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Droo posted:There are a few things you should do: Ended up having someone come out and fix it, a part inside the actual opener broke. Looked like I could have fixed it myself but -10 degrees was worth the $130 to have someone else just take care of it.
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Jan 21, 2019 19:23
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Jealous Cow posted:I’m so cold, guys. It’s loving cold in here. I think I may need to do some insulation work. I feel you. It's 3F outside, parts of my house are 54F. I've been going through the state program to discount/rebate weather improvements since September, and finally got approval to schedule someone. I'm glad I was proactive and didn't wait for the cold snap to get started or it would be summer before it worked out.
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Jan 21, 2019 21:35
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Yeah man, like my house usually doesn't get down to the lowest temp that eco mode on my thermostat will hit when I'm at work but it did today. Yikes.
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Jan 21, 2019 23:39
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My power company says that I’m in the worst 25% of houses the same size in my city for usage. This made no sense to me, because I don’t have electric heat or water or range/oven, it’s all LED lights, and I have two fewer people than bedrooms so appliance load should be lower than average. AC is electric but I assure you emphatically that AC is not a factor in one’s January bill in Toronto. I’ve been dutifully going and checking various appliances’ power ratings to compare to averages, and it remained a frustrating mystery. Even started logging sleep/wake on my PC to make sure it wasn’t spinning up to mine fuckcoins in the middle of the day or night. After about a week of scratching my head, I remembered something: I have an electric car. At least I know my appliances are decently efficient, and I’ve saved links to all their manuals.
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Jan 22, 2019 03:29
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I've been losing some sleep worried about the utility sink supply lines in the garage freezing in this 7F temperature. The shutoff is almost inside a warm wall and the garage is partially under a bedroom. Luckily, I've been monitoring the garage temp near the house wall and it seems steady around 40. The heat pump is locked out due to it being pointless, and the furnace is burning oil like it's 1980, but at least we're warm inside. For other cold sufferers, at least you can take this opportunity to use your hand to feel around windows/doors/basement rim joists/etc to check for air leaks. It's easy to feel where you're allowing in outside air when it's at a -60 degree differential.
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Jan 22, 2019 03:51
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Subjunctive posted:My power company says that I’m in the worst 25% of houses the same size in my city for usage. Do they actually put kwh numbers on that? Do they give you a reporting period? How many kwh/month are you using? We used to be top 10% (bad thing) in the summer due to my penchant for air conditioning coupled with a lovely condo, then like bottom 20%ish in the winter because heat is natural gas and we didn't need much. Edit: how much power do your ghosts use? 
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Jan 22, 2019 05:53
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H110Hawk posted:Do they actually put kwh numbers on that? Do they give you a reporting period? How many kwh/month are you using? Yeah, they do but I don’t have it to hand. I don’t really pay attention to the specific reading, tbh, but “YOU SIN AGAINST THE EARTH” caught my attention. (All my electricity is from renewables, but still.)
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Jan 22, 2019 06:00
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I heat my house with natural gas, e.g. I fart constantly
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Jan 22, 2019 06:13
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Subjunctive posted:Yeah, they do but I don’t have it to hand. I don’t really pay attention to the specific reading, tbh, but “YOU SIN AGAINST THE EARTH” caught my attention. (All my electricity is from renewables, but still.) Yeah we were 100% green energy so I didn't really care. I saw it as funding the PPA's that kept building more green generation.
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Jan 22, 2019 06:19
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H110Hawk posted:Yeah we were 100% green energy so I didn't really care. I saw it as funding the PPA's that kept building more green generation. Exactly! For some reason my girlfriend makes a terrible face at me whenever I suggest leaving stuff on in order to demonstrate higher demand for renewables. It’s baffling.
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Jan 22, 2019 06:21
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Subjunctive posted:Yeah, they do but I don’t have it to hand. I don’t really pay attention to the specific reading, tbh, but “YOU SIN AGAINST THE EARTH” caught my attention. (All my electricity is from renewables, but still.) quote:I don’t have electric heat or water or range/oven So the two most energy intense things are using gas instead of green electricity? You sin against the Earth.
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Jan 22, 2019 11:11
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Potrzebie posted:So the two most energy intense things are using gas instead of green electricity? You sin against the Earth. Yeah, I’ll probably do induction when it’s time to replace my range and oven partly for that reason, but I can’t see doing electric heat or water if I ever want to resell the place. Maybe electric heat pump, whenever the 8-year-old furnace needs replacing.
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Jan 22, 2019 12:29
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Welp we've been homeowners for a little over a week and it's been as awesome as I thought. We moved from out of state (CA to TX) and liked this house's overall layout (vs another fully remodeled home at the same price) but once we moved in we decided to remodel the bathrooms and partially do the kitchen. They're liveable but definitely older and outdated. Had an exterminator come out and we probably have rodents in the attic and he also found a dead rat in the backyard grass. Gotta patch up the holes in the roof ASAP. They wanted $750 to seal and lay the traps but I think I can muster the courage to do the dead body disposal myself. Dead roaches popping up but I take it that means the spraying worked and we're getting rid of the leftovers. Our insulation is weak so that's a couple thousand dollars more but we're gonna ride out the winter with space heaters. The pool pump uses way more energy than I thought so that's another thing to look into. I'm not the handiest of men so I've been looking online 24/7 to try and do as much DIY as possible. Thank god we've got a good cushion of money or I'd be mildly worried.. I still am but I'm sure once the remodels are done and we're fully moved in it'll get better and better.
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Jan 23, 2019 02:25
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hmmxkrazee posted:Thank god we've got a good cushion of money Homeownership_101.txt You earn a passing grade.
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Jan 23, 2019 02:50
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Sounds like a pretty normal buying experience if this thread is any indication. I also live in Texas and my house has had rodent issues before I bought it, including a few mummified dead ones in a sticky trap up in the attic still. My house also had dead roaches popping up, and I still have one pop up every couples of months it seems like. You just have to keep spraying, patch up crevices you find, and keep the house clean. They can literally subsist off cardboard so it's an uphill battle to complete eradication, but just keeping your house clean gets rid of 99.9% of them really quickly. Buy some Delta Dust and a bulb sprayer (and other stuff if you want) from DoYourOwn.com, and apply it everywhere. Bugs pick it up when they walk across it and it kills them. It's also good for like 6 months. It's amazing stuff. If you've hired a professional service to come by your house you've probably seen them using the same stuff. Necessity is the mother of invention, and YouTube has a plethora of mostly-useful videos for DIY activities. Also there are threads here for the big topics like electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, and they are excellent resources too.
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Jan 23, 2019 02:53
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Yeah I totally realize our experience isn't all that out of the ordinary. Just doesn't help that my wife is deathly afraid of roaches and rats. We were renting an apartment in LA before and the landlord was very diligent on keeping the complex clean so we never saw any pests or critters. We'll probably keep the quarterly pest treatments and I got some Home Ortho Max spray that I'm just gonna do in addition to it as well as some termite treatment. Not gonna lie though, I'm kind of enjoying this..
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Jan 23, 2019 03:22
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Subjunctive posted:Yeah, I’ll probably do induction when it’s time to replace my range and oven partly for that reason, but I can’t see doing electric heat or water if I ever want to resell the place. Maybe electric heat pump, whenever the 8-year-old furnace needs replacing. Yeah, 100% electric will be awful. Perhaps look into geothermal/aquathermal while you're at it.
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Jan 23, 2019 11:20
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Potrzebie posted:Yeah, 100% electric will be awful. Perhaps look into geothermal/aquathermal while you're at it. Yeah, I looked a bit into geothermal when I moved in, out of idle curiosity, but it was clear that the cost would be well into five digits installed so I didn’t look that hard because I should have another ten years on the current furnace. Maybe, though!
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Jan 23, 2019 13:20
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Geothermal heat pumps are starting to look like less of a good deal, since air-source HPs are rapidly improving in their ability to work in sub-zero temps (see the Japanese mini splits.) I wouldn't want to be stuck on some kind of expected payback of 20-30 years assuming current ASHP efficiencies, since those will likely be downright amazing in 15 years. Similar problem with solar. All the payback models assume the power company will keep buying your juice for 20 years, which I can all but guarantee they won't.
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Jan 23, 2019 14:50
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B-Nasty posted:Geothermal heat pumps are starting to look like less of a good deal, since air-source HPs are rapidly improving in their ability to work in sub-zero temps (see the Japanese mini splits.) I wouldn't want to be stuck on some kind of expected payback of 20-30 years assuming current ASHP efficiencies, since those will likely be downright amazing in 15 years. Yeah, ASHP looks way better, in no small part because I wouldn't have to have someone dig around my yard and patio. It pretty much never gets below 0F where I am, but we spend 3-4 months around -10C. It seems like things are getting to a good spot for that.
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Jan 23, 2019 15:11
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I thought the knock on Ryobi tools was the poo poo batteries and low power? When I was in the market for tools someone warned me against them and so I ended up going with Makita instead. I have had zero regrets, even though the local hardware places around here don't really carry it - I end up ordering online mostly anyway.
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Jan 23, 2019 16:29
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I readily admit other brands are better, but for Joe Homeowner like me that uses his tools once a month maybe there’s nothing wrong with Ryobi stuff. The new lithium batteries are just fine and the battery ecosystem is great as well. If I was someone who used my tools all the time or made a living with them I’d invest in Makita or Milwaukee.
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Jan 23, 2019 17:07
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It's likely that Makita and Ryobi (and everyone else) is basically using identical battery packs under the covers. Ryobi's chargers seem to do a good job of maintaining the packs, as well. And when it comes to the quality of the tools themselves, they're all made overseas now and it's more or less hit-and-miss for any given model of tool from any brand whether you'll get a badly-designed one, but most of them are at least serviceably fine and a few are surprisingly excellent. The average homeowner will never put enough wear and tear on most of their tools to hit things like which one is 10% more durable. I'm in Ryobi because they had the hybrid string trimmer I wanted at the time (can switch between batteries and plug-in) and then from there I wound up with a second battery, and then it just made sense to get a driver since I had the batteries anyway, and then I got the sawzall and here I am now with 4 batteries, 2 chargers, and I actively shop for "naked" (no battery) tool options to save money now. I've yet to have a problem with any of them but I've no illusions that I'd hit lots of problems with one of the other major brands. Just avoid black & decker
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Jan 23, 2019 17:58
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skipdogg posted:I readily admit other brands are better, but for Joe Homeowner like me that uses his tools once a month maybe there’s nothing wrong with Ryobi stuff. The new lithium batteries are just fine and the battery ecosystem is great as well. Yea, I completely agree with this. Someone doing professional work may end up putting as many screws in on a busy day as I will in a year or perhaps even my entire time as I own the tool. I don't need an impact driver rated for 500,000 screws (made up number) when one rated for 50,000 screws will do the trick for 1/3 the price. I can't say I've compared the power to higher end stuff, but even the old lower-end brushed impact driver will put a screw into treated lumber, which is typically the toughest use case I see. They also sell something like 125 tools currently that use the same battery, and the prices are generally reasonable. There's a ton of stuff I've bought that I would've never purchased if I was in a more expensive system (assuming they even made it). Dual inflator, pole saw, spotlight, handheld vacuum, etc. Not sure about the batteries. I had one small battery that came with a refurb tool "die", which is a known issue and can be revived with a bit of work. I've never had issues with the Lithium+ ones I have. All batteries are basically made up of a bunch of 18650 cells. I'm not sure if TTI source better cells for the higher end lines, but it's possible.
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Jan 23, 2019 18:18
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Does anyone have a hose they can recommend? I've been through a few and they seem to fall into two categories: 1. Lightweight, easy to handle, doesn't last for poo poo and springs leaks 2. Heavy duty and built to last, but super clunky and difficult to drag around or wrap to hang, especially when its colder out Is there a hose thats not a piece of crap thats actually lightweight/flexible?
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Jan 23, 2019 22:35
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opengl128 posted:Is there a hose thats not a piece of crap thats actually lightweight/flexible? Anything sold by Eley is really good. I dunno how lightweight you are looking for though.
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Jan 23, 2019 22:48
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opengl128 posted:Does anyone have a hose they can recommend? I've been through a few and they seem to fall into two categories: Water hose? My wife borrowed a colorite hose about a decade ago and it’s been the best ever. Unfortunately I don’t see any for sale that look the same. Interested in other recommendations.
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Jan 23, 2019 22:51
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opengl128 posted:Does anyone have a hose they can recommend? I've been through a few and they seem to fall into two categories: Those desires are unfortunately at odds, extra thickness adds durability but also weight and clunkiness
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Jan 23, 2019 23:05
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Just got my year end mortgage statement for my taxes. Looking at the amount of interest paid is painful. Stupid front loaded loans
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Jan 24, 2019 20:37
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Sepist posted:Just got my year end mortgage statement for my taxes. Looking at the amount of interest paid is painful. Stupid front loaded loans You should always do the math to figure out exactly how much you're paying for your house, just so you know for sure. A 30 year, 5% mortgage on a 250k house with PMI tacked on is just terrifying.
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Jan 24, 2019 20:44
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I did. It just hurts to look at
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Jan 24, 2019 22:48
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Yeah you shouldn't need to do the math, the total cost of principle and interest should be part of the papers when you sign and it's not fun.
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Jan 25, 2019 01:30
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Sepist posted:Just got my year end mortgage statement for my taxes. Looking at the amount of interest paid is painful. Stupid front loaded loans Make some more principal payments! It's the age-old investing debate about paying down your mortgage early vs. other investments, but the higher standard deduction/mortgage interest phaseouts now after the TCJA make the return on mortgage pre-payments that much better. Obviously, save enough in a 401K to get the match, have emergency funds, and maybe also a Roth, but a hypothetical 4% zero-risk, tax-free return on your investment is a drat good deal.
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Jan 25, 2019 04:39
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Sepist posted:Just got my year end mortgage statement for my taxes. Looking at the amount of interest paid is painful. Stupid front loaded loans It’s not like mortgage loans are calculated any different than other loans, it’s just the function of a long payback period and borrowing a lot. You’re mad at math. I really wanted to do a 20 year loan but I couldn’t see the payment working out and wanted more flexibility... which also made me second guess the purchase in itself. In the end I decided I’d be happier if I had a house with the standard term and be able to suffer a job loss or pay cut without moving.
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Jan 25, 2019 06:01
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Here are my lovely kitchen drawers: Any ideas how I begin to unfuck them? I dunno what the original vision for them was, but the slots are too big for drawer rails. So some previous owner used random scrap wood to give the rails something to screw into. The problem is that the cabinet material is some kinda super dense wood that is hell to get a screw into. They glued the scrap wood and barely got any screw into the cabinet so, of course, they fall all the time and break. I hate them. Short of just getting new kitchen cabinets what's to be done beyond sticking new scrap wood whenever they break? What kinda drawers were meant to be there that wouldn't need scrap wood?
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Jan 25, 2019 08:12
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Sepist posted:I did. It just hurts to look at On the other hand, it lets you move in a decade or more early!
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Jan 25, 2019 12:33
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StormDrain posted:It’s not like mortgage loans are calculated any different than other loans, it’s just the function of a long payback period and borrowing a lot. You’re mad at math. He's mad at the concept of frontloaded interest payments, it's true that loans generally work that way but they don't have to.
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Jan 25, 2019 12:49
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B-Nasty posted:Make some more principal payments! I do. I pay an extra mortgage payment a year and once my wife's 150k student loans are paid off in a few years we'll switch to 2 or 3 extra a year.
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Jan 25, 2019 13:32
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 Edit: I don’t know wtf is wrong with imgur but here’s the direct link: https://m.imgur.com/gallery/M1RSlJM Yes, that’s an aquarium heater. My 105 year old detached garage is built over a walk out basement. The surrounding area floods so hydrostatic pressure will flood it to a foot deep with ease. The problem is it’s completely uninsulated and unheated, so the air temp follows the outdoor temp. Of course the pump freezes when it gets very cold and the water stops flowing. When there is water flowing regularly and the pump has to run every few minutes it’s generally fine. Unfortunately I’ve already lost one 1/3 HP Zoller. So I put in a 300 watt aquarium heater. I figure even though the water is just around freezing, it’ll keep such a small volume warm enough that the pump doesn’t freeze. I need to rig up a report temp sensor that can send my phone updates on water and air temp. Still working that one out. I really hate this garage. I’ve spend over $15k trying to make it more usable. I feel like I’m going to have to insulate and keep it heated just to keep it from flooding. I wish I could just fill the entire basement with dirt or something but the garage itself sits on a full foundation so that has to remain stable. If I had one chance at time travel I’d go back to 1913 and kneecap whoever’s idea this was. Jealous Cow fucked around with this message at 15:01 on Jan 25, 2019 |
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Jan 25, 2019 14:59
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FuzzySlippers posted:Here are my lovely kitchen drawers: Remove the current screws, drill a pilot hole, and insert longer screws. The drillbit you use for the pilot hole should be at most as big as the shaft of the screws you plan to use (i.e. not including the threads).
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Jan 25, 2019 17:19
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