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Homeowner/House Thread: It's going to cost more than you expect

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  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    I saw that article and knew immediately this is how Canada has doomed us all

  • RadiationRadiation Registered User regular
    #Team Raccoon nation

    PSN: jfrofl
  • CogCog What'd you expect? Registered User regular
    Yeah that is pretty awesome!
    Do the lights automagically come on when you raise the door?

    Nope. There's a switch just inside the door on the left. This isn't my personal switch, but this is what it looks like.

    photo-4.jpg

    I stapled the cord above and below the switch a few times, to the inside of the cupboard just to the side of the rolling door so it's held in place vertically.

  • CogCog What'd you expect? Registered User regular
    Updated my image with one that won't wreck shit, SiG.

  • AngelHedgieAngelHedgie Registered User regular
    Quid wrote: »
    I saw that article and knew immediately this is how Canada has doomed us all

    We invent a better trash can, nature invents a better trash panda.

    XBL: Nox Aeternum / PSN: NoxAeternum / NN:NoxAeternum / Steam: noxaeternum
  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    Mugsley wrote: »
    Good luck! I think you'll be satisfied.

    @Mugsley we got the system partially set up today. Was pretty easy to do, though I had to use the rotozip to cut a hole in a door frame to fit one of the sensors. You can't see it unless you open the door, but it's there. Watching.

    Found out the damn thing doesn't connect to my mesh network too. Yay?

    But overall I like it so far. We're going to activate it tomorrow when the kid isn't home so we don't scare the kiddo if it screams at us.

    WiiU: Windrunner ; Guild Wars 2: Shadowfire.3940 ; PSN: Bradcopter
  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Ours doesn't have any capability to connect to WiFi but I also have no idea if it's supposed to with the newer generation. The idea is supposed to be that it's got its own SIM card to communicate so it's independent from your home.

    Enjoy!

  • BloodycowBloodycow Registered User regular
    So, moved back to our house in Iowa last Friday.

    Since then, I have bought two Nest Thermostats (as the master is heated and cooled by it's own system) and a Nest video doorbell.

    Thermostats were super easy to hook up, think it took 15 minutes each.

    Start with putting up the doorbell and come to find out the whole system is battery powered. So now have to learn how to hard wire a doorbell. Luckily there is a box on the inside of the wall for the lamp post and porch lights I should be able to hook it up into.

    Painted the main floor bathroom, sun room (including whitewashing the fireplace, paint the fireplace doors from ugly ass brass to satin silver), painted the master bathroom.

    Got the finished basement measured to put down some higher end vinyl flooring that looks like wood instead of the carpet that is down there.

    Fixed the under cabinet lighting in the kitchen.

    Bought another 4k worth of furniture to fill out the main floor.

    Bought a high end GAS stove and scheduled a plumber to come by and run a gas line up to the kitchen next week, but now I gotta drill a whole in the back of my cabinents so I can run the 110v line from the new stove to the outlet where the fridge is hooked into as it doesn't hook into the huge 240v the electric range plugs into now..

    Someone save me.



    It's rough going from renting and having a tenant in your house to actually living in the home you own.

    Wish me luck guys.

    " I am a warrior, so that my son may be a merchant, so that his son may be a poet.”
    ― John Quincy Adams
  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    If you want to skip the wiring of the doorbell, you can get the original Ring doorbell. It runs off a rechargeable battery that can last a few months depending on how many visitors you get.

    WiiU: Windrunner ; Guild Wars 2: Shadowfire.3940 ; PSN: Bradcopter
  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    The only way I could see that being practical for me would be putting lights on the undersides of all the shelves so they properly illuminate everything. Then rigging some sort of switch system whereby the lights only turn on when you open the door. Which would be the real impressive feat of it all, but hell if I would know how to pull it off.

    Reed switches - they're magnetically activated proximity switches, so you'd mount the magnet part on the door and the switch on the cabinet where the wiring is, and when you open the door the switch will go open circuit. You'd have to use relays or an Arduino or something to turn that normally on signal into a normally off for the light circuit.

  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    @Bloodycow if you haven't gotten too far down the road, you can have the 240V rewired for 120V. You may or may not need an electrician to handle the circuit breaker depending on how it's set up. There are videos and it saves you from making holes everywhere.

  • AbsoluteZeroAbsoluteZero The new film by Quentin Koopantino Registered User regular
    The only way I could see that being practical for me would be putting lights on the undersides of all the shelves so they properly illuminate everything. Then rigging some sort of switch system whereby the lights only turn on when you open the door. Which would be the real impressive feat of it all, but hell if I would know how to pull it off.

    Reed switches - they're magnetically activated proximity switches, so you'd mount the magnet part on the door and the switch on the cabinet where the wiring is, and when you open the door the switch will go open circuit. You'd have to use relays or an Arduino or something to turn that normally on signal into a normally off for the light circuit.

    Something like this would probably be easier:

    https://www.rockler.com/pressure-switch?sid=V9146

    cs6f034fsffl.jpg
  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
  • StraygatsbyStraygatsby Registered User regular
    Replaced our old doorbell with a Ring 2. Had to tweak the sensitivity zones a bit so it wasn't picking up larger vehicles going up and down the street, but it's pretty darn nice so far - solid video/audio, easy app use, and an almost insignificant cost for one camera's cloud storage. Working really well so far. I'll be curious how it holds up to a pacific northwest winter. I was a little concerned the bulky unit would look shitty aesthetically, but I went with the black faceplate, and it really sets nicely on my doorframe. I opted for the battery only install as I didn't want to both with the transformer for the old doorbell.

    Now I can not answer the door (which I already do) *and* know who is at it. Aces!

  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Buy one for yourself, and buy one for your father-in-law, if you have one (outlet tester for $6 US):

    https://www.amazon.com/Sperry-Instruments-GFI6302-Receptacle-Professional/dp/B000RUL2UU

  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Mugsley wrote: »

    Well yeah, but batteries...

  • That_GuyThat_Guy I don't wanna be that guy Registered User regular
    Mugsley wrote: »
    Buy one for yourself, and buy one for your father-in-law, if you have one (outlet tester for $6 US):

    https://www.amazon.com/Sperry-Instruments-GFI6302-Receptacle-Professional/dp/B000RUL2UU

    Those outlet testers are worth their weight in gold. One of those helped me figure out what was going on with a couple of GFI outlets in my place.

  • CommunistCowCommunistCow Abstract Metal ThingyRegistered User regular
    edited December 2018
    Has anyone here had good luck with some of the cheap window insulation tactics like the shrink wrap film? Any recommendations on which one to use?

    We have a "sun room" which is actually just an enclosed porch slab that has single pane windows. I was hoping to make it not so f'n cold in there but I don't want to spend the money on buying good windows. The porch slab is sinking and everything will have to be torn out and replaced at some point.

    CommunistCow on
    No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
  • MortiousMortious The Nightmare Begins Move to New ZealandRegistered User regular
    Has anyone here had good luck with some of the cheap window insulation tactics like the shrink wrap film? Any recommendations on which one to use?

    We have a "sun room" which is actually just an enclosed porch slab that has single pane windows. I was hoping to make it not so f'n cold in there but I don't want to spend the money on buying good windows. The porch slab is sinking and everything will have to be torn out and replaced at some point.

    My wife swears by covering the windows with bubblewrap. Personally I think you should cover it with newspaper first because if you're going to make it look like a crazy person lives there, at least make it a crazy that people are familiar with.

    That said, I didn't notice a difference.

    Move to New Zealand
    It’s not a very important country most of the time
    http://steamcommunity.com/id/mortious
  • CogCog What'd you expect? Registered User regular
    edited December 2018
    Has anyone here had good luck with some of the cheap window insulation tactics like the shrink wrap film? Any recommendations on which one to use?

    We have a "sun room" which is actually just an enclosed porch slab that has single pane windows. I was hoping to make it not so f'n cold in there but I don't want to spend the money on buying good windows. The porch slab is sinking and everything will have to be torn out and replaced at some point.

    We used the stuff when I was young and my family was dirt poor. My fondest memories of it were thinking it was fucking magic the way the hair dryer made it stretch tight, and how it was completely irresistible for me to poke holes in it and get in a heap of trouble.

    The googles tell me it does in fact legitimately work, and it reasonably makes sense. Air is a shitty thermal conductor and old windows be drafty. So with the heavy caveat that you install them cleanly with minimal leakage, creating a big-ass air pocket on the least insulated spot on your wall, and a relatively tight seal over a source of drafts should by all accounts work.

    Unless your shithead kid can't resist poking holes in it and fucking it all up.

    Cog on
  • That_GuyThat_Guy I don't wanna be that guy Registered User regular
    Mortious wrote: »
    Has anyone here had good luck with some of the cheap window insulation tactics like the shrink wrap film? Any recommendations on which one to use?

    We have a "sun room" which is actually just an enclosed porch slab that has single pane windows. I was hoping to make it not so f'n cold in there but I don't want to spend the money on buying good windows. The porch slab is sinking and everything will have to be torn out and replaced at some point.

    My wife swears by covering the windows with bubblewrap. Personally I think you should cover it with newspaper first because if you're going to make it look like a crazy person lives there, at least make it a crazy that people are familiar with.

    That said, I didn't notice a difference.

    Nah, newspaper isn't nearly crazy enough. You need to cover the windows in aluminum foil.

  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Cog wrote: »
    Has anyone here had good luck with some of the cheap window insulation tactics like the shrink wrap film? Any recommendations on which one to use?

    We have a "sun room" which is actually just an enclosed porch slab that has single pane windows. I was hoping to make it not so f'n cold in there but I don't want to spend the money on buying good windows. The porch slab is sinking and everything will have to be torn out and replaced at some point.

    We used the stuff when I was young and my family was dirt poor. My fondest memories of it were thinking it was fucking magic the way the hair dryer made it stretch tight, and how it was completely irresistible for me to poke holes in it and get in a heap of trouble.

    The googles tell me it does in fact legitimately work, and it reasonably makes sense. Air is a shitty thermal conductor and old windows be drafty. So with the heavy caveat that you install them cleanly with minimal leakage, creating a big-ass air pocket on the least insulated spot on your wall, and a relatively tight seal over a source of drafts should by all accounts work.

    Unless your shithead kid can't resist poking holes in it and fucking it all up.

    Adding to this, get some caulk and run a bead along the edges of the window to help before adding the plastic. Like was mentioned, make sure the double sided tape overlaps slightly so that you don't have air gaps

    The caulk should come off relatively easily with a plastic scraper in the Spring.

  • KruiteKruite Registered User regular
    Has anyone here had good luck with some of the cheap window insulation tactics like the shrink wrap film? Any recommendations on which one to use?

    We have a "sun room" which is actually just an enclosed porch slab that has single pane windows. I was hoping to make it not so f'n cold in there but I don't want to spend the money on buying good windows. The porch slab is sinking and everything will have to be torn out and replaced at some point.

    It absolutely works. I lived in the 4th bedroom of an old house in Bethlehem; this room used to be the laundry room, and I had the old furnace vent feed directly into my room from the basement. It also had a window that was leaky as hell. The result being my room was an air current, air coming up from the basement and out the window as it warms up, making my room freezing and whatever temperature was outside. I put the shrink wrap around the window and it felt at least 10 degrees warmer throughout the winter.

  • MyiagrosMyiagros Registered User regular
    I've used it in my house for the past 7 years. The rooms without direct heating get at least 3-5 degrees warmer and it eliminates any drafts around the window.

    iRevert wrote: »
    Because if you're going to attempt to squeeze that big black monster into your slot you will need to be able to take at least 12 inches or else you're going to have a bad time...
    Steam: MyiagrosX27
  • CogCog What'd you expect? Registered User regular
    It also still lets in sunlight so you get some heating effect that way too.

  • L Ron HowardL Ron Howard The duck MinnesotaRegistered User regular
    In my experience it did nothing.
    I did it for two winters, and then not, and roughly averaged the gas saving on my energy bill, and putting plastic on my windows didn't do anything.

  • That_GuyThat_Guy I don't wanna be that guy Registered User regular
    I imagine your mileage may vary greatly with how drafty your windows (and the rest of your house) are in the first place. If you have a relatively well sealed up home with drafty windows, I bet the plastic goes a long way. If your windows are pretty well sealed to begin with and/or you have drafts elsewhere, you may not see much of an improvement.

  • MortiousMortious The Nightmare Begins Move to New ZealandRegistered User regular
    The sellers are being way to accommodating, even going so far as to put of the sale for an indeterminate couple of months to change the land lease from a cross lease to a freehold.

    I suspect we have offered them too much money.

    Move to New Zealand
    It’s not a very important country most of the time
    http://steamcommunity.com/id/mortious
  • PantsBPantsB Fake Thomas Jefferson Registered User regular
    The only way I could see that being practical for me would be putting lights on the undersides of all the shelves so they properly illuminate everything. Then rigging some sort of switch system whereby the lights only turn on when you open the door. Which would be the real impressive feat of it all, but hell if I would know how to pull it off.

    We have some really basic ones that were magnetic and you pushed them on. Rarely use them but they're easy

    11793-1.png
    day9gosu.png
    QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
  • CogCog What'd you expect? Registered User regular
    Mortious wrote: »
    The sellers are being way to accommodating, even going so far as to put of the sale for an indeterminate couple of months to change the land lease from a cross lease to a freehold.

    I suspect we have offered them too much money.

    It’s fine, your real estate market is bonkers and in 3 months your value will have doubled.

  • AngelHedgieAngelHedgie Registered User regular
    Tomorrow is inspection day. I'm taking the morning off to accompany the inspector. Feeling really nervous about this.

    XBL: Nox Aeternum / PSN: NoxAeternum / NN:NoxAeternum / Steam: noxaeternum
  • DemonStaceyDemonStacey TTODewback's Daughter In love with the TaySwayRegistered User regular
    On the opposite side, today is appraisal day for the house I'm selling.

    Wish me luck.

    pleaseappraisepleaseappraisepleaseappraise

  • DemonStaceyDemonStacey TTODewback's Daughter In love with the TaySwayRegistered User regular
    edited December 2018
    Tomorrow is inspection day. I'm taking the morning off to accompany the inspector. Feeling really nervous about this.

    Also, just remember as you do this EVERY HOUSE HAS SOME ISSUES.

    The inspector *will* (or at least they damn well better) find various things to report.

    The goal here is to see all of those things and make notes of them and, as long as they are nothing that means the house is falling apart, plan to address those issues as stuff to work on as you move in or down the line pending their importance. And of course see what you can get the sellers to agree to fix up before the sale.

    Basically don't be afraid of seeing that multi page report. Just look at and assess what each item actually is.

    DemonStacey on
  • AngelHedgieAngelHedgie Registered User regular
    Tomorrow is inspection day. I'm taking the morning off to accompany the inspector. Feeling really nervous about this.

    Also, just remember as you do this EVERY HOUSE HAS SOME ISSUES.

    The inspector *will* (or at least they damn well better) find various things to report.

    The goal here is to see all of those things and make notes of them and, as long as they are nothing that means the house is falling apart, plan to address those issues as stuff to work on as you move in or down the line pending their importance. And of course see what you can get the sellers to agree to fix up before the sale.

    Basically don't be afraid of seeing that multi page report. Just look at and assess what each item actually is.

    I'm actually on site with the inspector. There's been one or two items that are going to be "this needs fixing before close", and we're going to need the HVAC serviced, but otherwise it's been going well.

    XBL: Nox Aeternum / PSN: NoxAeternum / NN:NoxAeternum / Steam: noxaeternum
  • SimpsoniaSimpsonia Registered User regular
    edited December 2018
    So I found a 2-Flat for sale at a very low price in a very hot neighborhood in my city. The reason why, is that it's a short-sale, which I hear can take months to even hear back about an offer, and also taxes are skyrocketing on the northern side of the city due to gentrification. But it looks like it's in great shape, just dated. I think I'm going to schedule a walkthrough.

    Simpsonia on
  • JeanJean Heartbroken papa bear Gatineau, QuébecRegistered User regular
    Moved in our home November 30. Finally it happened, we had been speaking about this for about 2 years. Setting in nicely. All boxes unpacked!

    Feels so good to go from a 780ish square feet condo (that's including the balcony) to a 1,200 square feet house (+ the yard). So. Much. Space! and freedom. and responsibility.

    Finances will be tight, especially with a baby to be born next May but we got this!

    Our next purchases will be a library for all our books and a second TV.

    "You won't destroy us, You won't destroy our democracy. We are a small but proud nation. No one can bomb us to silence. No one can scare us from being Norway. This evening and tonight, we'll take care of each other. That's what we do best when attacked'' - Jens Stoltenberg
  • Jebus314Jebus314 Registered User regular
    Jean wrote: »
    Moved in our home November 30. Finally it happened, we had been speaking about this for about 2 years. Setting in nicely. All boxes unpacked!

    Feels so good to go from a 780ish square feet condo (that's including the balcony) to a 1,200 square feet house (+ the yard). So. Much. Space! and freedom. and responsibility.

    Finances will be tight, especially with a baby to be born next May but we got this!

    Our next purchases will be a library for all our books and a second TV.

    Definitely update this thread when you get around to the library work. The wife and I have many books and so far I have been only marginally happy with our shelving situation. Currently just have a little alcove with closet type shelves.

    "The world is a mess, and I just need to rule it" - Dr Horrible
  • AngelHedgieAngelHedgie Registered User regular
    Tomorrow is inspection day. I'm taking the morning off to accompany the inspector. Feeling really nervous about this.

    Also, just remember as you do this EVERY HOUSE HAS SOME ISSUES.

    The inspector *will* (or at least they damn well better) find various things to report.

    The goal here is to see all of those things and make notes of them and, as long as they are nothing that means the house is falling apart, plan to address those issues as stuff to work on as you move in or down the line pending their importance. And of course see what you can get the sellers to agree to fix up before the sale.

    Basically don't be afraid of seeing that multi page report. Just look at and assess what each item actually is.

    I'm actually on site with the inspector. There's been one or two items that are going to be "this needs fixing before close", and we're going to need the HVAC serviced, but otherwise it's been going well.

    So, the biggest thing is that the house has a wood foundation, as opposed to a concrete one. It's a standardized construction technique, and the inspection didn't reveal anything bad with the foundation, but it's definitely something that we need to research.

    The radon came in at 5, which is just over the EPA threshold for mitigation. So that's going to be something that we're going to push for. Also, there were a few shortcuts taken with the master suite in the attic, so those will need to be rectified as well.

    Beyond that, most of the issues that have popped up are of the delayed maintenance sort, so there's going to be a bit of a "to do" list. Overall, the inspector said the house is structurally solid.

    XBL: Nox Aeternum / PSN: NoxAeternum / NN:NoxAeternum / Steam: noxaeternum
  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    wood foundation

    huh never seen that before

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • CogCog What'd you expect? Registered User regular
    bowen wrote: »
    wood foundation

    huh never seen that before

    It feels like it puts some kind of shorter expiration date on the house than concrete would. And termites would be utterly devastating instead of just possibly crippling.

This discussion has been closed.