My fireplace was having some issues, so I called a guy to check it out, and used a carbon monoxide detector and found that it was showing like 15-20 ppm coming from the fireplace. He said I should change the fireplace, but that’s just crazy expensive.

I wanted some help on like roughly how much would changing a wall inserted natural gas fireplace cost? I’m genuinely clueless and online shows no prices.

Also, is 15-20ppm dangerous? Like online says dangerous is 100-200 ppm, but the guy said it should say zero. I wanted to be safe but I don’t want to take unnecessary precautions.

Any help?

Anyone have exp with Stair Treads & Riser combos? We're trying to save some time, even though it's gonna cost more than just starting from bare wood. We're not sure what's under our stair carpet, but if its just subfloor, then we're going with the premades.

Thoughts?

We scraped our popcorn ceiling and primed it, but the primer is peeling off in sheets.

chatgpt recommended Roman Pro-999 to seal the drywall paper/dust. Has anyone used it after popcorn removal? I’m trying to avoid skim coating the whole ceiling if possible — is sealing + repainting enough?

Would really appreciate any advice

Is there any easy way to touch it up that will protect it from wear and tear? What do I clean it with before doing it?

We have a ranch-style house with just one bathroom on the main living floor. I'm planning to extend our master bedroom to add bathroom and a closet for some extra storage.

Our contractor suggested a 16x8 extension (marked in yellow in the plan). advised splitting that space in half, one side for the bathroom and the other for the closet. Our main goal is to have an extra bathroom and some storage space. Does this seem like a good plan? Any advice or personal experience would be really helpful. I’ve attached the full house plan in case that gives a better idea of the layout.

Hi,

I will be adding a small 6x8 extention to my cabin and would love some input.

The exterior of the cabin is finish with cedar shingles and I never worked with that. So first of what is my best approch here. Should I just rip off the shingle from that wall and redo it?

I’m a homeowner in the middle of my first full gut renovation. This is my personal house (not a flip), and I made a big mistake: I didn’t pull permits at the start. I didn’t realize just how many things required them, and now I’m stuck.

Here’s the current situation: • Asbestos: The house had asbestos. It was removed professionally, but I don’t have documentation. Where I live, homeowners are technically allowed to handle asbestos themselves, so it’s not like it couldn’t legally be done — but I know inspectors usually want proof it was done properly. • Work done: New gas, HVAC, electrical service, breaker box (moved outside), and some new framing. No load-bearing walls were moved. • Condition: Everything is still gutted (no drywall yet), so all the systems are fully visible. • Quality: The work is up to code (to the best of my knowledge). Different contractors helped along the way, but I’m the one responsible.

The problem: The power company won’t reconnect service until the city signs off. To do that, I’d need to apply for a permit and get inspections.

Here’s where I’m nervous: • If I apply only for the breaker box/electrical permit, the inspector may still need to step into the garage (where the old panel is) or look around. Once inside, they’ll see the whole house gutted and realize a ton of unpermitted work has already been done. At that point, it could look like I’m trying to hide something. • If I come clean and explain everything, I don’t know how the city will respond. I’m worried they’ll get angry and require me to redo things, even though the work is up to code and visible. Worst case, they could delay the project heavily or issue stop-work orders. • On top of that, I’m anxious about the asbestos. I know it was handled by the right kind of company, but without paperwork, I don’t know if that could cause problems. • Maybe I’m overthinking it, but I feel caught between two bad options: risk opening up a bigger can of worms by being upfront, or risk looking like I’m hiding things by only applying for the box upgrade.

For context: In my area, homeowners can legally do basically everything themselves — even asbestos and electrical — as long as it’s permitted and inspected. I just didn’t know that permits were required for so much of this until too late.

So my questions: 1. Has anyone else been in this kind of situation? How did your city handle it? 2. Are inspectors likely to just have me “catch up” on permits since the house is open, or could they make me tear things out? 3. How much of a risk is it to just try the box upgrade permit and see if that flies? 4. Am I better off coming clean, showing them everything, and hoping they’ll work with me?

I know I should’ve handled this differently, but I can’t change that now. I just want to move forward without making it worse, and I’d really appreciate advice from anyone with experience in these kinds of situations.

We are getting a new roof. Our house was built without an external stove/range exhaust. We have an over the stove microwave that vents back into the kitchen. I have always found this just awful, and everything in our home is covered with a film of grease, cooking smells linger, etc.

My question is this: when we get our new roof, is it OK to have the roofers go ahead and install the vent to the outside, and then attach the actual pipe and mechanism to it at a later time? I suppose we would need to plug it off for the time being. We are doing projects one at a time, and will not be ready to do the kitchen (replacing the microwave with the external exhaust hood) for several more months. Is this OK?

Hello, I have a bathroom exhaust fan that is no longer working (I guess the dust shows a shameful level of neglect), and I was seeking some advice from this sub on how to possibly replace it myself.

The model of the existing is a Broan Model 683. Below are some photos:

https://imgur.com/a/ZASRxa1

I'm not sure if I need need to buy the whole unit, or just a select part like the fan. Also wondering if there is a make or model that would be recommended over what I have.

My handyman skill is probably a 1-2 / 10, so if it warrants some help from a handyman I may go that route. If it's just unscrewing some selects part(s) and replacing, I think I could handle it. I'd like to give it a shot if possible.

Really appreciate any advice or input. Thanks in advance foe any help.

There is a small gap where the cabinet meets the floor. What can I do to close this up and make it look good? I worry about crumbs or other things making their way under there

Hi everyone! I recently moved into a fixer upper and was hoping to install a door in this area. This is the “master suite” but it seems as though a door was either removed or I guess the previous owners just never wanted one there— either way, does anyone have any recommendations on how to get some sort of door in this space? Maybe hard to tell in the pics but the space next to the thermostat is parallel to the opposing wall, so I should be able to get some sort of frame there, yeah? Just wondering what my options are because I’d love to have this room as my own

Has anyone had experience either using concretta or tiling over existing tile in a bathroom to do a no demo reno? Interested if these options are worthwhile or if I’d have to just redo everything. Bathroom layout is fine but tile is ugly.

I’m not sure the exact term but but I’ll call it wall molding. The only issue is the awkward layout. I know how it isn’t important how big the frame is as long as it lines up with the wainscoting. Would it look weird to have two skinny ones next to this window? Maybe a sconce on each side? The couch will block the right side of the lower wall anyways.

On this episode of this old house.. Pulled up old carpet for new carpet install tomorrow and found this... Repair.. Installers come at 10 AM tomorrow... what can I do..

Just started a bathroom renovation, with demo work completed today. A glass block window was in the existing shower, which we planned to keep for the added natural light even though it’s outdated.

After demo, the framing looks to be severely rotted. Is the window salvageable with a new sill and framing below, or will does it require new framing and a new window or infill if we get rid of the opening all together? I presume this is just rot and any other darker stains just water stains, but is there a risk of it being mold? We haven’t noticed any odor from it.

Hi all. I'm a first-timer who just installed this inswing French patio door. I'm wondering what I should do for the exterior in terms of trim around the perimeter. The old sliding door had just some metal brick moulding calked into place as per the left over sealant on the brick.

I'm wondering what I should do, the drip cap or whatever it is that is slightly more proud than the door is void on the inside. I tried to fill it a bit with foam just recently, but I wouldn't mind ripping it out for something completely different.

The clearances on either side are not the same top to bottom and I'm sure this is supposed to be plumb, but there is no going back at this point. Considering I'm new to renos, what would you suggest I do?

I also installed 2x4 studs around the wooden jamb as a casing (I thought the wooden jamb was the casing beforehand) the sides I nailed up to the rough opening before setting the door. The top I had to press up a 2x4 with construction adhesive to the header and drilled in some long screws with pocket holes to header and the other 2x4s. I for sure know I butchered it, but it ended up solid and gave me enough space for shims and insulating foam. The point of this is that the "casing" is nowhere near as deep as the door assembly (2x4s vs a 7.5 inch jamb) this is why foamed the voids at the exterior perimeter.

Am I in trouble here???

I bought this house last November and now I am trying to remedy it being VERY warm inside. I got an inspection and found that two rows of insulation are missing from the area marked. Yes, the ceiling joists run horizontal like that.

It's not so easy to just cut out the drywall and replace - it's like 18 ft high.

I also JUST replaced the roof, so I am hesitant to do it from above...

I suppose I could cut a small hole and blow insulation in...

Inspector said an insulation company may be able to poke tiny holes and spray foam, but spraying foam into ceiling scares me (what if it expands too much)...

Does Reddit have any ideas?

Any ideas on how I can reattach my gutter? About a quarter of the way down the screws have pulled out and I need to reattach them. I feel like I need to add something to the cap on the two by fours. Any ideas?

Hey guys, need some advice. So finally decided on a floor look for our kitchen and we are wanting to go with sort a cream and light terracotta checkered tile look. Our kitchen floor right now has like 5 thin floor layers on it before you see the concrete, base floor or whatever. Attached in the picture with measurements sorry it's not a better picture 😓! But we are pretty sure all of these layers are some sort of thin linoleum or something ( all the layers stacked are like 3/8 in thick all together ) . I am seeing mixed things online about laying tile on linoleum so I am a bit concerned. Do you think we could DIY this with tile or look into a contractor? Should we tear up all the floor down to the concrete? We don't have alot of time so really just looking for some advice since we haven't done this before? What do you feel a fair contract price would be? Kitchen is 10 × 17 ft

Thanks for any and all tips!

Should I caulk this myself? Leave it? This is how the contractor left it.

Hey all, my husband and I are hoping to get a remodel started on the upstairs of our house. We are a family of three, and honestly, we aren't using the upstairs for anything other than storage. The rooms are cut up weird and I'd like to move them a bit. Maybe even add a half bath up there because there is plumbing on one side from the previous owners.

Ideally, my husband and I would knock everything out ourselves, but we are not plumbers nor electricians, so I'll have to hire for those jobs. I've experienced two home remodels in my life and I'm pretty confident in mine and my husband's abilities. Is there any big expense/piece that I'm missing?

We do have an attic that we've never even opened. The attic "door" is actually a 14"x14" piece of wood with a knob on it that you'd have to push up on. Could the attic cause an issue?

Any help or advice is welcome!

Its definitely rustic. Alot of proud nails and a decent bit of gaps to sort out. Would it be frowned upon to finish this? The floor has a slight bow in it which would need to be corrected if I were to lay an lvp.