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So the furnace and hot water heater are both 20 years old. Theoretically at the end of their theoretical life span. We’re in Denver so kind of a moderately cold winter The inspector said the furnace is short cycling and hasn’t been cleaned out in a few years. Do I let it ride or pull the trigger on a new one now? I just don’t know how long these things can typically keep chugging for
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Oct 15, 2020 16:05
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Sundae posted:Spots in your condo floor that seem to flex beneath your feet way more than the areas around them: Abnormal, or dangerously abnormal? How about mild but noticeable flexing in a number of spots in hardwood flooring? I feel like this is relatively normal for hardwood, right? I would have never noticed it but my partner did. We’ve lived here 8 months. Either it’s new or she just noticed it and can’t un-notice it.
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Mar 10, 2021 23:17
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Hadlock posted:The flexing depends on a lot, what kind of foundation, is it sloping towards a wall, or a chimney, or what used to be a chimney, how much flex etc It’s a bi-level with a concrete foundation. There is no chimney. Not really any sloping going on. I don’t know when I would have even noticed if my partner hadn’t said anything. What types of foundations need to be adjusted? I didn’t even know that is a thing.
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Mar 10, 2021 23:40
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Sundae posted:Also - is it actual hardwood flooring, or is it click-lock? They can both flex, and the causes can be completely different. Are you asking if it’s some kind of laminate? pretty sure it’s real, no repeating grain, it feels like wood, and my dogs paws sure scratch the varnish up like wood...
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Mar 12, 2021 04:47
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Speaking of wood floors, some products that are just “mop on, quick dry” claim to clean, restore, and protect. Is there any truth to the protection aspect? Or any product that can add some protections from my dogs paws without a full re-sand and poly (which is probably more then is needed at this time).
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Apr 4, 2021 16:38
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Maggie Fletcher posted:I have a big hole in my wall. I mean, it's a closet, but there's no door and only two shelves and one bar. I had initially planned to have a custom closet builder construct a really nice reach-in for me, but I'm considering instead having them just install the doors and I can build out the inside with stuff from Container Store or wherever. I'm fairly handy and can organize a space pretty well, but initially planned to have pros do it so I didn't have to bother with it, but I'm wondering now if I can save a few thousand bucks by DIYing the inside and using the cash on a different project I can't DIY. Stupid idea, or REALLY stupid idea? You should definitely do it. There will probably be some learning moments along the way, as with all new DIYs, but you’ll probably save a lot of money in the end and learn some new skills in the process. I’m over here contemplating doing a DIY demo of my downstairs shower and replacing the tub with a jet tub. I’d need to hire an electrician to run power to the tub and id probably bring in a plumber to install the new tub at the crucial drain fittings, just to help me sleep at night, but I’m considering rebuilding the tile from the cement board up around the tub myself. It seems like kind of an arduous and pain staking job but possibly manageable with a helper.  I may cave and just contract it out. At least get some estimates and see if they’ll let me save a few bucks by at least doing the demo myself or something. But yeah a closet should be no problem!!
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Apr 8, 2021 16:30
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Blindeye posted:Third year. The big one was a complete sewer failure that cost me close to 25k and turned my front yard into a warzone. drat that is just bad luck. What happened? Did you have the plumbing scoped before buying the place?
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Apr 16, 2021 01:58
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Anonymous Zebra posted:Do you mind sharing how it is executed poorly? In my totally unsolicited opinion the color scheme is way too busy. The speckled countertops and brick floors/backsplash are a lot. Also, the island is ok but there’s relatively little in the way of functional counter space outside of that. And with the “farmhouse” sink and old school oven, and the more modern appearing cabinetry, it just seems like it’s going for 3 or 4 different aesthetics all at once when you put it together
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Apr 18, 2021 05:27
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Why do you guys need to soak dishes so regularly If you need to soak in a single basin just rinse off all the dishes, get em in the dishwasher, and then soak the larger items that need to loosen up What in the actual christ
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Apr 19, 2021 20:54
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More fridge chat: my Samsung ice maker seized up a few weeks ago. Finally got into it and there a mess of ice matting the entire thing. I was able to chip most of it off and take the thing about 80% apart to make sure it was pretty cleared out. Couldn’t remove the unit itself but hopefully I won’t have to. Apparently the ice machines on these units are notorious for having this issue. Is this a Samsung thing or an all fridges thing? Cuz I’m close to writing off Samsung, except for maybe TVs. Fingers crossed it works and I can have tasty icy drinks again. Will remember to get in there and chunk off some ice regularly
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May 5, 2021 03:14
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Inner Light posted:Fridge update: I unplugged it -- a pain in the dick because every time I slide the fridge out from inside the built-in cabinet area to access the plug, I'm afraid I'll scrape the floor more -- and after thawing the water works. I recommend just flipping the breaker switch for your fridge next time if this is an option for you
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May 5, 2021 04:07
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I disconnected the p trap below our bathroom vanity to install a new vanity. That drain has always been slow, and I’d always hoped to get to the bottom of it. I cleaned it out and... What was lurking in there horrifies me. I am horrified. Being a plumber must be WILD
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May 16, 2021 21:02
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Dross posted:
It didn't strike me as something I wanted many memories of. I'll keep you all in mind moving forward, however. I'm hoping you guys might knock some sense into me as I consider a summer project. Some beautiful patio renos posted a few weeks back ITT has got my wheels turning. This is my least favorite part of my house:  It used to be an old fish pond the PO turned into this "fire pit". The flagstone is poorly fit, and my dog flings the gravel all over the place, so it's just kind of constantly a mess until I take the time to sweep the pea gravel back into place, as you can see. So I'm thinking of possibly installing some circular pavers. Ala:  The paver install itself doesn't seem too bad. Tamp out some gravel, tamp out some sand, get it plumb, lay the pavers. A lot of work, for sure, but not exactly rocket science. The problem is, my backyard is sloped, and the existing structure is built above the grade of the lawn. It starts relatively plumb with the natural grade uphill, but slopes off pretty drastically towards the back, as you can see here (this is the lowest part of my yard, and the flagstone sticking into the ground that acts as some sort of janky retaining wall):  The current fire pit is big. At it's widest, probably 16 feet across or so? So I could definitely cut down on it's footprint. Right now I'm thinking the best approach if I wanted to do this would be to rip the whole thing out, install pavers as uphill as possible, where the grade differential from "top" to "bottom" is relatively minimal, and hope I can finagle things to get it to communicate well with the rest of the yard. The part of the project I feel most unsure of is handling making the grade of the existing lawn communicates well with the patio I'd install, and it seems like I can't be sure what will be needed until I actually tear out the existing structure. I fear I'll get under there and the slope will be so severe it will require a retaining wall to keep the new patio flat or something. I just haven't done a project that would involve me digging out this much earth. Am I an idiot for considering this? What would you guys do? I throw myself at your mercy.
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May 20, 2021 03:43
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pics. You can’t pique our morbid curiosity like that and then leave us hanging!
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TacoHavoc posted:I would replace the janky retaining wall with a short wall that coordinates with whatever paver you want to use, and go to town. Make up the "hole" behind the retaining wall with 1 1/2 crushed gravel/sand mix or some other base layer suitable for your area. You think just stacking pavers/bricks would be stable enough? While I've been surprised how stable the current wall is, I don't want to do all this work to have it crumble because of a collapsing retaining wall. Also I couldn't backfill the "hole", since all that's back there is an old fence, and behind that, my neighbors yard. I have nothing to backfill into, essentially. So my primary concern would be if a "retaining wall" of stacked brick/pavers would be sturdy enough to support the paver patio. Edit: ok reading about retaining walls. This seems doable. Dig a trench, retaining wall base, stock blocks. Not toooo bad. Hmmmm hobbez fucked around with this message at 04:47 on May 20, 2021 |
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May 20, 2021 04:05
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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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It’s actually really frustrating shopping on Amazon these days. Like, I’d like to use it more, but it’s impossible to tell what is a decent product in a sea of knock off 4.5 star rated garbage
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May 30, 2021 18:06
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Anyone here sealed up pavers with polymeric sand before? I like the idea of having the durability of poly but have seen the horror shows of the haze that can result from botched installs. It seems avoidable if your meticulous throughout the install but I’d take any tips I can get Edit: reading more into options, normal paver sand + a spray on paver sealer/joint stabilizer to finish also seems like an option that doesn’t have the risk of the poly haze. Hmmmmm hobbez fucked around with this message at 20:03 on May 31, 2021 |
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May 31, 2021 19:41
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couldcareless posted:I finished up my patio with poly sand. Didn't have any issues to be honest. Just followed directions as noted and swept, watered, repeated as recommended. Right on. I think I’m gonna let it rip with the poly, thanks.
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Jun 1, 2021 07:30
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:Yes exactly. I'm doing it because I'm cheap, but gently caress it's hard to do something so simple as drill three holes level and properly spaced. My perspective is, bite the bullet and learn do it now. If you gently caress it up, you learn to fix it, and learn how to avoid loving it up next time. Whenever I DIY I learn something new about landscaping, plumbing, finishing, whatever, that I can use to look at things with a critical eye when I buy my next house or when I hire out a contractor. You’re investing in yourself. Teach a man to fish he’ll eat for the rest of his life, etc.
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Jun 4, 2021 19:41
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What the hobbez fucked around with this message at 19:59 on Jun 21, 2021 |
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Jun 21, 2021 19:51
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TacoHavoc posted:When I did a similar thing on my patio, I hit the joints with herbicide before sealing them. Maybe overkill but with all the time I spent cleaning the cracks, I figured anything I could do to help the poly sand last longer was worth it. Is it worthwhile to seal a new paver patio that’s done with poly sand? I just finished mine. Most guides I’ve seen don’t recommend sealing it but if you found it was helpful I’d consider it.
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Jul 7, 2021 01:56
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TacoHavoc posted:Sorry, I think I didn't speak clearly. I meant I applied herbicide to the cracks, then filled the cracks with poly sand. I didn't actually use any kind of sealant, I was using "seal" to refer to the poly sand sealing off the gaps between pavers. Ah gotcha thanks
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Jul 7, 2021 19:59
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bird with big dick posted:One of the people that uses that toilet more is diabetic. As someone with a diabetic partner… no, I don’t think so. Unless they are like undiagnosed or very poorly controlled and pissing sugar. In which case it’s a medical emergency and their urine should smell like Hawaiian punch
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Jul 8, 2021 01:32
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Woof. Our washer is out of commission, so this morning my wife decided to try and hand wash some things and put them in the dryer. I think she overloaded it with soaked towels and clothes because after some time I guess it made a screeching noise and there was a small of smoke. The drum was able to turn when we tried it again, but stopped after a couple roll overs and now when we hit start nothing happens at all. I’m hopeful it was just the drive belt, which I think I can replace, but I fear she may have taken out the motor too given the smoking smell. Not sure if that’s repairable.
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Jul 19, 2021 22:34
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Antifreeze Head posted:Repair? Maybe. Replace? Definitely. Someone put it in there, you can switch it out. Though finding a correct replacement and its cost may not be worth your while. So it turns out the distal hex plate on the motor pulley that keeps the drive belt in place is what broke. Tore up the belt in the process. All told it took about 4 or 5 hours and cost 70$ in parts. Much better then the 375$ the repair guy quoted me. Went fairly smooth overall!
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Jul 21, 2021 22:56
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This LED panel just started blinking when it's on. Full on strobe mode: Pulling the light down reveals:  Really uncomfortable with electric and know nothing about LED panels so not really sure how to trouble shoot this, especially since everything seems kinda hard wired in. Does the panel need replacing?
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Jul 26, 2021 17:48
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Posted about this possibly being a project a while back and I decided to give it a go and thought I'd drop the outcome. It was a loving bear doing this between just me and my girlfriend. Was pretty much a second full time job for 2/3 weeks. Very much on the border of biting off more then I can chew but a good lesson in DIY humility and overall I'm really glad we did it. Banged it out for around $2000 and I think it would have been 4x to do professionally. Before:  After:  Still some detailing to do. When the temps drop in the fall I'm going to sod in grass around the edges and clean up the patio "entrance."
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Jul 27, 2021 01:53
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Motronic posted:99.9% chance this is the solution. Unless you have an incompatible dimmer switch that you haven't dimmed before, was always on high and somehow got knocked to a lower setting. Thanks by the way. Just replaced the entire fixture today. Those were the first wire nuts I’ve ever twisted so that’s exciting.
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Jul 27, 2021 02:25
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If a 20 ft tall Aspen tree fell from my neighbors yard and landed in mine in a wind storm am I jerk for asking them to clean it up
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Aug 10, 2021 20:12
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DaveSauce posted:Short answer is yes. I mean, not 100% a jerk because it's a common misconception, but still an uncomfortably high percentage of jerk. K thx guys
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Aug 10, 2021 21:59
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ntan1 posted:Alright, I now have to make a decision on which refinance option to go with prior to closing. 30 year fixed mortgage There is no “philosophically” correct way for someone to answer this question without knowing more information. The most important being how long you plan to be in the home. If it’s 30 years and you don’t need the cash now, loan B is the better option. Loan A sounds rad on a shorter timeline. If there’s a chance at all of you wanting to move within 10 years I’d take that. These are both such comically low interest rates though, you don’t really have a bad option
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Aug 15, 2021 02:21
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Motronic posted:How big of a yard? Because my front yard is sizeable enough with enough tree cover to need this: God drat that's a beautiful setup. While we're talking blowers maybe I can push us forward a season and ask if anyone has strong opinions on snowblowers? I'm eyeballing the medium-quality two-stage Craftsmen at Lowe's that comes in at 850$. It's maybe a tad excessive for my modest Colorado suburban driveway and sidewalk but I'd rather get one that's big enough to handle the large dumps and might even join us if we migrate somewhere rural with a larger area to clear down the road.
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Nov 28, 2021 01:30
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levolor blinds suck rear end don’t buy that garbage that is all
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Jan 3, 2022 00:01
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Verman posted:Thanks. You're about a week too late. I just installed mine last week. What's your issue with them? Haha sorry. Mine are cellular shades, which basically have a hidden spring system in them that should “suck up” the shade when you press a button. They look slick, but one day the shade stopped retracting properly and would just kind of hang there half closed, with no option to manually retract it further. After getting into the shade and figuring how to pull out the pulley mechanism, it became pretty clear it was unfixable, at least by my hand. In fact based on videos I’ve seen of older models it seems like they actually made changes that in fact make it HARDER to repair them yourselves if it happens to you. Really I just made that post in a fit of rage after realizing my laboring to get into it and fix it would be fruitless, hopefully yours work out ok. I’d just be gentle with them when you’re pulling them down or pulling them up, if you have that style. There very little keeping the strings in the interior seated firmly in the spring and pulley mechanism. I also probably wouldn’t recommend them on a window where you want to be pulling them up and down all the time because I think they’d be more likely to fail with heavy use YMMV
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Jan 3, 2022 23:40
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I had no idea shade chords were a loving ligature risk
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Jan 4, 2022 01:08
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Is it (typically) illegal or merely trashy for my neighbor to park their extra long work truck in front of my house for days on end because they rent rooms in their house to 3 separate tenants so there are too many vehicles for them to keep in their driveway/parked along their section of curb? I mean it’s not really impacting us in any way but it’s kind of annoying hobbez fucked around with this message at 20:30 on Apr 3, 2022 |
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Apr 3, 2022 20:25
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:Unless it’s some kind of negatively impacting you (blocking sun/view, or access to something) IMO that’s a pretty lovely thing to care about. That’s what I thought. I don’t think I’m going to say anything I was just wondering what is considered standard. It doesn’t really impact us, like I said. It’s just kind of one of a few things that aren’t technically illegal but are a little annoying. They produce a lot of trash because so many people live there and it tends to find its way into my yard somehow. Random peanut butter jars and cardboard that for some reason doesn’t make its way into the bin. Guests smoking out back occasionally that wafts in through the window. Overall they’re not intrusive but I wouldn’t say they’re my favorite neighbor
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Apr 3, 2022 21:01
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Epitope posted:Heard the neighbor slam his car door. Don't he realize this is respectable street I’m not that bad I swear
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Apr 4, 2022 00:34
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drat that is a lot for what seems like a pretty basic remodel. You’re not even re-doing a shower or any floor work. The idiot in me is saying I would DIY most of this You should post lots of pictures, obviously hobbez fucked around with this message at 19:50 on Apr 4, 2022 |
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Apr 4, 2022 19:42
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Hadlock posted:I've seen situations where someone will buy a not running car for scrap value, $500, register it so it's legal, and then park it in front of their house to dissuade people from parking there. Spaced correctly you can block people from parking in front of your house/near your driveway. It's hugely passive aggressive but as long as your city doesn't have regular street cleaning is technically legal This is an extreme level of get off my lawn-ism
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Apr 4, 2022 23:51
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