Page 51

So here is an interesting "woe" that a guy in my neighborhood asked my opinion on... there is a tree (prob 35 to 40 feet tall) on his property very close to his house. the developer/builder is building a new home right next door with the corner of the new home being 3-4 feet from the exposed base of the tree. when i originally noticed how close the corner was to the tree i told him he should talk to the developer about having it removed. he did so and the developer said the tree would be fine and that they would "pier" the foundation over the root base. here is a pic


in this pic you can see the tree slightly leaning toward the existing home. and the exposed base of tree is covered with loose dirt from the footings so it actually goes a little closer to the footing than you can tell from the pic.

here is their idea of "piering" over the "root base".


im no tree expert but that looks like a very small root for a tree that big. i would imagine that a tree of that size has a huge root base and that sandwiching it between two houses would lead to a quick death.

i told him i would seriously have an arborist come look at it before they got too far along on the new house.

if the tree fell it would land on the existing home and the root system i would assume would damage the new home foundation???

[Edited on June 26, 2011 at 9:24 PM. Reason : 51]

6/26/2011 9:18:57 PM

He definitely needs to get a tree expert out there. The developer is only going to do the minimum to get the neighbor to stop bitching.

6/26/2011 9:58:24 PM

man, they're cramming that new house in there.

6/27/2011 8:47:20 AM

Quote :

"Whom do you people recommend buying home insurance from? I have my car insurance with a smaller company and I don't think they do combined deals."

I got the best rates for home+auto from Farm Bureau.

6/27/2011 8:56:09 AM

^^^Is there an arborist on here?

^if you are in Raleigh matt Cain with bagwell and bagwell can get you a good quote. (buy an ad)

6/27/2011 9:09:37 AM

^^^ agreed. I'm wondering if it's in compliance with city code.

I bet he could contact the ncsu arboretum for help.

6/27/2011 9:42:46 AM

I'm very suprised that the footing inspection passed...

6/27/2011 1:16:58 PM

Ask the developer about developing stuff. Don't ask him about a tree.

6/27/2011 2:56:53 PM

Quote :

"^ They sell full toilet repair kits at Home Depot that are really simple to install. It comes with basically all the guts of your toilet (Fill valve, flushing handle, flapper, etc). Probably takes like 30 mins to swap those out. No need to call a plumber...it's simple. All you'll need to do is cut the water, remove the 'tank' portion of the toilet, and replace the parts. http://www.homedepot.com/buy/bath/toilets/fluidmaster/complete-toilet-repair-kit-102017.html It doesn't really make sense that your flush valve/flapper is leaking though. Does it flush on its own randomly and/or have to refill itself every hour? From what you're describing, it just takes awhile to fill the tank up, but operates perfectly normal after that? If the flapper is leaking, you should be able to hear water dripping or leaking, and it would probably be randomly flushing on its own quite often becuase once that seal is broken, the water pressure would probably push the flapper up and flush the toilet. As long as you're getting the proper amount of water INTO the toilet, you are definitely leaking somewhere though. That kit will replace every gasket/seal in the entire tank portion of the toilet, and it's simple to do. "

I finally got it fixed, but it was a major pain in the ass thanks to my contractor's choice of toilets.

So I said earlier, the first thing I did was replace the full fill valve area. That didn't change anything.

So I went back to lowes to get the complete replacement kit (as linked above)...but "universal kit" didn't fit my toilet. So I went to the downtown hardware store to talk to their guys (much more knowledgeable than what I usually run into at Lowes) and showed them my old part (which I had to use a handsaw to get off because it was so big that pliers and a wrench couldn't get it off) and they said they had never seen a flush valve that large and asked if it was for a commercial toilet. Then they directed me to the big plumbing and kitchen parts/installation/repair place downtown. They had just one flush valve that matched mine in stock. Went home, installed it, and it works.

Definitely a good amount of satisfaction at having done it by myself (yeah yeah...I know it's not that difficult, but I've still never done it before)...just wish it hadn't taken so long and involved so many trips to hardware stores and mis-purchases. I've also been finding out that my contractor did a bunch of quirky things when he built this house. Let's hope I've found the last of them.

6/27/2011 4:03:23 PM

^^ he is also the builder.

i wouldn't be comfortable asking him about any of the 3...

6/27/2011 5:18:52 PM

it might be buried in here... but i am considering wood (laminate) floors in my house again

i thought about it about 1-2 years ago and i think i worked up a quote but this time i am thinking of doing it myself

any experiences out there? the area is just the living room in my house. it goes up against some stairs & 2 walk ways into the kitchen which is tiled

i also have a fireplace with like 10 tiles in front of it or something

how "hard" is installing your own floor?

6/27/2011 6:24:50 PM

Quote :

"I finally got it fixed, but it was a major pain in the ass thanks to my contractor's choice of toilets. So I said earlier, the first thing I did was replace the full fill valve area. That didn't change anything. So I went back to lowes to get the complete replacement kit (as linked above)...but "universal kit" didn't fit my toilet. So I went to the downtown hardware store to talk to their guys (much more knowledgeable than what I usually run into at Lowes) and showed them my old part (which I had to use a handsaw to get off because it was so big that pliers and a wrench couldn't get it off) and they said they had never seen a flush valve that large and asked if it was for a commercial toilet. Then they directed me to the big plumbing and kitchen parts/installation/repair place downtown. They had just one flush valve that matched mine in stock. Went home, installed it, and it works. Definitely a good amount of satisfaction at having done it by myself (yeah yeah...I know it's not that difficult, but I've still never done it before)...just wish it hadn't taken so long and involved so many trips to hardware stores and mis-purchases. I've also been finding out that my contractor did a bunch of quirky things when he built this house. Let's hope I've found the last of them."

See....told you it was easy and would only take like 30 mins

For small things like that, I've found that the scary part is getting started...once you dig into it, it's really just about figuring out "What the hell do I need" and putting pieces back the way you first found them. Congrats on a new learning experience!

(Might want to make a mental note of that part number for future reference since it's not a 'universal' part)


[Edited on June 27, 2011 at 7:00 PM. Reason : ]

6/27/2011 6:56:04 PM

^really depends on the type of floor. if you can measure, cut, and follow installation instructions then it can be relatively easy. floor installers are fairly cheap if you can find the floors @ wholesale or on sale.


also, here is a better pic of the tree. my scenario is this if they ignore the tree now

1) tree dies and becomes huge liability
2) tree has to be removed in an 8' opening between houses using a crane costing...
3)$texas


also, this guy says he isnt going to worry about it because he is going to sell in 6 months. i think a good real estate agent/home inspector would recognize this as a problem for their buyer and ask that it be removed before purchase.

[Edited on June 27, 2011 at 7:01 PM. Reason : JPG]

[Edited on June 27, 2011 at 7:04 PM. Reason : dumb]

6/27/2011 7:01:40 PM

who's property is the tree on?

or is it?

6/27/2011 10:40:30 PM

its on the existing house property i think with the root system going on to the new home property.

6/27/2011 11:19:37 PM

The concrete on that foundation looks like ice cream. That tree's probably growing into the existing house on one side already and cutting the only other path the tree had to grow as they've done was probably a stupid move. Putting the house over it will just eliminate a fuck ton of the moisture the tree was getting directly from the rain and, with that sizeable branch that got cut, it's already missing that vital vein for nutrients/water. I'm not an arborist, but I'd say that builder/developer is a fucktard, a fuckhead who diluted the concrete with huge amounts of cheap sand/water, a dickhead for putting a house that close to another house, and a dickbutt for putting those weenie ass bushes between the new house and the old house so they can grow up into the new/old house's roof/gutters/windows and make that path unwalkable.

Must have somebody in the planning office on the company's payroll. Try sending those photos to the city and say "I'm pretty sure this tree is going to die and pose a public safety hazard and the developer hasn't checked with an expert because they're trying to sell this house quickly, could you please get this builder to take the safety of the neighbor's lives and property into account and get an expert opinion on whether the tree should be removed". Even if they tell you to fuck off at least you'll be able to sleep at night.




On an unrelated note, I just ordered some nasty pesticides for my house after looking at how many damn cockroaches are crawling on the bushes and in the leaves around my house. Shouldn't pose a long-term cancer hazard, however I'm going to have to be a bit delicate with the stuff while I mix it. If this works I may have a yard full of death some time next week.

[Edited on June 27, 2011 at 11:29 PM. Reason : HURR]

6/27/2011 11:27:44 PM

if it was my house that was already there, i'd have the tree removed

6/28/2011 12:05:52 AM

The existing house is renovated. So the tree was probably getting ample nutrients from the vacant lot. I don't see how it will survive.

6/28/2011 9:53:39 AM

^^^which products did you order?

6/28/2011 10:17:47 AM

Does anyone have a home inspector that they would recommend in the east Raleigh/Garner area?

6/28/2011 5:07:50 PM

Mark Sommer
1655 Gate Number Two Rd.
Creedmoor, NC 27522
tel: 919-661-2018
fax: 919-773-1172
Mark.Sommer@pillartopost.com

6/28/2011 5:22:32 PM

Quote :

"which products did you order?"

Demon Max. I'm keeping it strictly on the outside of the house, buuuuut apparently this should cause my yard to become filled with dead insects. The docs provided by Syngenta say not to use it in rooms where the elderly or infirm will be resting/rehabilitating, so I'm assuming it's terrible for you.

6/29/2011 9:54:33 PM

it probably has more to do with the fact that it's an EC (emulsifiable concentrate) formulation more than anything else. EC's generally have a strong solvent smell that is pretty noxious. Generally speaking, you want to stick with SC (suspension concentrate) or CS (micro-encapsulated suspension concentrate) formulations if you plan to use them indoors as the bulk of the liquid is water based rather than solvent based.

also, if you ever need any other professional insecticides let me know and i'll send you some discount vouchers for pestcontrolmart.com

6/29/2011 10:10:49 PM

pm sent

6/30/2011 8:44:09 AM

Just had an inspection done this week... Guy was really really great ...

Perfect fit for me because I bought a rental property, and he was a GC for 20 years, and now is here doing inspections and owns his own rentals as well.

He gave great advice for how to fix things myself, best practices he's learned, and techniques for different issues.

Just google Jeff Zehnder
Phone is 919-851-7960
Lives in Cary

Also, for electrical issues:

Andrew McCord
919-395-9373
Licensed and Insured Electrician

He has very reasonable rates, as he does side jobs in his free time (works full time as an electrician for a builder during the day). Was clean, on time, on budget, and did a great job hanging a big chandelier for us about 20 ft up in our foyer.

[Edited on June 30, 2011 at 3:48 PM. Reason : .]

6/30/2011 3:45:05 PM

^^^^FWIW, i talked to the entomologist i work with about demon max. he said the AI, cypermethrin, can cause pretty significant skin irritation in some people when you are making an application. he said that he has had some issues with it in the past and that he personally tries to avoid it.

just be sure to follow the PPE requirements when making an application and be extra careful to follow the label directions to a T to minimize any potential ill effects. there's a good chance it won't effect you though.

6/30/2011 4:47:52 PM

Quote :

"it probably has more to do with the fact that it's an EC (emulsifiable concentrate) formulation more than anything else. EC's generally have a strong solvent smell that is pretty noxious. Generally speaking, you want to stick with SC (suspension concentrate) or CS (micro-encapsulated suspension concentrate) formulations if you plan to use them indoors as the bulk of the liquid is water based rather than solvent based. also, if you ever need any other professional insecticides let me know and i'll send you some discount vouchers for pestcontrolmart.com"

Dude, that's awesome, thanks.

^ Yeah I will be going to obtain some latex gloves, will be wearing a face mask that seals fairly well around the face (just an N95 mask to keep any splashed crap from landing in my mouth) and a long sleeved shirt with jeans and work boots just to keep the stuff away from my skin. Safety glasses as well to avoid getting anything in my eyes (I've got a pair of shop glasses that make me look like a nerdy old man that I scored while at the shipyard). The instructions state that the higher grade breathing masks aren't required unless you're in a confined space, but I'm not going to spray this stuff upwind of myself.

I wouldn't have resorted to such a thing if the stuff I could buy at Lowe's would have worked better than "not at all". I'm surrounded by woods on a property that has never really been properly maintained (we made an effort but the house is surrounded by moist damp leafy areas and is heavily shaded, so bugs love my house). This will just fix the issue for good, I'm hoping. Might also use it to get the mud daubers out of the carport as well.

6/30/2011 9:14:24 PM

I prefer the dry granular insecticide products, you have to wet them down after application (or wait for rain) but they are cheap and work very around my house- which sounds quite similar to yours based on description. I also use the stuff in the yard and it keeps the ants from building those huge fucking mounds in late summer.

7/1/2011 8:46:20 AM

if you've got a spreader, i think granules are definitely the way to go for any kind of lawn application. mixing and remixing and remixing get's old really fast.

7/1/2011 9:50:10 AM

Went under the house this morning to look for a cat that had worked his way into our crawlspace. On my way out I head water dripping. Long story short, the copper pipe going to a toilet has a pinhole leak in it.

I had BigBlueRam come over and show me how to fix a copper pipe last fall, now its time to put that schooling to use.

7/9/2011 10:55:27 AM

Third time my AC unit has gone out this summer.

1st time...loose wiring.

2nd time...condensation pipe slipped off of whatever was holding it.

3rd time...we'll see. Guy should be here in the next hour or so.


This is getting to be a little ridiculous. The unit is only a year old. The guy who put it in must be mentally handicapped. And the guy who keeps repairing it isn't much better. I call him in the morning to get him to come out, he says he'll be there later in the afternoon and just doesn't show up. He's shown up as late as 8pm before, so I usually just wait and call a few times (he'll call back sometimes after the 3rd or 4th call/message).

My problem isn't that I have to wait for him to come. It's that if you tell me that you're coming today, you better fucking come, or at least call me and tell me you won't be able to make it. If that's the case, I can turn around and call on someone who is reliable who can fix it. I know that I'm low on the totem pole because I'm under warranty and don't get charged anything...but just give me a fucking call back.

7/9/2011 11:27:18 AM

I would call a pro in and bill the GC

7/10/2011 12:36:25 PM

Would you buy and remodel an old farm house?

We've been given the opportunity to buy a 1800 square foot, 100+ year old house (tax records show it was built in 1935, but family photos date it well over that) on 5 acres (with 3 barns) for around 50K. The land/yard/location are perfect - it bumps up to family land that we were looking to build on (been in my family for over 200 years)... but now we're thinking that we may be able to remodel this house for cheaper than it is to build? Even if we had to sink 100K into remodeling... I doubt we could build an 1800 square foot house for 150K.

The floors are really uneven, so we're going to try to find a structural engineer to check it out. If nothing major is going on with the foundation.... i think we might go for it!

Are we crazy?????

7/10/2011 1:08:35 PM

Quote :

"try to find a structural engineer"

Hi.

I mean, assuming y'all are in North Carolina...Hi.

7/10/2011 2:12:05 PM

we are - house is about an hour east of Raleigh.

the house doesn't have much of a crawl space though. The front part of the house has some, but i don't think the back has any.

How would it work - could a structural person be able to tell us why it's sagging? And what it would cost to fix it? Would they have to crawl under the house? They've also put some funky drop celings in their too - could a structural person take a look above them to make sure that everything between the ceiling and the roof are ok too??

7/10/2011 2:17:40 PM

So there was some dry rotted sub flooring discovered when the asbestos vinyl floor came out, which I had to replace myself (not bad) and I went ahead and removed all the old questionable copper pipe/fittings in the wall since this was all started by a leak only a few feet from the leak that happened 3 years ago. Apparently the house used to be on well water and there was sediment buildup in the copper which eventually corrodes... so it had to go.
Now we are waiting for the flooring guys to come back and lay down the new tile floor (18in diagonal tiles) so the washer/dryer can be put back, then the drywall/paint guys, then the ceiling gets resprayed, then the cabinets go back in....

7/11/2011 8:40:46 AM

^^ I think it's wonderful you are thinking a rehabbing the home rather than building new. But yeah, if you're looking at severe foundational issues, it might just be cheaper to build new. If you do end up going that route, I recommend collecting and selling any decoration details in the house, like moulding, knobs, etc. People who are restoring old homes are always looking for those sorts of things and they'd be a shame to just throw out if you end up having to tear the house down.

7/11/2011 10:38:30 AM

so after installing new outlets and light switches, new baseboards, shoe molding, crown molding, and priming / painting / caulking everything, the sagging plaster ceiling (that i had literally just bought the materials needed to fix it 10 minutes before) decided to fall on saturday. all of it.



basically the ceiling was built in ~1' sections but had really thick steel wires snaked throughout the whole thing. so while it looked like only a 2' x 4' section was sagging / going to fall, it was linked to the rest of the ceiling resulting in an almost complete collapse. the only parts that didn't fall were the areas that backed up to a wall as they did not have the wire running through it. the ceiling was also stupid heavy.

It took 4 of us about 2 hours to clean up.

thankfully, drywall lifts exist and myself and my brother in law were able to get a new ceiling up less than 24 hours after the collapse. including the lift rental, we should be only be out ~$200 when it's all said and done. (sheet rock, new insulation, screws, joint compound, ceiling texture, & paint)

7/11/2011 10:44:10 AM

7/11/2011 12:38:00 PM

yeah I’m sure there are definitely some things we could save. For instance, we already know that the walls are tongue and grove (behind the wall-papered paneling of course).

Because kitchens were usually built separate from the main house back in the day.... in the early 1900's someone went in and connected the two portions of the house and made it one. It's mostly the connector part where the floors are sagging so bad.

I think we're going to check into it... to see if it's even financially feasible to fix the house. First we are going to see about checking the foundation.... and I guess we probably need to have it checked out for asbestos too.

7/11/2011 1:25:52 PM

^^^ I know you have your ceiling done now, but for future reference- I needed to put some drywall back in the ceiling of the kitchen this weekend after replacing the old plumbing and at lowes I ran into this "new" stuff that claimed to be 25% lighter than standard. It is also mold/mildew resistant and I want to say $11/sheet. Distinct purple color.



Because the insurance is already paying to have the drywall done on the wall and also the entire ceiling re-sprayed I wont be having to tape/mud




[Edited on July 11, 2011 at 1:34 PM. Reason : someone else]

7/11/2011 1:26:26 PM

^ i read about that lightweight stuff a little before i went to home depot (but didnt' see it). that's probably what I should've gone with but i ended up just getting 5/8" fire shield stuff. i figured i was going to go a little overboard in making sure the ceiling was supported anyway and wanted to be sure there wouldn't be any sag.

i still need to do the taping, mudding, sanding, etc but hopefully it won't be too bad as it's only like ~220 sq ft. i also need to install new insulation.

7/11/2011 1:58:38 PM

Taping and mudding a ceiling is pretty miserable work on just a ladder, try to get some stilts it makes things much easier.

7/11/2011 2:31:49 PM

TWWs official plumber BigBlueRam stopped by this afternoon and approved my plumbing work, and I got word the flooring guys can start tomorrow morning, and may even lay the tile Wednesday! That is, if we don't go to the hospital by then, the baby's due Wednesday.

7/11/2011 7:18:47 PM

answer the phone American Home Shield

logged 1.5 hours of wait and still have yet to complete a service request. cant complete one with the internet form cause its the AC.

7/11/2011 9:56:03 PM

http://hvac.buildingpros.com/build/name/SJ+SERVICE+COMPANY+RALEIGH+N.C._Clayton_North+Carolina_1005578

Call in the morning, tell him Joel sent you, good luck

[Edited on July 11, 2011 at 11:37 PM. Reason : If warranty doesn't work. Going to be over 100 tomorrow...]

7/11/2011 11:34:55 PM

got new insulation up last night. going to take today off before taping, mudding, sanding, etc.

7/12/2011 11:57:23 AM

My crappy fiberboard shelf in my entertainment center collapsed. Luckily the shelf was 1/2 inch from the top of the receiver so nothing was damaged

Where can I get a new piece cut to replace the one that broke?

7/12/2011 6:14:42 PM

does it have to be fiberboard? you could get out cheaper with plywood or 1-by. Lowe's by Crossroads in Cary has 1/2" MDF (everywhere else only has 3/4).

Lowe's has half sheets and quarter sections of plywood in many different styles. They'll also make 2 or 3 cuts for free. Problem solved.

How was the old shelf secured, fasteners, adhesive, or just resting on pegs or shelf brackets?

[Edited on July 13, 2011 at 10:13 AM. Reason : ?'s]

7/13/2011 10:12:01 AM

Came home Sunday night to a hot and humid house. The fan on the outside AC unit had stopped working in the 3 hours I was gone. After checking it out, I figured out the plunger on the contacter wasnt working. I could push it down and the fan would run. So that night I rigged it down so the outside fan would stay on and I wouldnt be miserable sleeping. Monday morning called around to find a Bryant supplier and went and picked up a new contacter ($30) and also decided to get a capacitor while I was there because that seems to be the most common part to go bad....and it was only $7 so an extra one at the house is not a bad idea. All together I spent $40 and had my AC up and running the next morning.

7/13/2011 11:19:13 AM