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

I have about a 100ft of property line I need to fence, can’t afford to do it all at once, would it be a bad idea for a reason that I may be ignorant to doing it by buying one panel by weekly and installing as I go? I guess I could also buy panels until I have them all and then install, just impatient and I want to grow some herbs eight where by the fence and assume it would be hard to keep those alive and well while also installing a fence. Maybe not though? Thoughts, thank you all!

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!!!!

Hello, for context we live in a 100+ year old house in Canada. We have a stone foundation, and the basement is concrete just where appliances are and the rest is dirt. When we first bought the house we were told to open the window in the basement during the summer. Anyways last year we couldn’t open it and found the humidity rised without it open because we could see the concrete looked wet in many areas.

So we bought a dehumidifier. We kept the humidity at 45-50 I believe was what it says online. I swear someone told me that during the winter it should be between 55-60?? It seems crazy because I set it higher and now I’m looking online to find if that’s correct but it doesn’t seem so?

Long story short, am I okay to just set it to 45 year round? Trying to do what is best for this old house lol.

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.

I want to attach cabinet pulls to sheetrock to hang strings/pics, so not a huge weight load. What is the best way to do this? Hanger blots seem to be overkill, but trying to look for alternatives.

Thanks!

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!

I’m trying to fill some holes around baseboard heating pipes in the hopes of stopping a rodent issue. I am using steel wool but also want something to fill the hole. Any reason not to use duct seal? Seems cleaner than spray foam. Thank you!

I have a car decking subfloor (2×6 t&g structural subfloor = no floor joist). I'd like to lay new flooring in the kitchen. Can I put tile or engineeree hardwood directly on this? There was originally 5/16 in red oak top nail flooring on it that was removed. In the case of tile, do I need to put decoupling membrane in the kitchen? What is the thinest option for waterproofing? I don't want my kitchen floor to be way higher than the flooring rest of the house (5/16 in thick red oak on top of the car decking subfloor)

First-time homebuyer here. The brick facade on the bottom half of our exterior has this weird green stuff all over it. It's pretty cracked and stuck on there, not sure if it's paint or not? I'd like to stain this brick using Dyebrick but am thinking it won't look great with this underneath. Any ideas about what it is/how to remove it?

https://imgur.com/a/94g9eTu

The carpet is loose on the first stair below the landing, apparently disconnected where the back of the top of the stair meets the base of the next. My wife fell on it this evening. Is there any way to fix this myself?

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

Drilling tapcons in basement for baseplate and drilled too deep through the vapor barrier. And I skrewed?

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?

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

They shouldn’t be load bearing but a couple of these popped loudly when I cut the height in the middle with a sawzall. I’ve had the foundation (pier and beam) inspected 6 months ago and no issues.

I figure it’s just 75 years of tension being released. However in the interest of caution, anything I should check?

My brother installed fake wood floors in my tiny house. Water did not come in before this, but the previous owners had it raised, but my brother “waterproofed” it and put it on a concrete slab. It flooded pretty bad like four times. Now when I walk on it, it sloshes underneath. I can feel that he didn’t level the slab right because it’s noticeably sloshier towards the middle ☹️ do I have to tear the floors up now? This is slosh day two, I am getting a dehumidifier tomorrow but I don’t know what else to do.

I had my windows replaced about 2 years ago. The one large window has this strange texture to it, looked like water droplets, but can’t be cleaned. It also doesn’t look like it’s peeling, I just don’t know another way to describe it. Does anyone know what this is/how to clean it? Or if this is manufacturing defect?

https://imgur.com/a/WWBGj9p