Why wouldn't solar panels (if you somehow made them non-tacky, like on the back of the house or those solar shingle things) increase the value of the home?

Anything can increase the value of the home if you sell it right. In the description of the house put "will help you survive the zombie apocalypse" or more realistically "save $X a year on power bills".

4/28/2011 1:28:13 PM

having an HVAC service tech out on the 10th to hopefully get this stuff figured out.

4/28/2011 1:33:58 PM

cool, might be a good idea as it's hard for me to assess the situation without seeing anything. Are the supply registers located on the floor or up in the ceiling? Where is the thermostat located in the space?

4/28/2011 1:42:56 PM

Solar panels will increase the house value but not nearly enough to offset the costs.

4/28/2011 2:01:03 PM

The vents are ceiling mounted. The thermostat is located on an interior wall in the middle of the unit. However, the other side of the wall is the air handler/hot water heater closet.

4/28/2011 2:08:56 PM

although when tax incentives are considered... and the price of solar panels goes down like eleusis predicts... then maybe?

4/28/2011 2:09:02 PM

@wlb420 my parents have a metal roof on their house and love it. It is more expensive, but if you wanted to harvest water, it is much safer to water food plants with than using asphaltic shingles. Plus, who doesn't love the sound of rain on a tin roof?

[Edited on April 28, 2011 at 5:15 PM. Reason : 4]

4/28/2011 5:15:21 PM

Quote :

"^^No, the lights on the inside of the fridge."

ah, interesting. all of my lights on the inside of the fridge are LED, must have been an older model

4/28/2011 5:18:01 PM

The sound of rain on a tin roof is annoying as fuck.
I too am not familiar with LEDs inside of refrigerators.

4/28/2011 7:17:53 PM

where is a good place to rent a power washer, and what is a good deck sealer (any benefit to stain over just sealer)?

and i, too, like the sound of rain on a metal roof

4/29/2011 9:51:32 AM

I like the sound of a cat on a hot tin roof.

4/29/2011 1:37:03 PM

So, the PITA family that lives behind us (technically down below us in the cul-de-sac behind us, hard to describe) called us up today.

Just a refresher from last year: The house we bought was great but had a terribly eroded, sloped back yard. We followed HOA approval procedures and built a retaining wall in our backyard to level the yard out and then sodded on top of it.

During the construction we had a gully-washer. The most rain I've seen in a long time and it was the night after the wall was backfilled to level the lawn for sod the next day. Needless to say some of the topsoil washed down into our neighbors yard behind us and through their drainage ditch (right where it is supposed to go). It looked worse than it was because the quantity of water was large and it was all discolored due to the dirt, but very little dirt deposited in their back yard. 99% of it stayed entrained and drained.

Anyway, they had a patchy weed/bermuda lawn already (we NEVER see them outside and they don't water or anything) and it didn't look any better or worse after this storm. They complained that their yard was ruined and kept pestering us to pay to regrade and sod their whole yard etc. Basically I think they are leechers trying to con some 'young, innocent married couple' We ignored them and they stopped calling. Until today.

The wife calls and leaves a message stating that is has been over a year and that we haven't done anything to rectify the situation and that we need to contact her asap so that we can get together and figure out how to fix this. Oh and she wants to bring her lawyer as well.

It's a lot of lolz and and at the same time.

5/2/2011 5:36:22 PM

If it has been that long I would think she would need to provide before and after pictures to prove what kind of damage was done if any. Don't really see how she can wait this long after all the storms we have had including the snow and ice and say that one storm that happened a year ago made her yard look like it does today.

5/2/2011 9:19:08 PM

Send them a bill for the portion of the topsoil they clearly stole from your yard and used to improve theirs.

5/2/2011 9:56:07 PM

^ haha good one.

^^ yeah exactly. And I have before and after pictures as well and I think their yard looks better this year than last

I took before, during, and after pictures last year for myself for our retaining wall project but you can see their yard in the photos. So I took some pictures today as well almost exactly a year later after they called me just to compare in case they want to argue more. I'm not too worried about anything other than them being an annoyance again.

5/2/2011 10:18:16 PM

Laying down sod today! Super pumped.

When the contractor was building my house, he was going to extend the driveway into the yard so you could fit more cars and pull in and pull out without having to be in reverse the whole time. Well he nixed the idea, but filled part of the driveway in with mulch/woodchips. When I moved in, I covered that part with weed-be-gone tarp and pine straw. I removed all of that last week (twas a bitch!) and I've got the sod coming in today. I love my yard as it is, but this is going to make it twice the size...for a relatively cheap price (about $100 for the sod and $100 for the top-soil).

Here is the before pictures with the mulch/woodchips:





Here it is all cleared off and ready for sodding:





[Edited on May 3, 2011 at 8:31 AM. Reason : TOO BIG!!]

5/3/2011 8:28:22 AM

If I ever run into the CEO of Price Pfister I'm gonna pflap him in the pface with his pforty eight dollar pfeice of pfropietary pflastic.

5/3/2011 8:45:13 AM

Quote :

"The wife calls and leaves a message stating that is has been over a year and that we haven't done anything to rectify the situation and that we need to contact her asap so that we can get together and figure out how to fix this. Oh and she wants to bring her lawyer as well."

I wouldn't even meet with them. Their lawyer will try to bully you and threaten you. Then they'll offer some settlement that seems like it might be in your best interest. Nothing good will come from it. I'd just tell them there is nothing to discuss. If you have a lawyer in your network of family/friends I would contact them first and see just how long this family has to file suit as it may be too late for them anyway.

[Edited on May 3, 2011 at 9:07 AM. Reason : s]

5/3/2011 9:04:52 AM

Yeah definitely. I think that's the plan. The annoying thing here is that there really is nothing to discuss, but since they live directly behind us I know we'll have to deal with it in some way (even if it just means initially telling them we aren't going to meet or do anything about it and see what they do). Maybe I'll post the pictures I have sometime to compare. I'm an honest enough person that if we actually did do something to wrong them I would be willing to help out before letting it get to this point.

I just know from dealing with them last year that they are looking to complain about anything. I contacted them and let them know the details of my project before submitting the retaining wall request to the HOA board just to be polite even though it wasn't required since the construction was far enough off their property line. And even then she contacted the HOA to complain about the construction noise (basically a bobcat on our lawn during normal working hours for a couple days and she is a stay at home mom who didn't like the noise). When that didn't do anything for her she called the cops who basically told her there was nothing illegal happening in regards to any noise. Then after that it was complaining that his workers were hanging around and looking sketch and then after the construction it was the rain before the sod got there etc.

5/3/2011 9:30:55 AM

Sounds like it's time for a house show with the band on the deck and the crowd on the nice flat lawn that was achieved by adding that retaining wall.

5/3/2011 9:54:11 AM

Quote :

"The wife calls and leaves a message stating that is has been over a year and that we haven't done anything to rectify the situation and that we need to contact her asap so that we can get together and figure out how to fix this. Oh and she wants to bring her lawyer as well."

I suspect that your topsoil washing away could be considered an act of God (you could argue this), and this would require them to file damages with their own insurance company.

Good example... On one of my properties, a large branch of a couple hundred year old tree on my property fell on the next door house and their pool. It did damage. The tree was not obviously diseased, was deemed an act of God, and my insurance did not pay for it.

Your insurance company is supposed to provide legal protection for you. They have lawyers you pay for. I would call them and explain the situation. I suspect if they had claims for damage, they would try and file against your insurance.

[Edited on May 3, 2011 at 10:28 AM. Reason : lots of corrections]

5/3/2011 10:01:12 AM

^^

And ^, yes I definitely am getting any information together that I have (which is mainly pictures). To me, their claim is absolutely ludicrous. I'll see what pictures I have available to me at work. I know I have pictures I took last night for the "year later" pics after she contacted me and I probably have a picture or two on my work computer from last year during construction that would show their yard. Like I said, to me their yard looks BETTER this year than it did last year so I have no idea what basis they will use to support their claim.

I'm hoping that they think we aren't going to call their bluff and that they can bully us into it. I was overly nice last year with their complaints in an attempt to not create a bad relationship with them since they live behind us so they might have gotten the impression that I was a pushover haha.

[Edited on May 3, 2011 at 10:30 AM. Reason : .]

5/3/2011 10:27:21 AM

I made some changes, realizing that you are probably completely covered by your home owners insurance. I find it amazing she hasnt asked for your insurance company and policy number. That would be the first thing I would do if I thought I had a claim against a neighbor.

5/3/2011 10:30:00 AM

Yeah I should read through my insurance info again to see what it says.

5/3/2011 10:31:45 AM

Also, like someone else said, it's kind of ridiculous to wait an entire year to try and pull something like this considering all the variables (drought last summer, big rains this spring, hail, biggest snowstorm in awhile etc.) involved.

Anyway, here are two quick pictures I uploaded to TWW. The first is from the 2nd day of construction. I took it from our 2nd story to document our yard before the stones were put in place, but for this purpose I cropped it down to just the neighbors yard to compare. That is exactly how their yard looked before any of this started. The 2nd picture is the one I took last night after they called (just in case they try and do anything crazy like kill off their grass and blame it on us after we don't cooperate )



I'm not a yard snob at all; the house we bought had an absolutely terrible weedy and eroded yard all over when we bought it and I am slowly working it into a decent looking lawn, but I don't need and will never spend the time to have a magazine lawn. So, I couldn't care less what their yard looks like when I say that it was weedy and patch before. I'm just using that as a reference to note that they never had some HGTV lawn that now looks like a construction zone or something. Whatever they think their yard looked like before versus what it looks like now is all in their heads (at least imo).

And just for good measure, a picture that includes their backyard before any work was done at all. (This was either taken the day we moved in or before we even bought the house. The line was a crude line to show where the wall might go).



[Edited on May 3, 2011 at 11:59 AM. Reason : .]

5/3/2011 11:36:10 AM

I see why you are pissed. You have essentially improved their view. Their yard actually looks better. I say 'fuck em' and wait and see what they do.

5/3/2011 1:34:44 PM

Exactly how I feel

Anyone know if it is too late to try and plant Leyland Cypresses if I did it within the next month or so? It looks like most places online recommend planting in august (6-8 weeks before first frost which is usually around the first week in October for me) as the optimum time but I was thinking of planting the beginnings of a hedge using them and was hoping to do it in the near future. I figure a soaker hose on a timer would be fine but maybe it would be too hot for them?

5/3/2011 2:06:23 PM

So I just noticed that my HVAC(?) unit in the attic is flooding...there's a drip tray and it's overflowing with water.

Any ideas what the problem could be? I seem to remember there is a drip tube that's supposed to be going outside...is it clogged maybe?

5/4/2011 2:51:04 AM

Here's a pic. Any ideas?



Is this the air handler i'm looking at? Maybe the main drain is clogged causing the water to divert into this pan?

[Edited on May 4, 2011 at 3:48 AM. Reason : .]

5/4/2011 3:44:24 AM

Also, whats the best way to dry everything out and prevent mold? I've got a shop vac and got as much as I could with that, but i'm sure the boards are still soaked.

5/4/2011 4:51:35 AM

there is not much that should be wrong except the pan not being sloped properly and/or the drain being clogged. Try snaking out the condensate drain pipe and possibly using the shop vac to put suction on the line to remove anything you can't get trying to clean it other ways.

5/4/2011 8:23:38 AM

Get you some desiccant and put it around the area to pull the moisture out of the wood. I'm sure they have some for basements at any home improvement store.

5/4/2011 8:39:11 AM

the P trap can accumulate trash/dust. Also a little submersible pump to sit in the pan and runs on a level switch might save you some hassel next time.

[Edited on May 4, 2011 at 8:50 AM. Reason : .]

5/4/2011 8:49:24 AM

Whoever decided it was a good idea to GLUE all the joints on my air handler drain was a fucking idiot. Makes it impossible for me to get it apart to clean it out. I tried using a snake, but it actually seemed like there wasnt much of anything in the p-trap...hmmm...

5/4/2011 11:03:44 AM

^ Everyone should use this as a friendly reminder to pour bleach down and flush thier a/c drain once a year.

Do it now if you havent recently.

5/4/2011 12:52:47 PM

This makes me happy I have a package unit.

5/4/2011 1:13:56 PM

One of those PVC lines should be going straight outside from the AC unit and the other is going from the drip tray to the outside, right?

So something's clogged the first line up, and water's dripping into your tray from the HVAC unit?

And the second one is clogged up, so the tray isn't draining?




My usual upkeep thing is to take the shop vac outside and apply some suction to the end of the PVC line to clean it out.

5/4/2011 3:17:02 PM

There's no drain on the tray as far as I can see.

From what I gather, when working normally, the condensate flows through the pvc tube on the right and down and out of the house into the yard. When this tube is blocked, the condensate builds up and then drips into the pan. There really isnt supposed to be any water in the pan ever, so there's no drain. This is just a precautionary measure...there's even a "float" switch in the corner of the tray that's supposed to cut the AC unit off when the water rises in the tray, but for some reason that fucker didnt work.

I used the shop vac to clean out the lines and used an air tank to blow some air through there as well. I dont really see where I had any blockages, but I turned my AC back on this afternoon and all seems to be working correctly. It's dripping through the PVC outside the house like it's supposed to.

5/4/2011 6:09:58 PM

^Like modlin said, there's still supposed to be a drain going from the pan to the outside if it was setup correctly.

5/4/2011 7:17:33 PM

Sounds like you cleared the clog. I has similar problems with mine, and i just ended up cutting out most of the PVC and replacing it rather than trying to track down the problem/clog. I also added some pipe hangers so that the drain had the correct slope to evacuate the condensation.

5/5/2011 7:43:37 AM

Anyone know a good drywall/handyman company/person in Charlotte? I am trying to mud a wall and am about fed up with it.

5/7/2011 6:20:37 PM

Bobby Light

Keep an eye on it, I know last year my unit had condensation dripping off the bottom of the air handler one weekend when it was really hot and we had 8 extra people + 1 baby here for an afternoon. Kids/adults going inside and out + taking showers + living on the coast = MUCHO moisture to remove from the air. I'm actually not certain if this is normal behavior (for condensation to drip off the bottom of the unit) or not and I'll probably have it looked at this year. Fortunately, my pan has a drain going outside, unfortunately discharging through the ceiling above my back porch which is how I realized something was up in the first place.


[Edited on May 8, 2011 at 8:42 AM. Reason : .]

5/8/2011 8:41:15 AM

i had the same issue and it was a hairline crack in the pan inside the unit that was leaking

5/8/2011 5:57:21 PM

Damn, all these houses are just big ass boxes

5/8/2011 10:24:57 PM

Most houses are

Spiral towers cost extra

5/8/2011 10:31:31 PM

The main difference between the appearance of these and older houses of similar size in established neighborhoods, is that the older houses/neighborhoods have lots and lots of trees, shrubs, and other vegetation. They hide a lot.

5/9/2011 8:32:46 AM

agreed. And our neighborhood does in general too, but that cul-de-sac behind us was the break where another builder took over completion of the neighborhood. They built mainly slab houses with smaller lots, leveled all the trees, etc. They definitely didn't do as nice of a job as the original builder did with the lots.

As far as the actual shape of the houses go, I definitely appreciate nice architecture; however, location, guts (size, form & function), and front elevation were much more important than the side or rear elevations for our first house. If we wanted a much more well-designed exterior, we were either looking at older, smaller homes (which were more expensive/ft² and older) or homes that were more $ than I wanted to spend on our first home.

5/9/2011 8:40:39 AM

I have to agree that these boxy homes look ugly as hell. Different stroke for different folk I guess.

5/9/2011 10:11:15 AM

Like I said, I myself am not a big fan of that, but the rear and side elevations were just low on my list of priorities for our first home. I definitely have an idea of the architectural style of home we like for when we build or upgrade much farther down the line and am looking forward to that. It just wasn't possible to tick every box on our wish list for the very first home. Mainly in the area we wanted to live and the size and floor plan we wanted (2,500ft²), houses with upscale architectural detail were just outside of the range and I'd rather have all the space we have than give up some of that for some exterior aesthetics.

[Edited on May 9, 2011 at 10:21 AM. Reason : .]

5/9/2011 10:17:12 AM

I get the feeling that people are not realizing the photo is of the rear of the house with no elevations. Look at the house across the street, it looks normal and definitely not "boxy"

5/9/2011 10:50:52 AM