^ Unless you have really odd access issues, you should have to cut into the ceiling. I've taken air handlers apart and reassembled them in attics before in order to avoid stuff like that.

In my mind, the only thing to consider in replacing a HVAC system before failure is potential cost savings from a more efficient unit. The savings could be non-trivial if you're dealing with Texas summers. Of course, if you regularly get above 95, investigate the costs of a water-to-air system. There are rebates and tax credits in a lot of places. Typical air-to-air heat pumps don't work worth shit when it's super hot.

3/22/2019 9:38:00 AM

I agree that there are 'better' and more fun options out there and the mechanical engineer in me would love a true variable speed compressor with good dehumidification abilities etc. even if I stuck with air cooled condensing unit...but the payback just isn't there on this home. It's just over 1000ft2. So I'm just planning on getting a pretty basic single stage 16 SEER unit, with a new 80% AFUE single stage furnace and calling it a day. The savings over the 19 year old unit the current owners have will be something and it will at least get a new warranty etc.

Taking the air handler cabinet apart and re-assembling it is definitely an option. The attic access currently is very small. I may just go ahead and install a set of insulated attic stairs in the master bedroom to provide easier access to the attic anyway. I hate the look of them in the house, but the garage is on the exact other side of the house from the HVAC equipment. So that wouldn't provide great access to the HVAC, even though it would be a better install regarding drafts etc. in the home.

3/22/2019 4:07:37 PM

If we just need a new tub/shower installed what the best way? Through a contractor or one of those bathroom remodel sales people?

3/22/2019 7:30:58 PM

alcove tub to be used as a shower/tub combo?

I would just go straight through a contractor. If you go through a remodel/GC type place who subs to the contractors youre just going to pay a markup on the contractor. For something this small I feel it would be super manageable even if you're not used to doing that.

I'm going through a whole bath remodel and I'm working through a wife interior designer and husband GC because I just don't have time to coordinate framing, drywall, electrical changes, tiling, new plumbing etc. on my own at the moment.

3/22/2019 9:26:11 PM

Got my first quote to convert my screened porch to a sun room. Approx $5600. Would be for 6 custom fit sliding 3-panel windows & re-framing a few of the screened window supports (plus labor, etc). I'd keep the glass exterior door already in place. The side with the door already has one type of these windows, but it's the Pella brand (from Lowes?) & this price estimate takes into account a replacement for that. I could keep it to knock that price down (guess it would fall under 5k in that case), but it might not match well.

Unfortunately the frame for the awnings I have that cover the exterior would need an adjustment, as they're using the current screened window supports. I'll have to contact the awning company to see what I can get for new frames on the new window supports (or just not have awnings, but IDK if that would look better).

Does this sound reasonable, or at least in the ballpark? Still plan on getting estimates from a few other places.

4/22/2019 5:58:43 PM

came here to post but don't want to steal ^'s thunder. Unfortunately, I have no great frame of reference for converting a screened porch to a sunroom. My parents did something similar at one point on their old house and that sounds about right for the cost. I think they were around $4000 but this was probably 7 years ago.

Im meeting at our house tomorrow to go over in more detail the extent of the bathroom renovation. It's a small bathroom (the only bathroom) in a 1949 home. The upside to that is that it is not a huge space to renovate at least. Demoing existing tub/shower, demoing all the tile on the floor and the walls, demoing a built-in linen closet/cabinet, demoing the existing pedestal sink and fixtures and lighting. Installing a new alcove tub, new tiling of the walls for the shower and continuing that tile around most of the room at ~42". New wall-mounted vanity, wall open wall shelving, all new plumbing fixtures of course, new floor tiling, new mirror. Also installing an exhaust fan + heater combo with separate timer switches. We are not changing the layout much at all, but everything is getting a full facelift. Hoping we can make it happen in 4-6 weeks from demo to complete.

4/23/2019 5:20:23 PM

welp....it finally happened. our 35 year old HVAC system bit the dust. it was good while it lasted. well, it was inefficient while it lasted, but good nonetheless. glad it happened early enough in the spring so we didn't have to suffer through miserable heat and price gouging.

$6300 for the new system. I'm not too butthurt about it.

[Edited on April 24, 2019 at 4:33 PM. Reason : ]

4/24/2019 4:29:01 PM

Nice! I replaced my 17 y/o heat pump a while back in order to take advantage of a tax credit...but not sure that was the best decision.

4/24/2019 9:36:16 PM

does anyone have an air scrubber?

4/25/2019 10:29:11 AM

are you asking about a whole-house or portable?

i really want a whole house system but haven't gotten any quotes yet

[Edited on April 25, 2019 at 12:43 PM. Reason : if portable i have a couple winix plasmawaves and like them]

4/25/2019 12:43:14 PM

whole house.

4/26/2019 9:31:56 AM

2nd quote had a lower value, approx. $3600. Waiting on a 3rd & may get one more. The father-in-law came by this past weekend, and was trying to sell me on getting windows from Lowes and DIY, but I'm not sure I want to go that route.

4/29/2019 9:15:55 AM

any recommendations for a full-service moving company (local move)
*wake county

[Edited on April 29, 2019 at 11:42 AM. Reason : *]

4/29/2019 11:40:54 AM

I highly recommend TROSA. They provide their moving services for a good cause. Price-wise they're hard to beat as well.

[Edited on May 6, 2019 at 11:42 AM. Reason : ]

5/6/2019 11:41:58 AM

TROSA will charge a fee for being outside of Durham, but it should still be very cost competitive and they do a good job and it's a cgood cause

they also do lawn care, and if you need to clear brush or anything they will do it for cheap

5/10/2019 10:38:55 AM

We used TROSA in Wake County. We got several other estimates, they were the cheapest. They did a good job, and all the movers were cool.

5/10/2019 2:51:19 PM

Finally got the amount of rain to finally test out my new sump pump system in my walk-in crawlspace. For thse first time since owning the house I didn't have any rain or ground water issues. Felt so nice to be able to sit and watch the rain and not worry about how much water would be rising in my walk-in. Now that i know it works I can finally start reorganizing my tool storage and put down a new vapor barrier on the floor.

5/13/2019 9:19:51 AM

Anyone on here replaced their fiberglass shower with tile?

feel like cutting it out will be a bitch

5/28/2019 10:58:27 PM

break into pieces with some sort of hammer? maybe have a Shop Vac and mask handy too?

5/29/2019 1:37:40 PM

Quote :

"feel like cutting it out will be a bitch"

It is not. It is actually kinda fun.

5/29/2019 2:58:26 PM

Fucking beavers man, wtf


was out in the back yard today, and looked out past my fence line and saw this. Its a big ass tree, and still on my property. I don't know if there is any coming back from that, and depending on which direction it goes if it fell, would definitely take out part of my fence. Does anyone have an extra large Havaheart trap they want to let me borrow (or any experience dealing with fully girdled trees and/or beavers)?

6/1/2019 11:03:32 PM

Snares will be your most cost-effective solution. Do not waste time with live traps for them. There are plenty of beavers. They are extremely destructive. Kill them.

And I bet that tree survives just fine. Looks like only the bark is gone.

[Edited on June 6, 2019 at 10:01 PM. Reason : asfd]

6/6/2019 10:00:41 PM

that tree will probably die, especially with the damage that wide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girdling

6/7/2019 12:18:20 PM

Knocking in pipes. Anybody here tried replacing the PRV themselves?

6/7/2019 12:50:35 PM

Replacing my 23 year old air conditioning system.

Guys came out yesterday and spent all day working on it, had everything ready to go by 8pm, then spent the next 4 hours trying to get the compressor to turn on. First it was new unit requires a common, so had to add a wire to the thermostat. Next the compressor fan would turn on but no cooling. They couldn’t get that figured out by midnight so we called it. Today new guy comes out and finds out the pressure expansion valve is bad, of course they don’t have the right size in stock at the shop so now we’re at Monday to get it replaced. Two indoor units setup now.

6/8/2019 5:03:50 PM

Had a bear of a time installing a new dishwasher. Had never done it before but figured it couldn’t be that hard. I’m not the most handy guy, but don’t mind learning as I go.

Our dishwasher and sink are separated by a lazy Susan cabinet. Which means no standard hose or pipe lengths are long enough. Standard drain pipe length is 6’ or 8’...at least that’s what came with the machine and was available at Lowe’s. I need mine to be about 10’. Same for the fill line. I turned a project that should’ve been maybe 2 hours into an 8 hour project because I didn’t plan ahead...I should’ve known what to expect going in. Instead I got the dishwasher delivered and assumed it would be straightforward from there. Didn’t help that we had company coming over and I was kinda in a time crunch to get it finished. Oh well. Next time I’ll pay the $100 or whatever for Lowe’s to install it. also next time, if we move/build, I’ll makensure the dishwasher and sink are right next to each other to avoid this again.

6/9/2019 7:49:54 PM

I hung a new light in my dining room and I replaced all the front door hardware. If you need me, I'll be over there, flexing as only a white suburban male can.

6/10/2019 3:26:46 PM

tiles did a great job installing the floor tile...but installed the wall tile in the wrong pattern

GC has to demo the walls, buy new tile, redo the wallboard, and re-tile the walls now. Which of course holds up certain other tasks like installing the toilet. Oh well - at least we were ahead of schedule until this point. Hopefully this only sets us back a few days. Totally depends on the availability of the tile.

6/10/2019 3:59:49 PM

^^^a lot of PRVs have a union on both sides. if yours doesn't put the new on in with. it's not hard.

6/11/2019 6:23:37 PM

no matter how many times i try finishing drywall or patching drywall i'm still not able to do it well

6/12/2019 10:51:59 AM

My hot water pipe make a knock sound about every 4 seconds or so when my wife takes a shower upstairs. Gas Water heater is downstairs. This knocking only happens while the hot water is running in the upstairs bathroom.

I have PEX pipes. House is 10 years old. The expansion tank was replaced 7 months ago when the water heater pressure relief valve started leaking. I'm guessing I need to tear into the drywall where the noise is coming from and to make sure the pipes aren't rubbing raw... or something...

6/13/2019 12:09:09 AM

eh, small chance of that unless it's hitting something sharp or quite hard. Otherwise, PEX is pretty robust. Sounds like a missing clip. I wouldn't mess with it, but I'm also bad a repairing walls.

^^yep. shit ain't easy. Well, it's easy to do, hard to make it look good (aka like it was never repaired)


[Edited on June 13, 2019 at 7:45 AM. Reason : /]

6/13/2019 7:44:31 AM

^^I have a similar situation when I run the clothes washer. Any time hot water is injected there is a knocking sound somewhere in the walls. I can't quite locate it's exact location but I think it is somewhere between the floor and wall. Pipes are PVC I think. When I moved into the house I noticed the water pressure was way high in general so I though that might be it. Installed a PRV which reduced the pressure but the knocking was still there. Installed water hammer arresters going into the washer too, still the knocking is there.

I had a plumber listen to it when he was in my house for an unrelated issue. He said it's most likely just some kind of attachment clamp that has come loose. The only real way to fix it is to tear down the drywall, but that could be costly if you don't know exactly where it is. Good news is that likely won't cause any issues outside of just being annoyingly loud at the beginning of each washing cycle.

6/13/2019 8:53:30 AM

^ & ^^

Good to hear your feedback. I came to the same assessment. When I purchased the house, the inspectors didn't seem to be surprised or have much to say about other than "seems normal."

I know what section of dry wall I hear the sound most prominently from, so tearing out a section wouldn't be bad. I don't feel like doing all that work for a superficial issue. I'll let it ride. I've got more pressing issues like trees and shrubs I want detest and need to remove...

6/13/2019 2:24:18 PM

^^i have that same knocking sound when i run a warm/hot wash cycle.

6/14/2019 1:17:41 PM

Hiro, when you replaced the expansion tank did you check your houses water pressure and then charge the expansion tank to the correct pressure?

6/17/2019 8:31:11 AM

^ Yes. Water pressure is solid and the expansion tank pressure was adjusted to match the inlet water pressure.

6/17/2019 10:36:13 AM

anyone bought replacement covers for florescent lights? I'm assuming it's a brand / model specific thing. My stager wants me to get some for the fixtures missing covers, but I can't find replacements. Doesn't help that I can't find a brand on the light fixture either. Stager says Lowe's carries replacements, but I'm seeing few options and almost none in-store (according to website).

6/17/2019 12:18:51 PM

are you talking about the old basic metal fluorescent tube light? you should be able to get covers for those at lowes (or at least you used to)

6/17/2019 12:52:44 PM

yes




I've never seen them. But I think I know why. All of the florescent tube fixtures in my house have been recalled

6/18/2019 12:44:18 PM

The double ones are pretty standard, I've never seen a cover for that.

Is it in a garage or something? I wouldn't care about a cover in the garage. Worst case just change the fixture to a basic led fixture.

6/18/2019 7:43:39 PM

garage, 3 closets, pantry. I've submitted a replacement request via the recall, so we'll see what I get as replacements.

6/19/2019 6:45:48 AM

Has anyone refinanced with the lower rates? Is there anything I should take into consideration?

I purchased my house in early 2018 and my current rate is 4.625%, no PMI.

8/9/2019 2:52:09 PM

What are the closing costs? Will you be in the mortgage long enough to recoup any refi fees via lower interest rate?

I see too many people throwing money at a down payment or refi just to be in the mortgage for only a short while and never realizing the interest savings. I mean, if you have money to burn, then a highe rdownpayment isn't the worst idea as you hopefully get that back via equity, but not always.

[Edited on August 12, 2019 at 6:51 AM. Reason : .]

8/12/2019 6:49:18 AM

The (unsolicited) offer i received covered all costs associated with the re-fi process.

8/12/2019 12:00:58 PM

I refied twice. Doubt it's worth it if you're at 4.6

I went from 6-5-4 and it was early on in my mortgage so def knew I would be staying put for a while

8/12/2019 5:56:06 PM

^^If it's free to you, truly free, then it's only a paperwork exercise. 4.6 to 3.x won't save you a lot in the short run. If this is a short term house, a 30-yr term and a lower interest rate would be a nice monthly savings.

8/13/2019 7:25:10 AM

I doubt it's actually "free". They're probably including the costs into the new loan balance.

And if it's a "no closing cost" loan then you're paying a higher rate than paying closing costs.

Personally I'd wait for lower rates at this point either way.

[Edited on August 16, 2019 at 3:06 AM. Reason : Some of it boils down into how long you'll stay in the mortgage/house]

8/16/2019 3:05:35 AM

anyone with a Nest/Ecobee thermostat actually spending more in energy bills? I feel like ever since i changed to the nest my bills have been higher.

8/28/2019 12:47:04 PM

are you using the auto learning mode, or just using it with a schedule?

i just have a schedule, if my bills are higher it's not enough that i have noticed it

8/28/2019 6:00:08 PM