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Jamus posted:We had a engineer come by to inspect it and he said that every apartment in the building is the same way. Still isn't fixed, either. And that's why I'm taking the light fixtures. Just don't much feel like leaving even one cent's worth of material to these lazybones.
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May 29, 2014 13:42
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Zhentar posted:Contracts can be pretty bad, yes, particularly in cases like leases where you have a huge power disparity and one side is unlikely or unable to involve a lawyer. But the law that governs them is generally quite good. Fair enough, I should have assumed you were talking about the actual governing laws instead of the contracts. That said, I must somewhat question the sanity of the laws if such crazy poo poo can happen as what I (and others) have experienced. Things like is "acceptable" an actual legal definition? Or can they legally put into the contract that the landlord and tenant have to come to an agreement, and then just say sign it or get the gently caress out? I think I've had enough sperging about landlords for the time being. I made a post! I assume some of you have probably already read it, but it's been a two days (actually less than 48 hrs) since making that post and it seems to have gone overlooked. . . . The basement I want to buy has a hairline crack near the sump pit and the concrete is at a very slight angle and a tiny bit discolored, should I run or just accept it as normal? Not Wolverine fucked around with this message at 14:13 on May 29, 2014 |
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May 29, 2014 14:11
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Crotch Fruit posted:Fair enough, I should have assumed you were talking about the actual governing laws instead of the contracts. That said, I must somewhat question the sanity of the laws if such crazy poo poo can happen as what I (and others) have experienced. Things like is "acceptable" an actual legal definition? Or can they legally put into the contract that the landlord and tenant have to come to an agreement, and then just say sign it or get the gently caress out? I think I've had enough sperging about landlords for the time being. I have no idea what you are talking about with the driveway dirt thing but if there's just a crack on the floor in the basement, that's not as bad of a sign as cracks on the walls. That said, I have no idea if it's a serious issue or not. Your drawings are hilarious. Take photos next time.
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May 29, 2014 14:16
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My last apartment I moved out of was with a big management company and we didn't put down a deposit because it was waived as a move in special. I was freaking out about having to pay a ton of money on move out but we made them do a walkthrough with us and write down zero charges so now I'm still crossing my fingers 2 months later that they won't find some way to wiggle out of that
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May 29, 2014 15:01
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DNova posted:I have no idea what you are talking about with the driveway dirt thing but if there's just a crack on the floor in the basement, that's not as bad of a sign as cracks on the walls. That said, I have no idea if it's a serious issue or not. Your drawings are hilarious. Take photos next time. My MS Paint skills suck, will take camera next time. The only thing that concerns me about the crack in the basement floor (since I know that's 100% normal) is how the concrete had a very slight greenish tint suggesting there was water there at some point. But the water also appeared to have come out of the sump pit, so maybe it wasn't working at one point, and they had to cut the slab to repair it. Owner is oblivious to anything in the basement.  As for the driveway, look at this picture (from GIS): http://www.concretejack.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/IMG_8187.jpg The same thing is happening to the driveway, but the driveway has not collapsed. I just kinda worry that a void under the driveway might be a lot bigger and more expensive than a patio repair.
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May 29, 2014 15:18
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Crotch Fruit posted:My MS Paint skills suck, will take camera next time. The only thing that concerns me about the crack in the basement floor (since I know that's 100% normal) is how the concrete had a very slight greenish tint suggesting there was water there at some point. But the water also appeared to have come out of the sump pit, so maybe it wasn't working at one point, and they had to cut the slab to repair it. Owner is oblivious to anything in the basement. Oh wow, that gap under the concrete seems like it was made by water seeping underneath and taking dirt with it. I would guess that could be fairly serious.
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May 29, 2014 15:35
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Unfortunately I did not have my digital camera with me for this spectacular moment.... Was building a new house, and was living with my wife in my in-law's basement (which was just an awesome experience btw.). Kept tripping the breaker, so called my dad who is an electrician to come by and put in some new circuits for the stuff in our sweet sweet basement pad. First thing we noticed was a water softener with a heavy duty cord plugged into a two prong adapter with no ground, that was plugged into a walmart lovely extension cord with the end snipped off, and that was wired into a light fixture where the bulb was hanging down from the ceiling. No wire nuts, just bare wires twisted together. So that answered the question as to why that light switch was taped to the on position, apparently it would turn off the water softener. So we fixed that, then my dad got on the ladder and lifted up a ceiling tile and said "uhhhh.... go turn off the breaker right loving now". My father in-law had wired up a bunch of flourescent light fixtures when he installed the ceiling tile. For wires he used old lamp cords, like dozens, and just cut the ends off, stripped them with scissors, and twisted the copper together with no wire nuts, no electrical tape, and just laid them on the ceiling tile. The bare copper on a few fixtures was literally inches away from a metal fixture frame in several places. My dad talked to my father in-law, told him he was honestly surprised hte house hadn't burned down yet, that he was never allowed to do any wiring ever again, and to immediately show him any wiring he had done in the house. There was lots of other poo poo all over, a bunch of sockets had polarity reversed, other lamp cords all over, melted plug strips, and apparently he was using the old TV antenna as a redneck ladder. For christmas that year I bought him a roll of romex and a big box of wire nuts, but he said he wasn't going to ever do wiring again, so I took them back and got him a gift card. Thank god. My wife told me how one year at christmas her dad got out the manger which had a little electric light in it, and found that he had repurposed the power cord. So he got out the scissors, cut a cord off a lamp, and hooked it up to the manger, then plugged it in. A little while later something fell behind the tv, so she reached back there (manger was on top of the tv) and her sweater made contact with the bare copper and caught on fire, he told her to be more careful. So yeah......
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May 29, 2014 16:20
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Cakefool posted:I was dreading being a landlord, this family have been perfect remnants, I only hope I live up to that, and that I can sell it when they leave, I can't possibly be lucky enough to get another set of good tenants. Why not offer to sell it to the tenets, then? Win-win for everyone!
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May 29, 2014 19:08
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Begby posted:So yeah...... How many lamps do these people go through?
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May 29, 2014 20:49
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DNova posted:Has anyone been watching "Catch a Contractor" on Spike? It's a reality show that is kind of cheesy but really interesting to see. It's about people who get completely shafted by their contractors, and they usually pay close to 100% up front and then the contractor bails halfway through the job. The show tracks down the contractor and tells them to either come back and work under supervision to fix their lovely unfinished work, refund the money, or the show will help the family sue them. http://www.entlawdigest.com/2014/02/26/2973.htm quote:LOS ANGELES (CN) - Adam Carolla's home improvement reality show "To Catch a Contractor" let 200 gallons of raw sewage spill into a family's house and refused to clean it up, the family of four claims in court.
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May 30, 2014 00:15
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Yeah they were horrible people on the show, too. The only homeowners to not get any sympathy from me. The lawsuit is most likely frivolous and had no impact on Spike's renewal of the show for a second season.
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May 30, 2014 00:24
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Begby posted:Unfortunately I did not have my digital camera with me for this spectacular moment.... HOLY loving poo poo! At least he seems to have been scared into not hamfucking the poo poo out of things more.
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May 30, 2014 00:31
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DNova posted:Yeah they were horrible people on the show, too. The only homeowners to not get any sympathy from me. The lawsuit is most likely frivolous and had no impact on Spike's renewal of the show for a second season. They where nothing compared to the people that lied to get on the show.
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May 30, 2014 01:00
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ColHannibal posted:They where nothing compared to the people that lied to get on the show. Wait, who was that? I thought that was the shitheads who were suing?
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May 30, 2014 01:08
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DNova posted:Wait, who was that? I thought that was the shitheads who were suing? That was The Floyds, watch the episode at spike.com. Also here is the episode with teh people who are suing the show. Not Wolverine fucked around with this message at 04:10 on May 30, 2014 |
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May 30, 2014 03:57
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Crotch Fruit posted:That was The Floyds, watch the episode at spike.com. I forgot how much Adam Carolla annoys me, but it does seem like a fun idea for a show.
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May 30, 2014 04:03
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Yeah, I tried watching the show when it came out, it's pretty poorly paced, the "banter" is awful, basically the whole show is a stinker. Which is a shame because, like you said, it's a really fun idea. I find it difficult to watch an entire episode.
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May 30, 2014 04:07
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How does it compare to Holmes on Homes? It's a canadian show but you can watch episodes online on their website. It sounds fairly similar, in that Holmes goes in and rescues people from lovely contractor jobs, but the lovely contractors are generally completely out of the picture by that point, there's no suing or whatever.
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May 30, 2014 04:23
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I just watched that episode, and god drat what a couple of d-bags those two are.
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May 30, 2014 04:25
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Leperflesh posted:How does it compare to Holmes on Homes? It's a canadian show but you can watch episodes online on their website. I seem to remember an episode or two where he actually tracks down the guy because the work is so goddamn dangerous.
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May 30, 2014 04:30
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Bad Munki posted:I just watched that episode, and god drat what a couple of d-bags those two are. I watched the first two (I think this one might be the next) and I'm feeling cringy about the whole thing already. A lot of it seems terribly one sided and especially in the second episode with "Ciro" it just seems unbelievable and like they're ramrodding through their preferred storyline (including much higher end materials the homeowners obviously didn't spec to begin with). And made it worse with the ending that "Jose" is still working for him. I really don't get "reality" TV. I've tried. I tried again. I'll even watch another episode or two.....but it's all so terribly fake. If anyone believes any of this unconditionally I seriously have to think less of them as a person. If you watch it like WWF then carry on.
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May 30, 2014 04:33
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Leperflesh posted:How does it compare to Holmes on Homes? It's a canadian show but you can watch episodes online on their website. I prefer Holmes on Homes. I don't know about the quality of work or technique between the two shows, but Holmes spends most of the episode showing the construction, Carolla spends only about 5min showing construction. I think Season 2 will be an hour long so maybe they might show more construction next season, but there is no way I am going to watch if they make it an hour of the homeowners crying. "What do you mean we have to sign a waiver for hairline cracks in the stucco????" I really don't feel sorry for the couple suing the show, they just seemed really sleazy during the show. Reading the article about the lawsuit just seems like bullshit, I would just be pretty surprised if a plumber whose work is going to be on TV would simply leave a drain disconnected.
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May 30, 2014 04:38
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Motronic posted:I watched the first two (I think this one might be the next) and I'm feeling cringy about the whole thing already. A lot of it seems terribly one sided and especially in the second episode with "Ciro" it just seems unbelievable and like they're ramrodding through their preferred storyline (including much higher end materials the homeowners obviously didn't spec to begin with). And made it worse with the ending that "Jose" is still working for him. Having worked in TV production I can tell you there is nothing more contrived than "reality" TV.
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May 30, 2014 04:52
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I, too, had high hopes for "To Catch a Contractor" and was let down when they did what 99% of construction/diy shows do and not deliver any kind of knowledge or instruction. Just a stupid lovely gotcha show. I love Holmes on Homes. Holmes Inspection is sometimes even better because the houses are usually even more hosed. Holmes Inspection is about lovely home inspectors who don't catch obvious problems for home buyers. They have started doing stupid poo poo like slow-motion circular saw cuts and wood drilling but it is great to see how to do poo poo not just right but usually beyond what code requires. Mike Holmes is a wonderful man and he must have fought like hell in the beginning with whoever funds the show because he will straight up replace an entire house if that is the only good way to make it right. This Old House is even better for getting good instructions and tips, but is rarely on. Chauncey fucked around with this message at 05:08 on May 30, 2014 |
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May 30, 2014 05:05
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Chauncey posted:I, too, had high hopes for "To Catch a Contractor" and was let down when they did what 99% of construction/diy shows do and not deliver any kind of knowledge or instruction. Just a stupid lovely gotcha show. I am surprised This Old House is still produced. Norm Abram and Tom Silva are bad rear end, Kevin O'Connor is kinda annoying, but I refuse to watch Bob Villa.
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May 30, 2014 06:22
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Chauncey posted:I, too, had high hopes for "To Catch a Contractor" and was let down when they did what 99% of construction/diy shows do and not deliver any kind of knowledge or instruction. Just a stupid lovely gotcha show. I think the problem is the 30min format, by the time they start doing work they are already 20min into the episode. Next season it's being extended to an hour so I will give it another shot.
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May 30, 2014 06:49
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Chauncey posted:Mike Holmes is a wonderful man and he must have fought like hell in the beginning with whoever funds the show because he will straight up replace an entire house if that is the only good way to make it right. Also, a lot of the show's budget overruns supposedly come right out of Holmes's pocket. Crotch Fruit posted:I am surprised This Old House is still produced.
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May 30, 2014 07:08
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Holmes definitely goes overboard sometimes. I mean like he's not satisfied with builder's grade and meeting code, to him "doing it right" often means overbuilding or selecting premium materials. Which is fine, and as a homeowner it's what I'd want, but I have no illusions about the fact that that costs more. And it tends to make what the original contractor was doing look worse by comparison. I mean there's often no excuse for the poo poo that he finds, but if he gives away premium fixtures to replace improperly-installed builder's grade fixtures, and doesn't actually mention that that's what he's doing, it's somewhat dishonest. Still, I like the guy and I like how he treats his employees (on camera anyway) and with the exception of one or two episodes, I've usually liked what he does on the show. I just wish he was in the US, working to US code instead of Canada. Because if he was, I could watch exactly what he's doing and apply it to my own home without worrying that maybe I'm not doing what we consider code around here.
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May 30, 2014 08:18
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Does Holmes still do shows? I used to DVR all his stuff but HGTV hasn't shown anything new for a long while. I agree on premium materials. Not everyone can afford to spray form their entire house.
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May 30, 2014 14:03
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I just got cable again for the first time in a couple years and I couldn't find Holmes. It was one of the shows I was really looking forward to watching again since I enjoyed it so much when I was living in and fixing my first home. Outside of This Old House, is there anything currently airing that is like that, and focuses more on construction than bullshit like Property Brothers (god something about their faces weirds me out).
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May 30, 2014 14:08
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There are a load of similar programmes in the UK, which don't suffer so much from the overproduction I see in US "reality" TV (you fuckers ruined Kitchen Nightmares, goddammit). I imagine you could find episodes on YouTube. DIY SOS is cheesy but pretty good, Restoration Home was a bit more serious and heavy duty, and there were a couple of "dodgy builder revelaed" type things as well. There's also Grand Designs, which features idiots with too much money making terrible design decisions.
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May 30, 2014 14:39
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Crotch Fruit posted:I am surprised This Old House is still produced. Norm Abram and Tom Silva are bad rear end, Kevin O'Connor is kinda annoying, but I refuse to watch Bob Villa. Bob hasn't been on since the 80s. Steve Thomas did it for years, and Kevin is growing on me. If you want to see crappy construction tales in real-time, I highly suggest renovation realities. It's a 1-camera show, DIY/HGTV sends a small crew to film someone's DIY reno, and either the house or the marriage falls apart, usually with electrocution or flooding. It's great, because the crew obeys the prime directive, so they don't stop people from being stupid.
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May 30, 2014 14:51
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I love renovation realities. You can tell a lot of it is coaxed by the producers ("Hey wouldn't tearing down that wall open up this room a bit?") but when the guy is being a shithead to his wife over some measurement and then failing spectacularly in the project it's a wonderful feeling.
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May 30, 2014 15:26
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Wolfsbane posted:There's also Grand Designs, which features idiots with too much money making terrible design decisions. Do you Americans get to see Grand Designs? It is incredible.
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May 30, 2014 15:30
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Wolfsbane posted:There are a load of similar programmes in the UK, which don't suffer so much from the overproduction I see in US "reality" TV (you fuckers ruined Kitchen Nightmares, goddammit). The writer's strike started this "genre", so blame it on them.
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May 30, 2014 15:46
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Wolfsbane posted:There are a load of similar programmes in the UK, which don't suffer so much from the overproduction I see in US "reality" TV (you fuckers ruined Kitchen Nightmares, goddammit). I imagine you could find episodes on YouTube. DIY SOS is cheesy but pretty good, Restoration Home was a bit more serious and heavy duty, and there were a couple of "dodgy builder revelaed" type things as well. There's also Grand Designs, which features idiots with too much money making terrible design decisions. I always loved that British reality show, I think it was 'how clean is my house' with those two older ladies where they'd come into shithole council homes and marvel a bit about how loving slobby the owners were, then one of them would catch a glob of gunk on her fingertip and sniff it and offer to let the other one catch a whiff, they make a face, then dive into the cleaning. Their little tips and tricks, I still use some of them.
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May 30, 2014 15:48
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Wolfsbane posted:There's also Grand Designs, which features idiots with too much money making terrible design decisions. I am suddenly reminded of a house I saw while I was househunting. The foyer had a lovely inlaid-marble floor. The kitchen, meanwhile, had a floor that was blatantly not level. Oh, and there was a hole in it. And someone had replaced a closet off the kitchen with a bathroom, except the closet was small enough that the bathroom consisted of a toilet and a shower stall (?!) in about a 6'x3' space. No sink, of course. I doubt I would consider this an "idiots with too much money"; I have to assume that one of the prior owners was a contractor who "got a great deal" on the marble and was borderline clueless otherwise. I wish I'd taken photos.
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May 30, 2014 16:05
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Motronic posted:The writer's strike started this "genre", so blame it on them. The fact you can make 3-4 different seasons of "Reality Shows" for the budget of a single season of an episodic show is the real reason they continue to grow like a cancer.
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May 30, 2014 16:07
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Indolent Bastard posted:The fact you can make 3-4 different seasons of "Reality Shows" for the budget of a single season of an episodic show is the real reason they continue to grow like a cancer. Absolutely. And get 25-50% of the ad revenue for each, netting you more money in the end. I still don't think they would have been tried in such a massive fashion if the writer's guild didn't go on strike. So that one pretty well backfired on them.
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May 30, 2014 16:21
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Sudden Infant Def Syndrome posted:How many lamps do these people go through? Whenever he would throw away something, he would just cut the cord off and throw it into a box for future use. Speaking of that, you should see his shed. That dude doesn't let anything go to waste, its like a patchwork quilt with 90 different kinds of wood from old crates, old two by fours, an old table, etc. One day I bought a nice cedar board to build a bird house to put on my property, set it on his workbench, then a few days later went to get started on the bird house. Couldn't find the drat board anywhere. Went outside, and it was cut up and used to patch a few new holes on the shed. Awesome.
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May 30, 2014 17:33
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