Hi everyone!

We've recently moved into our first property, and are in the middle of getting the bedroom sorted. Its quite an old house (early 1900s) so definitely needs some TLC.

We've started removing the wallpaper with a steamer which has revealed the plaster beneath, but it appears to be full of cracks and small holes (see pics). On the interior wall there's also what appears to be a card-like grey/brown texture beneath multiple layers of wallpaper, not quite sure what this is.

We're just wondering what the best way to proceed is to get the walls smooth. We want to eventually wallpaper the interior wall with a mural and paint the remaining walls.

Any advice would be appreciated!

https://preview.redd.it/xcngumr1271d1.jpg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=574092658e5a7aba00b8fd817612ab9594110773

https://preview.redd.it/u7r02zr1271d1.jpg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5736bb261872859fd732de05be71e923ee36e0cd

I recently moved my desk table and am now left with this DEEP INDENT.. any suggestions on how I can minimize how bad this looks? THANK YOU!!

We have a contractor who has done great work and we generally trust him, but the quote for our small basement room seems a little high to us. Here's what he wrote: "Sheetrock repair, taping, and painting $3,800. The total cost to do the work as discussed would be $7,700, which includes all new base and casing."

The room is about 80 square feet. We had another contractor who started the same work for just $2,000 total but they were terrible and we had to fire them.

I have bought an appartment that smells of the previous owners' dogs. They painted the room where the dogs slept and I understand that this has "locked in" the smell of the dogs behind the layer of paint. How should I remove this layer of paint?

I'm excited to share that I'm nearing the end of a large kitchen renovation and preparing for an overseas trip next week to attend my mother-in-law's funeral. It's been a busy, stressful time, as I've been overseeing the renovation, working full-time, and caring for my two dogs. Tomorrow, my housekeeper will be here to clean the basement, bathrooms, and bedrooms in preparation for my dog sitter's stay. I'll also be tackling some important work projects over the weekend, along with mowing the lawn, packing, grocery shopping for the dog sitter, and doing laundry before I leave.

Today, my contractor informed me that the painters and electrician were scheduled to come. The painters arrived, did a fantastic job, and left. I had a call from 1-2 PM, so I notified the contractor that I couldn't be interrupted during that time. Since the electrician hadn't arrived by 12:45, I left materials and notes out for him, along with a note on the door explaining the situation and asking for him to start and that I would catch up with him after my call.

At 4:00 PM, the electrician still hadn't arrived, but my contractor assured me he was on his way. I continued with my work, ordered dinner, and stayed flexible. By 7:00 PM, I mentioned to the contractor that I didn't think the electrician was coming, and he confirmed that he would come tomorrow.

Although there have been some scheduling and communication challenges, I understand that contractors and their teams have busy schedules, and I feel that clear and proactive communication would help manage everyone's expectations and keep everything on track smoothly (even if things need to be bumped to the next day).

If you are a contractor, I'd be interested to know how you would handle a situation, where you have a busy client facing extenuating circumstances that needs a bit of extra communication about scheduling and rescheduling.

What are your thoughts on how I can politely and productively communicate to my contractor that given the unexpected circumstances I am facing, I need better communication to help me coordinate everything else I am managing on my own at the moment?

Would you choose a concrete or asphalt driveway for a unit block of 24 units? Cost is approx. $65k for asphalt vs $145k for concrete. Currency is AUD.

Certainly! Here's your text with corrected spelling and grammar:

Hi, I'm from Europe and I'm used to houses made of stone or blocks, so we don't have the same approach to sidings. I'm a homeowner of a 1950s house, and the current siding consists of ugly wooden panels that are very broken and rotten in some parts. I really like stucco render, but the process of doing it myself seems like I wouldn't do a good job at all. Also, it's a lot of surface area, and I'm the only one available to do the job. I have asked for some quotes, and I'm not sure yet if I will go that route.

The other option would be doing the siding myself with vinyl or composite. However, I don't want the house to look too cheap because some vinyl renderings look pretty bad sometimes. I'm handy but not a professional. Do you guys believe that doing composite siding will improve my insulation, make my house look good, and is doable for a single person with a lot of free time?

Do you have any links to good parts from Home Depot, Lowe's, or any other store where I can source my materials? Are there any brands or things to avoid? Any links to really good tutorials?

Or should I use my credit card and have someone do the stucco?

Thank you in advance!

P.S.: Should I do the fascia and soffit renovation before or after the sidings?

Looking for some advice from folks who have been through a full home reno! Bonus points if you have kids.

My husband and I moved into our "forever home" (forever for the foreseeable future) a year ago. It is not at all our style but we love the bones of the home and location, we knew coming into the home that we'd eventually want to renovate. We have a brand new baby at home (our first and she's 7 months) and we plan to have more. Now that we've been in the home for over a year and we have a baby I'm feeling like IF we are going to renovate anytime soon (like in the next 5 years), then now is the time - before baby #2 comes along. The thought of renovating with one baby in the house is terrifying, I can't even imagine how I'm going to feel if we wait and have more kiddos.

Our original thought was to phase the reno into 2 phases: upstairs which would include kitchen & new floors throughout in addition to some other stuff & then downstairs which would include laundry room bathrooms, entertainment room, and new floors throughout. The two phased approach would hopefully allow us to stay in our home instead of moving out during reno. It would also fit our financial goals more so than all at once. The cons of this are that 1) we may not get to phase 2 before baby #2 (eek!) and 2) we'd likely be paying a small premium in the long run. The alternative is that we bite the bullet and do it all at once now. This would require us to move out with a baby (eeeek!) and would be spending more than we want to right now (to be clear we can pay for full reno if it really made sense to, it's just more than we really wanted to spend right now).

Are we not appreciating how painful this is going to be and therefore doing all at once before baby #2 is well worth it OR given the slight financial strains and desire to not move out, is the phased approach the way to go. Any and all advice is welcome, thank you!!

We plan to gut this bathroom within the next 2-3 years, so we aren’t looking for big renovation projects. Is it possible for me to remove the tiled vanity top and sink and just replace those parts? Would it be better to remove it entirely and just add a new built in to fit the space? Note: everything is plaster. Not sure if that changes anything but every contractor that has came over has mentioned/complained about the plaster (throughout the whole house)

I’m new to all of this so any thoughts/advice would be helpful!! Thank you!!

Hi! So i have left this space between tiles, flooring and doors and it s annoying because light comes in, the smell comes in and i hear every other noise in the house. I attach a photo. Any ideas of what i could do? Thanks!

Note: I’ve actually tried to research them & I’m trying to find real people I can talk to about their experience. I’ve searched Reddit & I only found one other post & the person basically had the same questions I do, unfortunately. Thank you!

Is anyone familiar with Dwellify?

I’ve tried to find reviews but there don’t seem to be a whole lot. I’ve read some mommy bloggers posts, but they’ve seemed more like they’re sponsored & so I’m not sure what to think. I can’t find anything good or bad save for from random bloggers.

I like the idea of what they’re selling: kind of an all in one managed project designed to meet deadlines… I like the idea of someone coordinating all of the stuff I need without a bunch of run around. Has anyone had any experience with them at all? Even if you got a bid & didn’t proceed, I’d love to hear more about them from people who aren’t paid.

For the sake of comparison, my remodel is 1 full floor that’s apprx 1800 sq. feet. I am planning to have a steam room built (not a steam shower; already have that), bathroom completely gutted & redone, update a wet bar/second kitchen, home entertainment next to the bar, current office to be converted in to a studio, and & a bedroom in to a playroom/gym for my 2 dogs. Other floors are staying as-is.

Would it be possible to keep some of the curve and replace a few windows with French doors?

Previous owners looked like they melted the bottom part of the mirror. I am guessing it is glued on but not entirely sure. What’s the best to remove the mirror so I can replace it?

https://imgur.com/zvPtgKg

We had our contractor place little pieces of wood under the door casing since thete was a noticeable gap between the casing and the baseboard. Will this be okay? I just heard that there should be a gap for expanding and contracting? Should I remove those pieces or just leave it? This is in a basement.

Thank you!

Had a handyman add quarter round molding to baseboards in our bathroom, to conceal slight gapping between the baseboards and the floor (old house). However it came out strange looking. The quarter round sticks way out into the tile floor. Is this ok work? Is there anything we can do to make it look better?

I’m trying to fix up my yard this summer and I have a lot of mulch and river rocks. Unfortunately, my mulch looks horrible because I have 3 dogs that send them flying everywhere when they play and getting mixed up with the river rocks and then you start seeing the tarp that’s under the mulch.

Does anyone have any recommendations on glues that could possible withstand dogs playing on them ? I wonder if easihold would work but I’ve never tried such a product.

Trying to weigh pros and cons. Either buy a new home. Or remodel the one we currently own. We love our neighborhood, schools and neighbors. Soooo, I would like to know how you would change this around for a kitchen with a bigger island and more open. Would love for the living and dining to be together, not separate. Any suggestions?

Contractor left this after moving our oven. How do I wire it? Red, black, white, ground coming from oven. Black, black with red stripe, ground coming from breaker box.

I’m a first time homeowner talking to several contractors for a bathroom remodel and each has their own way of waterproofing. Most have mentioned hot mopping but the one we are likely to go with is recommending a PVC shower pan line. Are there any downsides to the PVC? Or is that standard practice. I’m located in Southern California in an earthquake zone if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance for any replies and advice!