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I'm building a new set of stairs for my basement. I'd like to maximize width. In order to do that I'm going to leave the foundation wall exposed in the staircase area. I'm also going to leave the staircase header exposed. Any tips or insight appreciated. Here's a mockup of my best idea so...

I'm in the process of building a new staircase from the 1st floor to the basement. The opening in both directions is somewhat limited. From the landing to the headroom obstruction I have 98 3/4". Staircase width from foundation wall to staircase header I have 30 1/2". Headroom obstruction...

It's not leaking…. yet. The repair sleeve was already there. This is in the areaway (the outside entrance to the basement). My main cutoff is inside the house. I'm in an old brooklyn rowhouse and there is no street cutoff on the sidewalk or the street. The cutoff is a "tap" buried 4' under...

I've had this for years and it's been a great tool. Recently the threads have been acting weird and the cutting wheel is not biting down on the pipe. The black knob doesn't push the cutting wheel forward. Not sure how to accurately describe this. Anyone know have this experience and know the...

Trying to get this cartridge out. The directions (see below) say pull the black plastic scald guard. I tried pulling it with a pair of needle nose, No luck. Any tips?

My rental condo unit's master bathroom is getting very little cold water and then no cold water at all in the mornings (6-7am). So basically hot water coming out of the fixtures. This happens at all 4 fixtures. 2 sinks, a shower and a bathtub. It's been happening for a month. The condo...

How can I safely go about demo-ing this staircase? I'm getting a new basement slab poured and I plan to rebuild this into a safer structure. Do I pry out the treads and risers from the top and work my way down? Floor above is 99" of the basement floor. I'll keep a 8' step ladder down...

I'm getting ready to get my basement slab replaced with 4" of concrete. Currently I have tile + and old 2" slab on top of dirt. Plan is to have one giant room with LVP on top of the concrete. I was initially thinking about patching the valleys with sand topping mix and then topping...

I'm getting ready to refinish my basement. It's about 750sq ft - no walls aside from a half bath. The floors are currently 18x18" tile with a lot of lippage. My initial thot was to hire contractors to pour self leveler over the tile and then install LVP. I could also tile over it. It...

I had to cut the slab (1.5 - 2" thick) to make a couple of plumbing repairs. Rough estimate is 22 sq ft. Do I need to chip the edges of the existing slab to create a rough surface for the new concrete to bond to?

I have a floor drain in my boiler room. It appears to feed to a 2" santee on its back. One side is capped with a rubber fernco. And its outfitted with a strange drain restrictive drain hole. (I have the grate somewhere). I was doing some work which required me to cut the slab open. (Tie...

I need to cut behind the boiler to install a ball valve and drain . I don't have a lot of swing back there b/c of the concrete. And I don't want to trench anymore back there. Can anyone recommend a tube cutter with 1 1/4" capacity that won't break the bank. I don't want to buy a powered cutter...

I've got to install 4 sound reducing windows by myself. They are super heavy. Installation is from the inside. I could handtruck it over to the rough opening, but not sure I can lift them into the rough. I'm thinking leaving the straps on will give me a decent grip point. But I'm worried...

I need to order a sliding patio door. It sounds like a preassembled door is easier to install than a knockdown frame for a first timer. I will have to cut out and frame a rough opening. (See pic). I also have a question on sizing. I'd like to install a 6'W x 8'H door. The ceilings are 10'...

Recently bot a dewalt drill and an impact driver. I was using Ridgid b/f. Ridgid has a 4 bar battery charge indicator. When the ridgid battery hits 2 bars i'd charge it. I read that batteries should be charged when they reach 50% capacity. 25% is running it too low and 75% is too soon to...

I've got a few unused chimneys on my flat roof. How can I cap them off? I do have an aluminum brake - maybe I can rig something.

I'm framing out a wall that is shared b/w two buildings. I'd like to reduce the sound being transmitted from the neighbor. They have a staircase adjacent to this wall. The wall has an abandoned fireplace that juts out about 4" off the main wall. (See pic.). I'd like to use one continuous...

I'm digging a trench to join a backyard drain gutter pipe. When I digging about 78" off the back of building I hit a flat section that runs all way to the rear of the building. Looks to be about 1 1/2" thick. According to Chat-GPT this is small section of "hardscape" and the rest of the...

I have a 4" CI sewer pipe running under the cellar floor. I recently snaked out the clogged up roof rainwater connection to the sewer line. But I could only get my snake out about 12' before it starts getting stuck. (Ridgid k-400 with 1/2" cable) I think I hit a 2nd elbow and I've been unable to...

I'm trying to clean out some obstruction in a CI pipe. The pipe was abandoned by a prior owner. It runs under the basement to the house trap. I removed the cracked section and now I see some debris and a piece of cracked pipe about 15" down. The pipe is taking water. I had a hose in it b/f...