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Ghostnuke posted:I walked in today and used the 25% and the 20% on things that were specifically excluded. It was the store manager that rang me up, I didn't try to pull any kind of tricks or anything. I had a cart full of things and gave her the coupons, she applied them to the highest cost items, which just happened to be the things that were supposed to be excluded. YOU MONSTER e: new page. uhh, here's my cats begging for pancakes this morning 
opengl fucked around with this message at 20:08 on Sep 2, 2019 |
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Sep 2, 2019 20:06
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Elephanthead posted:Is this code? The switches were in the off position so at a minimum something wasn’t wired right.
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Sep 3, 2019 06:49
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meanolmrcloud posted:When our house was built, the city ran plumbing on the exterior of the house to capture runoff. Some time in the past, this was changed, probably due to the infrastructure being unable to handle the volume. I’m guessing it’s a dick move, and also comes with a fine to tap back into that plumbing? Yeah they used to have "combined sewer" systems where all stormwater, from the street or otherwise, would go into the general sewer system and to the treatment plant. The caveat being that when you had a heavy storm, the system was designed to overflow once the treatment plant capacity was tapped out. Meaning you had (diluted) raw sewage dumping into the receiving river. Of course, this is a huge no no now, but a lot of systems are grandfathered until the cities can come up with an infrastructure solution. But tapping back in will get you fined to hell.
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Sep 3, 2019 12:22
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Three months ago, the valve connected to the water dispenser on our fridge died in a 5 or 10 gallon blaze of glory. I turn the water off, repair the valve, and mop everything up. A week ago, I pull off the kickplate to a cabinet to repair it, lo and behold there is still a pool of water sitting between the tile and the subfloor. gently caress. I call a remediation company to begin drying it out and file an insurance claim. "Great!", they say, "Since this was a sudden event it should be covered. We'll send an adjuster out as soon as possible, but go ahead and dry it up." The adjuster comes out today and happily denies the claim, since the damage was all caused by sitting water over time. So now I'm looking at probably $10-$12k for the remediation and replacement of the cabinets that are too damaged to put back. I would like to purchase some very strong liquor, but I need to save that money to give to my very best friend, the contractor man! 
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Sep 3, 2019 19:59
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What are the chances that my cellular shade window coverings will still fit if I replace my windows? A few of my seals look a little... nonexistent.
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Sep 3, 2019 21:17
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:What are the chances that my cellular shade window coverings will still fit if I replace my windows? A few of my seals look a little... nonexistent. Yikes are these the shades that you just had done?
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Sep 4, 2019 16:13
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You could make them shorter yourself with a chop saw, so I'm sure some place would be more than happy to charge you $$$ to spend ~2min trimming the ends of them off.
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Sep 4, 2019 16:24
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:Yikes are these the shades that you just had done? Yeah, I wanted to spend 7k on window coverings rather than 40k on windows, but at least two of my windows are "Replace Immediately" tier, and I probably should do the whole house in one fell swoop. Got the Pella people coming tomorrow and they say there are some options that will leave them usable, but likely not "custom fitted". Home ownership, babyyy
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Sep 4, 2019 16:29
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Yeah, I wanted to spend 7k on window coverings rather than 40k on windows, but at least two of my windows are "Replace Immediately" tier, and I probably should do the whole house in one fell swoop. You should talk to a local glazier / installer. We just got some really great windows (in theory, they're 2 weeks old) for a quite reasonable price. No awful tinting despite being low-e-3 (according to the sticker), clean sliding action, exactly how we wanted them to look, etc.
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Sep 4, 2019 16:33
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Demolition guys just left, opening up the walls of the bathroom was a mistake. I can't unsee all this horse poo poo. We have a full basement, but this first floor bathroom has 4 inches of uneven concrete over the subfloor and it is bowed all the way across. There are junction boxes stuffed into the walls everywhere.
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Sep 4, 2019 19:01
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EDIT: The pictures are not loading but are not integral to the question. I have a somewhat complicated question about central heating and cooling systems. The first thing I should mention is that I don't know absolutely anything about how they work or should work. I've lived my entire life in areas that were temperate enough never to need central air cooling or forced air heating, and then I moved to Switzerland where AC was so verboten I had to actually get letters from equipment manufacturers stating the recommended working temperatures of my equipment just to get the university to install AC in my lab spaces. Now I live in Southern California where it 110-114 F for several days in a row last summer... So the house we now own has gas heating/electric cooling all through this large single box outside our home. https://imgur.com/a/rkX6vs8 This was installed in 2014 by previous owners (I have the receipts and can see the permits on the city website), and is theoretically newish. It has duct-work going through the crawl space and into vents in our bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and one bathroom. Some of these rooms have two vents, others only have one. https://imgur.com/pRoJyBP I am not convinced that this system is working the way it should. This summer (the first actual summer we've spent in this home) when I turn the system on the AC turns on and stays on non-stop until I manually turn it off again. This is because it basically never reaches the set temperature I have the thermostat at. For example, I leave the thermostat off when none of us our home so when we get home around 6PM the thermostat will say the house is at 89F, so I'll turn the system on with a set-point of 80F (this is a comfortable for us), and the system will start cooling the home. By about 9PM when the kids are going to bed the AC will have been running this whole time and will be done to somewhere between 84-86F. I usually turn it off at this point because we installed a whole house fan and it's actually cooler outside than in the home. Another example, on the weekends I'll leave the system on (since we're home) and set to 80F. When the house gets to 80 degrees the AC will start up and the house will stay at 80 but the AC will basically never turn off. I say "basically", because it does turn for about two minutes and the house immediately heats back up and triggers it to turn on again. So essentially, when it's on the house temperature never goes UP, but it also only marginally goes down or just stays the same. And when I turn the system off the house immediately heats back up, and by immediately I mean my family immediately shouts at me for turning it off because the rooms they are in all start feeling warm within a minute. A couple other things to note. We have an attic which I'm sure is getting hotter than poo poo during the day, but the entire space below that attic has R38+ insulation bats that we had installed a few months after moving in. We also have a whole house fan that cools the house down fairly well and keeps it cool if the outside temperature drops below the interior temperature (I'm aware that it's venting the attic of it's heat, which is likely helping cool the house). Basically, my house is actually cooling off slower than the outside air even with my AC on. The only reason my electric bill has been only $150 is because we never have it on when we're not home and we use the whole house fan to cool the house at night. I don't even know where to start with diagnosing the issue. The HVAC unit is serviced once every 6 months (so twice since we moved in), and it's latest service was this July, which it passed easily. The house was built in the 1940's and the little vents are kinda small and don't blow a lot of air out. I'm not really sure at this point how to cool my place down. Anonymous Zebra fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Sep 6, 2019 |
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Sep 6, 2019 23:05
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Anonymous Zebra posted:Now I live in Southern California where it 110-114 F for several days in a row last summer... You need to insulate your house end of story. Call a home efficiency company and get your attic and walls filled with insulation. You might also want to look at your windows if they aren't double pane / low-e-3.
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Sep 6, 2019 23:19
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Anonymous Zebra posted:I don't even know where to start with diagnosing the issue. The HVAC unit is serviced once every 6 months (so twice since we moved in), and it's latest service was this July, which it passed easily. The house was built in the 1940's and the little vents are kinda small and don't blow a lot of air out. I'm not really sure at this point how to cool my place down. There is a big list of stuff that could be wrong, most of which any HVAC technician should be able to tell you. Have you asked the person who services it? * Unit could be undersized for the house. Sounds like it should be a 5 ton unit, how big is it? * House could have poo poo insulation in every wall/window (this sounds like the most likely scenario based on heating up so fast) * Filter could need to be changed, and make sure it's a low MERV filter that you change every month or two * Outside condenser coils could be covered in dirt and other crap, hose them off * Unit could be broken somehow, but if it was just serviced and it's blowing 60 degree air when it's 85 degrees outside it sounds fine * If you have untinted windows that you don't cover in any way, the sun alone could be your whole problem Your next step is probably to get a free home energy audit from your electric company, they will be able to help you figure out if your windows are garbage or whatever.
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Sep 6, 2019 23:20
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Running the air conditioner 24/7 for 30 years is less expensive than new windows, mind you. (environmental impact and increased home value might make it worth it, though)
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Sep 6, 2019 23:28
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Running the air conditioner 24/7 for 30 years is less expensive than new windows, mind you. He should be able to at least improve the situation a lot with window tint / solar screens, caulk and more insulation. Edit: and weather stripping
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Sep 6, 2019 23:33
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Yeah, I wanted to spend 7k on window coverings rather than 40k on windows, but at least two of my windows are "Replace Immediately" tier, and I probably should do the whole house in one fell swoop. If you're just replacing the IGU's the shades should only need to be taken down to make sure they don't get damaged and improve access. Is there anything wrong with the frames or do you just want to get fancier ones? I'd personally just replace the bad IGU's as the rest might have 50 years of service left in them. I've done a few of my own and thought it was easier then dealing with arranging a contractor although I wouldn't mess with anything bigger than a few feet on a side. edit: reread your original post, thought you were talking about the seal between the panes of glass but maybe you mean the weather seal on openable windows? In that case, I have no idea if it's better to replace the whole thing or just the seals since there are so many different types from different eras. Bibendum fucked around with this message at 00:11 on Sep 7, 2019 |
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Sep 7, 2019 00:08
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Running the air conditioner 24/7 for 30 years is less expensive than new windows, mind you. Mmmmm, not necessarily true in SoCal where the price of electricity can get pretty high.  (that was a few years ago, some tiers are over 40 cents now.)
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Sep 7, 2019 02:54
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Running the air conditioner 24/7 for 30 years is less expensive than new windows, mind you. Insulating my socal home dropped $100/month off the bill. Leaky, unshaded, old single pane windows is likely another $20-50/month. Same thing, 1947 house, ac couldn't keep up with demand and the interior temperature rose through the day and it ran constantly from around 90F outside until several hours after it dropped below that often turning off around 10 or 11pm. Screw home value, the stable interior temperature was a huge increase in comfort.
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Sep 7, 2019 03:18
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Thanks for the replies guys. I'll go through them one by one.H110Hawk posted:You need to insulate your house end of story. Call a home efficiency company and get your attic and walls filled with insulation. You might also want to look at your windows if they aren't double pane / low-e-3. I'm almost certain that this will be where I end up, but I'm honestly hoping the attic is already insulated enough considering I spent 3k having professionals replace all the old stuff with new batts. Droo posted:
The unit is actually oversized according to the technician. This last winter we weren't getting any air out of the vents, and the technician said that the blower motor had went kaput (still under warranty though). He thought it was because the unit was oversized for the size of our ducting. He guessed that the previous owners got upsold by a salesman when they were upgrading their system and were convinced to buy a bigger unit (probably because it got so drat hot in the house) Droo posted:* House could have poo poo insulation in every wall/window (this sounds like the most likely scenario based on heating up so fast) Yeah... Droo posted:* Filter could need to be changed, and make sure it's a low MERV filter that you change every month or two The technician changed out the filter in July, but even immediately after that the issues I'm talking about were going on. Droo posted:* Outside condenser coils could be covered in dirt and other crap, hose them off Oh, the air coming out of the vents is cold as heck, that's not really a problem. If you are standing near them you can cool right off, it just doesn't seem to be cooling off the whole rooms. The thermostat is right above where the air returns back to the unit, and that's likely why it's number never drops, since it's farthest away from the vents and thus isn't cooling off (it's not in front of a window or anything silly like that though). Droo posted:* If you have untinted windows that you don't cover in any way, the sun alone could be your whole problem Our windows are definitely on the older side, single pane all around, but we do have curtains to keep the light out. But I agree with your train of thought that the windows are likely letting heat in and out really easily. Another thing I'm worried about is that the weird shape of my house makes it hard for the single unit to cool the entire house efficiently. I've been thinking about ductless air conditioning systems, but I have no idea if that's a realistic idea to replace what I have.
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Sep 7, 2019 04:02
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Anonymous Zebra posted:I'm almost certain that this will be where I end up, but I'm honestly hoping the attic is already insulated enough considering I spent 3k having professionals replace all the old stuff with new batts. If your attic was recently insulated then it should be fine. What R-Value did they install? It should be on your invoice. To give you an idea, I had cellulose blown in the attic and walls to R-38 and R-13 respectively in a 1250 sq ft house and my ducts replaced (mistake) for around $5k. (I also had an exhaust fan installed in the bathroom and my asbestos flue encapsulated, plus some other misc work which added another $1k.) This is in Los Angeles County. I would work out why you are losing so much heat before you start throwing more BTUs at the problem. Get an energy audit for free and find out the actual problems, then address them one at a time. My same AC unit now cycles on and off even in 100F heat maintaining a setpoint of 73F where before it would lose the battle and I would be up to 78F+ by the end of the day.
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Sep 7, 2019 04:46
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How much do good replacement windows cost? I'm looking at replacing a bow window and another large (80" x 60" roughly) window, and 13 other windows so 15 windows total... how much for high-quality windows, roughly?
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Sep 7, 2019 23:38
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CornHolio posted:How much do good replacement windows cost? I'm looking at replacing a bow window and another large (80" x 60" roughly) window, and 13 other windows so 15 windows total... how much for high-quality windows, roughly? For 15 windows, I'd say between $12k and $70k, depending on size and whether you want vinyl, fiberglass, or wood!
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Sep 8, 2019 21:05
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As a comparison, I had two sliding glass doors and seven windows replaced with impact glass for $14k. The sliders were fully half of that by themselves.
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Sep 8, 2019 21:08
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Five years ago we replaced 3 double hungs and converted our bay and bow for $15k (it included construction to raise one of the walls for code for the new double hungs as well as patching our cedar siding). In all 8 double hung windows using an Anderson installer with composite exterior and wood interiors. We initially discussed replacing the bay and bow as is. I believe the cost to replace just the bay tself was $15k and the other was about the same. No regrets about converting them to double hungs at all.
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Sep 8, 2019 22:53
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It is very style dependent, too. I have a 50s rambler and was able to get 9 Milgard horizontal slider windows (between 60 and 80 inches wide and 34 inches high) for $5800. Not Anderson windows for sure but better than you'll get from Home Depot and bargain basement installers.
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Sep 8, 2019 23:00
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:For 15 windows, I'd say between $12k and $70k, depending on size and whether you want vinyl, fiberglass, or wood! Full disclosure, my quote was 29k from Anderson. I'm having Pella come out and give me a quote on Wednesday. (edit: and Champion is coming out tomorrow to give me a quote) They're nice windows, I just really don't want to spend that kind of money. I have a kitchen and two bathrooms I really want to remodel, and a roof that I'd like to replace sometime in the next ten years. And two kids I'd like to send to college... CornHolio fucked around with this message at 11:26 on Sep 9, 2019 |
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Sep 9, 2019 00:55
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Anonymous Zebra posted:Thanks for the replies guys. I'll go through them one by one. Is it possible you don't have sufficient return air? I watched a shitload of HVAC videos when my dad and I were installing my furnace, and I remember watching one about similar issues caused by not having enough return air flow...
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Sep 9, 2019 00:57
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How the hell am I allowed to use a string trimmer without a license. I think that thing has a soul, but it’s an evil and blood thirsty soul.
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Sep 9, 2019 15:23
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CornHolio posted:Full disclosure, my quote was 29k from Anderson. I'm having Pella come out and give me a quote on Wednesday. (edit: and Champion is coming out tomorrow to give me a quote) So as I said, I found replacing a bow/bay with a double hungs to be a much cheaper option. Also, here's a dirty idea: The above windows we replaced were original to the house and front-facing. The previous owner replaced the previous 10 with Harvey vinyl a few years before we purchased so they're now probably 10-12 years old. While the vinyl look different on the inside, from the outside they don't look radically different. And they're not front-facing. And they work just fine. There's no way I'd replace them to match the newer ones unless they actually failed. (to be honest, if I made the decision alone, I probably would have replaced the remaining with vinyl and not bothered with the nicer looking composite/wood). So maybe mix and match? Or go all vinyl and don't give a gently caress for now.
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Sep 9, 2019 17:11
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Democratic Pirate posted:How the hell am I allowed to use a string trimmer without a license. I think that thing has a soul, but it’s an evil and blood thirsty soul. Is that without putting a blade on it? Because that's an option on the beefier ones.
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Sep 9, 2019 21:36
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Cheesus posted:I hear you on those anticipated expenses. I don't know if I want to mix and match. I might look into refinancing (the two houses on either side of me sold for twice what I paid for mine, and they don't have a pool) and use the money for windows and a kitchen remodel (both need it badly) but I need to talk to my bank to see if that would make sense or not. edit: Got a second quote from Champion, apples-to-apples they're 10k less for what I would call a comparable product, but the cool thing is that they can do bay and bow windows for a lot cheaper than Anderson (they wanted $17k for my side bow window, Champion will do a bay for me for about $4k). I kind of want to put a bay in my dining room (I have a large window facing my huge backyard) but ~the wife~ thinks it's a dumb idea. CornHolio fucked around with this message at 12:21 on Sep 11, 2019 |
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Sep 9, 2019 23:11
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While I have the walls off, is there anything I should be adding to the main bathroom? It didn't have an exhaust fan, added that in on a 1/5/10/30/2 hour timer. I replaced all of the cloth wiring with romex, added 3 GFCI outlets, and am insulating the walls. I took pictures as we're reducing our bathroom storage by about 25% and I have a feeling my wife will want me to cut out some niches. Not gonna bother with heated flooring.
Sepist fucked around with this message at 20:48 on Sep 11, 2019 |
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Sep 11, 2019 20:43
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Sepist posted:While I have the walls off, is there anything I should be adding to the main bathroom? It didn't have an exhaust fan, added that in on a 1/5/10/30/2 hour timer. I replaced all of the cloth wiring with romex, added 3 GFCI outlets, and am insulating the walls. I took pictures as we're reducing our bathroom storage by about 25% and I have a feeling my wife will want me to cut out some niches. Not gonna bother with heated flooring. Now is your chance for an outlet for your future robotoilet.
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Sep 12, 2019 00:56
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:This owns and I'm officially taking a "Before" picture Update: lawns don't change very fast 
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Sep 12, 2019 01:14
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H110Hawk posted:Now is your chance for an outlet for your future robotoilet. What do you mean future? - Sent from my robotoilet 9000
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Sep 12, 2019 01:26
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H110Hawk posted:Now is your chance for an outlet for your future robotoilet. This but a Japanese toilet. ngl, I'll probably install one in my new place. You haven't truly lived until you've experienced a heated toilet seat
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Sep 12, 2019 01:29
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Sirotan posted:This but a Japanese toilet. ngl, I'll probably install one in my new place. The Toto Auto rear end Master 9000 is the exact model I was picturing.
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Sep 12, 2019 01:39
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Sepist posted:While I have the walls off, is there anything I should be adding to the main bathroom? It didn't have an exhaust fan, added that in on a 1/5/10/30/2 hour timer. I replaced all of the cloth wiring with romex, added 3 GFCI outlets, and am insulating the walls. I took pictures as we're reducing our bathroom storage by about 25% and I have a feeling my wife will want me to cut out some niches. Not gonna bother with heated flooring. Where are your cut beams and sunken tub going??
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Sep 12, 2019 02:15
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brugroffil posted:Where are your cut beams and sunken tub going?? What, these?  Fortunately (I guess), in the span of 4 feet I have 11!!!! joists because the builder was smoking crack, so I guess the second floor is secure.
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Sep 13, 2019 14:13
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Sepist posted:What, these? I'd trust nothing in your house based on that picture.
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Sep 13, 2019 16:46
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