Homeowner Thread |OT| A Thread for Homeowners

[Linkura]

So today we had a roofer come look at our roof for an estimate to replace it. We had a home inspector look at the house a few years ago and he said a replacement roof would be needed in 2019. He did not go up onto the actual roof, but instead looked via ground through a binocular-type device.

The roofer went up onto the roof itself and took pics. He showed them to my husband (I was at work, my husband worked from home for this today) and said we're actually likely good for another 5 years or so. He did show/say the sealant around the sealed-off chimney was cracking and that would need to be replaced and that he would provide an estimate. My husband said if the sealing job is within the $xxx range, he just plans on going with him, which I'm ok with since it's not a huge amount of money and this guy may have deferred thousands of dollars of work to down the road by being honest in his assessment of the roof.

My husband says that he doesn't think we need another contractor to look at the roof and we should take this guy's word. This guy was recommended by my husband's coworker and has sterling reviews on all the review sites. What is everyone's thoughts on this? Should we have someone else look at the roof?

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

So today we had a roofer come look at our roof for an estimate to replace it. We had a home inspector look at the house a few years ago and he said a replacement roof would be needed in 2019. He did not go up onto the actual roof, but instead looked via ground through a binocular-type device.

The roofer went up onto the roof itself and took pics. He showed them to my husband (I was at work, my husband worked from home for this today) and said we're actually likely good for another 5 years or so. He did show/say the sealant around the sealed-off chimney was cracking and that would need to be replaced and that he would provide an estimate. My husband said if the sealing job is within the $xxx range, he just plans on going with him, which I'm ok with since it's not a huge amount of money and this guy may have deferred thousands of dollars of work to down the road by being honest in his assessment of the roof.

My husband says that he doesn't think we need another contractor to look at the roof and we should take this guy's word. This guy was recommended by my husband's coworker and has sterling reviews on all the review sites. What is everyone's thoughts on this? Should we have someone else look at the roof?

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It doesn't hurt. We had one come out and say we needed a new one and then got a second opinion. Prices were within a negligible difference of each other.

 

[Linkura]

It doesn't hurt. We had one come out and say we needed a new one and then got a second opinion. Prices were within a negligible difference of each other.

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Oh we were definitely planning on getting 3 estimates if a new roof was needed. I'm just wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation where they were told they didn't need a new roof or other big purchase and whether or not they got a second opinion.

My husband has been super stressed lately and he would actually be fairly stressed to get another roofer to come in if it wasn't needed.

 

[whatsinaname]

Oh we were definitely planning on getting 3 estimates if a new roof was needed. I'm just wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation where they were told they didn't need a new roof or other big purchase and whether or not they got a second opinion.

My husband has been super stressed lately and he would actually be fairly stressed to get another roofer to come in if it wasn't needed.

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Are there any symptoms of needing a new roof? Higher gas/electricity bills or damp patches inside or signs of visual damage at the edges? If there are none, I would go with what this recommended contractor said and just get another opinion in June or July. Which will still give you time for a replacement before winter.

In the meantime, you could also post the pics on a homeimprovement/homeowners subreddit and see what people say.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Are there any symptoms of needing a new roof? Higher gas/electricity bills or damp patches inside or signs of visual damage at the edges? If there are none, I would go with what this recommended contractor said and just get another opinion in June or July. Which will still give you time for a replacement before winter.

In the meantime, you could also post the pics on a homeimprovement/homeowners subreddit and see what people say.

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I was told by a roofer we had do our garage that unless they're leaking it's likely fine baring very clear visible issues.

 

[Linkura]

Are there any symptoms of needing a new roof? Higher gas/electricity bills or damp patches inside or signs of visual damage at the edges? If there are none, I would go with what this recommended contractor said and just get another opinion in June or July. Which will still give you time for a replacement before winter.

In the meantime, you could also post the pics on a homeimprovement/homeowners subreddit and see what people say.

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I was told by a roofer we had do our garage that unless they're leaking it's likely fine baring very clear visible issues.

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Thanks guys.

There are no visible signs of damage, at least to our naked, non-contractor eye and my husband said the photos looked ok to him.

Our roof is a flatter type than most homes and thus the expected life is shorter than for most other roofs. I think that's why it was expected to have a shorter lifespan according to the home inspector who looked at it in 2016. It was replaced in 2006, according to the previous owners, when we bought the house in 2011. So it's still only 13 years old. Even with the shorter lifespan, if there's no visible issues I think we are likely good considering its age.

 

[Cheerilee]

Speaking of plumbing, I've been considering completely re-piping what is not copper in my house. I have galvanized steel for a lot of the initial pipes in my house until they get to the actual rooms where they usually switch to copper. It's a 90 year old house and I assume all the original stuff was iron or steel.

Where my water comes in from the street into my basement, that pipe is lead I believe. Nothing I can do about that and I've tested for lead and it came back negative. But I get a lot of rust in water and I want to clear everything of steel. Either pex or copper, likely pex though. Only issue with pex is you have to run double pipes for all outlets unless you just don't care if everything can be individually shut off.

Currently a major issue is our water pressure and I suspect it's due to pipe buildup. If we flush the toilet our shower loses half pressure when it's already pretty low to start. I can't use water inside if I'm watering the lawn. Etc.

I'm curious if anyone has tried to re-pipe from the source, and how that works. I can't shut off the city line, and the coupling where the line meets my basement pipes could very well be part of the bottleneck.

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I'm not an expert but, I'm pretty sure the big reason why Flint Michigan became a disaster zone (which still hasn't been fixed, which is a national disgrace) is because they changed their water source, which accidentally "cleaned out" some of the pipes, which caused the lead pipes to lose their protective layer of filth and grime, and now the lead from the lead pipes is bleeding off into people's drinking water.

At a glance, getting rid of your rusty steel pipes to increase your water flow seems like a great idea (I've seen the inside of a clogged rusty steel pipe once, and all it had left was like a pinhole for the water to get through), but if you take out that rust-clogged restriction, might the lead pipes become the new restriction? Might that somehow clean the insides of the lead pipes? Yikes, scary. I wouldn't want to mess around with having any lead in my system.

I've seen water mains get changed three times. I don't know if it's the same in every city, but around here (Vancouver), at the edge of the property line there should be a small, circular, metal cover, covering a long pipe that goes several feet down into the ground, and at the bottom of that pipe (you'd need a flashlight to see it) is the city's shutoff for your house. You need a special key to turn the city main off and on, but they're fairly common. The first two projects which I saw involved lots of digging. The first one was small-ish, so the plumber did all the digging by himself, and the second one was bigger, so the plumber hired two "general laborers" to do it. Once you've dug the pipe free, it's very easy for the plumber to change it, connecting PEX to the city's shutoff.

The third time was a little different. The water main was 3/4 inch copper, which had burst underground due to old age and corrosion, but the entirety of the house used 1/2 inch pipes, and didn't need 3/4. And for various reasons, the yard would have been a nightmare to dig. But... 1/2 inch PEX can slip though 3/4 inch copper. And the 3/4 inch copper had merely burst, it wasn't crushed. So the 3/4 inch copper was effectively a straight line tunnel running clear through the difficult-to-dig yard. The plumber tested it by disconnecting the turned-off water main inside the house and pushing some PEX through, and measuring how far it got. It stopped when it hit the city's main shutoff. So we dug open some space to work around the city's shutoff (and I've gotta say, digging is backbreaking hard labor, no matter how "small" the job is), cut the homeowner's side of the pipe, and the plumber unthreaded the old connection, and screwed in a 1/2 inch PEX adapter. Pushed the PEX another six inches, connected it, and that was it. Brand new safe and secure PEX, running though some old 3/4 inch copper armor through an impossible yard.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

I'm not an expert but, I'm pretty sure the big reason why Flint Michigan became a disaster zone (which still hasn't been fixed, which is a national disgrace) is because they changed their water source, which accidentally "cleaned out" some of the pipes, which caused the lead pipes to lose their protective layer of filth and grime, and now the lead from the lead pipes is bleeding off into people's drinking water.

At a glance, getting rid of your rusty steel pipes to increase your water flow seems like a great idea (I've seen the inside of a clogged rusty steel pipe once, and all it had left was like a pinhole for the water to get through), but if you take out that rust-clogged restriction, might the lead pipes become the new restriction? Might that somehow clean the insides of the lead pipes? Yikes, scary. I wouldn't want to mess around with having any lead in my system.

I've seen water mains get changed three times. I don't know if it's the same in every city, but around here (Vancouver), at the edge of the property line there should be a small, circular, metal cover, covering a long pipe that goes several feet down into the ground, and at the bottom of that pipe (you'd need a flashlight to see it) is the city's shutoff for your house. You need a special key to turn the city main off and on, but they're fairly common. The first two projects which I saw involved lots of digging. The first one was small-ish, so the plumber did all the digging by himself, and the second one was bigger, so the plumber hired two "general laborers" to do it. Once you've dug the pipe free, it's very easy for the plumber to change it, connecting PEX to the city's shutoff.

The third time was a little different. The water main was 3/4 inch copper, which had burst underground due to old age and corrosion, but the entirety of the house used 1/2 inch pipes, and didn't need 3/4. And for various reasons, the yard would have been a nightmare to dig. But... 1/2 inch PEX can slip though 3/4 inch copper. And the 3/4 inch copper had merely burst, it wasn't crushed. So the 3/4 inch copper was effectively a straight line tunnel running clear through the difficult-to-dig yard. The plumber tested it by disconnecting the turned-off water main inside the house and pushing some PEX through, and measuring how far it got. It stopped when it hit the city's main shutoff. So we dug open some space to work around the city's shutoff (and I've gotta say, digging is backbreaking hard labor, no matter how "small" the job is), cut the homeowner's side of the pipe, and the plumber unthreaded the old connection, and screwed in a 1/2 inch PEX adapter. Pushed the PEX another six inches, connected it, and that was it. Brand new safe and secure PEX, running though some old 3/4 inch copper armor through an impossible yard.

Click to shrink...

I'm in the north east of the us and our city shut off is the same as you described.

That story about pushing pex through the copper is pretty genius.

 

[Arkeband]

That's what I have here:

https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-GFNL...=gfci+lighted&qid=1554843704&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Click to shrink...

Did you have any issues getting this GFCI installed? I have the new LED one in and the white indicator light is solid, but the test/reset buttons won't work (they're supposed to click, right?) and the LED's and outlets themselves aren't working. Very strange.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

So today we had a roofer come look at our roof for an estimate to replace it. We had a home inspector look at the house a few years ago and he said a replacement roof would be needed in 2019. He did not go up onto the actual roof, but instead looked via ground through a binocular-type device.

The roofer went up onto the roof itself and took pics. He showed them to my husband (I was at work, my husband worked from home for this today) and said we're actually likely good for another 5 years or so. He did show/say the sealant around the sealed-off chimney was cracking and that would need to be replaced and that he would provide an estimate. My husband said if the sealing job is within the $xxx range, he just plans on going with him, which I'm ok with since it's not a huge amount of money and this guy may have deferred thousands of dollars of work to down the road by being honest in his assessment of the roof.

My husband says that he doesn't think we need another contractor to look at the roof and we should take this guy's word. This guy was recommended by my husband's coworker and has sterling reviews on all the review sites. What is everyone's thoughts on this? Should we have someone else look at the roof?

Click to shrink...

The fact that a guy who makes his living installing roofs disagreed with your inspector and said you're good for five more years tells me that this is a good contractor. I'd keep his phone number and call him in five years when your roof needs replaced. And I'd let him do the sealing of the chimney

 

[Linkura]

The fact that a guy who makes his living installing roofs disagreed with your inspector and said you're good for five more years tells me that this is a good contractor. I'd keep his phone number and call him in five years when your roof needs replaced. And I'd let him do the sealing of the chimney

Click to shrink...

Yeah, we told him we'd call him again in five years, and, yeah, once we hear back from him we'll offer the sealing job to him.

Thanks.

 

[Chitown B]

I'm not an expert but, I'm pretty sure the big reason why Flint Michigan became a disaster zone (which still hasn't been fixed, which is a national disgrace) is because they changed their water source, which accidentally "cleaned out" some of the pipes, which caused the lead pipes to lose their protective layer of filth and grime, and now the lead from the lead pipes is bleeding off into people's drinking water.

At a glance, getting rid of your rusty steel pipes to increase your water flow seems like a great idea (I've seen the inside of a clogged rusty steel pipe once, and all it had left was like a pinhole for the water to get through), but if you take out that rust-clogged restriction, might the lead pipes become the new restriction? Might that somehow clean the insides of the lead pipes? Yikes, scary. I wouldn't want to mess around with having any lead in my system.

I've seen water mains get changed three times. I don't know if it's the same in every city, but around here (Vancouver), at the edge of the property line there should be a small, circular, metal cover, covering a long pipe that goes several feet down into the ground, and at the bottom of that pipe (you'd need a flashlight to see it) is the city's shutoff for your house. You need a special key to turn the city main off and on, but they're fairly common. The first two projects which I saw involved lots of digging. The first one was small-ish, so the plumber did all the digging by himself, and the second one was bigger, so the plumber hired two "general laborers" to do it. Once you've dug the pipe free, it's very easy for the plumber to change it, connecting PEX to the city's shutoff.

The third time was a little different. The water main was 3/4 inch copper, which had burst underground due to old age and corrosion, but the entirety of the house used 1/2 inch pipes, and didn't need 3/4. And for various reasons, the yard would have been a nightmare to dig. But... 1/2 inch PEX can slip though 3/4 inch copper. And the 3/4 inch copper had merely burst, it wasn't crushed. So the 3/4 inch copper was effectively a straight line tunnel running clear through the difficult-to-dig yard. The plumber tested it by disconnecting the turned-off water main inside the house and pushing some PEX through, and measuring how far it got. It stopped when it hit the city's main shutoff. So we dug open some space to work around the city's shutoff (and I've gotta say, digging is backbreaking hard labor, no matter how "small" the job is), cut the homeowner's side of the pipe, and the plumber unthreaded the old connection, and screwed in a 1/2 inch PEX adapter. Pushed the PEX another six inches, connected it, and that was it. Brand new safe and secure PEX, running though some old 3/4 inch copper armor through an impossible yard.

Click to shrink...

Wow that's pretty impressive and a grand idea. Interesting, thanks for that.

On my end, the only thing that is lead is the city to my basement, nothing else. I don't think it would "clean out" any more than it is, considering the water source isn't changing and the only thing that is changing is inside my house. But that is a freaking cool idea. :)

 

[Chitown B]

Did you have any issues getting this GFCI installed? I have the new LED one in and the white indicator light is solid, but the test/reset buttons won't work (they're supposed to click, right?) and the LED's and outlets themselves aren't working. Very strange.

Click to shrink...

I didn't, but I have grounded pipes for wire pull throughs, so it auto-grounds to the box which is grounded to the wire pipe. What's your setup like? Do you have a ground wire anywhere? You'll need that to make it GFCI and to test it.

 

[Stinkles]

My house is gorgeous but apparently just made of lead lined asbestos and victorian horse hair and flood plain orphan corpses. Sometimes I wish I had a condo. Tomorrow I have to pay an Irishman to replace light switches that continue to explode lightbulbs. Why do I point out he's Irish? Because my wife told me our neighbor had an AMAZING German-born contractor named "Dieter" who is a stickler for detail and efficiency. She told me to go chat to him. "Guten tag, wie gehts, meine Frau sagt du bist ein..."


"Jesus Oim sorry pal y'eve got the wrong feller" he says. Irishly.


COME ON WIFE. HIS NAME IS LITERALLY SEAMUS.

And I'm literally from Scotland.

And she literally writes European Travel guides.


I can't even.

 

[Chitown B]

My house is gorgeous but apparently just made of lead lined asbestos and victorian horse hair and flood plain orphan corpses. Sometimes I wish I had a condo. Tomorrow I have to pay an Irishman to replace light switches that continue to explode lightbulbs. Why do I point out he's Irish? Because my wife told me our neighbor had an AMAZING German-born contractor named "Dieter" who is a stickler for detail and efficiency. She told me to go chat to him. "Guten tag, wie gehts, meine Frau sagt du bist ein..."


"Jesus Oim sorry pal y'eve got the wrong feller" he says. Irishly.


COME ON WIFE. HIS NAME IS LITERALLY SEAMUS.

And I'm literally from Scotland.

And she literally writes European Travel guides.


I can't even.

Click to shrink...

Zis is the time on Sprockets where we dance!

That's hilarious, haha.

If I lived near you I would help you out. I've done plenty of wiring and some piping. It's a sad world where the director of Halo dev has to do with this bullshit too.

 

[Stinkles]

Zis is the time on Sprockets where we dance!

That's hilarious, haha.

If I lived near you I would help you out. I've done plenty of wiring and some piping. It's a sad world where the director of Halo dev has to do with this bullshit too.

Click to shrink...

Lol I can do the wiring. I actually replaced a j-bend and a garbage disposal unit this weekend, but I HATE light switches - because they have to work on a circuit (problem 1) and work with multiple dimmable bulb technologies including LED (problem 2) and the "German perfectionist" was literally next door. This is one of those stupid little things that I have lived with for five years because I never took the Saturday to just roll up my sleeves and do it. But now I have to. FOR SEAMUS!!!!!!!!

 

[Chitown B]

Lol I can do the wiring. I actually replaced a j-bend and a garbage disposal unit this weekend, but I HATE light switches - because they have to work on a circuit (problem 1) and work with multiple dimmable bulb technologies including LED (problem 2) and the "German perfectionist" was literally next door. This is one of those stupid little things that I have lived with for five years because I never took the Saturday to just roll up my sleeves and do it. But now I have to. FOR SEAMUS!!!!!!!!

Click to shrink...

I hear you. I've done a lot to our house in the past 18 months since we moved in, but there are still things I ignore. Like why won't my three way switches work between the switch in the dining room and kitchen? I HATE THEM. But I just don't use one of them.

 

[Stinkles]

I hear you. I've done a lot to our house in the past 18 months since we moved in, but there are still things I ignore. Like why won't my three way switches work between the switch in the dining room and kitchen? I HATE THEM. But I just don't use one of them.

Click to shrink...

Haha this is my exact issue plus they're wired like movie billing with three stars where the names are above the wrong actor...

 

[Chitown B]

Haha this is my exact issue plus they're wired like movie billing with three stars where the names are above the wrong actor...

Click to shrink...

It's like we're twins. Is your house also knob and tube cloth covered wiring?

 

[Stinkles]

It's like we're twins. Is your house also knob and tube cloth covered wiring?

Click to shrink...

Well yes the scary parts in the basement and attic.

 

[Chitown B]

Well yes the scary parts in the basement and attic.

Click to shrink...

Yup. And in the original part of my house (1927). The addition is pull through piped wires thankfully.

 

[Arkeband]

I didn't, but I have grounded pipes for wire pull throughs, so it auto-grounds to the box which is grounded to the wire pipe. What's your setup like? Do you have a ground wire anywhere? You'll need that to make it GFCI and to test it.

Click to shrink...

I do, I wired it up the same way the previous outlet was and even tried switching the black cables, which just made it not work altogether. I'll try messing with it again tonight or even calling Leviton, maybe they sent me a bad one.

 

[Chitown B]

I do, I wired it up the same way the previous outlet was and even tried switching the black cables, which just made it not work altogether. I'll try messing with it again tonight or even calling Leviton, maybe they sent me a bad one.

Click to shrink...

Odd. Which do you have - grounded pipes or a green ground wire?

 

[Stinkles]

Yup. And in the original part of my house (1927). The addition is pull through piped wires thankfully.

Click to shrink...

1922! Chimney is probably blocked with orphans and revenant Santa dads.

I had the most humiliating homeowner interaction this morning with a handyman. My neighbor was having a fence rebuilt and some repairs by an experienced (Irish!) "German" journeyman carpenter - so we had him over to look at a list of really minor jobs that I haven't gotten around to (or the right tools) and it went the way it always goes.

First he shakes my suddenly tiny Trump-hand with his giant calloused bear paws and then listens patiently to my descriptions as if I were a hysterical cheerleader trying to explain sorority politics - interrupting only to correct my measurements or technical terms with more obscure and masculine ones - "A dishwasher air gap? Oh you mean a drainvac! A rubber gasket? Oh you mean a brass-fed blastsealer?" Anyway you get the idea. The only humiliating real -man cliche he didn't embarrass me with, is the old "oh it's not broken at all you're just too weak/stupid to squeeze the grommet- flange properly " as he fixes a decade long malfunction just by staring at it for a second.

Luckily I inadvertently intimidated a drunk guy at the pizza place last night while picking up my daughter's dinner otherwise I'd be fully emasculated right now. I'd probably have to have a good long cry and a big glass of chardonnay otherwise.

The one thing we got to nod sternly and superiorly at was American plumbing. A mad hybrid of incompatible materials that literally relies on subjective tightening instead of millimeter tolerances or rational materials. It's getting WAY better but almost every "classic" house in Seattle has a mixture of lead, clay, concrete, bakelite, zinc, rubber, pvc, copper, brass and unidentifiable poisonous or toxic metals all held together by plant roots and rat feces.

Oh and "garages" - despite being built in the 1950s -- that are only big enough to hold a Smart car and a single waffer thin after dinner mint.

I think I only know one person who parks their car in the garage (on the Westside - Eastside is all mcmansions and two car garages with RV extensions).

BTW the three little pigs story is only rational if the final house is actually made of bricks and masonry. In Seattle a brick house is actually just a flimsy wood and asbestos house coated with a single layer of porous crumbling, moisture absorbing flimsy seismically dangerous pretend bricks. The wolf could just push through them like they were wet cardboard.

 

[Chitown B]

Odd. Which do you have - grounded pipes or a green ground wire?

Click to shrink...

Also it comes in a reset state and you need to reset it again after everything is connected in order to make the test button work. I remember that.

 

[Chitown B]

1922! Chimney is probably blocked with orphans and revenant Santa dads.

I had the most humiliating homeowner interaction this morning with a handyman. My neighbor was having a fence rebuilt and some repairs by an experienced (Irish!) "German" journeyman carpenter - so we had him over to look at a list of really minor jobs that I haven't gotten around to (or the right tools) and it went the way it always goes.

First he shakes my suddenly tiny Trump-hand with his giant calloused bear paws and then listens patiently to my descriptions as if I were a hysterical cheerleader trying to explain sorority politics - interrupting only to correct my measurements or technical terms with more obscure and masculine ones - "A dishwasher air gap? Oh you mean a drainvac! A rubber gasket? Oh you mean a brass-fed blastsealer?" Anyway you get the idea. The only humiliating real -man cliche he didn't embarrass me with, is the old "oh it's not broken at all you're just too weak/stupid to squeeze the grommet- flange properly " as he fixes a decade long malfunction just by staring at it for a second.

Luckily I inadvertently intimidated a drunk guy at the pizza place last night while picking up my daughter's dinner otherwise I'd be fully emasculated right now. I'd probably have to have a good long cry and a big glass of chardonnay otherwise.

Click to shrink...

Pizza? Oh, you mean a lactose and basil-tomato covered gluten disc?

I keep lists like that to bury me with when I die.

 

[Arkeband]

Odd. Which do you have - grounded pipes or a green ground wire?

Click to shrink...

Not sure, I know I have a copper ground wire in the outlet.

I honestly probably had my white cables switched, I only tried switching my black ones.

 

[Stinkles]

Not sure, I know I have a copper ground wire in the outlet.

I honestly probably had my white cables switched, I only tried switching my black ones.

Click to shrink...

You sound very relaxed about it. I would be all...

 

[Darryl M R]

Does anyone own a home in a high cost of living city and mind sharing their thoughts on why you decided on home ownership? My wife and I career will end up having us living in high COL cities, and we are discussing the thought of being renters with a future child versus buying a home and dealing with these crazy high taxes.

 

[Stinkles]

Does anyone own a home in a high cost of living city and mind sharing their thoughts on why you decided on home ownership? My wife and I career will end up having us living in high COL cities, and we are discussing the thought of being renters with a future child versus buying a home and dealing with these crazy high taxes.

Click to shrink...

Yes. We first bought a condo in San Francisco because rent was excruciating and actually harder to find than a condo or home. Secondly we got a modest but crucial wedding gift from her parents so we could pool our savings and make the lowest down payment to get what at the time were record low interest rates (they got a lot lower).

Secondly we couldn't afford a single family home and had almost given up looking when we got a line on a condo that never sold because the two gross roommates who lived there refused to clean or vacate for buyer tours - but we saw the mirror image place next door and knew it was a crazy bargain and because it was a condo, less risk on the inspection since we could see all the common areas. When we moved in there was a Street Fighter coin op, about 800 pounds of suspiciously coarse curly hair and a u bend blocked completely with bacon grease but otherwise flawless.

Then when we moved to Seattle the value had increased so much for the condo we were able to sell it and have enough downpayment for a tiny two bedroom single family home in Seattle - which meant mortgage was way less than equivalent rent. Her parents again were very keen on us buying a house and manufacturing grandchildren so they also pushed the logic of it.

In our case we were extremely lucky that the arithmetic and timing and interest rates (and a brief housing lull) all coincided. And those two cities are not necessarily rational or typical.

 

[Linkura]

Does anyone own a home in a high cost of living city and mind sharing their thoughts on why you decided on home ownership? My wife and I career will end up having us living in high COL cities, and we are discussing the thought of being renters with a future child versus buying a home and dealing with these crazy high taxes.

Click to shrink...

We are 10 miles north of Boston. We bought at the bottom of the market in 2011, but it was an easy decision for us. With 20% down, the mortgage plus real estate taxes and insurance payments for a 1550 square foot, 4 bed 2 bath house was the same monthly cost as the rent in our 750 square foot, 1 bed 1 bath apartment with shitty property management. I wonder if the math comes anywhere close now. Probably not. Our house is worth $200k more than in 2011 and our taxes are up about $1500/yr as well due to value and tax increases.

 

[Arkeband]

You sound very relaxed about it. I would be all...

Click to shrink...

lol, I've got my voltage tester and a fairly good memory of whether I turned off power to the circuit, so I feel relatively safe.

 

[pokeystaples]

I have a question. We just had our bid accepted on a house. We were going to do roof, pest, sewer and a general house inspection next week. Are there any other inspection stuff we should get or inspections you regret not getting done?

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

I have a question. We just had our bid accepted on a house. We were going to do roof, pest, sewer and a general house inspection next week. Are there any other inspection stuff we should get or inspections you regret not getting done?

Click to shrink...

A good home inspector will spend 2-4 hours at least doing the inspection. You're going to get a laundry list of items that are problems. Some will be actual issues and others will be them just being diligent and doing their job (like screens missing from a window).

I would research your area to find out if any silent type problems exist. Stuff like radon or high water tables.

 

[pokeystaples]

A good home inspector will spend 2-4 hours at least doing the inspection. You're going to get a laundry list of items that are problems. Some will be actual issues and others will be them just being diligent and doing their job (like screens missing from a window).

I would research your area to find out if any silent type problems exist. Stuff like radon or high water tables.

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Thank you so much for your quick response. Just super nervous we'll miss some huge thing.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Thank you so much for your quick response. Just super nervous we'll miss some huge thing.

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The big things are foundation, roof, hvac and such. But those should be clear as day so If you see anything off ask the inspector, you're paying them. The inspector should also have some kind of insurance if something is missed.

The thing you will quickly get used to is stuff just needing to be done. You'll have to get good with this because it will drive you nuts (it did for me). A leak will happen or you'll need the roof done or some weird electrical problem happens. We all go through it and the thing to remind yourself is you control how it gets fixed now. It's so dumb but I left a 5x5 hole in my ceiling for at least a year because we had a pipe leak and I just was too lazy to patch it.

 

[Nostremitus]

Had an electrician come out to replace the fuse box with a 200a breaker box...

When the city came out to disconnect the power they discovered that the previous electrician had ran an un-insulated wire as the ground from the fuse box, through the meter box, and up the weather vein... And the inside of the meter box has carbon scoring from electrical arching in it so they refused to turn the power back on until everything from the breaker box to the transformer outside was replaced...

Luckily, my home owner's warranty is covering part of it, but they won't cover anything outside the house. But still, man that bill hurt...

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Had an electrician come out to replace the fuse box with a 200a breaker box...

When the city came out to disconnect the power they discovered that the previous electrician had ran an un-insulated wire as the ground from the fuse box, through the meter box, and up the weather vein... And the inside of the meter box has carbon scoring from electrical arching in it so they refused to turn the power back on until everything from the breaker box to the transformer outside was replaced...

Luckily, my home owner's warranty is covering part of it, but they won't cover anything outside the house. But still, man that bill hurt...

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Guessing like 1500-2000

 

[pokeystaples]

The big things are foundation, roof, hvac and such. But those should be clear as day so If you see anything off ask the inspector, you're paying them. The inspector should also have some kind of insurance if something is missed.

The thing you will quickly get used to is stuff just needing to be done. You'll have to get good with this because it will drive you nuts (it did for me). A leak will happen or you'll need the roof done or some weird electrical problem happens. We all go through it and the thing to remind yourself is you control how it gets fixed now. It's so dumb but I left a 5x5 hole in my ceiling for at least a year because we had a pipe leak and I just was too lazy to patch it.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I'm hoping my sleepy summer's watching This Old House will help some, but I know my future is now full of all kinds of villains I didn't have to worry about before. Weather and termites being big ones.

 

[Nostremitus]

Guessing like 1500-2000

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$3886 all said and done. Home warranty will only cover about $750 of it.

 

[Chitown B]

Not sure, I know I have a copper ground wire in the outlet.

I honestly probably had my white cables switched, I only tried switching my black ones.

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well white and black have nothing to do with grounding. hmm... If it's not wired inside a metal box in the wall with metal tubes running to and from the box to house the wires, then the box isn't grounded. If you don't have another wire that specifically is for grounding (usually green) then there's no ground.

 

[Arkeband]

well white and black have nothing to do with grounding. hmm... If it's not wired inside a metal box in the wall with metal tubes running to and from the box to house the wires, then the box isn't grounded. If you don't have another wire that specifically is for grounding (usually green) then there's no ground.

Click to shrink...

I managed to get it working earlier this evening, apparently I wasn't pressing in hard enough on the 'reset' when the line/loads were properly set up. Once that 'clicked' the indicator blinked red and it magically began working.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Anyone has an instant water-heater? They look really compact, and I'm wondering if anyone has opinions on them? The place I might buy is a small two-story building, would be nice to save some space.

edit: Well crap, apparently it is useless in cold weather like Canada, unless it's gas powered. Oh well, I plan on taking the second story eventually, but would have been nice to have something more compact.
edit2: Hmm some say the new models work fine in our weather. Anyone in Canada has an electric one?

 

[Chitown B]

I managed to get it working earlier this evening, apparently I wasn't pressing in hard enough on the 'reset' when the line/loads were properly set up. Once that 'clicked' the indicator blinked red and it magically began working.

Click to shrink...

Nice! Those buttons are hard to push.

 

[Jedi2016]

Got an Arlo yesterday, after the "wind" blew a couple of rocks at the front of the house. I was thinking about it anyway (I'd asked earlier in the thread), that just sealed the deal.

FYI, the base station was a bitch to get updated, had to keep trying until it finally succeeded. And no, the batteries for the cameras are not "fully charged from the factory", I couldn't get them to sync until I'd charged them. Now that everything's working, it's fine, it was just a little more hassle than I expected to get it up and running.

I also need to re-think my network arrangement. My router only has four ports on it, which are currently taken up by my PC, PS4, Blu-ray player, and Steam Link. The Arlo base station requires a hardwired connection, wi-fi is not an option (the cameras connect directly to the base station through its own wireless network, it doesn't use your wi-fi). Again, something to think about if you're looking at one of these. So I've got another switch on the way to add more ports and I'll have to move things around in that room since I'm also out of power outlets in that corner.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Anyone has an all-in-one drying/washing machine? A single machine that can wash and dry clothes. I'd still make an entry to support two separate ones, but I really love this kind of space-saving tech and I never need to wash and dry stuff at the same time.

edit: Damn, Lowe's virtual room designer is awesome
https://lowes.2020.net/planner/UI/P...:Kitchen:Merch:try_virtual_room_designer_tool

 

[Deleted member 47843]

Anyone has an instant water-heater? They look really compact, and I'm wondering if anyone has opinions on them? The place I might buy is a small two-story building, would be nice to save some space.

edit: Well crap, apparently it is useless in cold weather like Canada, unless it's gas powered. Oh well, I plan on taking the second story eventually, but would have been nice to have something more compact.
edit2: Hmm some say the new models work fine in our weather. Anyone in Canada has an electric one?

Click to shrink...

I'm sure it varies a lot by models, but I'd be wary of electric ones in very cold places. We're in Atlanta and have an electric one (IDK the model off the top of my head, but it was put in last year when the house was renovated) and had a lot of lukewarm at best showers in the winter--and there were only a handful of days below freezing. Even when it was in the upper 30s at night it stuggled.

I'm sure house layout and where the water heater is in relation to the shower matters though. Our heater is in the crawlspace and showers on the second floor so it's a combo of cold city water hitting the heater and two stories of piping to get to the shower. I need to go under there and turn it down as I put it on max temp (140f) which helped a little, but it doesn't need to be that hot in warm weather (120f is what it was on before I turned it up).

 

[Ether_Snake]

I'm sure it varies a lot by models, but I'd be wary of electric ones in very cold places. We're in Atlanta and have an electric one (IDK the model off the top of my head, but it was put in last year when the house was renovated) and had a lot of lukewarm at best showers in the winter--and there were only a handful of days below freezing. Even when it was in the upper 30s at night it stuggled.

I'm sure house layout and where the water heater is in relation to the shower matters though. Our heater is in the crawlspace and showers on the second floor so it's a combo of cold city water hitting the heater and two stories of piping to get to the shower. I need to go under there and turn it down as I put it on max temp (140f) which helped a little, but it doesn't need to be that hot in warm weather (120f is what it was on before I turned it up).

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Yeah they recommend gas, close to the kitchen/bathroom.

Thanks for the info

 

[Sun's Resting Place]

Anyone have advice for my master bedroom? Recently moved into my first house. The panorama + color adjustment makes this room look bright, but it's really not that bright at all. It's fairly dim and drab.

I would like it to be far better lit, and on top of better and less terrible lighting I would like any possible suggestions for decorating or making the room less of a void.

I'm trying to figure out light sources and potential spots for clearing up giant empty spaces. I am fairly minimalist so I like the clean white Ikea furniture look but I don't mind injecting some interesting stuff into the bedroom.

I realize my bed is not on a frame, it's just a box spring lying on carpet.

I am just sort of lost on where to go from here and I am in full realization that this room is kind of spartan and really needs something to break up all the giant voids surrounding me.

Those blackout curtains are because I am often doing night shifts and it helps block light out.

I'd really love some suggestions on what to do with my master bedroom. Currently, the computer table spot is kind of imperative due to the cable outlet being where the bedside table doodle is in my MSpaint image and feeding directly into the modem and router that feed wifi to the whole house.

This is the rest of the house, which I've been concentrating on a lot more than my own bedroom, to get an idea of my taste/what I'm going for.

Thanks to user Peltz for recommending the beautiful living room rug.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Anyone have advice for my master bedroom? Recently moved into my first house. The panorama + color adjustment makes this room look bright, but it's really not that bright at all. It's fairly dim and drab.

I would like it to be far better lit, and on top of better and less terrible lighting I would like any possible suggestions for decorating or making the room less of a void.

I'm trying to figure out light sources and potential spots for clearing up giant empty spaces. I am fairly minimalist so I like the clean white Ikea furniture look but I don't mind injecting some interesting stuff into the bedroom.

I realize my bed is not on a frame, it's just a box spring lying on carpet.

I am just sort of lost on where to go from here and I am in full realization that this room is kind of spartan and really needs something to break up all the giant voids surrounding me.

Those blackout curtains are because I am often doing night shifts and it helps block light out.

I'd really love some suggestions on what to do with my master bedroom. Currently, the computer table spot is kind of imperative due to the cable outlet being where the bedside table doodle is in my MSpaint image and feeding directly into the modem and router that feed wifi to the whole house.

This is the rest of the house, which I've been concentrating on a lot more than my own bedroom, to get an idea of my taste/what I'm going for.

Thanks to user Peltz for recommending the beautiful living room rug.

Click to shrink...

The way the bed is looks like it cuts down on the room a lot. I would consider putting it in a way that doesn't create a small entry way. Maybe where your desk is our opposite wall by the corner near the window. You really don't want a room to immediately feel divided like that.