No willow trees for me. Also, for context, this bathroom is in the basement of my house with no trees on that side.

OP do you have Willow trees? If so you'll want to get an inspection done.

I'd just use styrofoam and seal with spray foam. Maybe consider wrapping the new PVC pipe with a bit of pipe insulation on the inside for a foot or two, for the reason that if cold air comes into the pipe and starts going inside, you are probably likely to see condensation forming on the pipe, where it goes through the screen and inside where the pipe is colder than the air.

I'd also consider some kind of one way valve or flap on the outside of the pipe to keep cold air from flowing into the basement. You'll have to be a little careful to check that the flap is never impeded and it's always working and free to open

You can power wash that and then give it a couple coats with a topical sealer. This will smooth is out just a bit, and help you maintain its natural aesthetic.

Life, uh…finds a way.

Buy a thing of root out and run that through your pipes after replacing the toilet. Just follow instructions....stuff works wonders.

You should have your drain inspected with a camera. You may have roots damaging it.

Put it in soil and see what it grows into. Think it deserves a chance, must be nails.

Feed me Seymour!.....roots under your toilet aren't normal. Also, that flange sits too low (should be sitting on your finished floor, not below). The flange also has bunch of gunk in it, needs to be clean or you'll never get a good seal.

Yeah, the mesh doesn’t really have a purpose. I like that wall idea, thank you.

Hahahahahha screwed is an understatement.. rip it out and try again

So the screen really doesn’t serve any purpose, right? It doesn’t stop bug, it doesn’t ventilate (or does it? Think I see the whole opening is covered by plywood.).

In that case, would you not consider building a mini-wall? From the outside in, some sort of exterior covering/siding/etc., vapor barrier, plywood, insulation, plywood, interior wall.

Thank you. Just edited to include an exterior picture. Yes, it’ll be exposed to wind and temperature. The window/foundation sits about 6 inches recessed from the siding of the house, which keeps most rain off of it, and it would take a good foot of snow to reach it.

Nope. The plant thing can happen. Pull em out, spray root kill if you want. Clean away loose gunk, don't let it go in the pipe. Install new stuff.

Wouldn’t that expose to insulation to the elements? Might help if we can see a picture?

That works, using a wet sponge and wet sandpaper will produce less dust than dry sanding but you need to be careful around any compound on joints. Renting a pro drywall sander would also make quick work, but you need HEPA filters on your mask since the dust is not good for your lungs.

Of all the mistakes to make drywall compound has to be one of the easiest to remove!

This looks pretty smooth. Why cover it? If you don't like the look you can power wash it. If there are high or low pavers you can pry them out and re-level with brick sand and a rubber mallet.

The other advantage of pavers on a sand bed is that the water drains through them. On solid concrete you have to take care to slope the path slightly away from the house or you get standing water.

Putting concrete over that is not DIY in my opinion, and what you mentioned about a thin mix sound wrong. If the concrete is flowing there's too much water in it and the result will be weak concrete. I'm not a concrete contractor so that could be wrong, but the times I've used it the mix was like peanut butter and had to be shoveled, screeded and troweled in to place. Not easy.

You probably won't have to break any tiles, but at most the first one might break. Just scrape under the tiles and give them a good soak in a tub outside. Pull them out one at a time and scrubs the backs with a brush and then rinse them off. While soaking and letting them dry, scrape off all the compound from the floor. The biggest hit here will be your own labor and time, so the loss is whatever you value that at.

And it's only 5 sq feet of the backsplash. I would re-do it just to know I've done it properly but probably nothing would ever happen if they leave it as is rn.

Technically no blood, just a minor. If we're talking hockey, which there's no reason we would be

Yeah we took over my moms rental and they did a diy tile job with like drywall compound and it's been there for 15 years not even a budge. They got lucky I guess or the grout was a champ and held it together lol.

Redo - it will fail and taint the whole. Have a good laugh and set your mind straight that you’re not done and start chipping away

It will be easy for the same reason it needs to be fixed.

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Thank you! Hopefully I'd be able to find help there too