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Maybe this is more of a legal question but here goes. We bought our house 2 years ago. On the back side of the property is a retaining wall that is owned by the neighbor to the back of our lot. The retaining wall goes a whole city block and is in pretty serious need of repair. At this point a whole section of it has collapsed and is resting on our garage. Another part behind our garden trellis is just completely collapsed and spilling into our lot. We havent really cared because our garage is junk and we've been focused on fixing up the house. My worry is that we wait to long to take action and the courts say we cant legally go after our neighbors to get it repaired. We have had a survey done it is %100 the neighbors wall.
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Jun 8, 2020 19:38
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The garage. The concrete wall is leaning and resting up against the back of the garage. I havent worried about it until now because the house is over 100 years old and has needed plenty of work thats taking up all of my money. The garage is the original horse carriage. It floods in the spring and the doors are wobbly and shot. Honestly the whole thing will need torn down at some point. But it at least keeps tools and the lawn mower dry during the year. I dont want to spend money to fix it though only to have the neighbors retaining wall destroy it eventually. EDIT: You cant make this poo poo up. Used the county property lookup tool and the neighbor to the rear owns both lots behind mine. ALSO hes a real estate attorney according to Google.
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Jun 8, 2020 20:10
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Yeah I'm not going to haul off and sue him or anything. I really just want to know if I give up my rights to have him pay to fix the wall if I do nothing for 10 years. The wall can collapse into the back of my yard for another 5 years or so before I even tackle the garage. I just want to make sure the guy who owns the wall, whose property is being held up from collapsing onto my lot, pays to fix his own poo poo eventually.
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Jun 8, 2020 21:01
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Spring Heeled Jack posted:I’d like to refi as well since I bought last year at 4.5 for a 30 year, but I don’t have that chunk of cash on hand for closing. Is it typical/possible to roll those costs into the loan? Just did the same thing myself about 6-8 weeks ago. They can just roll closing costs into the loan. If the numbers make sense definitely do it! I refinanced from %4.5 to 3.2 and will save about $50k over the cost of my loan on a 30 year mortgage. If I'd known numbers were going to drop under 3 I may have even waited a bit longer. I dont know how they possibly get any lower.
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Jun 9, 2020 01:11
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EDITED.
BaseballPCHiker fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Feb 2, 2022 |
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Jun 9, 2020 13:42
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JAY ZERO SUM GAME posted:Anyone have thoughts on a good room air purifier? Wirecutter recommends a Coway model, but there are so many out there that may or may not be good and it's hard to find actual reviews not on Amazon. I jumped on the air purifier bandwagon after reading a bunch of articles about all of their benefits and havent look back. We use a couple of different models in our house and have been happy with the operating costs and performance of all of them. In our bigger rooms we use a Winix model that we got from Costco, ours is a bit older than this one, but same basic model: https://www.costco.com/winix-c545-4-stage-air-purifier-with-wifi-with-plasmawave-technology.product.100500281.html In our bedrooms and smaller rooms we use this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073WJDQMN They are a big help in cutting down on dust. They seem to help my wife with her allergies a bit. Beyond that I cant say for certain that they are some health godsend but our air feels better. I dont know if thats all placebo effect in my mind or not.
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Jun 10, 2020 14:38
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Spoke with a lawyer today about my retaining wall woes. Basically I can ignore it for as long as I want. I dont have to take any action within a set amount of years or lose out on making my neighbor fix the wall. So when it comes time to do something about it I can go talk to him. Onto the next thing now. Who here has chipped up concrete sidewalks around their house and fixed the grading? I feel like I have a big project in front of me.
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Jun 11, 2020 21:13
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Some counties offer a mole bounty! So check in with your county extension office and you can get paid to eradicate moles! I just use the scissor trap. Its better to be ruthless than spray poo poo all over your yard killing every insect within a block radius.
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Jun 15, 2020 22:29
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3 days in the new house that we bought sans inspection. Still had an inspector come out to check on things and he's preparing his report. We got lucky with this guy, he spent like 6 hours here and was more thorough than I'd ever seen from anyone else. Hes a retired general contractor that just does this part time now. He mentioned a few things that I knew had to be done and am trying to figure out the best approach too. First on my list is that there is no bathroom vent. I'm hesitant to drill a hole in the side of my stucco house or into the roof. I have easy access to the bathroom ceiling from the attic and would be OK installing it and wiring it I think, but going to try and get someone out here to do that. Or am I being to wimpy about drilling out a vent hole? I'm a moderate DIYer, and use to do a lot of low voltage coax and ethernet work but that was 10+ years ago. Second, and most concerning to me is the garage. Its only 2 years old, permits were pulled and it apparently passed inspection but it has something so loving weird I cant wrap my head around it. The rear wall of the garage, facing the neighbors property approximately 3-4 feet from the property line, is 5/8 drywall with exterior siding, and thats it. All the other walls in the garage are regular OSB, framed normally, etc. If I go outside and feel the little lip over the foundation on that side I get drywall dust on my fingers. WTF. I'm debating trying to tear that down in the small gap between the property line and putting up OSB, or trying to seal that outside up somehow.
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Jun 21, 2022 16:23
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 Back of the garage, faces north the fence is the property line.  Yeah....  Inside, drywall all the way up.  Corner shot. At least they used 5/8ths I guess. God loving damnit.
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Jun 21, 2022 16:59
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OK, my thought was it was due to fire resistance and they had to get some sort of variance in order to get the garage built there. Worth trying to seal up the bottom with something at least? That area will get plenty of snow this year.
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Jun 21, 2022 17:31
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Anyone have any experience with those snap off type screws that go into floorboards and the joist to cut down on squeaky floors? The wood floor right outside my kids door squeaks like a mother and I've thought about trying them but they seem a bit gimmicky and I have awesome looking 100+ year old maple floors I want to gouge up as little as possible.
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Jul 8, 2022 02:26
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To be clear this is what I was referring too: https://www.amazon.com/Squeak-Squeaky-Replacement-Eliminate-Through/dp/B0B2KF5CKY/ Supposedly they dont really show up but I have my doubts. Really on the fence about even trying them.
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Jul 8, 2022 14:48
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Johnny Truant posted:Alright, finally getting around to painting some poo poo myself since I got ghosted by a painting company! You can at least tarp off rooms you're working in to limit the spread. If you really want to go hog wild have someone else run a vacuum near the sander. Otherwise I think youre SOL with those manual hand style sanders.
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Jul 13, 2022 15:37
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Sirotan posted:Even with a shop vac attached to my powered sanders, I still make a huge mess, with added bonus that the shop vac ends up blowing it all over the place. Hand sanding makes a larger mess but assuming there is no air flow the mess stays in a more concentrated area. There is really no magic solution to this, you're going to make a mess. Just wear a good respirator while you're doing it. Sanding sucks. And how the hell do you expect to smoke while wearing a mask?!? Sheesh some people. Seriously though wear a mask when you sand. My dad was a professional drywaller for 30+ years, smoked a pack a day, and never wore a mask and has all sorts of health issues. Dont be like my father.
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Jul 13, 2022 17:03
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ScooterMcTiny posted:My understanding is that it’s less related to impact on climate change and more about what burning gas in an enclosed space does to air quality. Its this. There are a ton of recent studies showing the long term affects that air quality can have on you.
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Aug 8, 2022 16:41
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More info on indoor air quality: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2755672 quote:Findings In this cohort study of more than 4.5 million US veterans, 9 causes of death were associated with PM2.5 air pollution: cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, lung cancer, and pneumonia. The attributable burden of death associated with PM2.5 was disproportionally borne by black individuals and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities; 99% of the burden was associated with PM2.5 levels below standards set by the US Environmental Protection Agency. https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2018/03/06/use-your-range-hood-for-a-healthier-home-advises-indoor-air-quality-researcher/ quote:What did your in-home study find? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44561-0 This was a study on OM exposure from candles, but still relevant. quote:This is the first study to directly investigate the effect of PM exposure upon short-term cognitive performance in healthy adults. The results from the MMSE tests, which is a global assessment of an individual’s cognitive functioning, in both experiments show that short term cognitive decline occurs when a cohort is exposed to candle burning or commuting next to a major road. The decline in the measured T-scores, which are normalized for age and educational level, suggests that average cognitive ability of the cohorts, from both experiments, diminished from “average” to “low average” under the high PM exposure conditions. But the gist seems to be that small/fine particulates, like those associated with indoor gas ranges, lead to a whole bunch of negative outcomes. Myself I still have a gas range, with no hood vent, that works fine and that we'll use until it wears out. We just crack a window when cooking, even when its below zero out. But if I had the money, or was just starting a new build or remodel I would definitely spring for an electric or induction range.
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Aug 10, 2022 15:53
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Counterpoint. Light grout will eventually stain and look dark one day anyway.
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Aug 18, 2022 14:21
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Yeah that cant be good for them. My house still has 100+ year old tile in the bathroom with "white" grout that is now black. I gave a good effort trying to clean it when we first moved in, but have now learned to just live with sweeping/mopping and living with the staining.
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Aug 18, 2022 14:31
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Ive got a heat pump thats on the back of my house. 2 questions about it. Can I blow out this cottonwood stuff with a leaf blower? Or should I hose it down?   Looking up the model it says it can work for heat down to -4F, but I cant seem to find any info for temp on the wall units themselves. The remote has a heat button on it looking up the manual for it, is it safe to assume it could provide some heat so long as outside temps stay above -4f?
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Sep 7, 2022 20:32
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PerniciousKnid posted:I have water seeping into my basement for some reason and I'm getting tired of waking up at 4am to vacuum up the pool. Any useful water barriers I can use to gate off the problem area? I tried making some sandbags with socks and sand but it's not really cutting it, the water just goes under. Is the water coming from the walls around the edge of your house or straight up out of the floor? My first house had a thankfully unfinished basement, was 120 years old, and during spring or big snow melts we'd literally have water come up from the concrete floor. Getting gutters after our first year of ownership helped tremendously there and limited the water to one corner of the house that needed to be regraded.
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Jan 2, 2023 22:07
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c355n4 posted:Thanks everyone for the insight everyone. Lot of numbers to crunch and factors I didn't consider initially. Financially in all but the most optimum of scenarios it doesnt for people. I went through the same exercise when I bought my new house 6 months ago. I was looking at a 30 year break even with a 15 year warranty on parts.
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Jan 11, 2023 22:21
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If you're going to be doing a TON of taping get yourself a banjo and learn how to use it. That may be beyond the scope of normal DIY homeowner use. But if you have to re-drywall your whole house it'd be worthwhile.
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Feb 14, 2023 15:33
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Im debating trying to make my own back yard deck. It'd be the biggest project I've ever undertaken, I consider myself only moderately handy. The biggest thing is that between buying tools needed ( I really just want a miter saw), and retail material cost, I think I wouldnt be that far off from paying someone to do it.
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Apr 19, 2023 21:59
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:The big thing you get from doing it yourself is confidence that the work was done to your standards. It can be hard to get contractors that you can rely on to do work that is up to spec. But yeah, you shouldn't generally view DIY construction as a cost-saving measure. That’s my biggest hesitation! I don’t mind paying for the work but I want it to be done well. Nothing is more frustrating than paying for a subpar job. I may start researching things than and seeing what I’m possibly getting myself into. My only real concerns are preventing frost heave and mounting it to the side of my house.
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Apr 20, 2023 03:20
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I am on the last legs of my year long home efficiency project. The last thing I have to do is to figure out how to best insulate these pipes. They appear to be old iron pipes, roughly 14 inches in diameter, needless to say I cant find easily available foam insulation for these.  My thought was that Im basically stuck with something like this - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-3-in-x-1-2-in-x-25-ft-Fiberglass-Pipe-Wrap-Kit-SP41X/100032413 The R value will suck but its better than nothing since I will likely never find any foam pipe insulation in the right size.
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Jan 9, 2024 22:48
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Sorry yeah circumference! Do you have a link? I had a hard time finding anything but 1 or 3/4 inch pipe insulation.
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Jan 10, 2024 00:19
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I am dumb. I just scrolled through pages of inch foam pipe insulation without actually putting in my size. I blame sleep desperation due to toddlers. Thank you all. I'm sure I won't get the money back in effeciency gains that I spend but oh well. This is the last part of my expensive project so may as well see I through.
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Jan 10, 2024 02:41
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shoeberto posted:I assume you meant deprivation but with young kids this is still technically correct God damnit.... So tired. Kaiser Schnitzel posted:I’m curious why are you insulating sewer/waste lines or why you have such massive pipes for supply lines? Those are just the pipes in my house. Motronic posted:Those appear to be steam boiler heat runs. I pulled all of the old building permits for my house and you are correct! The house, built in 1911, once had a steam boiler. Now these pipes just run standard radiators, and some of my water lines as well. I replaced the boiler as part of my larger renovation project as well, but the plumbers recommended leaving all of this piping in seeings how I had no plans to ever finish the basement and didnt need the head space. It wouldve also involved a lot of time and money.
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Jan 10, 2024 17:22
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They used the same type of pipe for the old gutters of this place too! They use to just go direct into the storm sewers back in the day, So I have a bunch of those remnants in my basement that are all capped off and filled with cement. If I'm ever feeling ambitious one day I'll take them out so I have some more storage room.
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Jan 10, 2024 17:43
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His Divine Shadow posted:If you insulate those pipes will that affect the basement temperature? Just thinking if the basement gets colder because of this, do you need to consider alternatives to keep it warmer so it doesn't get too cold and damp and cause issues with mold? I assume this is a basement anyway. It might slightly but not enough to worry about. I'll have to put a thermometer down there and measure before and after. My guess is that it will only be a 1-2F difference. Im lucky in that I have poured 12 inch thick concrete foundation walls so that definitely helps a lot as well. The whole idea according to the guy who came out and did my home energy audit last year, (who was awesome, I seriously lucked out and feel like I got the best guy on earth, he's super into his job, ridiculously detailed and genuinely passionate about this, gave me a ton of advice and time), is that you want to retain as much heat as you can going into your radiators and not bleeding out the pipes. Even the cold water pipes can be insulated with the same idea, youre keeping the return water a bit warmer and/or warming it up on its way in. This is one of the last things i'm doing as part of the project, WAY down the list on bang to buck ratio.
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Jan 11, 2024 15:28
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Attic insulation will help keep your house cooler in the summer too. According to my home energy audit guy that's the #1 bang for the buck improvement you can do in most cases. Well worth doing.
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Jan 12, 2024 23:29
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I read somewhere that most microwaves are made by Midea in the same factory. Very few brands make their own anymore.
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Jan 17, 2024 01:46
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Ive pretty much abandoned my microwave and toaster due to our new toaster oven, that thing is awesome. It has an air fry feature as well.
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Jan 17, 2024 18:51
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Just for reference as part of a larger remodel my house had the attic converted to a living area. It serves as my office now and it probably cost around $40k once you include wiring, insulation, windows, hvac and a new roof. That was the pre covid cost and me poorly hanging my own drywall and laying my own carpet.
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Mar 9, 2024 18:31
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Motronic posted:That sounds like a drywall hammer, and I don't know a single person who has the skill to operate one anymore. But it's an excuse to post one of my favorite videos showing how its done: My old man would use them, at least for smaller sections. We'd use a T-Square for larger cuts. I'd also like to use this opportunity to thank my dad for not letting me become a professional drywaller. He wasnt a perfect parent but I'm glad he never let me settle for drywall and pushed me out of the trade. EDIT: What a dumb page snipe. Heres an actual question. Anyone have any advice on re-staining a cedar fence? Ive got large sections that appear sunbleached or were just poorly stained the first time that I want to go over this summer, not for aesthetic reasons but just to keep the fence in as good as shape for as long as possible. Do I need to sand over areas and then use a sprayer? Or can I just grab a brush and stain right over whats already there? BaseballPCHiker fucked around with this message at 15:58 on Mar 11, 2024 |
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Mar 11, 2024 15:56
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slidebite posted:Sorry bro, but you probably have the major culprits already identified. Ive purchased the cleaner, the stain, and a sprayer. Now just waiting on a deal for a power washer. All in with tools I should be under $650 for this project which I dont think is to bad.
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Mar 14, 2024 16:20
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We recently learned that my son is legally blind with ocular albinism. While there is a whole poo poo ton of work in dealing with insurance, occupational therapy, learning braille, etc, I also want to help design our house to make it as comfortable as possible for him. There is a ton to do with lighting, getting everything we can on dimmers, putting in coffered lighting (diffuse lights behind crown molding), task lighting etc. I'm a bit afraid as we do still have some knob and tube thats currently in the ceilings, running our overhead room lights and switches. In the past I was willing to leave that all in because they were just running ceiling fans and lights. Am I correct in thinking that adding any lights and/or dimmer switches will require we pull that out and install modern romex to run these things?
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Mar 26, 2024 17:51
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H110Hawk posted:Words Thanks for the advice. I will start to look into that as well, so much stuff to do with this diagnosis, it is honestly overwhelming.
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Mar 26, 2024 21:11
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Also just pull all that old wiring to get it out of the way unless you think you'll ever use it again or want to use it as a pull string. I pulled so much old coax out of my place. At some point they mustve had a tv in every room in this house.
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Apr 19, 2024 02:36
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