Are gutters installed on slopes? I thought they were level and just emptied on certain corners.

Blaster PB penetrating oil and a bar for additional leverage...let that stuff soak in for 30 mins or so

Thanks to all who responded. I called Sakrete and they recommended their "Top N Bond," it's a polymer-modified concrete patch that's supposed to be good from thicknesses of 1/2" to featheredge. They say I can put it down within 24 hours of the initial pour, or after the final cure in a month. I'm going to put it down now in the hopes of a better bond.

As long as you're 100% sure no water is getting in behind then it's just an aesthetics thing.

It doesn’t look structural ( I hope that’s not what’s holding your house up). Cut away.

Building on this idea.

You have some partial results with your stud finder.

Knock around and see if you can hear where it is very solid. Combine those finding with the stud finder and magnet results. You'll find somewhere that you are 90% confident in.

Then, drill a tiny test hole and see if the drill is still getting resistance past 1/2" depth and comes out with some wood on it.

You can do this! I believe in you!

If you want, you can get a small plastic tub of the vinyl resin enhanced patching concrete (less money; for thickness of 1/4” or less) or the patching concrete (more money; for thickness of 1/4 to 2”) and patch the holes… These types of concrete do not have aggregate. You could probably just remove the aggregate from a bit of your high strength concrete and see if that works. I’d probably mix this second “coat” a little more wet than you have here… it will smooth out easier.

No just put all of the insulation in one corner?

It's like insulating you home. You can go nuts with fiberglass and house wrap, but one little crack letting cold air in will chill a room out very quickly. Inflitration vs. insulation. Similar with sound, though sound travels "through" things (well, transfers through things). There are lots of construction tricks, like for a quiet room use 2x6 headers and floor plates and frame with 2x4's staggered, so the drywall of both sides isn't physically connected except for the top and bottom. Double up the drywall for more density with the seams staggered. Then fill the space with rockwool or 703 (if you can afford it). But to really have a soundproof wall, far as I know you'll use blocks and fill the voids with concrete.

And he’ll finish paying off his mortgage just in time to enjoy the fruits of his labor lol

Listen, you shouldn’t be getting downvoted for this. I am in a similar boat, and I just redid the surfaces and edges of a two-step concrete entrance to my back door. Similarly, I wanted to learn concrete repair, and I had some time while I was trying to figure out a different project on the house. It’s good you’re trying to learn.

That said, what others are saying here is true. The amount of effort it took me to even remove the paint and previous epoxy from what… 10 sq ft?… was freaking exorbitant. Grinding, chiseling, grinding again, chiseling again… it’s like… back breaking. It will take you way more time than you can reasonably anticipate or justify. And you have to do it if you at all want to actually repair the concrete. In your case, it might make more sense to use specific paints or epoxies that can be used on top of other coatings (i.e., the current paint) in order to smooth out some areas you don’t like. Do your research though and make sure you aren’t making bigger headaches for yourself.

If you in fact plan on repairing certain areas of concrete, I’d be happy to talk you through that. I’m pretty happy with my recent repairs and feel pretty confident now with the products to use.

All depends on the walls

You did find the stud 😉, I would just cut it and if you are uncertain you could back the drywall on the side of the stud. So cut a piece of 2×whatever you have lying around about 3-4 inches larger as the height of the catflap and work this to the side of the stud and put some screws in it... Should be sufficient

Different room. We have a den that has the main TV. When we moved in, the previous owners (who had 7 kids) had TVs set up everywhere, in almost every room. Just seemed excessive to me.

It is slower, but you can cut using just the blade. If the fender and tire are removed you should be able to fit the blade in to cut the bolt. Hold the blade so that the teeth cut when you are pulling(as opposed to in the saw frame where feet cut when pushing)

Alternatively if you can get to it with the saw you could cut through the nut(splitting it in half) from the bottom side.

Yeah it's not unfair, but I agree with /u/Bucksandreds. I have a pretty plush area rug in another part of the house, but it's nowhere near as soft and comfortable as the carpet. I think carpet can be very nice if it's done in select, practical locations, and you don't skimp or go cheap on it.

When using analine dyes to color wood it's a good idea to first wet the surface with a wet rag, let it dry to raise the grain, lightly sand with the next higher grit then apply the dye. This process would probably work in your situation.

As an electrician, I would tell you that there's absolutely a better way to go about this. Don't put a hole in your door for this.

I had the same problem. The ceiling was textured and it was throwing off my stud finder and mechanical magnetic nail locator. I decided to buy a cheap metal detecting probe.... the type that metal detecting enthusiasts use while digging to pinpoint a find. It worked great, finding every nail. I used small round stickers to mark each one.

Yep. Based on that video, OP used too little water. The dry mix is not fully saturated (or ‘damp’).

If you have decent hearing, you can knuckle tap the ceiling and find the studs. Or, you can blue light the ceiling and look for the crests and valleys. The first method is better, obviously

Combination primer/paint is very good these days. As such, using a separate primer generally is not needed. If you have bad grain raising issues, a light coad of shellac could help. Very fast drying and easy to do a light sanding if needed. If it is a larger piece, you probably could sand right after coating it without waiting.

thank you 😊

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I agree! We finished our basement and put carpet down there because it’s where our kids playroom is. Kids are on the floor all the time and love the carpet, so no regrets.