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Local lawn care guy quoted ~$400 for cutting, aerating, overseeding a half acre, and then winterizing irrigation system. It's probably high but am I within reason on the quote? I don't have time to do it myself.
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Oct 20, 2020 13:12
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Roof question for me: 1. If I'm looking at a roof replacement in the spring, is it too early to start getting quotes? 2. As I'm calling companies to get quotes, are there any questions I should be asking to tell a "good roof place" from a bad one? 3. How can I tell if I really need a new roof, or if I can stretch this one out for a bit more time? FWIW, When we bought the house, we were told the roof was probably replaced 20 years ago or so and would need to be replaced soon. There were some shingles that were repaired/replaced during the inspection when we bought it. Diva Cupcake posted:Local lawn care guy quoted ~$400 for cutting, aerating, overseeding a half acre, and then winterizing irrigation system. Doesn't seem bad. I'm getting charged $250 for aerating/overseeding a lawn on a 0.25 acre lot.
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Oct 20, 2020 14:49
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Single data point, but I’m at 6 years on my original Makita tool batteries and they’re chugging along just fine. This year I bought some new ones because there was a great sale with two free 5AH batteries and charger with the chainsaw I splurged on earlier this year, but I had no problem getting home renovation work done on six year old lithium packs. Batteries do unevenly wear out over time and charge cycles, but my experience and expectations are that they’ll last long enough to make it worth my while. Nearly everything we buy is disposable anymore, I don’t expect a consumable good to be any different than “durable” goods.
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Oct 20, 2020 15:43
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Is it age that kills batteries or charge/discharge cycles? I'm sure it's both, but anecdotally with electronics it's always felt like cycles are the bigger issue by far. I've got a 2009 macbook pro that I put a new battery in ca 2015 or 2016 (the old one was so dead it would last about 30 seconds off power). It gets light use these days and most of the time is plugged in when being used. The battery is basically new from what I can tell, and is reporting 99.3% of the factory capacity and only 103 charge/discharge cycles. Meanwhile my 3 year old phone is at 81% of its factory capacity and has 804 cycles under its belt. Now, I also have zero idea of how high quality the batteries in typical computers and phones are vs what is put in a drill or lawnmore, and zero idea how being stored in an unheated garage might affect things. I've got some apartment-dwelling hand tools that are going on five years and show zero signs of the battery packs loving up. Again, light use, stored indoors, and I don't have the hooks to see exactly how much juice they can hold like I do with my phones or computers so maybe they've degraded by 20% and I'm just not noticing. Still, far from useless. edit: I consider batteries to be a consumable fwiw, the same as any part you might need to replace on a non-battery powered version of a similar item. It sucks when the battery is glued in place because it's some wafer thin piece of consumer electronics, but something like a power tool or lawnmower should really have a a battery pack that can be swapped out when it gives up the ghost. Same with cars. I've got a Prius and the battery pack in that is a wear item. You're usually looking at replacing it on about the same timeline as other cars get a transmission rebuild, and for a broadly similar cos (~$2-5k depending on model and whether you're getting a truly new one or a refurbed one pulled off a low milage wreck or something) edit 2: iirc the battery pack on my car is warrantied for 100k miles or 8 years.
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Oct 20, 2020 15:51
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There are so many variables in play with these things: cell quality, charger quality, specific chemistry, specific charge style, discharge depth, discharge rate, balancing circuitry available, balancing used, temperature control, and more. Your lawn mower is likely the worst possible mode - run hot, put away wet, and fast deep cycles with large surges in demand as it bogs down on things. Some chargers are great at doing balance cycles, Mac laptops in particular will every so often do a balance. You will know its doing it because it will sit at around 90% for hours instead of 30m. (or they used to do this, same if you left it plugged in for days - it would discharge the battery and then balance it to prevent other damage.) Some batteries don't even have balance circuitry available and good luck.
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Oct 20, 2020 16:12
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The handyman said it would take 2-3 hours to do the backsplash. That seems........disturbingly fast. Hopefully I feel more comfortable with other tile people
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Oct 20, 2020 19:58
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I’m looking to get some advice on removing a carport. I recently had a company come out to replace my garage door and in the process the owner backed his truck into my carport and hosed it up pretty bad. They are insured and the insurance company is going to take care of it. The only problem is I have to get my own quotes for the replacement and send it to them. I’ve talked to 6 different carport companies and none of them offer any kind of demo work. They only install new carports with no obstructions. So now I have to get some quotes for someone to demo my old one. What kind of company should I call for this? Its just a simple steel carport. It’s something I could do myself, but if the insurance is going to pay for it I’m going to let them.
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Oct 20, 2020 21:28
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Diet Sodium posted:I’m looking to get some advice on removing a carport. I recently had a company come out to replace my garage door and in the process the owner backed his truck into my carport and hosed it up pretty bad. They are insured and the insurance company is going to take care of it. The only problem is I have to get my own quotes for the replacement and send it to them. I’ve talked to 6 different carport companies and none of them offer any kind of demo work. They only install new carports with no obstructions. So now I have to get some quotes for someone to demo my old one. What kind of company should I call for this? Its just a simple steel carport. It’s something I could do myself, but if the insurance is going to pay for it I’m going to let them. Just call one of those insurance damage companies they will have a sky high quote. Then post free on craigslist after using some of your payout to increase you bodily damage coverage if it falls on the junk guys.
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Oct 21, 2020 00:02
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Diet Sodium posted:I’m looking to get some advice on removing a carport. I recently had a company come out to replace my garage door and in the process the owner backed his truck into my carport and hosed it up pretty bad. They are insured and the insurance company is going to take care of it. The only problem is I have to get my own quotes for the replacement and send it to them. I’ve talked to 6 different carport companies and none of them offer any kind of demo work. They only install new carports with no obstructions. So now I have to get some quotes for someone to demo my old one. What kind of company should I call for this? Its just a simple steel carport. It’s something I could do myself, but if the insurance is going to pay for it I’m going to let them. Call ServPro. Then go buy a sawzall, life insurance, and some metal blades and
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Oct 21, 2020 00:10
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Diet Sodium posted:I’m looking to get some advice on removing a carport. I recently had a company come out to replace my garage door and in the process the owner backed his truck into my carport and hosed it up pretty bad. They are insured and the insurance company is going to take care of it. The only problem is I have to get my own quotes for the replacement and send it to them. I’ve talked to 6 different carport companies and none of them offer any kind of demo work. They only install new carports with no obstructions. So now I have to get some quotes for someone to demo my old one. What kind of company should I call for this? Its just a simple steel carport. It’s something I could do myself, but if the insurance is going to pay for it I’m going to let them. Then do the demo yourself and pay a junk guy $80 to haul it off.
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Oct 21, 2020 00:31
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Thanks everyone. My plan was to just demo it myself and take the money. I just wasn’t sure how y’all would react to it lol. I also thought it was weird that they asked me to get my own quotes. I’m not sure how normal that is. I’ve only had to deal with insurance when it comes to vehicles, so I’m used to them doing most of the leg work. Edit: My neighbor has already agreed to help me take it down in exchange for the scrap metal. Diet Sodium fucked around with this message at 02:42 on Oct 21, 2020 |
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Oct 21, 2020 02:40
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Diet Sodium posted:Thanks everyone. My plan was to just demo it myself and take the money. I just wasn’t sure how y’all would react to it lol. I also thought it was weird that they asked me to get my own quotes. I’m not sure how normal that is. I’ve only had to deal with insurance when it comes to vehicles, so I’m used to them doing most of the leg work.
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Oct 21, 2020 04:36
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Want the thread’s opinion on something. I have the opportunity to buy a vacant lot. Said lot has a small, but very nice cabin on it that I think I could make work as a full-time residence with a solar generator and some other improvements. 1. How much poo poo will I get for living there full-time if the lot isn’t zoned for residential? There’s no public utilities, and it’s basically a hunter’s cabin. The property doesn’t even have an actual address besides “Lot 2, Elm Road”. Could I just throw up a mailbox and make up a number for the property, or will that cause me problems? 2. Is it even possible to insure a cabin like that (and its contents) as part of the lot, or would that get laughed at by an underwriter? Thanks y’all.
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Oct 21, 2020 06:43
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MorrisBae posted:Want the thread’s opinion on something. Ask a real estate attorney. It's going to be local jurisdiction specific. Post pictures of your definitely not vacant lot.
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Oct 21, 2020 06:46
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edit
MorrisBae fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Oct 25, 2020 |
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Oct 21, 2020 07:02
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MorrisBae posted:Could I just throw up a mailbox and make up a number for the property, or will that cause me problems? Pretty sure that's not how the postal system works if you are expecting actual mail to get delivered to you.
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Oct 21, 2020 12:45
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As a new home owner, can I get some clarity on when a city needs to issue a permit for work in the home? I replaced a toilet in a bathroom this past weekend. Surely that doesn’t need a permit. But if we do a bigger bathroom renovation or something, what is the trigger for something needing a city inspection or a permit? If I replace the bathroom vanity or re-do the floors? What if I just get new cabinets in the kitchen and get rid of 80s linoleum flooring? We are wanting to get a second floor patio redone and some contractors said it’s a like-for-like replace/repair and so doesn’t trigger a need for a permit, others said it does.
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Oct 21, 2020 17:50
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Hawkeye posted:As a new home owner, can I get some clarity on when a city needs to issue a permit for work in the home? No one here can tell you. It's 100% state - potentially municipality - specific and they should have at least a web site that outlines this for your specific jurisdiction. Start with you town/city building/L&I department.
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Oct 21, 2020 18:12
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Hawkeye posted:As a new home owner, can I get some clarity on when a city needs to issue a permit for work in the home? Call and ask. Every time. In a sane jurisdiction it's not an adversarial process unless you make it one. Insane ones where people have been doing tons of illegal work might start out adversarial but if you talk to them first you should be able to get on their good side. For example our patio cover was a r&r (like for like). It required a permit but no plans. If it was net new or changing what it covered it would require a plan. Inspector got a little huffy about it but we literally just asked when pulling it what we needed and did that. Write down names and dates and a sentence of what was said whenever you deal with them and it will help you tremendously. "Jimmy at the permit counter looked at my picture of the existing and the glossy brochure of what we were installing and said no plans needed."
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Oct 21, 2020 19:26
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Hawkeye posted:We are wanting to get a second floor patio redone and some contractors said it’s a like-for-like replace/repair and so doesn’t trigger a need for a permit, others said it does. As Motronic said, you have to ask. My jurisdiction has a huge list of 'need permit/do not need permit' items, and I still need to call and clarify most of the time. You want your contractor to have a good relationship with the governing authority. It's fine to not pull a permit if you don't have to, but if you get a vibe that a contractor doesn't pull permits on purpose for most of their work or are deliberately avoiding interacting with the building department that's a red flag.
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Oct 21, 2020 21:19
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Any contractor that is worried about getting a permit, especially on a second story deck, is a hard pass. Yes it adds cost, and yes just maybe your house won't be on the news when 15 people jumping in unison don't cause a catastrophy.
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Oct 21, 2020 23:46
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I am about to replace my 15 year old water heater. There is a company that did like 40 units in my building right before I moved and I might be able to get the group deal they got, but I am thinking that I might just go with them anyways for the familiarity with the building alone. Is shopping around for a water heater a big deal or is this one of those items where the price is pretty standard? If it's like a couple hundred bucks either way I might just settle for the one that is familiar with the building even if they don't get me the group price.
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Oct 22, 2020 01:24
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joepinetree posted:I am about to replace my 15 year old water heater. There is a company that did like 40 units in my building right before I moved and I might be able to get the group deal they got, but I am thinking that I might just go with them anyways for the familiarity with the building alone. Is shopping around for a water heater a big deal or is this one of those items where the price is pretty standard? If it's like a couple hundred bucks either way I might just settle for the one that is familiar with the building even if they don't get me the group price. I would go with the known quantity. Assuming they put in quality units.
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Oct 22, 2020 01:27
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Tezer posted:As Motronic said, you have to ask. My jurisdiction has a huge list of 'need permit/do not need permit' items, and I still need to call and clarify most of the time. I appreciate the feedback thanks all!
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Oct 22, 2020 20:29
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joepinetree posted:I am about to replace my 15 year old water heater. There is a company that did like 40 units in my building right before I moved and I might be able to get the group deal they got, but I am thinking that I might just go with them anyways for the familiarity with the building alone. Is shopping around for a water heater a big deal or is this one of those items where the price is pretty standard? If it's like a couple hundred bucks either way I might just settle for the one that is familiar with the building even if they don't get me the group price. Can you ask any of your neighbors about their experience? From what I know, water heater replacement is pretty cut and dry - the variable is how much of a pain in the rear end it is to get the installers out in a timely fashion, know how to locate the water shutoff, and finish the job. Can they provide any feedback?
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Oct 24, 2020 08:44
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Highbrow Slick posted:Can you ask any of your neighbors about their experience? From what I know, water heater replacement is pretty cut and dry - the variable is how much of a pain in the rear end it is to get the installers out in a timely fashion, know how to locate the water shutoff, and finish the job. Can they provide any feedback? They did 40+ units over a few days, and I've heard no complaints. Right now just waiting to hear their tankless water heater estimate. Their estimate for a 50 gallon water heater was ~1600, which sounded about right, as I didn't get the bulk discount (which also makes sense).
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Oct 24, 2020 16:30
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I paid 1300 bucks for a new water heater from a larger sized plumbing company in central indiana for price comparison. 50 gallons, not sure the size changes the cost much. They have a box truck full of them and if your plumber says you need one they drop one off and haul off the old one in under an hour. This was natural gas. The guy does the removal and the prep for the new one while he is waiting for the drop off. They got this scam down to a science.
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Oct 25, 2020 14:44
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I can't imagine paying someone to replace a water heater unless you were moving it or switching to tankless or something. U es e the old flue if gas, replace your flexible fittings using a crescent wrench. You'll spend as much time draining and moving the old one as installing a new one. Even I, an idiot, am capable of doing this without any issues.
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Oct 25, 2020 18:07
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therobit posted:I can't imagine paying someone to replace a water heater unless you were moving it or switching to tankless or something. U es e the old flue if gas, replace your flexible fittings using a crescent wrench. You'll spend as much time draining and moving the old one as installing a new one. Even I, an idiot, am capable of doing this without any issues. I want to for mine except it is in the most cramped space imaginable and the valves to supply water to it are starting to fail and need replacing.
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Oct 25, 2020 18:14
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therobit posted:I can't imagine paying someone to replace a water heater unless you were moving it or switching to tankless or something. U es e the old flue if gas, replace your flexible fittings using a crescent wrench. You'll spend as much time draining and moving the old one as installing a new one. Even I, an idiot, am capable of doing this without any issues. I paid to sort-of have my gas water heater replaced. Everything in my house was so out of code that nobody would touch it so I ended up doing everything myself except the last mile of installing, and for $700 (not including the cost of the water heater) they hosed up wrenching some pipes together twice, and I ended up doing that myself as well. I didn't get even a partial refund for their botched work either. Thanks Home Depot!
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Oct 25, 2020 18:17
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therobit posted:I can't imagine paying someone to replace a water heater unless you were moving it or switching to tankless or something. U es e the old flue if gas, replace your flexible fittings using a crescent wrench. You'll spend as much time draining and moving the old one as installing a new one. Even I, an idiot, am capable of doing this without any issues. I live in an 8th floor condo where the water heater is in the same space as the AC. It may be the easiest, simplest task in the world, but ill pay the difference to have someone make sure that I won't be flooding 7 floors worth of condos below mine, electrocuting myself to death, or running afoul of some insurance or local regulation.
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Oct 25, 2020 19:20
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joepinetree posted:I live in an 8th floor condo where the water heater is in the same space as the AC. It may be the easiest, simplest task in the world, but ill pay the difference to have someone make sure that I won't be flooding 7 floors worth of condos below mine, electrocuting myself to death, or running afoul of some insurance or local regulation. I can't imagine any of those outcomes unless you are Mr. Bean to be honest.
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Oct 25, 2020 22:29
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Water heater explosions during repairs are absolutely a thing. Besides, it doesn't matter if it's something as simple as changing a light bulb. If anyone wants to hire a professional, they shouldn't be mocked or discouraged. https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016/11/16/stockton-father-killed-in-hot-water-heater-explosion/
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Oct 26, 2020 00:01
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What's the scam besides contractors charging a lot of money to do something that doesn't technically require a certified engineer? There's no way I'm gonna feel comfortable taking two 50 gallon tanks up and down stairs myself, with one filled with sediment. The dump fee alone would be $100.
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Oct 26, 2020 00:10
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therobit posted:I can't imagine any of those outcomes unless you are Mr. Bean to be honest. I've built my own pc since I was a teenager. I've also done that for my parents. So i have dozens of builds. Once, I don't remember exactly the details, I somehow managed to misapply thermal paste, didn't realize it, and fried a motherboard and cpu. It sucked but it wasn't a big deal, because that was pretty much the worst case scenario and the money I saved by doing it myself dozens of times was substantially more than what replacing 1 cpu and 1 motherboard was. A water heater in a cramped space where there are other electrical components costing in the thousands of dollars is a completely different thing. It may be the easiest thing in the world, but in the rare occasion it goes wrong, it can go really wrong, especially in a high rise. An additional 800 to 1000 dollars expense that I have to incur every 15 years is pretty much nothing compared to the worst case scenario cost.
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Oct 26, 2020 00:12
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Bioshuffle posted:Water heater explosions during repairs are absolutely a thing. Besides, it doesn't matter if it's something as simple as changing a light bulb. If anyone wants to hire a professional, they shouldn't be mocked or discouraged. This is a good take. That's a very fair outlook and I don't blame anyone. My current one is wide open in an unfinished basement and I will be replacing it. My last one was in a kitchen closet and I was told that the closet wasn't large enough for a modern one. I would have probably paid a guy to struggle with it.
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Oct 26, 2020 00:18
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There’s lots of things I could do myself around the house, but still hire out. Mostly for time reasons. Sometimes it would cost me as much in tools and parts than it would be to hire someone to do it. Many times I just rather spend my free time doing something else. I hired out the yard work this year and love not having yard work looking over my head all week and wasting 2 hours of my weekend. I don’t enjoy it like some folks do. I have a 75 gallon natural gas water heater in a second story closet. No way I’m doing that myself. When it’s time to replace it, I’ll gladly write the check to the plumber. My old house had a 50 gallon electric on the first floor in the garage. I would probably do that one myself.
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Oct 26, 2020 02:08
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SpartanIvy posted:Water heater installers are such a loving scam. In most cases it's dead simple. Doubly so if it's an electric unit. Don't ever hire contractors via home depot. At best, you're getting someone unvetted who has a bunch of time on their hands (or they wouldn't be getting jobs via home depot). The only time I'd consider it is something dumb like carpet, where even if they completely gently caress if up they haven't exploded or flooded your house.
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Oct 26, 2020 03:46
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Bioshuffle posted:Water heater explosions during repairs are absolutely a thing. Besides, it doesn't matter if it's something as simple as changing a light bulb. If anyone wants to hire a professional, they shouldn't be mocked or discouraged. Wait... “Not only is the family going through the loss of a father, and a husband, but their home was irreparably damaged. They were renting a home, but now they have to find a new place to live, and need to buy furniture,” said Franca.” Were they renting the house? If so, why was the guy trying to repair the hot water heater? I just have so many questions here... like why didn’t the guy turn off the gas before trying to work on it? Or drain the water heater? Not trying to belittle any of this, the whole thing is incredibly sad, I just really want to know more. Also one more reason to get an on demand water heater next go around.
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Oct 26, 2020 06:39
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devicenull posted:Don't ever hire contractors via home depot. At best, you're getting someone unvetted who has a bunch of time on their hands (or they wouldn't be getting jobs via home depot). The only time I'd consider it is something dumb like carpet, where even if they completely gently caress if up they haven't exploded or flooded your house. I don't think so, Tim. I had HD contractors install carpet in my basement after i had it painted and they completely ruined my baseboard paint by kicking against it to stretch the carpet. Like maybe I hosed up the installation order and should have done carpet before painting but I was still loving mad.
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Oct 26, 2020 06:44
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