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Democratic Pirate posted:That makes sense, I asked because we’ve got a speaker one at our house and my parents and in laws have mechanical. We can only have the speaker at ~25% max volume or it definitely gets into “blasty” territory. It's amazing. We have 3 in our house. I want a mechanical "rain" machine - I sleep like I'm sedated if it's raining out.
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May 28, 2021 20:38
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Anonymous Zebra posted:I meant induction cooktop, but I'm an idiot who uses the wrong words... I'm in the opposite situation, wanting to convince my wife to swap our old lovely dirty rental quality gas stove with a new induction stove, for basically the same reasons you mention. If you're not sold on the idea of induction, you can buy plugin single burner induction cook tops pretty cheaply to try them out, I'm probably going to do something like that to convince the wife. You also may need new pans, check if a magnet sticks to your pans, if not they won't work with induction. Just be careful where you plugin them in, looks like they'll all go up to about 1800 watts which would be a full 15 amps at 120V, so keep that in mind.
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May 28, 2021 22:44
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Anonymous Zebra posted:We don't have a fume hood currently in our kitchen so the gas range stinks up the place Not having a hood of any kind, not even a recirculating one, is a huge problem that is not going to be fixed by switching which energy source you cook with.
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May 28, 2021 22:53
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Motronic posted:Not having a hood of any kind, not even a recirculating one, is a huge problem that is not going to be fixed by switching which energy source you cook with. Oh absolutely, I realize that. We do have a recirculating fan, but not one that pumps air out of the house. The kitchen needs several things done to it, and some of those things are going to have to wait because they are more complicated/require hiring contractors. Currently a microwave sits above the stove, and that would in theory need to move to get a hood installed which means I need to find a place to move the microwave, and so on. Right now, just buying a new stove is a good first step. 
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May 29, 2021 00:03
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Anonymous Zebra posted:Currently a microwave sits above the stove, and that would in theory need to move to get a hood installed Isn't that microwave a recirculating hood also? Granted, not full depth, but make sure the filters are in it and clean. And USE. IT. Also, most of those microwave/hoods can absolutely be vented outside. They are typically installed with the blockoff/recirc plates installed because builders are cheap and don't need to live in your house.
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May 29, 2021 00:12
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Anonymous Zebra posted:Oh absolutely, I realize that. We do have a recirculating fan, but not one that pumps air out of the house. The kitchen needs several things done to it, and some of those things are going to have to wait because they are more complicated/require hiring contractors. Currently a microwave sits above the stove, and that would in theory need to move to get a hood installed which means I need to find a place to move the microwave, and so on. Right now, just buying a new stove is a good first step. I'd take a good look to see if your microwave has a ducting option. A lot of the microwaves (and range hoods in general) are convertible between recirculating or ducting. It may also not duct straight up but horizontally out the 'back' through the exterior wall. Edit: what Motronic said.
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May 29, 2021 00:27
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For gas appliance owners, where is your gas shutoff located? For our slide in range to fit flush to the wall the gas needs to be in a certain region down close to the floor. Coincidentally this is where it is right now (and was for the last owner's gas range), but I would like to not have to move a 400lb range or of the way to get to the shutoff in an emergency. If there a simple way to keep the had love where it is but have a shutoff valve in a more convenient location?
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May 29, 2021 00:41
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Zebra -- a microwave is usually what most homeowners have for a vent hood... They vary between recirculating and outside vented. If you truly could not convert your microwave to be outside vented, you would probably just want to get a new microwave that can, not a dedicated vent hood / separate microwave.
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May 29, 2021 00:46
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Inner Light posted:Zebra -- a microwave is usually what most homeowners have for a vent hood... They vary between recirculating and outside vented. If you truly could not convert your microwave to be outside vented, you would probably just want to get a new microwave that can, not a dedicated vent hood / separate microwave. Well gently caress me. Just found the owner's manual online and it does have the option for back or top exhaust to outside. Okay, so in either converting this one (or just buying a new microwave that matches the new stove) what kind of contractor do I call to get the ducting installed above the microwave and out of the house?
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May 29, 2021 01:30
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Anonymous Zebra posted:Well gently caress me. Just found the owner's manual online and it does have the option for back or top exhaust to outside. Okay, so in either converting this one (or just buying a new microwave that matches the new stove) what kind of contractor do I call to get the ducting installed above the microwave and out of the house? HVAC should have you covered.
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May 29, 2021 01:43
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PageMaster posted:For gas appliance owners, where is your gas shutoff located? For our slide in range to fit flush to the wall the gas needs to be in a certain region down close to the floor. Coincidentally this is where it is right now (and was for the last owner's gas range), but I would like to not have to move a 400lb range or of the way to get to the shutoff in an emergency. If there a simple way to keep the had love where it is but have a shutoff valve in a more convenient location? Mine is inside the cabinet next to the cooktop.
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May 29, 2021 01:51
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skipdogg posted:Mine is inside the cabinet next to the cooktop. Do you have a slide in range or just the cooktop? Ours is the standalone stove/oven combo.
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May 29, 2021 01:55
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PageMaster posted:For gas appliance owners, where is your gas shutoff located? For our slide in range to fit flush to the wall the gas needs to be in a certain region down close to the floor. Coincidentally this is where it is right now (and was for the last owner's gas range), but I would like to not have to move a 400lb range or of the way to get to the shutoff in an emergency. If there a simple way to keep the had love where it is but have a shutoff valve in a more convenient location? Do you know where the main shutoff to your house is? Does it work? We had to have ours replaced (by the gas company, for free), because it was rusted solid and didn't work. I now keep a wrench of exactly the right size hanging next to it. Realistically, if you've got an emergency that requires the gas to be shut off, you're not going to want to gently caress around with a valve that's near the appliance leaking gas, so going straight to the main is an entirely reasonable approach.
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May 29, 2021 02:31
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devicenull posted:Do you know where the main shutoff to your house is? Does it work? Probably a good point, I'll check out the main.
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May 29, 2021 02:33
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Why is bathroom stuff all so expensive. All the random bits like shower trays, tabs etc are like 2x the price I would have guessed. Also, does anyone have a solid wood countertop? It fits best with our design for the kitchen and we love the look, but I'm a little worried about upkeep being a pain. Lots of people online say it's "fine" but I don't know if that's motivated reasoning since they've already spent the money. Key thing I've learnt so far is to get the tap integrated into the sink.
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May 29, 2021 17:32
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pointsofdata posted:Why is bathroom stuff all so expensive. All the random bits like shower trays, tabs etc are like 2x the price I would have guessed. Welcome to the pandemic. Glad you stopped by. All supply chains are hosed right now. You're LUCKY if you get to overpay for these things because that means they're actually in stock. A lot of things are not. This was always the logical outcome of "just in time" manufacturing and distribution that prioritizes having the least possible amount of manufacturing capacity and stock to service a statistically predicted demand. That demand changes (because everyone has decided now is the time to remodel their home) or the supply chain gets disrupted and here we are.
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May 29, 2021 17:58
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pointsofdata posted:Why is bathroom stuff all so expensive. All the random bits like shower trays, tabs etc are like 2x the price I would have guessed. It doesn't communicate with any appliances like a sink or whatever, but I do have a large finished butcher block island. If you're planning on living there for a long time the question is "am I willing to have to eventually strip, sand, and re-finish this down the road" or of course just live with the scratches and dings that accumulate over time. Every time i drop down a cutting board too hard or accidentally scratch it it's just like "ooooh if that's too deep I'm gonna have to look at that for the next 5 years". Overall I love it and honestly it's held up really well with no major cosmetic dings that bother me yet. But it's always a little bit in the back of my head that I could mess it up somehow and it would be a big job to restore it. I might feel differently if it was my main countertop though, which tends to receive more traffic and wear.
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May 29, 2021 18:18
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Motronic posted:Welcome to the pandemic. Glad you stopped by. I picked a bad time to renovate 4 bathrooms
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May 29, 2021 18:37
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On pricing: you might have also noticed that houses, especially big suburban ones, are flying off the market seconds after they're listed. Many of those buyers are HGTV aficionados, and they NEED to update those bathrooms and kitchen RIGHT NOW. Many contractors won't even roll out of bed for any jobs less than $5000. If you can wait until next year, that would be wise. Supplies/labor prices may never drop to 2019 levels again, but pricing right now is well into F-U territory, and suckers keep biting.
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May 29, 2021 19:05
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I went to change out some dead/dying lightbulbs in my bathroom and discovered that they are GX24Q-3 sockets. For reference: I can get those bulbs (and thankfully the previous owners left behind a large stash of them too), but I'm curious why these fuckers even exist. What's the point of this type of connector, when other CFLs with standard bases already exist? Why even install this type of socket? Edit: It's just in the bathroom, too. The rest of the house is standard bulbs.
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May 29, 2021 19:45
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pointsofdata posted:Also, does anyone have a solid wood countertop? It fits best with our design for the kitchen and we love the look, but I'm a little worried about upkeep being a pain. Lots of people online say it's "fine" but I don't know if that's motivated reasoning since they've already spent the money. Key thing I've learnt so far is to get the tap integrated into the sink. We have a section of butcher block countertop (supported by sawhorses because our kitchen is a joke) and I actually like it a lot. Ours is the type that's basically an overgrown wooden cutting board, so it has a food-grade mineral oil finish that we clean with soap and water like a cutting board and re-oil periodically. Actually it's due for a light sanding + re-oil, I think. The one thing I dislike about it is that it's not end grain. Once we get to redoing our kitchen, we're going to put end grain butcher block (with mineral oil finish) on the stove island so we can have an awesome work surface we can beat on and then sand and re-oil if it gets hosed up. Going about it this way means accepting that the surface will not remain pristine and will eventually come to be scarred with nicks, knife marks, and stains, but to me that's a huge part of the charm and appeal. I've never been a fan of the idea that a kitchen counter needs to be perfect and shiny at all times. The other type of wood countertops I'm aware of are ones that are sealed with waterproof stuff that makes them pretty and shiny but kinda defeats the point of them being wood because you can't treat them like cutting boards anymore. PS: I'd be wary about putting butcher block directly around a sink.
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May 29, 2021 19:50
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House oOwnership; only 15,000 bux to reduce my risk of Dying in an electrical fire slightly. I wish I had hot water.
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May 29, 2021 19:50
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Sundae posted:I went to change out some dead/dying lightbulbs in my bathroom and discovered that they are GX24Q-3 sockets. For reference: I dunno man, stuff was weird 10-15 years ago. there's no one right answer for why a particular bulb type or fixture was used, it's what was in style and available at the time I would guess. If you are looking for convenience, longevity, and probably better light quality you could look into replacement with an integrated LED/bulb fixture. For a lot of these custom shape CFL bulbs, LowesDepot stopped supplying them several years back, so you may have to look hard for a replacement if your stash runs out, or go to Amazon. I had a Circline fixture in my rental apartment bathroom, thankfully it broke so the landlord replaced it with an integrated LED one. Inner Light fucked around with this message at 19:56 on May 29, 2021 |
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May 29, 2021 19:53
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Manufacturers are assholes and all think their base is going to be the next big thing. My in-laws use them as well, the ge brand bulbs have typos on the box. It's amazing. At least the website I bought them from said they were ge.
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May 29, 2021 19:56
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H110Hawk posted:Manufacturers are assholes and all think their base is going to be the next big thing. My in-laws use them as well, the ge brand bulbs have typos on the box. It's amazing. At least the website I bought them from said they were ge. Narrator: They were not GE If you buy from Amazon when it's shipped and sold by Amazon, there's a decent chance it's genuine, anything else and I wouldn't bet on it.
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May 29, 2021 19:57
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Didn’t GE sell their lightbulb business l? So now even GE bulbs are not GE.
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May 29, 2021 19:59
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Queen Victorian posted:We have a section of butcher block countertop (supported by sawhorses because our kitchen is a joke) and I actually like it a lot. Ours is the type that's basically an overgrown wooden cutting board, so it has a food-grade mineral oil finish that we clean with soap and water like a cutting board and re-oil periodically. Actually it's due for a light sanding + re-oil, I think. The one thing I dislike about it is that it's not end grain. Thanks (and hobbez too). Having just a section of the work surface in wood sounds like a great compromise, I'll see if I can work that into the plans. We were worried about the kitchen being a bit sterile looking without the wood so it getting worn would be ideal!
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May 29, 2021 20:05
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Inner Light posted:I dunno man, stuff was weird 10-15 years ago. there's no one right answer for why a particular bulb type or fixture was used, it's what was in style and available at the time I would guess. If you are looking for convenience, longevity, and probably better light quality you could look into replacement with an integrated LED/bulb fixture. To me it felt like a weak and incredibly anti-consumer way to ensure that you didn't put an incandescent bulb in a fixture that wasn't rated for it. Of course they sell adapters for some of these fucky sockets so you can screw in any bulb with a regular base, so... yeah.
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May 29, 2021 20:15
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Sundae posted:I went to change out some dead/dying lightbulbs in my bathroom and discovered that they are GX24Q-3 sockets. For reference: The ballast is in the fixture not the bulb, those predate miniaturization of electronic ballasts that can go in the base of a screw in, and the fixtures themselves were likely an energy efficiency requirement since bathroom lights are the most likely to be left on
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May 29, 2021 20:33
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Qwijib0 posted:The ballast is in the fixture not the bulb, those predate miniaturization of electronic ballasts that can go in the base of a screw in, and the fixtures themselves were likely an energy efficiency requirement since bathroom lights are the most likely to be left on Ahh, that makes sense. Thanks. If my stash gets used up before I move out, I may bite the bullet and replace the sockets. For now, though, I have 10 of the bulbs in a box in the closet.
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May 29, 2021 20:41
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Thanks for the answers thus far guys. Here is the continuation of my ventilation/microwave question. I found the old installation and operating instructions for the current microwave and there was in theory supposed to be a charcoal filter in there, but after I opened it up there was none in sight (wtf were the previous owners thinking?). In any case, I've ordered that in order to put that in place for now. So right above my microwave is this (ignore the Scotch):  My assumption is that in order to install ducting that a hole will be cut through the cabinet down to the microwave and then another hole will be cut through the top into the attic. Then it can just be curved over and out of the house over here:  Right above the lower of the two roofs. Or I guess it could just keep going straight up and out of the top roof? Not sure which is better there, although I'd rather cut a hole in the stucco than the roof to be honest. So my question is, are these ducts really big? Would it get in the way of the electrical outlet in that cabinet? Because that's where I have the microwave (and my security cameras for the backyard) plugged in. I'm just trying to figure out how complicated this is going to be. Also, is an HVAC contractor really the most appropriate, or is there more of a handyman type of thing? I'm probably just going to buy a new microwave when we get a new stove, and I'd have that one installed to the any ducting at that time. But I suppose I should have the ducting installed first. Are all microwaves going to vent from roughly the same location? If I cut hole based on where this one vents (which I can figure out from the installation instructions), is the hole going to line up with a different microwave's venting port?
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May 29, 2021 22:32
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The duct diameter will depend on the size of the fan for your blower. Most hoods will list a recommended and minimum diameter, and there are calculations that can be done based on length of run and number of turns, but 4" is usually the minimum and should be fine for basic ventilation. If you're doing all this work anyways I would consider 6" in case you decide to upgrade in the future and to also reduce noise, but this is definitely not necessary if you're limited with space and not looking at some of those higher end stronger gas burners. Ducting will depend on what's easiest in your place specifically. My parent's goes out behind the microwave to the exterior wall (so no holes in cabinets or 90s), and ours goes up and does a 90 in our soffit to go out the side of our kitchen. I saw another poster here who did the same but running it on the top of their cabinets. I don't think it matters too much if you go up or to the side as long as it's a relatively straight run. PageMaster fucked around with this message at 01:05 on May 30, 2021 |
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May 29, 2021 22:59
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Got some roof leaks along the edge. It's a low angle, "torch down" roof, 5 years old. The drip edge wasn't sealed that well originally, there were some wrinkles that were never fully sealed. Last summer I called the roofer back, they patched a small area. I then did some more myself with Henry Wet Patch. Now I'm finding even more areas that leak. Should I- A- call the roofer back again B- slap some more gunk up there myself C- call a more competent roofer D- something else. This talks about mesh and nails https://homeguides.sfgate.com/seal-drip-edges-torchdown-roof-67234.html I don't know how to put imgur from phone http://imgur.com/gallery/625w9PX
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May 29, 2021 23:39
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Epitope posted:Got some roof leaks along the edge. It's a low angle, "torch down" roof, 5 years old. The drip edge wasn't sealed that well originally, there were some wrinkles that were never fully sealed. Last summer I called the roofer back, they patched a small area. I then did some more myself with Henry Wet Patch. Now I'm finding even more areas that leak. Should I- A every time, though I haven't dealt with this before. Is there some sort of written warranty included with this job? If they don't make it right, take them to small claims court. Why is a 5 year old roof continually leaking.
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May 29, 2021 23:56
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I should have said, their customer was the previous owner, so not sure how much leverage I have
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May 30, 2021 00:13
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Epitope posted:I should have said, their customer was the previous owner, so not sure how much leverage I have Many roof warranties I've encountered have a "single-owner transfer" where the warranty carries over to at least one owner change. I'd take a look at the warranty that the company gave the previous owner and work from there. If you don't have a warranty...then maybe not bother working with the same company that did the crappy job?
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May 30, 2021 00:48
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Would you trust free termite inspections offered for your house? Was told in CA is but a good idea to get inspected for Termites annually. A lot of companies offer free termite inspections, buy I feel like they would have more of a reason to 'find' things to treat, versus someone I pay only for an inspection since them getting money from me I not contingent on selling me on other things. All I just looking to hard into this?
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May 30, 2021 01:46
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PageMaster posted:Would you trust free termite inspections offered for your house? Was told in CA is but a good idea to get inspected for Termites annually. A lot of companies offer free termite inspections, buy I feel like they would have more of a reason to 'find' things to treat, versus someone I pay only for an inspection since them getting money from me I not contingent on selling me on other things. All I just looking to hard into this? I wouldn't accept a free termite inspection, no. They are legally regulated pretty strictly. What I don't get is how you ever "stop" having them - We had the usual inspection, they treated some stuff, and now 2 years later I had it inspected. The guy tried to warn me off, seriously, "because if we find something we have to report it." Sure enough he found some stuff in the exact same spots, nothing alive but "evidence of old infestation." Gave me a big ole shrug when I asked him how they know new vs old-and-treated. It wasn't even hot out, I think he just didn't want to crawl around under/over my house. Is this just a scam or is there something they're supposed to do to "mark" it?
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May 30, 2021 01:54
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H110Hawk posted:I wouldn't accept a free termite inspection, no. They are legally regulated pretty strictly. What I don't get is how you ever "stop" having them - We had the usual inspection, they treated some stuff, and now 2 years later I had it inspected. The guy tried to warn me off, seriously, "because if we find something we have to report it." Sure enough he found some stuff in the exact same spots, nothing alive but "evidence of old infestation." Gave me a big ole shrug when I asked him how they know new vs old-and-treated. It wasn't even hot out, I think he just didn't want to crawl around under/over my house. Is this just a scam or is there something they're supposed to do to "mark" it? Depending on the type of termite the signs of new infestations vs. old tend to be different. For subterranean termite infestations, the sign of infestation usually are the mud tubes going from the soil into your house. During treatment the control company is supposed to destroy all of these tubes so that the new set of inspections will note wheather new tubes have appeared. For drywood termites the common signs of infestation are the presence of the leavings and wood dust they expel from the wood. Left to their own devices you will usually see piles of this stuff build up in certain spots where they like dumping out all of the waste. In this case the control company is supposed to also clean this up after treatment, although the homeowner should also just vacuum it up after it's been noted. If new frass and dust then reappears either in new places or at the same place then you know that the infestation is back. Almost all of these companies should be offering covered periods after treatment where they will come back and retreat for free. They should also be offering annual inspections once you get the treatments to confirm that new infestations have not appeared. EDIT: And if you are in California you should absolutely be getting inspected yearly.
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May 30, 2021 03:57
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Thinking about it, I guess the better question is can I trust the free termite inspections offered by the companies here? A lot offer free ones unless part of a real estate transaction or requiring the pest inspection report, while others charge no matter what.
PageMaster fucked around with this message at 05:51 on May 30, 2021 |
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May 30, 2021 05:33
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