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Pile of Kittens posted:It's not just ugly, it's got pretty deep flaws that affect the stability of the wood. A knot or two in a 2x4 isn't the end of the world, but an inch-deep cavity or crack running along the length means it needs to be set aside. Maybe I'm paranoid because I live on the Pacific Rim and all, but drat. Yeah, there's no excuse at all for cracked lumber like that in new construction. If it is splitting now, how bad is it going to fail once it has sheetrock on it a few years?
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Jan 17, 2013 07:16
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kastein posted:I have no idea. I do all my own work and have actually read the building codes and have some concept of what's a good idea and what's a bad idea, but I really don't know how people who aren't good at building things can get stuff done without getting taken for a ride. Get ahold of your local inspector and just bluntly ask for a referral?
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Apr 6, 2013 21:47
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You Are A Elf posted:My folk's home with splitters upon splitters upon more splitters followed by one more splitter for the modem that's for both the Internet and phones will attest to that list. Just a clusterfuck of cabling and splitters on the outside and inside of their house that Comcast could have resolved both aesthetically and practically with just two more minutes of work and thought. Then my parents wonder why the cable is always pixelating and the modem is always dropping; it's all that loving signal loss from the splitters. Our house was like that, but with CATV splitters and filters. The first competent tech we got out brought in a two foot daisy chain of filters and splitters he'd pulled off the line, and credited us our bill since the first tech call due to obvious incompetence.
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Aug 10, 2013 06:06
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smackfu posted:Honestly, the answer to most "why" questions is, "it was like that when we bought it, and we don't have $X,000 to pay a plumber to fix it." There's a toilet in the middle of my basement that's there for exactly that reason. The rear end in a top hat that put it in left the sewage pipe for it flush with the floor, and the water leads are under concrete as well. We just hung a sign over it saying 'Exhibitionists Only'.
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Jan 8, 2014 19:15
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Bad Munki posted:You should frame it in with steel beams and put lexan walls all around. When people ask, just be cagey and change the subject. Might be fun. Put a big halogen spotlight right above it too.
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Jan 9, 2014 19:40
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Shifty Pony posted:I think that is an after-the-fact rationalization applied by the people who were selling the places. The real truth is that they just cut corners and costs while throwing up as many ticky tacky houses as humanly possible. Very similar to the building "quality" you saw in the late 90s-2007 mcmansion boom. One of my good friends is a draftsman who was working for Regency Homes back in 2003, and I was working delivery for Sherwin-Williams for the summer. Man, the poo poo I saw going up in $250k houses, I wouldn't put in a barn, and he's shown me the plans he got called to work on. Half of these houses aren't going to be standing in twenty years. Of course, that company went bankrupt and ran with something like a quarter billion in debts in 2008. Liquid Communism fucked around with this message at 22:33 on Jan 28, 2014 |
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Jan 28, 2014 22:28
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Blistex posted:Suited up in some coveralls, a mask, and took a flashlight into the 2' tall crawlspace under the addition in my house. The floor joists for the 8x16' addition run lengthwise, which isn't too much of a problem, except that that they are not 12" apart, or even 16" apart, but a whopping 24" apart. Seems that I'm going to have to put in two 5x5" crossers and some additional supports, and jack up the center one, and shim it as well. I'm wondering if that addition started out as a deck and they just built two stories above it. gently caress!!! How long have you had the house? Is it recent enough that you can go screaming after whatever bumblefuck signed off on the inspection?
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Feb 1, 2014 18:30
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Splizwarf posted:Yeah, that... never works. Hey, it won't do -him- any good, but if noone ever bitches, they just keep pencil whipping inspections and leaving lovely poo poo like that to be found later.
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Feb 1, 2014 18:49
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MisterOblivious posted:Ahhh ok. We don't go in for that sort of thing very often up here in Minnesota. Yeah, snow loading and thunderstorms laugh at any roofing that isn't nailed down.
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Mar 22, 2014 07:16
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Devor posted:As long as you run some hot water down the pipes first to warm them up, you'll be fine. Just capture the water in a pitcher or bowl until the kitchen sink's hot water warms up, then run the hot water for a minute or two, and then dump the water you reserved at first down the pipes. You do understand that PVC can shatter from temperature shock if you do that, right? 
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Apr 1, 2014 02:15
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Kitchens without hoods that vent outside and pull a decent CFM should be illegal.
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Apr 8, 2014 15:09
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Baronjutter posted:I'm pretty sure my apartment hood doesn't vent outside unless there's something tiny behind it, but it seems to work pretty good for smells. It's just got a million filters inside and scoops everything up. Yeah, and give those filters just a tiny bit of the usual abuse of someone who doesn't own the place and thus gives no fucks, and they'll be a greaseball just waiting to explode into merry flames the very second you get a grease fire on the stove.
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Apr 9, 2014 02:18
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NancyPants posted:Mine is horrific but ima level witchu: If it's steel, just get a pan full of boiling water and pour over it, or use industrial kitchen degreaser (Simple Green gets most any grease off, too). If it's plastic, get a new one. 
Liquid Communism fucked around with this message at 17:21 on Apr 9, 2014 |
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Apr 9, 2014 17:17
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DNova posted:Humans can breathe in air that has too little oxygen to sustain a fire. Halon and its modern replacements are specifically made to be used in environments where you can expect humans be when the systems are activated. Dear God no they are not. There's a reason datacenters with Halon suppression have breathers every 10' or so inside just in case a tech is caught when the system dumps. Getting the right concentration is a very, very exact thing, and tends to run into problems based on how fast an unpredictable fire is consuming oxygen in the room as well. Liquid Communism fucked around with this message at 14:17 on Apr 18, 2014 |
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Apr 18, 2014 14:02
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GreenNight posted:I can think of a few dates I went out where I was sorely disappointed by nothing happening. 4 month build? Watch that contractor like a hawk. I gaurantee you'll catch some shady rear end poo poo in the finishing steps.
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Apr 29, 2014 23:45
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Don't forget that they're also incapable of upgrading said infrastructure for ~reasons~. I can't even get DSL at my place because our phone switching systems are from the 70's and start to cut out if it rains. :\
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May 4, 2014 23:26
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Indolent Bastard posted:A friend posted this to facebook, I have my opinion, but I wanted to hear yours before I taint the sample. Ah, TEDx, the name that stands as a warning that what follows is likely bullshit. So many sins against roofing in this video. License plates as shingles... is that carpeted roof at 7:12? Interesting concepts, though. I agree that the waste of modern building is terrible, especially given the final products in many cases.
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May 28, 2014 14:46
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CopperHound posted:I want to avoid bringing up a derail of safe handling practices, but I am wobdering why it seems like everything was made out of asbestos. I can understand pipe wrap and fireproofing but why cement tiles? Does it make them lighter? Asbestos is really an amazingly durable and versatile structural material. Before we knew it caused cancer, it was used in drat near everything because of those properties. It was cheap, sound dampening, fire resistant, heat resistant, chemical resistant, electricity resistant, and strong.
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Jun 3, 2014 17:41
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Today my house is Crappy Construction. It decided to rain like hell today, bad enough that I've got 3" puddles in the driveway and the grass is turning into a lake. My roommate, who owns the place, sealed the basement walls a couple years ago after having the mortar re-pointed to stop them leaking. Apparently he missed a spot under the basement stairs. I heard water running in the basement just now, and came down to find a half-inch diamter jet of water coming out of the masonry work three feet above the floor, shooting a good several feet. 
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Jun 7, 2014 19:32
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AA is for Quitters posted:I need to take a picture of this, but the house next to my buddies decided to splice into the power line behind their house to not have to pay the power company. You can see the properly raised lines that run to the conduit to the meter...and then there's another set of lines that just dangle on the ground and run up to a junction box that sorta hangs out of one window and into the house. The worst thing is, it appears that it was done by a proper electrician (the splices are really well done), but it looks like someone just didn't give a gently caress. Like they went "gently caress it, I'm gonna tap the line for free power, but I'm going to do it as half assedly as possible" Best report that poo poo before the inevitable fire that may eat your buddy's place too.
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Jun 17, 2014 16:47
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some texas redneck posted:
The power company will be calling the fire department once they're off the phone with you anyway, in case anything catches when they yank that piece of poo poo.
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Jun 26, 2014 17:53
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sirr0bin posted:A heat gun works awfully well for stripping paint. I've used them to bend one hell of a lot of PVC for use in props and as a temporary building material.
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Sep 27, 2014 03:49
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Nitrox posted:Only scrubs buy 45 bends, real plumbers bend that section 40 all day long I always worry too much about making the pipe brittle to use heat-bent PVC in actual plumbing installs. :P Then again, I am nothing like an actual plumber.
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Sep 27, 2014 22:31
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They taped it up rather than guessing where there might not be boards in the case and just running woodscrews through. Not the worst.
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Oct 30, 2014 02:37
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Nov 4, 2014 12:22
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MH Knights posted:Using PEX also means not having to worry about someone breaking into your house to steal your plumbing. Oh, they'll still break in, and probably smash it anyway when they discover you don't have any sweet, sweet copper.
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Dec 3, 2014 16:14
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You know, that's a question I've been kicking around for a while. What do planning and zoning commissions have against building out shops with an attached apartment?
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Dec 26, 2014 01:33
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That's honestly what I want. Something big enough for a floor lift so I can stop working on my Jeep in the slush when the rear end in a top hat device throws a part in mid-winter, and with enough room for all my assorted hobbies. Throw a 1 bedroom cottage on the back and I'm a happy man.
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Dec 26, 2014 18:04
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Bad Munki posted:Sure, but if the driveway guy STILL refuses to listen, sometimes you just have to say "THIS IS MINE" and then piss on everything. Hell, it'd be worth it to me to shell out for the day rental of a concrete saw and just tear up that bit of drive and put in a flowerbed. gently caress 'em.
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Jan 20, 2015 22:24
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Run a finger across the paint and see if it comes away dusty. From experience, I know how loving cheap most builders are on their interior finishes. Same on any hardwood, look for swirls where they made up for lovely prep sanding by spraying urethane thick.
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Feb 14, 2015 22:15
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Sorry, I was more referring to basic services like groceries and hospitals (and perhaps more pertinently for this thread, hardware stores). Having to drive for ages to get that stuff is a pain in the rear end and/or seriously dangerous. I absolutely understand the appeal of living out in the middle of nowhere; there's plenty to do out there. Bad phrasing on my part. You know that huge chunks of the population live that way now, right? I mean, Iowa's not that sparsely populated, and most of the state is far enough from the nearest real hospital that they run helicopter ambulances. Hell, in a lot of places it's more like 50 miles between gas stations, out in the really empty states.
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Feb 19, 2015 08:52
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Dragyn posted:I'd always heard that it was before the days of GFCI protection, as a safety precaution. No outlets in the bath and the light switch is outside. Yep, my 1918 built place is the same way. Lightswitch on the outside of the bathroom, and the sole outlet is a (now GFCI) box put in in the 1980's remodel.
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Feb 26, 2015 07:21
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Yeah, that's a dish sink, I guarantee that panel is getting sprayed on the daily, by a half-soaked guy standing in a puddle and leaning his dick against a stainless steel rail.
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Feb 26, 2015 14:10
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Slanderer posted:Eh, I assume that the panel getting wet is more of an issue with damage to the panel (mostly contamination on any electrical contacts), instead of direct electrocution safety---the entire steel panel is grounded (or should be). If a short was somehow caused by sufficiently-conductive water, it would be internal to the breaker. What in the world would make you assume a panel put in next to a loving dish sink is properly grounded? Proper grounding is for competent builders and electricians, the sort that would look at a build out with a sink trap and taps in arm's reach and go 'Uh, maybe this isn't a great idea..'
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Feb 27, 2015 10:33
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`Nemesis posted:Am I the only one seeing the standing water on the floor? Some splash on the panel seems like the least of their worries. Looks less like standing water and more like the natural result of that kind of dish sink. Usually you'd have an anti-slip mat down there, though.
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Feb 28, 2015 01:56
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I like that he notes that he's not telling you not to buy a place, but rather what will have to be fixed so you know what you're buying and can negotiate in good faith.
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Mar 10, 2015 09:16
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Well, yes and no. A lot of it -is- one dude's fault for negligence. His home inspector.
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Mar 12, 2015 17:43
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canyoneer posted:The flipper didn't do anything to cause the basement to flood every time it rains, but the flipper *did* conceal and cover that up by replacing the drywall and painting it without primer. The flipper also removed load bearing columns. Even though the flipper didn't cause 100% of the problems with that garbage house, they probably knew about and concealed 95% of those problems. Yeah, some of that poo poo is incredibly obvious and should have been caught. A lot isn't, but stuff like the coons nesting in the attic, not being able to locate the crawlspace access for an entire addition, and the like are basic due diligence.
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Mar 13, 2015 18:51
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That is terrifying.
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Mar 14, 2015 06:12
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some texas redneck posted:I may or may not have called the Texas Attorney General over one apartment I lived in, along with city code enforcement. I had a very similar conversation with the city when I was living in San Antonio. Fire ant infestation (that they were aware of and didn't treat before we moved in) shorted out the AC at the rental property I lived in. Took our landlord over a month to get around to even looking at it, in July. Even that only was only after we got the city involved and offered to fix it and withhold the cost from our rent.
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Mar 24, 2015 07:56
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