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One thing I do need to deal with: my backyard. The previous owners collected the gently caress out of grass clippings and leaves, but I don’t think they ever did anything with them.  So I’ve got a small truck and a dump pass, or I could burn them…my concern with burning is it’s a small area close to the house and there’s poison ivy around. I don’t want to burn the ivy obviously. Any suggestions or am in it it to haul 10 loads of brush to the dump?
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Jul 2, 2022 23:39
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Borrow a leafblower and send it into those conveniently placed Woods right back there! Kinda good idea and my cordless one definitely won’t cut it. The long term plan is to knock a bunch of those trees out because that’s our land and there’s a stone wall another 10 feet behind it.
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Jul 2, 2022 23:52
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Wtf am I going to do with all that compost? I don’t even have a garden not the time to maintain one.
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Jul 3, 2022 00:11
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devicenull posted:I'd definitely wait before you take out any of those trees, unless you're certain there will never be anything back there that you don't want to see. Give it some time to see if you actually still want to remove them, since you can't really replace them! Yep, noted. There’s a few dead ones and another few that are leaning towards towards the house which I’m a bit worried about.
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Jul 3, 2022 00:12
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Is $100 to replace a needle valve with a quarter turn valve reasonable? A few quarter turn valves are leaking in my house-I was able to tighten the packing gland to stop the leak, but I’d like yo get them replaced. I don’t know which ones are soldered or compression fits…or really how to even tell-so best to leave it to the pros. One guy said $125 each but if I do ten of them he’ll do it for $1k and he’ll supply the valves. Seems pricy but plumbers seem pricy in general.
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Jul 4, 2022 02:07
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tater_salad posted:Honestly that doesn't sound terrible. Guys gotta show up at your house cut the valves out and then reconnect them. If he's not doing them all with sharkbite connection and is actual soldering them id say that's not a terrible price. Maybe a little high for bulk pricing though. He came down to $800 which works for me. Plus he’s going to fix the weird plumbing issue on my vanity.
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Jul 4, 2022 18:18
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Well water question: there’s some sludge in our toilets and sinks and we’re curious if it’s also affecting our drinking water. As part of our inspection, we got a water test which detected no abnormalities and slightly hard water. Having been in the house a month, we’ve noticed the bottom of the toilet bowl gets some pink/brown sludge on them without frequent (daily) flushing and the bottoms of our sinks produce the same sludge. Reading online, this seems to be analogous to iron in your water, but our test from March detected no iron. We’re worried that the water we are drinking may contain this same algae. We have a refrigerator water dispenser and changed the filter on that, but we’re still concerned. I changed the well filter two days ago, but the sludge remains. The filter we use seems to be mainly for sediment: Filtrete Standard Capacity Whole House String Wound Replacement Water Filter 3WH-STDSW-F02, 2 pack, for use with 3WH-STD-S01 System https://a.co/d/7kGMsyT Not sure where to go from here: another water test? Where should we get that from? I’m kinda thinking a new water test because I’ve read water quality can change throughout the seasons-maybe I call the well company for an annual inspection and get their take?
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Jul 6, 2022 03:03
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So what’s the trick to cleaning gutters that are high up? Even with my extension ladder, 2 of the gutters are about 6-7’ out of reach (one might be closer to 10’). Unfortunately one of them is the one the ac condensate line drips into and it’s completely clogged with leaves, so I definitely need to get it cleaned up. I tried getting on the roof, but there was no safe way for me to reach down to the gutter and clean it once I was up there. I saw some hose extension things but with how much gunk and leaves were stuck in the lower gutters-I dunno if it would do the job or not. Plus hauling that and the hose up that high (17-20’+) makes me think it would be heavy and unwieldy. nwin fucked around with this message at 15:25 on Jul 6, 2022 |
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Jul 6, 2022 15:22
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Can you climb on the roof and scoop out the gunk from above? Thats what I've done in the past. I got up on the roof but didn’t feel at all safe getting down low enough to scoop the stuff out. If I had a solid foundation about 6’ high I could put the ladder on top of that, but that screams “OSHA” thread to me and it’s definitely not a great idea. I was thinking of getting gutter guards so this might be the impetus to do it.
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Jul 6, 2022 15:56
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Welp, home energy audit is done. No need for windows or insulation-only recommendation was to install an exterior door at the base of the stairs in the basement by the bilco door. They measured my oil furnace at 80% efficiency which is shocking since it’s so old, but I just had it serviced so maybe that’s it. So hey, just saved myself a ton of cash for now!
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Jul 7, 2022 18:15
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Do gutters need replaced? One company won’t install gutter guards unless you buy gutters from them. The other company said my gutters are 25 years old and they are the type that nail into the house and a few nails have popped out so he doesn’t recommend installing guards on the existing gutters, but he will do it. Somehow he estimated I have 5 years of life left on the gutters which I think is impossible to tell.
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Jul 7, 2022 20:40
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So for my basement door, here’s what I’m looking at: On each side of the concrete stairs, there were 2x4’s installed. The measurement from edge to edge is 40” and the height to the top Is 83” (from the top of the bottom step). On the top of it is a 2x6 but it doesn’t meet up perfectly with the 2x4 on the side. Here’s a picture on the upper right of the opening:  So…what are my options for getting a door in here? My first thought was a pre hung steel exterior door with a left hand inswing like this, in 36x80: https://www.homedepot.com/p/36-in-x-80-in-Flush-Primed-Steel-Prehung-Left-Hand-Inswing-Front-Door-710584/202036367 But the actual unit size is 37 7/16” x 81 3/4”. If I’m reading correctly, that means I have a space on the sides of 2 9/16” and about 1 1/4” on the top. I’m not sure how I’d fill those voids to get the door in there. It’d be great if I could find something that would just need me to slap a 2x4 on the top and maybe a 2x6 on the bottom, but I dunno if that would even work. I’m also concerned with how the sides are partially concrete and then wood. In reality, it doesn’t need to look great and just provide effective insulation vice a bilco door. The bilco door will rarely be used except when I need to eventually get some large items out of it. Any ideas or suggestions? All the holes I see in the wood makes me think they had something in there previously.
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Jul 8, 2022 00:55
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Anyone have an idea of what this orange light outside my garage could be for? It’s not linked to the flood lights…googling did nothing. I’m on oil heat so maybe an alarm for that?
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Jul 9, 2022 21:19
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We have cedar siding with a lot of woodpecker damage. Reading online, it seems like it might be due to insects or bugs. It could also be mating rituals and stuff, but who knows. Who is the best person to call for this stuff? An exterminator or someone who deals with siding? And if it’s a siding guy, I’m guessing there are people who deal with regular aluminum siding and those who deal with cedar siding? nwin fucked around with this message at 02:08 on Jul 15, 2022 |
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Jul 15, 2022 01:57
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Lmao holy gently caress someone just quoted $450 to remove some cicada killer/wasps from my front yard. Jesus Christ man.
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Jul 15, 2022 23:12
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Inner Light posted:I guess this is not very surprising to me at all? With almost any contractor for a small job, a large part of the fee is the cost to get this random human being to your door. With a vehicle, supplies, etc. Maybe? I’ve done other pest control for $150 and had an electrician fix a wiring mistake for $140. I was very surprised when a plumber charged $375 for a wax ring install since he was in and out in 15 minutes-my old landlord ponied up the cash for that though and I am hoping I can do that job myself when the time comes. On any note, we just saw a cicada dead today so we’re kinda thinking about keeping the cicada killers around because we loving can’t stand those things. Especially after last year when the huge brood x cicadas hit Virginia. loving yuck. nwin fucked around with this message at 02:47 on Jul 16, 2022 |
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Jul 16, 2022 02:44
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PainterofCrap posted:Why? Nah I read up on them, so I’m not as worried…but I’ve also got a 1 year old and a 3 year old to think about. However, I did see a dead cicada today near their nest and after dealing with brood x in Virginia a year back…I kinda want to keep the wasps. The woodpeckers however? They need to loving go. Too bad they’re a protected species. I’ve got a ton of damage on two sides of my house and I’m not sure if I want to/can deal with the time to putty or epoxy them all before I put up some shiny things to scare them off. nwin fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Jul 17, 2022 |
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Jul 17, 2022 01:32
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Painting baseboards and trim white-How many coats of primer would you recommend? We did one room with two coats of primer because you could still see the wood a bit after the first coat and one coat of semi-gloss to finish. Any reason for two coats of primer or would we be ok with just one? Here’s how it looked after a coat of primer: 
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Jul 20, 2022 17:39
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Right guys I get it. Leave it as wood. I lost that battle already so 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of paint it is. Thank you!
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Jul 20, 2022 21:31
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The Dave posted:Are the doors wood tone as well? Are you painting those? The blue carpet is leaving for a beige/tan. The doors are wood tone as well. Not sure if we’re leaving those as-is or not. They’re solid doors I’ve been told compared to hollow ones. 
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Jul 21, 2022 00:59
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:These are basic 70s/80s solid pine or fir doors. The grain is going all over the place with no effort to match anything. They're like 7 different colors and definitely look a bit dated. You're not painting some precious 150yr old heart pine or anything. Do whatever you want with them. They're definitely much better quality than modern hollow core doors. Thank you! And yeah, I’m glad they aren’t hollow but I’m not amped about the random mismatch.
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Jul 21, 2022 01:29
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Getting new flooring installed In the kitchen and they removed the fridge which came with the house…this is the back of it. Any ideas wtf caused this? It’s a side by side fridge with icemaker/water dispenser From 2004 
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Jul 26, 2022 17:06
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KS posted:Oh, yeah, I've seen that on an Electrolux and I've heard it's common on Frigidaires. A refrigerant line inside is too close to the metal, making the metal cold, leading to condensation, leading to rust. It's a stupid design flaw. You may want to wire brush it down and paint it. Even better if you open it up and look to see if you can insulate it. Awesome. So nothing with a “need to fix now”, but we’re replacing the fridge in the next year or two anyways so we should be good.
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Jul 26, 2022 17:43
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:I don’t even care if they pay me for it, I just don’t want a temp tank on the side of my house (or to pay for one) that I’m just gonna toss. There’s going to be sludge in the bottom of your tank which requires special disposal. Some companies will buy the heating oil at a reduced price but you’re still left with the sludge at the bottom to deal with.
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Jul 30, 2022 17:47
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pmchem posted:https://www.lg.com/us/support/video-tutorials/maintenance-laundry-dryer-CT10000011-1428690638456 My dryer duct is completely clean and I have the same issues he mentioned with my new LG dryer. The moisture sensors and everything just kind of suck on the new units.
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Aug 7, 2022 12:59
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Anza Borrego posted:If you are having dryer problems, have you tried wool balls added to the load? It helps prevent clothes getting stuck behind the dryer fins, which happens with a lot of front loaders Even with dryer balls, the new dryers suck. Are there any dryers that aren’t front loaders?
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Aug 8, 2022 02:12
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Hadlock posted:How would this work I was asking Anza because it didn’t make any sense to me.
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Aug 8, 2022 02:27
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Once again, trying to weigh the pros and cons of my existing boiler. It’s a 34 year old single stage oil boiler with a tankless heating coil to provide hot water. I’ve done the repair on some pipes that were corroding and here are my two/three options moving forward: 1) leave it as is. Continue to pay ridiculous oil prices year round for hot water (this month was about $80 just in hot water). 2) install electric water heater. Probably about $1500 or so. Electricity in Connecticut isn’t cheap but it’s cheaper than $80/month. 3) install hybrid electric water heater. $3-4k with a $750 rebate right now. Cheaper than the other options to run and it dehumidifies the basement! Con: need to keep about 800 square feet “open” in the basement per code, which infringes on potentially finishing the basement at some point. Our basement is about 1500 square feet. Another con: it cools the space…great for the summer, not so great for the winter since I work out down there and if we ever finish the basement now I need to look at heating options. Any thoughts?
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Aug 24, 2022 01:41
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Wanderless posted:I just helped install a heat pump hybrid heater in a similar setup. If you pay attention while installing it and save all of the relevant parts, most models can use ducted air, so you could continue to pull from/vent to a different area if that makes sense (just make sure you are replacing any air in some way so other sources of combustion aren't gassing you in your sleep). They can also be in a smaller room if the air exchange rates are high enough, usually accomplished with a louvered panel on a door. Thanks for the info! We’ve got a split system on our main level so no ducting there to use. However it’s nice to know I could just switch off the hybrid feature if it’s too cold. I read a study last night saying it may only cool the basement an extra 5 degrees so that’s not a big deal. I’m a little concerned about the noise and the lack of a drain. My washer and dryer is on the main level, I’m on a septic, and so I’m not sure how running a condensate would work to possibly tie into the main drain. My basement has insulation on the ceiling so I’m hopeful that would negate the noise a bit, but I have no frame of reference wrt how loud the pump will be.
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Aug 24, 2022 23:03
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Wanderless posted:You're essentially running a small dehumidifier or (nice) window AC unit so the sound will be similar (with the exception of a run of apparently very annoying Rheem hybrids that had a bad bearing or something). Mine is directly below me in my garage and it is barely audible over my PC fans (~40db), and that's all vibration through the walls. Looking at the spec sheet they even have further vibration damping mounts. Oh poo poo. My dehumidifier is currently running 80% of the time and I don’t hear that so I’m probably good-thanks!
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Aug 25, 2022 01:55
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I had to get an oak tree removed because it was dying and leaning toward the house. Anyways, it’s a stump now and I’m wondering if it’s worth having the arborist chip up the stump and then fill with topsoil, etc. It’s about 30” in diameter and they charge $4.75 an inch. He said they offer two things. First is just chipping it up. They’ll leave me with the chipped wood in a pile on my yard. The other option is they’ll charge more to remote the wood chips and then will fill the cavity with top soil and seed. I’m waiting to see how much extra that would cost. He mentioned that removing the chips isn’t too bad so long as I have a wheelbarrow and somewhere to put the wood chips, which I do, but I’m curious how big a cavity I’ll have with a 30” stump being removed and how big of a pain it’ll be to fill it.
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Aug 27, 2022 00:40
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devicenull posted:It's going to be a pretty large cavity - you aren't going to want to deal with that yourself unless you're able to get top soil in bulk. Hmm, main reason I want to get rid of it is because it’s in the front yard so I’d like to get grass there instead. However, I’m not in a huge rush so I could just do the epsom salt route I’ve been reading about. That should only take a few months and then I don’t have wood chips to bother with.
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Aug 27, 2022 01:24
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H110Hawk posted:$142 to grind it? Yes have them do it. Otherwise you will have that stump for decades. Verify that's the price. I thought you were going to find out it was a grand or two in which case you can definitely get it done more cheaply by finding someone who isn't an arborist. My mow and blow guy knew a guy. He spoke 0 English and the price was better in cash. Habla Español pero precios más bajos. At least in my neck of the woods. Turns out they’re willing to do it and another stump for $100 each. Sold. I read conflicting reports about the woodchipe. Some people say to leave it and it will convert soon enough. Most reports say remove it asap so termites and carpenter ants don’t come after it, then use topsoil to fill the cavity and seed it from there. The latter option seems safest. I’m not sure what to do with the chips though. Think they’d burn in my fire pit or maybe the dump would take them (they take brush anyways)?
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Aug 29, 2022 01:02
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PainterofCrap posted:I did it around where I had to remove two 100-YO ash trees, and, after five years, I'm going to have to do it again, probably next spring. The guy came today while I was at work, but I was able to watch him on my security camera loving demolish those stumps with his machine in literally no time. The closest stump is about 8-10’ from my truck and 20’ from my house. I won’t be able to move the chips until Friday night or saturday. I’m hoping that will be a short enough time frame to stay away from the artillery spores attacking anything. I might move my truck away tomorrow just to be safe.
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Aug 30, 2022 00:41
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Well that was a workout. Each stump’s wood chips filled the bed of my truck up. Two trips down and I think I’m done for the day.
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Sep 3, 2022 17:24
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Generators…I don’t think I want to mess with a whole-home generator at this point but I am concerned about losing power. Having little kids, I’m concerned about keeping the oil boiler running during the winter and the fridge/stove operational. Oh and my well pump for water. Would a portable generator be capable of doing this? I don’t know a thing about them and I’m not sure how I would realistically have it power the boiler/etc since they feed into the breaker panel. In all honesty, the house is almost 30 years old and has never had a whole home generator so I’m not too concerned, but my neighbors said they have gone without power for a few days during some of the winters here-they also have a wood stove in the basement so it’s possibly not as big a deal to them. nwin fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Sep 22, 2022 |
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Sep 22, 2022 18:56
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Comrade Gritty posted:Because I looked this stuff up! Thanks I was just reading up on those. My breaker panel is in the basement whereas my generator would be outside somewhere. From what I can tell, my best option is to basically call an electrician and have them come out to review options (either a separate panel installed outside which would handle the load of a furnace/well pump/ a few outlets throughout the house, or a single plug where it would be on my to shut off the unsupported breakers on my basement panel prior to turning the generator on). If I’ve got that right then I’m curious on what an electrician would charge for those options.
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Sep 22, 2022 19:19
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Motronic posted:Gritty took are of the transfer switch/get a whole home generator, but if you go with a transfer switch and inlet I assure you you can run your well pump, oil furnace and all the lighting you could possible need on a 5k watt generator. 7500 even better. Is yours a whole home or portable? One reason I don’t want to deal with whole home is because then I’ll need to get a propane tank since natural gas isn’t offered here. I read that inverter generators are supposed to be better than normal portable generators, but I’m not sure the cost is worth it.
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Sep 22, 2022 19:37
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I’m in Connecticut-if my power goes out during the summer, it’s not likely to be for that long to justify needing a whole home to run my AC. I’m only concerned with winter time.
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Sep 22, 2022 20:58
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I know nothing about those showers but are you usually running all 4 at the same time? My shower has a wand at the shower head and it’s not like we use both at the same time. I’d imagine the same for the rainfall attachment.
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Sep 22, 2022 21:31
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