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House/Homeowner Thread: This is no longer a quick or little project

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    GilgaronGilgaron Registered User regular
    Yeah for small touch ups I try to use the same can used on that room, for big jobs even if you get color matched or the same product you have to paint to a corner.

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    MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited July 2023
    Gilgaron wrote: »
    Yeah for small touch ups I try to use the same can used on that room, for big jobs even if you get color matched or the same product you have to paint to a corner.

    It sucks but yes.

    My dumb paint experience with Ace and Behr where Ace gave me something that may have met the correct color once at a party taught me there's a lot of variables.

    MichaelLC on
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    OneAngryPossumOneAngryPossum Registered User regular
    Gilgaron wrote: »
    Yeah for small touch ups I try to use the same can used on that room, for big jobs even if you get color matched or the same product you have to paint to a corner.

    I will say, learn from me and skip the big box stores for color matching, even if the original came from one. Tried multiple times over multiple years to match a wall using 1) the original can formula, 2) dried paint from the outside of the same can, and 3) a paint chip cut from the wall. Got three different colors, none particularly close to the original.

    Went to Sherwin Williams with the same paint chip and got something that was like a 99% match after drying, definitely good enough for my needs. Particular angles catch the light a little weird, but sort of thing you never notice if you’re not looking.

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    JusticeJustice Registered User regular
    Hmm. For me, that's a picture of it when dry after a couple weeks. The original was painted about seven months ago.

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    DoodmannDoodmann Registered User regular
    I'm sick of my garage being too hot in the summer. I just found an 84" ceiling fan on wayfair, even if it doesn't work or involves some wrenching it was so cheap I had to go for it.

    It will help but I think I really need to put a passive fan vent into the roof. It's a solid 15 degrees hotter than the outside every day, which means we just can't use it in the summer.

    Whippy wrote: »
    nope nope nope nope abort abort talk about anime
    I like to ART
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    JebusUDJebusUD Adventure! Candy IslandRegistered User regular
    Anyone have tips on how to properly cut retaining wall caps for a curved wall?

    and I wonder about my neighbors even though I don't have them
    but they're listening to every word I say
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    CarpyCarpy Registered User regular
    Potentially dumb question but the new place has a Ring doorbell that doesn't actually ring inside the house, is that how all of them work? I figured it was just a standard doorbell that also had an app/camera setup but now I'm second guessing that

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    That_GuyThat_Guy I don't wanna be that guy Registered User regular
    Carpy wrote: »
    Potentially dumb question but the new place has a Ring doorbell that doesn't actually ring inside the house, is that how all of them work? I figured it was just a standard doorbell that also had an app/camera setup but now I'm second guessing that

    Part of the hard wire install method on most doorbell cameras involves bypassing the actual bell mechanism inside, so the wire going to the camera always completes a circuit. Doorbells predate electricity and don't traditionally operare in the same way as a light switch might. You can buy an accessory indoor ringer if you kit didn't come with one.

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    JusticeJustice Registered User regular
    edited July 2023
    Doodmann wrote: »
    I'm sick of my garage being too hot in the summer. I just found an 84" ceiling fan on wayfair, even if it doesn't work or involves some wrenching it was so cheap I had to go for it.

    It will help but I think I really need to put a passive fan vent into the roof. It's a solid 15 degrees hotter than the outside every day, which means we just can't use it in the summer.

    We're tackling our garage soon, so I'm curious how this goes. We're thinking about getting a solar-powered attic fan for the garage. Apparently it only runs while the sun is out, but I figure that should be fine since that's also when it tends to be really hot around here. I've still got research to do re: how much ventilation is needed and what vents (or the fan, or both) we should get, and why people here don't seem to use whirlybirds here (bad for snow maybe). If I get any of that done, I'll post an update.

    Justice on
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    MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Most garages don't have insulation in the walls or the ceiling/roof. Also, essentially, one wall of the room is the uninsulated door.

    Adding insulation will actually help so that you can condition the air without losing it to the atmosphere.

    You can also do your best to seal the edges of the door and add insulation to the door panels so you can still operate it.

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    PailryderPailryder Registered User regular
    I have a eufy instead of a ring but it has a little device you plug into the wall that rings if you use WPS to put it on the home network.

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    Red RaevynRed Raevyn because I only take Bubble Baths Registered User regular
    Justice wrote: »
    Hmm. For me, that's a picture of it when dry after a couple weeks. The original was painted about seven months ago.

    Wow only 7 months, I wouldn't think it changed that much since then. The only time I had to color match was for the exterior of our house, we went with Sherwin Williams (same as old paint, and they have big sales around holidays, I think it was 30% off) and they got it spot on.

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    SimpsoniaSimpsonia Registered User regular
    If you have a home assistant device like an Alexa or Google Mini, I'm petty sure you can connect them to announce/chime upon a ring.

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    StraygatsbyStraygatsby Registered User regular
    We're on week 4 of our "super easy" steps rebuild. After watching them build both landings and risers incorrectly twice and finally settle on a configuration that works, they've screwed up the railings, the fascia, and now have apparently had to order some replacement decking to finish. The owner is coming out to "finish" today...maybe. This is, for context, 6 steps... What's infuriating is that this is a solid company who has done the previous owners decking in the back of our place and has a long list of great jobs to reference - they just tried to get a quick side project in and we got their B team I think.

    I should have just bought a used airplane evacuation slide and attached it to the front doors - it's not like we ever use them.

    I am entering the Gray Gardens phase of home ownership: a race to see who falls down first in the face of no maintenance, me or my walls.

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    VishNubVishNub Registered User regular
    Question for anyone who has done a recent whole house heat pump only installation in a northern/colder climate.

    Did your annual energy bills go up? How much?

    Based on a couple of quotes, the mixed fuel system and the heat pump only system are the same price after rebates to install. So it’s largely a question of expected monthly bills.

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    durandal4532durandal4532 Registered User regular
    edited July 2023
    We had some work done that involved excavating a chunk of the basement and then filling it back in with concrete afterward. During that work, the plumbers left a small leak directly above a part of the drying concrete because they forgot to fully tighten something. I just got that fixed, but it was leaking a little bit the whole time that the concrete was drying which has left a little spot that's kinda off-color and there's a small river-bed gouged out in it.

    Am I good now that the leak is all set, or does having a small drip above drying concrete do something that screws up the setting process and means I need to get them to tear up a bit and re-pour?

    durandal4532 on
    Take a moment to donate what you can to Critical Resistance and Black Lives Matter.
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    electricitylikesmeelectricitylikesme Registered User regular
    We had some work done that involved excavating a chunk of the basement and then filling it back in with concrete afterward. During that work, the plumbers left a small leak directly above a part of the drying concrete because they forgot to fully tighten something. I just got that fixed, but it was leaking a little bit the whole time that the concrete was drying which has left a little spot that's kinda off-color and there's a small river-bed gouged out in it.

    Am I good now that the leak is all set, or does having a small drip above drying concrete do something that screws up the setting process and means I need to get them to tear up a bit and re-pour?

    That won't have done anything to it. Concrete chemically reacts with water to set up, you actually want to keep concrete wet while it's setting (it will in fact set under water).

    Once the initial set has happened after a few hours, concrete should in fact be kept damp in order to promote the proper development of strength. The little gouge you have is from the unset concrete and fines being washed away, but once the initial set has happened that area is probably stronger then the rest.

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    DoodmannDoodmann Registered User regular
    edited July 2023
    Mugsley wrote: »
    Most garages don't have insulation in the walls or the ceiling/roof. Also, essentially, one wall of the room is the uninsulated door.

    Adding insulation will actually help so that you can condition the air without losing it to the atmosphere.

    You can also do your best to seal the edges of the door and add insulation to the door panels so you can still operate it.

    A fan and a vent (even a ceiling vent) would be much easier and cheaper than attempting to insulate my lofted roof garage. I think the ceiling is 20' up?

    Doodmann on
    Whippy wrote: »
    nope nope nope nope abort abort talk about anime
    I like to ART
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    JusticeJustice Registered User regular
    edited July 2023
    VishNub wrote: »
    Question for anyone who has done a recent whole house heat pump only installation in a northern/colder climate.

    Did your annual energy bills go up? How much?

    Based on a couple of quotes, the mixed fuel system and the heat pump only system are the same price after rebates to install. So it’s largely a question of expected monthly bills.

    We're in a cold climate, and we got three quotes for a heat pump system. I also asked about this when we had a guy from a fourth HVAC company do an AC check/maintenance.

    All of them told us we would need to retain our existing furnace because the heat pump wouldn't work well enough when temperatures go significantly below freezing. They pitched the heat pump as a way to make the furnace work less, but not to replace it.

    The exception seems to be these "split" systems, but I only know about the DIY mini split and ductless systems. Nobody tried selling us one. Basically, we wanted to buy a pure heat pump system, and nobody had one to offer.

    This makes me feel a little crazy, because our local newspaper had some article about how new technology allowed heat pump systems to work even in extreme cold.

    Justice on
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    SimpsoniaSimpsonia Registered User regular
    edited July 2023
    Justice wrote: »
    VishNub wrote: »
    Question for anyone who has done a recent whole house heat pump only installation in a northern/colder climate.

    Did your annual energy bills go up? How much?

    Based on a couple of quotes, the mixed fuel system and the heat pump only system are the same price after rebates to install. So it’s largely a question of expected monthly bills.

    We're in a cold climate, and we got three quotes for a heat pump system. I also asked about this when we had a guy from a fourth HVAC company do an AC check/maintenance.

    All of them told us we would need to retain our existing furnace because the heat pump wouldn't work well enough when temperatures go significantly below freezing. They pitched the heat pump as a way to make the furnace work less, but not to replace it.

    The exception seems to be these "split" systems, but I only know about the DIY mini split and ductless systems. Nobody tried selling us one. Basically, we wanted to buy a pure heat pump system, and nobody had one to offer.

    This makes me feel a little crazy, because our local newspaper had some article about how new technology allowed heat pump systems to work even in extreme cold.

    Yeah I've been reading up on the new heatpumps and how statistically unless you are in northern Minnesota/Dakotas, they can be enough to be your full time heat. For the 1-5 days a year it gets below -5F they should have resistive heat backups, which while expensive at that time, the rest of the year savings make up for it. I'm doing a large renovation in ~2 years and will be looking into replacing my entire HVAC with heat pumps for my home here in Chicago.

    Really hope that we can find someone with the experience in these specific cold-weather heatpumps necessary.

    Simpsonia on
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    SiliconStewSiliconStew Registered User regular
    edited July 2023
    Justice wrote: »
    VishNub wrote: »
    Question for anyone who has done a recent whole house heat pump only installation in a northern/colder climate.

    Did your annual energy bills go up? How much?

    Based on a couple of quotes, the mixed fuel system and the heat pump only system are the same price after rebates to install. So it’s largely a question of expected monthly bills.

    We're in a cold climate, and we got three quotes for a heat pump system. I also asked about this when we had a guy from a fourth HVAC company do an AC check/maintenance.

    All of them told us we would need to retain our existing furnace because the heat pump wouldn't work well enough when temperatures go significantly below freezing. They pitched the heat pump as a way to make the furnace work less, but not to replace it.

    The exception seems to be these "split" systems, but I only know about the DIY mini split and ductless systems. Nobody tried selling us one. Basically, we wanted to buy a pure heat pump system, and nobody had one to offer.

    This makes me feel a little crazy, because our local newspaper had some article about how new technology allowed heat pump systems to work even in extreme cold.

    Heat pumps do work in the cold. My heat pump only system works just fine for Midwestern winters. But heat pumps do have thermodynamic limits that require them to switch over to supplemental resistive heating if the temperature difference between inside and outside becomes too great which increases bills. But when it's really cold, a gas furnace will generally make you house feel more comfortable because the air temp out of the vents will be warmer. And if you already have the gas furnace I wouldn't recommend changing from it to a heat pump only system. Depending on your gas and electricity prices the gas furnace may be cheaper to operate anyway. You could try the cost calculator here https://www.pickhvac.com/hvac/furnace-vs-heat-pump-cost/ to get an idea.

    SiliconStew on
    Just remember that half the people you meet are below average intelligence.
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    VishNubVishNub Registered User regular
    Our furnace is 25+ years old, so it's getting removed no matter what for reliability and safety reasons. The only question is whether to replace it with a newer furnace, or go heat pump only. And it really seems 50/50 depending on exactly who I ask.

    No one has told me a heat pump only solution won't work at all, it's always about how much the bills are in January and February.

    Altogether I'm starting to think that it's really close between the two, and it maybe doesn't matter that much.


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    Captain InertiaCaptain Inertia Registered User regular
    JebusUD wrote: »
    Anyone have tips on how to properly cut retaining wall caps for a curved wall?

    Angle grinder?

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    schussschuss Registered User regular
    VishNub wrote: »
    Our furnace is 25+ years old, so it's getting removed no matter what for reliability and safety reasons. The only question is whether to replace it with a newer furnace, or go heat pump only. And it really seems 50/50 depending on exactly who I ask.

    No one has told me a heat pump only solution won't work at all, it's always about how much the bills are in January and February.

    Altogether I'm starting to think that it's really close between the two, and it maybe doesn't matter that much.


    It really just depends on how cold it gets for how long and if you have backup heat sources.

    Above zero F? Just go heat pump.

    Below? Gets complex.

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    That_GuyThat_Guy I don't wanna be that guy Registered User regular
    Fuck fuck fuckidy fuck. My AC died this evening. It was feeling a touch war in the house so I went and looked at the thermostat. It was set to 74 but it was 77 inside. I checked the outside unit and it was hot. Like dangerously hot. The bolts holding the fan on were almost too hot to touch. I shut off the breaker and let it sit for a while. After flipping it back on, the compressor came to life for a second and died. The fan wasn't spinning at all.

    Lucky for me, one of my friends had an HVAC guy who'll do side work. I texted him and he's coming by tomorrow with some parts. Fingers crossed it's something simple. If it's not I'm going to have to invest in some window AC units. It's going to be almost 90f tomorrow.

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    PailryderPailryder Registered User regular
    That_Guy wrote: »
    Fuck fuck fuckidy fuck. My AC died this evening. It was feeling a touch war in the house so I went and looked at the thermostat. It was set to 74 but it was 77 inside. I checked the outside unit and it was hot. Like dangerously hot. The bolts holding the fan on were almost too hot to touch. I shut off the breaker and let it sit for a while. After flipping it back on, the compressor came to life for a second and died. The fan wasn't spinning at all.

    Lucky for me, one of my friends had an HVAC guy who'll do side work. I texted him and he's coming by tomorrow with some parts. Fingers crossed it's something simple. If it's not I'm going to have to invest in some window AC units. It's going to be almost 90f tomorrow.

    that is rough. yeah i think tomorrow is going to be like the hottest day of the year so far in quite a few places (we're going to hit 97 with however much humidity that will kill people).
    hope its a quick fix for you!

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    JusticeJustice Registered User regular
    Condolences, that really sucks. Hoping it's repairable.

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    That_GuyThat_Guy I don't wanna be that guy Registered User regular
    Pailryder wrote: »
    That_Guy wrote: »
    Fuck fuck fuckidy fuck. My AC died this evening. It was feeling a touch war in the house so I went and looked at the thermostat. It was set to 74 but it was 77 inside. I checked the outside unit and it was hot. Like dangerously hot. The bolts holding the fan on were almost too hot to touch. I shut off the breaker and let it sit for a while. After flipping it back on, the compressor came to life for a second and died. The fan wasn't spinning at all.

    Lucky for me, one of my friends had an HVAC guy who'll do side work. I texted him and he's coming by tomorrow with some parts. Fingers crossed it's something simple. If it's not I'm going to have to invest in some window AC units. It's going to be almost 90f tomorrow.

    that is rough. yeah i think tomorrow is going to be like the hottest day of the year so far in quite a few places (we're going to hit 97 with however much humidity that will kill people).
    hope its a quick fix for you!

    It's going to be pretty toasty here too. It'll top the high 80s, easy. May even touch 90 before the day is done.

    I've unplugged as many heat sources in my house as I can. That includes my 48in OLED monitor, 4090 powered gaming PC, 2080 powered media server/old gaming PC, home theater receiver, and as many little things as I could find. I have fans in a couple windows providing good airflow through the house. I've got the bathrooms and closets all closed up. I expect this will keep me cool enough until the mid-afternoon. I might just find a cafe to work from if it gets too hot.

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    CptHamiltonCptHamilton Registered User regular
    That_Guy wrote: »
    Carpy wrote: »
    Potentially dumb question but the new place has a Ring doorbell that doesn't actually ring inside the house, is that how all of them work? I figured it was just a standard doorbell that also had an app/camera setup but now I'm second guessing that

    Part of the hard wire install method on most doorbell cameras involves bypassing the actual bell mechanism inside, so the wire going to the camera always completes a circuit. Doorbells predate electricity and don't traditionally operare in the same way as a light switch might. You can buy an accessory indoor ringer if you kit didn't come with one.

    Ring used to (like quite a few years ago; I haven't looked lately) sell a special doohicky which you could wire into the circuit between your ring doorbell and the physical doorbell box. It was basically a remote trigger that would make the bell go bong at a digital signal from the doorbell.

    Alternately, like That_Guy said, you can get a Ring Chime that you just plug into any outlet and then it makes noise. Or, if you have Amazon Echo devices, you can install a ring skill in the app to make them all announce when someone rings the doorbell.

    PSN,Steam,Live | CptHamiltonian
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    Captain InertiaCaptain Inertia Registered User regular
    My friend’s dad is on the HOA board in Rolling Hills Estates in the LA area where homes just started falling down the cliff side this past weekend. Apparently one of these homes had an open house scheduled the afternoon that this happened!

    mhjuwwibl0nt.jpeg
    3vtax338iv2r.jpeg

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    SiliconStewSiliconStew Registered User regular
    My friend’s dad is on the HOA board in Rolling Hills Estates in the LA area where homes just started falling down the cliff side this past weekend. Apparently one of these homes had an open house scheduled the afternoon that this happened!

    mhjuwwibl0nt.jpeg
    3vtax338iv2r.jpeg

    "It's a fixer-upper."

    Just remember that half the people you meet are below average intelligence.
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    That_GuyThat_Guy I don't wanna be that guy Registered User regular
    My friend’s dad is on the HOA board in Rolling Hills Estates in the LA area where homes just started falling down the cliff side this past weekend. Apparently one of these homes had an open house scheduled the afternoon that this happened!

    https://us.v-cdn.net/5018289/uploads/editor/kw/mhjuwwibl0nt.jpeg
    https://us.v-cdn.net/5018289/uploads/editor/jz/3vtax338iv2r.jpeg

    "It's a fixer-upper."

    Minor foundation work may be needed in the near future.

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    djmitchelladjmitchella Registered User regular
    Added another two Billy bookshelves from ikea to the growing wall of books. There’s enough room for one more narrow shelf, or a tall plant/some other bit of decor, but otherwise I’ve got a full stretch of the wall covered now. Will need to tweak the wall anchors bit for alignment before I move forward with my fake built-in look, but a quick demo with some stick on molding between the shelves actually looked really nice.

    Probably won’t go too insane with this, but I think a bit of crown molding and wrapping baseboard around the fronts will go a long way. This has been a pretty satisfying little project to build on every few months, though I’ve got all of two inches of space between the extended bookshelf tops and the ceiling, so my hands are a mess from screwing in the wall anchors.

    We did this exact thing a while ago, it was pretty easy. Before:
    ZgFHAo6.jpg
    After:
    Xn1puEr.jpg

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    Trajan45Trajan45 Registered User regular
    Justice wrote: »
    On the subject of paint, we recently bought some paint from Sherwin-Williams using the exact color formula as the old paint. We didn't color match it, we gave them the label of the old S-W paint and they gave us a new can with all the same info as the old one---finish, paint, type/quality of paint.

    And it doesn't match:
    wpcmbjiww1me.jpg

    I'm really wondering if tha's normal variance, or did they make a mistake when mixing the new can? If it's normal, I guess we'll have to repaint the whole wall...

    My experience over the years is that the paint filling machines are not the most accurate (or maybe clean). I've used Beher and SW, both times when I ordered 2 large cans, putting coats from the 2nd can on to a wall with a coat from the first would be just slightly off. These were lighter colors to be fair, perhaps using darker/bolder colors would be less of an issue. Color matching has been worse, I've never been able to get an exact color match and I just plan on doing the entire wall at that point.

    Origin ID\ Steam ID: Warder45
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    CptHamiltonCptHamilton Registered User regular
    "Rolling Hills Estates" seems a little on the nose there...

    PSN,Steam,Live | CptHamiltonian
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    MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Was the refrigera
    Added another two Billy bookshelves from ikea to the growing wall of books. There’s enough room for one more narrow shelf, or a tall plant/some other bit of decor, but otherwise I’ve got a full stretch of the wall covered now. Will need to tweak the wall anchors bit for alignment before I move forward with my fake built-in look, but a quick demo with some stick on molding between the shelves actually looked really nice.

    Probably won’t go too insane with this, but I think a bit of crown molding and wrapping baseboard around the fronts will go a long way. This has been a pretty satisfying little project to build on every few months, though I’ve got all of two inches of space between the extended bookshelf tops and the ceiling, so my hands are a mess from screwing in the wall anchors.

    We did this exact thing a while ago, it was pretty easy. Before:
    ZgFHAo6.jpg
    After:
    Xn1puEr.jpg

    So did we!

    I can't find a finished picture

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    That_GuyThat_Guy I don't wanna be that guy Registered User regular
    IT'S BACK BABY! The AC guy dropped by around 5:30. I'd just been chilling in my Tesla for the last few hours finishing my work day and relaxing. He shows up, pops the panel and immediately finds the offending part. Sure enough it's a blow cap. He made the swap inside of 5 minutes, including the time it took him to go to the truck and get the new cap. As soon as he popped the circuit breaker back in, everything came to life and cool air started flowing from the vents. It peaked at 84 downstairs and it's already back down to 79. Life is good again.

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    MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Great! Now buy 5 more caps so you can do it yourself!

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    zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    I get so irritated about the houses falling down the cliff. Because someone didn’t get an engineer, and cheaped out on the build. And the person who cheaped out isn’t going to be the one that currently has the home.

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    Captain InertiaCaptain Inertia Registered User regular
    It was that whole street, and those homes were built in the 70s or earlier (Pete Sampras grew up in that neighborhood, that’s my reference point for dating the homes ha)

    Also one of the homeowners reported a surprise high 4-digit water bill indicating a leak- could have caused some critical erosion, or the pipes may have been early damage from the ground shifting to a terminal threshold

    But yeah, those homes were built on the edge of that hill for an ocean view

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