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Dazerbeams posted:Why did the previous owners decide that having carpet in the hall and NOT the bedrooms made sense? Last year she came up with several of her own reasons why we should cover up our lovely pine plank flooring but my internal reason "so she doesn't slip while carrying our new baby" was motivation enough for me. If expense had been an issue, I would have also prioritized the stairs and hallway over bedrooms.
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May 13, 2016 20:22
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FCKGW posted:JFC let me give you guys money! Are you in a urban or rural area? When I lived in Broomfield, CO, I had zero problem with calls being returned and work being done, whether it was an emergency ("Hot water heater dying!"), "emergency" ("Uh, I bought a toilet and didn't correctly measure the distance from the wall; can you install an offset flange...today?), or non-emergency stuff ranging from new furnace, house painting, etc. It was my first home and I completely took it for granted that it was how services worked. I moved to rural-ish Vermont, 20 minutes between Burlington and Middlebury and it's exactly as you've described. What's hard for me to understand is that the area is not as economically well off as Colorado and it seemed like people would be chomping at the bit for money.
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May 17, 2016 14:15
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OSU_Matthew posted:You should also install a whole house fan to stuck in all the cool evening air and push out the hot stagnant air upstairs and in the attic. Basically turns the house into a wind tunnel and cools it down within minutes Any gotchas to look out for? Do they have any value for cold months?
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Jun 14, 2016 18:53
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I'm going to be an rear end in a top hat and piggyback here even though I've already asked in another thread. Any good sites/recommendations for lawn tractors? I have a hilly 3 acre lawn and the beater 1991 Simplicity I've been using finally died. I'm currently looking between a Husquavara GT52XLS and John Deere x380 (or possibly x580). If money were no object, I'd go John Deere. However, since money is an object, I'm leaning toward the Husquavara which is about 1/3 less than the JD x380 and over half of an x580. In regards to Cub Cadet, according to Consumer Reports, the current models are not very reliable: quote:John Deere is more reliable than the majority of other lawn tractor brands, whereas Cub Cadet tractors are more failure-prone and cannot be recommended by Consumer Reports at this time. Is the picture the extend of your lawn? About how many acres total?
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Jun 21, 2016 17:44
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Leperflesh posted:Well, it depends on where your water pipes go. You said you have a basement, if the water pipe from your hot water heater to your various faucets runs along the basement ceiling, then hey, you can easily insulate it!
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Oct 12, 2016 17:41
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Steampunk Hitler posted:I woke up today and found my fridge is no longer working, it's 13 years old so it likely is about time to replace it anyways. Any one have any recommendations for a good set of Kitchen Appliances? Maybe that's true about older appliances being better? I was shocked when this house, built in the early 1970s had what had to be the original refrigerator, still running if old and smelly. And using god knows how much power. In both cases I replaced with a Samsung. The first one had to have its motherboard replaced within 6 months. This one has been good for the past two years. Bottom freezer 4 life.
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Nov 22, 2016 21:26
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Economic Sinkhole posted:Since buying our house in suburbia 3.5 years ago, my dream house has become "as much land as possible on all sides, with literally any kind of house on it". Our neighbor built their house first and looking west toward our lot, had a clear view to the lake. He talked to the owners we bought from and they assured him that they were building the house several hundred feet from the road. Neighbor takes a two week vacation, returns, and find the foundation hole dug and cement drying for the house only a hundred feet from the road and in his direct line of sight to the lake.
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Feb 1, 2017 21:18
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Leperflesh posted:The thing to take away from all this is that you should never pay extra for property on the basis of its view. Views are nice, but you don't own them and don't have to be compensated when they're taken away. At some point in the 2000s, the owners we purchased from commented to our neighbor, "Remember the lake view we all had in the 70s? What do you say about helping clear away the trees and bush to restore it?"
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Feb 1, 2017 22:11
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I had an uncomfortable weekend in Vermont. I checked my oil tank gauge on Friday and it was at a quarter tank left. Maybe? Usually I catch it at a third or so before calling in for a refuel. So I call in for a refuel and they tell me they will me on Monday. I think surely quarter tank is plenty enough. Then the entire weekend I stress out based on the plunger. If I read from the top, I'm fine. If I read from the bottom I'm almost empty. It's winter and a big storm was forecast for Monday so I was concerned that if it was bad enough, they couldn't make it. They made it and of course it only need 230 out of 275 gallons. It's my responsibility to check my gauge but I'm wondering if there's a more proactive solution, like replacing it with a digital reader that wouldn't necessarily be more accurate but could be programmed to chime or beep if it thinks it reaches a certain level?
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Feb 14, 2017 11:46
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Heh. I didn't mention that I did fill up with 5 gallons of diesel on Sunday because I was that paranoid (thanks LogisticEarth for the information confirming about filling the tank only 80%). We got around 5 inches on Sunday that I cleared up in the afternoon. For some reason when I looked out on the deck on Monday morning, my blearly eyes only saw a dusting. Looking again with less bleary eyes, there was 8 inches to take care of. I bought a snow blower 2 years ago. I'm not sure that the price ($1600, Cub Cadet high rated from Consumer Reports) will ever offset the cost of paying someone to plow ($100 a year?). However, I'd have to wait for plows and move vehicles and wouldn't be able to create paths not on the drive way (to the shed for trash, to the side of the house for the oil tank, etc.). As a bonus it gives me one of the few opportunities of exercise during the winter months. If it only snows an inch or two, I shovel/push to the side. We have a gravel driveway so it seems like I'm pulling up less with 3+ inches than less. We have a 130 ft driveway and a 30ft deck. It took me about an hour for Monday's 8 inches.
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Feb 14, 2017 19:30
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Senor P. posted:We're getting ready to replace the last of the windows, but the old walls are built from 2x4. If the windows are really poo poo, see what happens after just replacing them. We had a few that were original to the house (1973) and were sieves. Despite the cost, we had them professionally replaced (and replaced the bow and bay windows with double-hungs) and the rooms hold temperature dramatically better. The only real booger room in the house is the downstairs half bath which flooded about 15 years ago and they clearly didn't replace the insulation so in the winter it's cold as poo poo despite being surrounded by rooms that are properly insulated.
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Apr 3, 2017 13:27
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DrBouvenstein posted:The structural parts of the deck seem like they're pressure-treated, it just looks like the decking and steps were replaced a few years ago and just done so cheaply and poorly, like everything else the previous owner did. Also, did he setup the deck ground properly? Because ours sure as gently caress didn't. It looks like the posts may be set on bricks that are in the ground. That's slightly less irritating than them not removing the previous cement steps or landscaping the ground itself with both cloth and covering with stone. As a result, with 10 years under the deck's belt, erosion has caused the ground to slope toward the house. Luckily the foundation drain shunts away 99% of the water to the daylight drain but occasionally with a heavy downpour, water will fill faster than the drain and seep in through the foundation screws that attached to the wood for when it was poured. More annoying are those cement steps. Thanks to the erosion, it tilts toward the house. With a heavy downpour water goes against the house and into the separation between the foundation and house structure and floods that part of the basement. On the front door, the same thing happens. However, since it's just a small porch and not a deck, they built the porch onto the steps themselves. It's on my bucket list to rip both of those fuckers down and rebuild properly.
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Apr 7, 2017 15:10
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Do you have one of those neighbors who is brilliant, well meaning but has the memory of a sieve? I do. My first year in the house, I bought a snowblower and as the season was winding down, I was bemoaning how to pick up the gravel on the lawn from the blower. I didn't think any rake would do a reasonable job and he agreed. "You know what I use? A shopvac! Get's 'em all!" It worked like a champ even if it's tedious as hell. I can't imagine in a million years I'd ever have thought of that idea. Fast forward two years to today. We had a lovely snow storm on the 1st, a Saturday. The snow was so wet and sticky and my blower wouldn't move anything. Given that the forecast was the 60s by Monday, I made the rare risk calculation that it would melt enough by then. I shoveled the walkway and the road apron where the town plow had pushed stuff. Come Monday, indeed the weather had warmed and the driveway was clear or mostly clear. Today I talk to my neighbor and he said, "Remember that storm? I snowblowed (he uses his lawn tractor) and it was a BIG mistake! I throw a ton of gravel onto my lawn! Know how I got it off" Having spent yesterday day clearing the lawn around my walkway, I responded knowingly, "Shopvac!" "No." he said with a look that suggested he'd thought I'd lost my mind, "I used a thin kids rake. Shopvac doesn't have enough power for that!"
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Apr 16, 2017 18:35
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:I live in New England. I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about various low-maintenance lawn solutions because I did some reading on maintaining your lawn and I can't see myself doing as much mowing and watering as these people recommend. I'm going more for "green and not totally out of control" than "golf course" here so I don't mind some other plants getting mixed in if that helps. I've never watered except for treating patches. Even in long stretches of dry weather, the worst I see are occasional patches of brown. My neighbor mows at around 2 inches and during such times, most of his lawn is brown.
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Apr 17, 2017 14:22
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Another vote for cellular shades. I've run the gamut of expense from Hunter Douglas through at Ocean State Job Lots. The best hang for the buck was found at IKEA.
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Apr 20, 2017 14:27
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The Dave posted:I also have the 22inch Toro recycler and have done a very poor job taking care of it over the last 5 years, have had to replace a flywheel sheer key once without any idea what I was doing, and it still starts up with zero issues. Still starts up after the first pull.
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Jul 13, 2017 14:32
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We have about 3 acres of lawn. Besides leaves, we also have several pine trees and poorly maintained pear and apple trees, making fall cleaning a bitch. While i did install mixing mulching blades on my mower deck this year, given everything else, this year we bought a lawn vacuum that tows behind the lawn tractor. Also purchased a separate hose and attachment for hand held use which worked beautifully but messy with the apples. Cleanup after that was a bitch, but didn't seem as long or backbreaking as my previous disposal method of raking and scooping into a wheelbarrow. Using as it's primary purpose, i was pleasantly surprised that it sucks up most pine needles and cones as well as leaves. And of course grass clippings which given my current frequency of mowing (once a week) can pile up and not decompose very fast no matter how many times i try to re mulch them.
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Oct 1, 2017 20:37
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Knock on wood, I've been lucky with Samsung. Currently have Model # RF220NCTASR for our small rear end-opening. If had any of the meager woodworking skills I've learned since buying, I'd have torn down or rebuilt the opening and gone with a bigger model, but the 21.8-cu ft model has worked for us (2 adults, one toddler).
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Nov 22, 2017 03:01
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Molybdenum posted:anyone have a toilet that uses air pressure to blast poop on its journey? I'm looking to replace the toilets in my house (both of the design that gravity plus a bunch of water is all you need) and I like the idea of these air pressure toilets but I want to get a sense of how loud they are. Are they as loud as the commercial toilets that just get line pressure or are they quieter than that? I had a similar problem in my old house. The old pre-1.6 gallon toilets literally wouldn't flush poo poo. Replaced them and poop went down every time.
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Jan 23, 2018 19:31
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My 4 year old snow blower's auger broke the other day. As in, the shaft part that holds it onto the rod came off the circular part. Of course the replacement parts won't be here for another two weeks. Goddamit! Now to use this fucker on my 130ft driveway: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Garant-24-in-Sleigh-Shovel-EPSS24/205680983
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Feb 7, 2018 22:00
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We have some wallpaper to remove in the next several years. If the nursery was any guide to expect, wallpaper on unprimed walls. It was a pain in the rear end. I used a detachable Shark steam mop with the triangle attachment. I'd spend a few hours at a time on a weekend (when we weren't doing something), get sick of it, and dragged it out a month or two. There were plenty of gouges to fill. While I was dragging it out, my wife heard from someone that they wouldn't torture themselves like that and would just throw up 1/4" drywall. That seemed like a cheap way out to me but now I'm not so sure. Any thoughts on that approach?
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Mar 20, 2018 19:06
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enraged_camel posted:What are some fast-growing trees that can be planted in a backyard? I want something that will be able to support a rope swing after a few years, and a tree-house after about 10. Lots of shade preferred. While it meets your requirements of growing fast and providing shade, picking up after any kind of storm is a nightmare.
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Apr 27, 2018 15:27
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Two years ago we replaced an old Jenn Air stove that had the exhaust fan built into the range. We're having remodeling work done and are going to install a thin under the counter external exhaust hood (no microwave). After a few searches on Amazon and Costco with somewhat mixed reviews about noise and poor wiring, I went to Consumer Reports to find a buying guide but no actual reviews. Thanks, CR. Glad that I subscribe for that. While I'd rather get something (and pay somewhat more for it) that lasts, at this point I'm inclined to go with the Ancona Slim III from Costco, the logic being is that if its poo poo and dies in a few years, I can return it. Any other recommendations?
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Sep 10, 2018 15:22
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TheWevel posted:
 Thanks for the Zephyr recommendation and to look locally. The 30" Breeze I Under-Cabinet Model # AK1100B looks like it may work for me and according to a local seller's web site, cheaper than through Amazon.
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Sep 11, 2018 02:00
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We're doing some work on the house and as part of that installing a hood over the stove. Previously there was a light there so I knew there was power. The installer tried on Friday but couldn't find the correct breaker for the wire. That seemed weird to me since I had a new box installed a couple of years ago and the electrician diligently noted everything as expected. I go to the basement and turn off breakers for the kitchen and hearing me toggle them, he says "Nope" after each one. I end up turning everything off on the first floor and still power to that wire. All that is left are second story and basement lights. I flick off the basement lights, leaving me in the dark and hear "Yep!"
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Oct 1, 2018 15:49
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Leperflesh posted:It's also wasteful in that it adds a bunch of surface area for the heat to escape through at all times to use up lots more energy (not as bad if you have modern plastic plumbing instead of copper pipe which is a magnificent heat sink).
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Nov 8, 2018 01:59
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totalnewbie posted:It'll do that when you block off the radiators. I think it cost maybe $40 in copper pipe insulation covers from Lowes and an afternoon of my time. This year we paid to insulate our knee-wall and re-insulate the attic including adding insulation around the chimney that runs through the middle of the house. The difference has been similarly dramatic between heat retention and how much less the boiler now runs. I can't wait for next summer to see how well it retains the AC temperature.
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Nov 8, 2018 14:51
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Are those slats on the doors open or just molded to look like slats and are really not open at all? If its the former, weather-stripping the middle gap isn't going to help with drafts; get a new door.
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Nov 12, 2018 16:33
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Look for a specific basement contractor in your area. Even then, you may need to do some research on your own. I also want a dry basement. Given the house is at the top of a small ridge and the drainage around the house works properly, I called a basement contractor in. I was informed the problem was that the water was coming in from the floor and the only real solution would be to do a French drain around the interior perimeter of the house. Something about that didn't seem quite correct (I was a little suspicious that nothing was said about the slope of ground going down toward the foundation around the house perimeter), so I demurred and observed what was happening when it rained for the rest of the summer and came up with the following: 1. Water coming in from the foundation supporting the poorly installed bulkhead doors. 2. When the previous owner installed decks on the front and back of the house, they never removed the concrete steps for the exterior doors. As a result those steps, like the ground they're on, are pointing toward the house, when we get really heavy rains, the water goes through the spacing between the deck planks, onto the top of the cement steps, and into the sill.
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Nov 17, 2018 16:12
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Does anyone have experience with energy rebates and tax implications? I had some work done last year with a sizable rebate from my state's energy program. Googling is unclear whether this is considered taxable income or not. Since this is America, I assume it is), but I can' figure out from HR Taxcut where I'd report it or if the state program should be giving me a form to attach.
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Mar 18, 2019 13:53
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Vermont, Efficiency Vermont Home Performance with Energy Star service.
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Mar 18, 2019 14:32
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Out of curiosity, are commercial fridges energy efficient? Or maybe I should back off and ask: How much more energy efficient is a modern fridge than one from say, the 70s?
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May 30, 2019 15:55
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Five years ago we replaced 3 double hungs and converted our bay and bow for $15k (it included construction to raise one of the walls for code for the new double hungs as well as patching our cedar siding). In all 8 double hung windows using an Anderson installer with composite exterior and wood interiors. We initially discussed replacing the bay and bow as is. I believe the cost to replace just the bay tself was $15k and the other was about the same. No regrets about converting them to double hungs at all.
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Sep 8, 2019 22:53
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CornHolio posted:Full disclosure, my quote was 29k from Anderson. I'm having Pella come out and give me a quote on Wednesday. (edit: and Champion is coming out tomorrow to give me a quote) So as I said, I found replacing a bow/bay with a double hungs to be a much cheaper option. Also, here's a dirty idea: The above windows we replaced were original to the house and front-facing. The previous owner replaced the previous 10 with Harvey vinyl a few years before we purchased so they're now probably 10-12 years old. While the vinyl look different on the inside, from the outside they don't look radically different. And they're not front-facing. And they work just fine. There's no way I'd replace them to match the newer ones unless they actually failed. (to be honest, if I made the decision alone, I probably would have replaced the remaining with vinyl and not bothered with the nicer looking composite/wood). So maybe mix and match? Or go all vinyl and don't give a gently caress for now.
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Sep 9, 2019 17:11
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Dazerbeams posted:My house came with a satellite dish that has remained unused for the past few years and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. Should I bother removing it or just leave it be?
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Oct 3, 2019 15:42
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