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Do room/portable air conditioners work especially well / efficiently for cooling one room in a building that already has (lovely) central air? My goony shut-in cave in my apartment is, naturally, far warmer than the rest of the apartment, and I idly wondered if it'd be cheaper in the long run to get a portable A/C, put it in there, and turn the central air back up to something less fleecing on my power bill. (ed) I'm in Las Vegas so it is usually Dry As Hell, if that makes a difference efficiency-wise. Ciaphas fucked around with this message at 01:09 on Sep 26, 2015 |
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Sep 26, 2015 00:49
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Ciaphas posted:Do room/portable air conditioners work especially well / efficiently for cooling one room in a building that already has (lovely) central air? My goony shut-in cave in my apartment is, naturally, far warmer than the rest of the apartment, and I idly wondered if it'd be cheaper in the long run to get a portable A/C, put it in there, and turn the central air back up to something less fleecing on my power bill. I have this honeywell portable unit and it works well. Its not as efficient as a window unit, but it cools down my bedroom sufficiently for what i paid. Running it nearly 24/7 cost me $30/mo extra in electricity.It is quite loud, the LED light is surprisingly bright, but I can sleep through both so it didn't bother me. A window unit would be cheaper and more efficient if you wanted to mess with putting one in.
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Sep 26, 2015 03:00
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Teeter posted:I've been considering something from Overstock.com but haven't pulled the trigger yet. My issue is that I have a tiny car so I can't really transport anything I buy, but Overstock does free shipping which helps out. Anybody happen to have gone through them before?
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Sep 26, 2015 06:21
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For the rug person asking, World Market has a sale on rugs right now with up to 50% off.
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Sep 26, 2015 12:54
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Ciaphas posted:Do room/portable air conditioners work especially well / efficiently for cooling one room in a building that already has (lovely) central air? My goony shut-in cave in my apartment is, naturally, far warmer than the rest of the apartment, and I idly wondered if it'd be cheaper in the long run to get a portable A/C, put it in there, and turn the central air back up to something less fleecing on my power bill. Is there a reason you can't just buy a fan? Our house is really uneven with AC and heating and we run a fan in our bedroom since the bedroom is always hotter than the rest of the house and it seems to work well.
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Sep 26, 2015 15:33
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Those lovely window A/C units can cool a room pretty well for $99. That said, if I had central A/C, I'd probably look into cutting a jumper vent between the room and the hall, or the room and a neighboring room to see if that would help.
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Sep 26, 2015 16:16
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Is there a reason you can't just buy a fan? Our house is really uneven with AC and heating and we run a fan in our bedroom since the bedroom is always hotter than the rest of the house and it seems to work well. Fans help somewhat, yeah--I just vaguely wondered if I could be more comfortable/cheaper with a portable / window AC (or, given how dry it is here, a swamp cooler).
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Sep 26, 2015 17:42
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Or try shunting off the coldest room or any unoccupied rooms in the house to (hopefully) increase flow to your end.
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Sep 26, 2015 18:04
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Buddy of mine's offered to give me his old but functional evaporative cooler (swamp cooler I guess). Does that sort of thing cause any sort of water damage over time, like in the ceiling or whatever, or is it not enough to bother worrying about?
Ciaphas fucked around with this message at 01:35 on Sep 27, 2015 |
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Sep 27, 2015 01:30
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Got a question for the goons. I'm currently renting a house with 2 other people. At the end of July we had some heavy rain and our basement ended up flooding. There was a substantial amount of water in the basement. The bathroom had about an inch or so of standing water and the carpet in the basement living room was absolutely soaked. When it finally stopped raining, the landlord came over to inspect the damages and decided to tear out the carpet. Myself and one of the other roommates helped him that night, it took about 2 hours to get the carpet and padding out of the basement and our landlord took $100 off of our rent for that month for the help. The next day our landlord called and let us know he was going to install a drainage system and then new carpet. He said the earliest he would be able to get an estimate was early September. He spent the first half of the month getting estimates and eventually selected a company to do the work. They started on the 28th and the company told us the work would be completed by the end of the week at the latest. Presumably, the carpet is going in right after this but our landlord has not set a date. In order to allow the drainage company to install the system, we had to move the majority of our belongings from the basement to the first floor and all the heavy objects to the middle of the room so the company could dig out close to the walls and install the drainage system. Additionally, there is a storage room with shelves that had to be torn out and our toilet plus a shower and some bathroom shelves were also removed. The end result is we have a significant amount of stuff on the first floor limiting the amount of usable space and the basement is completely unusable until the carpet is installed When it comes time to install the carpet, our landlord told us we would need to move everything from the basement. This includes a couch, a heavy desk, a gun cabinet and some other larger items which we had moved to the middle of the room. Doing the math, I don't think we will be able to move these items upstairs and also live up there for the days/week it takes to install the carpet. Since I can't use my basement bedroom, my landlord give me a month rent-free and i've been sleeping on a couch on the first floor. That is were we are today. Going forward, I think it would be easiest for us to move the big items still in the basement into one room, allow the carpet gang to install carpet in the empty room then move the items to the newly carpeted room so they can finish the installation of the carpet. My landlord is insisting we will need to move everything out of the basement but hasn't outright told us no. I don't think he is being rude about it, more likely just telling us what he was told by the carpet company. (FTR, when the time comes I am going to try to contact the carpet company directly and try to make arrangements with them if our landlord doesn't budge) If we are forced to move all of our stuff upstairs, would our landlord be required to provide storage for the items we can't reasonably fit in our upstairs? Or should I be expecting to get told to kick rocks when I ask. and When my landlord told me he would reduce rent I told him I wanted to wait and see how long it took the whole situation to be resolved. Before the drainage company began their work, we were able to use the basement as usual but we did slowly move some things upstairs since we knew we would have to at some point. Assuming it is at least another week until we are able to have full access to the basement again, Should I be asking for additional relief in regards to the rent? TL;DR I'm Renting a house with 2 other people. Our Basement flooded late July. A few days later, our Landlord, myself and 1 other roommate removed the damaged carpet. We were given $50 each off a month's rent. For ~1 month the basement was usable but there was no carpet. Last Friday, we removed as much as we could from the basement, moved big ticket items into the middle of the rooms and installation of drainage system began Monday. Basement is completely empty save the big items and all our belongings are on the first floor, limiting our usable space. Drainage system should be completely installed and ready for carpet installation by the end of this week. Carpet company should be able to come install after that, unsure how quickly, but we were told to move the bigger items upstairs when the time comes. I don't think there will be enough room to fit these items upstairs and also live while the carpet is installed. As a result of all this trouble, my landlord offered 1 month free rent for me (no additional relief for other roommates). I'm curious if I should ask for more rent credit and somewhere to store the items we may not be able to fit upstairs. Shats Basoon fucked around with this message at 17:49 on Sep 30, 2015 |
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Sep 30, 2015 17:46
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Shats Basoon posted:words carpet install should not take more than a day, shouldn't worry too much about it, maybe a small credit if he's expecting you to move your poo poo upstairs personally
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Oct 1, 2015 06:46
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The carpet will be done in a day. A small amount of stuff (especially big stuff) to move from one room to the other during carpeting is expected. There will be 2 guys installing carpet, I find a $20 for each of them means that you won't have to move it yourself. You seem a little angsty about the whole story. At the same time, you seem at peace by the fact that everyone has done the best they can in this situation. Run with that last part. There was a flood, you moved all your poo poo, your landlord has moved at a reasonable speed, you're going to get all new carpet and a better drainage system to ensure it doesn't happen again, and the landlord is comping the rent while it all goes down. As much as you can (while you sleep on the couch), don't sweat it, it'll be over soon.
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Oct 1, 2015 16:27
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Sounds like your landlord is being plenty fair. And the carpet guys can move all your poo poo to one side of the room and then back again, but they'll expect to be compensated for it. Plan accordingly.
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Oct 1, 2015 16:29
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What can I do about my mildew-smelly apartment? This place hasn't been renovated since it was built in the 70s (including the carpets  .) I figured the carpets weren't so much the problem after steam-cleaning, deodorizing and scrubbing the everloving poo poo out of them. This didn't prevent them from feeling like grimy rear end, though. The huge problem behind the smell is the moldy A/C vents that have been painted over so often that they're stuck to the walls and can't be removed for cleaning. Same thing with the windows being painted shut.I've notified management recently but I have a real gut feeling that they're either not going to do anything about it or they'll simply get maintenance to paint over the vents again. I live in Louisiana, which is pretty renter-unfriendly, so there are no mold clauses that I know of. I'm spending a small fortune in smell-good things over this when I'd rather it just be fixed entirely.
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Oct 1, 2015 18:59
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MNSNTZR posted:What can I do about my mildew-smelly apartment? Under that carpet is most likely a horror show. My wife had a terrible reaction when we stayed in my grandmother's spare bedroom with 70s carpet. Carpets are loving disgusting and I will never live in a home with carpet.
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Oct 1, 2015 19:22
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MNSNTZR posted:What can I do about my mildew-smelly apartment? That is 40-year-old carpet. Cleaning it with anything short of fire is bringing a glass of wine to a forest fire.
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Oct 1, 2015 21:10
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Does anyone have any good recommendations for vacuums? I'm moving into an apartment with both carpet and tile (mostly carpet, tile is just the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room), no pets allowed. I know so little about vacuum cleaners, I don't even know what to budget for them. $150-$200? My family has a membership at Costco, if that matters. Thanks!
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Oct 1, 2015 22:34
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Zack Ater posted:Does anyone have any good recommendations for vacuums? I'm moving into an apartment with both carpet and tile (mostly carpet, tile is just the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room), no pets allowed. I know so little about vacuum cleaners, I don't even know what to budget for them. $150-$200? My family has a membership at Costco, if that matters. Thanks! The Hoover Windtunnel was the go-to for quite some time, though I think there's a new Goon favorite now. I picked up a refurb Dyson that I am a huge fan of, that definitely picks up more than the Hoover Windtunnel (but also cost ~$250 instead of $100).
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Oct 1, 2015 23:05
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I have this Hoover Windtunnel. It's under $100 right now on Amazon. I have two dogs and live in a hardwood floored place with a few area rugs and vacuum about 2x a week. It has a variable wood/tile to high pile setting, which does actually make a difference and bagless/rinseable filter means you don't have to buy bags or filters. Also it sucks up almost anything I put through it.
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Oct 1, 2015 23:33
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I have the same Hoover as posted above. It does a fine job and should be just fine for your needs, unless you are attached to spending more money on a vacuum.
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Oct 1, 2015 23:58
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Thanks! That one looks good, and spending less is a nice surprise.
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Oct 2, 2015 14:39
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Are any pillow materials or types better for a guy who's always too drat warm at night? Looking to get a couple new ones this weekend. Super bonus points for side sleepers that don't get in the way of my CPAP mask/hose 'cos they're too fluffy 
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Oct 3, 2015 03:17
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What is the process on having someone towed from your parking spot? I live in a pretty tiny apartment building with poo poo parking. A new tenant moved in and took my spot last night, and when I asked her to move... Well at first she tried to act like she wasn't home and turned out all her lights, but when she did answer the door eventually she asked if my 'spot' was really mine (it is, and its defined on my lease). Then she asked if I could just park behind her, effectively blocking the only way in and out for everyone else. Then she started on about how she'd have to get ready and so on to move it and I just gave her a friendly warning and parked on the street using my guest parking pass (the city streets are permit only) but I made it clear I will use my spot going forward. Because she has this giant truck and her real space is so tiny and tucked around the corner I can see that she's basically going to never be able to park there and get out again, and even if she had my spot it'd be a big hassle trying to get around her everyday for everyone else. I can foresee that she's basically come to the same conclusion, she's going to try and keep parking in my spot anyways. I've already emailed the property management group. Anyways, if I come home tonight and she's still there what's the protocol on having her towed?
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Oct 4, 2015 17:06
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Blackchamber posted:What is the process on having someone towed from your parking spot? Background: I used to work for a company that dealt directly with the towing industry and towing laws/regulations across multiple states in the US. Towing laws and regulations can vary wildly by state/county/city, so all I can do is say what's generally applicable. Based on what you've said, this person is parked in a spot on private land and is not blocking a public right of way, and her vehicle isn't derelict or obviously violating any of the other typical code enforcement regulations. Otherwise, you could probably just call the police and they might get the vehicle towed. For just enforcing spaces on private land, it usually falls to the owner or manager of the property to have tows executed. The standard practice is that apartment complexes have a contract with a local towing company. When the manager wants something towed, they call up the towing company and they come tow the vehicle. You as the renter don't own the space and thus don't have any real power to start this process. Your best bet is to keep on the property management company, citing your use of the spot per your lease. Additionally, if it's allowed by the state/county/city, some complexes allow the towing company to 'roam tow' during certain hours and tow vehicles based on certain criteria laid out by the complex. Does your complex make you put a unique decal on your car for the spot you're in? If so, that would make things even more clear cut.
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Oct 4, 2015 18:06
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Some people have a hard time getting along in society with simple things like telling the apartment manager "the space that goes with my apartment won't fit my vehicle, I need somewhere else to park", whereby the management can work out something simple like trading spots with someone with a different vehicle or apartment. She needs a little prodding. If she's in your space tomorrow (she won't be, she has no conflict management skills, she will park in someone else's space tomorrow), knock on her door and throw her out again. This time, say "looks like your truck won't fit in your spot, right?" and she'll agree, so you draw the blindingly obvious conclusion, "the spots here are reserved. you should ask the manager if you can trade with someone else", and she will get the idea. If she continues to park in your spot, call the management every. time. it. happens. Be it noon or 3 in the morning, whether it's for 5 minutes or 2 days. It is my experience that tow truck drivers are basically criminals (sorry jkyuusai, certainly not you) and are happy to take $20 or $50 in the palm to forget that it was a tenant who called and not the landlord. Once that truck gets towed away ONCE, she will never park in the wrong spot again, it's a huge pain in the rear end and quite expensive to get the vehicle back.
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Oct 4, 2015 18:20
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Thanks for the replies. Trading spots wont work for her unfortunately. I would love to have her assigned spot actually, but if she continues to park in mine the problem is that her oversized truck makes it near impossible for people to get in and out. I drive a small honda and its already a bit of a hassle to back out past me with how tight it is, I've already had my drivers side mirror knocked off twice. The other spots she could trade for would have similar problems because her trucks back end would block the guys who have garage spots. And her own original spot is at an immediate right angle from the choke point and I'd put money on it that she'd never get it out of there again unless the rest of the spots are all empty. I guess I'll just harass the property management.
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Oct 4, 2015 20:40
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Does she have a street parking pass so she can park on the street? What I'm hinting at is that she's a bit of a mouth breather and someone is going to have to spell it out for her.
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Oct 4, 2015 20:45
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photomikey posted:Does she have a street parking pass so she can park on the street? What I'm hinting at is that she's a bit of a mouth breather and someone is going to have to spell it out for her. I have a permit for street parking because I've been hit twice in my spot and got sick of people's guest parking on the driveway and blocking me in. I do shift-work so usually I get off work when everyone else is at work and I can snag a spot near the building but on the days where my schedule has me coming home late having my own off the street spot is a godsend. I live less than 2 blocks from a big college and to combat the amount of college kids parking on the street to avoid parking garage costs they went to permit parking, and the parking district closest to the college has it worse because our permits are only good for 6 months where everywhere else you get a year making you pay the fee twice a year. I think for most people, if you are paying a ton in rent (bay area) that includes off the street parking, youd be against having to fork out more money to park your primary vehicle on the street. The parking issue, even with my street permit, is one of the main reasons why I won't be renewing my lease next year. The property management just emailed me back saying they were going to deliver a parking chart tomorrow (they said that before when I moved in 7 months ago). Edit: photomikey posted:If she's in your space tomorrow (she won't be, she has no conflict management skills, she will park in someone else's space tomorrow) Blackchamber fucked around with this message at 03:30 on Oct 5, 2015 |
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Oct 4, 2015 22:35
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My apartment lease is coming up in December. Management has told me they're going around doing refurbishment (appliances, flooring, insulation on some, etc) as units empty, so they're asking me to move to a unit that's already been redone so they can refurbish mine. Fair enough. The new unit is still good value even with the rent increase, and getting ceiling fans and hardwood flooring and new appliances is nice. However, a friend at work suspects this is a prelude to the apartment complex converting to a condominium complex and booting the renters out in a couple more years. Is he being tinfoil or should I start to panic about now?
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Oct 5, 2015 21:00
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What city? Certainly possible, but hard to say. If they do convert, not much you can do about it whether you change units or not.
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Oct 5, 2015 21:11
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Xandu posted:What city? Certainly possible, but hard to say. If they do convert, not much you can do about it whether you change units or not. Henderson NV (Las Vegas generally). Mainly I figure if this is a sure sign of a conversion I may as well bail now rather than have to move twice. (Edit: the Camden summit complex, if anyone cares) Ciaphas fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Oct 5, 2015 |
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Oct 5, 2015 21:14
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Are there a lot of condo conversions being done in that city? What's the rental market look like? I'd be really surprised that they'd renovate the units, rent them out for a few years, and then try to sell them without again renovating. They're probably just renovating to stay competitive with other complexes or move into a more upmarket segment.
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Oct 5, 2015 21:21
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Are they providing some kind of compensation or assistance for you to move? If you wanted me to move across the complex at my own time and expense and then eat a rent increase, I would hand you a bag of dicks to suck. Are the renovated units nicer? I once had an apartment complex offer to remodel my kitchen at rent increase time. I signed the lease and they sent someone over the next day to put iron-on vinyl overtop my kitchen cabinets. I was pissed.
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Oct 5, 2015 22:45
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photomikey posted:Are they providing some kind of compensation or assistance for you to move? If you wanted me to move across the complex at my own time and expense and then eat a rent increase, I would hand you a bag of dicks to suck. No compensation or assistance, but then since they're not asking me to break lease or anything like that I wouldn't really expect them to provide any (though I've said that it'd be nice to help get to stay, wink wink). They're considerably nicer though, yeah, enough so that it's worth the rent hike in my mind ($1070 -> $1250, thereabouts--subtract about $60 in the summer if I get the north-facing, first floor one I saw, just from A/C power draw). They walked me around one of them; all hardwood floor (optional, but I hate carpets), ceiling fans in every room (that's kind of huge given the summer weather here), brand new stainless steel kitchen appliances and cabinets, brand new washer/dryer, insulation/weatherproofing improvements, probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. (ed: nicer paint and wood colors, too )Having had a few days to think about it the only thing I'm scared of is that they're pulling a fast one in some respect that I haven't picked up on; this idea that they might be converting to condos is just the latest one. FISHMANPET posted:Are there a lot of condo conversions being done in that city? What's the rental market look like? I'd be really surprised that they'd renovate the units, rent them out for a few years, and then try to sell them without again renovating. They're probably just renovating to stay competitive with other complexes or move into a more upmarket segment. I can't really answer either question because I have no idea and I don't even really know where to look to find out, besides guesswork from prices on Zillow or something. Sorry. (ed again): An article from the local paper about a month ago: "conversions making a comeback?". The conclusion appears to be "probably not" so maybe I'm okay? 
Ciaphas fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Oct 5, 2015 |
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Oct 5, 2015 23:18
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Ciaphas posted:Update stuff The last 2 apartment complexes I have lived in were both doing the same thing. As people would move out, they would re-do the insides and make them nicer. I don't think I would worry too much, especially if they needed updating.
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Oct 6, 2015 21:32
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My kneejerk reaction is that if they wanted to turn the place into condos, they would take the opportunity of your lease ending to just not renew your lease at all and tell you to leave. As it is, they're taking up a sellable unit in the building to extend the lease.
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Oct 6, 2015 22:30
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So I have a question. Apparently the tenant below my roommate and I has been calling the police and filing noise complaints. I found out today because the cops paid me a visit around 4:30pm and told me that there were several complaints filed already and to try to keep it down because the guy was going to file a complaint with management if it continues to happen. I asked the cop what the sound was that the tenants below were complaining about; he said it was "a pattering noise" or faint tapping, and asked if I was running around in the apartment. I have never met or seen the person who lives downstairs. The thing is that the cop showed up when I was home alone, studying in silence, at 4:30pm in the afternoon. I spent most of the day out and didn't come back to the apartment until ~3:30, only loading the dishwasher and packing some things up to drive to an appointment tomorrow before studying. My question is, how should I go about resolving this situation? I'm worried that this guy is racking up paperwork that could result in me getting evicted for something that I'm positive my roommate and I are not responsible for. I'm considering going to management tomorrow and making them cognizant of the situation so that they can investigate the noise. Does that sound like a reasonable course of action? Should I do anything more or different? Wickerman fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Oct 7, 2015 |
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Oct 7, 2015 05:08
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Wickerman posted:So I have a question. When our downstairs neighbor was calling the police on us for bs reasons, the cop would come to the door and say "I have a report of a noise violation here, but I'm standing here with the door open and I don't hear your party so I'll be on my way." Eventually they told us that if she called again she would be cited for abuse of police resources. Plus, "a pattering noise" is hardly anything to warrant police intervention. Look up the decibel ranges for noise violation. So my suggestion is to make friends with the cops that come, and make it very clear that you're just studying or straight up not there, and downstairs is wasting their time.
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Oct 7, 2015 05:15
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I would definitely let management know, though if the guy is calling the cops hes probably also calling the management. It seems like a weird escalation to call the cops before even telling your property manager. It honestly sounds like he's hearing "general apartment noises" to me. I can hear my upstairs neighbor turn their shower on, run the dishwasher, board creaks when they walk around and its just what you deal with when you live in an apartment. Clearly the real solution is to switch apartments!
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Oct 7, 2015 05:27
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I would do absolutely nothing and let the guy downstairs suck an egg.
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Oct 7, 2015 05:59
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