Looked at 11 more houses today. After what seemed like the longest few weeks ever (5-10 houses a day on multiple other trips), we found 2 houses we really liked; one of those that was just absolutely perfect in every way. Just blew us away when we walked inside. It looked like it was built for us, on the lot we wanted, and everything. The only thing at all I didn't like was the all vinyl exterior, but the elevation was still good and was a great candidate for some stone veneering down the road.

It had all new hardwood floors throughout the entire first floor, an absolutely great up-to-date floor plan, great molding, wainscoting, recessed lighting in the kitchen, upgraded fixtures, tons of storage, great bonus room, backed up to woods that will never be developed as they encircle a natural area in the neighborhood, nice mature landscaping, half an acre lot etc.

The front runner we have had after the first several house hunting trips pretty much got crushed today. I've been good about not getting attached to houses we had on our short list (even some we did like a lot and wanted a second look-through that got bought out from under us), but I will if someone gets a bid in before we do on this one.

1/29/2010 10:48:33 PM

Wow, a few minutes before I called to make a bid this morning, our agent called us saying she called to ask a question and the listing agent said the people who looked at the house directly after us yesterday made an offer last night (contingent on their own house selling...which is already under contract though) I did just make a counteroffer which is still in the range I was willing to pay for the house and ours has no contingencies.

Now, the waiting game...

1/30/2010 10:08:03 AM

ok for those of us with heat pumps (and suffering through the high bills)...

Does it ever make sense to put your heat pump in emergency heat mode (on the thermostat) and use the heat strips or whatever they are? seems like the heat pump is running all the time in these temperatures, and while its more expensive in the short run to run the heat strips, the heat pump doesn't have to run near 24 X 7. What do you all think?

And just for a touch more detail, my pump has two different modes in addition to normal:
aux mode - blue light, comes on automatically when the thermostat setting is a good deal warmer than the current temperature
emergency mode - red light - only comes on when i put the thermostat in emergency mode

1/30/2010 12:33:07 PM

I believe the answer is no, it never makes sense to put the heat pump in emergency heat mode.

1/30/2010 1:20:13 PM

Aux mode and emergency mode will both turn on the heat strips.

Aux mode will run the compressor also, emergency mode will turn off the compressor and just run the heat strips.

In order of least expensive to most expensive to run, its:

Normal
Aux
Emergency

Emergency should only be used if there is a danger in running the compressor (low/out of freon, etc...) and you need heat immediately.

1/30/2010 3:11:23 PM

I installed a blower in my gas fireplace last night.

kind of a pain in the ass to do in terms of fitting it in the tiny gap between the floor and the base of the fireplace, but worth the $90 savings that it would have cost me to have it installed.

1/30/2010 7:58:48 PM

i need to figure out some source of auxiliary heating. between the lack of insulation and old drafty windows my gas furnace just can't keep up. The thermostat is set on 67, the ambient temperature is 58. I bought the house from an estate. The seller said her (now deceased) parents kept it more than 80 degrees inside, but I don't see how that ever happened. Hopefully when I actually move in and have appliances running it will help.

A proper fix would be to redo/rezone the ductwork, add some insulation and replace the windows, but I don't have the money for that. I guess for now some space heaters in the bedroom and kitchen and gas logs in the living room will have to do.

[Edited on January 30, 2010 at 8:44 PM. Reason : .]

1/30/2010 8:44:07 PM

^ In that sort of situation, insulation pays for itself very quickly.

1/30/2010 9:59:54 PM

bobby, where did you get the blower unit?

1/30/2010 10:30:33 PM

brandco (787-8453) - they're up in leesville industrial park off of westgate road.

Oddly enough their price for the same unit was about $20-$30 cheaper than anything I could find online.

Just call them up and give them the model number of your fireplace, and they'll match it to the correct blower unit, and preassemble everything for you as well.

[Edited on January 31, 2010 at 1:04 PM. Reason : a]

1/31/2010 1:03:00 PM

so, the first house that I posted about at the top of this thread sold right under our noses yesterday. However, ironically, another house opened up for sale on Friday with the exact same floor plan in the same neighborhood a few streets over. We initially hadn't looked at it because by Wednesday of last week we had already submitted all of our MLS numbers to view. However, today we went to look at it and made an offer. Normally we wouldn't have made an offer in a day, but with it being the same exact floor plan, same neighborhood we already liked, and the fact that we got to spend a lot of time in the other house and a long time in this house today too, we were comfortable with that.

The lot isn't as nice on this house, although it has nice brick accents and a porch on the front that the other one lacked. No hardwoods on the first floor (which we are going to put in), but all <1 year old stainless steel appliances in the kitchen and upgraded cabinetry and fixtures throughout the whole house. As you can see, it was pretty give and take. What this one lacked, it made up for in advantages over the other. I'm expecting a counter, but even if their counter is 50% between list and our 1st offer it would be the same as what we offered and got outbid on the other house.

/fingers crossed

1/31/2010 5:29:19 PM

what do you people think about the tank-less water heaters? Good, or bad? I'm in the market for a new water heater, so go figure.

Also, I've got a gas furnace with an outside unit for cooling. The furnace is almost 20 years old, but the unit outside is only about 5-10 years old. Should I replace both of them, or just do the furnace?

1/31/2010 5:41:13 PM

Just discovered my kitchen sink faucet is leaking. That's pretty easy to fix, right?

1/31/2010 8:03:01 PM

^ New O-rings are likely required. This isn't too bad a fix, and there are kits/parts out there to do such a thing (you just gotta find the right parts).

^^ I think they are awesome (tankless water heaters). I love having unlimited hot water and find it to be an amazing thing when I am sick or just feel bad. Just stand in the shower in hot water until you're a prune and you feel all better. It's also nice since it's more efficient on energy usage (that is, you're not keeping a tank of water warm) and takes up less space (think a LOT less space, so that you can reclaim a closet or have room for some more shelves in the garage).

As for replacing the inside & outside parts, get some different quotes from different companies. If it's a pretty decent discount to replace the inside and outside units at the same time to get a matched set, do it. Some new units are amazing with the efficiency they offer and the features they have.

1/31/2010 8:23:25 PM

I wanted to get one but my builder didn't offer it.

1/31/2010 9:36:44 PM

$200 electric bill

yay for heat pumps



what do you people keep your thermostat at (winter and summer)

1/31/2010 11:02:52 PM

summer 80 with a box fan aimed at my bed

winter 68 with a heating blanket on the bed

master is over the garage so it's always out of whack with the rest of the house. occasionally in the summer i'll put on the ceiling fan or in the winter use the gas fireplace and a blanket but overall its very comfortable for me

my gas bill is always around $20... usually a little less in the summer (just looked at my dec bill and it was $50.. highest ever.. uhhh wtf)

half the year the energy bill is around $80 (summer)

the other half its about $40-50

1/31/2010 11:33:15 PM

townhouse?

1/31/2010 11:40:18 PM

remember what people keep their thermostat at has no relevance to what anyone else should. Every themostat is different, with different levels of precision and accuracy. Also, placement of the thermostat will greatly affect how warm or cold your house actually is.

It may be set to 72, but is only accurate to within +/- 5 degrees, and while it may be "72" where the thermostat is placed, the rest of the house might be colder.

For example, our upstairs thermostat is sent at 71 in the winter. The hallway where the thermostat is does register at 71. But our kid's bedroom is always about 5 degrees colder, our master bedroom is about 3 degrees colder, and our playroom is about 2 degrees warmer.

At our old house, the heating unit was way more powerful than needed for the square footage and setting the thermostat at 68 was really really hot in the house.

I assume thermostats with multiple sensors exist to address this problem, but few people have them

2/1/2010 9:19:34 AM

summer 70

winter 68

2/1/2010 11:43:23 AM

Appliance rebate program beginning in April - http://www.energysavers.gov/financial/rebates/state_NC.cfm

2/1/2010 2:03:49 PM

fuck a duck. i JUST bought a new washing machine on Friday

not only that, but I bought my house 2 months before the housing rebate started

2/1/2010 2:13:15 PM

last months electric bill $260

i know people who pay less than that for rent

2/1/2010 2:27:17 PM

Keep my place at 70 year round.

Fiance like to keep it at 65 and then have a crap ton of clothes on and a mountain of blankets on the bed during the winter, and the opposite during the summer.



Checked on a mortgage the other day, and on the fiance's salary alone we can get a mortgage for the full value of the houses we are looking at. This is great news for us.

2/1/2010 3:00:16 PM

My bill for december was around $350, fucking christmas lights.

2/1/2010 3:27:15 PM

i had someone tell me to use "zone heating" in my house...

turn down the thermostat as far as i tolerate (im thinking from a current 65-67 to 60, and use a space heater in the area where i'm hanging out. i only have like two rooms im in often, so that shouldnt be that hard.

so im wondering if the reduction in the thermostat setting is more $ than it costs to run a oil space heater (probably set on 1500 Watt setting for an hour or two, then 700-800 watt after that to maintain).

2/1/2010 4:23:56 PM

most space heaters are $$ to run for any length of time. Closing the vents to seldom used rooms and closing the doors helps some.

2/1/2010 4:29:11 PM

Our initial offer for the house was accepted! Warranty and 24 month job loss protection included

2/1/2010 8:25:21 PM

^^Closing too many vents can be detrimental to your HVAC system.

2/1/2010 8:27:06 PM

^ i've closed 2 out of 8...think i'm screwing stuff up?

i almost wouldn't mind if i did tho...heat pump is 17 years old and the air handler is something like 29 years old

2/1/2010 8:56:12 PM

you're fine

2/1/2010 9:33:36 PM

i think trying to sell a house with while living in it with 2 dogs and a baby may be one of the hardest things i have done yet.

2/1/2010 10:26:08 PM

woah

gl with that

2/2/2010 12:44:05 AM

Quote :

"between the lack of insulation and old drafty windows my gas furnace just can't keep up. The thermostat is set on 67, the ambient temperature is 58"

sounds like my house. i've looked into cost of adding insulation into the walls and it would be only about $600 but a 2" hole has to be drilled every 16", and I don't really want to deal with patching and repainting. I keep my heat at 77 in the summer and at 68 during the day in the winter and at 63 during the night.

this may sound like a weird question but do you have carpet or hardwoods, and how cold is your floor? if your floor is lacking insulation below it or is on a slab and your floor really cold to the touch adding external insulation won't solve all your problems. hot air sits on top of cold air and if you have cold floors the hot air will continually move up. i'd resolve that problem first. (this was the advice given to me by the insulation man)

2/2/2010 9:51:42 AM

^^ been there done that.

We just got really really anal about keeping everything clean on an ongoing basis and whenever we had showings, we'd pile the dogs in the car and go for a ride. if it was during working hours, we'd board the dogs for the day, and the kiddo would be in daycare anyway. the boarding got pricey, but less pricey than not selling the house, but way more pricey than not having dogs at all.

but I don't get to have my way.

2/2/2010 10:09:46 AM

We did it too. Course, we sold back before this recent unpleasantness and only had to keep it up for three days.

2/2/2010 11:09:56 AM

ugh "closing costs" Since we lowballed the first offer and the lady accepted since she is really trying to move quick, we're not getting any of them paid for (we of course planned to add them in if she countered). I actually wish she would have countered since I'd be happier tacking a little more onto the loan than paying for up front haha. Oh well. Supposed to close on the 26th, putting 10% down.

2/2/2010 12:23:08 PM

congrats

2/2/2010 1:28:15 PM

Thanks man . Hoping all goes smooth through the next 4 weeks. Good luck with your search.

2/2/2010 2:49:32 PM

^At least one thing is going to break as soon as you move in.

2/2/2010 2:54:47 PM

[Edited on February 2, 2010 at 2:56 PM. Reason : dp]

2/2/2010 2:54:47 PM

Haha yea, I'm sure it will. Hoping that since it is a fairly new house and all of our major appliances will be ~2 years old (fridge, oven, microwave, dishwasher, washer, dryer) that I'll be in decent shape for awhile, but we'll see. Beyond that, I hope the warranty covers anything else. This summer, I really want to hardwood the first floor of the house we are buying, so I'm crossing my fingers for no major problems since it will cut into my budget for that.

2/2/2010 3:32:49 PM

Quote :

"what do you people think about the tank-less water heaters? Good, or bad? I'm in the market for a new water heater, so go figure. Also, I've got a gas furnace with an outside unit for cooling. The furnace is almost 20 years old, but the unit outside is only about 5-10 years old. Should I replace both of them, or just do the furnace?"

tankless water heaters are loud. not rock concert loud, but you will notice the noise if it's inside. If it's outside under the house or in the garage, well that's not so bad.

The temperature is also inconsistent. I've stayed in many houses that have used Takagi and Noritz tankless gas fired water heaters. You get a blast of cold water in front of the warm/hot water.

They also won't work during a power outage, like a standard gas water heater.

You also have to service them every year or the warranty is void. I've seen setups where there were special valves installed to flush the system out with vinegar or water softeners were installed (city water) b/c the source water was too hard. These are things you MUST do, if you want to keep the warranty valid.

I would recommend a large conventional gas fired water heater. Other than size, you can't beat it.

2/2/2010 9:24:59 PM

Quote :

"between the lack of insulation and old drafty windows my gas furnace just can't keep up. The thermostat is set on 67, the ambient temperature is 58"

If I turn my thermostat past 66-ish, the furnace is constantly on. Our gas bill was outrageous for December. Then we started using blankets.

I'm going to insulate the crap out of the house this summer. It has no insulation in the floor, and the insulation in the attic has lost its loft.


Also, I can feel the cold coming off of my windows while sitting three feet away from them. They're going as soon as I take care of my wiring.

2/3/2010 2:31:28 PM

^sounds like my house. there's no insulation in the floor and the windows may was well be made of screen mesh. the attic was converted to a 2bed/1bath bumpout (i guess that's what you call it, the roof is only sloped on one side) many years ago so there's not really any place to put insulation in roof. i could sandwich it between the sheet rock ceiling and roof i suppose.

Honestly, I think properly calculating the duct work and redoing it would go a long ways. as it stands, its afro-engineered at best. also every room on the first floor has 9' ceilings with only 1 vent in the ceiling/room. It doesn't help that the first floor return is located DIRECTLY above the front door.

i bought the place over the summer and the a/c kept it reasonably cool on the (first floor at least). based on that and the fact that both the inspector and seller spoke highly of the new furnace, and she said her folks kept it exceptionally warm in the winter gave me reason to believe that it would be sufficient. i guess i was suckered. oh well. blankets and space heaters for now.

2/3/2010 6:14:07 PM

Quote :

"The temperature is also inconsistent. I've stayed in many houses that have used Takagi and Noritz tankless gas fired water heaters. You get a blast of cold water in front of the warm/hot water."

that is not inconsistent, that is normal operation. The heater has to draw in unheated water to sense the temperature so that the controller knows what kind of temperature rise it needs to achieve.

Another common issue with tankless heaters is they require some minimum flow to turn on (normally about .5 gpm). This makes it not possible to use a lot of low flow fixtures and you can't turn any fixture on at a trickle.

It really depends on why the person is buying one. They aren't worth it for the energy savings unless you use very little hot water. The normal break even period is the lifetime of the heater or longer. They do provide endless hot water if you have a lot of users (several people that take really long showers at about the same time) but you can normally accommodate that with a larger tanked water heater.


My house had a Bosch one when we bought it but it stopped working correctly a few months after we moved in. The home warranty company replaced it with a Rinnai. The main reason we stayed with the tankless is that our house originally had a gas low boy in the crawl space. Those are now illegal and it would very expensive and require tearing up the slab under part of the house in order to change to a gas fired, tanked water heater.

2/3/2010 8:13:26 PM

Quote :

"The normal break even period is the lifetime of the heater or longer."

22 years. Including install, it's more than the lifetime of the tankless heater.

Your money would be better spent (if you didn't have too many restrictions) on a larger 60-80gal heater with a high FHR (first hour rating). That means lots of hot water, especially during the first hour.

I'll never go electric again if I can help it.

2/3/2010 9:39:14 PM

Already lining up my projects after we move in ...

Any recommendations on where to purchase moulding related items? I've never installed any, but have a couple friends who have so I'm going to have them help me at some point. The house we ended up getting has decent baseboard moulding but no crown molding, chain rail, or wainscoating etc. anywhere. Not long after we move in, I'd like to tackle the dining room and front sitting room.

I plan to put some nice thick crown moulding in both rooms, a chair rail in the dining room (so I can do a two-tone paint scheme, like the picture below but different colors) and then the raised panel wainscoting/chair rail in the sitting room. (I'm not sure exactly what you call that, I call it wainscoting but maybe I'm wrong-see the picture on right)

Someone I know said they ordered crown moulding here for a dining room: http://www.burtonmoldings.com/

At this point in time, unless someone has an opinion/suggestion, I don't care whether it is pre-painted or whether I have to paint it. I also just plan to get MDF since it will be painted white and not stained, so I don't care about wood grain.



Also, these two rooms are in the fairly standard setup where you come in the front door and off to your right is the dining room and off to the left is the sitting room (that we are turning into a Library/study). Does anyone think it would be weird to have just the chair rail in the dining room while having the, potentially "fancier" looking panels in the study?

[Edited on February 4, 2010 at 9:09 AM. Reason : ]

2/4/2010 8:43:02 AM

i wouldn't go MDF, but to each their own. I used solid builders and they installed pine crown in my entire downstairs and upstairs bedroom for $900.

Most things I try to do myself, but my dad did the crown in my parents house and not only did it take forever, but a year later i could see all the lines in the junctions and the crown is moving away from the wall.

if you do it yourself, it may looks as good on day one when you're done, but it likely won't later. another anecdotal element is that everyone i know who has put crown up says they would never do it again.

2/4/2010 9:27:55 AM

interesting, appreciate the input. At least for crown though, from reading online, it seemed a lot of people said it is a great alternative to the pine. I did see where chair rail or panels some people said it dinged easy, but it seemed like a lot of people really liked MDF as a choice for crown if you were just going to paint it. Obviously a lot of these people haven't had it in their house for years and years, so that may play into it, but what would be the major problem with using MDF (at least for crown)?

[Edited on February 4, 2010 at 10:01 AM. Reason : ]

2/4/2010 9:36:13 AM