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If you have a basement it will flood. Maybe not today, maybe not next week, maybe not next year even... but someday. Just something to keep in mind.
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Jan 3, 2019 00:29
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GORDON posted:If you aren't already handy, don't be intimidated by home maintenance tasks. Go to Youtube, and research what you want to do. Buy the tools, and do it. I fixed a leaking toilet with YouTube
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Jan 3, 2019 00:29
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There was a scent of rotting animal for months so I finally worked up the balls to crawl under the house and looked everywhere. I couldn't find anything but the smell was gone after that. I think I had a demon.
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Jan 3, 2019 00:30
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Make sure you know where the main water shutoff valve is. Depending on how old the house it, it might be BURIED in your front yard somewhere. Buy a metal detector and go ham on the front yard, you'd be amazed how much jewelry is lost. Plan on buying a water heater every 8 years at the minimum. Shits so cheaply made these days. Washer and dryers usually wear out at 5~8 years as well. Save 20% of your paycheck for the taxes, if you live in a high tax state. Never join a HOA. Have a electrician check the wiring for "bodged jobs". You'd be amazed how many people use coffee cans as junction boxes. and most of all, good luck, oh and plan on getting a new roof, wouldn't have to roof as much if metal roofs were a thing around here, not bitter at all.
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Jan 3, 2019 00:34
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Don't start tearing into poo poo, you might not like what you find. I have a 2nd floor badly sagging and kind of bouncing walking around on it. Took down the drop ceiling then plaster & lath to take a look at what was going on. Found my floor joists butted sideways into a beam without even one hanger, and the beam supported by nothing at all nothing at all The previous owners (sometime in the 50's) moved a bearing wall on the 1st floor back 4 feet and extended the joists by essentially butting them into new ones with nails, sandwiching a "beam" in between. Doesn't help that two of the joists are cracked 1/2 way through at some knots. Plan is to sister up the cracks, then put in a doubled up LVL where the previous bearing wall lived. Can't be any worse than what I've got now, but honestly I would have been better off doing nothing, then selling as-is to the next guy and running far away.
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Jan 3, 2019 00:37
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Over There posted:I fixed a leaking toilet with YouTube Youtube is the current Library of Alexandria. Most of human wisdom will be lost if the EMP hits and takes out Youtube.
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Jan 3, 2019 00:44
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Don't dick around about pest control or plumbing. Those are the two things by the time the problem is readily apparent, the cost of repair is a zillion times more expensive than hiring competent upkeep maintenance would have been.
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Jan 3, 2019 00:45
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Bookmarking this thread so I can come back to it in about 50 years once my student debt is paid off.
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Jan 3, 2019 00:56
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It never ends. There's always something else to fix, and if everything is fixed there's something that could do to be replaced. Also trees loving suck. The leaves and the sticks are bad enough but they're always getting in the way of power lines, or growing into power lines, or have fungus-beetles, or something
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Jan 3, 2019 00:58
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Who What Now posted:It never ends. There's always something else to fix, and if everything is fixed there's something that could do to be replaced. You haven't lived until theres like 30 year old pine trees randomly growing everywhere.
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Jan 3, 2019 01:02
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Lime Tonics posted:You haven't lived until theres like 30 year old pine trees randomly growing everywhere. A couple years back either a microburst or a little tornado tore a royal palm frond straight off the tree and jammed it through the roof of my garage It was pretty sweet
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Jan 3, 2019 01:06
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Don't buy a house. If you've already bought a house, don't renovate it. Renovation is a huge money-sink and you'll never get that money back out of the house. On the other hand, deal with plumbing, electrical, pests, and mold asap.
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Jan 3, 2019 01:28
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poisonpill posted:Don't buy a house. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CJ9EDtZ2p8
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Jan 3, 2019 01:30
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GORDON posted:Youtube is the current Library of Alexandria. Most of human wisdom will be lost if the EMP hits and takes out Youtube. It's annoying because some text and maybe a simple drawing could communicate the same thing in like a tenth of the time
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Jan 3, 2019 02:12
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Lmao
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Jan 3, 2019 03:12
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The best advice my father gave me upon buying a house is always pick your own contractor. Don't take recommendations. This way you're only losing money and time. Not money, time, and friends.
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Jan 3, 2019 03:17
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go ahead and buy a bunch of sharkbite couplings
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Jan 3, 2019 03:38
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I almost bought a house recently, but thought better of it. My electric bill is like $50/month and I don’t pay utilities and rent is low. Maybe if the economy collapsed again I can hopefully get a house cheap at that point. I assume I’d be broke all the time if I did buy a house.
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Jan 3, 2019 04:18
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do not put your grill next to your plastic siding you will want more outlets if you get accredited you can sign off on your own electric wiring
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Jan 3, 2019 04:36
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Don't be afraid to keep a gun in the house. Or wave it around at your neighbors when they hit your trashcan.
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Jan 3, 2019 04:38
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don't plant anything you don't want to prune
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Jan 3, 2019 04:38
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-If you have a basement, install a moisture sensor down there. I'm a big fan of Acurite myself. -Work with the grass you have. Don't be one of those tools that tears up his lawn to lay down sod, or seeds some other grass breed that you'll have to endlessly baby over the years to keep it in place. -Plant native plants that grow in your area whenever possible. You can generally talk to your local plant/flower seller, and if they're a good one they'll be able to help you in planting native poo poo. And no, I don't mean just stuff that is suited for the climate zone. If you live in a wooded area you can always collect cuttings or whole plants and replant them near your home, assuming they aren't horrible and invasive like a vine or something. -Get in the habit of doing routine inspections of your attic, basement, crawlspaces, etc. Setup a schedule and put it on your Google calendar or whatever. The more aware you are of your house the earlier you'll catch problems, and the earlier you catch problems the less time and money you'll spend having to fix them. -Trees are great, but be smart how you plant them. Try to get an idea of where any wiring or pipework is run before you plant, and obviously don't plant anything massive near powerlines. -The next time you have a really heavy rain, pay attention to how water builds up around your home. Take note of flood points in your yard and especially the spots that are house adjacent; in the coming years those spots will likely be where leaks enter your residence. If you have bad flood buildup, investigate the installation of a drainage field, or any of the other applicable ways you might divert water from your house. -If you're into horticulture (like me), explore water reclamation options. Rain barrels are a great option if you aren't in a dry zone. -Your biggest gas and electric savings will likely be in proper insulation. Pay the money to have someone do a test at your home to find the spots where your home leaks out cold/hot air and plug them up however you can. Wrath of the Bitch King fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Jan 3, 2019 |
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Jan 3, 2019 05:36
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Nerses IV posted:Take care of your chainsaw/weedeater/mower/pressure washer/generator and don't let them sit there full of pump gas for months because my god there is nothing more infuriating than yanking a pull cord and the motherfucker just. Refuses. To loving start. I used to work at a place that built gas powered water pumps and by God the Honda GX series small engines are better than any car they've ever made. I personally bench tested ~3,000 units over 4 years and gently caress if every single one didn't start on the first pull.
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Jan 3, 2019 05:48
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13Pandora13 posted:Don't dick around about pest control or plumbing. Those are the two things by the time the problem is readily apparent, the cost of repair is a zillion times more expensive than hiring competent upkeep maintenance would have been. A million times this, also check your breaker panel and if you see anything made by Zinsco or Federal Pacific have it all replaced tomorrow. FedPac breakers are so poo poo most insurers won't even cover houses that have them. Get the wrenches to turn your water and gas off at the meter, you WILL need them.
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Jan 3, 2019 05:54
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shame on an IGA posted:I used to work at a place that built gas powered water pumps and by God the Honda GX series small engines are better than any car they've ever made. I personally bench tested ~3,000 units over 4 years and gently caress if every single one didn't start on the first pull. Can confirm, Honda mowers are the poo poo. I left one out in the rain for an entire year once and it kicked right on the following spring.
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Jan 3, 2019 05:58
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Wrath of the Bitch King posted:Can confirm, Honda mowers are the poo poo. I left one out in the rain for an entire year once and it kicked right on the following spring. wtf why
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Jan 3, 2019 06:16
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CRIP EATIN BREAD posted:wtf why It was parked directly in the gap between the fence and the shed so I couldn't see it and I forgot about it after the last mow in October of that year.
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Jan 3, 2019 06:17
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Figure out if the neighbors are crazy before you buy.
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Jan 3, 2019 06:36
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let the hate flow freely your neighbours all suck. Hire terminx or orkin or something that sprays quaterly but make sure they agree to come out and spray for free between those visits if you see bugs / mice / what ever. then lie and say you saw a roach get a spray every month. Make sure theres no ugly trees on your neighbours yard that hang into yours because when you cut that branch tree law lawyers will bend you over for thousands of dollars.
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Jan 3, 2019 06:45
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If you simply squat in an abandoned house, you can combine the joy of owning your own home and the freedom of not paying for mortgage/utilities. Heck the house doesn't even have to be abandoned, you can always murder the owners 
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Jan 3, 2019 09:04
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lmao the OP bought a loving house at the top of the market buy some SCUBA gear because you are going to be underwater soon god bles
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Jan 3, 2019 09:43
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Who What Now posted:It never ends. There's always something else to fix, and if everything is fixed there's something that could do to be replaced. Yes, this. I have a neighbor with a huge oak that dumps a poo poo ton of leaves on me every fall and covers so much of my back yard in shade that i can't grow a proper garden back there. 
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Jan 3, 2019 09:57
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if you gather the leaves and pile them up three years later you will have been gifted excellent compost! alternatively if you have a lawn mower with a bag attachment just run over the leaves it will gather and mulch them up and they will be ready in a year oak leaves are particularly good for this
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Jan 3, 2019 13:40
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I think this thread scared me out of homeownership more. Like I get bothered enough when I have to replace the smoke alarm batteries in my apartment. I think I’d rather just pay the extra in rent so I get everything else inspected/repaired/replaced by calling the rental office.
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Jan 3, 2019 16:06
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buglord posted:I think this thread scared me out of homeownership more. It's not so bad as long as you understand that home ownership profitability is a myth and in most cases you'll be lucky to break even unless you're in some wacky area with enormous property value inflation. It's nice being able to do poo poo with your place without restrictions, or having to report to a landlord. Just don't get more house than you need.
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Jan 3, 2019 16:26
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buglord posted:I think this thread scared me out of homeownership more. If you go new construction you might be able to avoid more of the maintenance headache for a little while. But yes, imagine home ownership as taking up a second job as a property manager. It is a lifestyle.
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Jan 3, 2019 16:33
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I spent a small fortune last year to get all of my ancient electrical wiring updated and replaced and my bathrooms remodeled and now this year my plumbing is hosed and will like require ripping out the tile I just put in the bathroom. I should’ve just embraced living in squalor.
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Jan 3, 2019 16:52
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Big Data posted:If you go new construction you might be able to avoid more of the maintenance headache for a little while. But yes, imagine home ownership as taking up a second job as a property manager. It is a lifestyle. But then you gotta watch out cause just because its new doesn't mean its good. Once saw a bunch of million dollar homes using cheap rear end PVC piping for all their plumbing and other short cuts and hiding it behind a nice layout.
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Jan 3, 2019 16:56
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Every time you think you're safe from a big project, the universe will remind you that you're hosed. I absolutely love owning a house and would not change that, but in the last 18 months I've had to get a new furnace, siding, roof, gutters, and remove 5 different trees that had either fallen or were in danger of falling. Have really good home insurance for when these things happen. I had a pretty lovely and cheap policy up until a few months ago, made the switch, and thankfully my new insurance was way easier to deal with when we had to get the roof replaced.
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Jan 3, 2019 17:03
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Just replaced all the siding, poolcage repaired/rescreened, pool deck levelled off and painted, pool itself drained, scrubbed, painted, and a new pump/chlorinator setup Looks great! I miss having money, though
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Jan 3, 2019 17:07
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