Do It Yourself

First of all, I’m not sure if this is the right community (other than it’s something I’ll be doing myself). So if anyone knows a better community to ask this, I’ll be happy to take my post over there.

Alright, I am looking to buy a portable/handheld carpet/upholstery wet/dry vacuum cleaner so I can detail my truck, clean up stains in my carpet/furniture, etc.

I was eyeing the Hoover CleanSlate Plus, but wanted to see what other units that might be better and/or more affordable? If it matters, my budget would be as close to $100 as practical, but there may be wiggle room for the right unit.

Thanks!

Hello!

I am somewhat handy, but I'm also pretty disabled so I (physically) can't do much.

What are some smaller things I can do to keep my house cooler this summer?

• I live in the South (of the USA)
• Summer temps are usually around 90-100F (32.2-37.8C), with heat index reaching 115+F (46.1+C)
• My house is 2 story and approximately 1,895 sq ft (176.05 sq m). No basement and the attic is unfinished. Attached garage. Front of house faces the north.
• House was built in the 70s. Roof (shingles) is a few years old (3-5 yrs), windows are around 10 years old. Not sure when the insulation was done. Blackout or near blackout curtains on every window. Mostly hard floors throughout with some throw rugs, but two rooms and the stairs have short fiber carpet.
• House is brick and wood. The bottom floor is brick on the outside and the top floor has wooden siding. Central heat and a/c. Covered patio in the rear and no porch in the front. No shade trees close enough to matter.
• All utilities are electric so naturally our bill SUCKS this month.
• We have ceiling fans in every room except the bathrooms. We also have tower fans, desk fans, and personal fans (lol)
• We currently have the AC on 75F (23.9C), but it is regularly 80F (26.7C) or higher upstairs. Tbh the AC is the wrong size(?) for the house.
• I cannot put anything (like foil) in the windows

What are some small things I can do to keep my house cooler without breaking the bank? I'm mainly worried about the bedrooms.

Things I have done so far to stay cooler:

• Towels at front and back door to reduce any leakage
• Lots of ice packs
• Adjust ceiling fans to go the right way
• Use portable fans
• Avoid using the oven
• Keep curtains (and windows) shut
• Wear cooler clothes
• Shorten my dog's allotted outside time

Thanks!

For the past couple years, my 16lb boy has been struggling to wedge himself into the various store-bought cat trees around the house. I made another, much simpler platform tree that he enjoys, but I wanted to up the ante.

I had a bunch of MDF scraps and an old area rug laying around, so with very minimal expenditure he's got an appropriately scaled cat tree that's built like a brick shithouse.

The twine is tied on, so it can be replaced, and I used carpet adhesive this time, in addition to staples, which seems to have worked great.

Only things remaining are to put up the ramp laying on the ground in front of it, and maybe a hammock if I can figure out how/where to attach it without compromising functionality anywhere else.

Lemme know what you think!

The plan was to leave the 3/4 inch wood embedded in the poured concrete, but this will be tiled, and I'm wondering if the concrete might crack if the wood expands. If necessary, I can pry them out and fill the space after it sets.

And yes, I know self-leveling means this shouldn't be necessary, but it never seems to work out that way in practice.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14848637

9 builds over the past year, from a 12-key macropad that spits out all the swear words and nonsense an overindulged and nerdy 10 year old can come up with, to a no-stabilizers, 102-key rethinking of the 96%. A couple of them have custom DIY keycap legends.

I'm no Joe Scotto, but what I lack in talent I make up in a stupidly high tolerance for large amounts of hand-wire soldering. I've been high on my own supply almost exclusively for the past 4-5 months.

I recently sold of a table saw that I wasn’t using mainly because I lacked room to store and use it.

If I want to do some DIY small building and remodeling projects, what’s a good alternative?

Example of projects I have in mind: cutting down parts of a kit cabinet that doesn’t fit in the space; building a small credenza; possibly cutting lumber for framing a shed.

Update: I got air mattress nozzle adapters for my pump and it sealed perfectly! Apparently this is just a larger version of the more standard pinch valve on smaller inflatables.

Original post: I was setting up an inflatable pooland all the other adapters were the standard size pinch valve and I was doing alright until I came across this big guy. It's similar in design but the diameter is almost an inch wide! I thought maybe they wanted me to fill up the pool's walls with water but there's no threading on this valve. What type of air hose adapter would fit this big guy?

So my village has every 5 years a "party" where every street is decorated in a theme and there are activities, just a fun time. Now this year our street has decided to do beach themed Decorating. I still have a 50w rgb led laying around and think this might be a nice addative to light up some decorations. So I am seeking advice on what to do with it I thought maybe make it a boat far away or the sun going under. I need some ideas if you have something please tell me and lighthouse isn't needed as we have 3 of those already. Thanks in advance for your ideas

Hi everyone, I'd like to make noise reducing earmuffs for sleep, which make side-sleeping comfortable? Do any of you have experience in making comfortable headbands or working with noise isolation material? I'm just trying to get general feedback about this kind of stuff as I'm new to DIY.

Thanks for your help !

I bought this used desk a week ago; it had been disassembled and sitting in storage. While bringing it home, some of the cam screws got bent quite a bit to the point where I can’t fit them into the actual locking part of the screws.

The only solution I can find is to replace all the cam screws and locks, but the screws have what seems like a drywall hook on them? It’s making it impossible to take them out, plus they don’t have a screw head visible instead it’s just a little hole.

Does anyone have an idea on how to take these out so I can replace them, or any other ideas how to get this desk together? I think the actual locks are worn down as well, since the only piece I could get attached wouldn’t actually lock into place.

Day style ranch. Tri-level home 1973. This is in the ceiling of the lower level which is a walk out basement ( popcorn ceiling had not been tested yet but assuming asbestos) edit- I know....asbestos heads up.

Attached image is google result for something I'm hoping to do. I'm building a mailbox post and I'd like to incorporate a light projection that puts the house number on the road in front of the box.

Has anyone done or know of a diyish video or how-to I could look at to get an idea on how this might be achieved?

Thanks for your time!

I'm planning on pouring self leveling concrete on top of my concrete block porch. I'm looking for any tips/trick on how to pour slc. I'm planning on sealing the cracks beforehand with spray foam/caulk and using concrete primer.

I messed up on the stain, but it's one of my first woodworking projects that I have used stain on, so it's a learning project. It started as one of those child/pet carrier bike trailers. I removed everything but the bare frame and wheels and built it up with wood. It weighs 40lbs, which isn't great, but I have an ebike that helps with the weight. I've only had it for a couple weeks, but I've already used it a few times to get groceries or large things I needed to pick up (don't have a car).

Anybody got experience with low budget endoscopes? Like, €30 amazon ones without a screen, just a USB plug and/or wireless connection. Are they useful or just trash? Do they communicate by some common future proof standard or is it some dodgy Chinese app only?

I need it primarily to examine some wall interiors but secondarily it would be interesting to explore other parts of the house and the world.

My Electrolux Pure A9 air purifier has been running daily for a couple of years and the fan has become noticeably whinier and grindier.

I've been looking for a service manual without luck, obviously Electrolux does not provide them.

Any advice how to lubricate the fan would be much appreciated!

I was unsatisfied with the lack of decent keyboard phones for a decent price on the market, so I made one myself.

It's all open source.

I scanned the wrench on a regular document scanner and used the siluette to get the optimum hook shape. It worked incredibly well and it sits perfectly. Thats important because I don't want the tools to raddle every time someone slams the door or I open a window.

We had an ugly metal clad solid wood exterior door that leads from a basement family room into our below grade garage. I had redone the floor and trim in the family room and was looking for a way to fancy up the door without having to spend a fortune.

Original door

Took the door off and cleaned it up

Cut 1/2 MDF to size to give the apperance of a 5 panel door

Glued on the panels, and filled and sanded all the edges. Chamfered edges

Primed

Paint added

Rehung- the MDF made an already thick door significantly thicker so I had to spend quite some time finding hardware that would work.

It's been 4 years since this was installed and it's held up perfect. I was worried about the MDF getting dinged, but it has not.

Last year I had an old concrete porch re-done. Long story short, they did not keep it wet when curing, and now the concrete has several cracks in it. I'm concerned about the cracks getting worse and spreading over time, so I am thinking about filling the cracks with some kind of compounds. Any recommendations? I'm thinking a flexible compound like the Sika self leveling concrete fill, but am open to more experienced suggestions.

Hello,

I have this idea of creating a credit card sized piece of paper with my most important phone numbers on one side, and "if lost, call this number" on the other side.

This would then be enclosed in plastic, and put in my wallet, edc, backpack, luggage, etc. Does it sound like a good idea, and is there someone who made something similar? should i add anything to it?

Sorry if this is not allowed here, i have no idea where to ask something like this.

Thought I'd share a recent build for an ongoing CNC milling machine project. The Mill needed a solid base as well as storage for the liquid coolant pump and oiler, and some drawers for tooling.

I've found that you can get nice looking results welding up a frame from 2" square tube and then use bog standard melamine panels for the sides.

3/4" angle can be welded in to hold the panels and hide the melamine edges.

Add some simple box drawers and Ebay slides, and voila...

The drawer pulls are leftover continuous aluminum extrusion. Again, they hide the edges of the melamine.

Anyway, not rocket science, but thought I'd pass the build idea along!

This piece of wood had recently been hit by a chair and now raised enough that I'm terrified of my wife or kids hitting this with their bare foot.

Looking for ideas to fix this without replacing the board

What is the best way to insulate garage door windows? Or the best way to replace them with newer glass?