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Building code requires lights in accessible attics. But my attic gets literally 150F during the day (I've checked). All the LED light bulbs I can find are rated at 40C ambient max temperature, a far cry from the 70+C in my attic. The last thing I want is a light bulb melting down or catching...

I'm a big fan of drywall. It's cheap, relatively fire safe, infinitely patchable, and you can hang things anywhere on it. They key for a garage drywall is not to be sentimental about it and consider it an expendable surface to be consumed. The problem with drywall anchors is they aren't...

This is what the drywall looks like around my ducts. I think it should be better, both for looks, and to keep leaks out, but I don't know what to use. Caulk? Duct sealant? Drywall mud? The ducts are odd shape, so a round trim plate won't really fit.

My plans specify "Continuous ridge and soffit vents", but the builder didn't extend the vent all the way across the ridge. Before I push back on the builder for this, is there a legitimate reason to do this? If not the full length, how did he decide what length to install?

This is how the contractor ran the wiring in my addition. The grey wires are all the speaker wires for what may become a home theater some day, and the blue is CAT6 ethernet cable. I don't think there's any problem bundling CAT6 cable, because I see it done all the time. I'm not sure about...

During construction of my addition, we had a downpour before the roof was on. Water was pooling in the second floor with nowhere to go, and it was starting to run into the house. The contractors drilled several holes to allow water to drain down into into trash cans on the first floor. It was...

I'm a huge fan of 4" furnace filters ever since I swapped one of my systems from a 1" filter to a 4" filter, and did some testing. I found a brand-new 1" filter was about 1/4" WC of restriction when new, creeping up to almost 3/4" WC after 3 months. By contrast, the 4" filter I replaced it with...

I want to put a big ladder to my attic, which uses 24" on center prefab trusses. I thought you could cut the bottom chord of a truss, as long as you frame it properly. I expected the truss company to tell me how to do this. They must deal with this all the time, right? Instead, they said it's...

It seems like the world of consumer-level security cameras gets re-invented about every 2 years and I'm out-of-date again. Previously I always planned on running CAT5 to my camera locations, so I could run PoE cameras, and have a DVR on-site. Figured total system coust would be 2k+. That's what...

My mini split has the following specs: Rated Current: 6.1 Amps Minimum circuit ampacity: 16 Amps Maximum circuit breaker: 25 Amps Based on this, I should be good to run a 20A circuit and 12-guage wire, but I don't quite understand why there is a "maximum circuit breaker". Based on my...

I'm building an addition and will have a 2-head mini split. I can run the lines on the outside and use a cover like I did on my garage. But since I'm building new, I can run the lines inside the walls. Benefit of running inside is it looks better, and I don't need to buy a line cover. Benefit of...

Because I'm always doing small bicycle, modeling, and 3D printing stuff, I use a lot of small drill bits. I really feel like I'm missing a drill specifically designed for small drill bits. Regular cordless 18V drill...the chuck is so big it barely fits small bits, RPM isn't that great, and...

I want to add a 4" furnace filter box and a fan so I can keep my space positively pressurized during smoke and pollen season. I only have a small space, so I was going to build a custom 16x20x4 filter box with 4" duct connections. I think the filter would last effectively forever at 100CFM. I...

I bought a house in the mountain West that has a foundation that's different from anything we build back East. It has a crawlspace sitting on piers, none of the spans are more than 6 feet, and the joists are 2x6's. That's kinda weird. But what I'm mostly weirded out by is the edges of the...

My wife watched a video where they used a laser level to hang a picture, and she asked why we don't have one of those. Needless to say, this is deeply embarrassing, and also license to buy a new tool. The problem is, I don't know what laser levels really do or how to pick one. It seems like...

I'm thinking about building a house addition. I could pour the footer and foundation wall myself with quikrete if I could break the job up. Is it ok to do that as long as you have rebar to tie the sections together? And is it better to pour all the way around 6 inches at a time, or pour full...

I just spent big on a DeWalt stacking toolbox system. I'd like to mark it clearly as my own so there's no confusion at job sites. I'll put label tape on it but what I'd like to do is put my initials in the plastic directly by scribing or melting letters. Does anyone have a good method of doing...

This is the framing plan for my 2nd-story addition, with porch space underneath. The 2nd story will be a normal residential floor, there will be 2x6 stud walls all around, and have a roof overtop. Do you think the 2x12 rim joists should be doubled? Based on the spans all being 8 ft or less, I...

It looks like renting a cement mixer is about $60/day. How many bags of concrete mix would you consider mixing by hand, before you would rent a mixer? If you don't rent one, what's the best system for mixing it otherwise?

It looks like I'm making a 2nd story deck. I need to bring down the 6x6 posts and rest them on concrete piers. The ground already has an existing patio slab though. So I'm trying to figure out options. Get a concrete saw, cut squares, and jackhammer out square holes. It will look terrible and...