|
sadus posted:Our fairly trustworthy nerd local plumber (he'd rather play WoW than make a house call) claimed the heating elements usually don't give out before the whole heater is dead, not true? Not necessarily, but unless you have really awful water, I found it to be a reasonably accurate indicator that it's time to budget for a new tank. If your tank is 10+ years old and a heater goes, if you successfully replace it, it's still time to start budgeting for a new unit. Any tank over 15 years is strictly on borrowed time, and unless it's somewhere where >50 gallons of water won't do any damage (e.g. garage), stop being penny-wise and pound-foolish.
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2019 17:36
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 10, 2024 23:11 |
|
|
B-Nasty posted:Not necessarily, but unless you have really awful water, I found it to be a reasonably accurate indicator that it's time to budget for a new tank. If your tank is 10+ years old and a heater goes, if you successfully replace it, it's still time to start budgeting for a new unit. Any tank over 15 years is strictly on borrowed time, and unless it's somewhere where >50 gallons of water won't do any damage (e.g. garage), stop being penny-wise and pound-foolish. My new house has a mystery heater that is immaculate and running fine.... ....and 25 years old.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2019 20:07
|
|
|
Blindeye posted:My new house has a mystery heater that is immaculate and running fine.... Just replace it. If it's a standard gas or electric tank, they only cost about $500 and can be DIY'd in an hour or two. The hardest part is moving the old one and new one into position. I replaced a great-looking, 15 year old electric one, and after banging around the old unit on its way to the trash, some slight drips started to appear in the rusted out bottom. Could've lasted 5 more years or 5 more minutes, but I'm not taking the chance of ruining everything in my basement. Bonus, I installed a heat pump unit that should pay for itself in a few years.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2019 23:30
|
|
|
So it LOOKS like in my area a permit is required for any electrical work. I was planning on running Ethernet cables between a few rooms. Technically I can do this without a license, but I think I need a permit if I'm reading things right. Anyone have experience pulling permits for electrical work? I mean, there's very little information I can find that tells me what the hell information I need to obtain a permit. All the other building type things say you need plans and drawings and whatnot... but I can't find poo poo about adding electrical stuff to a house.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2019 23:40
|
|
|
DaveSauce posted:So it LOOKS like in my area a permit is required for any electrical work. I was planning on running Ethernet cables between a few rooms. Technically I can do this without a license, but I think I need a permit if I'm reading things right. They almost certainly don't mean low voltage. Call and ask. For me it was super easy, walked in, chatted, walked out $32 poorer with a sheet of paper saying I was doing some work.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2019 23:43
|
|
|
H110Hawk posted:They almost certainly don't mean low voltage. The county, as a result of state law, seems to require that ALL electrical work is permitted except repair/replacement of existing fixtures. Thankfully since it's my own house I'm allowed to do it myself... but they still require a permit if I'm reading this right. Load of poo poo, but it's $60. Not sure how I can really gently caress it up, but I'm inventive. I just don't want to do reams of paperwork to run a few cables...
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2019 23:56
|
|
|
DaveSauce posted:The county, as a result of state law, seems to require that ALL electrical work is permitted except repair/replacement of existing fixtures. Thankfully since it's my own house I'm allowed to do it myself... but they still require a permit if I'm reading this right. For me I spent longer talking to the city clerk about how to fill out the literally 1 page document 99% of which was my name and address than I did filling out that document. You aren't sinking your bathtub here.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2019 00:04
|
|
|
DaveSauce posted:The county, as a result of state law, seems to require that ALL electrical work is permitted Again, clarify that they mean low volt also. Words mean different things in different places in the context of code. If they really mean ALL electrical work then telephone and cable installers would need to pull permits. Which maybe that's exactly what they mean, but I'd be surprised. In most code book I've seen there is a voltage cutoff for this (but not amperage, lol - I've worked on much more dangerous 48v systems than mains/line voltage). Comedy option: run fiber if they really do mean ALL electrical. And tell them you're doing it for that reason.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2019 00:27
|
|
|
Motronic posted:Again, clarify that they mean low volt also. Words mean different things in different places in the context of code. If they really mean ALL electrical work then telephone and cable installers would need to pull permits. Which maybe that's exactly what they mean, but I'd be surprised. In most code book I've seen there is a voltage cutoff for this (but not amperage, lol - I've worked on much more dangerous 48v systems than mains/line voltage). Yeah, my plan is to call and ask tomorrow... naturally I found this out after the offices were closed. Mainly I was trying to find out if I was opening a can of worms before I spent money on parts. I know it's bogus, but literally everything I read points to needing a permit. I googled for a while and this is actually not uncommon, though nobody seems to really care. And for reference: quote:Some low-voltage systems are exempt from the requirement of installation by a licensed electrical contractor. Although a license may not be required, permits and inspections are still required. This is on a different county's website, but I'm pretty sure it's an interpretation of state law so I expect it still applies where I live. This is the only low voltage exemption I've found... The most likely scenario I can think of is I'm trying to sell the house and the buyer pitches a fit because of un-permitted network cables, which could turn in to a big deal because codes change. So while it may pass with flying colors today, it might not pass inspection in the future, and without a permit there's no way to say when it was installed. The other scenario is if the house burns down, the insurance company could use un-permitted cables as an excuse not to pay out, even though there's literally no chance this will cause a fire.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2019 02:36
|
|
|
Technically you could undermine your fire barriers by drilling holes through the attic/crawl space to run the cable and failing to seal them back up. Which reminds me that I have to get back into my spider colony to do that... It’s hard to imagine a scenario where somebody would act pissy over unpermitted network cabling though. Every house older than a decade probably has a ton of shady stuff going on with the switches and outlets that would be a greater concern.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2019 03:09
|
|
|
I ran 20+ network drops to a patch panel in the garage last house, as well as a massive antenna in the attic and coax everywhere it made sense off an amp. Hell, I listed that as a selling feature. The new house I’m being more judicious; eventually I’ll run fiber from the basement to the 2nd floor so I can run Ethernet to an idf up there. It also looks like we’re gonna need to move up the timetable on replacing the windows, they’re original to the house so ~23 years old. They are drafty as hell especially with the heavy wind the past few days. We knew they weren’t great when we bought the place but that would save us a ton on heating costs. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2019 03:22
|
|
|
SpartanIvy posted:I've read annually, that's my plan. Dang, really? I should probably figure out how to do this then.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2019 04:43
|
|
|
QuarkJets posted:Dang, really? Get a hose that reaches a place you can dump the water. Hopefully you have a floor drain or sump pit or something. Turn off the water heater. Turn off the valve on the water heater input. Attach hose to bottom drain valve, open. Drain. If it's really nasty close the valve, open the inlet valve and fill it up again partially. Drain it again. Do this until it runs clear. Then open the valve, let it fill, and turn the breaker back on. Somewhere before you refill it is a good time to figure out if you have a removable rod that you can check and replace if necessary. e: yes, open a hot tap like was was said below - that will make it go much faster. Motronic fucked around with this message at 05:15 on Jan 31, 2019 |
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2019 04:52
|
|
|
Tips that help: You can attach a garden hose to the drain outlet and run the hose outside if a nearby tub or sink is not available. Turn the hot water valve on your tub or sink on so that air can get sucked into the system and break the vacuum on your tank. If you don't it will never drain, or drain incredibly slowly as air has a very hard time getting back into the tank. DO NOT USE THE PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE. Those are designed only to be used during an emergency and if you use it to relieve pressure off the tank it can cause them to prematurely wear-out.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2019 05:00
|
|
|
So, water heater test results. Upper and lower thermostat tested good for continuity. Upper and lower elements tested around 13 ohms. Currently draining the tank and the water coming out is crystal clear. I’ve found the model of my water heater and it’s a 55 gallon tank. I can’t be asking too much of this thing to be able to fill up a bath tub with hot water am I?
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2019 22:45
|
|
|
Could be the dip tube has eroded or broken. When that happens cold water gets dumped at the top of the tank instead of the bottom and causes the hot water leaving the tank to be more of a mix of hot/cold and thus colder than normal.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2019 23:17
|
|
|
Ok, odd situation. I'm trying to find a service provider for cable/internet, and a rep from the current company we have dropped by the new house and left a card. I talked to him and it looks like a good deal, but he says there is a block on the address from the previous owner. This will require a copy of the title deed. I have no idea if this is shady or not. The card has a cable.company.com email address that he responded from, and he does have a robust linkedin profile. Googling for this poo poo with an internet provider absolutely sucks because i have to use the word title and block. I'll try to find an isp thread elsewhere on the forums and ask there as well. edit: looks like its official policy https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/proof-of-residency-policy meanolmrcloud fucked around with this message at 23:25 on Jan 31, 2019 |
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2019 23:23
|
|
|
Why not just call xfinity's support number cold and talk to an agent about it?
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2019 23:37
|
|
|
meanolmrcloud posted:Ok, odd situation. I'm trying to find a service provider for cable/internet, and a rep from the current company we have dropped by the new house and left a card. I talked to him and it looks like a good deal, but he says there is a block on the address from the previous owner. This will require a copy of the title deed. I have no idea if this is shady or not. The card has a cable.company.com email address that he responded from, and he does have a robust linkedin profile. Googling for this poo poo with an internet provider absolutely sucks because i have to use the word title and block. I'll try to find an isp thread elsewhere on the forums and ask there as well. Titles are public record, xfinity can just pull it if they're interested in your business. Who is your other provider available? Also don't support door to door sales people.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2019 23:42
|
|
|
SpartanIvy posted:Could be the dip tube has eroded or broken. When that happens cold water gets dumped at the top of the tank instead of the bottom and causes the hot water leaving the tank to be more of a mix of hot/cold and thus colder than normal. I mean, it'll get HOT, like, hot hot, just doesn't stay at that temperature for as long as I think it should I guess. My brother seems to think even though the elements tested fine, they might really be bad. Should be a cheap try to at least see if that fixes it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2019 00:13
|
|
|
mattfl posted:I mean, it'll get HOT, like, hot hot, just doesn't stay at that temperature for as long as I think it should I guess. What you described is exactly the symptom of a broken dip tube(though it could also be the heating elements). Basically the water is hot, but as soon as you start using it, the new cold water coming in doesn't pass the heating elements and instead flows right back out, keeping the nice hot water in the tank and leaving you with rapidly cooling Luke warm water. I thought I had this issue on my tank but it turned out I had unreasonable hot water expectations. I tested my sanity by filling my tub with only hot water and measuring the temperature with an IR thermometer every couple of minutes. When the temp started dropping drastically I cut it off, measured the water depth in the tub and figured out the volume of hot water. Taking into account the speed at which it filled the tub to that level gives you a pretty good idea of your water heaters output capacity. In my case it was doing a great job, my shower and tub just puts out a lot of gallons per minute (GPM). I corrected my problem by raising the water heaters thermostat so now I'm using less hot water over time but still maintaining the same shower temperature. When summer comes again I will probably adjust it back down for better efficiency. Also if you have children be careful with raising the hot water temp as it creates a scalding hazard, especially with sinks.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2019 00:43
|
|
|
mattfl posted:I mean, it'll get HOT, like, hot hot, just doesn't stay at that temperature for as long as I think it should I guess. Got an amp clamp? Not afraid of your panel? If so, clamp the black, then the red leg while filling your tub once it's run cold. (Just turn it on then walk outside, it will be cold by then.) If you don't know what I mean by this, you're likely better off just tossing in a repair kit and seeing if it fixes it. You could also set your thermostats to very different numbers, see what the temperature does, then reverse it and see if the temperature changes.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2019 00:44
|
|
|
Its finance week in my town and the paper has two articles back to back by the same author. “Live your best retirement without a mortgage payment” “Eliminate high-interest debut, do home improvements with a cash our refinance”
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2019 02:40
|
|
|
Wtf is finance week.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2019 03:51
|
|
|
poo poo POST MALONE posted:Wtf is finance week. Comes after infrastructure week.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2019 04:19
|
|
|
Hey gang, I've been lurking for a bit. I bought my 80+ year old house about 8 years ago. The previous owner said that it had been shelled by a fired in the late 90's and completely rebuilt by that previous owner, so I thought it wouldn't be so bad. Wrong! I've had non-stop issues with the foundation, roof leaks, and plumbing. Plumbing is today's topic. It turns out the owner at the time of the fire thought he was pretty handy, so he rebuilt everything himself to save the bulk of that sweet sweet insurance payout. Every time some sort of plumbing issue goes wrong the plumber I call tracks down the problem, takes a look at it, and tells me no real plumber would have ever installed [part] that way. Then it gets fixed and I wait for the next leak. This morning I wake up and find the water to the kitchen sink has frozen. This has happened before but I didn't know about this thread then. When the kitchen was reinstalled the previous owner ran the water pipes from the mechanical room in the basement straight to an outside wall, then along that wall where they finally go up into the kitchen. On the main level that wall is my kitchen, but in the basement that wall is an unheated storage room, because the previous owner never though to put any ventilation in there. On really cold days like today the pipes freeze. The solution, aside from pulling all that pipe, which I can't afford, is to throw a space heater into the storage room and hope the pipes thaw before they crack.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2019 14:16
|
|
|
Poldarn posted:Hey gang, I've been lurking for a bit. I bought my 80+ year old house about 8 years ago. The previous owner said that it had been shelled by a fired in the late 90's and completely rebuilt by that previous owner, so I thought it wouldn't be so bad. Wrong! I've had non-stop issues with the foundation, roof leaks, and plumbing. Make sure the kitchen faucet drips consistently from hot and cold sources; don’t shut it off during the winter. The increase in your water bill is minor compared to a burst pipe.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2019 15:56
|
|
|
Poldarn posted:Hey gang, I've been lurking for a bit. I bought my 80+ year old house about 8 years ago. The previous owner said that it had been shelled by a fired in the late 90's and completely rebuilt by that previous owner, so I thought it wouldn't be so bad. Wrong! I've had non-stop issues with the foundation, roof leaks, and plumbing. If you can reach the pipes, get some heat tape.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2019 16:21
|
|
|
Poldarn posted:Plumbing is today's topic. It turns out the owner at the time of the fire thought he was pretty handy, so he rebuilt everything himself to save the bulk of that sweet sweet insurance payout. Every time some sort of plumbing issue goes wrong the plumber I call tracks down the problem, takes a look at it, and tells me no real plumber would have ever installed [part] that way. Then it gets fixed and I wait for the next leak. Have you considered the relative cost of having the house entirely repiped? I don't know your layout but dropping $10-15k might be worth it to stop this in its tracks and reset the timer on your plumbing issues.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2019 16:55
|
|
|
Poldarn posted:The solution, aside from pulling all that pipe, which I can't afford, is to throw a space heater into the storage room and hope the pipes thaw before they crack. Heat tape is a lot more energy efficient, since you won't have to heat the entire room.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2019 17:49
|
|
|
H110Hawk posted:Have you considered the relative cost of having the house entirely repiped? I don't know your layout but dropping $10-15k might be worth it to stop this in its tracks and reset the timer on your plumbing issues. This is really the best answer. It sounds like it's only a matter of time before something major breaks and you have a ton of flood damage. I had my entire cold water line from where it enters the house to every fixture done for ~$3.5K. It really wasn't that expensive. Now my house is small, 900 sqft 2b1b, so yours may be more expensive, however it's totally worth it. Another benefit is if they use PEX (which they almost certainly will), is that it's crazy easy to work with and freeze resistant. I have PEX C (Uponor) and with the $300 tool and a few youtube videos, you can easily work with it yourself. I'm in Texas so freezing is not really a concern, but the few times a decade it happens, I won't be fretting that my lovely old pipes are going to burst.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2019 17:57
|
|
|
balancedbias posted:Make sure the kitchen faucet drips consistently from hot and cold sources; don’t shut it off during the winter. The increase in your water bill is minor compared to a burst pipe. That's a good idea. Usually if I can keep the temperature in that room high enough we don't have this problem. devicenull posted:If you can reach the pipes, get some heat tape. I can't reach the pipes anymore, there was a flood a few years ago and the whole basement got redone. Before that, there was access, which I assume was the previous owner trying to deal with the same issue. H110Hawk posted:Have you considered the relative cost of having the house entirely repiped? I don't know your layout but dropping $10-15k might be worth it to stop this in its tracks and reset the timer on your plumbing issues. I don't want to pull the plug on that yet, I just finished paying off a $50k loan for renovating my basement and fixing my friends after it cracked a few years ago.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2019 18:02
|
|
|
Spent today hoisting and installing my garage rafter ties in place with a friend. Pretty happy with how they turned out. Please ignore my floating nutted wires and other electrical bullshit. I'm still working on that.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2019 06:28
|
|
|
I bought a used framing nailer from a retiring contractor last night and he told me he was finishing up some work on a house near mine that was built with 36" on center studs and that the shiplap on them was load baring 
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2019 18:56
|
|
|
I wonder if that was the motivation he needed to finally retire.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2019 19:02
|
|
|
SpartanIvy posted:I bought a used framing nailer from a retiring contractor last night and he told me he was finishing up some work on a house near mine that was built with 36" on center studs and that the shiplap on them was load baring Some of the big lovely home builders around here were working on getting that into the code with their political consultants. It was also 36" on center with some diagonal brace for interior walls, which basically makes the wall assembly into a groverhaus load/shear bearing drywall situation. Would it surprise you to hear one of those companies is the same one responsible for all of the 15 year-shelf life homes due to bad stucco and EFIS?
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2019 03:51
|
|
|
Motronic posted:Some of the big lovely home builders around here were working on getting that into the code with their political consultants. It was also 36" on center with some diagonal brace for interior walls, which basically makes the wall assembly into a groverhaus load/shear bearing drywall situation. Yikes. I read that they're building something like a 10 story wood framed apartment complex around here somewhere after a bunch of builders lobbied about getting code changed to allow it. All I could see in my mind while reading the article was families being crushed and burned to death in a couple years. I'm sure it was the same or similar group. Cut costs at all costs!
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2019 04:01
|
|
|
Motronic posted:Some of the big lovely home builders around here were working on getting that into the code with their political consultants. It was also 36" on center with some diagonal brace for interior walls, which basically makes the wall assembly into a groverhaus load/shear bearing drywall situation. In NE Ohio higher end builders are using 36” OC with 2x6 studs to reduce thermal bridging, which sounds cool and I assume the wider stud makes up for it?
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2019 04:57
|
|
|
Call me old fashioned but I don't trust it. Something cool I saw on youtube was some high-end builder who put insulation on the outside of the house so that thermal bridging wasn't even a concern anymore. I'm sure there are some huge drawbacks somewhere that weren't mentioned but it seemed like a pretty cool idea and really gave you a ton of flexibility with the interior since you technically don't need to finish the inside walls at that point. This video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mNTHP-Y_GE
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2019 05:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 10, 2024 23:11 |
|
|
Jealous Cow posted:In NE Ohio higher end builders are using 36” OC with 2x6 studs to reduce thermal bridging, which sounds cool and I assume the wider stud makes up for it? I've heard of 2x6 studs 24" OC, which makes some amount of sense -- 50% more wood per stud so you can space them 50% further apart. 36" sounds like it's really pushing it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2019 06:18
|
|
