There's threads about everything else...here's another...
Is installing hardwood floors (.75") as easy as it's made to sound in 2 relatively square rooms? (meaning no odd angles).
Yeah, pretty easy. What kind of floor system are you putting down? Who made it, etc?
Make sure you got the right tools. Since you're doing this for the first time, start on the room that doesn't matter as much/will have a rug on it; you'll get better as you go, so the second room will look better than the first.
I haven't messed with flooring yet.
I want to install a couple of dimmer switches, though. I've installed lights and fans before, so I'm assuming it's somewhat similar.
Quote from: Diomedes on October 29, 2007, 02:25:28 PM
Yeah, pretty easy. What kind of floor system are you putting down? Who made it, etc?
Make sure you got the right tools. Since you're doing this for the first time, start on the room that doesn't matter as much/will have a rug on it; you'll get better as you go, so the second room will look better than the first.
Havent decided yet. Only that we decided to actually do it. I want the real stuff, no laminate. This is family room and kitchen (they are connected).
The floors we think we'll do are the basic planks with the lips, that you would have to nail down, and then the nails would be hidden by the next plank.
Quote from: FastFreddie on October 29, 2007, 02:27:59 PM
I haven't messed with flooring yet.
I want to install a couple of dimmer switches, though. I've installed lights and fans before, so I'm assuming it's somewhat similar.
Dimmer switches literally take about 5 minutes. the compact florescent bulbs that are dimmer compatible though are expensive.
I vowed never to mess with hardwood floors again. They're not difficult to install but they are a pain in the arse to keep clean and maintained properly. We refinished the floors in the house we're in now but stopped after two rooms and the hallway because it was such a pain in the butt.
Never again.
I'd rather spend the dough on expensive carpet and just re-do it every 8-10 years.
Truly luxurious homes have carpet in the bathrooms and kitchen, no?
Quote from: Wingspan on October 29, 2007, 02:16:00 PM
There's threads about everything else...here's another...
Is installing hardwood floors (.75") as easy as it's made to sound in 2 relatively square rooms? (meaning no odd angles).
I did about 600SQ. FT. of the Bruce hardwood floors. Came out beautiful. Used an air-powered stapler. Some types of floors use nail guns. My experience with the "snap-n-lock" stuff is that it is complete shtein.
The most important bit of advice I can give is measure, then measure, then measure again. Do it until you are farging furious at measuring. Then do it one more time. Getting six feet into the floor then realizing something is farging up will not only piss you off, it's expensive. Be absolutely positive the floor is level and you are starting square.
Lay out large tracks of what you are going to install before you do it, and make sure the pattern is right. Also, let the floor sit in the boxes in whatever room you are going to install it in for at least 24 hours.
Quote from: FastFreddie on October 29, 2007, 02:27:59 PM
I want to install a couple of dimmer switches, though. I've installed lights and fans before, so I'm assuming it's somewhat similar.
Dimmer switches are pretty simple. Same with the sliders, which get broken less if you have kids or drink too much. Don't use either with a ceiling fan. Fire is bad.
My next big project is residing the house. When we bought it had Masonite siding. The same kind of shtein brown clip boards are made out of. Apparently it's popular in the Southern states. I think it is complete shtein. I'm thinking of vinyl, but I don't like how it looks completely fake. Friend of mine told me about this stuff, (http://www.jameshardie.com/homeowner/products_siding_hardieplankLapSiding.py?openTab=jsnavLink0) anyone have any experience with it?
Quote from: PPinDC on October 29, 2007, 02:52:08 PMAlso, let the floor sit in the boxes in whatever room you are going to install it in for at least 24 hours.
I've been told you want it in the room much longer than that..two weeks at least. We did about 800 sq. feet earlier this summer and my boss let the wood sit in there for a month. My old man (carpenter/contractor all his life) thought that was about right. I'm no expert, so perhaps 24 hours is enough, but I'd go with letting it acclimate longer than one day.
We used a nailer similar to the pic below, except for the edges (because you can't swing the hammer onto the driving pin if there's a wall in front of it), where we put nails through the wood with a big nail gun, then countersank the nails and puttied up the holes.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41FJY5M0PPL._AA280_.jpg)
I said at least 24 hours, but absolutely, the longer the better.
One more big deal with all these tools., rent them. Don't buy. Even you are silly rich, you don't need them. You'll probably never use them again.
Find a place near you: www.rentalhq.com (This is also recommended for large equipment. Rent a backhoe and tear down your icehole neighbor's tree in the midddle of the night.)
We did the pergo like stuff in our basement. Its incredibly easy, the pain is cutting to make the floor sequenced. And when you get to the edges trying to get the perfect cut. It was the first time i've ever done it, and it seemed pretty easy to my father in law and myself. At the same time you need at least 2-3 people to get it done quickly.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on October 29, 2007, 03:53:03 PM
We did the pergo like stuff in our basement. Its incredibly easy, the pain is cutting to make the floor sequenced. And when you get to the edges trying to get the perfect cut. It was the first time i've ever done it, and it seemed pretty easy to my father in law and myself. At the same time you need at least 2-3 people to get it done quickly.
I did my dining room in NC with pergo and it was rediculously simple. The room was roughly 10x10 and I completed the job in half a day. It actually took me longer to rip up the carpet and get the staples out of the floor than it did to put the pergo down. And it looked great once it was in.
I will say though that if it's a home that you plan on staying in for 10+ years then go with traditional hardwood. I'm not sure how well that stuff will hold up over time. When I put the pergo down in my place I knew I wasn't going to be there more than 3 years so I wanted to do something that would enhance the appearance but not cost me an arm and a leg either.
I did laminate in my kitchen, and it looks great. The nice thing is that once if wears out in 5-10 years, I can totally replace it and still be ahead of the game.
Also, I paid for installation. I'm pretty good with that kind of thing, but I really didn't need the PITA factor at this point, and the professional installers are much better and faster than I would be. Well worth the extra scratch.
True, Sus. The only thing I'm not sure of is whether or not you would be able to find the same color/tone/pattern. When I put mine down, it was very inexpensive because that particular style was being discontinued so they had it on clearance. So if I had to worry about replacing that stuff in a few years I'd likely have to find something different.....which I guess isn't really a bad thing but if you happen to really like the particular floor you put in and find that it's not available when you need to replace it then it'd be kind of a let down.
Fascinating analysis Sassy.
You're only mad because you didn't think of it first. Now go whittle yourself a dildo and farg yourself.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on October 29, 2007, 07:48:15 PM
True, Sus. The only thing I'm not sure of is whether or not you would be able to find the same color/tone/pattern. When I put mine down, it was very inexpensive because that particular style was being discontinued so they had it on clearance. So if I had to worry about replacing that stuff in a few years I'd likely have to find something different.....which I guess isn't really a bad thing but if you happen to really like the particular floor you put in and find that it's not available when you need to replace it then it'd be kind of a let down.
Actually, I would most likely replace the whole thing anyway, and welcome the chance to change the overall look of the room.
Hardwood floors are very easy to install, as far as how long you let it stay in the room it is going to be installed, a week is good enough anything longer than that is purely overkill. The biggest thing is make sure your joints are staggered. Also if your room is a square room that is way out of square gradually try to pull it out. That way when you get to the end it won't look retarded because you had to make some ridiculous cut.
On wood floors - I haven't installed them, but don't buy the cheap shtein laminate that comes in planks "3 boards" wide. You can see the seams, and it looks cheap.
On dimmers - make sure you buy a dimmer that is made for a fan if that is what you are hooking it up to. Inductive loads (motors) work differently than resistive (lightbulbs). Also, note the comment that dimmers don't work with standard cfl's.
I was just going to start a thread about home improvements. I just moved in with my girl into a house that we're planning on fixing and selling in a few years. we gutted the upstairs and am going to make a office and a bedroom up there for now. in the future i would like to add a dormer for extra space and add another full bathroom and a big closet. but for now we are just going to redo the existing upstairs and add heat ducts, new electricity, insulation, skylights, drywall and finish. its a big project but we have alot of friends in construction, electrical and plumbing so we are going to save a ton of money getting them to help and not pay some ridiculous amounts of money for a contractor to do it.
we want to add hardwood upstairs, but am up in the air as to what kind. i'd like to get the pergo and do it up quick and cheap and have it look good to sell in a few years. ive never done any hardwood flooring so its all knew to me. im just excited to do this type of work. its not at all the kind of work i do for a living so its nice to get the hands dirty and learn something new. im sure i'll have lots of questions for this thread in the near future.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on October 29, 2007, 07:59:56 PM
You're only mad because you didn't think of it first. Now go whittle yourself a dildo and farg yourself.
post of the year? :-D :-D :-D
I just put in a open air porch
(http://www.jokesnjunk.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/57980.jpg)
If you look closely, you can see melting snow in the back of the truck.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on October 29, 2007, 07:59:56 PM
Now go whittle yourself a dildo and farg yourself.
Nicely done
Word to the wise...Never, and I mean NEVER call the company Empire Today....for any reason.
The commercials should have been annoying enough to turn you off.
My rationale was that they've been around so long, that maybe they were worth a look.
Here's how my floor prices look...
550 sq ft, Bruce 2.25 hardwood.
Self Install
Wood= $2200
Tool Rental & nails= $25-50 per day= $250
Total: $2600ish
Home Depot Purchase and Installation: $4500
Lowes Pruchase and Installation $4200 (longer install wait)
General Contractor $5200
Empire Today $8,900
holy shtein...did they figure you getting two layers of wood floor?
They put bits of dead hookers under the floor panels. That's how you know it's good.
550 sq ft for $8900?
Who's leading Empire's team? Jesus?
Thats unheard of.
Thier markup on the wood was nuts. Almost $200 a carton (which is about 20 sq feet each if i remember right)
Their sales tactic is high high pressure as well. First off, they will not give you the estimate unless you give a $25 deposit. But they don't tell you that until after they spent an hour measuring every little crevice of a room. So no matter what, you book them for installation, and it is up to you to call them and cancel within 3 days.
Apparently their carpet prices are just as bad.
I am probably going to have Home Depot install the floor since I dont have the time to take 2 weekends to do this. Home Depot assured me they can install it in one day, and then check it and put the quarter round strips on the second day. Fine by me, and it will be in before christmas.
So, you actually paid empire $25?
home depot are a bunch of whores too, but not as bad as empire obviously.
their minimum labor charge for a carpet install is $500, but right now they are running a deal $159 for one room or $199 for unlimited rooms. of course, you can't get any carpet on sale for that deal, so I'm still paying $600 to have 150 sqft of carpet and padding installed.
Quote from: SunMo on November 09, 2007, 01:54:45 PM
holy shtein...did they figure you getting two layers of wood floor?
Nope, in fact they said any subfloor repairs would be extra.
I know i will have to replace at least 1 panel under there since the dog pees in the one spot a lot.
Quote from: FastFreddie on November 09, 2007, 02:05:00 PM
So, you actually paid empire $25?
Sorta.
I gave them a check. Which is now cancelled.
nice
Empire Today did my kitchen/bathroom/laundry room, and my experience wasn't all that bad with a couple of hitches..
1) Their price, after much negotiation and threatening to cancel, came out about $400 more expensive than HD, but I liked the pattern better and the scheduled date. I could have done it myself for about $900 less than I paid Empire Today, but a) I travel a lot, b) I didn't want to farg it up, and c) it would take them far shorter to do it than it would take me.
2) They gave me a quote without even asking for a deposit. They gave me a "right now" quote, and a "good for 30 days" quote, which was about $900 more expensive. An obvious and blatant high pressure pitch to get the deal signed, but I knew that so it wasn't even a factor for me. I actually laughed at the guy when he told me there were two different quotes, and said we are either getting this done now where it's a good deal for both of us, or I won't be calling back once you walk out my door.
3) They scheduled for 2 days after the quote (don't believe next day installation), and it also took them two full days (don't believe the one-day install for anything bigger than a small room). They took up my old linoleum, they did panel repair work for free (which I negotiated into the contract), having to replace two whole sections of sub-floor (we had a toilet leak and a washer leak over the last 7 years), and they also moved our island to a new location for free (offered a pizza early on to the laborers, and they did little things like that)
4) Problem - they disconnected, moved, and reconnected my refrigerator and water line, even though the contract said they wouldn't do that and weren't responsible. When they reconnected, they (unknown to me) put a small slice in the line, and tried to fix it with super glue. I learned of the slice, but not of the repair job. As you may have guessed, the super glue didn't hold up, and within a week my floor was warping big time. Called the manager, and he came out to take pictures. He called the contractors and scheduled a repair job for the next day. The contractors came in, and tried salvaging pieces of floor that "weren't that bad" so I was on the phone again. Manager came out, and made them throw out the entire floor, and put in a brand new one (after blowing fans and heat on my sub panels for 36 hours to dry it out). Talking with the manager, they gave me an additional 10% off for our troubles, plus gave us an additional discount of $250 for us to eat all our meals out for a few days. After the same contractors re-installed my floor, they had an actual employee (and field manager) come in to ensure the fridge was correctly connected and working.
5) Also a small problem - I negotiated that I would buy my own floor molding and they would cut it and install it. That saved me some bucks. But once installed, the contractors said they wouldn't do the caulking and paint touch up, so I was on the phone with the manager again. He sent out a guy the next day to do all the caulk and paint job.
Bottom line, after discounts and food credits, we paid about $300 more than if I had done it myself. Seriously worth it. Of course, the contractor took a bath, but that's his problem, not mine.
I just found out after some quick searching that every single empire franchise is different, and their prices wouldnt be the same from one metro area to another and there are no company standards.
ha
Quote from: reese125 on November 09, 2007, 01:59:30 PM
Who's leading Empire's team? Jesus?
This is a pretty funny Jew joke. And I'm positive it wasn't on purpose.
The dimmer switch was probably the easiest "home improvement" ever.
It's odd that in a fairly nice, new construction home; they put two-piece crown molding, chair rail, and picture frame molding in the dining room... but wired the dining room light with a regular flip switch.
rich people hire people to do the work for them. if your smart and don't have the money to throw away like the majority of people, you'll man up and do it yourself or find a friend who can do it. otherwise your spending waaaaay too much money. btw i work for beer. call me.
Quote from: Wingspan on November 09, 2007, 01:49:39 PM
My rationale was that they've been around so long, that maybe they were worth a look.
Here's how my floor prices look...
550 sq ft, Bruce 2.25 hardwood.
Self Install
Wood= $2200
Tool Rental & nails= $25-50 per day= $250
Total: $2600ish
Home Depot Purchase and Installation: $4500
Lowes Pruchase and Installation $4200 (longer install wait)
General Contractor $5200
Empire Today $8,900
So on a whim today i stopped by Floors USA in king of prussia....and they actually offer al a carte pricing on floor installation.
I can knock down the price by ripping out the carpet and linoleum myself...
So according to them, the job will be done before thanksgiving and in one day...and cost a total of $3500
What kind of wood are you using Wing?
How much board footage will you be using?
rip it up, pay the extra 900 bones and enjoy the thanksgiving holiday.
Putting in new insulation in the attic of my new place. i am just laying the new on top of the old, in the rafters, not on the roof. no harm in this, is there? i havn't found anyone who says otherwise.
Putting it on top is fine, but don't block up the eaves without putting baffles in - you need that airflow.
You should only put the insulation in the roof joists if you are going to finish the attic space. If that is your plan, you will need a vent space at the peak.
The rule is that you need to have air flow on the "cold" side and a vapor barrier (the paper backing is OK, but plastic is better) on the warm side. Otherwise you will get condensation, mold and all kinds of nasty stuff.
yea im aware of the air flow issue. there was never an issue with airflow before here. it was always dry as hell, plenty of air flow. so your saying we don't need insulation in the floor boards then on the unfinished part? i made a crude illustration. basically behind the finished wall...in that area where the beams are exposed...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/ananumuss/insultaion.jpg)
That's fine, as long as the vertical wall to the finished room is also insulated. There should be an unbroken insulation & vapor barrier between "cold" and "warm" zones.
yes the wall and ceiling will be insulated. going to have a good 4-5 inches of air space between the roof and the insulation and at the very peak, a good ft of open area. :yay
The toilet in my spare bath is leaking around the base and needs to be pulled out to fix the problem. There's a maintanence guy in there right now working on it while I'm at work. It's costing me nothing to fix and I'm not even involved in the process. I heart apartment living.
yea until you realize the money you put into rent went down the shteinter. oh wait, thats OUR money going down the shteinter. nevermind...
Each one has it's pros and cons. Home ownership is great if you're going to own it long enough to build up some equity and appreciate in value. The house I bought and subsequently sold when I lived in NC for 2.5 years only appreciated in value enough to cover all of the money I put into it while living there. So when I sold it, I basically broke even. But that's just matching dollar for dollar on money that I put into the place, not including the amount of time I spent doing the actual work. This is the first time I've rented in 10+ years and it's a nice break from the added work that comes with owning. I'd love to own my place right now but since I have no idea how long I'm going to be here, it's just too much work without enough payoff.
right on
finished insulating the attic today. next is running new electric upstairs and then installing the fixtures and sockets.
I am up to the point of doing the flooring in our cabin. After pricing flooring I decided to harvest some 100 year old yellow birch and take it to the mill. .20 cents a board foot + .5 to plan both sides. Yellow birch flooring goes for 3.50 sf.
I'm paying about .50 sf and will be laying down only core sections.
Having my own forest is sweet.
Quote from: mussa on November 19, 2007, 11:18:04 AM
yea until you realize the money you put into rent went down the shteinter. oh wait, thats OUR money going down the shteinter. nevermind...
An what do you think happens with mortgage interest, property tax, home insurance, broker fees, etc.?
Quote from: methdeez on November 19, 2007, 04:41:01 PM
Quote from: mussa on November 19, 2007, 11:18:04 AM
yea until you realize the money you put into rent went down the shteinter. oh wait, thats OUR money going down the shteinter. nevermind...
An what do you think happens with mortgage interest, property tax, home insurance, broker fees, etc.?
Good point. But in a lot of cases, renting is like throwing money away. It simply depends on what you're getting for the money. If you're just renting someone's house from them and still have to maintain the yard and all that, then yeah, you're probably wasting your money. But if you find a place with some amenities to it, then it can be well worth the money.
When I owned my home, my mortgage was a very affordable $550/month. And this was a brand new, 4br, 2ba home w/2000 sqft on a half acre lot. Not too shabby. But I had to pay for everything.....
Utilties/Water/Garbage
Insurance
Repairs/Improvements
Yard maintanence (mowing the yard, weeding, grass feed, edging, etc...not to mention buying a lawn mower and the gas to operate it.)
In my apartment, my rent is $1100/mo. It's not as big as the house was, but it's still nice. 3 br/2ba/1400 sqft. And here's what I get that I don't have to pay anymore:
Water/Garbage
Repairs/Improvements
Yard Maintenance
I still pay my electric but the cost of that has dropped significantly. I was around $200/month in NC and I've been averaging about $90 a month now. And here's what I get that I didn't have at my house:
Private garage
Swimming pool
Hot tub
Club house with free continental breakfast every day and a chef who cooks full breakfast every Sat.
Weight room
Sauna/tanning bed/massage therapist (very nice, but no happy endings)
Valet dry cleaning
Pet sitting service
Discounted rates at approx 50 local shops and resturants
Free postage (yes, I can literally take a 10lb shtein, stuff it in a box and mail it to any one of you fargers for free!)
I'm sure there's a few other amenities that I have that I'm not mentioning but it's probably because I don't use them. I know there's a major discount on day care for kids available so I'll probably check on that next summer when my kids vist.
But seriously, with all of the amenities that I get from this place, if I had to pay out of pocket for everything I'd probably be spending a lot more than what I pay in rent. I get a massage once a week for christ's sake for farging free (plus tip). I drop my dirty uniforms off at the front desk and the next day they come back clean and freshly pressed. I want to take off for the weekend and I don't have to worry about finding someone to watch my dog or pay to kennel him. I just leave him at home and directions on how to care for him with the front desk.
Renting's the shtein, son!
yea sounds like you have it made. not worth it to buy unless you plan on staying for awhile or are aware that the house will increase in very little time. which isn't always an easy thing to predict.
no happy endings?
you're getting raped, you dumb jarhead farg
Quote from: Sgt PSN on November 19, 2007, 06:52:35 PM
Free postage (yes, I can literally take a 10lb shtein, stuff it in a box and mail it to any one of you fargers for free!)
I double dog dare you to do exactly that to Hector.
After I signed my lease, I asked them for a box, a bag, a roll of packing tape and direction to the nearest bathroom and did just that.
Quote from: Wingspan on November 10, 2007, 08:38:26 PM
So according to them, the job will be done before thanksgiving and in one day...and cost a total of $3500
So 5 mexicans just left my house, and now I have new floors.
and probably no electronics or bicycles. go check.
and in 9 months, a new family member
Put in a whole-house humidifier yesterday. The box said it was a DIY project that should take about 2 hours. It took me 5 1/2 hours, including two trips to Home Depot to get a longer flexible vent and a longer electric lead, since my hot air and return vents weren't set up like they were in the instructions.
Pluses: I got to use a Sawzall on the vents, and cut through the metal like a hot knife on butter, and at the same time wake my daughter up because of the insane noise through the vents, and I successfully tin-snipped wholes in the venting without slicing open any appendage.
Cons: Took too long to finish, and the instructions must have been translated by a Mexican from Chinese to English. Too soon to tell if it is making any difference in the house.
All-in-all, it was a pretty cool project.
Insofar as your view that parenting is 9/10ths torturing your children in some way, I have to say that parenting sounds like a blast.
Well, today I had about the biggest "oh-shtein" moment of my home improvement / home repair career.
I needed to replace the wax ring in my downstairs bathroom, because we noticed a small leak. I've done this exact repair three other times, so I knew I could handle it. Got the water turned off at the local shut-off valve, emptied the tank and bowl of water, and got the screws off with no effort. Then I started loosening the bolt on the connector pipe from the tank to the shut-off valve.
Here comes the oh-shtein moment.
The pipe - which is made of PVC - snapped about a half inch behind the shut-off valve. Water was shooting out at me like a fire hose, hitting the opposite wall. It took me three "OH-fargS" to get my wits about me (yelled in rapid fire succession), and I high tailed it down to the basement to shut off the main water. The water had gotten into the vents, so it was pouring down on me from the ceiling like I was in the engine room of the Titanic. I imagine it was about 8 to 10 seconds of full on water pressure shooting out into the bathroom and hallway.
Because the break was in the wall, I quickly decided repairing it was beyond my skill level. Call to the emergency plumber, and they got there in about 2 hours. $200 later, and my pipe is repaired, the toilet is on a new wax ring, and only minor damage behind the bowl to the new laminate flooring. One thing I noticed - in my adrenaline-rush effort to shut off the main water, I twisted that thing so tight I needed a pipe-wrench to turn it back on. Easily the strength of ten men during that brief slice of time.
So, how was your day?
:-D
I only laugh, Demon, because that is exactly what would happen to me. Except it would happen the FIRST time I tried to do it.
always shut off the water regardless. ha, that sucks dude
I rent.
And you wasted all that time in a humidifier. Putting toilet water in your vents every once in awhile would have done the trick nicely.
i take great care of my wax ring.
that's about the most boring home improvement farg up story I've ever read, superhuman freakout strength notwithstanding
Quote from: Father Demon on May 07, 2008, 10:52:20 PM
Here comes the oh-shtein moment.
The pipe - which is made of PVC - snapped about a half inch behind the shut-off valve.
Man, farg PVC. All supply lines should be copper. It's more expensive, but makes for a 10 times better job. Only cheap ass plumbers looking to make an extra buck use PVC for supply lines. Only drains and vents should be PVC.
Supply lines are under a lot of pressure, and if you have any running under your house and forget to close the vents in the winter, guess what can happen? It can happen with copper also, but not as easy.
Quote from: Diomedes on May 08, 2008, 05:47:06 PM
that's about the most boring home improvement farg up story I've ever read, superhuman freakout strength notwithstanding
You should have been here. It wasn't even close to boring.
Demons new avatar.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/2476376927_1d68a6564d_s.jpg)
Moe: (says to the Butler): "Pretty nice joint you got boy; where's the leak?"
Butler: "In the basement."
Larry: "Where's the basement?"
Curly: "Upstairs!"
Moe: "Up to the basement!"
We should rename this thread to "Demon fargs up again while trying to fix things".
Today wasn't really a farg up, but scared the shtein out of me. I think I may have to put my house on the market within a few weeks, so we're doing some basic repairs on stuff we let slide over the years. I have two porcelain light sockets in the basement ceiling that don't work. I figured I'd buy the replacement sockets, and switch them out. Easy-peasy. As I'm putting the hot wire in the new socket (yes, I killed the power at the breaker box), someone calls me on my cell phone. Which is in my pocket. On vibrate (left over from yesterday when I needed it silent). I'm touching the hot wire, and my balls start to vibrate. About fell off the ladder, thinking I was getting electrocuted. Heartbeat easily passed 180 beats per minute, and my T-shirt is soaked.
It was my wife, of course, who is out this morning. I always knew she'd be the death of me.
You deserved a real execution for using the term "easy-peasy"
Quote from: Father Demon on July 07, 2008, 12:20:36 PM
I think I may have to put my house on the market within a few weeks
You may want to reconsider discussing all of your home improvement blunders then.
And just so you know, my balls get all tingly everytime your wife calls me too.
sounds like a great time.
My wife is home painting the house today, already got the worried phonecall that it looks streaky
Quote from: Wingspan on July 07, 2008, 12:23:08 PM
You deserved a real execution for using the term "easy-peasy"
Worse:
Easy Peasy,
or
Oopsy Daisy?
Tough call. I just can't decide. Oh fiddlesticks!
Okay, I'm having a weird problem and would rather not incur the cost of a plumber right now. Any thoughts?
I have this slop sink in the basement and it has a pump to get the water out, since it's below water level. I also have a hose running from the washer into the same pipe, because the washer is above water level. The washer water gets out of the house no problem. But when the slop sink runs and the pump goes, the water backs up and out of where the hose goes into the pipe for the washer, thereby making a big f'n mess.
And because the humidifier drains into the slop sink, it's a daily event. I don't know why the sink water won't get out, but the washer water will; I thought maybe it was the volume, so I tried draino and I tried to snake the drain. Didn't work. I was thinking of taking the pipe apart to see if there's a clog or some sort of buildup....but I still don't know why the washer water gets out while the sink water backs up-- it's the same pipe out. It's been the same setup for the last five years, and hasn't been a problem until now.
Any ideas, other than calling a plumber?
I'd just get a sink snake at Homedepot and try that first. I had a similar problem with a sink, and that did the job
Quote from: Zanshin on January 27, 2009, 03:56:42 PM
Okay, I'm having a weird problem and would rather not incur the cost of a plumber right now. Any thoughts?
I have this slop sink in the basement and it has a pump to get the water out, since it's below water level. I also have a hose running from the washer into the same pipe, because the washer is above water level. The washer water gets out of the house no problem. But when the slop sink runs and the pump goes, the water backs up and out of where the hose goes into the pipe for the washer, thereby making a big f'n mess.
And because the humidifier drains into the slop sink, it's a daily event. I don't know why the sink water won't get out, but the washer water will; I thought maybe it was the volume, so I tried draino and I tried to snake the drain. Didn't work. I was thinking of taking the pipe apart to see if there's a clog or some sort of buildup....but I still don't know why the washer water gets out while the sink water backs up-- it's the same pipe out. It's been the same setup for the last five years, and hasn't been a problem until now.
Any ideas, other than calling a plumber?
Zan--I obviously dont know your house set up, but it sounds like your drainage system is very close together. Although it has worked for the past 5 years you could easily have that build up now that is causing a backfill. This drainage system between the 2 outlets should be about 5-10ft away from each other...and because of that your pump might not be strong enough.
Regardless, I would call a plumber because he could very well need to add an additional drainage line, but its not worth fiddling with and incurring damage costs
I don't see how the washer is draining but the sink backs up into the washer drain when the pump runs. Thats baffling.
I have found that, short of the most basic tasks such as installing a new sink, toilet, or faucet, or trying a stopped drain, it is always wise to call a plumber.
Dio is right about that. Even installing toilets can be a nightmare if it's a situation where you're actually living in the house and need the thing to work immediately. I had a 1950's-installed commode in my crib that was literally bolted to the floor. I ended up snapping two of the anchor bolts when I was removing the toilet. Thank God a buddy of mine is a jack of all trades. He came over and helped me finished the job quickly before (1) it became a mess and (2) before my wife found out what I had done.
After thinking about it, if there is a partial blockage that the washer can still drain through with nothing but gravity behind it, a pump pushing the water at a much faster rate might be too much for the drain to handle, so it backs up at the washer drain.
So.........yes, if your initial attempt at snaking the line didn't work, call a plumber.
I know each of you is on the edge of your seat, so I thought I'd close the loop with an update.
I managed to borrow a commercial drill attachment snake via my father-in-law and drop it in through the open top of the pipe. There was a buildup of hair and assorted other sick smelling goodies about 12-15 feet in, which is why I couldn't get it with the smaller hand snake. Took a few passes at it, and it seemed to do the trick. Must have been just enough to let the washer water through, but not the volume from the sink. Anyway, seems okay now.
Thanks for the replies on it.
Glad to hear it worked out for you Zanshin.
On an unrelated note, I bought my first house in May. Now that the girlfriend moved in, I need to update the kitchen; however, have no idea where to begin. Do I call contractors or designers? Because god knows I shouldn't be deciding on layout or even color
Quote from: Tomahawk on February 02, 2009, 01:22:20 PM
Glad to hear it worked out for you Zanshin.
On an unrelated note, I bought my first house in May. Now that the girlfriend moved in, I need to update the kitchen; however, have no idea where to begin. Do I call contractors or designers? Because god knows I shouldn't be deciding on layout or even color
Have some vendors, top of the line down to the cheap guys come in and give you ideas and prices. See if you can do any of the work yourself to cut costs, then pick and choose what you like. Also stroll thru Home Depot, Lowes or other places to get some ideas of what you may like.
good stuff Zan. My wife and i have been eyeing up a house that's been Short Sale for a while now. It went off the market 2 weeks ago and we were hoping the Bank would just take a ridiculously low offer. We went by saturday to look at the place with my Realtor(dad) And it ends up it went off the market because a water pipe burst in the house on the second floor and flooded the house. The moron owner didnt want to turn the heat on, and didnt realize pipes burst if they have water in them. The guy bought the place for 420k, we were hoping to get the bank to accept 275 at the most. Instead the realtor who has the house booked said it might go for far less based on teh massive damage. It sucks because its a great neighborhood and really nice house.
Call any friends who are contractors as well, not to solicit bids, but to get their opinions of your ideas and the ideas being pitched by the contractors you have spoken with.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on February 02, 2009, 01:31:53 PM
good stuff Zan. My wife and i have been eyeing up a house that's been Short Sale for a while now. It went off the market 2 weeks ago and we were hoping the Bank would just take a ridiculously low offer. We went by saturday to look at the place with my Realtor(dad) And it ends up it went off the market because a water pipe burst in the house on the second floor and flooded the house. The moron owner didnt want to turn the heat on, and didnt realize pipes burst if they have water in them. The guy bought the place for 420k, we were hoping to get the bank to accept 275 at the most. Instead the realtor who has the house booked said it might go for far less based on teh massive damage. It sucks because its a great neighborhood and really nice house.
Man, you'd be suprised how many people turn off the heat without turing off the water and draining the pipes. I looked at a job the day before yesterday were the people had that exact problem with a summer home, and the insurance agent had come up from South Carolina for the week to look at 26 other homes on Delmarva that have had the same thing happen. All during the big cold snap two weeks ago.
I wouldn't be too discouraged. I know water damage looks bad, but if you get $200,000 or more knocked off the price, it's worth it. Bad as it probably looks, it can always be fixed. Look at it this way, you'd get to pick out all new paint, hardwood, carpet, etc.
Quote from: Zanshin on February 02, 2009, 08:06:55 AM
I know each of you is on the edge of your seat, so I thought I'd close the loop with an update.
I managed to borrow a commercial drill attachment snake via my father-in-law and drop it in through the open top of the pipe. There was a buildup of hair and assorted other sick smelling goodies about 12-15 feet in, which is why I couldn't get it with the smaller hand snake. Took a few passes at it, and it seemed to do the trick. Must have been just enough to let the washer water through, but not the volume from the sink. Anyway, seems okay now.
Thanks for the replies on it.
:-D Yeah, believe it or not you did have me wondering if you had taken' care of the problem. Nice that you could do it without calling a plumber. I probably would have. I'm scared of those industrial snakes. It's easy to bust a pipe with those suckers, seen it happen with a pro running one.
Well, I figured if I broke the pipe, I'd end up calling a plumber...which was the only option other than giving the snake a shot in the first place. Solid risk/reward. Maybe with the money I didn't spend on the plumber I'll get my treadmill fixed. One thing after another these days.
I'm trying to get my yard in shape for summer/fall parties and am looking for some advice on setting up an outdoor sound system on the cheap. I want to be able to play songs off one of my PCs or possibly off laptop we'd bring outside. I have a spare receiver and plan on buying the outdoor speakers next week. I can figure out how to route my PC sound output to the receiver, but am not sure how I can do it wirelessly from a laptop. Any advice?
Hire a D.J.
Quote from: hbionic on June 08, 2009, 02:25:30 PM
Hire a D.J.
(http://tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:eo75nTT6OQKP6M:http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y198/Paradisedream89/Roseanne/DJ.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YTxhKAOBLhU/R-JfUiFGYcI/AAAAAAAAEAU/MHePIvxLxGA/s400/n_morales_candacecameron_071018.300w.jpg)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OhcdaGi2G1I/Rc-LaEPltqI/AAAAAAAAATw/7_ccIC-y-6M/s400/737181_356x237.jpg)
(https://djdozier.iplayedthegame.com/images/P_280_SM_DSC_0109_300_236.JPG)
(http://www.thedawgpost.com/covers/0306.jpg)
i tried to get a nest off my patio a few weeks ago, and as i was getting close to the nest, mamma bird came flying out of nowhere towards my face. i ducked but it brushed against my head and then i got itchy and noticed i had spiders all over me. guess those fargers fell out of her wings or something but it was nasty.
Quote from: phattymatty on June 09, 2009, 07:56:50 AM
i tried to get a nest off my patio a few weeks ago, and as i was getting close to the nest, mamma bird came flying out of nowhere towards my face. i ducked but it brushed against my head and then i got itchy and noticed i had spiders all over me. guess those fargers fell out of her wings or something but it was nasty.
Hire a D.J.
Quote from: phattymatty on June 09, 2009, 07:56:50 AM
i tried to get a nest off my patio a few weeks ago, and as i was getting close to the nest, mamma bird came flying out of nowhere towards my face. i ducked but it brushed against my head and then i got itchy and noticed i had spiders all over me. guess those fargers fell out of her wings or something but it was nasty.
this would send me to therapy for years.
Quote from: phattymatty on June 09, 2009, 07:56:50 AM
i tried to get a nest off my patio a few weeks ago, and as i was getting close to the nest, mamma bird came flying out of nowhere towards my face. i ducked but it brushed against my head and then i got itchy and noticed i had spiders all over me. guess those fargers fell out of her wings or something but it was nasty.
Motherfarging fire bomb that bitch bird. I did it a few times with a can of WD-40 and a lighter. Cruel? Nah. That bitch started it.
So what's the best way to get wallpaper glue off (preferrably in sheets)? Soap and water isn't doing a very impressive job.
Also, I pulled a lot of wooden planks off the wall, but they were glued down instead of being secured by trim nails. Not only did that leave a lot of glue residue on the walls, but it also pulled some of the wall off with it. They're not holes or anything; more like divets. Do I use the mudding compound they use when they hang the drywall originally or is there a better method of patching?
For the wallpaper, get one of these at the local hardware store:
(http://www.askthebuilder.com/artman212/uploads/1/250.jpg)
They pierce the wallpaper thousands of times. Then use some wallpaper removal solution to break down the adhesive. It'll come off in sheets, but probably not what you are expecting. Removing wallpaper is a zesty job, and takes forever. No getting around it.
For the drywall, just use joint compound if the "divots" aren't too bad. Remember to feather the edge, sand the shtein out of it, and use a tack cloth several times before painting over it. I would also suggest priming so you don't see the patch spots after you've painted.
Use that tool, but don't by that bullshtein chemical, use a steamer. That is by far the best way to do it. I have removed tons of wallpaper and a steamer does the best job.
Thanks for the quick replies. Frugality prevents me from using a steamer, but this is what the worst of the "divots" look like:
(http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs294.ash1/22136_1246787423606_1647052155_596858_3711182_n.jpg)
The plan, as it stands, is to sand all the glue remnants flush, fix the holes, then sand sand and sand some more
if thats a dudes hands, cut your fingernails freak
That is plaster so make sure you use plaster to patch the holes, not drywall mud. You don't sand plaster you sponge and trowel it as it gets hard. If you do use drywall mud, put a bonding agent on the holes first.
I was guessing it's plaster since it's a 1938 house but wasn't sure. There's a hole around the light switches that was covered by the plate, but there aren't any slats and I thought plaster needed the slats to bond to
And thanks for the great advice PPinDC and Drunkmasterflex-I'm not sure if it was the scoring tool or the Dif solution I bought with it, but the shtein practically fell off the wall. Saved a shtein ton of time and tedious labor
burn the house down, get the insurance money, buy a new house
I hope you got a good price, what with all that jiz on the walls.
Quote from: Tomahawk on January 06, 2010, 03:12:11 PM
Thanks for the quick replies. Frugality prevents me from using a steamer, but this is what the worst of the "divots" look like:
(http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs294.ash1/22136_1246787423606_1647052155_596858_3711182_n.jpg)
The plan, as it stands, is to sand all the glue remnants flush, fix the holes, then sand sand and sand some more
Wall photo or money shot under a microscope?
Little bit of both - that's the aftermath after I spanked off and shot onto the wall
Quote from: SunMo on January 06, 2010, 05:03:55 PM
burn the house down, get the insurance money, buy a new house
I don't know how well a brick house will burn, but I'll go get gumby-legged drunk tonight and pass out right after I light a cigarette so we can find out
Sanding the glue down was labor intensive bad idea. Using a 4" scraper works much much better
here's a nice little piece of equipment you won't to be without when doing those around the house projects
http://www.viddler.com/explore/failblog/videos/350/
its freakin awesome how the guy continues to sell the ladder after he bounces his face off of it.
So my landlord has some roofers replacing part of my roof, along with the other homes they own on my street. They started last week and ripped up a bunch of shingles and placed them in a huge pile, right at the very edge of the roof overlooking my driveway. And then on Friday, they left for the weekend and left all that crap on top of the roof. Well, this time of year in the desert we get a lot of strong winds of 50+ mph. So all weekend long, I had the farging shingles blowing off the roof and landing on my truck (btw, I traded in my 4runner for a Tundra last week....which now has some tar on the windshield and hood), not to mention that all of last week I kept finding McDonald's bags and wrappers in my driveway and along the side of my house. When I left for work this morning, they hadn't shown up yet. When I got home they were on the roof working again. As I walked in my house, I noticed 2 extension cords plugged into my patio outlet that were running up to the roof. I asked my g/f if she let them use our electricity and she said no. My patio has a 6' privacy wall and gate around it, so they actually climbed over the wall to plug in their crap.
So when I called them out on the pile of shingles and the trash and them using my electricity without asking, they acted as if it were no big deal and claim they do it all the time. So, for those of you with some contracting experience, is this a normal practice when working on someone's private residence? Leaving piles of debris all over the place and trash and just helping yourselves to the resident's electricity (by scaling a wall to get to the outlet)?
No and farg no. You should always leave a job site clean and presentable. They are not allowed/supposed to leave loose sthein on the roof. They should absolutely ask if they are not readily available outside.
If I were you I would have a talk with my landlord about the help he has hired.
Already called the landlords...unfortunately they live out of town and are sometimes hard to get a hold of. In their absence, I've still asked to speak with their boss who is on his way over. I've already found a bunch of nails on my walkway, which is what I'm really pissed about now. Well, that and the tar spots on my new used truck and the day's worth of juice they added to my electric bill.
your a marine, right? show them what using a nail gun is all about.
Wow.....so I just got off the phone with the owner of the company and he flat out said that he knew on Friday there was going to be problems getting a dump truck to collect all the roof debris but he had a weekend planned in Vegas so he went there instead. So I told him he shouldn't have gone to Vegas until he got his business taken care of first and his response was that I don't understand the real world. What?
He also said that he couldn't believe I had a problem with his guys using my electricity to listen to the radio. I don't have a problem with that. What I have a problem with is them not farging asking and climbing over a 6 foot wall to get to the outlet.
Is this guy farging serious?
Most people don't care if it is easily accessible they shouldn't be climbing over walls to get to it. And they should definitely be cleaning up nails. It is one thing if they make one mistake, but that there is people just not giving a sthein about other peoples property.
My Mom just had the roof on her house replaced. They parked a dumpster in the driveway and threw the old shingles/nails/crap into it. There was no mess whatsoever with the exception of loose shingles that fell onto her deck but were cleaned as soon as the workers went home for the day. Like we do in the military, you don't go home for the day until your shtein is clean, at least that's how it is on a ship.
That's the thing that really irks me......they started this early last week and the piles of debris kept getting bigger and bigger. I've really been dealing with this crap since last Monday but it's only been small pieces of debris. It wasn't until they took off for the weekend and left all the trash on top of my house that I really got pissed. They did the same thing with the other 3 houses on my street that they're working on too.
Funny you should mention "like in the military" because it was after I told him that I'm in the military that he said I don't know what the real world is like.
The people doing this work are borderline criminal fargs. Decent roofers do not behave anything like this Sarge. I have never heard of roofers actually leaving a pile of loose tear-off on a roof. That's got to be against some law somewhere. The law of common sense at least, if not the law of self preservation. Talk about liability hell. I don't know man, that's farging bad.
The litter is more common but also unacceptable. Problem is, you're not the client, your landlord is, so you have no real complaint here, unless you want to complain to the landlord about it. The people who behave like this don't give a shtein what a person who isn't paying them says.
All decent roofers clean up the job site for nails using large magnets. Good roofers take the time to do this thoroughly.
Your expectations and complaints are all reasonable. On my jobs, we always leave a clean ditch. We never break and enter. Nothing is ever left loose on a roof. When we farg the client's tenant's girlfriend, we always wear rubbers.
Quote from: Diomedes on May 10, 2010, 10:42:42 PM
Problem is, you're not the client, your landlord is, so you have no real complaint here, unless you want to complain to the landlord about it.
This is why I ultimately decided to hang up on the guy during our phone conversation because he was getting belligerent and swearing up and down and I wasn't about to get into a pissing contest with him. Because if I do, then maybe he decides to pull his crew off the roof and leave the job unfinished or something. Then my landlord is pissed at me.
No worries now though. Dude's wife put him in check and they came over and she pretty much made him apologize. And naturally, it turns out that the story he got from his workers was completely different when they had to explain it to him with me standing in front of them. They pretty much fed him a line of bs over the phone so when I called him, he was under the impression that I was being an unreasonable prick who was pissed off about them using my electricity. He ended up firing one dude on the spot.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on May 10, 2010, 11:09:41 PM
He ended up firing one dude on the spot.
That had to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside
Foreman: You're fired
Laborer: No speaka English
Out of the 4 dudes on the roof, 1 mexican, 2 white, 1 soul brutha. He fired one of the white dudes (the one who climbed the wall) because he lied to his boss about it.
Sarge, any contractor stupid enough to leave a pile of debris for the weekend anywere on the property, much less on the farging roof, should be fired on the spot. Your in a bad situation because your renting and didn't hire them. If I were doing it and couldn't get a way to haul the debris, I wouldn't have torn the shingles off, and neither would any other contractor worth his salt.
Actually, I'm shocked that there are idiots out there who are stupid enough to operate like that.
Ok, so now I see after reading the comments after your post one of the guys was fired. At least the owner is not a total idiot.
The owner is still a total idiot because he knew that a dump truck wouldn't be available on Friday and still elected to go to Vegas for the weekend. To me, that is absolutely inexcusable. If you own a company and you know that there's a problem, you farging fix it before heading off to Vegas to get blasted. This guy's spending the weekend with his face up a stripper's ass and I'm cleaning tar off my windshield and picking up loose shingles all over the place and he still didn't understand why I was so pissed.
I don't even have a problem with him going to Vegas, he should have a competent enough crew that will clean up after themselves. And in reference to what Dio said there are definitely liability issues there, with both the landlord and the contractor.
Like Shore said you always clean up really well for the weekend. Really you are supposed to clean up at the end of each work day, but especially for the weekend.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on May 11, 2010, 10:53:05 AM
The owner is still a total idiot because he knew that a dump truck wouldn't be available on Friday and still elected to go to Vegas for the weekend. To me, that is absolutely inexcusable. If you own a company and you know that there's a problem, you farging fix it before heading off to Vegas to get blasted. This guy's spending the weekend with his face up a stripper's ass and I'm cleaning tar off my windshield and picking up loose shingles all over the place and he still didn't understand why I was so pissed.
This whole fiasco would be easily resolved if you worked downtown (taxation office, water dept., whatever). You just go out to lunch with the builing inspector and ask for a favor (that you"ll repay ;)). Problem solved
Quote from: Sgt PSN on May 11, 2010, 12:11:12 AM
Out of the 4 dudes on the roof, 1 mexican, 2 white, 1 soul brutha. He fired one of the white dudes (the one who climbed the wall) because he lied to his boss about it.
Nice job getting whitey fired.
Racist clown.
So I'm doing some work on my house, which farging blows. It's boring and tedious. I am liking the results and I'll be happy when it's done but I've got other shtein I want to do with my time.
Anyway, anyone have any suggestions on how to murder large numbers of mosquitos? I'm looking into bug zappers that use pheremones to attract and decimate the population but I'm wondering if any of you have ever used anything like that. And don't tell me to get rid of standing water you monkeys.
i have the same issue, the one part of my yard is swampy and it's a farging breeding ground. i've been killing them in the house for the past week.
All of my neighbors warned us about the mosquitos but I didn't pay attention to them. Little fargers need to die.
when your neighbors warn you of stuff about the area when you move in, it's probably good to listen.
No.
haha
QuoteBreak Wind
As strange as it may sound, creating wind can help get rid of mosquitoes if you're sitting on an outdoor deck or patio. The wind created isn't that of a flatulent kind, but the wind produced by an electric fan. If you're going to be sitting outdoors, if possible, arm yourself with an electric fan. Positioning yourself in front of a fan will discourage mosquitoes from landing and biting.
fart
Quote from: rjs246 on September 28, 2010, 12:13:17 PM
So I'm doing some work on my house, which farging blows. It's boring and tedious. I am liking the results and I'll be happy when it's done but I've got other shtein I want to do with my time.
Anyway, anyone have any suggestions on how to murder large numbers of mosquitos? I'm looking into bug zappers that use pheremones to attract and decimate the population but I'm wondering if any of you have ever used anything like that. And don't tell me to get rid of standing water you monkeys.
I have the same problem. I use this stuff:
(http://images.bizrate.com/resize?sq=384&uid=1802565844)
Spray it on the lawn, bushes, the sides of the house, and let it dry. It's fine for kids, dogs, and turtles once it dries, and it'll not only keep the mosquitoes under control, but also spiders, ants, turtles, and just about ever kind of other insect out of your yard. For mosquitoes, I have them really bad, I spray the yard about once a month during the summer.
That spray is legit. I used it when I lived in NC. Get a bug zapper anyway. It's fun sitting on your porch and listening to those little bastiches fry. They also make these little electric fly swatter looking things that work the same as a bug zapper. But you hold it and can just zap those fargers as they're flying around you. They're also great for disciplining women, kids, pets and old people.
build a screened in porch carpenter icehole
Once he completes four home improvements, he's gonna be so ripped.
Haha.
Quote from: rjs246 on September 28, 2010, 12:13:17 PM
So I'm doing some work on my house, which farging blows. It's boring and tedious. I am liking the results and I'll be happy when it's done but I've got other shtein I want to do with my time.
Anyway, anyone have any suggestions on how to murder large numbers of mosquitos? I'm looking into bug zappers that use pheremones to attract and decimate the population but I'm wondering if any of you have ever used anything like that. And don't tell me to get rid of standing water you monkeys.
First you need to get rid of standing water. Then get a aerosol can of something flammable, preferrably Aquanet hairspray, and hang out with that can and a lighter. It'll be like you're napalming the skeeters.
We have a big ass zapper. This year its been really wet and we have a wooded lot, so its been working non-stop. The kids love hearing the little bastiches fry. It seems to work pretty well, but next year i will try the spray too. Thanks for the advice on it PPinDC
I've used mosquito traps similar to this one and they work fine. Thing loads up with 'em.
(http://s4.hubimg.com/u/3194943_f260.jpg)
re-grade the yard to get the water out of your yard or you can install drainage wells and have Dio dig the ditch to run the pipes
Farg that....just cover your yard in kitty litter to absorb all the excess moisture.
So, I live in a twin in an area where no houses have basements, everything is on slab.
During all the rain last week, the carpet in my living room was soaking wet right at the wall connecting the two houses. It started at the wall and came out about 2 feet and was along the whole wall. So I spent a lot of the weekend using my carpet shampooer to pull up the water as best i can and keeping a fan on it. However, it's already starting to smell like mildew. Is there anything I can do, short of ripping up the carpet, to fix this?
I'm no barber...but u should check with a contractor or landscaper about the grading outside the wall where the water came through...unless the leak came through the roof...u should also talk to the occupant of the other dwelling and see how much damage they got. But problem is with grading...u will continue to have stink-carpet every time it rains. Also...get rid of the drywall and carpet unless u love mold and respiratory diseases.
who doesn't love respiratory diseases
Best thing you can do Sunny is rent an industrial carpet shampooer and get some large fans. If you have insurance i'd call them up and see what the damages to your deductible would be as they can send out ServPro or one of the restoration companies and rescue your carpet, if the adjuster thinks thats a waste, they'll just pay for new carpet. Chuggie is right as far as prevention, you should regrade the yard away from the house, and talk to your neighbor about it as well.
by "twin" you mean a duplex? something like this?
(http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQwAuwW_N6_1gC6IMTpgetlLwgrJ6oAOL3-oxxLLmw0TtLc8MY&t=1&usg=__kfx9N2LAEbo2KARX6MD0D_73n-o=)
if so, and I'm reading your post correctly, then grading can't be the issue because the side that's wet does not have exposure to the exterior.
and if all that is so, then obviously your neighbor has a water problem, and thanks to that, so do you.
yay trying to get neighbors to spend money to fix problems that affect you
yes, Dio, you are right on, that's the situation. unfortunately the neighbors are eldery chinese people who speak broken english so my attempts to communicate have been a struggle.
my girl called her insurance agent and she said this isn't covered, all that's covered is water damage by pipe bursts, water heater leak, etc. not rain/flood. i told her to call the insurance company herself and get it directly from them. i did call ServPro to come look at it, but they have a waiting list so it wont' be until like Wednesday.
my girl has a client who is a carpet installer and *shockingly* he thinks we should replace the carpet. I just hate to rip up a 20 x 20 room of carpet for about 40 square feet of damaged area.
Sun...do u own the property? If so...I would think twice about rushing to call ur insurance agency. I don't know how real estate is practiced over there...but if u try to sell ur property...and there has been an insurance claim within 5 years of the transfer...u have to disclose it and if the claim was due to water intrusion which could potentially lead to mold...the prospective buyer may have a very hard time securing insurance against the property as companies will consider it a high risk...and u may have a hard time selling ur place. Call around and find out with insurance companies what their policies are concerning properties that have a history of water damage/intrusion. They fear mold and want to avoid potential lawsuits.
my girlfriend owns the house so that could be a concern.
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs26-CLUE.htm.
just a little info and the potential effects of filing a claim.
thanks hbionic...
So i have two different restoration companies that will come out and the carpet guy coming out...whoever is cheaper wins.
Difficult as it will be, thanks to the language barrier compounding the "other human being" barrier, I think it will pay to do your very best to communicate with the neighbor. Perhaps their water heater shat the bed? Perhaps the grade on the other side of their unit is funnelling water against their foundation, causing their basement to fill? You're going to have a hard time addressing anything beyond the symptom (your wet carpet) without gettting some facts and cooperation.
yeah, i will go over after work.
the thing that really gets me is that nobody has basements in my area, everything is on slab.
Quote from: SunMo on October 04, 2010, 10:25:26 AMthe thing that really gets me is that nobody has basements in my area, everything is on slab.
Yeah, might be a good reason for that.
But you've had no problems before this recent monsoon, so perhaps it's just that everyone else is white trash only recently graduated from a trailer park, so the slab is an upgrade to them.
What does the wall look like? Have you pulled up the carpet at all? Without a heavy duty dehumidifier and a few big fans blowing, good luck getting that carpet dried out.
Does the drywall appear to be damaged at all? I would find it hard to believe that the entire length of the wall would be wet unless it came from inside the wall. I agree with Dio that if you fix the carpet, you're likely to just have the same problem again. Really sucks, though.
wall is totally dry
have not pulled the carpet up. i've basically been using our shampooer to suck the water up and then i walk out it to push more water out of the pad and suck that up.
Quote from: FastFreddie on October 04, 2010, 10:29:06 AMDoes the drywall appear to be damaged at all? I would find it hard to believe that the entire length of the wall would be wet unless it came from inside the wall.
yep.
Hey, if it makes you feel any better, my house, which I own, and have to maintain myself, is sifting rain water through my roof and cielings onto my bed, my bathtub (not the worst place for a leak), and my child's bedroom (but not his bed, thankfully).
Quote from: SunMo on October 04, 2010, 10:30:22 AMwall is totally dry
Huh. How is so much water getting through then? It's hard for me to believe that much water is seeping through the block. Unless the neigbor's basement has like two feet of standing water...
I dunno.
My girlfriend had a crazy idea of removing all the floor molding in her new condo...against my wishes (guess who had to install the new ones?). But within days...in the 1st floor bathroom...we noticed a water stain...and we tore open a portion of the wall...called a (trusted) plumber and determined that the line from the bathroom upstairs was punctured and it had a slow leak that had been happening since god knows when. Moral of the story...don't assume that there is no damage...just because its dry. shtein may have calcified on the other side of the wall preventing any leaks from showing...but there may be moisture present.
When you go visit the asians next door...you might want to get a plumber's opinion. Maybe he/she has experience or has seen something similar in the area.
Quote from: hbionic on October 04, 2010, 10:34:55 AMWhen you go visit the asians next door...you might want to bring a nice gift to break the ice. A calculator perhaps, or some dog meat.
I will say, having had Water heater issues, its entirely plausible that theirs is pouring out.
All of these suggestions sound really expensive and time consuming. Farg that. Just throw some newspaper down on the wet spots or cover them with furniture. Scented candles should take care of any unsavory odors that may arise. Cost estimate: $7.
Just lock yourself in the bathroom and masturbate until you fall asleep. Problems solved.
Quote from: rjs246 on October 04, 2010, 12:14:54 PM
Just lock yourself in the bathroom and masturbate until you fall asleep. Problems solved.
Cost estimate: $0.03 (for a Kleenex)
Your sperm would be weak enough that a kleenex suffices.
do i call the insurance company before or after i jerk off in the bathroom?
Quote from: SunMo on October 04, 2010, 12:27:34 PM
do i call the insurance company before or after i jerk off in the bathroom?
During.
Quote from: Diomedes on October 04, 2010, 12:25:38 PM
Your sperm would be weak enough that a kleenex suffices.
Oh zing! But I was talking about wiping the tears off your mom's face after she chokes down a massive load of Sunny's manhood.
Quote from: rjs246 on October 04, 2010, 12:29:51 PM
Quote from: SunMo on October 04, 2010, 12:27:34 PM
do i call the insurance company before or after i jerk off in the bathroom?
During.
Just make sure the guy on the phone sounds "clean."
Quote from: rjs246 on October 04, 2010, 12:14:54 PM
Just lock yourself in the bathroom and masturbate until you fall asleep. Problems solved.
Damn that was funny. +1
:-D
Good stuff.
Who doesn't get a semi at the mere thought of this discussion?!
Quote from: hbionic on October 04, 2010, 02:56:31 PM
Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on October 04, 2010, 02:54:50 PM
:-D
Good stuff.
You get turned on waaay too easy.
True. Whereas it takes something like this (http://www.concretefield.info/forum/index.php?topic=20757.msg778494#msg778494) to get
Chuggie going.
Any luck Sunmo?
If you dont have any drywall damage, that leaves out a roof issue.
Eventhough your slab house is built above grade, you may have a slab issue, if you were subjected to torrential rain for an extended period of time.
Does this only happen with heavy rains, or is the problem recurring?
Quote from: SunMo on October 04, 2010, 10:25:26 AM
yeah, i will go over after work.
the thing that really gets me is that nobody has basements in my area, everything is on slab.
sounds like my area. dO you have concrete around the house ? if so have you checked where the concrete meets the house to see if you have any cracks or seperations ? that could lead to water collecting against the block which will lead to water coming inside.
so i talked to the azans, and they didn't have any issues. i checked up in the attic and didn't see any evidence of water, so i don't have a clue what happened. everything was fine monday and tuesday with all that rain.
the carpet is dry now, but the mildew smell is still lingering, despite my best effort to deodorize and clean the carpet. i guess i have to bite the bullet and just re-carpet the room, i can't imagine i can splice a piece in.
a carpet guy could, the issue is if your existing carpet has faded you may notice the difference. that would drive me nuts but definitely cheaper than replacing the entire carpet.
rip that part of the carpet out and push your couch up against the wall...problem solved.
farg carpet and tile that shtein up or put some pergo/laminate flooring.
If this mystery leak happens again...you won't be paying for new carpet in the future.
Laminate flooring is farging cheap...you can hire most mexicans to install it for your on the cheap.
P.S.
The Asians are lying to you.
If you would have approached them by saying "I think a pipe burst in my place and flooded my room and wanted to see if there was any damage to your place....I'd be willing to bet they would have shown you their damage". Liars.
Laminate flooring is made from the dead skin of satan. farg that stuff, you have to acid wash your subfloor before starting.
Acid wash the sub floor? Why? It's on a slab.
Quote from: charlie on October 07, 2010, 03:45:48 PM
Laminate flooring is made from the dead skin of satan. farg that stuff, you have to acid wash your subfloor before starting.
Laminate wood floor is an easy install, other than it takes a day. Just buy the underlayment stuff, and put the floor on top, pretty easy, and relatively cheap. Problem is, you've never solved your issue, and its gonna happen again. I'd caulk the shtein out of the wall
Actually you should say farg worrying about the flooring until you have identified the cause of the leak. It's pointless to put something there when you know its going to happen again.
Once you pull the rug, you should be able to trace the source of the leak. And if you have to, open up the drywall and poke around and check for moisture.
i'm still leaning towards ignoring it until i get lung cancer
Because its a natural ocurring organism, mold is, you don't get lung cancer but you will get lung herpes. Which is ten times itchier. You ever tried scratching your lungs with a coat hanger? It's a bitch.
Quote from: charlie on October 07, 2010, 03:45:48 PM
Laminate flooring is made from the dead skin of satan. farg that stuff, you have to acid wash your subfloor before starting.
False. I've not only installed this in my own home, but have also helped several friends install it in their homes as well. No acid washing required.
ok, and i get that i can do that...two issues.
1. It's gonna be hard, there is a closet to cut into by the front door and the fireplace hearth.
2. the carpet in the living room continues over to the next room, so i would have to cut it and seam it somehow. something i would have no clue doing.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on October 07, 2010, 03:59:23 PM
Quote from: charlie on October 07, 2010, 03:45:48 PM
Laminate flooring is made from the dead skin of satan. farg that stuff, you have to acid wash your subfloor before starting.
Laminate wood floor is an easy install, other than it takes a day. Just buy the underlayment stuff, and put the floor on top, pretty easy, and relatively cheap. Problem is, you've never solved your issue, and its gonna happen again. I'd caulk the shtein out of the wall
i just installed pergo throughout the dinning room & living room. just make sure the slab is flat and use good underlayment. easy install. they sell trim to seperate off the rooms. you'll have to put that in with concrete botls though. something i have to do this weekend. if you can handle simple cuts with a table saw its easy.
chuggie is making sense...don't spend money on fixing the symptom...find out wtf happened before you spend money and time.
i understand that, first time ever happened in my 3 years living there during the most rain in like 50 years.
i'm chalking it up to freak occurrence.
also playing into that mindset is that i'm not planning on living here more than a few years
hey, fair enough
when it happens again in three years, as your "girlfriend" is trying to sell the place, keep your farging idiot mouth shut about it
lol why is girlfriend in quotes
Don't act stupid.
Quote from: SunMo on October 07, 2010, 06:41:07 PM
i understand that, first time ever happened in my 3 years living there during the most rain in like 50 years.
i'm chalking it up to freak occurrence.
also playing into that mindset is that i'm not planning on living here more than a few years
Last thing I'll say on this...Water finding its way inside a home and soaking things up IS NOT A FREAK OCCURRENCE. It is the begginning of a shtein storm if you don't nip it in the bud. Part of being a homeowner is dealing with bullshtein like this. Good luck...but ignoring this now is like ignoring cancer in stage 1 thinking you have until stage 5 to deal with it.
Why buy when you can rent? By the time you own the shtein you're knocking on deaths door.
Quote from: SD on October 07, 2010, 08:01:00 PM
Why buy when you can rent? By the time you own the shtein you're knocking on deaths door.
i hope i am not writing a bucket list by 52.
oh and tax write off says hi ?
sunny, you need to check around your house where the water came in. the grade, concrete seperation, down spout location, whatever. issue could be a simple fix actually but what isn't getting into your living area could be causing other damage to your block/footings.
early repair > demolition not covered
Quote from: smeags on October 07, 2010, 04:36:35 PM
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on October 07, 2010, 03:59:23 PM
Quote from: charlie on October 07, 2010, 03:45:48 PM
Laminate flooring is made from the dead skin of satan. farg that stuff, you have to acid wash your subfloor before starting.
Laminate wood floor is an easy install, other than it takes a day. Just buy the underlayment stuff, and put the floor on top, pretty easy, and relatively cheap. Problem is, you've never solved your issue, and its gonna happen again. I'd caulk the shtein out of the wall
i just installed pergo throught the dinning room & living room. just make sure the slab is flat and use good underlayment. easy install. they sell trim to seperate off the rooms. you'll have to put that in with concrete botls though. something i have to do this weekend. if you can handle simple cuts with a table saw its easy.
When we tiled my kitchen, we used the table saw to cut the transition from the tile to the hardwood.
My bright idea for a herringbone border...
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/5126270182_59db87d5d2.jpg)
Gonna' look good, but why, why, why did I have this brainstorm? Not even close to done yet and I have a pile of sawdust twelve inches high behing my miterbox. Talk about tedious work.
is it hardwaood or laminate ? looks really good either way.
btw - found out my house was not built by levitt but is actually a sears designed house. unfortunately it doesn't carry the "craftsman" warranty.
Bruce prefinished hardwood. It's the best around far as I'm concerned. They put 7 coats of finish on it, hard as anything and smooth as glass.
nice, i just put pergo in my house. so far so good. looks really nice.
now i need to look into tile for the kitchen which itself isn't a big task but i have to rearrange things before i start. have to move the washer & dryer out and into the hall closet which should be fun. then i have to move the stove over to where they where and then install the dishwasher where the stove was. fun times coming.
Not an easy task but the rewards are great. Pergos good stuff, just doesn't take water. Make sure to put down the vapor barrier underneath. One reason I went with the real hardwood, if it gets damaged you can always refinish it.
One of the huge advantages you have with bruce (or other) hardwoods over laminate is if you have to make a repair to the floor. Our stupid dog had been pissing in one corner of relatively new hardwood, and we had no idea, so there was a 4-8 sq foot area that was totally ruined under an area rug once me moved the table and found it.
the fix literally took about 3 hours, and popping up and putting down new peices of wood was very very easy and looks good as new.
I detest laminate flooring. It doesn't cost any less once you get the underlaying, and it will chip in a few years of heavy use.
Any of you 'mos have a wood pellet fireplace insert? I'm wondering about manufacturers and any experiences. My oil tank is leaking and has to be removed. Luckily, the previous owner had three zone heating Trane heat pumps installed as the primary heating cooling system. I'm just looking for some extra heat when it gets down to freezing in Virginia (not too often). Looking to get this done with some of that free gubment tax credit.
i actually got a great deal on the pergo. home depot had it for a $1 off per square ft. altogether it cost me just over $600 including the underlayment. any pf the hardwood flooring we looked at that could use would've been at least $300-$400 more. i'll just keep my fingers crossed. should be ok for now as all of the plumbing in the house is new and i put a new roof on 2yrs ago.
I had mentioned that my wife and i were looking at a property in the Random Musings thread, well we ended up getting a contract on it this week. Its a bank foreclosure, been empty for 2 years, and definitely needs some work outside. I'm actually excited about the heating/cooling of this house, it has a wood stove heat and GeoThermal heat/cooling. I'm not very familiar with the Geo Thermal part, but we're going to have it inspected next week to see if they did it right when it was installed. The best part is the 14 acres its on, overlooking the chesapeake bay.
(http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m267/jeepwrang1994/ViewfromtheDeck.jpg)
One negative is it has T-111 siding which we'll be redoing at some point in the next 5 years. Anyone know if its safe to keep that on the house, then do a Tyvek wrap, and then siding, or am i better off just ripping the T-111 off and starting over? I'd say 90% of the current siding looks like its fine. The one side that doesnt get constant sun is a bit beat up and would have to be replaced.
Hey phillycrew, my uncle has a wood pellet heater, he loves it, only problem is finding somewhere to store 40+ bags of pellets. The toughest part is the cutting into the wall to get an exhaust setup, but he has his in a finished basement in a large house, and it heats the entire house.
nice looking herringbone shore...
very nice view seabiscuit
in conclusion, pergo/laminate sucks
Isnt T-111 the siding they used to use on trailer homes?
I thought it was used for soffits, but what do I know.
I think it may be, i've normally seen it on sheds and the like. House is kinda crazy has a ton of updates inside, they went cheap on the siding. Our inspection is next week, so i'm sure we'll have a bigger list, but buying a house at half of what it sold in 2006 seem to be a good investment(t-111 or not).
Yes, you can wrap it and put siding directly on T-111.
Yes, you can wrap the t-111, but make sure you replace any that is rotten. If any of it is close to the ground you want to check it. I've seen it on houses before and the end grain of the ply soaks up water like a sponge, even if the paint looks good on it it could be rotten underneath. Check around the windows and doors also. If it's been on the house for any length of time, theres a big chance you have some rot somewere. If it was a recent "upgrade", you're probably alright, but within view of the Bay, you know the place has taken some hard weather.
Is that a composite deck? Beautiful view. 14 acres on the Chesapeake, it doesn't get any better.
sure it does...15 acres with a view.
aw, shiit!
Yeah, Shore, its composite, though that picture was from its last sale in 2006. The exterior of the house isnt looking as good as it once did. The trex that is on the deck has some buckeled spots, and a spot where they cut it too short and it sinks in. I'm thinking the person who did the orig install was a 1st timer and didnt account for expansion and contraction of the boards. LOL Dio...
We're getting this thing for less than half what it sold in 2006, so we cant complain in the least bit. Sure it needs work outside, but at the price we got it from the bank its a steal. Never thought we'd have a chance at this area.
Yeah, don't know the local, but property like that was close too if not into the 7 figure range 5-6 years ago before the bottom feel out of the market. Nows the time to buy and it sounds like you're making a move that'll pay off for the rest of your life. Not to mention if the market ever comes back in ten years or so, you could make big bank. But chances of the market ever getting back to were it was are pretty slim.
you have water access? a dock?
when is the housewarming party?
We've been looking for a while, and really cant pass this up, and thats exactly what we were thinking shore as far as 10-15 years down the road. If the market gets up just a 1/4 from now we're making a ton of coin, and would have enough to make the move to the beach that we're planning later in life.
Dio, we'll have 99 feet of water frontage, but its wetlands, and most likely a dock wouldn't be allowed. The neighborhood does have a beach area, full pavilion, boat ramps and moorings. No CF party, i dont want you psychos around me. :)
Then stop with the tease photos of your new estate, richy douche rich.
And stop using smilies. Jackass.
you're invited
Had the inspection today, everything went well except when they de-winterized the house. The farging idiots didnt check to make sure all the valves were shut off yesterday, my inspector walked into the basement and it had 2 inches of water in the well/water treatment area. The valve was left open on the waterline, so nearly a year later i get to deal with water in a basement. Not sure what the bank is going to do now, as we coudlnt do a water test since it shorted out the pump, hopefully they replace the drywall/pumps and call it a day.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on November 02, 2010, 06:21:20 PM
Had the inspection today, everything went well except when they de-winterized the house. The farging idiots didnt check to make sure all the valves were shut off yesterday, my inspector walked into the basement and it had 2 inches of water in the well/water treatment area. The valve was left open on the waterline, so nearly a year later i get to deal with water in a basement. Not sure what the bank is going to do now, as we coudlnt do a water test since it shorted out the pump, hopefully they replace the drywall/pumps and call it a day.
(http://moviesoftheday.com/upload/covers/111266/the-money-pit-cover-3.jpg)
so, its been nearly two weeks and these fargtards havent been out to fix the walls, its a one day job, but how they dont have fans in there and a dehumidifier pisses me off at this point. I want to walk from it, but we know its a great deal, and that we can fix it, but does anyone have any familiarity with water under tile for a period of time. Its still wet, and i'm beginning to wonder if we'll just need to rip the tile out, or if it'll dry out over time?
Since nobody care, the selling bank made the necessary repairs, though they just got the heat working again yesterday, and the water turned on(idiots didnt understand that the heat wouldnt work without having water put into the geothermal system, and without the well working nothing would work).
Havent heard of any leaks just yet, but we're waiting on that call. Our closing date got moved back anywhere from the original 12/15-12/31 since we my bank hasnt completed an appraisal yet. If all goes well, hopefully we're in by christmas. I'll have lots of major projects to do on this thing, the first one being the deck, but that'll probably have to wait until spring.
One quick question for you guys, does anyone have a generator system? We're looking at getting one, and the generac ones say they're pretty easy to install. Has anyone here installed one?
my parents had a generator set-up at our mountain house when i grew up that was propane fueled. i helped my dad put it in. was really easy considering the circut box was set up so all my dad had to do was build a a little shed over the generator and run a line under ground to the house and connect it.
We're going to use propane, they have a large external propane tank that we'll have to move, but its efficient. The area we're moving to has issues with power in the winter supposedly, so this will be our first purchase outside of the appliances.
Appraisal finally done, based on what we're buying this place for, we just got some instant equity of 145k. Entire process has been a pain in the ass, but this thing has ended up being a bigger steal than we even thought it could be.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on December 28, 2010, 10:11:25 AM
Appraisal finally done, based on what we're buying this place for, we just got some instant equity of 145k. Entire process has been a pain in the ass, but this thing has ended up being a bigger steal than we even thought it could be.
That's awesome.
one of my dumb kids ran through a locked bedroom door this weekend and busted out the door jamb opposite of the hinges. is there an easy way to replace this or should i just get a whole new door frame?
From my experience its just easier to get a whole new door frame. The time you'll spend trying to get the hinges and everything back, its easier to just buy a whole frame and start from scratch.
its the jamb on the opposite side from the hinges...the door and hinge side jamb are fine.
Oh, i thought they all broke off. If you can find the exact door to match then do that, just buy a board for the door jamb. Thats the cheaper option, but you have to make sure you can get the exact door to match.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on December 28, 2010, 10:11:25 AM
we just got some instant equity of 145k.
thats the way to do it...well done.
Finally finished with the home purchase. Contrary to popular posts, any CF'ers minus Lurking Weirdo are welcome. We're out in the boonies, where Turkey Point lighthouse in Maryland is. Ended up with 13.86 acres, 99 feet of true water frontage, and the house is situated between to state parks. Great camping grounds as well as just beautiful land. We need to get work done to the exterior, the interior is all cosmetic and mainly to keep my wife happy. I'm farging pumped this is finally over. Foreclosure purchases are a battle
Can you hunt on it?
How would your wife feel if she woke up one morning and I was sitting on your couch in my underwear scratching my balls and eating a burrito?
Quote from: SD on January 19, 2011, 10:03:44 PM
How would your wife feel if she woke up one morning and I was sitting on your couch in my underwear scratching my balls and eating a burrito?
The correct answer is that it doesn't matter what that bitch thinks.
Quote from: SD on January 19, 2011, 10:03:44 PM
How would your wife feel if she woke up one morning and I was sitting on your couch in my underwear scratching my balls and eating a burrito?
Disappointed that you're still in your underwear I'd imagine.
Oh yeah, congrats SB. :yay
Quote from: FastFreddie on January 19, 2011, 10:07:11 PM
Quote from: SD on January 19, 2011, 10:03:44 PM
How would your wife feel if she woke up one morning and I was sitting on your couch in my underwear scratching my balls and eating a burrito?
The correct answer is that it doesn't matter what that bitch thinks.
flying elbow to the ovaries if she does
So this isn't really 'home improvement' as much as it is refurbishing old shtein, but anyway I bought an old Oskar Huber dresser for dirt cheap ($30) which was still in good condition. I did some minor repairs to it, sanded it down, primed it, painted it white and lavender and put it in my daughters room. Looks brand new.
And it won't fall apart.
Score.
Quote from: Diomedes on January 19, 2011, 09:58:58 PM
Can you hunt on it?
the neighborhood Civic association says no, but everyone else has yards smaller than an acre, and ours has almost 14. So i'm planning to hunt it, and just use a crossbow. Deer are everywhere, and its not exactly sporting when you walk out back and there are 10 staring at you. But if they fill the freezer the hell with it.
SD, i'm sure she'd wonder why she keeps meeting people from CF and would expect otherwise.
FF for the Win.
I'll be bugging you guys for tips fixing shtein, but I was happy to find our closing ended up 10k less than we were planning for. So that allots more money for fixing stuff up front now.
Quote from: Diomedes on January 19, 2011, 10:12:18 PM
And it won't fall apart.
Score.
I found a canopy bed in need of some paint and repairs for around $50. Gonna do the same, the great thing is these pieces are actual wood and not zesty particle board.
So we got into the house, did a ton of cleaning since it was pretty nasty. The floors are Brazilian Cherry hardwood, but they really have lost their luster. Anyone know a good way to bring them back? We used BONA hardwood cleaner and it really made them pop, but once it dried up the shine went away, and the floors got lighter in color. Trying to figure out the best way to make them look great all the time.
And i'm having a water treatment system, all the damn quotes were pretty high since we need a softener and filtration. Ended up going with a Reverse Osmosis system, that does 70 gallons a day. The GPD is overkill, but i figured for an extra 100 bucks why not. As far as a hot water heater, we were going to go tankless, but the Electric tankless seems to be more of a pain than its worth. Now i'm looking at the GE GeoSpring Hybrid systems. Anyone have any experience with them?
Hey Beavis, he's said Bona hardwood. Heh heh heh.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on January 26, 2011, 11:27:01 AM
So we got into the house, did a ton of cleaning since it was pretty nasty. The floors are Brazilian Cherry hardwood, but they really have lost their luster. Anyone know a good way to bring them back? We used BONA hardwood cleaner and it really made them pop, but once it dried up the shine went away, and the floors got lighter in color. Trying to figure out the best way to make them look great all the time.
Sand them down and refinish
Yeah, unfortunately that is the only real solution.
he might be talking about the pre-finished stuff with chamfered edges..looks great when it goes in but I don't know how you refinish that stuff.
Same way you refinish the regular flooring, by the time you sand and poly, the chamfered edges are about gone. But it's no project for the novice, should be done by a regular flooring guy.
ah, wasn't sure if we could get by with just some kind of cleaner for now. No way would i ever want to do the floors by myself, I wouldn't trust myself. The floors we can deal with for now, but I do need to rip down the old deck and install a new one(idiots used untreated lumber underneath, but got top of the line Trex for railings/decking). Then i need to install a walkway to the front of the house, and last but not least, I'll need to rip out the chain link fence they have lining the back and front yard, and put it a post system fence. That should be the easiest, I'll just rent an auger.
I seriously cannot think of a task less enjoyable than re-finishing hardwood floors, especially if someone has put a coat (or coats) of wax on them.
I can do quite a bit around the house but that is one thing I throw my hands up at and hire pro's to do. It's just awful.
Quote from: shorebird on January 28, 2011, 06:28:14 AM
Same way you refinish the regular flooring, by the time you sand and poly, the chamfered edges are about gone. But it's no project for the novice, should be done by a regular flooring guy.
for real? I installed one of those floors a couple years ago. I'd estimate that you'd have to take a full eighth of material off the flooring before you've sanded down to the depth of those chamfers....that's a hell of a lot of material to sand off an entire floor
I'd just cover it with some pergo.
Quote from: Diomedes on January 28, 2011, 07:56:53 AM
Quote from: shorebird on January 28, 2011, 06:28:14 AM
Same way you refinish the regular flooring, by the time you sand and poly, the chamfered edges are about gone. But it's no project for the novice, should be done by a regular flooring guy.
for real? I installed one of those floors a couple years ago. I'd estimate that you'd have to take a full eighth of material off the flooring before you've sanded down to the depth of those chamfers....that's a hell of a lot of material to sand off an entire floor
I'd say 1/16". I've never refinshed mine, yet, but I've seen it done. I'm not saying that the chamfers will be totally gone, but they'll be a lot less prominent. The sanding takes some of it, and by the time you roll the poly on it more or less fills them.
so you do still see the accented edges?
Yes, you can tell they're there. I liked it because one of the drawbacks of the pre-finished hardwood are the chamfers holding dirt. I don't care how much you sweep or dust, it gets down in there and is a bitch to get out. Refinishing makes it easier to clean, imo. The sanding mostly just gets the finish off, and if you have a stained finish you don't want to go to far with the sanding or you end up with it looking unevenly stained. Its the poly when you roll it on that lessens the deepness of the chamfers. My floor guy usually brushes the poly on, but with the pre-finished hardwood he rolls it just for the reason of filling the chamfers. Like I say, I've only seen it done the one time, but it worked really well.
I'd like to see the results. That's good to know, thanks.
Your welcome man.
Biscuit, I have to say also that Brazilian Cherry is some of the most beautiful flooring I've seen, and I think you'd be more than happy if you have it re-finished. It sounds like you really struck gold with your purchase. Is the Turkey Point lighthouse you're talking about by Elk Neck State Park? It's right across the bay from the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Also, I think there is another one up in Havre De Grace.
Also, do you think you can save the Trex when you re-frame your deck? That would save you a ton of money. I hope it's screwed down.
It had better be screwed down. Either face screwed or blind fastened with those hidden clips/cleats. Never seen anyone nail that stuff..do people do that?
The only Trex deck I did, we had to pre-drill for all the fasteners because even the special double threaded Trex brand screws snapped. What a bitch that was.
I've seen it nailed but the deck around the nails mushroomed up. Looked like crap. The way I've seen it face screwed was with the stainless self tapping trim screws that have the drill bit tip.
(http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/400/05/05cce9df-014c-43ac-b41f-278cd6a2401c_400.jpg)
But, the blind fastening systems you're talking about are the way to go, imo. Looks better and the screws go in better even if it's more time consuming. Only problem for Biscuit would be he already has the holes in his decking.
Yeah, that and his material likely isn't grooved to accept the biscuits.
The screws I used looked like this: (http://www.mcfeelys.com/images/items/0826-TXS-lrg.jpg)
We did not plug however. Part of the problem on that job was that we did not have an impact driver, so the screws were all set with a standard drill. With an impact driver, I'm not sure we would have had to pre-drill.
I've tried using those screws but I've never seen them with the plugs or the bit with the depth gauge on it. Those things were a pure pain in the ass and are what drove me to the stainless self tapping ones. But I didn't have an impact driver either, it probably would have made it easier.
Now that I own one, I can't imagine not having an impact driver. Easily one of the best tools I own. No more roached screws, no more divets where my bit slipped out and hit the material I'm trying to put a screw into, etc.
What kind do you have? I've been wanting the Dewalt with the lithium battery, but have been waiting for a sale.
A Bosch, though I don't mean to say that this particular tool is necessarily better than another. Just that having an impact driver is better than not having one. Now I use the drill for just that..drilling, and the impact driver for running in all my fasteners.
I've used various makita impact drivers and this Bosch one, can't speak to the DeWalt. I'm sure it's good, though.
Quote from: shorebird on January 29, 2011, 08:21:26 AM
Your welcome man.
Biscuit, I have to say also that Brazilian Cherry is some of the most beautiful flooring I've seen, and I think you'd be more than happy if you have it re-finished. It sounds like you really struck gold with your purchase. Is the Turkey Point lighthouse you're talking about by Elk Neck State Park? It's right across the bay from the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Also, I think there is another one up in Havre De Grace.
Also, do you think you can save the Trex when you re-frame your deck? That would save you a ton of money. I hope it's screwed down.
The floor just pops when its clean after wetting it down, just sucks to see it go back to a hazy color an hour later. The neighborhood is called http://www.chesapeakeisle.org/ (http://www.chesapeakeisle.org/) and yeah its the neighborhood that is smack dab inbetween the state parks. We're on the side closer to the lighthouse. The view here from our deck is the Big Elk River heading up to the canal. (http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m267/jeepwrang1994/IMG_20101229_102436.jpg)
Aberdeen is definitely next door as they shot something off around 5pm that that rattled my teeth. As far as the Trex, we're going to try and save it, probably use it in some capacity. But its pretty old looking, being about 10 years old i'd say its near 2nd generation of Trex. They did use screws thank god, and i really need an impact drill too.
Quote from: Diomedes on January 29, 2011, 10:14:07 AM
A Bosch, though I don't mean to say that this particular tool is necessarily better than another. Just that having an impact driver is better than not having one. Now I use the drill for just that..drilling, and the impact driver for running in all my fasteners.
I've used various makita impact drivers and this Bosch one, can't speak to the DeWalt. I'm sure it's good, though.
Friend of mine has one that we used hanging cabinets. We had one cabinet with an extreme bow in the stile, so bad that a clamp didn't quite get it. His impact driver ran that bitch up tight in an instant. Brrrp! It was something I'd never seen. Just been waiting for the right price, and to get my money right. I haven't seen the DeWalt for anything less than $325. I'd want the 18 volt because every other DeWalt cordless tool I have is 18v. You can get it cheaper without the case or the charger, but whats the point?
Nice veiw Biscuit. A place like that and 145k instant equity? Real nice.
Quote from: shorebird on January 29, 2011, 10:31:47 AMI'd want the 18 volt because every other DeWalt cordless tool I have is 18v.
I feel you. When we set up for a job in the morning we've got three or four different battery chargers to plug in..a makita 14.4V and 18V, a bosch 18V and a ryobi 18V. That's just two guys. When it's a bigger crew, we've got a whole table full of chargers, it's ridiculous.
I gave up trying to keep all my cordless tools on the same kind of battery after I was given the Bosch. It would be nice to have just one type but I can't restrict myself to only Makita. They make great tools but it just doesn't always work out that you can get what you want in the same make as everything else you have.
For example, I saw a great little impact driver the other day, a tiny little thing made by Milwaukee. Great for cabinets, and places with very little room to fit a tool. It's now on my (very long) wish list.
If I were Emporer, I'd immediately decree that batteries and chargers be standardized. The waste that goes into making all these different chargers is perfectly unnecessary. I'd also standardize all those goddamn credit card/ATM swipe consoles you have to used everywhere. There is no reason in the world for each one to be different...competition in the market is helping no one. Just standardize them and move on with a simpler life. They finally figured this out on cell phone chargers...why not everything else?
I need an impact Driver as i realized getting some of the heavy screws into the door i was installing today. I'm like a zombie anymore, been painting all weekend, got a door in, moved in a washer/dryer/stove. Couldnt fit the fridge into the trailer(height), so i have to get an open trailer this week. Should have clean water this week if the water guy gets out and installs the water softener type deal, and if he gets in the reverse osmosis system. By Saturday i should have a viable well water system, that is giving us clean water, and actually heats up the water with a hot water heater. Cold irony showers suck.
The painting in the master bedroom/bathroom is done, only thing left is to get our ceiling loaded with another coat of paint. Behr paint sucks ass. I really cant believe i let my wife talk me into buying so much of it. Sears paint was always infinitely better. I'm excited that the shoveling we had to do friday, about 3 hours worth, made the wife decide its plow time. I think i'm gonna go full redneck and get a 4 wheeler, then go to TSC and get the snowplow attachment. yee haw
Behr paint is awful, you're right.
And in case anyone here doesn't know...there is no such thing as primer and paint in the same bucket. That's a gimmick. If you hate painting so much that you want to skip using actual primer, then just don't paint. Save your money and call in a pro. Otherwise, you're just wasting your time and money.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on January 30, 2011, 10:40:45 PMI'm excited that the shoveling we had to do friday, about 3 hours worth, made the wife decide its plow time. I think i'm gonna go full redneck and get a 4 wheeler, then go to TSC and get the snowplow attachment. yee haw
Get a tractor. Much more useful than a giant truck--and much more redneck too-- if all you really need the monster for is pushing a plow blade. Not to mention, way way cheaper.
Here's a decent prospect:
http://baltimore.craigslist.org/grd/2188595776.html
Definitely not there fun factor wise. I want to do some offroading, and then use the plow i conjuction with a snow blower. The plow wont be able to get the heavy stuff, buti can rip around and have a good time all year is what we're thinking. Though a bucket loader works better for me to harvest wood from the lower parts of the property.
As far as the waterdeal. I had setup a water guy to comeout and address the high iron content in our water and to stabilize the PH level which jumped a slight bit over the past 3 weeks. I get a call from a good buddy who's dad is doing a hot water GE Geospring Hybrid sytem, and a tankless(specifically to run the aux heat from our geothermal heating system. The current setup has it busting its ass, and without a viable heat source the geothermal cant get optimal performance. So the one guy we originally called quoted me 3500 bucks which he dropped to 3000 when i said it was too high. My buddy's dad who does this stuff on the side said he would do everything from the Hot water heater setups, to the water treatment forthe well. Sounds like he may be the cheaper option and the one who i can trust because i know him and his family. This shtein sucks when you have so many scheisters in the business arena. I'm not going to pay 3k for them to address the water, and find out in 6 months our water sucks and we need a crazier system.
Find a John Deer and my wife will be forever gratefull Dio. There's actually one up the road from us i can check out. Its next to some really weird church, Hart's methodist Amphitheater. They do masses when the suncomes up. Its beautiful, but not my scene.
Quote from: Diomedes on January 31, 2011, 07:19:35 AM
Behr paint is awful, you're right.
And in case anyone here doesn't know...there is no such thing as primer and paint in the same bucket. That's a gimmick. If you hate painting so much that you want to skip using actual primer, then just don't paint. Save your money and call in a pro. Otherwise, you're just wasting your time and money.
Absolute troof. Luckily for me, I found out the easy way......through a friend's misfortune of using it. Some parts of his wall cracked and peeled within a couple days (although I think that might be because he didn't do a good job of cleaning the walls before painting) and then there were other parts where you could still see the original wall color underneath the paint. And it's not like he was trying to cover a really dark wall with a light/bright color......was going from a medium shade of green to a dark beige/tan.
My furnace went out. The auto fan works, but when I turn it on it blows only cold air. When I switch the gas off then back on, it sounds like the fan or whatever to expel the extra gas is working, but I'm definitely not getting any visible flame.
I'm hoping it's just a sensor or at most the electric ignitor...definitely don't want to buy a new furnace
just had this problem. very easy to fix.
its your thermal flame sensor that has build up and is not allowing the flame to ignite. looks like this if its a newer model furnace. the older furnances have a thermocoupler.
(http://0.tqn.com/d/homerepair/1/5/Y/C/-/-/flame_sensor.jpg)
turn gas and heat off....lift the furnace panel up, find the flame sensor thats hanging down over one of the blowers, unscrew it (should be one screw) and use either sand paper or a nail filer and brush the end of the metal rod good (better yet just brush the whole rod). screw it back on. turn gas back on, turn heat back on....magic.
Holy shtein that worked....thanks for the tip
it warms my hear to see :CF helping out one another
Quote from: Tomahawk on February 01, 2011, 05:01:55 PM
Holy shtein that worked....thanks for the tip
Yeah, cause this would be a great night not to have a furnace.
shtein, double post.
Quote from: MMH on February 01, 2011, 06:54:41 PM
Quote from: Tomahawk on February 01, 2011, 05:01:55 PM
Holy shtein that worked....thanks for the tip
Yeah, cause this would be a great night not to have a furnace.
Better than now...a co-worker had his heat exchanger on his furnace go out and it's -5
Need help wiring a ceiling fan. I may be part retarded from a party last night, but i'm trying to wire a ceiling fan to an outlet with two switches. The Left switch controls the Red wire, the Right switch controls the Black Wire. Both become hot when i flip the switches obviously. As always there is a standard ground wire, and then there is a White wire that doesn't have any juice on it.
The ceiling fan itself has a Blue wire(for lights) a Black Wire (for the fan motor) and a white wire which i'm not sure what its for. How do i wire this up so the left(red hot wire) controls the light, and the right switch controls the fan?
I'd just connect wires until it worked.
I'm not an electrician.
igy is the resident expert on the Wire
the different colored wires are out there....its either play or get played....its that simple
Figured it out, the DIO method worked fine.
Of course it did, you're not gonna blow anything up.
Yay you.
Thanks Dad
Good news for my wallet and my mental well being: We just landed a 2,000 square foot deck job, cantilevered over an embankment into an Annapolis creek. First things first, we have to remove the huge old deck, which is in such poor shape it was actually condemned. Then we're gonna have to build a work platform before we can even begin the actual building. A dozen or so custom-formed 3x5 foot concrete piers have to be excavated, formed and poured, a tricky stepped wall has to be poured around the pool...the whole shebang.
I think this job warrants purchasing a teco nailer. God knows I don't wanna fasten all those joist hangers by hand.
What a relief...steady work for a few months.
And a convenient place to hide the bodies.
Quote from: Diomedes on March 10, 2011, 08:18:36 PM
Good news for my wallet and my mental well being: We just landed a 2,000 square foot deck job, cantilevered over an embankment into an Annapolis creek. First things first, we have to remove the huge old deck, which is in such poor shape it was actually condemned. Then we're gonna have to build a work platform before we can even begin the actual building. A dozen or so custom-formed 3x5 foot concrete piers have to be excavated, formed and poured, a tricky stepped wall has to be poured around the pool...the whole shebang.
I think this job warrants purchasing a teco nailer. God knows I don't wanna fasten all those joist hangers by hand.
What a relief...steady work for a few months
Thats awesome news Dio!!! Have fun, sounds like a lot of work.
There's a shed to be built on top of the deck, for pool supplies and the like. A few stairways, gates, etc. An elaborate affair.
This will be the third job I've done since leaving the office for which I've been given a set of plans and had some responsibility for understanding them, and even helping with material estimates and the like.
All the same, I'm the low man carpenter, and the youngest on the job, so yeah, I'm no big shot goddamn carpenter. I'm gonna be working.
i am finishing up on istalling the interior doors and trim work and getting ready to move outside to the deck. its gonna be 12x26. is it really worth using the partical planks over the pressure treated ?
Particle planks?
You mean Trex?
thats it, couldn't remember the name just that it's made from reclaimed materials. is it worth it ?
Depends how much you want to pay and how much maintenance you want. The major upside is you never have to stain them, the downside is the cost compared to natural wood. I'm currently weighing the same thing smeags, but i think price wise we're going to end up doing regular pressure treated with stain just to cut cost. For the railings we were going to go with Tensile Wire across instead of dealing with buying full railings or having to paint them each year.
thats what i may do as well, the prices are insane, especially for the trex accent which is the smooth grain that wont chew up your feet. great long term option it seems but may end up being too pricey and not sure i will have the coin after finishing the remod in the kitchen and hallway.
Is removing the old and installing a new water heater a DIY project? It seems straightforward enough...turn off gas and water, remove fittings, take old water heater out to put on the lawn next to cars on cinder blocks, install new heater
I would recommend installing a tankless water heater. It is a little more intense of an install, but still a diy project. The main thing is the stainless steel exhaust pipe. We put one in about two years ago and we love it. We never run out of hot water and cut our LP bill about 20% the first year.
I've heard those things are faulty and have a life span of about six years instead of the purported 20+ before they become a fire hazard (extremes)...something about the fact that some function in them overheats and melts away.
I helped (watched) a friend put in a tankless. His disappointment with its performance is enough for me to say farg that noise.
Wow, never heard of or had any issues. Oh well, don't be green then ;D
I can put them in, after watching 2 put in. Its not rocket science, the main thing is to bleed your lines so that you dont have water dumping out everywhere. And to open your valves and open the blowoff valve so you dont build up too much pressure and break pipes when you're filling the tank up.
We ended up getting a Hybrid Hot water heater, its a geothermal hot water heater, so it pulls heat out of the air, and pumps out cold air. Kinda nice in the summer as it cools your basement down. The downside is that its electric, im not sure if they have gas ones, and that since its a heatpump, it makes noise. But the yearly operating costs is 198 dollars a year. You pay roughly 1300, there are tax rebates for going Green etc, but i couldnt be happier. I cant stand regular hot water heaters with Glass Lining, this is Porcelain
It's my understanding that a tankless/instant water heater system is best for low usage applications. Two empty nesters don't use enough hot water to justify keeping a large tank of water heated. But a household of 6 people def. uses enough hot water to justify it, and putting that much of a load on the instant systems isn't good energy usage, nor is it conducive to system longevity.
But I don't know..never looked into it myself.
I do know that changing a standard hot water heater is a cinch and def. something a mildy retarded person like Seabiscuit can figure out for herself.
That hurt.
Save that hatred for Todd.
Speaking of Poison Ivy and the fun i've caught up on here, i was cutting grass saturday and hit a yellow jacket nest. Only had one get me, thought the mower kicked a rock into my leg, and i look down and there's a yellowjacket humping my sock above my boot. farger had to sting me like 10 times. I had to run like hell when i dropped him and saw a bunch more after me. What sucks is i cant figure out where their nest is, other than its in or under a tree. Do they normally have ground nests?
The answer to your question is napalm
Yes, in the ground. Give them a day or so and then go back out there and just watch the area for a little while. Soon as you see three or four in the same general area, back off a bit and watch them. You'll be able to identify the nest pretty quickly. It'll be a hole in the ground.
Pour some fire down that hole and run.
I love fire. Have a hornets nest in another tree that has chicken wire around it. Went to remove that and saw the f'ers fly out of a grapefruit sized next. Luckily they weren't over aggressive and didnt attack. A month later that thing is about basketball sized, and i'm just going to have to wait until winter to take it down.
I discovered last night that WD-40 worked really well killing wasps. Soaked 2 nests and they weren't even able to fly away, like with most insecticide. Just dropped off the nest after a couple seconds. I think if they did fly though you wouldn't be able to hear their wings buzzing at all.
Is there anything WD 40 doesnt do?
Surprisingly, it's not a very good sexual lubricant.
Soap & Water is the answer to most bees, hornets, wasps nests.
My understanding is that it chokes them by creating an air bubble that doesn't pop. Cool and sad at the same time. Like T-Hawk's High School pictures.
http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-yellow-jackets.htm
I did that same shtein this weekend. Got stung several times. Those bees don't know what they've started.
Cue Nic Cage YouTube clip.
Quote from: hbionic on July 11, 2011, 06:11:33 PM
Soap & Water is the answer to most bees, hornets, wasps nests.
My understanding is that it chokes them by creating an air bubble that doesn't pop. Cool and sad at the same time. Like T-Hawk's High School pictures.
There's literally nothing cool about my high school pictures
When I was about 10, hornets made a nest in my swing set. Since I wanted to play and was a latchkey kid, the only available option was to get some hairspray (Aquanet FTW) and find a lighter....after a few guerrilla warfare attacks, I was a swinging mofo
The water heater isn't kaputt yet....it was just the pilot light, but since it's 3 years past the warranty expiration, I'm guessing this was the first of its death throes
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg213/davemcdo/ecf265e0823b.jpg)
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg213/davemcdo/60d8721014cd.jpg)
Bought an investment property in Pennsburg, Bucks County PA. 1200 sq ft rancher + 2 outbuildings, barn and garage with 2 acres that backs up to preserved open area. $125,000 Total redo. House bones are good. Paid to have electric box updated and I am doing the rest of the work. New roof (framing decking and shingles) new floor plan, reframing out rooms, wiring, plumbing, flooring, etc. Just started with demolition..........
when was it built?
what kind of foundation..block? basement or crawl space?
DH can help you get set up as a sec. 8 landlord.
say it with me now: government cake off
I still haven't started my deck yet, father in law was supposed to be helping us with it starting in June. He ended up moving to Maine instead. So i'm either a. Going to take off the trex and attempt to redo all of the underlaying boards, or just scrap it all and go from scratch.
Full block basement.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on July 11, 2011, 09:07:38 PM
I still haven't started my deck yet, father in law was supposed to be helping us with it starting in June. He ended up moving to Maine instead. So i'm either a. Going to take off the trex and attempt to redo all of the underlaying boards, or just scrap it all and go from scratch.
What part of Maine?
Houlton is the closest big town, but technically a town called Linneus, ME. The house they've been building for years is finally finished, and they made the move up there full time. Its just beautiful up there.
I believe you posted photos of that place once.
What's the deal with the deck?
Yeah, thats the one. Its finally finished after 6 years of construction by locals in Maine. The workers make it perfect that they're all retiring now. farg the people up there.
Anyway, my deck is farged. 10 years old, trex or some composite variant. The underlying wood supporting the deck is rotted out as in you can take a screwdriver side thru side. Our best guess is they cheaped out building the structure and went with regular wood, and painted it thinking that would hold up. Dumb as farg. So what i have is a deck that is collapsing all over.
The plan was to go ahead and just rip it down and start over with it, then you spend a shtein ton more than you expect on other stuff. My plan now is to just remove each composite board, number them, and rip out the old stuff, throw some new wood in, and be around 1k to get us 5 years or so out of it. Just to hold us over until we have extra capital to get the deck we want. What sucks is i'm dangerous with wood working, and have very little trust in doing something by myself each night. Hoping my buddies can help me out since they've built some impressive shtein, but who knows. I wish i had a tree near it so it could collapse the farger.
How is the deck supported from the ground? Posts in the dirt? (Presumably with concrete poured around them). Are they rotting? Or maybe it's on concrete footers poking out above grade into which the posts are set? That would be nice. What dimensions are the posts (4x4 or 6x6 (?) How is the decking (Trex, probably) fastened? It's face nailed ? Screwed and plugged?? Blind fastened using clips that catch a groove on the material and pin it to the joist?
You're talking about rebuilding your deck. If you're going to do that, do yoruself a favor and don't go to all the trouble just to build the same shtein you already have. Spend the time and money on something you want. Block off access to it in the meantime with boards across the doors.
Seriously...you want to reframe a deck that you don't like anyway just so you can put back down the zesty old trex .... for what you think will be only five years but will really be fifteen.
Anyway...answer my questions if you like.
Quote from: Diomedes on July 12, 2011, 10:05:02 PM
How is the deck supported from the ground? Posts in the dirt? (Presumably with concrete poured around them). Are they rotting? Or maybe it's on concrete footers poking out above grade into which the posts are set? That would be nice. What dimensions are the posts (4x4 or 6x6 (?) How is the decking (Trex, probably) fastened? It's face nailed ? Screwed and plugged?? Blind fastened using clips that catch a groove on the material and pin it to the joist?
You're talking about rebuilding your deck. If you're going to do that, do yourself a favor and don't go to all the trouble just to build the same shtein you already have. Spend the time and money on something you want. Block off access to it in the meantime with boards across the doors.
Seriously...you want to re frame a deck that you don't like anyway just so you can put back down the zesty old trex .... for what you think will be only five years but will really be fifteen.
Anyway...answer my questions if you like.
Deck is supported by 4x4's which to my best guess from what I've seen from an extra post throwing in the yard, is 4x4 with a concrete steel support.buried underground. I can did it up tomorrow, but based on the extra one i found i have to think that's what they used. I'd obviously like the 4x4's to be 6x6 but that's a want not need. Those footers all seem to be in great shape, though they're 10 years old and 4x4 which for some reason scares me.(Sissy). The Decking itself is composite,its not pretty like it was before, but i can deal with it. The fun part is we're the third owners, first built it, 2nd were lazy and did zesty fixes, and now us. So you have the deck screwing bits for a good part, then flat nails across a good bit from the second owners in areas where they "Fixed". Makes me think the deck fell apart really around 2008, and its just hanging on. its just nailed into the zesty joists right now, i have a good bit of joists fasteners i just inherited. Additionally the deck isnt lag bolted onto the house,
That's the problem where were at Dio, i want to do so much, money isn't there, and we just don't want to over extend ourselves. At the same time i don't want a zesty deck that we hate. The existing setup really isn't ideal either. Just need to get a contractor out i guess to see what type of vision they see before we do the easy fix which is only short term.
Ping me if you want additional info about the setup, i can shoot you over pictures of this mess to give you an idea. I'm just happy i got zesty internet here again. its a T1 shared between 40 houses, but its the first step to getting something viable.
Okay, I'm getting screwed by a GC. Very long story short, we hired a guy (referred, and checked his references, etc) to do an addition on our house. The addition is mostly in place, but a lot of finish work remains. It was supposed to be done at the beginning of August at the latest.
Because of credits, etc. that the guy owes me, I don't owe enough left for it to be enough of a lever. In mid-August, the guy decided to change careers and went to business school in London. As soon as he left, his workers left, for the most part. I've been in contact with the guy often, and it's one excuse after another about getting his guys here the money they need to finish the job. At this point, I still don't have a working kitchen and I only have one working bathroom. It sucks. I went to pay this guy's brother a visit at his house (he's also an owner), but he's playing dumb and now they've dissolved the company.
I'm getting with a lawyer about it tomorrow, but I wanted to see if anyone here had a useful perspective.
you're already doing what you can...see what the lawyer says before doing anything
it is very likely you will need to get someone else in there to finish it, but I'd run that by the lawyer before getting on it
this is a nightmare scenario
do you have any carpenter friends? what still needs to be done?
Definitely nightmare...
I'm sure your lawyer will see if the bonds the guy had (if any) can be retro-actively sought after (retro-actively because the suit would come after the dissolution). Maybe that is where your recourse is. I don't hear of too many GC's go to jail.
I'm not sure what the laws say, but it seems as though you would be within the statutory limits.
***You can always play a trick on him...get the name of an old source of his...and say he came highly recommended from said source. He probably won't question it because it is a source he probably has not been in contact with in a while. Tell him if he can give a quote, maybe its a fast job, but somewhere around the $25,000-$50,000 so that he thinks its worth his while to come out. Give him an address, have him knock on the door, have a 12 year old girl answer and make sure Chris Hanson is there to nab him. Or he can knock on the door, knock him out, put his body in a van and drive to a lake and sink it.
I'm sure Dio would dig the ditch to bury him. He doesn't seem like the type to turn down work.
Good luck with getting after him, Z.
I farging hate cheaters and thieves. Next time you talk to him ask him what his business ethics class says about farging customers in the ass.
Sue him.
I like guns.
Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on September 06, 2011, 09:22:02 PM
Good luck with getting after him, Z.
I farging hate cheaters and thieves. Next time you talk to him ask him what his business ethics class says about farging customers in the ass.
Sue him.
That's one of the things you do, regardless how this turns out...send a nice letter to the Dean, with receipts, names, dissolved company, everything you can...and let him know about the ethics of this dude...maybe you wait until this farg face has done one year of school...then you send this shtein to the dean of the school. I'm not so sure he would be a fan and he might get kicked out. Of course, he could also come after you.
If he threatens you, threaten him with fire. Nobody fargs with someone yielding threats with fire. Nobody.
Good point, amigo.
Being the revengeful prick that I am when someone screws me over, I'd write the letters for sure. I'd write them to anyone with close connections to him.
I would also file a police report for theft.
None of which gets Zanshin, his family, and their hairless dog a working kitchen, you goddamn jackasses.
If it's a working kitchen he wants, then he should probably hire another contractor to finish the job. And while they are working he should sue.
Quote from: Diomedes on September 06, 2011, 10:10:02 PM
None of which gets Zanshin, his family, and their hairless dog a working kitchen, you goddamn jackasses.
No shtein, but revenge is also needed. And I hate to see people get screwed by jerkoff thieves.
Go all the way and say you now believe that he hired legal mexicans...and that most legit contractors hire illegal mexicans.
At this point, I don't think he's going to be trusted to finish anything in the Zanshin Dojo.
Quote from: Zanshin on September 06, 2011, 04:08:19 PM
Okay, I'm getting screwed by a GC. Very long story short, we hired a guy (referred, and checked his references, etc) to do an addition on our house. The addition is mostly in place, but a lot of finish work remains. It was supposed to be done at the beginning of August at the latest.
Because of credits, etc. that the guy owes me, I don't owe enough left for it to be enough of a lever. In mid-August, the guy decided to change careers and went to business school in London. As soon as he left, his workers left, for the most part. I've been in contact with the guy often, and it's one excuse after another about getting his guys here the money they need to finish the job. At this point, I still don't have a working kitchen and I only have one working bathroom. It sucks. I went to pay this guy's brother a visit at his house (he's also an owner), but he's playing dumb and now they've dissolved the company.
I'm getting with a lawyer about it tomorrow, but I wanted to see if anyone here had a useful perspective.
Man, I feel for you bro'. No wonder people don't trust contractors. What a peice of shtein. I wish I had some kind of advice, but haven't had much experiance with this stuff. Seems the only thing you can do is go after the partner, even if the company is dissolved, you still have a unfinished contract with his name on it, correct? He should be held responsible.
The first thing is to make sure you have documented your inquiries and requests to the original contractor. Next, send a letter stating that you are contacting a lawyer and if the contractor does not remedy the situation by hiring someone to finish the work you will hire someone yourself and the costs you expend will become part of a lawsuit.
Thats all fine and dandy if you haven't already emptied your bank account paying the guy for the work he hasn't done. Not to mention that the finsh work on kitchens and bathrooms is the most expensive deal in a house of any kind.
I'd send an invoice and a letter detailing the guy's thievery to his new school in London.
Quote from: shorebird on September 07, 2011, 12:48:07 PM
Thats all fine and dandy if you haven't already emptied your bank account paying the guy for the work he hasn't done. Not to mention that the finsh work on kitchens and bathrooms is the most expensive deal in a house of any kind.
no shtein, it's a farged up situation no matter what. he has to make sure that he has everything documented though.
and lawyer's aren't free, so he's spending extra money no matter what
This is where having a wife like yeti's would come in handy. Literally.
I'm on board with all of this. I have an appointment with a lawyer set for Tuesday. I've already tracked down the guy's brother and scared the crap out of him, but I don't want to put myself in a bad legal position by doing anything more to him. I spoke to the guy in London and he swears that he now has the funds and is going to wire them in the morning UK time. I'll believe it when I see guys working.
No, don't want that bad legal position, which means the five point palm exploding heart technique is out of the question. I know that you know that shtein.
my refrigerator is not pumpin cold air....this is after it was left cracked open all night....did it just work to hard and kill itself?....or is this a normal thing for them to do after running for that long...like does it need to be reset or turned off and on or some shtein...obviously after being left open it will take a little time to get cold again but it was found open this morning....its less than three years old so it shouldnt have just broken but im thinking it blew up because of this
Oh, yeah, you just have to reset it. There's a little red button on the bottom.
drill a hole in it to release the pressure.
You should def try hitting the reset button on the bottom like GF suggested. If that doesn't work then you'll have to turn it upside down for about 30-45 min because all of the freon is near the bottom of the fridge and you need to get it back towards the top in order to work properly.
before you flip it over (if the reset doesn't work) make sure to take all the shelves and bins out...if you don't they might break when they fall
Give the guy a little credit, jeez.
Give credit to a guy who needed coaching on how to kill a mouse?
Good point. We should remind him to leave it plugged in when hitting the reset button, otherwise it won't do a damn thing.
You guys are jackasses.
IGY, you are going to need to empty it out, unplug it over night and plug it back in the next morning empty. When it gets cold again slowly reload it (a few items every hour.)
But DO NOT leave it plugged in if you have to flip it over.
Oh christ...he's farged.
Just buy a new one, moneybags. Donate yours to one of your poor ghetto friends.
Quote from: Yeti on September 09, 2011, 07:20:03 PM
IGY, you are going to need to empty it out, unplug it over night and plug it back in the next morning empty. When it gets cold again slowly reload it (a few items every hour.)
good lookin g money marvelous
Quote from: Diomedes on September 09, 2011, 07:21:04 PM
But DO NOT leave it plugged in if you have to flip it over.
Oh christ...he's farged.
Just buy a new one, moneybags. Donate yours to one of your poor ghetto friends.
i thought you had to leave it plugged in if you use the "shake" method when you turn it upside down..
Newer fridges are too big to shake.
Ok, so I moved into a new house last week. There's a loft bedroom that needed the carpet replaced when I moved in, and the installer came out today and worked his magic. I've never been in a house while the carpet was being installed. In fact, I don't think I've ever had brand new carpet. Anyway, either the carpet or the padding underneath smells funny. Is this normal? Is there such a thing as "new carpet smell" that just happens to be kind of awful?
Hopefully its just the voc's (volitale organic compounds) off gassing from the carpet. If you can open the windows for a day or two. After that, if the smell doesn't go away or get better, check the padding for any kind of mold growth. If you were there while they removed and installed, did you see any kind of mold growth in the underlayment?
Oh and btw, congrats on the new house man!
yes, new carpet smells like a chemical factory
the smell will dissipate over time
but as long as you live there, you'll be huffing nasty fumes, whether you can smell them or not
I had a new front door custom built for our home. It will be delivered in a couple weeks and after I tear out the old one and install it, I need to paint it. I'm not settled on color yet. If I don't go with a muted, grown-up color, I'm considering Eagles/Kelly green .
This is a long shot, I know...but whatever: Has anyone ever had Eagles/Kelly green paint mixed? If you have, can you give me the code/mix data?
Thanks.
Just take one of your igy's kelly green Eagles jerseys to Lowes/Home Depot/where ever you get your paint.
BTW...
Quote from: phillymic2000 on October 13, 2011, 01:53:39 AM
Hopefully its just the voc's (volitale organic compounds) off gassing from the carpet. If you can open the windows for a day or two. After that, if the smell doesn't go away or get better, check the padding for any kind of mold growth. If you were there while they removed and installed, did you see any kind of mold growth in the underlayment?
Quote from: Diomedes on October 13, 2011, 08:01:07 AM
yes, new carpet smells like a chemical factory
the smell will dissipate over time
but as long as you live there, you'll be huffing nasty fumes, whether you can smell them or not
Thanks.
Anyone here ever have trouble with an overly-sensitive smoke detector? We have hard wired smoke/carbon monoxide detectors in the house, and the one on the first floor trips at the slightest smoke in the kitchen. A drop of pot pie that spilled onto the cookie sheet and gets burnt will send the whole house screaming five or six times. It goes off, we rush to hit the button. Open all the windows, turn on all the ceiling fans, then it goes off again. Rush to hit the button. This is invariably the time of the evening when American Red Cross calls to beg for blood. Wailing terrified child, trembling dogs, hot shtein on the stove...bad bad times. Then it goes off again. Etc.
I can't just unplug the detector when we cook, because it's hard wired. Plus, the damn backup battery will just beep at us. I've considered removing it from the system entirely, so that we have smoke detectors only in the basement (where the furnace is) and upstairs with the bedrooms. This would probably do the trick, but I have visions of the newspaper saying family of three killed in fire, no smoke detector on the same floor as the kitchen.
Anyone have any tricks for getting these things to be less sensitive?
Have you tried smashing it with a hammer or smoking less ganja near it?
Replace it. I'm in the same boat, i was told to just swap it out for ones that work with the security system you have. You're supposed to replace them every 10 years. If they're just wired in to a normal electrical setting you should be able to figure out the setup easily.
Hmm...my Rottweiler and my Boxer are the security system. Could be difficult.
Smoke Detectors, on a certain level are smare to have in every room, including the kitchen...but statistics note that most fires start in the garage.
Appraisers, and inspectors will usually require either, depending on the city/county code, to have a smoke detector in the the living room, bedrooms, and hallway, or just living room and hallway.
In 10 years of selling real estate...I can't remember one house, out of the thousands I've shown, that had a smoke detector in the kitchen.
My friend, take your favorite blunt instrument and destroy that thing! (Please consult your attorney, safety official, or fire house for further info).
*On the real, it's smarter to have a smoke detector somewhere in the room adjacent to the kitchen, but not in the kitchen. But PLEASE, remember to have a fire extinguisher in every level of the house, garage, and basement. People tend to have smoke detectors, but no fire extinguishers.
*Also, since we're talking about fires, make sure that your fire wall (the wall between your garage and kitchen/rest of house) has no holes or openings in it. Make sure they are patched up. The fire wall is supposed to buy you about 45 minutes of time before the fire makes its way into the rest of the house. The thinking here is that, with the help of smoke detectors, you'd wake up and get the F out. Also, make sure your firedoor (usually the door leading from the garage into the adjacent room in the house) self-closes. If it doesn't, you can go to your local hardware store and buy a hinge to put on the door which you can adjust rather easily so it shuts hard or slow.
Again, take this advice and consult your family on what is the best plan and decision for the safety of your family, but most people that I have seen go through life without a detector in the kitchen.
Tune in next week, when we talk about Carbon Monoxide Detectors!
I just realized that you don't have a smoke detector in the kitchen per say, maybe you should just get a battery operated one and check the battery every 3 months.
I don't have a garage, either. I live in a Baltimore row house, not a middle american tract house.
You can still change it to a different one without it being hooked to the security system can't you?
So i was putting fuel into my tractor yesterday, and had a stink bug fall into the tank. Immediately after this, i stopped, checked for more, and figured i could probably fill the tank up to the point the bug would rise to the weakest point, the top of the tank. This idea failed me when the plastic nozzle fell into the tank.
At this point, I need some direction as to the easiest way to get the nozzle out. The stink bug, i'm guessing will get captured by the filter at the worst.
don't worry about the stink bug
fish the plastic nozzle out
Stink bugs enveloped our house, apparently they love the smell of diesel. So i should just use something like long pliers and a little luck.
It will take a lot of patience.
Did the plastic sink? If it did not, you might have luck with pliers and a coat hanger or something like that to get the thing towards the opening.
If it sank, you've got problems.
How difficult would it be to pull the tank off the tractor entirely?
Its a John Deer, tank is top mounted, so i'd have to remove the housing, then see what i'm looking at. Bitch is the hood opens front to back, and the tank is right in front of the steering. I'll fish around in a little bit, and hope that i get lucky. Otherwise its gonna be a pain.
Get another nozzle and keep pouring.
Since it's a tractor, are you pouring the gas directly into the tank or does the fuel have to travel through any length of hose or anything before it actually goes into the tank? If you're pouring directly into the tank, then you should be able to use a small pair of tongs or something to grab your nozzle. I know the tractors that we had growing up and even the ones at my mom's house have a fairly wide opening at the fuel cap, and since your nozzle fell in, I'm guessing yours does too.
Not sure if that was helpful info or not, but I can give you a piece of advice for the future. You ever see those little wire screen filters that people put in the drain of their kitchen sinks to catch food particles and stuff? Get one of them (or any small piece of wire mesh) and use it when you're refilling the tank. I can remember my grandfather doing that as a kid and when I asked him why he did that he told me it was to keep bugs and other debris from falling into the tank. Made sense.
Thanks for the help guys.
Good point about the wire mesh, I'll just cut a enough to wrap the top of the nozzle, and put a rubber band or clamp on it. The new gas containers never have the cap on the nozzle anymore, they're the kind that you push the button down for the flow. They're a pain imo, I prefer the old ones with the cap that your loosen for ventilation/flow.
And i finally got the pool table assembled Sarge. Ended up going with a camel as the felt color. I'm heading out the billiards place now to get the appropriate chalk and other accessories. I really need to find a proper billiards lamp, but thats going to be something down the road as I definitely dont have the money with the holidays coming up.
Found the Beirut of Wolf Spiders this morning under an old tarp.
Working on getting the outside of the house ready for Christmas deocrations. Nothing says Christmas like hanging icicle lights in town that hasn't seen even a dusting of snow since 1976.
I'll pile on.
Last weekend I installed a new (Simpson) front door. The old door was garbage. New on is gorgeous. Four panels with two lites and a transom above. Installation was complicated by the rough opening (brick) being out two inches in eight feet. That's right...two inches in eight feet. I had accounted for that when I measured and ordered the door, but it still made life a bitch putting the door in. This weekend I'm working on trim and painting.
On Wednesday, we had a new furnace installed. Top of the line Trane. With a humidifier. Between these two investments I think our monthly gas usage for heat will drop about 20%.
Nice Dio. Last weekend I finished up installing a storm door that had extensive water damage around it. It goes into our sunroom, put an andersen thermal pane door. We knew the door had been left open for probably a few months at the time of purchase, but i didn't expect the subfloor to be rotted out.
BTW, I was able to fish the nozzle out with a utility flag. I'm just happy that it didn't involve having to take the entire tank out. Thanks.
I know that if you leave phone chargers and such plugged into the outlet that they are using electricity even when the phone is not connected. Does the same hold true for extension cords? If you leave one plugged in but don't have anything plugged into it, is it still drawing power?
I mowed my leaves this weekend.
It improved my home.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on November 21, 2011, 10:51:20 AM
I know that if you leave phone chargers and such plugged into the outlet that they are using electricity even when the phone is not connected. Does the same hold true for extension cords? If you leave one plugged in but don't have anything plugged into it, is it still drawing power?
no. there is no current running through it. phone chargers use a standby current--but its so minimal.
I didn't think so but just wanted to be sure.
lick the end, just to be sure
Good idea.
(http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/11/3/859b6fc2-386f-4f9d-9a36-e5fa894f635c.jpg)
Since I'm planning that birthday party for my wife that was screwed up by the contractor hitting the bricks, I figured I'd give an update.
Not sure where I left off, but I tracked down the contractor's brother after the contractor took off and scared him a little. His brother leaned on the contractor enough that I got back in touch with the guy. Long story short, he sent me money, and sent another contractor money to finish the job. The other contractor, ran off with THAT money, which I essentially said wasn't my problem. So, the house is 99% done, and I received another payment today from the dude in London.
At the end of the day, the house got done and I didn't lose any money...which, all things considered was a minor miracle. Of course that doesn't factor in the angst or follow-up that I needed to do to get this shtein done, but it still beats the hell out of the alternative.
I can't tell you how many people have called me because they lost so much money...one couple lost $200,000. They won a judgement, but the guy is filing bankruptcy and they'll never see it. Brutal.
Anyway, I emerged unscathed, except for the part of my soul that it ate.
That's good to hear. You should definitely consider youself lucky on this one. I didn't think you'd see a dime out of it, let alone get the project completed without having to change contractors and fork over more cash. So yeah, other than some anxiety, stress and perhaps a few restless nights, sounds like you made out much better than most other people in similar situations.
Yeah, I ended up squeezing another $20,000 of blood from that particular stone. Now he's filing for bankruptcy and trying to fall off of the grid. Good thing I was the one that found his brother, or I would have been shtein out of luck.
Thats awesome Zan, always a nightmare when you're dealing with contractors.
It's literally impossible to break loose two of the three bolts holding on the toilet tank (upper deck). Tried the normal methods of screwdriver and socket, sprayed the motherfarg out of 'em with PB Blast, tried again but to no avail. Sprayed more PB Blast and added Liquid Wrench to the equation then tried with the impact but still wouldn't go.
What are my other options? I'm thinking of using a 7/16" drill bit (since they're 9/16" bolts) to drill them out but not sure if that's a good size or a good idea since I'm pretty sure porcelain is fairly breakable.
You need to remove the tank? Why?
Drilling will almost certainly break the porcelain.
I can't imagine why you'd ever want to go to the trouble to separate the tank from the bowl, with, like, tools. If you can't get it out a door, beak it. Toilets are cheap as hell.
Emotional attachment to it? WTF are you doing?
Toilets aren't $20 cheap which is all it costs for the replacement bolts and gasket, plunger, and intake/shutoff valve. Plus, I don't ever want to see a wax ring so if I bought a new toitie, I'd have to pay a mofo to install it.
Nut splitter didn't work because there isn't enough clearance, but I was able to drill through the nut without busting it.
Anyone ever plant Zoysia Grass? I have really zesty grass growing inside my front yard. In the past i've seen zoysia grass planted, and i really like the feel in the summer. even in the winter its thick and is pretty hardy. My options now are
a. Just tilling the aforementioned yard, and spent 1.5k on Sod. It'll look great immediately, but costs cut into other projects
b. Just even out low spots with top soil, sprinkle soil ot even out yard, and fertilize. Throw down seeds, then throw down hay or equivilent. This is a 100x25 area that the dog runs around in, off our front door. I already have seed, will just me a mess for longer.
c. Try the whole zoysia experiment. They ship you plugs of the grass. It takes 3 years to take, but is super thick grass that requires less cutting, and looks ridiculous when its green.
I'm going from spending the entire summer last year killing off Hay that was growing instead of grass, and after this winter it's pretty apparent I have no grass other than 4 patches. I just want something to let the dog out in and not have to wipe his paws down every 5 minutes.
Nope, sorry.
The Zoysia is hardy enough to stand up to the dog piss? I can say for sure that sod ain't, whatever variant you install.
Timely topic for me. The construction left me without grass in much of my yard. I don't have great soil, and I don't have a green thumb. That said, I need to do something to get some semblance of grass back...without spending much money to do it. Is there a tried and true process that works well? Is it as simple as tearing up the dirt, putting down seed and watering it regularly?
Zan, in the fall we had to do some extensive buildup of the ground to a family member's house. After ordering two truck loads of topsoil, and renting a bobcat, the yard was pretty much just dirt. I think we ended up spreading 50lbs of seed, and topped it with a mix of hay bale and one of those Hay Rolls. This was the beginning of october, and the yard was filling in 3 weeks later. The topsoil part is just a major pain.
Quote from: Zanshin on February 22, 2012, 09:30:01 AMIs there a tried and true process that works well? Is it as simple as tearing up the dirt, putting down seed and watering it regularly?
yep. till the earth (or add topsoil), spread seed liberally, cover with hay, stay off of it, and water water water.
home improvement of a sort
i just refinanced to a 15 year mortgage
my rate went from 5.1 to 3.1...about 5k in closing will be rolled into the new mortgage and i had to come out of pocket for another 3k in taxes
my monthly payment went up 370 bucks....but its so nice to actually be able to see the light at the end of my house being paid off tunnel
that's pretty awesome man...sounds like I need to talk to somebody about a refi
Quote from: Tomahawk on February 24, 2012, 04:53:05 PM
that's pretty awesome man...sounds like I need to talk to somebody about a refi
the rates are ridiculous right now...if you even think you can afford the small bump in your monthly payment id def go for it
Girl I know owns a house in Pendel and her tenant is leaving, so I'm moving out of the city and renting it from her. Right now I'm in a 2 bedroom duplex which has a finished basement and a garage [small yard in the back we never use]. House I'm moving into has a huge fenced in yard, giant basement, 3 bedrooms, hardwood floors, recently renovated kitchen...basically a huge upgrade and I'm only paying $100 more per month. Neighborhood is also in quiet area, the one I'm in now is a clusterfarg and parking friggen blows.
Anyway, the basement is unfinished so I'd like to throw some type of flooring down to put some gym equipment down there then add a play area for my daughters shtein. They sell stall mats which are used in gyms and horse stalls but they're pretty expensive. Anyone have any cheap recommendations for flooring?
How are the squirrels in this new neighborhood?
Also, Pergo floors are probably the cheapest and easiest way to go. Is your landlord willing to pay or is this something you plan on doing out of pocket?
Pergo sucks.
The brand Pergo itself may suck (I couldn't tell you one way or the other), but I'm talking laminate flooring in general.
I wouldn't recommend putting any laminate on a basement floor.
I'm guessing because of the dampness/moisture?
Didn't really think of that when I suggested it. I guess maybe the cheapest and easiest solution would be to measure the room (or at least the area of the room you want to cover if you don't plan on doing the whole thing), go to a discount carpet store, buy something cheap and just throw the carpet down without padding or tacking it down. Depending on the size and shape of the basement you could also just buy a couple of cheap area rugs and set them down there.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on March 12, 2012, 03:09:51 PM
Didn't really think of that when I suggested it. I guess maybe the cheapest and easiest solution would be to measure the room (or at least the area of the room you want to cover if you don't plan on doing the whole thing), go to a discount carpet store, buy something cheap and just throw the carpet down without padding or tacking it down. Depending on the size and shape of the basement you could also just buy a couple of cheap area rugs and set them down there.
This is a good idea. I think my room mate found rubber mats on Amazon for relatively cheap. We're not even trying to do the whole basement because it's too big, just two areas.
I'm going to rant here, nothing I'm writing is remotely interesting but I feel like writing it anyway. Don't bother reading this, you've been warned:
So my landlord [funhole] does a walk through last night. She was a terrible land lord, her mail still comes to our address and even after 2 1/2 years we still save it for her. My bathroom ceiling leaks every other month, the basement floods any time it rains, and she won't fix shtein. Our washer is leaking, I told her and she said she isn't fixing it [it's in our lease we're responsible for appliances] so my room mate and I said farg it...we threw some towels around the machine and did our laundry. So my bitch of a land lord complains about that then says the ceiling under neath in our garage is 'buckling'. It wasn't, it's sheet rock and it naturally bends. Then she says the window sill in my room is dirty, there was a spot on the wall, and our ceiling fan is dirty. She then tries telling me that the place was spic and span and white as can be when we moved in. First off, we still farging live here so shtein ain't gonna be white, second the place was a farging wreck when we moved in. I had to scrub my tub with bleach, throw a bunch of shtein out she didn't get rid of, get stains out of the carpet, fix the wall paper in my daughters room, and a bunch of other shtein. She also told me to do whatever I want with the zesty curtains she has up [I tossed the ones in my daughters room because they were nasty].
She comes over last night and says she wants the curtains dry cleaned and wants the place white and clean. She was being a farging funhole about every minor thing. So I called my realtor today and told him if she doesn't drop the attitude I'm not allowing people to walk through my place so she can find a new renter. I'm out the 1st of May. Her and the realtor talked down to my room mate and I last night. So I told the realtor today to tell her she can go farg herself, I'll leave the place how I want to. She wants to keep my security deposit that's fine, I want to see receipts of what she spent the money on. If it's not accounted for I'm taking her to small claims court. I also told him I contacted my lawyer regarding this issue [I didn't]. The realtor actually agree with most of what I was saying. So I reiterated if she comes at me again with that attitude I'm going to lay into her.
To make a long story short I can't wait to farging move. farg that bitch.
Did you take pics of what needed to be cleaned when you moved in? First place I lived in when I moved to Cali was a similar situation....house wasn't very clean, walls were pretty discolored, etc. But I was in a bind and needed a place quick and the landlady could accommodate that. I didn't want to because I could tell from the get go that she would be a terrible landlady and would be difficult to work with, but like I said, I was in a bind.
So I took lots of pics when we moved in....walls, closets, etc. then me and squaw cleaned and painted (she did at least provide paint and rollers) and cleaned and painted some more until the house looked great. Then we took pics of our handiwork. She also failed to make repairs during our year there and I had all of the emails I sent asking to get things taken care of along with her replies saying that she would and my follow up emails that went unanswered. When we moved she tried withholding our deposit ($1700) Claiming damages and the place not being cleaned, etc. She sent a list of the work that "needed" to be done along with the amount she spent to correct to problem. She claimed $500 just to fill in some holes in the wall left by little panelling nails that I hung pictures on and some other bs. She gave me a check for $23. I contacted a lawyer on base, gave him the lease, pictures and her list of discrepancies. He contacted her lawyer, forwarded everything to him and 2 weeks later I got a check for $1500. She claimed $200 to shampoo the carpets since we had a dog.
Bottom line is when renting take a lot of pics when you move in and when you move out. Put all maintenance requests in writing, preferably email and keep that shtein safe. It'll pay off in the end.
We took a ton of pics when we moved in. She's still going to try to farg us because she's white trash. It's not even the security deposit I care much about it's her farging funholey attitude. I don't mind going to small claims court as I'm a bitter farg and know how to argue a case.
She actually tried to tell me we still have to pay Aprils rent [we paid 1st, last and security when we moved in]. I had to explain to her that you pay the month prior to live in a place and that the 'last' that we paid was for the last months rent. She actually referred to the realtor to make sure this was correct.
I would rip the curtains off the rod and toss 'em in a heap on the floor. Then I'd go to Taco Bell & get a 12 pack of soft taco supremes and then wait until nature takes its course, and then bam, shtein all over those motherfargers.
Quote from: SD on March 15, 2012, 09:19:20 PM
We took a ton of pics when we moved in. She's still going to try to farg us because she's white trash. It's not even the security deposit I care much about it's her farging funholey attitude. I don't mind going to small claims court as I'm a bitter farg and know how to argue a case.
She actually tried to tell me we still have to pay Aprils rent [we paid 1st, last and security when we moved in]. I had to explain to her that you pay the month prior to live in a place and that the 'last' that we paid was for the last months rent. She actually referred to the realtor to make sure this was correct.
I think it might be the same lady....or maybe the same family. My white trash landlady has east coast roots.
Btw, the landlady I have now and have had for 2 yrs is farging great. Best I've ever had. And she's pretty nice to look at too.
Does she squeak when she comes?
offer to bang her for 50% off on rent, facial extra
Quote from: SD on March 11, 2012, 09:01:25 PM
Anyway, the basement is unfinished so I'd like to throw some type of flooring down to put some gym equipment down there then add a play area for my daughters shtein. They sell stall mats which are used in gyms and horse stalls but they're pretty expensive. Anyone have any cheap recommendations for flooring?
Went with this, 240 square feet for $150 shipping included.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41YXawsaZlL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
The reality company that's trying to rent the apartment I'm in now [we're moving Thursday to the new place] calls me every day 3 or 4 times a day to show people this place. They've had 5-10 people through here already and we tell the prospective tenants how awful the landlady is and how much shtein is wrong with the place. I asked the reality company to stop calling me from a blocked number, yet they keep doing it and I refuse to answer because to me it's like they're trying to trick me into answering the phone...so farg them. They leave me at least two messages per day wanting to show the place. My landlady contacted me last week and I told her to stop bothering me and that it's not my job to be here so they can show the place. I told her when May 1st rolls around and we're long gone then she can show it to as many people as she likes. She has the audacity to give me shtein about doing her a favor and showing the place for her when she wouldn't do shtein for me for the past 2 1/2 years except cash my checks. farg her I hope this place sits for 6 months.
List of shtein I hate about my current apartment in no particular order:
Landlady wont' fix shtein, washer and dryer broke and she tells me tough shtein
Rugs are ugly as sin and needed to be replaced 10 years ago
The basement leaks...bad. This is fine when it's just a basement but it's finished and my room mate is living down there. There's mold and the most she would do is get a cleaning company to clean the carpets. Even they said cleaning the carpet when there's a leak is stupid.
We've had mice
Our upstairs neighbor [her brother] deals weed out of his apartment. He's one of the most racist people I've ever come across. He never says shtein to me directly but he drops the N bomb upstairs all the time...especially when the black city workers are working outside while he's sitting on his ass smoking weed.
Parking is horrendus.
There's a train behind my house which is loud as shtein...the conductor likes to blow the horn at 2 AM at least once a week
The Puerto Rican guy who lives across the street from me and is an icehole had a gun stolen from his house a few months ago
My neighbors dog was randomly attacked by another dog who was off it's leash. Had to get surgery which cost $3K. They don't know which dog it was but there are so many dogs off their leash around here so who knows.
The neighborhood is slowly turning into Moscow.
There's probably a bunch of other shtein I'm forgetting but that's the gist of it. Good farging riddance.
I'm done ranting now.
farg my landlady .
If there's mold in your place, that could be a hefty lawsuit.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on April 22, 2012, 04:38:28 PM
If there's mold in your place, that could be a hefty lawsuit.
We're already preparing our small claims court appeal when she fargs us out of our security deposit. After year two our security deposit was supposed to go into an escrow account in which we were supposed to be paid interest...I asked her to furnish the banking account our money was in and she has yet to.
Holy crap man, I'm glad you're getting out of that place. I'm also glad I live in the sticks!
Have some major work to do on my property, so we bought a chain saw today.
I'll be called Ol' Three-Finger any time now!
Sweet, what brand? size? blade type? I bought a Dolmar 20" with a chisel tooth to clean up part of our tree line this winter and love it. The right saw makes all the difference!!
I hate it when the Reality Company calls. They're always telling me some shtein I don't want to hear, like "Life ain't fair."
SD forgot the part about the squirrels attacking
Nice Geo. Just watch the downcut, towards your thigh and shins. I got a MS260 Stihl a month ago and it was worth every penny and more. Thing cuts thru foot thick honey locust like a hot knife and butter.
You can't beat Stihl, for just about anything from weedeaters to whatever, especially chain saws. The main thing about operating one is never get complacent. Respect the saw. The minute you forget or lose sight of how bad they can farg you up, it'll farg you up.
I see a lot more Echo weedeaters on landscaping trucks than Stihl.
Echo weedeaters are the best out there imo. I ended up going with a stihl straight shaft weedeater, but its a pita to switch from the trimming to the blade. Stupid design. My brother in law has an echo, same price, and its a million times better.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on April 22, 2012, 09:00:32 PM
SD forgot the part about the squirrels attacking
Nice Geo. Just watch the downcut, towards your thigh and shins. I got a MS260 Stihl a month ago and it was worth every penny and more. Thing cuts thru foot thick honey locust like a hot knife and butter.
Yeah, that's the kind I got.
Getting some pointers from my dad before chopping stuff up. I used to help him out when I was a kid living in Chesco, but that was a while ago now.
EDIT: Check that. It was an MS250, not 260.
Quote from: Geowhizzer on April 22, 2012, 07:11:50 PM
Have some major work to do on my property, so we bought a chain saw today.
I'll be called Ol' Three-Finger any time now!
I'd just like to point out the obvious here....if you lose finger(s) operating a chainsaw, then I'd say you probably deserve it.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on April 25, 2012, 12:03:06 AM
Quote from: Geowhizzer on April 22, 2012, 07:11:50 PM
Have some major work to do on my property, so we bought a chain saw today.
I'll be called Ol' Three-Finger any time now!
I'd just like to point out the obvious here....if you lose finger(s) operating a chainsaw, then I'd say you probably deserve it.
I know a guy who lost two fingers using a gas hedge trimmer. Anything is possible.
Nice Geo. They're great chainsaws and I messed up too, i got the 290. I was originally given a MS180 for a birthday gift last year. Thats the "Mini Boss" model. Works great, but its smaller and only good for trees under 10 inches. The big boys cut thru anything.
Before
(http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg191/scaled.php?server=191&filename=shelfbefore.jpg&res=landing)
After
(http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg844/scaled.php?server=844&filename=shelfcompleted.jpg&res=landing)
Well worth every penny of the $200 cost of lumber to have a 12' long by 6.5' tall by 2.5' deep shelf unit. However, I did not enjoy learning that 2x4 is just an expression; not actual dimensions
Women feel the same way about you and 8".
Also, for future reference (since you're a tool).....you can subtract a 1/2" from any piece of pre-cut lumber. 4x4, 2x6, 2x2, etc...
No wayz I could get away with telling them 8...go with 6 and hope they don't notice that's a gross exaggeration
And where is the toolbox gonna go?
Quote from: Sgt PSN on May 13, 2012, 10:52:20 PM
Women feel the same way about you and 8".
Also, for future reference (since you're a tool).....you can subtract a 1/2" from any piece of pre-cut lumber. 4x4, 2x6, 2x2, etc...
technically 3/8"
Keep it simple, Sunny.
Quote from: Diomedes on May 14, 2012, 09:42:29 AM
And where is the toolbox gonna go?
Exactly. None of his shtein is in the "after" pic. My garage would be a lot cleaner if I just threw everything in the garbage too!
Quote from: FastFreddie on May 14, 2012, 10:07:51 AM
Quote from: Diomedes on May 14, 2012, 09:42:29 AM
And where is the toolbox gonna go?
Exactly. None of his shtein is in the "after" pic. My garage would be a lot cleaner if I just threw everything in the garbage too!
The toolbox will go back next to the shelf, and the cherry picker, hydraulic press, and engine stand should fit nicely in the back. I'll be sure to take a true after pic
Spent 4 hours Sunday landscaping my front yard. I have a row of plants/flowers that were weed infested and a tree with a dirt pile around it that has some small plants growing near it. There were wood chips on top of dirt which have been there for ever. I pulled some of the dead plants out of the ground, the weeds too, then scooped up the old wood chips to throw out. I planted a habiscus plant and a midnight salsa plant. Looks decent so far. Any good recommendations regarding weed killer for plants and for lawns? There were some at Lowes but I wasn't sure what to get. A co-worker said to be cautious because some of the weed killers will kill your plants even if you don't spray it anywhere near the plant. The guy at Lowes I talked to was utterly useless.
the Scotts Weed and Feed is a good one, you just do need to be cognisant of not putting too much down. I've always used the granules, and they worked well.
Thanks
There is other brands, but i've always had good experiences with Scotts. They also have a spray version which I havent used yet.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on June 27, 2012, 12:13:59 PM
There is other brands, but i've always had good experiences with Scotts. They also have a spray version which I havent used yet.
I have a Hoyda willow tree/plant, at least I think that's what it is. It's in poor shape, I was thinking of uprooting it and planting something else, but now I'm doing some research and think I might be able to get it to bloom again. Any suggestions?
ahhh, the wonderous joy of the Hoyda willow tree
I've never really dealt with them, but I had some trees that were struggling when we moved into our place last year. I removed some of the lower limbs on the tree, any that were receiving just a little bit of sunlight. And I picked up and used Jobes (http://www.lowes.com/pd_371449-304-01310_0__?productId=3562074&Ntt=jobes&pl=1¤tURL=&facetInfo=#) Tree and Shrub fertilizer. Just make sure you water the ground before attempting to slam them into the hard soil. And use the recommended size/distance. I used to use these commerically, and they work great. But the biggest mistake people make is over fertilizing, and thinking that if they put it closer to the tree, that it'll grow tenfold.
Thanks for the imput
Pull the weeds manually and spare the rest of us your farging poison, icehole.
That would take years. Dio you want a side job that offers booze and nice views?
Quote from: SD on March 15, 2012, 08:13:53 PM
I'm going to rant here, nothing I'm writing is remotely interesting but I feel like writing it anyway. Don't bother reading this, you've been warned:
So my landlord [funhole] does a walk through last night. She was a terrible land lord, her mail still comes to our address and even after 2 1/2 years we still save it for her. My bathroom ceiling leaks every other month, the basement floods any time it rains, and she won't fix shtein. Our washer is leaking, I told her and she said she isn't fixing it [it's in our lease we're responsible for appliances] so my room mate and I said farg it...we threw some towels around the machine and did our laundry. So my bitch of a land lord complains about that then says the ceiling under neath in our garage is 'buckling'. It wasn't, it's sheet rock and it naturally bends. Then she says the window sill in my room is dirty, there was a spot on the wall, and our ceiling fan is dirty. She then tries telling me that the place was spic and span and white as can be when we moved in. First off, we still farging live here so shtein ain't gonna be white, second the place was a farging wreck when we moved in. I had to scrub my tub with bleach, throw a bunch of shtein out she didn't get rid of, get stains out of the carpet, fix the wall paper in my daughters room, and a bunch of other shtein. She also told me to do whatever I want with the zesty curtains she has up [I tossed the ones in my daughters room because they were nasty].
She comes over last night and says she wants the curtains dry cleaned and wants the place white and clean. She was being a farging funhole about every minor thing. So I called my realtor today and told him if she doesn't drop the attitude I'm not allowing people to walk through my place so she can find a new renter. I'm out the 1st of May. Her and the realtor talked down to my room mate and I last night. So I told the realtor today to tell her she can go farg herself, I'll leave the place how I want to. She wants to keep my security deposit that's fine, I want to see receipts of what she spent the money on. If it's not accounted for I'm taking her to small claims court. I also told him I contacted my lawyer regarding this issue [I didn't]. The realtor actually agree with most of what I was saying. So I reiterated if she comes at me again with that attitude I'm going to lay into her.
To make a long story short I can't wait to farging move. farg that bitch.
Long story short, went to court today and got our full security deposit back. We mediated because who knows what the judge is going to rule.
Nice.
So my wife had on HDTV today, one of the Kitchen Cousins or whatever variation of family members it is. They did a wine tap in a kitchen, pretty awesome. Till I found out the keg of red wine runs about 800 bucks. Needless to say, I don't foresee that being a necessity
A wine tap in my kitchen would mean an 800 dollar bill every month, and my teeth would turn purple.
Quote from: SD on August 15, 2012, 05:36:10 PM
Quote from: SD on March 15, 2012, 08:13:53 PM
I'm going to rant here, nothing I'm writing is remotely interesting but I feel like writing it anyway. Don't bother reading this, you've been warned:
So my landlord [funhole] does a walk through last night. She was a terrible land lord, her mail still comes to our address and even after 2 1/2 years we still save it for her. My bathroom ceiling leaks every other month, the basement floods any time it rains, and she won't fix shtein. Our washer is leaking, I told her and she said she isn't fixing it [it's in our lease we're responsible for appliances] so my room mate and I said farg it...we threw some towels around the machine and did our laundry. So my bitch of a land lord complains about that then says the ceiling under neath in our garage is 'buckling'. It wasn't, it's sheet rock and it naturally bends. Then she says the window sill in my room is dirty, there was a spot on the wall, and our ceiling fan is dirty. She then tries telling me that the place was spic and span and white as can be when we moved in. First off, we still farging live here so shtein ain't gonna be white, second the place was a farging wreck when we moved in. I had to scrub my tub with bleach, throw a bunch of shtein out she didn't get rid of, get stains out of the carpet, fix the wall paper in my daughters room, and a bunch of other shtein. She also told me to do whatever I want with the zesty curtains she has up [I tossed the ones in my daughters room because they were nasty].
She comes over last night and says she wants the curtains dry cleaned and wants the place white and clean. She was being a farging funhole about every minor thing. So I called my realtor today and told him if she doesn't drop the attitude I'm not allowing people to walk through my place so she can find a new renter. I'm out the 1st of May. Her and the realtor talked down to my room mate and I last night. So I told the realtor today to tell her she can go farg herself, I'll leave the place how I want to. She wants to keep my security deposit that's fine, I want to see receipts of what she spent the money on. If it's not accounted for I'm taking her to small claims court. I also told him I contacted my lawyer regarding this issue [I didn't]. The realtor actually agree with most of what I was saying. So I reiterated if she comes at me again with that attitude I'm going to lay into her.
To make a long story short I can't wait to farging move. farg that bitch.
Long story short, went to court today and got our full security deposit back. We mediated because who knows what the judge is going to rule.
If that situation ever comes up again, there's always companies like these
http://www.connecticutvalleybiological.com/termites-reticulitermes-flavipes-class-of-30-p-10826.html
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on August 15, 2012, 06:05:42 PM
So my wife had on HDTV today, one of the Kitchen Cousins or whatever variation of family members it is. They did a wine tap in a kitchen, pretty awesome. Till I found out the keg of red wine runs about 800 bucks.
this one is only 11.99
(http://www.packagedesignmag.com/sites/www.packagedesignmag.com/files/styles/galleria_zoom/public/editorial/flickrRobotSkirtsFranziaWineBox.jpg)
Anyone familiar with bringing grounded plants/trees in for the winter? I have two hibiscus trees that I really like, one is yellow with a twisted stem and the other is red with a straight stem. They bloom nicely but are of the tropical variety. I've read some sites that say if you pot them and leave them near a window during the winter that most of the times you'll be able to replant them next year. I don't want to go through the hassle of keeping them alive during the winter then replanting them just to find out they're dead. At worst I'm out $30 and will just get two new trees next year.
Go down in my basement to get my Eagles gear out for the season and my box of hats and shoes is covered with mold. I have a fairly large basement, anyone have any good recommendations for a dehumidifier?
Nope, sorry. It would take a dehumidifier the size of my house to keep my basement dry.
Don't you have attic space to store clothes?
I do but it's a pain in the ass to get to. It's in my hallway closet above 3 shelves.
http://www.amazon.com/ITW-Space-Vacuum-Seal-Storage-Bags/dp/B0009VCB5M
Might be a cheaper solution.
rent a new place
So I'm living in an apartment that's attached to the back of my mom's farmhouse. The apt is a 2 br and sits about 2 feet below the 2nd floor of her farmhouse. The bedrooms are pretty small though so I'm opening up a doorway into one of the bedrooms on her 2nd floor. This is a good size bedroom with a pretty big closet but the doorway to go into the apartment is in that big closet. So basically I walk through my closet, down a step and into one of the apartment bedrooms. Kind of ghetto but I'm going to use the small bedroom as my office so in the event I have an overnight guest, it's not like I'll be walking through that room while they're trying to sleep or something.
I've never cut open a doorway before and while it's not overly complicated, it is pretty farging messy. I really wasn't prepared for the amount of dust from cutting the dry wall otherwise I would have put on one of those SARS maskes that the AZNs like to wear. And the fact that I was cutting the drywall in a closet made it even worse.
Also, the patio on the apartment is fully enclosed but one corner of it started sagging a bit so a carpenter friend came over and helped jack up that corner and we put some new support beams underneath. Ripped up the ratty old carpet and bought a remnant to throw down.
I could do this shtein all day.
This wall you're cutting into, is it holding anything up? Are you sure? Do you plan to frame a proper header over the new opening? (hint...say yes) How wide is the opening?
I'm actually just opening up a previously existing door that was sealed up about 10 or so years ago. So the frame work is already there and the structure is sound.
Nice. Are you going to hang a door in it again or just trim it out as an opening?
Just an opening. The closet has a door on it already coming from the bedroom that it is originally attached to so putting a 2nd door on won't be necessary.
Beaded curtain.
So the wife and I are narrowing a few houses down, and will probably be buying in the next month or 2. The house that we like most has everything were looking for, aside from a finished basement. That's a deal breaker for me, so if we buy this house, were going to finish the basement before moving in. The basement is about 800 sq ft. I will probably end up doing a lot of the job on my own, but what do basements generally cost to finish?
With all due respect, do you really expect a good answer to such an open ended question? I'd be surprised if you could do it for less than $25 per square foot, even if you did most of the work yourself, and it could easily top $50 per square foot if you have expensive tastes, or much electrical and plumbing work involved. It's just too broad a question to answer with so little information. The location of the property alone will play a large factor in the cost of labor and materials. shtein is cheaper in Louisiana than New Jersey.
Call three local contractors for quotes.
If you have the know how and tools you can DIY for under 10k. Do you need to hire an electrician? How extravagant do you want the basement? Will plumbing be an issue?
No electrician needed as the wiring and lighting is all there. Also, no plumbing needed as there is not bathroom, nor do I want one. The end goal here is to have a basement that I can use for gym equipment, and also would like to carve out an office space.
I've never done this before (clearly) and was hoping someone here had some smarts on the topic. I have no problem admitting I know nothing about this and what's involved, aside from reading some articles I pulled up on the google.
Watch a few episodes of Income Property, dude is a master at remodeling that shtein, usually basements, and usually tells you what he does with certain budgets. They do not seem unreasonable...$25k-$40k budgets....but that's paying a crew, but pimping the space out.
I know those shows are usually not a good barometer, but that one is pretty good. Obviously, you can get it done for waaaaay cheaper but like Dio said, get a few quotes, that should give you an idea.
Def get at least 3 quotes. Then go ask a Mexican. But not Chuggie. A real Mexican who knows how to build stuff. Preferably an illegal. The more illegal they are, the better.
Sounds like you just want to throw up some drywall, tile the floor and maybe add a drop ceiling. And some sort of floor to ceiling mirror i assume. Biggest thing you need to look at is how much water gets into the basement and what type of drainage system (if any) is in place. That could be the X factor. Everything else should be fairly reasonable as far as cost goes.
I might buy the house I'm in now. Half the wall has framing up and there's a sub pump. My cousins boyfriend and I laid out a plan to finish the basement. He knows his shtein so between the two of us we could finish it for 5-7k. His buddy would do the drop ceiling for 2k. Basement is huge and I'm doing the bare minimum to get it finished.
I already have mats down there for working out and they double god a play area for my daughter. Bought 150 mats for $200...good quality too.
Quote from: hbionic on February 09, 2013, 12:40:25 PM
Watch a few episodes of Income Property
Oh good, I'm not the only one who watches it. Relly enjoy that show.
ask for references with your quotes...and call the references
Quote from: Don Ho on February 09, 2013, 05:19:52 PM
Quote from: hbionic on February 09, 2013, 12:40:25 PM
Watch a few episodes of Income Property
Oh good, I'm not the only one who watches it. Relly enjoy that show.
He does an amazing job. How do the people not want to move into the remodeled space and rent out their zesty top half of their home when he's done? The remodel's are awesome.
Yes, he's cute and the whole show turns me on.
Gay up other thread. This one is for talking about tools. And not the penis kind.
Anyone ever sealed a driveway? I'm weighing buying the sealant and doing the work, or having a local company do the work. Driveway is around 3600sq feet. Just wondering how much time i'm looking at by doing it myself vs paying a crap ton to have a company do the work.
Never done it. But the process must go something like this, right:
Wash surface, let dry, blow off debris, pour shtein into puddles, smear it around with a deck brush, try not to paint yourself into a corner, rope off entrances.......PROFIT.
No?
Thats pretty much the process. Just wondering the time involved.
Gravel driveway ftw.
I'd give myself the whole day Saturday, with Sunday uncommitted in case weather or other problems intervene, but I can't imagine it will take more than a few hours.
Depends, what's worth more to you...a day of your time or a few hundred bucks?
Also....that shtein is dag nasty terrible for every living thing on the planet....you really gotta put it down? It will end up in the Bay in time, no matter what happens.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on March 12, 2013, 03:21:34 PM
Gravel driveway ftw.
Amen. It allows water to perc through, reducing runoff and pollution, looks more natural, etc.
But dude is not gonna tear out his existing asphalt, grade the site, and install a CR drive.
I'd prefer concrete, but the driveway's been in for 10 years, and it's either reseal or let it crumble time. I hear you about screwing with the bay, thus why I'm not going to have Gypsy's do it with their oil concoctions.
It's gonna crumble either way. You aren't buying much time with the sealant. Water goes where it wants.
Anyway, unless spare time is extremely scarce for you, and you've got bags of banker money sitting in your basement vault, do it yourself.
Ha, banker money is a little short lately. Guess I'll have a weekend project once we get above 65 then.
I'm probably going to repaint and reseal our deck this spring because we've lived here going on a 3rd spring and haven't done much to it.
I've noticed some moss growing on certain parts of the deck (or, at least, something that is green), and I assume i have to kill this first before I do it. What's the best way to do this? I've read just pour bleach all over the deck, but I know they also sell stuff specifically for this at Lowes. Or should I just rent a power washer and do it that way?
Two options. Power Washer should get any stains out, and give you a nice clean deck in half the time. Or you go manual, get the stuff and a brush. The cleaner from lowes or homedepot works well, it's just more work than a power sprayer.
Don't buy special stuff. A relatively weak bleach/water solution will kill any mold and it's not too bad for the environment. I don't recall the ratios..look it up on the Intarwebs.
Power sprayer will knock everything off mechanically, but also damage the surface of the deck if you're not careful. You will def. want to seal after a power washing.
If you use a power washer on your deck, don't make the mistake of putting the nozzle too close to the wood otherwise you'll end up carving a nice little notch in it.
So I've heard.
me and the lady are considering putting an offer in on a house we saw over the weekend - one potential issue...the home is heated by oil, but the tank would be removed and replaced w gas before any closing at the expense of the owner. are there any effects i should have to worry about after the fact? has anyone had any experience with this? quite honestly, the house seems too good to be true, so im fully waiting for someone to tell me this is a deal breaker.
Google says gas is preferable to oil....cleaner and cheaper. Good luck
Quote from: Tomahawk on March 13, 2013, 12:28:19 PM
Google says gas is preferable to oil....cleaner and cheaper. Good luck
Probably. Especially with the movement to get away from oil dependency.
I've got oil heat. Seems ok. Not all that expensive either...but I'm pretty cheap with my heat. I don't run central heat very much, but instead rely on small ceramic heaters with built in thermostats for each room and only turn them on when I'm using that particular room. Also have a propane backup that runs to a unit in my living room incase of a power outage, which means that if the power does go out I'll be sleeping on the couch.
I would contact a general contractor or an home heating/cooling specialist and ask to allow them to review any project plans, proposals, or statements of work the owner plans to pay someone to complete. I would also ask that a second inspection be allowed to verify all of the performed work was to code or other standards, and that purchase would be dependent on acceptance. You'd certainly want to be sure that the new furnace isn't a budget friendly deal, and that all of the ducting was replaced to meet the requirements of the replaced components, if applicable.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on March 13, 2013, 01:03:14 PM
Quote from: Tomahawk on March 13, 2013, 12:28:19 PM
Google says gas is preferable to oil....cleaner and cheaper. Good luck
Probably. Especially with the movement to get away from oil dependency.
I've got oil heat. Seems ok. Not all that expensive either...but I'm pretty cheap with my heat. I don't run central heat very much, but instead rely on small ceramic heaters with built in thermostats for each room and only turn them on when I'm using that particular room. Also have a propane backup that runs to a unit in my living room incase of a power outage, which means that if the power does go out I'll be sleeping on the couch.
do you stir your laundry with a big stick in a wooden tub of hot water too? hell is going on over there?
Quote from: PhillyPhanInDC on March 13, 2013, 01:05:10 PM
I would contact a general contractor or an home heating/cooling specialist and ask to allow them to review any project plans, proposals, or statements of work the owner plans to pay someone to complete. I would also ask that a second inspection be allowed to verify all of the performed work was to code or other standards, and that purchase would be dependent on acceptance. You'd certainly want to be sure that the new furnace isn't a budget friendly deal, and that all of the ducting was replaced to meet the requirements of the replaced components, if applicable.
Smart
we've already agreed to let another inspector come in after the tank is lifted to test the soil, etc.
so, from what i am reading in the webs, this isnt that big of a deal, right? my stupid cousin scared the shtein out of me last night telling me that he wouldnt but a house if it had to go through this. before he mentioned that, i wasnt even thinking twice about it..
Your cousin sucks. I doubt I'd fork over the money to make the switch, but if the sellers are doing it for you then who gives a shtein?
What you probably want to find out is the environmental impact that having that tank of oil for so many years may have on your health in the future.
For instance, out there in CA, there's an environmental impact report that is conducted when buyer or selling commercial property, especially gas stations, etc. The tank may not be that big a deal, akin to a septic tank for sewage, but it is the long term effects if there was any leakage from that tank and the contamination of the ground.
Read up on that in your area. Ask the Realtor for any disclosures...if there's not Realtor, contact the EPA office in your state. Google it, etc. I don't remember if you have kids, but even if you didn't, your health is still at risk. That might be a little over the top, but that would be my approach to it.
Another thing you want to make sure of is proper removal and cleanup. I'm sure you have qualified mexicans at the local home depot that can do it, but you want to make sure a licensed/bonded professional does the job.
*CA real estate is different, most everything is on gas over here, so it is interesting to read that homes are heated by oil. Let us know if you get cancer in about 20 years.
if i get cancer, im 100% sure it will be lung, and im ok with that. id be pissed if i caught it from an oil tank, though. first kid coming next month, so the longterm affects on the soil, etc are a concern. but, as mentioned, so long as the post-inspector says were good, then we should indeed, be good.
not only does my cousin suck for giving his opinion when no one asked, but he's also one of those lawyers who is never wrong, so even talking to him about it made me want to rip his eyes out through his mouth.
When you go from oil to gas, you have to change out the furnace. If you live in the northeast you want to check to make sure the unit is rated against the square footage of the house and isn't some knock-off PoS. It may also require changes to the ducting, heat pump (if there is one), and other bits and pieces like the thermostat. It's not a huge job if you get a competent HVAC specialist to do it. Have a competent HVAC guy check it all out before you sign.
Regarding the gas furnace....do what you can--possibly help with the cost--to make sure the furnace that goes in is the highest possible efficiency, made by a good company (mine's a Trane)...they are more expensive at first of course, but you will both save in the long run (even with cheap gas prices) and pollute less. Finally, make sure the furnace is capable of accepting central A/C. It needs to have a multi-stage blower, not just on/off, to have Central AC added on at a later time.
Quote from: Diomedes on March 13, 2013, 05:46:33 PM
Regarding the gas furnace....do what you can--possibly help with the cost--to make sure the furnace that goes in is the highest possible efficiency
Excellent point. Depending on how much the owners are willing to spend to convert it, if it's only going to buy an average unit, then definitely kick in the extra upfront to upgrade to something as close to top of the line that you can afford. You're better off having it done right right now even if it costs you a little more than you'd like upfront rather than starting over from scratch in 10 years if the furnace decides to take a shtein.
It won't likely take a shtein after ten years, it's just that you'll be burning ten to fifteen percent more gas for the life of the furnace, and creating more pollution as well. Why do that? To save a few hundred bucks today?
Come on.
You'll be fine as far as the ground test I'd imagine DH. As everyone said, chip in, get the unit that fits your sq footage and that is going to be the most energy efficient. Be happy that they're putting a new system in, because that's unusual.
Hell, my buddy is selling his house, just tested positive for Radon in the basement and Chlorophorm in his water. I always wondered why his wife was so subdued.
Need to clear this up - I think Dio is saying the same thing - ANY unit they put in MUST be capable of supporting the square footage of the house. Don't accept anything that doesn't, it subpar and any HVAC guy worth a shtein wouldn't allow it.
Once you've made sure of that, you can kick in some money to get a more efficient unit or a better warranty, etc.
I've seen contractors put in heat pumps that were yanked from other jobs to just get something in place before. Again, having a reputable HVAC guy makes a difference. Plus a good inspection.
anyone know ballpark what it should cost me to have a contractor finish a roughed in bathroom for me...light fixture is in...walls are done...just literally need the toilet and sinked hooked up to the plumbing rough in's
and before you say how easy it is and that i should/could do it myself very easily.....NO
I thought you had a family of mice living down there
He's obviously doing some nice upgrades for them. Or getting ready for Todd to move in.
If the plumbing is already in place and all you need to do is put in a vanity/sink and toilet then the installation should be fairly cheap. Can't imagine it'd be much more than a couple hundred bucks plus the cost of the sink and toilet.
Quote from: DH on March 27, 2013, 01:26:51 PM
I thought you had a family of mice living down there
those fargers were/are upstairs....i went into the drawer below my oven last week to get out some muffin tins...its a drawer i havent been in in probably 4-6 months....wifey hasnt been in the kitchen in years....i asked he where she wanted to go on vacation this summer and she said somewhere ive never been before...i said how about the kitchen....anyway i open this drawer and the muffin tins are filled with my dogs food...these farging mice have been luggin the dogs food from his bowl on the other side of the kitchen behind the stove into this drawer and just dropping it into my muffin tins...none of it was even eaten....it was like they were building a mice fort or some shtein out of dog food......so creepy
it may be time to move...i had my home inspection on friday and the inspector found a spider web the size of my head - i withdrew my offer.
Haven't you had them for like 2 years now? WTF? You letting them stay until the babies grow up and go to college?
Quote from: DH on March 27, 2013, 01:41:48 PM
i had my home inspection on friday and the inspector found a spider web the size of my head - i withdrew my offer.
Why? Where was the web?
I hate spiders more than anything in the world. The web was in the garage, no big deal, but still gave me a serious case of the heebie jeebies...I joked w the inspector that Im pulling my offer and he told me that people have withdrawn for issues a less serious than that - not that it was "serious" at all.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on March 27, 2013, 01:42:13 PM
Haven't you had them for like 2 years now? WTF? You letting them stay until the babies grow up and go to college?
i killed two in the last year....the last one being maybe last summer?....havent seen or heard any evidence of mice since then until i discovered the dog food fortress....it could be that they were in mid construction when i murdered the last one and its old but it still creeped me out to see it
Quote from: DH on March 27, 2013, 01:45:53 PM
I hate spiders more than anything in the world. The web was in the garage, no big deal, but still gave me a serious case of the heebie jeebies...I joked w the inspector that Im pulling my offer and he told me that people have withdrawn for issues a less serious than that - not that it was "serious" at all.
Dude, I have an office in my basement...well, it's sort of a man cave. That's where my xbox is, some TVs, etc. One day I went down there without the light on, and noticed that my kid left a stuffed animal spider on the ground. Then it moved. I turned on the light, and the thing was fast, hairy and as big as my hand. It ran behind some picture frames. I couldn't find it, but I couldn't just leave it there. So, I went over in my bare feet to scope it out...hating every second of it. But I was afraid it would get my kid or the dog.
I could see a little movement under some picture frames, so I just picked them up and started smashing them down. The damn thing came up and almost got my hand, but fell down and I crushed it...again, and again, and again.
I looked it up and I think it was some sort of mouse spider. Looked a lot like this.
(http://smashingtops.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/7.mouse-spider1.jpg)
Took a little while before I stopped looking for it's brothers and sisters down there.
Clean it out, see if you have any fresh nests popping up. My dad was cleaning my grandmothers place up the other day to help her out and found an old mouse next that was under the oven. The mice have been gone for about a year now, as we had pros come in and fix the problems.
As far as your rough in. You'll probably have to pay for pump if they didnt set you up with one already.
holy shtein farg you farg you farg you that picture just made me turn farging white.
not to mention, im pretty sure we live in the same county, thus making the chance of me meeting one of those SOBs a distinct possibiity.
Quote from: Zanshin on March 27, 2013, 04:14:40 PM
Quote from: DH on March 27, 2013, 01:45:53 PM
I hate spiders more than anything in the world. The web was in the garage, no big deal, but still gave me a serious case of the heebie jeebies...I joked w the inspector that Im pulling my offer and he told me that people have withdrawn for issues a less serious than that - not that it was "serious" at all.
Dude, I have an office in my basement...well, it's sort of a man cave. That's where my xbox is, some TVs, etc. One day I went down there without the light on, and noticed that my kid left a stuffed animal spider on the ground. Then it moved. I turned on the light, and the thing was fast, hairy and as big as my hand. It ran behind some picture frames. I couldn't find it, but I couldn't just leave it there. So, I went over in my bare feet to scope it out...hating every second of it. But I was afraid it would get my kid or the dog.
I could see a little movement under some picture frames, so I just picked them up and started smashing them down. The damn thing came up and almost got my hand, but fell down and I crushed it...again, and again, and again.
I looked it up and I think it was some sort of mouse spider. Looked a lot like this.
(http://smashingtops.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/7.mouse-spider1.jpg)
Took a little while before I stopped looking for it's brothers and sisters down there.
Send them to IGY, he can use the spiders to kill the mice.
A friend just paid a plumber a buck fifty to install a toilet only. I'd guess labor to cost you $250 to $350
Quote from: DH on March 27, 2013, 04:35:08 PM
holy shtein farg you farg you farg you that picture just made me turn farging white.
not to mention, im pretty sure we live in the same county, thus making the chance of me meeting one of those SOBs a distinct possibiity.
DH, if I had no knowledge of your posts here and met you in person, I'd be afraid to run into in a dark alley. Now? I'd still be afraid, but I'd bring a bag of spiders incase shtein went down.
Is this like Price Is Right?
Assuming you retain the services of a licensed, insured plumber...I estimate $325.
Report back after you pay up to let us know.
1. Stop quoting that farging picture! I'm like DH in that I loathe spiders. Just reading Z's story about his visitor had me nervous. farg those farging things.
2. lol at Havas' fort building mice. The story of his mouse hunting a year or so ago with the end pic of the dead critter in the trap with the spatula close by was great.
3. Igy says his old lady never goes in the kitchen. Sup with that?!
(http://ednieuw.home.xs4all.nl/australian/huntsman/Heteropoda_ZZ279_F2649.jpg)
Die!
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on March 27, 2013, 04:39:43 PM
Send them to IGY, he can use the spiders to kill the mice.
Haha....I just made the same comment about the pic Dio posted in the random musings thread.
We should post spider pics in every thread to farg with DH.
I been digging.
http://imgur.com/a/ll85a#0
Looks good. What kind of shape is the gazebo in?
Turrble. I told them to stop letting their daughter use that swing. The deck is attached to the gazebo only by face screws on the mitred butt ends of the last eight or so pieces of decking. If they pull those, they could push the gazebo over and the deck wouldn't be affected at all.
Also, thanks.
Dio. What's the best way to fix leaky windows? I'm guessing I'm getting water above the 2x4 trim i believe the seal for the lip of the window is failing. For the wood do you think I should wrap membrane above to cover the exposed wood? This section was previously covered by a deck that we removed and have no interest in putting it back on that side of the house. Its pissing me off at this point. Only have water when we get wind blown rain.(http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m267/jeepwrang1994/IMG_20130331_154940_zps6b2123ff.jpg)(http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m267/jeepwrang1994/IMG_20130331_154936_zpsbdd4ef05.jpg)
First thing I'd do is lose the T1-11.
Thats actually next up. This repair just needs to get me thru the next two months or so. We're throwing siding over top of it. It's not a bad base, and i guess the orig owner planned to just do what we're doing siding. I've only had two rainstorms since removing the deck where we had wind blown rain hitting at the right side of the house to cause an issue.
Dio would probably appreciate the way they attached the deck to the house. No need for lag bolts, they threw nails into concrete which amazing didnt hold a thing Deck was 15 feet off the ground, barely attached.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on March 31, 2013, 07:48:15 PM(http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m267/jeepwrang1994/IMG_20130331_154940_zps6b2123ff.jpg)(http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m267/jeepwrang1994/IMG_20130331_154936_zpsbdd4ef05.jpg)
Those openings are in a tough spot. It's too bad the siding ends so far above them. See the small strip of flashing over each opening? That might have worked when there was a deck there, by diverting the sheet of water rolling down the face of the siding onto the deck, but now it doesn't do dick.
The first thing I'd try would be to replace that with a much taller piece of flashing that tucks under the siding, drops all the way down onto the door/window trim and breaks over them. This will force water that runs down the face of the wall over the doorway/window trim. Of course, that will be ugly because you've got such a large distance between where the siding ends and the openings begins, so you'll have a tall-ass piece of trim coil visible, but I don't see an easier or cheaper option at the moment. Might want to glue the flashing to the wall pretty well to prevent wind from driving water behind it from the sides, or worse, blowing the whole thing off entirely.
Other things to try in addition to this: pull the trim and wrap the openings with Protecto Wrap (http://poolelumber.com/images/buildmat/PROTECTO_WRAP.jpg) or some similiar product, then reinstall and caulk the hell out of the trim with a heavy exterior caulk like OSI Quad. (http://store.modernbuilderssupply.com/images/Product/medium/911.jpg)
Longer term solution: Install a feature/detail band along the entire wall where the ledger board of the deck used to be. Use a PVC product if you don't want to ever worry about rot. Otherwise, whatever you use, prime and paint the entire piece before you install it, front and back. Also, make sure it has enough section so that when it's laid flat against the concrete, it stands proud of the siding. This will give a satisfying impression that the siding is sitting on a base, but more importantly it will serve as a solid ledge to install flashing. And speaking of, flashing is the critical part: Flash the entire run between the siding and the new band board and then flash on the bottom edge of the board above all the openings.
Another idea: Build small shed roofs over each opening.
T1-11 isn't bad stuff, IF it's installed properly. Horizontal joints between sheets must be flashed...if they aren't that's bad news.
I never thought about putting a ledger board in, but thats a great idea. Our eventual plan is to have a screened in porch off that area, getting the ledger would help both short term and long term. Thanks Dio
enjoy this photo gallery of WIN
http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/7646979/1
Wow.
Looks like he took measurements by walking it off.
That was painful to look through.
(http://i.imgur.com/lNNFUqGh.jpg)
By far, my favorite one.
Took off today to pull some weeds and plant some trees. My buddy works at Lowe's so I can get 10% off anything in the store (I get a Veteran discount as well). I went to a local produce store on Sunday and they had plants/trees/flowers etc. for half off what they were selling it at Lowe's. I bought two habiscus trees with the twisted stem for $30. They were $30 a piece at Lowe's. I'm going to get a few more today.
i ripped out a bunch of dead bushes and three trees from my front yard gardens but now i don't know what to do. i'm thinking just some simple flowers but i've never planted shtein before. i'm assuming is should get some planting topsoil to put down over the regular dirt in the garden? just plant the flowers and mulch around it?
Sun: Sort of. Planting soil is generally for indoor use. Purchase some 100% organic compost, like Leafgrow. Dig a hole twce the size of the plug you'll be planting, and mix the leaf grow half and half with the dirt you just took out. Then put the new plant into that mix in the ground. If you do this, the plant will be much happier than if you just plug a hole in the ground with the new plant. The aeration provided by the mixing combined with the rich nutrients of the compost make an excellent starting environment for new plants/trees. It's not a bad idea to fill the hole with water right before you set the plant into it, either. Make sure to keep the soil well watered. Not soggy, but do give them some water once a day if Mother Nature doesn't help out.
Also, when you dump the plant out of the pot it came in, be sure to crush the soil plug out of shape..break it up a bit so that the roots aren't all packed into that cube shape. They will find their way into the earth much easier if you rough them up a bit.
dio--i put a deck on my house and the contractor layed a bunch of lumber down in my backyard. it caused long dead spots of grass and just brown dirt patches.
i tried using Scotts seeding twice with no luck over a period of 3 weeks---still looks the same. what do you suggest?
Just move.
You mean a contractor put a deck on your house for you? Yeah.
Anyway...Did you just throw down seed and that's it? That won't work.
Here's what I would do:
buy:
seed...I don't know exactly which kind, I'd ask a landscaper friend and get whatever he says, but I know for a fact that he doesn't use fancy schmancy stuff with coatings and trademarks and all that crap.
tierra negra/Leafgro as mentioned above. something rich and organic, not loaded up with expensive chemicals. don't know how big the area is you want to repair, but you won't need a lot of this, you'll just want enough to give the entire area a dusting (see below)
aerate the the soil around the dead grass. manual aerators can be had cheap at Lowe's or Home Depot. It's just a pair of hollow 4" spikes on a stick that you drive into the ground every six inches or so. each penetration shoves the core made on the previous thrust out onto the ground so you end up with a bunch of goose turd-looking cylinders of dirt. leave them where they fall. they will dry out and crumble in time, producing a small but important layer of fluffy soil. Seeds need fluffy soil to nest in before they take and grow. The cavities left behind by these plugs also give room for grass roots to spread, and allow water to soak into the soil better. If you just put seed on a hard packed area (like one that was compacted by the weight of a deck's worth of lumber being stored) they can't get under the dirt to put down roots. [Incidentally, I never put lumber directly onto the ground. I always use dunnage strips to protect the lawn and keep the material dry. Your contractor should do the same. I'm sure he'll enjoy it when you tell him how to do his job.]
take the tierra negra and throw/spray it across the area. the idea is to spread it evenly. try not to trample the area too much after you do these things.
spread seed.
go over the area lightly with a leaf or spring rake. just enough to mix some seed into the fluffy soil you've developed on top of the grade
cover (not bury) with straw
water water water. don't flood it, you don't want rivulets of runoff carrying your seed away. you want to keep the new seed damp and cool as best as possible as it germinates. once you have new grass poking up, it will be thirsty. stay off of it. let it get tall and then set your mower as high as possible before you mow. You don't want to stress the grass so don't chop it all the way down. keep this regimen up for as long as you can.
that's what I'd do anyway. there are other methods and people who know better than me. I'm a no-chem, high labor kind of guy...willing to suffer slow improvement and even setbacks but over the long run, I get good results
Quote from: Diomedes on May 14, 2013, 02:42:16 PM
Sun: Sort of. Planting soil is generally for indoor use. Purchase some 100% organic compost, like Leafgrow. Dig a hole twce the size of the plug you'll be planting, and mix the leaf grow half and half with the dirt you just took out. Then put the new plant into that mix in the ground. If you do this, the plant will be much happier than if you just plug a hole in the ground with the new plant. The aeration provided by the mixing combined with the rich nutrients of the compost make an excellent starting environment for new plants/trees. It's not a bad idea to fill the hole with water right before you set the plant into it, either. Make sure to keep the soil well watered. Not soggy, but do give them some water once a day if Mother Nature doesn't help out.
Also, when you dump the plant out of the pot it came in, be sure to crush the soil plug out of shape..break it up a bit so that the roots aren't all packed into that cube shape. They will find their way into the earth much easier if you rough them up a bit.
This is some great knowledge and anyone thinking about planting should follow it verbatim.
Last year I pulled all the weeds by hand. This year I bought a hoe and it took me half the time and was a million times easier. Doing yard work like this is really one of the most rewarding experiences in life. I feel bad for people who hire a gardener. What a waste.
Here's what I started with:
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/945798_10201231300730994_1543396118_n.jpg)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/945771_10201231301491013_1057250719_n.jpg)
(https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/922866_10201231302451037_1099018187_n.jpg)
Here's the aftermath:
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/401946_10201231306851147_56394960_n.jpg)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/405754_10201231307171155_442174891_n.jpg)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/946918_10201231307811171_289501998_n.jpg)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/394372_10201231308611191_1020024970_n.jpg)
The habiscus will last until October/November and I'll have to replant new ones next year, but I love the way they look and 4 only cost $60.
Quote from: Diomedes on May 14, 2013, 04:49:06 PM
You mean a contractor put a deck on your house for you? Yeah.
Anyway...Did you just throw down seed and that's it? That won't work.
Here's what I would do:
buy:
seed...I don't know exactly which kind, I'd ask a landscaper friend and get whatever he says, but I know for a fact that he doesn't use fancy schmancy stuff with coatings and trademarks and all that crap.
tierra negra/Leafgro as mentioned above. something rich and organic, not loaded up with expensive chemicals. don't know how big the area is you want to repair, but you won't need a lot of this, you'll just want enough to give the entire area a dusting (see below)
aerate the the soil around the dead grass. manual aerators can be had cheap at Lowe's or Home Depot. It's just a pair of hollow 4" spikes on a stick that you drive into the ground every six inches or so. each penetration shoves the core made on the previous thrust out onto the ground so you end up with a bunch of goose turd-looking cylinders of dirt. leave them where they fall. they will dry out and crumble in time, producing a small but important layer of fluffy soil. Seeds need fluffy soil to nest in before they take and grow. The cavities left behind by these plugs also give room for grass roots to spread, and allow water to soak into the soil better. If you just put seed on a hard packed area (like one that was compacted by the weight of a deck's worth of lumber being stored) they can't get under the dirt to put down roots. [Incidentally, I never put lumber directly onto the ground. I always use dunnage strips to protect the lawn and keep the material dry. Your contractor should do the same. I'm sure he'll enjoy it when you tell him how to do his job.]
take the tierra negra and throw/spray it across the area. the idea is to spread it evenly. try not to trample the area too much after you do these things.
spread seed.
go over the area lightly with a leaf or spring rake. just enough to mix some seed into the fluffy soil you've developed on top of the grade
cover (not bury) with straw
water water water. don't flood it, you don't want rivulets of runoff carrying your seed away. you want to keep the new seed damp and cool as best as possible as it germinates. once you have new grass poking up, it will be thirsty. stay off of it. let it get tall and then set your mower as high as possible before you mow. You don't want to stress the grass so don't chop it all the way down. keep this regimen up for as long as you can.
that's what I'd do anyway. there are other methods and people who know better than me. I'm a no-chem, high labor kind of guy...willing to suffer slow improvement and even setbacks but over the long run, I get good results
thanks man
getting Central AC installed this week.
had to make a concrete pad for the unit
http://imgur.com/a/HF2uM#0
Finishing up a complete renovation of the kitchen. The ladyfriend's father did the floor, in between ingesting gallons of neat vodka. Did a lot of the minor installation stuff ourselves. Paid someone to do the rest like the yuppies we are. It's taken too long and caused too much stress but its just about done, its farging awesome and we saved shteinloads of money. Win.
Photos?
What kind of flooring did you select?
Maybe once the granite is installed this week. But probably not since I'll almost certainly forget. Hardwood throughout. I told you, we're yuppies. Of course it's farging hardwood.
you dont have to be a yuppie to get hardwood...you just have to not be an idiot
Granite however...that is both idiotic and yuppie.
What kind of wood?
Didn't he say it already? He's a yuppie. Brazilian cherry.
Not a bad choice. Better than red oak, in my opinion.
I like walnut and white oak the best for floors.
Walnut flooring? Christ that must be expensive.
Bamboo flooring is excellent because it's resistant to water, environmentally friendly, & strong & durable. It also happens to be beautiful as well. Expensive as a motherfarger, but worth it, though.
I agree with all of the aspects and benefits of bamboo flooring and it looks good when installed but i cant seem to ever want to install that flooring at home. I've been leaning towards that engineered hardwood flooring. It's high end laminate to me, but it looks good and lasts.
Quote from: Diomedes on July 28, 2013, 11:28:55 PM
Walnut flooring? Christ that must be expensive.
It's in the higher price range, yes - but not too bad. I sell a shteinload of #1 common grade to custom flooring guys. The #1C grade goes for about $2.30 a board foot compared to over $4.00 for the higher grade.
meanwhile, a nice yellow pine is what, $1.25?
Regardless of what floor Russell put down, I hope he had the foresight to install a run off drain somewhere in the floor so that when he, or his dog(s?) inevitably piss on the floor (either from being drunk, scared of thunder, or both), there's a place for it to go and less mess to clean up.
Couldn't agree more w what SD said - I have no idea why people hire landscapers to do yardwork...the reward really is an awesome thing to see. We moved in to our new house about 2 months ago, and Ive spent every weekend since pulling weeds, planting new shtein, laying seed, mulch, etc...love it.
One of the first indoor things we did was replace the old hardwoods in the bedrooms with bamboo. Very happy w the look, and it wasn't expensive at all.
Quote from: DH on July 29, 2013, 10:47:24 AM
Couldn't agree more w what SD said - I have no idea why people hire landscapers to do yardwork...the reward really is an awesome thing to see. We moved in to our new house about 2 months ago, and Ive spent every weekend since pulling weeds, planting new shtein, laying seed, mulch, etc...love it.
because it's horribly dull, time consuming, and irritating. other than that it's super fun
It's like anything else. Some people like it and some people don't. The people who like it would be fools to pay someone else to do it; the people who don't like it pay so that they can spend their limited time doing something they like.
Zanshin the wise.
wait?!?!.....people LIKE doing yard work?
when did this begin?
I don't mind it. I like pretty much any hard work, especially after it's finished.
its straight misery to me....especially weeding...there is not a more tedious task on earth than weeding a garden
I'll second the Weeding Part. I'm all for a scorched earth policy on weeds. I need more Agent Orange.
I did irrigation and landscaping for a number of years, yet I hate dealing with my own house. The place we landed in two years ago has 0 landscaping. It's probably going to start next spring, and I'm all about an easy arrangement of barberry and other year round plants. We always used river rock instead of mulch because mulching to me is the worst. Sure you break your back putting down the stone, but once its in, then you're set.
So we're finally residing the house. By we're, I'm having someone do it because we want Fiber cement siding. We have roughly 3k sq feet of area to cover, and i have a feeling this is gonna break the bank considering the first quote we got. We really like the James Hardie Fiber cement cedar mill boards, DIO you have any experience with that material or the certainteed fiber cement stuff?
I love doing yard work.
i love paying people to do my yard work while i lay on the couch watching football and then peeping out my windows during commericals to make sure they are doing a good job
:-D
Am I the only one actually DOING yard work today?
fargers.
When I lived in PA I'd go out and do it while listening to the Phils game on the radio and slam cold ones.
Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on July 30, 2013, 01:02:38 PM
... slam cold ones.
Haha, this makes you sound like a necrophiliac.
That explains why he needed such a big shovel for yard work.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on July 30, 2013, 11:26:31 AMWe really like the James Hardie Fiber cement cedar mill boards, DIO you have any experience with that material or the certainteed fiber cement stuff?
I have installed a few different versions of cement fiber siding, honestly can't recall them all. Definitely a few Hardie products, perhaps a Certainteed as well. They're just different brands of essentially the same stuff.
And it's great stuff. If I were to side a house I wouldn't consider anything else. If I couldn't afford it, I'd wait to do the job until I could afford it. It's perfectly uniform, lays flat, doesn't bow (assuming you fasten according to manufacturer spec), and it's very stable. Not a lot of movement in varying temps. I've also used similar products in sheet good for soffits and the ceiling/underside of porch roofs. It's very hard on tools. You have to have the right gear.
I'm assuming that stuff is asbestos free?
Nope, chock full of it. It's actually 80% asbestos, 18 percent cement and.....OF COURSE IT'S ASBESTOS FREE YOU fargING WEIRDO.
You initially didn't say 'Asbestos-Free Cement'. Thanks for clearing it up.
(http://i.imgur.com/DLeLG8n.gif)
Quote from: Diomedes on July 30, 2013, 05:30:23 PM
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on July 30, 2013, 11:26:31 AMWe really like the James Hardie Fiber cement cedar mill boards, DIO you have any experience with that material or the certainteed fiber cement stuff?
I have installed a few different versions of cement fiber siding, honestly can't recall them all. Definitely a few Hardie products, perhaps a Certainteed as well. They're just different brands of essentially the same stuff.
And it's great stuff. If I were to side a house I wouldn't consider anything else. If I couldn't afford it, I'd wait to do the job until I could afford it. It's perfectly uniform, lays flat, doesn't bow (assuming you fasten according to manufacturer spec), and it's very stable. Not a lot of movement in varying temps. I've also used similar products in sheet good for soffits and the ceiling/underside of porch roofs. It's very hard on tools. You have to have the right gear.
My house and garage need to be re-sided. Other than a circular saw or table saw, what gear do I really need? Or do you mean I need to use the right blades? Which blades are the most appropriate?
Quote from: Tomahawk on July 31, 2013, 08:34:52 AMWhich blades are the most appropriate?
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/19/Blade_movie.jpg)
They sell circular saw/table saw blades for cement board. Do not attempt to cut the stuff with a standard blade, you'll burn it up in two or three cuts. I would also suggest you don't use your "good" circular saw, as the dust from the hardie plank gets into everything and shortens the motor life. I keep a "trash" circular saw for demo/fiber board/masonry and another for wood only. Best tool for the stuff though are the electric shears made for the purpose. I haven't invested in them yet, but will do some time.
If you don't have a coil nailer, borrow or rent one. Can't just hand nail through the stuff...you'll have to drill pilot holes and then drive the nail unless you use a coil nailer.
Put a hammer in one hand and nails in the other and my arms become motherfarging nail guns
Pulled the trigger on the Hardie plank siding Dio Contractor is set to start this upcoming Monday. Cant wait to see the difference in T111 to Cement Board. Also doing all new trim using Azek and a 12 inch band board at the bottom of the siding to create some definition.
On a side note just to piss SD off, had Astrum Solar out today to do a survey of our roof. Looks like we're ideal candidates for solar, but I want to see #'s about how much they anticipate that we'll produce.
One thing on Solar...and I heard this from a guy working at Southern California Edison (big energy company feeding us our energy)....you may want to look into leasing the panels vs buying them outright. It may be cheaper and the technology continues to improve as the years go by.
It made sense, I think they do like 10-year leases or something...so...make sure you get a quote regarding a lease as well.
did roofing and siding for 7 plus years but never worked with cement board siding. at least not putting it up. took plenty of it down and of course beings it was asbestos it was always an adventure. boss got caught putting that stuff in a regular dumpster once.
yeah that didnt go well.
I took my asbestos shingles down at night on my first place. I only had it on one side of my house but I took it down and had it hauled away the next day. Had Hardiboard up in two days with no problem. This was probably 15 years ago, though. Now they'd call the nuclear emergency search team to find out what I did with the shtein.
smeags worked for Barone Sanitation and Tony Soprano?!
now it all makes sense
:paranoid
Like rome i took the asbestos off my house when inspectors wouldnt be around. Luckily the former owner put vinyl siding so the asbestos wasnt visable.
Funny but all that crap just kind of disappeared :=)
At some point, I'm going to want to build a deck out of the back of my 2nd floor master bedroom. Since there's already a deck on the ground floor, I don't want to use support posts for the new one. How long does the 2x? need to be to cantilever it out 6'? Or would I need to use 4x?s?
Without seeing any of this site, the following is basically worthless, but that goes without saying around here and yet I persist. FML.
If you want to hang a second story deck six feet off the face of your exterior wall, you are in for a serious project.
The way you're talking, which is a bad idea and stupid: remove enough siding around the second floor level to gain access above and below the new deck level. Remove enough sheathing for same. Assuming the joists for your second floor are running in line with your deck (not perpendicular to it), you will need to sister the same dimension lumber onto these, twelve feet (twice the cantilever---I'm not an engineer though, so def. check this) inside the house. There will likely be plumbing, electrical, and ductwork in the way. Have fun moving those. This will mean of course that you will have to remove either flooring above the second floor joists, or ceiling below them for access. I would suggest gluing the hell out of the new lumber as well as nailing/screwing it liberally. I'd also consider using an engineered material, rather than regular wood. If you do go with wood, you'll need to use pressure treated, of course. Once you've got all these joists poked into the house and secured, you can cclose everything up and start decking the cantilever. You'll need to put a hand rail on it, keep that in mind when you design. Be careful to flash everything properly around the new holes in the house made by your deck joists. It will be very important to put a shade of slope on the deck to shed water away from the house, too. If the joists do not run in line with your deck, I have no idea what to do. I'd have to see it and probably ask people who know better than me for help.
In fact, I would never build a cantilevered deck onto an existing structrure without an set of plans fully vetted by an engineer and reviewed by a builder or two with more experience than I have.
The way I'd do it:
Take the floor plan of the deck below as my upper deck plan, or at least part of it. Remove the support posts from the lower deck entirely, including their footers. If none are to be had in convenient locations, remove decking from the first level deck to install full length posts in their place, in new concrete, which run through the second story deck level and reach to at least the height that the hand rail will make, or to the level that a roof structure or pergola/false roof will be built. Remove siding at the location of the second story floor and install a ledger board to carry joists from the house to the beam that I hang off the aforementioned posts. Frame it, deck it, button up the house around the new ledger, etc.
None of this is to mention that you'll also be wanting access to the deck, which means putting a large hole in the side of the house for the door(s). This isn't a simple project either and if you don't frame it right, your house will cave in. If you don't finish it right, you'll have a pond in your living room or kitchen, or whatever is below the master bedroom.
I could go on. You're farged.
Jesus...it sounded like a good idea until I read that. I'll just stick to ripping out the drop ceiling and carpet, drywalling, and laying a hardwood floor.
Ripping out a drop ceiling is always a good, messy idea.
So I just replaced the weather stripping on an exterior door with a newer magnetic strip. Why does the door, and every entry door have some rubber piece down near the bottom rail on the open side? I cut the weather stripping just above that piece, and I can see light coming thru.
I'm not sure I understand the question. Did you trim the end of a rubber weather strip which slides onto the bottom of the door?
You can see the small rubber blocker near the bottom. I just cut the trim the same as it was before, but when the door shuts, it compresses that rubber stopper, and seems to allow air to sneak thru. Not sure if i should just remove that piece all together?
(http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m267/jeepwrang1994/IMG_20140124_140458_zpse249e375.jpg)
I'm waiting for it to warm up and I'll sand that section, and repaint it all since its got 11 years of wear showing.
I don't know what that's all about, almost looks like a piece of the original packing when the door was new that was never removed. My inclination would be to remove it and run my fancy expensive new weather strip all the way to the deck. Maybe it will come out without damaging, so if things are drastically worse without it you can put it back.
I'd add a good storm door and deal with the rotted sill (in the sunlight) too.
Door gets sun from sun up until 2pm each day, problem was the flashing which we did get fixed, so all damage is residual from before. Where that door is hopefully we'll have a screened in porch in the next 3 years so i may get away without a storm door for now.
We did end up going with the Hardie Plank, and have to say I love it. The trim work really pops with the composite being oversized. All in all well worth the money. We'll get the deck in hopefully by mid April, and we're ready to go.
(http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m267/jeepwrang1994/IMG_20140124_140517_zps445fe349.jpg)
I just ripped the thing out, and cut a smaller piece of weather stripping, seems to hold the spot well enough. I can always put it back I guess if i feel like there's too much airflow.
i'm gearing up to replace carpet with laminate in a few rooms downstairs. i want to paint the one room first but then i'm ready to go. i hear lots of people say it's easy to put laminate down but i'm nervous about some funky cut ins i would have to do like my fireplace and the stairs. i'm tempted to just get a professional installation on it.
Laminate wood flooring? It's pretty easy. You just need to get the foam underlay down, stagger your cuts on the end so you dont end up with the same seams across the floor. The cut ins arent awful, just buy an extra box figuring it may take a cut or three to get it down right. Leave a gap on the walls so you can allow for expansion, and put up quarter round to hide the small gap.
I did it twice in our old house, one suggestion, buy knee pads.
thanks SB. where did you end up buying it from? do places like Lowes or Home Depot offer the best pricing or should i look at a flooring place?
also, I was talking to a guy who said the most important thing to do is make sure to spend the extra money to get a longer lasting circular saw blade because the flooring really eats up the blade. you have the same experience?
Quote from: SunMo on January 27, 2014, 11:03:13 AM
thanks SB. where did you end up buying it from? do places like Lowes or Home Depot offer the best pricing or should i look at a flooring place?
also, I was talking to a guy who said the most important thing to do is make sure to spend the extra money to get a longer lasting circular saw blade because the flooring really eats up the blade. you have the same experience?
The first time we bought from Home Depot, i forget the brand we ended up with but it was decent. And it definitely chewed up the blade. After our hot water heater blew out and we had to redo the floor, we went to a local Floor Supply store, and they had Shaw flooring at essentially the same price as the big stores. Smaller guys will try to price match, or offer you some other deals/upgrades i've found.
That second batch of flooring though was like cutting thru concrete. We went thru two saw blades, nearly a third. But the floor was hard enough that our dog couldn't scratch the floor if he tried all day. Both times we knocked out the floor in about 6 hours. With most of your wasted time being the cuts around corners.
sweet, i'll let you know what day i'm doing it so you can plan on being there
Ha, i said after putting the second round of the flooring in that I'm just paying someone a third time instead. It's really not tough, especially if I managed to do it. We did like buying from the local flooring place though.
I've installed it too. It's one of the easiest things you can do to your home. You'll also want to buy some caulk for after you install the quarter round. Walls aren't always as flat as they appear and you may have some small gaps between the wall and your quarter round. A thin bead of caulk will fill in the gaps nicely and hide those minor imperfections.
it's not easier than going to the bar while someone else does it though
True...
Oh, and I'd highly suggest getting a nail gun. Manually hammering the brads in sucks.
Mow your grass in the summer when it's 95 degrees out -
- Or -
Watch the 2014 Phillies?
Hire someone to watch the Phils, mow the yard yourself.
I've done a few of these. You're perfectly capable of doing it, SunMo. Some good advice from these other fools.
One thing I've not heard and highly recommend: buy the installation kit. They come with useful plastic blocks for knocking pieces together and/or a long flat bar that is extremely useful. You can and should also make tools for the same purpose out of the material itself. Using a circular saw or a table saw, rip the tongue off a piece and you've got a good block for knocking the floor together.
The first course is the critical one. It might be worth spending some time laying it out. You need to figure out the actual size of the room, if it's square (walls parallel), etc. You also need to decide which way you're going to run the flooring before you start. I would not suggest putting it down in line with your line of sight from the main/most used entrance to the room. Eyes naturally follow long runs and pick up variations in grade/slope/crooked lines much easier than if the floor is run perpendicular to them.
Once you've got this stuff figured out, you have to start somewhere and that first course has to be the truth. The tricky thing about this stuff is the start: while you want that first course to stay in exactly the right place, the material wants to move around as you snap it together, at least until it develops enough friction/mass to stay put. It's the height of frustration to install a floating floor system that floats off the mark, or even apart altogether, as you are trying to put the goddamn thing together.
So one thing we've done to avoid this is, once we know where we want to start the floor, we install a temporary backer on the floor. Strike a chalk line and install 2x4s to it. Screw them to the floor, nail them without sinking the nails so you can pull it up later, whatever.
Generally, we want to put this thing at the widest point in the field, and nearer to the far side as possible, meaning that when we start to lay floor using the backstop, we can run more than half the job before we're done with that side. Once we can't go any further, we turn around and remove the backer. Our floor system has developed enough friction from it's growing mass that you won't be able to move it while finishing up the remainder.
I wouldn't do the job without a compound mitre saw, table saw, circular saw, and jigsaw and yeah a new blade(s) is part of the cost.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on January 27, 2014, 01:16:33 PM
Hire someone to watch the Phils, mow the yard yourself.
Funny stuff.
Quote from: Diomedes on January 27, 2014, 01:24:48 PM
I've done a few of these. You're perfectly capable of doing it, SunMo. Some good advice from these other fools.
One thing I've not heard and highly recommend: buy the installation kit. They come with useful plastic blocks for knocking pieces together and/or a long flat bar that is extremely useful. You can and should also make tools for the same purpose out of the material itself. Using a circular saw or a table saw, rip the tongue off a piece and you've got a good block for knocking the floor together.
The first course is the critical one. It might be worth spending some time laying it out. You need to figure out the actual size of the room, if it's square (walls parallel), etc. You also need to decide which way you're going to run the flooring before you start. I would not suggest putting it down in line with your line of sight from the main/most used entrance to the room. Eyes naturally follow long runs and pick up variations in grade/slope/crooked lines much easier than if the floor is run perpendicular to them.
Once you've got this stuff figured out, you have to start somewhere and that first course has to be the truth. The tricky thing about this stuff is the start: while you want that first course to stay in exactly the right place, the material wants to move around as you snap it together, at least until it develops enough friction/mass to stay put. It's the height of frustration to install a floating floor system that floats off the mark, or even apart altogether, as you are trying to put the goddamn thing together.
So one thing we've done to avoid this is, once we know where we want to start the floor, we install a temporary backer on the floor. Strike a chalk line and install 2x4s to it. Screw them to the floor, nail them without sinking the nails so you can pull it up later, whatever.
Generally, we want to put this thing at the widest point in the field, and nearer to the far side as possible, meaning that when we start to lay floor using the backstop, we can run more than half the job before we're done with that side. Once we can't go any further, we turn around and remove the backer. Our floor system has developed enough friction from it's growing mass that you won't be able to move it while finishing up the remainder.
I wouldn't do the job without a compound mitre saw, table saw, circular saw, and jigsaw and yeah a new blade(s) is part of the cost.
I thought with wood flooring you start at the wall but with tile you start in the center?
Quote from: Diomedes on January 27, 2014, 01:24:48 PM
I've done a few of these. You're perfectly capable of doing it, SunMo. Some good advice from these other fools.
One thing I've not heard and highly recommend: buy the installation kit. They come with useful plastic blocks for knocking pieces together and/or a long flat bar that is extremely useful. You can and should also make tools for the same purpose out of the material itself. Using a circular saw or a table saw, rip the tongue off a piece and you've got a good block for knocking the floor together.
The first course is the critical one. It might be worth spending some time laying it out. You need to figure out the actual size of the room, if it's square (walls parallel), etc. You also need to decide which way you're going to run the flooring before you start. I would not suggest putting it down in line with your line of sight from the main/most used entrance to the room. Eyes naturally follow long runs and pick up variations in grade/slope/crooked lines much easier than if the floor is run perpendicular to them.
Once you've got this stuff figured out, you have to start somewhere and that first course has to be the truth. The tricky thing about this stuff is the start: while you want that first course to stay in exactly the right place, the material wants to move around as you snap it together, at least until it develops enough friction/mass to stay put. It's the height of frustration to install a floating floor system that floats off the mark, or even apart altogether, as you are trying to put the goddamn thing together.
So one thing we've done to avoid this is, once we know where we want to start the floor, we install a temporary backer on the floor. Strike a chalk line and install 2x4s to it. Screw them to the floor, nail them without sinking the nails so you can pull it up later, whatever.
Generally, we want to put this thing at the widest point in the field, and nearer to the far side as possible, meaning that when we start to lay floor using the backstop, we can run more than half the job before we're done with that side. Once we can't go any further, we turn around and remove the backer. Our floor system has developed enough friction from it's growing mass that you won't be able to move it while finishing up the remainder.
I wouldn't do the job without a compound mitre saw, table saw, circular saw, and jigsaw and yeah a new blade(s) is part of the cost.
I thought with wood flooring you start at the wall but with tile you start in the center? I like the idea of the 2x4 stop though...work smarter; not harder
Agreed on the installation kit. It's not expensive and well worth the cost, especially if you're installing in multiple rooms.
Another thing you'll need to consider are the transition strips. Is the flooring going to meet up against carpet or tile at all? If so, then you'll need transition strips and I highly recommend installing the locking strip (this is what holds the transition strip in place) before you start installing the floor itself, otherwise your measurements will probably be about 1/2" off.
thanks for the tips everybody
Don't mix wine and beer.
Ever.
so a bit of an update on my flooring. my wife has become friends with a woman at her work and we hung out last friday and this lady's husband does home construction and once they (husband and wife) heard we wanted to do flooring they both jumped on it were all about helping us put it in. so i really lucked out there because this guy said he does it all the time.
where it gets interesting is that he's really down on laminate and is pushing either engineered hardwood or hardwood. obviously hardwood is better and lasts longer, but we don't want to be at our house more than 5-7 more years so I'm not sure I care to spend the money. I can get hardwood for around what my budget is because this guy hooked me up with builddirect.com which has great flooring prices compared to places like Lowes or Home Depot. the problem is once you start looking at hardwood it's hard to settle on laminate because suddenly laminate looks cheap compared to the hardwood.
i'm leaning toward engineered hardwood which is "a product made up of a core of hardwood, plywood or HDF and a top layer of hardwood veneer that is glued on the top surface of the core and is available in almost any hardwood species. The product thus has the natural characteristics of the selected wood species as opposed to a photographic layer. The "engineered" product has been designed to provide greater stability, particularly where moisture or heat pose problems for solid hardwood floors." The pricing on that is about 60% that of solid hardwood.
Has anybody ever installed engineered hardwood? Any thoughts or issues? Thanks.
I have it throughout my house on the first floor. I have two small kids who beat the hell out of the house. After 7 years, it still looks great, and the only person who knows it's not actual hardwood are me, realtors, and contractors. It's made by a company called Bruce, and it all came from Home Depot.
The engineered stuff can boast being rail straight, flat, and true and it's very stable (meaning it doesn't move/change shape over time).
I'm wary of this dude saying he'll help you out, and then leaning on you to do it his way. farg him. Gou wanted to do laminate, you have a budget for laminate, there's nothing wrong with laminate for what you're talking about doing, etc. Save the money, do a nice job putting down the laminate, move on.
that's my two cents
I don't know much about flooring since we don't sell that or decking...but I have flooring guys who buy their rough lumber from me and they said the engineered stuff is pretty good. The pricing estimate of 60% of the cost of the true hardwood is about right.
Especially now because hardwood lumber is getting very expensive (red oak, maple, alder are the three toughest right now).
I used to be able to sell southern red oak for $1.50ish a board foot and now it costs me over $2.00 to truck it in
Thanks guys. Dio, it wasn't like he was doing a hard sell against the laminate, he was just giving me his personal and professional opinion. He has laminate in his house and he said if he could do it again he would use engineered.
The engineered my wife and i are looking at fits well into our budget, so if I can get a better product for the cost I had estimated then I'm happy to do it.
Anyone here ever used Ipe lumber for outside projects?
I sell some of it - not a whole lot - but whatcha wanna know?
You looking for decking?
Yep. Decided against composite, too expensive and just to hot to walk on. Standard treated lumber comes in around $3.00 per sq ft. Seems the average price per sq ft is around $10.10-$10.50. I'm just curious if IPE is as good as it seems as far as upkeep, and if i'll need too stain it every few years or if it'll have significant degradation like pressure treated pine.
I don't do the decking - just the rough lumber. The guys I sell it to use it for outdoor kitchens and deck stair treads. However I believe the decking comes pre-treated. You'll also need to make sure you prime and seal the hell out of it. But as an outdoor product it is very good and looks a helluva lot better that pine (I hate pine. I always try to talk people out of pine).
All wood will degrade over time obviously, even teak. Its all about how you prep it. My boss was telling me that the ipe decking comes with a resin.
Pine is a softwood and ipe is a hardwood...if I recall correctly you're close to the water, right? So you'll have humidity to deal with. Those softwoods, even the pressure treated ones, will lend themselves more to warping and quicker warping than a hardwood.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test
The janka hardness on Ipe is 3510 compared to Southern Yellow Pine at 690.
Will the deck be covered?
Will it be exposed to water/salt water?
Like I said aesthetically the Ipe is leaps and bounds nicer than Pine.
If the deck will be uncovered and exposed to a lot of elements you'll probably want to go with pine because of the price difference. Because in 7yrs you'll likely need to replace/refurbish.
If you do decide to go SYP then see if you can get it KILN DRIED rather than air dried. Kiln drying removes a lot of moisture.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on April 28, 2014, 02:24:24 PM
Anyone here ever used Ipe lumber for outside projects?
Lots. Too much to type it out. I'll PM you my phone number.
What do you think of it, Dio?
Another hint is to try to find a lumber distributor up there and to stay away from the big box type stores. At least down here we're much cheaper than the big box places.
Built this little fence/screen (https://imgur.com/a/FBJQo#0) last week. 16 feet long, 6' tall. The posts are 2"x2" Ipe sticks trapping 5/4" x 4" cedar (STK) rails that run through all the posts. The top cap is 5/4" x 6" Ipe.
I've made a bunch of fences using Ipe. Also pergolas, decks, utility screens, mailbox stands, etc.
Here's a pool utility screen (https://imgur.com/a/AMVvT#0) we did of similar design, but using 2 2"x4"s to build the posts, rather than four 2"x2"s. Again, cedar rails and pickets, Ipe cap. And for good measure, an Ipe 4"x4" post to serve as a towel tree near the pool.
Phreak passive-aggressively trying to score Dio's digits.
Haha I heard Dio plays hard to get.
The screen looks really good. Where do you buy the ipe?
Dio's a whore. Don't listen to anyone who says otherwise.
Yeah...good point. He's burying his wood in housewives grass all over the Maryland area
We buy from local lumberyards. The one I use the most is in Millersville. American Cedar. http://www.millwork1.com/
They have a shop in Raleigh, NC and another in Lewes, DE
This place is a gold mine of flooring knowledge.
Wood you expect anything less?
Nice Phreak, It would get full exposure to sun, faces east south east, and I doubt we'd see any salt water unless a cyclone picked some up from the bay. Dio, i'll hit you up later today.
good info as i'm looking to get a deck in still and i keep going back and forth on using wood or going with hardscape.
leaning towards the hardscape cause i could install that myself whereas i'd most likely farg up the wood deck.
My house has central air, but because it's 1938 construction, the upstairs requires a separate unit. Unfortunately this unit is kaputt. What's making the in-wall unit (what I have) so much more expensive than a window unit?
Don't know for certain, but I'd guess it's got something to do with the in-wall unit being a more "permanent" fixture, where a window unit is easily removable. Does the wall unit also have a heat setting, or is it strictly for cooling? If it does both, that could also be a reason for the higher cost.
Quote from: Tomahawk on May 12, 2014, 01:12:03 PM
My house has central air, but because it's 1938 construction, the upstairs requires a separate unit. Unfortunately this unit is kaputt. What's making the in-wall unit (what I have) so much more expensive than a window unit?
Central air built in 1938, what the hell does this look like? I imagine it is nothing like the systems that are built now with the condenser outside, and the coolant & electrical lines routed to the furnace and blower (your mom).
im pretty sure wall units in general are more powerful than window units and i know they are more efficient if properly installed because they have a much better seal
is this simply a "purchase" price comparison or installation included ?
Quote from: hbionic on May 12, 2014, 02:11:27 PM
Quote from: Tomahawk on May 12, 2014, 01:12:03 PM
My house has central air, but because it's 1938 construction, the upstairs requires a separate unit. Unfortunately this unit is kaputt. What's making the in-wall unit (what I have) so much more expensive than a window unit?
Central air built in 1938, what the hell does this look like? I imagine it is nothing like the systems that are built now with the condenser outside, and the coolant & electrical lines routed to the furnace and blower (your mom).
I'm pretty sure the central air was installed long after the house was built, and it sounds like it was only installed on the 1st floor....which is pretty normal for houses that old.
Correct, Sarge.
Google said, other than the obvious installation, the biggest difference is wall units drain from the back while window units drain from the side, rendering them unusable in the wall unit hole. Considering the significant purchase price cost difference, igy is probably correct about efficiency (but not power; btu's are btu's), and the wall unit is probably quieter.
That makes sense. Wall units will definitely have a better seal since they're more permanent, which is where much of their efficiency comes from. Window units can be sealed fairly well if you're willing to shove some foam or actual insulation in the areas that need it, but that can be a pain in the ass, especially since you're talking about a 2nd story.
Just make this and be done with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxSLbpAwibg
Any home owners here? I'm in the market to buy a house. Probably in the $200,000-$250,000 range in a Philly suburb (Bensalem, Langhorne, Warminster etc.). Any first time home buying advice. I can use the VA home loan.
theres nothing much to say....its pretty straight forward...except I would say to look at lots of properties....no matter how much you love a place there almost always is a better place out there
one other thing....look into a 15 year loan....the difference in the payment isnt that much....best thing ive ever done
I'm on trulia and zillow. I know every person/home is different, but how much do sellers lesson their price? I see a house in Bensalem for $235,000 that's nice, if I offered $220,000 is that reasonable or would I be laughed at?
hard to answer because every local market is different...look and see what like houses in the same area have sold for
Who gives a farg if they laugh at your offer anyway? farg 'em. It's business.
Quote from: SD on August 02, 2014, 10:43:26 AM
I'm on trulia and zillow. I know every person/home is different, but how much do sellers lesson their price? I see a house in Bensalem for $235,000 that's nice, if I offered $220,000 is that reasonable or would I be laughed at?
Never used Trulia, but I know zillow is great, but also wildly inaccurate at times. Realtor.com also has its flaws and lacks info about the properties.
Villagerrealty.com has the most info, imo. If I find a place on zillow or Realtor.com, I'll plug the mls into villagers website and it pulls up a pretty comprehensive listing.....sqft of every room, tax info, flood zone, property history, etc. Print the listing and you're good to go.
As for your offer, that depends on how long the home has been on the market, if the owners still occupy it, and what their financial situation is. You'll probably never know their money situation, but you do know how long they've had it listed and if it's being lived in our not.
The longer is been on the market, the better for you. If it's empty, that means the owners are now likely carrying 2 mortgages and want to sell quickly. That's also good for you.
If the house you're looking at is new to the market, then your offer is more likely to get rejected. If you're close to what they're willing to accept, they may come back with a counter offer.
I think a good rule of thumb is to immediately knock at least 5k of the price and then deduct an additional 500-1000 for every month the home had been on the market over 2-3 months.
Even if they reject your bid without a counter offer, you can always make additional offers.
Some tips:
As long as you aren't in an absolute rush to buy, plan on taking a month or 2 to look. I'm in my 3rd month but I'm not in a major rush, either.
Unless you build a house to your own specs, you will likely not find a "perfect" home and will want/need to spend a little money on making changes.... like wall colors, flooring, kitchen appliances, add a deck, finish the basement, etc. I've bought 3 houses over the years and my preference is to spend about $10-15k less on the home than what my actual ceiling is so that I have a few extra bucks to put into the home and make it what I actually want.
Take lots of notes and pictures of each house. If you look at 3 or more in a day, you'll stay getting the houses mixed up. Make a list of pros and cons for each house and prioritize them. Go for a 2nd look on any house you are really interested in and take an impartial friend or relative with you who will point out flaws you either missed our didn't want to see in the 1st place.
Ask about the condition of plumbing, septic, roof, heating & cooling units.
Remember that paint and flooring are easy and cheap to modify/replace so don't let the shag carpet or wall paneling scare you off.
If you see a place that you really like, but say you want to gut a bathroom and start over, get at least 2 or 3 estimates before making an offer.
Look at foreclosures and short sales if you aren't in a rush.
Most importantly is if you see a place you really like, but don't get it because you were being diligent and another buyer swooped in, don't worry about it. There are thousands of homes on the market and the one you missed out on isn't going to be significantly better or worse than any of them.
Let me know how it goes with the VA loan. I'm not entirely sure how that process works in comparison to a traditional lender, but I'm also looking at homes right now and would like to go with the VA if they meet my needs.
Good advice there.
HBionic can probably offer up some industry insider tips too.
I'm about a 12-18mo from beginning to get serious about building one. So I've been reading up on all this stuff too. Agree with Havas on the 15yr note too...
Thanks sarge...exactly what I was looking for
Don't let your real estate agent pick your home inspector.
Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on August 02, 2014, 11:59:14 AM
Good advice there.
HBionic can probably offer up some industry insider tips too.
I'm about a 12-18mo from beginning to get serious about building one. So I've been reading up on all this stuff too. Agree with Havas on the 15yr note too...
Phreak I know you've been in the lumber business for a long time and are probably pretty handy, but I just bought a book a couple weeks ago that basically gives you step by step tips on how to do a whole bunch of shtein, including buying a piece of land and building a house on it. I'm sure you'll hire people to do a lot of the work, but figure someone like you might get a kick out of trying to do some of this shtein yourself. It's called "Back To Basics: A Complete Guide To Traditional Skills", and it gets into pretty much everything, including installing fireplaces, wood burning stoves, insulation, etc and so on. Don't know if it would actually help or not, but figured you might wanna check it out and see if it'd be worth it.
Quote from: General_Failure on August 02, 2014, 01:25:32 PM
Don't let your real estate agent pick your home inspector.
And don't think the inspector is really doing anything other than taking money. It's a shyster business populated by former contractors who couldn't hack it and the shtein they tell you about houses you are thinking about buying is mostly useless. Sure, the framing isn't perfectly code here, or this window doesn't open smoothly, etc. Whatever. They invariably miss the most egregious shtein and raise the alarm over superfluous crap.
Quote from: Munson on August 02, 2014, 01:32:26 PM
Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on August 02, 2014, 11:59:14 AM
Good advice there.
HBionic can probably offer up some industry insider tips too.
I'm about a 12-18mo from beginning to get serious about building one. So I've been reading up on all this stuff too. Agree with Havas on the 15yr note too...
Phreak I know you've been in the lumber business for a long time and are probably pretty handy, but I just bought a book a couple weeks ago that basically gives you step by step tips on how to do a whole bunch of shtein, including buying a piece of land and building a house on it. I'm sure you'll hire people to do a lot of the work, but figure someone like you might get a kick out of trying to do some of this shtein yourself. It's called "Back To Basics: A Complete Guide To Traditional Skills", and it gets into pretty much everything, including installing fireplaces, wood burning stoves, insulation, etc and so on. Don't know if it would actually help or not, but figured you might wanna check it out and see if it'd be worth it.
Thanks dude...I will be interested in doing some small projected on my own. I actually think the outdoor kitchen is the thing I will do for myself. I want one of those really bad and can picture the exact set up in my head.
I know a lot about the lumber and plywood and building stuff but my craftsmanship would never equal that of my customers. We have some really talented builders that we work with so I will let them do a lot of the work. I will save a shtein ton on material costs though! Hello rift/quartered white oak kitchen cabinets!
Quote from: Diomedes on August 02, 2014, 02:00:42 PM
Quote from: General_Failure on August 02, 2014, 01:25:32 PM
Don't let your real estate agent pick your home inspector.
And don't think the inspector is really doing anything other than taking money. It's a shyster business populated by former contractors who couldn't hack it and the shtein they tell you about houses you are thinking about buying is mostly useless. Sure, the framing isn't perfectly code here, or this window doesn't open smoothly, etc. Whatever. They invariably miss the most egregious shtein and raise the alarm over superfluous crap.
In general, I agree with this. Luckily for SD, he's going through the VA so they provide an inspector at no cost to him.
The house I had in NC was bought by another Marine and he went through the VA. VA sent an inspector out and he went through my house with a fine tooth comb. And not only does he inspect it, but he also does the appraisal. My house passed inspection and his appraisal was slightly over offer than I had accepted, but he did have a few very minor findings that he said I had to correct before he'd allow the buyers to proceed. Had to replace a piece of vinyl siding because it had a bb size hole in it, the opening at the end of the down spout from my rain gutter was kind of flat because I think I stepped on it one night when I was drunk, and apparently the pull chains on the ceiling fan in my living room were out of code because they were too short. I know there was one other thing that was just as stupid as those 3, but I can't remember what it was. Something to do with the crown molding.....I think there was a small gap between the molding and ceiling that he didn't like so I caulked it and called it a day.
After he left my realtor said that it was the most thorough home inspection she's ever seen and that any inspector used from a traditional mortgage company probably wouldn't have even noticed those things, much less made me fix them.
Either way, VA is really good about making sure that (a) they aren't lending out cash on a money pit and (b) that the veteran is getting a quality house.
Quote from: SD on August 02, 2014, 10:43:26 AM
I'm on trulia and zillow. I know every person/home is different, but how much do sellers lesson their price? I see a house in Bensalem for $235,000 that's nice, if I offered $220,000 is that reasonable or would I be laughed at?
step one - dont buy in the bensalem school district
SD... call your local MLS office. Ask them what the average Days On Market is for listings in the area.
If they're less than 30 days, you're farged. If they're 90-120 you have a shot at offering less than asking price. If it were me I would find the rattiest place in the best neighborhood and fix that shtein up myself. That's what I did (twice) for the houses I live(d) in and I made out great both times. I did the same on investment properties over the years but those (along with the profits) are long gone now.
And by the way... $235K to live in farging Bensalem?
WTF??
Quote from: Rome on August 04, 2014, 02:03:22 PM
And by the way... $235K to live in farging Bensalem?
WTF??
thats about right for a moderate house in bensalem these days. i just wouldnt have my kid in that school district if i had a chance to buy in neshaminy or pennsbury but it's a step up from bristol schools.
Why not Glenside, Jenkintown or Abington?
I'd buy this in a second...
http://www.trulia.com/property/3148756589-360-Beaver-Hollow-Rd-Jenkintown-PA-19046#photo-3
(Note the DOM @ 144 days)
Quote from: Rome on August 04, 2014, 02:17:24 PM
Why not Glenside, Jenkintown or Abington?
I'd buy this in a second...
http://www.trulia.com/property/3148756589-360-Beaver-Hollow-Rd-Jenkintown-PA-19046#photo-3
im figuring sd might be loking to stay near ne philly. for the buck its hard to beat my area when you look at home prices, schools and taxes.
I think he's looking to live in a green house personally. The greener the better. With like windmills, back yard compost heaps and rainbarrels and shtein.
Quote from: Rome on August 04, 2014, 02:33:41 PM
I think he's looking to live in a green house personally. The greener the better. With like windmills, back yard compost heaps and rainbarrels and shtein.
LOL ... my township is offering barrels and compost buckets.
win - win.
The house across the street from where I lived in Jenkintown before we moved down the shore is for sale.
http://www.trulia.com/property/3130866197-JENKINTOWN-211-Hillside-Ave-Jenkintown-PA-19046#photo-2
Come on... Chesco is the way to go.
Quote from: Rome on August 04, 2014, 02:33:41 PM
I think he's looking to live in a green house personally. The greener the better. With like windmills, back yard compost heaps and rainbarrels and shtein.
haha...we should pitch in and buy him a windmill once he closes.
So I applied for a pre approved home loan through usaa. When baby's momma and I split the bitch couldn't pay the rent so we got evicted. Now there's a $4500 debt stemming from 2010. I figured who cares but when I applied for the loan it said this debt would have to be paid in full before approval. Is there any way around paying that back or will all creditors make me pay that prior to approval?
I am pretty sure it will have to be paid in full.
My buddy, who just bought a new place a year ago, had some old ass $500 medical bill on there he didn't know about. It slipped through the cracks. They dinged him for it and made him pay before moving forward with the approval process. He had 20% down and a 700+ score.
You could offer to come to a settlement. I'd contact a lawyer, dude.
Quote from: Rome on August 04, 2014, 02:17:24 PM
Why not Glenside, Jenkintown or Abington?
I'd buy this in a second...
http://www.trulia.com/property/3148756589-360-Beaver-Hollow-Rd-Jenkintown-PA-19046#photo-3
(Note the DOM @ 144 days)
C'mon. You just like it because of the address.
All Night Deli on Easton RD alone made that area worth living in back in the day. One of the first places you could go to with a broad selection of good quality and import beers. Staggering in at midnight to pick up a 6 pack of German beer and Landjägers was a coup for living in PA. farg beer distributors and state store bullshtein.
Couple places I looked at are nice and priced well but have above ground pools. Both places have been on the market for 6 months to a year. Do they drop the property value that much? I like the idea of having the pool despite the maintenance, I will get good use out of it and my daughter loves to swim.
Above ground pools don't really impact the value of a home, imo, because they aren't permanent. But an in ground pool will add some value, but it will also scare off buyers who aren't interested in the cost of up keep or the work itself.
I'd inspect the hell out of it just the same though, because if it has any leaks, filtration, or pump issues, it could be costly. How big/old is the pool? Above ground pools are crazy cheap now and you can get a decent size pool for like $800. My personal preference is to stay away from properties with them. If I ever decide I want one, I can get it brand new and on the cheap.
A pool is a significant liability and will bloat your insurance bill. If you have a pool, you also have a fence, and that also needs maintenance.
Yup, that too. Pools must be made "inaccessible" so that stupid neighbor kids don't trespass on your property and drown.
a recent job we did.
Ipe decking & hand rails. Azek risers and skirt. STK Cedar rails (5/4). Treated tuning fork posts (stained). We jacked up the addition to replace failing framing and pier, also insulated the floor of the addition (not pictured).
http://imgur.com/a/5mrJb#0
Nice work. What does a job like that cost after material and labor?
I'm not the money man. Off the top of my head, about $7,500.
This one is expensive because of the design -- tuning fork posts complicated things considerably, adding time -- and the matierals -- Ipe is not cheap, or easy to work with-- and also because of the size...small footprint means every piece is a special cut/there is no "field" that goes down quickly. We did not work from a plan, rather the design happened as we went, with changes after starting that complicated execution, but the client wanted input as we went and was willing to pay for it. We did all the work, from demo to framing to masonry to carpentry to landscaping. Two weeks start to finish, two men.
Looks great man. Should have had her do an upgrade or refinish on the porch door though, that'd make it pop.
You should have also installed trellises to prevent otters or other such vermin from getting under the porch
nice steps man
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on November 02, 2014, 06:25:20 PMLooks great man. Should have had her do an upgrade or refinish on the porch door though, that'd make it pop.
I'm not the salesman.
Quote from: Tomahawk on November 02, 2014, 07:32:15 PM
You should have also installed trellises to prevent otters or other such vermin from getting under the porch
It was discussed and judged too busy. Besides, the crawl space behind the porch is closed off entirely. But yes, they could have an orgy under the steps.
Here's a garden shed we built this summer. 8' x 12'. Rough sawn poplar framing, cedar board and batten siding. We did everything but the roof, electrical, and trenching for utilities.
nice shed man (http://imgur.com/a/cijh0#0)
that is really nice
too many cooks
http://imgur.com/a/cijh0#16
Good job...I like that a lot
Old mailbox at my house was a joke (http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg103/Sun_Mo/IMG_13761.jpg) (http://s246.photobucket.com/user/Sun_Mo/media/IMG_13761.jpg.html)
So I bought a new one and made my own stainless steel post.
(http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg103/Sun_Mo/IMG_13811.jpg) (http://s246.photobucket.com/user/Sun_Mo/media/IMG_13811.jpg.html)
Big improvement. Nice touch with the stainless...got that from work? Did you fill it with concrete? I'd consider setting another post just ahead of it, and a foot taller, so kids can't get a good swing at the actual mailbox from a car.
kids these days are too busy playing video games to go mailbox bashing
Quote from: Diomedes on November 10, 2014, 05:51:00 PM
Big improvement. Nice touch with the stainless...got that from work? Did you fill it with concrete? I'd consider setting another post just ahead of it, and a foot taller, so kids can't get a good swing at the actual mailbox from a car.
Yeah, i used a piece of 2" stainless drop we had. I didn't fill it with concrete because it has a cap on it for the mailbox to bolt to. i did put shear studs on the bottom and poured two bags of quickcrete in the hole which is 13" deep. that farger isn't going anywhere
Challenge accepted.
haaa.
yeah i had to put in a mailbox thanks to my dog otis' love for mail carriers. he doesnt quite understand that the big mail bag is not a pull toy. i put it in real quick so it bascially looks like sunny's before pic. think it's about time i put the thing in right before the ground freezes.
Dio has a videogame
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfJ7LQn8kp8
if you have never removed and disposed of vinyl siding hung over asbestos siding you have not lived.
Quote from: SunMo on November 11, 2014, 08:48:09 AM
Quote from: Diomedes on November 10, 2014, 05:51:00 PM
Big improvement. Nice touch with the stainless...got that from work? Did you fill it with concrete? I'd consider setting another post just ahead of it, and a foot taller, so kids can't get a good swing at the actual mailbox from a car.
Yeah, i used a piece of 2" stainless drop we had. I didn't fill it with concrete because it has a cap on it for the mailbox to bolt to. i did put shear studs on the bottom and poured two bags of quickcrete in the hole which is 13" deep. that farger isn't going anywhere
13" isn't deep enough. You should go at least two feet to get to the frost line. If the ground gets saturated and then freezes this winter it could push it up or sideways.
I figured it was a typo and he meant 31", which still isn't frost but it's close, and honestly...we haven't had a frost below a foot or so in I don't know how long.
I'm sure this isn't the first or last time sunny didn't go deep enough.
Zing!!
So his neighbor's going to do it right while Sunny's at work? That's nice of him.
Quote from: smeags on November 13, 2014, 09:52:42 AM
if you have never removed and disposed of vinyl siding hung over asbestos siding you have not lived.
:-D
Quote from: smeags on November 13, 2014, 09:52:42 AM
if you have never removed and disposed of vinyl siding hung over asbestos siding you have not lived.
What did you do with the asbestos shingles?
...what everybody else does...paint over them.
My kitchen is pretty small and terrible. I would like to address this by removing the load bearing wall/arch that's between the cabinets and fridge. If necessary, I'm okay with having an exposed header or soffit, but for the continuity of the base cabinets which will be on both sides of the room, I need the vertical support beams to be flush in the perimeter walls. Is this easily possible?
http://imgur.com/a/bczAm#7
Where the hell has Dio been? This is up his alley
Looks like red oak cabinets. Did you have them done of were they in when you bought it?
They've been here since at least the 60s I'm guessing and must go...the sides of the wall cabinets are cracking, and ideally I'll be able to put cabinets on the other wall so they'll all need to be the same. Let me know if for some reason you want these red oak cabinets, and I'll send you a video of me burning them.
lol no thanks I'm not really a red oak fan. The only oak I like is rift or quarter sawn white oak.
What kind are you going to put in?
Value or best available deal will be prioritized factors over material type, but because of my prepubescent mindset, I think cherry would win any tie-breakers.
Cherry is excellent.
If you'd like to go for cherry look but not cherry price tag look into clear alder.
Putting up a 12x24 shed in the spring. this should go well.
Still trying to buy a house. My credit score is good but I got some good news last night. Any of yous good with credit reports? I have a question.
I'm pretty well versed...what's up?
Check your pms and thanks for any help you can give me
10-4 buddy PM sent
Put an offer in on a townhouse. The couple only owned the place for a year then got relocated to Houston. They started doing some remodeling but never got around to finishing. The place is nice as it is but I'd like to finish what they started.
Any experience with using Rustoleum to refinish kitchen cabinets and ceramic tubs? Looks easy enough to do, just time consuming. They put dark blue granite tops in the kitchen and retiled the downstairs bathroom. I'd like to paint the kitchen and stain the cabinets white. I'm going to paint he downstairs bathroom, put a more modern sink in, paint the tub, and I'd like to tile the wall behind the tub.
So I offered the asking price for this townhouse, and was asking for 4.5% sellers assist. My offer was for $5k more than the next highest offer. The seller wants another $6k on top of that because she put hard wood floors in. I told her to eat it. My realtor represents us both and even told me she's out of her mind if she thinks anyone's going to beat my offer. Place has been on the market for over 90 days and has a bunch of shtein that's half remodeled like the kitchen and bathrooms. She put awesome hard wood floors in but only in the upstairs. The roof is also double tiled and is 20 years old meaning that's going to have to be addressed within the next few years. Moving on.
You never know if she'll just say eff it a few days later. But being that its a dual agent is a tough position for a realtor especially if the seller isn't reasonable.
Anyone here own a rental property?
My g/f has a good chunk of money saved up and lives in the trendy part of Wilmington, which has a lot of old buildings that have since been turned into condos and apartments. One apartment has been on the market for 5 or 6 months at roughly $55K (too much, only a 1 bed, 1 bath place), and suddenly two days ago it got labeled a short sale and the price is down to $20K.
The HOA fees (which I believe are tax deductible if you rent the place out) are only $480 a month and, according to the listing, cover everything but cable/internet.
Obviously you wanna go check the place out in person, but based on the outside details, I'm trying to think of a good reason why this isn't a good investment opportunity for her...outside of the PITA parts of being a landlord, I suppose. That area of the city is largely young professionals in their mid-late 20's who live there before moving out to the suburbs, so I guess the likelyhood of finding a great tenant that lives there longer than a couple years is low.
Quote from: Munson on January 20, 2015, 10:25:37 AM
Anyone here own a rental property?
My g/f has a good chunk of money saved up and lives in the trendy part of Wilmington, which has a lot of old buildings that have since been turned into condos and apartments. One apartment has been on the market for 5 or 6 months at roughly $55K (too much, only a 1 bed, 1 bath place), and suddenly two days ago it got labeled a short sale and the price is down to $20K.
The HOA fees (which I believe are tax deductible if you rent the place out) are only $480 a month and, according to the listing, cover everything but cable/internet.
Obviously you wanna go check the place out in person, but based on the outside details, I'm trying to think of a good reason why this isn't a good investment opportunity for her...outside of the PITA parts of being a landlord, I suppose. That area of the city is largely young professionals in their mid-late 20's who live there before moving out to the suburbs, so I guess the likelyhood of finding a great tenant that lives there longer than a couple years is low.
"Only?" No wonder I live in the swamp.
Quote from: Geowhizzer on January 20, 2015, 11:57:59 AM
Quote from: Munson on January 20, 2015, 10:25:37 AM
Anyone here own a rental property?
My g/f has a good chunk of money saved up and lives in the trendy part of Wilmington, which has a lot of old buildings that have since been turned into condos and apartments. One apartment has been on the market for 5 or 6 months at roughly $55K (too much, only a 1 bed, 1 bath place), and suddenly two days ago it got labeled a short sale and the price is down to $20K.
The HOA fees (which I believe are tax deductible if you rent the place out) are only $480 a month and, according to the listing, cover everything but cable/internet.
Obviously you wanna go check the place out in person, but based on the outside details, I'm trying to think of a good reason why this isn't a good investment opportunity for her...outside of the PITA parts of being a landlord, I suppose. That area of the city is largely young professionals in their mid-late 20's who live there before moving out to the suburbs, so I guess the likelyhood of finding a great tenant that lives there longer than a couple years is low.
"Only?" No wonder I live in the swamp.
Haha not bad at all from what I've seen from most of the apartment buildings and old Victorian houses converted to separate condos around the city. And everything is included in it...heat, hot water, electricity, water, sewer, trash, plus all the other things that come with living in an apartment building like maintenance and what not. Property taxes on it are super low, so if you're in a position to buy it outright, which my g/f is, you could theoretically be living in a small apartment in the trendy part of the city (as trendy as Wilmignton can get, I suppose) for ~$520 a month plus a cable/internet bill.
But, she already lives real cheap there now thanks to a college roommate who bought a house there, so really it would be an investment property to rent out to someone else. Most 1 bedroom places in the area are in $800-$900 with the utilities included, so slap a $880 price tag on it, and you're talking about an extra $4800 a year in pre-tax income plus being able to deduct the HOA fees on taxes.
The downside are all the things about being a landlord that suck and that I know very little about...legal papers, fees, etc. I don't know who would be responsible for repairs and such since it's in an apartment building, I assume more superficial stuff would be on the unit owner while more serious problems with things like pipes and whatnot would be on the building maintenance to fix.
Siunds like there's a special assessment that's been tacked on, Munson.
$480/month for a $50K unit is ridiculous.
Yeah I really have no idea about much of that stuff TBH, I was just comparing the fees to some of the other apartments and condos in the same vicinity and they all seem to be in that range. For example, a couple of other 1 bedroom apartments for sale in the area in different buildings have HOA fees of $486, $408, $441 (that's for a studio), and almost double those numbers for some 2 bedroom places for sale in the same buildings.
I honestly have no clue how shortsales work when you're dealing with a house converted to condos/apartments. I know the shortsale process is a pita and if she's paying cash it makes it much easier to deal with the bank. Then again at that price you're looking at a lot of other trolley real estate moguls trying to expand their empire of Mikes Apartment fantasies.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on January 20, 2015, 02:26:25 PM
I honestly have no clue how shortsales work when you're dealing with a house converted to condos/apartments. I know the shortsale process is a pita and if she's paying cash it makes it much easier to deal with the bank. Then again at that price you're looking at a lot of other trolley real estate moguls trying to expand their empire of Mikes Apartment fantasies.
Yeah that's the best selling point for her, is she straight up has 20K saved and could spend it if she wanted to.
It's not something that's been looked at seriously yet, just something we were throwing around when I saw the price dropped that low. She knows even less than me about any of this stuff, so it's the blind leading the blind in that respect.
But yeah I figure the place won't last long at all at that price and someone will swoop in and add it to their repertoire of rental properties in trolley.
(https://ssl.cdn-redfin.com/photo/93/bigphoto/077/6298077_0.jpg)
It's in this building, so I'm not sure if it's always been apartments or if it had previously been used as something else. It was built in 1933 so not nearly as old as some of the other buildings around it, but almost looks too industrial to be initially used as apartments.
She's better off throwing that 20k at oil stocks I'd say.
She should spend it on speedballs and hookers
:-D
Quote from: Tomahawk on January 20, 2015, 08:27:17 PM
She should spend it on speedballs and hookers
How do you think she got the money?
Exactly...I'm the one who wastes it on that stuff.
Diverter spout in our only full bath not working so well...very stiff, not sending enough water to shower head.
Buy cheapo replacement.
Replace.
Cheapo replacement is cheapo crap. Only improvement: stopper pulls smoothly, doesn't get stuck. Still doesn't send all the water to the shower head. Perhaps it sends a smidge more than the old one.
Good enough for now I guess. Wish I had nice fixtures, but not into putting them in a zesty bath. Wait until I redo the bathroom, or farg it, leave zesty hardware for whoever I sell to eventually.
Ah well.
You have checked the valves? Do you have a single knob shower faucet? You might already know that you can take the knob off and adjust the pressure. There are hot and cold adjustment set screws behind your knob on most rigs. Left for more right for less. If that doesn't do it then you have overall water pressure problems. They can get clogged up also if you have old plumbing.
Yeah, single knob mixing valve. Pressure in the house is not great. Old galvanized pipes from main. The tub diverter just wasn't stopping well, and I'm sure if I bought a nicer one than this shtein, $17 one, it would stop and I'd get better flow through the shower head.
I did not know that you can adjust pressure. I did know that you can adjust hot water.
I'm done and cleaned up for now. There was some improvement, and so that's it for now.
Make settlement on a townhouse March 31st. Got the place for a great deal, about $40-50k less than comps in the area. Most of the important stuff is fairly new, heater, ac unit, roof...less than 5 years old. Water heater is 3 years past shelf life so I'm going to need to replace that soon. The work I have to do is cosmetic, townhouse is 35 years old and the kitchen and bathrooms are still original. Downstairs carpets and stairs were just redone. Living room was painted. It's a 3 bedroom...they need new carpets and to be painted.
I have about $10-15k to do cosmetic work to the house. Fridge is fairly new, but the oven and dishwasher are original. Cabinets and counters are original too. I'm replacing the oven and dishwasher which will run about $1300 for the models I want.
I have some estimates but I wanted some other opinions:
The place is over 1700 square feet. The kitchen is somewhat small but there's a large open area right next to it. There aren't many cabinets. I want to replace all the cabinets, put granite counter tops, and do a back splash on the wall. I'm estimating the entire kitchen will cost $3-4k.
Bathrooms I'd like to buy new sinks, tile the floors, paint, and maybe tile the bath tub. My buddy is doing most of the work for me and is cutting me a deal.
The siding is blue but it's seen better days, it's vinyl so I'm having it painted, the shutters replaced, and putting new a screen door on.
What kind of cabinets do you want?
Make settlement today at noon. Tomorrow I'm ripping up the old carpets and replacing them and painting the place. Starting Monday while I'm at work my buddy is starting on the kitchen restoration.
Anyone paint aluminum siding? Looks like there's brick under the siding and the two adjoining neighbors have brick, but my buddy is a mason and said there's no way to tell if it goes all the way up and aluminum bends so he can't remove a single piece to see how far up it goes.
It's aluminum siding. Bang it with a hammer in a spot that's not visible. You can hear the difference between frame and brick behind it. Rip that shtein off anyway. It's hideous.
If you're paying I'll rip that shtein off today
Couldn't you just use a small masonry drillbit and drill thru the siding. Pick a few key spots, if you hit brick, there's your answer. If you want to repair the small hole in the siding, just pick up JB Weld and dab a small amount over the hole and use a spackle to cover the hole. JB lasts for a long time, its easy to sand down. And if you need to paint the siding then you'll have them cover it up with paint anyway.
That's why I throw shtein like this on cf...I'll give that a try. Just had my walk through...place looks good and I still can't believe the price I got
Quote from: SD on April 10, 2015, 09:46:36 AM
If you're paying I'll rip that shtein off today
there should be info on the house in the settlement paperwork that tells you what type of construction it is.
just rip it off and take it to the scrap yard.
brick >>>>> aluminum siding.
There isn't we checked and the previous owners are clueless
that stinks. single house ?
Townhouse 3 bedroom 2 baths 1800 square feet
My new house is gutted completely. Not one toilet, sink, refrigerator, cabinets, carpet in the place. The place is all original meaning it's 35 years old and nothing has been updated.
Kitchen is getting remodeled: Bought all new cabinets, installing porcelain onyx noce tile, granite counter tops, and backsplash. Once that's all done I'll go about buying appliances.
Downstairs bathroom: Bought a sink listed at $199 at Home Depot last night for $150. It was their last one and was an open box (it's in perfect condition). Bathroom is small so it's just getting new floor tiles, sink and painting.
Upstairs bathroom: Took it down to the studs. Replacing all the dry wall, bought a new tub and toilet. Using Folkstone sandy beach tile to redo the bathroom. Need to buy 2 bathroom vanities because there's a sink in the master bedroom too.
Going with a neutral carpet.
Paint I'm still in the process of deciding. The common areas are going to be a brown with an off brown to accent the colors. Daughter wants her room to be pink, so she's getting pink. Master bedroom think I'm going to do a light blue and a dark blue. Spare bedroom might do the same.
Family room is being turned into a bar. I'm painting one wall Kelly Green, one wall Sixers Blue, one wall Phillies Red, and one wall Flyers Orange. I have a ton of autographed items and framed pictures to put up on each wall. Nice bar (62 inches wide) I'm purchasing from American Signature furniture for $350.
The rooms had these awful fluorecent lights that hung over the door. Ripped them down, put recess lighting throughout the entire house. Putting ceiling fans in mine and my daughters room.
Total price materials and labor is running me around $14k.
What kind of cabinets?
Take some pix, bro.
Really. I'd like to see the progress.
Agreed - me too
Quote from: SD on April 10, 2015, 04:19:15 PM
Townhouse 3 bedroom 2 baths 1800 square feet
nice. philly or burbs ?
did you find out about the brick ?
Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on April 15, 2015, 01:11:21 PM
What kind of cabinets?
http://m.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-36x34-5x24-in-Hampton-Sink-Base-Cabinet-in-Cognac-KSB36-COG/100586516/
Same color... It's an average sized kitchen so I only had to spend about $1800 on cabinets
Quote from: Rome on April 15, 2015, 01:19:10 PM
Take some pix, bro.
Really. I'd like to see the progress.
Will do. My buddy does work during the day while I'm at work and I help him as soon as I'm off from work. We're looking at two weeks to finish everything.
I'll tackle the outside once I'm through with the inside. Bought a 3 bedroom townhouse in neshaminy valley (Bensalem). My daughter is in the Neshaminy school district so schools aren't a big deal.
nice area. right down the road. good luck man. be looking for updates.
Quote from: SD on April 15, 2015, 03:11:03 PM
Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on April 15, 2015, 01:11:21 PM
What kind of cabinets?
http://m.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-36x34-5x24-in-Hampton-Sink-Base-Cabinet-in-Cognac-KSB36-COG/100586516/
Same color... It's an average sized kitchen so I only had to spend about $1800 on cabinets
Good looking color...I like it and also prefer the raised panel door look versus flat panel and others
Home Depot is a disorganized mess
Call ahead and tell them exactly what you want. They'll get it and have it waiting for you at the contractor's entrance.
Quote from: Rome on April 15, 2015, 06:45:43 PM
Call ahead and tell them exactly what you want. They'll get it and have it waiting for you at the contractor's entrance.
Sure...then they only have half the stuff at one store and half at another...then the cabinets I ordered are scratched and they don't have anymore...so I have to head back to the other store. My buddy is s contractor. He knows his shtein, he asks them a question and they sit there dumbfounded. They should all carry inventory wands so they know what's in stock. Everything we needed was of course on a top shelf and it takes a half hour to get someone to get it down.
Spent over $3k last night on materials. Get 10% off for being a Veteran, then I opened up a Home Depot card. 0% financing for two years on your first order.
I've never had a problem with them on projects I've worked on. My buddy was the GM of the Daytona store for years, and when I did my replacement windows, I simply got all the sizes I needed, called ahead (gave them a day's notice) and when I went there the next morning, they were there ready to load. I get what you're saying, though. Big box stores are absolutely horrendous because the help they have is untrained, underpaid and couldn't give less of a shtein if you're satisfied with what they've sold you.
Worst part I forgot to mention was last night the guy assured me my buddy's name would be on the pick up list. He goes there today and it's not on the list. So I had to go sign for it after work costing a half day of getting the house done.
Oh my god, a whole half a day and it's all their fault.
Says the guy buying the cheapest shtein he can find from a faceless corporate giant, and counting on that to work out great.
Get a grip dude.
Oh I'm sorry master contractor why don't you enlighten me.
I have to finance because I don't have endless amounts of money. Unfortunately not all material supply centers offer 0% financing for two years.
Quit crying.
farg off
Quote from: Diomedes on April 15, 2015, 09:59:09 PM
Quit crying.
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSNRMWIGuiqusLgquYUbPmOHrtvjAW-OUcQ6H9t5uWfdjlowgg3_sQww7n1)
Quote from: Diomedes on April 15, 2015, 09:36:06 PM
Oh my god, a whole half a day and it's all their fault.
Says the guy buying the cheapest shtein he can find from a faceless corporate giant, and counting on that to work out great.
Get a grip dude.
this is one of the funniest posts ive read in a long time
It's funny coming from a whiney-anti-social wannabe know it all who thinks he's smarter than everyone. Really this is about the Akers jersey. Dio's good at dishing it out, not so much at taking it.
And I forgot to add hypocrite, starts a thread about women being batshtein crazy but takes every opportunity to say I hate women.
lol
Have you tried not hating women?
Quote from: General_Failure on April 16, 2015, 10:56:34 AM
Have you tried not hating women?
I'm sure everyone has TRIED that. Realistically, it's only possible in various spurts of time. Though that's true of people in general.
Spurts
Sharts.
Quote from: General_Failure on April 16, 2015, 10:56:34 AM
Have you tried not hating women?
Most of you know it's an act - I find it funny - so I feed into it. Dio legitimately thinks I wear a wife beater and smack women around.
do you at least wear one while you're remoding your new place with the cheapest shtein you can find from a faceless giant corporate store ?
No but from now on I'm going to purchase all of my materials from mom and pop stores so we can stop listening to Dio bitch.
all kidding aside, are you looking to keep this place or flip it in a couple years ?
Keep it for 5-10 years
should work out well. did you have to get permits for the inside work ? not sure how bensalem is with that stuff.
No just U/O when I bought the place. Bensalem is tough with their inspections.
yeah falls township is no better. they were a nightmare to deal with when i put the addition on our house. clueless drones with power. back and forth to the township building because they were idiots.
may sound crazy to some, but yes, i do expect code enforcement personnel to understand how to read simple set of farging blueprints.
Only real problem I had was the electrical inspection, there was a double tap. My buddy came out and fixed it and they passed me. VA had an issue with some pealing paint, and because the home was built in 76' it could contain lead. So I spent a weekend sanding and painting and it passed.
my inspections actually went very smooth, it was getting the permit approved that was the issue.
sounds like you're gonna be ready for the 1st eagles away game ? house warming party ? :evil
sure...but sorry to disappoint, there's no rape basement.
i'm out then. :paranoid
Missing out. They made an appearance on pe.com last season.
Few questions:
I live in Bucks County. My BCSWA bill was usually in the $30 range and my Aqua bill was usually about the same. This month both bills were double. I kept hearing water running through pipes but didn't think anything of it until I saw the bill. I live in a townhouse so I honestly just thought it was my neighbors pipes. The sound was coming from the downstairs toilet. I have water efficient toilets that are brand new. I took the lid off and messed around with the components and the running water sound has stopped. I'm hoping that's all it is. Anyone have experience with something like that?
My water heater is 3 years past shelf life. I only need a 50 gallon tank and they run in the $300 range. Fair enough. I started researching installation and the prices are insane. So I was thinking of doing it myself. Anyone ever replace one and how hard was it?
I'd hire a plumber to do it because it's beyond my limited abilities. I can do a lot around the house but if I have plumbing and electrical issues, I get friends in on the job. It's good to have tradesmen as friends, that's for damn sure.
Agreed - I can do most things but plumbing and electrical are things I won't fool with.
As for the water bill thing - that's weird. Where would the extra water that's running be draining off at?
Gas fired or electric water heater? If the latter, you could do it yourself safely. You'll need a friend to move the old one out and the new one in, and you'll likely take a few trips to home depot to get the right fittings because you're not a farging plumber and you don't have them all in your truck, but you could do the job. If it's gas fired, call a plumber. Not worth the risk of doing it yourself.
Also, stop being so cheap you dumb motherfarger. It's not good for you.
And stop wasting water too.
my water heater is about done as well. looking into the tankless setups.
Quote from: SD on September 03, 2015, 09:22:45 PM
I took the lid off and messed around with the components and the running water sound has stopped. I'm hoping that's all it is. Anyone have experience with something like that?
Yep. You might have some built up scale in the shut-off valve, or the surrounding works. You might be able to work it out a little, but eventually you'll need to replace the tank innards. Replacement parts are pretty cheap, and it's an easy (but messy PITA) job to change it out. Do you have a cut-off valve for the water supply? And do you have a flexible (braided) hose running from the water line to the toilet?
Quote from: smeags on September 04, 2015, 08:46:39 AM
my water heater is about done as well. looking into the tankless setups.
My house flooded last week, so I've just replaced my water heater too.
We couldn't go tankless without upgrading the gas service to larger pipe, which would mean replacing the meter as well. The price to do that, on top of the more expensive tech, made our decision simple.
i preemptively replaced my hot water heater a few weeks ago. it was electric and i had a builder friend help me put it in and i got my brother in law who works in plumbing supply to buy the hot water heater at a contractor price which was nice.
the installation went really easy
Quote from: Diomedes on September 04, 2015, 08:37:00 AM
Gas fired or electric water heater? If the latter, you could do it yourself safely. You'll need a friend to move the old one out and the new one in, and you'll likely take a few trips to home depot to get the right fittings because you're not a farging plumber and you don't have them all in your truck, but you could do the job. If it's gas fired, call a plumber. Not worth the risk of doing it yourself.
Also, stop being so cheap you dumb motherfarger. It's not good for you.
And stop wasting water too.
This... Hooking up an Electric hot water heater is easy, but Dio is 100% right about moving the summabitch. I slapped a pump on mine, and drained it down for what seemed like an eternity. But getting it moved onto the dolly was an effort in itself since the moron's before us had a non functional water treatment system. There had to have been 2 feet of buildup in the thing. So in retrospect, just pay someone and save yourself the hassle.
Quote from: smeags on September 04, 2015, 08:46:39 AM
my water heater is about done as well. looking into the tankless setups.
Smeags, everyone who I've talked to about Tankless setups says the same thing, don't waste your money. They're prone to issues with the coils, and need constant upkeep.
We opted for a GE Hybrid Geospring years ago. Haven't had any issues with it(*knocks on wood), and it has the Energy Estimated costs for a year at $198 per year. Our's is a first gen, and they now offer the same model in larger sizes ie 80gallon. For a household of 2, the 50gallon hybrid works fine. If you have more in the house I'd opt for an 80 gallon.
Pricewise, you'll spend less than tankless, the hookup is the same as a regular electric HWH with the exception of needing a condensation line run to a drain. Maintenance is just cleaning an air filter every few months, and I try to flush it once a year to remove any settling.
yeah ive seen mixed reviews on the tankless so far. not sure I want to go that direction. would def give me some more room in the utility closet but that's low on the list of reasons to go that way.
thanks for the tip on the hybrid, gonna check it out.
either way I go I have "a guy" that will install it, joe the plumber.
i've heard that the tankless water heaters require regular maintenance...whereas you really don't have to do anything with the regular ones. i'm lazy so i just had a plumber replace my leaking gas water heater last month.
(http://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=OIP.M9d6c6e13d3e47d4823647f2f527a6b3bH0&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0)
Quote from: Susquehanna Birder on September 04, 2015, 09:01:06 AM
Quote from: SD on September 03, 2015, 09:22:45 PM
I took the lid off and messed around with the components and the running water sound has stopped. I'm hoping that's all it is. Anyone have experience with something like that?
Yep. You might have some built up scale in the shut-off valve, or the surrounding works. You might be able to work it out a little, but eventually you'll need to replace the tank innards. Replacement parts are pretty cheap, and it's an easy (but messy PITA) job to change it out. Do you have a cut-off valve for the water supply? And do you have a flexible (braided) hose running from the water line to the toilet?
Toilet is only two months old. The insides look fine. I think one of the pieces was getting stuck. I'm going to do the water shut off check this weekend to make sure there's not a leak elsewhere but last night I covered all water outlets. The toilet is made by Glacier Bay. There's a few youtube videos that show how to fix what was happening. Pretty sure I addressed the problem but we'll see once the new bill comes in.
The guy who helped me renovate my house has an uncle who's a plumber, he's going to help me with my water heater. It's electric. I have to throw him $50-100 (depending on his mood) but it's definitely worth it.
so it seems that this water heater workshop helped you SD.
great teamwork work guys ! :yay :yay
Last water bill was $92. I turned the water off to the toilet and broke down the component parts in the back. Everything seems to be working right and all the seals are good. I put it back together and check every now and then but I can still hear water running from the wall pipe to the back of the toilet. It's not as bad as it was before and maybe I'm just being overly observant. Calling the water company Monday to see if my usage is down. Last billing cycle finished on the 9th. For now the waters off until my buddy's uncle can get here to check it out.
Love yard sales. I'm big on refurbing old furniture. Been looking for a night stand for my daughters room. My block is having a yard sale. I see a brand new night stand in my neighbors yard for $20. You can tell it's never been used and the instructions were still in the drawer. New it's easily a $100 piece. So it's getting sanded down and painted to match the rest of her room tonight.
I am just getting into the furniture refurb deal. grabbed a sweet cherry wood living room table set. the two end tables are real nice and don't really need anything. the coffee table needs the top to be sanded down and re-stained. still. it's a high end set that I got for $40.
ill have room to do this kind of stuff much better when I get finished the shed ... and after I finish remodeling my lil guy's bedroom.
Have a strip along the fence in my backyard I've been neglecting that is now tall brush and weeds. Went out there around noon with the intention of pulling them but they're deeply rooted and after 20 minutes I barely made a dent. My tendinitis flared up too so that method wasn't going to work. My buddy recommended weed killer so I bought some roundup. Anyone have experience with killing weeds? I sprayed a liberal amount on the area but peops on the Internet seem to believe the best way to use it is to spray once then wait a day and spray again.
Depends on the type you bought, but in general you wont see them dying off until a week later. Roundup is decent, especially this time of year. If you have an area that you want to eliminate anything from growing get the Ortho GroundClear (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ortho-32-oz-Ground-Clear-Vegetation-Killer-Concentrate-0430810/203686839) It kills everything, says it works for a year, but its closer to 8 months.
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on October 13, 2015, 10:23:24 AM
Depends on the type you bought, but in general you wont see them dying off until a week later. Roundup is decent, especially this time of year. If you have an area that you want to eliminate anything from growing get the Ortho GroundClear (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ortho-32-oz-Ground-Clear-Vegetation-Killer-Concentrate-0430810/203686839) It kills everything, says it works for a year, but its closer to 8 months.
My buddy at work just recommended that stuff too, I'm going to do a second application today, if that doesn't work I'll give that stuff a try.
This is what I use on my driveway. (https://www.google.com/shopping/product/2741898229839281257?client=ms-android-att-us&biw=360&bih=559&q=weed+killer&prmd=sivn&ved=0CNAFEPMCMBRqFQoTCOTo9vriv8gCFYl3Hgodn7cNPw&ei=kyQdVqTTJonveZ_vtvgD) You'll need a backpack sprayer if you don't already have one, but this stuff is legit. It will kill every-farging-thing. A little goes a long way, too. I use a 3/1 water/concentrate mix. They say this stuff doesn't do much to prevent regrowth, but I sprayed my driveway in the late spring and I still haven't got any regrowth. As long as it keeps shtein from growing back for like 6 months, that's really all I need. Ain't no weeds growing in the winter.
The name brand shtein is weak....takes a week to kill weeds. The stuff I used this year had everything dead in about 48 hours.
KillZAll... Sounds like it was designed by the germans
Weeds are deader than tupac
You farging idiots are poisoning the world so your precious driveways dosn't have weeds, or more to the point, so you don't have actually, you know, maintain your property with your own labor.
Drink that shtein and die.
Not gonna lie been waiting for this ^^^^
you didn't disappoint
You do, regularly. Feed that shtein to your kid, too.
I'll get right on that just let me finish beating her mom first
Quote from: Diomedes on October 13, 2015, 06:04:16 PM
You farging idiots are poisoning the world so your precious driveways dosn't have weeds, or more to the point, so you don't have actually, you know, maintain your property with your own labor.
I do it so I can see my driveway.
QuoteDrink that shtein and die.
My driveway runs right next to my well, so you may get your wish.
I like angry Dio rants
I generally hate the stuff, glyphosphate is turrible, and yet all of our store bought food is treated with it. I picked the stuff up originally to kill off the hay that was growing in the yard. No amount of cutting worked, digging them out didn't do a thing, they came back each time.
Also in the Glyphosphate discussion, I've been trying to work with the state of maryland and various agencies to see what options I would have to remove Phragmites from our property. The state's main and only recommendation is spraying "Rodeo or Aquaneat" which are glyphosphate based sprays which would have to be applied from a helicopter. Needless to say, we're not doing that because the amount needed to spray would dwarf anything you could buy in the store.
What do you guys do with extra paint? I had a bunch in my shed from when we painted the interior. Wound up just dumping most of it down the sewer drain near my house.
Dude. No.
Just check your local township website. They should have a recycle program for it.
Edit - nevermind. I didn't read the previous posts.
What we need to know is what happened to the neighbors confederate flag??
Quote from: SD on October 15, 2015, 07:12:02 PM
What do you guys do with extra paint?
I put the lid back on it and put the can(s) in my basement.
so, dumping old asbestos siding in the creek isn't being eco friendly ?
No, you've got to shred it first.
Quote from: General_Failure on October 16, 2015, 01:15:26 PM
No, you've got to shred it first.
no worries - I made sure to break it up in little pieces to be sure the fibers were released.
I am LMFAO over here! God damn I love you guys!
I haven't used my heat much (electric) but it's been dropping to 30's at night so I run it here and there. When it's not actually running but on it sometimes makes a rattling sound. Any ideas what this could be?
Electric Baseboard?
Quote from: SD on November 22, 2015, 08:01:30 PM
When it's not actually running but on it sometimes makes a rattling sound. Any ideas what this could be?
the ghost of leonard tose
It's Jeff Lurie and the rattles you hear are Morse code for put a windmill on your roof.
Hey those windmills were working hard yesterday. That's the first time I've seen them turning.
Game so bad even the windmills were turning their backs on it.
They resembled the run defense yesterday.
ok handy guys, question for you - we built a shed in the yard, Jr had a bright idea of saving a couple bucks and used OSB for the flooring - needless to say :boom
my question is, can I just go over the OSB with plywood or do I need to rip up the existing floor 1st ?
The floor got wet, and is now disintegrating?
How is the shed constructed? Are the walls of the shed built on the OSB? That is, tearing it out would mean you still leave a soggy piece of OSB trapped under the wall plates? Or does the OSB lay inside the walls?
Yes the walls are over the floor. Only got a little wet in one spot and the water issue can be fixed by diverting to roof runoff with gutters. Just feels flimsy overall and I'm worried about down the road from dampness under the shed that I doubt can be avoided altogether.
There's a clunking/rattling sound coming from my heater. The heater is on but it only makes the sound when the heat is not blowing. My heater is electric. Last night the electricity in my neighborhood went out for about an hour. The heater still made that noise. Any guesses to what it is?
Okay smeags, that doesn't sound terrible. Sure, overlay the existing floor. I'd suggest glue and screw rather than just nails. Shed floor isn't in contact with the ground at all, right?
Quote from: Diomedes on December 29, 2015, 04:55:41 PM
Okay smeags, that doesn't sound terrible. Sure, overlay the existing floor. I'd suggest glue and screw rather than just nails. Shed floor isn't in contact with the ground at all, right?
Yeah I used screws pretty much throughout besides hanging the t111 panels. I'll def grab some glue for the floor.
I made a poor man's foundation, just made a square of pavers two high, put blocks in to sit the floor frame on and then backfilled with mod stone. Still need to devert the water from the roof cause it goes in the stone and collects. I have a a couple water barrels I picked up from the township so I'll send the runoff there to use for the pond.
Quote from: SD on December 29, 2015, 04:37:42 PM
There's a clunking/rattling sound coming from my heater. The heater is on but it only makes the sound when the heat is not blowing. My heater is electric. Last night the electricity in my neighborhood went out for about an hour. The heater still made that noise. Any guesses to what it is?
(https://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/halloween-ghosts.jpg)
well, got the electrical ran in the shed/man cave. getting the insulation put in next week and then after that the drywall and flooring.
My bedroom is huge, at the end is a personal sink apart from the main bathroom. The sink is the original from the 70's. Entire house has been upgraded with the exception of that sink, so I bought this to mount this weekend
http://www.houzz.com/photos/8371654/Modern-Contemporary-Bathroom-Vanity-WALL-MOUNT-Espresso-42-contemporary-bathroom-vanities-and-sink-consoles
So the guy delivers it on a pallet, wheels it through my lawn spreading mud across the pavement. He just drops it and has me sign something. Altogether this weighs 200+ lbs (it comes with a mirror). So I cut all the plastic off and ask the dude to help me bring it in the house, he says they're only supposed to drop it off at the door. That's fine. So I said well let me take this stuff off and give you your pallet back. He says just to throw it out in the trash. That's fine too. So after i sign his slip he stands there for a second like he expected a tip. farg you buddy.
Just out of curiosity, why did you buy a vanity that is wall mounted, instead of just getting on that sits flush on the floor? Looks nice though.
Also, farg that guy. Should have handed him a broom and a hose to clear all the mud off the pavement.
The sink there now is a mount, I really like that style, but couldn't find one that sits flush. It's 42 inches so they're not in abundance so I had to make due with what I could find.
Makes sense if the existing one is mounted. Can you use the existing mounting brackets? That'd be pretty sweet if you can.
That's the plan
The sink description says 42 inches. The older sink measures a few centimeters short. When I bought it I figured on shaving some wall down or at worst replacing some dry wall. I measured it when it got here and it actually measures perfect.
So it's getting time for a new roof. I'm not sure how much it'll cost, and I'm afraid that I won't be able to afford it. Maybe if I just ignore it, it'll get better...right? :sly
I replaced mine a year after I moved in. Did it myself so didn't deal with the real costs. Know how many sq the roof is ? Assuming its shingle, the pitch ? No matter what its gonna be pricey.
I'm not sure what the area is. It's a typical two story colonial type of house. Way too big for my average DIY abilities. I've almost been hoping that a piece of space debris falls through it so that I can apply my homeowners to the job.
Those March winds can tear up a roof. Just saying :paranoid
If you're looking to save a little $$ you could always go with a metal roof. Not only is the material itself cheaper, but so is the install because you don't have to remove the existing shingles....just throw it right on top and screw down. It'll last just as long, if not longer than shingles.
They come in a bunch of colors now so you can get something besides the basic metal look, which is hideous to look at. A lot of old Victorians around my way have them and most of them have a color that matches the trim/shutters. Looks good when done right, imo.
They def look nice but are they noisey in the rain and hail ?
They can be if you don't have an attic or even a half decent crawl space up top. If you live in a trailer then yes.
I currently have a metal roof and I never hear it. Come to think of it, my patio has metal roof and there isn't any kind of crawl space above it and it's not very loud when it rains either.
I've seen a metal style that looks a lot like standard shingles, and I think it's considerably cheaper. I'm wondering if I would be able to walk on it should I ever have to climb onto the roof.
Quote from: Susquehanna Birder on February 23, 2016, 10:16:00 AM
I've seen a metal style that looks a lot like standard shingles, and I think it's considerably cheaper. I'm wondering if I would be able to walk on it should I ever have to climb onto the roof.
Yes, but you'll need a pair of these.
(http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/images/g/54wAAOSwv0tVOvxr/s-l225.jpg)
Those things suck, but work.
My roof is due soon as well (nearly 20 years old at this point). I think that when I do get it replaced, it will have to be by the newest hurricane codes. May as well just get a lighter for my money.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/lS1XSGltYjIHu/giphy.gif)
That's another issue for me. Mine is maybe 23 years old, and it was built before the local code required a ridge vent. And the I suspect that the underlying roof wood isn't what it used to me...so it'll be more work than just throwing on a new layer.
I could be (and probably am) wrong, but if you went with metal, would you be required to bring everything else up to code since you're just adding a layer? I don't think you need a permit or anything to have roof work done, unless you're modifying the house itself.
I feel bad for the roofs of the world. Year after year of soldier duty and when they finally give up the ghost, everyone things the cost to replace them is throwing money away.
I don't think anybody's talking about throwing money away. I'm going to get it done...and I know it'll be money well spent...but I'm also going to lament a little about shouldering the expense.
It's necessary, just not a sexy big purchase. You spend a lot of money, but don't have anything "new" to really show for it. it's not a waste, but there's no fun to show for the spend.
Quote from: Diomedes on February 23, 2016, 08:00:21 PM
I feel bad for the roofs of the world. Year after year of soldier duty and when they finally give up the ghost, everyone things the cost to replace them is throwing money away.
Thankfully, roofs have a voice to stand up for them now. :yay
Quote from: Zanshin on February 24, 2016, 09:02:22 AM
It's necessary, just not a sexy big purchase. You spend a lot of money, but don't have anything "new" to really show for it. it's not a waste, but there's no fun to show for the spend.
And it goes a little something like this...
Finish off the basement and turn it into a nice man cave for $15k - spend more money to throw a party to show it off.
Install a pool and build a nice deck/patio around it for $25k - spend more money to throw a party to show it off.
Replace the roof for $10k - we're only buying generic foods, no eating out, no more movies, vacation cancelled, kids can't play little league this year, and we have to get rid of the dog.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on February 24, 2016, 11:19:04 AM
Quote from: Zanshin on February 24, 2016, 09:02:22 AM
It's necessary, just not a sexy big purchase. You spend a lot of money, but don't have anything "new" to really show for it. it's not a waste, but there's no fun to show for the spend.
And it goes a little something like this...
Finish off the basement and turn it into a nice man cave for $15k - spend more money to throw a party to show it off.
Install a pool and build a nice deck/patio around it for $25k - spend more money to throw a party to show it off.
Replace the roof for $10k - we're only buying generic foods, no eating out, no more movies, vacation cancelled, kids can't play little league this year, and we have to get rid of the dog.
Couldn't be stated better.
I'm definitely going with a metal roof when the time comes. Love the look, noise wise it's a soothing sound whenever I've been in one in a storm.
SD, I'm guessing you bought from Overstock or some online service that used a freight delivery company. I always tip those guys up front and they'll take it wherever you want, but if they damage walls or anything they're not liable. Those types of delivery companies typically have "Liftgate" service which if its above a certain weight, they have to charge you for the delivery just to move it from the truck to the ground.
It was through Houzz, delivery was free.
Quotedelivery was free.
You get what you pay for?
Quote from: Diomedes on February 25, 2016, 08:19:20 AM
Quotedelivery was free.
You get what you pay for?
So does the delivery guy (no tip)
I did a property review last week where they had permitted a dock/boathouse with a cost of $138,000.
For. A. Dock.
What.
It's not cheap to work on water.
Quote from: Diomedes on February 25, 2016, 09:10:21 AM
It's not cheap to work on water.
Price doubles the second the contractor see's h20.
Not sure how FL is with permitting, but MD is a nightmare. You have to go thru the Army Corp of Engineers for a survey, 750 bucks. A large majority of new docks are not permitted is my understanding. Toyed with the idea of putting one in but the access point from my yard would put the dock at over 450yards over non-tidal wetlands. The property can be accessed from another road which there appeared to have been plans to run a dock as i found power/cable/telephone wires setup in conduit out onto the edge of the marsh. That option would be an L-shape dock to go around the neighbor's property, and would still be something like 250 yards when its all said and done.
The price to do all that would make me sick so I'll just keep rooting for sea level rise.
When I bought my house the home inspector said my roof was roughly 6-8 years old and in good shape. Noticed a stain on my bedroom roof, went to the attic and saw where there's soft wood. It's not a big section so it probably just needs a patch. Anyone ever deal with patching a roof and what'd cost you?
When was the house built? Is the roof original? What kind of roof do you have? Ashpalt shingle? (How many layers?) What pitch is the roof? Is the leak in a valley? How extensive is the rot? Last quote I got from a roofer listed labor rate $90 per hour. Your cost will vary widely depending how the answers to all these questions (and others).
House was built in 1976
Not the original roof
Yes Asphalt Shingle
One layer
No idea what the pitch is
The leak is coming from a plank which is between two studs...is that considered the valley?
The rot isn't bad, a little soft. I'd estimate 3-4 feet.
When you say you don't know what the pitch of the roof is, do you mean that you don't know the exact pitch, or don't know what that even means? In case it's the latter, it's how steep the roof is.
(http://novagutters.com/roof%20pitch%20info.JPG)
The valley is the seam where 2 different pitches meet. If you have a T shaped house for example, they valley would be where the 2 roofs meet.
Also, the rise and pitch of roof determines what type of material you can use. But since you're talking about patching a roof, it's more like a band-aid on a bigger problem. It may buy you a year or so more, but look to replace the roof in the near future.
Also, patching may not solve the problem because a leak may start somewhere on a complete different part of the roof, than where you see the leak from inside.
Good luck, also, make sure your roof, if you use shingles, has the proper wind-rating for your area. Otherwise, you're just throwing away money.
chuggie is dead on. Sarge with the knowledge.
You're in for some expense, but you signed up for that when you bought the house, so no womanish bitching.
Given the house is 40 years old, and asphalt shingles, it's likely that you've got more than one layer.
To fix this properly, roofers need to find the leak, which may not be apparent before removing roofing. More than one layer means mo' money from you, because there's more to take off, more possible places the water could be travelling from, more to put back, etc. Once the source of leak is found, all roofing around it, and around rotted wood, must be removed to allow you to replace the rotted sheathing/framing. Once that is replaced, roof can be pieced back in. This is all kind of dicky work, chasing a leak, piecing shtein back together, etc. Time consuming, and if it works fixes only the problem which has presented itself, without addressing any other problems that are as yet unseen. It's a decent bet there are other issues elsewhere too. Or will be, sooner than later.
I would strongly advise that you consider complete replacement, so that the money you sink into this isn't just torn off in three or four years when it's finally time to do the whole roof.
P.S. that stain in the ceiling may never go away. Get out your drywall tools, sucka. Ain't home ownership grand?
My buddy and I were installing my sink yesterday, he does home repairs. Gave me the number to a guy he uses who's really good and most importantly honest. I'll wait to see what he says before I do anything. We both looked at the area with a spotlight, it doesn't look like a big area and I'm 50% sure we identified where the leak was stemming from.
Momma dukes said she had the same problem, it was caused by excessive wind. She said if it can be deemed the damage was caused by excessive wind - which we've definitely had lately - to just put it through my homeowners. The estimated cost I saw online to repair this was anywhere from $500-$1500.
Quote from: Diomedes on March 12, 2016, 08:44:08 AM
P.S. that stain in the ceiling may never go away. Get out your drywall tools, sucka. Ain't home ownership grand?
First thing I'll do once the roof is fixed.
I had settlement/stress cracks that formed in the back of my house. I have a Florida room on the back that connects to the main living area and it appears that some settling had occurred. I got an estimate from a company that does foundation remediation and after I got done laughing at their ridiculous extortion request, I decided to say farg it and let the bitch fall into the ocean instead of doing anything with it. Insurance won't cover the repairs either. I asked my mortgage bloodsuckers if they were interested in fronting me the money to fix it since it's ultimately their investment after I eventually leave them holding the bag, and they said, thanks but no thanks.
Fine by me. I just sealed the cracks, sanded them down and painted the whole shebang back there. Out of sight, out of mind.
Quote from: SD on March 12, 2016, 08:47:50 AM
My buddy and I were installing my sink yesterday, he does home repairs. Gave me the number to a guy he uses who's really good and most importantly honest. I'll wait to see what he says before I do anything. We both looked at the area with a spotlight, it doesn't look like a big area and I'm 50% sure we identified where the leak was stemming from.
Momma dukes said she had the same problem, it was caused by excessive wind. She said if it can be deemed the damage was caused by excessive wind - which we've definitely had lately - to just put it through my homeowners. The estimated cost I saw online to repair this was anywhere from $500-$1500.
Im going to put your chances of getting insurance to cover you somewhere between 0 and 0.1%. Unless some of your neighbors are also putting in claims for wind damage, I think you'll be sol on this one.
Last Sept, mom had to replace part of her roof. It was a single story addition tha was built onto the front of her farmhouse before she bought it. So what used to be the original stone exterior wall on the front of her house, is now an interior wal inside this addition.
Anyway, last Sept the ceiling practically caved in...it dropped about 8-10 in the midde, where the ceiling meets the original stone wall. Emergency repair guy came out to throw some braces up to prevent further collapse. He reported to the insurance company that he believed that the was simply the result of years of winter snow and ice slowly pulling it away from the house. We had an exceptionally humid week when it gave and he thought that was probably the straw that broke the camel's back. Insurance company sent out an adjustor, who then called in an engineer who determined that the roof was not properly secured to the house.
Well of course it wasn't...not by today's standards. That addition has probably been on there 40 years. It was there when she bought the house. So, no insurance money for ma dukes. They were nice enough to tell her that if snow were actually on the roof at the time, she'd be covered. How's that for a farg you? So she had to drop $20k basically have the addition rebuilt. Lovely.
So yeah, don't hold your breath on those fargers being quick to write you a check for repairs.
Just talked to homeowners, they're covering it. I just have pay my deductible of $500.
Quote from: SD on March 15, 2016, 09:18:05 AM
Just talked to homeowners, they're covering it. I just have pay my deductible of $500.
I figured youd be covered. Valleys are tough and can bring headaches down the road. Especially if valley metal wasn't put in which may not have been the case.
Wow...good for you. Who do you insure with? Might have to have my mom look into them after her fiasco.
USAA
I got an auto insurance quote from them like 10 or so years ago. It was 2x as much as the policy I had at the time. Anyway...not sure if they'd work with my mom or not. I don't bank/insure with them at all, but maybe they'll take her on if I open a savings acct or something. Navy Fed is letting your non-dependan family join now...parents, siblings, cousins, etc. Hell, they let squaw open an account and we're not even married. Maybe USAA is doing something similar.
USAA is great. Even though my mom divorced my ex-step dad like 20 years ago I retained my membership.
I have just about everything I can through them.
Several years ago they opened up certain products to non-military members so she may be eligible regardless.
So my old man went quasi solar on his house. Sounds like a good idea. Well anyway they had a roofer certify his roof.
Guy said whoever put the roof on was top notch.
So I'm top notch. :yay
Well we know damn well SD ain't going solar.
He'd rather pay more money than use what the sun gives us.
Btw - my old man didn't pay one penny out of pocket. I'll be looking into this after the Disney trip.
If sd had solar panels on his roof, he wouldn't have to worry about leaks.
I'll gladly go solar if you guys all want to pitch in
Quote from: SD on March 16, 2016, 02:55:57 PM
I'll gladly go solar if you guys all want to pitch in
and make up for going green by buying an F250 diesel and rolling coal
Quote from: SD on March 16, 2016, 02:55:57 PM
I'll gladly go solar if you guys all want to pitch in
Quote from: smeags on March 16, 2016, 01:42:14 PM
Btw - my old man didn't pay one penny out of pocket.
Next excuse please
Roofer could tell where the damage was just from the outside. He said because of the pitch and location it was obvious where the leak was coming from. Said it was definitely wind damage. To fix the roof and bedroom ceiling he said it would be a few thousand. So it's covered and I just have to pay my deductible.
He's a big Eagles fan so we talked Birds. He hates Chip Kelly.
What roofing company
Home Insured Services Inc.
Good deal.
I'm a big fan of hardwood floors. Long story short, the winter before I bought my place a pipe downstairs busted because no one was living here and they didn't dewinterize. So they had the pipe fixed and installed the cheapest carpet they could find. It looks good enough but I hate it. Been saving here and there to pay for the floors. I'm going to install them myself. But here's the deal, I can't do traditional hardwood because I'm afraid my dog will scratch them up. So I'm going with these vinyl versions which are pet friendly. Anyone have any advice or experience with these
https://bestfloorfordogs.com/pet-friendly-flooring-selection/
I'd install tile in a basement. If another pipe bursts or you get water ingress, tile will hold up much better than wood. You could get tile that looks like wood and heat it.
Agreed.
My buddy put in ceramic that looks like hickory and it's awesome
It's not my basement it's my downstairs area living room/dining room/kitchen etc. those floors I posted are vinyl and are built to withstand damage. They're $4 a square foot for a reason.
I've never installed it and wouldn't because I have yet to see a fake wood/engineered floor, of any kind, that doesn't look and feel fake.
I say, install wood and clip your dogs claws.
go to big marty's, im sure you'll find some deals there ...
seriously though, at $4 a sq, make sure you're completely sold on the vinyl.
Quote from: Diomedes on December 12, 2016, 06:49:56 AM
I've never installed it and wouldn't because I have yet to see a fake wood/engineered floor, of any kind, that doesn't look and feel fake.
I say, install wood and clip your dogs claws.
That was option B my buddy gave me, plus hardwood is a hell of a lot cheaper. The problem is the dog has a lot of energy. Even 2 mile a day walks with him doesn't always calm him down. Getting rid of him isn't an option. There's a sampler pack I can order for $12, going to order it to see what I'm dealing with before I make any investment.
did look into bamboo flooring ?
If you get bamboo, make sure it's stranded to get the hardness of oak. i say get wood and let you dog go; any potential scratches could be looked at as character.
My bitch gets geeked out for a couple of her toys, so much so she'll even fall down and shtein, but her claws don't scratch my floor.
get hardwood and buy one of these.
(http://media.petsathome.com/wcsstore/pah-cas01//300/7110174PL.jpg)
problem solved.
NSFW?
Quote from: Rome on December 16, 2016, 09:02:54 AM
NSFW?
depends, do you often masturbate with dog grooming products ?
You can jerkin' your gurkin without dog grooming products?
you and rome are off in the head.
I like that.
Can't remember what thread it was in people were talking about buying houses and advice....but who has some basic insights on the process? Interest rates are still low enough/threat of them raising is great enough to avoid ARMs at all cost, right?
What is the accepted practice for submitting an offer that doesn't piss off the seller? How much leverage do you have as a buyer if a house is newly listed? Are they going to list above their true asking price regardless?
We don't have 20% so we're looking at PMI...but Delaware has a few programs that basically give you cash for a downpayment 'for free' as long as you have good credit....catch is the bigger program that gives you more money also comes with a higher interest rate on your mortgage. but playing around with the calculators seems to point to this higher interest rate not being too big of a deal with a monthly payment difference of ~$100, give or take. Meaning it would be at least 7+ years before we'd pay more in mortgage to make up for the free cash the state is giving.
We're meeting with a realtor on Wednesday just to talk some basics and get an idea, but any advice is welcome.
Quote from: Munson on February 06, 2017, 08:41:49 PM
What is the accepted practice for submitting an offer that doesn't piss off the seller?
Who cares if you piss them off. Offer what you think is a fair price for the home, taking into consideration the cost of any repairs you may have to make. Don't factor in how much money you plan on spending on cosmetic shtein like new paint or replacing ugly shower tiles that you don't like. Your realtor should be able to give you sound advice on what you should be offering and ultimately paying for any house. It's a negotiation. Make your offer and if they don't like it, they won't accept. If your offer is in their neighborhood though, then they'll likely make a counter offer. If they don't, then that's how you know your offer was too low for them. You can always make a 2nd offer.
QuoteHow much leverage do you have as a buyer if a house is newly listed?
Practically none, but this is something that is always unique to each seller's circumstances. If they need to sell quick or if they owe far less than what you're offering, then that's good for you. But what you really want to focus on are homes that have been on the market for at least 60 days or longer if you want to try and get a better deal. That seller is starting to get impatient and will be more likely to want to just cut bait and move on. The longer the home has been on the market, the lower my initial offer would be.
QuoteAre they going to list above their true asking price regardless?
If the seller's realtor is worth a damn, yes, the list price will exceed the amount they actually want to get. How much more depends on a variety of factors that vary from seller to seller, but you can safely expect that any list price is at a minimum of $5000-10000 above what the sellers are willing to take.
QuoteWe don't have 20% so we're looking at PMI...but Delaware has a few programs that basically give you cash for a downpayment 'for free' as long as you have good credit....catch is the bigger program that gives you more money also comes with a higher interest rate on your mortgage. but playing around with the calculators seems to point to this higher interest rate not being too big of a deal with a monthly payment difference of ~$100, give or take. Meaning it would be at least 7+ years before we'd pay more in mortgage to make up for the free cash the state is giving.
I don't know jack shtein about PMI or any of these other programs that you're looking at, so maybe I'm way off base here, but $100 a month increase in mortgage is ENORMOUS. That's $1200/year that you're adding to your mortgage and if you have to carry that over 30 years then that's $36,000 extra along with the cash you're dumping into the mortgage itself.
QuoteWe're meeting with a realtor on Wednesday just to talk some basics and get an idea, but any advice is welcome.
Since you don't have 20%, do you have 15% or even 10%? Getting into a mortgage without a sizable down payment is usually no bueno. Aside from the down payment, there's also closing costs that you'll be expected to pay, which is going to probably run you in the neighborhood of $10k, depending on the sell price and what you and the seller are able to agree on. If you're lucky, you'll catch some really desperate sob that will pay the full closing cost. And then there's also inspection costs, which the buyer pays for. Depending on the types of inspections that are required, it could just be a couple hundred or it could be a grand. Farged up part here is that these costs are typically non-refundable.
Say you find a house, make an offer, and the seller accepts. Now you've got to have the place inspected and the inspector finds fault with the foundation. If you and the owner can't come to an agreement on getting it fixed and the deal falls apart, you're out whatever the inspection cost.
That said, since money is a factor here, I'd look at as many fixer-uppers as possible. Yup, you'll have to do work to them but if you're handy or if you have handy friends and family, then it can be done for a much smaller price tag than buying a home that's move-in-ready. As long as the structure, roof, electrical, plumbing, and septic are all in good order, then practically any work that needs to be done can be done for pennies on the dollar. I bet
Dio would even give you the :CF discount.
Sarge, where the farg were you twenty years ago?
Quote from: Munson on February 06, 2017, 08:41:49 PM
Can't remember what thread it was in people were talking about buying houses and advice....but who has some basic insights on the process?
Chuggie knows.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on February 06, 2017, 11:35:35 PM
Quote from: Munson on February 06, 2017, 08:41:49 PM
What is the accepted practice for submitting an offer that doesn't piss off the seller?
Who cares if you piss them off. Offer what you think is a fair price for the home, taking into consideration the cost of any repairs you may have to make. Don't factor in how much money you plan on spending on cosmetic shtein like new paint or replacing ugly shower tiles that you don't like. Your realtor should be able to give you sound advice on what you should be offering and ultimately paying for any house. It's a negotiation. Make your offer and if they don't like it, they won't accept. If your offer is in their neighborhood though, then they'll likely make a counter offer. If they don't, then that's how you know your offer was too low for them. You can always make a 2nd offer.
QuoteHow much leverage do you have as a buyer if a house is newly listed?
Practically none, but this is something that is always unique to each seller's circumstances. If they need to sell quick or if they owe far less than what you're offering, then that's good for you. But what you really want to focus on are homes that have been on the market for at least 60 days or longer if you want to try and get a better deal. That seller is starting to get impatient and will be more likely to want to just cut bait and move on. The longer the home has been on the market, the lower my initial offer would be.
QuoteAre they going to list above their true asking price regardless?
If the seller's realtor is worth a damn, yes, the list price will exceed the amount they actually want to get. How much more depends on a variety of factors that vary from seller to seller, but you can safely expect that any list price is at a minimum of $5000-10000 above what the sellers are willing to take.
QuoteWe don't have 20% so we're looking at PMI...but Delaware has a few programs that basically give you cash for a downpayment 'for free' as long as you have good credit....catch is the bigger program that gives you more money also comes with a higher interest rate on your mortgage. but playing around with the calculators seems to point to this higher interest rate not being too big of a deal with a monthly payment difference of ~$100, give or take. Meaning it would be at least 7+ years before we'd pay more in mortgage to make up for the free cash the state is giving.
I don't know jack shtein about PMI or any of these other programs that you're looking at, so maybe I'm way off base here, but $100 a month increase in mortgage is ENORMOUS. That's $1200/year that you're adding to your mortgage and if you have to carry that over 30 years then that's $36,000 extra along with the cash you're dumping into the mortgage itself.
QuoteWe're meeting with a realtor on Wednesday just to talk some basics and get an idea, but any advice is welcome.
Since you don't have 20%, do you have 15% or even 10%? Getting into a mortgage without a sizable down payment is usually no bueno. Aside from the down payment, there's also closing costs that you'll be expected to pay, which is going to probably run you in the neighborhood of $10k, depending on the sell price and what you and the seller are able to agree on. If you're lucky, you'll catch some really desperate sob that will pay the full closing cost. And then there's also inspection costs, which the buyer pays for. Depending on the types of inspections that are required, it could just be a couple hundred or it could be a grand. Farged up part here is that these costs are typically non-refundable.
Say you find a house, make an offer, and the seller accepts. Now you've got to have the place inspected and the inspector finds fault with the foundation. If you and the owner can't come to an agreement on getting it fixed and the deal falls apart, you're out whatever the inspection cost.
That said, since money is a factor here, I'd look at as many fixer-uppers as possible. Yup, you'll have to do work to them but if you're handy or if you have handy friends and family, then it can be done for a much smaller price tag than buying a home that's move-in-ready. As long as the structure, roof, electrical, plumbing, and septic are all in good order, then practically any work that needs to be done can be done for pennies on the dollar. I bet Dio would even give you the :CF discount.
Thanks sarge. The realtor we're meeting with is an acquaintance, so I trend towards trusting him, but I kind of figured realtors in general would be trying to get the highest price out of you as possible, no?
Any rule of thumb for how much lower your offer should be vs. how many days on the market? A place we really like just went on the market about a month ago, we could always roll the dice and wait a little bit to see if it's still out there in another 30 days...
As for the PMI...PMI is actually a bit more than $100, I was talking more about the higher interest rate that would come with all the 'free' cash different state programs offer. It'd be anywhere from $70-$100 more a month with the higher interest rates, but if we ended up getting 8-13K in downpayment and closing cost cash, it'd take a solid 7+ years before it started costing us money, if you kno what I mean. And you can drop PMI (as long as you get a non-FHA loan) after you've paid 20% of whatever the house is worth, which we'd also be able to reach in the 7-10 year range, which would drop the monthly payments by $130-$150ish. It's based on how much the house is worth though, so if the house's property value increases, I can reach 20% equity faster. I'm just not sure how to differentiate between actual property value increases vs. inflation.
We're searching now because of between upcoming engagement, wedding, and the possibility of children after that, we're having trouble seeing a time where we'd be able to save up 20% for a downpayment even with our dual incomes....and we're worried about interest rates spiking back up. They're already almost a full point above their historic low from a couple years ago, kind of nervous where they go from here with Trump signaling that he wants the Fed to increase their rates. Maybe we can just wait for him to crash the economy and sink home prices again...heh.
Thanks for the insight on closing costs, that was something I wasn't seeing a lot of good info on. Luckily most of the places around here are super affordable, and we're gonna be able to get a good, decent sized place for under $250K. One place we're eyeing up now is asking for $234K, for example. So I imagine the closing costs will be a bit lower from what I've been able to read. As you say that's something we'd have to talk to the realtor about what the seller is willing to cover.
I am a little confused on the order of operations though...the first step is seeing the house and deciding to make an offer...if the seller accepts the offer, THEN we get the inspections done and all of that?
Make it subject to a successful appraisal. Make sure any monies offered as a down payment or hold are fully refundable if the appraisal or home inspections don't work out.
And remember that when all is said and done the realtor is working for the seller unless you're paying for their services.
PS: Make sure you call the tax assessor or property appraiser to get an estimate of taxes based on the sale price. Most people neglect that step and taxes can be a killer if you're not prepared for them especially in states with exemptions or abatements in place.
Good point with the taxes, Rome. I've had a few friends who bought homes in the past where the previous owner was only paying, say $1500/year in taxes. But that's because they had been living there for 30 years and were paying based on really old assessment values. But once they purchased, the assessment value doubled or tripled and so did the taxes. I don't know the exact details or specifics on how all that stuff works, I just know that they got blindsided by some hefty tax increases.
One thing you might want to try and avoid is buying a home that your realtor has a listing on because there's confidentiality issues that will prevent a realtor from giving you their true opinion of the home. A realtor's 1st loyalty is to the sellers that they hold listings to. In the past, when I've gone through homes with a realtor, there's been a drastic difference in how they walk through the home with me based on whether or not the realtor holds the listing.
On homes that my realtor was not listing, she was helping identify any and all flaws with the home and telling me everything she knew about it...both good and bad...and advised us on what kind of offer we should submit if we were interested. On her own listings, she can't do as much of that, especially when it comes to telling us what kind of offer we should make if interested.
JMO here, but if you're looking in the $200-250k range for a home but don't have the 20% to put down, you should most definitely be looking at homes in the $150k range. I've browsed a few homes in the Wilmington area (that's where you are, right?) and in that price range I saw quite a few homes that wouldn't require very much money/work to update them.
Luckily the taxes around here don't change on ownership, assessment for prop taxes is done by the county and the last time they did it was in the 80's, so property taxes around here are crazy low.
We are looking in the north wilmington suburbs area, with some certain spots in the city as well. Problem with the city is they get double taxed, a school district tax and a city property tax, so it makes it a little less affordable that way.
Anyone have any expieriecne with 203k loans on their mortgage? I've heard they're a real pain in the ass but we're in a position where we can get a HUD property that is more or less perfectly livable now, but one we'd wanna do some relatively major updates to (like adding a 2nd bathroom). The good news is because of the HUD Good Neighbor program, we could get the place for, at maximum, 71K (50% off the listed price for teachers, bitches)...so we're talking about insanely low monthly payments. So we'd have the money to pay for a lot of stuff ourselves. But we'd still probably go with a 10K 203K add on to the mortgage so we can do the 2nd bathroom more or less right away. But apparently the delays in payments to contractors and stuff can cause problems?
That's all Greek as farg to me. Sounds like a Chuggie question.
From what I know, you'll have to work harder to find a contractor because small guys like me can't wait to get paid, don't have the time or staff or interest to deal with paperwork, etc. Also..10k is a dirt cheap new bathroom in an existing house. If you can get one for that, and it's not shtein work&materials, then you did well.
Quote from: Diomedes on February 26, 2017, 04:34:48 PM
From what I know, you'll have to work harder to find a contractor because small guys like me can't wait to get paid, don't have the time or staff or interest to deal with paperwork, etc. Also..10k is a dirt cheap new bathroom in an existing house. If you can get one for that, and it's not shtein work&materials, then you did well.
That seemed to be the general number I was getting from some family members/friends who have had work done or do that type of work as their job. Good news is we know enough people that do that type of work that hopefully we won't get screwed by some stranger heh. It would be converting existing space into a bathroom rather than building an addition, so maybe that's why? IDK enough about this stuff.
Agreed that $10k is way on the low end of the spectrum for a bathroom remodel.
With the way prices are now for materials at least a quarter of that 10 would go for stuff that I sell and that's just plywood, lumber and Mouldings. And that's for doing a current bathroom remodel not turning a new space into a bathroom.
Converting space into a bathroom *should* be significantly more costly than just remodeling an existing bathroom since it requires tapping into your existing plumbing and adding a new line. Maybe your friends and family misunderstood and were just quoting you for a remodel?
If you have friends like me, who know what their doing and will help you for a day here and there gratis, and you've got the time to do a lot of the work yourself, you're in great shape.
If you're paying guys like me for everything, ten grand is a very low number. I'm $500 per day labor cost. Electricians and plumbers, double that.
$60 and hour? You undervalue yourself, Dio.
I don't even get that, it's what I'm billed out at. I'm billing $35 as a sub.
We put a bid in at lower than asking price and got beat out. Were put on a 'waiting list' in case other bids ahead of us fall out....the search continues.
Anyone wanna tell me what all this means? Good news or bad news? Different house, and judging by the name the of the "Client", the realtor ordered this themselves...
(http://i67.tinypic.com/2njj3o0.jpg)
Never trust the realtor's guy.
I learned how to swap out a breaker box yesterday. I bought all the hardware myself (panel box, breakers, etc) and had a buddy of mine walk me thru the process. He's a GC and licensed electrician and he owed me a favor and offered to hook me up. I paid about $225 for the hardware and paid him $25/hr to walk me thru the process. I saved a few hundred on the job and I actually learned a skill. Turned out great too. I still have to patch the drywall but other than that, it's done and I'll ever have to worry about a 50 year-old breaker box sparking a fire and burning us alive.
Next up is a new water heater.
Quote from: Munson on March 02, 2017, 07:23:06 PMAnyone wanna tell me what all this means?
House is standard wood frame on cinderblock foundation and concrete pad, no basement. Center of concrete slab has fallen/is falling "significant[ly]." One corner of the house is also sinking.
Negative grade means when it rains water runs towards the structure rather than away from it. This condition is very likely the cause of both foundation/structural problems.
I don't know the implication of the line about wooded environment. My guess would be to establish the idea that the ground ain't really going anywhere on its own because it's all rooted up.
The problems are not so advanced that the structure is considered unsafe.
--- ---- ----
I'd be wary. If you get more serious about this one, go there in a rain storm before you buy it.
In short, it's not an issue today. Won't be an issue tomorrow or in the short term/immediate future, but 5 or 10 or 20 years from now could be a farging disaster if it's not addressed properly.
Consider the situation of the house regarding grades and elevations. Is it in a hole? Up on a hill? Why is water running toward the house? Because of some minor shtein that's been ignored and can be addressed? Or did a smart guy put a house in a lousy spot and the house is just always going to have water piling up against it?
It is not on a hill itself, across the street are homes that are right at the bottom of a decent sized hill. The backyard also dips kind of abruptly halfway through and there's a few old boulders in the back yard and trees. About 25 feet or so from the back of the house is a small stream. I actually grew up in the house on the other side of the creek so I know the creek itself doesn't flood even in the worst of rainstorms, but water is obviously running off into that creek.
It's in a pretty woodsy, hippie type community with unique homes and a very "keep nature as it is" type attitude, which probably explains the boulders in the back yard. But the piece of land itself that the house is sitting on seems relatively flat until you get to the backyard.
BAsically we loved the house and the location, but could feel the sinkage a little bit in the middle of the house and then had their realtor send us over that report.
I would run like a raped ape away from that jackpot, Munson.
what rome said.
its a slab house like mine so I assume your plumbing is in the slab. well, the slab is sinking in, you will most likely have plumbing problems, if there aren't already some that are hidden, and that means jackhammering your floor up.
my soil line from the kitchen went a few years ago. had to dig up the floor straight through the living room. if not for the help I got from my neighbor (plumber) & my brother in law (laborer), it would have broke me.
Yeah it's gonna be tough to tear ourselves away from this one, we love the location a lot. Just don't think we have the means to buy and then immediately get to spending 10-20K+ for a foundation repair.
Seeing a whole bunch of houses on Saturday and going to a couple open houses on Sunday, hopefully one of those can distract us from this one lol
Never get emotional about real estate. You're a man, Munson. Man up and walk away. You'll find something else. Never be a slave to a house payment.
either that or build an in-law sweet for dio.
Quote from: Munson on March 02, 2017, 10:42:26 PM
BAsically we loved the house and the location, but could feel the sinkage a little bit in the middle of the house and then had their realtor send us over that report.
Never fall in love with a house, you'll start over looking things like foundation issues. If you can feel sinkage there's a big problem.
How long have you been looking for? I looked for 6 months. Had about 10 I was interested in. Made an offer on 3 but was overbid. Came down to 4, chose the one with the lowest price but was a fixer upper.
lol.
Wouldn't say we're "emotional" about it, only having seen it once and all. But she's definitely into more "unique" homes than the cookie cutter development type homes, and we did both love the house itself and the outdoor area/where it is. A screened in porch on the back as well as a decent sized deck, with trees and boulders in the backyard and a small creek going by at the back of the property..having grown up playing on that creek, I know I'd love to have kids grow up there.
This one basically checked off all the marks of what we were looking for and what we could afford....but.
There's a 20x29 family room addition on the house, maybe Dio would be down for some efficiency living for a couple months.
As long as I don't have to farg your girlfriend and there's plenty of Stella, I'm IN.
Quote from: Diomedes on March 03, 2017, 12:48:02 PM
As long as I don't have to farg your girlfriend and there's plenty of Stella, I'm IN.
there ya go munson.
:-D
Anyone have any suggestions on which brand of expandable hoses is the best?
Please no filthy jokes about expandable hoses; this is serious shtein
Like one of those expandable garden hoses? Dryer hose? Panty hose?
It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again
Wtf? Is thawk building a well inside his house? Hes gonna throw his baby mama in the hole?!?
You just gave him an idea
He's gonna rent a backhoe tomorrow and start digging
Quote from: Tomahawk on April 02, 2017, 10:13:21 PM
Anyone have any suggestions on which brand of expandable hoses is the best?
Please no filthy jokes about expandable hoses; this is serious shtein
In my experience they are all more or less disposable.
Don't leave them pressured up. Don't leave them outside. In other words, don't do all the things you would normally do with a water hose.
Quote from: Sgt PSN on April 03, 2017, 12:06:35 AM
Wtf? Is thawk building a well inside his house? Hes gonna throw his baby mama in the hole?!?
That woman will never be welcome in my home. Besides that, even a 390F wouldn't be large enough to dig a hole big enough for her fat ass.
Quote from: Diomedes on April 03, 2017, 06:43:04 AM
Quote from: Tomahawk on April 02, 2017, 10:13:21 PM
Anyone have any suggestions on which brand of expandable hoses is the best?
Please no filthy jokes about expandable hoses; this is serious shtein
In my experience they are all more or less disposable.
Don't leave them pressured up. Don't leave them outside. In other words, don't do all the things you would normally do with a water hose.
So essentially, buy the cheapest one and plan on replacing it every year or so?
(http://s7d2.scene7.com/is/image/Caterpillar/C10607608?$cc-g$)
If it's garden hose, those As Seen On Tv shrinking/expanding hoses are poorly made...as is pretty much anything that is sold on tv. My mom bought a couple a few years ago. They work exactly as intended but aren't built to last. Cheap plastic valves and connectors break easily. Maybe there's some better made ones out there that will cost a more premium price, but stay away from the cheap ones. You might get 1 spring/summer use out of it.
Do like Dio said.....don't leave pressure in them. Don't get them tangled/kinked up. Unhook and store inside during the winter if possible. Even an inexpensive hose should last you several years. Longer if you take good care of them.
Anyone have experience with replacing old cast iron pipes?
My grandmother's house in Phoenixville (built in 1950s) needs the cast iron pipes from her bathroom to the sewage system replaced. What kind of cost am I looking at here?
Anyone know a good plumber in the area up there?
The material cost isn't significant. It's the labor that's gonna hurt. Don't know rates up there but in Annapolis/Baltimore area a legit plumber, licensed, insured, etc. starts at around $100 per hour.
So I'm guessing probably about $6-10k?
You going with a copper re-pipe or pex tubing?
Probably the PEX
Gonna have three people bid it just to make sure they're all within the same ballpark
No f'n clue what the cost will be without looking at the situation. Depends how easily they can access everything/how much stuff has to be opened up and removed, (and then replaced,) etc. You'll need more than just a plumber. They don't do drywall or trim carpentry.
Sounds like a job for "Home Depot guy"...one of the many standing outside in the parking who can do everything.
The drywall and trim can be done by my uncles and cousin, thankfully.
I assuming $10k so if it's less then it feels like a win
That's a pretty good attitude/price point. Decent chance you'll be pleasantly surprised, but realistic that it could be a pile of money.
Quote from: hbionic on April 10, 2017, 07:03:52 PM
Sounds like a job for "Home Depot guy"...one of the many standing outside in the parking who can do everything.
Depends if they're still out there - I've noticed a diminishing crowd since a certain president was elected
landscaped my front yard yesterday. Ripped out the weeds and shoveled all the mulch. Tired of mulch so I threw down some landscaping fabric and threw some Greyish/white marble rocks. Edging is gray rock so it matches well. Spent around $200 on some plants and a water fountain. Looks a million times better.
What, no paving? Flatearther like you, surprised you didn't just dump a few bags of cold patch over the entire thing. Maybe do that next after the plants are killed off by the heat sink you've just made. The expensive gravel will stand in for a cr6 base nicely.
Instead of roundup, I apply used motor oil and coolant to kill foilage #nohippo
Quote from: Diomedes on May 23, 2017, 07:41:45 AM
What, no paving? Flatearther like you, surprised you didn't just dump a few bags of cold patch over the entire thing. Maybe do that next after the plants are killed off by the heat sink you've just made. The expensive gravel will stand in for a cr6 base nicely.
I've seen some of your work so I'm assuming you've built a deck over concrete slab. Two questions, what would your estimate be for a 20 x 10 space? I'm middle of the road as far as home projects go, I know enough to follow directions but I'm hardly a handyman. I've been reading up on instructions to DIY on the internet and I think I could pull it off with enough time and patience. Would this be a stupid assumption on my part?
Quote from: SD on May 24, 2017, 07:31:17 AMWould this be a stupid assumption on my part?
Not at all. If you have time to plan, layout, research each stage of building, etc...you'll end up with a great deck, save money, and learn some shtein. You have tools?
Regarding price, I have no idea. I don't price jobs, I just dig the holes. Depends a lot on access to the site, materials being specified, design of the structure, etc. On grade? Elevated? Stairs? Etc.
Not elevated and no stairs. Really I just want to cover up the ugly concrete out back. If i could just lay a wooden deck on top of it I would but I know it's not that easy. Access to the site is middle road. I can drag the materials through the kitchen and dining room. I live in a middle townhouse so dragging the stuff around the back would be a giant pain in the ass. I can borrow the tools from my buddy.
What do you think about this? Cheap alternative but I think I could live with it
http://www.homedepot.com/p/RollFloor-Mat-2-ft-x-3-ft-Roll-Out-Wood-Deck-Tile-in-Brown-Color-11111/206485480?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cTHD%7cG%7c0%7cG-BASE-PLA%7c&gclid=CLffiv3BiNQCFceNswodp3EKHg&gclsrc=aw.ds
The critical thing you'll need is time. If you've got that, you're golden. Take careful measurements, and start planning. You want to see the finished thing in your head before you begin. Make some drawings. Since you have time, spend a morning and transfer those drawing to the site with an actual layout. Like, literally draw the footings, draw the frame (use a chalk line)..look at it, notice mistakes, correct plans and layout....etc. Get that tight and clear in your head what's going on, then buy materials and start work.
Some things to consider:
make sure you know all of your elevations. What part of the site is the high point? Make sure that the slab falls away from the house, and make sure your deck system does the same.
If your frame will be sleepers laid directly on the pad, be sure to use ground contact rated pressure treated lumber.
When selecting fasteners, be sure to choose those rated for use in ACQ pressure treated lumber. Regular fasteners will corrode much more rapidly than the ACQ rated products.
You can def. do this.
re: the link above...why?
buy several of them and just roll them out over the concrete?
that gonna look like shtein quick, and you'll just be throwing them away because they move around, hold moisture, host mold, and rot away with the quickness.
I could see one of those as a floor mat of a kind in front of a hot tub or something, but if you're not picking it up on the regular, cleaning it and the area where it usually sits, letting it dry out, etc., then I don't think it's worth considering
Thanks for the help yo
Buddy who renovated my house is coming over Saturday, he's done a few decks with his uncle. We're gonna do a cost analysis. He said he'd give me a hand here and there. I set aside $4K this year to make improvements to my house. My roof leaked and that money went towards a new one. They've given us unlimited OT so I've been cranking out 75 hour weeks. Deck is third on my improvement list.
Number one is new blinds. The blinds in my house are from when the house was built in 1976. They're old and disgusting.
Number two is painting my aluminum siding. I hate the color of my house. My buddy is lending me a ladder, his sprayer, his power washer, and drop clothes. So all I have to pay for is paint. Trying to get that done by the end of June.
20x10 deck will probably run you somewhere in the area of $2500- 3000 (if you hire someone) so long as it's a basic deck that is being built on a level level surface. I had a 12x24 deck built on my crib in NC when I lived there and it ran me about $2k I think...maybe a hair more. I'm adjusting my guesstimate for inflation and location, but I think I'm probably in the ball park.
Have you looked at deck tiles? Might not be a bad option since you have a concrete slab as long as it's in good shape and level.
I just heard about them last year but don't know much about them. Wouldn't hurt to look into though and see if they'll work for you.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/DeckWise-WiseTile-2-ft-x-2-ft-Solid-Hardwood-Deck-Tile-in-Exotic-Ipe-DECK-TILE-IPE-SMO-24x24/206466347
If I were building a deck like that, I'd have to get a permit or there would be a fairly decent chance it would be coming down. You could just tile over the slab too.
I'm stoked I just bought this:
(https://hw.menardc.com/main/items/media/SHOPV001/ProductLarge/5983338_P_.jpg)
A stainless steel wet/dry vac...farg you plastic fools
I need that shop vac
It's Sy Borg! Hey, hi, little guy...
I'm done with Home Depot. They won't get another cent from me.
There's one 2 miles from my house, I have their credit card, they're offering 18 months 0% financing, and I get 10% off for being a Veteran. I've had issues with them in the past. I sent in a complaint once about their zesty customer service and they sent me some lame apology. I go to two different Home Depots, each store I've gotten consistently zesty customer service. The shed in my yard is from the 70's, it's old, metal, and rusty as shtein. It sits on an 8 foot concrete slab. I found a plastic shed for $549 at Home Depot that meets the dimensions I need. Figured I could buy it and pay it off $50 a month. So I'm told to go to returns to ask them to get someone from seasonal. I wait in line, then ask if they could get someone from seasonal. They make a call over the PA. I wait 10 minutes and nothing. So I ask again, letting the girl know I'm in a rush. So she makes another call over the PA. Wait 10 minutes and nothing. So I ask her again and she says "I already called for them twice they'll be here". So I left.
I decided to drive to Lowes. I tell the lady at returns I'd like to buy a shed. She says one moment, makes a call. I wait 2 minutes and someone was there to take my order. Was in and out in 15 minutes.
In short: farg Home Depot. Go to Lowes.
I totally agree. Home Depot is disgusting. Lowe's isn't much better but it's better enough to shop there.
I prefer Lowes over Home Depot as well, but in the end I have no loyalty to 1 over the other. I have a Lowe's card and they just upped my credit limit to $4500 so they'll continue to get the bulk of my business. That said, the Ryobi line of battery operated tools at Home Depot are excellent for the home repair DIYer. Probably not so much for professionals, but they've been better than any pos black and decker or low end craftsman set I've ever had.
I spend a lot of time in these kinds of stores. The way I'd describe it is that I hate going to Home Depot, and I never go to Lowes.
I have French doors that lead to my back yard. They're the original doors from 1976. I looked into replacing them but they run $1000-1500, plus I have 3 other projects ahead of replacing them. I decided to borrow my buddy's hand held power sander. Took the doors off, sanded them down to wood. The glass panels have paint all over them. So I had to use a paint knife to scrape them clean. The previous owners had these pink disgusting curtains hanging on them. So I took them off, puddied all the holes, primed, and put two coats of paint on. Also replaced the door knobs. I can't say the doors look brand knew but it's a huge improvement. Whole project cost me about $30.
I avoid those stores if at all possible, I either go to the local ace hardware store or Andalusia supply.
Acetone would have gotten the paint off the glass with no scraping. Work smarter; not harder.
The cable guy is drilling through our asbestos shingled exterior wall to run a wire into our bedroom. Is this completely unsafe or just unsafe for him while he's drilling?
The latter. And only marginally so.
What else is he supposed to do, anyway?
Haha okay just wondering. The house is a raised ranch so there is an overhang where he could have drilled in from underneath the bedroom floor and come up and in that way, but would have been more work
Yeah, more work ain't part of his job. His job is to push the wire into your house and gtfo to his next job where he'll do the same thing.
He's disturbing very little material, and not really making it airborne. He would be wise to wear a mask while making the hole, or just hold his breath and turn aside, but there's a big difference between making a 3/8" hole in a piece of siding and tearing off all the siding and throwing it into a dumpster. The problem with that stuff is when the fibers become suspended in air, and taken into the lungs.
Do you use hose clamps on barb fittings?
for the black flexible water tubing? yes.
put a new storm door in sunday. came out great. fixed a couple light fixtures as well. the "to do" list is getting shorter.
Not even a couple months in to home ownership and this flash flood storm cell that just moved through might have given us our first water damage. The wall facing the neighbors house def had water leaking into it, was very clear to hear. that side of the house facing a slight downward slope towards a very shallow man made ditch that runs between the two properties and down to the sidewalk, and the house next to us/property sits up on a hill from our place. The ditch running down the middle just couldn't handle all the water coming from their property and our rain gutters and it flooded up against the house.
Looks like im gonna be doing some digging soon, and looks like that money for the fence is gonna go towards repairing some walls...possibly....
You should burn it down, collect the insurance, then buy a not-piece-of-shtein-house
Quote from: Munson on July 14, 2017, 04:11:30 PM
Looks like im gonna be doing some digging soon
:diobatsignal
In all seriousness though, I hope the damage wasn't too severe.
Please tell me you bought flood insurance.
Quote from: Munson on July 14, 2017, 04:11:30 PM
Not even a couple months in to home ownership and this flash flood storm cell that just moved through might have given us our first water damage. The wall facing the neighbors house def had water leaking into it, was very clear to hear. that side of the house facing a slight downward slope towards a very shallow man made ditch that runs between the two properties and down to the sidewalk, and the house next to us/property sits up on a hill from our place. The ditch running down the middle just couldn't handle all the water coming from their property and our rain gutters and it flooded up against the house.
Looks like im gonna be doing some digging soon, and looks like that money for the fence is gonna go towards repairing some walls...possibly....
About 20 years ago my buddy had puddles of water coming through the sliding glass door leading to his backyard every time it rained or when the snow melted. During a really bad winter he was sopping up water daily. The ground was hard as shtein but he couldn't take water coming into his house every day. So we got a pick axe and shovels and dug a drainage from his backyard, around the side of his house, and out to the front where the water could drain. We used PVC pipes and a level. Because the ground was so hard it took us about two days to finish, but it worked like a charm.
A day later and it doesn't seem like anything got to the drywall...makes me wonder if it's leaking down and under the floor. It's rug on top of something else on top of cement, but not sure. Nothing visibly showing anywhere. The sound that was being made sounded like an entire stream in the wall, so prob gonna lift the rug and the baseboard of the wall and see what I can see
Quote from: Munson on July 15, 2017, 12:39:32 PM
A day later and it doesn't seem like anything got to the drywall...makes me wonder if it's leaking down and under the floor. It's rug on top of something else on top of cement, but not sure. Nothing visibly showing anywhere. The sound that was being made sounded like an entire stream in the wall, so prob gonna lift the rug and the baseboard of the wall and see what I can see
I'm assuming since you said on top of cement, your foundation is a solid slab...or do you have a crawlspace or basement to deal with?
Is this the same place we've talked about before, the one that you suspected had grading/run-off issues before you bought it?
It's a raised ranch where you enter the home and can immediately go up a half flight of
stairs or down. so the "basement" is finished, have a family room, a full bath, a bedroom and a laundry room down stairs.
Dio it is not that place. Between all the things I read here and elsehweere on the web and a friend's dad who's a structural engineer came to look at that place, it just seemed like too much trouble.
Good.
That's called a split-level, bro-fessor
Indeed. A raised ranch is basically a traditional ranch + basement but the basement is built completely above ground.
Not a true split, and the lower level is half above/half below. Ground line comes up to about halfway up the wall of the lower level
When you open the front door, if you have to immediately choose between going up some stairs or down some stairs, it's a split level
Quote from: Munson on July 16, 2017, 10:09:53 PM
Not a true split, and the lower level is half above/half below. Ground line comes up to about halfway up the wall of the lower level
That is a split level. Your "basement" area probably has half windows since the bottom half of the room is beneath ground level. Split levels typically have no true basement though. What you're calling a basement is actually just more living space.
Ranch homes are single story and have no interior stairs between living levels. Basements are not considered living levels, even if finished, and are not included in sqft measurements. They can be built with or without a basement. Basements under ranch homes typically match the exterior dimensions of the home. If it's a raised ranch, the basement is built almost completely above ground.
(http://hunterthehousehunter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/rr-sp-composite.jpg)
Top = Raised ranch
Bottom = Split level
Which does yours look like?
Not sure if they just call them differently around here or if they're just lazy with their terms but ours is the bottom and was listed on both the realtor's site and the sellers report as a raised ranch.
The ones that get called split levels around here are the ones that look like these guys:
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/0e/fe/92/0efe92ea7f95e0d88c3f7fc7ce51deed--bi-level-homes-split-level-exterior.jpg)
A quick google says split level is defined as a home having at least 3 levels, but then also has a "split-level ranch" as a mixture of the two styles, so I guess that's what you'd call mine. I had heard of split level, and heard of raised ranch, don't think I'd ever heard the term 'split level ranch' before. And here I thought I had heard way too many house terms while we were searching.
Either way, you guys get the idea. The ground level is pretty much identical to that pic sarge, comes up about half way from the right front of the house all the way around back, but then where the garage is it's mostly all above ground on that side of the home.
Anyone with plumbing experience? Waters not coming out of my shower head. The spout diverter is worn and needs to be replaced. So I watch a few online videos on how to remove the spout. There's either a set screw under neath the spout or you just turn the spout counterclockwise to remove it. There's a space where the set screw should be but there's nothing there. I've checked relentlessly. So then I tried twisting it off but it won't give and I don't want to break a pipe. So now I'm stuck.
I've done that. You just need to twist harder. Use a bigger wrench. Not kidding.
Watch a couple more vids. You'll see they use a big ass wrench and have to put a lot of ass on it to get the thing to move.
Or, call a plumber. Never hurts to have an expert do his job.
Thanks dude. I tried again this morning. Tried the biggest wrench I have. Threw some rubber gloves on and tried that too. It's not budging. I even popped the back of the shower off to expose the piping to see if I could do something that way. I'm done trying. My buddy recommended a local plumber. Giving them a call this morning.
take a bath, hippie.
Replacing a shower pipe is something anyone should be able to do. If the pipe extension is "frozen" your best bet would be to call a plumber, though.
Might be time for a torch. Let the plumber do his thing is a good idea at this point.
Plumber will be here tomorrow between 10-12. farging thing just won't budge. I took a bunch of pics under the spout to see if I'm just missing the set screw but there's definitely not one. It's an older spout and most of them were made as twist offs.
I gave it one last try a little bit ago. I can pull it off the wall but not twist it. I pulled some tin snips out and cut a bit to see if there's something I'm missing but as rome mentioned it's frozen to the extension pipe.
Nice lady on the phone said they get these calls often about older spouts that are stuck but people wind up breaking their pipes and that's a whole nother mess.
Quote from: Diomedes on August 07, 2017, 09:49:15 AM
Might be time for a torch. Let the plumber do his thing is a good idea at this point.
A torch is probably going to solve the problem. I really put some torque into this farger but it's locked.
The power clicked off in my neighborhood around 3 this morning. There's only 61 homes affected but of course mine is one of them.
I was going to install a whole house generator after the hurricane last year but cheaped out. I have a portable but it's supposed to be back on in a couple of hours, so farg it.
It's disgustingly hot, though.
I clicked hoping for an update on SD's plumbing troubles. Got whining from Local Florida Man instead. Am Disappoint.
Quote from: Diomedes on August 09, 2017, 08:48:08 AM
I clicked hoping for an update on SD's plumbing troubles. Got whining from Local Florida Man instead. Am Disappoint.
They called yesterday - 2 hours after their appointment window - to tell me the wife of the technician who was supposed to service my house went into labor. Not sure I'm buying it but oh well. We rescheduled for Thursday morning.
Homeowner life sucks.
When I call a plumber, he shows up. Contractor life.
Quote from: Rome on August 09, 2017, 04:22:33 AM
The power clicked off in my neighborhood around 3 this morning. There's only 61 homes affected but of course mine is one of them.
I was going to install a whole house generator after the hurricane last year but cheaped out. I have a portable but it's supposed to be back on in a couple of hours, so farg it.
It's disgustingly hot, though.
61 was my high school football number!
Hey, that's how old I, never mind.
As we speak:
Installing new cabinets in kitchen, new sink, new backsplash and cutting old counter down to install a new granite counter,
Installing new floors in entire house
Installing new kitchen/living room lighting
Installing new vanities
Installing new toilets in all 3 bathrooms
And painting entire downstairs
Good f'ing God! It's not the construction and all the expected "unexpected" issues, or that we haven't had use of our kitchen since mid July, all we have is a refrigerator/freezer and thank God neighbor let us borrow her old microwave or squeezing into my upstairs office to eat dinner or watch TV. It's the purging of all the crap we've hoarded and accumulated the past 21 years in this house. Rented a POD and put it in the driveway and the damn thing filled up before we knew what hit us. Wine glasses we've never used, empty scrap books and the crap that goes with it, my wife's shtein, my shtein, kids shtein, AAAAHHHHH! I tried to fool myself before we started that it would be a piece of cake clearing out the rooms of all the junk, damn was I ever wrong. I did find my Pete Rose autographed baseball though and my 1993 NLDS Champs Bums Hat that is in mint condition, never worn.
Quote from: Don Ho on August 09, 2017, 10:38:24 PM
It's the purging of all the crap we've hoarded and accumulated the past 21 years in this house.
My house is 3 bedrooms. When I moved from my old place I donated as much as I could but wound up throwing out around 30 bags of crap. I kept a bunch of boxes and kept them in my spare room. My daughter wanted to use the spare room as a playroom and I needed an office since I work from home so I wound up donating or throwing the rest of the junk out. If you haven't used it in years, it's not worth keeping.
Plumber just left. $200. He used a pair of plumber pliers to remove the spout. The spout was so old he didn't have one in stock, so he had to run out and get a new one.
Good value. My plumber's rate is $100 per hour, which is very reasonable. He doesn't charge me a minimum. I'd have gotten the same bill basically, and been happy to pay it.
When giving customers an estimate on plumbing costs, we often tell them to be prepared for $125 per hour (for a plumber with helper).
I figure the spout/plumbers pliers/caulk would run me $50 so I was happy to pay the $200 to have it done by a professional. He told me a few things to look for in the future, like the pipe was installed with a shark bite and not soldered meaning don't yank the spout because the shark bite isn't as strong as the soldered pipe.
Not mentioned...did all this fix the problem? That is, your diverter was fouled and now that you've replaced it, all is well?
I wonder if pb blast or something similar would have allowed you to get it off
I my experience, pb blast is great but you need time to let it work
Quote from: Diomedes on August 10, 2017, 02:09:33 PM
Not mentioned...did all this fix the problem? That is, your diverter was fouled and now that you've replaced it, all is well?
Yeah works great. Even when the shower head was working water was still coming out of the spout, now it's all being rerouted to the shower head.
Ditched building a deck out back with something bigger in mind. Looking at adding a patio enclosure to the back of my house. I have a concrete slab so the foundation is there. My buddy said we could do it in the $5-7k range.
Concrete slab and foundation are not the same thing.
Slab is probably just 4" concete on compacted CR6.
Foundation is a footer of concrete reinforced with steel, set below frost depth, and built up to grade with block.
Building on just a slab is asking for trouble.
Even if it's just a basic patio enclosure? Im not looking to build anything extravagant, just 3 walls with windows and a roof. Probably throw vinyl matting on the floor. I see a lot of them in my neighborhood...same unit type.
Even if it is a simple enclosure, you still has a load to bear (like T-Hawk's mom). Common mistake I see is people putting simple enclosures on their 'slabs' (see Sarge's mom). Things settle, and over time, plus weight of rain & snow, that slab will crack and settle and you'll have to lay a proper foundation for it anyway.
Dio, am I close to being right?
Yeah, I wouldn't build even a lightweight enclosed porch directly on just a simple at-grade slab. 4 inches of non-reinforced concrete is insufficient o bear the load of a roof system, walls and windows, with a snow load/wind load, etc. What's more, you've got frost to worry about. Freezing and thawing moves that slab. If you put a structure on it, the frost don't care, it will still move the whole thing, (which if I take your "3 walls" comment correctly, will be attached to your house,). Now you've got a slab with a load on it from above, and effectively a counter-veiling lift from the frost heave. That's not good. I think what's likely to happen is that you'll have a broken slab and uneven settling, doors and windows hitching up or not closing, roof leaks, etc. At that point, there's no fixing the doors and windows so they work well..the whole thing is tweaked.
If you want an enclosed porch, support it properly. Dig and pour a footer, or piers and beams, etc.
Thanks for the advice 👍
He's away this weekend at a wedding but we're going to the same BBQ tomorrow. He has a jackhammer and everything needed to lay a solid foundation. I'm assuming he factored that into the cost. He only mentioned structural costs so I assumed the concrete patio was sufficient.
If the slab is heavier, or if it's got steel in it, that's better. I still wouldn't feel good about it until I had the structure supported by something that goes below frost. Then I'd at least know that it's not going be be lifted (and dropped) by the freeze cycle.
Quote from: SD on September 03, 2017, 12:11:33 PM
Even if it's just a basic patio enclosure? Im not looking to build anything extravagant, just 3 walls with windows and a roof. Probably throw vinyl matting on the floor. I see a lot of them in my neighborhood...same unit type.
check the township for the slab plans. It may have had footers put in. if not, you probably do need to put them in to be in code.
re-did my lil guys bedroom over the weekend. new paint with wainscoting and installed a new rug.
now onto taking out the bay window. original to the house its long overdue to be replaced. this thing is huge, so while i'm still up in the air on what I am putting back in, no matter what, it will be smaller.
Quote from: smeags on September 05, 2017, 08:52:25 AM
Quote from: SD on September 03, 2017, 12:11:33 PM
Even if it's just a basic patio enclosure? Im not looking to build anything extravagant, just 3 walls with windows and a roof. Probably throw vinyl matting on the floor. I see a lot of them in my neighborhood...same unit type.
check the township for the slab plans. It may have had footers put in. if not, you probably do need to put them in to be in code.
I talked to him yesterday about the foundation, he just looked at me like yeah I know dipshtein. He's been doing this stuff his whole life. Looks like this projects not going to happen until spring. He's booked solid.
Quote from: smeags on September 05, 2017, 09:00:19 AM
re-did my lil guys bedroom over the weekend. new paint with wainscoting and installed a new rug.
Installing a rug sounds time consuming
didn't think it would be, but I will never do that on my own again.
I just realized I have never bought a refrigerator before. I now must. Any brands to stay away from? Is side-by-side vs. top freezer just a personal preference?
The only brand I would adamantly say to avoid is LG. I've never had an LG fridge, but I have had a handful of their electronics and small appliances over the years and they've all been junk. I'll never own an LG product again.
Amana, Whirlpool, GE, are all excellent brands. Samsung has really come on in recent years as a top rated brand, too.
As for the style of fridge, it probably is about personal preference, but I can't figure out why anyone would want a side by side. Top/French door with a bottom pull out freezer is the way to go, imo. If you get one with a water/ice dispenser on the door, look for one that has the icemaker on the inside of the door rather than sucking up storage space inside the fridge itself.
Holy fargballs, fridges are pricey
Get the cut sheet before you buy it so you can be sure it will fit through the doors into your kitchen, and that it will fit in the space you have for it, and that the doors have room to operate, etc.. Measure measure measure.
I would never buy Kenmore.
Side by side vs. bottom freezer is just preference, yes.
I have a ge fridge. pretty much a go to brand. not sure on the stove, it may be a ge as well. it's old but it cooks, so whatever. not sure at all on the microwave.
I do have a LG washer and dryer. the washer went within one year. after a bunch of back and forth it was replaced under the manufacturer warranty. the new one has been fine although I have come to hate front load washers in general.
Sears merchandise is pure shtein these days. I bought a push cart from them last year and it's already wearing out. I only use it for my Weber tailgating grille on the deck too, so it's not like I'm moving it very often. I've heard horror stories about their garbage disposals and water heaters too.
Go with GE or Samsung. Even Panasonic is preferable.
My buddy recommended this local place on a corner in NE Philly on Cottman ave called Anthony's appliances. I bought a Fridge, Microwave, Electric Oven, and upgraded dishwasher for $1500 when all was said and done. Delivery was cheap too. All Fridgidaire stainless steel. At the time they had a deal, you buy 4 of their appliances you get a $300 rebate, I missed the rebate deadline by a few days so he back dated my receipt so I could still get it. Prices are the best I've seen around and the guy has a great selection and impeccable reputation. I shopped around at all the chain places too but they couldn't beat his prices. They do repairs, have a small variety of scratch and dent, and a lot of new stuff. Great store.
Quote from: Rome on October 04, 2017, 08:54:32 AM
Sears merchandise is pure shtein these days. I bought a push cart from them last year and it's already wearing out. I only use it for my Weber tailgating grille on the deck too, so it's not like I'm moving it very often. I've heard horror stories about their garbage disposals and water heaters too.
Go with GE or Samsung. Even Panasonic is preferable.
sears/Kenmore appliances are made by LG. craftsman mowers are made by yardsman I believe. power tools by black n decker.
you'd be surprised how few companies make things under many, many different branding.
this shows appliances.
http://www.appliance411.com/purchase/make.shtml (http://www.appliance411.com/purchase/make.shtml)
Thanks all and that's a great link, smeags
The best thing isn't I put this together with parts I put in the basket as I built it in my head. The best part is if somebody successfully breaks into my house, loans me some of his gunpowder, and is willing to stick around while I google some shtein on yahoo, I can use this lamp to make a pipe bomb to defend my home against him.
Bellicheck is clearly not as impressed with me as I am.
(https://i.imgur.com/7DrfaX9.jpg)
Cool Tonka trucks
Thanks! They're scale models of the medium wheel loaders I used to work on. One is holding a roll of dog shtein bags in its bucket.
well, picked up our new front window yesterday. gonna be fun putting this in. 8x4 window. now the only question is can I get it done this upcoming weekend.
Not without breaking it for sure
its like you read my mind ... :paranoid
Do you have to re-frame the wall or something because that's a 20-minute job otherwise.
Quote from: Rome on November 13, 2017, 12:52:01 PM
Do you have to re-frame the wall or something because that's a 20-minute job otherwise.
i will have to do some framing (assuming theres no rotted wood) as this is smaller than the garbage bow window that's in there now.
im pretty sure if all is good it will take longer to get/smash the old window out then to install the new one.
Part of my first house was block and the other part was frame. The block part was cake. I did 12 windows in two hours with a buddy of mine. I had five to do in the frame portion and that took me at least as long.
You start pulling shtein out of wood that's been there for 50 years and you're just asking for trouble.
Good luck, dude.
yeah im hoping not to find anything rotted. no noticeable signs of it but like you said once you start pulling things apart.
the one saving grace is I have a 23inch over hang so for the most part, the window doesn't really get water on it unless there's strong winds.
My dishes and bowls were given to me by my mom when I moved into my house. They're old...probably late 80's. I was at the dollar store and they had these really nice plates. I bought a couple. Night before the parade a bunch of us go out to dinner, and the restaurant is using the same dishes. So I bought more.
Throw them all in the dishwasher. Notice when I empty the dishwasher - which is only two years old - all the stickers from the dishes and bowls are floating near the rotating arm at the bottom of the dishwasher. I remove the arm and the stickers and think nothing of it (that was Sunday). Today I wake up and my kitchen is filled with water. Open the dishwasher and it's filled. So I try pulling the dishwasher out so I can unhook and clear the hose which I'm sure is clogged from the stickers, only it's bolted to my cabinets by a bracket. I try prying the front piece off but the farger won't budge. So my buddy who installed it all is coming over later to remove it.
Lesson learned: Take stickers off shtein before putting it in your dishwasher.
Also, clean the trap in your dish washer once a month.
i'm almost 40 and have never once cleaned my dishwasher.
Quote from: General_Failure on February 15, 2018, 09:22:05 AM
Also, clean the trap in your dish washer once a month.
I'm far too lazy
But not too lazy to try to rip the dishwasher out from under the counter?
We use it twice a year (thanksgiving and Xmas).
Quote from: General_Failure on February 15, 2018, 09:48:56 AM
But not too lazy to try to rip the dishwasher out from under the counter?
I have no other choice
We want/need to get the yard on one side of the house regraded, but googling contractors in the area is mostly a bust. Is HomeAdvisor a good way to find good people to do the work? Never used it before.
Quote from: Munson on April 14, 2018, 02:27:06 PM
We want/need to get the yard on one side of the house regraded, but googling contractors in the area is mostly a bust. Is HomeAdvisor a good way to find good people to do the work? Never used it before.
I don't think so, but I live in podunk Peoria. Ask around for referrals from people you trust
Quote from: Tomahawk on April 14, 2018, 04:13:52 PMAsk around for referrals from people you trust
This is the way to go.
Do you know a good plumber? Ask him. He knows everyone.
When I bought my house the previous owners had already moved out and didnt dewinterize the house so a pipe burst and flooded the downstairs. Pipe was fixed and they replaced the carpet with a cheap neutral colored carpet so they could sell the place. I already restored 90% of the house. I really wanted hardwood, bought some really nice laminate (pergo) that's scratch resistant because my dog is nuts. Spent the last two days installing it, my god it looks amazing.
Quote from: AO1 on April 04, 2019, 10:42:46 AM
When I bought my house the previous owners had already moved out and didnt dewinterize the house so a pipe burst and flooded the downstairs. Pipe was fixed and they replaced the carpet with a cheap neutral colored carpet so they could sell the place. I already restored 90% of the house. I really wanted hardwood, bought some really nice laminate (pergo) that's scratch resistant because my dog is nuts. Spent the last two days installing it, my god it looks amazing.
did you get the water resistant/proof ?
Don't believe the hype. There is no such thing as water proof. Water destroys everything.
Quote from: Diomedes on April 04, 2019, 12:15:57 PM
Don't believe the hype. There is no such thing as water proof. Water destroys everything.
yeah true, if there is a flood everything under the flooring has to be replaced anyway.
the main thing is not needing new flooring because a spill is left on it over night.
Quote from: smeags on April 04, 2019, 10:51:28 AM
Quote from: AO1 on April 04, 2019, 10:42:46 AM
When I bought my house the previous owners had already moved out and didnt dewinterize the house so a pipe burst and flooded the downstairs. Pipe was fixed and they replaced the carpet with a cheap neutral colored carpet so they could sell the place. I already restored 90% of the house. I really wanted hardwood, bought some really nice laminate (pergo) that's scratch resistant because my dog is nuts. Spent the last two days installing it, my god it looks amazing.
did you get the water resistant/proof ?
Yeah it's the good stuff.
Anyone have any experience with planting Zoysia grass seed? Our back yard is more or less a mess, but prob can't afford to do sod for a few years, I was thinking of maybe just planting some seeds out there and hoping for the best. Literally any growth would be better than what we have now, so I'm not even looking for a perfect lawn, just some grass coverage on otherwise barren areas.
Buy a tiller. Plant seeds. Water regularly.
Or make some little garden beds. Less watering, looks nicer for less effort.
We're going solar. Had to do some negotiation, which basically consisted of me saying "no" when the dude quoted us a price that was way higher than what I knew average cost was for a 5 KW system. Ended up knocking roughly $9000 off the price when all was said and done. Panels are top quality and guaranteed for 25 years.
We're owning the panels but via a loan, which was not what I wanted to do if and when we went solar, but that was also because I assumed we'd have to put money down, but the deal we got requires no money down from us. So not only no money down from us, but between the fed tax credit and a state grant incentive, we're gonna get about $9000 in cash. If we choose to not put any of that cash towards the loan within the first 18 months, SREC credits and our current electric usage, our monthly payments would end up costing us roughly ~$250 more per year than what we currently pay in electric bills each year. But we will be putting some of that cash towards the loan, and even if we didn't, we're willing to pay a little bit more for the clean energy. Plus the power company around here ups the electric rates every year anyway.
Also a small chance we end up selling the house in a couple of years, so this'll add value and we can pay off the panels with the extra money from the sale, so the people coming in would be coming in to a house with no electric bill.
But yeah getting the tax credit and state grant was a huge thing. We'll put some of that into the loan principle but use the rest of it to help pay for some other work we wanna get done around the house.
I know a guy who's got some top notch symbolic wind turbines for sale
crowing a bit...here a recent project I'm proud of
link (https://photos.app.goo.gl/NLt1o84f4HK4NfyN8)
Hot damn that looks good. Great job.
Man, I do not miss fixing up a crumbling house. Great job. I can smell the difference from those pictures.
Meanwhile, I painted my kitchen during the hurricane that didn't actually hit us. A slightly smaller project than yours. https://imgur.com/a/IAF7opJ
Thank you both.
Permit came through today so I'm starting the next one on Monday. An old (pre 1900) house that was designed with a wrap around porch, and a couple years ago, the front fell off. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5qxZm_JqM) Now, a section of the original porch, onto the roof of which two stories of bedrooms bump out, has to be demolished before those bedrooms collapse along with what remains of the the original porch. Have an interesting puzzle to figure out with this one. Hope I get paid.
That's always the tough thing - getting paid. I hear stories all the time of the contractors getting stiffed.
I'd be interested to see progress pics on that job too. I love places with huge wrap around porches.
On that bathroom how laborious was the tile? The caps mentioned it being tough to line up because of the condition of the subfloor right?
I had to completely reframe the entire room, so by the time the tile man showed up, everything was true, flat, level, plumb, and square. He had a brand new subfloor that was glued and screwed to new floor joists. They had no trouble setting the tile at all. As I recall it two men four full days, plus one man for one more full day.
And I'll get paid, its more, will what I charge be enough for what I do. That bathroom was a labor of love, not of profit. I often seem to end up doing jobs that don't make me much profit, but they're great projects. I'm paying mybills though, so it's all good.
You really need to take a class on how to farg people over, Dio.
shtein like this with you being "fair and equitable" to your customers is really embarrassing.
Who gonna teach me that? We ran all the money lovers out of here.
Trump University?
You need to find a techbro who can help you sell these people on smarthouse garbage. You'll make a killing off of people being able to yell at their thermostats.
Quote from: Diomedes on September 20, 2019, 01:20:08 PM
crowing a bit...here a recent project I'm proud of
link (https://photos.app.goo.gl/NLt1o84f4HK4NfyN8)
Looks good! Well done enough that the typo about the dryver vent patch didn't ruin the entire job
I don't know if you guys have ever had your ductwork cleaned out at your places but I highly recommend it. We had a new HVAC system installed but the ductwork was "fine." It was intact but good god it was disgustingly gross. What a difference. They were here for most of the morning. Cleaned all the ducts, vents and returns. Seriously I can't believe the difference in air quality right now.
Always do this when put a new system in, if you can. (My current house, the ducts are lined with fiberglass insulation, so cleaning them is not possible) Last time I had it done they came up with a very satisfying pile of filth, and the expensive camera they had to show before and after pics paid off very nicely because my wife was just like you, nancing about the house like she suddenly had a blast of nordic lake air flowing from the system instead of a dust plume. Good marketing.
The fact is, ac systems regardless what filter you use don't do shtein to clean your air. You clean the ducts in defense of the guts inside the expensive new equipment you bought, which dies when it gets caked with dander and filth.
Wifey has respiratory issues especially this time of year. I had it installed last Friday. Pulled the filter out on Thursday and it was already dirty. I almost called them to cancel until I saw that filter. Six days and it was already caked.
The camera thing you mentioned was cool as hell though. They have an infrared unit that detects leaks (cold air into hot) and they ran in in the attic and crawl space. No leaks but the before and after pictures were incredible.
No wonder we were wheezing up in here.
Quote from: Rome on September 05, 2020, 07:13:38 AM
I don't know if you guys have ever had your ductwork cleaned out at your places but I highly recommend it. We had a new HVAC system installed but the ductwork was "fine." It was intact but good god it was disgustingly gross. What a difference. They were here for most of the morning. Cleaned all the ducts, vents and returns. Seriously I can't believe the difference in air quality right now.
HVAC is in perfect working order but how much to clean ducts?
Don't forget the dryer when cleaning your ducts. They were packed when we moved in here.
$325 for the whole house (2,400 SF, 9 rooms).
There's stuff like that I'd like to get done but also have no desire to have workers inside my house right now lol
On behalf of workers, we're not eager to be in your house either.
Unfortunately I worry that too many of them are less like you and more like "it's just the flu" but hopefully I'm wrong hah
Quote from: Rome on September 05, 2020, 02:55:14 PM
$325 for the whole house (2,400 SF, 9 rooms).
That's not horrible
It's higher than some and lower than others. The system they installed is fantastic. Nice kids too. I tipped the hell out of the installers and they were mystified. Evidently the shteinbag deplorables down here rarely tip.
Oh they gives tips alright "go back to yer country"
Don't forget those fake 20s that tell you to go to megachurch.
What type of floor transition piece should I get for a carpet to hardwood transition? My wife does not want a metal one, so wood it is, but didn't realize there was so many different types. I went to Lowes and they had a whole bunch of strips there but the guy I asked told me they don't have carpet to hardwood transition strips in store, you have to order them.
They don't make those. No one has a carpet to hardwood transition.
You'll have to call a carpenter and pay him $600 to make you one out of a tree his grandfather planted.
As long as it matches your hardwood, you don't trip over it, and it's secured properly, you're good.
I still haven't figured out how to post pics from my phone, but we have a roughly 20 foot tree that we want to get trimmed/pruned back to where it was when we first moved in. Guy from Davey Tree gave us an estimate of $1360 which seems high to me. I know I'm probably paying for their professional arborists stuff, and the guy did say it's kind of a tricky job because the way the tree was trimmed before/the way it has grown, there's not like a good central part of the tree to anchor to when trimming the upper branches so I assume charging more for that too.
Worth it at that price?
It may be a smidge high but tree removal shockingly is expensive.
You're paying for them to get it down safely without knocking power lines over or puncturing your roof.
Plus stump removal and all that jazz.
I'd get a couple quotes to see how it stacks up.
Not a shockingly high price in my opinion at all. Of course, I'm a contractor, so it's in my interest to con you poor fargs into thinking that's a fair rate.
But yeah, sure. Workman's compensation insurance for tree workers is about as expensive as it gets and you don't want anyone on your property performing tree service if they don't have it. Sure you can have your cousin's guy do it...until one of the wage slaves he's lined up gets hurt, and ain't covered, and he's no good for it, so the lawyer who's talking to the injured guy's wife is looking at, and going to get, your house (or the equivalent.)
Anyway, call maybe one more outfit, a like one. Not your cousin's guy. Bartlett, for example. See what they say. There's really no such thing as a free estimate, so don't shop around like you're offering anyone an opportunity to get rich, or to get their foot in the door anywhere. It's a small job with very little profit. So just get a pro in and pay whatever they charge.
Psssssh... Cut that damn thing down yourself.
(https://64.media.tumblr.com/34291760cebfb86a55f5fcf3413ca62d/tumblr_p1hd8eOBof1spkic4o3_540.gifv)
As a fairly unhandy person yet getting better since I have been a homeowner, how high are the odds of electrocuting myself doing the following?
1. Replacing a fried circuit breaker
2. replacing some ugly ceiling fans with new ones
3. replacing some ceiling lights with new fans
4. Turning some light switches into dimmer switches
My only electrical experience has been replacing a garbage disposal myself which was surprisingly very easy. In the past I paid professionals for this kind of stuff but just wondering if I should even attempt these myself.
As I write this out seems like a pro could probably knock these all out in a couple hours whereas it will take me forever.
Flip the breaker off for all but the first one and you're fine. For replacing the breaker itself, just don't touch anything besides that breaker and you'll be fine. They pop right out of the box and it's just one wire.
If they're old fans, they're probably going to be a hassle to take down alone.
Don't work "hot." That is, turn off the entire house before you swap in s new breaker. Then, make sure you've found the correct breaker for your other projects and turn those off while you work.
Regarding fans: the need specific workboxes that are both structural and electrical approved. You can't just throw a fan on a regular work box and expect the connections to withstand the forces of the spinning fan.
Call me if you want to chat
Yeah I was gonna say hit up Dio or just hire him!
One thing I don't farg with is electric. I'll hire someone for that stuff. Anything else I'll do it at least take a shot in doing it.