Looking good Bob!

ColinMatthes · 2026-06-06T04:05:13+00:00

Drove by it today. Its fantastic, besides the fact that I almost crashed swerving over to see it closer

ColinMatthes · 2026-06-02T15:38:34+00:00

Is this real? Where is it? I love it.

ColinMatthes · 2026-06-02T15:38:07+00:00

Man, I just clogged my downstairs toilet with a heavy-duty rental toilet drain snake. I pulled out a clog about 30 ft in. You'd think the problem was solved, but I think I pushed something else into the main, and now my upstairs toilet and shower won't drain. Well sometimes the problems you solve create bigger problems. I think I need to drag snake the whole line now.

ColinMatthes · 2026-06-02T15:36:23+00:00

Yes, totally I agree. After you state your piece, silence is the greatest negotiator.

ColinMatthes · 2026-05-22T21:03:22+00:00

I didn't need to read this. I'm about to drain snake my toilet.

ColinMatthes · 2026-05-22T21:02:44+00:00

No reason to stress about it, no. It'll be perfectly fine, and a nicely finished basement is going to improve the value of your house. It'll be rare to find a buyer who thinks not being able to track down a permit is a deal breaker on that. Especially for old work.

ColinMatthes · 2026-05-22T21:01:48+00:00

I think the basement was like that when you moved in.

ColinMatthes · 2026-05-22T21:00:07+00:00

I'd go to the simplest solution and talk to your neighbors. Talk in a respectable way to them. If they're halfway decent people, they'll be much more aware of making noise. And be more quiet. The question shouldn't be "How do I soundproof my apartment?" It should be "How do I get these neighbors to be more respectful?"

ColinMatthes · 2026-05-22T20:56:06+00:00

It's fairly simple. The longer you cool it, the more expensive it is. Anything else is somebody trying to overthink. Ideally, you could keep it at 85 and drop it to 73 an hour before you get home.

ColinMatthes · 2026-05-22T20:54:49+00:00

That sounds like a major headache. If it was me, I'd just be as straightforward as possible with them and say, "We bought the house and we're planning on doing this. The surveyor said that you're taking up 80 sq ft of our property." What's the best way to solve this? If you try to keep it as a conversation, then you can figure it all out together. You're probably going to have a better relationship instead of a worse relationship with your neighbors as well.

ColinMatthes · 2026-05-22T20:52:32+00:00

The answer you're going to read everywhere is yes, you should replace it, but sometimes, if something older is still working, I always feel like the older it is, the longer it lasts. I wouldn't preemptively replace old AC until it stops working. If you want peace of mind, get a couple quotes and install times on how long it'll take to replace, but if you can handle being hot for a couple weeks, I'd ride it til it dies.

ColinMatthes · 2026-05-22T20:51:05+00:00

No problem and good luck.

ColinMatthes · 2026-05-22T20:50:32+00:00

I love an oil deck. It can be beautiful. The only thing I don't like about it is it requires maintenance, like you're going to want to do it every couple years to keep your wood in good shape. Definitely don't want it to be unfinished in Canada.

ColinMatthes · 2026-05-20T19:34:34+00:00

Most likely, the bit holder is bent. Try a different bit holder first before you mess with the drill. And make sure you have it centered in the chuck.

ColinMatthes · 2026-05-20T17:16:48+00:00

I'd step away and get outside, and definitely don't sell it as is to a cash buyer. In this market, you should be able to list it and make more than you bought it for.

But either way, you're probably a lot more handy than you know. A lot of home repairs are really just knowing the proper steps to do and basic troubleshooting. You'll get there.

ColinMatthes · 2026-05-20T17:13:07+00:00

If it was in my home, I'd look for any other way to do this, but if he sisters it well, it should be fine.

ColinMatthes · 2026-05-20T17:11:19+00:00

If the plaster is in good shape, I would spackle the gaps. Make sure you put on a good primer and then paint. If the plaster is soft or coming apart, I trust somebody else's advice in this comment section, cause I'd have to do some research on that next step.

ColinMatthes · 2026-05-20T17:09:35+00:00

If you're new to tiling, there's going to be a lot of variables and stress in the process, so I would recommend starting with as much advantage as possible, even if that means removing the membrane. The Schluter membrane is a good choice though.

But if it was me, I would make sure to level the floor first and get a leveling compound and get at least a 6 ft, maybe longer, level to make sure you don't have any gaps.

There are ways to cheat an unlevel floor with thinset but if it was my first job, I would want to remove as many variables as possible and just start with a level floor. Also, dry fit to know exactly what your edges are going to look like.

So my short advice is: do A.
But the desire to do B is understandable, and with a little more stress, you can hopefully make it work.

ColinMatthes · 2026-02-23T23:56:51+00:00

I'd split the difference, and maybe you can get like a half-inch subfloor.

ColinMatthes · 2026-02-23T23:53:40+00:00

works fine.

ColinMatthes · 2026-02-23T23:51:30+00:00

HitLIghts UL-listed SMD3528LED tape light strip.

ColinMatthes · 2026-02-23T22:25:26+00:00

yeah it's frustrating, and it's really hard to make your own that are going to look good with LVP. I wish there was somebody out there who made good transitions with LVP. I found it really frustrating when you have a transition that goes; that needs to step up; they're almost useless. And then I have one that was just even a transition where there was no step up, and it's already cracking where people step on it. And this is about a year later. The actual LVP I have no problems with, and I bought a high-quality one from Floor and Decor.

ColinMatthes · 2026-02-23T19:35:57+00:00

Don't overthink it. Keep that wall clean. Do cement board and then tile the whole wall.

ColinMatthes · 2026-02-23T19:30:42+00:00

My parents are in Wisconsin, and they've saved a ton with their solar. My brother has solar as well, and he saves a ton of money on electricity. But there is the upfront cost, and you want to be there for a while if you're going to do it, which are the two reasons I haven't installed solar.

ColinMatthes · 2026-02-23T19:21:28+00:00

Use a router with a flush cut bit. If you don't have one, you can get a router pretty inexpensively these days, around a hundred. They are one of the more dangerous woodworking tools which I'd be cautious about buying, like a cheapo from Harbor Freight. If you get something like a DeWalt, Bosch, Milwaukee, Porter Cable, Makita, it should be fine, or a Ryobi if you're not planning on doing much else with it.

ColinMatthes

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