That garage door story is very similar to mine. I had some cardboard boxes underneath my garage door that were hanging over the sensor. Apparently cardboard boxes are stronger than a garage door... who'd of thunk! Stupid pressure sensor not working gonna cost me a new garage door

9/24/2013 1:43:10 PM

ugh. fucking busybody HOA-types are proposing
A. that our neighborhood put up big brother cameras all over the place with signage.

B. requiring STICKERS for our cars. to park in our OWN driveways.

ugh.

9/24/2013 6:45:16 PM

I live right across the street from the local HOA nazi. I get letters from the HOA every time one of my kids leaves a scooter or something on the front porch. Or if I don't pick up my newspaper every couple of days if he knows we're home.

9/24/2013 7:41:02 PM

i would have a ball with fuckers like that

9/24/2013 8:48:03 PM

If a bitch sold my kegerator....

9/25/2013 9:29:09 AM

Nest looking at releasing smart smoke detectors http://www.wired.com/business/2013/09/nest-smoke-detectors/

9/25/2013 3:40:19 PM

Quote :

"I live right across the street from the local HOA nazi. I get letters from the HOA every time one of my kids leaves a scooter or something on the front porch. Or if I don't pick up my newspaper every couple of days if he knows we're home."

No HOA in my neighborhood, but I live nextdoor to the same type of jackass. He calls the city when my grass is too long for his liking and calls animal control if my dog barks at him for more than a second.

I nipped it in the bud by going over to his house one day and being nice but firm, gave him my cell #, and said that if he had a problem he needed to address it with me instead of being passive aggressive about it. Before that we had barely exchanged a word. Every now and then I get a text from him with a request and most of the time I try to make him happy even if I think its a little neurotic, but the calling the city shit has stopped.

9/25/2013 3:58:20 PM

For those with more experience with Garages, I have a question:

I just recently (August) bought a house with a two car garage. The previous owner gave me two garage door opener remotes that looked like this

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-remote-control-315mhz-3-function-security-reg/p-00953751000P?prdNo=4&blockNo=4&blockType=G4.

One of them works, however the other one (new battery and all), does not. Is there a way I can get a replacement or do I need to buy the entire $60 set? What say you?

9/25/2013 4:13:41 PM

have you tried reprogramming it?

9/25/2013 6:51:11 PM

Quote :

"The rain this weekend was kind enough to show us we have a hole in our roof somewhere. Hoping it is just one spot and was running to other location where it entered the house. Glad it isnt gonna rain any for the next week it appears. Having someone come look at it thursday."

Today is the day hoping to get some good news, but seeing as it involves a roof my expectations are pretty low .

9/26/2013 9:35:59 AM

My water bill has been about double the last two months and our water company sent us these leak detection dye tablets for the toilets and it turns out the upstairs toilet is leaking...but I don't know where because I don't hear anything different than the downstairs toilet...which isn't leaking.

What is usually the culprit here? I'm trying to avoid calling a plumber.

9/30/2013 1:38:09 PM

how old? either the flap is bad or you just need to adjust the float to shutoff. I don't know enough to tell you which since you can't hear it... I mean, if both toilets are making noise then both are leaking... toilets don't just make noise... (i'm confused by your description of sound comparisons)

[Edited on September 30, 2013 at 1:48 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on September 30, 2013 at 1:49 PM. Reason : flap not flipper.]

9/30/2013 1:47:52 PM

I meant that I've been able to tell when toilets are leaking in the past (or still running). Both toilets sound fine. But when I put the dye tablets, it showed that one is leaking while the other is fine.

Toilets aren't very old...maybe three years. I did have to replace a flapper on the leaking one about two years ago, but haven't had any issues since then. It is a weird flapper/valve combination. When I went to the local hardware store after not being able to find the replacement at Lowes, he sent me to a commercial plumbing and hardware place. The guy there was puzzled as to why this type of flapper/valve was used in a residential toilet...apparently it was uncommon.

I'll check both of those things when I get back. Not exactly a plumbing expert, but I figure I can troubleshoot it with a little help.

9/30/2013 2:01:35 PM

Other than a crack (unlikely), it can only be 1 of two things

My experience with floats is that they'll be off enough to where you can hear water flow; but leaking flaps aren't always enough so that you can hear. My bet is on the flap now that you've clarified your post.

If possible, I'd say redo the entire flushing system if you don't have standard equipment...

9/30/2013 2:09:26 PM

Quote :

"If possible, I'd say redo the entire flushing system if you don't have standard equipment... "

I think I'd have to get a whole new toilet (I THINK...I'll have to look at it again). The hole that the pipe goes into was so big that none of the standard equipment worked. It was a real PITA at the time running around town trying to find the parts that would work. Was hoping I wouldn't have to replace it for a while...but at least I know where to get it this time!

9/30/2013 2:29:27 PM

damn, that sucks.

9/30/2013 2:31:46 PM

So, I'm not a home owner any more, however I just moved into my friend's 1910 home which, when he bought it, was more or less on the verge of being torn down. Currently I have all the stuff from my old ~1360 sq ft ranch home crammed into a ~550 sq ft space, as one half of the remainder of the living area is filled with my friend's old stuff and the other half is taped off at the doorways as there is either a giant hole in the floor/wall (with one room) or a collapsing ceiling (the other).

This place is going to be a woe until I fix it up to where it's liveable again. :V Already making good progress fixing up the bathroom, at least.

10/2/2013 2:59:58 PM

Under contract for house and had to have a structural engineer do an inspection. His report + other inspections equalled out to about $20k of repairs.

Sellers agreed to fix 99% of them. Sweet.

10/6/2013 8:57:49 PM

10/6/2013 11:32:04 PM

did it need piers or something?

10/6/2013 11:34:23 PM

Got the roof patched up on Friday, looks like we will get to test it out later today.

10/7/2013 9:31:36 AM

^^

Needed a number of things:

- Has "stiff knees" under the house as part of support system, those are out of code now because they provide easy access for termites to get to the house
- Steel supports weren't secured correctly so they just need to fix those
- Need to add some helical piers as support system (http://www.helicalpiers.com/helical-piers)
- Need to flip insulation (was installed upside down)
- Some minor plumbing / electrical items to fix
- Had slightly elevated radon so they are fixing that
- Back porch wasn't built with proper supports, just adding that in

10/7/2013 1:02:05 PM

when you say flip insulation, do you mean the insulation stuffed between the floor joists that insulates the ground floor from a crawl space? And if so, was it installed paper/vapor-barrier side up(facing floor) or down (facing crawl space)?

That is a pretty age-old debate and people have good justifications on both sides of the argument. Kind of like the debate between hvac registers in the ceiling or floor (one works better in the winter and one in the summer).

In the south, I would tend to prefer to face the paper barrier down to face the crawl space so I am guessing the inspector saw it facing up and didn't like it. However, having it face up isn't necessarily that detrimental as it meets code and is done all over. Additionally, if they were planning to simply remove the existing insulation and flip it so that the paper barrier is down, I would argue that would be worse than leaving it as is *unless they completely provide new insulation and install THAT facedown*.

10/7/2013 1:32:19 PM

that's what I call a walk away. Unless you're getting it for pennies.

10/7/2013 1:42:00 PM

^^ Correct, just had the insulation installed the wrong side up according to the inspector

^ Curious why you'd consider it a walk-away? If the structural engineer says fix x,y,z and the house will be perfectly fine?

10/7/2013 1:56:27 PM

Any roofer recommendations? Probably going shingle, but tin roof isn't out of the question. Thanks!

10/7/2013 2:05:55 PM

^^but what problems have shitty structural issues cause that went unseen? If there's one major problem there's likely going to be more

10/7/2013 10:54:12 PM

Good point, good point. We had a regular inspection done with an extensive report and the sellers also paid for the structural engineer assessment. They said that if the recommended fixes are made and signed off on by the inspectors / engineers, then the house would be fine.

Not going to lie that you guys have me a little wary, but I've looked into the engineers and inspectors a good bit and they all have very, very strong feedback and success stories throughout Angie's List. Appreciate the perspective and questions.

10/8/2013 8:17:52 AM

I agree that there can be other issues, but at the same time there are tons of success stories and it isn't THAT uncommon for old houses to need some structural fixes that then make the house fine for many years to come. If you have had multiple engineers look at it and they have suggestions to fix it, I wouldn't feel that uncomfortable.

10/8/2013 8:51:39 AM

And in fairness, I haven't seen the report... I might be OK, too. Numbers that high make me raise an eyebrow though.

10/8/2013 11:03:38 PM

Quote :

"Any roofer recommendations? Probably going shingle, but tin roof isn't out of the question. Thanks!"

Otto's exteriors did mine... locally owned business, but more than just "shingles in the back of a pick-up" type deal. I have a fairly intricate roof design that is very steep, and i got the 50 year architectural shingles, but it came out under 5k for the whole project.

10/9/2013 7:10:30 AM

Nest Protect Fire/CO2/Light/Heat/Motion detector

http://youtu.be/QXp-LYBXwfo

10/9/2013 9:45:02 AM

^^^^^Just out of curiosity which engineer did you work with? I've worked with a couple in the area doing those kinds of inspections when I was still in school.

Does anyone have a good recommendation for a tree pruning crew? I need someone that does free estimates. I will most likely be splitting the cost with me neighbor but he's out of town a lot so I want to get an estimate without incurring any cost so I can run it by him and make sure he's still in.

10/9/2013 11:31:28 AM

Thanks smath!

10/9/2013 7:21:51 PM

thinking about installing a ductless split A/C in my bedroom. Anybody has any experience with them?

10/20/2013 2:25:16 PM

i've got two. one in my garage, and one in my mancave/home office.

awesome and efficient.


do you not have central air?

10/20/2013 9:14:40 PM

I do have central air, but majority of our time are spent in one room, so I figure it'll be cheaper just to get ductless A/C for that particular room.

10/20/2013 11:14:50 PM

my parents have 5 units installed in their bed and breakfast. they love them. the units in the room are incredibly quiet as are the fans outside. the energy consumption is less than a shaker unit even though they run more frequently (they don't turn them off when guests aren't check into the rooms)

10/21/2013 9:47:07 PM

Not sure what to do about a water leak I have. My water bill is normally in the $45/month range. The past two months it has jumped up to ~$130/month and I confirmed that the meter is spinning even when there are no running toilets/faucets.

I have crawled under the house and see no leaks. I see no indication of leaks around the walls at the sinks/tubs/toilets. I'm thinking the leak is in the front yard between the meter and the house. I'd think thousands of gallons of missing water would be pretty noticeable if it were in the house or crawlspace.

The problem is that I can't find a leak in the front yard either. I've walked all over the yard and can't find a wet spot. The water line runs close to a dogwood tree so there is a possibility that it is soaking up some of the water, but that's just a guess.

So what do I do? Is there a trick to finding the leak? If I get a pro in here do they have any tools to find the source that I might not have access to?

10/22/2013 6:11:50 PM

I'd double check the toilets...leaks don't necessarily mean water on the floor. They can be leaking water from the tank into the bowl slowly so you don't hear it. You can test it by dropping a little dye in the tank and check if the color shows up in the bowl.

10/22/2013 8:12:44 PM

finally started buying the home AC filters from Amazon. First order arrived and I'm pleased. Tired of getting ripped off by the big box stores just because I'd remember to grab them when I was getting other stuff. The final straw for me was when Home Depot changed all their filters so that they are packaged and labeled with their proprietary "FPR" level instead of the industry standard MERV rating for filters and subsequently raised the price. (I'm guessing they were trying to eliminate comparison shopping?)

Paying 2-3X as much for a filter that isn't listed with the standardized rating is just silly.

10/22/2013 8:35:07 PM

AC isn't working. Unit is 3 years old, new construction.
It ran for two weeks non stop, to keep the house at 70. I got tired of it running, so I flipped the breaker to the unit.
Now, the overflow pan under the unit is full of brown water.

I need to call someone, but haven't worried about it as the weather has cooled and the house is staying nice.

10/22/2013 9:26:22 PM

Anyone have a good contractor recommendation for a ductless a/c unit in the triangle?

10/22/2013 10:21:21 PM

part woe (having to drop money I'd rather spend on other shit), part yay (power and gas bill should drop noticeably this winter)



new A/C + Furnace being installed. The 21 year old furnace had to go (cracked heat exchanger), and the A/C unit is 12 years old, and only 9 SEER.

Replacing with a 80,000 BTU 95% eff. furnace and a 16 SEER 3 ton unit.

this was $1k more than going with an 80% eff furnace and a 13 SEER 3 ton unit.

With $450 in tax credits for high efficiency units, my breakeven time over going with the lower efficiency stuff is ~1 year.

10/23/2013 10:47:26 AM

Just curious - how much is all that going to set you back? I am going to be in the same position in the next couple of years and have seen a wide range of figures as to the cost I can expect. PM me if you don't feel like putting in the thread. Thanks in advance.

10/23/2013 1:05:20 PM

Quote :

"AC isn't working. Unit is 3 years old, new construction. It ran for two weeks non stop, to keep the house at 70. I got tired of it running, so I flipped the breaker to the unit. Now, the overflow pan under the unit is full of brown water. I need to call someone, but haven't worried about it as the weather has cooled and the house is staying nice."

Is your heat gas? If its a heat pump its still not going to run unless you vacuum the water out of the drain pan.

If the drain is clogged water will overflow in to that pan, when the pan fills up it trips a switch that shuts the system off. (so as not to dump water inside your house)

Your system may still be under warranty call whoever installed it, they usually put stickers somewhere, or their number may be on the thermostat.

10/23/2013 1:10:52 PM

^^

This is costing me $6500.

This isn't as painful as, say, encapsulating my crawlspace, b/c I knew this was coming when we bought the house, and the price of the house was adjusted accordingly. That said, I had hoped to make it 2 years before having to replace it.

10/23/2013 1:30:33 PM

Skack Can your turn your water off inside the house? Id do that, and then see if its spinning. If it is, outside leak. If not, inside leak.

10/23/2013 9:48:41 PM

Anyone tried one of these before for gutter cleaning? It's made by iRobot (Roomba) and it cleans gutters. We have some pretty high gutters and I'd prefer not having to be up there a long time.

http://www.irobot.com/us/learn/home/looj.aspx

10/24/2013 9:57:46 AM

How much auto insurance should a home owner have in NC? Should you have more than your house is worth? I can upgrade a policy that carries me from 30000/60000 to 100000/300000 for about 52 more per year.

10/26/2013 12:43:41 PM