Whenever something in your house gets repaired, write down five things:

What broke

When it happened

Who fixed it

What they did

What you paid

Save the receipt with those notes.

A year or two later, when the same thing acts up, you'll know exactly what was done and who to call.

Takes about a minute and can save a surprising amount of guessing.

Found this gorgeous mid century dresser at a thrift store last weekend for forty bucks, solid wood, dovetail joints, the whole thing. Problem is it smells like it lived in a mothball factory for thirty years. Ive had it in the garage for a week with the drawers open and its still punch you in the face strong. Tried leaving coffee grounds in the drawers, barely touched it. Baking soda same deal. My partner wants me to toss it but I spent my whole saturday hauling this thing home and I am stubborn. Accountant brain says sunk cost fallacy, DIY brain says theres gotta be a way. Heard ozone generators might work but also heard they can damage wood finish? Also saw something about sealing the smell in with shellac but that feels like giving up. Anyone actually rescued furniture from mothball hell? What actually worked vs what is just pinterest nonsense? Would love specifics on timing too, like how long did it take. My garage is starting to smell and my patience is wearing thin.

Trying to figure out what works best for keeping bugs out of the house without having to pay for pest control every few months.

is there anything that works for multiple types of bugs? we seem to get different pests depending on the season and id rather not have to buy a different spray every time. what do you guys use?

We are at a loss and could really use some ideas on what to do. We moved into this ~40 year old house just about 2 months ago. Over the last 3-5 days we have observed a strong, bad smell coming from our basement utility room. It smells like sewer. We have now had the gas company, water company, 2 plumbing technicians all evaluate and still no major answers. The gas company rules out a natural gas leak. The water company said there’s no issue with the sewer connection and the water pressure is good. They also took a water quality sample. The first plumber investigated the sump pump, connections and confirmed we filled all of the p-traps with water. We also tried pouring bleach down the floor drain. The second plumber we conducted a sewer scope and he didn’t find any cracks or issues from that. He also wasn’t 100% convinced it was a sewer smell. He agreed it smelled terrible but he brought up the possibility of a dead animal in the walls.

We have heard the next step is to conduct a plumber smoke test but also read this can likely be a let down as 90% of the venting is in the walls.

We have replaced a few faulty/makeshift caps as well.

We talked to the previous owner and they said they had never experienced this before.

We also find the timing somewhat interesting as we recently cut on the furnace for the first time since moving here over the weekend due to falling temps.

The smell is staying largely consistent and you can smell it most strongly in the utility room but it’s also seeping out into the broader basement and now top of stairs.

Lastly, to top it all off we are having a new baby in 2 days and worried if there could be any concerns from a health or safety perspective.

Any advice- please share. Thank you!!!

Noticed my gutters dripping, but they aren’t overflowing. I recently installed the $2 Home Depot gutter guards the length of this side of the house and used gorilla tape to keep them from sliding apart. Old they be the reason? See videos. Any help is welcomed.

New homeowner this year. Just starting to get precipitation and noticed this issue in our basement. What’s the fix?

80~ years old. It’s maybe 600sqft of home, leak in the roof, hole in the ceiling from said leak, one room floor dips in center, gas pipe exposed and runs the perimeter half way around the house and also into unattached garage, big hole from groundhogs burrowing under house. Fireplace has been finished over and hidden, one room out of all four total rooms is an addition. Big concern about black mold with the hole in the ceiling from the leak. I need direction, what are my options? I have next to no money and probably don’t qualify for habitat for humanity with my $2000 a month job. My credit score is 650-690. I live in Kentucky, home is in Kentucky same county/city. Can I take the home down? Should I try and fix it? I’d like to keep the property at the very least to live on, possibly in an rv/camper and move it every so often to do so.
Thanks for the read

There is a 1% down payment promo for a new build of a house which also bypasses the usual require home owner insurance for not putting atleast 20% down.

So I know it will help with the entry level of getting a mortgage but is it a bad deal overall?

Since less down payment = more borrowing so more interest?

I have no idea how it all works as I’ve been renting for 10yrs now.

I guess my question is, should I take advantage of the low entry point? Or if I can put more down, do so, so that I can save myself from paying more in interest.

Window painted black?

New homeowner and this house has two painted black windows!

The sun does not shine at this window, not at all so the sun bothering the previous owners doesn't seem like a reason.

I can't think of any reason, but it's driving me crazy and its very hard to scrape off, I already used paint remover and it didn't work.

I'm so curious to see if there's actually a reason for this

New homeowner and this house has two painted black windows!

The sun does not shine at this window, not at all so the sun bothering the previous owners doesn't seem like a reason.

I can't think of any reason, but it's driving me crazy and its very hard to scrape off, I already used paint remover and it didn't work.

I'm so curious to see if there's actually a reason for this

Okay, I’ve mentioned tipping on here before bc I am a new homeowner (which it seems like this question doesn’t belong there) and don’t know how tipping works.

I am having my THIRD brand new refrigerator delivered this morning. The first I tipped $20 each guy ($40). Problem with that fridge so they replaced it. Tipped those two guys $30 each ($60). That one required the fire department.

Now today (hopefully soon) I am having the third delivered. I ONLY have $17 cash on me. I would prob tip again if I had it but I don’t.

What should I tell them. There is no way for me to get more cash. At this point I feel tipping over $100 is excessive although I didn’t really mind doing it. Now I’m bitter and not happy having two more men coming into my house with dirty shoes and just the whole process.

Please help me with this. I don’t know what to say to them. They will be working just as hard as the others but I only have that $17 left.

Please help. It should be delivered shortly.

Also can I tell them to wait about 1/2 hour to see if it’s another problem? I don’t want to find out after they leave like the first two. And I do realize they are on a schedule. The company has been stellar. No issues with the company. TIA.

So we just bought this house and the basement is crazy musty, I have been to many many basements but never have I ever smelled something like this. It's not just regular dampness smell, it's crazy.

We have paid thousands of dollars so far and still the smell remains. We checked and fixed any gas leaks, took out all the carpet, professionals came and did their thing with cleaning, foggers, air scrubbers (waste of 2k). It's so bad that I can even smell it on the first floor.

Info:

There is one humidifier that shows the humidity at 42

Its a 1960s Michigan house

Somtimes the smell does reduce for some reason and somtimes it's worse

Greetings I currently have a house that I no longer want. I've been thinking to just let it foreclose. My question is WHAT actually happens when foreclosure happens on a house? What are the effects? I heard that it's on your credit for "7 years" but that doesn't seem too bad seeing that the house would have been on my credit for 30.

We bought our late 1880s home earlier in the year, and on my list to take care of "before fall" was this walkout basement door. It exits under our side porch, which has a roof, so it is mostly protected from the rain, but as you'll see seepage/runoff still comes through sometimes. As a result, the bottom part of the door has rotted away.

I already have pressure treated lumber on hand to repair the door, but it in occurs to me I should address the actual problem first. The adjacent wall is more than a foot thick, so I was thinking I'd just need to make a small cement door sill to span the opening, but am unsure what exactly the best approach would be. Most plans I've seen for more modern homes are 4-6" high.

Obviously small slope on the top to shed water outside etc., but made of what, concrete? Hydraulic cement? Any tips or " dear God no"'s?

I want to finally install security cameras. Searching for what the best cameras are. Anyone with experience that can recommend some?

I needed my condenser unit cleaned and also mounted on the second floor of my condo.

I am curious if anyone trusted the reviews on Google and yelp. Had heard business owners have their friends and family member write reviews. I had friends who asked me to write reviews too for their business. I did a lot of research and narrowed my choices down to 3-4 to get some quotes. I do not prefer companies with a lot of reviews because that means it’s a big company so their overhead cost more. Theres some reviews stated some companies scammed them and took their money. I am trying not to get scammed and doing my due diligence.

If anyone went through similar experience, would love to hear it. Any tips and pointers I should look out for such as asking if the service is charged hourly or fixed rate?

I have this big gap in my attic door that I want to fix. It's an old setup. Looking to see if anyone has thoughts on how to adjust these things, a way to fix, or if I should just replace with a new system. It works fine aside from the gap.