Hi Everyone,

I have these dark spots in my garage and I am worried it is in the wall... It's dry to the touch and I can rub it off with my finger almost like its soot. Do you think this is a cause for concern and I should call a water restoration company to check it out?

Here is a link to the image - https://ibb.co/GCvNqQN

Would love your thoughts on this.

Best,

Tyler

What could a water pressure change in the house indicate? I noticed the past couple weeks that sometimes the water comes out a lot more pressurized, such as the kitchen sink faucetor, shockingly, my bidet lol.

First time home owner and first time living in a house with a gas fireplace. I know a wood fireplace could send hot ash up and catch the nest on fire (I'm assuming there's a nest, i can't see one but where else would they be chilling?). Can the hot air of the gas fireplace ignite a nest or is that not a concern?

Not really worried about the animals. Pretty sure there were babies months ago but I haven't heard them for weeks. Anything else in there is probably already dead or should be capable of flying out when it gets hot

Is there a way to tell if your gonna get screwed or not when hiring workers for your house. 3 times fucked.

First on the garden, guy did a almost good job but then added a large amount of black aggregate he said it was for drainage but the garden already had drainage. The the aggregate made it hard to plant anything and he built a unnecessary drain.

Second was roof and roofers, I thought I had done my research and I had asked for slate, keeping the original roof but adding the membrane etc resitting the slate and replacing broken ones. But they rock up and try putting up the newer artificial slate. After a screaming match with the brothers they fixed are old roof original slate. Now the roof is holding up but its not an amazing job.

Then the third painting / painters the paint job in at least in two rooms is lovely then there is the rest blotchy and not completed. Asked for some paint stripping, we had already done some architraves doors and windows. We just had a few more to go, it's seemed like he was going down the right road then for some explicable reason he used a wire drill brush on the architraves. So there are huge gouges in the wood now ruining the architraves.

Reviews, referrals do not seem to mean anything. Is there a way to tell, like a code word as I'm just at a loss now

Recently, one of the vents in our house has started to drip water. It happens sporadically and there doesn't seem to be any pattern to it. The air circulator unit that the vent is connected to seems to be for controlling the humidity.

We've turned the unit off hoping it would stop the dripping in the meantime, but no luck. Even completely turned off, the vent will randomly drip water.

Any suggestions or ideas about what might be suddenly causing the drips? Thanks!

Reader’s digest version is we have an air leak from HVAC piping in our attic, which has caused some water damage and mold growth. Thankfully, only two rooms seem majorly affected, but unfortunately it’s our bedroom and our toddler’s bedroom. (This is where the water damaged ceilings are plus the elevated mold tests.)

We had one company do the initial air quality testing and investigation to determine the source. From their report, it looks like the mold type is mainly Penicillium/Aspergillus and a low count of “Pithomyces-like.” Then just got an estimate from ServPro. It’s $12,500 JUST for the remediation. This would include remediating the mold in the attic including removing all the insulation, tearing out the ceilings in the two bedrooms, and then wet cleaning and sanitizing both bedrooms, the attached hallway, the two hallway closets, the bathroom in that space, and the kitchen pantry where the attic access is.

They are also recommending we get our HVAC ducts cleaned and treated with microbial spray, an outside company to come box up and treat/sanitize and store all of our belongings from the affected rooms, and then we will need to have a contractor repair everything, plus have the attic insulation replaced. They also mentioned a lot of belongings that wouldn’t be able to be fully sanitized and could risk cross-contamination in the future…the air purifiers and fans in our rooms, our baby sound machines, all our pillows, our daughter’s stuffed animals, etc.

I’m kind of questioning if going to this extent is necessary. We have seen no evidence of mold growth outside the attic except for the water damage on the bedroom ceilings and a musty smell permeating the two bedrooms. I fully believe the mold growth is present in the attic but we live in a small house and while mold levels are testing elevated in the bedrooms, the testing in the kitchen 6 feet away showed normal levels.

I obviously don’t want to risk ours or our toddler’s health and want to nip this so it’s handled, but I also don’t want to financially gut us either. We only have $10K in homeowners insurance coverage for water damage and mold remediation, and it’s sounding like this will be $15-20K total by the end of it if we do everything ServPro is recommending.

I did talk it over with my dad, who said doing all of that sounds extreme because the HVAC in our bedrooms and the rest of the house shouldn’t be connected to what is in the attic, and while tackling the attic sounds logical, he doesn’t understand throwing out belongings when there’s no evidence of mold growth anywhere outside the attic.

Any advice? I’m wondering if I should get a second opinion OR even just tell ServPro to only handle the attic and the 2 bedrooms. I live in a smaller area and ServPro seems to be the best place in town, and I want to get this handled quickly because it’s going to disrupt our lives having to move out for at least a month for everything to be remediated and then repaired, so I don’t want to keep pushing it out further. I’m considering not having the duct cleaning and belongings pack out/cleaning done, and just doing the remediation and repair.

We bought our home about 3 years ago (originally built in the 70’s in SoCal) and for the past year or so we noticed a slight sewer smell coming from one of the bathrooms. The previous homeowner had installed a new vanity and did not set up the p trap correctly. I recently fixed the p trap under the vanity hoping it would fix the smell but alas, the smell remains. After sniffing near the bath tub drain I confirmed that this is indeed where the smell has been coming from. This shower is used daily so I wouldn’t expect a dry trap to be the issue. Does anybody have suggestions on how to get rid of the sewer gas smell?

My house is located at the bottom of a sloped lot, and we have a retaining wall next to the house, keeping the lawn from collapsing onto the driveway. Last week, we had a lot of rain, and then freezing temperatures overnight. This caused part of the retaining wall to blow out. I had contacted several people about fixing the wall, and because of the way it was done 40 years ago, it needs to be completely rebuilt, including digging back behind the wall to make sure it has proper drainage. Most estimates came in around 15k. I contacted my insurance company and filed a claim, but it was denied. The seem to be claiming that the wall is not structurally significant to the property and won't be covered. I sent then pictures showing how the yard is sloped and the wall is keeping it from causing a landslide into the driveway, but they still denied it saying now that the landscaping is ON TOP of the wall. For whatever reason, they refuse to send an assessor to review. Do I have any leg to stand on to try and get this covered by insurance? Is it worth having one if these guys who quoted the rebuild write a letter explaining why this wall needs to be properly repaired? Has anyone had experience getting a denial reversed?

I'm not referring to the 5'x5'x5' green box you see every half dozen houses in the lawn, I'm referring to the large 15'x15'x15' boxes you see only 1 or 2 in the entire neighborhood. What is a safe distance from one of these large ones? Also, if you can include evidence or justification in your response, that would be appreciated. I'm concerned about EMF, radiation, etc

Our insurance first stated debris on the roof, when we cleared it they then stated debris on the property and want to cease insuring our home. We have 2+ acres, so I asked if they can specify the area of debris. Instead, they asked us to take photos of the entire area so they can tell us which is a problem. I do not think that is right, has anyone dealt with this and have any advice or pointers to share?

My house was built in 1999 and is average on build quality. I have basic aluminum windows that are old, leaky, seals broken. On the frame of the window I saw little holes which I assume are for screws. I think these little holes were allowing air to infiltrate. I plugged most holes with caulk (some with foam pads) and noticed a nice temperature improvement in my room and the house. My room was always the coldest but now it’s about the same temp as the rest of the house. Why not replace the windows? I have lots of windows and last quote for all windows was as high as $75k and low as $44k….probably more now.

like the title says, we have neighbors who are noisy once a week. either Friday or Saturday night. we can hear them from the master bedroom, and it's loud enough we can't sleep. so we go to the guest bedroom and on the other side of the house and it's fine then. I've talked to them before and would text them and he'd turn it down, but after like a year of this i guess he's done with that and no longer does. is once a week of this something you would put up with?

edit: thank you for all the responses. sounds like it just need to get a grip

My porch screen door doesn’t firmly latch, maybe there’s like half an inch of room. When it’s windy it just moves back and forth and is loud. Any suggestion on how to make it snug? I put several layers of tape before which worked for a while but weather wore it down.

We may need to replace the ceiling fan in our bedroom. Any recommendations? We value silence and it has to have a light on it.

We have a non standard sliding glass door that is original to our ‘64 home. It’s encased in wood and the wood is beginning to rot on the bottom of the stationary part. Mostly due to the home not having gutters and drops of water splashing over the years.. the gutters aren’t required because sandy soil but we will most likely get some installed when we replace our roof in the next decade or so.

I’m wondering if there are companies out there that would remove the doors and rebuild around the glass as the glass is completely fine. It has panes within the glass I really like and I enjoy having the character of an older home. I’d hope they’d be able to rebuild with a more durable material that isn’t prone to rotting. Assuming plastic of some sort (or aluminum?) like what they use in modern sliding doors. Would be nice to have the doors be a lot lighter, too.

In a past home I have had auto glass company replace the glass of a door that spontaneously shattered but that was a more modern door (plastic trim/casing, probably installed in 00’s) and the repair had nothing to do with the framing.

I have no idea what sort of company I would be looking for regarding this. Any advice is welcome.

Thanks in advance. And sorry for not using proper terms, hopefully you get the gist of what I’m trying to ask.

Some back story: So I purchased a new manufactured home (2 bed 2 bath) about 2 years ago. It's where I currently reside and it's sitting on some family land. It's not connected to the land so I've got a chattle loan for it and it's considered personal property. Now that some time has passed and I'm sitting in a much better financial situation, I'd like to buy some property and move it.

My question: Would it be possible to buy some property, have it developed, have my home moved, have an additional room built on, have it put on a permanent foundation and finally converted to real property? I know the steps are possible, but would a bank be willing to roll all of that together? Do I need to do things separately? I apologize if this is the wrong subreddit for this as I don't use Reddit all that often. Thanks!

Hi All,

I am house hunting, and found 3 houses in same community (not adjacent but near by). 2 have clear foundation issues (and one house has it fixed with transferable warranty).

The 3rd house has small/minor step cracks (not too long but its there, few bricks). The Garage door mortar/wall has a gap with the main wall.

I have asked a foundation repair company to come and inspect.

The bigger question is, is it normal to expect foundation issues after many years of construction (2005) ? And is it ok to buy such a property or just go for another one? Unless, it is the nature of soil here that may cause foundation issue with any/all homes.

My fear is though fixed, such issues can become recurring.

thanks !

Weird Q I know. But I have a bunch of little issues that need fixing, and I also want to have someone who knows a lot more than me about house maintenance do a review of my house and see what needs fixing or upgrading.

We moved into a fifteen year old condo and it's never had an update, so a lot of things are nearing the end of their lifespan / need replacement. I just want to pay someone to help me get a fresh start.

First post here, hoping to get some help. I have a designated parking spot and a lot of the time when I come home the neighbors who live behind me have their trash AND recycling bins in my spot or have it where I need to get out and move them to the side to be able to get out of my car. Recently, it's been getting more consistent even when I've asked them nicely twice to be more mindful of their bins (which they aren't even supposed to have up near my parking spot) and now I've been finding their trash all over the floor and even glass near my tires. I am unable to get their landlords number and the entire situation is extremely frustrating. What can I do or does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you!

I dont even know where to start. My wife and I bought this house back in 2022. It didnt seem too bad it was a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house built in 1968. There is another part of the house that is like a would be extra bedroom but heating wasnt installed because it used to be a garage and they couldnt duct it.

Since we have bought this house it has been a FUCKING NIGHTMARE. In the span of 2 years:

The water heater needed to be replaced

The furnace failed and had to be repaired

Breakers kept tripping so we upgraded from 100 to 200 amp panel

The pea trap under the sink shattered from years of rust

Pipe exploded from age when doing the water heater so that also had to be replaced

Had to insulate the crawlspace because the last dipshit never did.

Need to remove zonolite insulation from the attic

Water leak from broken water heater caused floor damage so I had to fix that discovering more asbestos under the floor

Had to add heat in other bathroom and while doing this the electrician accidently cut into a water line flooding the bathroom. (The water line placement was not up to code so not electricians fault)

In that same bathroom the wax seal on the toilet failed leaking black water damaging more of the floor and requiring expensive mitigation and a rebuild.

Ejector pump connection failed causing essebtially a sewage volcano. Cost thousands of dollars.

All of the receptacles in the home were bad and had to be replaced

Light switch in living room melted

Receptacle in the other area of house was smoking. Had several electricians and nobody could figure it out. After several weeks of having people try to diagnose it, it turned out to be an illegal junction box that someone had wired in to try and siphon more power.

Dishwasher started leaking causing yep you guessed it more fucking floor damage so now the whole fucking kitchen has to be demolished and all the cabinets and counters need to be replaced.

The stove started leaking carbon monoxide and had to be redtagged. When I replaced the stove I discovered the gasline was improperly placed and not up to code

I am seriously at my limit with this stupid house. I am getting to the point where I am thinking of selling it to try and recoup some of the loss. Anybody else experience an absolute fucking lemon of a house or is it just me. Everybody always told me homeownership is great but I have never felt so defeated.

I have a living room that is about 30 feet long and 16 feet wide. My wife really wanted a wall so i hired a friend of a friend to install the wall. Just one 11 foot 2x4 with 2x4s on both sides up to the ceiling. Is it possible that this is causing structural issues?

There’s sort of a sewer (not sewage) smell in our master bath toilet closet (little room where toilet is by itself). It comes and goes but has happened on and off since we moved in a year ago. Home was built in 2016. It’s not a urine smell or anything like that. Toilet is flushed ALL the time (I’m pregnant so probably 20 times a day, sorry for TMI). Floors are tile.

What could be causing the smell?

This is probably multiple squirrels. At least two (I think.) We have NEVER had this before. No one we know has had this situation before either... I have tried playing owl sounds, which helps... but it drives the birds crazy and loudly chattering. Basically all of our screens have been destroyed (on the 2nd floor,) in the last month.

They have damaged/eaten our window screens on all sides (north and south, east and west,) of the house. It wakes us up at an ungodly hr. I found this large squirrel today INSIDE THE WINDOW screen. It wasn't even startled after banging on the window... until I screamed. Then it finally ran away after a good intimate staring contest. Another household member saw the same on (well actually, IN -because it broke thru the screen again) a window at the back of the house today. A much smaller squirrel. I tried peppermint oil. Banging on the window. Screaming at it/loud noises/playing owl sounds on a laptop. Staring contests. IT ALWAYS COMES BACK. The screen to the window in my bedroom is now destroyed.

Like what is it doing? Is it using it for nest materials? Is it trying to nest inside the window? Or is it a home invasion? These are windows on the 2nd floor btw. It's so cute, but it is bound and determined to break in. I don't want anymore damage to the house and have no clue how to stop it.

help.

edit: this is a really noisy squirrel, it wakes everyone up except for my dog (he 100% is failing the "do the dog thing and bark at it," class.) I used to have rabbits before I moved and it sounds like when they would be gnawing on wood (rip to the baseboards, one of my buns was an escape artist, and would figure out how to remove the bunny proofing measures.) I am almost too scared to look at further damage. This squirrel is unhinged.

edit 2: I don't want to hurt them because they probably have a family. We had some squirrel nests with babies last year and I don't want to take away a squirrel mommy or daddy. BUT LIKE, the property is being damaged and it sounds silly to be mentally terrorized by squirrels, but like I am feeling personally victimized atm.

Is this a normal feeling that some of you know as well or do I actually need to do some thinking? For context: I bought my first house last year. I was completely in love with it. It's a old house from the 60s that is located on the street that I grew up in. It needed some light renovations mostly for optics but overall seemed solid for the price. But now pretty much exactly one year after moving in, I have this feeling that it was a mistake to buy a house. In the last year the heating broke and needed a completely new system. The drainage pump gave up and needed to be replaced. The sewer system had a very unpleasant problem I don't want to elaborate further and now the basement walls starting to let water through. I can't seem to catch a break. There was no water damage or even clue that it would become a problem when I bought the house. The heating was not new but it was deemed solid when we had a professional company here to take a look at it before buying. With the new Water damage in the Walls the costs of repairs are basically the price I paid for this house and then some. Me and my wife are still young. In our mid 20s. We thought we would invest here and there to renovate and upgrade this house but now I feel we just fucked up our own future. With all the upkeep we need to take out another loan and still can't do anything we actually WANT to do to this house. It's not the dream of creating your own home it's just a fight against the elements. I feel stupid to even think that I should give up and just sell the house but on the other hand I don't want to financially slave myself away for a place to live that brings me nothing but sleepless nights. The problem is that there aren't any real alternatives. I live in a small town with not much of a housing market. No other homes to buy, nothing to rent either. No houses or apartments. Pretty much everyone owns their house and just stays until they drop dead. I really don't want to move anywhere else. So does it get better ? Is this just reality that kicks in and I will get used to it? Or should I minimize my losses and move on. With anything we paid, we could have built a new house by now (at least in theory because there is no property to buy like ever)

Sorry for the long rant. I appreciate everyone who actually read all this. I just need to blow off steam. I can't f*ing sleep right now because I can literally hear the water in the basement and I hate everything right now.

My wife and I bought a house a few years ago that had a really nice gate at the front of the property, brick pillars on both sides, keypad entry. But it was 20 years old and barely worked, and now doesn’t work at all. Is it possible for me to replace the hardware and components myself, or will I have to hire someone? I can share pics if anyone wants to see what I am working on.

Hey there, happy holidays in advance to everyone! Just wondering what kind of new gadgets or appliances you folks are bringing into your homes for Christmas. Here's what's joining our family soon (though they're still on their way):

- Ecovacs deebot T30s for around $700, which was a steal considering the discount. I've been keeping my eye on this one for a bit, but kept thinking our Roomba still had some life left. Turns out, it's going to be retired alongside our oven this festive season.

- Breville Oven Air Fryer Pro for roughly $500. Our old oven's seen its days, so it's time for an upgrade.

- Sans Air Purifier for about $330. Winter air is so dry, so I figured we could all use a bit of a comfort boost for our skin and lungs.

So, what about you? I'd be curious to hear about your holiday purchases!

I am looking for advice on the draining of the gutter around my home.

As you will see in the pictures, all of the gutters drain directly beside the foundation. It should be noted that the foundation/footings are not buried and sit on grade.

I am wondering how the footing being on grade affects my ability to dig perimeter drains? I believe you aren't supposed to dig below a 45° line from the corner of the footing.

In the meantime, I would like to divert the water away via buried downspout. I don't want to have visible downspout that look bad and in the way of walking around my home..

Since I will only be burying a few pieces of pipe, I assume it's safe to dig below the footing? Should I drain into a small buried pit?

I'd appreciate any idea on the best way to do all of this.

https://imgur.com/a/poor-draining-wbGYicU

I bought a house a few months ago and my gas stove’s burners are acting up.

I have one that ignites immediately, while the others light after waiting quite a bit. They can take about 30+ seconds to light, while I’m just listening to the igniter click away and sparks a white/blue.

I’ve never experienced that with a gas stove, and I’m not quite sure who I should call/contact to have it looked at and ideally fixed (i.e., appliance tech, plumber, etc).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Just had a company come through our neighborhood this week and install these on everyone’s property. They got ours right where we pull out boat from behind the gate. Not sure if there’s anything we can do since it’s blocking us in pretty good shape

https://imgur.com/a/ZqlBTcR

We regularly get condensation buildup in our home on the windows facing north. If it’s not continually wiped down, mold begins to grow…trying to figure out a way forward and where to start in diagnosing the problem.

Thanks in advance