Home Improvement Thread

[tomterp]

the labor to disassemble, source the gasket and reassemble was pretty close to replacing the whole pump assembly

Yeah and then am I going to have the pump fail in 6 months, if I only fix the leaks?  I want to watch the guy and next time DIY.     

[UMDNats]

Just installed a new Nest Thermostat by myself and am basically the most handy guy around. AMA

[varoadking]

Just installed a new Nest Thermostat by myself and am basically the most handy guy around. AMA

My kids love theirs...

[UMDNats]

UPDATE: I also replaced an outlet with a USB outlet. I should start doing electrical work for pay...

[mitlen]

Feel like I'm postin' in the natural or synthetic oil thread of a motorcycle maintenance site.    I wanna install a new tub drain flange   ....  plumber's putty or silicone.     I've googled it and it's a divided topic.     Anybody had any experience with the installation using either application and the results?

[HalfSmokes]

Not a tub, but my plumber showed me how to install a kitchen sink drain and he used putty. I did my bathroom sink by myself using putty - it was an easy install and it’s held for a couple of years now

[mitlen]

Not a tub, but my plumber showed me how to install a kitchen sink drain and he used putty. I did my bathroom sink by myself using putty - it was an easy install and it’s held for a couple of years now

Thanks HS   ...  I'm leanin' toward the putty after viewing an install on Youtube.     I gotta replace a cartridge in the shower as well.    Figure I'll do that first since I gotta shut down the house water.    Missus can always use the other shower while I putter with the drain.

[GburgNatsFan]

I've always and only used plumber's putty. With plumber's putty, you can over-fill the gap and the squeeze-out into the sink just peels away.

 Try that with silicone. What a mess.

Feel like I'm postin' in the natural or synthetic oil thread of a motorcycle maintenance site.    I wanna install a new tub drain flange   ....  plumber's putty or silicone.     I've googled it and it's a divided topic.     Anybody had any experience with the installation using either application and the results?

[mitlen]

I've always and only used plumber's putty.

Thanks G'burg.    This'll be my first try at any of this.

[GburgNatsFan]

Thanks G'burg.    This'll be my first try at any of this.

I ninja'd in my reasoning, and I think it's indisputable.

Additionally, it's not like this joint is under pressure, or really even underwater for very long.

[dcpatti]

I’m looking for architect and contractor to do a fairly extensive renovation, which would include knocking down walls, building new walls, and moving or possibly adding a bathroom. If y’all have anyone you’d recommend, please let me know! They’ll need to pull permits which needs drawings, and all that other fun stuff.

[tomterp]

Great news!

A month ago now my wife's eye was itchy throughout the day, and at dinner that night her face was noticeably drooping on one side, so alarming I drove her to the emergency room to make sure she wasn't having a stroke.  She was not, but it was Bell's palsy (look it up).  As a result of that and the fact that she could not close her left eye unassisted, she had to take eye drops hourly.  While lying on the bed doing her drops, she saw a stain on the ceiling.  No, not THAT kind of stain, but a water stain - we must have a leak in the roof.  More good news!

Some of our neighbors have had roofs replaced due to hail damage.  I can't remember a hail storm but maybe we were on vacation.  Anyway, I went into the attic and confirmed a very small leak, and called our insurance co.  They sent an adjusted, who delivered yet more good news - our roof had substantial hail damage and needed to be replaced.  He wrote up the claim, and I had a check within a week.

We got bids and both were below the estimate while being better grade roofing materials, so we've already had the work done.  Our roof was 22 years old and we got it replaced for free.     

[MarquisDeSade]

Don’t whine when your insurance company drops you.

[tomterp]

I’m looking for architect and contractor to do a fairly extensive renovation, which would include knocking down walls, building new walls, and moving or possibly adding a bathroom. If y’all have anyone you’d recommend, please let me know! They’ll need to pull permits which needs drawings, and all that other fun stuff.

You're in DC, correct?

We used Collins Tile and Stone for our recent 2 bathroom renovation, but not sure if they do DC.  Would highly recommend them, though we did not use an architect and not sure how that dynamic would work.

https://collinstileandstone.com/

[tomterp]

Don’t whine when your insurance company drops you.

Well so far they dropped my rate because I have a new roof now.   

It's common in our 'hood for contractors to drive around and offer to do free roof inspections, which lead to insurance claims and work for them.  I have always turned those away, it sounded kind of sleazy.  But I organized this through my insurer, they sent the appraiser out and controlled the whole process.   

[HalfSmokes]

Well so far they dropped my rate because I have a new roof now.   

It's common in our 'hood for contractors to drive around and offer to do free roof inspections, which lead to insurance claims and work for them.  I have always turned those away, it sounded kind of sleazy.  But I organized this through my insurer, they sent the appraiser out and controlled the whole process.   

Depending on the insurer, they don’t like people who file claims. Then again, getting dropped is a good excuse to shop for a better rate

[dcpatti]

You're in DC, correct?

We used Collins Tile and Stone for our recent 2 bathroom renovation, but not sure if they do DC.  Would highly recommend them, though we did not use an architect and not sure how that dynamic would work.

https://collinstileandstone.com/

thanks, i'll give them a look!

[dracnal]

Well so far they dropped my rate because I have a new roof now.   

It's common in our 'hood for contractors to drive around and offer to do free roof inspections, which lead to insurance claims and work for them.  I have always turned those away, it sounded kind of sleazy.  But I organized this through my insurer, they sent the appraiser out and controlled the whole process.   

I had the same thing happen about ten years ago... My wife was home alone and had just cooked something in hot oil. She turned off the stove and left the room to grab an incoming phone call. Apparently -something- happened to cause the oil to flash fire and it got out of control pretty fast. She very stupidly went back into the kitchen and smothered it with some minor lung damage and no burns. The kitchen itself was half destroyed (one wall, all cabinets burnt up, stove destroyed, etc.).  Fire department scolded the crap out of her for not just leaving and calling 911.

Long version short, it was an apartment building and we had renters insurance. The landlord claimed it was 26k$ in damage. State Farm paid for it in full and promptly lowered our monthly rate by another 15$ a month.

[tomterp]

Depending on the insurer, they don’t like people who file claims. Then again, getting dropped is a good excuse to shop for a better rate

We've had USAA for 30 years now, it could happen but I doubt they drop us.

[tomterp]

I had the same thing happen about ten years ago... My wife was home alone and had just cooked something in hot oil. She turned off the stove and left the room to grab an incoming phone call. Apparently -something- happened to cause the oil to flash fire and it got out of control pretty fast. She very stupidly went back into the kitchen and smothered it with some minor lung damage and no burns. The kitchen itself was half destroyed (one wall, all cabinets burnt up, stove destroyed, etc.).  Fire department scolded the crap out of her for not just leaving and calling 911.

Long version short, it was an apartment building and we had renters insurance. The landlord claimed it was 26k$ in damage. State Farm paid for it in full and promptly lowered our monthly rate by another 15$ a month.

That's quite a story, she's lucky.  But she did the right thing, that fire could have caused much more damage and injury had she not stopped it. 

[imref]

Well so far they dropped my rate because I have a new roof now.   

It's common in our 'hood for contractors to drive around and offer to do free roof inspections, which lead to insurance claims and work for them.  I have always turned those away, it sounded kind of sleazy.  But I organized this through my insurer, they sent the appraiser out and controlled the whole process.   

that's great.  A dozen or so of my neighbors have had their roofs replaced for free in the last couple of years as a result of the derecho and several hail storms.  In our case, my neighbor who owns a roofing and siding company stopped by to inspect our roof last fall and couldn't find anything wrong with it.  Our neighborhood is about 15 years old so I was really hoping there would be at least some damage so I could get it replaced. :-).  We have had the ridge vent caps replaced twice due to wind taking them off.  The first time the repair guy just re-nailed them the originals back in.  The second time neighbor that I mentioned replaced them with new caps that he mounted using the proper screws.  So he's honest and does good work. 

[tomterp]

We also had them remove an attic fan that we never use, it was just one more hole in the roof for a future leak to happen.  Ditto for a satellite dish on the garage.  Redo all the flashing, peak vent like yours, etc.  And we upgraded the shingles to Certainteed Landmark Pro, in a color that is Energy Star for reflective properties.  Because we only have a single zone A/C the upstairs can get a bit warm in the summer, these shingles supposedly reduce solar absorption by 35-40% which I figured can't hurt.

[HalfSmokes]

We've had USAA for 30 years now, it could happen but I doubt they drop us.

Usaa is the exception to the rule. They seem to pay claims fast without impacting rates. If they had better rates, I’d love to move my banking to them, right now we have life, auto, home, property, and umbrella through them at rates that are equivalent to what the discount insurers offer

[imref]

We also had them remove an attic fan that we never use, it was just one more hole in the roof for a future leak to happen.  Ditto for a satellite dish on the garage.  Redo all the flashing, peak vent like yours, etc.  And we upgraded the shingles to Certainteed Landmark Pro, in a color that is Energy Star for reflective properties.  Because we only have a single zone A/C the upstairs can get a bit warm in the summer, these shingles supposedly reduce solar absorption by 35-40% which I figured can't hurt.

Attic fans are a waste of money.  I had looked into getting one a few years ago on the idea that it seemed to make surface that cooling the attic would cool the house.  But while that sounds good on the surface, it doesn't make any sense.  If the attic is well insulated, then it doesn't matter how hot it gets.  In most cases, from what I've read, attic fans end up sucking the cooler air from the upper level of the home into the attic (via openings in vents, cracks and so on).   The ideal would be that the fan sucks in air from under the eaves, assuming vents aren't blocked by insulation as they are in many cases.  But the again, if your attic is well insulated, cooling it doesn't have any impact on the living area below it. 

[tomterp]

Attic fans are a waste of money.  I had looked into getting one a few years ago on the idea that it seemed to make surface that cooling the attic would cool the house.  But while that sounds good on the surface, it doesn't make any sense.  If the attic is well insulated, then it doesn't matter how hot it gets.  In most cases, from what I've read, attic fans end up sucking the cooler air from the upper level of the home into the attic (via openings in vents, cracks and so on).   The ideal would be that the fan sucks in air from under the eaves, assuming vents aren't blocked by insulation as they are in many cases.  But the again, if your attic is well insulated, cooling it doesn't have any impact on the living area below it.

Some gov't agency (EPA?) has done studies that are pretty conclusive that attic fans use more energy than they save.  Plus the sucker was noisy and you could feel the vibrations upstairs, so we had stopped using it anyway.  I think those passive whirlygig things are probably a much better idea, everyone in Dallas had those. 

We could have added vents just above the gutters, that would have provided a steady convection flow but it was going to be relatively costly and require cutting across the plywood and weakening the structure just a bit.  We won't be in the house long enough to justify that.