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Warning, I'm not much of a painter, so the following questions are very basic. I have a brick home with a covered front porch, open in the front. Lately, the ceiling paint has started to crack, and some of it is falling off. I'm assuming the ceiling is drywall or greenboard, but it could be...

Long story short - had some rough cut lumber on the ground against the bottom of this fence post. It rotted, impacted the fence post as well. Now this post is leaning out. The other posts are all in good shape. Looking for a way to fix this without digging out the post. Suggestions? Is...

I have a 6-7 year old cedar fence and deck was stained with a semi-train parent stain when new. Now it is showing some age and need to be cleaned and stained/painted. What are the proper steps for restraining / painting a previously stained fence and deck? Should I keep it a...

We have a cabin at our camp which isn’t built on a solid foundation. The front part was constructed on an old concrete pad/driveway. The rear of the cabin has 4x4 posts in concrete for the framing and floor joists are just off the ground (maybe 6-8” of clearance. I have an interior wall with...

Asking because the wife insisted we get a round toilet for our main level 1/2 bath which is small. After a couple days she has admitted she hates it and now wants an elongated toilet. FML. I have a full bath upstairs with an older toilet, so thinking I can move this one upstairs as it doesn’t...

I recently replaced an old 48” fluorescent kitchen light with a new LED fixture and it is way too bright. I’ve replaced the standard switch with a dimmer and it works as it should, however there are six other lights on the same circuit and the new LED light is still too bright when the others...

I’ve replaced many an interior door in my day, but believe I’m doing it wrong. I’m looking to add an interior door to a frame which measures 31” wide. In the past I would purchase a 32” door and used a planer to trim it down. (I cannot find a 31” slab, only 30 ans 32” options.) The last...

So, I’m at a bit of a loss on this one. My son is moving into my parents old house at the end of the month. The house originally had an old screw in fuse system, so upgraded to a 100amp breaker box and had a certified electrician upgrade the feed cable from the meter to the main breaker. He...

I’m working on an older house for my son and the ceiling in the back room has an issue where an old stove pipe used to be. In that area, the tile ceiling it falling down. I’m not sure on the type of ceiling, it it appears to be 12” by 12” tiles nailed to wooden strips. I really don’t want to...

Ok, I’m working on a house my son is going to buy and it has a water issue. We are going to upgrade the gutters on the front to a larger size, but there is an issue with the amount of rain coming off the roof of the small covered front porch. The temp solution is to place containers to catch...

Not sure this is the correct thread for the my question, but since it involves structural integrity, might be the best place. I have a finished ceiling in the stairway going into my basement and there is a low area at the bottom due to the composite I-beam which runs across it. This beam is...

I’m installing a new range (cooktop and oven combo, Amana) in a house which previously had a gas stove. New panel with a new breaker, so should be good. I ran orange 10/3 wiring (15’ run) and was in the process of hooking it up when I started to wonder if the gauge of the wire is correct. The...

I’m working on an old house for my son and removed the carpet to expose the hardwood floor. The boards in the living has some damage, but it’s mostly in good shape. I’m wondering if I can use wood putty to path and then stain it / color it to match? I know it won’t be perfect, just looking for...

I’m remodeling an older house which originally had a 60 amp main with screw in fuses. I’ve upgraded the electric panel to 100 amp service and had a certified electrician replace the main supply line from the meter to the panel and install a new ground. I’ve installed a new plug and new wire to...

I’ve replaced an old screw in fuse panel with a new 100 amp panel and breakers. When using a corded circular saw plugged into one of the new circuits (14g wire), all the lights in the house (on separate circuits) would dim. Is this caused by a bad ground, bad feeder wire from meter to box, too...

I have opened up an old kitchen wall and have quite a mess (see photo.) I’m planning on replacing all the plumbing with pex, but the old cast iron stack is concerning. Is this something I can replace myself with schedule 40? How difficult would this be? Any suggestions? Thanks.

Well, working on a flip house with a sagging floor and the situation is really bad. The wall between the kitchen and the bath has zero support and the three main beams in the kitchen have rot. I’m planning on sistering on new 2x8’s to the three bad beams but what is the best way to solve for...

I’m in the process of remodeling a home with big issues and need some guidance. The house was build in the mid 40’s and had some significant water damage. While removing the damaged flooring and wall, I exposed the old cast iron plumbing stack which appears to have some growth on it. As far as...

So, to be clear, I know nothing about roofing. Zero. Zip. Hired a professional company to install a roof on my parents house a few weeks ago. Got a call yesterday they were going to roof the house today and I was concerned because the forecast for today was rain up until noon. Early this...

This is an odd situation. Kitchen counter ledge has absorbed some dog ear medicine from a bottle which leaked. It was painted but still absorbed and expanded, which makes me think it could be MDF. Don’t know. I’m assuming to repair I should start by sanding but then what’s the next best...