Hail is covered but due to the crazy increase in hail claims some, and I bet most will follow suit, are changing their coverage to actual cash value of the roof if the loss is due to hail. So read your paperwork.

Wear and tear is definitely not covered.

Also, claims handlers are really good at detecting fraud, such as dropping a tree limb on ones roof in hopes of getting it replaced.

5/29/2013 6:13:55 PM

also, if you claim hail and there are no other hail claims near you, you won't get shit. hail big enough to damage shingles is pretty rare in NC.

5/29/2013 6:23:02 PM

I'm thinking about replacing my electric range/oven with a new unit and would really like to convert it to gas. I already have gas running to the house for my fireplace, water heater, and HVAC. How much $$ would I be looking at to have someone run a new gas line to the kitchen?

5/30/2013 8:44:58 AM

will also need a powered vent to the outside, no?

5/30/2013 9:08:20 AM

Where is your kitchen relative to the gas main? I wanted to do the same thing, but all of my gas line stuff is on the back of the house and the stove is right at the front. I had the gas guy eyeball it when he was estimating for a water heater and he said I'd be lucky if I could get it done for $3K.

Also, it cost $500 just to have them run about 15 feet of line from my main to my deck grill (and that didn't require knocking holes in any walls).

This was all through the gas company's service department though -- I am pretty sure a smaller contractor could do it cheaper; but none of the other guys I talked to seemed to know their stuff as well.

5/30/2013 9:39:43 AM

bought a new water heater...$2500 parts + labor

5/30/2013 11:31:02 AM

OUCH!

5/30/2013 11:44:24 AM

Jesus
I just bought a water heater 2 months ago

400 out of pocket after insurance

5/30/2013 1:33:37 PM

Insurance didn't cover this one. Just a 12 year old water heater that needed to be replaced before it shit the bed.

5/30/2013 3:55:35 PM

Quote :

"will also need a powered vent to the outside, no?"

That's a good point that I hadn't thought of yet. I'll probably just stick to an electric range.

5/31/2013 8:32:26 AM

that is code in NC, right? I see/read so much shit I don't remember what's code and where, but it would make sense to be code everywhere, but you never know.

5/31/2013 9:09:50 AM

Quote :

"Insurance didn't cover this one. Just a 12 year old water heater that needed to be replaced before it shit the bed."

Obviously you bought a high efficiency water heater if you spent $2500 or you went tankless. A standard water heater is not going to run anywhere near that much. I replaced my water heater at my home when I lived in Kansas and I spent maybe $400 total as I did the install myself. A basic water heater is easy to install assuming it is in an accessible location. Not sure how much extra work is involved in installing these newer water heaters, but I can't imagine it would be that tough. A tankless system is a whole different story though.

5/31/2013 11:11:48 AM

^ I did the same. I think I paid around $250 for mine, but it's probably half the size of the one you you have. Installed it myself, only took about an hour.

5/31/2013 11:55:43 AM

high efficiency, yes. tankless, no.

parts + labor + disposal + an issue with a leaky toilet + water pressure issue + replacement of main water valve = $2500.

and in the last year I replaced all of my windows, all the flooring, and got married. wallet is ready for a break...

5/31/2013 1:52:57 PM

What is it with water heaters lately? my parents blew last weekend too

5/31/2013 2:32:48 PM

I work for an insurance restoration company that comes and fixes your house up when your water heater busts, toilet leaks, tree falls on your house, etc. I would say probably as much as 75% of our business comes from water heaters and toilets.

I used to work for custom home builders and any design that has the water heater in the attic drives me nuts. But now that I'm in the restoration business, those things are gold mines for us

5/31/2013 8:56:13 PM

I discovered my dryer roof vent is not a proper roof vent, but is meant for general roof venting. The air flow is too low and it clogs easily. Who would I hire to replace it and what should it cost?

5/31/2013 10:39:11 PM

When we were looking at houses we definitely preferred ones with the washer and water heater on the first floor. Water heater is in the garage a couple feet below the house and I think that's ideal. We're replacing all the toilet tank innards and tank bolts to be safe as well (the stuff inside the tanks needs to be replaced anyway, so we're just doing it all).

Anyone know of a good HVAC company that does non-emergency work at non-emergency prices? The gas pack is 20 years old and we'd prefer to replace it in the fall at a discount instead of waiting until is breaks and getting robbed.

5/31/2013 11:21:50 PM

new woe...had septic tank pumped 3 weeks ago, full again. Apparently the line from the tank to the drywell is clogged from flushing tampons (who knew?) and a toilet handle got stuck running all day. Gray water flowing out from the cap and down the driveway. There goes another $500+. God I hate septic systems.

6/1/2013 7:55:41 PM

just went through a 6 week hell on my central air. found out when the weather got hot that the system was messed up, called the installing company (I bought the condo new but I had no input on the design) and they came out, 89 dollar service call to find out the coil was broken and it had leaked all the coolant out. recharged the coolant, came out the next week to replace the coil. coil was under warranty, but the labor and coolant was 800 bucks.

then I go out of town for a week and leave the system off. come back, it runs normally for 5 days, then dies. call them back out, they say the drain line was clogged and wanted to charge me another 89 dollars plus 100 to clear the line. I refused the 89 dollar charge since they should have caught that during the first service call. so, 100 bucks to clear the line.

four days later, it dies again. I call back saying the tray ballast tripped again, so they come out. now the drain tray is cracked! they apologize for all the trouble, patch the tray, and come back in a few days and replace the tray, which is under warranty as well. no charge, thankfully, but still an immense pain in the ass

6/1/2013 8:47:45 PM

$100 to blow air through a pipe lolololol

6/1/2013 10:32:56 PM

yeah, I've already bought a ladder to get up to my attic so I'll never have to call again for that. the 800 dollars for coolant/coil "labor" was a ripoff too, one guy was here for 2 hours. fucking scum of the earth

6/2/2013 12:05:09 AM

3.5 year old refrigerator (Frigidaire) shat a compressor in my NC house. what the hell, i guess 'fridges don't last 10-20 years anymore.

6/2/2013 1:13:13 AM

New woe...The lower heating element in my double wall oven died. No big deal I was thinking. But it is one with the element hidden under the oven floor. Turns out, you have to uninstall the unit and replace it from behind. Unbelievable...

6/2/2013 6:15:54 PM

Definitely a first world problem.

6/3/2013 1:49:18 PM

Heh, that should be the title of this thread.

6/3/2013 4:19:58 PM

heh, that thread exists in chitchat

6/3/2013 4:27:32 PM

Quote :

"I used to work for custom home builders and any design that has the water heater in the attic drives me nuts."

It absolutely boggles my mind that builders install these things in attics. I would NEVER own a house that had one there. In fact, I don't know why insurance companies don't ask that question when you are calling for coverage. If I were an insurer, i would jack those rates up for people with heaters in the attic. Mine is in the garage. When mine failed, it just leaked on the garage floor, and my brother and I replaced it with about 2 hours of work. It is an absolute rip what plumbers charge to replace water heaters.

6/4/2013 4:10:36 PM

my water heater is in my crawl space; the pressure tank is in my garage. I wanted both in the garage (originally) but the plumber didn't set up the lines that way and didn't want to fix it. I should have gotten it in writing, but I didn't. But now, I almost wish both were in the crawl space to free up a corner in the garage. I mean, a busted tank in the crawl space isn't good, but it's certainly not all that bad.

6/4/2013 4:41:29 PM

My old 40 gallon water heater was in the crawl space. It really was no worry when it rusted out. Just a little muddy down there when I was removing it, but absolutely no concern about damage. Everything dried in less than 2 days iirc (summertime in NC, foundation vents open). I, too, wouldn't want one in my home.

[Edited on June 4, 2013 at 4:49 PM. Reason : l]

6/4/2013 4:49:26 PM

Any good roofing contractors near Durham anyone can suggest? Roof leaked over the upstairs bathroom last night. I was hoping it would last until I graduated but maybe not. Beans and rice for us for the next year.

6/9/2013 12:00:31 PM

Any recommendations for a crawl space company? Having some water and mold issues

6/11/2013 7:09:57 PM

Roof done. looks awesome. right around $4500 for the whole thing (with 50-year architectural shingles)

6/18/2013 3:30:46 PM

$4500 for a roof is cheap. Do you have a small house? I was thinking it would be twice that, but it would be awesome if I was overestimating. 2500sqft 2 story house with attached 2 car garage and a fairly high pitch so I know it's going to be painful.

6/18/2013 9:36:45 PM

After being in my house for 10 months, I've seen 5 "major" rain events that I can remember. In each of these, the ditch in my yard has turned into a white water mountain river. I don't think grass is going to hold up here. I think the velocity ranges from 5-10 ft/s for these storms and that's just way too much. Not looking forward to ripraping this ditch; or trying to convince my neighbor to do it (going to be expensive; at least upfront)

6/19/2013 9:17:44 AM

my aunt and uncle put rip rap on their side of a huge ditch beside their house. it was surprisingly affordable.

6/19/2013 1:11:19 PM

Quote :

"$4500 for a roof is cheap. Do you have a small house? I was thinking it would be twice that, but it would be awesome if I was overestimating. 2500sqft 2 story house with attached 2 car garage and a fairly high pitch so I know it's going to be painful."

we were expecting a lot more... in fact the first company quoted us over 12k for the same job. we have a fairly complex and steep roof. 2 story, 3 bedroom, no garage.

6/19/2013 2:12:23 PM

Had a neighbor get his roof done for about 6500. It's about a 1300sq ft ranch style. He got the 50 year shingles. He got a quote for the 30 year shingles at 4500.

6/19/2013 5:41:49 PM

Wow, definitely calling the guy you used once we need a roof.

6/19/2013 10:15:52 PM

Be careful going lowest price

6/20/2013 6:59:36 AM

Finally found a front door smart lock that hits all the things I have been looking for. Reserved one yesterday.

http://www.august.com

6/20/2013 9:52:21 AM

If anyone is in need of an HVAC you can use my name with my contact at Michael and Sons. I recently bought 3 for my rentals, got bids from 4 vendors (72 degrees, Allen Kelly, M&S and another I can't remember) and M&S was the most $. However, I worked with the rep and he offered me the contractor price, 20% off if I bought all 3.

He said I could offer same deal to family and friends, so PM if interested. Extremely happy with work they did in all 3, and even talked him into extending parts and labor warranty (2 and 10 years).

6/20/2013 10:58:49 AM

^^sweet. though I don't see how it's supposed to work if it syncs via BT. Unless it just sends "the" passcode to whatever person's phone you want. But I'd like the ability to remotely lock/unlock too... wonder why they couldn't give it wifi abilities too to enable this.

[Edited on June 20, 2013 at 1:22 PM. Reason : .]

6/20/2013 1:21:35 PM

Quote :

"Be careful going lowest price"

agreed, but the guy we went with has a very good reputation, etc.

6/20/2013 9:13:25 PM

^ You might also get some beer out of the deal in exchange for me getting to look at how the guy did your roof.

6/21/2013 8:13:54 AM

yeah just let me know

6/22/2013 4:30:41 PM

^5 TELL THEM YOU KNOW SNEAKUZ

6/22/2013 8:40:01 PM

property values are rebounding hardcore in Atlanta now. Up 20%+ since last year. Across the street they broke ground on a mid-rise apartment building but before they poured the foundation they decided to switch to to condos starting at $600K each. Woot!

guess thats not really a woe

[Edited on June 25, 2013 at 10:16 PM. Reason : d]

6/25/2013 10:13:02 PM

just planted a bunch of flowers on the rock wall to help with water retention...then came the record rainfall. i got water in the house as a result too so i had to take off of work and shop vac that stuff.

like it or not, im going to have to break down and have someone fix this drainage issue eventually. it only causes problems maybe once a year, but that is enough to make you want to cry.

6/26/2013 3:52:53 PM

Anyone doing refinancing and been surprised (positively or negatively) at the appraisal of your home?

6/27/2013 10:41:31 AM