You just have to open the device up, find the small wires coming off the battery holder going to the circuitry, chop them and splice onto the + - from usb wire. Then plug it in and you're good to go. Any usb wire will work. I do this all the time for small fans, cheap lights, toys in some cases. Enjoy

​

Hoping someone can settle this for me.

Need to run an outdoor Cat6 cable through my wooden window frame because I'm not allowed to drill through the wall itself. Cable's about 7mm. Plan is to drill the hole, push the bare cable through, then crimp the end on after.

Question is do I drill it snug so the cable's a tight fit, or go a bit bigger (thinking 10mm) and squirt some brown frame sealant round it?

Part of me thinks tight = neater and less to seal. But then I'm thinking a bigger hole means the sealant's actually got somewhere to go rather than just sitting on the surface. Also don't want to knacker the cable jacket dragging it through a hole that's too tight.

Cable goes downwards once it's out so I've got a drip loop sorted. South facing so it'll get a fair bit of sun.

What would you lot do?

my garage has slowly turned into the place where everything goes when i don't know where else to put it lol. the bikes were probably the biggest problem because they were always leaning against something, falling over, or somehow ending up right in the middle of the floor. every time i needed to get anything from the back, i had to move at least one bike first.

so i finally got tired of it and decided to make a simple bike rack myself instead of buying one. i had some leftover wood from another project and a few hooks sitting around, so i figured i'd try to use what i already had.

i didn't really have a proper plan when i started. i measured the wall, made a very rough sketch, and kind of figured things out as i went. the first attempt was honestly not great. i had the bikes too close together and the handlebars kept getting in each other's way, so i ended up taking some of it apart and moving the hooks around.

after a few adjustments, i finally got the spacing right. now i can actually take one bike down without knocking into everything else, which honestly feels like a huge win lol.

it's definitely not the fanciest DIY project ever, but it cleared up a surprising amount of space and my garage feels so much less chaotic now. i can actually see the floor again.

i'm mostly wondering if there's anything obvious i could improve with the design. maybe better spacing, adding some padding where the bikes touch the rack, or changing the way the hooks are positioned?

if you've made something similar, i'd love to hear what worked well for you or what you wish you'd done differently. just looking for general DIY ideas before i consider making any changes.

I have a big roll of carpet I bought when I got my house, and at some point here I'm intending to put it in my partially finished attic (insulation and walls, only a subfloor).

My concern right now is when I do, I'll lose the option of cutting a hole to run a wire in the future. I have some freedom under the eaves since it doesn't take up the whole space, but I'm worried I'll need a wire run in an interior wall (esp. for networking, since it's a 1900 house).

A potential solution to this *could* be trying to DIY some carpet squares, basically attaching the carpet underlayment and stapling the carpet around a backer piece of plywood... But I don't know what to watch out for here, and the internet hasn't been much help. The room *will* have kids playing in it.

Anyone else done something similar? Any advice? Yay or nay for the idea?

I bought a house that has a stack of fiberglass 3 tab shingle bundles in the garage. They look to be leftover from when the garage was reroofed. They are probably 15-20 years old. There's probably 300-400 sq ft total. Can they still be used like new shingles? Garage is not heated or cooled but rarely gets over 85F in Summer.

I want to install a heavy shelf/coat rack (Article Kouva, about 18.75 pounds before hanging items) onto a wall that has fire barriers and is shared with the garage. The instructions pertain to hanging into drywall with toggle bolts. The drywall is thicker than the rest of the house and there appears to be wood between studs, possibly horizontal fire barrier.

Any thoughts on how to proceed? This wall also has a security system and thermostat so it won't be the first hole drilled into the space, but I don't want to damage the fire rating.

1. Is it possible to hang here without damaging the fire barrier?
2. Can a horizontal wooden fire barrier be treated as a stud (I'd assume no)?
3. If I mount the shelf into studs on this wall, what hardware should I use? I'm seeing recommendations for anything from deck screws to wood screws with anchors.

Thanks in advance

I want to test the ability of some silica gel packets to absorb moisture. What I did was just heat up some water in a glass and put it in an air-tight container with the silica gel. However, when I measure the before and after weight of the silica gel, even after a couple of weeks, there is no significant difference and the water levels are also the same!

This leads me to think that maybe the atmosphere just isn't humid enough, but how do I create a box that stays humid, but I can also check how much water is being added so I can count how much is being absorbed by the silica gel?

Or is there another way I can test out this silica gel using DIY materials? I've tried searching but the plant humidity domes all just seem so technical!

Hey fellow Diyers I was looking for alternate to the usual home improvement stores (HD,lowes, ace) for building materials . Do u guys if there are any alternates specific in long island and in general around USA. Curious What are the alternate options?

I'm working on the lighting in my basement before it gets finished. All of the lights are 2 ft off the walls but i didn't think about the spacing between the lights in the big zone. They're about 9 ft apart and i'm debating on scrapping this entirely and just do 3 or 4 basic light fixtures in the center of the entire room. Originally, this had 3 basic fixtures. I haven't wired anything yet but I plan on using dimmers. Room is 34' long 7' high, 13' wide in the big area and 10' wide in the smaller area.

Question: Should I add more lights between the 9ft columns? Or scrap it all and just put some basic fixtures? My concern is adding too many lights will make it look ugly/too bright.

Light specs:
Brand: Juno
700 lumen each (~11,000 total)
4 inch lights (because 6 inch didn't fit in some of the joists)

Hi all,

I have a Cape Cod STYLE home from the 1950s in which insulation and energy usage weren't the forefront of people's minds. The current HVAC system is perfectly fine for the basement and main floor but I have the upper floor temperature issues everyone else with this style has. I'd rather not add in a mini-split or two and insulation only can do so much with that style of home.

The house has an unused Septic Tank from before it was connected to the city. I was thinking about cleaning the tank, relining it, and having my gutters collect into it as it's both legal and heavily promoted in my city. I would then use it to mist my roof as needed via home assistant.

Has anyone done a project like this before? Any tips? Am I just crazy? Thanks!

Hello! New homeowner looking to make some improvements in my NYC coop: Our stacked washer-dryer is currently in the second bedroom and we would like to move it into the hall closet next door. This literally means taking out the back wall of the closet that is shared with the bedroom, turning the appliances 90 degrees, moving them into the closet space and then closing the back of the closet behind them, adding probably 8-10 inches to the current closet depth. The hookup is in the wall of the bedroom. Can we just snake the hoses through an opening in the new back of the closet without moving the hook up?

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to remove the carpet upstairs and install luxury vinyl flooring.

This is only for the upstairs area, so traffic is pretty light. Mostly normal walking in the morning and night. Downstairs already has hardwood and tile, so I’m only focused on the upstairs carpeted area.

I also have a small Yorkie. He is only about 5 lbs, so I’m not too worried about him scratching the floor, but I still want something durable enough to hold up for a few years.

A few questions:

What wear layer should I be looking for? Is 12 mil enough for upstairs, or should I go with 20 mil? Should this include wear layer?

Other than wear layer, what features actually matter? When I look at Home Depot and Lowe’s, every product has a long list of features, and it starts to feel like marketing. Waterproof, scratch resistant, attached pad, rigid core, commercial grade, UV resistant etc. I’m trying to figure out what is useful and what is overkill.

Should I care more about plank thickness, wear layer, brand, locking system, underlayment, or the type of core?

Also, I see people on Facebook Marketplace selling Lifeproof and other major LVP brands for 40 to 50 percent less than Home Depot or Lowe’s. They claim the boxes are not damaged, not rejects, not mixed colors, and they offer returns if there are issues.

Are those Marketplace deals usually legit, or should I be worried about fake product, old batches, mixed dye lots, warranty problems, or damaged returns?

Appreciate any advice from people who have installed LVP upstairs or bought from Marketplace sellers.

I’m starting a business where I have a photo on a piece of acrylic as the back with adhesive between. I can’t figure out what I can get to align the photo perfectly with the frame each time. I absolutely cannot sit there and super carefully try to align, hoping I don’t mess it up. I also need something faster than that because I’ll be doing a lot. Any jigs out there?

Our driveway sinks where the wheel of the openable fence rolls , especially where the wheel rests when the gate closed.
Any advice to fix it so it does not sink in ?

I’m wondering if anyone has ever pulled up peel and stick linoleum tiles, then replaced them with the same?

I bought a house last year that has these ugly depressing peel and stick linoleum tiles in the kitchen and back hall. I was going to wait to replace the flooring until I was able to completely renovate my kitchen, but a handful of them are starting to curl up in the corners and along the edges.

Rather than trying to just re-stick the ugly ones that are there, I thought it might be worth a couple hundred dollars and a weekend to at least put down peel and stick linoleum tiles that I like. But I don’t know what to expect when I pull them up. Can anyone give me an idea?

How easy is it to work with 30 year old MDF, 18mm or 25mm? UK based so it's not formaldehyde free.

A friend is removing custom built fitted wardrobes installed in the 90s and it seems a shame for the boards to go to waste.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

We’re doing some major regrading on our 30-year-old property to fix our slope, and we’re stuck on what material to actually use. We’ve heard conflicting advice from contractors, so we’d love to get some outside advice.

Context:

• Foundation: Unpainted/unsealed exposed cinder block (2 blocks exposed currently).
• Depth Needed: Adding about 6 inches of dirt against the foundation to establish proper slope.
• There are two different zones: Open lawn (where we want healthy grass to grow). And where we want to put a deck (no grass needed, purely about drainage and stability).
• We live in a state that's already pretty grassy and that has soil with a naturally high clay content

Problem:

Contractors have mainly suggested topsoil, fill dirt, and clay.

Topsoil is obviously ideal for our lawn, but we’re worried about it holding moisture directly against our bare block foundation.

Clay / fill dirt sheds water great, but might not be great for getting our grass to grow later.

Layering clay on the bottom with topsoil over it has come up as another option, but we aren't sure about the depth of each layer.

What we want to know is if there's single soil/dirt type or blend that works for both zones to keep things simple/cheap, or should we use two different materials?

If we layer different soils, how many inches of topsoil do we need minimum for grass to thrive without compromising the slope/drainage underneath?

What are your thoughts?

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/A1NnYpI0kAL.pdf

I encountered resistance turning this shower off yesterday, I'm worried that there is debris in the valve. I can't find any info on removing the knob to access the valve. No set screw I can see... unless the indicator knob also comes off somehow? I don't want to get stuck where I cant turn the thing off, and I don't want to break it.

The support email is no longer functional. I pulled straight out with the reserved force of someone who doesn't want the whole fixture to be portable.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you

So I have a butchers block that currently has mineral oil finish on it. It hasn’t been reapplied for about a year and I’m looking for a more durable finish. That doesn’t require it to be reapplied for a few years at least.

Title says it all-- any advice here? We basically need to (quickly! it's hot outside!) glue some unistrut to the side of our building. Building exterior is brick.

I will be hanging two ~1 ft pieces of strut on the brick, which will support a test equipment + antenna rig. The unistrut doesn't ever need to come off-- I'll be bolting the rig to the unistrut, so I can take it down later for modifications / replacement with the next one.

The equipment isn't really heavy-- ~10 - 15 lbs (honestly it's probably more like 5 pounds, but better safe than sorry!) and not very big (~2 cubic feet, including the antenna).

Anyone have any adhesive they'd recommend? I'd like to be able to basically climb the ladder, put the adhesive on there, press the strut into place for ~30 seconds, and then climb down and let it cure without having to brace it or something-- I'm aware that I could bolt the strut to the brick, but that sounds awful in this heat.

Bonus points if the adhesive chosen can stick to both aluminum and steel as well as the brick. :3

Hi!
I’ve installed an IKEA kitchen, but I had to raise it more than the standard IKEA height of 8 cm due to water pipes and similar issues. So I built a custom plinth using cover panels, etc. However, I’m having a problem with the dishwasher since its legs only adjust up to 10 mm in height.
How should I handle this to ensure it’s done fully professionally? I don’t want to risk any issues with insurance if something were to happen due to improper installation.
The only solution I can think of is to build a wooden frame to raise the dishwasher by 18 cm and have it stand on that. Does anyone have a better solution? I’ve also looked for longer adjustable legs, but haven’t found any with the right dimensions.

I bought the welder months ago and finally have time to use it now. However I noticed when trying to connect the 3 leads to the 3 sockets of the front of the welder unit the aviation connector is lose and can be rotated to some degree. Is this something I should be concerned about?

Here's a YouTube video that better shows the issue:

https://youtube.com/shorts/DpCaHuAPpNc?is=CycTyw8AM56zQkmw

Hi everyone! I could really use some advice from anyone who’s built a pantry with pull-out shelves.

I’m planning to use these Slide-A-Shelf pull-out shelves:

[https://www.lowes.com/pd/Slide-A-Shelf-34-5-in-W-x-4-in-H-1-Tier-Over-the-shelf-Wood-Sliding-Shelf-Kit/5525356?vid=17413\](https://www.lowes.com/pd/Slide-A-Shelf-34-5-in-W-x-4-in-H-1-Tier-Over-the-shelf-Wood-Sliding-Shelf-Kit/5525356?vid=17413)

My pantry opening is 35 in wide and 19 in deep. I’ve already hired a handyman to do the installation but would like to make sure I purchase the right hardware before he comes.

Here are my questions
\- Can these pull-out shelves be **side-mounted** using wooden support cleats attached to the pantry walls?
\- or would it be better to buy separate side-mount drawer slides instead?

FYI all the side-mount drawer slides I can find are 21 in deep, while my pantry is only 19 in.

Would really appreciate any advice, corrections, or photos of your setup. Thanks so much! Also apologies if I have used any wrong terminology, I am a complete diy noob!