Homeowners: Time to cut it all out and do it again

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Homeowners: Time to cut it all out and do it again

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H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:

Which subforum is this located?

Thanks!

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2734407

# ¿ Jan 12, 2017 15:46

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 17:00

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

Good-Natured Filth posted:

How often do you all shop for new home owner's insurance? I've had the same insurance for a few years, and it's not exorbitant, but I'm sure I could get a better deal if I made the effort.

Every ~4 years I send all my lines (Fire, Umbrella, Auto x 3) over to the various major insurers and see what they have to say. It never comes close to the loyalty discount that state farm currently gives me. I just send them the one page thing that shows my coverage levels and prices to an agent or three. I don't screw around with web forms.

# ¿ Jan 28, 2017 05:09

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

And you always risk being a victim of Google ADHD: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/05/revolv-devices-bricked-google-nest-smart-home

I doubt they would do it for smoke alarms due to the liability involved, but who knows! Maybe they set them to just chirp constantly until you throw it in the trash.

# ¿ Jan 28, 2017 17:26

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

devmd01 posted:

$6000 to replacement windows! Wooo!

Any energy efficiency rebates around you? Here they will pay you a decent chunk to go from single to double pane windows.

# ¿ Feb 16, 2017 21:06

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:

Our house was built in '05 with pretty low standards. Convince me not to 1) replace the vinyl siding with concrete fiber in a better color, 2) redo all the windows with triple pane glass and 3) replace the roof with a metal roof + solar panels? It's a fine location but it's not where I want to be living in 5 years, I should save these projects for the house I want to stay in, right?

This all sounds like an awful idea for a place you will be selling in 5 years. Unless anything is deteriorating rapidly or has current faults I would just let it be as is, if it is failing/failed, you might be under warranty on some of that stuff.

# ¿ Feb 16, 2017 21:50

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

BusinessWallet posted:

I bought a new construction townhouse about 6 months ago - asked lots of questions about the quality of the sound proofing in the shared wall (we're the end unit of four houses) and the builder assured us, provided all their building diagrams and got me in touch with the architect. I asked if the buildings were framed independently as four separate structures or more like condos where it's one large building divided up. They assured me that the houses were built independently and even showed me the one unit which hadn't been drywalled yet so I could see what was in the walls. I've lived in lots of different townhouses all over the city and never really had any issues before.

All the houses are under warranty and the builder lives in the area, so the complaining begins. The builder is a total jackass and takes no responsibility. Comes over multiple times to do "sound tests" where he and his goons make noise and listen to it through the walls. The only purpose this has is for him to downplay concerns and make us feel crazy. When I brought up the sound coming from the front of the house, he explained that the front wall of all four houses was built as one unit, so may be leaking sound that way. This was contrary to what he told us before going under contract when they told us that the houses were built and framed independently (got that in writing).

3 more months of complaining back and forth and they finally agree to help remediate the sound issue. Their proposal is that we buy 4 panels of QuietRock drywall and they will install them for us on the shared wall in our living room, move the electrical boxes, sand the drywall and install the trim. We'd have to clean, paint everything and hang the TV on the wall. Don't think this is a great deal and doesn't seem like it's going to be super effective.

Wondering what kind of recourse we have here, if any, and what the hell we can even do to make the situation better. People have suggested hat channel and another layer of drywall, but this is tough/impossible with the configuration of the house, the way the stairs are set up and how narrow the house is. I really want to avoid paying for this as much as possible because the house was expensive and they should have done a better job. The builder is pretty well known and he doesn't seem to give a poo poo about his reputation. I don't know of a way where we could just sell the house without getting financially destroyed, and what kind of obligation we'd have to disclose all this poo poo to a potential buyer scares me.

A relative used to do construction defect lawsuit defense. Everyone is super shady because they are done and paid. She hated every second of it. I wouldn't accept any responsibility for this (as in, paint, etc), but get everyone together with a single lawyer for a free consult with a clear list of promises (especially written ones), complaints, and acceptable remedies. Hope they settle.

# ¿ Feb 16, 2017 22:58

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

BusinessWallet posted:

My neighbor who just had a newborn and is having the same issue as us is having a contractor rip out all the fiberglass in his walls and re-insulate with spray foam, in the hopes that it will help with the noise.

I hope they are being safe with all of that construction dust and fiberglass debris. Infants are the most susceptible to that, they should make sure to let their pediatrician know. To get down off my high horse buy them a white noise machine, this one was $25 when we bought it and is way better than insulation: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GFSF402/ They need one for the baby and one for themselves.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2017 06:24

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

willie_dee posted:

I am having some doubts now, everyone in the UK is doing this, and I just wanted an answer to see if my math was right, but now I have got a few people telling me what an awful idea it is, even though I don't understand why. Maybe we can figure it out itt.

It's an awful idea to enter into a contract with your life partner where you are worried about them "paying you back." Get a basic contract where they have to buy you out in the end and their interest appreciates over time to 50%, but don't worry about them actually handing you the cash. Do you not have combined finances otherwise? Why not just fill out the marriage paperwork just to simplify this and not need to involve an attorney? (How does community property work in the UK?)

Presume that you will be buying this house 100% because you will be 100% liable for the payments regardless of what secondary contract you have with your partner. Even though mortgages in the UK are much different than in the USA I'm going to assume you sign paperwork saying that the bank is first in line and you will be "jointly and severably liable." Ask your solicitor.

# ¿ Feb 20, 2017 19:33

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

BusinessWallet posted:

Another thing our builder told us prior to entering contract (which I unfortunately did not get in writing) was that our roof top deck was overbuilt and would support the weight of a hot tub.

The tub, which was the lightest available model I could find, required 100 PSF. If we had moved forward without asking builder to verify again, that would have been a major disaster. Builder apologized for overstating and said that the previous homes of the same design were overbuilt, but mine was not.

EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:

Definitely shows the importance of getting EVERYTHING in writing.

Maybe they just did get the promise in writing. If you're already suing them print out the email and add it to the complaint.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2017 20:43

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

dalstrs posted:

drat, that's what I was afraid of.

We have a pool and I was hoping for something that could make the yard comfortable for the people who are not jumping in the water.

I've seen a few companies in the area touting monthly treatments but I didn't see anything about what any of them do that gave me an impression that it would really keep mosquitoes out of my yard for more than a few hours after they spray. I was hoping there was something out there but I guess not.

Maybe if we have a big party I can fog before it otherwise we will stick with the OFF and staying wet combo.

Short of your municipality doing aggressive mosquito control measures where they handle stagnant water immediately to prevent them from breeding you're simply going to need to spray your houseguests with 100% DEET or similar.

# ¿ Feb 26, 2017 07:59

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

QuarkJets posted:

$2500 for a DYI CCTV system seems kind of high, don't most security companies only charge a few hundred dollars for a full installation? I guess those usually come with pretty long monitoring contracts

You can save around $50/camera if you get 1080p versions instead of 4k. You do have to go through the hassle of finding a decent vendor who will sell you USA market stuff. Getting ones that are POE can be harder, I believe all the Hikvision stuff is by default.

For both Hikvision and Foscam make sure you've disabled their ability to communicate with the internet at your router. Foscam's talk to China by default.

Edit: And as with all things, you can save a ton of money pulling your own cat5/6/whatever low voltage cable. It's not hard, but it does involve disturbing your sentient colony of attic spiders.

H110Hawk fucked around with this message at 16:41 on Mar 11, 2017

# ¿ Mar 11, 2017 16:31

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

dalstrs posted:

This looks like a nice solution except it falls under that security issue people are posting about.

This is why I was asking, I like a cloud solution but want better security than this.

I get packages and want to be able to see if someone steals them from my porch, I've seen reports of people getting into others car lately and it would be nice to give something to the police with pictures, and I would like one that covers the pool so I can have videos of accidents/ monitor for unauthorized usage, leaks, etc.

Basically you want exactly what the hikvision poster above did + local video recording like a synology + vpn access to your house. The synology also has a package for VPN but I haven't tried it. Combine with blocking your cameras ability to hit the outside world at your router and you have a secure solution.

# ¿ Mar 11, 2017 19:23

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

Leperflesh posted:

The most important use of compromised IoT devices is to contribute to DDOS attacks. I've also heard of them being used for other botnet stuff. I have no idea if IoT cameras specifically are useful for that, but, the point here is that it's not really about someone wardriving around looking for cameras to snoop on, it's someone running scripts online to compromise tens of thousands of similar devices in order to gain control of a big network of controlled internet nodes.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602994/iot-botnets-are-growing-and-up-for-hire/

If you have an IoT device, the reponsible thing to do is secure it. The device provider ought to be selling devices that are secure out of the box, but they're not doing a good job of that, so customers have to take some responsibility.

The cameras are all (by and large) just running linux. They are absolutely very soft targets for things like this, even if they have 0 hardcoded or default passwords.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2017 19:36

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

Droo posted:

Both things came with the house, and I got rid of the hot tub about 4 months ago and I am surprised by how much less annoying stuff there is to deal with now. Plus, the pool is actually nice to look at. I also think it's hard to find a professional company to take care of a hot tub because people are gross and the hot tub water gets way nastier than pool water.

Plus you keep hot tubs at optimal ick growing temperature.

# ¿ Mar 14, 2017 02:18

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:

I got some pretty serious seepage and I have like an inch of water in my basement. I have a wet-dry vac but apparently 16 gallons is not as much water as it sounds like and it feels like I am hardly making a dent. What can I do to get this water out short of paying someone a gazillion dollars to come out and pump it?

I guess the good news is that seepage is specifically mentioned as a covered problem in my home's warranty

You have hundreds of gallons of water potentially, with more coming in as you vac. Am I doing this right for my sample 1250sq ft home to cu-ft to gallons? 25'x50'x(1"/12") = 104 cu ft = 774 gallons?

If it's covered read everything very carefully as to how they might weasel out of it and make them handle it.

# ¿ Apr 2, 2017 00:07

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

Our $99 propane special made of the most middling quality chinesium has lasted for years. It's great for up to 4 people or like 1.5lbs of flank. It has basically three settings, off, not quite low enough, and high. I wouldn't bother with plumbing NG. The biggest gizmo would be some kind of sear station.

# ¿ Apr 2, 2017 18:24

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

metztli posted:

What do I need to know before getting gutters other than "aim water away from the house/foundation"?

Make sure you know which direction your property drains if you ever get ground soaking downpours. You will want to make sure you're funneling water that direction. See if someone will pay for you to install rain barrels or if it's super illegal.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2017 03:47

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

The something awful internet comedy forums homeownership thread: Where a common kitchen accessory is controversial.

I own three metal spatulas, discuss.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2017 16:49

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

QuarkJets posted:

A lot of posters seem to think that kitchens without range hoods just reek of old meat all the time but that's only true if you're a messy cook

Teach the controversy.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2017 22:52

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:

Oh God I just opened a can of worms with regard to lawn care. This isn't thing I've got any experience with, we only have about a 1/5 acre lot, but I've never mowed it before or done any lawn care for a house I own. How do I enact lawncare?

$65/month keeps our small property maintained. Spent like $600 up front to go from me-height weeds everywhere to trimmed trees, bushes, no weeds, etc. Twice a month they come by and mow our tiny patch of grass and maintain the rest.

LogisticEarth posted:

Completely unrelated question: What's the deal with interior paints? I'm trying to figure out the real difference between something like Sherwin-Williams, which is like $60-70/gallon, or Behr or one of the other big-box brands, at ~$30-40/gallon for the "premium" stuff. I've painted many times before, but always for apartments or friends and such. So I'm OK with the methods, but my paint selection experience beyond "whatever is moderately cheap and looks ok" is lacking.

I have an approximately 12x15' room with wood paneling that I'm turning into the nursery. I already primed over the paneling with Killz for...some reason. I know it helps to prime dark wood paneling. Now I'm just trying to figure out how to buy a good, durable paint that can withstand kid abuse and time.

We're happy with Valspar Reserve (~$45-50/gal) which is the top of the line for Valspar. It goes on fast and easy, largely in a single coat. Buy high quality brushes for brush work, you will thank me later. $12-15/brush for Wooster rather than $1-5 a brush for "bulk pack" crap. Same goes for your roller handle. We have a high quality Purdy one and a lovely normal one, the difference is night and day. You only have to buy this stuff once (besides the rollers themselves) if you maintain your brushes. If you're going to put down plastic, don't bother with the little individual packages, get the contractor roll that is at least a whole number of mil's. The ultra light stuff is just a pain in the rear end with which to work if you're a big oaf like me.

H110Hawk fucked around with this message at 22:54 on Apr 7, 2017

# ¿ Apr 7, 2017 22:49

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

Elysium posted:

Is there a goon recommendation for a cordless drill for various DIY house projects? The rest of the internets suggests Dewalt or Milwaulkee, although this list suggests Bosch. Most of that list also is the smaller 12v drills, and not the 18v ones. I get that they are lighter and cheaper, but should I get an 18v one just in case I do something that needs more power? Is it worth it to also get a dedicated driver?

How much do you do DIY stuff? We have the small Dewalt 7V hex shank driver and it is fine for nickel and dime stuff. Even doing a "lot" of drilling and driving around the house (think: several Ikea Hemnes units in a marathon session) we've never gone faster than the spare could charge. If/when I start doing stuff like hanging drywall in our garage I will definitely want a bigger one but for various chores it's been a champ for very little money.

# ¿ Apr 10, 2017 18:16

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

Elysium posted:

So this, perhaps? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N9YL77C/

Hex shank or bust for light/medium home use, especially if you're buying all new.

# ¿ Apr 11, 2017 05:11

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:

And you keep a separate, running account for this purpose different from your all-purpose emergency fund?

No. If the roof were to need replacing we would use our general emergency fund. We started down a path to madness micromanaging our savings (Car Replacement Fund, Roof Replacement Fund, etc) then realized it was insanity. We keep out 6 month emergency fund and put all extra money into it. As it grows too large we do something with the money. (Spend, Invest, whatever.)

To be frank, at your cash flow levels it should be work out fine, and for total house replacement it's hopefully something covered by your home owners insurance. If you need a new roof you can likely save the funds in a few months.

ex post facho posted:

I'm looking at having a professional service perform two fairly significant tasks for my home:

1. Complete an electrical panel upgrade, which includes the following:
- Wire a 150A "all in one" service. This is to replace my current panel, which is only 100A, to support the AC unit.

Total, including parts, labor, material, outside GFI if needed: $2,600

2. Install a 3 ton Bryant 13 SEER rated model, which includes the following:
- Condensate pump installation
- Correcting a flue pipe issue that currently violates code standards
- Wi-Fi thermostat (meh)

Total, including parts, labor, material and taxes: $4,200

I'm in the Denver area. Does that quote seem too high or reasonable for the work performed?

$2.6k for a panel replacement is fine, however go to a 200A service. Why half rear end it now? It will likely not cost a significant amount more, and if you get a competing bid for "replacement panel, 200A service, wire for HVAC installation" it might even cost the same. Take that quote to your current guy and ask for it to be 200A.

Check with your city that you won't have any other code upgrades you have to do as a result.

$4k sounds normal for HVAC. This is to tie into an existing forced air unit right?

H110Hawk fucked around with this message at 19:08 on Apr 12, 2017

# ¿ Apr 12, 2017 19:04

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:

Yeah but you're under the delusion I am doing this because I have to. This is FUN for me, I ENJOY this. I don't know why, but sometime after I turned 30 all of a sudden I cared about turning the lights off in the house and keeping the thermostat at 68 like wtf do I care for?

I was only talking about the accounting side of it. Saving money of my bills is fun hobby I encourage everyone to participate in as long as it doesn't become a /r/frugal I wash my clothes in the bathtub obsession. I pretty obsessively turn off the 24W (6Wx4 bulb) fixture in my bedroom as I walk out despite knowing I will be back in a few minutes and the annual cost to operate likely being less than a dollar.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2017 19:13

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

Hashtag Banterzone posted:

Not that you don't need to upgrade to 150A or even 200A, but I have 100A and I was considering upgrading until I did the math and realized I could literally add a hot tub and still not top a total calculated load of 90A. (1870 sqft and pretty much all gas appliances)

A lot of new construction is 200A, and that includes rapid cut-corner construction. The breakers are within a few bucks of each other, slightly larger wire from your meter to your main breaker (which is a 2-3' span at most.) If you want to upgrade in the future it is another $2,600. Your contractor may not even charge you more for this upgrade if you ask really nicely.

Also: Have them use the Square-D panel with "plug-on neutral" - it looks super nice and I regret not getting it when I rewired our 1250 sqft house powered by a 60A service to 200A without adding any additional load. If you decide to start adding (or are required by this panel swap) AFCI/GFCI breakers it will save you labor and wire spaghetti.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2017 21:22

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

QuarkJets posted:

We know that we will have to replace the AC, a fence, and probably the roof in the next 5 years. But we don't allocate anything into separate budgets, we each keep $5-10k in checking and put all of our extra money into mutual funds. If the stock market totally collapses then we're mostly screwed but it seems like we would be facing bigger problems before that would occur... Probably

Should we be putting a bunch of money into a money market or something? That seems like a lot of lost potential earnings for a small measure of security. If our mutual funds become worthless then the housing market has probably already collapsed and what's the purpose in continuing to pay the mortgage if you are deep underwater with 28 years to go?

I would pull a 3-6 month emergency fund out of your taxable market account. It's high risk / high reward to be in say a S&P 500 mutual fund. Capital One 360 offers 0.75% in savings (FDIC insured) or 1.00% on money market (FINRA insured.)

# ¿ Apr 13, 2017 15:46

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

Motronic posted:

Yes, water softeners are absolutely worth is from a quality of life standpoint. If you have hard water soap barely lathers and you have white chalky poo poo in every sink 15 minutes after you've cleaned it and run the water once.

It will also reduce maintenance/extend the life of your hot water heater.

And dishwasher. :argh:

Living in Pasadena CA where the water appears to be 10% calcium by volume I wished we could install a softener.

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

Man, remember back around '07 or so when these were at like 4% interest rates instead?

Remember in aught nine when those chickens came back to roost?

# ¿ Apr 13, 2017 17:49

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:

So here's a question of my own: the handrail on the front steps is metal and the paint has chipped in a couple places and it's gotten rusty. I can't just paint over it, right? I have to do something about the rust, I'm guessing. But what?

Wire wheel until it's not rust. Prime + paint, use a rust resistant primer if you like.

# ¿ Apr 16, 2017 00:26

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

couldcareless posted:

I'm in the market for a lawn trimmer. I had some hand me down 2 stroke model and I'd like to move away from gas powered. Is there a recommended brand for electric ones and should I spring for a battery powered or settle for corded? I have the extension cords and the outlet placement outside for corded if that's a good route.

Cord vs. Battery is a convenience vs cost thing. I use a corded one (mower, string trimmer, hedge clipper) because my yard is very small and lugging a cord around is fine. My blower has a battery that can almost do my whole driveway, porches, and walkway in one go, but it was free with purchase of the house (my dad left it on my back patio one morning.) The battery on it is useful in that my longest extension cord doesn't quite reach the sidewalk, so I use the cord for half of it then swap in the battery.

If it were my money, on my small lot, I would buy all corded and be done with it. The cord on the mower isn't as much of a hassle as it seems like it would be.

Edit: Re: below poster with big battery system: If my lot were larger than a standard 25' power cord could reach, that is what I was looking at buying. Go all in on an ecosystem, don't half rear end it. Lithium batteries make cordless electric mowers have enough juice to actually get the job done.

H110Hawk fucked around with this message at 17:23 on Apr 17, 2017

# ¿ Apr 17, 2017 17:17

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

Motronic posted:

General question here.....what exactly is the aversion people have to proper gas powered small tools?

I mean, I get that if you leave crap ethanol gas in them they don't want to start. But this has been an entirely solved problem for quite some time now (google: trufuel and you'll find that as well as many other brands).

My city frowns on them, they're loud, and I sure as hell am not going to maintain them - trufuel or otherwise. The peoples republic of California frowns on gas mowers for home use, to the point of exchanging them straight across for a plug in electric mower once a year, or a battery system with small upgrade fee. Overall I am glad I don't have to deal with getting a gas powered small engine running, purchase fuel, oil, and plugs for it. There is really a non-existant trade off to me for our yard size. If I had a yard like my parents did I would be all about the gas powered tools.

Related story: Gas powered blowers are outright banned due to the amount of smog output by them, however they basically turn a blind eye to all the contractors who use them because the cities own teams often are caught using them. This has resulted in places like the school district maintenance team complying with the letter of the law and lugging around a portable generator which they plug into their electric blower.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2017 22:50

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

Mercury Ballistic posted:

I figured there is a market somewhere where a yard crew can trailer around a small efficient diesel generator that charges Li-ion batteries while they work. I don't know if they are there yet wrt charge time and endurance, but I bet there are wealthy, green communities that would eat up a yard crew that only used electric tools, both for the Prius factor as well as the noise level.

Even if they were all plug in I would prefer it, I can let them use my outdoor outlets, pay the same amount, and their costs go down. No one who is paying for the electric experience is going to want a nasty diesel engine idling in their front yard for an hour.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2017 23:27

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

Elysium posted:

Let's talk blinds. Why are they so loving expensive in stores and is there any reason I shouldn't just get these? https://www.justblinds.com/cellular-shades

We love our blinds.com (Home Depot Brand) blinds. They are the cordless cell shades, whatever their most popular was on their site. We got a bunch of samples, picked the one we liked, and used their full service measure + install referral service. My only regret is not buying them for every window in the house.

Don't pay retail for them, and there is a refer-a-friend scam I can sign you up for if interested.

# ¿ Apr 19, 2017 23:55

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

DTaeKim posted:

Heck, you might even get a third quote depending on how different the two are and see if either one is out of the ordinary.

I just got a third quote for my insulation and it's about $2000. It's more than the second company, but they're going to move some ventilation around in my attic because apparently there are some flammable material from the original insulation adjacent to my fireplace vent. Honestly, it's kind of funny how three companies give me three different estimates with three different job descriptions.

Company 1: $3800 for blow-in insulation (R35)and shielding in the attic and garage
Company 2: $1500 for insulation, repaired damaged insulation, soffit vents, relocated bathroom fan, sealed interior drops, and R38 insulation to attic

That shielding is likely stuff they attach to your roof decking, which would indeed double the price. You probably only need it if your house is otherwise a heat sieve or live in a place where it gets up over 100 all summer long. You don't know unless you ask! I would have all 3 companies solve the flammable materials problem.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2017 15:31

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

DTaeKim posted:

That's very insightful and explains the price. Otherwise company 3 is close in price to company 2 except they didn't provide an R rating. If our ducts are as porous as they say, I'm probably going to get them replaced on top of everything. Then again, the likelihood of needing to replace ductwork original to the house seems extremely likely.

You need to ask these people what they're going to do to your house. Make them put in an R rating on the quotes, ask them what the shielding is, are they going to build a dam around your attic entry/chimneys/non-insulation-contact-rated-can-lights, etc.

Does your state offer you rebates? We were paid a net of like $1000 to have our ductwork replaced vs just doing the attic and wall insulation. ($3000 in rebates, $2000 in ductwork, "must do three improvements to qualify.") Now is the time to fix things like encapsulating your asbestos flue, making sure bathroom exhaust fans exist, vent outside, and are the new panasonic ultra quiet ones, and installing any can lights / fixing electrical gremlins in the attic.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2017 18:43

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

wooger posted:

That would work - already have a top-down version in the bedroom, but cellular blinds seem crazy expensive here (I'm in the UK). Like �800 -�1000 for all the windows in the bay.

There are cheaper options, but none that come in the width I need.

Find a custom shop, I assume you have the equivalent of blinds.com in the UK. Your blinds are then made to measure.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2017 19:27

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

DTaeKim posted:

Finally, would there be any difference in fiberglass versus cellulose for blow-in insulation?

Fiberglass is Hitler's insulation. Only blow in cellulose.

# ¿ Apr 23, 2017 16:11

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

gently caress My rear end posted:

and if you have fiberglass in your attic get that poo poo sucked out so you only have Cellulose.

And this. I thought it then the baby started demanding attention. It is worth the 50-75�/sqft they will charge you to not have fiberglass.

# ¿ Apr 23, 2017 21:45

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

DTaeKim posted:

You seen to know a bit about insulation. Why is fiberglass bad?

I know enough about insulation to know that there is a reason we use shredded up newspapers instead of shredded up eye/skin/lung irritant. Bats are harder to install correctly (read: costs more) for the same insulation level. Maybe in 50 more years we will realize something is wrong with the borate treatment to fire retard it causes different kinds of cancer, but overall seems pretty inert. You do have to refill your walls if it's old construction you blew in insulation to, but that is on a timeline measured in decades so I'm not concerned.

My knowledge of home improvement is pretty basic, and all stuff I learned over the past year and a half since I bought my house, largely on these internet comedy forums. If you read between the lines this is all stuff I had done to my home, and my knowledge tends to end abruptly after that.

H110Hawk fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Apr 24, 2017

# ¿ Apr 24, 2017 03:41

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

Elephanthead posted:

What the hell why are you people rolling around in your attics? Just get an epipen and go hog wild.

An epipen will not get spun glass fibers out of our eyes and lungs. It's literally the same price or cheaper to get cellulose so why not?

# ¿ Apr 24, 2017 15:30

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 17:00

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

LogisticEarth posted:

At first I was thinking that people were complaining about fiberglass batting, but I didn't even know they frequently used blown in fiberglass. The batting is easy enough to work with, but lol blowing that stuff in sounds like a nightmare.

What's the advantage of blown in over batting anyway? Ease of installation, or is there an efficiency boost?

Batts are hard to get installed just right which means they cost more to get done right. Any gaps result in R-0 insulation. Blown in loose fill is comparatively impossible to get wrong. You do have to build little dams around things like your attic entrance, fireplace, furnace, etc, but that's all pretty easy to do. Great for new construction walls because they won't settle and there is nothing in the way save for trade stuff (pipes, wires), but for attics I would just blow it in all day.

And yes, blown fiberglass is satans material. It's little chunks of shredded fiberglass. Batts at least largely stay in place and gloves + standard attic PPE (respirator) will keep you safe enough. Blown in it will slowly sift through your attic into your house through fixtures forever.

# ¿ Apr 24, 2017 23:47

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Homeowners: Time to cut it all out and do it again

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