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Sunshine89 posted:Bit of an odd question, but does anyone know where to get old-school metal ice cube trays in Toronto? I've seen them online (retro junkies and paranoid anti-plastic granolas), but almost all of them have absolutely insane shipping charges. Might be better off asking the Toronto thread.
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Apr 6, 2013 05:50
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| # ? May 14, 2024 17:29 |
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Obviously read your contract, but you should probably start looking for friends or something who might be interested in taking over your apartment. Making it less of a headache for your landlords is always a good idea when they (probably, not having read your lease) have the opportunity to screw you over.
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Apr 6, 2013 14:13
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Invalid Octopus posted:Might be better off asking the Toronto thread. Yeah this one.
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Apr 6, 2013 15:41
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Do we have a thread or resources for mattress shopping? My roommate and I just moved states and after a long process, finally got a place. We're not looking forward to sleeping on the floor but I'd also rather not impulse purchase something that should last a pretty long time.
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Apr 7, 2013 06:23
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No special thread, but it's been discussed a few times in this thread if you look around.
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Apr 7, 2013 06:25
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I saw a little bit, but thought I'd double check. Thanks; the OP in this thread was crazy helpful in finding a good place.
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Apr 7, 2013 06:33
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bartlebee posted:I saw a little bit, but thought I'd double check. Thanks; the OP in this thread was crazy helpful in finding a good place. Yaaaaaaaaaaay 
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Apr 8, 2013 02:06
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bartlebee posted:Do we have a thread or resources for mattress shopping? My roommate and I just moved states and after a long process, finally got a place. We're not looking forward to sleeping on the floor but I'd also rather not impulse purchase something that should last a pretty long time. While a mattress is an important purchase, in my experience they tend to be kind of "you get what you pay for", in that a cheapo off-brand one will last a couple years, a moderately priced one is probably OK, and getting something insane like a Temperpedic is going to be both amazing and expensive. Go to a couple of mattress places (if possible), lay on a few, and figure out a price range you can handle. I've had cheap-cheaps (OK, but developed a dent in the middle and needed to be flipped like every two weeks), moderates (what I use currently, since I am young and have no back problems, it's very comfortable) and have tried fancy ones (awesome, but I can't spend $1000+ on a mattress). Other than that, finding a used one that you trust is going to be your only way of really getting a deal on it. Obviously, this skeeves people out usually, but if you have a relative or know somebody who is renovating, it can work out. The one I have is from a family friend's guest room that they were renovating and had been used a handful of times, so it was a great deal. If somebody has the "in" on how to get a good deal on a brand new mattress, I'd love to hear it.
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Apr 8, 2013 03:45
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I asked in the small/stupid questions thread too, but I figure it might be applicable here. Does anyone know where to go to find nice prints/canvas prints from independent artists? Etsy is a crapshoot, society6 tends toward pop culture stuff, and redbubble seems like it has a lot of the same stuff as society6.
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Apr 8, 2013 03:48
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tarepanda posted:I asked in the small/stupid questions thread too, but I figure it might be applicable here. All of my artist friends sell them from their own personal websites - use Google reverse image search on any you like and you can probably track down the original artist.
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Apr 8, 2013 03:51
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vonnegutt posted:All of my artist friends sell them from their own personal websites - use Google reverse image search on any you like and you can probably track down the original artist. Unfortunately, I just want to browse a bunch of stuff. Thanks for the suggestion, though!
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Apr 8, 2013 11:17
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My husband and I just moved into a side-by-side duplex the last week of March, and I had a few questions that have popped up. We had a neighbor for that last week (until he moved out until 2 in the morning on the 1st, banging every Goddamn thing he owned), and we were able to hear him quite a bit. He would play loud music in his bathroom from 6-8 am that we could hear in ours, we could hear his TV blaring, we could hear him talking loudly in the basement, and we could hear him and his dog stomping around, among other sounds at all hours. He either seemed very unaware what an inconsiderate prick he was being, or he didn't care. My first question is: is it possible to have one half be more insulated against sound in a side-by-side duplex, or is that just silly? Like, was he so noisy, because he was unaware we could hear him so clearly, because he could never hear anything from this side...? There's currently workmen over there fixing up the place for the new tenants, and I can hear them talking and working as well. I guess what I don't know is if people are yelling or talking at a moderate level, but I'd imagine they be required to be considerate to some degree...? My second question is: should the neighbor using water have an effect on our water pressure...? We have to pay for water and sewer here, so my naivety wants to believe no (because that would suggest our water use is somehow linked, right?), but we would be showering when the neighbor was still here and all of the sudden we'd lose ALL water pressure, reducing the shower to a trickle. Since the neighbor moved out, we haven't had that problem--showers have had FANTASTIC pressure the entire time. If we start to lose pressure again when new people move in next door, should we alert the landlady? Or is it going to be one of those things we have to deal with?
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Apr 8, 2013 15:39
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Niemat posted:My first question is: is it possible to have one half be more insulated against sound in a side-by-side duplex, or is that just silly? Like, was he so noisy, because he was unaware we could hear him so clearly, because he could never hear anything from this side...? No, there is no way that he would be insulated from your noise without you being insulated from his. You can't set it up like some sort of one-way mirror for sound. I suspect that one of three things was going on: 1, you guys are being quiet so he can't actually hear you over his own noise, and therefore doesn't realize how bad the insulation is; 2, he had lived in the unit a while and acclimatized to the level of noise/sound that came through, and it no longer registered as being a possible issue; 3, he knew he was being loud and didn't give a poo poo. My experience with workmen is that 'being considerate' extends to not starting work before 7am, and not shouting obscenities. Regular shouting and other noise is considered a required part of the job. It kind of sucks but there is not much to be done about it. quote:My second question is: should the neighbor using water have an effect on our water pressure...? We have to pay for water and sewer here, so my naivety wants to believe no (because that would suggest our water use is somehow linked, right?), but we would be showering when the neighbor was still here and all of the sudden we'd lose ALL water pressure, reducing the shower to a trickle. Since the neighbor moved out, we haven't had that problem--showers have had FANTASTIC pressure the entire time. If we start to lose pressure again when new people move in next door, should we alert the landlady? Or is it going to be one of those things we have to deal with? If your water is metered separately and you shouldn't have pressure issues if it was done properly (because it should be split coming off the city connection, so whatever they are doing wouldn't affect you). I think there are two potential issues here; the first is that the units are not actually metered separately, and the second is that the division was handled improperly and installed inside the house system instead. The second one seems unlikely to me because the utility would need to inspect/access the meter and would probably not accept a terrible setup. How is water/sewer handled? Is your landlord 'taking care of it' and you pay them some amount each month with your rent? Or do you have an account with the utility company and they send you a bill? If you are going through the landlord, then 90% they never metered the units separately and they are just splitting the bill in half and sending it to each unit. Running a single meter and splitting the costs is actually allowed in some (many?) places. You should check your local laws and find out. In Boston, for instance, if you want to charge your tenants for water there are a lot of fairly onerous requirements to follow, and so most landlords don't bother to do it. In any case, if the drop in pressure is bad enough that it literally reduces a shower to a trickle, you can certainly complain to the landlord that you're having water issues. We live in a three-unit building and while there is a pressure change when our neighbors do stuff, it's not enough to cause a problem, just enough to be noticeable.
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Apr 8, 2013 16:02
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Niemat posted:My husband and I just moved into a side-by-side duplex the last week of March, and I had a few questions that have popped up. We had a neighbor for that last week (until he moved out until 2 in the morning on the 1st, banging every Goddamn thing he owned), and we were able to hear him quite a bit. He would play loud music in his bathroom from 6-8 am that we could hear in ours, we could hear his TV blaring, we could hear him talking loudly in the basement, and we could hear him and his dog stomping around, among other sounds at all hours. He either seemed very unaware what an inconsiderate prick he was being, or he didn't care. My first question is: is it possible to have one half be more insulated against sound in a side-by-side duplex, or is that just silly? Like, was he so noisy, because he was unaware we could hear him so clearly, because he could never hear anything from this side...? There's currently workmen over there fixing up the place for the new tenants, and I can hear them talking and working as well. I guess what I don't know is if people are yelling or talking at a moderate level, but I'd imagine they be required to be considerate to some degree...? If there's one line supplying both sides of the duplex, then it's entirely possible that water pressure would drop when the other side is using it. However, your meter should be on your branch of the supply line, and it will measure the flow based on whatever pressure you have.
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Apr 8, 2013 16:03
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Ashcans posted:No, there is no way that he would be insulated from your noise without you being insulated from his. You can't set it up like some sort of one-way mirror for sound. I suspect that one of three things was going on: 1, you guys are being quiet so he can't actually hear you over his own noise, and therefore doesn't realize how bad the insulation is; 2, he had lived in the unit a while and acclimatized to the level of noise/sound that came through, and it no longer registered as being a possible issue; 3, he knew he was being loud and didn't give a poo poo. Yeah, he lived there for the past three years, and generally didn't seem like an upright member of society (for example, he trained his dog to poo poo on our side of the yard and never cleaned up after him), so I could believe he was just an inconsiderate twat. We pay water and sewer directly to the city. When we switched utilities over, they sent out a guy to read our meter, which is on the outside of the building, if that helps...? Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:If there's one line supplying both sides of the duplex, then it's entirely possible that water pressure would drop when the other side is using it. However, your meter should be on your branch of the supply line, and it will measure the flow based on whatever pressure you have. How would this work? Will we ever be at risk for paying for any of the other unit's water/sewer use?
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Apr 8, 2013 16:13
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Niemat posted:How would this work? Will we ever be at risk for paying for any of the other unit's water/sewer use? Assuming there are two meters, then as long as its plumbed correctly, your meter should only measure for your water usage, and should be correct regardless of flow rate. A lot of older places may not be plumbed for that though, but if there are two city meters, then I would think you'd be ok. But if you have city water meters on the outside, the drop in pressure would concern me, although it could just be that the city line isn't carrying enough pressure to feed two units.
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Apr 8, 2013 16:21
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:Assuming there are two meters, then as long as its plumbed correctly, your meter should only measure for your water usage, and should be correct regardless of flow rate. A lot of older places may not be plumbed for that though, but if there are two city meters, then I would think you'd be ok. But if you have city water meters on the outside, the drop in pressure would concern me, although it could just be that the city line isn't carrying enough pressure to feed two units. If it helps, the unit was built in 1915, according to the internet. Is the drop in pressure something we should contact the city or the landlady about then? Or should we just leave it alone? Sorry for the barrage of questions, but thank you for helping!!
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Apr 8, 2013 16:25
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vonnegutt posted:If somebody has the "in" on how to get a good deal on a brand new mattress, I'd love to hear it. I would check the Sears Outlet, if you have one near you.
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Apr 8, 2013 17:03
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Niemat posted:If it helps, the unit was built in 1915, according to the internet. Is the drop in pressure something we should contact the city or the landlady about then? Or should we just leave it alone? It's not uncommon for utilities to have been split sometime during their long life. In your case, it's possible there's only one water main and one sewer main running from the street to the house, with the water split just inside the basement with two separate meters. Sewer can be billed individually using the same reading from the water meter. It's possible the single main or the jerry-rigged split plumbing is causing your issue. I wouldn't expect the water company to take responsibility for anything once it makes it passed the curb. Complain to your landlord. For a 1915 side-by-side, I wouldn't expect there to be any kind of insulation in your shared wall (or your outside walls. Maybe there's lovely 1970s blown insulation in the attic if you're lucky.). At least it's probably thick plaster and lathe walls. People pay a lot of money today for condos/townhouses with shared walls with 1/4" or 1/2" drywall.
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Apr 8, 2013 17:56
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Well crud. My leasing office called back and told me I'm more or less on my own for finding someone to take over my place. I had guessed this would be the case but I hoped it wouldn't be so. Their advice was "just put an ad out on Craigslist :I" which I'm not so sure about, given the bizarre things I've heard about that site. If I want to put out an "are you interested?" sort of ad, what's the minimum I should include? Price, size, where it is, when I need it taken, and contact info? The secretaries in my department are cool with sending out housing listings to people, and we'll be getting new grad students coming in this summer so I want to drum up some interest as quickly as possible with a more general ad. And is it OK to post here asking "hey anyone want to take over my place? E-mail me", in a place like SA Mart or LAN? I know that could turn out just as poorly as Craigslist but I'm just looking at my options here. C-Euro fucked around with this message at 19:09 on Apr 8, 2013 |
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Apr 8, 2013 18:48
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C-Euro posted:Well crud. My leasing office called back and told me I'm more or less on my own for finding someone to take over my place. I had guessed this would be the case but I hoped it wouldn't be so. Their advice was "just put an ad out on Craigslist :I" which I'm not so sure about, given the bizarre things I've heard about that site. That's exactly what most places will tell you to do. I got an apartment one time as a sub-lease from Craigslist. All I had to do was talk with the current lessee, sign a lease form, and turn it in to the rental agency. Easy. They don't care about helping you find a sub-leaser, why should they? You're on a lease. It's your problem if you need to get out of it early; they're going to get paid either way.
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Apr 8, 2013 19:08
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C-Euro posted:Well crud. My leasing office called back and told me I'm more or less on my own for finding someone to take over my place. I had guessed this would be the case but I hoped it wouldn't be so. Their advice was "just put an ad out on Craigslist :I" which I'm not so sure about, given the bizarre things I've heard about that site. Housing listings aren't the shady part of Craigslist. Maybe make a throwaway email account for it in case you get spammed, but posting on Craigslist is by far the easiest way to get your place subleased. If you aren't sure what to put in the ad just look at what other people are generally doing and copy that. Craigslist is going to be the first place that most people looking to find a sublease are going to look.
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Apr 8, 2013 19:31
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Craigslist is a good idea, and I would also suggest Reddit. My city has its own mini-Craigslist subreddit, and I imagine a lot of other cities do as well. I posted there when I was looking for housing and got several offers, one of which I took. There are a lot of other postings on there for other people trying to rent places out, so it's worth a try!
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Apr 8, 2013 20:03
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C-Euro posted:If I want to put out an "are you interested?" sort of ad, what's the minimum I should include? Price, size, where it is, when I need it taken, and contact info? Look in the OP here and flip it around. As a renter you want to know price, security deposit, sq footage, included utilities, rent date, pet policy, blah blah blah. More info & pics the better. I've found roommates and apartments on CL, and I've posted for someone to take over my lease. Works out fine. And: Thoguh posted:Housing listings aren't the shady part of Craigslist. Yes. Mind you, if someone wants to rent it sight unseen and paypal you the deposit, be careful. If they're very eager to do it it's a good sign you should wait for a different offer. Also expect to get emails like this quote:txt me i want 2 rent ur aprmtnet <phone number> I didn't really bother too much with those because if they can't be hosed to add their name to an email, I probably don't want to do money things with them. You should also see if your complex will do credit checks for you on subletters. You might have to just pay for it. e: In other news, I've got 4 showings set up for next weekend and I'm waiting to hear back on some others. I hope we get one.  And it'd be a bonus if it's not the one with the wood paneling everywhere 
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Apr 8, 2013 21:38
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Thanks, I just wasn't sure how divorced the housing part of Craigslist was from the "come have anonymous gay sex with me behind my wife's back" Craiglist  I put up an ad within the department where I work, hopefully an incoming grad student will want to come do some early summer work.And yeah, I know that my leasing office has no incentive to help me but they were kind of flat and rude about it. Also a pain in the rear end to get a hold of- they don't even have an e-mail address that I'm aware of, and I work in a basement office so no cell reception if they try to call.
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Apr 8, 2013 22:56
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tarepanda posted:I asked in the small/stupid questions thread too, but I figure it might be applicable here. If you're not excluding galleries, Nucleus Gallery has some cool artists, but there's not a lot in the way of curation so you have to be willing to look around a bit. Thumbtack Press - I haven't looked around much, but they seem to have some cool prints Saatchi Online has a bunch of awesome artists at all price points and they sell prints, including canvas, of all their work. Beers Lambert occasionally has some really cool prints The Outsiders Giant Robot is awesome, but it's a very specific style
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Apr 8, 2013 23:27
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tarepanda posted:I asked in the small/stupid questions thread too, but I figure it might be applicable here. A lot of DeviantArt people sell prints of their work through there. It's not all Sonic porn.
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Apr 8, 2013 23:41
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I heard bad things about their print quality, but that was a few years back. Digging your new avatar.
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Apr 9, 2013 00:06
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C-Euro posted:Well crud. My leasing office called back and told me I'm more or less on my own for finding someone to take over my place. All this varies by jurisdiction, but landlord-tenant laws usually state that a landlord can't collect rent twice for the same unit. In other words, the landlord can continue to collect rent from you for the (probably entire) period of your lease while it's vacant, but can't continue to charge you if he (or you) find a replacement. Even if you find your own replacement to move in on the 1st of the next month and the landlord doesn't lose any money and even collects a new security deposit from the new tenant, he may be able to keep your security deposit as penalty, depending on the terms of your lease and local law. Also, if you do move out without a replacement, the landlord is usually obligated to try and find a new tenant. He can't legally (technically) leave it empty for 9 months and expect you to pay. Good luck proving this when he sues you or sends you to collections. Read your lease. Ask your landlord about his intentions of keeping the deposit as penalty even if you find an immediate replacement and he doesn't lose a dime. Call your local city/county bar association for a reference for a landlord-tenant lawyer. You might find one that offers a free 1/2 or full hour consultation. If they're asking you to find a replacement and not to sublease, they'll probably get to the point of screening your potential replacement like they would any other prospective tenant. Offer to pay your replacement for the application/credit check fee if you're having trouble. If you're getting desperate, advertise that you'll pay 1/4 or 1/2 or all of the first month's rent. Make sure you're clear in the ad that your finding a replacement and not subleasing. goku chewbacca fucked around with this message at 01:58 on Apr 9, 2013 |
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Apr 9, 2013 01:55
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Yeah, it would be the new person signing a lease on my apartment and annulling the lease I currently have on it. So they would be the only one paying, they'd go through the application process, the office won't do any cleaning or repair that they'd normally do on a vacant unit before someone else moved in etc. The security deposit is staying with the apartment as well, so because there's a couple of little dings and knicks around the place I'd probably just ask this new person for half what I originally paid for my deposit. It is, for all intents and purposes, someone taking over my lease for good (or at least until the one I signed expires in July of next year)
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Apr 9, 2013 02:37
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re: lawyering, you may be able to get some idea from the legal questions thread. They'll need your state & also the relevant bits of your lease.
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Apr 9, 2013 14:08
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Well, I'm moving back out of my parents', yaaaaay! I want a silly shower curtain and I don't want to spend a ton. Anyone got any good sites? They must ship to Canada.
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Apr 10, 2013 06:14
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http://www.amazon.com/Spinning-Hat-Social-Shower-Curtain/dp/B0077ATMAU
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Apr 10, 2013 07:26
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Wasn't for me, but it put me on the right track. Thanks!
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Apr 10, 2013 07:44
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No problem. It's actually the only shower curtain I "know" of (other than the usual patterned/plain ones).
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Apr 10, 2013 07:59
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Ugh, turns out the one I was looking at has ludicrous shipping to Canada. I know what I'm looking for now though so it should be easier to track down a better deal on it. I'm surprised there's not more stuff like that out there, though, I am surely not the only horrific nerd intending to live alone with only other nerds to see the shower accessories.
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Apr 10, 2013 21:09
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Have you tried looking for it on other sites? Maybe there are some distributors in Canada.
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Apr 10, 2013 21:30
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My leasing office left a note on my door saying that someone's already interested in taking over my lease!  ...and that they're going to show my unit off to them tomorrow morning, which means I need to tidy up tonight instead of preparing the job interview that I'm driving 200 miles to attend tomorrow  Not that my apartment is a disaster area, but there's always a catch isn't there?
C-Euro fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Apr 11, 2013 |
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Apr 11, 2013 01:14
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Hey, guys. This might belong in another thread that I can't seem to find... I'm renting a room, and I locked myself out of it. Landlord didn't have a spare key. Lockpicking attempts didn't work. He told me to "do whatever you have to to get in." So, I did. It involved the claw of a hammer, and now I need a new doorknob. Who is responsible for the new doorknob?
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Apr 11, 2013 12:54
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Great Horny Toads! posted:Hey, guys. This might belong in another thread that I can't seem to find...
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Apr 11, 2013 13:12
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