Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [gap]

169 questions
13
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3 answers

Does hardwood floor REALLY need an expansion gap?

The conventional wisdom is that hardwood floors need a 1/4-3/8" gap to the wall (or bottom plate) around the perimeter, hidden under the baseboard. Ostensibly this is for thermal and/or humidity expansion. For a floating floor, I get needing a gap,…
Huesmann
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Rule of thumb for prefilling drywall vs. recutting a piece of new drywall

I had a leak in the roof of my garage in the corner. I called a professional to come and fix it, so the leak is now fixed. I was left with a hole in my ceiling inside the garage. I proceeded to investigate it and removed tons of moldy drywall. …
paneerlovr
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What is the best way to bridge a huge gap between hardwood and tile?

I removed a load bearing wall between a small kitchen and tiny dining room. My problem is that I have a giant gap to fill in where the old wall was. The house was built in 1950 and sits above a crawl space. As depicted there is no underlayment where…
Grumpyoldgrannie
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What are reasonable expectations about grout width accuracy in a professional tile installation?

We are currently redoing our master bathroom and our contractor just got half way through laying the tile on the floor. The grout was supposed to be 1/8" wide, but there are quite a few places (mid-field) where the gaps between the tiles are much…
Markus A.
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2 answers

How much air under tile is acceptable?

We hired a contractor to do redo our tile. One had to be replaced because it caved inward when a tool was dropped on it. We peeked under the adjacent tiles and there are giant areas without mortar. How much air under the tile is acceptable?
kliqqer
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1 answer

How can I fill the gaps between barn wood siding boards?

I want to better weatherproof an old shed that has barn wood siding. Most of the boards have a gap between them, and these gaps can be as wide as 3/8" although most are more like 1/4". The boards are about 3/4" thick and are run vertically. and…
DonBoitnott
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2 answers

How should I fill the gap between window trim and walls?

I recently moved to a home (new to me). One thing that is bothering me quite a bit is a gap between wall and window trim. You can see the picture below. How do I get rid of this? What are the basic steps involved? Click photo for full size
user16983
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How to fill this gap between window and brick wall? (too deep for backer rod?)

I'm renovating the windows of my 1936 house. Doing the first window and I notice there's a big gap between the window frame and the wall and I was wondering the best way to fill it in so I can caulk it. I bought a 1/2 inch backer rod, and that seems…
Matthew Rathbone
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1 answer

How can I fill this gap between concrete and cement board?

I am trying to extend this penny tile floor. The existing penny tile floor is concrete + tile + penny tile on top. The new addition I have added is osb+plywood+cement board (as pictured on top). I would like the bridge the gap between the cement…
byte
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Is it important that my dishwasher's cabinet seals make contact with the opening?

I installed a new dishwasher that has rubber seals on the outside on three sides. If pushed back the appropriate amount they are just hanging in space. The new one has rubber pieces that run along both sides and the top, I assume to help keep noise…
Dan
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Is this gap between foundation and siding supposed to be here? If not what should I fill it with?

I have hundreds of crickets in my basement every fall. I see them crawling up my foundation so when I looked underneath the siding I see this. There is what looks like ripped plastic paper but then just a large gap into my basement around the entire…
ACD
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Should I seal my yard shed windows with backer rod?

I’m adding trim to three windows in my Tuff Shed (the installer also added a house wrap of that matters). I went back and forth in adding backer rod in the interior gaps around the windows and decided to add back a rod where I could fit it then…
Joven
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Fix a gap between the drywall and the window frame

I'm looking for advice on the best way to fill a gap (about 1/2 inch wide) between the drywall and the window frame before re-sealing it with caulk. I've read that you can use a backer rod, or fill it with joint compound, or use insulating foam…
qmikecook
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How do I fill a gap between wall tile and acrylic shower base

The bottom row of a newly installed tile wall has a gap with the shower base that is about 1/2 inch wide, too wide to caulk. How can this be filled in a way that will not crack, will make a water tight seal between the shower base and wall and can…
Marc S
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Repairing above-ground gaps and holes in foundation

I am moving into a house (built 1911) that had a few things turn up on the inspection. One corner of the basement has an indoor cistern, and there are some gaps and a hole in the cinder blocks just above ground level. The below photo is from that…
Autumn Skye
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