Laying laminate in my sitting room and hallway. I've reached the door to the hall and having trouble getting past the doorway.

https://i.imgur.com/jelJhBa.jpeg

Using two scrap pieces to show. B will be the last piece in the sitting room and because of the door frame I can't tilt it so it locks into place with A. From what I've read and watched the thing to do it shave off the lip on A so B can instead slide in and glue it. That's fine but I now have the exact same issue with C. I don't want to go shaving the lip off B also, it feels like the wrong thing to do as it's the only thing connecting the sitting room to the hall plus it being done just behind also.

Videos I've watched about this seem to use thin and flimsy laminate and they just whack and bend the pieces until they go together but there's very little give in the stuff I have so that's not possible. Any tricks to get around this?

I just had a huge silver maple removed in my backyard, got about a 4'-4.5' diameter stump left that has to go. Already spent quite a bit on having the tree removed. What are my best options for removing it myself? Dont really want to rent a stump grinder, have a chainsaw so I could try and cut it into smaller pieces. Pretty green too so I dont think burning it out will work for a bit. Just looking for advice to do this solo/without heavy equipment

Hi all! I've been asked to install a steel memorial plaque into a sandstone block. Could someone please give me the best advice how to secure this without damaging the sandstone. I'm in the UK for product advice 👍 I have already googled it but am still unsure

I'm about to start finishing half my basement. Part of the goal is to soundproof to the extent that people on the floor above me can't hear my tv sound system and, also, that I wouldn't be able to hear theirs. I'm not trying to reach 100% soundproof but as of now, I can hear full conversations if I focus in on the voices.

I've searched this and am getting mixed results with varying conclusions. Use foam tiles, don't use foam tiles, use double layers of drywall, use dense drywall instead, amidst people advocating for dense board.

Outside of using rockwool insulation between the floor joists, resilient channel, green glue and double layers of dry wall, my question is: Is cement board viable as a dense barrier on a ceiling?

My basement isn't very tall and I would prefer not to lose anymore height due to layering up drywall and using resilient channel. Even 2 inches would be a lot to lose.

I was given this beautiful Turkish marble table by my grandma who moved into an assisted care facility earlier this year. I was loading it into my car on my own and it broke in half. It is a pretty jagged break and there is a large piece that chipped off, fell on the ground and broke into a million pieces.

I am hoping to repair this table and still use it. I called a local (Los Angeles) stone restoration company and was quoted $800-$1200 ballpark to properly fix it.

I cannot pay that much so I'm looking for another solution on what to do here.

What would you do with this piece now that it is in this state?

It matches another table I already have perfectly and goes with my living room so well, I'd hate to have to toss it out.

Thanks!!!

Hey guys, recently purchased a house with an outdoor wood boiler. I’m new to the whole wood boiler thing and had a few questions I’m hoping someone here can answer for me.

I like in a very cold northern climate and worry about just having water as a heating medium for my boiler. Here are the cons I’m currently trying to out weight/looking for some guidance on, again this is all new to me I could be just over analyzing this.

1. Walking away:
   I know hypothetically if I were to walk away from the boiler with the fire out in -20 to -30 Celsius temperatures it would probably take 6-12 hours for the line temperature to drop enough to actually pose a threat. But I still have the worry that if for some reason I had to get up and go my lines would freeze and burst and leave me using my electric backup until spring when I could do the repairs.

2. Pump failure:
   Again this sort of works off my last point of freezing but my boiler only has a single pump, I worry that if my pump ever shit the bed by the time I recognize the issue and order a new pump and get it installed the uncirculated water left in the loops un heated would freeze.

3. In between months:
   I do have a backup electric furnace in the house, if I ran glycol in the boiler I would be able to cycle the electric furnace during those I in between months when it’s only cold at night, saving the headache of only running the boiler for the few hours it’s needed when temps drop below freezing at night.

Lots of other small things but not worth mentioning, these were the 3 big concerns I had with not swapping to glycol. Obviously the cons of glycol are price being the biggest, second being corrosion in the loops and monitoring ph levels, also the environmental impact and cleanup if a line leaked.

Let me know what you guys think.

Much appreciated

House was built in the 50's. Bungalow. Not sure when the patio was poured.

I'm wondering if anyone has successfully fixed a sinking patio slab before? The lab is about 12'x16'x4'. It's only sunk about 1/2" in one corner next to the house, but it causes rain and water to pool against the foundation.

Anyone know how I might go about leveling the slab?

We have some high points underneath our laminate tile causing the whole assembly to bow and wobble when walking on it - there's a bunch of air between the tiles and the floor beneath it outside the high points.

How we got here - our builder wanted to save money on self-leveling compound, so instead of covering the whole floor he spot-treated it at multiple levels of the process. That, combined with a mediocre floor-heat install, left us with a few high points that are causing the whole floor to wobble at certain spots. The issue isn't that the floor itself is uneven, it's what was done to try to level it that ended up causing issues.

We are thinking of just pulling up the laminate tiles and doing a layer of self-leveling compound on the entire floor to bring it all to the level of the high points. The counter is already about 1/2 in. higher than standard so that won't be an issue. The under-floor heat is already installed, hence why we can't just grind. I'm just worried we'll have another issue with the leveler, though this will be the first time we're using it as intended over the whole floor.

Any other ideas?

The full assembly:

Top: Cork-backed laminate tiles

Self-leveling spot-treatment poured around a few high points

Thinset

Floor heat

Thinset

Self-leveling spot-treatment poured into low points

Cement board

Bottom: wood subfloor

So I’m currently doing my house all throughout , in the middle of redoing skirtings , door trims , window trims , flooring etc etc and more wood work. I’m quite a competent diy joiner I’m a mechanic to trade and I’ve been eyeing up a decent cordless nail gun.

Milwaukee 15ga or 16ga?

I already have the m18 and m12 battery’s due ti using other tools at work etc.

I have a cheap ass titan 32mm corded one but it isn’t very good.

Happy to listen to other recommendations/ brands.

My toilet clogged and overflowed across the whole bathroom yesterday. I washed it off with soap then sprayed a ton of bleach everywhere. The problem is the apartment is old af and there’s a bunch of cracks/damage on the edge of the floor, under the cabinets, etc that I couldn’t clean. I don’t really care about long term damage since I’m moving out at the end of the year, but I don’t want to deal with the smell. What’s the best way to fix this?

can teflon lubricant be sprayed on walls to make them non stick? for example if you had a pest problem and said pests were unable to stick to teflon? is this a solution? would it compromise the paint job? this is more for indoor use so reapplying wont be an issue but outdoor as well would it work? thanks!

ive done searches on reddit and google and havent found anything. i saw a few mentions of teflon coated wallpaper but cant find any in amazon or best buy nor can i find it locally (not usofa or canada or europe)

I've owned a home for several years now and I am aware that when the "condensation pipe" gets clogged up and the float valve shuts off the AC unit that you need to clear it. I've always been able to go outside and use my shop vac to suck out the clog and everything works for several months. However, for some reason this time nothing is coming out when I try to suck out the clog.

I have a couple of thoughts that I want to double check my logic on before I mess anything up:

1. If I use the shop vac from inside the house as shown in this image, am I going to mess anything up inside the air handler considering the pipe obviously splits to go into the handler and outside? I'm also thinking this might not even work though because there won't be as much pressure going straight outside since the pipe is split.

2. So that leads me to wonder if I can cut the PVC coming out of the air handler and install a ball valve that I can shut off when I need to suck out a clog and theoretically get more pressure. Would this cause any issues?

3. Lastly, and this is what I'm most confused about, that pipe opening circled in red should go directly outside with no other connections, right? I poured some vinegar down there while I had a bowl under the pipe outside and practically nothing came out. So I'm assuming this just means the clog is fairly bad but it made me worry that I did something wrong by pouring directly into that opening.

Thanks in advance for any advice so I don't ruin my AC unit!

I have this toilet, Kohler San Souci. I reviewed the materials but to be honest it wasn't that helpful.

When I flush the toilet, it will not stop filling with water unless I gently press down on the flush handle, which causes the float to raise a little - then the water stops rising. I observed this by taking off the cover over the fill tank.

Here are some images from my toilet, I can also share more if this is insufficient info. I tried fiddling with the float leveling screw (?) - the gray plastic screw in the top left. It doesn't seem to have any noticeable effect at either end of the travel.

Also, I'm not sure if it came from the factory like this, the long metal lever attached to the stopper seems like it should be higher - you can see in the second pic (sorry for the poor quality) that the gray plastic part raises a tiny bit when I press down on the flush handle. I tried adjusting the metal screw that attaches the lever to the handle, but that end has a square "key" that forces it into that specific orientation, and the next orientation would make the lever go way too high.

Like the title says, I had two holes in drywall I wanted to make larger so I could get my toggle anchors (Edit: NOT toggle anchors, see link at the end for what the anchor is) to fit. After I drilled the holes (and put the toggles in), they weren't aligned, which imo isn't ideal for a curtain rod. The holes are currently off by under 1/8 inches.

From what I could search, I think in order to fix it I need to drill new holes 1-2 inches away from the existing ones.

But in order to prevent this from happening for the other holes I need to drill (not expanding old ones), what do I need to do to keep them straight?

Edit: Mild (I hope?) Correction: I said I'm using toggle anchors, but I guess they're technically called togglers.

Hi guys! Not sure if this is the place for this question, but I am a college student renting a shitty place that seems to have zero insulation in the walls whatsoever. Obviously I can’t open the walls
up and add insulation, and I know
I’m not going to get rid of all the noise, but the pipes in this house are So. Loud. My bed is directly next to the pipe systems, so whenever anyone showers, flushes the toilet, or uses the sink (which is often, as I live in the basement of a 12-person complex) I can hear a waterfall in my walls. It sounds like the pipes are open and just pouring water into my room. I know I probably can’t get rid of all the water noise, but I’d like to at least dampen it somewhat as it’s genuinely so loud and so… wet. Would those cheap stick-on foam wall barriers do anything? Do you guys have any suggestions on what I could do? I just want to have a reasonably quiet room that doesn’t sound like I’m inside the pipes all the time. Thanks!!

Looking at buying a second hand induction cooker to replace my hotplate cooker i currently have. What brands should i avoid TIA

I have purchased a 3 piece + pan direct to stud delta acrylic shower kit. I intend on putting mineral wool behind the walls of the shower as it shares a wall with the bedroom.

My question is should I put anything between the shower walls and the insulation?

Should I paint the studs with red guard?

Should I place the insulation then tyvek then the shower?

Or both?

Also for the pan, should it go directly on the subfloor or on top of the sheet vinyl floor that will be going in? Do I need to set it in mortar or adhesive or are the flange screws sufficient?

I appreciate the help folks.

Good morning,
I had an idea for painting my apartment doors to add a bit of color to my space but I wasn’t sure about how to find a peel and stick paper that would accommodate the curves and divots of the doors.

Is this bracket good for a ceiling fan?

Picture attached. I’m installing a ceiling fan in my newer build home where there was just a flush mount light before and was prepared to remove the old bracket and install an old work ceiling brace and box kit for the fan but then realized once I pulled out the plastic electrical box that the existing bracket is super sturdy and it appears clamped around the joist? Does this look fan rated? Can I simply put a steel electrical box on this bracket?

Thanks!
https://imgur.com/a/Ef8ic3E

Need to do a 1/4”-1/2” relief cut on already installed flooring along the wall. Son didn’t do an expansion gap when installing basement lvp flooring and it started buckling in a couple areas. However finding an appropriate tool is challenging. Dremel has a compact circular saw but the rip fence and blade will put my cut too far out.

Found this on Amazon. Looks like it’ll get me close enough but unsure on tool quality. Looking for cutting tool options to do this cut around the perimeter of the room. Tool needs to have the ability to adjust depth of cut as to avoid cutting into the floor joists.

I already googled and not much luck.

ETA forgot to add link for the saw I'm leaning towards getting. Not sure about the quality.

mini circular saw

Hi all, building a landing banister and have a 90x45 half newel I need to secure to a wall but the wall is plaster board with no stud where I need it (brick behind). What is the best way to achieve this?

We're looking to do a concrete/microcement accent wall in our living room. Purely aesthetic, we've got a raw materials vibe going on.

We want a stone texture on the wall but are on a major budget. I see the DIY microcement routes online but the materials are crazy expensive. I'm wondering if it's intentionally marketed as being the only way to properly achieve the microcement finish so they can charge out the ass for it.

For example, we limewashed our entire kitchen and living room, everything online said we'd need special limewash paint/specific materials (all expensive) if we wanted it done remotely right. We ended up just buying regular Valspar paint at Lowe's and it came out perfect. Saved hundreds on "special paint" but everyone online said the expensive route was the only way.

Anyway, for the microcement, here's some ideas we've had so far. Looking for experts to offer some insight on how probable any of these are to give us the effect we're looking for:

1. Mixing gray paint with joint compound and spreading on the wall with a trowel. Would this hold on the wall if applied thin enough and sealed afterwards? Would it have a suede/stone like finish?

2. Using a limewash technique with two cement-like paint colors (for example, SW Mindful Gray & SW Repose Gray) in a satin/low gloss finish?

3. Long shot, but I've seen that adding baking soda to paint can add texture to it. This would be less cement-like and more natural stone-like, but still fits our vision. Is this feasable for a wall? Would it hold? How would we seal it?

Open to additional ideas - thank you!

Hi!

I'm trying to drill a hole through a brick wall, but for some reason it won't go deep enough, I've already broken 2 different drill bits trying.

I'm trying to put up a shelf, and on one side I was able to drill the holes just fine, but on the other side they won't go through deep enough, but I also can't see anything metal or anything in the way. I've tried to space the holes out on this side (by at least 15cm), and still the hole doesn't get deep enough. I've even tried to put some water in the hole, as I've seen people suggesting this helps to cool the drill bit. I'm also keeping the drill straight, and using the same technique I did on the other side.

I'm at a loss for what I'm doing wrong, or what could be causing this. There's no pipes running on this wall, so the only thing that it could be would be metal, but I can't see any metal, and I previously had a mirror in this wall (but way higher and more to the left), and I remember hitting a metal but it was visible, and this time there's nothing.

Any tips on what I should do? If I can't drill a hole, would it be stupid to use those glues on one side only?

Edit: Thank you for all the replies! I was finally able to do it, it's not perfect but it's secure. It took a bit of patience but the biggest advice I could give is don't force the drill (and use the correct drill bit), it should work for you, you don't need to force it, just take small breaks and clean off the dust with a brush in between drilling!