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35 views

Using edging where people walk across

I'm building a gravel patio inside my U-shaped gravel driveway. I will be using two different kinds of gravel, so I need a separator at the border to prevent the mixing of the two types of gravel. If ...
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1answer
41 views

Correct way to fix a broken block in a cinder block foundation

I have a 1954 built house with a cinder block crawlspace foundation with about a 1 1/2 foot clearance. I can squeeze in, but not easily. I'm in Cleveland, OH, so there is definitely a freeze-thaw ...
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1answer
45 views

Crushed cinder block a substitute for crushed stone?

I have two projects and I'm hoping there's a synergy between them. The first project is the demolition of a small cinder block wall that has just been completed. The second project is building a ...
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1answer
37 views

When to Repair Versus Replace Concrete Slab?

I am a first-time homebuyer and purchased an older home in the Northeastern US. While I've found great infomation here on my many DIY projects, I have not been able to determine whether or not my ...
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34 views

Is this brick knee wall tied in to the main wall?

We would like to remove the L-shaped brick "knee wall" in the picture on the left. The picture on the right shows the seam between the knee wall and the main wall of the house. Is the knee ...
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1answer
48 views

How to identify the wall type and studs for drilling

I need to anchor an Ikea bookcase and a drawer to the wall, but despite days of Internet research I am not able to identify where I can drill a hole in my wall. I have tried knocking on the wall to ...
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1answer
50 views

mice and sound traveling through brick party wall joist pockets

We live in a 1912 row house that I believe has joist pockets that allow sound and mice to travel freely between me and my neighbors' houses. For instance, my neighbor hired pest control to deal with ...
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3answers
38 views

Best way to fill gaps between lumber and masonry or rocks

We have built 4x4 retaining walls around existing rocks and concrete that we were unable to get rid of. The idea was - and is - use something fill the gaps between the lumber and the rocks / cements. ...
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0answers
27 views

How to fix and redrill stucco/concrete to install a new bib?

Replacing a hose bib and the new holes don't match the old holes. The exterior is stucco over concrete. Also, it looks like initially they stucco'ed after the hose was installed. I think I would like ...
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1answer
84 views

Safely drilling into a stone fireplace?

I have a stone fireplace in a cabin that I'd like to mount a television screen on. While I’d love to pay someone a reasonable fee to do so, the cabin is in a location where contractors are few and far ...
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1answer
80 views

What's going on with this chimney?

Tore the walls off and found the chimney looking like this: It's seen a lot of leaking as you can see from the streaks. The exterior portion was rebuilt last year. That horizontal crack running ...
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1answer
27 views

Best way to fix tile

One of our old tiles suddenly feel off, the others seem ok. What's the best to fix back. I don't think I'll be able to get a new tile to match, and I don't think I can chisel the old mortar off ...
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2answers
114 views

How long should I wait to drill holes into brand new mortar?

I just repaired loose bricks on my house in preparation to install new window shutters. When would it be ok to drill holes into the mortar and install the shutters? From my other research I'm going to ...
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1answer
26 views

Fastening stone stair treads to a CMU base in a removable manner

I'm designing a very, very low set of landscape stairs (really more like a wide stoop) to transition two areas of my yard. My plan is to pour a concrete base slab, build a core with CMUs on top of ...
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1answer
37 views

Best way to attach trellis to brick

What is the correct way to attach a wooden trellis to brick? Should the mounting bolts (screws?) go into the brick or into the mortar between the bricks? What is the best practice? If it matters and ...
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1answer
30 views

Poured door transition - Safe to dig around?

In the back of my house I have an addition that just sits on a perimeter foundation (no basement). I've got some moisture problems and some grading issues, so I'm putting a french drain around the ...
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1answer
27 views

Leveling first row of CMUs on uneven slab

So I may have a couple to many beers when pouring the slab for my new outdoor fireplace, and "forgot" that I needed to pour it level and not follow the slop of the patio. Whoops... https://ibb.co/...
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1answer
32 views

What is the optimal method of dealing with leaking brick veneer?

My home is brick veneer (one layer). Interior is all drywall, mostly put up by the people who sold me the house 4 years ago (it was a flip). We're in Tampa, so we get a lot of rain, but the only time ...
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2answers
43 views

How can I drill into cinder blocks and attack brackets?

I want to affix some shelves to some cinder block walls. The shelves would be 3000 x 400mm. I have been eyeing up these brackets as supports. The shelves will be to hold power tools and toolboxes and ...
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0answers
49 views

Having doubts about my mason

I have just hired a young mason for a few projects, one of which was to patch a hole in the brick wall and the other to build a low garden wall. I hired him on the basis of pictures that he texted me ...
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2answers
92 views

Can I cut a 2" thick marble slab myself?

I've picked up a 27"x27"x2" piece of marble countertop off the street. I'd like to clean it up and use it, but I'd also like to trim it down. I don't mind doing it myself, but want to make sure I'm ...
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0answers
17 views

Weather barrier for concrete block to wood transition

I have a concrete block garage with a single-car-size door that I've framed in. The goal is to cover the whole area with siding. I've applied housewrap to the wood portion but I'm not certain how to ...
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3answers
738 views

Drilling into fireplace

Is it safe to drill a one inch deep hole for a small screw and anchor into the mortar area around the rock in my fireplace to hang something? Is there any risk to piercing the inner part and letting ...
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1answer
101 views

Is this joint between the foundation and first row of mortar typical

Just wondering if this is a normal appearance for the area where the foundation and first row of mortar/brick meet. There are no signs of any structural cracks or anything like that in the area. Is ...
2
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1answer
119 views

Filling gaps between bricks in pool deck

I am repairing the deck around my pool. Some bricks were loose, so I removed them, ground off old mortar and glued them back. Now I need to fill the gaps between the bricks with mortar, similar to how ...
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1answer
62 views

Does this wall look sound?

I want to hang pegboard and some French cleats on my garage walls, which have some cracks in the masonry. Are these likely to be cosmetic or structural defects? Assuming I hang everything from the ...
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5answers
5k views

Masonry bits dulling after 3-4 holes

I'm using an 18v makita hammer drill with a 3/16" Bosch blue granite turbo concrete bit to drill 2" deep holes into concrete-filled cinder blocks. With a fresh bit, it takes about 15 seconds to drill ...
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4answers
5k views

What bit should I use to drill a two inch hole in a solid concrete wall?

I am planning to install a 1.5-inch conduit through a poured concrete wall. I am planning on drilling a two-inch hole to accommodate the size of the conduit body. I have been searching up and down, ...
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1answer
136 views

Widening the stone entrance into a crawlspace

I've got a 200 year old house with a crawl space under one corner of the house. The entrance to that crawl space is very tight (pictured below), and I am a large man. I want to expand the entrance to ...
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0answers
35 views

Insulating or air sealing around pipes in brick

I recently moved into a single story double masonry house and discovered a rather noticeable amount of cold air coming from around the dishwasher in the kitchen. I pulled out the machine and found ...
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0answers
45 views

My granite foundation was underpinned and has load-bearing 6x6 posts around the perimeter of the basement. How to repoint behind them?

My building has a granite block foundation supporting a brick structure above it. In the 80's, the building was gutted and the foundation was underpinned. They added load bearing posts around the ...
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2answers
163 views

How can I tell if this is a gas or wood burning fireplace

From what I've been able to determine what's pictured is a gas log lighter for wood burning fireplaces. The prior owner did some questionable stuff so I don't know if it was originally gas and he "...
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2answers
65 views

Trying to decide between these two types of masonry bits

I'm undecided if I need an SDS Max vs Plus for masonry drill bits. I've heard that drilling with SDS Plus can take a while with larger diameter bits. Anyone ever drill larger than 1" with an SDS Plus ...
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3answers
150 views

Can't get my new masonry bit to go further than about 3/4"

I bought a home last year and have been trying to put up interior walls inside my shop in the back yard. I built a wood frame and want to secure the frames to the concrete floor using masonry screws. ...
2
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1answer
184 views

What type of mortar should be used for small mortar repair on a 100 year old house?

I've read that one should use a special type of mortar with old brick houses because they expand more - portland mortar vs soft lime. The recommendation from the NY Landmarks Commission states: ...
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1answer
38 views

What to use to seal gaps between slate veneer on vertical exterior walls of home

I have slate veneer on the exterior walls of some parts of my home. There are gaps between the various uneven pieces of slate which protrude off the wall to different levels (i.e. each slate piece ...
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1answer
76 views

How to protect stone masonry wall from weather

My external walls are made from natural stone and they were built in 1900. The weather has stripped the paint off and is causing wear to the wall. The current paint used on the wall is a matt black ...
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0answers
74 views

Repointing stone basement

I am looking into which cement to use to repoint our old house (built ~1900) stone basement. I found conflicting advice, some suggesting type N or type S is fine, but some sources suggest that ...
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0answers
40 views

Waterproofing Brick foundation

I live in a brick house built circa 1975 in northern Alabama. It has a huge brick/cinder block/concrete front porch. The brick is a veneer that goes around the bottom. When it rains, some of the ...
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3answers
152 views

How much water for mixing with concrete?

I bought a bag of quikrete mason mix for creating some planters from molds. The wood panel molds look something like this, but the spacing is a bit narrower and they're smaller: Since I'll be pouring ...
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1answer
140 views

Recurrent cracks in brick wall

There are recurrent cracks in the brick wall shown in the image. The cracks have approximately equal width along their length. The cracks appeared within the first year of construction of the house. ...
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1answer
362 views

Safety concern building a fire pit out of reclaimed bricks

I have a bunch of reclaimed (broken) bricks left over from building a patio. The bricks are from an old home that was knocked over and buried for some time. I would like to use these to build a fire ...
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2answers
525 views

How to extend a concrete patio

I am trying to extend my back patio like this Eventually, I want to extend the full 18 feet, but for now I am planning to just do the 5 feet by 5.5 feet section in blue. This section will be attached ...
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4answers
1k views

Is there some sort of formula to determine how many bricks I would need to build a completely new structure?

I am looking to add a small ham shack to the property, so I contacted the city's planning department. They said that if the structure was ten feet at most and didn't exceed two hundred square feet in ...
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1answer
183 views

I have a gap in my concrete window sill, what do I fill it with

What is the correct product to fill this joint with? If I should use a cement based product I do have a can of water plug which I'd rather use than buy a 60 pound bag of something else.
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0answers
22 views

Outdoor fireplace cracks

One section of my outdoor fireplace cracked ....the ledge all around the chimney. You can dig the mortar out with your finger it's like brown sugar it was built last summer.
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4answers
3k views

Mounting TV on a weird wall that has some material between the drywall and stud

So I have a strange wall construction in part of my house. I'm mounting an articulating mount, up to 55", in a stud. I took out a cable outlet and box to see the construction because I wasn't ...
2
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2answers
695 views

How to build a mantel on rough stone fireplace

I have a very rough stone fireplace for which I'd like to hang a new mantel. Eventually I want to hang a flat screen and the new mantel will protect it from heat and such. I have noodled this project ...
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2answers
57 views

How to best repair the tile

My plumber had to knock out some of my bathroom wall tile to access the stack and make a repair. I am trying to go about repairing the hole. However I cannot separate the tile from the existing wall ...
2
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2answers
276 views

Are paving bricks differently sized for sand bedding vs mortar bedding?

I had been planning to lay standard clay pavers over a sand bed in my front walk. I had planned for a standard size of 4 x 8 and maybe 2 3/4 inches tall. However, the brick that I like comes in this ...

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