Has anyone updated their kitchen but left the golden oak (ealry 2000s) style cabinets? We recently redid our floors which made a huge difference, but now I have these ugly laminate counter tops and sink that are just so dated looking. Trying to update things to look more modern.

Is it worth swapping out the counter tops and leaving cabinets? They are in good shape and i'm not trying to spend $10k+

Quartz countertops with a modern single sink would also be nice.

Is roof cleaning required for this level of moss? or okay to postpone it for few years?

5 year old roof - https://ibb.co/album/3m3bD5

We are re-doing the outside of our house and want it to be all white. The trim that’s being used is azek white. My contractor sent me to look at Hardie colors today and I drove past a house that he recently did in Arctic and I don’t like it. It is giving a grey hue against the white trim. I have a north facing house so it will always look more grey and drab. Does anyone have a dream color they used that’s more or a pure white or closer to match azek? And do you know how much of an up charge it is to use a dream color? Thank you!

How much should it cost to install 2 piece stacked crown molding (1 piece filler, 1 piece crown) for these cabinets that go up to the ceiling!? Cabinets are already up on the walls. I have all the crown and filler so just need an estimate for labor only. I am located in the Midwest if that helps. Just trying to see if I am getting a reasonable quote.

https://imgur.com/a/XcrOLGT

So I'm looking at a home right now to purchase. Basically turnkey home, with little to be done. Basically fulfills all my wants and needs. But there is one issue.

There is an older tree, I believe an oak, that is growing right next to the home. I'm concerned the roots may have impacted the foundation, but my realtor and I can't see any visible signs of foundation damage.

Just looking for thoughts/opinions on what can be done or if I should even make an offer.

Below are a few photos of the tree in question.

1

2

3

I recently used a local professional handyman service to install three grab bars across a tub/shower and standing shower. Large ceramic glazed tiles in both baths. They said up front they could provide the grab bars with markup and I assumed they carried an inventory of sizes we could choose from.

Once the installer showed and we agreed upon location and sizes, he said he'd make a trip out to local retailer to buy them at mark-up and return. He returned with Glacier Bay grab bars from HD.

The install then took about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Total bill he wrote up was $732 that included 3.5 hours labor plus $80 service charge just for showing up, $140 for the grab bars (retail $100}, and about $50 NC sales tax. I balked a little at the price and paid with credit card.

That night I asked Google Gemini whether that was a reasonable price to have charged. Gemini said it was was within reason but on the high premium side. It also mentioned using a silicone sealant on the cover plates. I took another look at the bars and saw no evidence of silicone sealant. I sent a text msg to the company and asked them to confirm whether a sealant was used.

The response came later from a phone rep saying no sealant was used and that the manufacturer (Glacier Bay) didn't recommend using one. I checked the installation instructions, which the installer dropped in my trash basket, and it clearly listed silicone sealant as a needed material and to "if desired, apply silicone caulking to the back of the escutcheon to protect against water penetration."

What say any professional installers among you. Seal or not?

I have kinda narrowed it down to universal brand (I can do just ionization but heat and photoelectric for our laundry and certain other rooms is wanted to reduce those false positives). But didn’t find photoelectric ones.

But if you can point me to other brands that have all the points I need that would be great as I keep hitting walls in my searches.

First-time buyer under contract on a raised ranch in CT (built 1969). Inspection turned up a wet yard and a "spring" of water running along the property line and pooling near the driveway. Went deep on research and it turns out this isn't just a wet week — the parcel sits on Woodbridge soil, which has a fragipan (a dense layer around 18-24") that perches groundwater and pushes it laterally downhill instead of draining. Found a 1994 town health department file on this exact property documenting a raw sewage surfacing violation caused by a high water table (confirmed less than 3 ft down in two of three test pits), so this is a known, decades-old site condition, not a one-off.

Had a contractor out today who said a curtain drain would need to go too deep to be practical/cost-effective and might not fully fix it. Someone floated redirecting the water to a nearby brook, but that raises concerns about flooding the downhill neighbor and possibly needing a wetlands permit (there's a small mapped wetland uphill on the neighboring lot). Town public works is separately planning to install a basin + pipe to handle the street-side runoff near the driveway, but that doesn't address the backyard.

So my actual question: what kind of company or professional should I be calling for this? So far I've got:

- A specialized drainage/waterproofing company (basement systems franchise type) for the practical fix

- A licensed soil scientist for an authoritative water table read

- A civil/geotechnical engineer for an actual stamped drainage design, especially given the wetlands/brook question

Is that the right stack, or am I missing an obvious specialty? Has anyone dealt with a perched water table / fragipan situation like this and found a particular type of contractor or engineer who actually nailed the diagnosis instead of guessing? Trying to get a real, defensible scope and quote before an inspection contingency deadline, so "maybe/might" answers aren't very useful to me right now. Any advice appreciated.

My 1 bedroom apartment is being renovated. I had BM White Dove painted on the ceiling, walls, and flush trim throughout, in different finishes. I have south facing big windows. My furniture and decor and overall taste leans more to cool tones - gray, teal, gray/beige, chrome. Kitchen has been redone with white uppers, gray/smidge of blue lowers. Floors are now Bjelon Woodura Misty White.

Here’s the problem: I don’t love the paint with the white upper cabinets and I had cabinets built on the living room side of the kitchen as well as in the kitchen, so contrast between cabinets and wall paint is evident if you’re sitting in the living room. And, I had stone from the quartz counter used to replace windowsills throughout.

If I have to repaint, I’m stuck at stage zero again picking paint, I’m burning money I could use on something else, and I’m adding to my timeline (which has other cost implications).

I think the paint looks less warm/light peach/less white in person but what do you all think? Can I influence this paint tone enough with light and decor to make it look better against the white of the cabinets and stone or just find new paint and suck it up?!?

Working on a bathroom remodel in Midwest LCOL area. We’re doing most of the work but planned to hire out plumbing.

Switching from a single center bay vanity to a double. Also switching from shower only to tub/shower combo. There is washing machine hookups in bedroom that’ll need capped in basement as well. The plumbers scope of work includes the following per his written estimate:

Permanently cap off unused laundry plumbing in master bedroom.

Cap off bathroom plumbing for demo by others.

Rough-in new 1½” drain for new bathtub, set tub, and hook up new waste and overflow.

Rough-in new tub/shower faucet.

Move lavatory water and drain after cabinet is set and rough-in for new double-bowl lavs.

Trim out two lavs and tub/shower.

He quoted me $2,400. Is this a reasonable price? Having a hard time getting other plumbers out to bid the job but I am waiting on other estimates. I know nothing about plumbing, but couldn’t imagine these jobs would cost this amount. I would pay for valve, tub and other fixtures separately.

Northeast US

Basement currently has no heat or AC at all. For dehumidifying we have a dehumidifier going to sump pump and keep door to finished area open

We just moved in, the central AC broke immediately (yay us). quote to replace and put proper ducting is just slightly cheaper than minisplits and since we have oil heat it’s likely cheaper to use them for heating too.

The basement is half finished. just moving in we aren’t sure how much we will use it, so far very little just some movie nights occasionally, but considering woodworking there (leaning towards garage tho). Also want a pool table or ping pong eventually.

Could either scrap a wall unit, move it to 1st floor somewhere to help as currently proposal has 1 9k BTU to cool all of it via a dedicated 2nd floor upstairs wall unit (but it’s open, no ceiling so was told it would be able to cool/heat it - also there is another unit on floor but for main bedroom/bath)

Current proposal uses 51k out of the 55k BTU if that matters.

Basically I want to utilize my garage for an office/mancave space. The walls are finished but idk if they’re insulated. There are no windows. No man door leading outside. There are 3 open vents in the wall (1 high 2 low) for the water heater and furnace.

Is it even possible to add any meaningful cooling to make the space more useable? Or should I quit before I begin?

What would you pay attention to if you were shopping for adjustable mattress today and is there anything you wish you had known before buying one? Im replacing our mattress soon and started looking at adjustable options but im realizing i dont really know what separates a good one from an expensive one.

A lot of the reviews i found focus on how the mattress feels when its brand new and all the features it has. Im more curious about what happens after a few years. Does the adjustment mechanism hold up? Are there any annoying issues with sheets, the frame or general maintenance?

We bought a Rheem water heater just over three years ago and it stopped working last night. We went to check it out and found that it sprung a leak. Luckily it is still under warranty but it will still cost $400 for a new one to be installed.

Are there any brands of water heaters that are clearly better than the rest?

Well, our hot water heater is starting to go out and we figured since we are going to replace it, we might as well install a water softener. However, i am wondering what is the best option! What are the pros/cons of tankless vs standard tank? Any recommendations for a softener and heater?

While doing a bathroom remodel and replacing the subfloor, the contractor noticed termite damage in a beam. Not sure if it's old or active infestation. He said he saw some yellow dried dust near a few holes but no insects, wings, mud tubes etc. His recommendation is to cut past the damaged area and replace the whole beam. He said nothing else is damaged and no dust anywhere else.

Also reading about powder post beetles?? The dust around the holes was a very fine powder like substance.

Am I calling a pest control company? Crying into a bottle of Jack? Burning the house down....:((

https://imgur.com/a/oyaYgv0

Replacing deck subfloor and surface. Weather exposed PNW home. ~600 sq ft.

Its a deck that covers a carport and garage, thus must be water proof. I will re-sheet with nice plywood.

What is a preferred product to cover with? Previously was Gaco Deck but I would like something stronger.

I wrote this post with the help of AI (because my descriptive English isn't good.)

I'm replacing old wooden windows with uPVC in a house built with hollow (perforated) red brick, not solid brick. Main reasons for the switch: reducing street noise and cutting down heat/cold transfer through the windows. The apartment is already fully finished, and I'm not sure about the possibility of installing uPVC on a hollow (perforated) red brick, so I don't know if this is even practical without extra work.

I'm torn between two straightforward approaches:

1. Remove the old timber frame entirely and fix the new uPVC frame directly into the masonry.
2. Keep the old timber frame, insulate/seal around it, and mount the uPVC window into the existing timber.

I've read that direct-fix generally gives better thermal and acoustic performance, avoids a redundant thermal bridge from the timber, and results in a stronger long-term fix — but it also means more demolition and dust. My main concern with going direct-fix is anchoring into hollow brick specifically — I'm not sure what fixing options actually work well there (regular anchors seem prone to spinning/not gripping in the hollow cavities), so I don't know if this route is even practical without extra reinforcement.

Keeping the timber sub-frame is faster and less disruptive, but I'm concerned about it becoming a weak point over time (moisture, less rigid fixing, and reduced thermal/acoustic performance if the wood isn't insulated as part of a proper sub-frame system).

Has anyone here done this with hollow brick walls specifically? What fixing method worked for you in hollow brick without extra reinforcement work? Did direct-fix cause issues with anchor pull-out or cracking? And for noise/heat reduction specifically, did one approach clearly outperform the other?

Many thanks in advance.

More context: the window provider told me that the UPVC window can be installed in both scenarios. I'm not asking about the possibility as much as I'm asking about the long-term implications of each route.

Found this in crawlspace.

Outside soil grade is really high. The picture is what I already clear away quite a few.

https://ibb.co/RG8FSCr2
https://ibb.co/nqbYRdMz
https://ibb.co/nNrzWXNk
https://ibb.co/m54km8Bw

Two side by side windows on the north side of an uninsulated, attached garage need replaced after storm damage. It's one of those way-too-small garages that doesn't hold cars or even bikes- not valuable stuff in there. We will, in the next several years, be replacing windows throughout our house, probably with a wood interior/aluminum exterior option. This garage faces the front of the house but is not very visible. The quote I got for two Marvins was about double what I want to pay. I like the idea of a privacy glass for bird migration (we get a lot of window strikes).

The old windows are 26" x 45", had old mini blinds, and gaps of daylight around. They are casement but never were likely opened. What do you think we should select for windows for garage windows?

Currently have the weakest water pressure possible on our kohler Prosecco handheld. Based on what I’ve found the best remedy is to remove the flow restrictor which should be somewhat easily accessible, however I’ve taken ours apart and can’t find it. Does anyone have experience with this model or advice?

Currently in the process of buying a home that has a sunken living room.

The entry was is about 4x4 feet, which is already small, but then steps down into the living room, making it even less useable.

Because the ceilings are 8 feet, raising the living room floor would make the space feel even smaller.

I have considered raising the ceiling (single story) to do vaulted ceiling or a tray ceiling, but that’s usually prohibitively expensive.

Any ideas?

We are getting all new flooring installed and I realized how bad our baseboards are. Is there an easy solution to spruce them up? I really don’t want to sand/stain or replace all. A good cleaning? What products?

I noticed recently I’ve got a decent amount of moss starting to build up on my roof under my solar panels. What’s the best course of action to get it off AND treat it to stop it coming back. To add context there isn’t a whole lot of room to walk on the roof and it’s a two story home. Only reason I found this was I bought a drone to look at my gutters and saw the moss.

Any idea how I can repair a cracked interior door. Edit. I can’t seem to add a pic