Home Improvement Stack Exchange
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1500 questions
12
votes
2 answers

How do I caulk where a caulk tube won't fit?

I've got some door moldings that are about 1 inch from the adjacent wall. A caulk gun won't begin to get in there, and pivoting the caulk tube up so it's nearly parallel to both walls still doesn't get the tip close enough to the gap. How should I…
Jeremy W. Sherman
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7 answers

Outlet screwed directly into stud

I was replacing old outlet in my house and came across an outlet that is screwed directly into the studs. Also the stud and the junction box were cut to fit the outlet. The new outlet is too big to fit in this space. I am afraid to put a new…
mkuce23
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7 answers

How to block a window with plywood for big wall to project a movie?

I have a kids' playroom with a big wall and a center window. I want to use this wall as a home theater projector screen. I don't want to block the window permanently with a fixed screen, and my existing rolling screen is a smaller one. So I am…
nathks
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11 answers

Why is my toilet constantly backing up?

I've been in my new house for a few months now, and I end up plunging one of our two toilets about once a week - they tend to swap turns on which one gets to be finicky each week. Is there a more serious cause behind this, or do I just have 'crappy'…
Doresoom
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8 answers

Should plywood be missing on my roof?

I live in Canada and I just had my roof done on my house. I recently went in my attic and found out that some part of the roof is missing plywood :( In the following picture, there is no nails visible. Which means the shingles behind are not…
Joseph Passineau
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12
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8 answers

Is there any legitimate reason you would NOT connect the ground wire on a circuit?

I've been doing some remodeling on my house and had the need to move some electrical outlets. While doing so, I noticed that the ground wire wasn't hooked up on any of the outlets in the circuit (through a bathroom, no less). It was three wire…
JohnFx
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8 answers

Easy way of generating a 50-150W load @12V

I need to test a battery for its remaining capacity and to do that, I need to generate a constant load to be able to measure how long it can sustain that load. I tried using a 330W load (290W shoe heater + 85%-ish efficient inverter), but I found…
oligofren
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7 answers

Garage door sticks on a bolt

My garage door sticks on the way down, apparently when the bottom roller meets a bolt in the track (see photo). A shot of garage door lube on the bolt head helps it close for the first couple of times. After that I need to give it a little tug. I…
Gordon Rothman
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12
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2 answers

How can this older-style irrigation tee be replaced?

This reducer tee had a right-angle piece break off inside of it for a feeder line. I tried cutting the black broken piece inside of the reducer section without success. I'm used to schedule-40 PVC, not the black line shown in the picture. Is it…
user3.1415927
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5 answers

Is this plastic pipe connecting city water to the main line dangerous?

I bought a whole house water filter to hook up to the main water line. The plumber who came in said that he won't be able to install it because the pipe that comes from the ground hooked up to the copper pipe is plastic. He says that this plastic…
coder net
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3 answers

Wiring IKEA light fixture into old fixture

I am installing a simple IKEA ceiling light fixture. The new light fixture has a neutral wire, a live wire, and a ground wire. My current old light fixture has 4 wires: white, red, dark blue or black, and copper wire. And here is how it is…
user104190
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1 answer

How to make this electrical main safe

An older home has a strung electrical main. The main connects with exposed lugs on the roof above the deck. Not only is the height and location unsafe, while working on the roof today I noticed that the insulation on the main electrical lines is…
Matthew
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3 answers

What are these (utility?) boxes at the side of the house?

What are the four boxes in the picture below for? The fat pipe to the left goes up to the electricity meter. I've also included pictures of the two labels I could find. Also, why is there a green plastic rope coming out of the first box? I found the…
Jet Blue
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4 answers

Do I need a vent for extending a drain to a new bathroom addition?

I am building a new full bathroom on what used to be my back porch. I am planning to extend the existing drain at a cleanout and to run it outside the house underneath the floor. I need to know if I need to add a new vent to the extension, or if I…
mogrify
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6 answers

How can I insulate my attic on a tight budget?

My attic is running 135Fahrenheit (55 Celsius) and more right now. And that's before it even gets to the hottest part of the day! The A/C guy said the A/C's are working perfectly. But he tested the ceiling, and it is a completely different…
LuxeGypsie
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