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We have a central vacuum and it is goddamn amazing. I never want a house without one again, and we have two pets.
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Jul 31, 2017 04:33
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We have a central vacuum cleaner and it's great. We've emptied it a few times, you just unhook some latched and empty out the bin. No bags to worry about. I'd just want another outlet to plug it into. It's also great if you got these ducts on the floor that you kick open with your foot and sweep dirt into.
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Jul 31, 2017 06:56
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Central vacuum is not a UK thing at all, it sounds mystical to me. How does it work? Do you have just a hose part that you carry around and hook up to ports?
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Jul 31, 2017 10:39
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Yeah, or in our case, we only have one port centrally placed, and one long 10-12 meter hose that reaches everywhere, except into the sauna, and sometimes I'd like to vacuum outside the door on the deck so I'd like another port.
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Jul 31, 2017 10:50
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Doesn't that defeat the "central" part of it? How's that better than having a very long hose on a normal vacuum cleaner?
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Jul 31, 2017 11:56
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I'll just add another port if I want one, but our house isn't that big so we basically only needed one. Bigger houses and houses with more than one floor have multiple ports Pros: -Much stronger vacuum motor -Runs quieter -No vacuum to pick out and haul around -Air is ejected outside so no returned dust that passes through the filter -No vacuum filters or bags, our model has a cloth self-cleaning filter that filters outgoing air, but it goes outside anyway... -Can have dust sweep ports near the floor to sweep dust into, we have one. We much prefer it to the old fashioned vacuum cleaner.
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Jul 31, 2017 12:24
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We don't even have central heating lol. Dyson-chan takes care of everything our normal vacuum can't reach.
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Jul 31, 2017 12:31
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His Divine Shadow posted:-Can have dust sweep ports near the floor to sweep dust into, we have one. That's clever.
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Jul 31, 2017 13:15
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His Divine Shadow posted:-Can have dust sweep ports near the floor to sweep dust into, we have one. Real Talk: this would revolutionize housework for me. I'm a clumsy oaf, so 50% of the time I miss the trash can trying to dump stuff out of the upright dustpan and have to sweep again. It's me, the person from an infomercial re-enactment incident.
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Jul 31, 2017 14:54
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A $200 Eufy robot vacuum has changed my life.
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Jul 31, 2017 15:22
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His Divine Shadow posted:I'll just add another port if I want one, but our house isn't that big so we basically only needed one. Bigger houses and houses with more than one floor have multiple ports My dad installed several ports in our house to make it easier to use. Everything you mentioned is why I love them and it is my lottery-dream to own one myself. It was a life changer as someone with asthma. Our house went from a pet dander nightmare scenario to dust free. We had to empty the can several times right after installing it, it was insane. The sweeper isn't something I had heard of, clever, but we just sucked everything through the hose always.
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Jul 31, 2017 15:26
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His Divine Shadow posted:I'll just add another port if I want one, but our house isn't that big so we basically only needed one. Bigger houses and houses with more than one floor have multiple ports Thing I just considered: Could I use this as an excuse to buy myself a really nice dust extraction system for my workshop, then just tie it into a few ports upstairs?
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Jul 31, 2017 18:15
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Our house came with....3/4ths of a central vac system, it screams "we installed it ourselves and ran out of money." Hose plugs? 2. One upstairs, one downstairs. It's enough to do the whole house with the long hose, but awkward. External vent? Yes. Relays and switch gear? Yes. Pipes and fittings? Yes. Actual vacuum? no. Instead, they wired a plug that gets power when the hose is connected, and stuck a shop vac into the system. So, I really have a whole house shop vac. It works...mostly.
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Jul 31, 2017 19:01
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You can buy just the vacuum on Amazon for between 400 and 800 dollars or so.
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Jul 31, 2017 19:38
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big crush on Chad OMG posted:A $200 Eufy robot vacuum has changed my life. It's way better if you put googly eyes on it.
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Jul 31, 2017 23:38
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The house we bought a couple of years ago has an old wooden fence, and the fence has been starting to sag a bit. The posts look like they're just 4x4s, no idea if they're sunken into concrete or gravel or anything; the whole thing looks like it was quickly assembled out of really basic materials, no frills. Is there any issue with just buying some new pressure-treated 4x4s, painting them, and then 1 at a time digging the old posts out and putting the new posts in the same holes?
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Aug 1, 2017 06:29
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QuarkJets posted:The house we bought a couple of years ago has an old wooden fence, and the fence has been starting to sag a bit. The posts look like they're just 4x4s, no idea if they're sunken into concrete or gravel or anything; the whole thing looks like it was quickly assembled out of really basic materials, no frills. Is there any issue with just buying some new pressure-treated 4x4s, painting them, and then 1 at a time digging the old posts out and putting the new posts in the same holes? We've done that on a few posts and it's pretty easy. You might run a string line across the tops of the nearest posts to make sure the new one is plumb with the surrounding posts. Also consider mixing up a bag of concrete and poring it under and around the post to reduce rot and sag in the future.
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Aug 1, 2017 15:49
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Real talk, how well do robot vacuums work these days? I would prefer not to spend $Roomba if there are cheaper alternatives. We have hardwoods throughout the house and cat/dog hair just collects like crazy, I'm constantly swiffering/vacuuming.
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Aug 4, 2017 15:49
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Spring Heeled Jack posted:Real talk, how well do robot vacuums work these days? I would prefer not to spend $Roomba if there are cheaper alternatives. The Eufy one by Anker is awesome. It's cut down dog hair dramatically. You have to empty it daily but it's great, you'll find quickly what it'll get caught up on - mostly cords on the ground. Significantly cheaper too.
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Aug 4, 2017 16:24
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Spring Heeled Jack posted:cat/dog
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Aug 4, 2017 18:56
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The picture of the poo poo flourish left by a Roomba kills me. Its perfect robot defiance. EDIT: Found it. 
TTerrible fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Aug 4, 2017 |
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Aug 4, 2017 18:58
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Spring Heeled Jack posted:Real talk, how well do robot vacuums work these days? I would prefer not to spend $Roomba if there are cheaper alternatives. I've had a roomba 650 for 2 years now and it's great, does everything I need-- I think it's under $300 now. I have two cats and a small human and it does a great job. It collects enough that I need to clean out the front wheel and brushes each time, so I have it scheduled just two days a week.
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Aug 4, 2017 19:01
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Leviathan Song posted:We've done that on a few posts and it's pretty easy. You might run a string line across the tops of the nearest posts to make sure the new one is plumb with the surrounding posts. Also consider mixing up a bag of concrete and poring it under and around the post to reduce rot and sag in the future. I've heard concrete is good, but I've also heard people recommend gravel mixed with dirt as an alternative; that's apparently how ranches deal with their fence posts because digging a plug of concrete out of the ground is a PITA. I'm a bit hopeful that these posts weren't set in concrete, since it'd be easier to pull them out
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Aug 5, 2017 09:19
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Spring Heeled Jack posted:Real talk, how well do robot vacuums work these days? I would prefer not to spend $Roomba if there are cheaper alternatives. I have a really cheap model (can't remember the name atm) and it does a decent enough job, but I would recommend getting one with at least some degree of intelligence as mine has a tendency to vacuum small areas several times and leave to charge before everything is done.
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Aug 7, 2017 00:41
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I'm closing on a house in a couple weeks and it still has the original 1910 windows, so I'm thinking the first project should be some storm windows to help insulate these: I found something called Indow windows which are press-fit storm windows and they are made of 1/4 acrylic instead of thin storm window film, so they block noise better. Problem is they're about $30/sqft which sounds hilariously expensive for acrylic sheet with a plastic gasket going around it: https://indowwindows.com/portfolio/inside-storm-windows/ I'm thinking I could just cut an acrylic sheet, make a wooden frame that matches the look of the wood that's already there, cut a channel on the outside of the frame and run weather stripping around the whole thing. That way I could push it into the window area and the weather stripping would seal it in place. The only thing I'm not up to snuff on is the window framing. Anyone know of any specific wooden framing I could get from Home Depot or Lowes that I could slot the acrylic in to? I want to keep it simple because I know how to miter wood framing at 45-degree angles but that's about the extent of my woodworking skills. Or if anyone knows a better approach, I'd love to hear it. I did see a similar thing online which simply uses brown-colored magnetic strips to hold an unframed sheet of acrylic in place, but I dunno if that'll look better or worse: https://www.windowsaver.com/
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Aug 7, 2017 04:51
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Around here, they usually just install a whole new internal window and frame around the original window. Awkard excess width can he hidden by curtains.
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Aug 7, 2017 06:22
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It's been a year since we moved in and I'm finally getting around to adding shelves and racks in necessary places. Edit: cross-posted this to Interior Design thread for visibility and confidence-crushing ridicule peanut fucked around with this message at 10:02 on Aug 7, 2017 |
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Aug 7, 2017 06:26
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There needs to be space for bath towels, hand towels, our pajamas and clothes we reuse for a few days, extra detergent, etc... and I want to make a lower hanger pole so my daughter(s) can reach her own stuff. When I first met I husband I lolled at keeping underwear and socks in the bathroom but now I realize it's The Best and I never want to go back to dashing upstairs for underwear again. The last thing to consider is that my husband is a tall and hopeless manbaby so he'll only use his designated shelves effectively if they're at chest height. Please show me some good bathroom/laundry room/mudroom organization. Everything shows rolled towels and that looks pretty cute but is it sustainable and convenient?
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Aug 7, 2017 07:12
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Suddenly I realized I had a mental block against putting a shelf right next to the washer, because I was so focused on the under-stairs space. Now I just gotta build 3 shelves on little wheels to replace those plastic drawers. Thanks for witnessing my sperg.
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Aug 9, 2017 12:00
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big crush on Chad OMG posted:A $200 Eufy robot vacuum has changed my life. I really want one of these cause I have hardwood floors that need regular but light dusting/sweeping and I'm wayyyyy too lazy to do it every day.
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Aug 9, 2017 14:38
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We went to Europe for our honeymoon and I fell in LOVE with the idea of a house with an Italian style central courtyard (big square garden with trees and/or patio seating and the house on 3 or 4 sides surrounding the courtyard). I started looking for plans and examples of single family homes on the smaller side (2k feet or under) that use a central outdoor courtyard but its been oddly hard to find real examples. Most of the ones I have come across are really more of a small planted area under a skylight or are part of a super modern mega home. Since we live in CA, such a home seems possibly even practical as the courtyard could be used for the majority of the year. Is this just a terrible idea? We are looking to be in a home (currently in an apartment) in the next 2-4 years and I really like the idea.
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Aug 10, 2017 00:44
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In America I think it's the setbacks that get you. The ones Ive seen in Sicily at least were built right against one another whereas in America single family requires a side yard setback of 5 feet minimum so the average 40 foot wide lot has a 30x40 foot deep building envelope which doesn't work well. And of course zero lot line areas are going to be built up with dense apartments. If it was on a big lot in the suburbs it would make lots of sense though. I personally love that design, historically Beijing had a similar style.
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Aug 10, 2017 01:48
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Courtyard 1 (2 story house)
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Aug 10, 2017 04:02
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Courtyard 2 (2bd ranch)
peanut fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Aug 10, 2017 |
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Aug 10, 2017 04:02
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Courtyard with slotted wall
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Aug 10, 2017 04:03
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Since you're in California, look for Eichler houses. A lot of them have central outdoor spaces that are enclosed by the rest of the house. Many have been converted since then into all-indoors by adding a skylight, but there are still plenty around. E: I grew up in a housing development in CA that was all Eichlers. Some of the courtyards were really lovely (fish pond, plants, sandbox for kids) and some ended up being basically an indoor garden shed with bikes and junk. My parents' house had had a skylight put in instead before they moved there.
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Aug 10, 2017 04:19
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There was a well-known brand of scandinavian/nordic prefab house where one of their designs had a good courtyard but it was more in the English style. Does anyone remember the name? They were pretty much the only people doing it maybe 3 or 4 years ago.
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Aug 10, 2017 08:33
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Comedy (?) option, get together with 3 other homeowners and make a shared yard. Would obviously require that everyone gets along, and risk massive trouble when selling the home.
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Aug 10, 2017 10:16
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This might not be the right place to post this, but it's the most appropriate I can think of. Recently (i.e. in the past week or so) I've had issues with flies in my apartment. I see 5-6 of them a day, and there's always more when I kill them. The trash is covered and taken out regularly, the drain is clean, the litterbox is emptied daily, and my windows and everything are closed and shuttered. I'm gonna be setting out some flypaper hoping to trap them, but I still need to figure out where they're all coming from. Anybody got tips for getting rid of flies? Possibly related: my cat's been staring at an alcove next to my oven for a while now. I've had mice in the apartment before (it's a complete loving shithole with a useless landlord) and I wonder if he maimed one, it ran away behind the oven, and subsequently died and then flies laid eggs in it. Ew. There's a whole bunch of exposed piping/walls and nooks and crannies in the apartment (because shithole etc) so I'm wondering if this is all related.
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Aug 13, 2017 17:24
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It is. You need to seal up that stuff and look under, behind, and around everything. If a rat died it would stink so that is likely not it unless you literally have no sense of smell. Could be something much smaller though. Anywhere opening into a wall cavity is where bugs can get in.
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Aug 13, 2017 18:01
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