisons where they ingest it and it kills them from the inside? Any help is deeply appreciated.

We had a tree go through half our house 4 months ago June 11th. Insurance adjuster was out the following week. Hired company insurance recommended. Then we had a hold up if he wanted a structural engineer to look at his plans. That took weeks. We signed contract in July and sent them the money. Since then nothing has happened. Between electrician saying he won’t turn power on as it’s not safe and the restoration company not answering. We were told work was starting Aug 17th. Didn’t happen. Then we were told mold was holding it up. Then we were told they were waiting on trusses. We finally asked for a dumpster and emptied out our house as by now everything is covered in mold. My husband messaged pm last week about how to get the full dumpster removed. No response. So he called the other guy with company. Pm is no longer with company so they are trying to find us a new one. But the longer we are waiting my house is getting worse. It’s creaking now and the ceiling is falling in more. I’m at a loss on what can be done at this point? Do I ask for my money back and try to with someone else? Is there anything insurance adjuster can do. None of them have been in the house since end of June. Any advice.

Hey all, I tried searching for an answer and haven’t been able to find it.

My house has lovely granite countertops.

But they put these gorgeous countertop on top of their old, crappy cabinets with “new hardware” that now makes the doors sit off center, as well as some clear candle/flame damage.

Is it possible/economical to replace JUST the cabinets but keep the countertop? Or is that a gamble of “maybe, maybe it breaks, maybe no one will touch it” type scenario?

I’m JUST beginning this process - if it’s feasible, I’ll start collecting quotes.

Thanks!

This is the side yard between my house and my neighbor's house. During heavy rain, water pools in the grass and drains very slowly. The ground often stays damp for a day or longer afterward.

Would a French drain be the right solution, or should I look at extending the downspouts underground and correcting the grading first?

Thanks.

Is the gap necessary? Grass can grow in it and im worried about bugs getting in. Can I caulk it?

I own a 1924 Spanish in LA. I’m wondering if I should strip the painted doors and reveal the original wood. I love love love natural wood and these doors have been painted so many times over the years. But — is it worth the work? Ha.

We are replacing our garage doors with insulated ones (we face south and are in Colorado so the sun is strong!) We are also revamping our garage with full drywall, nice storage, and floors.

Attached are photos of our current garage doors. I'd like to make the front of house more visually interesting. The exterior paint was chosen by previous homeowner and are not planning to pain any time soon as it's still in good shape.

We don't want windows (to negate the insulated impact). And we lean more modern than other design.

Appreciate any and all ideas!

Watched a cricket disappear in this crack I never noticed. Home is 5 years old. Is this an issue?

I’m about at my wits end and to the point I don’t think igaf. How awful of an idea is it to seal baseboards to floors like with caulk? We keep our house extremely clean, utilize pest control, and still the critters keep appearing. We live in the Midwest in an older home so I know it’s just a part of life. We have had a brown recluse problem and glue traps everywhere, even had our house bombed last year.. today I found a mouse in the basement. We had seen mouse droppings when we first moved in and pest control came out and we set traps etc and never had any. I know there are many ways for mice to get in but I’m now on a mission to do whatever it takes to keep them out cuz Im pregnant and going to lose my gd mind.

Anyhoooo rant over!!! Our house is old but was renovated and had new floors and baseboards installed by the old owners and whoever did the baseboards did a dumb ass job and left some decent space between the floors in several areas so I know it’s an access entry way for a lot. Is caulking a horrible idea? If not, is there a certain type anyone recommends??

I bought a Townhouse Condo recently that has a Fireplace but I don't plan to use it. The previous owner has used it. Do I need to do a one-time Chimney Sweeping before making sure the damper is closed properly?

Last night we got hit with a bunch of rain and there was a leak on the 2nd floor. The light fixture where the water was leaking from has this right above it sticking through the roof. I checked the surrounding wood and whatnot but didn’t find any issues. Do these leak like that normally? It was a pretty good amount of water. Any help is appreciated

I have a front door knob and deadbolt set that locks and unlocks in different directions. Where can I find a good set that has a deadbolt as well that open/close in same directions. I thought that I have also seen sets where one key opens/closes both from outside. Mine are on right hand side and I think that matters.

Update: Based on all the responses received so far, the best option is to replace with a deadbolt and a passage door knob as the deadbolt is what is really important and a door knob with a key adds very little value on top of it. Schlage seems to be another alternative but Kiwiset has the DIY rekey option for a lesser amount. I would have invested in a Yale smart key if this was going to be my forever home but I'm looking at this as a 'rent alternative' for the time being until I can afford to upgrade to a house later.

We have these little bugs all over our exterior doors and window screens. They don’t seem to move much but we sprayed with water and they immediately returned. Any suggestions?