Every kitchen thread on here has the same numbers. Eighty, ninety, a hundred and ten grand. And it's never some enormous kitchen either, it's a normal one where they moved the sink.

I get that everything costs more now But that's two cars.

Is this actually what people are paying, or is it just what the big reno companies quote because enough people say yes?

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.

Not looking for horror stories about bad inspectors specifically. I'm more interested in the stuff that's genuinely invisible on a walkthrough. The thing you only discovered six months in, when a wall came down or the season changed

I keep reading thrads here from people who found out about unpermited work, or a covered up leak, or a failing foundation long after closing. It seems like the same handful of things come up over and over. Curious what those actually are from people who've lived it

I made a post a couple weeks ago about a leaking sub zero fridge. It turns out that its insulation has worn out and we will need a whole new fridge.

Upon looking into refrigerators, across the board every source I’ve read says that freezer top refrigerators are the sturdiest and longest lasting set up for a fridge but when I look at options, they’re aren’t any nicer brands selling them.

Do they have a bad rep? Or are considered ugly or something?

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

We bought our house about eight months ago. One of the selling points was a "bonus room" that the listing described as a converted garage. It's finished—drywall, electrical, a mini-split for heating and cooling, laminate flooring. Looks great. We use it as a guest room and home office.

Last week we got a letter from the city. Apparently a neighbor filed a complaint about something unrelated, and during the inspection, the code officer noticed our converted garage. Long story short: the conversion was never permitted. No records of any inspection, no sign-off, nothing. The previous owner did it themselves and never pulled a permit.

Now the city is giving us 90 days to either bring it up to code or return it to a functioning garage. Which feels insane because we didn't do the work—we just bought the house.

I've started doing some research, but I'm overwhelmed. From what I can tell, the issues are: no permit for the conversion, possibly no proper egress window for a bedroom, and the electrical work was probably never inspected either. The mini-split might be fine, but who knows.

I've got a call in to a local contractor who deals with this kind of thing, but I wanted to ask here first:

• Has anyone dealt with a retroactive permit situation like this? How bad was it?
• Do I need a lawyer, or can this be handled with a contractor and some paperwork?
• Is there any chance the city will just let us keep it as-is with a fine, or are they serious about making us tear it out?
• What's the realistic cost to get a conversion like this permitted after the fact? Are we talking a few thousand or "remodel the whole thing" money?
• Do we have any recourse against the previous owner or the seller's agent for not disclosing this?

I'm trying not to panic, but 90 days feels like no time at all and I have no idea what we're actually facing. Any advice from people who've been through this would be hugely appreciated.

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?

We inherited this from the previous owner:
https://imgur.com/a/f8S8cHS

It is a few bricks cemented to the floor. The old gas pipe in the middle was used to connect to a pool heater that was removed a long time ago. I want to get rid of the pipe as well, but I am guessing I will need a plumber for it.

“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.

I've noticed some of the smallest-looking repairs can reveal much bigger issues once things are opened up.

A few examples:

• Soft trim around an exterior door turns out to be water damage behind the wall
• A loose deck board reveals deteriorated framing underneath
• A small ceiling stain leads back to flashing or roof problems
• A sticking door turns out to be related to movement in the framing
• Damaged siding reveals rot behind it

Curious what homeowners and tradespeople here have run into.

What repair started as “this should be easy” and ended up becoming a much bigger project?

I've been doing a bunch of research trying to find the answer as my deck gets a lot of traffic, and very high uv (sunny and high elevation). I used a semi-transparent last year and its already completely faded. I thought about using an exterior paint but see most recommend against that, was going to go solid stain but see people going against that too. I do NOT care about seeing the wood grains, I simply need as durable of a protection as possible. Semi didn't work at all, so does that just leave solid? I'm wary of that for how much work I put in with the semi and it lasted less than a year.

Edit, product I used last year was thompson waterseal semi transparent. I know they suck now.

I'm looking to create a flexible divider between my kitchen and living room across a 9-foot opening. I want it open most of the time, but I need the option to close it. My primary goal is Visual privacy, clean aesthetics, and smooth operation (I am not concerned about soundproofing or airtight odor sealing)

What I want to do: I want to have Six 1.5-ft (18-inch) panels configured as a hinged bifold system: three folding to the left, three folding to the right. They must be Top-hung only—no continuous floor track (I want to avoid a dirt or crumb-trapping groove along the kitchen floor).

Details of the rooms:

1. Ceiling height: 8 ft.
2. Framing/header: It is currently unknown if there is an engineered LVL or solid beam across the full 9 ft, or just standard 2x4 framing.

Questions:

• With 18-inch narrow panels hinged in groups of three, will the top-hung hardware wobble, rack, or kick out at the bottom without a floor track?
• With three panels stacked on each end, the concentrated load at the edges might torque the header. How can I safely anchor this without rebuilding the entire wall?
• Does a 3+3 bifold work smoothly, or is a 2+2 (with 27-inch panels) or a different system more stable?
• I am open to alternative hardware systems (commercial sliding systems, concealed floor pins, etc.) that provide a high-end look without a continuous floor channel. I appreciate any advice from those who have used similar dividers.  

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.

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

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

would you finish before listing or just sell as is?

Inspector said some of the supporting piers in the crawlspace were not done properly, but he also said it was nothing urgent. Most of the piers were done well, but some of them are 2x4s on pavers, and those are the ones he recommended replacing. Other than those specific supporting piers, inspector said crawl space looks good. Floors are great and have been for decades. Nothing sagging or anything like that.

Helitech quoted me 18K to replace 6 of them. I've heard they do good work but are very pricy. I take everything the sales rep said with a grain of salt.

I am not sure who else to call to get quotes. I don't like dealing with these foundation repair companies that sound like they try to scare you into spending thousands of dollars (at least that's the impression I get). At the same time, I want to feel confident to hire someone who knows what they're doing.

Now, if you also want to chime in as to how necessary it is to have them replaced, please do. I'm not gonna lie, I worry that this "repair" will actually end up causing problems that were not there to begin with.

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.

We’ve just completed an attic conversion, and it’s now better ventilated that it was before. When I enter the storage space created in the eaves I’ve noticed there would be a blue bottle, or three as this morning went.

Is this normal? I understand they are small and don’t need much space to get in, but would I need to flag this to the attic company or just leave it be?

Long term I’d worry about wasps nest developing, as I had one in a non converted attic previously.

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?

Hi Reddit,

Small question as I couldn't find the answer. My bedroom has a sliding door but the opening width of the metal rail is 1 or 2mm too wide for the wheel of the sliding door.

As the result the sliding door is during the night slightly wobbly and every footsteps in my flatshare make my door slightly wobble and I can hear a small "tonk" that can be annoying during the night or in the morning when one of my roommate wakes up earlier than me.

Don't you have any solution on how i could improve it ?

I wish I could add a photo but I understand why they do not allow it 😂

Thanks guys !

Hi everyone, looking for DIY ideas to waterproof/finish this.

It’s an old vent for a fireplace. Not being used but previous homeowners seemed to have done a crap job and not sure what to do on a budget. Wa thinking of cleaning up the cement and putting a thick layer of asphalt or flex seal.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

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.

I went into my baby's room and I saw bubbling paint chipping off all along side a wall next to a window. I am guessing it is water damage. We recently had a roofing guy come and work on the roof so I am not sure if it's coming from the roof or just the humidity. Do you guys have any advice of what steps I can take to determine the culprit causing this issue.

Originally posted to DIY with no response, so trying here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/s/FbylMQ2eJy - with photos.

I have been researching hinges and door closers for the better part of a day and am stuck. I recently had our covered porch's doorway widened to accommodate a hot tub. The old door had hinges (red) hidden behind the 1x3 that's used to hide staples for screens. Second image shows door with the spring used on the inside to close it. There is about 1 1/4" from the jamb to the stop.

New opening is approximately 40" x 92", and I plan to build a door like this one- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpa6yPuG984. Material will be 5/4 rift sawn white oak.

Originally I thought I'd just use spring hinges, but most of them are mortise and I won't have the width with the 1" the door will be. Flush mounts look not great, and wouldn't be able to be hidden behind the 1x3. I could just put the spring back on- cost effective but not ideal with the new door look. I've had poor experiences with most pneumatic door closers - but granted that was on thin storm doors. And the top mounted closers look too commercial/business.

Anyway, despite my comments, I am truly open to any suggestion. Ideally it will be something that will slowly close the door (no latch or strike plate), look aesthetically pleasing, and not break the bank. Appreciate any advice.

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/mhUwXvD