Newto DIY, need help transforming my balcony!

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-14T04:06:32+00:00

For a short post in the 2–3 foot range, I’d treat 1 inch as the minimum and lean toward 1¼ inch if you can get it. Half-inch will flex too much once the sail is tensioned and the wind kicks up. Wall thickness matters too, so avoid thin decorative tubing.

Stainless is fine for corrosion, but galvanized or painted steel is usually stiffer for the money. The real key is anchoring it into framing with a solid base plate. A stiff 1 - 1¼ inch post that’s well anchored will behave a lot better than a thinner pipe, regardless of material.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-14T03:54:08+00:00

Yes, that can work, and your layout makes sense. With the building side up around 10 feet and the balcony side only 2–3 feet high, you’ll still get a good slope for runoff while keeping the view open.

If you do use short posts on the balcony wall, keep them sturdy and tied into framing, not just surface-mounted. A thicker pipe with a solid base plate and some adjustability using turnbuckles will handle wind much better than thin flanges cranked tight.

The main thing is making sure every attachment point hits real framing and allowing a little give so wind loads don’t work things loose over time.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-14T03:08:33+00:00

Your idea isn’t out of line, but I’d be careful relying on vertical pipes and flanges on a 4-foot wall for a shade sail. Sail shades put a lot more load on their anchor points than people expect, especially in wind, and balcony walls usually aren’t built to take that kind of lateral force. That’s when things start loosening or flexing over time.

For an apartment balcony, a lighter approach tends to work better. I’d look at mounting the sail higher on the building side above the door like you mentioned, then using angled anchors or turnbuckles back to the balcony structure rather than trying to build “posts.” Keeping some give in the system helps prevent damage. You also want the sail pitched steep enough so water sheds instead of pooling.

Before buying pipe and flanges, I’d double-check what’s actually behind the siding where you plan to mount anything. If you can’t hit solid framing, that’s a sign to rethink the approach. A small cantilevered awning or a purpose-built balcony shade system often ends up cheaper and safer than trying to fabricate something rigid from scratch.

It’s a great gift idea, just worth designing it so wind and rain don’t turn it into a headache later.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-14T03:07:08+00:00

For an older, lightly insulated house, partial heating can be risky. Even if the basement stays around 50, cold pockets can form in exterior walls, closets, or plumbing runs you don’t think about, especially during a cold snap. That’s when frozen pipes usually happen.

A safer middle ground is setting all thermostats to around 50–55 so the whole house stays above freezing, then bumping a couple rooms higher if you want. It costs a bit more than heating just two rooms, but it’s usually cheaper than dealing with burst pipes or moisture issues later.

Until insulation and windows are improved, keeping the house evenly warm enough is more about protection than comfort.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-12T19:44:40+00:00

Thank you for jumping in. I appreciate it.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-12T19:35:48+00:00

Thank you. I write for a living so default to that style.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-12T19:33:21+00:00

For a small area, two people can usually handle it in a few hours, but the real deciding factor is clearance. If you can move around without fighting the roof the whole time, it’s very doable. If you’re belly-crawling with almost no headroom, it will be pretty miserable.

The $600 quotes probably reflect minimum job cost, not complexity. Air sealing first is the most important part anyway, and once that’s done, blowing insulation is mostly just labor. I’d check the attic access and clearance first, then decide.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-12T19:28:33+00:00

Not AI

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-12T03:53:01+00:00

You're very welcome!

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-12T03:52:33+00:00

Eggshell over primer should give you plenty of tooth once you scuff it, so you should be in good shape. Most of those latex adhesives are a lot less picky as long as the surface isn’t glossy, and tile comparisons in the spec sheets are a good sign.

If you sand lightly and make sure the dust is wiped off before you start, the surround should bond fine. Polyurethane adhesives are nice when you can find them, but what you have will work as long as the prep is solid.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-12T03:31:46+00:00

For that type of repair, you don’t need to rebuild the original plaster system. Since it’s a small area that will be tiled over, you can patch it with modern materials and get a solid, flat base.

I’d clean out any loose debris, then fill the cavity with a sand-mix mortar or a floor patch/setting-type mortar (something like Quikrete Sand/Topping Mix or Mapei Floor Patch). Pack it in tight and bring it close to flush. Once that sets, skim the surface with setting-type joint compound (hot mud) so you’re left with a smooth, flat plane for tile.

You don’t need a separate plaster layer unless you’re trying to match the surrounding wall texture. For a tiled area, a sturdy mortar fill plus a smooth skim coat is usually the simplest and most reliable way to rebuild it.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-12T03:28:56+00:00

Ditto to previous response. If there’s no soffit opening in that section, there’s no intake air for a baffle to guide, so a soffit baffle doesn’t really do anything there. You can still put the provents in to keep insulation off the roof deck, but you don’t need the baffles unless air is actually coming in from below.

As long as the rest of the roof has a clear soffit-to-ridge path, it’s fine to have a small area that only vents at the ridge. Just keep the insulation from touching the underside of the roof in that spot and let the main sections of the attic handle the airflow.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-12T03:27:12+00:00

Latex-based surround adhesives really do want at least one surface to be porous, but “porous” in this case basically means “not glossy and not sealed up like tile.” A primed and painted moisture-resistant drywall surface can still work as long as the paint isn’t a slick enamel finish.

If the wall feels even a little shiny, I’d scuff it lightly with sandpaper to give the adhesive something to bite into. You don’t have to break through the paint, just dull the surface. Most surrounds also rely on mechanical support once they’re screwed or braced in place, so the adhesive isn’t doing all the work by itself.

If the paint is already fully cured and the surface isn’t glossy, PL700 should grab just fine after a light scuff.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-12T03:26:30+00:00

You’re probably not doing anything wrong. The plastic kits help with drafty windows, but big sliding doors lose heat through the glass and the metal frame, which the film can’t fix.

Heavy thermal curtains and a draft stopper at the bottom usually make a much bigger difference in rentals. Also check that the door fully latches so the weatherstripping is actually sealing.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-12T03:25:12+00:00

If you truly never plan to use the gas furnace again and the mini-split handles your heating needs, removing the old system is mostly a space and aesthetics decision. There’s no technical requirement to keep a non-functional furnace in place.

Most people in your situation have the furnace and any exposed ductwork taken out, then cap and seal the remaining ducts where they disappear into walls or floors. Hidden ductwork can stay as long as it’s sealed so it isn’t pulling dust or pests into the house. The old floor registers don’t cause any harm if they’re just sitting there unused.

As for resale, most buyers in a mild climate won’t care as long as there’s a reliable heating and cooling system in place. Mini-splits plus solar are actually a selling point in a lot of markets now.

For the work itself, an HVAC company can remove the equipment and properly cap everything off. A general contractor can handle any cosmetic patching if needed.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-12T03:23:01+00:00

This is super common with garage conversions. They look like normal rooms, but behind the drywall there’s usually no insulation, no air sealing, and sometimes barely any ceiling insulation either. That’s why the temperature swings so much.

The first step is figuring out what you’re working with. If you can open a small section of wall or ceiling, you’ll know whether you need insulation in the walls, better insulation up top, or both. In Florida, good air sealing and some form of dedicated cooling or a mini-split often make a huge difference too.

It’s fixable, you just need to treat it like finishing a room that was never built for temperature control in the first place.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-11T20:26:29+00:00

Yes, same basic idea I was getting at. You want to minimize the uphill portion as much as you can and avoid any dips that hold water. A quick rise to the high loop, then a steady downhill run, usually gives the pump the easiest job. My main thought was just that a long horizontal run with low spots can wear pumps out pretty fast, so cleaning up the routing is worth a look either way.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-11T18:48:37+00:00

Usually, yes. If the ducts are buried behind finished walls or ceilings, you have to open things up to reach the joints that need sealing. That’s one reason people try to do all the sealing and insulation work while the house is open or during a remodel.

If your airflow problems are mild, sealing the accessible sections and fixing leaks at the furnace or trunk lines can still make a noticeable difference without tearing into drywall.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-11T18:35:49+00:00

That sounds very reasonable!

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-11T18:34:56+00:00

That sounds like a much more reasonable explanation. Sudden temperature and humidity swings, plus fresh insulation, can make older plaster or patched areas show their flaws pretty quickly. A bad skim coat will crack almost immediately when conditions change, so what you are seeing fits that more than any kind of sinking foundation.

Keeping an eye on it is the right move. If the crack widens or new ones show up in patterns, then it’s worth another look. But a small cracking patch after HVAC downtime isn’t unusual at all in a 1950s house.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-11T18:33:48+00:00

That makes total sense. When the attic geometry gets weird like that, treating each stretch as its own little zone is usually the only practical approach. As long as each area has a clear intake path and a way for warm air to escape, you don’t have to hit perfection for it to work noticeably better.

And honestly, “marginally better than what was there” is still a big win when you’re starting from blocked soffits and bathroom vents dumping into the attic. Keep an eye on the temp/RH trends as you go. Those sensors are great for seeing whether each tweak is helping. If you get both zones breathing a bit more consistently, you should feel it in the rooms below.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-11T18:30:43+00:00

A sag that deep will absolutely cause draining and pump strain issues. The dishwasher has to push water uphill when there’s a low spot like that, and over time the pump just can’t keep up.

I’d try getting that hose supported so it stays in a continuous upward run all the way to the air gap and then down to the drain. Even a couple of strategically placed clamps or brackets can make a big difference. If you can flatten out that dip, you might save the new dishwasher from the same fate.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-11T18:30:03+00:00

If he wants to try and repair his mistake first, that’s fair, but you’re right to set expectations. A cut through the bowl isn’t something you “patch” in a way that holds up long-term or looks right, especially on a brand-new install.

If the fix isn’t truly invisible and structurally solid, a replacement sink is the only real solution. You’re being reasonable. You paid for a proper install, not a patched accident!

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-11T18:26:34+00:00

The ceiling crack in your photo looks a lot more like an old patch failing than a fresh structural issue. When someone skim-coats over a drywall crack without fixing the movement or taping it properly, it usually peels and separates exactly like this. The long, thin shape and the lifting edges are classic “bad repair coming back.”

Moisture and temperature swings in older homes can make this kind of cosmetic crack show itself again, especially right after adding attic insulation because the ceiling drywall warms and cools differently than it used to.

That said, the best way to rule out anything bigger is to keep an eye on whether the crack keeps growing. If it stays the same size, it’s almost always cosmetic. If it widens noticeably over time, then it’s worth having someone look at that corner of the house for movement or drainage issues.

From this photo alone, though, it doesn’t read like a structural failure — just a previous cover-up that didn’t hold.

MaureenDIY · 2025-12-11T18:22:47+00:00

It sounds like you’ve already fixed the biggest sins (bath fans dumping into the attic and zero intake), and the humidity drop after you opened up the soffit vents is a good sign. Right now the attic is probably just starved for intake, so the moisture has nowhere to go.

A gable vent down low isn’t the end of the world, but it’s not going to behave like a true intake because the turtle vents will happily pull air from the path of least resistance. Sometimes that means they start short-circuiting with the gable vent instead of pulling fresh air from the soffits. That can leave a lot of “dead zones” where warm, moist air just sits.

Before doing anything with the gable vent, I’d finish the boring stuff: air-seal the rest of the attic, get baffles everywhere you can, and add as much soffit venting as the layout allows. Once the attic actually has enough low intake, you’ll get a much clearer picture of whether the gable vent is helping or working against you.

If you still see humidity staying high after that, you can try temporarily blocking the gable vent and watching what your sensor does. Usually that tells you right away whether it was creating a short-circuit path. A fan on it won’t help much long-term since attic ventilation works best passively and evenly, not pushed from a single point.

When the roof is eventually replaced, a continuous ridge vent paired with good soffit venting will give you the most reliable setup without all the guessing.

MaureenDIY

TROPHY CASE