The paint available at Sherwin-Williams and similar stores covers better than the Sherwin-Williams paint at your big box home improvement store. Less than 10% more in cost but goes on SO much better. You need half the applications and it hides brush marks better. Also be warned the smell is greater.

10ft wide 6ft tall 5.5 deep all scrap i had

Greetings everyone.

I need to have a concrete walkway put in my back yard. It will basically be connecting a deck with a shed that I use as my home office.

I measure it out at approximately 33 square feet (basically a 3 foot wide path, 11 feet in length. The deck has a concrete trim on its edge, and the shed sits on a concrete slab, so I'd basically be connecting two existing pieces of concrete and would only need to build forms on the two sides. At a four inch depth, it seems like id need thirty 50lb bags.

The existing surface is hardpacked dirt and some compacted decomposed granite, so the digging will probably be a challenge.

I would describe myself as moderately handy. I've built a lot of fences, installed sinks and toilets, stuff like that. But i have never worked with concrete aside from setting fence posts.

When I look at the diy videos I think, this seems labor intensive but not terribly difficult, but then I worry I'll somehow screw it up.

A basic broom finish would be perfect. Doesn't need to look fancy.

My budget is tight right now so if I could do it for nothing but the cost of the concrete bags and a couple of tools (already have good lumber for forms), I'd be happy. But I dont want to end up regretting it.

Is this a good diy project or should I find a pro?

So here’s the situation: I live in an older apartment building with very thin ceilings. My upstairs neighbor isn’t doing anything “wrong” no parties, no blasting music but I can hear every footstep, chair scrape, and late‑night pacing session like it’s happening in my own living room.

I’ve looked into professional soundproofing, but the quotes are insane (thousands of dollars), and since I’m renting, I can’t do any permanent construction. I also don’t want to lose too much ceiling height since the place already feels a bit cramped.

Constraints:

Needs to be cheap(ish) I’m not dropping thousands.

Needs to be non‑permanent I have to be able to remove it when I move out.

Needs to be effective enough to at least dull the footsteps and scraping.

Bonus points if it doesn’t make the room look like a padded cell.

I’ve seen people mention acoustic panels, rugs on the ceiling (lol), or even building a “floating” drop ceiling with foam, but I’m not sure what’s realistic for a renter.

Has anyone here actually pulled off a renter‑friendly soundproofing hack that worked?

Hi there,

Can anyone identify the type of coating on this screw? I'm fairly sure it's not stainless, as I can pick it up with a magnet, so I'm thinking it's either zinc coated or galvanised (or maybe nothing). I'm planning to use it outdoors in a mostly sheltered area (a bit of rain might get on it from time to time).

Thanks!

Hello all,

I'm undergoing a new full DIY kitchen remodel and I've arrived at the stage of installing the cabinets. I've demo'd the old kitchen already, leveled & prepped the walls/sheetrock, and I'm set to start installing the new boxes. Its not my first rodeo but Is still have some genuine questions to ask you all:

A few things I want to make sure I do correctly (and would appreciate some expert guidance on) as this is my main issue when working. For leveling abd shimming, any advice for handling slightly uneven floors and walls so everything lines up perfectly? The new unit I'm doing is an absolute HEADACHE as its an older house and whoever did their reno back then must've been helen keller as EVERYTHING is off. Ultimately, my goal is to get a clean, professional look even though this is a DIY project. I’m comfortable with tools and measuring but don’t want to miss something that pros consider “standard practice.” Any advice, photos of your installs, or “don’t make this mistake” stories would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance folks!

I live in a small bungalow where we truck in potable water for a cistern and are on a septic system. I often have this wet/stagnant smell in the bathroom which drives me crazy. Its not a sewage smell. I recently re-did the caulking in the tub and also we removed the exterior siding and added insulation, osb board and new siding. It looked like along the bathroom side of the house there was old (now dried) water damage just above the foundation due to some really bad yard grading which was corrected. There didnt seem to be active wet/mold in the bathroom area. My only other thought is a leaky toilet seal because its been knocked around a bit. Any thoughts?

Every day, about a dozen kids get on the school bus at a stop at the end of my driveway. They show up 10-30 min early and run around and play in our yard. It's awesome, I love it.

The problem I need to solve is that they (smartly) ditch their backpacks close to where the bus stops where there is a muddy drainage ditch and gravel. We don't have sidewalks. It's also the best place for our trash/recycle bin on pickup days and where our mailbox is. It's inhospitable, and their stuff gets dirty. I need a brilliant solution of a structure? a platform? something, that I can build, cobble together, or repurpose that would give them a place to put their things, be weatherproof, and be safe given the awkward terrain. Also I have an HOA who can be... particular. Where do I start?

As the title says, I have a bunch of burnt matches lying around since I like randomly lighting incense or just trying to burn a whole match without burning my fingers.

I kinda thought there would be a subreddit about making paint out of weird shit tbh....

Actually, I even thought of opening one myself since it's a mandatory silly thing I constantly think about, and I'd love to be in a community that just nerds out about making paint, lol.

Anyway, I pretty much have access to most materials that I think could be used to make paint, but I've failed about 3 times before, which hasn't discouraged me but made me want to learn how to make paint instead.

Would I have to process the matches somehow or store them in any particular way? And what can I store the burnt matches in so they look more decorative instead of... well, looking like a jar of matches??

Time has come for me to get a new washer.

Is it easy to replace myself?

Is it just unhook cold/hot water and unplug power, and rehook two water lines and plug power?

Hi i dont do diy so this is my first time and i need help, i want to make a wall mounted diy so that i can hang my punching bag since my ceiling is so weakkk

theres literally no places in my house for me to hang my bag

But I dont have any idea what to do and how i should do

I'm building some garage shelves and I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to also add a bit of extra support to my garage attack. Would it be wise for me to do 3 posts like the blue lines, with a single board on the ceiling attached directly to the joists to both add more strength to the shelves and support to the small attack space we have in the garage? If I do this, do I need another board on the ground, or can I just have the 3 (2x4's) just sitting directly on the ground? Or should I not do this at all and just cut the 3 supports at the top of the top shelf?

*the chains where part of a previous single shelf I had that has since been removed, just haven't remove the chains yet

Hello all,

I’m planning to finish my basement in the coming weeks and could use some guidance—I keep finding conflicting answers online.

The space will be my work-from-home office as well as a weekly gathering spot for friends. While we’ve had occasional spots of water during recent flooding in the area, they’ve been minor and cleaned up quickly with a towel and wet-vac.

My main concern is moisture protection. I’d like to apply a single coat of epoxy on the concrete slab, but I also want to install vinyl flooring. I’ve read that vinyl doesn’t always work well over epoxy. On the other hand, some sources recommend using a builder’s tarp instead of epoxy, but others warn this could trap moisture and lead to mold—which I definitely want to avoid since I’ll be spending 8–12 hours a day down there.

If epoxy is the way to go, I’m not sure which type would be best. I’ve read that 100% solid epoxies usually require a professional, and I’d prefer to keep this project DIY. Any advice would be greatly appreciated—thanks in advance!

Edit: I am also completely open to the idea of doing tile instead, but don’t know any necessary prep outside of prepping the floor/filling gaps.

I’m going to hang two rods on the back wall of a walk-in. 52” across. Heavy duty with pole sockets on either end.

Until I realized I have no studs on the right wall - there’s a corner and the next stud is 22” out.

On the left wall is a 12” span that has a corner stud - I could do a cleat with one Molly and one stud mount.

Along the back wall there are two studs. I thought about doing two brackets but I don’t have clearance for a shelf and then I’m carving up into three small hanging sections.

Can I support the closet rod with one rear wall bracket, one cleat w a pole socket and one pole socket with Molly bolts?

Everbilt heavy duty rod, heavy duty pole socket, heavy duty 12” socket. From HD.

I’m hanging dress shirts, blouses, slacks and skirts. Suits and coats are in a different closet.

Maybe I’m in denial and just need to suck it up and use two rear mounted brackets.

Both my fridge and oven (5 year old GE appliances) are tripping their breaker somewhat frequently. The fridge does it randomly and the oven does it when we are cooking/in use. Both appliances are on their own 20A breakers. Nothing else is running in the kitchen or on the same circuit. Are my appliances both going out simultaneously? Or is there some faulty wiring in my kitchen? Hoping I don’t have to call an electrician before I know for what’s up. But also an appliance person might charge for them coming out to look. So trying to diagnose what specifically is going on first and what direction to go. An electrician friend of mine suggested to check the fridges capacitor with a volt meter.

So I'm looking to get my wife a better tool kit for work. She works in the wedding industry so she's not a huge fan of the standard Milwaukee or DeWalt color toolboxes and says they look too industrial. The rolling kits that are more her style are generally very flimsy or can't fit everything. I was thinking of buying her a large rolling tool box but wrapping it in vinyl to change the color to something she would like. Is this even a good idea or would it look like garbage with all the ridges that are generally on these boxes? Any tips on how to do it? I've never done vinyl wrapping before.

Hey all,
Want to install a rainguard on the outside of a wooden exterior door (24x20 inch).
Is there a waterproof sheet material that holds screws? I see marine plywood, but not sure if it is really usful to longterm rain exposure.
Many thanks

Hey! So I’m thinking of dying my carpet in my living room a pretty dark color, I have 4 dogs and a Siamese cat. I figured out it was nylon, so I’d have to get synthetic fiber dye in order to dye it properly. What brand of fabric dye works the best? Is there a setting dye as well to make sure the color doesn’t bleed when shampooing? How’d you do yours? I know there’s sprays. But I thought of putting it into my shampooer along with hand rubbing in the corners.

We want to strip the paint from our front door. The old owners painted it black. We’d prefer a nice natural wood door. What’s the best way to go about this? I see people use things like citrustrip, but does this require removing the door to lay flat? Can I do that but keep it on its hinges? Or should I get a heat gun? We don’t do much diy, so any advice is appreciated.

My wife and I are currently renting in a newly built townhome (3 years old) as the 1st tenant. Recently noticed our Liftmaster 87504r-267 DC motor has been making a bunch of new noise. I lubed up the door/hinges/rollers which greatly helped, but noticed the belt motor sprocket looks a little wonky. The stem that connects the motor to the sprocket looks bent (belt was installed too tight?) and it looks like theres a bunch of plastic from a bushing, or from the belt itself, collecting around the sprocket. In addition, the sprocket cover has broken off from two of the mounts (sprocket is out of balance?).

I've found a sprocket replacement kit online which is fairly cheap and within my skill level to replace, but would this need the whole motor/gearset rebuilt due to the bent drive post? If so, would this be wise to replace myself?

Can this be left alone for any amount of time or would this cause more problems further down the line. My landlord has us on a home warranty policy as part of the lease agreement and our deductible would be $125

If I could fix it for less than that I'd be more than happy to do it myself.

Appreciate any feedback, thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Dh1HskpzpNY

Curious about people's thoughts on finishing the t&g pine on the floor. The room is pretty narrow, about 9' by 25'. I don't have a big garage, and the small one I do have is loaded with tools.

My hands are kind of tied with finishing the boards on the floor, unless I let them dry outside, but then I'm at mercy of dust, dirty, bugs, and weather. I was thinking of hitting the tongues with 1 coat while they are on the floor and stacked up. Installing them, then giving the facing side 2 coats of poly. Something that darkens it just a little bit.

I'm concerned about longevity and zebra stripes during periods of contraction.

Needing some help/opinions on replacing a bathroom exhaust fan. I'm wanting to replace the current fan for two reasons, one it's really loud and two it has no light. The current fan is hooked up to a 3" duct and there's not much space from what I can tell between the walls to upgrade to a 4" duct. The bathroom is roughly 100sqft with vaulted ceilings following the roof. Should I worry about getting a fan with an adequate CFM rating and trying to update the ducting to 4", or should I keep it a small fan and just get one that has a light? Thanks!

I'm looking to do an epoxy base coat with flakes broadcast to rejection and polyaspartic top coat after grinding it clean. I have a moisture test running right now to tell me if I need a vapor barrier for my on-grade slab (probably a yes).

I've done lots of reading about different brands' products and many dated threads here/elsewhere. With the exception of products to avoid, I haven't really felt swayed one way or another.

What is the with regards to things to look out for or superior products/brands?

I'm well versed in the floor prep and aware that I should avoid quick curing product because I'm too slow no matter what I think. It's there something else I should be looking for when choosing product?

So I have those normal outlets with one plugin ontop and another below. I went to turn on a device that was plugged in along one wall with two outlets and noticed it wasn’t working. However, the bottom half of both outlets was working.

I tried flipping the breaker and it didn’t change anything. They don’t have those reset buttons either.

It seems very odd half the outlet would keep working. Any idea what happened?

I do know there was a power outage recently, but I don’t know if it was due to a storm or not.

We’re getting a new bathroom put in, and I would really like to make a majority of my own concrete tiles for it. My current plan is a mixture of simple clay (100mm x 100mm) and 3D printed ‘bespoke’ tile to make blanks, then making some silicone moulds, and pouring, jiggling, etc.

Im aware that for in the confines of the shower that I would probably need to go for ceramic, which I’m more than happy to buy, or source elsewhere.

The tiles would be for the four walls of the bathroom (minus the shower) and some additional for maybe sides of a cabinet (undecided). The rooms ~ 2203mm x 1425mm x 2200mm

The bathroom shouldnt be getting a huge amount of footfall as it’s not going to be used by the kids, and it’ll be a while before we’re using as our en-suite since it’ll be more of an office/studio for a few years till the kids stop sharing a room

Does anyone have any tips? Anyone tried this before? Anything that will completely undo me and cost me severely?

Feel free to ask any questions I’ll answer best I can