Home Improvement

Goatface

Avatar of War Slayer
9,276
14,344
lulz the cap on my unit is either dead or old, i had a previous cap from my old home but the mfd didn't match up so i bought the correct one. it's not "bad" b/c my first floor ac can almost cool the whole house anyway but i got 2 caps coming in anyway
my neighbor owns a small HVAC business, they charged like $125 and up for a service call to replace them before covid. people have no idea and don't even bitch about it.
 

Lanx

<Prior Amod>
60,603
132,623
my neighbor owns a small HVAC business, they charged like $125 and up for a service call to replace them before covid. people have no idea and don't even bitch about it.
i mean i wouldn't either if it wasn't for youtube, also i was in my attic to diagnose w/ multimeter and blower, i swear i sweated out 1lb every 10mins

no one carries these caps besides amazon, so he's doing everyone a favor
 

Burren

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
4,041
5,315
The world needs more people with trade skills and far fewer snowflakes who went to college for social studies or liberal arts or whatever the bullshit is these days that teaches them they deserve 6 figure jobs with zero experience.

Good for the blue collar guys charging more.
 
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Kiroy

Marine Biologist
<Bronze Donator>
34,615
99,894
lol, you'd be right but I'm not dumb enough to call these people myself, I've been having my stepdad call who used to work for a big plumbing supply company, and he knows all the contractors and still having a hard time finding someone.

ok ok

but its been hard to find good trade work for home jobs since well before covid
 

Fucker

Log Wizard
11,545
26,090
I already dug up a big section of my back yard built a pretty nice patio with a sand bed and concrete pavers and stuff last month in between escalations at work. Ditto for putting up a new ceiling in the bathroom. No stranger to hard work.

But this is some rather difficult HVAC and plumbing stuff (need to replace a 30+ year old heating system, along with a bunch of other things like adding a laundry sink in the basement and much better sump pumps) that is way out of scope for doing myself.

Also need the septic system either extensively redesigned or replaced.
You'll be glad you did it. I stayed in a AirBnB that had been redone on the inside. 1400 sqft on two levels. They gutted the old HVAC, repainted everything in there, new ductwork...whole 9 yards. New wood flooring and mid-range cabinets for kitchen, new paint throughout. New appliances A new bathroom. House was built in early 60's and in a small neighborhood with big trees.

House was neat as a pin inside. HVAC whisper quiet and could freeze the tits off a polar bear in every room. It didn't run much considering how hot and muggy it was outside.

Definitely worth the spend and you'll be getting essentially a new house for a fraction of the cost.

There is value to doing some things yourself, and there is value to having someone else do it. A good painter can make short work out of an interior and do a great job. Worth the cash. HVAC/Plumbing/Electrical...pay to have someone do it. I'm having my kitchen cabinets redone by an independent, and it is about 1/3 what Lowe's charges and I get top notch stuff.
 

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
<Bronze Donator>
16,286
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Painting is something I fucking hate doing but it’s also so easy I can’t get myself to pay anyone to do it.
 
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Dandai

<WoW Guild Officer>
<Gold Donor>
5,907
4,482
Painting is something I fucking hate doing but it’s also so easy I can’t get myself to pay anyone to do it.
Would solidarity again if I could. The only time I’ve paid someone to paint was in a commercial setting and they used scaffolds to reach the 20 ft ceilings. I didn’t begrudge a single penny spent on that job.
 

Lanx

<Prior Amod>
60,603
132,623
will my garage really heat up if i paint door it black?

only reason i'm entertaining black is b/c the shutters and front door is black and i still have paint from prev owners
 

Fogel

Mr. Poopybutthole
12,129
45,017
will my garage really heat up if i paint door it black?

only reason i'm entertaining black is b/c the shutters and front door is black and i still have paint from prev owners

is the door insulated? Black will absorb more heat for sure, but I guess it depends on the insulation or lack there of.
 

Fucker

Log Wizard
11,545
26,090
Painting is something I fucking hate doing but it’s also so easy I can’t get myself to pay anyone to do it.
It isn't hard...depending. My last house had tall walls on every floor, a giant stairway and laughably tall garage walls. Crown moldings throughout. I had every square inch redone, and it would have taken me eons and one broken ankle. The guy who did it was a complete wizard and he did it fast and perfect. Old guy, too.
 

Lanx

<Prior Amod>
60,603
132,623
I missed out on the Home Depot Memorial Day deal that had a Ryobi mower, trimmer and leaf blower for a couple hundo, unfortunately, so haven’t bought a mower yet. Did end up getting 4 nice, chunky ceiling fans for about $275 to get in all the bedrooms and the living room. Just need some basic bitch blinds, now.
this weekend and july 4th will probably be last big lawn sale days until labor day all the way in september
 
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Daidraco

Golden Baronet of the Realm
9,195
9,303
Just finished up the purchase paperwork on a Condo that I plan to rent out. Have a townhouse in the same area that does really well compared to the bank note on that one. The only difference between the two is that this condo has a rinky dink 8 foot depth by 14 foot wide square for landscaping out front thats just mulch, surrounded by almost white (bleached, not painted) concrete walkways. The condo's themselves are red brick on the basement and 1st floor, and a weird alternating 1970's color palette up top and this one just so happens to be a faded light blue. The front door is this gorgeous red door with ornamental fogged glass and metal.

My real estate company manages the condo associations HOA - so I know that the door is going to have to be painted a white, cream, or tudor brown per HOA rules. (IF I decide to pursue the change, since its behind a white mirror tinted storm door.) But I cant do anything about the rest of the colors.

The problem Im having is that I have no idea how to landscape that little dinky entrance area. Its got two young 1-2 year old White Pampas Grass bushes in front under both faded black framed windows. Im keen on keeping those cause I personally think they are gorgeous when fully grown (huge too). But there are so many different colors going on. The neighbors landscape is red lava rock with no vegetation and some ugly ass fake well decoration. The other side has no landscaping, just a grassy walk way.

I would really appreciate anyone's suggestions on landscaping cause Im just at a loss. I would provide a picture, but Im just not there for the rest of the week and the drone house report doesnt show the landscaping at all.
 

McCheese

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk
6,889
4,248
Well, the water feature just became the least of my problems.

Late last night my wife noticed a tiny bit of water on the floor of the basement. She thought she spilled some water, but when she was wiping it up she noticed that more water rose up from between the tiles when she pushed on them. We went into the neighboring room where the HVAC system is, and sure enough, water was leaking out of the AC unit, going under the wall, and into the other room.

The first problem is the broken AC, but we're going to have that looked at. The bigger problem is the basement floor. We started at the wall and began pulling up tiles that had water under them, working our way back from the source of the water. We ended up pulling up around 3/4s of the basement floor. The flooring was a really shitty, super thin linoleum tile sitting directly on the concrete foundation. I've been wanting to replace it, so I don't really care about ripping it all out.

A couple questions:
1. Is the black discoloration mold or just discoloration? There's never been an overly musty smell in the basement, and it doesn't feel like mold (though I've never touched black mold before). We had a mold test done when we moved in and it was fine.
2. What kind of flooring would you suggest I put down?

Obligatory pics:
floor 1.jpg

floor 2.jpg

floor 3.jpg
 

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
<Bronze Donator>
16,286
42,308
Just finished up the purchase paperwork on a Condo that I plan to rent out. Have a townhouse in the same area that does really well compared to the bank note on that one. The only difference between the two is that this condo has a rinky dink 8 foot depth by 14 foot wide square for landscaping out front thats just mulch, surrounded by almost white (bleached, not painted) concrete walkways. The condo's themselves are red brick on the basement and 1st floor, and a weird alternating 1970's color palette up top and this one just so happens to be a faded light blue. The front door is this gorgeous red door with ornamental fogged glass and metal.

My real estate company manages the condo associations HOA - so I know that the door is going to have to be painted a white, cream, or tudor brown per HOA rules. (IF I decide to pursue the change, since its behind a white mirror tinted storm door.) But I cant do anything about the rest of the colors.

The problem Im having is that I have no idea how to landscape that little dinky entrance area. Its got two young 1-2 year old White Pampas Grass bushes in front under both faded black framed windows. Im keen on keeping those cause I personally think they are gorgeous when fully grown (huge too). But there are so many different colors going on. The neighbors landscape is red lava rock with no vegetation and some ugly ass fake well decoration. The other side has no landscaping, just a grassy walk way.

I would really appreciate anyone's suggestions on landscaping cause Im just at a loss. I would provide a picture, but Im just not there for the rest of the week and the drone house report doesnt show the landscaping at all.
I don’t think you’ll have to repaint the door if you bought it that way. There are a bunch of “grandfathered in” rule breaks like that when it comes to HOAs and buying a house.
 

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
<Bronze Donator>
16,286
42,308
Well, the water feature just became the least of my problems.

Late last night my wife noticed a tiny bit of water on the floor of the basement. She thought she spilled some water, but when she was wiping it up she noticed that more water rose up from between the tiles when she pushed on them. We went into the neighboring room where the HVAC system is, and sure enough, water was leaking out of the AC unit, going under the wall, and into the other room.

The first problem is the broken AC, but we're going to have that looked at. The bigger problem is the basement floor. We started at the wall and began pulling up tiles that had water under them, working our way back from the source of the water. We ended up pulling up around 3/4s of the basement floor. The flooring was a really shitty, super thin linoleum tile sitting directly on the concrete foundation. I've been wanting to replace it, so I don't really care about ripping it all out.

A couple questions:
1. Is the black discoloration mold or just discoloration? There's never been an overly musty smell in the basement, and it doesn't feel like mold (though I've never touched black mold before). We had a mold test done when we moved in and it was fine.
2. What kind of flooring would you suggest I put down?

Obligatory pics:
View attachment 417248
View attachment 417249
View attachment 417250
No idea if that’s mold or not. Luxury vinyl plank is the way to go if you’re worried about water at all. It’s great for bathrooms cause you can soak the shit and it doesn’t care.

If you don’t want the echo and dealing with rugs then go carpet.
 
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Daidraco

Golden Baronet of the Realm
9,195
9,303
Well, the water feature just became the least of my problems.

Late last night my wife noticed a tiny bit of water on the floor of the basement. She thought she spilled some water, but when she was wiping it up she noticed that more water rose up from between the tiles when she pushed on them. We went into the neighboring room where the HVAC system is, and sure enough, water was leaking out of the AC unit, going under the wall, and into the other room.

The first problem is the broken AC, but we're going to have that looked at. The bigger problem is the basement floor. We started at the wall and began pulling up tiles that had water under them, working our way back from the source of the water. We ended up pulling up around 3/4s of the basement floor. The flooring was a really shitty, super thin linoleum tile sitting directly on the concrete foundation. I've been wanting to replace it, so I don't really care about ripping it all out.

A couple questions:
1. Is the black discoloration mold or just discoloration? There's never been an overly musty smell in the basement, and it doesn't feel like mold (though I've never touched black mold before). We had a mold test done when we moved in and it was fine.
2. What kind of flooring would you suggest I put down?

Obligatory pics:
View attachment 417248
View attachment 417249
View attachment 417250
The black on the concrete is a hard one to figure out from pictures alone. If you find out whats up with the HVAC, you can probably guess how long its been leaking. FOR EXAMPLE: the drainage line on the central air has been slowly getting blocked up. That would create, at times of heavy use, just enough overflow to get up under that linoleum but never enough to grab your attention. That would be black mold most likely. (But now that its fully blocked, it has got your attention.)

The only reason I give this lengthy example is because Ive seen where bare concrete in the past looked black from high travel etc. and without being there myself, just too hard to judge. Linoleum has weird reactions on concrete, as well.
I don’t think you’ll have to repaint the door if you bought it that way. There are a bunch of “grandfathered in” rule breaks like that when it comes to HOAs and buying a house.
To manage the HOA, I have to be an advisor on the council - so I'm probably going to have to eventually paint the door to an approved color. Im really just trying to get some ideas for landscaping cause the colors are all over the fucking place lol.
 
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Oblio

Utah
<Gold Donor>
11,277
24,074
Just to be safe spray bleach on the black stuff. LVP is a great product, we chose to go with tile for our recent basement remodel.
 
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