Home Improvement Thread

[JCA-CrystalCity]

It's probably too hot where you are to just avoid A/C, but proper shade leads to less work for the unit.  I have a friend who does a lot of green design for homes in Fredericksburg. Lots of awnings and ventilation to manipulate natural  cooling. 

[imref]

at 2 AM this morning i had to reboot my thermostat. Gotta love smart homes.

[DCFan]

at 2 AM this morning i had to reboot my thermostat. Gotta love smart homes.

Was your phone lighting up or were you getting cold, what tipped you off?

[imref]

Was your phone lighting up or were you getting cold, what tipped you off?

my kids were heading to bed and realized it was 82 degrees upstairs (i was asleep already). The thermostat had a "system is waiting' message, on-line advice sites said try rebooting it.  Fortunately that worked.

[DCFan]

my kids were heading to bed and realized it was 82 degrees upstairs (i was asleep already). The thermostat had a "system is waiting' message, on-line advice sites said try rebooting it.  Fortunately that worked.

82 degrees? How freaking hot is it in the DC area? That's interesting that a smart home still needs the low tech means of the human sense of being too hot or cold to intervene and do something.

[1995hoo]

And again that's for replacement of existing skylights not a new install which I would imagine adds a lot more to the costs. If it was up to me I'd just as soon not have them but since they are already there we'll roll with it.

Very true. It was more a question of interest than anything else. There is absolutely no chance we will install them. We disagree as it is about sleeping with a window open on nice nights like last night because my wife is such a light sleeper. Even slight noises from outside, or light coming in, can wake her up, whereas I can sleep through almost anything because (a) when I was a kid and we visited our grandparents in Brooklyn, there was no AC, so the windows were open and the gossamer curtains didn't keep out the streetlights (much less the noise of passing traffic all night), so I got used to some level of light and noise (and our neighborhood here is much quieter than Bay Ridge); and (b) for my three years at Duke I lived near an at-grade railroad crossing and quickly became able to sleep through the train whistles that would blow at all hours. Given all that, it makes no sense at all to install a skylight, other than maybe for added light in the master bathroom, except that room has plenty of light as it is to the point where we close the bathroom door at night so the master bedroom stays darker.

[imref]

82 degrees? How freaking hot is it in the DC area? That's interesting that a smart home still needs the low tech means of the human sense of being too hot or cold to intervene and do something.

we hit about 78 yesterday. And we're expecting a wintery mix on Monday.

[Five Banners]

Good question. Our house while it's a ranch, 1 story home has a common feature here referred to as a FROG - finished room over the garage. That room has 1 of the skylights in it and it's like a freaking hot house up there. That's the room we're getting the optional blinds and you can get either light filtering or room darkening blinds. We went with the room darkening. I'm looking for maximum light blockage up there. The other skylight is in the kitchen and the light and heat aren't objectionable at all.  The shaft from the skylight is built at an angle so while it provides a tremendous amount of light for whatever it doesn't heat up the room. So no blinds there. They both have the low E glass which will help but neither will open to the outside.

What you’re basically saying is you’re hosting an opening day party for us above the garage

[DCFan]

What you’re basically saying is you’re hosting an opening day party for us above the garage

It's always a party here. Retired life is the best. 

[imref]

hopefully those sky lights can survive a hurricane.

[DCFan]

hopefully those sky lights can survive a hurricane.

The previous ones survived countless hurricanes. The house is 27 years old and I assume they were originals but I don't know. The glass was milky white and there was some water infiltration.

[DCFan]

Skylight install all done. They got here at 10 and left at 1:30.  The solar blind option is very cool and makes the FROG pitch black when they are closed. That should cut down the heat substantially.

[imref]

Skylight install all done. They got here at 10 and left at 1:30.  The solar blind option is very cool and makes the FROG pitch black when they are closed. That should cut down the heat substantially.

Did you get the official Washington nationals logo blinds?

[DCFan]

Did you get the official Washington nationals logo blinds?

That didn't qualify for the tax credit. Cancel culture victim.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

That didn't qualify for the tax credit. Cancel culture victim.

I blame Angelos and MASN for the cancel.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Nice, right up there with the cheap polyester "quilt" with a Nationals logo superimposed on a Rolling Stones tongue.  Might as well put Harley Davidson on there as well for full brandgasm.

Did you get the official Washington nationals logo blinds?

[DCFan]

Now that the skylights are in it's time for the next couple of projects - tomatoes and hummingbirds. I picked up this trough at Tractor Supply for some above ground planting;

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/countyline-oval-galvanized-stock-tank-2-ft-w-x-4-ft-l-x-2-ft-h-100-gal-capacity?cm_vc=-10005

Drilled some holes in the bottom and filled it with rocks, a fabric liner, peat moss and dirt. Went to Home Depot today and picked up the tomatoes plants, Miracle Grow, a hummingbird feeder and the red nectar juice to go in it.

[The Chief]

at 2 AM this morning i had to reboot my thermostat. Gotta love smart homes.

Everyone knows those smart devices are how the government controls your thoughts 

[GburgNatsFan]

Everyone knows those smart devices are how the government controls your thoughts 

The Pfizer vaccine is such a step up in personal control.

[Natsinpwc]

The Pfizer vaccine is such a step up in personal control.

I have a hankering for something Microsoft.

[GburgNatsFan]

 

I have a hankering for something Microsoft.

[Count Walewski]

My HVAC system is 5 years past end of life and last summer I had to call in the AC repair guy twice because it stopped working. This spring, we want to replace our entire HVAC system before it turns to dust in the warmer months. So we're talking about replacing the heater, the air conditioning, etc.

Anyone had a good experience recently with a company they would like to recommend? We're in Arlington.

[imref]

My HVAC system is 5 years past end of life and last summer I had to call in the AC repair guy twice because it stopped working. This spring, we want to replace our entire HVAC system before it turns to dust in the warmer months. So we're talking about replacing the heater, the air conditioning, etc.

Anyone had a good experience recently with a company they would like to recommend? We're in Arlington.

the guys we have used for maintenance and to replace our heat pump and water heater are based in Manassas and are great, but I'm not sure if they will come that far east. https://www.air-right.com .
Absolutely avoid FH Furr at all costs.

Have a look at https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/comments/12bm2om/hvac_company_recommendations/ - this thread was just started a couple of days ago and has additional recommendations for your area.  A lot of folks are recommending John Nugent & Son but beware of his brother Ted.

[HalfSmokes]

We used Frosty's in Alexandria years ago and got a reasonable deal. We're in the same boat, but I really don't want to spend that kind of money.

I'd add Michaels to the avoid list. We had them bid once for plumbing and I couldn't stop laughing at the quote.

[1995hoo]

We have had very good experiences with Delta Service Co. of Alexandria; they’re located on General Washington Drive behind the Marlo you can see from I-395 near Edsall Road. My parents have used them for as long as I can remember, at least back to the 1980s, and they recommended Delta to me when I bought my house in 2001. They replaced our HVAC and thermostat in 2014 (Carrier equipment) and they came in $4000 less than the other estimates we’d gotten (I recall one from Cropp-Metcalfe and I don’t recall who the other was). We’ve found them to be extremely reliable. I also like it that when they’re coming out here to service the system, they call to say the man is on his way. (Especially useful if I’m thinking of hopping in the shower or some such so I know not to do so.)

One potential sticking point for many people, however: Delta doesn’t take credit cards. Cash or check only, although you can use those promotional checks some card issuers send you (we did that for ours and paid it off over two months; we had a zero-fee check on which the promotional interest rate was lower than what the card rate would have been).