What are the cheapest items you have purchased for your home that have had the most significant impact in your daily living experience?

I just had a metallic epoxy floor install done in the basement. The company installed flake epoxy in our garage a year ago that we absolutely love. We love the look of the new floor in the basement, but noticed several markings that we sent to the owner via text. She seemed to get pretty defensive. She's stating that all are normal and will dissipate in the next 30 days as the floor sets.

I wanted to ask this forum if this seems reasonable or if maybe she's trying to hand-wave some legit blemishes.

https://imgur.com/a/oL2hCo5

Never will I order appliances from a store that does not do their own delivery and installation.

Buy from local appliance store that does their delivery and installations.

SW Florida. Two Hurricanes (flooding and wind). Costly. We're all doing the best with what we have.

Ordered new appliances from Home Depot during Thanksgiving sale. Stressful time and frankly, many of us in an area are still going through a long haul claw back. But that is what it is. Between electric work, cabinet work, trying to salvage reasonably what able...

(Born and raised in this state and things happen. You deal. Before 2024, we'd been pretty fortunate).

But! When ready to finally receive appliances, between actually getting the appliances delivered from one company that will not give you a clear window (gives a day, then the night before might reach out and give you a four hour window that may or may not happen so it's the full day). Okay. When they do arrive, it's a subcontractor, tired worn out crews that you know are worked to death by their bosses and really don't gaf about you or Home Depot's reputation.

Home Depot will tell you that you have to let them know in 48 hours if something doesn't work right or you then have to go through the manufacturer.

The installers will not come out unless appliances are already delivered, and they too, will give a day, and that day, it will be whenever, IF ever.

Paid extra for installations of two of the appliances and here we sit on a Sunday doing it ourselves to make SURE it works. (Two have to be exchanged).

Keep in mind THEY TOO (the installers), work for subcontractors that apparently also install for other big box stores and they too, do not gaf about you or whatever company they "represent" for that particular order.

The end. Rant over. Not my frustration, just rant.

* The sad thing is, Home Depot is shooting themselves in the foot with hiring different subcontractors to deliver and install. My Home Depot store has terrific employees, their customer service online has been understanding and professional. But none of that is any good if it all goes to crap at the end.

UGH!!!!

If you don't know the last time you cleaned the condenser coils on your fridge you probably should add that to your spring cleaning list. I was doing a repair on my Samsung (dont buy a Samsung fridge kids) and when I opened the back up to put in the new drain tubes I dont even think I could see the coils in the dust and dog hair, yick. Vacuumed it all out and now it at least looks like something that should function. Probably should be a once per year task at least.

Be careful when dealing with the Lowes flooring department and in particular, Shaw Carpeting. I contracted for carpeting to be installed in my basement game room, nothing fancy, jus the middle of the line carpet. The installation went smoothly except for a visible seam and some rough edge areas. The installation folks returned and repaired rough edge areas and the attempted to correct the seam (with no success).

Shortly after the installation, I noticed ‘sprouts’ of carpeting (loose threads) sticking out. I figured these were simply by products of new carpeting and would subside. Unfortunately, this was not the case and the ‘sprouts’ continued to appear throughout the basement.

I contacted the Lowes service center and was redirected to the installation department. They came and inspected the ‘sprout’ situation and told me that they thought the carpet was defective and would report it accordingly. After a few weeks I was told that the carpet manufacture (Shaw Carpet) denied any responsibility and the claim was closed. Meantime my basement carpet was becoming a jungle. I was considering mowing the carpet.

I contacted Lowes and explained my dilemma and was told that there was nothing they could do. I got the same response from the out-sourced installation group as well. There was no need calling Shaw Carpet, they didn’t care.  

I wasn’t sure where to turn to so I filed a complaint with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and that seemed to get a response from both Lowes and Shaw. This interest was superficial only. They both sent out techs to physically examine the carpet and both technicians told me that, in their opinion, the carpet was defective and should be replaced. They both also claimed that the protruding seam across the middle of the game room was due to both faulty product (carpet) and installation.

This whole process went on for close to nine months and required multiple phone calls, emails and meetings at my house. At one point, the folks from Shaw placed blame on my vacuum cleaner and eleven-year-old dog. If that was the case why wasn’t the carpeting throughout the house damaged?

Bottom line, Lowes does NOT stand behind the products they sell and Shaw Carpets is just as bad (and probably worse). Ive hire an attorney and plan on filing a formal complaint. It’s not the money anymore…

I YouTubed some DIY videos but it seems like a lot of the videos I came across were for bullnosing on dry wall corners. Is it possible to add this effect on existing walls?

I’m not sure if this makes sense lol but the walls are already done and has paint. I happened to come across this style and was wondering if I could change the wall edges of my house bc the bull nose, to me, gave the house a softer appearance.

That, and I’m always running into walls. Figured it might lessen the blow.

My wife backed into our partially open garage door. The steel in one of the panels is torn and some of the panel bracing is detached. The now door sags severely in the middle and will not operate easily. The track, opener, torsion spring, etc. are all fine.

I am handy and was thinking of installing a replacement myself. I've replaced the torsion spring and opener before without issue.

Has anyone else attempted this? Is it a difficult job?

Bought dusk to dawn bulbs only to realize the garage and porch lights in our new home are not regular bulbs. Does anyone know what kind of bulbs I need for these lights?

https://imgur.com/a/RFYLMig

Hey folks—not sure the best place to post this but hoping to get a sanity check on what this type of job might cost in Toronto.

I’m planning to demo and rebuild a laneway-accessed garage in the Trinity Bellwoods area (east of the park, west of Bathurst, between Queen and Robinson). The current garage is about 20’ x 14’, detached from the house but attached on both sides to neighbouring garages. The structure needs to be fully demolished and replaced.

Key things I’m looking for in the new build: - Same footprint (20’ x 14’), possibly a bit taller than the existing 10' roof depending on roof design - Insulated, with a standard overhead sectional door (remote + exterior keypad) - One window and a reused entry door from the back patio - Basic electrical (reusing an existing line), no plumbing or heating - Gutters draining into the laneway - Basic interior setup for storage (tires, tools, bikes, etc.) - Would love to add an arborist service to remove and replace a tree in the back patio area at the same time

I’m not asking for quotes, just trying to get a sense from the community—what’s a reasonable range for this kind of work in Toronto in 2025? Would love to hear from anyone who’s done something similar, or who works in trades/design and can share ballpark numbers.

Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone. Last night we had a mouse in our kitchen, so we’ve been scrambling to find ways to safeguard the house. I spent the morning putting everything in sealed containers and getting all food far off the ground, and now I’d like to be able to actually stop them (or at least deter them a little).

The mouse we saw ran to the kitchen sink, but on closer inspection it seems he went under the cabinet, not into it. The cabinet under the sink has no holes or anything, but we found that every cabinet in the kitchen has a small gap that goes under it - it seems they were just installed that way.

Should we go around and attach steel wool with caulk in all the gaps? I’m already planning to put steel wool and foam in the spots outside the house, but I’d like the extra deterrent if they get inside. Any advice you can give us super appreciated!

I currently have a 36" GE cooktop with 5 burners, but I'm running into some issues. Only one of the burners is powerful enough to cook meals in decent time, while the other four are either too low from the top of the grill or just not powerful enough. See pic https://imgur.com/a/FF9Fqu3

I'm looking for a 36" cooktop that has at least 2 or 3 powerful burners and also has an opening on the top grill so I can accommodate a wok or rounded pots. Most burners I've seen have a flat grill design, which makes pots wobble, and that's just not working for me.

I was looking at the Wolf CG365P 5-burner cooktop, but it costs around $2400, which is pretty steep. Does anyone know of any alternatives that are more affordable but still offer similar performance? Appreciate any recommendations!

Found myself in a rough spot…

Long story short I bought my first house back in December (2024) and seemed like a nice first home with a little DIY here and there. Nothing of major concern was disclosed by seller or inspector, come to find out my crawlspace is completely covered in rotting wood and black mold! A good 70% of it is compromised, and my crawlspace is roughly 1700sqft. Inspector’s insurance denied the claim for negligence so I’m stuck in a rock and a hard place. I have a 6 month old and a wife who have been living somewhere else once we found out how bad the mold is. I’ve been quoted by a couple companies; 45k for complete remodel from the top down (all the bells and whistles), 22k for complete mold treatment and encapsulation (sub sump, French drain, dehumidifier, etc), and 16k for the same as above minus the drain and sub pump. If I do this myself it would be a very long and grueling DIY project that I don’t have the energy for. I’m debating on doing the 22k option through payments ($232/month for 15 years!). Just curious if anybody had any advice or guidance. I’m 25 making “decent” money, but my monthly budget would squeezed if I go this route. Please help!

https://imgur.com/a/r9MsmrF

My fiance and I have a few home improvement projects we’re compiling to complete this year. We really want to get new shutters or paint our current ones. Are you able to pop off vinyl shutters to paint and refasten them? Our shutters are pretty sun faded. I didn’t know if it was worth repainting (if it’s possible) or if the best course of action is to buy new ones? Thanks!

https://imgur.com/a/ECVQNSc

Few days ago we lost power for 16 hours after a heavy storm. I have a sump pump, but the battery for the backup was really old and didn’t kick on. By the time I realized, I had water in my unfinished utility room. Fortunately, drain by hot water heater caught most of it.

However, I noticed that areas around the perimeter of the basement were wet. I’m wondering if this was due to the sump pump not working and therefore leaving water sitting around the foundation. House is 31 years old.

I’ve got several big fans drying right now. Will probably rent a dehumidifier and run it. What else? I plan to solve the source of the water before replacing flooring, but will probably go with waterproof laminate flooring rather than carpet.

Thanks

I recently bought a home. I’m trying to find a professional who can help identify the source of a persistent odor inside the house. But I have no idea where to start.

It’s not clear what’s causing it—it smells a bit like pine wood-based cat litter—but I’ve already ruled out common causes like obvious pet odors, HVAC filters, or mold in visible areas. Even had a mold inspector come in to check and found nothing so that’s unhelpful.

We did major remodeling in the two bathrooms, one is attached to master and that seems to get rid of the smell in those rooms.

The living room and kitchen are connected and the smell persists in those areas, stronger in the kitchen but upon checking and sniffing all surfaces I’m at a dead end.

At my friend’s house I smelled the same odor, and found it’s coming from this cat litter called Feline Pine (link below). I can only assume the scent is related to pine? The house is surrounded by pine trees but fresh pine tree smell from outside doesn’t smell the same. Thanks in advance!

https://images.app.goo.gl/UHoR4gAQwWvBv1pP9

This glass is part of the front window and is fixed in place. It is double pane. The inner pane is fine.
The hole itself is about 1/8" in diameter and the impact site is about a half inch to 3/4 of an inch,.

There were some strong storms over the past week or so in my area with gusts up to 60-80 MPH.
It kind of looks like it is from a point blank pellet/BB, though. I can't physically find it.

Any guesses? No neighbor hostility that I know of...

https://imgur.com/a/PjefpPF

Maybe this is an obvious question but wanted to make sure. My kitchen recessed lights are all on the same rocker switch. I just put in dimmable bulbs and want to put a dimmer switch just for those bulbs. There are three other rocker switches for other light fixtures in the kitchen area, but not for the specific six lights. Can I go to the store and just buy a dimmer Switch and replace that one for the kitchen or do I need to replace all four with something?

I’m trying to get more info on this thing that happened to the exterior of my house so that I can fix it. It seems like hammering it back in and maybe adding another nail or liquid nails could help. I’ve seen my neighbor’s house have the similar problem but this is my first. Basically the siding is bowing away from the exterior wall. I have heard that the house shifts and there’s not enough space for the siding to move so it pops out but how does it get bent? https://imgur.com/a/zUHvHUu

When I first bought my home and had it inspected, I was worried about water stains on the painted brick in my basement. The inspector stated that it was nothing to worry about. 2 years later I realize that it is a serious mold problem. We are finishing the basement ourselves and need to tackle the mold first. We plan to use Hydrogen Peroxide, Bleach, and Kilz as recommended by our friends. We have fans and dehumidifiers running now. I’m wondering if we need to strip the pain and THEN take care of the mold because it seems that the mold is under the paint. We feel this way because when trying to remove some of the physical mold, it took the paint with it. Photos available by dm for reference. All constructive advice appreciated!

TLDR: Should we remove the paint before treating for mold? Any other advice?

Good day,

I’ve been dealing with an unfortunate stink bug infestation due to the large tree outside my window and have not really been able to open my window for the past year or so. I’ve been treating it with peppermint spray and also using Diatomaceous earth when I can. I noticed that the screen has this rubber flap on one of the other windows in my apartment and I’ve tried to find something similar online but have had no luck. I was wondering if anybody here had any knowledge of what it might be.

The photo including the rubber doesn’t seem that clear but what I can describe of the rubber is that it fits inside the groove and has a flat flap like shape to apply pressure so that creepy crawlers don’t make their way in.

https://imgur.com/a/JWkbvJ3

Moving to the new house next month and am going to have to replace the hot water heater, so we're thinking of going Tankless. Any recommendations (and conversely, any warmings as to ones to avoid?)

Hello,

Not sure this belongs here, let me know. Anyway, moved into a new house recently and have recieved typical Floorplans. I'd like to get them in some kind of program like sketchup (or like a free autodesk) that would allow me to measure distances that aren't explicitly stated or add notes/other drawings/etc.

Ive thought about just using sketchup, but I'd really like something that would take an upload of my pdf floorplans and auto generate my base layer. Any suggestions?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Construction/comments/1jrdg9g/should_i_replace_this_with_backer_rod_or_leave_it/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

We have this material between the old brick exterior and new addition. The addition was 20 years ago, so this has held up. Is it like a dense coco mat material? Behind it I can see plywood. I was wondering if we should remove it and put in backer rod and possibly caulk?

The nose cap piece to the top.of my stairs broke off revealing this. We have tried to cut and create a nose.cap.over this however with how thin thr floors are it creates a raises and a tripping hazard. Also the stairs look messed up :/ how do I go about fixing this ? Picture linked

https://imgur.com/a/6cxRaSS

My basement floor drain is backing up whenever I get a big water surge. In a decade of owning this house I've never snaked my drains, and figure it's time to get to it.

I rooted around outside to find a cleanout and the best I can find is this (hand for size reference): https://imgur.com/gallery/pUKVvEz

Does this look right? It looks enormous. Plus most modern houses have the PVC with the raised square cap but my house is from the 50s. I also tried using my hoe to open it via the slits but the entire pipe spins. Not sure if it's galded and I need to break the threads or if it's just not supposed to turn. Didn't want to try again substantial until I got some advice.