Hi. What is the best available cleaning product for removing burnt on food and oil from the burner and top surface around the burner on a gas cooker.

Matt finish. Black colour.

Soaking in hot water and dish washer soap and a bit of scrubbing doesn't appear to dislodge the carbonized stuff.

I am after suggestions of some product that someone has used which definitely works.

Thank you.

Does anyone have a screw extractor set that actually works on deck boards? I’ve tried at least three sets over the years and I think they’ve worked on two screws .

What the title says but I have one of those stupid bath drainage systems where you twist the overflow to plug or unplug the bath. I was just about to unscrew the bolt in the middle of the plug but I'm now wondering if that will cause something to drop away underneath and then I won't be able to use the plug anymore.

I have googled, youtubed, looked on reddit, can't find anything specifically about unscrewing that middle bolt with a twist handle pop up plug.

Hi everyone,

I'm upgrading my current 65" Sony OLED (22.5 kg / 49.6 lbs) to an 85" Sony BRAVIA 7 II (K-85XR75M2) because our living/dining room is quite large (~50 m² / 538 sq ft) and we watch from both 2 m (6.6 ft) at the sofa and 4.5 m (14.8 ft) at the dining table.

I have three constraints that make mounting/placement tricky and I'd love your input on the safest approach:

1. The Wall: It's a brick wall, and the center section behind the TV used to be an opening between two rooms that was bricked up later. I don't fully trust the structural integrity of that center infill to hold a ~50 kg (110 lbs) TV on a wall mount. However, the left and right sections of the wall are original and solid.

2. The Floating Cabinet: It's a custom wall-mounted floating cabinet running across the wall (no floor legs), 43 cm (16.9") deep, with about 8–10 cm (3.1"–3.9") of clearance from the wooden floor. I'm worried that putting 53.6 kg (118.2 lbs) (TV + stand) right in the middle of a floating cabinet could overload the cabinet or pull on the rebuilt center wall.

3. Stand Depth: The 85" BRAVIA 7 II comes with a single central pedestal stand that is 44.1 cm (17.4") deep and 44.3 cm (17.4") wide, which overhangs my 43 cm (16.9") cabinet by 1.1 cm (0.43") in the front.

Note: I'm sticking with Sony for Google TV/processing, and a 75" doesn't give enough size jump from 65" at a 4.5 m / 14.8 ft dining table distance.

Has anyone dealt with a similar floating cabinet + questionable center wall setup for an 85" TV? Which option would you trust most? (I'll attach photos of the wall, the cabinet, and the underside clearance in the comments).

I bought a door stop for a security door, which is steel. I bought the only solid aluminum one I could find: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Global-Door-Controls-Right-Hand-Solid-Door-Stop-in-Brushed-Chrome-TH1100-RDS-26D/337613370, in hopes that it could withstand being outside, though it says it isn't rated for that. It has a wood screw integrated into it. Its threads are further apart than the thickness of the door's metal. I assume my cause is hopeless, but if you have an idea I'd like to hear it.

What tool should I rent to drill through reinforced concrete? I tried with my Dewalt battery powered and Bosh electric hammer drills and once I hit a metal bar os game over mp way to continue.

What tool should I rent? Technic recommendations welcome too.

I'm planning to build a large king-size couch/bed from scratch for my home theater, with 4 Dayton BST-1 bass shakers powered by a BSA-200 amp.

Since I'm building everything from zero, I have the freedom to choose the frame design, materials, and shaker placement.

My current idea is to mount the shakers on rigid plywood plates directly underneath the 15 cm thick cushions, rather than attaching them to the main frame. I'd make cutouts in the supporting structure so the shakers can extend downward without touching anything, with the plates supported by wooden rails. I'm also considering rubber isolation feet underneath the couch/bed.

The goal is to transfer as much vibration as possible to the seating area rather than the whole frame or floor.

I've never experienced bass shakers before, so I don't know how different mounting methods compare in practice.

For those with experience, would you recommend mounting them directly under the cushions, on the main frame, or somewhere else? Would wood or metal be better?

I'm completely open to different designs since I haven't started building yet. Any advice or photos of your setups would be appreciated!

Hey everyone, we have a subfloor that’s sagging beneath our vinyl flooring panels. Think Lifeproof brand or another similar tongue and groove vinyl system.

I’ve laid this flooring and know how difficult it might be to pull up sections of the panels without damaging them in order to replace the damaged subfloor sections.

My question is, is this even possible? Or are we looking at a full-house flooring job?

Is mdf the best budget choice?

Hello! I live in a very old trailer. Its in its 50s! Anyways, the walls are mad ugly, they are the most unlikable smoke damage cream color. We just bought the land and will be getting a new manufactured home at some point, but for the time being I just want to make this trailer feel nicer.

Im not sure what the walls are made of, I always called it vinyl paneling. I know if I paint it it will need a lot of prep and cleaning, but even then im noy sure on yhe process or materials. I also thought of wall paper, but once again, not sure about the test of time against this type of wall material.

Any advice appreciated, has anyone ever gave a trailer home a glow up?

I had a mouse issue but it's been a couple weeks without activity so I decided to do what terminex recommend and vacuum all the droppings and replace the vapor barrier. I now have an appt for them to come fog my crawlspace with a deodorizing bleach type thing.

So anyways just wanna give some advice if anyone else wants to DIY instead of pay $3k for the service. My crawlspace is about 950 sq ft and has 3 separate areas that require crawling over and under pipes and foundation.

TL;DR: it's hard but doable if you're up to a medium challenge

Wear a damn mask that is P100 or better, spritz the droppings with bleach/water before vacuuming (hepa filter on vacuum). I dono about where y'all live but we've had a couple cases out in my county/neighboring counties of people getting hantavirus.

The old plastic barrier takes up a lot of space when you remove it even after trying to roll it up and make it as compact as possible it still filled up my trash bin for the week plus a little bit. Try and keep all mouse shit on the plastic as you roll/fold it up so it's not on the dirt after you removed the plastic.

Be ready to find all sorts of random things the construction crew left behind. There was trash from all sorts of crap along with homes the mice had made for themselves. Once I removed the plastic I then went back with 2 garbage bags to clean up all the trash that was chilling there.

Depending on the size of the crawlspace it's quite an arm workout. I can barely squat in mine and it's about 3ft high, so most of my time was spent in the push-up position or girl push-up position. I'm reasonably in good shape and it was quite a workout doing that for about 5 hours. But having to move around like Catherine Zeta-Jones around the lasers in Entrapment is one hell of a workout lol.

Then putting the new plastic down I went with 10 mil white and I like how it makes it easier to see as the headlamp reflects more than it did with the old black stuff. I measured the length of each spot then cut it outside on the patio and brought all those sections down at once but already cut up which made it a lot easier to unfold since most pieces were 10ftx25ft 'ish. Still unfolding it in limited space is not easy and trying to move it around while sitting on it takes a bit of thinking. Best way I found was to put my hands on the foundation and move it around with my feet when getting it into the final position.

As always though it feels great to DIY something than to pay for it.

Hi, tried googling but cant see this type of hinge/bracket exists. I have very limited bedroom space but need a desk for working from home. I’d like a floating desk that i can detach from the wall when i am done and slide it under my bed or behind a dresser, and not have brackets sticking out the wall as a hazard. Maybe i am asking for too much and need to reevaluate my living space

We have a newer GE fridge that has been working pretty well for a few years. Today I noticed the ice and other items in freezer had icicles forming on them and fridge was still running.

My spouse said the freezer door had been left ever so slightly open over night. She closed it and it still kept running.

I’m assuming it froze over because it was left open, but how do I get it to stop running constantly?

Edit: decided to take it apart because after a few hours the ice in the maker started melting. I also noticed ice cream going soft. Got the evaporator coil all thawed out and now the fan is running much quieter. We'll see if this is sufficient.

Edit2: the fridge made ice after about an hour, is maintaining temperature, and is currently not running. Evaporator fan is a bit noisy so I ordered a new one.

Just bought a house. There’s a window in the shower. The only waterproofing solution I can think of (besides something involving closing up the window) is to rip out the tub surround/ alcove tub, finish and repaint the walls/subfloor, and install a clawfoot tub with a 360 degree curtain.

I’m planning on putting down sheet vinyl flooring in the whole bathroom, drywall compounding the messy parts from where I ripped out the shower surround, installing the tub and curtain, caulking, and doing nothing else. Is this okay? Do I really need cement board or a membrane if I use the curtain properly?

Edit: here’s photos of the spot.

https://imgur.com/a/Uwgj7sg

Hi all, I'm replacing a chandelier with a ceiling fan, and I've come to notice the chandelier was mounted on (what looks to be) a 1x2, attached parallel to (what looks to be) a 2x4, which was attached perpendicular to the joists - I'm assuming this was to center it in the room, between the joists. (See video)

I'm wondering what the best course of action here is:

- Replace the chandelier pancake box, with a pancake box rated for ceiling fans.

- Remove the 1x1 and mount a side mount box rated for ceilings fans - option 2.a or option 2.b

- Remove the 1x1 and 2x4, and mount an "old work" ceiling brace kit - option 3

Hello! I have a vision, and google has not been very helpful for figuring it out so far. I rent an apartment, and it has lovely wood floors. However, I also have a lot of plants, which tend to spill or drip and I want to protect the wood floors from that. What I would love is a real tiled entry area in front of the sliding glass door where I keep my plants. Ideally like 1x5 feet. My thought is to tile a piece of wood and then lay that in front of the door. I almost want it to be like the area in front of a fire place (a hearth?).

My first question is how best to execute this. I've never tiled anything before, and searches tell me that tiling plywood could result in warping. Is there a way to do this where I wouldn't have to worry about warping?

My second question is if there is a good way to add a slight slope or transition so that there isn't a tripping hazard from the edge of the tiled piece. I know there are transitions for carpet, does the same exist or work for tile?

And finally, I'd love to hear any recommendations for places to purchase tile (in small scale) from.

Thanks!

Editing to add: My biggest objective is to make it more of a tile entry way and create a transition between in and outside. The plants will be on trays, I just want a pretty tile landing that will also somewhat help if a plant tips over.

Hi All,

Trying to create a Christmas light tunnel along my sidewalk for the first time this year. I’ve watched and read several examples out there and went with the following-

1/2 in x 3ft rebar
1/2 inch x 10ft sch 40 pvc
PVC connectors to connect 2 10 ft runs of pvc.

I’m running into the issue of too much tension in the bend which is causing either the connector piece or the 10ft piece to crack and break the connection.

My rebar is somewhere between 8-9ft apart.

Additionally, I’m in Michigan, and it is some what cold already.

Is this the right setup , am I missing something simple to
Make this work ? Or do I swap something and go a different route. Feeling committed to making this work so please, any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks !

tl:dr: I wanna set sheets of backer on the slab, screw them to the studs, pour the preslope directly against the backer, and then seal everything in one go.

--------

I'm gonna do it yall, and by it I mean finally start making permanent alterations to this bathroom.

It's gonna be tile with a mud slope and a paint on membrane because I've used the pink stuff outdoors as a decoupling membrane and it was easy, so I used it as a waterproofing layer on cement board behind stucco and it has performed flawlessly even though that is NOT the correct use for it.

Given that, I wanna use it and the above formation of geometry to do the shower; half the internet says "lol it's fine to sink fucking drywall into mud and waterproof with hopes and dreams go nuts" and the other half says "if you don't use $10000000 worth of kerdie^tm your house will explode like 1000 tons of tnt"

Please help me triangulate here.

We've had the same tile in the kitchen since we purchased the house, installed over an EXTREMELY unlevel floor. My original plan was to use self-leveling compound, then put new tile down. Then I found a great deal on hardwood. Does anyone have any advice on how to either install the hardwood over the leveling compound, another way to level the floors w/o it, or some 3rd option?

Edit: Lots of good advice here. My main issue was that I'm fairly certain nailing it down through leveling concrete is a bad idea. I do have crawlspace access, so shimming/plywood is probably going to be my best bet. Thank you all.

As described above, my toilet has been running. I replaced the flapper and waited around for the 4 1/2 minutes it takes for my toilet to refill.

When it was full, it did not stop running. The only thing that makes the water stop pouring down the tube is if I jiggle the handle.

Since I have to jiggle the handle, did I waste money on the new flapper?

How do you fix a toilet that needs It’s handle to be jiggled in order to stop running?

Additional context………….

The chain is not too long nor is the chain too short. There is the slightest amount of slack in the chain, just enough to know that it’s short enough to allow the flapper to sit properly against the “hole.” sorry, I don’t know the name.

It only takes a tiny amount of force to deliver just enough jiggle so the toilet stops running.

What’s interesting is that the Force is so small it does not even take all of the slack out of the chain. Sooooo, I don’t see how the jiggle could be impacting the flapper nor the seal.

I wish I knew the names of the parts, because things are a bit crowded on the side of the tank or the handle and other parts are located.

Thanks, any help is appreciated for what to troubleshoot next.

Winter is Coming....

I have a sunroom/greenhouse attached to the livingroom, on nice sunny winter days I can open the doors to the livingroom and it heats the whole house..... not so much at night. It also has a large woodburning stove in it. When I'm heating with the woodstove at night, I think I'm fighting heat loss from the 12 - 8'x4' windows (doubled paned argon).

I only see a few possible paths...

1. The stove place wanted to install honeycomb shades on each window which was prohibitively expensive.

2. I was thinking the shrink wrap window seal would give about the same insulation at a fraction of the price (and avoiding raising a lowering 12 blinds everyday). This is just guessing on my part.

3. I could just burn more wood

4. Styrofoam cut outs I place and remove from the windows (Although I have no where to store them, and I'm not sure I would survive the wifes wrath)

5. Anyone have a better idea?

I'd then put rubber gym tiles on top. This would be for gym equipment.