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biracial bear for uncut posted:EDIT: Got an email from the home insurance company last week offering an undisclosed discount on my home insurance premium if I'll install a water detector that they'll send me free of charge. It's the Flo by Moen. Has anybody used one of those/are they worth anything/etc.? Lucky! I've been eyeing these devices for a while now, but they're $350+, and I'm a cheap bastard. If insurance was smart, they'd all be doing what yours is. The #1 insurance claim, by a mile, is water damage, and the average claim is 5-figues. Anyway, you want to install it as close to your main shutoff as possible or where the water line enters the house. For the Flo, the reviews are pretty good, but it takes time for the unit to 'learn' your water usage pattern, so you may get false trips at first. I know for the Flo, you can also buy water sensors that pair with it to place in areas where you might have issues (e.g. behind the washing machine). With those, if it senses water, it immediately turns the water off. Whereas, normally, the system would see a bunch of gallons going by, and shut it off after some period of time. You'd have water damage, but your whole house wouldn't flood.
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Jul 14, 2021 14:22
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Are they paying to install it as well? It looks like something that would replace your main water shutoff, or go immediately downstream of it.
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Jul 14, 2021 14:31
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Nah, it's only a leak detector, not the shutoff system itself (though that would be pretty sweet). I guess the detector alone is just an early warning/tattle-tale system to let the insurance company know they can hike my premiums if an actual leak is detected? EDIT: The leak detector is $60 and you basically just hang/place it in an area you want to be notified about any water/excess humidity and then connect it to your wifi via the phone app. I'm assuming you have to also keep up with battery life but it uses a CR123A battery so that shouldn't be hard to replace whenever it runs down. Also an 80 decibel alarm, yay. I guess I'd just put it on the floor directly beneath/next to the water heater since that's the big "holy poo poo" thing that will cause damage if it leaks, but now I'm thinking about maybe getting the shutoff system and installing it immediately after the manual shutoff if it isn't too much trouble to get to. Some Pinko Commie fucked around with this message at 14:40 on Jul 14, 2021 |
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Jul 14, 2021 14:34
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biracial bear for uncut posted:Nah, it's only a leak detector, not the shutoff system itself (though that would be pretty sweet). Oh, that's lame. I guess I'm not surprised the insurance company would half-rear end it. If you just want leak alarms, you can get Chinese-company-name-of-the-month units on Amazon for $10-15 each. They're a good idea for areas where you might not notice small leaks at first. I don't really see much value in IoT poo poo for this, because if I'm out of the house, what good is a phone app message to me? How many gallons will spew before I can drive back home?
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Jul 14, 2021 15:36
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I mean, it'd be a good alert so you can then either rush home or contact someone you know that can access the home and turn poo poo off. Slightly better than saying "gently caress it" and being surprised whenever you get home.
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Jul 14, 2021 15:44
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B-Nasty posted:Oh, that's lame. I guess I'm not surprised the insurance company would half-rear end it. I have a smart things water sensor in my HVAC drip pan and an 2 hours out of town into a weekend long bike camping trip I got an alert that water was detected. I was able to call a friend and have him check it out and make sure there was no damage. I also have an ecobee that allowed me to cut my HVAC off remotely. It was just a clogged drain line but without the notifications I could have come back to a decent amount of water damage. Since then I've also installed 2 float switches that will cut off the compressor even without my input.
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Jul 14, 2021 16:01
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biracial bear for uncut posted:
We're looking at these so hopefully we get a similar offer. They just alarm and notify the app if they detect water, but you just put them in and leave them and there's no real upkeep unless you don't have it plugged in and need to replace the battery every year. I've seen people recommend under the kitchen sink, under the washer, and behind the toilet but I feel like those areas wouldn't get bad enough before being visually noticed. We personally are looking at above our first floor ceiling underneath the bathroom to cover possible bad shower/supply plumbing/drainage leaks ince I have canned LED lights and can just slide one in since I'm mostly worried about leaks I can't see. Possibly just shoving one in our attic as well. They make 6 foot wires you can run entire areas or perimeters around things, but you'd have to pay for that separate. My water heater is in the garage and is supposed to have auto leak detection which is why I'm not looking for one there. They aren't as handy at the one you install on the water main (still saving for that), but a free one and discount would be great. PageMaster fucked around with this message at 17:04 on Jul 14, 2021 |
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Jul 14, 2021 16:03
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SpartanIvy posted:I have a smart things water sensor in my HVAC drip pan and an 2 hours out of town into a weekend long bike camping trip I got an alert that water was detected. I was able to call a friend and have him check it out and make sure there was no damage. I also have an ecobee that allowed me to cut my HVAC off remotely. If everything was installed and maintained correctly none of this would have been necessary because the float in your drain pan would have shut down the A/C on it's own before it overflowed. This system has been in use for decades and doesn't require wifi or even a phone, nor does it require you to actually do anything. It's incredible, I know.
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Jul 14, 2021 16:13
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Just got my first water bill after installing a smart watering device. It's about $10 lower than the equivalent bill in years past, which is good news. I was concerned since it seems to water a lot longer, although that's offset by it going less frequently and accounting for rain, both in delay and reducing time. The lawn overall looks better this year too. A couple of dry areas that I have noticed only required me to adjust heads or clean up overgrown plants. If my next water bill is the same as this one, it will officially have paid for itself. I always have a summer spike when it dries up in July and August.
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Jul 14, 2021 17:28
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Motronic posted:If everything was installed and maintained correctly none of this would have been necessary because the float in your drain pan would have shut down the A/C on it's own before it overflowed. This system has been in use for decades and doesn't require wifi or even a phone, nor does it require you to actually do anything. It's incredible, I know. Guess who's brand-loving-new HVAC system did not have its float sensor installed at the low end of the pan (lets not even get into "why is there a low end?") and ended up hearing about a leak from their flooring contractors? This guy. Install team didn't loving test the drain line and thankfully the issue was caught fast and the repair technician both moved the sensor to the right place and installed a second sensor.
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Jul 14, 2021 17:39
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Motronic posted:If everything was installed and maintained correctly none of this would have been necessary because the float in your drain pan would have shut down the A/C on it's own before it overflowed. This system has been in use for decades and doesn't require wifi or even a phone, nor does it require you to actually do anything. It's incredible, I know. You're assuming a lot with "installed correctly". In my experience nothing ever is unless you do it yourself. There are no shortage of stories of people's houses being flooded from "professionally" installed and maintained units. (E: see above) Having an additional redundant protection is never a bad idea, unless you're an old curmudgeon who thinks things cant be better than they used to be. My unit had one float switch installed on the secondary drain line, but it leaks out the bottom of the unit before it trips that it seems. I installed a second float switch on the pan so that if either switch is triggered the compressor cuts off. However it takes a significant amount of water to trigger the pan float switch and only a tiny bit for the smart things moisture sensor to get triggered so it allows quicker response time on my part, and it's another layer of redundancy in case the float switches fail to work properly for whatever reason. Sometimes things just fail after all. It also means I don't have to shop vac gallons of water out of drain pan in my attic after an issue happens.
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Jul 14, 2021 17:45
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Late reply (non-house-purchase related family stuff), but we're closing next week and want to start getting repairs and things lined up.Motronic posted:Let's start with why you want to do this. biracial bear for uncut posted:Maybe they have local intrusive wildlife? The main concern is insects, maybe rodents (have had both in our current rental in the same area). We are planning to get pest control but still, my wife wants it sealed off and there is better access to the crawlspace elsewhere so I figured why not. I'm ok spending a few K closing it up, just not sure who to start with.
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Jul 14, 2021 19:03
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The Vikings posted:Late reply (non-house-purchase related family stuff), but we're closing next week and want to start getting repairs and things lined up. I'd consider wire shelving with sealable containers and/or metal cabinets. What you want to do is likely going to cost an inordinate amount for a mere 100 square feet. But if you want to try this anyway, any GC would be able to do it. I doubt they WOULD because it's going to be a pin in the rear end job that won't be profitable enough, but you can try. The first thing they're going to look at will likely be those crawl spaced to see if closing them off at the basement part is going to cause issues, whether building envelope or access and based on what they find there the price will only go up, up up.
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Jul 14, 2021 19:23
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Motronic posted:I'd consider wire shelving with sealable containers and/or metal cabinets.
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Jul 14, 2021 21:29
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The Vikings posted:Yeah, I figured a GC would see this as too small, which was why I was wondering if there was an appropriate subcontractor to handle it. Only one way to find out, guess I'll start calling GCs after we move in. Thanks. Isn't it just sheetrocking a ceiling? Handyman or a sheetrock contractor. Maybe even a painter.
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Jul 14, 2021 22:53
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So my PO put staples into the wall then primed and painted over them, very poorly. When I pull one out, this happens: That should just be filled with a bit of drywall compound then sanded, right before I paint, yeah?
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Jul 14, 2021 23:00
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StormDrain posted:Isn't it just sheetrocking a ceiling? Handyman or a sheetrock contractor. Maybe even a painter.
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Jul 14, 2021 23:08
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Johnny Truant posted:So my PO put staples into the wall then primed and painted over them, very poorly. When I pull one out, this happens: that's what i'd do
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Jul 14, 2021 23:15
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The Vikings posted:It's also the open gap under the (probably should replace) stairs that is exposed to the crawlspace. Probably needs someone to put a wall there before it can be drywalled? Oh, I didn't see that part. That's a pain in the rear end. I'd I'm for a handyman since the scope is small and none of it should require a permit.
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Jul 14, 2021 23:22
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biracial bear for uncut posted:I mean, it'd be a good alert so you can then either rush home or contact someone you know that can access the home and turn poo poo off. Slightly better than saying "gently caress it" and being surprised whenever you get home. You can call you water company had they will shut it off at the street.
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Jul 14, 2021 23:36
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Elephanthead posted:You can call you water company had they will shut it off at the street. This reminds me, shouldn't there be a widget i can turn at the street to shut my water off using a curb key? I'm not sure if i just need to dig down, but I found both my meters and no shutoffs.
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Jul 14, 2021 23:41
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We had an HVAC guy come out like two months ago because our A/C wasn't cooling at all. We moved in December, so no idea how it ran for the PO last summer. They found there was basically zero coolant in the system. So they refilled the coolant and injected UV dye to find the leak. Guy finally came back today and to my surprise the leak was not in the coils but coming from the filter drier outside. The tech estimated it would be $1,000+ to replace it and refill with coolant. But he suggested that we take the opportunity to replace the whole AC unit (don't they always?) because it's 13 years old and could have sustained damage running with no coolant. The unit is also in a stupid location right between a fence and our radon mitigation system, so they hate working back there because it's a tight fit. Anyone ever bought time on an HVAC system by just replacing a filter drier? Feels like the classic home ownership gamble of expensive half-measure vs. slightly premature total replacement. Chad Sexington fucked around with this message at 02:17 on Jul 15, 2021 |
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Jul 15, 2021 00:09
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Chad Sexington posted:We had an HVAC guy come out like two months ago because our A/C wasn't cooling at all. We moved in December, so no idea how it ran for the PO last summer. They found there was basically zero coolant in the system. So they refilled the coolant and injected UV dye to find the leak. Filter drier is a standard maintenance item whenever you have a leak, so replacing that should be no problem. I'm guessing it's an R22 system? Refilling that could be fairly expensive. I'd suggest getting a second estimate, you might even be able to get one over the phone if you can describe the problem like you just did.
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Jul 15, 2021 00:35
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Deviant posted:This reminds me, shouldn't there be a widget i can turn at the street to shut my water off using a curb key? I'm not sure if i just need to dig down, but I found both my meters and no shutoffs. Call the water company. I called mine and they sent a truck to locate it and added some risers to make it ground level, since it was buried in a raised bed of mulch. No charge. That said, only turn the curb stop for emergencies. If you break that valve, which is their property, you're going to be paying some fines. Get a ball valve installed on your service entrance that you control.
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Jul 15, 2021 01:55
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What type of contractor or specialist can I call to identify some droppings in my house? I've talked to multiple pest control companies and everyone they send out just says "it COULD be a mouse/rat/squirrel/lizard/bat, but no way to know for sure so you need to just buy our comprehensive annual pest control subscription plan to take care of your problem." I don't want to buy your plan, especially if you don't even know what you're looking at, I just want to figure out what it is so we can actually do something about it without spraying and settiing traps for everything. Zoologist? Entomologist? Maybe put up flyers at the local university animal study programs?
PageMaster fucked around with this message at 06:14 on Jul 15, 2021 |
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Jul 15, 2021 06:01
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PageMaster posted:What type of contractor or specialist can I call to identify some droppings in my house? I've talked to multiple pest control companies and everyone they send out just says "it COULD be a mouse/rat/squirrel/lizard/bat, but no way to know for sure so you need to just buy our comprehensive annual pest control subscription plan to take care of your problem." I don't want to buy your plan, especially if you don't even know what you're looking at, I just want to figure out what it is so we can actually do something about it without spraying and settiing traps for everything. Zoologist? Entomologist? Maybe put up flyers at the local university animal study programs? How many pest control companies have you tried, and did they come recommended? When I thought I had a mouse, I called a company to come out, and they immediately identified that it was instead a rat based on the droppings. There was nothing special about the company, just a highly rated pest control service. They never tried to sell me a package, so maybe look for companies that focus on solving particular problems? Or just be really clear in your original call that you just want them to eradicate this one nuisance. Alternatively, you can always do a Google image search for droppings of the most likely animals and compare. After I talked to the guy, I did that and there was a lot of explanation of the relative sizes of mouse and rat droppings - I'm sure there are other websites detailing other rodents, etc.
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Jul 15, 2021 06:46
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I went the home depot route for a fan in our place initially and it was loud, seemed cheap, and I hated chasing the remote. I returned it and plunked down for a nicer fan from lightology (which seemed to have all the selection/filters I wanted in one place.) One of the best things I did was buying one that had a remote and a remote wall outlet like this:  I think I ended up with a Modern Fan Co model off there.
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Jul 15, 2021 08:13
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It amazes me that you can buy a fan in 2021 that they've made to use with a remote ... That doesn't have an accompanying wall switch you know, just in case you misplace the remote.
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Jul 15, 2021 09:29
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PageMaster posted:What type of contractor or specialist can I call to identify some droppings in my house? I've talked to multiple pest control companies and everyone they send out just says "it COULD be a mouse/rat/squirrel/lizard/bat, but no way to know for sure so you need to just buy our comprehensive annual pest control subscription plan to take care of your problem." I don't want to buy your plan, especially if you don't even know what you're looking at, I just want to figure out what it is so we can actually do something about it without spraying and settiing traps for everything. Zoologist? Entomologist? Maybe put up flyers at the local university animal study programs? You might get better luck with a "wildlife" removal company. If they've got pictures of them holding racoons by the scruff in attics, you've found the right kind of person. They'll know more about the big animals than "pest" control does.
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Jul 15, 2021 14:19
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Verman posted:It amazes me that you can buy a fan in 2021 that they've made to use with a remote ... That doesn't have an accompanying wall switch you know, just in case you misplace the remote. Especially since the wall switch can just be another remote.
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Jul 15, 2021 16:09
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Though I live in one I realized something obvious that I dislike about condos. With a condo HOA, you are forced to pay every month for planned large expenses like a roof. When you own a SFH, ostensibly you should be putting money away every month or year for the same. When you sell the condo, you get to take none of that money with you. However with a SFH, you don't have a reserve attached to the property, so you get to take all of the savings you've accumulated with you. StormDrain posted:Especially since the wall switch can just be another remote. Anything creative I can do with the HD ones I bought? https://www.homedepot.com/p/Home-De...59244/308038103 It has pull chains, and no wall switch included. The wall switch wired to it is just on/off like you'd expect. I think the most I can do is install a smart wall switch, but that wouldn't let me toggle the fan speed or light separately.
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Jul 15, 2021 17:54
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Inner Light posted:Though I live in one I realized something obvious that I dislike about condos. With a condo HOA, you are forced to pay every month for planned large expenses like a roof. When you own a SFH, ostensibly you should be putting money away every month or year for the same. is 3/4/5 blade an aesthetic choice these days, or do they move different amounts of air?
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Jul 15, 2021 18:00
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Inner Light posted:Though I live in one I realized something obvious that I dislike about condos. With a condo HOA, you are forced to pay every month for planned large expenses like a roof. When you own a SFH, ostensibly you should be putting money away every month or year for the same. In theory, though, at least when the housing market isn't on fire, a SFH buyer would see your 20 year old roof and account for that in the offer price knowing they're staring down a $12K replacement soon. Of course, most homeowners just YOLO and don't calculate or save funds for major repair expenses. Though, as is coming to light in Florida, many condos aren't particularly good about this either.
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Jul 15, 2021 18:05
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Deviant posted:is 3/4/5 blade an aesthetic choice these days, or do they move different amounts of air? All other things being equal in the motors that drive the fans, more blades = more air movement (but also more strain on the motor).
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Jul 15, 2021 18:22
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I install one giant circular blade and let it slice salami for me too.
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Jul 15, 2021 18:31
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Last night we had a neighbor's 70 foot oak tree blow onto our house. There is a 4 foot hole in the roof and a portion of the brick wall is leaning into the attic. We filed a claim and have been assigned an desk adjuster and independent field adjuster. We are having trouble getting contractor estimates to remove the tree to come within the amount our adjusters will approve. How do we get a contractor? Is there a right way to do this? We hoped to get the tree off today but it looks like the insurance dragged it out long enough that tomorrow morning is the earliest anyone can get it done. And there is a chance of rain tonight! And how do we pick a house restoration company? One was telling us that we pick one and they would work with and fight the insurance to make sure everything needs to get done gets covered by them. I assume the insurance company wants to pay as little money as they can and the contractor wants to get as much money as they can. Is there any way to get someone on our side or are we just at their mercy? Its frustrating because our neighbor had another tree on his roof too and he has a different insurance company (USAA). They had people removing the tree at 8am this morning and are patching their roof now and its all covered. His contractors have great reviews online.
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Jul 15, 2021 19:02
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Bounded Empire posted:Last night we had a neighbor's 70 foot oak tree blow onto our house. There is a 4 foot hole in the roof and a portion of the brick wall is leaning into the attic. We filed a claim and have been assigned an desk adjuster and independent field adjuster. We are having trouble getting contractor estimates to remove the tree to come within the amount our adjusters will approve. How do we get a contractor? Is there a right way to do this? We hoped to get the tree off today but it looks like the insurance dragged it out long enough that tomorrow morning is the earliest anyone can get it done. And there is a chance of rain tonight! I don’t know poo poo, but I’d be calling and letting them know that they’ll be adding additional water damage to the claim unless they approve someone who can fix it right now.
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Jul 15, 2021 19:16
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Bounded Empire posted:Last night we had a neighbor's 70 foot oak tree blow onto our house. There is a 4 foot hole in the roof and a portion of the brick wall is leaning into the attic. We filed a claim and have been assigned an desk adjuster and independent field adjuster. We are having trouble getting contractor estimates to remove the tree to come within the amount our adjusters will approve. How do we get a contractor? Is there a right way to do this? We hoped to get the tree off today but it looks like the insurance dragged it out long enough that tomorrow morning is the earliest anyone can get it done. And there is a chance of rain tonight! There's an insurance thread in this forum, maybe try that. How did your adjuster pick an amount without having seen anything? Did you get written quotes from the contractors?
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Jul 15, 2021 19:26
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What company are you with, out of curiosity? You know, so I can avoid them in the future.
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Jul 15, 2021 20:10
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Inner Light posted:Though I live in one I realized something obvious that I dislike about condos. With a condo HOA, you are forced to pay every month for planned large expenses like a roof. When you own a SFH, ostensibly you should be putting money away every month or year for the same. I would take a peek behind the switch if you can and see if there's a separate fan wire. My switches were on/off but had a 3rd wired that wasn't connected to anything. I bought some smart combination fan/light switches and now I just yell at my Alexa to turn on the fan when I go to bed. There's some remote controllers that pop into a switch as well if you want a neat integrated solution. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-Ceiling-Fan-Wall-Switch-9050H/202801200 https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hunter-Universal-Damp-Rated-Ceiling-Fan-Wall-Remote-Control-White-99393/313862621
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Jul 15, 2021 20:16
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