|
In states that freeze we don’t use standard hose bibs or faucets, we use hydrants. Hydrants are water dispensers where the seat is located away from freezing, and they drain down when shut off. Fire hydrants drain underground and are empty above the frost line. Wall hydrants are also empty and the seat is inside the building. The vacuum breaker is the knobby thing on top that closes under pressure and releases with no pressure and allow the hydrant to drain through the outlet. It consists of a little sliding seat with a rubber seal. When the seal fails then it leaks water out of the vacuum port. Until last week it was made of magic and I was certain was going to work forever.
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2018 04:03
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 8, 2024 21:13 |
|
|
I think I've asked about this before but my memory is rear end because work/baby/house. We like our house and its location, but it's about 2000 sq ft. Not bad, and well laid out, but the biggest downfall is that it doesn't have a whole lot of climate controlled storage. We're in the south, so basements are pretty much non-existent anywhere you go, and storing anything of value in the attic or garage is such a bad idea I don't even know where to start. Unfortunately, the attic is too short to properly finish...we're thinking of maybe building a "closet" up there and hooking it up to the HVAC system, but it's not the best idea for a variety of reasons. However, we do have a very tall crawl space. The house is built on a slope, and because builders are lazy they just took one of the 15 or so floor plans in our neighborhood and put it on a higher foundation. The shortest point has like 3-4 ft between the dirt and the 1st floor framing, and the tallest area is maybe 7-8ft or so. This is great since the crawl space is really easy to get in to and access everything, but annoying because it's so painfully close to being a basement that it hurts. So that's the background, and here's my terrible idea: What would it take to dig out some more space and turn the crawl space in to a basement or some other "finished" space? We don't need stairs or access other than the existing exterior door, we just want a space that has HVAC and is relatively finished (insulated/sealed against outside elements and has a floor). Maybe I guess consider it a climate controlled garage or shed rather than a basement. I've done some basic research and digging out basements is definitely A Thing, but generic estimates range anywhere from $20k to $100k+... so I have absolutely no idea what a realistic cost is for this is, which means I have no idea if it's even worth pursuing to get estimates/etc. Some sites say you have to jack up the whole house in order to extend the foundation downwards, others say you can do this "in place" by doing small sections at a time. So is this pretty much The Worst Idea, or does it have some merit? I could see investing up to $30k in this for a full basement, but WAY less if we half-assed it and only walled off a section and slapped a mini-split on it.
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2018 14:38
|
|
|
Leperflesh posted:
Holy poo poo, thank you so much for this. e: 55 terrible neighborhoods removed.
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2018 15:06
|
|
|
I have not joined Nextdoor because I am luddite, but I assume it's just like your typical police log without benefit of the deadpan delivery: quote:“A person flagged down an officer, at 8 a.m., to report a suspicious black male wearing a backpack, walking down the causeway toward Harbor Avenue. The complainant has seen the same male two days in a row at the same time. An officer reported the man is a security guard at the Eastern Yacht Club.”
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2018 15:23
|
|
|
DaveSauce posted:So is this pretty much The Worst Idea, or does it have some merit? I could see investing up to $30k in this for a full basement, but WAY less if we half-assed it and only walled off a section and slapped a mini-split on it. Digging out a crawl space sounds like a bad idea. There is a reason nobody has basements in the south, and you'd have to do extensive foundation work because you'd be digging below the footings.
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2018 16:16
|
|
|
Nextdoor sucks, but it is still probably a good idea to keep an eye on it. A couple months back my dog got loose and ran into a neighbor in a close court's backyard. I went to the door to make sure it was ok to go in their yard to get my dog but no one answered. A minute or 2 later my wife came with his squeaky ball and he ran out. I didn't think any more of it for a couple days. Then a couple days later there is my picture on Nextdoor (they had a Ring) with someone asking who is this person that was calling for their dog and going in their backyard. I posted the story that it was me and what happened. The next morning the police show up at my house as I was taking the kid to daycare asking me what happened. I told them and showed them my dog's tag with his name (our dogs have the same name). So the neighbor posts on Nextdoor and posts what the police tell them and then they and others are still saying it sounds suspicious. I was able to get it deleted, but it was a very annoying ordeal. Also, Rings are pretty worthless, it saw me at their front door but not my brother who was 20 ft behind me trying to help me grab the dog.
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2018 16:27
|
|
|
dalstrs posted:Nextdoor sucks, but it is still probably a good idea to keep an eye on it. A couple months back my dog got loose and ran into a neighbor in a close court's backyard. I went to the door to make sure it was ok to go in their yard to get my dog but no one answered. A minute or 2 later my wife came with his squeaky ball and he ran out. I didn't think any more of it for a couple days. It seems to me that if you hadn't posted on nextdoor in response, nothing would have ever come of it.
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2018 23:26
|
|
|
Motronic posted:There is a reason nobody has basements in the south, What is that reason? I get basement envy a lot e: I googled it https://www.rgscontractors.com/why-some-southern-states-dont-have-basements/ CloFan fucked around with this message at 23:56 on Aug 13, 2018 |
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2018 23:54
|
|
|
CloFan posted:What is that reason? I get basement envy a lot Without reading that article: Water. So much water. You can dig to water in a lot places in florida with a post hole digger. In the summer months when it rains a half inch a day that isn't really compatible with underground structures built cheaply enough for homeowners to want them.
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2018 00:01
|
|
|
It’s the same reason they use crypts in Louisiana
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2018 00:28
|
|
|
HEY NONG MAN posted:It’s the same reason they use crypts in Louisiana What do you call a basement in Louisiana? An indoor swimming pool!
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2018 05:29
|
|
|
devicenull posted:It seems to me that if you hadn't posted on nextdoor in response, nothing would have ever come of it. I guess if I don't mind my picture posted as a suspicious person on the only public forum I know of for my neighborhood.
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2018 06:47
|
|
|
kbdragon posted:What do you call a basement in Louisiana? built-in snake habitat
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2018 11:20
|
|
|
CloFan posted:What is that reason? I get basement envy a lot Interesting, I never knew that about the soil. I'm so used to the north where a basement is critical to prevent your house from heaving and turning in to a Picasso. Hell, growing up my neighbors had a deck built and even though the concrete footer was built to code, one of the posts still heaved. I'm in central North Carolina, so we don't have problems with a high water table, but the soil is definitely clay. Lots and lots of clay. It's odd because there is the occasional house with a basement around here, it's just very rare. I've always been told that the reason is simply because it costs more money and isn't required by building code, so builders won't do it unless you ask (and pay) for it. dalstrs posted:I guess if I don't mind my picture posted as a suspicious person on the only public forum I know of for my neighborhood. Yeah that's sketchy as hell...I'd be pretty pissed if my picture was being plastered around town being labeled as a thief or something. I'd be extra pissed if it had already been addressed by the cops and people were still doing it. But that's just me. DaveSauce fucked around with this message at 13:14 on Aug 14, 2018 |
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2018 13:05
|
|
|
Live in New Orleans, friend of mine's parents had an older but very well maintained house in one of the nicer areas of town. It had a basement and it basically flooded anytime there was even a consideration of rain. They used it as their laundry room and just kept everything off the floor, even pouring a foot and a half tall cement platform for washer and dryer. Also basically had to run a dehumidifier in it 24/7
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2018 13:15
|
|
|
Just saw on Facebook that one of my ex's just leased a house from the 1930s that she's agreed to help work on and fix up while renting. I can't wait for updates 
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2018 16:39
|
|
|
I have a chicken coop in my yard, all of which is a gradual downhill slope. To protect the chickens from predators, I dug a small trench all the way around it, tacked up wire, and reburied it. However, due to that and natural erosion, a prolonged period of heavy rain results in the coop getting flooded, with a bunch of standing water right near the door and through the center of the coop. Has anybody else had to install some rudimentary drainage for something like this, like maybe a shed? My plan right now is to dig up around the front of the coop and bury some drainage pipes that will just go around the side of the coop and let the water drain downhill. But I don't know how to make sure that the opening of the pipe actually stays open, what with chickens constantly kicking straw and mud everywhere.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2018 16:46
|
|
|
Halloween Jack posted:I have a chicken coop in my yard, all of which is a gradual downhill slope. To protect the chickens from predators, I dug a small trench all the way around it, tacked up wire, and reburied it. However, due to that and natural erosion, a prolonged period of heavy rain results in the coop getting flooded, with a bunch of standing water right near the door and through the center of the coop. Sounds like a French drain would be what you want to bury? You would want to have it drain far enough away that it would generally stay open. Put some mesh over the outlet if you are really worried, or flimsy tubing that collapses on itself when there is nothing going through it.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2018 16:50
|
|
|
Would it suffice to simply dig a ditch and then fill it in with gravel?
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2018 16:53
|
|
|
My original plan was to put a drain to the side, and put a paver in front of the door--they're always kicking stuff around so that I have to dig out around the door every evening in order to shut it. Now I think I should get one of those square catch basins over a French drain. Thanks!
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2018 17:01
|
|
|
Dig the ditch back out, replace the door to the coop with a drawbridge. That will protect from infantry but not ranged siege weapons, so make sure to add a parapet so the chickens can return fire.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2018 17:15
|
|
|
They can't even fight off a loving weasel and you want me to train them on crossbows?
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2018 17:26
|
|
|
If you trained them to use crossbows they wouldn't have problems with weasels!
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2018 18:29
|
|
|
I'm getting my basement waterproofed and my hot water heater is in the way. It seems like it's pretty straightforward to move myself, there are cold water and gas shutoffs right there. Any reason I need to pay a professional for this?
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2018 21:57
|
|
|
Drain it first and make sure not to scald yourself while doing so. Hot water hurts yo. You may need to disconnect the cold water tap after shutting it off to get the water out. Without a way for air to get in it can't drain the water out.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2018 22:08
|
|
|
Nevvy Z posted:I'm getting my basement waterproofed and my hot water heater is in the way. It seems like it's pretty straightforward to move myself, there are cold water and gas shutoffs right there. Any reason I need to pay a professional for this? Is it old? It's the same amount of work to just replace it entirely at that point.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2018 01:57
|
|
|
I had a roach crawl across the side of my house last night that was so big it set off my motion camera  Needless to say I Delta dusted the gently caress out of every nook and cranny this morning
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2018 17:12
|
|
|
Inside or outside? Roaches are gonna be outside, just like mosquitoes, spiders, centipedes, etc. will be. It's only a problem if they get inside.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2018 17:17
|
|
|
Outside but it looks like it came from inside a hole in my mortar.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2018 17:18
|
|
|
Just finished outdoor cleaning, furniture set complete, resting on the new couch. Me: :chilling: Wife: Aw look, we have a groundhog living under our shed now Me: gently caress :end chill:
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2018 17:46
|
|
|
The big roaches live outside, it’s just a fact of life. They are creepy but no different from any other bug really. If you see a German roach you got a problem
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2018 18:11
|
|
|
The best defense is a good offense, my dude. Roaches aren't getting in my home (again).
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2018 18:22
|
|
|
For sure, I live in a hovel in silver lake and have lined the gap under my baseboards with dietomaceous earth. We mostly have crickets here right now
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2018 18:31
|
|
|
I don't mind the bugs outside. We just moved into new construction and there are giant spiders, scorpions, and all sorts of bugs around. I'm good as long as they stay outside. They get inside and it's John Goodman in Arachnophobia time
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2018 18:33
|
|
|
Roaches being outside ain't cool when they have a tendency to fly in your face the moment you open the door. This is especially true for lit patios in summer months since roaches are attracted to light and cool air (from A/C). I got the perimeter sprayed two weeks ago and haven't seen a single roach since. It rules.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2018 19:12
|
|
|
Any ideas what these cone shaped burrows might be? Only thing I've come up with from Googling is that it could be antlions, but everyone says you should be able to dig them up pretty easily to verify that and I've dug up a dozen and can't find anything at all.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2018 19:15
|
|
|
I've got them too and always assumed antlions as well. I leave them be because I'm cool with them eating ants and other bugs.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2018 19:17
|
|
|
Catching ant lions isn’t just “dig up the holes”. It takes patience and a long slender stalk of grass.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2018 21:27
|
|
|
I just want to get one of their sand pearls so I can cure my gfs desert fever 
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2018 01:41
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 8, 2024 21:13 |
|
|
So turns out my antlions are dead. I guess they can't survive termiticide. 
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2018 02:01
|
|