Our house is a bit older and we have a metal pipe going through the wall for the condensate drain. This pipe has corroded to the point where it broke off. We got one quote for almost $900 to replace it, which I find a bit ridiculous. I'll seek out other quotes, but I'm also pretty handy and considering DIY.

If I get a cylindrical masonry drill bit that's just a bit wider than the pipe, that should be a good way to release it from the cement, right? Then I would replace it with a pvc pipe and use some kind of caulk or foam sealant. Any glaring problems with this plan?

Nothing exciting, but looking for more information on this/more helpful answers.

There’s this vent in the ceiling of the bathroom of our 1940s home that is a pass through to the attic that measures 4”x4”. Is there a name for this or any specific reason? This is the only room with a vent like this and there’s also a separate motorized exhaust fan in the room

Please help!!

Reposting from r/HVAC. Hoping some other folks with old homes or experience caring for them have some advice. Thanks in advance!

EDIT 1: We went with the Bryant Preferred System! I'll update again with how it's going after we've had time to evaluate it.

I am renovating my living room and adding drywall, but as I am getting ready to insulate it occurred to me that the stud placement in the room is rather inconsistent, and possibly improper for hanging drywall.

All of the drywall guidelines I have been able to find states that studs should be 16 inches or 24 inches apart, on-center. Most of the studs in the room are around 24-26 inches, but several spots (especially the corners, where there are these diagonal braces) are closer to 29 inches.

Structurally, everything is sound. I'm not concerned about where the drywall joints are going to be, but I am concerned about the drywall not having enough support along the field and sagging. Should I be adding additional support between every stud gap that's greater than 24" (or even every gap that's greater than 16")? 

And if so, should those be full 2x4s installed (effectively adding additional studs), or can something thinner be used? I'm worried about the full 2x4s because when I first took the old crumbling plasterboard and wood paneling down, there was a substantial bow on one of the panels because a 2x4 nailer that had been added bowed out substantially over time.

1965 house that has had some funky repairs done in its life. This is the floor joists under the kitchen. 2x8 spanning 14 feet. Originally I was planning to sister in new joists but I’m thinking it may be easier and better to just remove the old joists and put in new joists. I’ll be putting in 2x10 that I’ll notch on the ends to fit into the existing locations.

The reason I’m thinking to replace the joists instead of jack up and sister in joists is that the current joists are so warped that trying to straighten them out in place may take too long and more effort than it’s worth.

The main question I have is around securing a new joist if I remove the old joist. There is no rim joist on this house as you can see in picture 5. That black piece looks and feels almost like a felt type material on the back of the wall sheathing. I could be wrong and happy for more experienced input. Once I remove the old floor joist, how would I go about connecting it to the current wall sheathing? I have brick on the outside so unable to get it from that side.

Do I just toe nail it to the sill plate and call it good? Some kind of bracket?

We have a house that was originally built in 1926. We are redoing some rooms. After we removed two layers of paneling , We uncovered this T@G wood. Should we continue to remove the wallpaper , sand it and paint or just remove it and put up something else?

I have a covered porch that is attached to the house. I noticed that where the covered roof meets the home, there is exposed drywall under the cover. On the inside of this area there is water damage . I’m looking for any ideas as to how to remedy this.

This happened yesterday and I can’t figure it out. All my shoes are behind this door. I know I can take off the hinges but my landlord said I should be able to open the door with just the handle off. This happened once before with my bathroom door too. 😞

Also I tried swiping a card / thing metal on the side and that didn’t do anything. It is jammed shut.

I will call my landlord to replace the door handle. Just want to make sure I’m not a complete idiot before I call them.

Our bathroom exhaust has been revving up and getting much louder than usual. The first few seconds sound the same as usual, but then it starts almost sputtering as it gets louder. Instead of one consistent hum it is more of a staccato pattern. If I could share a video I would.

After doing a reverse image search I found the model number and how to remove the grille, and vacuumed up all the dust that was visible and took a rag to it. Im sure there’s some left in there, but I did the best I could without getting additional tools.

When I turned it back on it was a little quieter, but it still revved up and made the same pattern of noise. I’m somewhat handy but hesitant to mess with electrical stuff- I know to flip the breaker- is it possible that the motor may be the issue?

I can’t find a lot of repair documentation but I can find websites selling replacement parts.

Edit: Fixed!!! I took it apart and there was an almost hardened layer of dust in the motor’s wheel and in the casing. I havent been able to clean the heater side as the power is hooked up a different way, but it sounds so much better.

I couldn’t find it on the ground or in the bushes. What should I put there?