Questions tagged [interior]
The interior tag has no usage guidance.
224 questions
17
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3
answers
212k
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What is my drill hitting and not penetrating when I hang curtains?
I'm living in an apartment. So far I've put up 2 sets of curtains and had the same troubles with both attempts.
One set was over a sliding mirrored closet door (tacky!) and the other set was over a ...
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2
votes
4
answers
5k
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How do I determine the "hand" of the door?
I apologize in advance if this post is confusing. Let me know if additional clarification is needed. =)
I'm planning to install a new front door and am confused on what the appropriate "hand" ...
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14
votes
7
answers
4k
views
What's the least intrusive way to find out what's in a wall?
I'm getting ready to mount a flatscreen TV on our living room wall and would like to route various cables through it (e.g. surround sound speakers, HDMI, etc). I appreciate the AWESOME tips here, but ...
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2
votes
3
answers
24k
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Is there a "safe" sub-floor leveling compound?
I have some gashes in my sub-floor that I'd like to fill/level before placing laminate flooring down. Upon checking at my local home depot, I found some floor leveling compound but quite frankly, I'm ...
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7
votes
1
answer
5k
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Why does flushing a toilet or running a clothes washer sometimes change shower temperature?
Admittedly, this isn't something that is happening to me but I'm curious: I've heard that in some houses, flushing toilets or running a clothes washer sometimes changes the water temperature for ...
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3
votes
4
answers
26k
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Product recommendations for clearing a drain connected to a septic system?
Our shower drain appears to be clogged and is draining slowly. What product can I use to safely clear the drain without damaging our septic system?
According to Drano's site (http://www.drano.com/...
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3
votes
3
answers
5k
views
What should I check for before turning on an OLD dish washer for the first time?
We recently purchased a house with a REALLY old dishwasher. The inspection report says that it "appears to be in working condition" but I'm paranoid of having a plumbing mess if we start using it. ...
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2
votes
6
answers
102k
views
What is the best/cheapest solution for poorly plastered walls?
My house is about 50 years old and many of the walls are plaster. If done nicely I would consider this a plus but it looks like my house was plastered/painted by a a 2nd grade art class. I don't ...
- 419
5
votes
3
answers
13k
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What sealant should I use for the base of a sink faucet?
I guess the title says it all. =) I'm planning to replace my kitchen sink faucet. What type of sealant should I use for the base of the new sink faucet?
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2
votes
2
answers
826
views
Tips for texturing ceilings?
I'm getting ready to texture ceilings for the first time using an air-compressor / hopper. I plan to practice first on some old sample sheets of drywall I have laying around but was also hoping to ...
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4
votes
3
answers
19k
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Do speaker wires need to be protected at exposed end-points?
Ah the joys of new home ownership.
In preparing to prime/paint our family room ceilings, we took down some old (really old) speakers the previous owner had set up. We're not planning to use them ...
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6
votes
1
answer
608
views
How to repair fallen tile near kitchen floor?
One of the tiles adjacent to my kitchen floor fell down.
The tile itself is still in good condition but I'm not sure how to properly reattach it. I'm guessing it would be something like:
Chisel ...
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2
votes
1
answer
304
views
How large are in-wall heating vents that connect to registers?
I'm curious how large heating vents can typically be when connecting to in-wall registers. Do they fill up the entire space between studs?
I'm framing for some drywall patches and would ideally not ...
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8
votes
3
answers
20k
views
Can quick-drying mud be used on the same drywall joints where slow-drying mud was used?
I think I phrased the summary/title poorly but essentially, I'd like to know if all drywall mud coats need to use the same type of joint compound for all coats or if I can transition to quick drying ...
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6
votes
2
answers
25k
views
What type of screws should I use in framing an area for a drywall patch?
As is evident in my previous posts, I'm in the process of framing an interior wall for drywall patch repair. I'd like to know what types of screws to use for connecting new 2x4's. When I visited our ...
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5
votes
2
answers
7k
views
How should I repair drywall where heating registers used to be?
We recently had an asbestos abatement crew remove heating ducts in our house that had asbestos-lined duct insulation. Part of the process required them to remove the duct registers in the wall as ...
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7
votes
2
answers
21k
views
How do I repair a nick in vinyl floor?
We had some recent work done on our house and it appears that one of the workers nicked the vinyl flooring in the kitchen -- resulting in a circular gash about 3/4 inch wide. Here's a picture:
...
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5
votes
2
answers
7k
views
What are the pros and cons of rolled-on wall/ceiling texture paint?
I just recently learned that some wall/ceiling textures can be applied with a paint-roller and special texture "paint".
Here are a couple examples from Home Depot:
I was hoping to get more ...
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7
votes
5
answers
28k
views
How can I keep leftover drywall mud from drying out in the box?
I'm not quite sure how much drywall mud I'll be using for my upcoming project so I'm planning to buy a box of it. Assuming that I have some left over, is there a technique for not wasting it? Will it ...
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10
votes
5
answers
90k
views
What consistency should drywall mud be?
I've been reviewing various drywall videos and documentation but I haven't found clear details on what kind of thickness the joint compound should be. Is there a definitive answer for this? Or does ...
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10
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Why are progressively larger drywall knives used after each mudding pass?
I've been researching drywall finishing techniques and have noticed that when a first coat of mud compound is used, a smaller 6 inch taping knife is used... then on the second mud application, a ...
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2
votes
1
answer
44k
views
What are some tips/techniques for applying knockdown texture to drywall?
I'd like to get advice on applying knockdown texture and fixing my own mistakes in the process. The consistency I'm looking for is something similar to this:
As per an eHow article, I think the ...
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8
votes
4
answers
14k
views
What should I do with a double gang box if I no longer need two separate switches?
We're relocating our TV to a side of our living room that has a power outlet controlled by a wall switch. The switch is part of a double gang box (1 switch controls the porch light, the other ...
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3
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How do I replace missing drywall strips after an asbestos abatement?
I'm getting ready for my first major DIY project (about a week away). Here's a summary:
We confirmed the presence of Asbestos in our house heating vent insulation and acoustic ceilings. We're ...
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