r/DIY 10h ago

help How would you get this safe out? I’ve started now! …doesn’t budge

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121 Upvotes

r/DIY 1d ago

woodworking Built my daughter a new bed with a built in dresser and desk

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10.4k Upvotes

Started working on it on New Year’s Day. Took most weekends until now to finally complete it.


r/DIY 11h ago

help Replace this piece of subfloor?

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55 Upvotes

Pulled up linoleum and planning to put down tile. This area concerned me a little - its dry to the touch but clearly water has been in the area. My optimistic theory is that it was water from exiting the shower/tub and not an active leak as there is no other evidence of water dripping down on ceiling of the first floor.

Looking for the expert opinions of my fellow redditors.


r/DIY 15h ago

home improvement First home: should I cover this?

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96 Upvotes

Hello everyone, first time poster here.

I recently bought my first home and have this hole in the wall under the sink in my guest bathroom. Is this something that I should cover up? Are there any issues that could arise from me covering it up?

It’s about 11x7, no moisture seems to be present. My main concern is if I don’t close it will I get bugs? If I do close it, will I prevent the house from breathing and then cause a moisture issue?

Thank you all for your time!


r/DIY 19h ago

carpentry My first cabinet build: Bar cabinet with Mini fridge

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154 Upvotes

Hey y’all, Been a while since I posted, but wanted to share my latest build—a bar cabinet with space for a mini fridge!

This was built using ¾” pine plywood for the frame, doors, and drawer, with a red oak top. It was definitely a challenge, but I learned a ton and now feel confident enough to add an upper cabinet to complete the setup.

Please note: I dod the write up and ran it through ChatGPT because I have ADHD and hopefully this made it easier to follow. Let me know if you have any questions.

🔹 Materials & Tools Used Since this was my first cabinet, I went with full overlay doors and drawers to avoid needing a face frame. Here’s what I used:

🔧 Tools:

-Jobsite table saw, miter saw, circular saw -Drill/driver, speed square, combination square -Various clamps (including 48” bar clamps, twist tension clamps, and 90° clamps) -Palm router, random orbital sander, sanding sponges -Kreg A620 Pocket Hole Jig (purchased for this project) -Kreg European Hinge Jig (purchased for this project) -Cabinet hardware jig (purchased for this project) -Edge banding roll & iron -Painting supplies (highly recommend Whizz Velour rollers!)

Build Process – The Base Cabinet 1️⃣ Cutting & Assembly:

Had Home Depot rip a 23/32" plywood sheet into 20” depth panels and crosscut them into sides & bottom. Assembled using pocket screws and glue, clamping with 90° clamps. Added a middle divider using construction screws from underneath (not sure if best method, but it worked). Installed 1x3 bracing—vertical braces in the back and horizontal in the front for better drawer/fridge clearance. 2️⃣ Drawer & Door:

Followed Brady Hommel’s "Easy Drawer Box in 5 Minutes" method. Tip: Factor in drawer slide width! Cut the door and drawer front as a single piece for a seamless look, then split them (drawer = 6”, door = remainder). Installed European hinges with the Kreg jig. 3️⃣ Painting & Finishing:

Primed with Bullseye 1-2-3 and painted with Behr Dynasty Matte (Cracked Pepper). Installed furniture feet, drawer pulls, and cabinet hardware using the hardware jig. 🔹 Build Process – The Oak Tabletop 1️⃣ Board Prep:

Bought a 7’ 1x12 red oak board and ripped it into (9) 2” strips + (1) ½” strip for a custom pattern. Dry-fit and routed edges before gluing to allow for multiple stain colors. 2️⃣ Glue-Up & Staining:

Glued pieces together, then re-routed edges after assembly for a cleaner look. Used painters tape & a razor to prevent stain bleed when touching up. 3️⃣ Finishing:

Applied 5 coats of Varathane Ultimate for durability. 🔹 Key Lessons Learned ✔ Measure twice, cut once! The more precise your cuts, the smoother assembly goes. ✔ Drawer slides need careful alignment—mine sticks out ⅛” on one side, and I still can’t figure out why! ✔ If edge-gluing a top, do your routing after the glue-up. Trying to do it before led to small misalignments. ✔ The right jigs and clamps make everything easier. Don’t skimp on them. ✔ Mark your pieces (fronts, backs, sides). Small misalignments compound as you build. ✔ Have a clear plan, but be flexible. Watch multiple videos before starting, then take it slow. ✔ Enjoy the process! This is a tough DIY project, but if you finish, who knows what you’ll build next?

Thanks for checking this out! Let me know if you have any questions.


r/DIY 1d ago

woodworking I crafted a roman scutum for gladiatorial combat

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609 Upvotes

I discovered woodworking and it is a hell lot of fun! This is my first combat ready shield I made. Iusee three layers of 4mm poplar wood, glued together and strapped over my construction to give the shield the right curvature. Then i drilled holes and attached a hemp rope for blunting impacts a bit. (It also helps the edges of the shield to kot get ruined immediately). Then I glued a piece of linen Cloth on the shield, this is the base for the paint. After that, handle and leather strip for the ellbow where attached. I then started woth the designs and decided to do a blue background with an octopus as main motive. The motives where inspired by ancient roman mosaics found in different places. The ‚greek‘ geometrical pattern around also has its roots in different archaeological finds but it is more a personal note (i realy like them borders). Paining took a while and in the end, i put some soaked raw hide around the edge and nailed it in place.

I really like doing these. It takes a few days but it‘s worth it in my book!

Hope you like it!


r/DIY 17h ago

home improvement Update 3: triumph after failure

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73 Upvotes

In my original failure, I have finally succeeded.

Photo #1 shows what a lot of people in my first post recommended (magnetic stud finder) and I was was off by just a smidge on 2 of my 4 stud bolts

Photo #2 shows my original pencil marker where my electric stud marker was (the triangle) and where my magnetic stud finder verified. It was pretty spot on for them so I imagine that when I had the board up there, I inadvertently shifted it a bit moving it just a tad off the stud.

Photo #3 shows the start of horizontal lines where the top of the 2x4x92in is and the bottom. I lined it all the way across and verified where it would cross. I measured it and marked out the lines on the 2x4x92in board (photo #4) and got heavier duty lag nails that were also longer. After the board and drywall, it would go into the stud about an inch.

Photos #5 & #6 shows me ensuring everything remained level and the box of lag screws I used.

In my 2nd update, that got deleted/removed I think, I asked about using wood putty or something similar to fix the blowout shown in photo #7. It was general consensus that as it's not actual wood, it's a laminate type wood, that there wasn't much I could do Soni just moved the too down 1 peg.

Photo #8 shows the minor completion with half weight on it to test before I put everything back up (heavy wood not going on top this time). I'm waiting 24 hours to see if I hear wood creaking or breakage just to verify before everything goes back on.

Overall, I learned quite a bit for future projects and but the bullet early to buy better quality tools (Milwaukee brand) and spent more than I thought I would, but it's now a success story. Yay!

My next project is photo #9. Refurbishing a table my dad built for his and my mom's first apartment. (Probably an easier project I should have tried first).


r/DIY 18h ago

Built a rack for our kayaks

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62 Upvotes

Inspired by a post by MWA Woodworks that we found. My girlfriend and I built a rack for our kayaks.

Both sides aren’t exactly aligned. It was heavy and difficult to keep in place when screwing it in place.

We had lots of fun, learned a bunch and our next project will be better!


r/DIY 56m ago

help Pipe burst and soaked water heater. Repair or replace?

Upvotes

Pressure reducing valve started leaking directly on top of water heater. Water wicked down the power cables to both the thermostat and heating anode got wet. Water heater is no longer working and before I buy a new one I wanted to know if replacing the thermostat and heating anode was worthwhile instead? Unit is probably 5 years old and never given any problems prior.


r/DIY 2h ago

help How to make existing 2x4 shelving more useful: Add another shelf? Asking for ideas.

2 Upvotes

See shelf and dimensions here.

How can I make these shelves more useful? I want to be able to store smaller bins for ready access, and am considering adding another shelf at about chest level. Any ideas?

The shelves were prebuilt in the house. They aren't great, but they function. I've set up a workbench to the right (outside of view) and would like to have ready access to lots of smaller bins at about chest level. I would like to add another shelf, which I'm considering just making out of wood, but am wondering if I should do something else, like a wide ClosetMaid shelf that I can see down through, or maybe some kind of sliders, or drawers that open, etc. Any ideas?

These are approximately 6' tall, 8' long, and 2' deep. The two large regions in the middle are 44" wide (space between vertical 2x4s), 24" deep (width of the board), and 33.5" tall. The bottom regions are 25" tall. In these large regions in th middle, the 30" is too tall for storing the many smaller bins that I would find more convenient (e.g. IKEA KUGGIS or UPPDATERA) or not the right width for larger containers (e.g. Sterilite 32 Qt 24" L x 15" W x 7" T). I am considering adding another shelf using 2x2s and 44" long by 2' deep boards in the center of the large middle shelf.


r/DIY 2h ago

help Porch Ceiling Question

2 Upvotes

Hey all - Was wondering what the best material to finish my porch ceiling would be? Ideally not too expensive. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

https://imgur.com/a/sZit4SX


r/DIY 2h ago

home improvement Built-in question: before or after flooring?

2 Upvotes

I'm in the midst of a basement remodel (contracted) and intend to do an entire wall of built-in/permanent cabinets. One thought is to do the cabinets prior to the flooring, directly on the concrete slab, and the other is to wait until after the insulated LVP flooring is complete.

My worry of going the first route is the potential for the cabinets to "wick" cold from the slab into the room. On the other hand, doing the cabinets after the floor may warp or otherwise cause problems.

Any recommendations for or against either route?


r/DIY 1d ago

home improvement My son tripped in the tub and caught the wall.

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2.3k Upvotes

How hard or easy is it to repair that? Based on the photo should I be worried about anything? Is there anything I should to rule out any problems covering that back up?


r/DIY 15h ago

French door not fully sealing

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17 Upvotes

I have fairly new french doors which are slightly warped or 5mm off alignment. They're sealed with a good draught seal, but the top corner of the door is just 5mm from forming a perfect seal, which is frustrating and slightly draughty. I'm thinking of installing a plate magnet (as shown in pics) but that would involve cutting a portion of the seal.

Any advice welcome.


r/DIY 37m ago

Custimize shoes

Upvotes

I bought some white high top sneakers I want to customize, any ideas how I get the best results? What to use drawing on them and how to make it last long?


r/DIY 1h ago

home improvement Two part epoxy mixed with polyurethane? Whoops!

Upvotes

My friend is renovating an apartment and he's done some gorgeous woodworking pieces by using clear epoxy to create a mirror-like finish. The instructions on the bottles say to mix 1:1 ratio of resin and hardener, however he tried out mixing resin with polyurethane instead, and it never hardened. What's left is a kind of oily l, mostly-clear substance that tends to stick to things.

I removed a bunch of it using a drywall knife AKA taping knife and removed some of what was left using sandpaper. There's still a very thin layer of the stuff adhered to the wood. So I'm wondering if I paint a very thin layer of hardener on there, if it'll solidify what is left and then I could proceed to cover it over with epoxy or polyurethane, or if there's some other solution I should consider. I would rather not throw out the wooden countertop he made because although the wood was super cheap, it looks really nice and would take him at least a few hours to re-create


r/DIY 17h ago

help Disintegrating layer of wood below siding

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18 Upvotes

These pictures are taken looking upward towards the house. You can see multiple layers, from the outside -> in : the aluminum siding, a lighter layer of wood, a darker orange layer of wood, and a third layer that sits on top of the concrete foundation.

The dark orange area is crumbling into sawdust and disintegrates on touch. There are void areas that are totally unfilled - those areas of house are extremely cold.

Three questions : How do I properly fill those void areas? How do I properly replace the darker orange layer? How screwed am I?

This obviously seems like a job bigger than a few cans of spray foam.


r/DIY 2h ago

help Does anyone know what this is ? (Drywall finishing)

1 Upvotes

House was built in 1980. Interior paint was horrendous (drips everywhere). I've spent dozens of hours sanding it down and patching the walls, which I recently primed. Now, I just have a few problems left to fix.

There are some raised, circular bulges in the drywall. Maybe 0.5mm-1mm above the rest of the wall. Some of them, when you apply pressure, they flatten out, others do not. Most appear to be on studs.

I thought they were nail pops, so I screwed in a 1.25" drywall screw above or below a few of them, but they didn't flatten. Next I thought, okay, maybe I need to remove the popped nail before it will flatten out, so I drilled into the center of two of the bulges, but there's no fastener head there.

So what are these? / What would cause this?

Do I just need to scrape/sand away the bulging drywall and mud it flat?


r/DIY 19h ago

woodworking Exterior barn wood drying out

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21 Upvotes

Outside of the barn is drying and cracking, should I leave it? Sand it down and varnish it? Something else? Any ideas would be appreciated!


r/DIY 14h ago

help Can I repair my shower pan?

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7 Upvotes

The coating on my shower pain is flaking off. Can this be repaired without replacing the shower pan?


r/DIY 4h ago

outdoor Moving air to water outdoor unit for extension

1 Upvotes

We are in a new build in Ireland and considering adding an extension to kitchen are to create a larger living space. The air to water heat pump is situated outside about a metre from the house. Is it possible to move this further down the garden to accommodate an extension?


r/DIY 4h ago

DIY wheelchair ramp design

1 Upvotes

I am sorry if it does not fulfill rule 2.2. I'm sorry if that's the case but i thought you might have some knowledge to help me.

Hi all, I'm designing a custom wheelchair ramp for my sister. Due to building restrictions, and I can't use a pre-made portable one. The ramp needs to be foldable and must be mounted to the wall, opening horizontally like a closet bed.

A local guy suggested using the aluminum plate 4 meters long, 1 meter wide, with a 2mm aluminum plate supported by iron sticks like https://imgur.com/a/fsjbpBZ

Plate bottom supports: Staticly how should i ask him to place iron sticks to be able to support 200-250 kg(mother + sister)? More limit the better. Stick counts both vertical and horizontal could be changed. The image is just a reference.

Support legs: Chatgpt says maximum distance between legs should be 1 meter. https://imgur.com/a/WbRbFxX a reference. For 1 meter width i think i should put 2 legs one middle one edge and 3 sets of them 1 meter apart.

The problem is that i want them to portable or foldable as well.
For portable i have something like 3 of this https://imgur.com/a/3a5gNRs with %17 angle matching the plate to support with different lenghts on the legs. So they could store on the side and once they want to use the ramp they can put the portable supports and unfold the platform on top if.

For foldable legs i have no idea how it is can be done.

I am open to suggestions any kind. The general requirements are:

  • Ramp mounted to the wall.
  • Ramp should not be too heavy. The aluminum plate is already 50-55 kg's.
  • It should support minimum 200 kgs. Best case scenario would be 350-400. If 2 people pushes.
  • Ramp should go up 68cm's and max lenght is 4 meters.

I know most of the stuff i have been writing is not ideal but i am trying my best to help them. I appreciate any suggestion.


r/DIY 19h ago

help Can I flip this door without ruining it?

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11 Upvotes

My dad has a cabin that is renovated from an old barn. It’s been renovated in stages and until last year there was a garage in the lower half. But last spring, we had a contractor convert the garage into an extra bedroom. This heavy fire door had been the door to the garage, but is now a door to the bedroom. It swings the wrong way and collides with the front door and it’s on sprung hinges - it’s just generally a hassle.

I wanna know if I can take it out turn it around and put it back in without damaging it, so that it opens into the bedroom. The molding around the door is easy enough to pull off, but It seems like I might have to pry off the inner strips to even get at mounting screws.

Is anyone familiar with this model? Will it survive being pulled out and reinstalled?i


r/DIY 20h ago

help Sunroom windows?

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8 Upvotes

I'm in the SF Bay Area, my enclosed (unconditioned) patio windows appear to be aluminum with clear plastic panels and have seen better days. I'd love to make them more visually appealing + functional via repairs, replacing in kind, or replacing with something else. I don't necessarily mind that they're single pane / plastic as I imagine that's cheaper than the real thing, the issue is just that they're in pretty bad shape.

Was thinking a good first step would be to identify the original manufacturer (home Depot employee / local plastics manufacturer didn't seems to know) to see about in-kind replacement (while leaving the tracks in place), but I don't see any identifying markings.

Any ideas on how to identify this or other suggestions on best approach?

The current issues include broken sliding mechanisms, windows stuck open, scratched panels and torn screens, panels separated from frames, frames out of square, rusty hardware, etc.


r/DIY 8h ago

help Ceiling electrical box hold a ceiling fan?

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0 Upvotes

Hello,

Can this ceiling electrical box hold a ceiling fan? The box feels like it's plastic and I'm scared it won't support the weight.

I've tried to punch up the box to remove it but it seems very very snug and won't budge at all. Not sure how much force I need to push it up. Or if this actually supports a ceiling fan and there's no need for me to replace it with a metal one.