Vertical structures which usually enclose, divide, define, or protect an area.
11
votes
3answers
6k views
How do I run ethernet, speaker wire, and coax through a wall into a crawlspace?
I would like to run three low-voltage cables from my entertainment center through an old plaster wall, down (1-3 feet) through the sill plate, and into the crawlspace.
The cables are Ethernet, ...
0
votes
1answer
554 views
What type of glue sticks to tiles?
I have some hooks that has a glued surfaced attached to it. They look like this,
Image Courtesy: www.dhgate.com
I bought a lot of them. Like 50-60. I used them almost everywhere. Mostly in ...
4
votes
1answer
2k views
How do you frame a wall more than 8-10 feet tall?
I am capable of framing a "simple" 8' wide 8' tall 4" thick wall out of 2x4 lumber, then attaching plywood or drywall or OSB or any other sheet material to the frame. Making the wall wider is a ...
4
votes
2answers
221 views
How to cover a window well seamlessly so I can project TV onto that wall?
Problem: I would like the projected image to cover the whole wall, but when I turn the projector on, the window is in the way.
I bought a small screen (see the photographs) to try and cover that up, ...
2
votes
3answers
434 views
What is a good solution for hiding insulation in an unfinished basement?
First off, let me note that I am a tenant in this house. My landlord lets me do small improvements, but I'm not going to finish the basement with drywall myself.
Basically, we have an unfinished ...
0
votes
1answer
458 views
Can I mount an 80" TV where only one stud is available? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How can I mount a TV when I can’t find studs inside my wall?
I am looking for some opinions here. When my electrician tried to mount my 80"TV above my fireplace, he ...
1
vote
0answers
175 views
How can I build shower niches into an old plaster and lath wall?
I'm in the middle of remodeling my bathroom, and am about to tackle putting up the shower walls. My house was built in the 1930s, and thus most of the walls are lath slathered with mortar that holds ...
2
votes
1answer
143 views
Can I use 2-1/2“ metal studs to hang 1/2” drywall?
I am in the process of remodeling my basement, & it's ready for studs; the basement is small, so to maximize as much space as possible I was thinking of using 2-1/2" metal studs opposed to the ...
2
votes
1answer
224 views
What should I use as a base for my wall mounted PC case?
Here is an example of what I am trying to put together:
What material could I use as a base onto which I can mount the motherboard, hard-disk and other wiring?
6
votes
2answers
134 views
Is cork an effective solution to reverberation problems?
I own a small English language academy in Spain. After a rebuild last summer I find that problems with reverberation persist. This is at its worst when less people are present but I'm looking for a ...
6
votes
2answers
3k views
My neighbor keeps complaining about my music. How to soundproof my apartment?
I live in an old apartment building and the walls are thin. This is a problem because I love to listen to music -- sometimes at odd hours of the night. Yes, I can be an asshole in this way. But my ...
0
votes
1answer
99 views
What's the expense of moving in an exterior living room wall? [closed]
To meet code (for a two-unit rental) we will need to move the exterior wall of a house next to a driveway in (note not out but in) by one foot (so the driveway can be 12 foot wide; it is currently ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
My house has steel “2x4s” in the walls, can I hang cabinets, a TV, or some other heavy item from them?
The question is pretty much all in the title: My house has metal "2x4's" in the walls. Can I hang cabinets or a TV directly on these metal studs? If not directly, is there something special I must do?
...
0
votes
2answers
370 views
What type of wall construction is shown in these pictures?
These photos were taken through a small hole in the wall of a house. They are of the inside of the cavity. The hole they were taken through is at a height of about 60cm from the internal ground floor ...
2
votes
1answer
132 views
How to fit things to a Bungaroosh wall
The walls in my house are made of Bungaroosh which means that attaching anything to them is most likely to hit some issues. Recently I've been trying to fit a floating shelf to the wall, but no ...
3
votes
4answers
489 views
How do I prop-up or fix a wall that is slowly moving?
In the image, the single stack of breeze blocks on the right hand side has been slowly moving away from the wall over the last 4 years. The gate latch (also on the right hand side) is now rubbing ...
0
votes
1answer
247 views
What type of screws and rawl plugs should I use?
I have a a framed canvas picture that I need to hang on a the wall. It is about 3 foot in height and 2 foot wide.
The wall is made of solid brick but has been boarded over with plasterboard and then ...
3
votes
2answers
830 views
What to block a hole with to stop mice getting in?
I have heard rustling sounds coming from my exterior walls, which I am assuming is mice (or some other rodent) scurrying around in the hollow wall.
I have found a hole about 2 inches in diameter in ...
2
votes
1answer
225 views
Installing a swing set between two brick walls?
My neighbors and I are considering putting up a swing set in the alleyway between our houses. The space is about 10' wide, and the house walls on both sides are brick (about 4" thick).
Which of the ...
2
votes
2answers
382 views
What could be causing wall cracks through the middle of our house
We have been fixing cracks in our interior, and exterior walls since we moved into our house 3 years ago, and it just keeps getting worse. Our house sits between a field that goes uphill at a 45 ...
11
votes
3answers
4k views
What's the minimum depth that an electrical box can recess into a finished wall? Does it have to be flush?
Do electrical boxes have to be flush to the finished surface? Can they recess any depth into the wall by as much as 1/8" or 1/4"?
Edit: I appreciate everyone offering alternative solutions to ...
8
votes
3answers
989 views
Can I wall-mount a TV when there is an air gap between the drywall and the wooden stud?
I'm mounting a 38lb TV (with a ~10lb mounting bracket).
I located a stud, but the drywall floats an inch above it, plus the drywall itself is another 1/2 inch. So a couple 3-inch screws (and not a ...
5
votes
2answers
739 views
How can I install a frost-free outdoor faucet with very little space?
On one side of my house, the previous owner frequently forgot to shut off the outdoor water during the winter. Given that my house is in Minnesota, it gets cold during the winter, and he had to ...
4
votes
2answers
5k views
How do I properly jack up one side of my house?
As I write this, I have a slight lean as I walk on my floor in some parts of my house, and it's even worse on the upper floor. In some parts upstairs, it feels almost like you have to grab something. ...
-2
votes
1answer
159 views
How should I modify my wall such that I will not hear the electric devices noise from my neighbour? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do I soundproof my vaulted townhouse wall?
My neighbor seem to have place a electric device (maybe aircon or a humidifier) on a wall that is shared between them and ...
1
vote
1answer
274 views
Appearance of damp after dpc injection - can “good enough” plaster go soft?
Approximately 1 year ago we had a wall treated with damp proof course injections (silicone I believe) and we then rendered with a mixture including a relatively strong mix of good waterproofer.
...
4
votes
3answers
897 views
How can I support a large aquarium built into a wall?
I have a wall that goes 3/4th of the way to the ceiling between my living room and dining room. I would like to put a fish tank in it, spanning the length of the wall.
I have the engineering skills ...
4
votes
2answers
171 views
How do I prepare this porous interior wall for paint?
In one of the rooms in my house the walls are wallpapered. Underneath the wall is rough and porous (see picture).
My plan is to strip the wall paper and eventually paint it, but research seems to ...
0
votes
1answer
118 views
Cost of Sound proof insulation [closed]
I have 1200 sqft area of flooring that is going to be insulated with cotton. The installers say that sound proof insulation is going to cost $1000 more. So that's like almost an extra $0.80 per ...
4
votes
2answers
211 views
Any tips on fixing a difficult wall for tiling?
I've got this small old bathroom that I want to lay with ceramic tiles. But to do that the walls should be straight - which they are not. Three of them are almost fine, but the fourth is... well, take ...
6
votes
1answer
113 views
How can I restore this interior wooden siding?
I have a small entry way with wooden siding by my front door. It's not in great condition from the previous owners and I was hoping there would be a way to restore or just make it look better. Could ...
10
votes
2answers
922 views
How to fix small holes in a wall caused by throwing darts?
I can think of a few ways of fixing these marks on the wall but I don't want to try anything without first getting some advice.
I have a dart board on a painted wall and as is inevitable with darts, ...
3
votes
1answer
199 views
How to seam new stucco to old stucco when patching large areas
Our city inspector wants us to break out the edge of old stucco to expose the wire then tie that back into the new mesh. But when we did that, it became obvious to everyone (inspector included) that ...
7
votes
2answers
182 views
Are these brick walls properly constructed?
I'm looking into buying an apartment and I'm visiting some locations. During one of my visits I saw this exterior wall of a future apartment building:
I'm not an expert but it does not look good ...
0
votes
1answer
127 views
Should I be concerned about an exterior wall crack on the 2nd floor? [closed]
I live on the 2nd floor of a small block of flats. I have noticed a crack outside by the one window. I read on the forum that if its only plaster deep its not too serious. This one looks like it could ...
4
votes
1answer
280 views
Should I use sugar soap or denatured alcohol to clean nicotine from painted walls?
I'd like to clean nicotine off of painted walls, but I'm not sure if I should use sugar soap, or denatured alcohol (methylated spirits).
Which would do a better job all-around, specifically for ...
2
votes
1answer
156 views
How can I seal an old wood finish on a 60-year-old wall that is off-gassing?
We just moved into a 60-year-old house and most of it was recently painted with low VOC paint, although one original wall is a medium-color wood finish which is putting out a strange smell. One of us ...
6
votes
3answers
488 views
Is there an easy way to make a square hole in plaster/brick to put an electrical outlet box in?
I am about to fix a few new sockets, I can run the cables down the back of some built in cupboards, but would rather not use surface mounted sockets.
I do not have a SDS drill, just a standard ...
6
votes
2answers
3k views
How can I remove old paint from plaster walls?
I first stripped the wallpaper from my bedroom walls using a steam stripper and scraper.
This revealed a lurid pink paint on the walls and a peculiar purple ceiling paint which came off in sheets like ...
2
votes
1answer
239 views
What to best use to build an artificial wall in my house?
trying to build a wall in my new rented house to separate one big room into two smaller ones. Any recommendations on what to use and on how to build this?
3
votes
3answers
2k views
How to determine the type of wall on which I'm putting up a shelf?
I'd like to put up a small shelf. I have never tackled any kind of DIY project before so this is a first (I don't even have the necessary tools yet!) and I have a rather newbie question: Having read a ...
4
votes
2answers
476 views
How can I extend a wall outlet?
I have a interior brick wall, with wall outlet in it, I am covering the wall with 1/2" sheet rock. But I am ancoring 1x2's on the brick so I can hang the sheetrock. How would I extend the wall outlet ...
5
votes
2answers
541 views
I removed this non-load bearing wall in the corner of my basement, now 2 doors upstairs rub on their frames. Why is this?
In the image below, notice where the small 1x1 bits are, running perpendicular to the ceiling joists. These was used by the previous homeowner to lower the ceiling in one room, so if you can imagine, ...
4
votes
1answer
170 views
How to prepare poured concrete wall for adhesion
I am considering the application of an artificial stone wall veneer onto a poured concrete wall. The wall is flat with no protrusions or other which might aid in adhesion. I do not know if any release ...
3
votes
1answer
241 views
How do I fix a fallen-off facade?
We live in a block of apartments made from bricks, and the wall outside one window is damaged. We have a clothes hanger attached to that wall, and one screw has already fallen off, and wall around the ...
3
votes
4answers
2k views
Is it possible to anchor a cabinet to a wall without damaging it?
I have purchased an approx 2m high by 35cm deep dispay cabinet seated on a carpet floor. This is not fully stable (the cabinet rocks a bit when you exert force on the doors to open them), and it was ...
0
votes
1answer
283 views
How can I hang a skateboard deck on the wall?
I have a Skateboard deck and I'd like to hang it on the wall. Analog to hanging a frame on the wall.
I've thinking about it but I have no idea on how to do it. Firstly I was thinking to suspend it, ...
5
votes
4answers
960 views
How do I know if a firewall and mortar contain asbestos?
I want to remove a rock wall behind my pellet stove that was put in in 1980.
I have already removed some of the rock and cement that holds the rocks together where the pellet stove is sitting. Then ...
0
votes
1answer
79 views
Is the permeability of normal shellac (flakes dissolved in spirits) the same as Zinsser B-I-N sealer?
I've made a whole batch of clear shellac for sealing ceiling and concrete floors in a heavily nicotine damaged apartment.
But I'm worried now that there may be some differences between them, such as ...
8
votes
3answers
17k views
How do you know when and where it is safe to drill into a wall?
Lots of home projects involve cutting or drilling through walls (everything from nails, screws, or hooks to mount things to cutting through drywall and drilling through studs to run wire).
In ...
