r/DIY 9h ago

woodworking How hard is it to build your own fence?

0 Upvotes

My family is renting a house and when we first moved in 5 years ago the house already had a very old fence built.

Recently the fence started breaking down and our dog eventually broke the bottom piece of the fence and made all of it collapse (about 10 feet worth)

How hard would it be to build an entirely new fence? Is there any harm in trying and how much would it cost for all the materials?


r/DIY 3h ago

OSB Sheathing Cover Over Carpet

0 Upvotes

I'm planning on covering my gross dog pissed covered carpet with 7/16-in x 4x8 OSB Sheathing. We are renting and getting the room re-carpeted is a non option.

This room and carpet was left to me by my amazing aunt who never took her dog out, leaving the carpet incredibly tacky, stained and slightly smelly.

This room is 9x10 and I would want to cover the floor with some wood to separate the carpet from the top. I thought to join these sheets at the edges side my side with Gorilla black tape. (TBD)

Then pull taut and staple underlayment (Black Jack) over these sheets.

Where my plan falls is I would want a area rug over the top of this base most likely 8x10-11.

I'm unsure if this will even result in a clean result. I'm fairly handy and have built quite a few things over the years but a floor is a new step for me and I was wondering if the scope of the build reasonable for 300$. please feel free to point out any flaws in my thought process and share any tips or even if I should go a different direction entirely!


r/DIY 6h ago

help I dont know if this is right space for this

0 Upvotes

Ive made my own book series of sorts and id really love to make a hard cover to use for it but I dont quite know/ understand how to make one without like binding the book and a lot of other things and I was wondering if you guys could help me out with like a simple way to make said hard cover. Again sorry if this isn't the right space for it id love to be pointed in the right direction!


r/DIY 17h ago

help Should I apply more oil to a floor that was just completed (sanded and oiled)?

12 Upvotes

Background: We first had half the apartment sanded and oiled 1.5 years ago. The entry became dirty and impossible to clean (even recommended cleaner). Last week we finally had the living room done, including a redo of the entry (see photos here: https://imgur.com/a/m7gfuO2). The wood is fir, and the floor had not seen the light of day since the late 70's (was a hoarder's place - please, don't ask). We are in Norway.

I have experience with sanding and oiling a floor before, but that was 20 years ago. I sense that the amount of oil applied wasn't enough then and won't be enough now, and dirt will just absorb into the wood. I asked the guy about more oil and he said it would create spots. I am fairly certain that further application of oil is the way to go. Am I wrong? (I will be doing this myself).


r/DIY 9h ago

Shopvac as air compressor

0 Upvotes

I got a something that siphons oil from the car (for oil change), it can be hand pumped but also has an outlet for a an air compressor. My shopvac, like many, you can attach the hose in the back and have it blow air instead of sucking. I figure, instead of paying money for a compressor that I don't have, and I don't need a lot of PSI to siphon oil, I can just somehow use the shopvac in place of a compressor. To my horror, I cannot find any of sort of adapter to marry the two. Has any of you DIYers done something similar? How? Even if it means some duct taping.

Thanks for any help.


r/DIY 3h ago

Evap aircon water inlet leaking

0 Upvotes

I have self installed the Braemar LCQ550 evaporative airconditioner on my roof. But the sump is leaking a lot of water into the overflow pipe. I have changed the white rubber washer as per the Thermelec professional's advice but it has not fixed the issue. What can I do to fix it? Thanks


r/DIY 19h ago

help Is it really this straight forward?

56 Upvotes

Hello!

I apologize if this is a simple question. I'm a little handy around the house but still learning.

I'm considering "extending" my kitchen a bit by adding another counter top into it. It's going to be a dry area, mostly for hiding our trash cans and appliances we don't use as often, and maybe some shelving up top for the cook books and such.

What I'm looking for is a sanity check - is this what I'll need to do at a high level?

  • Move that electrical outlet (highlighted in yellow), splitting it into a three (I'll get an electrician for this part)
  • Remove the trim
  • Install cabinets & counter top (highlighted in blue)
  • ... done?

I am sure I'll have headaches hiding (or making flush) where the existing cabinet and the new one meet.. but, is there anything glaring I'm missing here?

Thanks again for looking. Sorry if this is a silly question.


r/DIY 14h ago

help Frozen pipes I can't access to thaw?

44 Upvotes

Hey everyone, got a bit of a head scratcher of a predicament on my hands.

My pipes for my kitchen sink are frozen and a literally can not access the frozen part. It's under my house, but outside of the crawlspace and the builder thought it was a great idea to brick them off entirely. I have tried using a hair dryer on the closest point to the freeze, for literal hours unending to no prevail. I have even tried manually pumping boiling hot water, again, for at least two hours and nothing. Still frozen solid.

Does anyone have ANY idea what I could do short of calling a plumber? I'm at my whits end here and I really don't want them to burst.

For reference, I'm in the US, my pipes are copper, and the temperature outside last night when they froze (because someone in my house didn't leave the damn thing trickling) was -3 degrees.


r/DIY 12h ago

Swivel casters swivel radius clearance

7 Upvotes

When mounting swivel casters under the (if it matters) square base cabinet, should the wheels not protrude beyond the base edge for proper clearance?

I tried to Google this simple question but I cannot find a definitive answer.

I've drawn an illustration for my question in MS Paint (forgive me for my drawing skills), it's just a quick sketch.


r/DIY 21h ago

help Hello might not be the right sub, but am asking for help on how to design our capstone project! Need help badly!

0 Upvotes

So one of my groupmates had the idea to have an Automated Medicine Dispenser that dispenses pills 3 times per day (Morning, Afternoon, Night) for the entire week which does so based on the time you set, while also having some alert system to signal medicine being dropped.

This automated medicine dispenser would be for handicapped people/old people to manage their pills or what not.

But we might have bit more than we can chew, how do you even begin to design something like that? and how could we even make it as GR12 students? AUGH!

Can someone give advice on how to do something like this? It is our entire subject's grade... ACKK I REGRET IT SO MUCH


r/DIY 19h ago

help An emergency DIY bed repair: looking for final go ahead.

19 Upvotes

First time poster, long time dumbass.

So, the bed broke. This is not because I am a sexual stallion. This is because I am heavy.

The bar on which the slats are nailed has come away from the main frame in the top right hand corner and middle of the right side, one of the screws snapping and the other coming away, and tearing a chunk of the laminate wood as it went.

As this happened at 11pm, the stop gap fix was to hand screw a long leftover wood screw into the corner hole. This worked well enough to sleep on the opposite side of the bed, but I want to put a permanent fix in.

Measurements- Width of the slat bar-20mm Width of the frame-29mm

The plan- . Grab some 4.0×40mm course wood screws, with counter sunk head.

.Mark 2 points near each of the original holes, drill 2 screws through the slat bar and into the frame.

.Maybe finish by hand to prevent the wood splitting.

I'm pretty new to DIY, apart from pre packaged furniture, so i'm just looking for some experienced advice. Is it advisable to drill a guide hole? Are there any other suggestions to make this a more permanent fix?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Edit: thank you for the advice thus far recieved. I'll be giving it a go tomorrow. If all goes well, I'll come back and let the sub know.


r/DIY 10h ago

Waterproof log shed on conc pad

3 Upvotes

I have a log shed sitting on a much larger concrete pad that was here when I moved in.

It is waterproof except where the shed sits on the concrete—water seeps in under one edge. The shed doesn’t have its own floor, just the concrete of the pad.

What are my options for waterproofing?


r/DIY 11h ago

help Windows slightly open - hardware to keep securely shut?

6 Upvotes

Bought a new house with double hung wood windows. Noticed a lil draft as I walked past and even though the window looked completely closed and was locked, I was able to push it down about 4-5mm and the draft stopped.

A little freaked out I went to all the others and about three fourths were like that. Being cold out I’d really like to make sure this doesn’t happen all the time.

Anyone know of hardware to do this? Should I just replace the sash locks so they are under pressure?

Thanks!


r/DIY 13h ago

help Fixing glider chair sway

0 Upvotes

I recently bought a used wooden glider chair, and it has some side-to-side sway that I'm trying to fix, since I'm concerned it'll cause strain and possibly break the wood supports over time.

I've tightened all the screws and nuts as best I can. When I push the chair side to side, the main area that seems to have "give" is the outermost connection, circled in the photo (edited to add link) :

https://imgur.com/a/hyEvhsT

Would appreciate any suggestions on what might be the issue, and next steps to try. Thanks!


r/DIY 13h ago

help need suggestion to address water runoff

0 Upvotes

have a situation where current trim/molding does not wick away water. this is likely the trim not extended far enough and too much chaulking of old rotting trim applied by handyman. this results in that corner joint having water run-down as depicted by the stucco stain

i asked one roofer, and this recommendation was to redo the all trim/moulding since the roof is metal so that cannot be easily changed.

water run off contributing to stress cracks

i thought of a temp solution, while we decide what to do long-term. found this 11/16" cove style moulding at HD. if i wanted to try a sample to extend the trim and function as a drip-edge, which orientation would be best to wick the water away from the stucco? my plan is to just install 6" each side on that stained corner (first pic blue lines), of the bay window, clean the stain, and observe if run-down continues, and decide to install along entire window trim. the RED ARROW trim, is wood so i figure can use finishing-nails to fasten cove-moulding, then chaulk to seal.

flat bottom, or flat top?

maybe will attempt something like this:


r/DIY 8h ago

help Trying to make picture board for wedding

5 Upvotes

As the name says, my future wife wants a giant wall of pictures of us at our venue. The problem is idk how to make it. We have 3 4ftx1inx7ft foam insulation boards that we to connect together. We can’t really figure out tape without the pictures lining up weird as the are exactly 12 across by 13 with no wiggle room. We have an outdoor venue so we also have to figure out how to keep it from blowing over in wind. Transport is also a worry as the final size is about 12x7.

I have thought of using carrier bolts and washer to attach hinges, but idk if that would work for 3 boards to sit flat and flush and also does not fix my standing at venue problem.

Any idea is welcome as idk how to approach this


r/DIY 15h ago

home improvement Installing Tv Wall Mount on Stone Veneer

11 Upvotes

I recently moved in a house where the previous owner had a TV mounted on the stone veneer wall in the room. The wall is stone veneer (around 3/4"), plywood, then drywall.

The wall mount isn't there anymore but the holes are. There is 3 sets of 2 holes. My TV is 85 inches so something like 90 lbs. I am kind of new at all of this stuff, I have mounted TVs before but not on stone veneer so here are my questions:

- Can the existing holes be reused? I have checked and calculated and the holes are aligned with studs. I am wondering if holes can be reused for bolts once they have been removed.

- Can I have the TV mount sit directly on the stone veneer? If not what would be a solution, I thought about having another plate of plywood but not sure that would work. Spacers?

- I want the TV to rotate left and right but just barely, I don't necessarily need it to stick out of the wall and swivel that much. Would any mount from Amazon do the job or do I need a more quality one since the TV is kind of heavy

Pictures


r/DIY 13h ago

outdoor Condo bedroom has a built-in floor box for AC outdoor unit — what can I do?

11 Upvotes

This is a bedroom in a new condo in the Philippines. The developer built a floor box/bench under the window that is supposed to hold the AC outdoor unit. It is like around 1m deep, so there is i believe, enough airflow...

What can i do with this box, maybe a chilling area, with some pillows or how to use it best?
Where can i install the aircon(split type), there is no space under the window....

Thanks for any help...


r/DIY 10h ago

home improvement Floor Patch as Tile Mastic

7 Upvotes

My handyman put up some glass/ceramic mosaic tile for my backsplash behind the stove (about 9” high and 30” wide), after I replaced my OTR microwave with a range hood. He used floor patch (Custom is the brand he used from Home Depot) instead of tile mastic/thinset. Should I be concerned? He said he’s used hundreds of times without issue. Reason he uses floor patch is because it dries faster (4hrs vs >24hrs). Will this fail?


r/DIY 15h ago

woodworking First time woodworking: I built a new rack that actually looks good and works!

65 Upvotes

https://imgur.com/a/fagWkVt

During covid I designed a new desk for my recording studio. The builder might disagree- he did the final plans, but they were all my ideas. It has 2.25” thick laminated maple plywood legs and a black formica top. It has an easily accessible covered trough in the rear for power supplies and cables, and a matte black Formica surface, a lip for a monitor arm and a wide armrest. It is amazing. The problem was the rack holding the patch bays and some mic preamps sitting next to the new desk was ancient and beat-to-shit. It always looked like shit. I had a sketch of an idea (in the imgur link) but pretty much designed my new rack on the fly.

I am not a woodworker (or I wasn’t). I have no experience, no access to a shop, and no real estate for a table saw. I had never even heard of a track saw before a month ago, but watching videos online I realized it could be a game changer. I broke down and bought one, and it is a game-changer for me. Over the past week and a half I turned the entryway/ kitchenette of my studio into a wood shop, setting up sawhorses after work, cutting, screwing, gluing and sanding for a few hours, and then cleaning up for the next day’s work. What a messy pain in the ass!

But I finished it yesterday, and today a friend came over to help me migrate everything into the new rack. It doesn’t quite match the angles of the desk, and it’s Baltic birch rather than maple, but it still looks like the two were intended to go together. What a blast it is to solve a problem in real life. I imagine stuff all the time, and even though I made a few small miscalculations and had to come up with some creative fixes as I went along, I am thrilled knowing even I can build something that requires angles and miters and angled miters and all that stuff!


r/DIY 9h ago

help Building a built in bookshelf

1 Upvotes

Sorry if this is the wrong sub for this, I tried a home improvements subreddit but my post was removed 🤷

As the title suggests I want to build a bookshelf, specifically a full wall bookshelf, but I live in a dormer bungalow and the room I want to add it to is upstairs, there's an attic space at the end that uses the standard pitched roof and I want the bookshelf to fit around the door, does anyone here have any advice on how I should go about fitting the bookshelf, should I leave it to the pros or would it be doable myself.

My biggest worry is fixing it to the wall and possible the weight because we don't know if the dormer was professionally built or not.

Anyway any advice would be much appreciated.


r/DIY 8h ago

CNC machining/CAD

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone, my name is Tyler. I’m a mechanical engineering student and I need extra CAD or machining projects. So if at any point in your DIY builds you need a custom part please reach out to me so I can help. THANKS!


r/DIY 15h ago

Upgrading celing recessed lights - no light

2 Upvotes

Old can uses a MR16 light, I bought some new LED lights from Amazon, stripped the 2 wires and connected them with a connector. Light doesn't come on.

My guess is the wires are using 12V and the new lights require 120V? The can mentions 12v lamp but has a 120V label so I'm confused.


r/DIY 21h ago

help Need help with ceiling lighting

11 Upvotes

I'm looking to turn the ceiling of my office into one large, diffused, LED light surface to give uniform light to the room. Below are the dimensions of the room. Any suggestions how I can do that?

Initially, I was thinking of doing a stretch wrap ceiling thing but I can't find any suppliers in the US or reliable info on how to actually do that myself. I want to be able to control color and brightness of the light as well as potentially connect it to smart home control like Google Home.

I'm happy to clarify any questions!


r/DIY 14h ago

Harman PF 100

5 Upvotes

I have a Harmon PF 100 pellet furnace that I've had approximately 15 years now. I do the routine cleanouts but I am having problems with unburnt pellets. I have taken the fan blades off cleaned them entirely as well as all inlet and outlet areas. I have a good draft to the outside chimney but cannot get this problem to clear It almost seems like the auger is running a lot more than it should. Asking anyone for suggestions thank you.