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I bought collapsible hoses from Lowes and I don’t give a gently caress if they break every year because they’re worth it I think mine have lasted two so far but I bring them inside for the winter.
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Apr 28, 2019 23:17
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Neighbor mowed my yard yesterday while I was out of town. He's a nice fella but I wanted to mow it 
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Apr 28, 2019 23:51
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What are the good brands/models these days for lawn tractors? I need to get one before I kill myself doing my hill with a push mower.
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Apr 29, 2019 16:38
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Not sure if this is the place for this, I considered DIY but I'm not sure this is a 'fix it fast' situation. We had some heavy rain this past week and we have some water seeping into our basement. The basement isn't finished, it's fieldstone walls and a concrete floor; it's also where our furnace and electrical panel are, but we don't use it for anything besides storing bicycles and law mowers. Our house is on a slope, such that the back of the basement is underground and the front is actually ground level; the seepage is at the back wall, and I am pretty sure what is happening is that water draining off the hill above us soaks the back wall and then start seeping in when we have enough saturation - it doesn't happen all the time, and one of the first things I did was check our gutters and ensure we have downspouts directed properly. The water isn't a practical problem; it seeps in around the back wall and then flows to a sump pit, and if enough comes in it gets pumped out. It's not great, obviously, but its not a disaster situation. I want to get this taken care of, but I also have a number of other items on our house list. Is this the kind of thing where I need to call in a specialist and have it taken care of immediately? Is it ok to backburner it for later in the year, or longer, assuming it's just this occasionally seepage that gets handled without flooding/swamping anything? I know the house has had water seeping before, probably similar to this, in the past. If I need it taken care of pronto is this a thing a general contractor does, or should I find some basement specialists? A lot of basement companies look like they're about finishing spaces, but I assume they'd know about waterproofing etc as a first step as well.
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Apr 29, 2019 18:06
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Ashcans posted:Not sure if this is the place for this, I considered DIY but I'm not sure this is a 'fix it fast' situation. Based on my lovely foundation experience, if you live somewhere where it freezes over the winter, those little cracks where the water is getting in are going to become bigger cracks next year. There are companies who specialize in excavating around your property and fixing your drainage so the water doesn't run up to the exterior wall anymore.
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Apr 30, 2019 00:27
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Ghostnuke posted:What are the good brands/models these days for lawn tractors? I need to get one before I kill myself doing my hill with a push mower. How big is your yard? How steep a hill? If the hill is very steep, your choices are going to be more limited (read: expensive), because the basic models have transmissions that really can't deal with that abuse.
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Apr 30, 2019 03:21
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I've never had a sump pump before, so I apologize for the extremely dumb question. I have a dehumidifier for the basement - it has a built in pump on it. Am I better off using the pump, attaching it to a hose and running it to the sink by the washer/dryer, or is it okay to dump it right into the sump pump well? Pics for reference.  
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Apr 30, 2019 12:58
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What do I need to know to install a door in a wall and not have my house fall down? I discovered that under my staircase is a bunch of open space. I thought it was cluttered with HVAC ducts, but turns out that's only a small corner of it. I don't have any pictures but I googled something very similar:  It looks almost identical to that (except we have a half-bath on the right side, so no good access there). The coat closet is only about 3' deep and ends in a wall. All that's under the stairs right now is a single HVAC return (if you're facing the stairs, it's in the far left corner and is about ~14" diameter and it immediately 90s down to the crawl space), some wiring for the security system (the panel for the security system is in the closet), and builder remnants (a roll of tape and an empty pack of Marlboros). There's also a couple holes down to the crawl space (for the security system wires and 1 new hole I put in for networking), but those can be sealed up. The exterior wall is insulated, as is the crawl space under the floor. This area won't be perfectly sealed due to the wires/duct, but should have much better temperature/humidity control than the attic or crawl space. So, we'd love to use this as storage. So the question is: is the wall in the closet likely to be structural? It won't be for the house, but might be important for the stairs...? Or can we blow a hole through it with minimal reinforcement and be OK? The idea is that we'd install a knee wall door in the back of the closet so we can get in there, but also keep it segregated from the rest of the house for heating/cooling purposes. edit: Follow-up: what are the rules regarding outlets in closets? For the security system, they literally drilled a hole through the wall to an adjacent room and ran the wires to another outlet. Our vision is that this coat closet would double as a downstairs IT closet, so could we install an outlet in there? Around here we'd probably need an electrician and a permit, but I'd like to have some idea of if it's allowed before we start contacting people. DaveSauce fucked around with this message at 13:41 on Apr 30, 2019 |
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Apr 30, 2019 13:33
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Medullah posted:I have a dehumidifier for the basement - it has a built in pump on it. Am I better off using the pump, attaching it to a hose and running it to the sink by the washer/dryer, or is it okay to dump it right into the sump pump well? Either one is fine. I don't have a sump pit now, but in past houses, I've always used the sump pit because it allows the dehumidifier to drain via gravity and you don't have to pay extra (more things to break) for a pump model. If your dehumidifier can drain without using the pump by gravity, I'd prefer the sump hole.
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Apr 30, 2019 14:10
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Medullah posted:I've never had a sump pump before, so I apologize for the extremely dumb question. At my previous house I dumped into the pump, no issues. If it gets full enough it will simply do its job and pump it out.
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Apr 30, 2019 14:12
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Awesome thanks guys. It's amazing the things you don't think about before you move.
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Apr 30, 2019 14:22
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B-Nasty posted:How big is your yard? How steep a hill? If the hill is very steep, your choices are going to be more limited (read: expensive), because the basic models have transmissions that really can't deal with that abuse. It's a half acre. I'm not really sure how to quantify the steepness lol, but I've seen people using ride ons for steeper hills I guess. I would also like to be able to attach a blade or trailer etc.
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Apr 30, 2019 14:42
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DaveSauce posted:So the question is: is the wall in the closet likely to be structural? It won't be for the house, but might be important for the stairs...? Or can we blow a hole through it with minimal reinforcement and be OK? The idea is that we'd install a knee wall door in the back of the closet so we can get in there, but also keep it segregated from the rest of the house for heating/cooling purposes. I cannot claim to be any kind of expert on these topics, and you'd probably get more traction asking in Fix It Fast for the door and Don't Burn Your House Down for the outlets. That said: For the door, you're probably fine structurally so long as you put an adequate header above the door and adequate jack/king studs to support the header. The idea is the header is a larger/stronger set of boards (like doubled 2x6s...I forget exactly what the rules are for how big a header needs to be for a given load). Studs above the header can terminate on the header, then the header transfers load to the jack/kind studs, and they transfer the load down to the floor. Since you have to cut the existing studs to install the header, you can get a couple of jacks to take the load while you're working in the area. What do you mean by "keep it segregated from the rest of the house for heating/cooling purposes"? Are you proposing that this would be outside of the insulation layer of the house? That could lead to this space getting really hot/cold depending on your local climate. I'm pretty sure you can install outlets inside of closets. But if you're planning to put any significant amount of electronics in there, you should make sure you have adequate airflow so they don't cook themselves.
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Apr 30, 2019 15:57
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:I cannot claim to be any kind of expert on these topics, and you'd probably get more traction asking in Fix It Fast for the door and Don't Burn Your House Down for the outlets. Ah, I keep forgetting about the DIY subforum. I'll check in there. quote:That said: That's kind of what I thought, just wasn't sure exactly how to size this. The unknown is what the load is... I know this wall isn't bearing load from the rest of the house, I just don't know if it's crucial for supporting the stairs or not. I'll see if I can take some pictures tonight and post them in the DIY section to see if anyone has some good ideas. quote:What do you mean by "keep it segregated from the rest of the house for heating/cooling purposes"? Are you proposing that this would be outside of the insulation layer of the house? That could lead to this space getting really hot/cold depending on your local climate. Sorry, to clarify: the space under the stairs is within the house's insulation layer, but it is not currently ducted in any way. We believe that since it's at least within the insulation, it'll keep a more moderate temperature and humidity than the attic or crawl space, which is why we want to use it for storage. I'd like to keep it behind a door so as not to add load to the existing HVAC system, and because it's not perfectly sealed off from the crawl space. quote:I'm pretty sure you can install outlets inside of closets. But if you're planning to put any significant amount of electronics in there, you should make sure you have adequate airflow so they don't cook themselves. Our intent is to power a network switch or wifi antenna (at most). Being a small closet it could also charge a cordless vacuum or something (that we don't have or want, but future owners maybe). And if we decide to keep/replace the alarm system, we could power that too and patch up the hole they drilled through the wall. edit: and to clarify this portion as well, an outlet is a long term plan, if at all. Our current networking needs will be met without it. I just thought it would be nice to add if we're going to do work in this area. DaveSauce fucked around with this message at 16:37 on Apr 30, 2019 |
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Apr 30, 2019 16:23
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Having an outlet in the coat closet for a cordless hand vac is pretty great and a solid add. You can also make annoying things like wireless printers disappear, because who wants to always look at a hunk of plastic that gets used maybe once a month?
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Apr 30, 2019 16:53
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Poldarn posted:Based on my lovely foundation experience, if you live somewhere where it freezes over the winter, those little cracks where the water is getting in are going to become bigger cracks next year. There are companies who specialize in excavating around your property and fixing your drainage so the water doesn't run up to the exterior wall anymore. That's a good point, I hadn't thought about what the winter will do to it. Guess we'll prioritize having someone come and try and take care of it before the fall.
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Apr 30, 2019 17:12
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devmd01 posted:Having an outlet in the coat closet for a cordless hand vac is pretty great and a solid add. You can also make annoying things like wireless printers disappear, because who wants to always look at a hunk of plastic that gets used maybe once a month? Yes. I put one in my pantry for the Dyson we cordless we use in the kitchen and it's awesome. The more outlets the better.
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Apr 30, 2019 19:02
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I've got some rear end in a top hat birds nesting in the vent that leads from my bathroom outside. Apparently I can't just tear the nest out "legally", is there anything I can do to encourage them to leave by themselves?
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May 1, 2019 00:00
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Try yelling loudly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXokE8Nfl2I
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May 1, 2019 00:09
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Medullah posted:I've got some rear end in a top hat birds nesting in the vent that leads from my bathroom outside. Apparently I can't just tear the nest out "legally", is there anything I can do to encourage them to leave by themselves? Call/email you county ag extension. They will know how to deal with those birds in a legal and ethical way.
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May 1, 2019 00:22
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Stick a leaf blower up to to fan in the bathroom and let her rip.
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May 1, 2019 00:33
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CloFan posted:Try yelling loudly This is not far off from my reaction when I discovered it. SpartanIvy posted:Stick a leaf blower up to to fan in the bathroom and let her rip. Well, I've already tried stinking them out.
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May 1, 2019 01:15
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Combine the cleaning power of bleach and ammonia in the bathroom. Realize your mistake and vent accordingly.
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May 1, 2019 01:51
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So I hosed up and bought my first house. I love it though. Regret to come later based in what I've read in this thread so far. It's got a water softener and I've never lived in a place with one before. Googling gets me pages and pages of the basic concept + buy our salt or potassium chloride. What's the goon consensus on this? I don't have any known issue with salt intake for health reasons. Thoughts?
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May 1, 2019 04:24
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Salt is the most economical option by far. Salt is like 5/6 bucks a bag. Potassium is 30.
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May 1, 2019 04:29
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Motronic posted:Call/email you county ag extension. They will know how to deal with those birds in a legal and ethical way. Don't do the other things. Do this.
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May 1, 2019 13:56
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I swapped all of my sprinkler heads out for new rotary ones, I managed to forget a key aspect of underground work: everything you can't see is unknown. One whole zone has slid down the side of the hill and will need funny pipe to get them level again. Two sprinklers I want to cap were not laid out in the order I expected so I've got a lot more digging to do and more material to buy. Home depot is so great at returns I should have just bought a ton of stock on speculation. I managed to get most of them level and all but two zones work, but good gravy whoever laid these out did an awful job. Some are tucked deep into the plantings and get blocked quick. One is right beside an electrical pedestal and is partly blocked. Some are 8 feet to the next head and others 20. Also a section of copper AND a valve blew this winter because it wasn't blown out right, so I had a plumbing project too. Which was made worse when I forgot the repair pipe in my cart at Home depot. Also worse since I only saw the pipe leaking and didn't notice the valve so I had a trip to Ace for a $25 valve and a damned $10 fitting. Eyes on the prize though, these water more than effectively and I will be able to save some money and water this year. Since they're adjustable heads I'm also not wasting water or missing spots.
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May 5, 2019 01:02
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Anyone have experience with modern alarm systems? Our house has an old system that the PO never gave us the code for (they refused and our realtor said they didn't have to, even though the paperwork says they do...). I have no interest in using an old system that requires us to a) pay for phone service and b) pay for monitoring. Even if I wanted to use it without monitoring, I'd have to pay $100 to get a company to come out and change the code... Are newer systems capable of interfacing with old sensors? I assume they're just switches. Are there anything good on the market right now? I quickly looked and found "Konnected," which looks like someone built a security system out of an Arduino or something.
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May 7, 2019 14:35
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lol was the code the same as their PINs and luggage codes or something? Why didn’t they change it to 0000 for you? Their PINs and luggage codes are probably 0000 
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May 7, 2019 14:49
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Jealous Cow posted:lol was the code the same as their PINs and luggage codes or something? Why didn’t they change it to 0000 for you? that was the EXACT thought I had. I think even in my e-mails with the realtor I flat out said they can just change the drat code if it's something personal to them and they still never gave it up. Instead they sent us the name of the monitoring company and their phone number... It's stupid because I KNOW they had service up until the end... when we moved in the system was happy until a short while later then it started complaining about "communication error," so it must have been monitored. So since they still had service, they probably could have just called and asked them to change it, but they didn't... It was probably one of the dumbest things I'd ever seen, but I didn't push it. I was more just dumbfounded that this was a point of contention... of all the things that go on during closing/selling, THIS was the hill they were going to die on.
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May 7, 2019 15:07
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DaveSauce posted:Anyone have experience with modern alarm systems? If they are hard wired sensors then chances are good many modern systems will work. It's unclear why you are concerned with paying for monitoring - without monitoring you get no insurance benefit from this system. My insurance discount for the security+fire system I installed exceeds the monitoring fee by far. Also, a new system will cost more than $100.
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May 7, 2019 15:40
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Motronic posted:If they are hard wired sensors then chances are good many modern systems will work. I didn't stop to think that insurance would give us a discount, so we need to check in to that. That said, I don't know if the smoke detectors are hooked up to the system or not, but some discount for security only would be better than nothing.
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May 7, 2019 15:51
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DaveSauce posted:I didn't stop to think that insurance would give us a discount, so we need to check in to that. That said, I don't know if the smoke detectors are hooked up to the system or not, but some discount for security only would be better than nothing. FYI, there are sensors that detect smokes going off that could potentially be added if you smokes aren't hardwired. There are also relays that can be put into the hardwired smoke loop to add it to an alarm panel.
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May 7, 2019 15:56
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Motronic posted:FYI, there are sensors that detect smokes going off that could potentially be added if you smokes aren't hardwired. There are also relays that can be put into the hardwired smoke loop to add it to an alarm panel. Good to know. We never got around to checking the age of the smoke detectors, and the house is 20 years old so we're WAY behind on that one since we've been here 3 years now...even if the PO changed them after 10 years, it just means they're about due. I guess point being, we'll need to work on them anyhow so we can take the opportunity to upgrade/enhance/etc. I suppose on that, anyone have recommendations? We cook a lot so something that won't false alarm would be nice.
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May 7, 2019 16:26
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Jealous Cow posted:lol was the code the same as their PINs and luggage codes or something? Why didn’t they change it to 0000 for you? "The combination is 12345." "That's amazing! I've got the same combination on my luggage! "
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May 7, 2019 17:04
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DaveSauce posted:I suppose on that, anyone have recommendations? We cook a lot so something that won't false alarm would be nice. If you want to go super simple wireless/battery op everything and just abandon the existing alarm system look at Abode. You can use first alert zwave battery operated smokes for it and you will be able to get a security and fire protection cert for the self-install. It uses your internet connection with a cellular backup for monitoring, so no need for phone lines.
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May 7, 2019 18:43
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Motronic posted:If you want to go super simple wireless/battery op everything and just abandon the existing alarm system look at Abode. You can use first alert zwave battery operated smokes for it and you will be able to get a security and fire protection cert for the self-install. It uses your internet connection with a cellular backup for monitoring, so no need for phone lines. I didn’t ask, but this is useful to me. Thank you!
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May 7, 2019 19:38
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Motronic posted:If you want to go super simple wireless/battery op everything and just abandon the existing alarm system look at Abode. You can use first alert zwave battery operated smokes for it and you will be able to get a security and fire protection cert for the self-install. It uses your internet connection with a cellular backup for monitoring, so no need for phone lines. Subjunctive posted:I didn’t ask, but this is useful to me. Thank you! Heckin same.
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May 7, 2019 19:39
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:Heckin same. Yeah that's actually going to kill several birds with one stone for me... CO, smoke, and security...
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May 7, 2019 19:47
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DaveSauce posted:Yeah that's actually going to kill several birds with one stone for me... CO, smoke, and security... I did a bunch of research on this 9 or so months ago when I moved to the new place. Installed one in the first month here and haven't thought about it since. One thing they don't really describe well: the zwave alarm status light. It's not something you want to put in your bedroom to confirm that the alarm is armed, because when armed is flashes red. The intention was to have it somewhere you can see through a windowed door/window in order to check if the alarm is armed or not before opening the door. It's not clear how this would ever be useful. But oh well, it was like $25 and I learned my lesson. All the other stuff has been great. It's tripped twice due to cooking and once from the bathroom door being open when the steam shower has been in use. The central station calls you, asked for your PIN and all is well.
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May 7, 2019 19:51
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