yay for a new capacitor. <$10 fix. hvac man would've charged hundreds.

carburetor didn't fix the weedeater. ended up being the ignition coil. dammit. oh well, it cranks and runs better than it has in a while. i guess the spark was just slowly getting weaker and weaker.

8/16/2017 8:27:27 PM

The guys doing siding work on my house cut the hvac control works going to the condenser. Then they tried to fix it by taping it back together

Some butt splices, heat shrink, electrical tape, and a $2 fuse and I'm back up and running.

8/18/2017 10:11:21 AM

uh, I'd have made that crew pay for an HVAC company to come in and repair

8/23/2017 7:50:08 AM

^ +1

You go to sell that house and an inspector spots that you might be footing the bill yourself.

8/23/2017 9:21:51 AM

I did a better fix than any clown out here with wire nuts would have and I wanted AC that night. I put it all behind some new molding to protect it instead of just danging like it was when I bought it.

8/24/2017 5:54:54 PM

an hvac company would have fixed it just the same as he did

8/24/2017 9:02:00 PM

Anyone have a go to [website] for appliance parts? So many look sketchy and amazon doesn't always needed items

8/28/2017 7:59:19 AM

^ They definitely do look sketch, but that's likely because there is 0 reason for them to update. Joe Homeowner likely isn't fixing his oven and is just going to call a handyman. Those handymen are used to it and not complaining and may even like the ugly but efficient sites.

I was lucky and found a place with an ugly website that also happened to have a physical store nearby. 40 dollar part to fix the ol' dishwasher.

8/28/2017 3:26:14 PM

partselect has been my go-to. got some really obscure parts for my refrigerator, microwave oven, and range.

8/28/2017 3:42:56 PM

I've lost air conditioning twice this summer. Capacitor once, then the blower on the air handler died for the 2nd time in 14 months. Almost $1000, which is insane for an electric motor, fan, and control board.

Internet gateway for my thermostat died (at least that's a free replacement from the power company).

Front lawn infested with torpedograss (worst weed ever; I think I'd rather have kudzu in my yard); I contracted a company to kill everything and totally remove/re-sod the front lawn, but my dumbfuck neighbors won't let me kill a 2' wide strip on their side of the property line, even if I have it re-sodded with mine, so fuck them and fuck it...I cancelled the contract, and will let the torpedo grass totally take over both of our yards. Fuck it. These are the same fucking idiots who planted goddamn bamboo just on their side of the property line in their yard, and the wife literally boo-hoo cried hysterically when I trimmed her grapevine back as it had grown over the fence and was hanging all the way to the ground, making it impossible for me to mow that section of my grass.

Fuck it, I'm moving. I'm actively looking for 1-acre plus of property that is not in any sort of neighborhood, where I can build and not have to fuck with any douchebag-club HOA or moronic neighbors. I have bought houses in subdivisions twice, against my better judgment. I will never do that shit again.


Oh, and the capacitor died on the air conditioning at my rental house in NC. No biggie, except I got charged like $150 (or was it $180?) to replace it, which is a rip-off. Oh well, such is life when it's rental property with a property manager.

[Edited on September 3, 2017 at 12:35 AM. Reason : should've detailed the interior flooding saga last fall that took months to unfuck]

[Edited on September 3, 2017 at 12:36 AM. Reason : all due to a tiny crack developing in the washer inlet valve while i was at sea for 3 days]

9/3/2017 12:31:12 AM

I totally hear you... With that said, don't think that just cause you move out of an HOA area, you won't have problems. Our lake home is in a non HOA area, and we have gotten more crap and boo hoos from our neighbors than we ever did in our Raleigh home. And we have flat out spent a lot of money to significantly increase the property value. They have disliked everything we have done, from clearing trees, from the selection of crabgrass, to the beach we installed, and most importantly our massive low voltage light system, which only comes on during the weekend.

9/4/2017 10:21:56 PM

What can they do about it tho?

9/5/2017 12:17:53 AM

^This. Neighbors not liking stuff is one thing. An HOA fining you and in some cases legally making you leave your house and stupid BS like that is another.

9/5/2017 9:11:22 AM

Better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission

fuck that grass up my mane

9/5/2017 2:47:44 PM

^^^^ nah I'm not looking for a new neighborhood with bigger lots and no HOA.

I'm looking for few to no neighbors. I want to be bordered by trees or farmland (or maybe even swamp or power line easements or county property or something.)

I don't need to do anything immediately, but I'm starting to look. I found a little over an acre that's mostly surrounded by big open fields and trees, but there is a damned singlewide trailer with chain-link fence off to one side. I'm still looking, but maybe I could go for that property, and plant a row of cypress or something to block that view.

There's another road with relatively decent houses on it (and a few pretty nice ones), and two lots a little over an acre each that are densely wooded. I figure I could always just leave enough wooded area that I'd have a nice buffer.

9/5/2017 3:55:39 PM

if you end up on an isolated property, make sure you've got a good security system, cameras, and good insurance. being isolated is great, but the vulnerability to theft is one negative aspect.

9/6/2017 6:24:08 PM

Yeah, I grew up that way. I mean, not Unabomber-isolated, but on a couple of acres, bordered by my aunt/uncle on another couple of acres, surrounded by dozens of acres of woods and farmland owned by my great-grandmother.

We did get burglarized once, and my aunt/uncle did 2-3 times, if I remember correctly (though I think all of those were before they built their house, when they were still in a trailer).


This would be similar...not super isolated, but much more isolated than in a subdivision. Not as far out in a rural area as I grew up, but also on a much less traveled road.

...but yeah, good cameras are cheap and easy nowadays. Security system is easy. Gonna have good insurance regardless. I am well armed, too.

For whatever a dog is worth, I have told my daughter that she can have a dog if we move to a larger piece of property. Maybe I can talk her into that dog being a Doberman or AmStaff or something, haha (I'd love to have another Great Dane, but the lifespans and health problems are problematic).

9/6/2017 8:22:56 PM

Anyone recently opened a HELOC; any feedback on your lender or general advice?

10/16/2017 9:20:10 AM

I have opened them several times with BB&T. Always been happy. Usually got a very low promotional rate (something like 1.5 points below prime for some period of time). Just be aware the Fed is going to likely keep raising the rates, so your payment is going to be going up.

10/23/2017 11:19:35 AM

Second roof in 3 years

Thank you hail

10/23/2017 4:02:29 PM

fucking moles are tearing up my front yard

10/25/2017 8:40:54 PM

^ I've got 'em bad too. I've tried a bunch of things, and yesterday picked up one of these:



time to MURDER DEATH KILL

if this shit don't work I'm a have to suck it up and pay a pro, because aside from the mole damage, my fucking dog keeps digging up the yard trying to get the moles, but she's too old and slow to actually catch anything.

10/26/2017 10:54:18 AM

I had some moles recently and used bait worms. haven't seen any new tunnels since

10/27/2017 6:55:27 AM

I'm not allowed to go the MDK route just yet per girlfriend's orders, so I ordered some of this stuff:

https://www.amazon.com/Must-Garden-Repellent-10lb-Granular/dp/B01FWGWHIO

seems to have worked so far

10/31/2017 8:46:32 AM

took the bathroom down the studs for a huge renovation. with the panel cover off to add the breaker for the steam generator, we start hearing a strange buzzing. come to find a breaker arcing but not blowing (contact on the panel itself is jacked) we yanked the 2 breakers on that middle connector and then put in some tandem breakers to get the space back. trying to put in a tankless as well but I can't find any place with schedule 40 pvc in stock open on the weekend

11/12/2017 5:25:12 PM

goddamn thermostat doesn't turn on anymore! started out the furnace fan was always on, then had an HVAC guy tell me it was the thermostat. two days later, thermostat doesn't power up. fml

11/13/2017 9:41:04 AM

damn transformer blew. now I'm trying to get a new tstat from ecobee under their warranty replacement.

goddamn their customer support sucks ass. emails back and forth from some chick in india trying to troubleshoot it. lame.

11/13/2017 2:11:11 PM

Our house is scheduled to come off the wake county designation as a flood plain. Does anyone understand how this will effect our FEMA designation?

11/13/2017 10:01:07 PM

are you in a FEMA floodplain?

11/14/2017 8:34:52 AM

We are. If you go to the FRISS site, it shows that we are scheduled to come off that designation sometime next year.

After doing some more digging last night, it appears that FEMA does in fact get it's flood plain designations from the counties.

11/14/2017 10:25:39 AM

Quote :

"but I can't find any place with schedule 40 pvc in stock open on the weekend "

lowes, home depot, etc

11/14/2017 11:03:02 AM

Woke up Saturday morning cold as hell, get up and find no air flow from the vents in my downstairs, and the fan on the outside hvac unit for the upstairs not starting on it’s own (but would run if I gave it a push to get started). Guy came out yesterday and replaced blower motor for downstairs and a capacitor for the upstairs unit, $750. I watched him open up and pop out the capacitor (almost zero work involved), and later I looked up replacement part, about 15-20 bucks, but that aspect was $100 on the line item. I looked up everything afterwards and the prices matched about what people online said it would cost. I wouldn’t have even tried to attempt anything with the motor replacement, but If I had known just a little more, I could have very easily saved about $80 on replacing that capacitor. At least my house is warm now

[Edited on November 14, 2017 at 12:03 PM. Reason : $$$]

11/14/2017 12:02:46 PM

^I hate that kinda stuff, but it happens every time I need something fixed in my house. I feel like everyone I know just somehow knows how to fix things, but I never got the memo on what that class was being held. I can kinda get by with youtube tutorials every now and then, but only simple things.

11/14/2017 2:50:32 PM

^ most people learn by doing and failing and eventually figuring it out.

but you need to have time for it. for me, especially with HVAC, plumbing issues, I generally don't have the luxury of time with respect to learning curve, so I just pay to have it done. With other stuff where it doesn't matter if it takes a few days/weeks of trial and error, I DIY it. I figure the savings on my successful ones offset what I end up paying a pro to do.

11/15/2017 10:38:29 AM

ecobee is finally sending a replacement tstat. 'bout damn time!

[Edited on November 15, 2017 at 10:47 AM. Reason : ]

11/15/2017 10:44:03 AM

I'm going to replace the gas valve in my package unit tomorrow. If I never post again, I did something stupid.

11/21/2017 4:31:08 PM

f-in moles, man, f-in moles

11/21/2017 8:40:46 PM

^^#TnP

_________


I'm planning to replace the carpet in a hallway and 3 bedrooms (and closets) with a hardwood laminate or vinyl. The house is on a crawl space foundation. I have 3 medium sized dogs. In a room adjoining the hallway, the floor is a cherry color engineered bamboo hardwood. That floor isn't holding up great, but I'm not replacing it.

Considering the dogs, what's the best route: laminate or vinyl? Laminate looks much better, but I'm concerned about a dog getting sick / having an accident and liquid sitting on the floor all day (8-10 hours). How susceptible is laminate to water damage? I left a small sample piece in a sink of water for 2 days and couldn't see any damage. My primary concern is scratches, hence my preference for laminate over vinyl. Though I'm not sure how susceptible vinyl is to scratching (vinyl = LVP or LVT).

Thoughts?

11/22/2017 8:27:29 AM

laminate will bow up on the edges with water issues. it'll really highlight the individual boards and you'll have to replace them at that point. I don't know about vinyl other than I've had linoleum flooring and I think they have similar properties. Very scratch prone, but they'll last forever in water.

11/22/2017 8:42:59 AM

My old house had laminate floor and near where we had the water bowl for the animals it would bow up just due to water dripping and sitting on the floor all day. Make sure you buy extra packs of boards if you go that route so you can replace them down the road as needed.

11/22/2017 8:56:56 AM

Thanks. There will be no constant source of water on the new floors. My only concern is the occasional accident or vomit. From what I've seen / heard, this isn't likely an issue with rare occurrences. My concern is if it happens say only once and sits there for 8-10 hours, are the floors really going to be damaged, or does it take repeated wettings.

[Edited on November 22, 2017 at 9:09 AM. Reason : .]

11/22/2017 9:03:38 AM

quality LVT is incredibly scratch resistant and durable, it is nothing like linoleum roll flooring

we have LVT in our rental that has been abused and still looks new. A few pieces came up due to some water damage to the sub floor (a renter left a window open and a bad storm came through), I just repaired the sub floor and reinstalled the same exact pieces that came up. I bought an extra box to have some attic stock for repairs but that was apparently just a waste of money.

It doesn't feel like hardwood though, you can tell it's not hardwood flooring if you walk on it barefoot, but if you are okay with that LVT is a really good option.

cheap LVT looks crappy IMO, but the higher end stuff looks good.

11/22/2017 9:03:57 AM

^thanks. I think we were looking at good LVT. It was in the $5/ft range, Metroflor I believe. Looked nice. I like the fact that it's waterproof, but wasn't sure on the scratch resistance. that, and we haven't found one we like as much as a laminate that we found.

11/22/2017 9:11:35 AM

Quote :

" My only concern is the occasional accident or vomit. From what I've seen / heard, this isn't likely an issue with rare occurrences. My concern is if it happens say only once and sits there for 8-10 hours, are the floors really going to be damaged, or does it take repeated wettings."

It takes repeated exposures to water if you can get it cleaned up that fast...if it sits for days on end then that'll probably do it. I've had my laminate floors for a while now (think I posted on it last page) and have had no issues outside of scratching a spot moving furniture around...was minor, but I won't make that mistake again.

I have fish tanks on mine, and I've twice woken up to spills from a tank, in the same spot...think like a half gallon of water or more on the floor for around 12 hours. No damage that I can detect. From what the sales guy told me it takes repeated exposures to have an issue.

If you want some insurance check out the newer Pergo Outlast+ line. They claim water can sit on it for 24 hours without any issues - https://na.pergo.com/outlast

Quote :

"Uniclic joint technology combined with SpillProtect24 keeps liquid from seeping into joints, protecting against spills you might miss for up to 24 hours."

11/26/2017 12:21:47 PM

Quote :

"f-in moles, man, f-in moles"

Yup. Yard looks like a war zone with craters and shit right now.

11/26/2017 3:15:55 PM

Quote :

"now I'm trying to get a new tstat from ecobee under their warranty replacement. goddamn their customer support sucks ass. emails back and forth from some chick in india trying to troubleshoot it. lame."

THIS. I love my ecobee, but their customer service is the worst I've ever dealt with. I recently moved and brought my ecobee3 with me to the new house, but managed to somehow lose the mounting bracket. My fault, and I was asking them if I could just BUY that part. It took them over 3 weeks and 19 emails (38 total back and forth) to determine if they could sell me the part...

And in the end, it went unresolved (they said they would sell me one but never got back to me for payment info) as I eventually found the piece I was looking for in a moving box, haha.



In our old house, I replaced the shitty 8yo carpet with super cheap black friday laminate flooring from Home Depot. It was the thin stuff, but I was able to do the entire ground floor of the house (kitchen, livingroom, diningroom, master bedroom) for about $700 total. I installed it myself. We spilled water several times and it sat for hours, with no issues whatsoever. It also got scratched pretty good due to our 2yo son at the time running around with his pushtoys. You could only see the scratches in the right sunlight though. Overall, they looked great still afte 1.5 years of use when we sold the house. Excellent investment.

If I did it over again though, I'd go with real hardwoods, or wood-look tile.

[Edited on November 27, 2017 at 11:16 AM. Reason : .]

11/27/2017 11:11:58 AM

Didn't so something stupid. Gas valve fixed my intermittent heat issues. And thanks to the warranty, I'm going to get paid for fixing my own heat.

11/27/2017 6:31:52 PM

The Lord is good.

11/28/2017 11:58:14 AM

During inspection of our new home, the inspector found some water damage in a wall and floor due to a leak in the dryer. Not a huge issue that was quickly accepted by the seller to fix. So the good news is that we get brand new sanded and stained hardwoods for (almost)free. The bad news is we need to move our closing back another week. At this point, I feel like we will never complete this move.

12/4/2017 11:31:49 AM

has anyone had to deal with vermiculite, do you remember what kind of abatement cost you had? i've dealt with other asbestos containing materials but never vermiculite.

12/8/2017 11:40:54 AM