I decided to tear the cornices out of the bathroom so I can tile up to the ceiling. Turns out the old ceiling never went all the way to the wall, and the cornices were covering the gap into the roof space. So now I know how fill in gaps in a plasterboard ceiling. Turns out it's not super difficult, so other than adding a week and some fiddliness to the job it's no biggie. I'll also have to finish rendering the wall up to the new ceiling bits too but one of the walls is very not vertical anyway so also no biggie.
Ahh, the things you find when renovating a 40 year old house. The internal brick walls weren't mortared between bricks on each row!
+5
JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
I've got one of those thermostats that reminds you to change your filters based on running hours rather than just every three months. This summer has been such egregious bullshit that the filter I installed on June 19 is already cashed.
On the bright side, last year the filter I installed in October lasted nearly to the end of March due to me keeping the furnace turned down to the low 60s. So I suppose it all balances out.
So, I just signed a contract to have solar installed on my house. We had been talking about installing it since we moved in, but we finally pulled the trigger.
So, I just signed a contract to have solar installed on my house. We had been talking about installing it since we moved in, but we finally pulled the trigger.
Hope yours turns out as nice as ours did.
I took this amazing screenshot (when we'd been on vacation all month so our usage was WAY down)
Does anyone have an insulated garage door? I'm considering getting some of those foam tiles to stick on mine and wanted to see if anyone had experience.
Does anyone have an insulated garage door? I'm considering getting some of those foam tiles to stick on mine and wanted to see if anyone had experience.
Yes - we went from uninsulated failing wood to insulated steel. World of difference. If you have any rooms above the garage, they will seriously benefit. We used to struggle to keep our master suite warm (above garage), now it's a total non-issue.
Good to hear. Did you need to do any modifications to the lifter or anything? I have some concerns about adding X amount of weight to the door.
No rooms above my garage but the door faces west and takes a ton of heat from the summer sun. I imagine I'm getting some amount of thermal energy penetrating into the insulated parts of the house. Basically wanting to try and create something of a buffer zone?
Good to hear. Did you need to do any modifications to the lifter or anything? I have some concerns about adding X amount of weight to the door.
No rooms above my garage but the door faces west and takes a ton of heat from the summer sun. I imagine I'm getting some amount of thermal energy penetrating into the insulated parts of the house. Basically wanting to try and create something of a buffer zone?
We had it professionally done and they definitely adjusted it.
0
JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
The downside of living in a house with a post-and-beam foundation during a heat wave is the unpleasant sensation of walking around on body-temperature tile floors.
The upside is mopping the kitchen and watching the floor dry so fast you can practically see it sizzle around the edges. Mopping in the wintertime means laying up a day's provisions in the nearest carpeted room.
I mop my tiles with a big wet ropey mop and then go over it with a steam mop. It's a great 1-2 for cleaning the kitchen tiles and it also cuts down the drying time massively.
0
webguy20I spend too much time on the InternetRegistered Userregular
Good to hear. Did you need to do any modifications to the lifter or anything? I have some concerns about adding X amount of weight to the door.
No rooms above my garage but the door faces west and takes a ton of heat from the summer sun. I imagine I'm getting some amount of thermal energy penetrating into the insulated parts of the house. Basically wanting to try and create something of a buffer zone?
Yea you're going to want a professional to check the springs and if they can handle the additional weight or need to be upgraded. If they're old enough they should probably be replaced outright.
Hey remember when I posted my flooded basement in January? Well guess who's about to get bullseyed by Debbie. I expect to spend tomorrow in my basement losing years of my life to stress, BUT
we had a catch basin put in months ago and it handled .4 inches in an hour recently without too much basement intrusion
and we have three fully functional sump pumps, two that are always plugged in and one for emergencies
and we bought a gas generator to keep them running even if we lose power
I still expect a ton of water coming in, but if three pumps can't keep up I don't know what else to do with no grade to the street.
Previous owner of my house built an elevated porch out of bricks. Parts of it started drooping a little a few months ago and it got rapidly worse over the last few weeks.
I guess the sand/stones they used as filler have eroded away underneath it. Probably gonna be a pain in the butt to fix.
edit: When I say elevated, I mean the back door is like 4-5 feet above ground level. So this is a pretty big chunk of brickwork and filler.
Tofystedeth on
0
MichaelLCIn what furnace was thy brain?ChicagoRegistered Userregular
Previous owner of my house built an elevated porch out of bricks. Parts of it started drooping a little a few months ago and it got rapidly worse over the last few weeks.
I guess the sand/stones they used as filler have eroded away underneath it. Probably gonna be a pain in the butt to fix.
edit: When I say elevated, I mean the back door is like 4-5 feet above ground level. So this is a pretty big chunk of brickwork and filler.
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
Not being a brickologist, that sounds like a complete rebuild if they didn't build off a foundation.
Our primary pump was overrun but the secondary is performing well enough. I think the catch basin we put in the backyard is doing a pretty good job of evacuating excess water where we used to have huge puddles that would soak into the ground over time, and I think as a result, when there are breaks in the rain we get back to the point where the main pump is able to hold steady even if it can't empty the pit.
4pm to 7pm is still supposed to be pretty bad but I think we might come out of this without reaching "standing water" levels of bad even without needing the tertiary pump.
Previous owner of my house built an elevated porch out of bricks. Parts of it started drooping a little a few months ago and it got rapidly worse over the last few weeks.
I guess the sand/stones they used as filler have eroded away underneath it. Probably gonna be a pain in the butt to fix.
edit: When I say elevated, I mean the back door is like 4-5 feet above ground level. So this is a pretty big chunk of brickwork and filler.
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
Not being a brickologist, that sounds like a complete rebuild if they didn't build off a foundation.
It's just the surface that seems to be sinking. The wall part seems fine. I'm guessing what with us being in a substantial drought and whatnot the fill is beginning to contract (that which hasn't slowly eroded away over the years or been stolen by ants for their purposes).
Edit: Pic
Tofystedeth on
0
MichaelLCIn what furnace was thy brain?ChicagoRegistered Userregular
That may be ok.
I was picturing some 5 x 15 ft brick monolith slowly sliding into the sea, resting on a bed of playground sand.
how previous an owner are we talking? because if that's been fine for 10 years and did that in the past couple weeks I'd be pretty concerned that there was some kind of water infiltration happening.
This week we took the first concrete step towards a house that is in a very convenient and pleasant neighborhood that we like very much, but does not actually exist yet. Meaning we put down a small deposit to lock exclusive buying rights for a few weeks while we finalize building plans, permits, and financing.
I'm pretty excited/nervous, it's scheduled to be finished spring of next year. I don't like thinking that far in advance, I hope the world won't have ended before then.
Contract is signed, first deposit is in (half of the down payment). Now we just have to keep up with cosmetic decisions while they build the thing. I'm tooling around in different room design apps, recreating the floor plan to try out some room concepts.
One nice thing about this setup is that, while we lock in the purchase price now, we don't have to actually take out the loan until we close next year after it's built. So there's a chance that interest rates will have dropped by then; lower interest rates would theoretically drive up listing prices, but we locked in the price now when rates are high.
None of that was planned (and god knows I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough to try to plan around interest rate changes), but it's possible that we're positioned to be lucky.
I bought a little ryobi air pump/inflator thing because it's always a hassle to reinflate my car tires when it gets cold, and it was definitely an unnecessary purchase overall
But now I've become the neighbor that kids come to when their bike tires need to get pumped up, and I think that's kinda funny and nice
+13
minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
Every neighborhood needs an airbender
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
My current 21” gas lawnmower has decided it doesn’t want to run anymore. I’m going to try taking it to a local shop to get repaired (it’s from 2016) but if that doesn’t go well…
I think I remember people here saying they had good experiences with electric mowers? Is that correct?
Anything else I should be keeping in mind as I consider my options?
KalTorakOne way or another, they all end up inthe Undercity.Registered Userregular
My electric mower has been fine (it runs off the same ryobi batteries as most of my power tools), but I have a very small yard. I can do the whole front and back in under 30 minutes. So a small cheap electric one works great for me, but if you have more ground to cover you're probably getting into bigger and more features/powerful/expensive, I don't know how the electric ones measure up to the gas when you get bigger.
I have a 36V Ryobi one, it works for me. I can do both front and back lawns on one charge and have enough left over to do some wippersnippering and edging but I have extra batteries anyway to make sure.
we have an Ego self propelled and it does our decent sized yards with charge to spare using a 7.5ah battery
i think the main choice is if you already have a battery eco system that supports a mower go with that otherwise they're generally all the same these days.
+5
MichaelLCIn what furnace was thy brain?ChicagoRegistered Userregular
My current 21” gas lawnmower has decided it doesn’t want to run anymore. I’m going to try taking it to a local shop to get repaired (it’s from 2016) but if that doesn’t go well…
I think I remember people here saying they had good experiences with electric mowers? Is that correct?
Anything else I should be keeping in mind as I consider my options?
I really like that mine can store upright.
Self-propelled is nice but should haves option to use it or not, some have multiple swappable blades for mulching or nice cuts or energy-saver.
Metal or plastic deck, how many height settings and if they're just in the rear or front too.
Given how dirty (in every sense of the word) small gas engines are, there's no reason to not go electric these days.
Also, had my site survey for my solar install today. Tech came and crawled through the attic, looked at the services, inspected the roof, and in general got all the details for the engineers to make the final plan for the house. We should have the plan in about two weeks, and then we have the permit wait.
I also have a E-go and it's good. Haven't used another brand to compare against. Also check if your city does rebates for electric lawn equipment. I unfortunately live about 4 blocks too far north to have gotten $50 dollars back from the city.
I bought a little ryobi air pump/inflator thing because it's always a hassle to reinflate my car tires when it gets cold, and it was definitely an unnecessary purchase overall
But now I've become the neighbor that kids come to when their bike tires need to get pumped up, and I think that's kinda funny and nice
An electric air compressor is one of those special tools that when you get one it's crazy how many times you end up using it.
Given how dirty (in every sense of the word) small gas engines are, there's no reason to not go electric these days.
Also, had my site survey for my solar install today. Tech came and crawled through the attic, looked at the services, inspected the roof, and in general got all the details for the engineers to make the final plan for the house. We should have the plan in about two weeks, and then we have the permit wait.
...or we have our final design, and are now in permitting.
Given how dirty (in every sense of the word) small gas engines are, there's no reason to not go electric these days.
Also, had my site survey for my solar install today. Tech came and crawled through the attic, looked at the services, inspected the roof, and in general got all the details for the engineers to make the final plan for the house. We should have the plan in about two weeks, and then we have the permit wait.
We did 12kW solar three years ago. Locked into a 1.49% rate. It pays for itself.
Good luck on your install. Do you get SREC credits where you are? Those cover about 40% of my monthly payment by themselves and I’ve not had an electric bill since the install.
Edit also the tax incentives are amazing still, so don’t forget to leverage those in your return next year.
...which is a lot harder to do than you'd think. Most of the really good ones only come in "we'll do your roof" for you numbers. I don't need many, I just need two. Closer to 500w a panel the better.
@DrZiplock We have multiple resident teams who have installed solar on autonomous seaweed farming boats or are doing robotic solar installation. Let me ask around about their sourcing.
...which is a lot harder to do than you'd think. Most of the really good ones only come in "we'll do your roof" for you numbers. I don't need many, I just need two. Closer to 500w a panel the better.
Depending on your use case, have you looked into camping solar panels?
Posts
Ahh, the things you find when renovating a 40 year old house. The internal brick walls weren't mortared between bricks on each row!
On the bright side, last year the filter I installed in October lasted nearly to the end of March due to me keeping the furnace turned down to the low 60s. So I suppose it all balances out.
Hope yours turns out as nice as ours did.
I took this amazing screenshot (when we'd been on vacation all month so our usage was WAY down)
Yes - we went from uninsulated failing wood to insulated steel. World of difference. If you have any rooms above the garage, they will seriously benefit. We used to struggle to keep our master suite warm (above garage), now it's a total non-issue.
No rooms above my garage but the door faces west and takes a ton of heat from the summer sun. I imagine I'm getting some amount of thermal energy penetrating into the insulated parts of the house. Basically wanting to try and create something of a buffer zone?
We had it professionally done and they definitely adjusted it.
The upside is mopping the kitchen and watching the floor dry so fast you can practically see it sizzle around the edges. Mopping in the wintertime means laying up a day's provisions in the nearest carpeted room.
Yea you're going to want a professional to check the springs and if they can handle the additional weight or need to be upgraded. If they're old enough they should probably be replaced outright.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
we had a catch basin put in months ago and it handled .4 inches in an hour recently without too much basement intrusion
and we have three fully functional sump pumps, two that are always plugged in and one for emergencies
and we bought a gas generator to keep them running even if we lose power
I still expect a ton of water coming in, but if three pumps can't keep up I don't know what else to do with no grade to the street.
I guess the sand/stones they used as filler have eroded away underneath it. Probably gonna be a pain in the butt to fix.
edit: When I say elevated, I mean the back door is like 4-5 feet above ground level. So this is a pretty big chunk of brickwork and filler.
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
Not being a brickologist, that sounds like a complete rebuild if they didn't build off a foundation.
4pm to 7pm is still supposed to be pretty bad but I think we might come out of this without reaching "standing water" levels of bad even without needing the tertiary pump.
It's just the surface that seems to be sinking. The wall part seems fine. I'm guessing what with us being in a substantial drought and whatnot the fill is beginning to contract (that which hasn't slowly eroded away over the years or been stolen by ants for their purposes).
Edit: Pic
I was picturing some 5 x 15 ft brick monolith slowly sliding into the sea, resting on a bed of playground sand.
how previous an owner are we talking? because if that's been fine for 10 years and did that in the past couple weeks I'd be pretty concerned that there was some kind of water infiltration happening.
odds are water is pooling and it's sinking which is good(ish)! it means the water isn't getting in your house!
Not everything went according to plan
Update: the standing water is out thanks to the generator and all 3 pumps. Poor #1 gets no rest though, thanks to the high water table
Contract is signed, first deposit is in (half of the down payment). Now we just have to keep up with cosmetic decisions while they build the thing. I'm tooling around in different room design apps, recreating the floor plan to try out some room concepts.
One nice thing about this setup is that, while we lock in the purchase price now, we don't have to actually take out the loan until we close next year after it's built. So there's a chance that interest rates will have dropped by then; lower interest rates would theoretically drive up listing prices, but we locked in the price now when rates are high.
None of that was planned (and god knows I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough to try to plan around interest rate changes), but it's possible that we're positioned to be lucky.
But now I've become the neighbor that kids come to when their bike tires need to get pumped up, and I think that's kinda funny and nice
I think I remember people here saying they had good experiences with electric mowers? Is that correct?
Anything else I should be keeping in mind as I consider my options?
i think the main choice is if you already have a battery eco system that supports a mower go with that otherwise they're generally all the same these days.
I really like that mine can store upright.
Self-propelled is nice but should haves option to use it or not, some have multiple swappable blades for mulching or nice cuts or energy-saver.
Metal or plastic deck, how many height settings and if they're just in the rear or front too.
Rear is fine, front is nice if lawn is uneven.
Also, had my site survey for my solar install today. Tech came and crawled through the attic, looked at the services, inspected the roof, and in general got all the details for the engineers to make the final plan for the house. We should have the plan in about two weeks, and then we have the permit wait.
An electric air compressor is one of those special tools that when you get one it's crazy how many times you end up using it.
...or we have our final design, and are now in permitting.
I replaced the wax toilet ring, and confirmed the vent is clear
A septic system specialist person is going to come out and run a camera down the drain line to the septic tank
Fun times
We did 12kW solar three years ago. Locked into a 1.49% rate. It pays for itself.
Good luck on your install. Do you get SREC credits where you are? Those cover about 40% of my monthly payment by themselves and I’ve not had an electric bill since the install.
Edit also the tax incentives are amazing still, so don’t forget to leverage those in your return next year.
...which is a lot harder to do than you'd think. Most of the really good ones only come in "we'll do your roof" for you numbers. I don't need many, I just need two. Closer to 500w a panel the better.
Depending on your use case, have you looked into camping solar panels?
https://offgridstores.com/collections/portable-solar-panels/products/ecoflow-400w-portable-solar-panel
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]