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MrYenko
Jun 18, 2012

#2 isn't ALWAYS bad...

I’m always interested in how the rest of the world deals with windows. I get a kick out of wood frames just kinda wedged in there with shims and then mounded over. Here, the things are vinyl-framed laminated glass, installed in concrete walls with hilarious numbers of steel bolts to keep trees and small animals from coming through them during a hurricane.

:v:

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devicenull
May 30, 2007

Grimey Drawer

MrYenko posted:

I’m always interested in how the rest of the world deals with windows. I get a kick out of wood frames just kinda wedged in there with shims and then mounded over. Here, the things are vinyl-framed laminated glass, installed in concrete walls with hilarious numbers of steel bolts to keep trees and small animals from coming through them during a hurricane.

:v:

I love the German approach to windows, these things are basically standard from what I can tell, even in places where there's no real reason to have them. I really only want them for how dark it made the bedroom, it was like sleeping underground.

Spring Heeled Jack
Feb 25, 2007

If you can read this you can read

devicenull posted:

I love the German approach to windows, these things are basically standard from what I can tell, even in places where there's no real reason to have them. I really only want them for how dark it made the bedroom, it was like sleeping underground.

This is the kind of poo poo that rolls down minutes before your house executes you.

PageMaster
Nov 4, 2009

devicenull posted:

I love the German approach to windows, these things are basically standard from what I can tell, even in places where there's no real reason to have them. I really only want them for how dark it made the bedroom, it was like sleeping underground.

Ours were electrically controlled with centralized wall switches and on every window, even the backyard sliding door ;I'd love some here (and everything else about their new construction homes). Most German homes don't have air conditioning so outside of privacy these were mostly used to keep the house 10 degrees cooler once the hot weather weather hits.

oXDemosthenesXo
May 9, 2005
Grimey Drawer
Is there any way to improve the range hood situation here? I have the standard above-range microwave setup where the microwave's fan is ducted to the outside. I don't have a good alternative place to located the microwave unfortunately. The countertops are already full and there's precious little cabinet space that could be repurposed.




The fan is pathetic and the microwave doesn't even cover up the whole range so when I use the front burners I'm always risking smoke getting everywhere.

Deviant
Sep 26, 2003

i've forgotten all of your names.


Spring Heeled Jack posted:

This is the kind of poo poo that rolls down minutes before your house executes you.

where's my 2021 demon seed reboot

Motronic
Nov 6, 2009

oXDemosthenesXo posted:

Is there any way to improve the range hood situation here? I have the standard above-range microwave setup where the microwave's fan is ducted to the outside. I don't have a good alternative place to located the microwave unfortunately. The countertops are already full and there's precious little cabinet space that could be repurposed.




The fan is pathetic and the microwave doesn't even cover up the whole range so when I use the front burners I'm always risking smoke getting everywhere.

It's good that it's vented to the outside, but I'm not sure what you do if you need a microwave and have nowhere else to put it. If you solve that issue you're just looking for a "full depth" hood that will cover the entire stove. It shouldn't be too difficult to find something that will work with the cabinet layout you've got and a top exit like that.

There aren't any full depth microwave/hood combos that I'm aware of, but there are some microwave/hood combos that work better than others from the standpoint of being a hood. Seems pretty expensive and annoying to swap out for what would be a minor upgrade.

I'm assuming your existing one is working properly. If it's barely doing anything you really should make sure the filter(s) are clean (you clean them regularly, right?) and look on up there to find the fan. It's probably a "squirrel cage" type. Make sure the blades/impellers aren't broken. They are usually plastic and who knows, they may be broken and you're looking at a sub-$50 part to make it right again.

Also, if this is a very new construction place, try opening a window. See if it's a makeup air problem where the fan just can't pull against the vacuum it's making in the house.

oXDemosthenesXo
May 9, 2005
Grimey Drawer

Motronic posted:

It's good that it's vented to the outside, but I'm not sure what you do if you need a microwave and have nowhere else to put it. If you solve that issue you're just looking for a "full depth" hood that will cover the entire stove. It shouldn't be too difficult to find something that will work with the cabinet layout you've got and a top exit like that.

There aren't any full depth microwave/hood combos that I'm aware of, but there are some microwave/hood combos that work better than others from the standpoint of being a hood. Seems pretty expensive and annoying to swap out for what would be a minor upgrade.

I'm assuming your existing one is working properly. If it's barely doing anything you really should make sure the filter(s) are clean (you clean them regularly, right?) and look on up there to find the fan. It's probably a "squirrel cage" type. Make sure the blades/impellers aren't broken. They are usually plastic and who knows, they may be broken and you're looking at a sub-$50 part to make it right again.

Also, if this is a very new construction place, try opening a window. See if it's a makeup air problem where the fan just can't pull against the vacuum it's making in the house.

I was hoping a full depth + microwave existed but sounds like that doesn't exist.

It's not that the vent built into the microwave doesn't work at all, its just underpowered and couldn't capture all of the smoke even if it were due to the depth mismatch. The fan works fine and the filters aren't sparkling clean but are far from clogged.

I'll try the window cracking thing next time to see if it improves flow. My place isn't brand new by any means but it can't hurt.


If it really came down to it, could I add the shroud portion of a hood above the microwave? I could use the space where the duct is currently to install a blower that pulls through the microwave as well as the overhang. The stovetop to microwave top is 36", which seems to be right in the middle of standard offsets for range hoods.

I might be getting into custom sheet metal at that point which would be too much work just to get moderately better fume extraction, but I'd really like to use a wok properly or sear a steak once in awhile without risking setting off the fire alarm.

Motronic
Nov 6, 2009

oXDemosthenesXo posted:

I'd really like to use a wok properly or sear a steak once in awhile without risking setting off the fire alarm.

I dunno about your other ides....doesn't sound very feasible but I'll tell you I've not been able to do that until I bought this house with a full depth hood and a fan that will dim the lights when you kick it on high. There really isn't any substitute for a good full depth hood and certain cooking operations like that pretty much require one. Also, your stove isn't gonna be hot enough for "proper" woking anyway. Even the big ones like Wolf aren't hot enough for that, but they're at least a bit better.

oXDemosthenesXo
May 9, 2005
Grimey Drawer

Motronic posted:

I dunno about your other ides....doesn't sound very feasible but I'll tell you I've not been able to do that until I bought this house with a full depth hood and a fan that will dim the lights when you kick it on high. There really isn't any substitute for a good full depth hood and certain cooking operations like that pretty much require one. Also, your stove isn't gonna be hot enough for "proper" woking anyway. Even the big ones like Wolf aren't hot enough for that, but they're at least a bit better.

Good to know about the flow requirements. Sounds like I need to either go whole hog with a proper hood, or just leave it as-is.

Then again I have a spare furnace blower lying around that I had earmarked for a shop air filter. I'll bet that'd be enough airflow to clear the range.

I know about the lack of heat for good woking but I like to dream.

H110Hawk
Dec 28, 2006
My whirlpool WMH53521HZ is actually surprisingly good. I was shocked. I upgraded from a lovely fridgidaire noisemaker and this thing actually draws smoke out, even from the front burners. Make sure you get the right one, there are several and the other models all get poo poo reviews on consumer reports. On low this thing sucks more than our old one did on high for almost no sound. On high it rips. It's not a dedicated one by any means but it's worth buying.

Canned Sunshine
Nov 20, 2005

CAUTION: POST QUALITY UNDER CONSTRUCTION



H110Hawk posted:

My whirlpool WMH53521HZ is actually surprisingly good. I was shocked. I upgraded from a lovely fridgidaire noisemaker and this thing actually draws smoke out, even from the front burners. Make sure you get the right one, there are several and the other models all get poo poo reviews on consumer reports. On low this thing sucks more than our old one did on high for almost no sound. On high it rips. It's not a dedicated one by any means but it's worth buying.

This looks like one amazing microwave - thanks for the reference! Also, is the chime when cooking is finished, able to be silenced? We have a Frigidaire now that was already here when we bought the house, and it drives us crazy that it's neither mutable or in certain circumstances, unable to be canceled once started.

H110Hawk
Dec 28, 2006

SourKraut posted:

This looks like one amazing microwave - thanks for the reference! Also, is the chime when cooking is finished, able to be silenced? We have a Frigidaire now that was already here when we bought the house, and it drives us crazy that it's neither mutable or in certain circumstances, unable to be canceled once started.

It does not make a single sound. (once configured.)

falz
Jan 29, 2005

01100110 01100001 01101100 01111010

amethystbliss posted:

If you’re looking for an alternative to attaching to the deck, you could always consider pouring concrete into large planters, setting the posts into it, then stringing up the lights.

PCjr sidecar posted:

If you’re desperate to avoid blocking the view why not cantilever a few horizontal poles on the house above the slider out to the edge of the deck, as a proto-awning?


Both interesting ideas for lighting, thanks. I saw plenty of references to the planter/concrete thing, just looking for fewer things on surface of deck, but it seems like a possible temp or seasonal thing if needed.

The awning thing is an interesting idea, seems to possibly need some actual engineering skills to design and attach.

I think I'm going to peruse Menards/Home Depot to see what black pole like things they have, that may have been intended for other purposes, like for conduit or similar, and go from there.

iv46vi
Apr 2, 2010
You can also check with local metal or scrap place for a length of angle or square tube. Rattle can rainbow colours and drill through for bolts.

Yooper
Apr 30, 2012


Motronic posted:

I dunno about your other ides....doesn't sound very feasible but I'll tell you I've not been able to do that until I bought this house with a full depth hood and a fan that will dim the lights when you kick it on high. There really isn't any substitute for a good full depth hood and certain cooking operations like that pretty much require one. Also, your stove isn't gonna be hot enough for "proper" woking anyway. Even the big ones like Wolf aren't hot enough for that, but they're at least a bit better.

Full size vent chat, my new place has a microwave that is half depth over the range and even worse just vents everything into the air above it. A super bummer for sure. It's on an interior wall, can I run my vent pipe up, 90 degrees to the right, and exit it through an exterior wall? I'd have no problem boxing it in stainless or some such.

Motronic
Nov 6, 2009

Yooper posted:

Full size vent chat, my new place has a microwave that is half depth over the range and even worse just vents everything into the air above it. A super bummer for sure. It's on an interior wall, can I run my vent pipe up, 90 degrees to the right, and exit it through an exterior wall? I'd have no problem boxing it in stainless or some such.

In general a singe 90 degree bend should not be an issue. You can shop for hoods you'd like and then check their "cut sheet" or install instructions for the venting configurations they have been approved to be used in.

he1ixx
Aug 23, 2007

still bad at video games
hey thread,

looooong time no update. The VT netzero house build continues. In PA we are in the process of selling our house (inspections on an 1850's farmhouse are stressful for the old owners so please hold me in your thoughts this afternoon) and I quit my job yesterday.

We are calling the build "Black Metal House" now. The roof is black metal and our cladding will also be black metal so it fits (and shou sugi ban wood siding under the porch). Inside, The roof is looking awesome so far.




Inside, the windows are all in, the exterior doors are all in, the Zehnder unit is hooked up, the heat pumps are installed, all of the electrical has been run, network cable has been run to places where computers will live and most of the materials are on-site right now. The doors were one of the final pieces needed for the main rooms and to install the wood flooring and the doors arrived from the fabricators yesterday. The same fabricators are building our kitchen cabinets, pantry, mud room area, etc. They have a lot of work to do but their work is insanely good so I can't wait to see it all installed.





The builders installed the ash ceiling last week. It is all local ash milled from trees being destroyed by the ash borer beetle so the wood is plentiful and cheap compared to other hardwoods. Conveniently, we love the way it looks too.





The house is sealed well. Efficiency Vermont helped us run a blower door test and the result was a .6 which means that it is a TIGHT construction. The builders were able to heat the place is sub-10F weather using just a space heater in the middle of the main room in the mornings. The house would hold the heat throughout the day and keep everyone comfortable.

Well tank and pump were installed yesterday.

Internet-wise, the local cable company has stopped replying to my scheduling requests so, though that may still happen, we got Starlink setup as a backup. I haven't set it up well (the contractor plopped it into a snowbank) but I'll get it situated when I head up in a week or so.

Over the next week, the doors should be installed, the door jambs etc. Then the hardwood (also ash) floor will be put in upstairs. Then drywall and plaster (if we can find a plasterer -- our scheduled subcontractor backed out).

The electric service panel was being worked on over the weekend so the hope would be that the roof finishes this week and then we get solar on soon after and start feeding electricity back to the power company to start earning credits for this winter. Baby steps...

Lots more boring detail here: http://www.vtwoods.life

bred
Oct 24, 2008
Something to verify on the microwave range hoods: at our last place after a few years we found that even though the microwave was connected to the external vent, it was configured internally for front venting. It was one of those oh duh moments of wait, why do I feel air coming out? The manual showed how to reconfigure the baffels to direct air in the vent

Anne Whateley
Feb 11, 2007
:unsmith: i like nice words
I'm curious about black for the roof. Obviously it's better for winter and for melting snow, but if the house is so tight and efficient with heat even before the roof was put on, isn't it a concern for being too hot the rest of the year? Especially if classic New England winters are going to be less and less common?

BonoMan
Feb 20, 2002

Jade Ear Joe

he1ixx posted:

hey thread,

looooong time no update. The VT netzero house build continues. In PA we are in the process of selling our house (inspections on an 1850's farmhouse are stressful for the old owners so please hold me in your thoughts this afternoon) and I quit my job yesterday.

We are calling the build "Black Metal House" now. The roof is black metal and our cladding will also be black metal so it fits (and shou sugi ban wood siding under the porch). Inside, The roof is looking awesome so far.




Inside, the windows are all in, the exterior doors are all in, the Zehnder unit is hooked up, the heat pumps are installed, all of the electrical has been run, network cable has been run to places where computers will live and most of the materials are on-site right now. The doors were one of the final pieces needed for the main rooms and to install the wood flooring and the doors arrived from the fabricators yesterday. The same fabricators are building our kitchen cabinets, pantry, mud room area, etc. They have a lot of work to do but their work is insanely good so I can't wait to see it all installed.





The builders installed the ash ceiling last week. It is all local ash milled from trees being destroyed by the ash borer beetle so the wood is plentiful and cheap compared to other hardwoods. Conveniently, we love the way it looks too.





The house is sealed well. Efficiency Vermont helped us run a blower door test and the result was a .6 which means that it is a TIGHT construction. The builders were able to heat the place is sub-10F weather using just a space heater in the middle of the main room in the mornings. The house would hold the heat throughout the day and keep everyone comfortable.

Well tank and pump were installed yesterday.

Internet-wise, the local cable company has stopped replying to my scheduling requests so, though that may still happen, we got Starlink setup as a backup. I haven't set it up well (the contractor plopped it into a snowbank) but I'll get it situated when I head up in a week or so.

Over the next week, the doors should be installed, the door jambs etc. Then the hardwood (also ash) floor will be put in upstairs. Then drywall and plaster (if we can find a plasterer -- our scheduled subcontractor backed out).

The electric service panel was being worked on over the weekend so the hope would be that the roof finishes this week and then we get solar on soon after and start feeding electricity back to the power company to start earning credits for this winter. Baby steps...

Lots more boring detail here: http://www.vtwoods.life

Building a house *and* quitting your job? Congrats on your lottery win!

Jokes aside: that looks really awesome

Queen Victorian
Feb 21, 2018

Anne Whateley posted:

I'm curious about black for the roof. Obviously it's better for winter and for melting snow, but if the house is so tight and efficient with heat even before the roof was put on, isn't it a concern for being too hot the rest of the year? Especially if classic New England winters are going to be less and less common?

I've spent lots of summer time in Maine (so I can't speak for Vermont specifically, just south central inland Maine which is at the same latitude as northern Vermont) and it generally does not get that hot in the summer. Old non-winterized summer houses have fireplaces because because summer nights were cold back when they were built a hundred years ago. Still gets cold at night, but only sometimes cold enough for a fire. In recent years there have been more frequent hot periods and the lakes are warmer, but it's still not nearly at the point where AC is necessary or worthwhile, especially with cool/cold nights. We definitely have more box fans than we used to, though.

absolem
May 21, 2014

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 [is] immoral
insofar as it is coercive towards someone, yes

I am retarded and compassion is overrated.

AUSTRIANECONOMICS
AUSTRIANECONOMICS
AUSTRIANECONOMICS
AUSTRIANECONOMICS
AUSTRIANECONOMICS
AUSTRIANECONOMICS
House is looking good! Could you share the reasoning behind the horizontal strapping on the outside? I usually see it run vertically for water management.

falz
Jan 29, 2005

01100110 01100001 01101100 01111010
You'll want snow bar things for that steel roof or it's going to avalanche down and kill you / pets /grandma / etc.

My last house had steel roof from previous homeowner, there was a 3" ish deep depression in the blacktop driveway where it fell constantly. And he only had that roof for a few years.

he1ixx
Aug 23, 2007

still bad at video games

BonoMan posted:

Building a house *and* quitting your job? Congrats on your lottery win!

Jokes aside: that looks really awesome

I always say I won the lottery twice with my wife -- once when we met and once when she cashed out her stocks :D I am soooo lucky!

he1ixx
Aug 23, 2007

still bad at video games

Queen Victorian posted:

I've spent lots of summer time in Maine (so I can't speak for Vermont specifically, just south central inland Maine which is at the same latitude as northern Vermont) and it generally does not get that hot in the summer. Old non-winterized summer houses have fireplaces because because summer nights were cold back when they were built a hundred years ago. Still gets cold at night, but only sometimes cold enough for a fire. In recent years there have been more frequent hot periods and the lakes are warmer, but it's still not nearly at the point where AC is necessary or worthwhile, especially with cool/cold nights. We definitely have more box fans than we used to, though.

This is correct but there are some other factors too. The house is tightly sealed so whatever the temp is when we close the windows will be the temp it will stay for quite a long time, hot or cold. During steamy weeks in August, the nights will still cool it off if we open the windows but the house will have heat pumps which we can use for cooling too, if we really need it. That R95 ceiling insulation will keep things even inside no matter what is going on with the roof.

We have been in Vermont during the summer and have had some chilly nights but last summer there was a spate of very hot days for a whole week. Heating temps is definitely a concern but is also one of the reasons we built in VT so we tried to keep it in mind with all of our design decisions. For instance, the porches are built at an angle and size that will allow for direct sun to come in only during the winter months when the sun is low in the sky so we can use it to heat the house. During the summer, the porch roof will completely shade the windows during the hottest parts of the day. The idea is that we'll get the house to a good temp and then the insulation will hold it there. If worse comes to worse and it is really super hot, the heat pumps will cool things off. That's how it is all *supposed* to work anyway. We'll see! The engineer and architects seemed like they knew what they were talking about :D

absolem posted:

House is looking good! Could you share the reasoning behind the horizontal strapping on the outside? I usually see it run vertically for water management.

That strapping will get the corrugated steel cladding mounted on to it. The exterior walls are (mostly) covered in 4" of EPS foam so they needed something solid to mount the metal to. For the garage, I think they just wanted airflow behind the panels.

falz posted:

You'll want snow bar things for that steel roof or it's going to avalanche down and kill you / pets /grandma / etc.

My last house had steel roof from previous homeowner, there was a 3" ish deep depression in the blacktop driveway where it fell constantly. And he only had that roof for a few years.

That's a good point and one that worried me a lot about the design initially. The roofs are all designed to dump their snow onto a less-angled roof below except in one area which dumps onto a concrete patio (which we won't be standing on during the winter lol ) The roof profile is a modified version of the roof on our architect's house and we spent quite a lot of weekends at his place in the dead of winter this year so we got to see how that roof design works. It looks like it should do well but yeah, no cookouts when the snow is melting...

in a well actually
Jan 26, 2011

dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

With that level of sealing, do you have a fresh air exchange system or something? Seems like CO2 concentrations could get a little suboptimal.

Motronic
Nov 6, 2009

he1ixx posted:

That's a good point and one that worried me a lot about the design initially. The roofs are all designed to dump their snow onto a less-angled roof below except in one area which dumps onto a concrete patio (which we won't be standing on during the winter lol ) The roof profile is a modified version of the roof on our architect's house and we spent quite a lot of weekends at his place in the dead of winter this year so we got to see how that roof design works. It looks like it should do well but yeah, no cookouts when the snow is melting...

There are no snow cleats on the roof of my barn - I just didn't get around to it since I bought this place. This happened all at once and sounded like someone ran into the wall of the barn:



Buried porsche for scale.

he1ixx
Aug 23, 2007

still bad at video games

PCjr sidecar posted:

With that level of sealing, do you have a fresh air exchange system or something? Seems like CO2 concentrations could get a little suboptimal.

Yes the Zehnder is an air exchanger, basically the "lungs" of the house, and is a super key HVAC component for our house due to the sealing. It takes air from the outside, runs it through a heat and humidity exchanger to heat or cool it, and then sends it throughout the house. Each room has at least one air input and one air output with bigger rooms having two of them. There are "boost" buttons in some rooms like the kitchen and bathrooms. Generally the system runs using very little energy but the boost mode forces the house to exchange air at a higher rate. I can't remember the number of times that air is exchanged but I believe it is 3 times a minute -- which means that the entire air volume of the house is pushed out and then a new volume of air is going through the heat/humidity exchanger and replacing it. It's pretty wild.


This is the Zehdner ComfoAir Q450 and all of the tubes coming into it. If you look at the photo I posted of the wiring, you can see the way the air intakes and outputs come into the room.

Also we are going all electric with cooking to keep the bad gasses minimized too. (although we are putting in a range hood which isn't a passivehaus thing but from what we heard, they may add range hoods to the spec for safety reasons).

Check out this detail that the builder took a photo of our office window sill.

They extract a plug from a small piece of ash, glue it in, chisel it off, and sand it... It looks great. I love the details they are putting in.

devicenull
May 30, 2007

Grimey Drawer

he1ixx posted:

Yes the Zehnder is an air exchanger, basically the "lungs" of the house, and is a super key HVAC component for our house due to the sealing. It takes air from the outside, runs it through a heat and humidity exchanger to heat or cool it, and then sends it throughout the house. Each room has at least one air input and one air output with bigger rooms having two of them. There are "boost" buttons in some rooms like the kitchen and bathrooms. Generally the system runs using very little energy but the boost mode forces the house to exchange air at a higher rate. I can't remember the number of times that air is exchanged but I believe it is 3 times a minute -- which means that the entire air volume of the house is pushed out and then a new volume of air is going through the heat/humidity exchanger and replacing it. It's pretty wild.


This is the Zehdner ComfoAir Q450 and all of the tubes coming into it. If you look at the photo I posted of the wiring, you can see the way the air intakes and outputs come into the room.

Also we are going all electric with cooking to keep the bad gasses minimized too. (although we are putting in a range hood which isn't a passivehaus thing but from what we heard, they may add range hoods to the spec for safety reasons).

Check out this detail that the builder took a photo of our office window sill.

They extract a plug from a small piece of ash, glue it in, chisel it off, and sand it... It looks great. I love the details they are putting in.

3 air changes per minute would be pretty... drafty. Are you sure you don't mean 3 air changes per hour?

he1ixx
Aug 23, 2007

still bad at video games

devicenull posted:

3 air changes per minute would be pretty... drafty. Are you sure you don't mean 3 air changes per hour?

Yes I'm a goober, it was 70–345 m3/h. Slightly less drafty :D

Canned Sunshine
Nov 20, 2005

CAUTION: POST QUALITY UNDER CONSTRUCTION



devicenull posted:

3 air changes per minute would be pretty... drafty. Are you sure you don't mean 3 air changes per hour?

Even 3 air exchanges/hour is pretty high these days for residential homes I believe.

argeto
Apr 30, 2004
Spammer
I bought my first house last year, and I'm currently experiencing my first spring thaw / rainy season.

The road in front of my home doesn't have any city-built drainage, and I believe they laid an asphalt curb at the top of my driveway to prevent this, but the plow has all but tore that off. I spoke with the city about this, and they say the most I could do is get them to put on a new asphalt curb, as there are no culverts to direct the flow to.






As you can see, the road drainage has found its own path into the ditch between our properties. It isn't shown in the pictures clearly, but the top of my driveway is at a low spot in the road. The road goes uphill severely to the left, and slightly uphill to the right.

I have a quote to re-do the driveway, and they claim they can fix this by adding a sort of "hump" at the top to stop the majority of this, but it seems like that would just direct it into the soil next to the driveway.

My question is, are there any options I'm not considering? Would this be a good case to trench along side the driveway to put in a french drain? Is this appropriate for a new driveway to fix/mitigate or would it be better to also have a landscaper look at it also?

shirts and skins
Jun 25, 2007

Good morning!
General contractor is starting work tomorrow for a few days to take care of a bunch of minor pre-move-in updates. Etiquette question: is it typical to tip the workers? If so, when, and how much?

Motronic
Nov 6, 2009

argeto posted:

I have a quote to re-do the driveway, and they claim they can fix this by adding a sort of "hump" at the top to stop the majority of this, but it seems like that would just direct it into the soil next to the driveway.

My question is, are there any options I'm not considering? Would this be a good case to trench along side the driveway to put in a french drain? Is this appropriate for a new driveway to fix/mitigate or would it be better to also have a landscaper look at it also?

What outcome are you trying to achieve? Because a french drain isn't going to handle the volume of water coming off of a street. There's also the consideration of where you'd dump that water. It probably will dry that area out faster than it would have been otherwise, so if being muddy there is what you want to stop.....I guess.

It's really difficult to see slope in pictures so you're probably best served getting someone out there who knows what they're looking at. That person may call themselves a landscaper, but a lot of those just mow lawns and spread mulch. They may also call themselves an excavation company, which have a big crossover with people who also pave driveways. So I'd start with whoever you hired to pave. Because they've got to be involved one way or the other on how the pitch the asphalt they're putting down for you.

tater_salad
Sep 15, 2007


shirts and skins posted:

General contractor is starting work tomorrow for a few days to take care of a bunch of minor pre-move-in updates. Etiquette question: is it typical to tip the workers? If so, when, and how much?

generally if they're working and it's a decent crew tell em you'll buy em pizza or some poo poo for lunch.

argeto
Apr 30, 2004
Spammer

Motronic posted:

What outcome are you trying to achieve? Because a french drain isn't going to handle the volume of water coming off of a street. There's also the consideration of where you'd dump that water. It probably will dry that area out faster than it would have been otherwise, so if being muddy there is what you want to stop.....I guess.

It's really difficult to see slope in pictures so you're probably best served getting someone out there who knows what they're looking at. That person may call themselves a landscaper, but a lot of those just mow lawns and spread mulch. They may also call themselves an excavation company, which have a big crossover with people who also pave driveways. So I'd start with whoever you hired to pave. Because they've got to be involved one way or the other on how the pitch the asphalt they're putting down for you.

Thank you Motronic for the input. I guess my outcome was to just get some more eyes on my situation to see if I'm missing anything. The slope is steep-ish, and the water moves quite quick down the driveway.

https://imgur.com/a/UXTp50Z has a video of how fast the water moves, along with a new picture showing the slope.

Maybe this is one of those cases of "Is this even a problem right now?"? The water finds it's own way to the side, isn't running along a foundation etc. I'll continue to speak to the driveway contractor, ensure my concerns are being addressed, and go from there.

H110Hawk
Dec 28, 2006
Yeah someone with a much wider angle on the problem than your showing here and knowledge of local rules around water run off will need to weigh in.

You're probably going to wind up with a swale. They're made to route large amounts of water elsewhere, they just need to be sized correctly. They are are pretty or ugly as you want to pay for. Basic concrete formed channels to lush bioswale landscaping features.

I would talk to whomever does the major landscaping projects around town.

Canned Sunshine
Nov 20, 2005

CAUTION: POST QUALITY UNDER CONSTRUCTION



You can almost see in the video that was uploaded, that someone probably tried to do a hump at the top of the driveway before using asphalt, and it probably wore down over time due to weather and traffic.

My personal opinion is that facing the driveway and the road, it looks like your landscaping is split by some type of plants. As H110Hawk mentioned, you're probably going to need to put in a swale, and it looks like there's a perfect spot for it between your driveway and a line of plants/bushes in the vegetated area, which would get it down to where it wants to go.

Out of curiosity, what is to the left of the driveway in the photo you shared?

My other thought is that at the top of your driveway, see if they can put in a gentle valley gutter that can intercept and route the flow to the vegetated area next to your driveway, where a swale will then take it down gradient. Honestly, that grass area between driveway and plants is almost already set up for a swale, so it probably wouldn't take much earthwork to put it in, and they could probably even grade it and put seed down so it remains grass.

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Brennanite
Feb 14, 2009
Is this load-bearing ducting? Because I really, really want to buy this house, but I don't have the money to renovate a house that's been that badly "updated."



Edited to show image because I am dumb.

Brennanite fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Apr 14, 2021

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