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Vermont, Efficiency Vermont Home Performance with Energy Star service.
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Mar 18, 2019 14:32
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| # ? May 9, 2024 18:39 |
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Would this be the right thread to ask about appealing property taxes? Has anyone here done it (particularly in NJ?) My new home seems to be assessed quite a bit higher than similar sales in town..
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Mar 19, 2019 22:25
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Cheesus posted:Vermont, Efficiency Vermont Home Performance with Energy Star service. It’s kind of unclear here precisely how this rebate works, so can’t give you a good answer. If it’s a credit on your state income taxes, non refundable credits (i.e. they can only reduce state tax burden to zero max) aren’t taxable, refundable credits (which can increase a refund) can be to the extent it is over the state tax liability. Do they just lower the cost of what you buy instead? If it’s just the state paying money to the company so they sell at a lower price it might just be the company that would get any kind of taxable contribution. Without more info can’t tell you for sure; calling a local tax professional is probably a good idea, most will answer basic questions like that. Generally I would think they would issue a 1099-G or 1099-MISC or similar reporting it if it’s taxable. Also, if it is non taxable don’t include the value of the credit when calculating the federal energy credit if you qualify for that.
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Mar 20, 2019 18:18
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eig posted:Would this be the right thread to ask about appealing property taxes? Has anyone here done it (particularly in NJ?) My new home seems to be assessed quite a bit higher than similar sales in town.. Give it a couple months, you'll start receiving all sorts of shadily worded mail from lawyers about it!
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Mar 21, 2019 00:25
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Anonymous Zebra posted:Similar to the poster above, this is what the floor along my master bath shower looks like. Sorry to post about this again but I'm at a bit of an impasse here about who to call. I initially tried a flooring company, but he told me that I needed a contractor for any work on the subfloor. I figure the old-rear end shower pan is leaking so this will likely be a job that needs flooring, subfloor replacement, and a new shower stall. Therefore I tried contacting bathroom remodeling companies figuring it was in their ballpark. So far only one has replied, to tell me that he didn't do this and that I should call a flooring company... Back to the flooring companies I go, and all of them are happy to replace my shower and vinyl, but won't touch my subfloor. There HAS to be a company willing to do this, but who? EDIT: The bathroom remodeling companies all list themselves as being contractors, so it's not like I was ignoring the first floorer's suggestion.
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Mar 21, 2019 00:57
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I would guess that you want a general contractor, I.E. someone who does general home construction or repair work. What you're talking about is really two things: tearing poo poo out and repairing floor joists and subfloor, and then, a bathroom remodel. The bathroom companies don't want to touch the first part. A general contractor can handle both jobs by setting up the right crews for each type of work and handling the coordination.
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Mar 21, 2019 01:03
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devicenull posted:Give it a couple months, you'll start receiving all sorts of shadily worded mail from lawyers about it! I already received one! I don't see why I need a lawyer to research recent sales to see their taxes are lower than mine 
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Mar 21, 2019 14:08
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eig posted:I already received one! I don't see why I need a lawyer to research recent sales to see their taxes are lower than mine I did mine in Cuyahoga County in Ohio, but it was pretty straightforward. I filled out a petition online, they set a date for me to come in before a 3 or 4 person panel, and they just asked me questions like what I paid, how I bought (with a real estate agent), was I friends with the sellers, was the agent friends with the sellers, etc. I think basically just looking to make sure the purchase price wasn't artificially lower than it should have been, and then I left. Probably took 20 or 30 minutes. A few weeks later I got a letter in the mail that they reduced the value of the assessment. Obviously this could be completely different than NJ, but I couldn't imagine it'd be much.
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Mar 21, 2019 17:14
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I just put in 2 4-food led bar lights in my attic to replace the single dim 30 watt bulb fixture and holy poo poo does it make it way nicer to be up there. I'm going to install 2 more on the other side so the whole attic is nice and bright.
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Mar 24, 2019 19:03
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Anonymous Zebra posted:Sorry to post about this again but I'm at a bit of an impasse here about who to call. I initially tried a flooring company, but he told me that I needed a contractor for any work on the subfloor. I figure the old-rear end shower pan is leaking so this will likely be a job that needs flooring, subfloor replacement, and a new shower stall. Therefore I tried contacting bathroom remodeling companies figuring it was in their ballpark. So far only one has replied, to tell me that he didn't do this and that I should call a flooring company... Make a post on Homeadvisor.com with exactly what you need, you should get 3 contractors calling you within minutes. I got some bathroom work done last year from a guy I found there (vetted him out before agreeing to work, of course)
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Mar 25, 2019 01:48
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Hi all, I'm a complete house newbie (screwed in some wood panels, painted a bit, replaced a light switch, installed a Nest) who is now trying to deal with his first plumbing problem. I've got a toilet that won't stop flushing - here's a picture of the inside. Note that the rubber stopper at the bottom of the line isn't flush with the bottom of the bowl) (it's angled up) . I know nothing. Where do I start?
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Mar 25, 2019 01:58
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Evil Robot posted:Hi all, Probably just need to replace the flapper or the valve, I had the same issue and was pretty easy to replace with a part from Lowe's. There's also a dedicated plumbing thread.
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Mar 25, 2019 02:15
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Make sure: 1) The chain is long enough to let the flapper seal against the bottom. If the chain is taught, untangle it or drop it down another link. 2) The flapper is still flexible. If it's rigid and not floppy, it probably needs to be replaced as it's been hardened by chlorine and is not longer sealing well against the bottom ring. If both of those are correct, take some grease (lithium grease, whatever) on your finger and rub it around the outside of the flapper where it contacts the ring under it. This will help create a tight seal between the two. If all of that fails, buy a new flapper and ring combo. The black ring under the flapper should be siliconed to the tank, and it should pull up without too much effort. Replace it and the flapper and adjust the chain as necessary and you should be good to go.
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Mar 25, 2019 02:26
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It's been my experience that when you've got any issues with the flushing mechanism, you can fix it temporarily but plan on just replacing the whole guts. Especially since they're inexpensive. Which may be why it only lasts me 5 years. My first experience was my toilet that took minutes to refill. When it was replaced it only took 20-30 seconds and it was a relief.
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Mar 25, 2019 02:39
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What does anyone know about laminate wood flooring? We're going to replace the carpet in our house with new floors and I'd like to do some research beforehand. Any brands or companies I should know?
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Mar 25, 2019 18:07
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DTaeKim posted:What does anyone know about laminate wood flooring? We're going to replace the carpet in our house with new floors and I'd like to do some research beforehand. Any brands or companies I should know? I just used this stuff in a bathroom reno and it's surprisingly nice: https://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring-Vinyl-Flooring-Resilient-Flooring/LifeProof/N-5yc1vZapwrZets (the $2.99 sq/ft stuff - it's thick and has the underlayment attached) There is definitely nicer stuff out there, but for the $2-3/sq ft price range it seems to kick all the other options asses.
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Mar 25, 2019 18:51
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You don't want LAMINATE you want luxury vinyl tile like Motronic linked. Laminate floors are literal poo poo made with compressed sawdust and glue. LVT holds up like nothing I've ever experienced. We redid our high traffic floors with LVT and then subjected them to toddlers and incontinent chihuahuas and they've been absolutely lights out. It's bonkers how good this stuff is, and how cheap.
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Mar 25, 2019 19:23
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Ha, you're right. My parents called it laminate but said it was luxury. So I should start there and I'll take your review as a glowing recommendation.
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Mar 25, 2019 20:19
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DTaeKim posted:Ha, you're right. My parents called it laminate but said it was luxury. So I should start there and I'll take your review as a glowing recommendation. Yeah, laminate and LVT are very different products but people get confused because of the "L." LVT is an awesome product, and it has the absolute highest recommendations for flooring materials from Consumer Reports (I have a free subscription through work).
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Mar 25, 2019 20:41
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Evil Robot posted:Hi all, This is really, really easy. I fixed mine last week. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BVS3H0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Mar 25, 2019 22:22
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Medullah posted:Make a post on Homeadvisor.com with exactly what you need, you should get 3 contractors calling you within minutes. I got some bathroom work done last year from a guy I found there (vetted him out before agreeing to work, of course) What do you mean by "make a post"? I frequently use the Homeadvisor app on my phone to find contractors, but you make it sound like there is a forum or something. This actually leads into my next question, how do I find a general contractor to do the work I asked about up-thread? Let me briefly describe how I usually find contractors. I usually start on Yelp by doing a basic search of what I'm looking for to get a list of contractors that are highly rated there. Then I usually run these names through Angie's List or just Google search them to see what other people think of them. Often they will also pop up on HomeAdvisor as being rated and screened. Sometimes I will just use the suggestions given to me by Angie's List or HomeAdvisor if I feel like not bothering with Yelp. The problem is that Angie's List and HomeAdvisor tend to not really let you do searches like Yelp does, but instead want you to pick categories which I've always found to be less than specific enough for my needs. Go ahead and try to figure out how to find someone who installs whole house fans, for example, on HomeAdvisor. For my current problem, I need to find a general contractor. Where is that choice even on HomeAdvisor? Under what category? If I search flooring and give a description of what I want literally no invitations appear. There also does not seem to be a general contractor category on Angie's List. This leaves me with Yelp, which is the least trustworthy of the sites that I visit. I'm not a moron, and I've found contractors pretty easily up to this point, so I'm not sure why I'm having so much trouble finding one who can work on my subfloor. EDIT: I literally just used HomeAdvisor's "Dry rot, water and mold damage" category, filled out the info and got zero pro matches. WTF. Anonymous Zebra fucked around with this message at 23:46 on Mar 25, 2019 |
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Mar 25, 2019 22:26
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Just another update on the saga of my bathroom floor. So far I've gotten two people to actually come look at my bathroom. The first was a licensed flooring guy who told me to just rip up all the vinyl, let everything dry for a week and he would tile the floor and replace the shower stall for $3,500. He made no mention of fixing the subfloor (he's not qualified to anyway I guess), and seemed to imply out of sight out of mind. The second was a guy from a large kitchen/bathroom remodeling company with a GC license. He tells me the whole cost will be $15,100. These are my only two price points right now, after contacting close to 20 companies at this point. Five of those have been nice enough to reply and say they don't want to do it, but the rest are just ghosting me. This is incredibly frustrating, and I feel like I must be doing something wrong here. My homeowner's insurance agent is asking me for a quote, but no one will just tell me a number for the subfloor.
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Mar 27, 2019 21:36
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Anonymous Zebra posted:This is incredibly frustrating, and I feel like I must be doing something wrong here. My homeowner's insurance agent is asking me for a quote, but no one will just tell me a number for the subfloor. Contractors are all busy right now because the economy is good and building is up, I doubt you are doing anything wrong. You could try going in to some bathroom showrooms and talk to the salespeople inside about a general bathroom rehab and mention that you think the floor might have water damage - they probably have relationships and can get the ball rolling on some quotes. I have also had luck asking the people who turn down the work if they have any recommendations for who I could call.
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Mar 27, 2019 21:43
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Yeah that's been my experience with getting work done on my house. Contact a dozen+ to get a couple solid estimates. Yelp makes it easy to blast out mass emails at least.
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Mar 27, 2019 21:50
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Do the demo and subfloor yourself and then have the tile guy do the new tile. No one cares with the subfloor looks like and it’s pretty straightforward to do.
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Mar 27, 2019 22:40
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On the topic of floors, I ripped up some old carpet to reveal the beautiful pine floors underneath. I’d like to keep the color while refreshing them a little, are there any good heavy duty cleaners I can use before having someone come by and do a buff and coat? I’d like to avoid a full refinish if possible. See worst spots: https://imgur.com/a/8CpY8FN
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Mar 28, 2019 00:48
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Rent a floor sander?
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Mar 30, 2019 00:15
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sadus posted:Rent a floor sander? This is never a good idea.
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Mar 30, 2019 01:00
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Spring Heeled Jack posted:On the topic of floors, I ripped up some old carpet to reveal the beautiful pine floors underneath. A soft soap, I prefer linnenflower oil-based, will give it a nice and gentle cleanup while also curing it.
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Mar 30, 2019 07:44
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Potrzebie posted:A soft soap, I prefer linnenflower oil-based, will give it a nice and gentle cleanup while also curing it. Speaking of, what's a good recommendation for routine mopping of hardwoods? We used to use standard stuff like simple green and pine-sol because we never had proper hardwoods, and then it dawned on me that this is probably Not Good For Wood. Got some Murphy's Wood Soap, but haven't used it yet because we're not 100% sure it's right.
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Mar 31, 2019 21:24
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DaveSauce posted:Speaking of, what's a good recommendation for routine mopping of hardwoods? We used to use standard stuff like simple green and pine-sol because we never had proper hardwoods, and then it dawned on me that this is probably Not Good For Wood. Murphy's oil soap seems fine and appropriate.
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Apr 1, 2019 06:39
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Recently had my bathroom renovated (not DIY) and the other day I noticed it was slightly leaking at the base of the tub in a few spots. We've only used it a handful of times and there wasn't any leakage before but I can see that the caulking at the base is a bit loose in the leak spots. Can I just seal this up with some waterproof sealant or am I dealing with something worse? The leak is slightly blue-ish which I'm guessing is just soapy water. 
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Apr 5, 2019 22:38
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That caulk is not there to keep the water in the tub. Yes, you are dealing with something worse and you should call the contractor who did the work and ask them what the hell.
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Apr 5, 2019 22:49
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There should not be water under your tub, at all. Where is it coming from? Sealing the tub to the floor is just covering up a significant problem.
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Apr 5, 2019 22:49
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Leperflesh posted:There should not be water under your tub, at all. Where is it coming from? Almost certainly from the drain not being installed properly.
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Apr 5, 2019 22:58
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Sigh.. that's what I figured. Will call 'em up to take a look.
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Apr 6, 2019 02:25
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Potrzebie posted:Murphy's oil soap seems fine and appropriate. I have heard that depending on the finish of your hardwood, oil soap can be very bad. I would just use Bona with a microfiber mop.
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Apr 7, 2019 03:01
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I need to bust a hole in my basement to replace a rotted out section of pipe under the foundation and was planning on doing the concrete work myself and having a plumber do the pipe replacement. My city’s website doesn’t make it clear at all if that requires a permit so I guess I’ll just have to call them. If I was doing it all myself I might just go for it since it’s in my basement so nobody would know but I don’t want to bring in the plumber halfway through and then find out I have to file something. And also I’m definitely going to have my fingers crossed that only that one spot has the issue in it and my little hole doesn’t end up turning in to a basement long trench.
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Apr 7, 2019 18:36
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good luck with your basement long trench, comrade.
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Apr 7, 2019 19:43
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| # ? May 9, 2024 18:39 |
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any idea why there's a rotted-out section of pipe or are we hoping that a little excavation will reveal a reason?
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Apr 7, 2019 20:45
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