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TooMuchAbstraction posted:The PO put these swing-out blinds in every single window in the house. Plantation blinds/shutters. I had some that covered half the window when I bought my place and couldn't wait to rip them off.
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Mar 6, 2024 14:26
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We love our plantation shutters but we also have single pane windows so they're a necessity to help manage heat and cold coming off the windows
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Mar 6, 2024 14:32
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Hed posted:Which one did you get? This is on my list after a few other things solely because I’ve been in houses where you don’t need to run the main AC as much because it’s comfortable without making it 68 or whatever. Humidifier, not dehumidifier. If you live somewhere with a winter these things are just magical.
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Mar 6, 2024 14:48
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Sirotan posted:Plantation blinds/shutters. I had some that covered half the window when I bought my place and couldn't wait to rip them off. Aha, thanks. And yeah, those things aren't cheap, drat. There's a big bay window in front of the house that has bifold shutters, it's gotta be something like 10x5' or so. The PO probably spent hundreds on that window alone, and good loving luck to me getting much of that money back because it's such a rare size.
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Mar 6, 2024 14:51
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Wood shutters own because gently caress the sunlight
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Mar 6, 2024 14:56
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I like them personally because of how good of a job they do providing privacy/light filtering but sadly I was overruled and all of ours are gone now. 
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Mar 6, 2024 15:33
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Top-down/bottom-up honeycomb shades are the GOAT And I also have one of these "trishades" on my front door that is set to a sheer/light filtering shade during the day, and blackout at night. I didn't know I'd reach a point in my life where I could say I loved a window treatment, but I really do: https://www.selectblinds.com/cellular-shades/premier-blackout-trishades.html
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Mar 6, 2024 15:41
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I like lots of natural light, so I want as few covers on the windows as possible. If privacy is warranted, then roller shades are my preference; they store compactly when not in use, give full coverage of the window, and at least in my experience, don't deteriorate and get ratty looking like blinds often do.
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Mar 6, 2024 15:47
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Cross-posting from the BFC thread, because I forgot this thread existed: So, when we had our inspection done, we were told about some mold issues that would need to be remediated, and some moss and other potential issues on the roof that would need to be taken care of. We got a couple of quotes for each, and given that I and my housemates have absolutely zero experience with mold removal, I would really appreciate any advice you all could offer. The mold remediation came in a bit higher than we were expecting; we set aside quite a bit to deal with stuff like this, so nothing we can't handle , but still a decent chunk of change: the two quotes we got were for $7,950 from... let's call them High Pressure Mold Removal and $5,600 from... Chill Dudes Mold Removal. The $7950 from High Pressure includes a ~$1500 discount if we get back to them in the next couple of days (meaning it's $9500 if we don't get back to them in the next couple of days), which (maybe wrongfully) was a red flag to me, but I have big Old Man energy when it comes to this kind of thing. H110Hawk told me I probably don't need a mold remediation company, but from the pictures, this seems like a lot. This is what we got from Chill Dudes, who were quite a bit less detailed than High Pressure: quote:OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Homeowners contacted Chill Dudes, a certified remediation company in the state of Washington, about a possible mold problem in the attic of their house in Seattle. The moisture content of the wood was slightly elevated. There is batting insulation that is blocking all of the soffit venting. Due to the prevalence of suspected organic growth that was discovered in my visual assessment, the following recommendations are offered (see scope of work below).Only further testing with surface sampling would definitively determine mold presence and type and resources for this service are available if wanted. High Pressure gave us a more details, including taking a bunch of pictures of the areas, and broke things down in more of a spreadsheet format: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ukufPyITJonuQa55J30aVrJUxD9C3AQb/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=105749408790785361667&rtpof=true&sd=true Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/UpZnjomtF9YszNDD7 Looking at the estimates, the actual stuff they're doing from what we can tell seems pretty similar; High Pressure lists a lot more line items, but it seems like they're just being more specific while Chill Dudes is generalizing more (we did Google and it seems that "baffles" and "rafter vents" are the same thing; I hope that's correct, and we didn't gently caress it up). Or is H110Hawk right, and we should just handle this ourselves? Given that the discount from High Pressure expires on the seventh, any advice you all can give would be super helpful. Also, I think I did a deece job stripping out anything personally identifying or that identifies the companies, here, but please PM me if I missed anything.
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Mar 6, 2024 16:03
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So, the other project we had someone look at was de-mossing the roof. We're in Seattle, so it's moist and there's a lot of moss. It hasn't been cleaned off in awhile, as far as I can tell. We got two quotes, one from Hustle Harry, and one from Low-Key Larry. In this case, it's the opposite of the mold removal, where we're inclined to go with the more expensive option, as we liked the guy more, and he offers an annual service to keep the mold at bay (maybe this is a total ripoff, though). We'll start with Hustle Harry (the one we liked more):  quote:Great meeting you yesterday, thanks for being so flexible and having me over! Your quote is attached along with some nice referrals from current customers of ours, in case that is helpful. Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ft8nrcQpnCpcrsMXA Low-Key Larry sent us the following: quote:Thank you for filling out our online form. We have been cleaning and treating roofs for more than 30 years and we take pride in our good work. We are licensed, bonded, and fully insured to work for you. Like I said, inclined to go with Hustle Harry, and subscribe to his annual service; $375 a year to not have to go on the roof seems pretty reasonable to me, but maybe it's easier than it seems, and they're both trying to rip my ignorant rear end off.
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Mar 6, 2024 16:04
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Motronic posted:Humidifier, not dehumidifier. If you live somewhere with a winter these things are just magical. Yeah. We have been running a humidifier upstairs in the winter since getting this house, it gets bad enough that my daughter gets nosebleeds. Time to take it and the identical free spare I found on the side of the road to habitat restore. The hvac contractor gave me a z-wave only thermostat as requested, a Honeywell T6 Pro. Took all of 30s to pair it to home assistant, so now it’s time to figure out what fun things I can do with it.
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Mar 6, 2024 16:23
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Unless you or your housemates have immuno-compromised pulmonary systems, I think mold remediation is a scam. Doubly so, if the attic area is not part of the living space of the home. It sounds from the one report as if the soffit vents are covered with insulation. That would absolutely result in elevated humidity in the attic space; clearing the soffits and allowing free exchange with the outside air would resolve the humidity issue and arrest any further mold growth. I wouldn't be concerned about moss on the shingles, especially in the patterns that you have there, You can have it removed, but it will come back. The roof of my mother's house had far heavier moss growth on the rear slope for forty years.
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Mar 6, 2024 17:36
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Motronic posted:Humidifier, not dehumidifier. If you live somewhere with a winter these things are just magical. Haha, I totally misread that this morning. Very cool! For whole house de-humidification I have a Santa Fe unit on my wishlist.
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Mar 6, 2024 17:55
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Ham Equity posted:So, the other project we had someone look at was de-mossing the roof. We're in Seattle, so it's moist and there's a lot of moss. It hasn't been cleaned off in awhile, as far as I can tell. We got two quotes, one from Hustle Harry, and one from Low-Key Larry. In this case, it's the opposite of the mold removal, where we're inclined to go with the more expensive option, as we liked the guy more, and he offers an annual service to keep the mold at bay (maybe this is a total ripoff, though). The first one looks reasonable to me. And $375 is about minimum to get someone on your roof to do anything in Seattle. If you want another quote for just the gutter cleaning you should call Crystal Panes. They're a good local window cleaning company. I believe they do gutters and clean roofs too, altho idk about moss removal.
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Mar 6, 2024 18:30
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Ham Equity posted:Cross-posting from the BFC thread, because I forgot this thread existed: Ham Equity posted:So, the other project we had someone look at was de-mossing the roof. We're in Seattle, so it's moist and there's a lot of moss. It hasn't been cleaned off in awhile, as far as I can tell. W
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Mar 6, 2024 18:45
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Motronic posted:Humidifier, not dehumidifier. If you live somewhere with a winter these things are just magical. Can confirm, humidifiers really make the difference. No need for lotion for your dry skin, no static shocks zapping you after crossing the carpet...
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Mar 6, 2024 18:50
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We have an all-in-one combo electric washer with heat pump dryer. Usually we line dry, but the dryer is awesome for finishing up not-perfectly-dry clothes on a cloudy day, and handling sports clothes that need to be ready the next morning. When the laundry is fully wet, it takes a long time and shrinks our socks and makes me sad. Yesterday was raining but I needed to do 2 loads (nosebleed, wet towels, packing for a business trip) and the washer was on speed mode (speed 10 min, normal 30 min) so everything still smelled slightly sweaty after washing. I thought well maybe it's good enough so I spent all day doing tiny loads in the dryer. The laundry got dry but still smelled slightly sweaty and it shrunk the socks. Today is sunny so I am rewashing everything anyway to line dry outside. The song "The Neverending Laundry" is now playing in your head. ♪ ♬
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Mar 7, 2024 01:08
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So, this is a long term not this year plan, but I figured it couldnt hard to start asking about it. I would like to remove about two thirds of my attic.The previous owners clearly had the same idea because they removed about an eight of it, and as such I assume it as it least feasible for my house, I just want to get rid of the rest, and have open rafters up to the bottom of the roof. Presumably I would need to tear out the current ceiling and get a new insulation layer up against the attic ceiling. No desire to remove the crossbeams and stuff (having beams is half the appeal) which should hipefully simplify things, but I would also like to get the remaining third of the attic finished while I'm doing stuff. What kind of contractor would I even want for work like this and how would I go about finding one and getting quotes and stuff? Like even if I was to ask friends/family/neighbours "do you know a guy who could remove an attic" is probably not the way I want to phrase it. Also there's the comedy option where I do the work myself - how badly do I risk loving muself there?
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Mar 7, 2024 02:23
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GlyphGryph posted:I would like to remove about two thirds of my attic.The previous owners clearly had the same idea because they removed about an eight of it, and as such I assume it as it least feasible for my house, I just want to get rid of the rest, and have open rafters up to the bottom of the roof. I don't understand. How can you remove an attic? Is there a layer of ceiling drywall + insulation that you don't want?
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Mar 7, 2024 03:27
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I have an oil-fired furnace that is approaching end of life, and I'm starting to look at replacement options. Here's what I have so far: 1) Just replace the old oil furnace with a new oil furnace. Pros: Easiest replacement, likely cheapest up front cost, would still provide some improved efficiency as my old furnace is from the early 2000s. Cons: Still reliant on oil; oil price spikes. Also, my tank is outside, in a small shed against the house that is full of holes and becoming a home for a lot of critters, and I'd probably need to replace that, too. 2) Switch to LP gas (natural gas not available). Pros: LP gas has a more constant price in my area and is cheaper than oil; I already have an LP gas supplier for my dryer and range. Cons: More expensive up front to replace, but I'm not sure what the level of effort would be to convert to gas from oil (e.g. removing the old furnace and oil tank). Would need to get a second (or bigger) propane tank. 3) Install a heat pump. I just had a Mass Save appointment today and the guy recommended one. Pros: Electric, not fossil fuel. Cons: Expensive installation; the cost of electricity doesn't translate to great long-term savings (the report he gave me says about $30 a year??). Also read that heat pumps don't work well at very low temps, and we still get some lengthy deep freezes where I live. Questions I have, if anyone has the patience to answer them: 1) Are any of the pros or cons wrong there? I did some research but got some mixed messaging (and the threads I looked at on different forums were years out of date). 2) Heating in my house is baseboard hydronic, and the hot water tank is heated from the furnace. How difficult is it to swap the oil furnace for LP gas with that setup? 3) Is there anything I'm missing?
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Mar 7, 2024 03:45
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I would go with gas if you are certain that your current rig is actually nearing the end of its service life. If money's the thing, it might be cost-effective to limp along another year and save for gas in '25 Price out the removal of the old oil tank and oil. It ain't cheap, but it least it's above-ground & not in your basement (we had to cut my Mom's abandoned tank apart to get it out, which involved draining the muck and spraying it with water while cutting it apart with an angle grinder). Gas companies may provide you a tank up front, but find out who owns it, & what they charge to 'rent' it... Probably cheaper in the long run to buy your own. There shouldn't be any issues with the piping with switching out the boiler beyond adapting pipes to line up connections that may be in slightly different locations.
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Mar 7, 2024 04:46
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TEchnology Connections with an interesting video on HVAC practices in North America, and heat pumps. I found it via FB share and it seems to be unlisted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTsQjiPlksA
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Mar 7, 2024 05:40
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PainterofCrap posted:Unless you or your housemates have immuno-compromised pulmonary systems, I think mold remediation is a scam. Doubly so, if the attic area is not part of the living space of the home. Mold in your attic is not great, but also, not a problem. Because you can just wear a respirator any time you need to go up there, and pretend nothing is wrong the rest of the time. P/N100 half-face will make the air in your attic cleaner than the air in your house/outside. As you said, you gotta get the air circulating regardless, because that will cause real problems down the line.
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Mar 7, 2024 07:47
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devicenull posted:I don't understand. How can you remove an attic? Is there a layer of ceiling drywall + insulation that you don't want? I am probably phrasing this poorly. I want the ceiling of the rooms below the current attic to go up to the roof, if that makes any more sense? So just the actual structural beams are lwft and tne rest is open. I do not know the words for these things, but I have been in many houses that are that way or have been converted to be that way and part of mine already has, so its definitelt a thing even if I don't know what to call it.
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Mar 7, 2024 13:17
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GlyphGryph posted:I am probably phrasing this poorly. I want the ceiling of the rooms below the current attic to go up to the roof, if that makes any more sense? So just the actual structural beams are lwft and tne rest is open. To answer your original question tho, you would need a general contractor, ideally one that mostly does renovations. Kaiser Schnitzel fucked around with this message at 13:45 on Mar 7, 2024 |
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Mar 7, 2024 13:42
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So where do you think the best place for the waste water line cleanout that handles the grey water for both the kitchen and the bathroom that butts up against it is? If you said behind the tiles in the shower in the bathroom, congrats! You're my Gary!
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Mar 7, 2024 14:06
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:This will be Very Expensive. It will have major implications for your HVAC (you are now conditiong ALOT more air), plus now you have nowhere for all those air ducts to run. Same with electrical. Do you see wires in your attic? Do you have ceiling fans/lights? All that will have to be moved. Whatever insulation is in the attic will need to be replaced somehow, likely with insulation like spray foam on the underside of the roof decking, and then the underside of the rafters (your new ceiling) will need to be sheetrocked and stuff. Those ceiling joists that will be exposed probably won’t be very pretty. They were never meant to be seen and so they are probably full of nails and scabs and blocking and stuff. Thanks! Very expensive is about what I expected, but I guess until I get a quote for the specifics there's no way to tell how expensive the very expensive is going to be. At least some of this I don't have to worry about thankfully (the only vents are in the section I plan on leaving, for example, and I don't really care how the ceiling joists look since I have plans for them anyway, I don't have HVAC I just have a basic heater and I know it will cost more to run for obvious reasons but I'm fine with that) What is actually a decent way to find general contractors that do renovations, anyway? I don't know anyone who has had any major renovation work done.
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Mar 7, 2024 14:48
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There are no decent ways to find general contractors, only uncomfortable ways.
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Mar 7, 2024 15:29
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By the way, what you're trying to do is called vaulting the ceiling. Or converting to a "vaulted" ceiling. But "vaulted ceiling" is the name for what you're describing (if I understand you correctly) and knowing that alone will probably help you out a lot.
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Mar 7, 2024 15:32
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GlyphGryph posted:I am probably phrasing this poorly. I want the ceiling of the rooms below the current attic to go up to the roof, if that makes any more sense? So just the actual structural beams are lwft and tne rest is open. It's called a cathedral/vaulted ceiling. And it's not energy efficient because you don't have as much space for insulation. And it's not even practical/feasible in most homes because it requires structual changes to the point of rebuilding the entire roof, plus the already mentioned utilities/wires/etc.
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Mar 7, 2024 15:36
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FISHMANPET posted:By the way, what you're trying to do is called vaulting the ceiling. Or converting to a "vaulted" ceiling. But "vaulted ceiling" is the name for what you're describing (if I understand you correctly) and knowing that alone will probably help you out a lot. Isn't that the name for the kind built on, well, vaults? I specifically don't want vaults. I want exposed beams and joists. GlyphGryph fucked around with this message at 15:52 on Mar 7, 2024 |
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Mar 7, 2024 15:50
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I have no idea what a ceiling "built on vaults" even means. Google "vaulted ceiling" and look at the pictures and see if that describes what you're picturing or not. If it doesn't, then I have no idea what you're trying to get a cross, because you are describing a vaulted ceiling. As Motronic says, also known as a cathedral ceiling. There are technically differences between the two but also the terms are abused and interchanged so much that to the layman they basically mean the same thing.
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Mar 7, 2024 15:56
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Vaults are an architectural component, like beams and joists, but specifically used for creating big open spaces - like in cathedrals and such. I had assumed from the name "vaulted ceiling" that it was a ceiling that made use of vaults. I didn't realize it referred to any sort of open air ceiling space, I thought it was specifically the kind that used vaults to avoid or at least minimize the number and length of beams and joists. Googling vaulted ceilings, what comes back is not what I want, no. GlyphGryph fucked around with this message at 16:05 on Mar 7, 2024 |
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Mar 7, 2024 16:03
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I have a vaulted ceiling in my side room (with fake decorative beams across) and have been looking to enclose it because I think it's the culprit for why that room is horribly cold. It's visually nice to have the open space but awful efficiency
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Mar 7, 2024 16:07
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GlyphGryph posted:Vaults are an architectural component, like beams and joists, but specifically used for creating big open spaces - like in cathedrals and such. What about "cathedral ceiling" I see a ton of examples there that sound like what you're talking about. Putting a beam in the middle of the space is a totally valid option for both vaults or cathedral.
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Mar 7, 2024 16:26
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FISHMANPET posted:What about "cathedral ceiling" I see a ton of examples there that sound like what you're talking about. Putting a beam in the middle of the space is a totally valid option for both vaults or cathedral. I don't want to change anything structurally. It looks like the name for them is "exposed ceiling", I think? Although that seems to refer to a bunch of different things and only includes what I'm looking for. I did find some pictures of what I wanted but they are all on super dumb sites that make sharing or linking the images more work than I'm willing to put into it. Edit: Like this, I guess? This one is linkable at least. https://www.houzz.com/photos/rice-pied-a-terre-traditional-bedroom-charleston-phvw-vp~1872432 If that would be considered vaulted/cathedral, fine, I just need to be clear with any contractor I get quotes from that I don't mean the vaulted/cathedral style people usually mean. GlyphGryph fucked around with this message at 16:33 on Mar 7, 2024 |
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Mar 7, 2024 16:31
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Again, this requires a complete replacment of your roof. Not the shingles, the entire structure. It's not feasible, it's not cost effective, it's not a good idea.
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Mar 7, 2024 16:34
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Motronic posted:It's not feasible, it's not cost effective, it's not a good idea. Is any of this really a reason not to do something anyway, though? But, yeah, if that's true, maybe there's something else I can do that will get me most if not all of the desired functional benefits without requiring any major structural changes. I'll have to think about it, I guess. mutata posted:There are no decent ways to find general contractors, only uncomfortable ways. I do need to find one for other work eventually anyway, so what are some uncomfortable ways? Maybe I can even get a laugh from them by asking if there's anything I can do with the ceilings.
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Mar 7, 2024 16:45
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GlyphGryph posted:maybe there's something else I can do that will get me most if not all of the desired functional benefits without requiring any major structural changes. I'll have to think about it, I guess. It didn't sound like there were any functional benefits at all? Just aesthetics.
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Mar 7, 2024 16:48
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The Dave posted:It didn't sound like there were any functional benefits at all? Just aesthetics. The only real benefit is if you smoke indoors, since it all rises up there and leaves more breathable air down where you are. See also why smoking rooms had high ceilings back in the day and why dive bars with low ceilings were always so murky. Not really a feature for the vast majority of people today, though.
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Mar 7, 2024 16:51
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