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Oh hey a handy guide: https://inspectapedia.com/hazmat/Asbestos_Pipe_Insulation.php Yours doesn't look like asbestos from a cursory glance but I am not an expert/home inspector. Also, my apartment building was built in 1915. Kind of amazed at how well the pipe insulation has held up over the last century. Some of those pics of deteriorated asbestos insulation were terrifying.
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Jun 1, 2018 06:03
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After Google searching it myself im pretty convinced it's not but I ordered a testing kit to be sure. I'll work on one of the many other projects I have in the mean time.
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Jun 1, 2018 06:08
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Tricky Ed posted:It's a scary word, but realistically you're safe as long as you don't disturb it and potentially get fibers in the air. This is what I was told also, regarding some of the the outer walls of my house.
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Jun 1, 2018 06:17
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SpartanIvy posted:Does anyone know what asbestos looks like? Is this asbestos? That almost looks like canvas wrapped around it, unless I'm looking at the wrong thing. Chances of that containing asbestos I think are pretty low, but asbestos has shown up in some weird places. If you don't need to remove it, leave it be. Other people are correct, asbestos is only dangerous once it becomes airborne, so if you don't touch it, you'll be fine. Other things that often have asbestos - old mastic for VCT tiles. If you see 9"x9" VCT, the glue very likely has asbestos in it. I've also run into asbestos in glue for some ceiling tiles that were glued to the concrete.
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Jun 1, 2018 15:44
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Bird in a Blender posted:That almost looks like canvas wrapped around it, unless I'm looking at the wrong thing. Chances of that containing asbestos I think are pretty low, but asbestos has shown up in some weird places. If you don't need to remove it, leave it be. Other people are correct, asbestos is only dangerous once it becomes airborne, so if you don't touch it, you'll be fine. As a corollary, the dangerous forms of asbestos are often the places you wouldn't think to look, but have the potential to disintegrate more readily.
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Jun 1, 2018 17:49
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The temperature jumped up here early last week. The Friday before Memorial Day was going to hit the mid-90s, so hey good a time as any to turn on the air conditioner that the inspector said was "totally fine, just old". Set the thermostat and air started blowing out of the vents. An hour later I'm still sweaty and gross. I look outside and the A/C unit's fan isn't moving. Called 4 repair services before someone told me they could come out that day (most said not until the next Wednesday. One was booked up for two weeks.). The repair guy comes out that afternoon and we go to take a look at the unit. He removes the side cover and like a dozen loving mice spring out. Little fuckers had been living in there for years, pissing all over everything and corroding it to hell. Ran me about $400 to get it fixed well enough to limp along to this fall, when I'll be able to replace the whole HVAC system. Homeownership, y'all.
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Jun 1, 2018 19:35
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deep web creep posted:The temperature jumped up here early last week. The Friday before Memorial Day was going to hit the mid-90s, so hey good a time as any to turn on the air conditioner that the inspector said was "totally fine, just old". Set the thermostat and air started blowing out of the vents. An hour later I'm still sweaty and gross. I look outside and the A/C unit's fan isn't moving. You can potentially go back to the inspector for missing things that they should have found. Normally limited to the cost of the inspection, but it's something. I don't know anyone who is done this, and it likely isn't worth the time, but that's something.
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Jun 1, 2018 19:56
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Homeownership: Mice peed on my retirement.
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Jun 1, 2018 20:18
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Hubis posted:As a corollary, the dangerous forms of asbestos are often the places you wouldn't think to look, but have the potential to disintegrate more readily. Like where? As far as I know the really friable stuff is in pipe and attic insulation (as it relates to a typical home). There are certain places where you can find it in plaster.
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Jun 1, 2018 20:21
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deep web creep posted:The temperature jumped up here early last week. The Friday before Memorial Day was going to hit the mid-90s, so hey good a time as any to turn on the air conditioner that the inspector said was "totally fine, just old". Set the thermostat and air started blowing out of the vents. An hour later I'm still sweaty and gross. I look outside and the A/C unit's fan isn't moving. What was wrong with it? And aren't you excited to replace the HVAC? I can feel the $$excitement$$ in your post.
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Jun 1, 2018 21:45
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I put a bunch of mouse traps in my attic and provide a water bowl for the neighborhood cats. I haven't even seen any but gently caress rodents.
SpartanIvy fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Jun 1, 2018 |
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Jun 1, 2018 22:30
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Motronic posted:Like where? As far as I know the really friable stuff is in pipe and attic insulation (as it relates to a typical home). There are certain places where you can find it in plaster. Popcorn ceilings, iirc? Also kitchen flooring.
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Jun 1, 2018 22:59
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Motronic posted:Like where? As far as I know the really friable stuff is in pipe and attic insulation (as it relates to a typical home). There are certain places where you can find it in plaster. Leperflesh posted:Popcorn ceilings, iirc? Also kitchen flooring. Yeah, I was thinking plaster/acoustic tiles, but as I understood it could also be found in stuff like duct mastic as well.
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Jun 1, 2018 23:21
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Motronic posted:Like where? As far as I know the really friable stuff is in pipe and attic insulation (as it relates to a typical home). There are certain places where you can find it in plaster. In the case of the high school I went to in Florida: the forced air ducting because they didn't check something years prior when they demoed it out. (obviously small quantities by that point, but still there none the less.)
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Jun 1, 2018 23:35
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Kitchen flooring and mastic was covered, acoustic tiles are not homeowner poo poo, at least near me (not from the time when they may have has asbestos in them). But popcorn ceilings I forgot about.
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Jun 2, 2018 01:41
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enraged_camel posted:How do I decide whether I need home security? Are there calculators or guides? Quoting a security system post just because it reminded me: My last house had some kind of system that had wired (magnetic?) sensors on all the windows and doors, a couple motion sensors, some kind of brain with a million wires coming into it in the master closet, and the only other thing was a small wall box in the laundry room by the garage which had a (large) battery in it and two or three buttons, but I can't remember what the buttons even said. There was no keypad to put in a code or anything like that. This was a model home that I think was also the office when they were selling them. Built in 06. And I don't understand how it would have worked. Something with a monitoring system that automatically comes on during non business hours? Something where you just press on or off and relies on thieves not coming in through the laundry room?
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Jun 2, 2018 01:58
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veiled boner fuel posted:Quoting a security system post just because it reminded me: Telephone controlled. You dial some number to turn it on and off.
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Jun 2, 2018 02:54
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There's a security system thread but we've been happy with a Vera Plus as the central brain - no fees other than buying the unit, and its compatible with a ton of stuff. http://getvera.com/controllers/veraplus/. Looks like they have a fancier model with built in cell reception now too, wouldn't help here on top of a mountain with no reception though 
sadus fucked around with this message at 03:50 on Jun 2, 2018 |
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Jun 2, 2018 03:48
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H110Hawk posted:Telephone controlled. You dial some number to turn it on and off. I wondered if it could be something like that but it just seems like such a pain in the rear end even for a non-home.
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Jun 2, 2018 05:09
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The header above my garage door appears to be splitting and my garage roof is sagging a bit in the middle. What sort of contractor do I call for that?
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Jun 2, 2018 12:43
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brugroffil posted:The header above my garage door appears to be splitting and my garage roof is sagging a bit in the middle. What sort of contractor do I call for that? A regular one is fine it is not the hard you just build a temp wall and replace the header with one sized properly. I replaced mine so I could have a foot taller door and it was $800. The beam was $200 from nards. Engineered two beams with a sandwiched plywood core glued and nailed. You have to do the sandwiching. Any contractor that does framing or garages will work. It is also not uncommon that your builder didn't properly install the beam called for in the plans because they are all shitbirds.
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Jun 2, 2018 14:23
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brugroffil posted:The header above my garage door appears to be splitting and my garage roof is sagging a bit in the middle. What sort of contractor do I call for that? If this is a sudden change (past few days) I would get your car out of there, shut the door, and not go in until a contractor comes out. If it fails it could be sudden and catastrophic. If you are handy and own a floor jack or two you can take some pressure off with a 4x4.
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Jun 2, 2018 14:33
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So it looks like foam insulation won't be possible because the roof is too low and there is no way to get to the edges of the roof where the space is too narrow. Blown-in cellulose will be the way to go. I was also told that it would be a really good idea to modernize the outdated HVAC system before doing the blow-in, so I decided to do that. The whole thing will run me $12k but whatever, at least it'll increase the value of the house.
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Jun 2, 2018 15:25
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Hi, My name is Dustoph and I'm buying a home. There are many homes like it, but this one will be mine. Is there a table I just dump all my money onto now or what?
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Jun 3, 2018 08:02
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Yeah here is the place where you deposit your funds *points to a burning trash can*
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Jun 3, 2018 08:07
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QuarkJets posted:Yeah here is the place where you deposit your funds *points to a burning trash can* But I am using a wire?
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Jun 3, 2018 13:06
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H110Hawk posted:If this is a sudden change (past few days) I would get your car out of there, shut the door, and not go in until a contractor comes out. If it fails it could be sudden and catastrophic. It's not, is just that I was finally up in on a ladder in my garage and really got a good look at the beam. Good warning though, should get it fixed sooner rather than later
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Jun 3, 2018 13:12
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Bird in a Blender posted:You can potentially go back to the inspector for missing things that they should have found. Normally limited to the cost of the inspection, but it's something. I don't know anyone who is done this, and it likely isn't worth the time, but that's something. SiGmA_X posted:What was wrong with it? Moved in about a month and a half ago so the A/C was piss't up into oblivion probably sometime over the winter. Had to replace the contactor on it because all of the contactor's uh.... contactors... were so corroded they fell apart when the repair guy brushed them with his voltage tester. We knew the HVAC needed to be replaced but this means we won't be able to redo the master bath for another couple months 
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Jun 3, 2018 15:38
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Elephanthead posted:But I am using a wire? Then it will cost $35.
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Jun 3, 2018 17:32
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So yeah, if your house had a rodent infestation: Research Hantavirus. After working in the attic the whole weekend breathing in insulation that had mouse droppings and surely urine from sometime in the past, I'm afraid I may have contracted it. Didn't even know it was a thing until someone mentioned it in passing this morning. Hopefully I don't die  Edit: went home and looked at the mummified remains in the sticky trap and they do not appear to be a Hantavirus carrying species, so that helps relieve my anxiety somewhat. SpartanIvy fucked around with this message at 18:27 on Jun 4, 2018 |
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Jun 4, 2018 17:45
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I am so sick of rain. So far our basement is only showing some wet concrete and no water collection, but our once-dry basement now feels like a mold haven and it won't stop raining or being humid long enough to dry out. We're planning to get a dehumidifier to hopefully help but I'm just really anxious about it growing into a worse problem as time goes on. Part of the issue might be that we haven't had the heat or the AC running, either of which would dry out the air a bit (or a lot in the case of the furnace). In completely other news, I'm trying to find out if I can find individual parquet tiles. We have an old, probably original—so over 100 years old—parquet floor that overall is in good to decent shape except one hallway. Several slats/tiles are missing and there are a bunch of loose ones, too. In large part it's because the floor there actually dips fairly significantly. In the basement there are two large beams on posts for support. Those are installed fine and I'm not worried so much about continued sinking, but it means any flooring there has to kind of warp unless, I guess, I call people in to tear it up and install something to level the subfloor. For now we're just covering it with a rug, but I really want to at least re-glue/nail the loose slats and try to find some way of filling in the missing ones. God we've been here for like eight months but all I can think of is all the crap we're nowhere near to accomplishing. Where the hell do people find the money for all this?
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Jun 4, 2018 18:10
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z0331 posted:I am so sick of rain. So far our basement is only showing some wet concrete and no water collection, but our once-dry basement now feels like a mold haven and it won't stop raining or being humid long enough to dry out. We're planning to get a dehumidifier to hopefully help but I'm just really anxious about it growing into a worse problem as time goes on. Part of the issue might be that we haven't had the heat or the AC running, either of which would dry out the air a bit (or a lot in the case of the furnace). For $200 you can buy a dehumidifier and drain it into your sump pump pit and solve this entire problem?
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Jun 4, 2018 19:36
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Droo posted:For $200 you can buy a dehumidifier and drain it into your sump pump pit and solve this entire problem? No sump pump pit - just a capped drain pipe that *might* not be fully clogged and *might* be a general drain out to somewhere. Probably also original to the house. And while a dehumidifier will help with general moisture, we had a full four inches of water a few weeks ago due to heavy snow melt followed by 24 hours of pounding rain. Granted it was unusual overall but it has me spooked.
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Jun 4, 2018 20:13
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z0331 posted:No sump pump pit - just a capped drain pipe that *might* not be fully clogged and *might* be a general drain out to somewhere. Probably also original to the house. That seems to me like you need a sump pump installed but I'm not an expert. Maybe there are retrofit options that don't require a 2 foot wide hole dug through your foundation.
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Jun 4, 2018 20:18
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Does anyone know if electric chainsaws are worth a poo poo? I'd like to buy a chainsaw in general, but I would like to avoid having another carburetor that's gummed up 90% of the time.
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Jun 4, 2018 20:26
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SpartanIvy posted:So yeah, if your house had a rodent infestation: Research Hantavirus. After working in the attic the whole weekend breathing in insulation that had mouse droppings and surely urine from sometime in the past, I'm afraid I may have contracted it. Didn't even know it was a thing until someone mentioned it in passing this morning. I'm sure you've learned this now, but don't go digging around in insulation without a dust mask and long sleeves/pants/gloves.
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Jun 4, 2018 20:28
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Droo posted:That seems to me like you need a sump pump installed but I'm not an expert. Maybe there are retrofit options that don't require a 2 foot wide hole dug through your foundation. Yeah, right now unfortunately it's a matter of money. We were quoted $2,500 or so for a basic sump pump installation (pit, outgoing drainage, etc.). I haven't gotten more quotes but that seems fairly standard. $9,000 or so would get us that plus a full trench around the perimeter with french drains. I need to get the cap off the mystery pipe and, assuming spiders don't pour out, figure out if it's a feasible drain as a last resort. The concrete is sloped down toward it and it looks like the current foundation was poured on top of a previous foundation, implying they graded it specifically to drain water to that pipe opening as a kind of "easy" alternative to putting in a sump pump.
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Jun 4, 2018 20:33
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Ghostnuke posted:Does anyone know if electric chainsaws are worth a poo poo? I'd like to buy a chainsaw in general, but I would like to avoid having another carburetor that's gummed up 90% of the time. I picked up an electric chainsaw polesaw, which is an electric chainsaw and a pole to operate it remotely and it’s dandy for small trimming. My gas powered one was awesome for bigger jobs and a total beast when it ran properly but for convenience sake I have no regrets with the electric. Between that and the sawzall with the landscaping blade I’m set until I have a big branch to drop. The gas one was a Stihl and it was older than me, it seized up partly because I stopped taking close care to it, and I tossed it in the trash. Edit: when I say small trimming I mean 2-4” branches.
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Jun 4, 2018 21:39
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I'm thinking about this one. Looks like it should be beefy enough to cut down an actual tree.
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Jun 4, 2018 21:54
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Electric chainsaws work very well. They have one characteristic that is worrying, though. Chainsaw chaps are leg protectors that work by gumming up the chainsaw as it attempts to chew through your leg and basically forcing the motor to stall. This works well for gasoline motors because the torque applied to the chain drops as its speed drops, and at some low stall speed with the power still applied the engine stalls. These saw also generally have a clutch which will let go when the chain starts to get gummed up, so even if it doesn't stall it will still probably stop cutting very quickly. Electric motors have flat torque curves and can have more torque at slow speeds, and do not have a stall speed. And most are direct-drive, with no clutch. So instead of getting gummed up by chainsaw chaps, they might merrily chew right through them and into your leg. Having said that: lots of electric chainsaws are generally low torque anyway, and I've seen videos on youtube of chainsaw chaps easily stopping an electric chainsaw. You should absolutely still buy and use protection when using any kind of chainsaw. But check what kind of chaps you're getting and get what is recommended by the manufacturer, and also don't just assume that because it's a simpler/smaller/lighter tool, it's less dangerous. e. A corded chainsaw also sounds a bit worrysome in that a tangled or knotted cord that encourages you to yank or suddenly/unexpectedly limits your movement could cause you to screw up a cut and get kickback. If I were buying an electric chainsaw I'd want a cordless one. Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 22:17 on Jun 4, 2018 |
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Jun 4, 2018 22:08
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