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Winter is approaching. My 1950's rambler has loose fiberglass fill insulation in the attic, and based on my experience up there and some follow-up with a thermal cam, it seems like I'm losing a lot of heat through the ceilings near the exterior walls. The joists are also distinctly visible in with the thermal camera, indicating that I'm getting some bridging (though I don't know that it's the dominant factor). Now like I said, it's a nasty loose fiberglass fill. It's barely over the joists in some places, and has settled slightly below them in a bunch of others. I know best practice is to have loose fill a few inches above the joists everywhere, but I'm wondering about options: 1) Hire a professional to do an audit, seal the dozens of wire/pipe/fixture holes in the headers and sheetrock, and clean out/replace the insulation 2) Rent a machine (I guess?) and blow a bunch more loose fill up there over what I have. 3) Level out the existing loose insulation and lay down rolls of fiberglass batting over top of the joists as a blanket Obviously #3 is the most appealing to me in terms of effort, and I suspect in terms of cost (although I haven't actually priced it out). But is it a good idea, mixing insulation types like that? I suppose I could end up with some voids under the batting where the old loose fill has settled, but I'm not sure it would be any worse off than it is now. If I go with #2, do I need to actually remove all the old insulation? It's tempting to just throw 'er down and dump it in there, but could see an argument that the old fill, having settled/compacted over time, has less airspace in it and so is not going to be as good of an insulator. On the one hand, I don't see how that's going to be any worse than where I am at now; however, if I am going to the effort to blowing in more insulation, I'm wondering how much extra mess and effort clearing the old stuff out would really be. Option #1 is tempting (see earlier posts about too many projects and not enough drat time) but I'm worried a bit about cost, not in-and-of itself (I'm willing to pay for a good, professional job) but we're hoping to do a major remodel in probably 5 years or so, and I've been kicking the can down the road on so many things like this not wanting to invest money in major infrastructure work we're going to tear up within a decade. Then again... fake edit: Also I need a new attic door. The one we currently have is the *original* which instead of a spring uses giant concrete counterweights (?!?) to hold the door up. It sucks because there's definitely like a 1/16 - 1/8" gap when it's shut, and no kind of backing insulation or weatherstripping around it. That's definitely more intense carpentry than I feel like biting off myself, but also I'm not sure if it's something I want to trust to a Home Depot installer... So yeah, a trustworthy contractor you can call up for random jobs is definitely worth his weight in gold.
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Oct 21, 2019 16:40
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| # ? May 18, 2024 03:03 |
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Having my attic re-insulated was surprisingly $reasonable. They even included a new insulated box around the attic stairs.
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Oct 21, 2019 17:01
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toplitzin posted:Having my attic re-insulated was surprisingly $reasonable.  - couple grand and a day gets it done, your local energy company may even pay for part of it. Blow a foot or two of cellulose on top of it, insulate and weather strip your attic door (and replace it if needed, they make pre-made modular ones as I recall.) I also always suggest removing fiberglass but I am in the super minority there. Especially loose fill - enjoy breathing that poo poo. They can suck it out, bag it up, and then start fresh. Added advantage of resetting the rat pee, let's you easily fix any electrical things, or add can lights/fixtures without playing fun games with insulation. Make sure everything is rated for direct contact with insulation.
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Oct 21, 2019 17:28
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H110Hawk posted:
They ended up rejecting it and not offering anything in return (except the original deal). The life of buying in a seller's market I guess. I feel good about where we came out and how we approached it regardless. Thanks for the advice all.
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Oct 21, 2019 23:18
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Goon speed, sounds like you've worked out a not-awful deal.
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El Mero Mero posted:They ended up rejecting it and not offering anything in return (except the original deal). The life of buying in a seller's market I guess. I would keep an eye on the property and if it's still up in a month offer them your same deal again, or offer a "normal" selling price with a normal rent-back rate. (You will have improved your position due to the lowered time risk of having them there.)
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Oct 21, 2019 23:24
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An exterior window shutter... fell off my house? It seems like it's some kind of plastic or vinyl material that cracked at some point, and then there was a bad thunderstorm today that I guess was windy enough to tear it off. It looks like shutters generally don't cost much, so I thought that maybe this should be an opportunity to improve my house's curb appeal a little bit. I don't think there are any HOA regulations about this (I'll double-check on that), but I'd love tips on shutter styles/colors. Unfortunately, I just realized that I don't have a picture of the front of my house other than a couple of weeks before I bought it, but here's that (it's dark outside now and apparently will be for the next couple of days due to thunderstorms):  The trim has all been redone, the garage door has been replaced, the trees/bushes have been trimmed, the bird feeder is gone, the trash can isn't hanging out anymore, the driveway has been power-washed... it generally looks the same but nicer.
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Oct 22, 2019 00:08
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You're in an HOA, you will be told what your are required to do shortly.
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Oct 22, 2019 03:12
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El Mero Mero posted:They ended up rejecting it and not offering anything in return (except the original deal). The life of buying in a seller's market I guess. This happened when I bought my house too, the estate agent basically scoffed at my offer, so I left it at that. A few weeks later they came crawling back asking if the offer was still on the table.
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Oct 22, 2019 10:07
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I hate installing window trim. It's my kryptonite. I can't seem to get it right. My new place had two windows in the main (i.e. my) bedroom that needed new trim, the rest is ok. Thank GOD it's only two windows or I might go insane. But I cannot cut/install trim for the loving life of me, and I don't know why. My miters NEVER line up. I swear everything is measured correctly, but when it's time to install, it's always off...more often that not it's "open", I think? The outside corners aren't touching. I can install baseboard just fine. A chair rail? No problem. Never tried crown molding...but I can do door trim ok...only having 3 pieces and 2 corners helps, but 4 pieces and 4 corners? Go gently caress yourself, window trim. The window is level, plumb, flush, and square, so I can't blame it on that. I've tried both just scribing from the old pieces I removed, but nope, new ones still won't fit right. I've tried marking my own 1/4" reveal and then measuring directly and...nope, still not going together right. WTF am I doing wrong, here? I think if I'm getting an open joint on the outside corners, it means one of my pieces is slightly too long? Except everything looks right on the interior of the trim along the jam...perfect reveal, they line up at the inside corners...just not the outside. At one point I blamed my saw, cause hey, why not? But this time I'm using a brand new saw, and I checked it's 45 degree positive stop with my square and it's fine. I also check the miters after I cut them and they are 45 degrees, so obviously it's my measuring/installing that's somehow wrong and not letting my cuts line up. Would it be ugly/stupid to just do a Craftsmen-style window trim, even though this is a 70's ranch with relatively small windows? DrBouvenstein fucked around with this message at 21:03 on Oct 22, 2019 |
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Oct 22, 2019 20:59
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When you say your corners are "open", how many of them? Like, all four on a window?
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Oct 22, 2019 21:06
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Jaded Burnout posted:When you say your corners are "open", how many of them? Like, all four on a window? Sometimes...other times I've gotten 1 good corner, maybe 2? Or at least good enough I can hide it with caulk. The last time I installed trim it took several tries and a few ruined pieces, but between caulk and putting the worst pieces at the top to be hidden by the curtains it was "good enough" for my lazy rear end. Which is why for the longest time I assumed my saw was off, because that could mean that my saw was actually cutting them at, say, 46 or 47. But this is a new saw, and I have double checked the cuts and my speed square is showing a perfect 45. But now I want to do a better job, but it's just not happening and it is breaking my brain. I should try to piece them together on the floor or something and see if 1) They go together without gaps and 2) They are square. Cause if so, then that does mean it all comes down to bad measuring, marking, and cutting on said mark. DrBouvenstein fucked around with this message at 21:26 on Oct 22, 2019 |
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Oct 22, 2019 21:23
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DrBouvenstein posted:Sometimes...other times I've gotten 1 good corner, maybe 2? Or at least good enough I can hide it with caulk. The last time I installed trim it took several tries and a few ruined pieces, but between caulk and putting the worst pieces at the top to be hidden by the curtains it was "good enough" for my lazy rear end. Yes so the reason I ask is that if you can dry fit them and check they're square to one another, but they still don't quite meet when you're fitting them, and all four don't fit, then you don't have them in a 2D plane, because that would be impossible. If they dry fit square when you have them on a flat table but splay out on the wall, then you're tilting them inwards, like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQHHfZqRTyE
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Oct 22, 2019 21:41
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Jaded Burnout posted:Yes so the reason I ask is that if you can dry fit them and check they're square to one another, but they still don't quite meet when you're fitting them, and all four don't fit, then you don't have them in a 2D plane, because that would be impossible. If they dry fit square when you have them on a flat table but splay out on the wall, then you're tilting them inwards, like this: Oooh, drat, that could have been it this while time. Can't say for sure in the last house, but just checked 1 window just now and the wall is averaging 1/8" proud from the jam, and a couple spots as much as 1/4". Ugh...that drywall shaving technique looks tedious...would it be possible to sort of fit them so they're flush with the wall, then put in a shim between the trim and jam, nail through the trim and shim into the jam, cut off the shim that extends beyond the trim, and fill in the gap with caulk and paint? I realize this means painting the reveal/jam, but I'm ok with that because the rest of the jam is already painted, so I have to do it anyway.
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Oct 22, 2019 23:34
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Trim is there to hide all the other mistakes, and there are always other mistakes, so it is the time to do whatever you have to do to make the trim look good so everything else looks good. For something window sized, throw your tape measure away because it will only hurt you. Cut a miter on one end, line that up where it should go, mark the other end at the short point with a pencil. Start on the bottom or top (whichever is most visible-the last corner is where it will be hosed up so put it in the least eye-level spot), nail it off, then work up the sides sides. Fit each miter before you cut to length so there is room to mess around to get the angle right. It doesn't matter if the saw is cutting 45 degrees or not because your window opening probably isn't actually square. It can cut one side 46, and that doesn't really matter as long as the other side is 44. If you leave the piece long you can adjust your cut until you get a nice fit. The last piece is hardest, but you can leave it long and fit both ends individually and then when you know the correct angle you cut it to final length. If it's getting painted its easy and just caulk that poo poo. "Putty and paint make a carpenter who aint" is really actually good advice. It's less mess, but not necessarily easier, to shave/sand off the back of the molding with a plane vs. shaving down drywall if that is indeed your problem. You could probably shim/caulk it and mostly be fine.
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Oct 23, 2019 03:04
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Is there any benefit to insulating/weatherstripping the garage door on my attached garage? I won't be using it as a workshop during my Canadian winter, but my living room is right above it and obviously the floor gets a bit cold. Not sure if it's the sort of thing that will ever earn it's money back, or if it's even a good idea. Anything hung I can do to make my place warmer I'm for, but I'm not sure whether or not the garage makes sense as it's not being used for anything other than parking my car
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Oct 23, 2019 06:43
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Trim is there to hide all the other mistakes, and there are always other mistakes, so it is the time to do whatever you have to do to make the trim look good so everything else looks good. This is my feeling on the matter too. The "shim, caulk, paint" option is what I was planning for my door trim where the wall's proud of the lining, but I've not actually done it yet so I don't know how well it winds up. The guy who did that video I posted also has several other videos about fitting trim neatly so they may be worth a watch.
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Oct 23, 2019 10:05
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w00tmonger posted:Is there any benefit to insulating/weatherstripping the garage door on my attached garage? I won't be using it as a workshop during my Canadian winter, but my living room is right above it and obviously the floor gets a bit cold. Are your walls insulated in your garage? I insulated my doors last year, and it does make a bit of difference, but they didn't insulate my walls so it's not dramatically different.
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Oct 23, 2019 12:35
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:For something window sized, throw your tape measure away because it will only hurt you. Cut a miter on one end, line that up where it should go, mark the other end at the short point with a pencil. Start on the bottom or top (whichever is most visible-the last corner is where it will be hosed up so put it in the least eye-level spot), nail it off, then work up the sides sides. Fit each miter before you cut to length so there is room to mess around to get the angle right. It doesn't matter if the saw is cutting 45 degrees or not because your window opening probably isn't actually square. It can cut one side 46, and that doesn't really matter as long as the other side is 44. If you leave the piece long you can adjust your cut until you get a nice fit. The last piece is hardest, but you can leave it long and fit both ends individually and then when you know the correct angle you cut it to final length. If it's getting painted its easy and just caulk that poo poo. "Putty and paint make a carpenter who aint" is really actually good advice. Ok, thanks, I'll give it another go this weekend and see if I can make it look nice.
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Oct 23, 2019 14:30
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w00tmonger posted:Is there any benefit to insulating/weatherstripping the garage door on my attached garage? I won't be using it as a workshop during my Canadian winter, but my living room is right above it and obviously the floor gets a bit cold. Even if your garage is unheated, you'll see the most benefit from insulating the walls and door. That said, anything to keep the cold air out and the less cold air in will help a little bit.
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Oct 23, 2019 15:13
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Any tips for scaring away birds so they don't eat all the grass seed I laid? I tried aluminium pans and bought fake owls but these drat things are brazen.
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Oct 23, 2019 18:34
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Dango Bango posted:Any tips for scaring away birds so they don't eat all the grass seed I laid? I tried aluminium pans and bought fake owls but these drat things are brazen. Friend or neighbor with a cat?
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Oct 23, 2019 19:03
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That Works posted:Friend or neighbor with a cat? That's the crazy thing -- there are neighborhood outdoor cats that stop by my yard. These birds are just crazy bastards 
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Oct 23, 2019 19:23
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Shoot a couple and leave the corpses there as a warning 
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Oct 23, 2019 19:34
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Did you put down straw or something on top of the grass seed?
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Oct 23, 2019 19:36
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dreesemonkey posted:Did you put down straw or something on top of the grass seed? I covered with additional fill dirt, but they're still out there picking at it.
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Oct 23, 2019 20:51
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PremiumSupport posted:Even if your garage is unheated, you'll see the most benefit from insulating the walls and door. That said, anything to keep the cold air out and the less cold air in will help a little bit. Part of a townhouse complex built a while back so the walls are as insulated as expected for a 30+ year old building. So if I insulated the door with a fiberglass kit and stripped it that would definitely help, cool. I've just fixed the weatherstripping on the door from the garage to the house which should make a huge difference heat wise as well
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Oct 24, 2019 00:36
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DrBouvenstein posted:I hate installing window trim. It's my kryptonite. I can't seem to get it right. My new place had two windows in the main (i.e. my) bedroom that needed new trim, the rest is ok. Thank GOD it's only two windows or I might go insane.
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Oct 24, 2019 14:29
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I've just spent two days prepping to refinish the floors in my new house and will be buying all the supplies tomorrow morning. To anyone else that's done this: oil vs water based polyurethane, which one did you pick and why?
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Oct 24, 2019 23:13
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Sirotan posted:I've just spent two days prepping to refinish the floors in my new house and will be buying all the supplies tomorrow morning. To anyone else that's done this: oil vs water based polyurethane, which one did you pick and why? Oil generally stands up to use better afaik, water cures quicker/less VOC. Regarding the finishing process, I’ve been interested in using Rubio Monocoat. I have a few floor projects coming so I may give it a whirl.
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Oct 25, 2019 03:34
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After a bunch of reading last night I decided to go with an oil-based poly because: -It needs less total coats vs water-based -Seems to be more durable? -Found some sites saying I'd need to recoat in two years if I used water-based and gently caress that -I can leave the house empty for a few days because I'm not living there yet -I don't care if it's smelly for a while Specifically this one: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Varathane-1-gal-Clear-Satin-Oil-Based-Floor-Finish-Polyurethane-130231/100192334
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Oct 25, 2019 12:44
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Sirotan posted:-It needs less total coats vs water-based The only thing I'd say about that is I saw/read somewhere that lots of thin coats gives a stronger finish than fewer thicker coats, but maybe that's where the oil-based one wins out? I mention it only because of rough memories, not with any kind of authority.
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Oct 25, 2019 12:46
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Yeah I read suggestions that your first coat should be really thin and then you get progressively thicker with each coat. I would think that's because it makes it easier to spread when you're laying down that base coat?? Guess I'll find out soon...
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Oct 25, 2019 12:50
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Welp this is miserable and next time I will pay someone else to do it. :x
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Oct 25, 2019 22:17
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Sirotan posted:Welp this is miserable and next time I will pay someone else to do it. :x Sorry. But yeah, it is. Wait until you are done and get to stand back and look at it. It makes it all worthwhile.
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Oct 25, 2019 22:28
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I think the edge sander I rented is totally hosed which is what is making the process so incredibly miserable. Going to rent a second edge sander, from a different manufacturer, tomorrow to confirm. I'm sure they will look great when it's done but fuckkkkkkkkkk it's a lot of work. I can't even imagine how long this would have taken if I'd gotten the square pad sander as I had originally planned on.
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Oct 26, 2019 01:53
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Sirotan posted:Welp this is miserable and next time I will pay someone else to do it. :x I feel like I should have warned you not to DIY floors but you were so gung ho about it and I didn't want to be a downer and here you are, praying for death 
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Oct 28, 2019 17:17
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null_pointer posted:I feel like I should have warned you not to DIY floors but you were so gung ho about it and I didn't want to be a downer and here you are, praying for death Well to be honest I did not what to spend what little cash on hand I've got to pay someone to do what I just did so I'd have probably run headlong into this project even if you had warned me. Also pro tip for anyone else in the future: if you're renting an edge sander from Home Depot, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD make sure it's the Clark model and not the Hiretech. I had to drive to another HD the next town over to find one, but it was a night-and-day difference in terms of usability and sanding efficiency. I thought for sure it was my technique or the floors until I rented the Clark and found that nope, the Hiretech just sucks and/or this specific one is hosed up somehow. When I returned it and relayed my experiences, the tool guy was kind of a dick to me and wanted to argue about it, which was super awesome. For my troubles he gave me 10% off (a whole $4). Even IF it had been working correctly (I think the pad surface was not level), it's heavier than the Clark and you have to hold down the On button with your right thumb the entire time you're using it suckkkkkkkksssssssssss. I still have to vacuum and prep to put down the poly.  Edit: And also hand sand all the places the edge sander did not reach. At least I spent two days removing all the trim before I sanded...
Sirotan fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Oct 28, 2019 |
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Oct 28, 2019 17:46
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Sirotan posted:...you have to hold down the On button with your right thumb the entire time you're using it suckkkkkkkksssssssssss. I'm amazed how many tools do this. It's really, really dumb.
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Oct 29, 2019 02:43
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Finally got my living room walls painted, so the nasty carpet could be ripped up! (I know I could have ripped it up first thing, but I figured if paint was potentially going to be dripping everywhere (especially since I had to do the ceiling) might as well keep the built-in drop cloth.) Before:  After (well, sort of, this was before I ripped up the carpet tack trips and staples for the carpet pad)  As you can see, and as I expected, it's in terrible shape. Most of it the finish has worn off, and there are several water (let's be real...pet mess) stains. You can see some of them up ear the door, those black spots on the floor, and just out of frame of that photo is a very large black spot maybe 6" in diameter. I really, REALLY wish I had the time to do it myself or the money to have someone else refinish these floors right now. The rest of the hardwood floors in the bedroom aren't great, since they all had area rugs on top of them for years, but none of them approach this level. Even just getting the living room done is likely out of my budget. And since it is the "hub" room, it's not like I can do it myself and just take my time between sanding and staining and sealing.
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Oct 29, 2019 14:39
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I mean if you just wanna do that one room and the hallway I'm sure you could get the sanding done in one day. There are also some types of polyurethane that you can put down three coats in a day with no sanding in between. For tool rental you'd be looking at ~$200 and probably less than $100 for the finish and painting supplies if you don't have any. It will suck and your home will get filled with dust and be generally disrupted for a weekend but I think it's doable if your heart is set on it. Probably cheaper than putting down new carpet too.
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Oct 29, 2019 15:08
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