Basic Suggestions/Getting Began Questions and Solutions [Weekly Thread]
**Basic Suggestions/Getting Began Q&A Thread**
This thread is for questions which can be usually not permitted elsewhere on /r/DIY. Subjects can embody the place you should purchase a product, what a product is known as, tips on how to get began on a mission, a mission advice, questions in regards to the design or aesthetics of your mission or miscellaneous questions in between.
**Guidelines**
* Completely NO sexual or inappropriate posts, SFW posts ONLY.
* As a reminder, sexual or inappropriate feedback will nearly at all times end in a right away ban from /r/DIY.
* All non-Imgur hyperlinks might be thought-about on a post-by-post foundation.
* **This can be a judgement-free zone. All of us needed to begin someplace. Be civil.**
A brand new thread will get created each Sunday.
##/r/DIY has a Discord channel! Come hang around or use our “assist requests” channel. [Click here to join!](https://discord.gg/diy)
[Click here to view previous Weekly Threads](https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/search?q=creatorpercent3AAutomoderator&kind=new&restrict_sr=on)
Comments ( 27 )
Create a border between two spaces
We have this partial wall with a pillar in our kitchen/family room. We will build a breakfast nook on one side and want to paint the walls there a different color. An interior design suggested creating more of a separate space by having the trim on the half wall extend up the wall and also have the whole pillar covered in floor like the top to make more of a barrier.
That seems much easier said than done. I’m not sure how to do this and not have it look janky.
My best thought currently is to take the very bottom trim off the top of the pillar and then match the flat part of the top down, but not sure what to do when it hits the half wall and then the baseboard.
On the back wall I’m thinking just a 1×6 up the wall with a routered edge to match the horizontal part.
Any thoughts / feedback?
https://lensdump.com/i/kde6Hv
I have a sprinkler zone that won’t turn on. It’s the valve that’s the wonky odd man out in the bottom right in the photo of all the valves. But my system has 90-degree angle valves, and I just don’t know how to remove and replace a valve. There is _very_ little room to cut PVC and be able to put on a coupling, I don’t think enough room to do it. Would I look for one of the internal couplings? Any other thoughts? Thanks.
I need a plain white 30×96” door as cheap as possible (my kid busted a hole in a closet door). I’m in San Diego. Can I do better than Home Depot/Lowe’s? I’m kind of shocked by the prices ($350+)
I have a skylight that makes the top floor super hot, and the Heat Dome is coming to the Northwest!
I am planning to install some kind of blinds up there, possibly motorized… but I’m worried about heat buildup and cracking the skylight. It gets REALLY hot up here in August. Is this really a worry?
It’s a heritage home, so altering the exterior might be tricky but I’m open to ideas.
I also like the light most of the year so I don’t want to paint over it.
We are on the third floor so getting on the roof is tricky but there’s a deck that might give us some access.
After reading the rule I want to ask: What does DIY means in this sub?
just bought first skill saw. is it meant to make a rattling sound when it’s spinning? it’s a brushed 5.5”, not sure where to look in learning how to use it.
I had kitchen countertops put in a couple of years ago. The stain that was applied started coming off so I’m fairly sure we missed a step or used an incorrect stain.
I’d like to refinish them, but want to double check that I’m doing things right this time time around. The internet seems to suggest different things so looking for some advice on what products to use and steps to take.
After sanding off the current layer, do I just need to use stain? I’ve also seen oil being used as an alternative. Or do I need a layer of additional product on top of the stain for protection such as oil or a finish?
Here are a couple of pics of the current situation: https://imgur.com/a/2NwWBZM
[removed]
Can anybody help identify this nut? One is missing on a mirror.
I stopped by the hardware shop and have been searching online for an hour, but can only find caps without a thread or nuts without a curved cap.
Picture: https://ibb.co/MD6Hbr3
Appreciate any help, thanks
Anyone got a lead on blueprints for Muskoka Chairs? Got a buddy looking to build some
My husband used a sealer on our wood deck and 3-4 days later, it’s still very sticky. What are the best ways to remove the excess product? I’m seeing mineral spirits but would like to avoid it if possible, since disposing of it seems to be an ordeal (but will use it if necessary). I’m just wondering if there are other solutions out there as well?
I was wondering if clear caulk can be applied over sanded caulk. 1 year old home and the sanded caulk is cracking I was going to clean it out and apply sanded caulk but was told silicone is best. As you can see we have a little tile to the left of the tub so a grout like finish is what I would like. https://imgur.com/gallery/e748FQB
How do I look for a piece of lumber that suits my needs?
For probably inconsequential background, I live in an A frame house, and throughout it are these exposed pillars running up the sides and meeting at the tops. Many areas especially in the kitchen make use of shelving between the beams to add additional storage where storage is otherwise lacking because of the challenging shape of the “walls”.
I want to add one such shelf above my desk area in my office. I first measured the distance from pillar to pillar and got 66 inches. Next I took measurements from an existing shelf in the house and found they’re 10.5 inches deep and .75 inch thick.
So: Where do I look to have a board cut to this size? My inclination as a total noob to anything like this is to walk into Lowes or Home Depot and that’s worked for me in the past but I wasn’t looking for such a big piece. And the options available according to the websites are pretty daunting.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated
I have a vinyl tiles floor in my hallway that dates back to mby the 70s. I’m going to put in a “click-floor”. There should be no problems with regards thresholds and skirting that I can see if I get a floor that’s not too thick.
What benifits are there to break up the vinyl-floor before I do the new floor? There are no signs of problems with the floor that I can tell and the house has been checked by a professional before we bought it a couple of months ago regards to wood worms and other “pests”.
I’m making an art project and I need to cut up little bits of silicon to achieve what I want. Large craft scissors aren’t giving me the precision or thin cuts I need but small thread snippers don’t have the leverage. I don’t necessarily need super sharp scissors because it is softish silicon but I need something that will make a clean thin cut. Is there a type of scissors I should look for?
I’ve used general scissors, kitchen shears, fabric scissors, and thread snippers and they all have tradeoffs.
Any leads on how I can cheaply and safely convert my apt stairs to ramp for my dog? Its not necessary just doing it for ease of access though.
Hoping for advice on how to make sure the ramp is stable over the stairs and safe.
Hello guys, I am currently working on a project to design a garden furniture system for recreation in the garden, something like a chillout area, relaxing island in a bigger garden, something where you can feel undisturbed and kind of protected.
Do you have ideas, wishes, inspirations what something like this should include in your personal opinion, so that you could feel relaxed and undisturbed/protected?
Hello I have a basketball hoop in my driveway. The one that is there is all rusted and gross. I cannot unscrew the two screws with nuts that are on there. I’ve tried WD40 and other oils and they just won’t turn.
What can I use to saw/cut them off?
Outdoor fireplace has seen better days. What is the best way to resurface this top for just one more season? I have some bondo, and was thinking that would be a great option?
I tried some quickcrete concrete repair stuff last year and it did not work. It appears to be a plaster over fiberglass but I have no idea what the original material is.
Any ideas or feedback? Thank you!
Is there any kind of HVAC monitoring system that will display real time cost of use?
Trying to imagine something that simply calculates current power use with my utility rate and displays the result on the digital thermostat. Maybe it’s wifi connected to pull rates or you just manually enter them in a UI. A 3rd party app or online monitoring? Anything like this?
I’m always interested in finding that line between personal comfort and cost when it comes to setting seasonal temps and just thought it would be relatively easy to tap into and so nice to know. Would be great to try varying temp changes and average the cost over a week. I also wonder how many people would adjust usage if there was a live rolling $ number on the display.
I just remodeled my bathroom with microcement. When I sealed the cement, some of the sealer dripped into my acrylic bathtub and dried 😐How do I clean it? I’ve been scraping with a razor blade, but I’m worried it will scratch the surface too much.
[https://imgur.com/a/J8BIMyO](https://imgur.com/a/J8BIMyO)
Our family just moved into a home / property originally built in the 1820’s.
The house is encircled with a large stone wall.. it doesn’t seem there’s any grout or concrete holding the rocks together. Some of the sections of the wall have fallen apart over time / after storms.
How do we go about fixing these? The rocks that fell out don’t easily fit back into the wall. Any tips appreciated!
How would you remove this cement pier block buried in concrete?
I used to have a poolshed here and this buried pier held up one of the legs. I want to remove it to make it flat so we stop tripping over it. It doesn’t have to be pretty, i’d be happy with a crater i can fill with quikrete. Whats the easiest way to get this out of here? I’ve considered just smashing it with a hammer, but i imagine i’ll still have to use some grinding disk to smooth it down, wondering if there’s a simpler way
Any rent friendly way I can make my shower look better? The grout being discolored despite being clean is what irks me the most!
[pics of the offending shower](https://imgur.com/a/E6IYU3c)
I bought this furniture piece and I will hang the TV on the wall above it,
but I realized that my center speaker is 10.5cm heigh, meanwhile, the available gap here
is only 10cm. This means that somehow I need to raise this part by 0.5 cm.
I don’t want to place the center speaker above the white part, it must go inside here, for aesthetic reasons. This means I need to figure out the best way to raise it.
I can go to my woodwork shop and buy the white supports a bit longer, then I suppose I could use some L-brackets to fix them as they won’t have the same holes that this furniture piece has.
Does anyone have better ideas?
[deleted]
Life Pro Tip… If you own one of the very, very common Broan/Nutone bathroom fans, as below, if the fan stops spinning, often, you can remove the insert, disassemble the fan, clean and lubricate it, and put it back.
Now, I have done this a few times, and the last time was just 6 months ago or so, and today it stopped spinning again. I decided it was truly done, so I went off to Lowes in search of the replacement insert piece that has the fan mounted. Well, they did not have that, but for $27, they had just the fan motor itself. You would need to remove the insert, remove the fan from it, mount the new fan motor, and replace. And right next to it, for $22, they had the whole fan assembly! So, saving $5, I bought the whole fan, and saved time by just having to swap the insert, and even got a new, clean grille.
And everything was listed as 40 CFM, 4.0 sones, so I did not have to downgrade any.