My house was built in 1992 and doesn't have a HOA. Love my neighborhood, but it's full of nice houses and everyone keeps them up.

2/21/2014 8:42:42 AM

Just bought in a non HOA neighborhood and cant wait to DWTFIWT on my property. 80/month for a bunch of nosy nancy busy bodies. And a crazy Latino momma who yells at me when her 11 year old pushes my 7 year old off a scooter (which my boy then returns with a punch in the nose). Stupid neighbors are less abundant when you own land and space away from the crazy.

2/21/2014 4:34:00 PM

So true. I'm loving the drama free neighbors after living in a cheap apartment before this.

2/21/2014 9:05:35 PM

i wonder how many times i've posted in this thread that people that bitch about their hoa but yet don't join and fix it deserve to be upset and just whine - i've been on my hoa board since i bought my house back in 2007 - i moved to australia for 2 years and gave the position up - moved back to the US and was voted back in even though i rent it now - bunch of lazy whiners

2/21/2014 9:48:39 PM

HOA can be a pain in the ass but overall I like the insurance it provides against a couple assholes ruining everyone else's land values. I live in an urban area so I need that.

2/22/2014 11:03:11 AM

Just had 16+ trees taken down before the ice/snow storm.

Also got stuck behind a long line of failure going up the glennwood/anderson hill coming home from work that day.

2/22/2014 2:17:24 PM

So I am trying to figure out our sprinkler system and I have two instances where water is just gushing out. I dug into the area for both of them and what I see is below (sorry if they aren't the best pics). Basically I see a white PVC pipe leading up to the green part which is only about an inch deep. The entire system is RainBird 1800 so I assume that is that is what should be there. Did the entire sprinkler head come out and that is why I see so little and it is pretty deep in there?

I have never messed with anything related to sprinklers before so this is a new venture for me but I can't imagine it would be that difficult, I just wanted to see if my assumptions are correct.

2/23/2014 5:02:31 PM

looks like either the lines were cut or the sprinkler heads removed

2/23/2014 5:15:13 PM

If just the heads were removed I would just need to get a couple new ones and they should screw in right? That is what I have gathered from YouTube. I am not sure why the heads were removed but I assume that is what was done, I can't think of a reason why they would just cut the lines on two of them and leave it.

2/23/2014 5:50:06 PM

I think so, but you need to check the ends of the lines that you exposed to see what's actually there - is it threaded pipe?

2/23/2014 7:19:42 PM

I think so but it might be damaged. It looks like a male male connector to the PVC pipe so that might need to be replaced too.

2/23/2014 8:25:23 PM

Need to pour a new concrete sidewalk at my house. Anyone have recommendations on someone they've used that could do this?

3/24/2014 6:27:56 PM

HVAC system in my NC house needs a new coil. There goes $1000.

3/24/2014 8:15:36 PM

wife wants to paint the inside of the house....AWESOME

3/25/2014 8:00:17 AM

^^ how old is the system? I'm assuming they found a leak in the coil?

[Edited on March 25, 2014 at 9:28 AM. Reason : ]

3/25/2014 9:28:03 AM

it's about 6 years old, and yeah, they found a leak.

3/25/2014 4:35:39 PM

Wife brought home 10+ gallons of paint yesterday...so I guess we're painting this weekend, AWESOME!!

Can I rent one of those extension ladders from Lowes or another department store? We only need it for a day so we can paint the staircase.

I am not looking forward to this at all.

3/27/2014 10:02:08 AM

damn, she really do that without even getting you on board with it first? Would that have gone over well in the reverse situation?

anyway, for the ladder, you can definitely rent one. Some home depot locations rent equipment, and i've rented from them in the past. AFAIK, Lowe's isn't in the rental business. Also check with the sunbelt rentals equivalent in your area.

having recently done a lot of painting, if you haven't bought any tape yet, get Frogtape rather than the blue stuff. If she already bought it, go return it and buy Frogtape. it's a few bucks more, but completely worth it.


[Edited on March 27, 2014 at 10:26 AM. Reason : .]

3/27/2014 10:25:09 AM

Quote :

"damn, she really do that without even getting you on board with it first? Would that have gone over well in the reverse situation? "

Ha...I mean we had talked about it and it definitely needs to be done. I'm just not amped up for painting right now. We've been doing projects for a while now and I just want to chill for a bit. I also think we're going to sell this house in a couple years and I wasn't opposed to just waiting until we put the house on the market until we paint...but she's having none of that.

The funny part is that she actually thinks (and wants) to do it herself. She said she just needed me to move the large furniture. I think she has a false sense of confidence from painting the bathrooms by herself. This will not end well.

[Edited on March 27, 2014 at 10:35 AM. Reason : .]

3/27/2014 10:34:59 AM

Make sure she bought the expensive roller covers, because they work so much better. I only use the Purdy white dove ones and the paint has almost no lint in it. Maybe a piece or two the first time I use the roller, so I always start in a closet or corner to be safe but so much better than the cheap ones.

3/27/2014 11:11:40 AM

That's the first useful piece of input you've ever spouted on this site in your entire tenure here.

3/27/2014 11:23:10 AM

Lowe's is infinitely closer to my house than Home Depot and they don't have the Purdy brand. Should I just get the most expensive rollers they have?

3/27/2014 11:44:23 AM

Yes, Home Depot has the Purdy on their site but if they don't have them in stock the Wooster should work. As long as they are the nice ones that won't fall apart and leave lint all over your walls. Same thing with the brushes. Buy the really nice ones and take care of them. I like the Purdy nylox the best, and they are cheapest to get at Sherwin Williams when they have one of their coupons out (regular price is about the same everywhere, so 30 or 40% off is pretty good). Purdy also has technique videos on youtube she should definitely watch before starting. It will make things so much easier after watching a pro show you how to do things like cutting in. I never tape, personally.

3/27/2014 1:10:34 PM

I've used the Wooster roller covers that Lowe's carries and have been pleased.

3/27/2014 1:12:42 PM

Yeah...my wife is insistent on not using tape. Tape was a pain in the ass when we were doing the bathrooms.

3/27/2014 1:17:52 PM

Maybe I have bought a Wooster one in a pinch and forgot about it since Lowes is closer to my house as well. After I discovered the Sherwin Williams near my place I just stock up when they have a coupon since they have the 18" Purdy roller covers and the big high quality roller covers are really hard to find. They help a lot with really large rooms Get a roller tray (or whatever they are called) that has liners that fit it. After busting your ass painting all day the last thing you want to do is rinse out the roller tray.

3/27/2014 1:22:55 PM

Also going along with cleanup, these brush/roller cleaners are awesome.

http://www.amazon.com/SHUR-LINE-5200-Professional-Roller-Cleaner/dp/B00004Z4HL

3/27/2014 3:01:13 PM

I just stick the roller covers in a bag in the fridge when I'm done for the day, and toss them after I'm done with that color since they are $11 for 3.

3/27/2014 3:37:53 PM

Quote :

" I wasn't opposed to just waiting until we put the house on the market until we paint...but she's having none of that."

I am ALWAYS in favor of not putting something off until you sell if it is something you already know you have to/think you'd want to do before selling. If someone is already planning on painting, or updating a kitchen, or updating a bathroom, or knows they need to replace a failing HVAC unit before selling, why wait to do it until just before you sell? You'll spend just as much/almost just as much and get no personal benefit while you are living there.

My parents did that in their last house. Kept putting off a bunch of stuff until right before they went to put it on the market. They did it all and the house looked a ton better. They still spent all the money they would have if they did it while they were living there and never got to enjoy it because they were already moving out.

Quote :

"I just stick the roller covers in a bag in the fridge when I'm done for the day, and toss them after I'm done with that color since they are $11 for 3. "

same.

[Edited on March 27, 2014 at 5:27 PM. Reason : ]

3/27/2014 5:27:12 PM

Well I don't want to paint it now, then scuff it up for two years and have to repaint it again before we sell. Oh well...hopefully it will just be touch up then.

3/27/2014 6:58:35 PM

Yeah I wouldn't worry about that. Unless you have huge marks or holes in the wall don't worry about repainting before selling. The number of people who notice anything minor will be small and the number of people who care will be even smaller.

The reason 99% of people repaint before selling is that their realtor recommends it and the reason realtors recommend it is that a lot of people paint their houses all kinds of crazy colors with no cohesiveness and it can potentially be a turnoff to some buyers since that might not be able to "see past it". So they ask them to paint it some neutral color.

But, unless your house is in dire need of a fresh coat of paint and some touch-up work (major scuffs, drywall cracks, holes) I wouldn't bother repainting for a sale. Most people are going to repaint when they move in anyway so it's a waste of money unless it is the main reason people may not consider your house.

3/27/2014 9:03:08 PM

When I was in the market, I noticed that most homes were not freshly painted and very few really needed it. Except one. In that one, the owners had painted the master bedroom with a super high gloss silver paint, that was bubbled and peeling. It also showed every drywall and painting defect. I could not comprehend such stupid.

[Edited on March 28, 2014 at 9:27 AM. Reason : .]

3/28/2014 9:26:15 AM

Any place in the Raleigh area that sells interior roll-up doors or trambour doors? Want to replace my laundry bi-fold doors with something that takes up less room

[Edited on March 28, 2014 at 6:51 PM. Reason : .]

3/28/2014 6:50:38 PM

Does that really save space? Do you really want to bend down to open your laundry room door every time you want to do laundry?

3/28/2014 9:11:29 PM

Quote :

"interior roll-up doors "

wtf?

3/28/2014 9:16:00 PM

fuck painting. fuck that shit with a big spiky stick. i'm usually a strict DIY guy, but painting just isn't worth it.

3/29/2014 7:37:39 AM

^ that. I would rather do just about anything else but paint.

3/29/2014 3:47:55 PM

something like this makes painting smaller jobs so much easier... i don't even bother taping when i use these things. all i need is a rag/alcohol to clean up an occasional mistake.

3/30/2014 12:38:18 AM

maybe I've just had bad ones, but I've never used an edger that was worth a damn

3/30/2014 10:57:57 AM

I'm also in the camp that they suck.

a steady hand and a good brush means you can cut in without any of that mess.

I don't have a very steady hand, so I've gotta tape.

3/30/2014 5:52:13 PM

we used to always tape but I found out my wife is quite good at cutting in, so we just use a good brush made for cutting in and I let her take care of that. I really don't mind painting and I am such a perfectionist with it that I don't like the idea of paying someone else to do it.

3/30/2014 5:55:09 PM

Anyone have suggestions for a roofer in Greensboro? I've been finding some shingles in the yard after all these storms we've been having, so it's probably about time to get a new one. Roof is about 20 years old. I've had it looked at a few times after hail storms but of course the insurance companies claim there is no damage.

3/30/2014 9:42:39 PM

Well that was fun...and not even remotely close to finished.

We're doing a decent job of painting, but my wife severely underestimated all of the shit you had to do in addition to just the painting. Taking off all of the little electrical outlet covers, paintings, and the flat screen tv bracket was a bitch. Moving the furniture and stackable washer/dryer wasn't fun either. It didn't help that I had to work half the weekend...and half of my available time was taken up by purchasing her a new car, previous brunch obligation, and a comedy show last night. We basically got 1.5 coats on the downstairs, nothing on the stairwell, and nothing upstairs.

We should finish the downstairs probably tonight and tomorrow and save the upstairs for next weekend (she's going out of town this weekend). The stairwell might be too difficult for me (90 degree angle and stupid high ceilings/walls)...but I'm going to give it a shot this weekend.

3/31/2014 2:36:41 PM

You should definitely paint your cabinets like this, talk about hating painting...

4/1/2014 10:22:36 AM

Has anyone opted to have a home built lately? We're considering it, but I want to know every possible pitfall that anyone has experienced so that I can be proactive in avoiding the typical "gotchas."

4/5/2014 12:02:06 PM

I did; but it was pre-planned housing. You going custom or what?

4/7/2014 9:19:51 AM

Current plan is to buy a Frank Betz plan and have it tweaked just slightly, but yeah, custom otherwise. We've purchased the land already but it's not a situation where I'm opposed to just holding said land and not building on it if building will turn into a perpetual nightmare.

4/7/2014 9:31:32 AM

Kitchen faucet is dripping a few drops per hour. It's a Delta faucet that was in the home before I bought the place. I've replaced quite a few sinks and faucets over the years, but I have never had any need to take apart a faucet and rebuild it with new gaskets. Anyone have any advice/tutorials to recommend before I start researching it myself? If there's a single gasket that is easy to replace I'd be interested in the quick fix right now because I'll probably replace the whole kitchen within a few years anyway.

4/8/2014 8:36:53 PM

go to the plumbing aisle and get a delta seats and springs kit. 10 minute job.

edit: that's assuming it's the style with a single lever in the middle. if it's the two knob style, then you need stem kits.

either style is very easy to repair. these are pretty much the only parts that can wear out in a faucet.

[Edited on April 8, 2014 at 8:48 PM. Reason : dsf]

[Edited on April 8, 2014 at 8:52 PM. Reason : should be called a stem cartridge or something like that. take the old one there with you.]

4/8/2014 8:45:53 PM

^ It's a single lever in the middle. Thanks for the info.

4/8/2014 9:15:25 PM