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I have several cracks in my ceilings (more than just one room). Normally I would drive some screws into the ceiling to make sure the drywall is secure and and not pulling away from the joists, and then tape it normally. But since my heating pipes are embedded in the ceiling, I have been hesitant...

Recently I was talking to a Milwaukee rep. at the local big box store. We were talking about how a power tool battery sometimes goes bad and you are unable to charge it. He said that it's due to the battery running so far down that the charger can't [detect] it. He said he's heard that there's a...

Anyone have any experience with carbon fiber straps to reinforce a basement wall with some cracking and bowing?

Working under my bathroom vanity in order to replace the faucet. The stop valves are old and I would like to replace them. But they are stuck...stuck...stuck. From all I can see they are threaded on (last couple of threads visible and some teflon tape). I can't budge either of them with a...

We're talking about a decent homeowner/DIY-quality saw here. Nothing too elaborate. I survived with a Sears Craftsman saw for a few years, which was okay for most of my needs, but I think I would like something I can stow. I was considering a Ridgid folding table saw until the reviews on HD made...

This could be an epic tale, but I'll try to keep it short... We bought this house in July. The Ruud boiler was obviously old, but our home inspector and an additional check by an HVAC guy said it worked. It's connected to a radiant heat system embedded in the basement floor and also in the...

We have an old dresser that was built with wooden tracks for the drawers to move on. Needless to say that by now they are worn down and not very slippery. I remember hearing that wax was the preferred method of lubing the tracks ( I'm using the term 'tracks' loosely. It's basically wood sliding...

I thought it might be fun to find the oldest Bird-Day thread I could find and post it up. This one is from 2009. There are some older mentions (going back to 2005) but this will do just fine. https://www.houserepairtalk.com/threads/hey-canadian-friends.8013/ Once again, Happy Thanksgiving.

We have a china hutch that has leaded glass panels in the doors. Basically just like stained glass, the solder between the panes appears to be shedding dust. And since this is where some of our glasses and plates live, we don't want this dust anywhere around them. What can we use to seal the...

My cousin is asking me about replacement windows for her house. I have vinyl and they have been fine. But she has been told about fiberglass windows and even aluminum (?!) replacements. I know that things change over time, and technology evolves, so what's the state of the art right now? And...

Hey Oldog, I hope you made it through okay with this last episode.

I decided to put up a drywall ceiling in the utility room in my basement. My question concerns what to do where the ceiling meets the foundation block wall. I'm not going to frame over the wall, so I have a recess space at the top of the wall. The joists and rim joist are sitting on a 2x? laying...

Working with a neighbor on a basement remodel, we discovered a 10 ga ground wire coiled up in a cavity in the ceiling. The other end goes back to the main service panel. My neighbor recalls that at one time this may have been attached to the brass waste pipe that led out of the house to the...

The drywall that you get at the big box store usually has a bevel on the two long sides to make it easier to tape. But what if you need to join sheets lengthwise? Is there a tool that you can get to add a bevel on the third edge? edit: bevel = taper

I started a thread in the concrete forum about cleaning up after creating concrete dust, but it led me to the bigger question about keeping power tools and other electric/electronic equipment clean after heavy abuse. What do you folks do to clean up power tools? What do you consider basic...

I recently did a project that required my to do a good amount of concrete grinding with an angle grinder. Despite my best efforts, a lot of dust found it's way around the house. Besides vacuuming and dusting... and vacuuming again.....and again, are there any better ways to clean this up. More...

The original builders of this house must have embedded a 2x6 when they poured the basement floor of this house. So now i have a hole under one of my walls where the wood has finally rotted out. I want to fill this with a product that will expand slightly since I won't be able to see if I fill...

Does anyone have access to the maintenance manual for a 2010 Lawnboy self-propelled mower? I just picked up a used one and the engine seems to be in fine shape, but the belt squeals a lot and there are other possible issues with the drive train. I found the user's manual online, but there's not...

A tree took down our power line a couple weeks ago, and we got the power back in just over 24 hours so we thought we had dodged a bullet. But now I noticed that the icemaker isn't creating anymore ice. I can't blame it 100% on the power hit, because I didn't notice the problem right away, but it...

I noticed that one layer of one of my roof shingles slide out and fell. I guess this is considered delamination? I looked into it a little and it seems like it could be a nailing problem. So how do I fix it without trashing the shingle? I am able to slide it back into place. Just glue it back up?