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ConfusedUs posted:My mom's whole house is a hobbit hole with 6'9" ceilings. I guess it, technically, has zero square footage? That's funny. Actual square footage is something like 2600. It's a big house, two stories. It's just made for really short people! Who builds a house with 6'9" ceilings?  Was it built in the 70's energy crisis or converted from a cellar or something? Are the door lintels just one inch lower than the ceiling? Spaces with low ceiling heights make me feel claustrophobic. The standard 8' ceiling at my last place felt too low to me, but I'm from a tall family and grew up in a tall house, so anything less than 10' feels low to me. My dad designed and built a house for family friends whose sons are like 6'6", so that's a really tall house. If those guys stood in your mom's house in shoes, they'd have two inches of clearance. Then 10' ceilings in my new place are really nice. It's a big space already, but the ceiling height makes it feel open and huge. Except.. now we need a step ladder because we can't reach burned-out light bulbs in ceiling fixtures.
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Oct 1, 2012 23:12
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Last night for about 30 minutes there was an amazingly loud hum in my living room that sounded like it came from a diesel truck idling outside my window. It was almost painfully loud. Tonight it started up again. It was hard to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from so I tried my upstairs neighbor. The sound was coming from a small foot bath that was on a towel on top of her carpeted living room. She's a great neighbor so there's no problem there (she's going to look for another way to muffle it) but I'm simply amazed at the power of that footbath and the acoustics through her floor into my living room. Other than the occasional loud chopping from her kitchen, I never hear noise from her apartment, so I hesitate to blame it on the acoustics our poorly designed apartments.
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Oct 2, 2012 01:17
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Authentic You posted:Who builds a house with 6'9" ceilings? Built as a one-story house in the mid 60s. Converted to a two-story house in the early 70s. It was built by a couple; the wife was in a wheelchair and the man was really short. The whole house (both stories) is built low and wide. The halls are about 18" wider than standard halls. My family is short, too. My sister is the tallest at 5'6". Can I make you talk folks feel worse? After moving in, my mom installed ceiling fans in nearly every room.
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Oct 2, 2012 17:58
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ConfusedUs posted:Built as a one-story house in the mid 60s. Converted to a two-story house in the early 70s. It was built by a couple; the wife was in a wheelchair and the man was really short. Oh man, I wish I lived in a place with such short ceilings. Everything just feels so much cozier when you don't have ten feet of space on top of you. Not to mention the tiny heating bills in winter!
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Oct 2, 2012 18:01
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ConfusedUs posted:Built as a one-story house in the mid 60s. Converted to a two-story house in the early 70s. It was built by a couple; the wife was in a wheelchair and the man was really short. I don't think the ANSI method would even apply here, as ceilings that short wouldn't even meet standard residential code (7'6"). How in the world did they get an occupancy permit?
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Oct 2, 2012 18:08
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:I don't think the ANSI method would even apply here, as ceilings that short wouldn't even meet standard residential code (7'6"). How in the world did they get an occupancy permit? Fifty years ago, in the middle of nowhere of Oklahoma? It was the only house for miles when built, although now there's a whole lakeside community. The streets were paved about ten years ago, and everyone's addresses changed at about that time because the 911 emergency system was mandated by the state. A local ISP started offering DSL service to the area about three years ago. It's positively modern!
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Oct 2, 2012 18:43
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Ah, nothing like waking up to the sound of rotten shingles being thrown off your roof and dudes stomping around overhead. Roof's finally getting replaced after a few incidents of water pouring from the ceiling fast enough to fill up a huge stock pot in under an hour. The ceiling in one of the bedrooms was water-damaged when we moved in (known leak issue that was scheduled to get fixed), but it apparently only started leaking profusely after we moved in, so after that they expedited the work. Hope they don't raise the rent too much next term... Also, I've decided that I love steam radiators. We turned the heat on yesterday, and our drafty place is now cozy and warm. Thermostat set temp is 68, current temp is 72.  Sooooo much better than the contemporary forced air system at our last place, which was horribly inefficient so basically, the set temp was like some sort of asymptote that the system could never actually achieve (so it ran all the time). It was usually three or so degrees below the set point in the main area of the house, and several degrees colder in the main floor bedrooms, and probably ten degrees colder in the basement bedroom. Whatever poo poo motor was in that system wasn't able to properly circulate air, so we were too cold in the winter and got to pay out the rear end for gas and extra electricity to power space heaters, and we were too hot in the summer and really had to pay out the rear end for electricity. That house was my first rental out of college, and I had no how bad that system was, both in performance and efficiency.
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Oct 8, 2012 19:39
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Here's a dinger for you guys. Living with 2 other guys in a 3 floor townhouse, we moved here about 2 weeks ago. We jumped on the property because it's been an absolute golden find for the rent. The sole problem is the shower. There are 2 of them. One of them in an absolutely beautiful en-suite in one of our rooms, The other is mounted roughly 3ft above the bath, ergo a "Turkish Shower"/Hair shower. Now our initial thought were that we could just get a telescopic shower pole and raise the shower but in infinite retardedness, we completely blanked out that the walls that the shower would cover are only tiled half way up. We have already talked to the letting agents and they have flat out refused to consider tiling the rest of the way up, even if we pitch in with money because we really should have noticed that. Now this CAN'T be that rare a situation, we can't be the first people who have wanted a proper shower in a part/unprepared room. Is there some sort of spray sealant we can put on the walls, or something we can mount that can be removed without taking half the wall with it at the end of our tenancy? Showering sitting down just feels... wrong.
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Oct 9, 2012 13:19
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Sex Robot posted:Here's a dinger for you guys. How much work are you willing to put into it now / when you move out? Cheapest / easiest would be to just staple vapour barrier onto the drywall where there is no tile, having it overlap a the bottom tiles by a few inches. Or replace vapour barrier with shower curtain for a little more money / 10x better aesthetic. There are other options, but require much more time and money.
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Oct 9, 2012 15:05
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I hope this is the right place to ask for advice. I moved into a new apartment about 2 months ago. On the first day that I moved in, my downstairs neighbor called security on me twice. The first time the cable guy was installing some stuff and banged on the ground a couple of times. This was after 5:00, like 5:30 and so I guess technically he was correct, in that there is no construction allowed past 5:00. I thought it was a little unreasonable, since I was just trying to move in and that's when the cable company could show up, but fine. About an hour later security showed up again. I had done nothing this time, I asked him what the guys problem was and he proceeded to tell me he was a great guy. About 3 weeks after that my girlfriend was over and we were hanging out. Not partying or making noise, just watching TV. Security guard shows up again. He says there was a complaint of noise on the floor, he didn't specifically say my apartment. We told him we weren't making noise and he went away. We went downstairs to knock on the neighbors door to find out what was going on and he wouldn't answer the door Last night at 3:30 a.m. security guard shows up at my door again. He says my TV is too loud. I do tend to leave the TV on at night, but as I pointed out to him, you could barely hear the TV when you were sitting in front of it. This time he was being a total dick and told me to turn it down so I did. I know that none of you know me and as far as you can tell its my word against his, but in all my years of renting I have never had a complaint. Ever. I don't make noise, I honestly feel like I'm being harassed by this guy, but I don't know why. I've never spoken with or even seen him. So, what do I do? Should I contact the board? Should I contact my property manager? What are my rights? What kind of a situation am I in here and what is my recourse? Any help is appreciated.
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Oct 9, 2012 16:51
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Talk to the dude downstairs see what's up and then talk with the manager.
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Oct 9, 2012 17:26
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Ok, well, what does your lease say? Can repeated complaints let them terminate the lease? Can they fine you? This stuff should be laid out in the lease and any attachments that you signed. If not, well, there is a limit to what they can do. A landlord or property manager can't just take arbitrary actions against you if it isn't part of the contract you agreed to. So that will tell you what the immediate threat is here. You have a right to use your dwelling in a reasonable fashion. That means that you can walk around, watch tv, do anything that a normal person would be expected to do. Even if you are unreasonable, trying to evict someone for just being an rear end in a top hat is a losing proposition and no property company is going to bother trying. So read your lease and make sure you are following all the terms to the letter. The flip side of this, of course, is that if they tag you as a 'problem', they might just not renew your lease. Which is a pain in the rear end. Do you want to stay on here? Now, it sounds like the guy has complainted three times in two months? That's not excessive, although obviously you feel like it's unwarranted. If he isn't answering his door then pretty clearly he doesn't want to talk to you about it. He's probably happier complaining through the channels and getting them to bother you. So you can talk to the management. The best thing to do here is to be polite and seem accomodating. If you call them up and yell about your rear end in a top hat neighbor, it won't help. If you get in touch and say something like 'This neighbor has complained and I am not sure what the issue is, we are quiet and don't have parties/bowl in the apartment/etc. We would really like to avoid disturbing other tenants, but we feel like we're not doing anything to warrant this. Maybe it's coming from another unit and he's mistaking it for us? We would be happy to talk with him directly about any issues, etc.' Basically seem reasonable and obliging and the management may not peg you as troublemakers. The related aspect of this is to not be an rear end to the guard whenever he comes to your door, because if he is putting in any kind of reports he has the power to make you out as a problem!
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Oct 9, 2012 17:44
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The normal covenant stipulates that you will not interfere with others' quiet enjoyment of the property. In situations like this, you end up with one person's word against the other, and it's very difficult to terminate a lease based on that. What you need is an objective third party, which in this case is the security guard. Does he think you're being loud? If not, complain to your property manager that your neighbor is harassing you (although 3 complaints in two months probably doesn't rise to that level). Your PM may be able to mediate things between the two of you.
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Oct 9, 2012 18:14
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Reggie Died posted:How much work are you willing to put into it now / when you move out? So wait get some sort of round shower curtain pole?
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Oct 9, 2012 23:44
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Yeah, something like this. Though it's hard to make suggestions without pictures and such.
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Oct 10, 2012 02:20
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If you can't find/install a curved one like that, I have been in apartments where it's half-assed by several regular poles (basically you put in a second pole parallel to the normal one, covering that wall, and then if you need you can cross a third one on top of those opposite the shower head - usually you don't need a curtain on the side of the actual head). I mean it will look kind of crappy but it works.
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Oct 10, 2012 14:38
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Just make a costume like Daniel did in Karate Kid.
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Oct 10, 2012 14:48
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I just wanted to say thanks for the advice, blakout, ashcans, and flash gordon ramsey, I appreciate it. I reread through the rules of the complex and am making sure that I'm doing everything that I need to do. I think that the guy beneath me is an unreasonable, bitter prick, but that's beside the point. I'm taking your advice and will be as accommodating as I can within the boundaries of what is/is not allowed. The security guard already seems to be in the other guys corner when it comes to these things, we just never hit it off well. But I'm going to do my best to not piss him off, I don't want to give them any reason to bother me unnecessarily. I don't plan on staying at this place once my lease is up anyway, I may even move sooner, so the PM not wanting to renew my lease isn't even really an issue. Anyway, thanks for the advice.
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Oct 10, 2012 16:39
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My girlfriend lives in Bismarck, ND. A few months ago, she moved in to a small apartment and, over time, has found lots of little issues. Some are fire hazards. I've seen the apartment myself and agree some of these things need to be taken care of. Her problem is, she does not know what rights she has and is afraid if she complains about the problems, they will raise the rent enough to force her out when she can't afford it. She kept a copy of the checklist she was given on her first day so she has documented some of the issues but not all of them. Is there a good spot we can start to find out what rights she has and how to go about getting things taken care of? I'd love it if she could move out but she cannot afford it and find a place that accepts pets. For now, this is all she can do. Does anyone have any suggestions or links to good places to start getting more information?
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Oct 11, 2012 00:54
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Irritated Goat posted:My girlfriend lives in Bismarck, ND. A few months ago, she moved in to a small apartment and, over time, has found lots of little issues. Some are fire hazards. I've seen the apartment myself and agree some of these things need to be taken care of. Her problem is, she does not know what rights she has and is afraid if she complains about the problems, they will raise the rent enough to force her out when she can't afford it. She kept a copy of the checklist she was given on her first day so she has documented some of the issues but not all of them. You two are the laziest pieces of work on the planet.
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Oct 11, 2012 21:59
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I guess this is a weird question, but how does one go about buying a mattress? Do you go to a store and find one you like and buy it online from Sleepys or whatever? Do you try and negotiate for a free frame and delivery? What's the process look like?
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Oct 12, 2012 18:39
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Walk into a Sleep Number store, find the most expensive bed they have, and then put it on their credit plan.
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Oct 12, 2012 19:01
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You just go into a mattress store and lay on mattresses till you find one you like. Mattress salespeople are a lot like furniture salespeople, they work on commission and you can usually haggle for a free bed frame or some such thing.
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Oct 13, 2012 00:28
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Schiavona posted:I guess this is a weird question, but how does one go about buying a mattress? Do you go to a store and find one you like and buy it online from Sleepys or whatever? Do you try and negotiate for a free frame and delivery? What's the process look like? There have been a bunch of careposts on this very subject in thread. Skim a bit and do a find in page for mattress on each page and you'll find them. (I'm not yelling at you for asking a repeat question, just directing you to answers  )
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Oct 13, 2012 22:37
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Until I was 18 I lived with my parents and they messed with the thermostat; I was not allowed to touch it. For the next five years, except for when I visited them on holidays, I lived in places that did not have air conditioning. Now I live in a place that does and I realize that I have missed out on this valuable life skill. My first few questions: I keep hearing that these systems get mold really easily. How do I make sure I don't have mold in my AC? I already feel like I have allergies since moving, but it could also be because my apartment is right next to a giant flowering tree. I've heard from some that I should turn off the thermostat while I'm at work to save money on electricity, but others say that I should just keep it running all day because it will use more electricity to bring the temp back up to normal. Which is correct? My unit has a programmable thermostat, so apparently I could have it turn off during work and come back on when I come home. Are there any good strategies to make sure I don't get screwed on my electric bill? I am really really nervous having this thing on all the time. I've noticed air blows out of some ducts more strongly than others. If one duct were blocked or closed, would the air be forced out the other?
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Oct 21, 2012 15:38
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I'm not sure where to post this, but let me try here. The neighbor's kids spent the night last night, and their 9 year old peed on my couch (I will not get into why in the hell is a 9 year old is bed wetting). I can't take the cushions off and if I get the foam out (I got in a quarter of the way out) because I will never get it back in due to the design of the couch. The couch I guess is red suede, and there doesn't seem to be anything soaked to the foam as I can tell. Right now I have it in the sun, but that is all I done so far. I read online about baking soda, vinegar, and some products you can buy in store. My wife is out picking up these stuff, but any goons have experience with this (pet urine I guess is the same)? Any advice?
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Oct 21, 2012 16:16
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nate fisher posted:I'm not sure where to post this, but let me try here. The neighbor's kids spent the night last night, and their 9 year old peed on my couch (I will not get into why in the hell is a 9 year old is bed wetting). I can't take the cushions off and if I get the foam out (I got in a quarter of the way out) because I will never get it back in due to the design of the couch. The couch I guess is red suede, and there doesn't seem to be anything soaked to the foam as I can tell. Have you talked to the kid's parents about it? They've got nine years of removing this kid's urine from various surfaces I'd imagine and might have some tips. Pet people use Nature's Miracle products to clean up various bodily fluid spills, they'd work on kid pee as well.
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Oct 21, 2012 16:53
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I'm guessing you blotted it thoroughly already. Nature's Miracle is an enzyme-based product used for pet stains. That should take care of the smell. As for the stain, Oxiclean, powdered, with just enough water to make it a paste can be scrubbed into it, then vacuumed away. There is also this product made specifically to remove urine from couches. (Not joking)
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Oct 21, 2012 16:56
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Xibanya posted:
Turn it off when you're gone, or program it the way you mentioned. The thing about it saving energy to leave it on all the time is a (very popular) myth.
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Oct 21, 2012 17:00
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nate fisher posted:I'm not sure where to post this, but let me try here. The neighbor's kids spent the night last night, and their 9 year old peed on my couch (I will not get into why in the hell is a 9 year old is bed wetting). I can't take the cushions off and if I get the foam out (I got in a quarter of the way out) because I will never get it back in due to the design of the couch. The couch I guess is red suede, and there doesn't seem to be anything soaked to the foam as I can tell.
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Oct 21, 2012 21:04
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Slight cross post from the law thread. The place I'm currently living at with a couple of other people is in need of a couple repairs. We've told the management company about these things several times now for a couple of months, but nothing has been done to resolve them. So, to make them pay attention, I told them last month that we wouldn't be paying next month's rent if they didn't fix these problems. I'll be calling them tomorrow/today to remind them of that fact, but I just wanted to check here and see if there are better ways to get the company's attention. To be fair, they aren't a fly-by-night company and, previously, were prompt with making repairs (this is the third time the dryer has crapped out on us), but they've been ignoring these issues since August. And, truthfully, I don't want to have to move out or get evicted or make a fuss that would give me a "black mark," I really like this place and the issues have been mostly minor.
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Oct 22, 2012 07:14
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IANAL and laws differ from state to state but you can't withhold rent like that, especially over something like a Dryer. Maybe if it was a habitability issue like a giant pack of ferocious racoons were living in the attic and trying to eat your newborn infant, or it was minus 20 degrees and the heat doesn't work then maybe you would be ok withholding rent. I wouldn't withhold rent, I would just try to go up the ladder with the property management company. In general withholding rent never ends well for the renter.
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Oct 22, 2012 18:28
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Yeah, the only time I've heard of withholding money from the landlord working was when it was an issue that affected the habitability of the house (heating system crapped out in winter), or the landlord not properly disclosing the utility charges (billing tenants (outrageously) for water without including copy of the actual bill). I have a friend who lived in an old-house-turned-apartment which didn't even have a laundry room, so the tenants got to go down the street to the laundromat. Dryers especially are some of those amenities that we tend to think of as a given part of the house and therefore a necessity, but they really aren't. You can always hang your clothes to dry or go to the laundromat. If you're having trouble getting the landlord's attention by going through their office, get a hold of the maintenance guys directly if you can. That's usually the only way I get poo poo fixed in my house. My bf rented from my current landlord for years, and had the head maintenance guy's cell phone number, never went through the office, and always got stuff fixed promptly. I've tried to go through the office before, and most times the request is ignored. Talk to maintenance directly? They're over in a day or two and the problem is fixed. It also helps that we're good tenants that respect the property. They wouldn't give a poo poo about our problems if we were inconsiderate slobs.
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Oct 22, 2012 19:24
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skipdogg posted:IANAL and laws differ from state to state but you can't withhold rent like that, especially over something like a Dryer. Maybe if it was a habitability issue like a giant pack of ferocious racoons were living in the attic and trying to eat your newborn infant, or it was minus 20 degrees and the heat doesn't work then maybe you would be ok withholding rent. Really, it's not the dryer but the leak from the bathroom that's been ruffling feathers, which has been there for three months now as well. I only mentioned the dryer as that was the first one I could think of (and it showed them being responsible), but they've also replaced the fridge and stove in the two years I've been here. And yeah, I really don't want to be withholding rent, but that was the only solution I could think of to get their attention. Authentic You posted:If you're having trouble getting the landlord's attention by going through their office, get a hold of the maintenance guys directly if you can. That's usually the only way I get poo poo fixed in my house. My bf rented from my current landlord for years, and had the head maintenance guy's cell phone number, never went through the office, and always got stuff fixed promptly. I've tried to go through the office before, and most times the request is ignored. Talk to maintenance directly? They're over in a day or two and the problem is fixed. It also helps that we're good tenants that respect the property. They wouldn't give a poo poo about our problems if we were inconsiderate slobs. The only number I have for maintenance is the 24-hour line which isn't staffed during normal business hours (you call the main number for maintenance tickets). Next time they send someone from maintenance over, I'll see if I can score a direct number for them.
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Oct 22, 2012 21:16
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BirdOfPlay posted:The only number I have for maintenance is the 24-hour line which isn't staffed during normal business hours (you call the main number for maintenance tickets). Next time they send someone from maintenance over, I'll see if I can score a direct number for them.
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Oct 22, 2012 22:08
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BirdOfPlay posted:Slight cross post from the law thread. Also not a lawyer, but are all of these notifications in writing? Not having that precious paper trail will ALWAYS bite you in the rear end.
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Oct 23, 2012 15:34
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Don't know if this belongs here or in the legal thread: I've had someone try to break into my apartment twice in the past couple of days. First time it was someone trying to get in my front door at 3:30 AM on Sunday night; and today I got home to find my back gate hanging wide open, when it was shut when I left for work and my dog was acting all weird when I got home so I have reason to believe whoever it was tried to get in again. I don't have any reason to believe they're going to stop with just two attempts. Before this my boyfriend had someone try to break into his car while he was living with me, so this isn't unprecedented. The only thing I have to go on is that I caught a glimpse of the guy on Sunday night but the only description I could offer would be "teenager or small man in dark clothing" so the police can't really help me. I have reason to believe I'm being targeted since I'm female and living alone, whereas every other unit is occupied by a family. Question 1: Is there any sort of legal way I can get out of my lease and move somewhere safer? Or am I stuck here for the duration of my lease? I guess I could always find a subletter and lie my rear end off about why I'm moving but that's an enormous pain in the rear end. Question 2: Assuming I can't move, does anyone have any experience with motion-activated security cameras? If the guy does try again (which he probably will) it'd be helpful to have a picture of him. I have deadbolts and chain locks on both my doors and a barky dog but clearly that's not enough of a deterrent.
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Oct 24, 2012 00:29
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Is there any sort of legal way I can get out of my lease and move somewhere safer? Probably not, but you can read your local and state rental laws to make sure. You can also talk to your landlord and see if he's willing to let you leave early, say, as soon as he finds someone else. Your barky dog probably deserves more credit than he's getting, since you say the gate was open, but your house hasn't been burglarized while you were gone. Most burglars aren't interested in a house that has a dog barking at them from the other side. There's a couple easy things you can do to protect yourself more. The first one should be buying a security strike plate to put on your door jamb. The door jamb is usually the weakest point of the entryway (if you have a metal door that is, if you don't, get the landlord to replace it with metal). This will spread the load on the wooden door jamb and prevent it from splitting easily. If you have an outdoor light next to your door, definitely replace it with a motion detector light. I don't know much about security cameras other than good ones are pretty expensive. In the meantime, you could put an old webcam in a window facing the door. In combination with the motion detector light it will probably help scare a burglar off, even if it's not even plugged in. Security strike plate: 
Costello Jello fucked around with this message at 15:26 on Oct 24, 2012 |
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Oct 24, 2012 15:23
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Yea, even if you don't have a solid legal 'out' there is no harm in contacting your landlord and telling him that you are concerned about security and would like to move out (or get him to install some better stuff, whichever). It's possible they will be willing to let you out of the lease as soon as they can replace you.
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Oct 24, 2012 15:28
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Found myself a pretty nice place, moving in with three friends. Only trouble is, since they're all in the middle of exams and mine aren't for a couple of weeks, I'm the only one able to go in and handle the deposit/lease signing for everybody. We've been reassured by the agent that all of us will be on the lease, and they'll collect the other signatures later- the landlord is just wanting this done so he can take it off the market or something? Kind of a massive pain in the rear end, and I'm suspicious. Is this something that can be done, or am I making myself responsible for the whole house doing this (in which case the agent can shove it) Synonymous fucked around with this message at 17:56 on Oct 24, 2012 |
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Oct 24, 2012 17:37
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