|
It might just be possible that your AC is not correctly sized/rated. People buy the incorrect size all the time, trying to save money by buying smaller or thinking that more is better and getting it too big which results in the coils freezing. Both result in the ac not functioning correctly. Depending on how shifty your landlord is, I'd go with management trying to save a few bucks on a lower BTU unit.
|
# ? Jul 2, 2015 23:45 |
|
|
# ? May 16, 2024 18:56 |
|
Ciaphas posted:Gonna be dumb here, by intake do you mean the vent inside the house where I put my AC filter (the "return" I guess) or the outside air where the compressor/blower unit is? Where it sucks the air in - whatever that air temperature is, the air blowing out should be 20F colder. That's about the best your A/C can do. If it's (significantly) less than 20F, your A/C needs service. If it's 20F colder, your A/C is fine and you've got other problems. If your A/C is correctly sized, on the hottest day of the year, it should run basically all the time.
|
# ? Jul 3, 2015 16:36 |
|
Well, it's 82 degrees at the return (thermostat says 78 right now in the apartment) and about 60 coming out of all the vents, if the laser thermometer is right, so I guess that's about all I or maintenance can do. I'll just have to lower the max temperature the place sits at while I'm away, so it gets comfortable sooner after I get home. Stupid Las Vegas summers. Thanks for all the help, everyone
|
# ? Jul 3, 2015 18:27 |
|
Keep your curtains closed during the day if you don't already.
|
# ? Jul 3, 2015 20:44 |
|
DrBouvenstein posted:Quoting myself here for an update, still no SD check as of July 2. He canceled the first one and claims to have sent a second one by certified mail to my PO Box on the 27th. Even if he didn't mail it until the 29th, it should have arrived by now (it was only going one town over, and to a PO Box, to boot, so shouldn't take more than 2 days.) If he sent it by certified mail, ask him for the tracking number. It'll let you verify he actually sent it and sometimes the post office is sloppy about handing certified mail, so a tracking number allows you push things along if it's stuck at your local branch office.
|
# ? Jul 3, 2015 22:27 |
|
photomikey posted:......You can call the county recorders office and ask who the owner is for a particular piece of property, they will usually give it over the phone. Seconding this. Also, many counties have it all online since it's public data. Just search for "X County Appraisal District", and if they have one, all you'll need is the address to see if his name's on the deed, sq footage, taxes he pays, etc.
|
# ? Jul 3, 2015 22:48 |
|
Question reference movers - I'm moving from a second-story apartment into a single-story 'townhome' style apartment, (yay for a ground floor with an attached garage and private entrance), in a couple of months. I'll have a three week overlap of both places, which is great for stress reduction/not being rushed. It's also across the street from my current place, literally. I have no vehicle as I walk across the street to a light rail station/park & ride to get to/from work. However, I have limited access to an E350 cargo van at work that I will be snagging over one of those three weekends, likely the weekend of picking up the keys to the new place. My plan is to do the bulk of the small crap, (clothing, small furniture, kitchen crap, etc), that first weekend in the work van. The second weekend, I was going to either get a small 10ft rental truck for the few larger/heavier items, or just hire someone. I've got some back issues, and in combo with the stairs at the current place being a crappy two-stage with a small landing and screwed up overhangs, (making mattresses and couches a hurdle), I'm leaning towards movers instead of harassing friends. The third weekend would be my cleaning weekend prior to surrendering the apartment. Since it's literally only going to be a bed, couch, chair, flatscreen tv, and maybe a few other items that don't fit in the work van, should I even bother with a 'name-brand' company, or would I be safe looking at a craigslist '2 dudes and a truck' type of thing? I don't know if larger companies will even bother with a small move like I'd be needing from them. I suspect it'd be a 15 min load, 2 min drive, 15 min unload, if that. Any tips if I go the CL route so that I actually see my couch and bed again, and it doesn't just walk out the door? (I don't have fancy stuff, so I suppose that helps, but still........).
|
# ? Jul 3, 2015 23:12 |
|
I would go the Craigslist route. Often professional movers have minimum hours and minimum movers (eg $500 3 movers minimum)
|
# ? Jul 3, 2015 23:27 |
|
Madbullogna posted:Question reference movers -
|
# ? Jul 3, 2015 23:59 |
|
Thanatosian posted:Do you not have some friends you could just buy some pizza and beer for in exchange for some help moving your poo poo? If I could be of actual use moving the larger/heavier items, I wouldn't hesitate to con some buds in to it. But with the previously mentioned back poo poo, I feel hosed up just standing there playing traffic coordinator while they do the crap. (I know they get it & wouldn't have any issues or give me any poo poo, but still feels awkward or something). I dunno, I'm weird about that.
|
# ? Jul 4, 2015 00:52 |
|
Are any of the mattresses on Amazon any good? Or should I really go to an actual store to try one out? I'm looking to finally upgrade myself from a twin to a full bed.
|
# ? Jul 4, 2015 20:23 |
|
Personally I'd go in person, you spend a lot of time on your mattress so I wouldn't trust blindly ordering one off the internet.
|
# ? Jul 4, 2015 21:50 |
|
Buying a mattress is the world's worst experience. If you hated buying a car, you'll HATE buying a mattress. I bought mine at Costco, where there is only one, and you know it's been vetted by Costco's buyers. My dad bought a set of 3 (for a lakehouse bunk room) off Overstock, paid $350/mattress, and got perhaps the best mattress I've ever slept on. Anywhere that advertises on TV is a 100% ripoff. That's all I can do for tips. Godspeed.
|
# ? Jul 4, 2015 23:40 |
|
Deeters posted:Are any of the mattresses on Amazon any good? Or should I really go to an actual store to try one out? I'm looking to finally upgrade myself from a twin to a full bed. Go to an actual store and try them out until you find one that suits you, definitely. (If you want my opinion you should get one that's got pocket springs with a memory foam layer on top. Little bit more expensive, but they are amazing.)
|
# ? Jul 5, 2015 00:32 |
|
That's basically what I was expecting, just kind of hoping someone would say "Yeah, I got one off amazon and it was way better than I thought" so I can avoid the whole "experience"
|
# ? Jul 5, 2015 01:09 |
|
Deeters posted:That's basically what I was expecting, just kind of hoping someone would say "Yeah, I got one off amazon and it was way better than I thought" so I can avoid the whole "experience" I got this gel memory foam mattress and I'm perfectly happy with it. It's comfy and not too soft for my tastes. Its cheaper on Overstock.com (where I bought it) if you're not deadset on buying from Amazon. I found what looks to be the same thing in a full size, but you can choose your firmness, here.
|
# ? Jul 5, 2015 01:17 |
|
Deeters posted:That's basically what I was expecting, just kind of hoping someone would say "Yeah, I got one off amazon and it was way better than I thought" so I can avoid the whole "experience" Well, I mean if you're looking for someone to say that, I bought this back in February and it's been the best mattress I've had. Everyone I know thinks I'm crazy for doing it though.
|
# ? Jul 5, 2015 01:18 |
|
I really like my IKEA mattress, I've had it for about 5 years now and it's still going strong. It cost about $250.
|
# ? Jul 5, 2015 01:37 |
|
Deeters posted:Are any of the mattresses on Amazon any good? Or should I really go to an actual store to try one out? I'm looking to finally upgrade myself from a twin to a full bed. If you're looking to spend a bit more (around the 600-800 dollar range) and don't want to deal with the in-person hassle, there's quite a few online mattress companies (Casper, Tuft and Needle, Saatva, and Leesa are the ones I'm familiar with and know are reputable) that let you buy the mattress and if you don't like it after a period of time (usually around 3 months), a crew comes and picks it up to donate it to a local charity. Plenty of online reviews so you can pick the one that's for you. deadwing fucked around with this message at 01:51 on Jul 5, 2015 |
# ? Jul 5, 2015 01:49 |
|
I bought this mattress online through Amazon and have been pleased with it. It's not the most amazing mattress ever but I've never thought it was uncomfortable or woken up wishing I had shelled out more money for another mattress: http://www.amazon.com/Signature-Sle...ywords=mattress If you plan on moving soon too its nice because it comes all rolled up somehow even with springs in the mattress and then you get to spend an afternoon watching it uncoil.
|
# ? Jul 5, 2015 15:35 |
|
photomikey posted:Buying a mattress is the world's worst experience. If you hated buying a car, you'll HATE buying a mattress. What exactly is so stressful about buying a mattress? I just bought one a few weeks ago and it was....fine? We knew our budget before going in the store and had no problem sticking to it.
|
# ? Jul 5, 2015 15:38 |
For mattresses, just remember that softer is not always better. I always get back aches from soft beds and definitely prefer mine hard. I use a cheaper-end IKEA box spring with a foam top on top, and am very happy with it.
|
|
# ? Jul 5, 2015 15:55 |
|
photomikey posted:Buying a mattress is the world's worst experience. If you hated buying a car, you'll HATE buying a mattress. I've never had a problem mattress shopping. It's nowhere near buying a car unless you're a total pushover. Yeah the salespeople follow you around while you shop, but they don't actively try to trap you into buying something you can't afford or try to take your old mattress hostage to try to force you to buy a new mattress from them any other scummy sales techniques like car salesmen. I'd say as far as terrible shopping experiences go, cars are the worst, furniture is second worst, followed by mattresses.
|
# ? Jul 5, 2015 18:58 |
|
Robo Boogie Bot posted:What exactly is so stressful about buying a mattress? I just bought one a few weeks ago and it was....fine? We knew our budget before going in the store and had no problem sticking to it. Seriously. I just walked in and said "I'm looking for a queen around $200" and they showed me a queen around $200. Had this happen for both mattresses I bought, and they both delivered for free. I did also go to no-name furniture places in not-rich neighborhoods (I wouldn't even say "sketchy"), so I imagine there's more hustle in nice places.
|
# ? Jul 5, 2015 19:21 |
|
BaseballPCHiker posted:If you plan on moving soon too its nice because it comes all rolled up somehow even with springs in the mattress and then you get to spend an afternoon watching it uncoil. This is exactly why I didn't want to buy an expensive queen sized one. I'll be moving in 6-8 months and don't feel like dragging a big bed down the tiny stairway in my apartment. Thanks for letting me know that there are some decent cheap ones out there. I think I'll check out a few of the local stores, and I know I have a back up if I don't find something I want.
|
# ? Jul 5, 2015 20:15 |
|
Robo Boogie Bot posted:What exactly is so stressful about buying a mattress? I just bought one a few weeks ago and it was....fine? We knew our budget before going in the store and had no problem sticking to it.
|
# ? Jul 5, 2015 21:00 |
|
Anyone have tips/links/leads on a place to find good rugs / runners? For whatever reason I find it impossible to find a good living room rug unless I want to spend $1k plus (I don't). I was actually impressed with Ikea's selection although I didn't quite find what I was looking for. To contribute something to the thread.. I am a landlord and I am always impressed with people who come prepared to showings. That means bringing their credit report, pay stubs, and proof they have the sec. deposit and first/last month's rent. If you're just looking for a beige box apartment in Sprawling Suburb, USA it probably doesn't matter. But when I rent out my house in a desirable area and I have ten people calling me the first day to get in, the little things matter. If you say you will email the application later that day and send it a week later, you aren't getting the house. Landlords like people who are prompt, organized and respectful
|
# ? Jul 6, 2015 01:56 |
|
faarcyde posted:Anyone have tips/links/leads on a place to find good rugs / runners? For whatever reason I find it impossible to find a good living room rug unless I want to spend $1k plus (I don't). I was actually impressed with Ikea's selection although I didn't quite find what I was looking for. Wayfair.com has tons and tons of rugs sorted by color, shape, and size if you don't mind not seeing it in person first.
|
# ? Jul 6, 2015 03:10 |
|
Alright goons, drop as much knowledge as you can on me about garden-level apartments. Just moved into one on July 1st, still sorting all my crap out. A dehumidifier is next up on my list of must-haves, is there anything else I absolutely need/should know? From everything I've read the dehumidifier should cut down on some insect guests as well, but I think I need to buy new door... liner... things? Not sure what they're called, the small rubber pieces that block the opening between the door and the floor. I mistakenly(high af...) snipped part of two of them off before checking to see if they were covering the whole door. My roommate found one roach yesterday over by our unfinished, damp, nasty, under-the-stairs storage area so I'm going to buy a little roach motel or two to put over there but I have no experience with cockroaches. Is finding a single one a big deal? Are there more precautions we should take? It was a medium-large sized one, if that makes any difference? Also, can anybody tell me about plants that I could grow, too? I live on an East/West street so our windows that face those directions are either non-existent or are in an alleyway that only gets a smattering of light, but I'm still hoping to be able to have a plant or two to make the room nice. I want my Japanese Peace Lily!
|
# ? Jul 6, 2015 20:54 |
|
Johnny Truant posted:Also, can anybody tell me about plants that I could grow, too? I live on an East/West street so our windows that face those directions are either non-existent or are in an alleyway that only gets a smattering of light, but I'm still hoping to be able to have a plant or two to make the room nice. I want my Japanese Peace Lily! Madagascar Dragon trees ( Dracaena marginata) are handsome plants and are very sturdy little buggers that do well in low-light conditions. A lot of the Dracaena family are cheap to buy, tolerant of low light and forgiving when it comes to forgetting to water them, I'd start off with a couple of them and see how you do. (Just watch out if you've got cats or dogs, a lot of the prettier houseplants are toxic)
|
# ? Jul 6, 2015 22:47 |
|
Yeah there's not just one waterbug and he didn't live in just one corner. Go nuclear. You're probably talking about a door sweep, but you likely want new weather stripping too.
|
# ? Jul 7, 2015 00:11 |
|
If you just moved in, tell the landlord there are cockroaches and tell him to spray for them. See if they'll fix the door sweep while they're at it. You may have to remove the door to replace these, but it's not that difficult.
|
# ? Jul 7, 2015 01:01 |
|
Johnny Truant posted:My roommate found one roach yesterday over by our unfinished, damp, nasty, under-the-stairs storage area so I'm going to buy a little roach motel or two to put over there but I have no experience with cockroaches. Is finding a single one a big deal? Are there more precautions we should take? It was a medium-large sized one, if that makes any difference? I had a similar situation, moving into a big city for the first time in my life and had a huge freakout, especially being a clean freak like I am. Here is what I did, and after doing this I never saw one again, and in subsequent moves havent seen any either. 1. Buy the square looking little roach motels. Put them in the area you saw the first bug and under your fridge, stove, dark cabinets, etc. Basically anywhere they could possibly be. 2. Bought big locking rubbermaids for all of my stuff to keep stored for a few months. Basically I kept everything locked up until I didnt see one for two months and then was more liberal about keeping stuff out. Also was useful for long term storage of items and made the next move easier. 3. Bought a small office trash can and took out the trash every day for months until I didnt see one and then got a full size trash. 4. Would immediately take any cardboard boxes to recycling. 5. Bought some white powder, I forget what its called but it basically dries the bugs out. Spread that in hard to see areas to further eliminate the bugs. Dumped some into my mop bucket and moped with it. Dont do this if you have pets though. After all of that I never saw one again. After alerting my landlord he had exterminators come in and spray the building too. He blamed in on previous tenants but I think he was mostly full of poo poo and already knew about the existing problem. Hope this helps.
|
# ? Jul 7, 2015 01:37 |
|
The sooner you inform your landlord the less likely they are to blame the bugs on you, too.
|
# ? Jul 7, 2015 01:40 |
|
BaseballPCHiker posted:5. Bought some white powder, I forget what its called but it basically dries the bugs out. Spread that in hard to see areas to further eliminate the bugs. Dumped some into my mop bucket and moped with it. Dont do this if you have pets though. Diatomaceous Earth, right?
|
# ? Jul 7, 2015 02:58 |
|
Boric Acid (Borax) is also white powder that you can use to kill roaches. It's the slow-boat-to-China way to kill roaches. MaxForce Gel is the only stuff I have ever used that has worked. As previously noted - put it wherever you saw them, and whatever dark tight spaces are around. Roaches love dark tight spaces. BaseballPCHiker gave most of the advice I was going to give, but what I tell my tenants is... you know how normal people live? You can't live like that. You have to live like someone who wants to get rid of roaches lives. No dirty dishes anywhere for any amount of time. No trash in the apartment overnight. Not just food trash - no dirty tissue, no empty boxes, nothing. Etc, etc. If you put down the gel and live like an OCD clean freak, they'll be dead in a week. The spray drives them into the walls. They can live in the walls for months. DON'T SPRAY.
|
# ? Jul 7, 2015 04:20 |
|
Deeters posted:Diatomaceous Earth, right? I looked it up again and like photomikey suggested it was Boric Acid. I really freaked out when I saw the one. Not going to lie it was a pain taking things in and out of rubbermaids all the time and being tired late at night and having to take out the trash that might only have like a plastic wrapper in it, but that's what it took. Thankfully after doing that for a few months I never saw one again. Here were the little traps I bought that I think helped a lot too: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KL1LDE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00 Hope this helps and you can live the bug free life.
|
# ? Jul 7, 2015 16:06 |
|
Johnny Truant posted:Also, can anybody tell me about plants that I could grow, too? I live on an East/West street so our windows that face those directions are either non-existent or are in an alleyway that only gets a smattering of light, but I'm still hoping to be able to have a plant or two to make the room nice. I want my Japanese Peace Lily! Dragon trees are good but also try a ZZ plant or snake plant if you want something tall-ish. I have those in the darkest corners of my apartment and they are not only surviving but actually growing. Plus they sell them pretty much everywhere.
|
# ? Jul 8, 2015 00:18 |
|
I've heard really great things about the mattresses from Casper.com. They have a 100 day trial for you as well, so if you decide you don't like it you can send it back.
|
# ? Jul 8, 2015 20:35 |
|
|
# ? May 16, 2024 18:56 |
|
I've been here for years but I'm been so shut-in to whatever threads I was posting in that I never realized this poo poo was around. Anyway. I'm living in an apartment building with my girlfriend + her sister. It's a college town, but our neighbors are largely families/couples/people who aren't young. One of our friends is going off to somewhere far away for work, and we're planning a moderately (14-18 people) large dinner party before he disappears forever. We volunteered to do the dinner because of our centralized location and easy access, compared to everyone else. We also planned it early and on a Friday night so we don't disturb work-sleeping schedules. My concern here is about sound. We've both had experiences with poo poo roommates in college, and we're desperate to not be "those people". Initially when moving in we had our neighbors inquire about the sound (which we found out came from somewhere else), which made all of us extremely paranoid about every little sound we make. In our day-to-day activities, we don't really hear any sounds from other apartments with makes us believe that the walls are thicker than we thought. We do hear a little bit (mostly thumping from above, or talking from the bathrooms due to connected ventilation) but nothing in the main rooms. We've also had smaller groups of people over that got a little bit louder than we wanted, but we didn't have any complaints. For this party, we don't want to push anybody's buttons and we really want to take as many precautions as we can take to prevent sound from leaking to any other apartment around us. Would anybody have any good tips to be a good apartment dweller? This is what I'm thinking/planning: 1. Talking to the neighbors directly. This is just to provide a warning, alleviate any concerns, and to provide my number just in case things get too much and they want us to tone it down. 2. Carpeting. This is for the downstairs neighbors since we know loud footsteps are definitely heard through the floors. Our living room doesn't have any carpeting right now, and we wanted to buy it anyway. Kill two birds with one stone...? 3. Some sort of blackout curtain-type thing, but in front of the door. This is my main area of research. I know that a single curtain, no matter how thick/heavy it is, will not block all the noise. But if anything I just want it to dampen/muffle the noise a little bit, especially since I don't want a sudden rush of loud noises to flood out whenever somebody opens the door to leave. Also, since the doors to the apartments are directly across from each other, I think it could also help the neighbors as well. I'm still iffy on this, mostly because I don't think it will work. Would anything else work? Or is this a case of "do your stupid party somewhere else, this is where people sleep type of thing"?
|
# ? Jul 11, 2015 11:56 |