florida

Hi all, I live near Tampa on the water. Old 60s cement block house. Renovated the interior four years ago. Kept terrazzo floors. Did minimal work to landscaping, so am finally getting to that. Surveying the property revealed a whole bunch of things needing fixing! Also turning utility room...

I'm a South Florida owner of an older home (1940s). This year, my homeowners/windstorm insurance premium increased $2000. I've since learned that if I can get my roof to meet up-to-date codes, it would fall by more than that. I stuck my head into one of the peaked sections and confirmed that the...

A part of my house is CBC with a 2x12 fascia running around the perimeter. The wood is original to the house, so late 40s/early 50s. I've repainted the whole thing (after stripping down to bare wood in most spots) with good success, except for the side that faces west. It gets a lot of sun, and...

Hello everyone, Thank you for this wonderful resource and your expertise. I have read many of the posts on carpenter ants and it's helping put my mind at ease, but I still have some concerns. I apologize for the length, but I'm very frustrated. Background: 1st time homeowner, 1940's block...

I'm currently building a concrete block shed as a practice project for an addition on my house. I'm looking for an active or retired mason, familiar with FL building codes (Hillsborough County specifically) to provide guidance and wisdom on both the shed and the addition. If you are available...

We purchased a house in South Florida that was built in 1959. It had been painted numerous times over the years. The person we bought the house from, had it painted before selling using people found on Craigslist who could do it cheap. Needless to say, they didn't bother prepping the stucco and...

Hi. I'm new here, and looking for some feedback. I live in Southwest Florida. I have a 1965 block ranch. We had an issue with mold in a wall that abutts the shower, and I demo'd the whole bathroom. I'm putting it back together, with a tub, and plan to install a tile shower surround. One of...

I used rmax 1/2 and furring strips last year started measuring for cabinets and noticed surface mold on the unfinished drywall at the outlets and some screw holes. (Not black mold) I removed the drywall and noticed mold growing on the back side but only where the furring strips were touching...

We live in northwest Florida (not the panhandle) - our water compared to most Florida is actually very good - no sulfur smell etc - taste is best 'straight from the ground' water I've ever had in Florida but we have one issue - rust - we don't really have any filtration systems or anything like...

Greetings.. I have a low slope roof in Florida that needs replacing.. my 1st estimate made me want to be a roofer.. at least once in my life.. the cost is so high that i am going to invest my time and effort instead now.. What materials can i use that will be the most durable and heat...

Greetings all. I have a wood frame house (built in 1934) here in Florida and our infamous state-run property insurance agency, Citizens, has deemed I need to replace my shingle roof. I had been intending to install a 5V metal roof but my finances aren't so great right now so it will have to be...

On my second year of my first new home and getting the hang of maintaining my St. Augustine lawn (after I killed it). After over a year of trail and error and reading web site after website, I come down to 2 products. Atrazine for weeds; 2 x a year full and spot treating during the year. and...

Hey everyone! I have a Cutler Hammer Meter/Panel Outdoor combo that feeds my interior panel with 200 AMP service. As you can see, it has the main breaker, and then two breakers in use, one for a GFCI outlet directly below the panel, and another for the RainBird Irrigation Controller, also...

We are going to be re-painting the exterior of our stucco over block home, built in 2005 in the Orlando Florida area. We had injection foam insulation installed, and the holes from such patched. I plan on spot-priming the places where the holes were patched and textured, and then repainting...