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ScooterMcTiny posted:I’m having trouble with our sprinkler system. One zone just randomly goes off and won’t turn off unless I kill the water to the sprinklers. It’s the middle one in the attached picture. When the system is off, I can hear some water start to fill in the white pipe and I’m assuming when enough water is in there or the pressure builds, that zone just goes off and needs to be manually killed. I’m not 100% sure how these sprinklers function, but it’s almost as though the valve at the top isn’t working properly. I unscrewed the valve on the top and it seems to be in working order and looks the same as the others. Is there a simple fix that I should look into or do I just need to call someone out to take a look? I’m phone posting so to be brief those are easy to rebuild. I’m guessing it’s a rainbird valve, rebuild kits are cheap and easy to install. No need to spend the money on a pro if you’re even slightly handy. Rainbird has a pdf to help troubleshoot, and there’s a bunch of YouTube videos. https://www.rainbird.com/sites/default/files/media/documents/2018-02/man_PGAValveTroubleshootingCards.pdf
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May 8, 2021 19:05
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Unbeliavble to me that anyone would want forced air over radiators, especially if it's already got them installed.
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May 8, 2021 19:14
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skipdogg posted:I’m phone posting so to be brief those are easy to rebuild. I’m guessing it’s a rainbird valve, rebuild kits are cheap and easy to install. No need to spend the money on a pro if you’re even slightly handy. This is awesome thank you. I’ll go through that PDF to see if I can figure out the exact cause.
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May 8, 2021 19:24
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Would not having anything in a fridge cause the breaker to trip? Our new fridge got installed a week ago or so and we just now got up to the house today (haven’t moved in yet) to finish hanging blinds, and when I walked in it was off and the breaker tripped (20a, should be the only thing on the line). It was pretty ambient temp inside, but the ice in the ice maker hadn’t thawed so I reckon it couldn’t have been off long…
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May 8, 2021 19:28
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kitten emergency posted:Would not having anything in a fridge cause the breaker to trip? Our new fridge got installed a week ago or so and we just now got up to the house today (haven’t moved in yet) to finish hanging blinds, and when I walked in it was off and the breaker tripped (20a, should be the only thing on the line). It was pretty ambient temp inside, but the ice in the ice maker hadn’t thawed so I reckon it couldn’t have been off long… Nothing in a fridge makes it work harder to keep it cool especially if it’s turned all the way up. Could be possible that it’s working too hard and it tripped a breaker but also possible the outlet/breaker needs replacing. Worth filling it up with some water bottles or something and turning down the temp to see if it happens again. Also get a fridge thermometer to see what the actual temp is inside.
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May 8, 2021 19:36
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His Divine Shadow posted:Unbeliavble to me that anyone would want forced air over radiators, especially if it's already got them installed. If anything I'd be looking at mini-splits, which also serve as AC, and can warm just the room you're currently using rather than wasting energy to heat the entire house. Not dirt cheap but then neither is any HVAC overhaul.
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May 8, 2021 19:36
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We're looking at a property that was a working farm at one time but has since been subdivided. There's a massive 40x100 foot metal barn, still in great shape, but we have no need for it and don't want the hassle of renting the space for storage or whatever. Do people buy these things used, or even just disassemble and remove for free? Or would we likely be on the hook for demo?
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May 8, 2021 19:46
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just another posted:We're looking at a property that was a working farm at one time but has since been subdivided. There's a massive 40x100 foot metal barn, still in great shape, but we have no need for it and don't want the hassle of renting the space for storage or whatever. Do people buy these things used, or even just disassemble and remove for free? Or would we likely be on the hook for demo? i know that in my neighborhood if you leave anything metal on the curb and look away for ten seconds a sandcrawlerpick up truck full of rednecks will roll by and the metal will be gone before you even realize it.
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May 8, 2021 19:49
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just another posted:We're looking at a property that was a working farm at one time but has since been subdivided. There's a massive 40x100 foot metal barn, still in great shape, but we have no need for it and don't want the hassle of renting the space for storage or whatever. Do people buy these things used, or even just disassemble and remove for free? Or would we likely be on the hook for demo? If you haven't lived on the land for a while to ensure you don't need it, I'd probably keep it for a while. If a few years go by and then you don't need it... Then maybe look at removing it. But a 40x100 barn just seems insanely useful.
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May 8, 2021 19:54
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The property also has a large quonset with granny unit, a detached double garage, and a third outbuilding that could be a very swanky chicken coop. And a falling apart barn with stalls. No lack of outbuildings and storage at this place. My first thought was an indoor hockey rink but realistically it's going to sit mostly unused for a few years at least.
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May 8, 2021 19:59
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His Divine Shadow posted:Unbeliavble to me that anyone would want forced air over radiators, especially if it's already got them installed. I agree, your first winter with radiators you'll realize just how unpleasant forced air is. For cooling I'm looking into minisplits myself, we have six non-contiguous rooms that need cooling spread across three floors, so I'm sure it won't be cheap but still an order of magnitude better than retrofitting ductwork into a house from the 20s.
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May 8, 2021 20:12
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I just spent a week in our new house trying to get as much done pre-move at the end of the month and after feeling like I accomplished barely anything I absolutely get the feeling of "oh god, what have I gotten myself into." But boy, waking up this morning and seeing every wall sanded in and primed did feel pretty good, even if the 8 other things I thought I'd get done will just have to wait another few weeks. And if all goes well, by the time we move in the hideous wall-to-wall peel and stick vinyl tile will be gone and I'll have the refinished original oak floors to admire as well.
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May 8, 2021 23:27
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Yeah buying our first half (which came with tons of work needed) absolutely gave me that overwhelming anxiety attack. But at the end of the day A) the small improvements helped ease the anxiety and B) it's a house and can be resold and walked away from. Just mentally rehearsing my "escape" plan helped alleviate anxiety too. I have actual anxiety issues though so I probably have to do more mental exercises than most.
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May 8, 2021 23:33
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I'm also on team radiator. We've lived here for 6 years and love the radiators. Now that we own or we'll be doing mini splits for cooling, but I can't imagine wanting to get rid of the radiators. Especially now it looks like you can get all sorts of fancy zone stuff in new systems. Which we'll need, since our current boiler is from the 60s.
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May 9, 2021 13:50
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Ball Tazeman posted:2. We unfortunately have radiators in the house but a long term goal is to get forced air in the place one day. That will be a massive expense I’m sure. As others have noted, there is nothing unfortunate about having radiators. Quite the opposite, so I don't understand why you would want to go to such expense to replace your radiators with what I regard as an inferior system. Here are some of the ways in which radiators are better than forced air: - Temperature remains extremely stable due to the slow-acting, radiant nature of radiators. This makes for a very comfortable interior, especially for sleeping (seriously, I'm so spoiled to this that I don't sleep as well in forced air houses anymore due to the comparatively rapid and noticeable temperature shifts). - Radiant heating does not move air around in order to heat. This means it also doesn't move around dust and allergens. Also I much prefer the feeling of radiant warmth to air blowing on me out of a vent. - Doesn't dry out the air like forced air does. - Radiators are quieter. - With a decent boiler, radiant heat is generally more efficient than forced air because water is a more effective vehicle for thermal energy than air moving through ducts. You can always replace an old, inefficient boiler with a better one. If you want a ducted system because you want AC, just do a mini split. But seriously, if you replace the radiators with forced air, you will regret it, and the colder the climate, the more you will regret it. You'll spend all that money so you can expend more energy for less comfortable heat. I've seen home improvement threads elsewhere on the internet where the person wants to ditch their radiators in favor of forced air because of some petty reason like the radiators taking up too much space and then they are advised not to, they do so anyway, and then come crawling back the next winter saying that they've made a terrible mistake. Don't make a terrible mistake. As for me, I will never go back to forced air. When we were shopping for houses, forced air was a huge detractor. If I ever build a house from the ground up, it will have radiant heat, even if I need ducting anyway for central AC.
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May 9, 2021 15:37
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He may want forced air to get Air Conditioning. I suppose they can be separate. It may be helpful for those who love radiators (100% of people so far?) to give a clue about their region/weather conditions to see if it matches the OPs. In my case, i've never had radiators other than at lovely old flat apartments, and since the rest of the place was crap and run down, i didn't really form an opinion one way or another, other then perhaps unsightly. I'm in a midwest cold state adjacent to a great lake.
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May 9, 2021 16:25
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Live in New Hampshire with a forced air oil fired system. Grew up with oil fired radiators and window units. Have lived with just about everything else too except geo heat pumps. Radiators are indeed better. Mini splits with them is probably the ideal combination: radiant heat and convection cooling.
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May 9, 2021 16:52
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How destructive a reno is it to install radiant heating if you're on forced air?
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May 9, 2021 16:56
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I feel like people who hate radiators have never been in charge of the thermostat, have never experienced the joy of a well balanced system, or have only used old busted ones that creek and pop all drat night. You won't even know it's there once you get it setup properly. If you only ever experienced it where your bedroom was 85f when it's negative  degrees outside because your room radiates as much heat as a giant uninsulated living space then give it a second chance. Do all of the things you should do anyways - insulate, air seal, and balance the system first.
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May 9, 2021 17:03
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just another posted:How destructive a reno is it to install radiant heating if you're on forced air? Depends on the layout of the house, but generally a lot less destructive than going the other way, especially now that new hot water systems are using pex-al-pex home run to manifolds rather than rigid pipe.
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May 9, 2021 17:18
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just another posted:How destructive a reno is it to install radiant heating if you're on forced air? Depends on what kind of radiant and the house construction. If you have access to the floors, like a ranch with an unfinished basement, it's easymode for full on heated floor radiant, which is fantastic. Actual radiators would be easy too.
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May 9, 2021 17:19
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I live in a very cold region of Michigan and every family home I’ve had was forced air, while every lovely apartment was a creaky radiator that takes up half the walls. Maybe ours just needs to be serviced, but the one we have in this house creaks and pangs all night and generally heats the house unevenly. All the bedrooms are at 75, while the living room is 63. Maybe its just the bias of growing up with forced air and being perpetually cold, the ease of turning up the thermostat and being warm right away is appealing.
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May 9, 2021 17:59
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Anyone have any experience with having EIFS removed from a brick house? I'm toying with getting a siding contractor out to spitball the idea with them. I hate the poo poo and want it removed but most of the stuff I read is that the brick underneath is probably hosed due to whatever method they may have used to attach the the EIFS.
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May 9, 2021 19:13
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couldcareless posted:Anyone have any experience with having EIFS removed from a brick house? My understanding is that you'd be looking at sandblasting and maybe even repointing after removal. That's a ton of labor.
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May 9, 2021 19:18
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The only heating system that should replace radiators is heated floors. I suspect your system needs some adjustment and maybe you have some buildup in the lines. Also make sure the radiator is actually on. I went a few months in a house where the valve for the bedroom radiator was closed.
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May 9, 2021 19:21
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Motronic posted:My understanding is that you'd be looking at sandblasting and maybe even repointing after removal. That's a ton of labor. Ugh, yeah, that's what it's seeming like. I was hoping that maybe someone had come out with a good method of doing it at this point. I figure even if the brick comes out marred a bit, we would probably just paint it anyway so with minor pointing work could maybe hide a lot of the bad stuff. I might still reach out to a few firms and see what they say.
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May 9, 2021 19:24
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couldcareless posted:I figure even if the brick comes out marred a bit, we would probably just paint it anyway That's absolutely criminal, and a short sighted idea. Do. Not. Paint. Brick. It's a surface that is very very low maintenance and putting paint on it turns it into a high maintenance surface that will be even more expensive to revert back to its natural state.
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May 9, 2021 19:28
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Yeah, don't paint brick. Limewash it 
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May 9, 2021 20:06
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The brick fireplace in our house was painted white and had holes drilled in to it all over the loving place. It’s nonfunctional at the moment anyway so 
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May 9, 2021 20:09
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Does anyone in the thread have experience with reverting their siding from vinyl to wood? Our vinyl siding is reaching end of life. There are wood clapboards/decorative shingling underneath (house built in late 1800s)- small peeks have shown them to be in fair to good condition, but we don’t have a holistic idea of how they’re doing or what might have been done to window detailing, etc. I realize the project has the potential to just turn into a money pit, but I don’t know how to approach this kind of project with a contractor. Like, take the vinyl off, assess the damage, then either fix the wood siding as needed or redo vinyl (plus any necessary repairs) if we can’t afford to use our preferred material? All previous projects we’ve done had fairly limited potential for scope changes, whereas this one... may not.
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May 9, 2021 20:26
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BadSamaritan posted:I realize the project has the potential to just turn into a money pit, but I don’t know how to approach this kind of project with a contractor. Like, take the vinyl off, assess the damage, then either fix the wood siding as needed or redo vinyl (plus any necessary repairs) if we can’t afford to use our preferred material? Yeah, you've pretty much got it. Plan/budget for a complete replacement of siding and/or scraping and painting the wood siding at a minimum, be happy if you get off lighter. The siding was covered for a reason.
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May 9, 2021 20:45
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Motronic posted:The siding was covered for a reason. Desperately hoping it’s because the little old lady previous previous owner got sweet talked into ~~never painting again~~, which would align with some of the other repairs we’ve had to do. Hopefully it doesn’t track with the fiberglass patch that was slapped onto the leaking oil tank (thanks).
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May 9, 2021 21:26
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Long shot, anyone know anything about 60s metal crank operated casement windows? So we have these probably late 60s Soule metal (I would assume maybe brass or bronze, they haven't oxidized like AL would on the coast and they don't stick to magnets?) casement windows. This fucker has decided to stop closing properly  Yes, that is wormy wood  If you look closely, the little tab the latch goes into has started catching on the frame  If you zoom in you can see where it is catching. Is there any way to adjust these windows? The hinges and everything seem pretty tight and everything seems riveted together. I can close it by wiggling the handle a bit, but this place has renters most of the year, and my experience with them is they love to force loving everything. Note to everyone: if you are using crank windows and they're resisting you, its because you still have them latched or something is broken. Edit: I'd prefer not to take a file to the latch, but that may be where I end up. nm fucked around with this message at 00:41 on May 10, 2021 |
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May 10, 2021 00:38
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I've been trying to figure out why my oven is so loving crooked in this opening Turns out the opening isn't square at all Opening is 30 1/4 at the front and 29 3/4 at the back
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May 10, 2021 01:54
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I'm planning on building out a fire pit and paver pad in our backyard. The plan is to add some sort of privacy screen along one face of it, since it's visible from a public park. The default choice is a simple wood fence, but I'm tempted to do some sort of concrete/wood combination. About two or three feet of concrete, then wood on top. Along these lines: Initially I wasn't entertaining working with concrete for this as the amount of effort required to pour that much concrete (3 feet tall, about 50 linear feet, maybe a foot thick) was going to be just too much for the scope of the project. Then today while looking around I saw people using cinder blocks to build the wall, then coating them with various substrates. I honestly forgot that was something that was an option. Laying a cinder block wall 3' tall/50' long would be much, much easier than pouring that much concrete, given that the layout of my yard prohibits any large-scale concrete delivery. The component of this that I have a question about is what type of footer is necessary for putting in a concrete block wall. This isn't part of a structure; no house is being built on this. It's not a retaining wall either. It's on flat ground. As I mentioned, it would be about 3' tall by 50' long, have a couple wood benches attached, and a few extra feet of a wood fence sitting on top. One video said you need a concrete footer as deep as the frost line to build on, but given that my frost line is 3.5' deep, there's no way in hell I could manage that. What do you think would be necessary for a stable concrete block wall, given what I've described?
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May 10, 2021 02:49
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I have, for better or worse, graduated from the Home Buying thread to this one. The trial by fire learning has already begun. During inspection it was discovered that there is (or had been?) a rodent infestation in the crawlspace. The seller hired an exterminator (allegedly) to clean it up a bit and deal with it. Specifics were not clear, but that's in the past now. Our inspector pointed out a crawlspace ventilation hole that had no cover or mesh over it and guessed that it was where the rodents were getting in. I went out today to stuff some steel wool in the hole while I figure out what to do long term. As soon as I began, some bees began coming out of the hole (i.e. out of the crawlspace) to investigate what I was up to. They were fuzzy with some orange on their backs, and some rudimentary googling indicated it may be a type of bumble bee (I'm in Oregon fwiw). I'm not really sure what my next step should be. I'm fine hiring a professional pest wrangler to handle this whole situation (including finding and patching any existing holes), but I'm not sure if it's necessary at this stage. Bees are cool and good, especially because we have quite a few flowers around that side of the house. But holes inviting rodents to live below my bedroom are less cool. I also don't have any great way to verify that the rodents were actually removed and, even if they were, that they didn't move back in due to the unpatched hole. Should I just hire a professional, or is this a simple thing to tackle (with no prior experience)? I like bees, but are they bad to have in a crawlspace or beneath a house?
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May 10, 2021 03:42
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The Wonder Weapon posted:I'm planning on building out a fire pit and paver pad in our backyard. The plan is to add some sort of privacy screen along one face of it, since it's visible from a public park. The default choice is a simple wood fence, but I'm tempted to do some sort of concrete/wood combination. About two or three feet of concrete, then wood on top. Along these lines: Most of free standing cinder block walls are probably retainer style, something like this https://youtu.be/hk0QwLDa-ww He’s in Ontario, so similar frost line depth
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May 10, 2021 03:47
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incogneato posted:I have, for better or worse, graduated from the Home Buying thread to this one. The trial by fire learning has already begun. I don’t really have much to add except solidarity in infestation fighting in a new home. We just found out there was an old dryer vent that was just completely left open. If I had the money, I would hire an exterminator to deal with rodents possibly re-entering. I would be skeptical that the seller ever had one in the first place because they would have noticed an open vent. Although bumblebees are mostly harmless, you probably don’t want them in your crawl space, as bee hives can absolutely cause structural damage to wood when the hives get big (this happened in my family home growing up). If you want to keep bees around I would plant some milkweed, thistle, and wildflowers and put a little bee house out on a fence in the yard, they will find their way there.
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May 10, 2021 03:58
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I'm a radiator haver in Minnesota, so it gets cold here. We've got steam radiators with valves on each one, and so when we first moved in there was a little bit of tweaking on all the valves to get it to the point where ~67 at the thermostat was going to be about the same temperature in all the rooms.
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May 10, 2021 04:21
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I’m in the middle of a substantial but not complete gut renovation of an older (100+) house. We’re installing batt insulation in interior walls and floors, mostly for sound insulation as opposed to temperature. We really just want it to be less obvious when people are using the powder room, help keep it a little quieter when washing dishes at night, etc. There was no interior insulation before so anything is better than that. One part of the insulation section of the contract is phrased like this: “Scope of work includes the installation of the following insulation materials: (...) Fiberglass Batt Insulation - Floor System between units (Sound Attenuation Insulation not included.)” I’m trying to understand what they are excluding here. I’m guessing they mean cell spray foam or something. I’m wondering what else it could mean. They are agreeing to I stall fiberglass batt, which is basic sound dampening stuff but not like privacy insulation. The estimator has been a hot mess from the beginning of this project though so it might just be a cut and paste (we don’t have more than one unit for example). Anyone have any ideas?
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May 10, 2021 17:53
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