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Worst case you're doing work that will let a contractor give you a more accurate scope of work before you pay them.
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Jul 27, 2021 11:42
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Thanks, I'll have plenty of time to work this while I wait for a structural engineer inspection to look at my floors and foundation; apparently it's too small a project for a lot of them and the ones that are available are scheduled about 2 months out.
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Jul 27, 2021 21:40
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Is a belt drive garage opener worth replacing for an older chain opener? We need to replace the door (no insulation, making the living room above it cold in the winter and hot in summer) but curious how much of an effect it will have for sound and operation.
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Jul 27, 2021 21:58
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Nybble posted:Is a belt drive garage opener worth replacing for an older chain opener? I put in belt drive, it was 100% worth it (but I was starting with no opener). It's basically silent from outside the garage, and pretty drat quiet from inside it. What is not worth it is getting the garage door installers to do it. If you already have an opener, replacing it is pretty straightforward, and was not worth the price they wanted to charge me for it.
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Jul 28, 2021 00:01
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Nybble posted:Is a belt drive garage opener worth replacing for an older chain opener? I can't comment but why not just insulate the door? I put (IIRC) 1/2" polystyrene panels on my metal door and it made it way way way better. Adhered it with Loctite PL 300 Foamboard Adhesive. CarForumPoster fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Jul 28, 2021 |
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Jul 28, 2021 03:30
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Didn't do much demo but did get to play with my new shop vac a bit which was nice. Taking a bunch of measurements I realized a garage beam sits directly under where our second story floor slopes up to and I'm waiting to get an S.E. out to look at, so I got distracted by that Assuming my beam is probably not moving up I went to look at the foundation out front and after pulling out a lot of debris, dirt, leaves, whatever, it doesn't look very clean with a lot of excess But instead looks like this:    Not sure what's going on but I can only guess someone either just dumped leftover concrete there after doing sidewalks; those areas used to be paved and were crappily demo'd to install the shrubs and sprinkler; or or used to be below grade and dirt was pulled back for the same reasons (though I still think the concrete would be formed in that case.) I'm just hoping it's not a lovely cover-up or underpinning effort. Structural engineering folks are booked a couple months out now, but not 'foundation repair' companies for free quotes. Would they be as reliable to look at this or are they a) not going to have the knowledge and b) find repair work no matter what? House is 30 years old so another 60 days hopefully doesn't matter but waiting is the hardest part PageMaster fucked around with this message at 05:43 on Jul 28, 2021 |
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Jul 28, 2021 05:32
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There is literally nothing wrong with anything in those photos. Some sloppy details that are usually covered with some soil sloping away from the structure.
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Jul 28, 2021 05:38
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My guess, is that they used soil as the form instead of wood panels. I wouldn't worry about it
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Jul 28, 2021 06:16
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Yeah I don't see anything wrong in those photos.
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Jul 28, 2021 11:59
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devicenull posted:I put in belt drive, it was 100% worth it (but I was starting with no opener). It's basically silent from outside the garage, and pretty drat quiet from inside it. Yeah. I'm very happy with our belt drive openers. Not sure I'd change out a working system for one but if you're already doing work and it makes sense to do it all at once, I'd consider the swap.
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Jul 28, 2021 12:06
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I dunno about the concrete work, but your gutter downspout ought to have a splash block or a hose or something, rather than dumping a roof's worth of water on to your foundation. But that's just me, I'm paranoid about that sort of thing. I've had bad experiences with no gutters/bad gutters.
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Jul 28, 2021 12:09
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Thanks all, I did completely miss the gutter and found another that needs fixing; I'm also paranoid about leaving a house with any major issues to my family after months of poorly done out undisclosed issues from PO so I'm always open for recommendations. Back to tearing out a wall in the meantime. Which might line up nicely since the structural engineer can look behind the drywall, too.
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Jul 28, 2021 16:49
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The downspout comment was a good catch. If you're converting that room back to a garage, aren't you pulling most of the drywall? I'm really confused what you're worried about in there. Here's how I would tackle it based on the few photos I saw. Remove drywall from the garage door wall and demising wall. Look at the structure of the demising wall to the main garage. My suspicion would be someone infilled the wall and made no modifications to structure, so you could just knock it out easily, after removing any electrical that was added. Then do whatever to get the garage door installed. Again, probably they just infilled the opening so you tear out the new studs and get a garage door installer out. Maybe you don't even want to go that far, you could leave the demising wall in the garage after all, and have a private parking space. Something you can easily keep children and pets out of.
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Jul 28, 2021 18:05
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Sorry, I got sidetracked and confusingly turned this into two topics; there's a 'hump' in the second floor with a 1 to 2 degree slope on both sides that sits directly over a beam and column in the garage I found while opening the garage walls, which is when I was distracted to looking at the exterior foundation. Got someone coming out now to look at it so I can just get to garage demo, and I was able to tour a couple neighbors' garages and you're right that the wall was just an addition a PO put up. Not worried about the demo as much asnot liking how dirty it is but the thread pointed me in the right direction there
PageMaster fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Jul 28, 2021 |
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Jul 28, 2021 23:10
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DaveSauce posted:I dunno about the concrete work, but your gutter downspout ought to have a splash block or a hose or something, rather than dumping a roof's worth of water on to your foundation. I am sort of suspicious of that gas line work too - it looks like someone slathered a bunch of caulk or paint on that T fitting on the top. I personally wouldn't worry about it too much - if you have someone like a plumber or hvac tech out for another reason ask them to take a look at it. It's outside, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
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Jul 29, 2021 00:57
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Probably just pipe dope.
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Jul 29, 2021 02:04
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PSA: This YouTube channel is pretty great for learning to fix your own AC. Around here AC issues in the summer start at $250, are next day during business hours and <50% chance the tech is sober. Because of that I've slowly taught myself how to diagnose and fix issues and have become my friends and families AC tech. Here's an example of a video where I learned a new thing (how to test an in circuit capacitor) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OloCzaSPWE
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Jul 29, 2021 14:29
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My AC unit is on the roof of my condo. Do roof mounted units get dirty coils like ground based ones? All the cleaning videos I've read use a hose to clean from the inside out, rinsing out a coil cleaner. Can I get away with just spraying coil cleaner on the outside, or will that do nothing / do harm? I can't get a hose to the roof.
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Jul 29, 2021 14:38
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Inner Light posted:My AC unit is on the roof of my condo. Do roof mounted units get dirty coils like ground based ones? Are you responsible for this kind of maintenance? No idea how well they work but there are no-rinse cleaner coil sprays. That said, for an outdoor unit I'd want some kind of mechanical removal of the dirt and wouldn't trust the foam to carry it away. Haven't tried it but maybe a backpack/pump sprayer?
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Jul 29, 2021 14:53
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CarForumPoster posted:Are you responsible for this kind of maintenance? The AC units are entirely owned by the unit owners, so the HOA would not take care of that I'm nearly certain, but I will double check. Backpack sprayer is what a pro would use I assume, I just wanted to see if there was a simple way I could take care of the maintenance to avoid paying for a check-up and cleaning. I doubt POs have done any sort of maintenance beyond filter changes. I'll probably end up having a pro do a cleaning this season or next. If it's never been cleaned maybe I could make the money back, if my electric bill goes down 25% or so.
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Jul 29, 2021 15:09
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pretty much any pro I've seen on YT uses some kind of dial-a-number sprayer to get the coil foam on.. then they us a hose on the roof to spray it all off from the backside. mostly they are doing this on flat roofs though.
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Jul 29, 2021 15:49
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tater_salad posted:pretty much any pro I've seen on YT uses some kind of dial-a-number sprayer to get the coil foam on.. then they us a hose on the roof to spray it all off from the backside. mostly they are doing this on flat roofs though. Hmm yeah we have a flat roof. Our hose is not long enough to reach from a ground level spigot but maybe they'd have a long one in their truck? Taking a look though, it's pretty drat clean. I think nothing really gets up on the roof like ground based units, so regular cleaning looks kinda unnecessary. Especially for a $250 maintenance visit where they wouldn't do much else other than a filter change, right? 
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Jul 29, 2021 15:57
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Inner Light posted:Hmm yeah we have a flat roof. Our hose is not long enough to reach from a ground level spigot but maybe they'd have a long one in their truck? Taking a look though, it's pretty drat clean. I think nothing really gets up on the roof like ground based units, so regular cleaning looks kinda unnecessary. Pretty sure that's the clean side. The outside will be the dirty part... IIRC the fan should be blowing upwards, which draws air in from the outside across the coils... so if you take off the outer housing, you'll see dirty coils. Inner Light posted:Especially for a $250 maintenance visit where they wouldn't do much else other than a filter change, right? Huh, we pay around $275/year for 2x visits on our 2 zone system, one in spring and one in fall. They clean the coils, check caps, amp draws, refrigerant, delta T, and general operation. I'm sure they'd change the filters too, but we do that ourselves. (edit: so for $250, they better be doing at least that much. It's more than just cleaning, it's checking things out to see what's going to fail soon in order to get ahead of a sudden failure or to have a system running in a way that will damage itself). But then they want another $200 to replace a cap that they have literally on their truck 20' away and the panel already open, so yeah... I get why, but drat that's a hell of a mark-up. (edit: which is the long way of saying I need to get off my rear end and order some caps, because I know (from the HVAC tech's report!) that at least 1 is in bad shape and another is weak.) DaveSauce fucked around with this message at 16:35 on Jul 29, 2021 |
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Jul 29, 2021 16:32
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That's the side that won't be dirty unless it's real bad. They'll probably clean it test your caps test your fan motor and Todd gauges on it. Yeah the solution to hose doesn't reach is: get more hose
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Jul 29, 2021 17:58
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Any recommendations for what you should do if you're leaving a house alone for a week? I've put moisture sensors (that alert me in an app) in the basement and have cameras facing inwards and outwards and lights on timers.
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Jul 30, 2021 00:39
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Insurrectum posted:Any recommendations for what you should do if you're leaving a house alone for a week? I've put moisture sensors (that alert me in an app) in the basement and have cameras facing inwards and outwards and lights on timers. * Turn off the water (assuming your main shutoff works!). We even do this when we're gone for the weekend. * Raise/lower thermostat settings so you aren't conditioning empty space (although there's something to be said for having high/low limits there, so your pipes don't freeze) * Close toilet lids (honestly for a week this isn't a problem, but I've definitely noticed on longer trips the water level in them starts to drop) * Bonus anxiety option: Repeatedly check all your doors to make sure they're locked, then continue to worry about it later on
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Jul 30, 2021 00:51
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devicenull posted:* Bonus anxiety option: Repeatedly check all your doors to make sure they're locked, then continue to worry about it later on The OCD within me recognizes the OCD within you.
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Jul 30, 2021 01:08
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Call your insurance company to let them know you're your perfectly intact and not burned house unoccupied for the next week while you're on a vacation out of the state.
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Jul 30, 2021 01:44
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Are you telling me I'm supposed to get my vacation pre authorized on my insurance
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Jul 30, 2021 03:30
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Epitope posted:Are you telling me I'm supposed to get my vacation pre authorized on my insurance Yes and mention how you'll miss how dry and pristine your wood floors are looking while you're gone. How flat and smooth they are with even coloring.
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Jul 30, 2021 03:41
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Today we had a landscaper out to give the yard a once over. I’m glad we did - he took out at least 2x the material I would have and everything looks much better for it. Working from home for the last 15 months meant my perception of what was normal skewed towards “terribly overgrown” because of all the minute growth that accumulates over time.
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Jul 30, 2021 05:20
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Beef Of Ages posted:The OCD within me recognizes the OCD within you. I just film myself locking and checking my locks with my phone camera- handily time stamped and easy for me to double check! When I was super anxious I would pack up my straighteners and take them with me when I left the house so I couldn’t worry about whether they had magically turned themselves on and plugged themselves in.
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Jul 30, 2021 10:03
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CarForumPoster posted:I can't comment but why not just insulate the door? I put (IIRC) 1/2" polystyrene panels on my metal door and it made it way way way better. Adhered it with Loctite PL 300 Foamboard Adhesive. Could you please post a picture? Did you have any issue with the joints between the door panels binding up? This is something I hadn’t considered and I’m looking for ways to make my bonus room more usable Tiny Timbs fucked around with this message at 11:46 on Jul 30, 2021 |
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Jul 30, 2021 11:43
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Fallom posted:Could you please post a picture? Did you have any issue with the joints between the door panels binding up? Not mine:  I have not had issues with binding, maybe because I only bonded them with 4 big dollops of the Loctite Foamboad in the corners of the foam and one in the middle. Searching for pictures though I found this: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Insulfoam-...lation/50244957 Which is the same idea but maybe even better.
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Jul 30, 2021 12:08
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My plumber chipped the bathtub when removing a busted drain. It's a cast iron enamel tub (I think), installed in 2013 or 2014. Home Depot sells repair kits for $40 that match the biscuit color - is the right thing to get or should I look at a different solution? https://www.homedepot.com/p/BATHWORKS-4-oz-Tub-and-Tile-Chip-Repair-Kit-in-Biscuit-CRC-202/307331884
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Jul 30, 2021 20:58
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CarForumPoster posted:Not mine: I used those boards to insulate my old garage door, it seemed to work well. They go into the panels themselves so they don't affect your joints. They do add a bit to your garage door weight so you may need to adjust the springs afterwards.
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Jul 30, 2021 21:07
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I'm having my big common bathroom upstairs remodeled soon. I have the option of going with a traditional tub (which I have currently) or switching to a drop-in tub. The latter would add about $2k to the cost (which I have) and while I think it would look nicer (it will be tiled) I don't know if it's worth it. What are your thoughts on standard tubs vs drop in tubs?
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Jul 31, 2021 03:05
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I don't know that I've ever seen a drop in tub that didn't looks like it came out of a 90s McMansion.
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Jul 31, 2021 12:52
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So we're starting phase 2 of cleaning out the crap the previous owners left behind. They left enough useful stuff with all the junk that we didn't cause a stink during the walkthrough. They left us 5 packages of roof shingles. They say 32 square feet each, so 160 square feet total. Now I can see the benefit of having some to replace the occasional damaged shingle, but with any larger job, clearly some sort of weather event has happened and I'll be going through my HOI anyway, right? So what's the number of these it makes sense to keep on hand? The roof is from 2014 and appears in great shape. We've also got 2 boxes of rustoleum, some primer, a little spray paint, other poo poo. Why so much? There are 4 identical containers of flower food. Everything is like this. Cool, a bucket, that's useful. Oh, look, 6 more buckets. We now own 6 ladders. I've just about finished replacing receptacles (no more shocks!) and in one room, all of them looked like this:  I knew they had painted over almost all of the outlets in the house, but is that stuff on the side from spray paint?
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Jul 31, 2021 17:53
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That's probably from the big paint sprayer that was used when the interior got painted for the first time
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Jul 31, 2021 18:12
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