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Resources for an upcoming home owner
Horus
Los AngelesRegistered User regular
Los AngelesRegistered User regular
well.... after 8 years of planning & saving and 2 years of actively searching.... I am just weeks away of becoming a homeowner.
I am going to need a crash course of being a handy man, so I am looking for a PA forums but instead of nerdage talk more like hammer and nails talk. Also.... embarrassing to say this but interior design for nerds help....
Help me become a hairy chested manly man fixer with a slight touch of femininity!
I am going to need a crash course of being a handy man, so I am looking for a PA forums but instead of nerdage talk more like hammer and nails talk. Also.... embarrassing to say this but interior design for nerds help....
Help me become a hairy chested manly man fixer with a slight touch of femininity!
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Horus on
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For the major stuff, understand the severity in workload and budget so that is useful, maybe a forum devoted to new homeowners?
Bathrooms
hardwood floors
garage needs a new roof
adding gutters
reducing moisture under the house (this is due to people living there being pigs)
earthquake safety
Does anyone know nerdy interior design sites? I have a few but mostly hardcore Macs peeps who paint murals of Steve Jobs which is too far for me.
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
I'm European and there are quite a few major differences in construction (or even how certain parts of construction are done) between here and where you are, not to mention how the climate affects this - IOW, I won't be able to tell you much from my own experience that's going to be useful (or at least dependable). The forum above is mostly USA/Canada though, so you should be able to get some answers there.
Interior Design isn't usually nerdy IMX - though YMMV - except when talking about inserting technology left and right. DI sites tend to lean towards the expensive though. I think you'll be better off at least thinking about what kind of style you like before looking into making it a reality.
(state wise that is)
As an example, my wife and i bought a house just under 2 years ago. within a month we decided to paint the interior. in 1 weekend we painted 3/4 of the rooms in a 2,000sq home. It was WAY more work then we anticipated and i am still sick of painting.
Someone suggested that you should live in a house for a while before you decide to make any significant changes. This is a good idea, as it will help you focus on the area's of the house you are in most frequently. Our house has 2 spare bedroom for future family expansion. But for now, we literally never go in these rooms.
Also, there is no shame in hiring a professional for help. Things like plumbing and electrical work should not be taken lightly. If anything, try to find a family member or friend that knows what they are doing and have them show you what to do so you can do it later.
IOW: if you want to be informed about the cost, ask several contractors for a price.
One thing you want to be careful with, and this may not matter to you, is the resale value and overall appearance of your home to future potential buyers. I'm not sure how long you plan to keep this house, but decorations and design within the preferences of a majority of buyers is a good strategy...unless you are willing to redecorate later on when you plan to sell.
I bought a condo a year ago, and was very tempted to go the nerdy/dorky route with the decorating, but after looking at a ton of places, I realized what it was that made me want to live somewhere...which was typically a clean, familiar looking space. Just something to think about.
@JLM-AWP - trust me if you saw the house how it is.... you will think the nerd route will be an improvement. I am not asking for nerdy look as in Star Wars decor or something but something hip. Not your typical off white variations of colors.
@Xaquin Los Angeles
@brain operator Exactly but before I go request quotes I need to do some research, even if its electrical work I want to learn the problem, the solution and average price range so when I do go get contractors I won't get screwed over with wrong work being done or half ass. That is why I want to find a handy man forum community just like PA to get advice and share ideas to get feedback by those who know more than me.
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
I'm not being cheeky, either. Just type exactly what you're dealing with into it. Every grammatical permutation of your problem has probably been asked, answered, and possibly photographed or illustrated. If I can't find exactly the fix I'm seeking I go to the hardware store and wander around the approriate area looking confused.
Second most valuable: People at hardware stores.
Those commercials where the employees are helping people with complicated projects aren't full of shit. Chances are you need to go there anyway, so why not seek advice while you're there. Even if I already have a plan, I will tend to run it by one of them if they ask. Normally this would make me feel like I was being a pain in the ass, but I make sure to resolve all of my stupid questions on the internet first.
Third most valuable: Some DIY homeowner book I got as a housewarmer. It appears very useful, and I can get you the title, but honestly I've never used it. (I have lent it out, however, and they found it useful). So maybe take a trip to the bookstore and browse around.
Things to consider for DIY and building code shit: In some states (I don't know CA), you don't need a contractor to certify your work, provided you are the one who lives there. However, if you sell (or rent) the house, it will have to pass inspection. So it would behoove you to learn these codes, make all your modifications to those codes, and have them inspected/certified when you can afford it.
There is a lot of seasonal maintenance on a house. If you have a yard you will have to do a varying amount of work in the spring/fall in the form of aerating and fertilizing a lawn. I'm from the midwest though, so LA will be significantly different. Luckily you don't need to winterize anything, so that is nice.
Also change your air filters as needed. God I am horrible at remembering to do that. Salt for your water softener if you have one will need to be watched as well.
If your house lacks a programmable thermostat for the love of god buy one and install it (they are easy). They grant a huge benefit for like a $60 outlay.
A lot of learning to do stuff is either having a buddy who can walk you through or just giving it a whirl and taking the risk. Plumbing and electrical can be bitches, so I'd start small on those. It is far easier to fix a drywall/painting/carpentry fuck up than it is a plumbing or electrical one.
It is amazing how much money you can save with a little maintenance, and as a home owner knowing to do little things like changing filters, or switching to CFLs instead of incandescent bulbs can save you a buttload of money. You may find out your bills go down from owning an apartment because the management isn't really invested in making your bills cheaper as much as you are.
There are even significant rebates for making your home energy efficient which you may want to look into if your home has lots of repairs like that.
Fixing your gutters or building a deck is easy work, it just takes time and learning how to do the basics. But for plumbing other than plungers and electrical you are better off letting the professionals do it. Things like redoing your roof you may consider depending on how handy you are. But fixing drywall and carpet? Google. Cabinet broke? Google. Laying tile? Google.
Word of caution:
Get one that is easy to program. The one that came with my house has 4 hour blocks, for every day of the week.
There is no option to make a general setting, you have to set every single one, and you have 3 fucking buttons with which to navigate it: Next, +, -.
Frustrating as fuck.
I require 3 settings. Home, not home, and sleeping. I would much rather manage these myself than work with that thing's interface.
Also, I've found this book to be handy to have around, though everything in it is googleable.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0762105798
Especially... Where is the master water shutoff for the house. Make sure you know this, because when you need it you will have precious little time to find it.
Make sure you understand how the breakers work in the house and that they are labeled well.
This is why you should get several price offers. You can (and probably should) tell potential contractors you're asking quotes from others too. It can help keep them honest. Also, be realistic: if one offer is really substantially better than all the others, consider how that that could be. If it sounds too good, it probably is.
Also, ask contractors about the job you want them to do. Ask if you're not forgetting anything. Ask how they would do something, why, and how much that would cost. Ask anything you can think of. Yes, it'll be annoying. But it'll be much better than you having to change the job when it's already being done and paying more for it than you had calculated for. You might still not get all the info you'd ideally want anyway, but that should not be for a lack of trying.
The immediate example that springs to mind is fixing a toilet. The toilet is a remarkably simple device and it is very easy to fix most problems but I've seen so many examples of lazy DIY, poor workmanship and general not caring that lead to much larger problems in the future. Can you slap some duck tape on it? Sure, that might work for a week or a month but eventually you will have to deal with the original problem again plus any additional issues that were caused by ignoring it in the first place.
If you don't know how to do it right make sure you ask or look it up but don't guess. As ArbitraryDescriptor said no matter what your question it has been asked, answered and documented in detail in many forum posts, DIY blogs and books.
If you are buying a house that needs a little work prepare to live at Home Depot, Lowes, <local hardware store>.
And you'll never go there just once for a project. I had to do some plumbing work and visited HD 5 times in one day. By the 3rd time I was buying all kinds of extra shit knowing that I'd just come back later and return what I didn't use.
I'll usually start my research at diynetwork.com to get an idea of how a project is supposed to go, then search online for alternate ways/experiences. Those home improvement shows are good for showing you how it could go, and how it could go wrong. Though I like the show I think Holmes on Homes is a bit extreme, like no previous home builder or contractor has ever done anything right.
I paid good money for a home inspection who are very annal on everything so I have a nice binder with the big issues and the ones I can do. Just need to research and be proactive.
Now to get cheap furniture from craiglist.
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
For the first year i lived in my house, i was a nervous wreck. I was under the impression that if i just knew a little more, i could head off some issue or disaster. Every bump and creak that the house made was the prelude to some crazy imagined catastrophe about to happen.
In the end, stuff broke. I fixed it when it became apparent to me it was broke. Worrying about it only made the time between things breaking less enjoyable.
I will say, however, that one of the most important things in owning your own place, in addition to DIY, is having a roster of vetted, trustworthy, and reasonable pros in your rolodex. I know we live in the age of everyone wanting to be their own household gods, knocking out walls, creating support beams with sheer willpower, and insisting that everything they are doing is "green."
But get yourself a good contractor/carpenter, good plumber, and good electrician and don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it.
Jesus, I sound like my mother. :evil: