It’s on the side of my house. So far the internet and everything in the house seems to be working normally.

Edit: solved lol, thanks guys. I have a contractor doing work at the house, I trusted they would let me know I needed to call 811. I’ll talk with them.

Hello all, my partner and I are first time homebuyers and closed a few weeks ago. It is our dream home and we are in love with it…except for the smell. I wish you guys had smell-o-vision because I have no idea how to describe it. It’s like sickly sweet caramel apple old carpets musty….there’s not even words to describe it, but it makes me nauseous. I don’t get used to it when I’m there for a while either. We decided to replace all the nasty old stained carpets thinking that it was holding the smell and we have hardwood sitting in this house waiting to be installed in a week. We’ve now ripped up all the carpets and hauled them out of the house and swept the subfloor (which is only stained in certain areas)…..and then days later we came back to find the smell was STILL just as strong. I wiped down counters, cabinets, surfaces, etc. nothing. I tried an air purifier- nothing. Then I brought out the big guns and used an ozone generator on it for 2 hours. I was so hopeful as I’d heard so many miracle stories about it, but…..nothing. Smell was just as strong. I was devastated and literally started crying to my partner and told him I refuse to live in this house if we can’t fix the smell. Our next plan of action is to use Kilz primer (oil based) on all the subfloors, and wash the walls with a flat mop. I may even spray the subfloor stains with bleach and let it dry before applying Kilz. If this doesn’t work… what in the hell do I do? This is my dream house and we love it so much. But I can’t stand the smell and we actually dread going to the house and walking in because it just hits us in the face. Anything else we can do/any suggestions/input? I will do ANYTHING for this house. Seller said the walls were repainted before it was sold, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to go over them again with Kilz and a paint?

How do we keep them away ?

Bus shelter was removed and the bus pole placed at the end of my driveway. It has resulted in people urinating, littering, smoking and loitering on my driveway every single day. The council won't help me. What would you do here?

Hello, I have been looking into renting out a house and I happen to come across a trailer home for a decent price. I was not considering home ownership at the time so I'm not up to date on all costs that would go with it. I appreciate any help thank you.

A few days ago I was home in the middle of the afternoon when I heard very loud bangs coming from downstairs, it was so loud that I believed someone had broken into our home at first. After realizing it was safe I checked out the window and saw a large group of young middle schoolers or teens walking through the neighborhood and laying on the sidewalk, which is VERY odd for the neighborhood we live in. Fast forward to last night at around midnight, we heard the exact same bangs I had heard previously, but by the time my husband and I got downstairs to check we didn’t see anyone accept for a neighbor outside investigating because the same thing had happened to him! And after we talked for about a minute another neighbor came outside and asked us if we’d had someone knock on our door, so it happened to at least three homes. This morning i noticed these footprints on our door, so someone kicked it.

Does anyone have any advice on how to prevent this from happening again? I know they probably don’t mean any harm, but it’s still very unnerving. I do have clear photos of the faces of the kids I believe are doing it that I had taken and sent to my husband the first time it happened because he thought I just imagined it, so we do have that if worse comes to worse. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

I have sidelights on both sides of my front door, and the glass seems to be failing. The black spacer/seal that is normally hidden around the perimeter between the panes has started coming loose and curling into the visible part of the window. It almost looks like a black snake inside the glass.

I’d really prefer not to replace the entire front door/sidelight system if I don’t have to. Has anyone dealt with this before? Can a glass company replace just the insulated glass inside the existing sidelight frames, or does this usually require replacing the whole sidelight?

Also curious what a reasonable repair cost might be and what type of contractor I should call: glass company, window company, or door company?

My previous owners left behind a *sword*

Advice on removing this, or even if I need to? Not sure on the species or qualities. I somewhat like the look of it, but obviously don’t want any issues because of it.

I pet sticky fly traps out and came back a few days later to them looking like this ? Why are they covered in these mini looking flys and what are they.

Hi, I am hoping someone can help me understand the decision process here.

My wife and I live in a 130+ year old house in SE Tennessee (been renovated many times and modernized, has drywall, etc.). We have about 2500 sq ft. but I would say only about ~2000 of it has AC coverage and the rest has a separate wall unit. Two stories. Crawl space without encapsulation, but there is 10 mil vapor barrier and vents. Lots of trees around us (we came from suburbia), but consequently lots of shade and stuff, too.

We have seen some evidence of mold. Nothing crazy, but it's there. It also stays around 55-65% humidity on the 1st floor. We have a small dehumidifier running upstairs and it works ok but we have to empty it OFTEN. Like 4-5 times a day. Enough that we don't think it's practical to run two dehumidifiers all day every day and have to empty them constantly.

We have a large, older AC unit in front of our house, I think it's like 2-2.5 tons. We also have a smaller unit on the side of the house that is newer and like one of the smaller tonnages. Both installed long before we moved in a year ago. There are ducts above the second floor, on the floor of the second floor, and on the floor of the first floor.

Humidity below the house is 75% generally, sometimes less, but also sometimes more. It's been very humid this Summer, but it's definitely feeling like it inside as well.

We are currently deciding on committing to full encapsulation with a dehumidifier, sump pump, etc.

We are also wondering if replacing the large, oversized AC unit for the first floor would solve the problem enough to avoid the need for the dehumidifier (house has been around this long, after all).

And ultimately, what I want to know is, will the encapsulation/dehumidifier likely be enough, or would we ALSO have to get a new AC unit? We don't really want to do both if we don't have to, as we are not entirely sure how long we will live here. We have spoken to AC people, mold people, and encapsulation people, so we are just trying to make the best overall decision to impact the humidity problem the most, but not update all these things at once if not really needed.

• Option 1: Fix AC sizing and ensure proper function/maintenance.
• Option 2: Encapsulate/dehumidify crawl space.
• Option 3: Do both.

Thoughts? Any other questions or info I can answer/provide?

Hey everyone! I’m a new homeowner and was wondering what tool kits you would recommend for someone just getting started.
There are a few things around the house that need to be fixed, along with some furniture that needs to be put together. I’m also looking into getting some basic power tools.
What tools would you consider essential for a new homeowner? I’m mainly looking for a good starter set that will cover most basic household repairs and projects without going overboard.
Also, are there any good deals on tool kits or power tools that I should look out for? I’d appreciate any recommendations on specific brands, sets, or tools that are worth the money.
Thanks!

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Here is the original post -> https://www.reddit.com/r/homeowners/s/7x7WCtAHsl

So I posted last time and saw a couple wasps flying in and out our porch roof. We found out that they were yellow jackets and apparently one of the more aggressive ones and there was way way more than just a couple. We decided to just get an exterminator and not pay half the price to DIY only to mess it up. The guy came and remove the panel and found that the buggers dug through the insulation and formed a big nest into the roofing. The exterminator sprayed his stuff and removed most of the nest, he said he couldn't remove the entire thing as we would have to reinsulate. After 10 days the treatment was effective as I saw a ton of dead wasps on our porch and haven't seen any flying around anymore.

Spent about 300$ for it

The concrete retaining wall under my front porch is leaning and has about a 1.5-2in gap between the wall and the front porch slab. There is a void under the porch slab where the foundation has settled. I assume this is a significant problem that can’t simply be patched, but what would be the best course of action? Should I call an engineer? Should I get a foundation repair company to estimate, a general contractor, mason, etc.? Any advice is appreciated!

We are hosting a house warming party 6 months into moving. Will be an indoor party. Besides food. What else?! Games for Kids? What do you do during a house warming party? This will be our first time.

I’m constantly wiping down my countertops because this fine dust or silt keeps showing up. I have no idea where it’s coming from. Every two weeks I’m cleaning again, and I’m having to change the main AC filter about every three weeks.

Over the last five years we’ve completely encapsulated our crawl space and installed all‑new AC ducts and home registers, so I’m stumped. I’ve attached a photo of the rag showing the silt I’m dealing with.

Thanks for any suggestions on what might be causing this.

Only happening to these ones. Double glass. The condensation is happening on the outside glass, not the interior one and not in between both glasses. Rainy day yesterday and temp inside the house around 22. Thank you.

Hi Folks

I am first time home owner. I am 3rd owner of this home. Location is Austin, Texas.

Context:

On one side of my home, we have landscape 2-3 inch size river rocks and on the other side, disintegrated granite.

The river rock side has a small 1 inch metal boundary and looks flat and not sloped.

The granite side receives a lot more sun and does not have sprinkler system.

I am seeing vertical and diagonal cracks on the walls around the house. I started using soaker hose since last week.

My questions:

a) Should I use soaker hose for longer duration at night around sunny side of the house ?

b) Should river rocks be inclined and sloped away from house ?

c) Should I keep downspout far enough away from the foundation ? See the pic.

Please see pictures for reference.

Thank you all! P.S. cant add more than 1 photo.

Hey folks, I have a dehumidifier that runs in my basement, it collects water inside it, and the danged thing needs to be emptied out every two days which I just can't get into the habit of emptying it. Washer and dryer are upstairs, there's no bathroom or sink or anything in the basement to run it to. I do know the hot water heater is downstairs (its one of those little electric ones) so I know water does run down there, not that I know if that helps at all.

Looking for anything I can buy or do that can get the water to run somewhere else or emptying less frequent

I have a family of raccoons (4 or 5) visiting the years every day in the evening. They are getting bolder and bolder. They just stare at me when I go out and watch what I am doing as if they know I am going to go back in soon. They drink from the hot tub and spend some time exploring the yard, but they are really used to the yard. Nowadays they started coming in at 8:30 in the night. I like to sit outside for some calm time and am now a bit worried about that many wild animals coming in without me noticing.

Is there really anything I can do to change their habit?

I’m looking around for my first home and although I love the idea and look of nearby large trees, I’m wondering what that actually looks like as a homeowner and whether it’s worth it. Some questions:

1. What can you do to completely understand the current state and future potential of trees around a home, either before or after placing an offer? Do home inspectors look at trees or would that require an arborist?

2. How can you be confident that your roof won’t get flattened in a windstorm?

3. What are the potential future costs of properly maintaining, trimming, or when necessary removing large trees?

4. At what point would the presence of trees cause home insurance to increase?

5. How do you deal with trees not on your property but which present a possible safety concern?

I’ve gotten this scare-tactic sales pitch at each of the three homes I’ve owned over the years. Is the risk exceptionally low if I’m in fairly new construction (former cornfield) with absolutely no trees on the property?

I was always under the impression that out-of-control tree roots were the biggest risk factor.

Thanks!

We just replaced carpet with hardwood but we are dog owners too. We plan to put down area rugs in the hall and tread carpet on the steps to protect the wood and so the dogs (and us) don’t slip and fall on the steps. We visited a local carpet place for hall runners and tread carpets. They said they would staple the tread runners and didn’t think tape would secure the tread carpet well. Now I’m worried that they will staple the hall runners too.

Do we need to staple or are there less damaging ways to secure the tread carpet?

Should we just get hall runners from a rug versus carpet store?

Do we just need to talk to a different supplier?

Thanks for your advice.

In Massachusetts, just a branch but it penetrate part of the roof and caused substantial damage. Insurance said they won't go after them because unless there were sign of trees dying or its been neglected, it's not the neighbors fault.

Both me and my neighbors have really tall and big trees. How do I prevent this from reoccurring? I'm worried that if we get bad storms again, either our trees or their tree will fall. I'm fine with getting rid of mine but I obviously can't tell them what to do.