it's pretty damn powerful and quieter than the one I had before that was about 2/3 of the size. Easy to install. (although I had to rewire it because it came with a plug-in cord and all I had was a hard-wire in the wall)

12/3/2014 1:42:17 PM

Anyone replaced a left hand thread thermocouple in a gas Whirlpool water heater before? After watching videos online, it seems pretty simple (if I could find the damn part, that is).

12/9/2014 1:51:04 PM

Hopefully will be getting approval from my HOA to install a 6 kW solar system on the front roof. Pretty excited. Going to be uber pissed if I am turned down.

12/17/2014 10:26:02 AM

can you provide the specifics on costs (including expected credits) and who you are using?

are you able to feed back in to the grid? the program here has a 3 year backlog to be able to which is one of the reasons why i haven't done too much investigation in to this - the rates are around $0.20 per kwh to feed back in - we only pay $0.06-9 here as well which makes the return rate slower than most of the country

12/17/2014 11:14:36 AM

The company I will likely be using in Raleigh is Sun Dollar. It will be a grid tied system. The current quote, which is for 5.7 (trying to find a way to get a couple more panels to get to 6) kW of (22) 260 W monocrystalline black on black panels (an upgrade over poly) with Enphase microinverters (250W) comes in at 19,500. After tax credits, and duke energy credits, it will be just under 6k installed.

pretty crazy. And since the State credits expire at the end of 2015, and the federal expires at 2016, you had best do it now. There is no telling what the state will do. The fed will likely extend.

You need to look at the increased value of the home. In other words, a 20k installed system will likely increase your home value 15-20k, when all you are paying is around 6k out of pocket. The energy savings are just gravy.

I will net meter with Duke. It is a 1:1 rate, but they allow banking for one year (resets in May). My 6 kW panels won't allow me to be a net exporter.

12/17/2014 5:43:10 PM

What are the warranties on a system like that?

12/27/2014 11:04:14 AM

^^ugh wish sc qualified for dukes rebates

Seems like a good deal overall though with the state and fed tax credits How much of that was fixed versus depending on the system size?

12/27/2014 6:25:21 PM

^ There is nothing fixed. it is all sized per kWh.

^^ The panels I plan to buy are warrantied for 25 years. The invertors are also 25 years. The warranties on the equipment is ridiculous compared to anything else you'll ever buy.

12/29/2014 4:30:20 PM

Good info. What is the limiting factor at 5.7kw for you then. Cost, roof size, or energy need (doubt it's this since you can bank)? Goes on top of shingles or in place of? Doing anything to the roof at the same time?

12/29/2014 5:53:56 PM

Quote :

"You need to look at the increased value of the home. In other words, a 20k installed system will likely increase your home value 15-20k, when all you are paying is around 6k out of pocket. The energy savings are just gravy. I will net meter with Duke. It is a 1:1 rate, but they allow banking for one year (resets in May). My 6 kW panels won't allow me to be a net exporter. "

By 'net meter' I assume you mean the energy you produce doesn't "spin" the dial? What do you mean by "banking for one year"? And I'm assuming you mean at 6kW you won't have enough leftover after your own needs are met? Mind asking what your typical yearly electric bill is?

You may not know this answer...at the residential level, would you get much of an efficiency bump by having the panels that tilt towards the sun throughout the day?

And...lastly. How much worse does your homeowners insurance go up to cover damage to the panels?

[Edited on December 29, 2014 at 7:49 PM. Reason : .]

12/29/2014 7:46:53 PM

Anyone ever had a freezer (french door style, freezer on bottom) that wouldn't drain right leading to water on your floor?

12/29/2014 8:38:32 PM

any help with this: message_topic.aspx?topic=589554&page=20#16173966?

[Edited on December 30, 2014 at 10:25 AM. Reason : .]

12/30/2014 10:25:21 AM

Quote :

"What is the limiting factor at 5.7kw for you then"

Roof space and shading. I'd put a 10 kW on my house if I had the roof space. I am replacing my roof prior to the panels. You don't want panels to be installed on a roof that needs to be replaced in a few years. Mine is closing in on 20 years. I am replacing it with a lifetime roof.
Panels are mounted to mounting bars that are installed across the roof.

Quote :

"By 'net meter' I assume you mean the energy you produce doesn't "spin" the dial? What do you mean by "banking for one year"? And I'm assuming you mean at 6kW you won't have enough leftover after your own needs are met? Mind asking what your typical yearly electric bill is?"

The panels are going to be producing more energy that I am using when I am at work. The house sits dormant. If you didn't have net metering, those kWh would be lost. With net metering, when you are generating more electricity than you are using, it spins the meter in reverse, back feeding the grid. Since it spins the meter backwards, that means you build credits that can be used when your solar panels are producing nothing. If you have a big enough system, you could carry credits at the end of the month, meaning you pay the electricity company nothing, but when you are producing less in the winter time, you eat into your bank.

We average just under 1,500 kWh a month.

Quote :

"You may not know this answer...at the residential level, would you get much of an efficiency bump by having the panels that tilt towards the sun throughout the day? "

.
I am sure the efficiency gains are great, but you will overspend to get those gains (the price to have a tracking system will far exceed any savings you get from the efficiency gain), therefore there is no financial gain.

My homeowners insurance is going up $12 a year

12/30/2014 2:17:15 PM

I got a letter when I got home from christmas break from state farm (dated Dec 24th) saying I had to sign a form allowing them to raise my rate above the legal amount and return it by Dec 22nd or my insurance would be canceled. The day after I got home we got a letter saying our homeowner's insurance had been canceled.

Recommendations for a new provider? (i've had my same insurance agent for all of my insurance since 1996)

12/31/2014 10:57:24 PM

^I would assume you could probably call them and explain the situation and they would understand. Sending you a letter on Christmas Day that your insurance was canceled is kinda.....stupid. I didn't even know the mail ran on Christmas Day....

1/1/2015 6:32:00 AM

I wouldn't sign that letter. Allows them to raise your rates at will out of step with the state requirements.

Call AMICA. They are only second to USAA and gave me great rates over my 4 homes. Always the cheapest in total. And no letter.

1/1/2015 8:22:17 AM

I've had the same insurance agent since I was 16 and first got a car, and after this dick move I'm canceling that as well.

^Do they also do car insurance? How long does the process generally take to complete? our insurance is good through the end of January and we want to shop around.

1/1/2015 7:56:54 PM

^^oh, have you ever filed a claim with them? if so how easy were they to work with?

1/1/2015 8:21:21 PM

They are one of the most comprehensive. They cover almost everything.

I made a $5000 claim on a rental home this year. No issues.

1/1/2015 9:34:10 PM

I've got a house built in 1981 with a 2-4 foot crawlspace. I leave the foundation vents closed year-round.

Do I need to put those insulator things on my faucets? Low is 12 tomorrow night!

1/6/2015 6:13:24 PM

i would put them on. way easier than fixing a cracked spigot.

best thing to do is change them out for freeze-proof spigots.

1/6/2015 8:46:15 PM

Whatever you do, don't get Farm Bureau Insurance.

1/6/2015 9:49:58 PM

Erie was great to deal with when we had our roof replaced due to wind damage. Would definitely recommend them.

1/6/2015 10:53:23 PM

I took me months to find faucet insulators last year. It was like all the places were selling out as soon as they came in. I had to make a set and duct taped them to the house last year. They worked great but looked tacky.

1/7/2015 6:51:03 PM

Want to build a fence on our new property. What are the proper steps and ways to save the most money, not piss people off, and make it look NICE!

1/7/2015 9:53:19 PM

get a survey if the fence is on the property line, call 811 (well in this area anyway) to have underground lines marked.

and then plan your fence.

RENT A GAS POWERED AUGER.

get someone to help you build it.

1/8/2015 9:44:07 AM

^this.

Depending how much fencing, type of fencing, and difficulty of installing (next to features, tight spaces, weird angles), you may just want to hire a fencing contractor if you can't get someone with experience to help out.

And do you mean save money short-term or long-term? You're going to spend (a lot) of money one way or another. It's smarter to spend lots up front instead of a lot in the long-term with rebuilding a fence.

1/9/2015 11:27:00 AM

Our heating system can't handle the cold weather. House too drafty and the only good insulation we have is int he attic. Downstairs thermostat set at 69...will only get up to 65. Upstairs usually stays warm because of the constant heat blowing downstairs...but even last night the auxiliary heated kicked on.

The only positive to take away from this is that's it's the first time it's happened in four years and this is the coldest it's been in the 10 years I've lived down here. I'll just make sure not to show the house during record low temperatures in the future.

1/9/2015 1:29:18 PM

Question for anyone who has an opinion...

so, the house I moved into 2 years ago has black plastic sheeting under the back deck. The house has a crawl space..should I remove the plastic from under the deck so water will drain into the ground?

1/9/2015 4:12:49 PM

if you remove the plastic, weeds will start growing under there. i'd leave it alone as long as there aren't any little pools where mosquitoes can breed.

1/9/2015 4:18:31 PM

^^no, as long as there is no pooling and there is some slope to drain water.

1/12/2015 9:45:05 AM

About to move into a new house, and really excited about all of the upcoming projects I'm going to get to do!

Have one question. The builder put a cutout over the fireplace for a TV. I don't know why they used the measurements they did, but basically it's about an inch short width to fit a 60" TV. The width is 52-1/16", and most 60" TVs I see are around 53-1/4" wide.

How much of a job is it to widen one of these cutouts? Or would you just throw a 55" in there and deal with the ~2" gap around the edge?

I know you wouldn't always just have a slide in solution, just curious as to how much work that would entail.

1/12/2015 10:07:55 AM

In the end I'd say it'd be more of a hassle to widen it to fit a TV. Another option is to build install a couple crossbeams for a TV mounting bracket. Your TV would hover out over the wall nook a bit, but it'd leave you room to tuck in your other electronics.

1/12/2015 10:47:18 AM

Drovkin, for the cutout, How deep is it? If it is just the depth of a 2x4, then enlarging it would not be difficult. But you'd have to do a little framing and repair the drywall. It would not cost you much to have someone do that. It is not a difficult DIY, however.

1/12/2015 10:57:44 AM

I had a similar cutout issue. I decided not to live with a smaller TV, and covered the nook and mounted the TV over it. I used MDF so I wouldn't have to worry about the lack of studs.

1/12/2015 11:45:43 AM

Not the best picture in the world, but here it is:



I like that it has the cutout underneath that I can store boxes/devices, and all of the plugs are already back there.

I'm not sure about the depth, I didn't measure that. I just know that the cutout itself was 52-1/16" x 31-1/16" (to the bottom before the device cutout)

1/12/2015 1:32:37 PM

we just built ours out with shelves and put the TV elsewhere but that also served our layout better. You're probably going to want to do something similar to what BobbyDigital did.

1/12/2015 1:53:35 PM

Woke up to a roof leak after that torrential downpour last night and this morning. Spot showed up on family room ceiling downstairs. Traced it upstairs and into the attic only to find it lined up with the plumbing vent pipe that extends through the roof. Probably just the flashing where the pvc exits the roofline. I was happy to find the root cause and thankful it's not a shingle issue or anything like that. My roof is steeply pitched and a PITA to access. I'm going to troubleshoot more when I have more time tonight. Maybe I can seal from inside-out, albeit a temporary fix. My only concern there would be if I created a leak path for water to get below shingles.

1/12/2015 2:23:38 PM

they sell boots that fit over your vent tubes at home improvement stores, they are a few bucks. When I had a leak in my roof the roofing guy installed them for free for me (so it must not be very hard). If you don't want to get on the roof, you could probably pay a roofing guy $200 to fix it for you.

1/12/2015 3:00:59 PM

Buy a fully adjustable TV mount that will extend out far enough to clear the cutout. I have my TV sitting about 4 inches off the wall using a monoprice TV mount.

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=109&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082821&p_id=10469&seq=1&format=2

1/12/2015 3:06:50 PM

^this.

or go with a smaller TV; or build it out. redoing that is way too much work for a TV.

1/12/2015 3:51:42 PM

i don't know why people put TV's over fireplaces. do you also like to sit in the first 5 rows at the movies?

1/16/2015 8:37:24 AM

It's a pet peeve of mine as well. However, I had no choice in that room. The two other walls-are-wall to wall windows.

At least the room is 25x20, so the seating is set back far enough to where it's not as bad as it could be.

1/16/2015 9:24:46 AM

Climbing shoes help a lot with getting traction on the roof. My husband wears them to clean the gutters.

1/16/2015 11:17:00 AM

Quote :

"i don't know why people put TV's over fireplaces. do you also like to sit in the first 5 rows at the movies? "

I imagine sometimes people are kind of forced to do it because of the layout of the room. I also don't understand what the correlation to sitting in the first five rows of the movies?

1/16/2015 11:34:32 AM

I think the problem is a lot of places put the fireplace smack in the middle of the wall where you'd want your tv. Luckily I found a floor plan where it's in the corner so the tv can go in the middle.

It's like you're in the first five rows of the theater b/c you have to tilt your head upward.

1/16/2015 11:47:43 AM

Guess that makes sense. I have a fireplace, but it's not that tall, so putting the TV above it (which I don't, because my layout allows for it to be in another place...but I did think about it) wouldn't make it that high.

1/16/2015 12:00:48 PM

Since I'm not a big corner-fireplace guy, my preferred layout for a basic house plan is one where the fireplace is on a wall 90 degrees to the TV wall. Ours kind of takes the focal point off of the TV in our living room unless you are specifically sitting down to watch TV. In some longer, narrower living rooms like in some ranch homes, it can be nice to have them both along the same long wall with 2 separate seating areas in front of each.

1/16/2015 12:12:53 PM

so uh, anyone got experience with crown molding?

1/16/2015 4:21:52 PM

So, I had my solar panel application rejected by my stupid ARB. I have gone into full assault mode. I have my appeal with the full board (has no ARB members) next Tuesday. Already secured at least 3 yes votes for me (I need 5). 22 slide powerpoint, and along with me will be an official from the state DENR, letters from a local city councilman supporting my position, and a lawyer. I don't think they will know what hit them

1/16/2015 4:34:02 PM