|
Motronic posted: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. I wonder if you could use Home Assistant or something to invert the meaning of it.
|
#
?
May 7, 2019 19:53
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 11:40 |
|
|
Subjunctive posted:I wonder if you could use Home Assistant or something to invert the meaning of it. I'm not sure, but what I did was to add appdaemon panels to HA using Kindle Fires. I used the HA extension for Abode to show me alarm status.  I'll try to pair that thing to HA the next time I'm dicking around. Might be interesting to repurpose that way.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2019 19:58
|
|
|
Thanks, we've got a security system from the 80s we've been meaning to rip out and replace and this Abode looks like a good option. We also don't have any smart home stuff and it seems like it'll work for that too. It isn't clear the difference between the IOTA vs Smart Security kit. Is it just the IOTA has a camera built into your central hub and the other doesn't?
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2019 21:13
|
|
|
I was kinda curious about that too. Already have Zwave on the doors and windows, but my controller died a couple years ago and Abode might fit the bill
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2019 03:26
|
|
|
I don't know about the difference - I don't think that was available when I was ordering. But other than the First Alert smokes/COs, you need to use Abode zwave devices for the security components.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2019 14:03
|
|
|
I can't find a dedicated Airbnb thread so just going to ask here since it's at least about houses. We just stayed in an Airbnb for a month, it was overall not bad for the price. We just left today and got a message from the host complaining about stains on the wall, he sent some pictures and wants to take money out of our deposit for it (which confuses me, since I don't think we even paid a deposit, does he mean to have Airbnb charge our creditcard or something?). The pictures indeed show some stains on his "freshly painted walls". What I think might have happened is that my wife brushed against a wall while she had cream on her hands or something, the stains are just kind of dark and barely noticable except for one. The host is pissed off and being dramatic about it, not even asking us for our side of the story before threatening to withhold our deposit, which, again, he can't really do as far as I'm aware. He comes off as having a landlord mentality, trying to squeeze us for pennies, and I'm not inclined to give him anything. Besides, if walls are properly painted and sealed, should stains really develop that easily? Isn't this just normal wear and tear? When you host people, you can expect the occasional scratch and bruise here and there. I sometimes help my mother host her own airbnb and we would personally never claim something as minor as this. What is the best way to respond to this guy? We have already told Airbnb that we contest his claim.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2019 13:10
|
|
|
Shibawanko posted:I can't find a dedicated Airbnb thread so just going to ask here since it's at least about houses. Report your card lost and tell him to take it up with Airbnb. Part of the fee was already a cleaning charge, and generally hosts don’t like to make too much noise as they are usually operating illegally. Note you’ll at minimum get a bad review or at most get banned.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2019 13:40
|
|
|
Shibawanko posted:I can't find a dedicated Airbnb thread so just going to ask here since it's at least about houses. Just like a hotel your credit card had probably $500 in preauth done for just this eventuality. Don't bother reporting it lost that authorization isn't going away unless you claim the whole airbnb thing was fraud which will probably land you in small claims for a month of fees from the landlord. (lol let's be honest binding arbitration.) Tell them you think it's normal wear and tear and ask for proof the walls were freshly painted.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2019 15:47
|
|
|
H110Hawk posted:Just like a hotel your credit card had probably $500 in preauth done for just this eventuality. Don't bother reporting it lost that authorization isn't going away unless you claim the whole airbnb thing was fraud which will probably land you in small claims for a month of fees from the landlord. (lol let's be honest binding arbitration.) My advice is more about avoiding additional charges should Airbnb decide to do so.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2019 16:07
|
|
|
Jealous Cow posted:My advice is more about avoiding additional charges should Airbnb decide to do so. "Losing" the card won't stop them if they are at all technically competent. They can finalize above the preauth.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2019 17:15
|
|
|
Got a condo question, if this is not the right thread, please direct me to the correct place. I am on the HOA board for a small condo complex that has 12 units. Our shared driveway has a rain collection sump. Recently the pump broke and the sump filled up so we called in a plumber to fix it. He installed new pumps but pointed out a lot of crazy things going on 1) the sump was filled with oil and sand, which is unusual for something that's meant to just collect rain water and push it out into the street 2) the previous sump pump was crazy dangerously installed, like with a power plug connector that was inside the sump with electrical tape around it. He pointed out that the electrical connector box it was going to had wires that were corroding from being shorted out 3) the pipes leading out to the street are leaking. He tested the new pump by dumping water into the sump and when the new pumps kicked in, we could see water flowing up out of the concrete between the sump and the street. The plumber is concerned that this may lead to a sink hole 4) one of the residents has very suspicious water activity. All of our units have a drain pipe coming out of our walls into the drive way and I guess it's for gutter water to drain out, but one of our residents has water regularly coming out of his drain pipe. It started flowing very powerfully at 2AM. The plumber suspects maybe the resident is tapping into the drain pipe and running some home business out of his condo, maybe filtering water or something. He noted that the water coming out of this suspicious drain pipe may be corrosive, because the concrete under it was worn away. He suspects that maybe the concrete being eaten away was feeding into the sump, and the water may have been eating away at the pipes. I collected some of the water coming out of the suspicious drain pipe. Will my city probably have some sort of water testing service I can contact? I don't think running a business out of home is legal here (I'll check) and the plumber said that cities generally don't allow home drains to go into the street water. I only recently got into the board, we're all new because the previous board quit because of some drama. I'm new to all of this so any idea what I should do?
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2019 11:39
|
|
|
Steve Yun posted:
Did the plumber have any suggestions or names to contact? I'd contact your city's wastewater/stormwater department. If the plumber is correct that the resident is dumping corrosive chemicals in to the storm drain, the city will come down hard on him.
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2019 12:21
|
|
|
I want to get a fair bit of landscaping done soon. The problem is how much would it cost? The guy I'm hiring is making money for college and has done good work previously. What I'm asking is to fill in some ruts that got made and remove the plants from 2 sides of the house. Nothing too too terrible but time consuming. It's a garden style home so it isn't even that big. I've had a bad time of it asking landscapers to do this work. Apparently they just don't like money?  Would there be a nice roundabout figure I could go with? I know cost of living changes things but even a ballpark would be nice.
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2019 18:46
|
|
|
Irritated Goat posted:Would there be a nice roundabout figure I could go with? I know cost of living changes things but even a ballpark would be nice. It sounds like a small job and you will probably have a hard time finding someone to do it without paying quite a bit more than it's worth in this market during summer - if you don't already have a relationship with a landscaping company you might want to just do it yourself. I have a landscaping group I am happy with, I trust them to do everything from remove a plant to repair a PVC connection without screwing it up and as a very wide ballpark I probably end up paying $30-$40 per guy per hour, and I am happy with it. I only have them trim stuff twice a year and try to include any new planting/lighting/irrigation stuff at the same time though.
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2019 19:08
|
|
|
break down the project into pieces and just be the project manager yourself and start with: 1. find a tree removal service to wipe out the bushes/trees/plants you don't want and also have them stump grind the remnants. Have them haul it all away too. This will give you a clean slate to start with. 2. design a plan (irrigation, drainage, plants, rocks, retaining walls, whatever) and then check on pricing for the materials. Can you re-use any existing drainage/irrigation, etc? For materials, the stone, soil, mulch, plants you can all have delivered to your place and pay for it separately. The rest you might have to have the installer go get for you once you figure out the drainage/irrigation needs. If you need tons of existing soil hauled away that's more container rentals, labor and fees. 3. Give your college guy the plan and a rough outline of what you want done and ask for a tentative schedule and what he would charge you by hour. Write up a contract and everything. Most "Landscapers" on Yelp are all just "mow and blow" lawn service types that don't want to do anything besides collect sweet checks once a week for minimal effort. Real landscaping companies will start your bid at $15k if they bother to respond at all. They all want huge projects where they control all aspects to maximize overcharging you on everything you could have ordered yourself. Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 23:01 on May 21, 2019 |
|
#
?
May 21, 2019 22:58
|
|
|
We have a new house that is covered under a 1/2/10 warranty. This warranty specifies that we have to use their list of contractors, but they only have one approved contractor for each area. Is this normal? I want to install some ceiling fans in the house and just got quoted $400 to install them even though the light fixtures are not being moved and it's already blocked. Is this just a cost of doing work so that it stays under warranty? I've installed my own ceiling fans in places I've lived before, just don't want to negate the warranty by working on my own house when someone else needs to.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2019 05:09
|
|
|
take me you ANIMAL posted:We have a new house that is covered under a 1/2/10 warranty. This warranty specifies that we have to use their list of contractors, but they only have one approved contractor for each area. Is this normal? Because it's worth the paper it's printed on unless the house literally collapses. Then the warranty company will go out of business and your paper will have been destroyed in the collapse. quote:I want to install some ceiling fans in the house and just got quoted $400 to install them even though the light fixtures are not being moved and it's already blocked. Is this just a cost of doing work so that it stays under warranty? I've installed my own ceiling fans in places I've lived before, just don't want to negate the warranty by working on my own house when someone else needs to. In the USA you cannot void a warranty in this way. By law the only thing voided out would be the fixture you changed out, because they no longer installed it. Good luck though. That being said $400 for an electrician to do a few hours of work isn't insane when you include a trip charge/minimum ticket amount. I don't know how many "a few" are. Get another bid if it concerns you.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2019 06:03
|
|
|
I would pay someone $400 to install multiple ceiling fans and not feel an ounce of regret.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2019 06:49
|
|
|
My brother has a small electrical/remodel/general do poo poo around the house type business and the prices he gets for doing simple jobs like installing ceiling fans or replacing some light fixtures is crazy. The $400 figure for installing some ceiling fans is right around what'd he charge to do it. If you can use a screwdriver, have a ladder, some common sense(turn off the breaker to the room you're installing the fan in!) and can read instructions it's a pretty easy job. That $400 amount is the, this is pretty simple but if you're going to pay me to do it I'm going to make money on it, price.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2019 13:21
|
|
|
Fans are so easy though, I would def not pay someone $400 for that.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2019 14:13
|
|
|
Ghostnuke posted:Fans are so easy though, I would def not pay someone $400 for that. Hell I'll take $400 to spend a day installing ceiling fans... Only way I can see that legitimately costing $400 is if that includes materials, or if fan boxes need to be installed. I mean in reality electricians are skilled trades and their time is very expensive, especially once you consider licensing, insurance, overhead, etc. But the point here is installing ceiling fans is dead simple and is something any able-bodied homeowner should be capable of doing. Sure your time is worth something, but $400 is more than a day's pay for the vast majority of people.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2019 14:18
|
|
|
Keyser_Soze posted:break down the project into pieces and just be the project manager yourself and start with: That's a bit of overkill for this. I just need plants like blackberry bushes and flowers gone and some ruts filled in. Can I do it? Yeah. I'm also willing to pay a guy trying to raise money for college to do it for me. No irrigation or anything even complicated. There are a couple of spots I'm a bit concerned for but I'll point the tree removal guys at 'em when I get rid of the bigger lime tree in my yard cause gently caress that thing. I just didn't want to short the guy since he's the first person who's actually scheduled something with me instead of just ignoring me.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2019 18:43
|
|
|
Any fridge buying advice? I'm replacing a Samsung french door fridge that we've had constant problems with. I tried to have it repaired but after like a dozen service visits and no luck, I'm sick of dealing with this and just want a new one. It''s memorial day weekend, so the sales should be good. I just want something cheap, reliable and big enough (~19 cu ft). I don't care about door layout, ice maker, water dispenser, wifi, etc.
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2019 16:47
|
|
|
Cock Democracy posted:Any fridge buying advice? I'm replacing a Samsung french door fridge that we've had constant problems with. I tried to have it repaired but after like a dozen service visits and no luck, I'm sick of dealing with this and just want a new one. It''s memorial day weekend, so the sales should be good. I just want something cheap, reliable and big enough (~19 cu ft). I don't care about door layout, ice maker, water dispenser, wifi, etc. Several of us have several thousand dollar LG fridges, I bought mine on one of these troop-or-union-based-holidays for much cheaper than it otherwise would have been. It will work until it shits the bed just like yours, in way less time than it should.
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2019 17:04
|
|
|
Cock Democracy posted:Any fridge buying advice? I'm replacing a Samsung french door fridge that we've had constant problems with. I tried to have it repaired but after like a dozen service visits and no luck, I'm sick of dealing with this and just want a new one. It''s memorial day weekend, so the sales should be good. I just want something cheap, reliable and big enough (~19 cu ft). I don't care about door layout, ice maker, water dispenser, wifi, etc. Icemaker problems? I really liked the Samsung fridges but their reliability and reviews scared me away. I bought an LG French Door with the in door icemaker and haven't had any problems yet. I was fairly limited in selection though since I wanted counter depth, french doors, and stainless steel. I did pop for the extended warranty though, which is something I almost never do. The more basic the fridge though, the less problems. My basic french door Whirlpool I owned before ran like a champ for 9 years. No water or ice in the door or anything else. My advice is to make sure it's energy star, as efficient as you can get. Manufacturer doesn't really matter, I think there are only 3 OEM's for refrigerators now anyway. Evaluate the entire purchase price when shopping. Someone might have the lowest price but then delivery, haul away of the old fridge, etc is all extra. Some places its included. Ask about cash discounts instead of any promo financing if you want to pay cash. If you take promo financing check the fine print. If you want to save money find a local scratch/dent or liquidation warehouse. You can find last years fridge at a discounted price. Good luck.
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2019 17:31
|
|
|
skipdogg posted:Icemaker problems? About what went wrong with the Samsung: We never used the icemaker. AFAIK the problems don't stem from that. There are two problems. The minor one is that the drawers at the bottom of the fridge fill with like 2" of water. The major one is that the entire back of the fridge freezes over and causes the fridge to not cool properly, but the freezer keeps working. Then we have to move our food to a cooler, let the fridge thaw for 2 days, wipe it down, plug it back in, then it will be good for another 3 weeks or so, then repeat. It's infuriating. It came with our house and was manufactured in Apr 2015! The model number is RF20HFENBWW. Many others reported the same problems if you read around online.
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2019 18:02
|
|
|
That might be a different issue. Have you tried this? https://partsdr.com/blog/samsung-refrigerator-water-leakage-service-kit/
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2019 18:14
|
|
|
I have a GE 33 inch counter depth french door fridge. Has water dispenser inside so I dont have to sacrifice door room (counter depth fridges are annoyingly small) and an ice bin in the freezer section. No problems whatsoever. My wife loves it because it's one of the few stainless steel fridges that is magnetic on the front. The sales guy I thought I was a jackass for making that a requirement. W.r.t landscaping. I have a generic landscaper but hell do anything for money. I had a 10 foot tree and a 3 foot shrub that he removed, roots and all, for $150 each. Wish I had known that before pulling out nine 30 year old bushes myself last year. Sepist fucked around with this message at 18:25 on May 23, 2019 |
|
#
?
May 23, 2019 18:22
|
|
|
Cock Democracy posted:Thanks, sounds like great advice! My fridge's coils iced over a few years ago. As best I can tell what happened was that they'd melt the ice okay, but then it'd re-freeze as it was entering the drain line. This made a blockage that caused everything to eventually ice over, leading to water pooling in the bottom of the fridge area, the fan getting iced over, etc. I fixed it by clearing out the fridge, opening it up to get access to the heater coils, then looping a bit of copper wire around the bottom coil that dangled down a short ways into the drain line. It conducts enough heat to make sure the water doesn't get cold enough to re-freeze. It's been a few years now and the fridge hasn't had the problem reoccur, so fingers crossed.
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2019 18:32
|
|
|
skipdogg posted:That might be a different issue. Have you tried this? Interesting, thanks. This does sound like it could fix it. I'll give it a shot. If that doesn't work, I can just keep following my workaround and wait for labor day sales. TooMuchAbstraction posted:My fridge's coils iced over a few years ago. As best I can tell what happened was that they'd melt the ice okay, but then it'd re-freeze as it was entering the drain line. This made a blockage that caused everything to eventually ice over, leading to water pooling in the bottom of the fridge area, the fan getting iced over, etc.
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2019 18:35
|
|
|
July 4th is usually a decent sales time as well. I bought mine right after July 4th last year for a solid price.
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2019 18:56
|
|
|
I just had termite bait stations put around my home and had the idea that I could put some in the ground around the perimeter of my crawlspace too for ultimate coverage but I can't find anyone online that's done it. Seems like a good idea and at like $20 a pop not too expensive either. Can anyone think of a downside besides having to crawl around to swap out baits once a year? I googled it but can't find anyone discussing it as an option.
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2019 20:08
|
|
|
For a lawn that's somewhere between a quarter acre and an eighth of an acre in size, do we need to go with a self-propelled lawnmower, or would a reel mower work out well? Just bought our first house and have zero lawn care experience, and don't want to end up spending more than we need to 
|
|
#
?
May 24, 2019 16:58
|
|
|
For that size I would go battery powered electric, imho.
|
|
#
?
May 24, 2019 17:10
|
|
|
babydonthurtme posted:For a lawn that's somewhere between a quarter acre and an eighth of an acre in size, do we need to go with a self-propelled lawnmower, or would a reel mower work out well? Just bought our first house and have zero lawn care experience, and don't want to end up spending more than we need to I'm in a similar situation and TheWevel posted:For that size I would go battery powered electric, imho. I did this.
|
|
#
?
May 24, 2019 17:15
|
|
|
I have 0.2 acre and went with a nice Honda gas mower, but mainly because I didn't want to buy a cheap POS and battery mowers weren't very good when I bought. Right now battery mowers do pretty well and can probably tackle 1/4 acre no problem. Just be warned that you can still buy push mowers that are NOT self-propelled. If you get a mower, gas or battery, definitely opt for self-propelled. Hell you can even get AWD on higher end mowers, but that's probably overkill unless you have some steep inclines.
|
|
#
?
May 24, 2019 17:40
|
|
|
I'm on a .4 acre lot and I can do most of my front yard on 2 2.5 amp batteries and 1 2.0 amp batteries. But I also live in Florida and the heat plus tall grass after one week of not mowing tends to be more punishing on the batteries than I imagine it would be elsewhere. I think electric for .25 acres would work great.
|
|
#
?
May 24, 2019 17:56
|
|
|
Thanks for the recommendations, guys! We'll go ahead and budget for a self-propelled electric mower then.
|
|
#
?
May 24, 2019 22:05
|
|
|
I commented elsewhere, but I bought the Dewalt 40v mower, and I'm up to 27.5ah of batteries. It can do half of my 1/4 acre. The prior owners fertilized the hell out of it, and it's... enthusiastic. This year I bought a Toro awd, and can mow it in one go in 30-40 minutes. Much better.
|
|
#
?
May 24, 2019 22:26
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 11:40 |
|
|
If there's a better thread for this, please point me to it. Went from a 800 square foot house to a 1700 with an equally large basement, so I've got a ton of space with almost nothing on the walls and general lack of decoration. I'm a single guy and quite frankly I'm terrible at decorating. Are there any places where I can, say, upload some pictures and get advice from people smarter than me? Also, I need to get a bed for the spare bedroom. Not likely to be used often, but I'd like to have one in there. Are there any fairly cheap but not completely terrible ones out there?
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2019 06:13
|
|
