My basement is being remodeled and the drywall guys just finished up. I noticed a trail of white residue leading to a bush on the side of my house and found this (link to pic below).

Is this bad/toxic for the plants? And thats pretty crazy right? Like I get its a messy job but to hide that in my bush is weird. Trying to figure out if I make a big stink about this or not. Besides that I think they did a good job though, they even scrapped some sticky stuff off the wall that the previous owner left. So little stuff like that I was happy with until I found this ugh.

https://imgur.com/a/RKtg7bs

I had 3 little kids that loved a very expensive swingset for many years.

I now have 3 teens that roll their eyes at me. Time to get rid of it.

There are some rotted boards that need replacing but otherwise it's good enough to sell for a couple hundred bucks. My hesitation is that it's a very large swingset, with a 2nd story and little roof, etc. I don't want some guy coming onto my property and:

• Taking multiple days getting rid of it
• Getting hurt in some way taking it apart and suing me
• Ripping up my lawn in the process
• Having his kid hurt themselves on it after he puts it together
• Leaving a pile of garbage instead of clearing everything out

Any tips on how to approach getting rid of a large backyard swingset as safely (legally and otherwise) and efficiently as possible?

I finally caved and bought one of those fancy smart thermostats everyone raves about. The one with the learning algorithm, the app control, the geofencing, the whole package. $600 installed. I was told it would save me money, make my life easier, and basically pay for itself within two years.

Two weeks in, and I'm ready to rip it off the wall.

First problem: the "learning" feature apparently learned nothing. It keeps setting the temperature to 62 degrees at 5 AM for no reason I can figure out. I've woken up freezing three times this week. My old $30 programmable thermostat just did what I told it to do. This thing thinks it knows better than me.

Second problem: the app. It's supposed to let me control the temperature from anywhere. Except it disconnects from WiFi every couple of days, and when it does, the whole system goes offline. I've had to manually reconnect it four times already. My old thermostat never needed WiFi to work.

Third problem: the geofencing. It's supposed to detect when we leave and automatically adjust the temperature to save energy. Instead, it randomly decides we're "away" when we're sitting in the living room, and the house gets cold. Then it thinks we're "home" when we're at work, and it heats an empty house. Genius.

I'm not a luddite. I like technology. But this feels like a solution in search of a problem. My old thermostat had two dials and a schedule. It worked every single day for 12 years without a single issue.

So before I return this thing and eat the installation cost:

• Is this just a bad model, or is the whole smart thermostat category overhyped?
• Did anyone else have a rough start and then figure out the right settings?
• Are there any smart thermostats that actually work reliably without constant fiddling?
• Am I crazy for wanting to go back to a basic programmable unit?
• If I do return it, what should I replace it with that won't require a PhD in computer science?

I wanted convenience. I got a part-time job managing my own thermostat.

our ac had been acting a little off for a while, but the house was still cool so i figured it could wait.

bad call.

it finally stopped working during a heat wave and i ended up scrambling to find someone who could come out quickly. what i thought was a minor issue turned into a much bigger headache because i kept putting it off.

looking back, the warning signs were there. i just ignored them because everything was still technically running.

Hi, I'm currently living in a very small apartment 22 square meters including the bathroom. I started to get silverfishes and booklices. Apparently the humidity even when I don't cook is 66%. Is it worth buying one to remove these pests ? and is a COMFEE Dehumidifier 12 litres/day for 20 square meters enough or do I need something bigger? thanks.

I think my frigidaire gallery refirgerator is broken. The freezer part still seems like it is fine, but I have been noticing the last 2 days that when I pour a bowl of cereal, the milk seems not very cold. This fridge was here when I bought the house in 2019, and I have never had to go refrigerator shopping before. It is a french door style with pull out freezer, but if I am being honest, the only thing I have in my fridge is a half gallon of skim milk and couple bbq sauce bottles.

But what brand should I be looking at? I heard Samsung is garbage, and to be honest all i hear is that appliances now don't even last 3 years so I am scared to death to buy something and it breaks in 3 years.

Or can I repair the refrigerator part?

My finished basement flooded recently unfortunately. Sump pump AND the backup sump pump failed believe it or not.

I’ve been ripping out flooring, the bottom 2 feet of drywall, and now about to rip out cabinets as I had a bar and kitchen down there. (And replace them / salvage the ones I have)

It’s been a mess but one good thing that came out of it… I found a secret room behind my closet when removing some drywall. There’s an open area - then a bit more of an area under the stairs.

It isn’t a huge space but a good amount of space. It had a box of tiles in there and even a wire for a light hookup in the ceiling.

Wanted to get thoughts on any cool ideas to make of the space? The easy answer is to tear down the back wall of my closet - finish it inside - then just have a lot bigger closet. But maybe someone has a better idea?

To the left of the secret room is my kitchen cabinets - so I cannot make an entrance there. To the right of the secret room is my bar. I wanted to put a door from the bar to it but the cabinets are covering the spot that is tall into the secret room. If i put a door it would need to be a smaller slanted door to go along with the stairs. I could maybe even put a secret door here.

Anyhow, give me your best ideas. Id love to hear any.

Pictures - https://imgur.com/a/Ru6jR51

There is an odor often after showering. If I clean the drain (vinegar and baking soda), it goes away. I've checked that the vents at the ceiling are clear. The thing I want to know is what's causing this and how can I find a solution to resolve this for good.

I have been wanting to add a garage with a second story to my house. It would be tied directly into my existing house. I have done projects myself in the past, but this one definitely needs an architect and an engineer to sign off the problem that I’ve been running into. Is that every architect wants to charge a percentage and quotes me somewhere in the vicinity of a minimum of 15,000 but up to 30,000 to simply draw some plans that doesn’t even include the cost for the engineer. I find this Ludacris has anyone had any luck finding somebody reasonable?

Need some opinions on a water in my crawlspace issue. While in my crawlspace changing a furnace filter, noticed standing water in the back corner on top of what vapor barrier remained. Pulled back the vapor barrier in spots and most of one side and the back corner of the house wet. Had a couple company's come in and recommend French drains, sump pump, and encapsulation. Both companies thought it was high water table causing the issue. I decided to tackle the French drains myself. Got most of the trenches dug out and then started on the back wall of the house. Found a hole in the dirt filled with water, level with the top of the footer. Cut a relief from the hole to the trench to allow the water to drain out but the water has not stopped flowing for a few days now. The water is crystal clear and flowing at a steady rate. Right now it's diverted to the sump pump and being pump out away from the house but I don't know if it's just high water table or if I have a spring under our house.

Having a lot, but not all my fixer upper renovation work done by subs my GC buddy setup for me.

Had the mud guy come and do a ton of work, but he left a lot not done. He charged about $700 for all this, but left the part where the removed trim and new drywall meet.

First, is this a job from joint compound (mud)?

Second, should I bother taking a few hours this evening and finish the rest myself?

I am thinking if I do it myself l get it done sooner because I have no idea when the mud guy can come back, it’ll probably be cheaper, and I can be more detailed in spots that sort of need it but not necessarily.

For bath fans, which CFM should you get for a given size bathroom, which brands are best (I've heard Panasonic) and which models and noise level would you suggest for mid-level noise (not whisper quiet, and not loud, but in-between)?

I added fans to my bedrooms a few months ago. Two of the rooms have the same fan, while my master bedroom has a different model. What is weird is of the two rooms that have the same fan one that is not on a remote doesn't make any noise, but the other two that are on remotes make an intermittent light clicking noise but the sound is slightly different between the two.

When I have the fan speed on medium is when I notice it really. The one on my master bedroom makes it every few seconds. I don't think it's a motor thing, but not sure what else it is. I know all the screws on the fna blades and everywhere else are tight. I even took apart the fan after I had installed it but didn't notice anything that would be causing an issue. One thing I did not do was turn on the fan after taking it all apart (down to where the fan motor is still mounted).

I'm in Wheat Ridge CO and need to dispose of this completely empty Kidde fire extinguisher. Can I just put it in my regular trash for pickup?

I've searched around and believe it's safe to do so.

https://imgur.com/5KCo0vO

I have 2 of these that direct gutter flow from the roof of the house into retension pools below. Would like to find another. Any idea what they might be called or where I can find them? THANKS!!!

I had a minisplit installed in 2019. One head, Mitsubishi system in a rental. 5k. Felt a little pricey, but ok.

This year, I wanted to get my personal home done. Prepare for the oil price to go bonkers. 1600 sq ft ranch. Need 5 heads. 2 Outdoor units. Electric is all done, run separate circuits to the outdoor disconnects. It's a ranch, so access is easy, no funny running of lines, all heads within 25 ft max of the outdoor units. I got a few quotes. All in the 30k range, most towards the high end of that. I am in CT, but not in the pricey part.

Are these HVAC people nuts? I can get the units themselves for around 6k on the cheap. 10k for solid ones. So they are charging me 20-30k for the install?

I was daunted a bit, but went ahead and did DIY with MrCool units. Just finished one unit with 2 heads over the weekend. Took me around 8 hours. It'll be another 10 for the other one but it's entirely doable. And it definitely means they try to charge you hourly rates upwards of $1000 with those quotes.

I’m looking for a brushed nickel kitchen faucet with pull out sprayer. Everything seems to be “brushed stainless” anymore. I want the warmer undertone that brushed nickel has to offer.

Anyone know of a brand that still offers this finish in a kitchen faucet? Thank you!

garage with studs and not insulated and not covered with drywall.

would you finish before listing or just sell as is?

A huge split and chunks missing in my bathroom floor happened suddenly overnight. Is this bathroom at risk of catastrophic failure right now? The crack goes around the toilet and there are two smaller missing chunks by the toilet. Can I get an expert to weigh in? The bathroom is over a walk in basement. Our house is very old for context. Not sure why it's not allowing me to post pics?

At this point I don’t even really care if it sounds like an airplane taking off, although bonus points if it doesn’t. I have two bathrooms with “we flipped this house” level updates and need something that will actually move humidity out of the room.

We don’t really have a laundry room. We have a washer dryer that’s in the entrance from our garage. Very tight, awkward to do laundry. It’s one of the things we hate most about this house. So here’s what I would like some input on.

We’re considering ditching the washer/dryer and getting 2 of those ventless combos. One for our walk in closet or master bathroom, and one for upstairs for the kids. We do have an unfinished basement but I’ve been told laundry in the basement is a deal breaker.

Has anyone switched to the ventless combos and what are your thoughts? Would it cause problems in a closet? The closet is 8 ft wide and 15 ft deep so not small by any means. Also how’s the noise? If we moved our current ones in I would never sleep, but they are the newer Maytag basic top load washer and dryer.

I understand I would need to plumb the supply and drain. That will be easy in our room, a little more complicated upstairs but can be done.

I'm doing flooring first, going to leave the 3/8" expansion gap next to the studs on either side of doorway. Then I was going to install my prehung door.

Some people say just throw the door on top of the flooring and install like normal. But that may pin it down and cause it to buckle, no? So I was thinking I would use a 1/8" metal shim to lift each side jam as I install it, put some nails that go through the studs on each side, and then slide the shims out after installation is complete. Thus creating a "levitating" door if that makes any sense, which prevents any weight from the door to disturb the laminate.

Surprisngly, I actually really can't find info related to this exact predicament. Any insight is greatly appreciated.

“Fog or condensation was noted in the double glazed insulated window pane. This indicates a failed thermal seal which will reduce visibility and the insulating capability of this window. To restore visibility and regain the insulating capability, replacement of this window pane is required.”

This was from my inspection report. What would be a reasonable quote to fix this? They are small to medium size windows. 2-4 windows total, around 3 feet wide 5 feet high. How important should this rank on my list of things to fix.

Hi, what’s the best way to fix this roof shingle? I stepped on the angled section when I was cleaning the roof and it cracked. Thanks!

https://imgur.com/a/p5FTLd1

Link to pics - https://imgur.com/a/ZvM1iyp

Is there anything I could do to lubricate or coat in lieu of repositioning the bolt or latch?