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I bought a house! RIP me. First off, thanks to everyone posting in this thread. Reading a couple hundred pages of it has prepared me for home ownership better than pretty much anything else could, I think. I've added a ton of stuff to my "to check"/"to maintain"/"to buy"/etc. lists. One of the things that came back from our inspection is that the bathroom vents exit through the soffits rather than the roof. Apparently this could be a moisture issue, is it worth getting it taken care of? And would a roofer do it, or should I get an HVAC person? We already have a couple other small roof fixes I want to get taken care of, so it would be nice to just bundle that all together.
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Nov 3, 2022 22:03
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Motronic posted:It's not a huge deal/emergency, but yeah you want to get that taken care of. A roofer is who you want - the important part is putting the vent ont he roof and making sure it doesn't leak and that's why you want a roofer. Anybody can move the hose to the new vent. Thanks! Will add that to the list of minor roofing stuff to get taken care of.
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Nov 3, 2022 23:06
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Any advice on the best way to balance indoor humidity during the winter between comfort and moisture control? It's been pretty dry and staticky in our house. We have a humidifier on our HVAC and can adjust the level of humidity, but I don't know enough to know where we should have it set. I had it set to 35 and a couple clocks we have with (probably lovely) humidity displays showed low 30s on one and high 30s on the other, so the setting seems relatively accurate. We've been a little more comfortable since I set it to that (from 20 when we moved in), but this morning had some condensation on our windows. Not a lot - maybe .5 to 1 inch at the bottom of them, but I feel like I've seen that window condensation is a warning sign. Notably, it was pretty cold (single digits) last night, so that also has probably influenced it. Should I turn it down? Just wipe the windows in the morning? Constantly readjust based on the weather forecast?
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Dec 19, 2022 17:49
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Also, I just want to reiterate that this thread is awesome. I have read the entire thread now, and feel simultaneously incredibly prepared and terrified.
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Dec 19, 2022 17:50
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Motronic posted:You probably need to turn it down when it's this cold out as your windows aren't insulated enough. You could also try leaving the fan on and see if that helps. Thanks for the advice! I don't think ours has any ability to monitor outside temps at all, so it looks like I'll just be modifying the setting as the weather changes and wiping down the windows if I happen to guess incorrectly. Thankfully the condensation seems to only be on the top windows above the join with the bottoms (at least so far) so it's not dripping down into wood or anything. Given where it is I wonder if a little bit of cold air is coming in somehow and if there's any reasonable way to address that. Dr. Eldarion fucked around with this message at 20:37 on Dec 19, 2022 |
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Dec 19, 2022 20:34
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-9 this morning... real good day to break out the FLIR camera and find where all the cold air is coming in! Verdict: many places. None too bad, but I'm sure the furnace will be happy when those get patched up. Also the attic hatch really needs some insulation.
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Dec 23, 2022 17:48
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tubamortis posted:1 day in to home ownership: discovered that the place has tons of coax cables that don't seem to be connected to each other/the access point outside. This was a fun discovery for me, too. Had the Comcast guy come out and he had to reconnect cables in both the basement and attic before the internet would work. There are three different boxes on an outside wall with coax going into them, from three different providers. There's also a bonus severed mystery coax cable sticking out of the ground about 10 feet away from them all.
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Feb 2, 2023 23:26
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Motronic posted:Timing the Eames market. Time in the Eames market beats timing the Eames market.
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Feb 14, 2023 04:56
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Hadlock posted:Who are the go-to guys for a cross-country relocation. I think we're looking at a "full service" mover type If you're paying for it yourself, get a Pods pod and save $10k+. Yes, it'll be a fair amount of work loading it up, but you can save a ridiculous amount of money. Then you can use the savings on upgrading things, or replacing ones you don't feel like moving. We did this last year with no regrets. Movers estimate was $9k, we paid < $3k for the smallest Pod. The difference bought us a new couch and much nicer bed/mattress. Dr. Eldarion fucked around with this message at 22:45 on Mar 3, 2023 |
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Mar 3, 2023 22:42
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Hadlock posted:California has ... no recognizable pollen season ... except for in the SF Bay Area where in the spring literally everything gets caked with half an inch of yellow dust.
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Mar 10, 2023 17:16
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We just leave the light on in the laundry room if something's in the washer.
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Mar 20, 2023 23:22
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Anyone have advice on gas fireplace inserts? We have a wood fireplace with a gas starter now, but would much rather just have it be straight gas. Our primary goal is to have a backup heat source for if there's a power outage, secondary goal just to be something easy and cozy and low maintenance that we can fire up from time to time. From looking around, it looks like we'd want: - Vented (no impact on air quality, which is one of the reasons we're not just keeping the wood one) - Electric starter w/ battery backup - Blower (though we realize this wouldn't work with no power) - High efficiency (seems like we want 75%+ efficiency?) Anything else to look for? Any gotchas I'm missing? Dr. Eldarion fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Mar 22, 2023 |
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Mar 22, 2023 19:57
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QuarkJets posted:Anyone want to talk about HVAC filters? What do you tend to use? No specific advice, but: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkjRKIRva58
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Mar 26, 2023 14:45
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Douche4Sale posted:I have a drain right next to mine that goes to the crock with the sump pump in the basement so it is super easy for me. Is there an issue with potentially sending all that sediment into your pump?
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Apr 12, 2023 14:00
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FISHMANPET posted:Has stuff like that gotten worse since the pandemic or has it just always been bad? It's to the point where I'm just terrified at the prospect of actually hiring anyone to do anything because the odds of just getting yanked around forever or getting someone terrible like that seems so high that I might as well just figure out how to do it myself, whatever it is. This was a big plus for us on packing everything up ourselves with a Pods pod. They don't get a key to it so things won't go missing, and if anything is damaged it's because we hosed it up ourselves.
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May 9, 2023 16:11
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A quick Googling says average is ~300 / ~70 per person.
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May 31, 2023 18:06
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Not sure about carpenter ants, but the last couple times I've had ant issues I've gotten this stuff and the ants were gone within hours.
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Jun 30, 2023 23:01
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Motronic posted:If you're looking for one I'd suggest getting the inverter type - quieter, much more efficient to the point that it's totally worth spending the extra couple hundred on it because it will be paid back in the first year or so in lower power bulls. You probably also want one with a pump on it unless there is a sump pit you can put it near and have ti gravity drain into. Most of the inverter units are "nicer" so will probably have this feature. Also make sure to check your utility provider for rebates for buying an energy efficient one, we got $45 from ours after purchasing our dehumidifier.
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Jul 1, 2023 19:44
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Was in the bathroom today and noticed part of the ceiling looked a little weird. Poked it and it gave way pretty easily. So I went and grabbed my ladder and cut out the bad section, which revealed... open flexible duct? Very confused at first, I thought that maybe they moved the vent fan or something and were just really lazy with leaving the old ducting there. Then something clicked and I turned on the fan... to air blowing out of the duct. Now obviously something made the ceiling unhappy. My guess would be condensation since there doesn't appear to be anything else around that could possibly leak (it's under an open area of the upstairs and doesn't have any pipes running through it). The piece that I cut out was definitely crumbly, but not moist in any way, and I didn't see anything that looked like mold anywhere. It was only crumbly directly under the duct. Importantly, this is a half bath with no shower or bathtub. So the vent is rarely used, and basically only for modesty reasons. Given that, is there any real issue with basically just sealing it back up? Given its location, properly ducting it to the outside would be a pretty extensive/expensive project - the bathroom is basically in the absolute center of the house, with an open area above it and rooms with higher ceilings on all sides. If it's a problem I'd almost rather just rip the thing out than try to figure out how to send the air outside. Edit: or comedy option, just put a grate over the hole Dr. Eldarion fucked around with this message at 20:32 on Jul 15, 2023 |
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Jul 15, 2023 20:10
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Haven't been here long, so GARY'S fart gas. Actually, condensation from the temperature difference between the conditioned and non-conditioned spaces. The part that I cut out was noticeably thinner than the surrounding drywall, so it definitely seemed like a patch already. So either this has been a problem before and someone just patched it up, or they tried to put the fan there originally, realized it wouldn't fit for whatever reason, just put in a patch and moved the fan over a couple feet. Feels like fans are usually right above the toilet? That's where the hole I cut is. Dr. Eldarion fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Jul 15, 2023 |
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Jul 15, 2023 21:18
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right arm posted:installed a toto washlet. heated water and seat Aww hell yeah. Need to get someone out here to put an outlet in so we can get one.
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Jul 26, 2023 19:30
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FWIW we got an Airthings radon sensor and and it read very similarly to both the pre and post mitigation professionally tested big-rear end-device-over-multiple-days levels. Is it going to be perfect? Definitely not. Is it better to be able to check a reading occasionally and at least have some signal that there might be cause for concern if it reads higher than normal? Absolutely. Especially against the other, more likely scenario of forgetting about things / never getting around to having them retested professionally. Edit: Ours read ~8-10 pre-mitigation and is typically < 0.7 post-mitigation. I lent the device to my neighbor (lived in his house for 25+ years) and he brought it back without using it saying maybe he's better off not knowing. I hope he doesn't get cancer. Dr. Eldarion fucked around with this message at 16:45 on Aug 16, 2023 |
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Aug 16, 2023 16:39
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How much has your AC been on during the last couple days? Houses can hold a lot of water and it can take quite a while to move the needle. Edit: Also, if the house isn't air sealed very well, all the humid outside air is just coming right back in. May be something to look into. Dr. Eldarion fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Aug 17, 2023 |
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Aug 17, 2023 15:32
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A groundhog tunneled under our concrete front porch. He's gone now, but the tunnel / void is still there. What's the best way to get this addressed? Call someone who does mudjacking / polyjacking and have them fill it up? It hasn't sunk or anything, I just want the hole to be filled with something supportive.
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Sep 6, 2023 21:29
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Blindeye posted:Controlled density fill is basically super runny grout that fills voids. If you know the extent of the hole tbh I'd just get a general contractor to pump it with CDF, but if you don't, maybe it's time for a professional eval by a licensed PE or foundation contractor. Thanks, will find someone for this! I checked out the void and it doesn't look too crazy. Endoscope comes in handy yet again!
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Sep 7, 2023 15:28
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oh the things I have seen
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Sep 7, 2023 20:38
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GlyphGryph posted:What do I actually do with things like heating units and toilets I want to get rid of? I have no idea how to dispose of these things. I don't know if this is the right way of doing it, but I've seen it suggested that for toilets you just smash it outside and put all the pieces in with the regular trash.
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Sep 15, 2023 15:22
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runawayturtles posted:At my condo walkthrough before closing, there was some sort of transparent weather sealing tape surrounding every window (looked like packing tape but stretchier). We had to tear all of it off to make sure the windows could be opened. Not exactly what you're looking for, but I used this stuff to seal up windows last year and it worked great: Duck Brand Window Insulation Kit Edit: 10 window size is cheaper at Walmart, who still have not realized that number isn't a great one to be throwing around. Dr. Eldarion fucked around with this message at 21:57 on Oct 10, 2023 |
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Oct 10, 2023 21:55
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Not sure how well this would work for second story gutters, but first story gutters were super easy to clean out with this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-2-1-2-in-Gutter-Cleaning-Accessory-Kit-for-RIDGID-Wet-Dry-Shop-Vacuums-VT2515/203235222 I imagine another 10+ feet of tube might make it a bit cumbersome.
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Nov 6, 2023 02:35
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QuarkJets posted:I should have guessed that the thing I was thinking of was already some sort of product, although this is for a shop vac rather than a leafblower. I doubt my shop vac would be able to blow out wet leaves, but my leaf blower regularly does because I bought the biggest gently caress-off one available while still being battery powered Thankfully, our leaves were mostly dry so I just vacuumed them out and that worked great.
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Nov 6, 2023 15:49
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Guy Axlerod posted:I thought I had dislodged some antimatter poo poo and broke all the sewer lines in the wall. Nibbler? That you?
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Nov 28, 2023 22:00
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There absolutely needs to be a middle ground between "we're exporting all our water as almonds and the state is literally sinking because of it" and "we're all going to starve", though.
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Dec 16, 2023 23:29
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Best way to do it may be to order for in-store pickup and wait until you get a confirmation.
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Jan 14, 2024 06:13
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At least that's better than when people do it at the grocery store, casually just leaving 2 pounds of deli meat on the shelf in the cereal aisle.
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Jan 14, 2024 15:30
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Speaking of water sensors and frozen pipes - do they trigger if you drip the faucet to prevent pipe freezing in the winter?
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Jan 20, 2024 17:45
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If you have a basement you will never get rid of anything. I'll leave it up to you whether this is a good or bad thing.
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Feb 4, 2024 05:20
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Just give me a single unit air conditioner / heater / water heater / dryer / dehumidifier with a single heat pump and be done with it.
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Feb 6, 2024 00:42
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Cat pee is really hard to mistake with a smell test.
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Feb 22, 2024 15:33
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FISHMANPET posted:Anyone have any experience with any of these modular furniture brands like Burrow? We've got a nearly 15 year old Ikea sectional that's basically falling apart, and we're ready to replace it, and can afford something "nice". We were originally looking at Ikea because we've certainly gotten our moneys worth out of what we had before, so we're not adverse to buying there again. But especially with cats that like to scratch, something like Burrow with their fabric that they claim is nearly scratch proof, I'm very intrigued. We got a Sactional, and are quite happy with it. It wasn't cheap, but the flexibility was worth it since we hadn't found a house yet and weren't sure what layout we'd end up needing. We also had cat clawing concerns and chose the corded velvet covers (based on their recommendation), and have had no scratching issues. The covers are washable / replaceable as well, in case scratching or hairballs happen. Also, one of us liked the softer cushions and one liked the regular ones, so we were able to order one single softer cushion for me - it doesn't look perfect, but comfort comes first! If you know a designer, they can get you 20% off. Dr. Eldarion fucked around with this message at 19:44 on Feb 22, 2024 |
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Feb 22, 2024 19:40
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I can't really see the condition of your gutters from the pictures, but that seems like a lot of money just to wash them? FWIW we had our whole house (including gutters, not including roof) pressure washed last year for $325. Not in as expensive an area as Seattle, but not in a super LCOL one either.
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Mar 6, 2024 15:44
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