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Ashcans posted:Do you think your landlord is actually trying to fix it? If so, trying to put fear into them isn't really going to help. If you think they are screwing around and not taking you seriously you can try complaining to the department of sanitation, or whoever covers habitability in your area. But if he's already working on in, it'll probably just piss him off. Yeah, don't wanna be that guy who's all "ROBBLE ROBBLE I'LL HAVE UR JOB". I'll probably do the bucket thing; I'm kinda mad I didn't think of that earlier. They offered to let us use the toilet in the unoccupied unit next door, but there's no electricity there, so I don't really want to have to bring a flashlight to take a midnight dump  It's not a completely continuous leak, but once it gets a dripping it forms a puddle pretty fast.
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Nov 8, 2013 22:08
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FISHMANPET posted:Obviously dirty dishes into the dishwasher, no food left on the counter, but how far do I go from there? Should I rinse off every dish after every meal to make sure there are zero food particles? Every single dry good in a resealable plastic container? If dirty dishes spend any time sitting in the sink then I'd say tackling that is priority number one. Rinse then put them into the dishwasher immediately. Clean your sink strainer and in-sink disposal if you have one - I clean my disposal with baking soda/vinegar fizz and then pour a kettle of not-quite-boiling water in. Raise the cat's dish off the floor if you can, even a few inches makes a difference. Bug-proof pet bowls are a good idea. Putting your dry goods in resealable containers are a good idea, but if you aren't finding bugs/bug poop in your open boxes of cereal then I'd make it a lower priority. Bugs will just keep coming back until their food supply is cut off.
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Nov 8, 2013 22:38
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I've moved to a new place, its a big rear end house and the owner rents the rooms out to people. They provide internet but sharing it between the 7 of us there are moments where it just stops working. Needless to say not being able to call in work sheets and check my email for work opportunities is extremely frustrating. Then there is a problem where there are all kinds of restrictions on the net, I couldn't connect my printer through the wireless, half the torrents I try to download will not ever find any peers, and I can't play FF14 at all cause of ports and well, I can't get my stuff forwarded. So clearly the answer is to just get my own internet right? Problem is there is no phone jack in my room, do I have any options?
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Nov 9, 2013 19:11
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I have a potential job offering that is going to take me 30 hours by car across the country to Seattle. I've never moved for a job. I'm mid-lease in Chicago. What advice/planning/moving/job changing tips does anyone have who has gone through this? I feel like I want to bring as little stuff as possible. I have a massive record collection and I would bring some of it but I feel like I should leave a lot of it at my family's house in storage until I know more about the place we'd move to. We, my girlfriend and I, she's very on board with the idea (job, moving, etc). We bought a couch when we moved into our current place that we'd really like to keep/ship, but most of the furniture and crap we have can be sold. I'm thinking bring essential kitchen stuff, essential clothes, computers and essential gadgets and obviously the couch and our mattress. I have a car but its an old Scion tC and only like.. kitchen and clothing stuff could fit in and definitely not all of it, I would be hiring a mover. I haven't asked yet as I haven't gotten that far, but I am 99% sure the job would cover moving costs (how do I estimate or calculate this?). The opportunity would present itself in the next quarter. When do I tell my landlord (who is really cool)? How do I find an apartment in a different city without being there? Leal posted:I've moved to a new place, its a big rear end house and the owner rents the rooms out to people. They provide internet but sharing it between the 7 of us there are moments where it just stops working. Needless to say not being able to call in work sheets and check my email for work opportunities is extremely frustrating. Then there is a problem where there are all kinds of restrictions on the net, I couldn't connect my printer through the wireless, half the torrents I try to download will not ever find any peers, and I can't play FF14 at all cause of ports and well, I can't get my stuff forwarded. Its humorous you are complaining you can't do serious work in the same paragraph as playing games and downloading torrents. I imagine you can get your own internet but you'd need a technician to install it, check with your landlord. Fixing that issue of sharing would be near impossible between 7+ people. Not an Anthem fucked around with this message at 20:26 on Nov 9, 2013 |
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Nov 9, 2013 20:16
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If your employer is offering relocation assistance HR will also have information about housing in the area. Many companies will put you up in an extended stay hotel for a couple weeks till you find something. When you get your offer you can ask HR about all that. Your relocation assistance should cover the lease breaking fee, or if you have enough time you can probably find a subletter to take over the rest of your lease. Do not tell your landlord you're moving until you have a firm job offer in case it falls through.
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Nov 10, 2013 05:10
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Thank you, didn't know that and it makes a lot of sense.
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Nov 10, 2013 19:11
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Is it bad to leave my bed on the carpet? I've slept on it for about 18 months without a bed frame and haven't noticed anything bad like bed bugs but thought I'd get the goonpinion(tm) from this thread. For some reason I like how low to the floor it is (and it keeps me from just shoving poo poo underneath a bed frame  ). Plus the bed frame I like is a grand but I'd rather buy other stuff currently.
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Nov 11, 2013 18:34
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Its not bad but you can get a folding iron frame for like 70$ and if you don't have a box spring they are like 50$.
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Nov 11, 2013 19:23
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Ashcans posted:If they are little roaches, they are probably German roaches. Unfortunately they eat just about everything and do infest buildings. It's very possible that they are just moving around in the building, basically going down a level when your landlord treats your unit and coming back when its done. It's 70 unit apartment building. The landlord isn't the owner, but he runs the place so close enough (and the whole thing is owned by a single person). He has a bug guy come regularly twice a month so I guess I just need to get in the habit of keeping it clean and have him send the bug guy over whenever he's in the building until it goes away.
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Nov 11, 2013 19:30
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kloa posted:Is it bad to leave my bed on the carpet? I've slept on it for about 18 months without a bed frame and haven't noticed anything bad like bed bugs but thought I'd get the goonpinion(tm) from this thread. I had my bed on the floor for like 3 years and actually liked it, I hate super-tall beds. As far as it being "bad", bad for what, for the integrity of the mattress? The floor is a more flat and even surface than a bed frame unless your frame is one solid piece, you could argue that having it on the floor might actually be better. The only downside is that you lose a huge chunk of storage by not being able to put stuff under the bed. It's a good place to hide poo poo! No one can see your clutter if it's under the bed.
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Nov 11, 2013 21:05
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The real issues are mold and mildew without air circulation, and vermin. There's a reason people elevate their beds, and it's not because of the big bedframe lobby. You can pick up one of those little metal frames for like $20, or you probably know someone who has one in their attic or basement. Don't be a goon about this.
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Nov 11, 2013 21:43
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i like nice words
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In general, a "floor bed" just screams "college aged" and/or "just out of college." Like...no one over 25 should ever have a floor bed. It's about on par with milk crates for furniture. They make low-profile bed-frames that still keep the bed close to the floor, if you just don't like standard height bed-frames.. There's also the issue that, odds are, your sheets and blankets are at least a little bit on the floor...I guess it's more a psychological "eww, floor is dirty, bed is on floor, ergo bed, sheets, and blankets are dirty" type of mindset, but I don't care for it, personally. Like...I wouldn't ever want to bring someone I was dating home to show them my floor bed. That being said, my mattress is currently on my floor (UGH) because of a recent move. I decided the move was a flimsy pretext to get rid of an old bed frame and box spring I had that wasn't the right size for the mattress. At one point I had a king-sixed everything, but the mattress got permanently deformed in the middle from moving it up a narrow staircase (the ol' 'taco bed' problem,) so I bought a memory foam queen mattress. I just kept it on top of the king frame and box-spring for a year and a half until a couple months ago when I moved out and brought them to the dump. Since I had to buy a new couch for my new place, and will also have to buy an entertainment center and coffee table at some point as well, bed frame is lower on the list. And since it's a hassle to find someone who has a truck I can borrow, it's hard to even find one on craigslist since most people add in the "you have to haul it away" stipulation. And I literally just started dating someone, so I'll have to keep making excuses as to why she can't ever come over until I get a frame...or just wait until she doesn't want to go on any more dates before we even get to that point like that last three women I dated. 
DrBouvenstein fucked around with this message at 23:08 on Nov 11, 2013 |
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Nov 11, 2013 23:03
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A box frame should alleviate the mildew/mold potential, right? Also, having a box frame right on the floor looks totally fine, especially with a bedskirt. Our old metal frame was crappy so we got rid of it and the bed is just fine. But yes please don't sleep on a mattress directly on the floor, it's pretty icky.
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Nov 11, 2013 23:37
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Yeah I used to have my mattress on the floor (I guess it's okay as I was a student at the time?) and ended up with a pretty bad mould issue starting from where it touched the wall, got a new matress and a cheap frame and didn't have any further issues. As long as you at least look under your matress every so often to make sure it's not staying damp or anything you should be OK.
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Nov 12, 2013 03:05
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FISHMANPET posted:It's 70 unit apartment building. The landlord isn't the owner, but he runs the place so close enough (and the whole thing is owned by a single person). He has a bug guy come regularly twice a month so I guess I just need to get in the habit of keeping it clean and have him send the bug guy over whenever he's in the building until it goes away. If they are brownish beetles that look like roaches but are smaller (1/2" long), they might be pantry bugs, who love to eat thin cardboard. Definitely move your dry goods to Tupperware or similar, because otherwise you will straight up have beetles in your food. Keeping your kitchen and bathroom as clean and DRY as possible will help discourage bugs from living there. If they're in the bathroom as well, it's almost always water they're going after. Edit: moving flour, etc to your freezer is also probably a good idea. There are a lot of folk remedies like sprinkling Borax and so forth, but reducing the amount of stuff they like (food particles, water in accessible areas, cardboard) will encourage them to move elsewhere, especially if your neighbors are slobbier.
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Nov 12, 2013 15:40
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I grew up in Arizona and therefore am entirely new to blanket shopping, now that I live somewhere that gets cold. I have every blanket I own on my bed now and it's early november, I will need more. I also need some for the living room and as truck kit. Truck kit I'm sure I'd be fine with some army surplus wool blankets, but for sleep and living room duty, where should I be looking for cheap/warm/not itchy as hell? I'm fine buying used, but I don't really know what kinds of places I should look.
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Nov 13, 2013 07:48
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I like turtles posted:I grew up in Arizona and therefore am entirely new to blanket shopping, now that I live somewhere that gets cold.
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Nov 13, 2013 09:40
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I like turtles posted:I grew up in Arizona and therefore am entirely new to blanket shopping, now that I live somewhere that gets cold. Have you considered heating your apartment?
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Nov 13, 2013 11:34
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I like turtles posted:I grew up in Arizona and therefore am entirely new to blanket shopping, now that I live somewhere that gets cold. Buy a heated mattress pad. Stay away from used bedding. You can layer up cheap cotton blankets if you have to, but like Thanatosian mentioned, a nice down comforter will make all the difference.
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Nov 13, 2013 13:47
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I like turtles posted:I grew up in Arizona and therefore am entirely new to blanket shopping, now that I live somewhere that gets cold. Every blanket? Please tell me that's no more than 2. I'm in New England, and I'm still at just a sheet and a comforter. I rarely actually use a blanket, the sheet and comforter gets me through 80% of the year, then in summer it's just the sheet, or nothing if it's a real hot night and I don't feel like paying to ruin the AC. If it's super cold (like a lot of thrifty New Englanders, I turn off the heat at night,) I "double over" the comforter so it acts like TWO comforters (the benefits of sleeping alone.) So I guess my advice is that you'll get used to it? But man, that cold-rear end walk from the bed to the shower is HELL in the winter mornings...especially since my new place has hardwood floors and not carpet like my last place.
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Nov 13, 2013 15:52
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Homegoods/TJ Maxx and Marshalls are both good places to get bedding and comforters on the cheap. If you want a plain comforter, IKEA's are pretty good and run about $30 for the down alternatives, although you'll need to pick up a duvet cover. When it's really cold I stick one of those itchy wool army surplus blankets between the top sheet and comforter, it's very warm and not itchy at all. Polarfleece throws are dirt cheap and work just fine for wrapping yourself up on the couch, IKEA has a bunch under $20 and you can usually find them at drugstores, too. I also like falsa blankets; they're cheap, warm, washable and can do double-duty as throw rugs, picnic blankets, and yoga mats.
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Nov 13, 2013 16:28
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I'm wondering if someone can give me a sanity check on getting our bathroom redone. I went to a local bathroom place and they're suggesting around £7k ($11215) for: -Taking out old fixtures (bath, electric shower, toilet, sink, radiator) -Storage units across two walls -Mirror -Cabinet above sink -New lino flooring -Toilet, sink, shower -Shower panels -Refitting ventilation fan. Around £2.5k of that is labour. It's a small bathroom in a small 1 bedroom flat. I am aware that I could do it far more cheaply if I were to do it myself, but I simply don't have the skills or time. Nor do I want to deal with the attendant stress. £7k seems like a lot to me, but I have zero experience in bathroom renovation, so it may well be reasonable. The company is reputable and people we know have had good work done by them. They do operate in one of the more expensive parts of town, though. We can afford the £7k and it's tempting to just go for it. I'm a cheaparse, too, though and the idea of overpaying stings. I've been told that ordering my own materials and hiring someone to fit them would be far cheaper, but that seems like a lot of work too.
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Nov 14, 2013 00:15
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It'd make a lot more sense for you to get more quotes in your area, or talk to people with renovation experience in your area. Prices for construction and renovating can vary drastically across the U.S., and you're in a completely different country. That would be a bit high for my area, but it may not be for yours.
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Nov 14, 2013 02:33
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I'm going to be sleeping on a pull out sofa for a couple weeks while I save up for a mattress/frame and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a pilllowtop mattress pad (I think that's what I'm looking for?). The pull out bed is a queen with a thin, uncomfortable mattress on a metal frame. I'd like to make it reasonably comfortable if possible.
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Nov 14, 2013 16:40
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You can buy a memory foam mattress topper that is probably your best best. We have a pull out, and when we bought it we got a skinny memory foam mattress for it - it is so much better than the terrible spring mattresses that are often standard with that sort of thing. Most of the time I would rather sleep on the couch itself than unfold those lovely mattresses.
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Nov 14, 2013 16:55
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Chas McGill posted:I'm wondering if someone can give me a sanity check on getting our bathroom redone. I went to a local bathroom place and they're suggesting around £7k ($11215) for: When I had my shower redone I found that a huge amount depending on exactly the spec I wanted - try pricing the parts up individually and see.
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Nov 14, 2013 21:43
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So I'm lookin' into finding my first apartment, and I am looking at apartment reviews and stuff and I've found they fall into two categories, either 5/5 would live here forever if I could, and you should to because all your dreams will come true[looks like a paid advertisement], and 0/5 ALL YOUR DREAMS WILL COME CRASHING DOWN AROUND YOU  . Should I just not trust apartment reviews or is it because I'm a poor graduate with two room mates that all the apartments I can afford will suck and I should just deal?
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Nov 15, 2013 17:03
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All apartment reviews are terrible. The reason for this is pretty simple - people take 'tolerable living space' for granted. Not many people get up in the morning and say 'Goddamn, my toilet flushes, the water is hot, and there isn't a hobo smearing feces on my door. I should tell the world about this!' A complex that does everything fine will probably never inspire someone to find a review site and remark that they are totally acceptable. So the only people that actually go through the trouble of a review are people who are pissed off, whether that is justified or not. This does mean that reviews are kind of useless for judging a place. The best option is really to go there in person, look at it, spend a little time there, and ideally talk to any existing tenants. For a complex, make sure you understand whether you are being shown a 'sample' unit, or the one you would actually rent - it is very common to show people a nice unit and then assign them one with a crappier view/worse furnishing/toilet full of eels. If you do have to rely on reviews, I try to read between the lines and eliminate people that are assholes. A good (and sadly common) example is a review that says something like 'This used to be a great complex, but then they started to rent to an urban element and now those people are always using the courtyard and took my parking space.' This is just some grouchy jerk, ignore him. Now, if there are several reviews talking about concrete problems with maintenance, or how the elevator broke down for 73 hours with people trapped inside, pay attention to that. If people can't articulate clear, objective complaints (does not inlcude 'my neighbors had a baby' or 'I don't like that modern music') their review isn't worth much.
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Nov 15, 2013 17:18
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For reviews, I look for things that are consistently commented on and weigh that against how much it'd likely affect my quality of life while I live there. If 5 of 8 people mentioned that street parking is awful or the walls are super thin, etc, then I'm going to figure that it's probably actually an issue. (e: I basically just reiterated what ashcans said  )Ashcans posted:You can buy a memory foam mattress topper that is probably your best best. We have a pull out, and when we bought it we got a skinny memory foam mattress for it - it is so much better than the terrible spring mattresses that are often standard with that sort of thing. Most of the time I would rather sleep on the couch itself than unfold those lovely mattresses. Thanks! 
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Nov 15, 2013 18:01
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I always get suspicious when an apartment complex only has positive, glowing reviews. I lived in a pretty terrible complex that had negative reviews, and then one day they were all gone and replaced with five star ratings that I'm sure management worked very hard on.
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Nov 16, 2013 02:53
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The other problem with useless apartment reviews is that they may be 5 or 10 years old. And usually reviews complain about the people (maintenance or rental office) and those people mostly don't stick around that long.
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Nov 16, 2013 14:13
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My neighbors are gloriously peculiar. This place is a big house in Midtown Memphis that has been split up into a bunch of small apartments. One of them decided we needed an Xmas tree in the hallway instead of a light.  Kind of spooky seeing this winking at you through the peephole:  Some people would bitch and gripe about the lights being off but I kinda like it. Weird, but harmless neighbors are the best. Keeps me entertained. There's another one in the Laundry room too.
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Nov 17, 2013 08:51
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After finding out that getting a bed frame shipped to me from IKEA would cost almost $400 (that's not counting the $150 for the bed itself,) I have to ask: Is there anywhere online I can order a bed frame that's inexpensive (like, sub $200,) and also won't charge a rear end-load for shipping? It doesn't have to be free shipping from Amazon or anything, but less than $100, preferably less than or about $50 would be best. I own a small car, there's no way I can just get a cheap one from Big Lots or anything. The only places that deliver are out of my price range (I just spent too much money on a "real" couch with delivery, I cant't afford to do the same with a bed.) And yes, I'm looking on Craigslist, but so far if they don't say I have to haul it away myself in the ad, they do when the email me back (or they don't email me back at all.) Edit: Well, speak of the Devil. There are actually a few frames on Amazon eligible for Prime shipping. Guess I'll have to take some time and see if any look worthwhile.
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Nov 18, 2013 18:41
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Theres also overstock. I've never bought from them, but I think they do crazy low shipping even on furniture (~5$?). I just rent a uhaul pickup/cargo van for $20+mileage if I'm getting more than one large item.
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Nov 18, 2013 18:51
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Rent a Budget/Uhaul/Penske and transport it yourself. In-town rentals are really cheap. Mileage rates are lower mid-week. I've done this buying new furniture because it's cheaper than the store charges for delivery.
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Nov 18, 2013 19:07
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ladyweapon posted:Theres also overstock. I've never bought from them, but I think they do crazy low shipping even on furniture (~5$?). I just rent a uhaul pickup/cargo van for $20+mileage if I'm getting more than one large item. Overstock has tons of beds and does free shipping for everything over $50. I bought a queen-sized iron four-poster canopy bed frame from them, it would've cost a fortune to have this thing shipped. Make sure to read the reviews, though!
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Nov 18, 2013 19:35
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I ordered some basic beds off of Amazon to furnish a college apartment, the only pain in the rear end is assembling them because a lot of the time the cheap beds you can find on Amazon and the like have very poorly written instructions.
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Nov 18, 2013 20:48
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Thanks for the Overstock suggestion...got one from there that looked like a decent one. Had lots of good reviews, not too pricey, and free shipping.
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Nov 19, 2013 19:38
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So, I think I need to buy a door bottom or a sweep; reading up, it seems like the bottom is the better bet. However, I've never done anything like this before. This is the current situation:   That opening is probably a centimeter tall, maybe a little more. What do I need to look for in a door bottom? We're in Seattle, so I probably don't need anything super-heavy-duty, but I'd like an improvement over the towel my roommates are shoving under the door at the moment. Also worth mentioning that we're in a rental; anything I need to be worried about installing one of these other than the usual?
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Nov 25, 2013 00:06
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Is that metal sill plate integral with the wooden trim on top of it? Remove that wooden trim and replace it with a vinyl/rubber threshold that seals better. Can be combined with a door sweep if there's still an air leak. Use peal-and-stick weather stripping around the door frame if needed. Also, you have hideously deformed toenails.
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Nov 25, 2013 01:02
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