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Kase Im Licht posted:
It costs whatever it costs to completely replace your gutters. You have to re-angle them to get the flow to go the other direction. I would try to get your yard more permeable like the other poster said.
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Aug 15, 2017 15:51
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buffbus posted:There's a good chance that stuff contains asbestos. Might want to at least get a testing kit before tearing it all up. Yikes. I thought that was limited to square tiles? The peel-and-stick is relatively new and the thick sheet under it is pure plastic with a design printed on top, not actually linoleum like I thought.
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Aug 16, 2017 02:12
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TheManWithNoName posted:Has anyone tried sonic animal repellants? The neighborhood cats like using my mulch as a toilet.
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Aug 16, 2017 02:19
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TheGreasyStrangler posted:Yikes. I thought that was limited to square tiles? The peel-and-stick is relatively new and the thick sheet under it is pure plastic with a design printed on top, not actually linoleum like I thought. Asbestos was in so many products it's mind boggling. Sheet flooring definitely was one of them, as well as the mastic. Are you sure it's plastic? I'm not sure I've seen flooring like that.
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Aug 16, 2017 02:24
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LogisticEarth posted:Asbestos was in so many products it's mind boggling. Sheet flooring definitely was one of them, as well as the mastic. Are you sure it's plastic? I'm not sure I've seen flooring like that. Ok, caution prevails. I tore up some more of the floor tonight but I'm going to cut it out and see what the test kit says.
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Aug 16, 2017 02:51
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As I understand it, asbestos is only really dangerous if you're making asbestos dust and it gets into your lungs. Asbestos that's been encased in other materials isn't especially dangerous. Just wear a breath mask.
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Aug 16, 2017 03:09
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:As I understand it, asbestos is only really dangerous if you're making asbestos dust and it gets into your lungs. Asbestos that's been encased in other materials isn't especially dangerous. Just wear a breath mask. Which just means the dust goes every where else to be breathed in later.
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Aug 16, 2017 03:20
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Yeah you need to call an abatement company because you shouldn't gently caress with asbestos.
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Aug 16, 2017 03:30
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:As I understand it, asbestos is only really dangerous if you're making asbestos dust and it gets into your lungs. Asbestos that's been encased in other materials isn't especially dangerous. Just wear a breath mask. Yeah, the lesson here is "If the asbestos-bearing material is structurally stable and you don't need to remove it, you're fine just ignoring it/hiding it" which is why the easiest solution is to often cover it with modern vinyl tiles. Things like mastic or acoustic tile are really the big concern points (relative to total asbestos content) because they can easily crumble or flake. Just wearing a dust mask is 100% insufficient -- you still have to worry about it getting on your clothes (you're not wearing tyvek coveralls that you're going to package and dispose of as ABM either, are you?), particulate resting on surrounding surfaces (you aren't encasing the area in properly taped plastic drop-cloths or using a HEPA-rated air circulator) or possibly making it into your HVAC system. Also, disposing of ABM in your regular landfill bin is a big no-no in most (all?) places and requires special processes for packaging, pickup, and disposal. Now in reality, if you're a homeowner and not working in an industry with constant exposure (like construction/demolition, shipbuilding, etc.) the % chance of an increase in negative consequences is fairly minimal unless you go real stupid with it. For floor tiles you could probably get away with flooding the area (to suppress dust and soften the mastic) and then fairly carefully pry up the tiles and scrape off any goop. But "you could probably get away with it" situations are exactly why things like OSHA exist -- and honestly in my opinion abatement isn't so expensive that it's not easily worth the peace of mind.
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Aug 16, 2017 16:25
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Hubis posted:Now in reality, if you're a homeowner and not working in an industry with constant exposure (like construction/demolition, shipbuilding, etc.) the % chance of an increase in negative consequences is fairly minimal unless you go real stupid with it. For floor tiles you could probably get away with flooding the area (to suppress dust and soften the mastic) and then fairly carefully pry up the tiles and scrape off any goop. But "you could probably get away with it" situations are exactly why things like OSHA exist -- and honestly in my opinion abatement isn't so expensive that it's not easily worth the peace of mind. So out of curiosity, what is this stuff exactly? It has no paper backing or glue under it and doesn't actually seem like it's vinyl sheeting, but it does look like it could've been placed around when the house was made in 1962. 
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Aug 16, 2017 23:10
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TheGreasyStrangler posted:So out of curiosity, what is this stuff exactly? It has no paper backing or glue under it and doesn't actually seem like it's vinyl sheeting, but it does look like it could've been placed around when the house was made in 1962. Honestly, that looks like old vinyl sheet flooring? It's hard to tell from the photo. Not all sheet flooring had paper backing, and I'm confused about you saying there's no glue, since it looks like there's black mastic on the subfloor right there in your photo.
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Aug 17, 2017 11:42
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What is the most efficient way to heat an unfinished basement? The house we're building now has a 1500 sq ft unfinished basement and the furnace only has enough capacity to heat the main level. We are planning on using the basement as a home gym/bike maintenance area/dog training area so we will be down there a fair amount so we don't want to be freezing in the winter. Would it make more sense to have strategically placed space heaters or install a secondary furnace? The builder quoted us $4800 for a secondary furnace 
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Aug 17, 2017 15:52
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Do you need air conditioning also? Lots of mini splits do both heat and air, are quite efficient to run, and fairly easy to install.
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Aug 17, 2017 15:54
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Problem! posted:The builder quoted us $4800 for a secondary furnace If you're having to run additional ducting, this seems reasonable.
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Aug 17, 2017 15:57
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LogisticEarth posted:Honestly, that looks like old vinyl sheet flooring? It's hard to tell from the photo. Not all sheet flooring had paper backing, and I'm confused about you saying there's no glue, since it looks like there's black mastic on the subfloor right there in your photo. Huh, ok. I wasn't sure what that was since the subfloor is completely bone dry and the floor is not adhered to it. Tiny Timbs fucked around with this message at 16:08 on Aug 17, 2017 |
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Aug 17, 2017 16:00
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Your builder doesn't know anything about HVAC, and is probably installing the most inefficient cheap rear end unit as the main furnace. I would guess you can get away with a slightly better unit, basements add very little load to a heating and cooling system. Maybe a walk out could be a problem but ground is a good insulator especially with properly finished and insulated walls. I am assuming you are building a 3000 square foot home which makes it at the top of one furnace size, if you are going with two units, put one dedicated to the top floor and have the other run the main/basement as separate zones.
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Aug 17, 2017 16:01
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My partially finished basement is just given a couple vents and no thermostat, basically acting like an additional room on the first floor. The temperature difference could be like 5 degrees, so I swapped my thermostat for an eco bee, which has remote temperature sensors with motion detectors. Now the thermostat heats or cools the room to a good level but only if it thinks someone is in the room. That approach might be good for your purposes.
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Aug 17, 2017 16:13
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TheGreasyStrangler posted:Huh, ok. I wasn't sure what that was since the subfloor is completely bone dry and the floor is not adhered to it. Yeah, if it's 50-60 year old glue, it might be quite brittle or have lost its bond. Especially against a concrete slab that might have some occasional condensation forming. Not at all uncommon for that stuff to just pop up without much effort.
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Aug 17, 2017 16:30
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Elephanthead posted:Your builder doesn't know anything about HVAC, and is probably installing the most inefficient cheap rear end unit as the main furnace. I would guess you can get away with a slightly better unit, basements add very little load to a heating and cooling system. Maybe a walk out could be a problem but ground is a good insulator especially with properly finished and insulated walls. I am assuming you are building a 3000 square foot home which makes it at the top of one furnace size, if you are going with two units, put one dedicated to the top floor and have the other run the main/basement as separate zones. The sales lady looked at me like a deer in the headlights when I asked about furnace capacity the other week and came back quoting me the $4800 one. It's a 1500 sq foot ranch (or "rambler" as they call them here) with a 1500 sq ft basement.
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Aug 17, 2017 17:01
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Problem! posted:The sales lady looked at me like a deer in the headlights when I asked about furnace capacity the other week and came back quoting me the $4800 one. Is the furnace already installed? If not I would think you could just upsize it by 25-50% and add some duct work in the basement, and you would get like 80% of the way to perfect without much effort or extra cost. Ideally you would want a couple vent blocker things installed that you could change between summer and winter (so you cool upstairs more in the summer, and heat downstairs more in the winter). If it's already installed you could probably do the same thing by adding some duct work. If the furnace is in the basement, you could probably find a competent HVAC company to add a return and a couple output vents in the basement afterwards for $500-$1000. You should make the builder tell you the model information about the unit they installed so you can figure out heating BTU and cooling tons.
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Aug 17, 2017 17:11
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Droo posted:Is the furnace already installed? If not I would think you could just upsize it by 25-50% and add some duct work in the basement, and you would get like 80% of the way to perfect without much effort or extra cost. Furnace is not installed yet, however we cannot do any mods to the basement like adding ducting without finishing the whole drat thing to the tune of $50k. We asked to install an additional outlet or two and were shot down unless we wanted to pay $50k. So we're going to add some outlets and lights and maybe a furnace after the house is done. We are slated to be done in November/December so we'll be able to have a feel of the ambient winter temperature down there before we make any decisions.
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Aug 17, 2017 17:58
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Problem! posted:Furnace is not installed yet, however we cannot do any mods to the basement like adding ducting without finishing the whole drat thing to the tune of $50k. We asked to install an additional outlet or two and were shot down unless we wanted to pay $50k. So we're going to add some outlets and lights and maybe a furnace after the house is done. Wasn't this a shady builder in the first place? I think I remember you having some issues or concerns earlier in the thread... This is some bullshit and the builder seems like he's just churning out houses with little regard for details... Is there a reason you haven't walked away from this yet? EDIT: Actually, I think that was in the home-buying thread, but I forget the details so sorry if that wasn't you. LogisticEarth fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Aug 17, 2017 |
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Aug 17, 2017 18:43
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Problem! posted:Furnace is not installed yet, however we cannot do any mods to the basement like adding ducting without finishing the whole drat thing to the tune of $50k. We asked to install an additional outlet or two and were shot down unless we wanted to pay $50k. So we're going to add some outlets and lights and maybe a furnace after the house is done. Those two thing do not compute. Additional outlets are $100/shot, in theory less during construction. We just met with the architect today at the design build firm we've retained. I think we've decided on how we want the bathrooms to look, going to do a final revision on the kitchen, then we get into the real  part of the equation. I'm curious how the estimating part of this "normally" works. We have drawings that we own, they charge several thousand dollars to come up with estimates which are credited back to us if we select them as the builder for the project. I need to call around now, but I always thought budgetary estimates were cheap-to-free. How wrong am I?The work involves gutting out 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, laundry hallway, and at least 1 engineered beam to replace a load bearing wall, so it's not small time work but it's not a whole house to the studs gut either.
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Aug 17, 2017 19:11
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So here's the deal: We've got a deposit down on a house in a new build neighborhood so it's not our design from scratch but rather one of theirs with upgrades/options. One option is a finished basement. This was a $50,000 upgrade. Naturally we said gently caress that poo poo. We have requested modifications to the unfinished basement and they're like "nope if you want to change the basement at all you have to buy the $50,000 finished basement upgrade". If they won't let us do outlets they sure as hell won't do extra ducting. As for our earlier issues, mostly stemming from lack of communication/them deliberately giving me bullshit dates, I sat down in their office and we had Words with them and we're straight now.
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Aug 17, 2017 19:17
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Maybe you can at least get them to install a bigger/better HVAC unit and then you can have it modified after you move in?
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Aug 17, 2017 19:19
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Yeah 3000 square foot on one unit is well within the range of normal units. Basements are like half loads so you are really looking at 2250 square feet of HVAC space. Basement runs are nothing to install when doing the other runs the return is just a hole in the side of the furnace. Two furnaces in a house that small would be insane.
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Aug 17, 2017 19:20
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Secondary question unrelated to the first: What's the best way to put up a fence quasi-temporarily? Our house backs up to a 25 acre park that the builder is going to fence in on their dime once all the adjacent lots are sold. We have dogs so having no back fence for a couple years is not an option but we also don't want to sink money into a nice fence that'll be ripped out. Right now we're looking at chain link with privacy slats but we are open to suggestions. Sides and front will be a nice fence and we're going halvsies with our neighbors on the side fences.
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Aug 17, 2017 22:42
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LogisticEarth posted:Hilariously petty new neighbor question: the new folks next door suddenly started mowing a couple mower widths on my side of the line. I wouldn't mind except: If it were my neighbor I'd wait until he was out doing it and then shoot him in the dilz with a pellet gun. But I hate my neighbor a lot. Partially for a very similar reason (he had his yard landscaped and in doing so they landscaped about 2.5' of what was very obviously my yard, replacing my nice river rock with lovely DG and removing a shrub that I liked in the process). You should probably try talking to yours.
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Aug 18, 2017 00:07
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Problem! posted:Naturally we said gently caress that poo poo. 50k to double the size of your house doesn't seem that bad to me?
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Aug 18, 2017 00:12
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scrubs season six posted:50k to double the size of your house doesn't seem that bad to me? It's actually a hilariously expensive price to pay for finishing an already constructed space. Like, even if you're putting in a half bath and getting hardwood flooring, $50k for 1500sqft of what amounts to some basic framing and surface coverings seems outrageous.
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Aug 18, 2017 00:43
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LogisticEarth posted:It's actually a hilariously expensive price to pay for finishing an already constructed space. This is the real issue with that. I mean....what are they gonna do? Probably throw up a cheap rear end drop ceiling, some rental-quality carpet and box in a "mechanical room" with $100 worth of 2x4s and drywall. This is literally a weekend job with well under $10k of materials. For like 3 people.
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Aug 18, 2017 02:33
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Yeah I guess it depends what they do with it. My ~1500 square foot walkout basement has a full bath, three other rooms (Jr Master type BR, media room, game room, plus the unfinished utility room), it's own furnace and A/C unit, and pretty nice finishes/surfaces/built in cabinetry, etc. I have no idea what they would have charged to do it since it came that way though. Maybe 50k still would have been a rip off, I guess I was mostly thinking about the value added to a home by doubling its size. Here at least a walkout basement is just considered normal square footage whereas a regular basement that's finished might not be worth as much as main floor footage I guess. It's a new house but we bought in too late to even pick floor coverings. The broker told me that when they started out they made the finished basement optional but everyone opted for it so they just started including it.
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Aug 18, 2017 02:53
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LogisticEarth posted:How new is this construction? A lot of places will use lovely subsoil, but call it "topsoil". It also gets compacted to poo poo during construction. 1990. Rear of the lot is our fence and then another house and yard. Their yard starts flat but then slopes up to the street. My back yard has a slight left to right slope and then it hits the side fence and another house. Right now I get a 2 inch deep lake on the right side where my shed used to be. It lasts for a while after the rain stops as well, so I'm pretty sure I have poo poo drainage. That'll get a little better as I I fill in that low spot a little bit and get some grass planted, but that's only the worst of about 3 areas of standing water that I get during heavy rain. I can do some of that other stuff, but it's just not a big yard and we're going to cover about a third of it with a patio so we can actually do stuff back there. I suspect the patio will make the water situation worse... Now that I'm thinking about it more, actually a rain barrel might work well for one of the downspouts. It's in a weird spot between the AC and the stairs (yes this is a horrible place for it to go). But since we can't really use that space for anything anyway, I could probably stick a rain barrel there. The other downspout goes in a place I need to keep clear so I can access the shed on the side of the house and there are stairs on thte other side so no relaly good place.
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Aug 18, 2017 02:59
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Problem! posted:Secondary question unrelated to the first: I fenced in the open side of the back yard at my old rental with welded wire fencing and U posts. It lasted at least 3 years and might still be there for all I know. Looked like crap but cheap and kept the dogs in.
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Aug 18, 2017 19:47
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LogisticEarth posted:It's actually a hilariously expensive price to pay for finishing an already constructed space. Like, even if you're putting in a half bath and getting hardwood flooring, $50k for 1500sqft of what amounts to some basic framing and surface coverings seems outrageous. The "unfinished" basement is already framed out for a living room, three bedrooms and a full bath and is already plumbed for the bathroom. Literally all they gotta do is run some wiring and ducting, throw up some drywall and a ceiling, and slap a carpet down. Not worth $50k.
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Aug 18, 2017 19:48
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Problem! posted:The "unfinished" basement is already framed out for a living room, three bedrooms and a full bath and is already plumbed for the bathroom. so get some new contractors, they gave you the 'gently caress off' price
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Aug 19, 2017 15:52
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Bozart posted:so get some new contractors, they gave you the 'gently caress off' price It's a development with a dedicated builder. Based on what I've seen in my area, it's not a "gently caress off" price but a "suckers will pay this" price. Because you get folks with either a bit too much money or a bit too much credit and end up with thoughts like: scrubs season six posted:50k to double the size of your house doesn't seem that bad to me?
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Aug 19, 2017 16:00
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LogisticEarth posted:It's a development with a dedicated builder. Based on what I've seen in my area, it's not a "gently caress off" price but a "suckers will pay this" price. Because you get folks with either a bit too much money or a bit too much credit and end up with thoughts like: Exactly. That's the cost of the upgrade. A lot of the other stuff wasn't bad, like we got a gas stove upgrade with the gas line included for just the cost of the stove. They only seem to gouge on the stuff that's slightly too hard or a massive pain in the rear end to DIY for the average person. Our realtor used to work for one of these companies (not the one we're using) so she's been a good resource for letting us know if it's a price gouge or a good deal. She comes with us to all of our meetings and calls them out on their BS.
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Aug 19, 2017 17:40
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TheGreasyStrangler posted:So out of curiosity, what is this stuff exactly? It has no paper backing or glue under it and doesn't actually seem like it's vinyl sheeting, but it does look like it could've been placed around when the house was made in 1962. Test came back today, no asbestos 
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Aug 24, 2017 04:06
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I moved into my house about 2 weeks ago. Tropical storm incoming  When you've just gotten back into your house after 1 year of rebuild after a 1,000 yr flood that happened 2 days after closing, you worry. Homeownership! 
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Aug 24, 2017 14:36
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