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My wife just called. We've had some plumbing issues since we moved back into our house and our contractor sent out a plumber. Plumber proceeded to point out how badly the sub-contractors hosed up the entire Master bathroom and Guest bathroom.  It's a possibility that the hosed up bathtub may have leaked water onto the slab under it. On the bright side, I'm not going to pay for anything that isn't an actual plumbing issue because gently caress that.
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Aug 31, 2017 22:42
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Motronic posted:That's going to clog again - very quickly. Order these now: https://www.amazon.com/Rectorseal-68115-Hydrex-Tabs-200-Tablet/dp/B008A3UCYS It will eliminate the problem entirely. So I'll have to cut a hole in the plenum to put those in, since it's sealed. And then seal the hole somehow with a cap or something that is removable so I can put more pills in later. Sigh.
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Sep 1, 2017 01:12
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Leperflesh posted:So I'll have to cut a hole in the plenum to put those in, since it's sealed. And then seal the hole somehow with a cap or something that is removable so I can put more pills in later. Easy job (if you have the poo poo for it). If you're worried about getting chips somewhere they shouldn't be grease the hole saw bit, go slow and keep cleaning and re-greasing.
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Sep 1, 2017 03:36
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Anyone know some shiz about landscaping? We bought a new house and on some level I can appreciate that they left the backyard bare so people can do their own thing but for the most part it's just annoying and stupid because you coulda landscaped it for nearly free back when you could run a D9 through the backyards but now that there's other houses and fences and poo poo, it's practically impossible. And I know they didn't do it so that people can do their own thing, but because they're cheap and lazy, but that's neither here nor there. Anyway my house is on a hillside and has a walkout basement. The hill is steep. Like you can walk up it but just barely and you'll probably slip a couple times and loose dirt and rock will slide down it while you're doing it. The backyard is about 0.4 acres but most of it is (and will remain) sloped natural desert landscape. The flat part was created with the earth excavated for the foundation and is maybe 80' wide and 20' deep and that's what needs landscaped. We just want all of it covered in some kind of rock and maybe the patio expanded and a 2' tall retaining wall against the fence on the uphill side. The problem (besides steep) is that the lot isn't very wide beyond the house. And there's air conditioners on one side and a garage access platform on the other side. You couldn't get poo poo down the garage side. The A/C side is definitely wide enough to get one of these down:  If you disconnected and temporarily moved the air conditioners you could probably get something a little bigger down there. Like this size maybe?:  Maybe a little bigger. I'd have to measure to be sure. Obviously using that little pissant bucket to carry river rock down into the backyard would not work. Like it'd be worse than doing it by hand. But can these little guys carry those super sack sized things of gravel down a slope like that? Seems like it'd be pretty sketchy to me but I don't know poo poo about it. The only other thing I can really think of is having a load of gravel dumped in the driveway and carrying it through the living room and dumping it off the deck a bucket at a time, and then spreading it around manually after it's down there. I haven't yet tried to do some napkin math on this yet but I'm guessing thousands of buckets. Maybe you do 20 buckets a day all winter or something? I dunno. It seems crazy obviously but so do the alternatives. The other thing I'm thinking about is waiting and hoping a neighbor does something similar and then seeing how it goes and talking to them and their landscaper about it. Sooner or later someone will do some landscaping I would think, I can't imagine everyone leaving their backyard bare dirt forever. I did talk to a landscaper designer guy and he looked at the yard and seemed positive about the tiny excavator's abilities but I'm afraid it's gonna be a nightmare and insanely expensive and might even just not work. Anyone with any insight or advice? This is completely foreign territory to me.
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Sep 2, 2017 02:47
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I'm having trouble visualizing exactly what problem you're dealing with? Pics and maybe a sketch of what you want? If you're just trying to move rock to the back yard, they do have stuff like powered wheelbarrows, or a garden tractor with trailer, or hell even a Bobcat. I'm kind of confused as to why you're jumping to a mini.
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Sep 2, 2017 02:54
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LogisticEarth posted:I'm having trouble visualizing exactly what problem you're dealing with? Pics and maybe a sketch of what you want? If you're just trying to move rock to the back yard, they do have stuff like powered wheelbarrows, or a garden tractor with trailer, or hell even a Bobcat. I'm kind of confused as to why you're jumping to a mini. The problem is unusually steep & narrow slope to get from the street to the yard. I had never heard of a powered wheelbarrow but googling it, it could be potentially the best solution. A garden tractor with a trailer will probably topple down the slope I'm pretty sure and I'm not sure a bobcat will be that much better. I think I have a pic or two but not sure they convey the steepness that well. I'll take a look and also probably try and get a rough rise/run measurement.
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Sep 2, 2017 10:54
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The mini was mentioned by the landscape guy as being better able to deal with the slope than something like a bobcat.  The fence at the top can easily be taken down for access. it's 5.5' at the narrowest point with the A/Cs and about 9.5' wide if you moved the A/Cs. And like I said, it's steep enough that you can't walk up it without repeatedly slipping/dislodging dirt/rocks. It's probably about a 100% grade at and then starts to flatten where the A/Cs are. The other side of the lot is wider/has more room between the house and fence but can't work due to the side garage access.
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Sep 2, 2017 11:37
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That's the finished lot surface that they hand you? WTF? It's bare soil. I understand you're in the desert but that's a mess and is like erosion city. I doubt a mini would do better than something like a tracked bobcat on that, especially carrying any weight. I don't have any good solutions other than thinking that a mini would be a disaster due to that steep slope, loose soil, and high center of gravity.
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Sep 2, 2017 12:14
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Whoever told you to use a mini ex instead of a tracked bobcat for that needs to be ignored (because they probably have no idea how to use either on a slope, certainly not a bobcat). Depending on how much you need to move - day labor is a better idea.
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Sep 2, 2017 15:29
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Having driven a ton of heavy equipment on farms over the years I can't think of a single reason why the excavator would be recommended over a skid loader for that job. Bobcat sounds good if you already know how to drive one or want to learn how (they aren't hard and tipping it wouldn't matter with the direction you'd be moving stuff) but the powered wheelbarrow sounds simplest.
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Sep 2, 2017 16:02
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LogisticEarth posted:That's the finished lot surface that they hand you? WTF? It's bare soil. I understand you're in the desert but that's a mess and is like erosion city. Yeah it's pretty stupid.
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Sep 3, 2017 04:43
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Before I wait almost over 2 hours on the phone with FEMA, anyone have any experience in filing a damage claim with FEMA for damage they caused? My neighbor had a FEMA trailer and when they removed it, they went through my yard and left damage to my yard that's gonna need to be repaired with sod and such according to my landscaper. The only thing I'm worried about is, I have no idea when they removed it because we were living in an apartment while our house was being repaired so I'm assuming I'm gonna have to fight with them to prove it was them.
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Sep 3, 2017 17:32
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When it rains if ever...just put a pile of creekstones at the high point, let nature distribute it down the hill for you
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Sep 3, 2017 17:35
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Motronic posted:Whoever told you to use a mini ex instead of a tracked bobcat for that needs to be ignored (because they probably have no idea how to use either on a slope, certainly not a bobcat). It was the landscape designer guy for one of the larger landscaping companies in town so it's not totally surprising he didn't really know wtf he was talking about, I assume if I actually did use that company the person in charge of the actual work would know better. quote:Depending on how much you need to move - day labor is a better idea. Yeah that's definitely a possibility. I started freaking out a little bit about the difficulty and expense but I'm feeling better now. Taking some measurements it's not quite as steep as I thought plus even without moving the A/Cs there's technically about 7" to spare running a bobcat past them. Thanks, goons.
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Sep 3, 2017 17:55
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Should I replace a furnace proactively? The house we are closing on has the original 25 year old furnace and A/C for the original build, and 13 year old units for the addition. Is it paranoid to worry about it busting over the winter and freezing my pipes? The only other issues were moisture related. The 2nd floor bathroom vents to the attic, probably change it to a roof vent next year. The crawl space has evidence of chronic moisture without mold or pooling water. The insulation is sagging in places. Well probably have it encapsulated at some point next year. The seller has a relocation company and I was surprised how easy it was to get anything fixed that was non aesthetic.
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Sep 3, 2017 18:35
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howdoesishotweb posted:Should I replace a furnace proactively? The house we are closing on has the original 25 year old furnace and A/C for the original build, and 13 year old units for the addition. Is it paranoid to worry about it busting over the winter and freezing my pipes? If you're going to be there any amount of time, replacing the furnace + AC will probably pay for itself in energy savings. A 25 year old AC probably uses R22, which is getting more and more expensive as time goes by. See if your state/utility company offers any sort of rebate programs here.
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Sep 4, 2017 01:15
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my a/c and furnace is 40 years old and it's time to replace it but it is actually still working, so one reason to upgrade is energy savings. But, do the math. If your new furnace and a/c save you $400 a year, for example, but costs you $10,000, then it'll be 25 years before you break even. So it's more (to me) about being environmentally responsible, than in actually saving money. Another reason is to improve capacity, if your old heater/cooler isn't very good at heating/cooling the space.
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Sep 4, 2017 01:21
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Leperflesh posted:But, do the math. If your new furnace and a/c save you $400 a year, for example, but costs you $10,000, then it'll be 25 years before you break even. I agree the math should be done, but a barely running old rear end R-22 unit can put your power bill in the $600/mo range around here while literally any reasonable new unit of even the lowest efficiency could bring that to more like $250. Summer and winter if heat pump is the only heat source. So in that case you're looking at more than $2k a year (accounting for the nice months where you aren't running heat or AC at full blast). So it totally depends, but yeah do the math.
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Sep 4, 2017 01:39
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Sometimes you can get a significantly cheaper install price during slow time, like right now. Everyone has gotten the AC fixed and is not thinking about heat yet.
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Sep 5, 2017 01:04
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I think I need to replace my AC and I'm wondering what advice people might have? I have about 5600 sqft of conditioned space currently being conditioned by two units, one smaller one for the upstairs and a larger one for the main floor and walk out basement. I've only lived in this house since Dec '15, but both summers now one of the units has frozen up and required having a tech come out and add more refrigerant. I used two different companies and both of them remarked that it might be time to consider replacing the units. The first tech last year told he the lines had some sort of blue dye in them, which meant that someone has tried to find a leak at some point and obviously they did not fully fix it since it had lost enough to need more again. The second tech, this year mentioned to me that the units required a type of refrigerant that they are no longer allowed to make and at some point in the near future they won't even be allowed to top off systems using it anymore. I think he said it was R22, but I could be remembering wrong. He also mentioned that given the history I told him but without looking deeper into it and with his experience the leak was most likely inside the unit and that by the time you've got that apart to replace or repair it, you're already a good chunk of the way to replacing the entire unit anyways. The second tech said if the other unit wasn't giving us issues then we didn't need to replace it now but if we did they'd likely be able to work out a discount for getting them both done at once. This all sounds fairly reasonable to me, but I have about zero experience with HVAC that to know if his is a load of hogwash or not. I know I should reach out to a couple of companies and get quotes for this work, but this is really the first time I've ever had to do anything like this and I don't know anything about HVAC. Is there something I should be looking for in particular? Is there some sort of... feature? I should be asking for when they quote out the systems? I live outside of Philadelphia so heat and air are both more or less required. I live in the exurbs and we don't have anything like natural gas available to us. So we have electric and a 1000 (I think) gallon propane tank buried in the back yard that fuels the furnace, hot water heater, and drier.
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Sep 5, 2017 03:49
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just chiming in to say that you have a big house, my friend! I suggest cutting through the BS and moving the entire structure somewhere with a mild climate
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Sep 5, 2017 04:58
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Regarding the landscaping: Does anyone know if those roofers trucks with the conveyor belts can point downwards? If so maybe call around during the roofing off season. Otherwise I would just hire some strong helpers. I'd be worried about bumping the AC unit with a bobcat if there were only a few inches to spare.
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Sep 5, 2017 05:05
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Home ownership has made me way more irritated and obsessive about dogs pissing on my lawn and littering than I thought possible but I think coming home to see damage to my mailbox and part of someone's car mirror lying in the grass is kind of a new low. I don't really know when or why but I guess someone is regularly driving over the side of my lawn given the faint tire tracks and the fact that the reflectors are constantly getting knocked down. I probably need to invest in landscaping stones.
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Sep 5, 2017 13:45
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I was going to say fertilizing with a bag of nails but yeah, stones.
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Sep 5, 2017 13:48
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Landscaping, There are stone slinger trucks that conveyor belt stone to where you want it. The stone kinda flies off the belt though. Would need some plywood to protect the house and AC. Steampunk Hitler, if your AC units are freezing up, something is hosed. Your units are either not properly sized or improperly installed. (Or leaking I guess), I would not pick any install that did not replace the AC unit lines completely. Natural gas is so cheap right now I skipped any heat pump stuff this last install because it just was dumb to not heat 100% with cheap rear end fracking gas.
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Sep 5, 2017 14:24
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Elephanthead posted:Steampunk Hitler, if your AC units are freezing up, something is hosed. Your units are either not properly sized or improperly installed. (Or leaking I guess), I would not pick any install that did not replace the AC unit lines completely. Natural gas is so cheap right now I skipped any heat pump stuff this last install because it just was dumb to not heat 100% with cheap rear end fracking gas. Right. The problem is that they're leaking (second summer in a row that they needed more refrigerant) and that the type of refrigerant is supposedly no longer allowed to be manufactured and in the near future sold at all. So I need at least one new unit. My question is basically what sort of stuff should I be caring about or doing when trying to pick units or companies to do this install. I have basically no knowledge about HVAC so I don't really have a good way to gauge what I want or need here besides something that makes my house cold/warm during the correct seasons.
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Sep 5, 2017 14:52
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The cheaper guys will want to not run new lines as they may be hard to route. They are probably not big enough (the lines) for the new refrigerant. Anyone that suggests reusing you can eliminate from the bid process. Other then that most contractors will be poo poo. You just have to date a bunch to find one you want to marry.
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Sep 5, 2017 15:47
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Elephanthead posted:Landscaping, There are stone slinger trucks that conveyor belt stone to where you want it. The stone kinda flies off the belt though. Would need some plywood to protect the house and AC. How far is this debris flying? Seems like if I'm worrying about it hitting the house it's also kind of a nuisance to my neighbors.
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Sep 5, 2017 15:49
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:How far is this debris flying? Seems like if I'm worrying about it hitting the house it's also kind of a nuisance to my neighbors. I think he was talking about scrubs season six's problem with getting stone into his back yard. For your problem (cars skirting in to your yard), a few big-rear end boulders could be worth it. They're relatively pricey though. You could also consider something like a split rail fence I sympathize with your problem. I live on a residential street that people love to speed on. My neighbor just had their car creamed after it was parked on the side of the road, because folks NEED to go 45 in a goddamn 25. It's all folks from like 1-2 blocks over too, making GBS threads where they eat.
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Sep 5, 2017 16:00
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Yeah I was talking about the death hill problem not cars driving over the top of your mailbox. I don't think you need a full on death boulder a big rock that will bounce up under the car and take out an oil pan is just as effective. Craigslist may even have some 200lb ones for free.
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Sep 5, 2017 17:11
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Steampunk Hitler posted:Right. The problem is that they're leaking (second summer in a row that they needed more refrigerant) and that the type of refrigerant is supposedly no longer allowed to be manufactured and in the near future sold at all. So I need at least one new unit. There is a big label on the side of your AC units outside which will tell you everything you need to know, if it's legible. Note the refrigerant, year of manufacture, make, model, and any kind of capacity numbers. R22 (freon) is in fact going out, this is not a lie or scam. Ask your friends if they've had anyone handle a replacement and start there. See if the government has programs to incentivize this sort of thing. Consider having your ducts replaced at the same time, but at a minimum cleaned out if they've never been cleaned. At 5600sq ft you stand to save a lot of money on electric bills if you do this right. I would read up on how this stuff works, figure out if you have insulation in your walls and attic, etc.
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Sep 5, 2017 17:17
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H110Hawk posted:There is a big label on the side of your AC units outside which will tell you everything you need to know, if it's legible. Note the refrigerant, year of manufacture, make, model, and any kind of capacity numbers. R22 (freon) is in fact going out, this is not a lie or scam. Ask your friends if they've had anyone handle a replacement and start there. See if the government has programs to incentivize this sort of thing. Consider having your ducts replaced at the same time, but at a minimum cleaned out if they've never been cleaned. Yea, they're not really that old so most stuff is still legible. The entire house was built in 2003 and as far as I know the units are original so I assume they are roughly 14 years old, which the labels seem to confirm. I went ahead and took a few snaps of of the two labels:   I'm curious what the benefit of having the ducts replaced would be? As far as I know they're just like, sheet metal piping through the house that has air blown through them, do they go bad over time?
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Sep 5, 2017 19:12
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Steampunk Hitler posted:
It's not the ducts that would need replacing, it's the copper refrigerant lines that run from your inside unit to the outside unit. Newer refrigerants need differently sized lines to operate efficiently than R22.
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Sep 5, 2017 19:37
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n0tqu1tesane posted:It's not the ducts that would need replacing, it's the copper refrigerant lines that run from your inside unit to the outside unit. Newer refrigerants need differently sized lines to operate efficiently than R22. Ah okay, H110Hawk mentioned ducts so I just assumed he meant the items in the wall. The copper lines should actually be pretty easy to replace since while the basement is conditioned, it's not really finished (It has insulation on the exterior walls, but the interior is completely open, it just has electric/hvac/etc run in preparation of being finished someday). So it's basically a straight shot through the exterior wall through exposed joists in the ceiling to the indoor half.
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Sep 5, 2017 19:53
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What does everyone use for grass seed? I live in Maryland and my backyard is fenced in with a dog, so it gets a lot of heavy use. Looking for something potentially durable. I've been looking at some rye grass since I've heard they have high traffic tolerance but in all actuality I have no idea what to look for.
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Sep 5, 2017 20:16
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Steampunk Hitler posted:I'm curious what the benefit of having the ducts replaced would be? As far as I know they're just like, sheet metal piping through the house that has air blown through them, do they go bad over time? Ignore the ducts, I was assuming a much older house. They are insulated pipes hopefully.
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Sep 5, 2017 20:33
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Spring Heeled Jack posted:What does everyone use for grass seed? I live in Maryland and my backyard is fenced in with a dog, so it gets a lot of heavy use. Looking for something potentially durable. I've been looking at some rye grass since I've heard they have high traffic tolerance but in all actuality I have no idea what to look for. I'm not entirely sure about Maryland specifics, but I'd avoid going strictly perennial rye. It's a cool season grass, and can get pretty brown in the summer. If your dogs are beating it up, it'll not fare so well. It also clumps, which means it can leave bare spots if you're not keeping on top of it. Kentucky bluegrass is the "standard". It's pretty robust, looks good, and will "fill in" patches making for a good solid turf. If you REALLY want a tough lawn, then there's Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue. If you've ever been to some county fair where they have a grass field for parking, this is what they probably planted. It's tough, has good heat and drought resistance, and is relatively cheap. Downside (for lawns) is that it's kinda coarse so it's not as lush or "luxurious" looking as a nice bluegrass lawn. If you want old-school standard lawn, get Kentucky bluegrass seed, then also spread (separately) white clover. The clover is a legume and will naturally fix nitrogen into the soil, free and environmentally friendly fertilization. The downside to the clover is that some people want a uniform lawn, and don't like the clover patches, or the white flowers. Some folks also worry about stepping on bees when they're collecting from the flowers. Whole lotta seed info: http://www.seedland.com/
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Sep 5, 2017 20:47
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Spring Heeled Jack posted:What does everyone use for grass seed? I live in Maryland and my backyard is fenced in with a dog, so it gets a lot of heavy use. Looking for something potentially durable. I've been looking at some rye grass since I've heard they have high traffic tolerance but in all actuality I have no idea what to look for. You may want to look into a local university agricultural extension, often times they have very specific and local advice on species and cultivar selection and blends for different traffic and maintenance levels.
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Sep 6, 2017 04:42
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Steampunk Hitler posted:Ah okay, H110Hawk mentioned ducts so I just assumed he meant the items in the wall. The copper lines should actually be pretty easy to replace since while the basement is conditioned, it's not really finished (It has insulation on the exterior walls, but the interior is completely open, it just has electric/hvac/etc run in preparation of being finished someday). So it's basically a straight shot through the exterior wall through exposed joists in the ceiling to the indoor half. If you're in PECO territory you should check this out: https://www.peco.com/WaystoSave/ForYourHome/Pages/HVACRebates.aspx If you're in the northern exurbs I've got a contractor for you that you probably want to talk to. He does a lot of work for my GC buddy on mostly high end poo poo.
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Sep 7, 2017 16:38
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I'm looking at a house with a cracked roof truss and wanted to get a quote for repair before going forward with buying it. What type of contractor would you use for that?
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Sep 7, 2017 16:54
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