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I have a Samsung heat pump dryer and can attest it. It does take longer than a typical vented dryer (usually about 1.5 hours for a pretty full load), but it's absurdly efficient. It costs less to run than my washer in electricity.
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Apr 23, 2020 03:00
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I just put my house into Mint so it periodically checks the redfin estimated value, without having to actually see the other houses I might have missed out on.
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May 10, 2020 16:50
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It depends on how much air flow there is between the rooms. You will, objectively, get a better more consistent experience if you put air conditioners in each room. But that's obviously more expensive up front and will cause more cold air to leak out from the gaps between the windows you have in each room. You can also look into mini splits. They will be significantly more efficient than air con units mounted in the windows. It can also work as heaters in the winter time. They do, of course, have significantly higher upfront costs however. They are the most affordable permanent solution for air conditioning for a house that isn't already set up for it I would say.
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May 28, 2020 18:12
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Femtosecond posted:This house has ducting and a furnace that is apparently compatible with being hooked up to AC so I suppose if I wanted to pay for it that would be the most ideal setup, though like, I'm really not sure whether I need to spend the several thousands of dollars on that when Vancouver is only really obnoxiously hot for like two weeks. Sounds like you can start with one window unit for your foyer there and test to see if it gets you what you want. If it doesn't you can always go out and get more.
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May 28, 2020 20:03
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My one and a half year old roof is leaking and the original installer is just absolutely refusing to pick up the phone to honor their warranty so I have to get someone else to come out and fix it before it causes more damage. I've had a couple of contractors come out to give quotes on what is needed to fix it. they both found ponding water on my flat roof for my row house in Philadelphia that likely needs to get fixed one way or the other. One said that it would be $800 to just fix the immediate leak but that the ponding will need to get fixed as well sooner rather than later and that would be about $5,000. The other contractor that came out said that they could spray down a silicone roof coating to cover the whole flat part of the roof which would both fix the immediate leak and be resistance to the ponding issue. That would give me a 5-year warranty for about $3,000 however I would have to have them come out once a year for about $175 to perform yearly maintenance to maintain that warranty. It seems like the silicone approach would be the better one. Since my previous installer is refusing to pick up the phone and honor their warranty I effectively have no warranty at all for the roof. So paying $3,000 to get essentially a new roof for the flat part of it as well as get a warranty that would actually be honored, judging by the reviews that they have gotten that I've seen online, seems like a better deal than $5,000. Does that seem right and make sense? I've contacted my home insurance provider and I'm having them come out to provide their own estimate so hopefully they will cover at least some of the cost of the roof repair that's needed. But as of yet they haven't made it out. I would assume that the insurance company will probably try to say that the roof workmanship was subpar and that they are not responsible for the damage.
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Jul 13, 2020 17:23
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That was basically what they said, that the ponding won't matter since silicone doesn't break down in the presence of standing water. The ponding isn't super deep so I don't think it would be a danger in terms of causing the roof to collapse from the weight.
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Jul 13, 2020 17:29
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Spikes32 posted:Are they not picking up the phone at all, or just not for you? Are they completely out of business? You could try calling from a new phone number if they're still in business. Maybe take them to small claims court? Or see if your insurance company will try and take them to court? They picked up once and said they would send someone over, then never showed up, never called to confirm and didn't pick up again when I tried calling a half dozen times. Other people online have complained about these folks not picking up. I can't go through the whole small claims process while I wait for this leaking roof to get fixed. It needs to be done soon.
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Jul 13, 2020 17:48
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skipdogg posted:Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't be filing a HO claim for 3K. Homeowners is for serious major claims only. The rate increase from filing a claim will cost more than just covering it out of pocket. I'm not sure what roofing deductibles are like where you are, but I know mine is 1% of the home value. My deductible is $1,000. Now if they're only covering damage to the drywall on the ceiling inside of the house then I will just drop the claim. If they'll cover the roof though and it may be worth it if the deductible is $1,000 and it costs me between $3,000 and $5,000 to fix it. Anonymous Zebra posted:Is it an installer's warranty or a manufacturer's warranty? Rather, is the warranty through the roofing company or through the maker of the roofing materials? If the latter, find the instructions on your warranty certificate and forward the manufacturer the quotes from the other roofers. The manufacturer will usually then cover repairs and then will follow up with the roofers to give them poo poo about making them pay out a warranty claim. The warranty is through the roofers unfortunately. The previous owner of the house is the one who got the new roof. They just passed along the warranty to me.
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Jul 13, 2020 18:20
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Shockingly, I managed to get a hold of the roofers who originally installed my roof and they said they would come by and fix it Monday or Tuesday of this week. It shouldn't surprise me of course that they never showed up never called and never alerted me to reschedule or anything. They have a one-star rating on Yelp and an f rating in the BBB. I looked up their address as well and it's just the dude's house. So while I could physically drive over there it probably would not be the best idea. So at this point I'm going to give up on them get another contractor to do the roof either with a complete redo to fix a standing water or with the silicone coating that should be unaffected by standing water. Does anyone else here have experience with a silicone covering on the roof does it hold up well over time? That is the cheaper option that I've been quoted and the materials they are using seem to be a common one.
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Jul 14, 2020 23:10
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H110Hawk posted:Get it done and sue them. Stop playing games and don't threaten them further. Talk to an attorney about the specifics but it's likely small claims sized. Remember time is of the essence to repair a roof. Save all correspondence (print it out) and write a log of what happened, what was promised, and what then didn't happen. That's the plan. My insurance said they would cover a tarp over the roof while I'm waiting for proper roofers to come and fix it. So I'm going to see if I can get someone to do that ASAP. Anyone have any opinions about silicone versus traditional roofs?
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Jul 15, 2020 00:27
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This roof thing is being a real nightmare. My insurance company asked me to get someone to put up a tarp and I did, it cost me $450. That goes toward my deductible I suppose. The leak is around the exhaust fan for the bathroom so as one does they tarred up the border with the tarp and the roof since it's a flat roof. If they just laid it down it would get water underneath it as soon as it rained. Then they sent out someone to inspect the roof and they didn't have any tar with them to lift it up and then replace it. And now they want me to have another contractor come out to remove the tarp then they will have another inspector come around and then I need to have the contractor come out a third time to replace the tarp. Insurance company knew it's a flat roof and I told the inspector the day before that it was a flat roof and that had been tarred around the edges of the tarp to ensure that it was water tight. Just absolute loving morons.
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Jul 22, 2020 20:37
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Well to update on my roof, I had someone out to finally put down the latex covering to fix the issue. They finished only a few hours before we started a good five days of rain. It dumped a few inches overnight and no leaking so far so that's taken a lot of stress off of me now. Now to just deal with my insurance company and try to get them to pay out. I'm for sure sending them the warranty that I had with the original installer so that they can seek to recover their losses against the previous contractor because gently caress that guy.
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Jul 31, 2020 13:27
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EwokEntourage posted:On time experts wants to do this whole shebang with cleaning our hvac unit, cleaning the outside compressor, adding a drip pan, etc. it’s like $1000 quoted for just the cleaning and like $4000 for everything they recommended we do. It’s obviously a sales pitch but is there any validity to getting your hvac unit cleaned? It’s relatively new and seems to work fine but they claim we can lower our energy bill significantly and prolong the life of the unit Cleaning your HVAC unit can definitely help, but honestly all you probably need to do is take some dish soap and drizzle it inside through the fan grate and then take a hose and spray it in there as hard as you can until the soap stops coming out of the bottom. The unit is designed to be rained on so you won’t hurt it.
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Dec 20, 2020 19:51
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I would look at a heat pump water heater if you need to replace it at this point. It does double duty of being your basement dehumidifier and your water heater and will cost half as much to run as an electric water heater.
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Dec 21, 2020 14:56
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Like the dinosaurs in Jurassic park, water always finds a way.
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Dec 27, 2020 04:34
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Just make your own call on what your risk level you're comfortable with is. I live in a remodeled rowhouse in Philly originally built in the early 1900's with a finished basement. But I also live on the top of a hill (more or less) making the water table WAAAAAAY far below my house and reducing the likelyhood of water intrusion due to a heavy storm. I still only use my basement for exercise equipment, laundry stuff, and storage though.
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Dec 27, 2020 20:46
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Highbrow Slick posted:Speaking of water getting into houses - during last night's rain I awoke to discover a steady drip of water leaking down through my bathroom vent fan. Yay. Now I get to spend some of today finding out whether the HOA may cover it (unlikely unless it is roof-related) and then probably calling...idk who even would look at that. HVAC? This happened to me over the summer and it was a roof issue. I obviously don’t know your exact set up but that would be where I personally start.
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Dec 28, 2020 16:21
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Hubis posted:Glad I put that qualifier. That's been my experience this far, but maybe it actually is just regional? I might also not know what I am talking about of course. Are you in a place that requires flood insurance?
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Dec 28, 2020 22:22
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I’ve been hearing some scampering in the ceiling and the other day I saw a field mouse on my first floor. I assume they are trying to set up shop in my walls. Is there a no kill trap I can use to capture them or should I just call a animal control company to take care of it?
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Jan 11, 2021 23:48
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KS posted:I've used https://www.amazon.com/Authenzo-2018-Upgrade-Version-HumaneMouseTrap/dp/B07BMTWQCY/ or the many others like it and they work pretty well. Note it's pretty inhumane if you forget to check it every day I'll give these a shot. I want to avoid killing it if I can. The mouse, I think it's only one but who knows, is pretty bold. It popped out from behind the cushions on the couch right next to me while I was sitting there, so hopefully it won't be afraid to take a nibble from the trap.
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Jan 12, 2021 02:52
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tater_salad posted:Sadly no kill traps are kind of an issue becuase well.. where do the mice go after they've been captured.. are you going to take them in your car and drive them out to the country to go live on a farm? Are you going to trap them, then release them in your backyard for them to be like.. Oh okay back into the house again? I mean, my plan is to just drive out a couple of miles and let it go. It's not like their range is that far. Edit: oh hey it worked 
Nitrousoxide fucked around with this message at 15:34 on Jan 12, 2021 |
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Jan 12, 2021 14:54
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Drove him to a local park about 5 minutes away.  Bye bye little guy. I guess I'll clean reset and rebait the traps in case there's more.
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Jan 12, 2021 15:59
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I just cleaned my Frigidaire yesterday and it wasn't bad
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Jan 22, 2021 02:53
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I think my mouse problem has been solved. I caught a total of 2, and saw a third, but after that one I followed it to where it ran off to and discovered a hole in the floor where the gas line enters the house to go into the oven. I shoved some steel wool in the hole there and despite having the traps out for a couple of weeks, I've not caught anymore, and perhaps more importantly, haven't heard any skittering in the walls. There were never any droppings or eaten food around, so I don't think they every really entered the house except to explore that hole, so it seems to be fixed.
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Feb 13, 2021 15:11
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Sk8ers4Christ posted:Nope, and I just combed through them last night and this morning. The only mention of the HOA is on the deed and closing costs paperwork (estoppel and transfer fees). Talk to your neighbors. What might take hours and hours of research they might be able to point you to in a few seconds. They are all presumably aware of what they owe and how they know it.
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Feb 16, 2021 14:33
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I'm pretty sure Tesla uses pretty bog standard off the shelf equipment for their solar line outside of the solar roof brand. They did get sued by Walmart for some of their flat top installs catching fire. But honestly Tesla doesn't install them themselves they use local contractors to do that so in terms of what Tesla does themselves it's designing the system and sourcing the parts. The actual install itself is done by local folks who could be of varying quality.
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Feb 26, 2021 14:38
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Zone to a different type of zone or upzoning?
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Mar 10, 2021 22:44
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Neat, water is pooling in my finished basement. At least it only happens when it really pours. So I should have time to get 2-3 quotes for remediation. First quote is for 2.7k for demo and remediation, no repair to studs damaged by work. 3.3k for fixing everything up to but not including drywall. I believe they were pitching a trench along the side is the basement with the ponding with a drain/pump to sewer line. That seem reasonable? The basement has a pretty big slope between the back of the house and the front and ponding only in the lowest point. Would just a sump pump in the front with no trenches be sufficient instead?
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Aug 19, 2021 22:58
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Motronic posted:Do you currently have a sump pump? If no, how/why/who finished that basement? Did you buy it that way? Was it premitted? No I don't currently have a sump pump. It was a remodel of a Philly row home that's over 100 years old. Yes I bought it that way. My inspector did not flag it as an issue. As far as I know it had the necessary permits. Assuming no catastrophic issues like a broken foundation, would a simple sump pump with no trenching be sufficient?
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Aug 19, 2021 23:15
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Motronic posted:It could be, it could not be. If this hasn't ever happened before and suddenly started happen it could be something completely different like broken gutters/downspout. A neighbor that regraded. A neighbor's broken downspout, etc. It's definitely had moisture there before. Don't think pooling before, but we did have the reminents of a tropical storm roll through last night. The neighbors essentially have no gutters so I presume their water on their roof just has a nice 12 ft fall to the ground.  My gutters are in good working order and I have a tube that takes it away from the foundation.  No other grading work near me.
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Aug 19, 2021 23:43
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Motronic posted:Yeah, that's not great. Ah yeah, fun times. Last year when the tropical storm rolled through the vent in my bathroom started leaking and after having someone come out and look at it they discovered ponding on my flat roof. I ended up having to get an entirely new roof because the algae that was growing up there was wrecking it, despite the roof being only 2 years old.
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Aug 19, 2021 23:52
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Inner Light posted:Was this homeowners insurance claim territory or no? I did reach out to them, but they said they would not cover it because the ponding wasn't due to a sharp event like a storm, but instead a slow degradation of the roof.
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Aug 20, 2021 00:05
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Some stuff you can do for cheap is: 1: Get the stuff off the floor. Get shelving so that if you do get water in the basement, it has to get up at least 6 inches or so before it starts damaging stuff. 2: Get a dehumidifier to keep the baseline humidity down
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Aug 26, 2021 02:11
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My city at least has been trying to push people to install garbage disposals to reduce food waste that ends up in trash
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Aug 30, 2021 12:57
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B-Nasty posted:That's odd, because it's usually the reverse. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-12/philadelphia-building-code-now-requires-garbage-disposals-in-new-construction
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Aug 30, 2021 20:10
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MJP posted:Yeah, they proposed a mini split - or at least a mini split looks like what they described. I got this window unit for my house's second story which was having issues with a poor return in the main AC and and would frequently get up to 10-15 degrees F above the temp on the first floor. It's VERY efficient and VERY quiet. You can't hear the compressor at all, just the fan, which is all you'd hear with a minisplit system as well. It comes with some high density foam and a bunch of adhesive foam you cut to size for your window to keep it well sealed. It's the most efficient window unit on the market. If you can live with loosing a bit of the view from a single window it's a much more affordable solution. It doesn't have a reversible valve though, so no heating in the winter. https://www.amazon.com/Midea-Inverter-Conditioner-Flexibility-Installation/dp/B08677DCKN
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Aug 30, 2021 22:09
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MJP posted:So it's basically permanently installed in the window? Or do we still take it out/put it back when it gets warm? You can take it out when it gets cold, but you'd have to undo some screws. The high density foam insulation they provide with the unit to seal up the bottom of the window should be at least the same R value as the window itself, so you're honestly probably improving the insulation of the home by leaving it in place over the winter. Edit: Here's a video of it in operation and how it's mounted. I also open the window so you can see the difference in the sound with it closed. It's about as loud as a ceiling fan with the window closed. https://youtu.be/GtLa86EcE8o Also some pictures   Here's some decibel readings on my phone all while the window is closed. The first is 1.5 feet away from it. Where I recorded the video.  The second is 9 feet away 
Nitrousoxide fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Aug 31, 2021 |
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Aug 31, 2021 02:18
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Well, in the middle of the remnants of the hurricane rolling on through the Mid Atlantic near Philly I finally saw in person where the basement water issue was. Got a half inch of water in the very front 10% of my basement from the water collecting there. Spent the better part of 1.5 hours bailing out the lowest point to try and keep up with it. I mostly did. Probably moved at least 100-150 gallons of water in 20-30 5-gallon buckets over that time Didn't get any pics when it was at its worst since I was too busy bailing it out. I did keep the water to the area that the foundation guy said he'd need to tear up anyway to put in the french drains and sump pump, so hey that's good. Glad I already made the call to have that put in and that I was home for this to do that bailing.
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Sep 2, 2021 00:07
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Motronic posted:Ugh, I feel you. Oof. Hope nothing important got damaged. On the plus side for me, I stuck my head back behind the drywall in the basement and actually saw where the water was entering through the foundation. Got a video and placed one of those hand fishing tools to point to it so the foundation guys can fix that up when doing the drain and pump. Also, I can highly recommend a good head lamp as an essential home tool. I'm a fan of the Nitecore.
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Sep 2, 2021 03:17
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MJP posted:Goons, my basement has 3" of water. Hopefully we won't get more than another 2-3" tonight. We've removed anything important and gotten everything else that we might want a shot at keeping above 6". If it's not finished you can probably bail it out or pump it out and then have foundation folks come out to fix it up. Do you have a drain and/or sump pump?
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Sep 2, 2021 13:55
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