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Is there an easy way to do this without making it into a giant project? I don't want to drill holes in the structural beam. It seems that liquid nails wouldn't provide much of a fire rating. There are people online who use a variety of methods, including constructing their own U-channel to...

My house (1940s) is brick on frame in Pennsylvania and has a small concrete porch that partially overlaps the ceiling of the one car garage. There are pavers on the back slab porch that have been trapping moisture against the old brick and river sand mortar; I am removing the pavers so that the...

My hand rail is secured to the plaster on the edge of my staircase at two points; As the staircase rises from floor 1 to floor 2, the metal railing screws into the ceiling of the first floor. The ceiling is plaster on metal lathe. At site one, the plaster where the old screw entered the...

My shutters are screwed into wooden slats (circa 1945) that are the width of a mortar joint and 2-3" wide. I suppose that the right answer is to hang new shutters via spikes into anchors that I place in the brick. What should I do with the pieces of wood? Just pull them out and patch with mortar?

This is how my high efficiency furnace was installed... the combustion air intake is on the left side and is using room air. The exhaust pipe travels a circuitous route to the wall. Water often accumulates on the top of the furnace at the origin of the PVC pipe vent, even though it seems to be...

How should I properly seal the refrigerant lines? It is at ground level. Do I need to wrap anything around the foam insulation on the refrigerant line? Should I just use spray foam? Or Should I use spray foam but place a 1" concrete plug over the end?

I am concerned that a piece of the wood on my front door's frame is in contact with the concrete pad of the porch. It was constructed before 2004 and I'm confident that it wasn't pressure treated. Would it last longer if I cut it off at the level of the concrete to stop it from wicking...

Do I move the drain or cut out a lot of the cabinet? As you can see, the crossbar aligns with the drain pipe. Should I move it down so that I don't need to alter the cabinet at all? Otherwise I'd need to expand the U cutout in the shelf, cut the crossbar and then add a sister the crossbar...

I've got quotes for a Rheem96V ($7.7k) and a Carrier Performance Series ($5.8k) furnace. They are similar two stage furnaces, 96% efficient. Is there any reason to get the Rheem?

I built this fence in 2020 as my COVID project (old lumber prices). It is a shadowbox fence with horizontal 2x4 stringers such that the posts are hidden on the inside and the outside. Yesterday, a storm snapped off a tree in my backyard. The ~35' maple tree (18" diameter) snapped off a little...

I had my kitchen cabinets replaced and the backsplash is now at the level of the screws on the faceplate of the old electrical box - see photo, I cannot cutdown a faceplate and screw it in. I don't think that I can slide the switch up high enough to allow me to use the lower screws either. Is...

I'm looking to replace 17 total windows. They are currently double-pane, double-hung and were replaced in a fix and flip ~2001. I'm looking to get basically the same thing installed with better seals and energy ratings. I plan for pocket install, as there is no damage to the current setup...

My mother lives in Pennsylvania. She has consistently had water running down the outside of the exhaust pipe from her ~7 yr old Goodman High Efficiency gas furnace for the past 3-4 weeks. It is located in a 2nd floor utility room. It seems to happen regardless of precipitation. It has been...

I've got unfaced R30 insulation filling my rafters (conventional framing) and I should have R45 or better for my 'zone'. I've purchased and started laying unfaced R15 perpendicular to the rafters to minimize gaps with the original insluation. I need a walkway to be able to inspect my attic...

That sounds like a joke, but it is not. I found a small puddle ~4oz of water that had spilled out from the trim where a ceiling meets a wall in my basement. So I opened an 8x8" square. The plumbing for my powder room is directly visible, but the PEX is dry. My 2nd floor full bath is directly...

I have an 8'x8' front porch with a flat roof with a central drain that is 6"x6", draining to a 3 or 4" pipe that runs to the corner of the porch, then down a pipe that is hidden in the porch column. The surface is flame-down tar. A leak developed at the seam between the roof surface and the...

My house has a masonry chimney with two flues, one for the gas furnace with active exhaust and the other used to service the hot water heater's passive vent. The flue from the hot water water heater collapsed and was invaded by squirrels. When the squirrels were removed, the chimney was capped...

My house was built in the 1940s and 'flipped' ~2000. Much of the electrical has been replaced. The main breaker is outside, but it does not stay 'OFF' and doesn't even intermittently stop the power supply when I hold it in the 'OFF' position. The main panel is inside. I have not identified...

My mother had her HVAC unit replaced. There was some sort of issue with the unit and they left some gauges on it, outside. It has been 10 days. Should I be concerned?

Just an FYI if you're looking for a reason to buy a new cordless powertool.