Not a huge woe, but just a big annoyance right now.

Just finished putting bead board around the tub and the wife had told me we were going to keep it white. So I grabbed silicone caulk for the bathroom, finished it off and was happy.

Two days later she tells me she wants to paint it all, and of course I bought non-paintable caulk....

ugh.

10/26/2013 2:27:39 PM

Always buy paintable caulk. Always.

10/26/2013 2:29:14 PM

Looking for recommendations for a landscaping firm that is cost-effective and can do a complete yard overhaul

10/28/2013 7:38:58 PM

I like http://capitalcitygroundskeeping.com/

The owner Ryan is either a NCSU student or grad. Good prices and quality of service.

10/28/2013 11:45:48 PM

http://www.burgelandscapes.com/ This one is also run by a State grad .

10/29/2013 8:44:59 AM

^^guy would never call me back and thought my location was "too far away", even though he admitted and advertises services in and well beyond my area.

10/30/2013 10:10:34 AM

my roof is leaking

11/1/2013 6:58:57 PM

heat blowing cold. wonderful.

11/11/2013 7:40:19 AM

Heat seems to be working so far. Maybe the gas pack will make it to drinking age before it kicks the bucket.

11/11/2013 2:17:10 PM

how is this not under warranty? it's just over a year old

11/11/2013 2:27:12 PM

Dropped a wine bottle on the edge of my granite counter and chipped off a one milimeter sized piece of granite. Somehow the wine bottle did not break (it was the mouth of the bottle). Extremely small piece of granite...but I'm pissed...granite is not suppose to chip from something this easy.

Is there any way to repair this?? I'm guessing not, because I can see the white.

[Edited on November 11, 2013 at 6:11 PM. Reason : .]

11/11/2013 6:07:10 PM

damn, that sucks. any google hits sounds plausible?

turns out my heat works fine... AK&C came out and it was working fine... they check everything and found nothing wrong.... my money is on Progress Energy's load management system... of course they claim it couldn't be because the system is currently deactivated... everything worked but the condenser, which is what PE shuts off with their management system...

11/11/2013 6:25:57 PM

Most google searches are turning up repair for actual pieces of granite chipping off (and putting that piece back on) or cracks in the flat area of the granite (not seeing any "white" in those videos). I'll keep searching, but was wondering if anyone here could point me in the right direction.

11/11/2013 6:30:13 PM

well I haven't the foggiest. post here if you find something... hopefully no one else will ever need to know though

11/11/2013 6:36:11 PM

Having to replace hot water tank.

Plumber is doing it by line items. Wants to charge 85 to adjust some lines when the new tank goes in.

125 for a new expansion tank.

Does anyone know if expansion tanks have to be done by a plumber? Hot water tanks do in NC, at least if Im reading the code right, but theres nothing on expansion tanks other than they have to be installed (funny, they dont even have to be operating).

11/11/2013 8:53:03 PM

I don't think they have to be by a plumber. Just be comfortable with the electrical portion... and don't get the pressures wrong

11/11/2013 9:05:04 PM

Im an EE, so no worries on electrics (one of these days I almost want to get my electricians cert)

Ok, what do you do for pressures? Ive been having to look at that for the expansion tank...

11/11/2013 9:36:54 PM

from what I know, it just depends on the tank's abilities. don't know much more than that. All I know is that I was told not to go over 80 psi on mine, else I'd risk creating a really cool water rocket but the tank is rated for something like 200 psi.

larger tanks can handle higher pressures.

Generally you have 2 screws - one sets the on pressure and the other sets the off pressure. just adjust those until you get the pressure you like at your taps, but ensuring enough differential so that it isn't always cycling, off pressure is below safe max, and on pressure is above serviceable pressure. can't put #s to those... may that's where the plumber comes in handy

[Edited on November 12, 2013 at 9:06 AM. Reason : .]

11/12/2013 9:03:55 AM

^^^^^^RE: Seeing White

I think you are just seeing the raw stone. Most of it is a dull color before being polished.
Does it change at all if you put a little water on it?
You may be able to wet sand and seal the chip.

It won't be "fixed" but it wouldn't be as noticeable.

11/12/2013 9:08:33 AM

I have moved in with a friend who owns a house that's more or less two apartments and I've been working on the downstairs apartment. Last weekend I installed some cabinets, redid the grout for shower tiles at the corners/cracks, caulked the tub again, and I installed a plexiglass window (which I did a pisspoor job cutting) as a storm window in the shower to try to keep water from destroying said window. Used some rubber weatherstripping to seal around the edges of the plexiglass and some storm window clips (available in the hardware section at Lowe's) to keep the plexi in place. Works like a goddamn charm! Only a drop or two of water now sneaks past the weather stripping, so the window should live a very long life even with the shower right there.

Less a woe, more of a "yay" type event. If you want a woe, it's going to be freezing tonight and tomorrow night and the room that will one day be my kitchen has a 2'x3' hole in the floor into the crawlspace. My only protection from those drafts are plastic I've taped up against the doorways leading into the kitchen, and it ain't really enough. :S

11/13/2013 12:02:09 AM

That's when you go buy a sheet of plywood to cover the hole.

11/13/2013 9:00:32 AM

anyone know why my compressor would be shutting off overnight.. and staying off throughout much of the day? (electric AC/heat)

lennox. about 1 year old. everything else checks out; when operating, it's perfect.



[Edited on November 13, 2013 at 12:02 PM. Reason : .]

11/13/2013 12:02:03 PM

Is it possible there's a condensate drain valve somewhere? We had a weird ass situation with our last year. The compressor wasn't running, I checked the "trap" (for lack of a better word... Was a small black box) on the beginning of the condensation line. Popped open the clean out cap, Nada. Popped the drain cap off and what water was in there came out.... The compressor started working immediately.

There were no obstructions on the drain line, nor any other reasons I could determine why this was the issue, but it worked. A neighbor had the same issue and it fixed theirs too.

I feel like if it wasn't draining, I'd have seen it in the clean out that was even with the condensate drain.

From the sound of it, seems like you're willing to try anything. Lol.

[Edited on November 13, 2013 at 2:12 PM. Reason : .]

11/13/2013 2:11:28 PM

Quote :

"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?"

Update on this...Leak is in the front yard somewhere. I can't imagine how thousands of gallons have leaked out over the past couple of months without leaving a trace, but I shut off the water under the house and the meter is still spinning at a slow but constant rate.

The first plumber I called said there is only one plumber in town that has a moisture meter capable of detecting the leak and that they charge $450/hour to find it. They recommended replacing the entire line from the road to the house. I expect that to be pretty expensive and I'd like to avoid it if possible.

- Has anyone had an issue like this, and, were you able to fix it without replacing the entire pipe?
- Is there any chance whatsoever that the problem is in the meter? I assume it's a mechanical device that only spins if water is flowing, but it would be nice to confirm.
- Should I even get a plumber for this? I'm not too keen on paying $85/hour for some dude to run a trench digger if that's what the plumber is going to do.

[Edited on November 13, 2013 at 3:26 PM. Reason : l]

11/13/2013 3:24:10 PM

^Exact same thing happened to me when I first moved into my house. First water bill I got was for $540. I was... displeased that the home inspector didn't find something so simple. I called a plumber and they had to dig up the old water pipe. It was the same pipe that had been there since the house was first built in the 1960s. A small hole had formed in the pipe between the meter and my house -- facing downward into the ground so there was no evidence of it on the front lawn.

The entire fix cost $900 which was less than I expected and it took less than a day for them to fix it. They replaced the pipe with PVC which won't corrode nearly as easily and threw on a 20 year warranty on it. The likelihood that the problem is in the meter is low. Check the meter when someone is taking a shower or running the hose or something and you'll see the dial speed up (mine has a little triangle thing that spins when water is being used). If it slows down but doesn't stop then it is probably the pipe between the meter and the house.

If you are confident you can fix it yourself or hire someone other than a plumber, by all means go for it just keep in mind that you are gonna have to find the right the right type of pipe to replace the old one. I don't think it is something you'd want to just patch up. Also, I don't even know if a trench digger would be the best tool since there will be a pipe down there getting in the way.

11/13/2013 3:33:22 PM

Quote :

"If you are confident you can fix it yourself or hire someone other than a plumber, by all means go for it just keep in mind that you are gonna have to find the right the right type of pipe to replace the old one. "

I worded that poorly and then got a call while trying to edit...I'm not planning to dig it up myself, but I was considering the possibility that a handyman or a landscaper might be a better choice for digging the trench and laying the new pipe in the ground. I would still leave the skilled work to a licensed plumber, but I don't know that I want to pay a plumber $85/hour to dig a trench if that's going to be 80% of the work.

Thanks for the other input. $900 is less than I'm expecting. I do have a sidewalk and a walkway in front of the house that will complicate things a bit.

[Edited on November 13, 2013 at 3:49 PM. Reason : s]

11/13/2013 3:46:53 PM

Ah okay, yeah if you just got the digging done and did a little research on the pipe, I'm sure it would make things go a lot faster for the plumber to just come out, take out the old one and put the new one in. Mine was all just standard dirt so a pretty easy dig job but having to break up/redo concrete seems like it would probably up the price a bit.

11/13/2013 5:33:58 PM

You could always do the digging yourself if you don't mind having the yard messed up for a little while until the plumber can fix it, or you could rent a bobcat for a couple days and do the dig and replace after work if the plumber can actually show up on a set day and do the work.

11/13/2013 6:34:31 PM

Re: No heat; condensate line

Didn't see anything wrong and nothing fixed the issue. Compressor wasn't on last night and this morning. Again, the AH still blows, but since the compressor isn't running, there's no hot air. I think it's temperature related, as the only time it's worked this week was when it was warmest on Monday afternoon. So maybe it is a condensate line issue (freezing?)?

Allen Kelly & Co is coming back out this afternoon... I'm betting it's working by the time they show up. I guess I'm going to have to work out an on-call situation with them, if they'll do that.

11/14/2013 10:54:43 AM

If you aren't running AC, then I don't think there would be any sort of condensate issue. Is the defrost mode not working properly? Perhaps it does into defrost mode and then fails to kick the fan back on? You'd see ice build-up at the coil though outside.

11/14/2013 11:01:44 AM

I thought condensate wouldn't be an issue with heat (didn't make sense to me), but I don't pretend to know anything about HVAC systems.

no ice anywhere that I can see

[Edited on November 14, 2013 at 11:30 AM. Reason : .]

11/14/2013 11:29:31 AM

do you have electric strip heating that isn't engaging that supplements the heat pump? And also, do you have a switch-over/cut-off temperature for the heat pump set and it is way too high?

11/14/2013 11:31:07 AM

My only thought is it wouldve been residual, and your system has been off with the weather. Was worth a shot.

11/14/2013 11:31:51 AM

ah yeah I see what you were going for.

11/14/2013 11:34:19 AM

CTA, you are beyond my HVAC knowledge. All I know is the compressor is turning on intermittently and when it's off, there's no heat. I can ask the AK&C guy this afternoon about those things.

As I understand it, the compressor will always be running if the system is heating or cooling, correct? To me, it just seems like something is turning the compressor off (it's been on and heating, and then shuts off, while the AH continues to blow).

11/14/2013 11:43:02 AM

Potential Great Success!

Luckily, the compressor was not running when AK&C got here tonight. They believe that the discharge air sensor is bad. This sensor reads the temperature of the air coming out of the blower - too hot or cold and it cuts power to the compressor until the temperature is within the normal operating range. The warning light indicating that the sensor was cutting power was on but the temperature in the discharge was about 84 degrees (operating range is well away from this - I don't recall the numbers, but it was something like <40 or >130). Disconnected the sensor and the compressor has been running since.

So hopefully my heating troubles are nearly over. AK&C is supposed to find a replacement sensor tomorrow and come back to install.

*plug* I've been very happy with AK&C; they have been very responsive and quick to address my problems. The two techs that came out (same guys both times) were also great and nice to talk to. I highly recommend them based on my experience thus far /plug

11/14/2013 6:22:26 PM

Yeah those guys provide great service, +1 for Allen Kelly. If anyone is thinking getting HVAC work done let me know and I'll hook you up with a guy I know there.

I had to call Progressive once (AK said they couldn't make it out to my house same day) and they bent me over the barrel and had at me Pulp Fiction style. Avoid them. Evidently they're known for overcharging.

11/15/2013 11:08:08 AM

furnace control boards blows its 5 amp fuse as soon as it calls for heat. Originally was hoping it was just a short in the furnace but traced all the wires and couldn't find one. Then thought maybe a short between compressor outside and the control board so I unhooked the lines from the Y and C leading to the compressor, still blows the fuse. Finally just called 72 degrees since they have been out before to do a freon charge. Told me it was a bad board and they wanted $620 to fix it, said no thanks and gave them $39 for the diagnostic. Got a new board for $97 from HVAC suppley and installed it and still blowing fuse, so I think I'm going to have to run a new line from the furnace up through the walls into the attic and then down to the thermostat tomorrow, thats the only thing I can come up with is that there is a bad wire somewhere in that run.... lots of fun

11/15/2013 11:06:14 PM

Trying to have home ownership woes is a freaking woe. Finally found what we thought was the perfect house, get it at a great price, have the inspector come out and he found some issues with some of the supports in the attic. Have a guy come out to give a quote so we can tell the sellers how much it will cost them to fix it and turns out the guy who did the foundation work previously did a shitty job and now that needs to be fixed and will run them close to $20k to have it done right.

Now we have to send that over to the sellers and hope that they will agree to fix it or we will walk and start the process all over. We are in Dallas and the market here is red hot so there is a decent chance they tell us to either pay part of it or we can leave it (which we would). We had to offer asking the 3rd day it was on the market just to get it in the first place.

11/18/2013 9:07:11 PM

^ We had about $20k in fixes done by the sellers of our home. Once something has been found in an inspection it has to be disclosed, so your sellers will have to either fix it no matter what, or tell any potential buyers about the problems and why they aren't agreeing to fix.

11/19/2013 8:33:15 AM

damn, that sucks.



So how can I get a house key back from an ex-employee of my building contractor? He won't return calls. I don't know his address to send him a letter. I don't want to go after the contractor, because he's my best resource for other woes and I know he'll start being a dick if I go at him for my key.

11/19/2013 9:01:50 AM

^How can you verify if you ask him that he doesnt go copy it on the way to return it.

CYA, go tell the contractor to pay for the locks to be changed.

11/19/2013 9:32:22 AM

thought about it, but that won't happen.

11/19/2013 1:44:00 PM

Quote :

"or we can leave it (which we would). "

So you would still buy this house knowing it needs $20k in work? At some point if you ever sell, you'll be on the hook for this. I'd walk the fuck away and wait for another house to come along.

11/19/2013 4:00:59 PM

That is what I meant, we would walk away if they don't fix it.

Sent over the paperwork last night, today they had their foundation guy look at it (the clown who didn't do it right the first time) and he claims it is something completely different so now the seller is having a structural engineer look at it. We have until the end of Wednesday to decide what we are going to do so they need to make up their kind soon or we will walk away.

11/19/2013 4:10:57 PM

^^^ I think replacing/re-keying your locks is the price you pay for not wanting to pester your contracter.

Also what happened with your heat?

11/19/2013 4:54:05 PM

haha, that's what I'm guessing. He's already fighting me/denying me enough on my 1-yr walk-through. I'm going to ask about re-keying, but I know him well enough now that I know he'll never pay for it. I'll just get things rekeyed once everything is wrapped up from my 1-yr warranty.

As for my heat, it ended up being a temperature sensor in the discharge duct (the duct from the blower to the vents). It was malfunctioning, reading wrong temp, so it was telling the panel to cut power to the compressor. Been working fine without a sensor since, AK&C disconnected it, and are trying to find a replacement.

11/20/2013 8:41:00 AM

Anyone know a good place to get an awning made? I'm trying to get a price and decide if I should have one made or buy a heavy duty machine and sew one myself.

11/20/2013 12:07:06 PM

what kind? http://www.westawning.com/Contact.html

I went to State with the girl whose husband runs that.

11/20/2013 12:12:00 PM

The house has 2 fixed canvas awnings on aluminum frames on the front. One over a bay window for shade and the other over the front door. Bay window one is torn and the one over the door leaks and looks hideous because it has the same medieval times style edge all the ones on the West awning site seem to have as well. I just want a plain border and navy fabric.

11/20/2013 1:24:27 PM