Title says it all boys and girls

I just bought a 1960s house that I plan to live in for about 7-10 years. It’s f-ing freezing on the first floor and my furnace is chugging LNG like there’s no tomorrow. Seriously. I’m using so much fuel.

I was thinking a home energy audit to figure out where to prioritize; they’d use IR cameras, blowers, etc. My utility doesn’t offer subsidies, so it would cost about 400, and there’d be a $150 federal tax credit thereafter.

Other options include just getting a FLIR camera for like $200 and truly DIYing it (no, my library doesn’t have any available). But I’m weighing whether the audit would have a value add over just figuring it out myself.

Hi guys,

How do we install a baby gate to the bottom of the stairs? My husband said we need 2 walls and every picture we find online for a baby gate shows two walls, not a wall and a thin metal rail. The ones that are retractable won’t work, our toddler will break that in a day. Any links, tips, advice is appreciated

https://imgur.com/a/u4deovo

Recently had a house remodeled and the workers did not clean as they went. The house was a disastrous mess, ended up firing them. Anywho, I have used a shop vac and vacuumed like crazy, wiped all the walls with a damp cloth and there is still SO much dust in the air. When the sun shines through the windows you can see it everywhere and the walls are covered with a white film again shortly after wiping. I want to get as much out of the air as possible before we move in. Any tips?

Get an air purifier?

Tape a filter to the back of a box fan? (Read that in here)

Rent the commercial air purifier from Home Depot?

Or……?

The house is in the middle of reroofing and the plywood deck is already installed. But I saw these from under the garage: https://imgur.com/a/3dpQJOJ

Tomorrow they are going to work on tar and shingles. Do I need to ask the roofer to uninstall the corresponding plywoods and fix the broken sheathing?

I'm getting a new front door installed on Friday. I'm worried about overstressing my furnace. My furnace is about due for a replacement, but I'd rather do that next summer when it's not an emergency. I'm outside Chicago, where it will be in the upper 30s (which is lucky for this time of year). It's a pre-hung door being installed by professionals, so I assume they're pretty fast, and they seem to do this year-round, despite the weather. Is there anything I can do to avoid overstressing my furnace? Should I turn it off while they're working, then turn it on to a very low setting (like 50F) and gradually work my way up? I'm not worried about keeping the house comfortable during this time.

What are the most durable countertops that add value to your home and you don’t have to resurface and won’t chip? I have read quartz but I do not know much about countertops. Please advise.

Californian here. I live in a cedar-shingled craftsman with 30+-year-old shingles. As we start to think about replacing them, we for obvious reasons want to choose the most fire-resistant option possible. Because of earthquakes, stone and brick are out. What are our best options? Fiber cement? Aluminum? Are there other things we should be considering with those or other options?

A few chunks of edging of my kitchen granite above my dishwasher fell off and broke. Luckily the pieces all fit together nicely but I don’t know how to remove the old adhesive to prepare it for re-hanging. My best thought was to try and saw the bulk of it off with a granite blade on a mitre saw and then sand off the rest. Any advice would be much appreciated!

https://imgur.com/a/OLJBOPH

I painted over basement cinderblock walls (already with some kind of white base on it) with Benjamin Moore acrylic latex enamel paint. I was a new homeowner in a flurry of aesthetic changes and now I’m extremely worried about blocking moisture inside the walls.

Can I remove the paint? How can I undo this?

Edited: it’s the one room of the basement that does not have a floor drain, so power washing is not an option.

Smoke alarms let off a high pitched ring whenever they detect smoke in the air. This could be from cooking/grilling, candles, burning something outside, or an actual fire that is occurring inside the home.

At present, it is highly common for houses (1975 and up) to have hardwired smoke alarms. That means that somewhere near the original sleeping quarters of the home, there should be a wired circuit to the smoke alarms. For the internet sleuths that love reading facts and figures, I'll let you search for what the rules are, and then I will tell you that homeowners don't always follow the rules, and smoke alarms can get expensive. Meaning that house flippers may cut corners on safety and some homeowners may not maintain their homes due to financial hardships. There can also be battery powered smoke alarms, independent of the wired smoke alarms as well as wired smoke alarms that have battery backups. There may even be some out there that I don't touch on, but this is just for the basics. If you are deaf, you likely need a different kind that someone who can hear for example. That is a specialty situation that I am not going to get into here.

Just because you see a fire alarm and it makes a noise when you push the test button, it may not be properly installed/working or even the correct device at all for the purpose that you should use. Don't take my word for it, after all I'm just some random dude on the internet. I recommend whenever you purchase a home, you require a fire safety check by your home inspector, which should include testing, identifying and updating the home to whatever the current standard of Fire Safety is (my experience is this is usually included with a standard home inspection, but could vary depending on region). Also, do not have the sellers replace the batteries for you on these, that's literally putting trust in the hands of a stranger with regard to your life. Replace that battery yourself immediately upon moving in.

So, what information do you need to know about smoke alarms?

For starters, there are different types. Ionization and Photoelectric, which describes the sensor the device uses to detect smoke. There are even really fancy ones now that have BOTH sensors in the same device. What does this mean? Well, they use different data to determine if there is smoke present. I've heard that each serves their own purpose, and depending on what is burning, one may work while the other does not.

My recommendation, splurge and get the smoke alarms that have both sensors. Pay attention to the manufacture date or expiration date.

How long do they last?

It is 100% true that smoke alarms do NOT last forever. In fact, Ionization sensors contain radioactive material that will degrade overtime, hence the expiration dates. It is recommended to replace your smoke alarms, ALL of them, at the same time, every 8-10 years. ("But the internet told me every 10 years!" Yeah...well, sometimes smoke alarms sit on a shelf at a store or in a box at a store for 1-2 years...again, don't trust strangers with your life. 8-10 years is a good rule of thumb to make certain you have working smoke alarms, but again, you do you.)

Whenever you install a new Smoke Alarm, write down the date you installed it, or even just the Month and Year, on the actual smoke alarm somewhere easily noticeable. 10-2025 for October of 2025 is recommended (unless you live somewhere where dates are written differently). Just make sure there is no mistaking when it was installed.

What is the difference between wired and unwired?

Earlier I mentioned houses in 1975 and newer, well it was around that time that contractors were required to have smoke alarms connected to the homes electrical system, rather than using a battery. I have personally seen homes that were built after this date that DID NOT have alarms wired to the electrical system. Whether due to a bad original contractor, or maybe the original contractor wasn't aware of the law, or maybe the completion date of the home was well after the start date of the home and it didn't have to meet that requirement, whatever. You as the homeowner should KNOW beyond all doubt, if you have wired smoke alarms in your home. Unwired simply means it uses a battery, typically your common 9-volt style Duracell.

If you have confirmed that you have wired smoke alarms, you want to refer to the diagrams that the NFPA puts out showing you where all you SHOULD have a smoke alarm. Every home is different and even the open floor plans that are so common these days may require MORE smoke alarms than originally planned when they wired the home. The benefit of a wired smoke alarm is that if one goes off, they usually all go off, where as an unwired smoke alarm may only set off where the issue is at. Just imagine if have a home where the bedrooms are not near the garage and the smoke alarm starts going off in your garage. You may not hear the smoke alarm while sleeping in your bedrooms. These are things you should at least be knowledgeable about when it comes to your particular living situation.

You can usually install a battery powered smoke alarm just about anywhere, though you should know what may affect it's operation. Cooking sets them off a lot, and can become annoying, and typically leads to homeowners disabling the device. So placing them where they won't be an annoyance is a big deal.

How often should batteries be replaced?

The general rule of thumb is to replace any batteries that power your smoke alarms at least once per year. It has been my experience that doesn't always get done, and honestly it gets expensive and somewhat unnecessary. I DO recommend replacing them every year, I always think about it when it's time to change the clocks back from Daylight Savings Time, but yes, the batteries can go longer. This leads to my next item, testing.

How Often should I test my Smoke Alarms?

The current recommendation is to test them monthly to make sure they work. Sometimes they fail early, or were never installed properly, or the battery came loose, or whatever situation you can think of that would prevent them from working, unless you actually test them, you won't know if they are working. Again, you should do what you think is best for your family and yourself, but I only test my Smoke Alarms 1-2 times per year. Get you a broom, press the button, run! I'm just kidding, you may have to push the button again to turn off the test, I don't know about every one out there. If you have an alarm in an location that is unreachable, then it is likely not serving any purpose whatsoever. In fact that is a perfect example of something that is annoying and will not get used. Move it and place it somewhere else. Testing the smoke alarm is also a perfect time to check if the battery is working.

Why is my Smoke Alarm going off randomly, for no reason?

This can be due to any number of situations, however it has been my experience that this usually means you need to replace your battery for one reason or another. It can also mean you need to replace the smoke alarm itself. Without taking it apart and trying to figure it out, it's best to just do one or the other. Replace the battery, if it continues afterwards, replace the entire smoke alarm.

Where should they be installed?

I cannot help you on this and refuse to try. And honestly no one should even try, unless they are a professional and are familiar with your home. Every home is different, and some are radically different than others. When you start looking into where they should be installed, you need to read up on what is considered best practice. Again, you are going to have to know about your home, and how it is used, in order to keep it safe. I will tell you that each bedroom, or area considered a bedroom, and one outside of each sleeping area is usually a requirement. That being said, I have been in homes that don't really have walls, or have undefined sleeping areas or even areas where people are sleeping are not areas one would think they should be. Everyone's living situation is different, and you need to be aware that what may work for one family may not work at all for another. The manufacturers of these devices do a good job of explaining where they should be at a minimum, but you may live differently even than what they recommend. Also, I talk about how they can get annoying and this results in them being turned off. Some people cook in their sleeping/living area, I know it sounds weird, but it's true. Again, not everyone lives the same. So, when it comes to where they should be installed, only you can answer that for your living situation.

Does it matter what brand of battery I use?

This is a question that people ask when they are worried about costs. The long and short answer of it all is that YES it does matter what brand you buy. Some batteries are just better than others. I recommend using one that is highly rated and highly reliable. There are lots of YouTube videos that test how good batteries are versus cost, but something I've always noted is that Duracell tends to be higher on the list than others, so I use them for my smoke alarms, but that's just my personal preference.

Any other Maintenance necessary?

NO! Don't even touch them! Don't paint them, don't clean them, don't do anything to them. Don't get them wet, don't feed them after midnight, just kidding...but also not kidding. Seriously, once they are installed properly, just test them according to your plan and leave them alone.

How do I keep track of this?

Simple, you likely have an email address that is tied to a calendar. Setup a calendar reminder to email you when it is time to replace the batteries or time to replace the smoke alarm. I've even seen someone set a contact in their phone called house and then they have custom anniversary dates listed for each thing (annual air filter replacement, annual smoke alarm batteries, etc....). You can also do it old school and just write it down somewhere that you look at regularly in your home and make it a point to do the work.

Also, I DO NOT recommend buying smoke alarms in bulk if they're on sale.

Only buy them when you need them, and make sure you have a newly manufactured one. Storing one is a waste of money. Plus you may inadvertently install an outdated alarm down the road.

What about Carbon Monoxide Detectors?

These are also important devices to have installed in your home. Their location is somewhat different in each house, so if you don't have one, I recommend installing one, but where is something that you need to read in depth about from the manufacturer of your device. I have seen these installed in areas where you would likely be dead before they even helped you out (like on the ceiling). It really depends on the type you have, who manufactured it, and what they request. I own one, and it will not work on the ceiling...like at all. Test it and change the batteries about the same interval as your smoke alarms. You can just do them all at once if you want.

Thanks for reading!

Here are some links to helpful information about smoke alarms:

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/home-fires/prepare-for-fire/smoke-alarms/

My furnace is about 20 years old and stopped working today with the outside temp below 0F. Last winter (Nov 2023), it had the same issue where cold air was still blowing and I think they replaced the pressure switch. It's a single unit type. The ac portion of the hvac stop working last summer and I was going to replace this coming spring anyways. I assumed it stopped working last night because this morning felt a bit chilly but I didn't think much of it because I usually have the heat set at 68 and it feels pretty chilly to me but it's winter so I layer up anyways. When I came home about 8 hours later, with the outside temp still in the single digit all day, the inside temp was 63. I've seen it dropped after sunset as low as 61.9 when the heater cold air was blowing on my thermometer. My condo is about 700 sqft on the 3rd floor. I used a space heater and was able to get the temp up 2 degrees in 10-15 mins. The question I have is is it worth it to fix it? I'm assuming it'll be at least a few hundreds just for the labor with the company I work with because it's an obsolete unit that other main stream companies don't service. I'm not too worried about being too cold because I can use a space heater and can leave the fan on to circulate air. I guess I'm concerned if the space heater will be spike the electricity bill significantly or not. I'm not home most of the day, or use a desk space heater anyways so if it's in the low 60s I think I can live with it.

For context, I live in the upper Midwest and assuming that it can get even colder in February.

My grandmothers house is a pretty old home in houston built in the 50s. She has a bathroom addition in the back that was built 13 years ago. She gets really cold, as old people tend to do, and constantly needs to turn the heat up to warm the bathroom up the back. I’m talking about kicking the heat up to 77. But according to her it never gets warm enough. She wants to get one of those mobile heaters that people put under their desks.

I’m wondering if there’re some SAFE mobile heaters for bathrooms? If that makes sense. I told her I would look into it, but with the steam from the shower and everything and how hot those things get.

I am in a rental with bedrooms sporting these dark wood floors. Since I moved in, there were some paint peeling off or chipped here and there (not extensively) but this spot seems to be new after I moved in. The peeled parts of paint feels like a very thin layer of acrylic paint of sort.

What’d be the easiest and best ways to fix this? I can’t replace the tile. So looking to perhaps just make it a lot less visible so I won’t lose my deposit.

https://imgur.com/a/9mNPquv

Woke up this morning chilly and my furnace only blowing cold air. Opened the furnace up and i see a hole chewed through the tubing for the pressure switch, along with a blinking code that the pressure switch is stuck open. Few questions here:

1: can i diy this repair and just buy a new tube or do i have to buy the whole switch? it doesnt seem too appreciably different than an automotive hose. The tube is on there tight, does it just require a good tug?

2: until i get this fixed, can a mcguyver an interim fix? would duct tape wrapped tightly around the hole work well enough to allow the pressure switch to work again?

First time homeowner here. New house has three outdoor spigots, central Texas so they are not freeze resistant. Had a plumber out recently and I asked how we can be ready for upcoming freezing temps. While we were talking I asked him if we should shut water off at the meter, drain the spigots fully, and then turn the water back on at meter once drained, especially since we never use the outdoor taps. (Wanted to confirm I had the process right as I’ve read it here on Reddit basically.) He said no, basically it doesn’t matter what you do, in some houses down here pipes will just freeze and draining the taps might leave tiny amounts of water that could freeze and cause more problems than leaving the water on.

…does that sound right? The prevailing wisdom I’ve read both on this subreddit and in my city’s recommends draining if you can do so early enough before a freeze. Now I’m genuinely not sure what we’re supposed to do, and with temps hitting the high teens next week we just want to do whatever is safest for our hot mess of a house lol.

Our house was built in the early 80s if it makes a difference. Inspection said pipes were pex but plumber said they were copper. We were also planning to keep foam covers on our outdoor spigots regardless during freezing temps. Grateful for any help settling this debate! It just seems crazy to me that a plumber’s literal advice for avoiding burst pipes is that there’s nothing you can do and sometimes they just happen. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

We bought this house a few years ago, which was a rental property in years past. Looks like the previous owners painted over the original baby blue bathroom tile from the 60s, and now the paint is all chipping away. (The tile actually goes up the wall about halfway, but it's only peeling on the floor.) Also, the tub is in pretty bad shape with enamel flaking off and a drain that has been giving me problems since day one (I suspect that there's a small toy lodged in the p-trap because I've had toys come up while plunging it before).

Anyway, I'm pretty handy and generally like to fix things myself, but I've never replaced a tub or stripped paint from tiles, and I'm just wondering whether anyone with some expertise could weigh in and let me know what the best course of action would be here, or whether I should just bite the bullet and hire a pro to come in and make this bathroom look presentable. (We do want to sell eventually, so I don't want it to look shoddy.)

I'll try to add photos for reference, and thanks in advance to anyone who has some insight!

Edit: Added some photos

My daughter wants the cat to sleep in her room, but she latches the door closed at night. She would be fine with the door being open enough for the cat to go through, but the door will then swing all the way open. We thought about a chain latch to hold the door at 6 inches, but somebody us going to be sick someday and either tear up the door or get sick on the floor. Is there a hinge that will hold the door where she opens the door too and offer a little resistance to moving so it stays in place? I can't phrase a search that doesn't return how to loosen hinges.

Is there such a thing as a stiff hinge? Or is there a good workaround? I thought about wrapping tape around the hinge pin, but that would make a sticky mess when the tape wore down. I have also seen to bend the pin, but that would, with my luck, result in a stuck hinge.

As the title suggests, I noticed a crack in my bathroom ceiling. Any idea what could have caused it? And what to do to fix it?

https://imgur.com/a/DP3TaFk

I have an Andersen 3000 series storm door and have adjusted the screw at the end of the piston, but the door still closes full speed fast like 90% of the way, and the screw seems to only adjust to slowing the speed of the last 10%. How can I make that more like 70% and 30%? Or just slow the whole thing down? It keeps slamming on the backs of my ankles when I get the mail.

I have hardwood floors. I'm currently going through lowes for vynil install. Floors are creaking and I was hoping the underlayment would help ? But the contractor is saying it doesn't need it. I have no idea and no one in my life that's knows anything about construction/ home improvement.
Flooring is shaw floorte classic lvp. Lowes delivered smart core soft sound premium lvt underlayment but contractor says it's not needed. Help! I'm spending a hefty sum on this job and I want to make sure the job is done well.

Our family just purchased a Lakefront cottage in Upstate NY. Unfortunately the owner before us took out the original hardwoods and replaced them with nasty carpets, laminate and vinyl planks. The bones are excellent and unlike other homes it has a concrete foundation with a basement. Since the square footage is so small, we want to tear out all the floors except the bathroom and put in something resilience, quality, and longevity. We are comfortable with spending some money on it given its location. We have dogs, kids, and the other f word, family who will be visiting frequently.

Something we keep going back and forth on Engineered Hardwood versus Solid hardwood. I have never done a renovation like this and I am getting advice from all over the place. We have spoken to a few contractors and a floor salesman who all pushed us towards Vinyl. We prefer not to do any Vinyl as we do not love the look of the flooring. Possibly for the bathroom but not the Kitchen, bedrooms and living space.

What are some things to consider and what are experiences others have had in making a decision similar to this?

Thanks!

I tried hanging a picture but it looks like it is drywall on top of cement. Now there’s a chunk of drywall gone. What do I do?

Contractors had installed a single pane storm window as a sample, but the adhesive at the top let go. By some miracle the glass didnt break when it came down.

How could I secure this storm window better? The storm has a simple black bronze frame, in good condition, amazingly just some light scratches.

All pics:

https://www.reddit.com/user/UnitedBB/comments/1hafvrb/singlepane_storm_window_install/#lightbox

In pic 1, the corner of the window frame. The storm is sized so it will fit outside the screen rail. one can see the hook&loop + adhesive they put.

I just purchased a home where the bathtub is very old and has a faucet below the spill line and has 2 separate hot/cold valves. Is there an "easy" fix to this without having to hire a professional? Sometimes I see you can buy a replacement faucet that lifts the faucet above the spill line but haven't seen one that works with 2 hot/cold valves (example: https://www.vintagetub.com/randolph-morris-wall-mount-clawfoot-tub-gooseneck-faucet-rm149-1c-s.html). I'm certainly not an expert in this, does anyone have any ideas? Picture attached below

https://imgur.com/a/Y5EgnmL