I want to hire a pro to do this, but I want to hire the RIGHT pro. I have a "soft" brick veneer covering my 2 story house in the northeast US, built 1997. I was told that the brick is a "softer" brick when it was laid. I would like to build a front porch all across the front of my house, simple shed roof with perpendicular gable in center over door. The wall has many windows. Due to improper construction, I will have to remove the existing porch concrete slab and replace it, constructed... Pros please help - what method attach porch roof to brick veneer ..read more

I have two issues happening on the outside of the pool area here. Last week I noticed that the raised planter bed had shifted out in one spot by a couple of inches. Today I noticed that the whole stone veneer wall is detaching from the foundation on different side. This is a raised pool area with a built in pool, raised about 3 feet or so above ground level. Last winter I had the pool surround redone with pavers and also had the enclosure rescreed. The house was built in 1979. I’m attaching... Stone veneer wall falling off ..read more

I picked up konfor diamond polishing pads off amazon to polish my marble countertop in my bathroom and the tile surround in the shower. I did a test run on a spare tile I had laying around and I went from 200-3000 grit and all it did was make the tile look dull. It smoothed it out for sure but it never polished up to mirror shine. A guy in the comments on amazon said: "You have to wear down the layer of rubber before you will get results. I have seen people complain that they ram through... Diamond polishing pads not working ..read more

So to preface, I never used my chimney in the 5 years that I've owned this home. No idea what chimney repairs are supposed to be like. We had a storm last week and I noticed water streaming in through the chimney gate/door. Company came out and did exterior/interior inspection with video. $200 for diagnosis. Here's what they recommend: . Seal J Channel (shoulders): $260 . Seal and secure cap: $420 . The above two are needed right away to avoid water intrusion on next storm. Also... Chimney repair estimates ..read more

Hey there- We pulled up a bunch of saltile tile in our house... exposed 3 separate concrete slabs (house was added onto over the years) each slab is unique and generall uniform after polished (level) but, there is ghosting etc from the saltile tile/etc. 10 years later... there is concrete chipping/etc... and I am looking to figure out a way to bring it back to "some kind of life".... I am confused on my options on how to work with the already polished concrete to either re-seal it... Interior Floor-previously polished concrete questions ..read more

Can I use Thompsons Water Seal for wood on a 2 steps of concrete and cinder block? OK. I did a search here and it looks like some people do not think highly of Thompsons. It might even be sold be the devil, idk. But they have advertised it for years, so I recognized it in the store and bought it for some new redwood steps we have. I sealed the steps today but have a lot of material left. It is designated an exterior wood sealer. I wonder if it will work on the newish concrete and... Can I use Thompsons Water Seal for wood, on concrete ..read more

So I helped husband & workers pour concrete slabs, when doing so I dragged alot of the concrete rather than skreating or whatever it's called, woke up this morning & the entire 2 slabs I helped with has numerous cracks, the outside boards he is concerned about taking off due to this also! I cannot say how sorry enough I am for being lazy & not tamering like we should have, didn't realize this would happen, it's all my fault? is there any solution or? This is for my barn & honestly I thought... DESPERARE HOUSEWIFE NEEDS HELP ..read more

This image best dictates my current entrance set up. Mine, however, is probably 90 years old and the house steps are good but the side walk and lower steps have sunken and shifted to the side. I’m thinking the sidewalk especially and the lower stairs should be demo’d and build new. I believe the best method, after demolishing and removing existing, is to dig down to clay and then lay gravel and concrete block filled with gravel up to the point where the... Stair rebuild ..read more

I'm trying to build an outhouse out in the woods with a concrete floor. I have done a lot of fence posts and sono-tubes, but never a slab. When I mixed up the concrete in the mixer I messed up and did not use enough water. This created an "aquarium gravel" kind of cement slab. Its now four days old. I stopped by to wet it to help it cure. And when I dumped 10 gallons of water on it (Pictures below were taken about 1 minute after dumping 10 gallons on it!). The water went straight... Accidently made a "permeable" concrete slab on my first try ..read more

Looking to install larger windows in an early 70s built block home. (no tiebeam) How would I go about replacing the current lintels? I attached photos of current window and new one going in ..read more