Home Improvement

I made a post previously on having rot behind a soffit and many of you gave me great advice on how to proceed in fixing it the right way.

This weekend I worked nonstop and got most of everything fixed. I removed part of soffit and cut the rafter tail to expose the area and quickly identified the problem - no kickout flashing

I cut out the rot on the sheathing and patched in plywood. I ripped the siding off all the way up to the roof to expose all the step flashing - this involved removing both the vinyl siding and the original composite siding. Working from the bottom upwards, I laid down new house wrap. I fabricated a nice piece of kick flashing to go on the end of the run.

Then I installed a nice piece of counter flashing over the step flash, then finally another layer of house wrap partially overlapping the cFlash.

I then installed pressure treated furring strips for the vinyl siding and reinstalled the siding. Here's the siding going over my kickout flashing.

With that done I repaired the rafter tail and replaced all the rotten fascia board, then reinstalled the soffit vents.

Now I'm in the process of installing drip edge before the gutter goes back. Due to poor roof installation, the underlayment doesn't extend down far enough to overlap my drip edge, so I'm having to cut 2.5" wide tarpaper strips and splice them in underneath the existing underlayment edge. That way the drip edge will be covered.

I DIY’ed the floor in my bedroom but I’ve got gaps like the one pictured in a few spots. What’s the best way to close these up?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/6251091

I have this:

https://www.aquaplan.com/product/easy-band/

I need to attach it vertically to some thick hard rubber roofing. There is a small section of roof which should probably normally have a parapit but instead the roofing rubber is not backed by anything. Then below it is a wood panel. So when it rains sideways the water runs down the roofing rubber and behind the wood panel.

I just need a piece of shingle to divert water to the exterior side of the panel. Roofing glues are made to never cure. Probably rightfully so, but that probably wouldn’t work to attach a shingle vertically as gravity would over power that tar-like never fully dry stuff. I tried construction adhesive & it didn’t hold.

Hey folks, looking for some advice because I don't know how to proceed.

This house came with vinyl siding and I noticed rot under it. The rot terminates up high behind where this soffit meets with the exterior wall. I need to get in here to figure out how water is getting in and then make necessary repairs, but the soffit is really in the way.

I've already removed the rot lower down - I had to remove vinyl siding, a layer of foam board, a layer of rotten OSB, the original rotten siding, and the original rotten sheathing. All of those layers are still present behind this soffit.

When I take the soffit vent off, there's a layer of OSB directly above it. Really don't know how to gain access here.

Any ideas?

Is whole-home surge protection a good idea to protect large appliances, a plug in hybrid car, etc from voltage spikes?

I'm also a little lost in terms of what I should be looking for in a whole home surge protector. Are they all just MOVs, and if so, doesn't that mean they'll wear out and need to be replaced overtime?

This is for a rental unit, so I'm trying to keep the cost low, while also sealing it away from silverfish. I have very fine steel wool on hand as well as a tube of DAP ultra clear flexible all purpose sealant.

Looking for 10k-12k BTU.

Works good 👍

Every once in a while, the heating element seems to break on my Gaggenau EB 378 610 oven. Other than that, it works fine.

This time though, I am unable to find a replacement part since the manufacturer discontinued it. I searched everywhere online and on eBay, but was still unable to find it.

I would rather not buy a new oven since that would be very expensive and I like this one. Does anyone have any ideas about where I can find a replacement heating element? Or am I out of luck?

It's a convection element, part #00098494, 100L

UPDATE: After more investigation, I was advised that this uses a central boiler for a hot water baseboard heater and it is safe to keep the curtains or sheers at least 1/2" to 1" above the top of the baseboards.

Hi everyone!

As you may have noticed, the community has been offline recently. The original moderator deleted his account and with it the community. We received a report that people would like to see the community online again, so we have restored it.

Therefore, we are looking for new moderators for this community. If you have the time to help, please comment below!

I'm out of room for breakers in my main breaker box, so would like to add 6-breaker sub-panel to install mini-splits, an outdoor electrical outlet, lighting, etc. What's the correct way to mount an exterior sub-panel on a house with lapped hardie-board siding?

I suppose the easiest thing would be to drill holes in the siding then attach the panel with screws to a stud and the exterior sheathing, but I don't know if that's a proper way to do things.

I also suppose I could somehow cut a rectangular hole in the siding and mount the subpanel directly on the sheathing. I'm not sure how to prevent water intrusion in that case (is some kind of flashing needed, or is just cock ok?). Seems like it would be hard to cut a clean rectangle in lapped fiber-cement siding on a vertical surface.

We're moving into a condo where the previous owners removed a wall-to-wall closet that used to be in the second bedroom. We need the storage space so I'm planning on reinstalling it, but the articles and plans I've found so far are not very helpful. Everything I see has a lot of complex wall framing with hanging double doors, but I literally just want a small space with sliding doors, like the unit used to have. How much more complicated do I truly need to get than installing some tracks for sliding doors with a few hang bars and shelves behind them? Is there a particular disadvantage to doing things that way vs. how Google seems to want me to (besides babyproofing)?

Hi all.

This happened several months back as well in June. However, at the time, I had an incredibly old water heater that had not been serviced. I replaced it due to its incredibly advanced age (not due to the smell) and the smell eventually went away.

But this week I noticed my water has suddenly developed the same smell again. However, my new water heater is only a few months old. Surely it doesn't need to be serviced already? It is still outputting very hot water. I have it set to 130F, which is above the temperature that it was set at by default. (I think when I got it, it was set to 120F at first, which I found too cold. So I upped it not long after).

ALL faucets and things with a water supply within the home (ex toilets) exhibit the smell when the water is running. It is not limited to one spigot, floor, or room. Hot water makes it worse (as in showering), but I still notice it with cold water (as in flushing the toilet or room temp water from the tap...I can't get my water super cold where I live though).

The smell reminds me of when I used to swim in a lake or pond. It doesn't smell like sewage and it doesn't smell like fish, but it is not overly pleasant.

Is there a way I can investigate this easily enough without hiring a plumber? And how can I tell if it's safe to drink.

I have city water, NOT well water.

Thanks all.

About 2-3 years ago the line clogged and I didn’t catch it for a while and we had some serious water damage. It just clogged again and I caught it pretty quick but it could have been bad.

Shop vac solves the immediate problem but I’d like a more permanent solution. Any ideas?

In the last couple of years, I replaced all my lawn care equipment with battery powered and it has worked fantastically. I’m sure there will soon be other large batteries that need to be charged.

However I also note headlines about fires from cheap or damaged batteries. I don’t buy cheap and I do take care of my stuff so I’m not too worried but wonder if it would be worth building some sort of battery charging enclosure. Does anyone have any links, ideas or references?

My first thought is I have an unfinished basement with concrete walls and floor so that should be fire resistant: could it be as simple as stacking cinder blocks or pavers? My second thought is that would make a great oven, so no. So is there something I can do for my chargers to protect my house from any chance of fire?

I need a small amount of joint compound for random drywall repairs. Is there any real difference between different brands? Do any of them last longer than others after they have been opened? Any other considerations with knowing? Since I don't need a lot I don't mind spending a few extra bucks, but I'd like to know if it's actually worth it.

I am replacing the siding on one wall of my house. I am going all out with it and including a rain screen in the design. It will consist of the sheathing, ice and water shield on sheathing, 2" Polystyrene Board Insulation, furring strips, and finally Hardie Panel siding. There will be a top and bottom bug shield (Cor-A-Vent). The Polystyrene boards will sit on top of a 2"x1.5" board screwed into the sheathing and taped to prevent water intrusion (tape layered under ice and water shield).

This wall is above another roof, meaning there are shingles that butt up against the wall with flashing. My assumption is that the flashing is done between the shingles and the wall sheathing and the 2"x1.5" board floats just a little above the shingles. This allows for the air gap for the rain shield and keeps the water barrier at the roof line along the flashing and wall sheathing (not the 2"x1.5" board or Polystyrene surface).

My confusion though is that the bottom of the 2"x1.5" board will be exposed underneath (I wasn't planning on taping the bottom of the board since the tape might come loose and drop down or hold moisture). This might only be a problem in snowy and icy conditions, in most weather, in my area, it would dry fairly quickly I think. I was planning on a 7/16" gap between the 2"x1.5" board/siding and the shingles (same as the gap for my rain screen), should it be larger, should it be a 2" gap? Somewhere in between?

Here is a side view:

• |#^)
• |#} )
• |#} )
• |%^)
• L--------

| = Sheathing, L = Flashing, # = Insulation Board, % = 2"x1.5" board, } = furring strips, ^ = Bug screen, ) = Hardie board, - = Shingles.

I'm seeing a crack in the corner of the ducts. Can I just tape it shut with boxing tape or is there a better way to do it?

Also, one register in an unfinished area is turned off but I can feel it leaking air. I looked inside and there's clearly a gap letting air past too. Can I also just cover the register in reflectix and tape that shut too or is there a better option? Thank you :)

Has anyone had good experiences with a saltless water softener/conditioner in their home?

I live in an area with hard water, at about 400ppm. I have a salt water softener already, but am tired of having to fill it with salt that just ends up in my septic system, and ultimately into the ground water.

Most advice says you can’t soften water without salt. But I’ve had good experience with ProOne’s gravity water filter, and noticed they also have a water softener/conditioner. Unfortunately I can’t find much info or reviews on their saltless softener: https://prooneusa.com/product/prosoft-saltless-water-softener-conditioner/

I have a centrally located dual flue chimney that serves both two wood stoves and an oil furnace. In the basement there are galvanized steel clean out doors for each flue. When I run the kitchen exhaust, a bathroom exhaust, the dryer, or the central vacuum the basement starts to smell like creosote right around the clean out doors.

I assume the issue is the house is too air tight and the chimney clean outs happen to be the easiest draft entry. Question is, what do I do about it? Should I seal up the clean out doors tighter before I use the wood stoves this winter?