The New "Home Improvement" Thread

[Pete]

25 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Yeah, I already changed the downstairs vanity, and shower head within 3 years. Probably not sustainable.

 

I like hard water, though. I feel cleaner. 

It's the lime stripping away your dermis. 

[Dunny]

That sounds like something my wife paid $300 for in Iceland.

[The Dude]

10 hours ago, Cash or Czech said:

Learned my lesson on an expensive mistake in my first two days in the house. Do your research. Stove igniter was broken during the final walkthrough, constantly clicking. Have a repair guy come in the next day, and immediately order the parts. "Well, I guess I have to get it fixed right?" Wrong! The unit is from 2007 and as expected with global supply chain woes, getting parts is a bitch. So despite it being a high end unit, it isn't worth repairing. $800 repair on a 2007 stove, or a $1000 replacement.

 

Parts ordered December 8th, repair guy keeps stringing me along saying they shipped, they'll be here end of the week. Four separate times he says they're coming the end of each week. Finally last week I said what the hell is going on? 45 days later and he's waiting for inventory status from other vendors since his first one can't pull through, I pull the plug. I end up paying the full price for the service call ($165, already a ripoff), plus a 20% restock fee on the part he had in hand (This one is fine-ish). So I basically spent $260 to wait 45 days so that I can order a new stove.

 

The guys doing my dishwasher told me straight up the parts would cost about as much as a new unit and even reco'd to get a new one. They also only charged me 2/3rds of the $100 service call, and were going to charge the rest only if I got the repair done. Needless to say, I know who my appliance guy is going to be in the future.

Lol, I had the same issue on my final walk through, except it's not a high end stove. One of the burners won't ignite. Burner looks fucking melted under the little round cover... Hopefully replacing the stove and microwave this year. Saw this, but not broken handle on dishwasher.

 

Didn't matter, we couldn't get the previous owner to cough up some bucks for the stove. She was uncomfortably nasty,  her poor husband was trying to be cool about it. Think he gave us a check to have it repaired,  but we never did. 

 

 

[The Dude]

4 hours ago, Cash or Czech said:

Just got a quote for a humidifier to be integrated into our forced air heat. It's so dry in my basement, I shock my keyboard or computer as soon as I sit down. If it were a meh PC or keyboard I'd be okay with it, but it's enthusiast-level stuff and a small room humidifier just isn't doing the trick. Anybody add an integrated system, and how has it turned out for you?

Parents got it on their forced air years ago. They love it. 

[SaveByRichter35]

16 hours ago, Pete said:

I'm not looking forward to it, but the water is starting to ruin the fixtures and appliances.. and my skin, and my hair, etc LOL

Is that something that some kind of an inline filter can fix without having to use salt?

[Dunny]

I've heard tell of a salt less water softener 

[Pete]

32 minutes ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

Is that something that some kind of an inline filter can fix without having to use salt?

Not sure, they quoted me an AO Smith 400 which uses salt so I'm guessing not. They're a very reliable contractor.

[The Dude]

5 hours ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

Is that something that some kind of an inline filter can fix without having to use salt?

Reverse osmosis filters installed in line of your water main is a good start. Should put in a bypass and shut off valves for filter service too. 

[Cash or Czech]

Humidifier has already improved the static electricity problem in my basement. There's still some shocks, but they're much less potent. Thinking of replacing the carpet anyway, may go with something anti-static. I know that only reduces voltage held to around 2000, but between that and the humidifier I think it'll be enough to enhance the lifespan of my PC and keyboard. Still won't be doing any PC maintenance in the basement anytime soon.

 

Oh the only problem my wife has found very funny is her wearing wool socks and shuffling along the floor, then touching me and any electronics she can find. Can't wait for something to go pop with that LOL.

Edited January 22, 2022 by Cash or Czech

[Dunny]

That sounds like foreplay. Avoid at all costs.

[Cash or Czech]

Dishwasher came today...and my connecting pipe is corroded so they won't install it. This home ownership stuff is fun, guys! Plumber coming by to check it out this afternoon.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Cash or Czech

[Dunny]

lol.. brutal

 

It is an adventure, a costly adventure 

[Vodka Drunkenski]

On 1/22/2022 at 3:57 PM, Cash or Czech said:

Humidifier has already improved the static electricity problem in my basement. There's still some shocks, but they're much less potent. Thinking of replacing the carpet anyway, may go with something anti-static. I know that only reduces voltage held to around 2000, but between that and the humidifier I think it'll be enough to enhance the lifespan of my PC and keyboard. Still won't be doing any PC maintenance in the basement anytime soon.

 

Oh the only problem my wife has found very funny is her wearing wool socks and shuffling along the floor, then touching me and any electronics she can find. Can't wait for something to go pop with that LOL.

Do you mean carpet in the basement or the house?  We went with floating floors that are lined with cork on the bottom of them.  Great if you ever happen to get water in your basement.  There’s also an underlayment you can put down if it’s directly on concrete which will keep the floor warm

Edited January 25, 2022 by Vodka Drunkenski

[Cash or Czech]

3 minutes ago, Vodka Drunkenski said:

Do you mean carpet in the basement or the house?  We went with floating floors that are lined with cork on the bottom of them.  Great if you ever happen to get water in your basement.  There’s also an underlayment you can put down if it’s directly on concrete which will keep the floor warm

 

Carpet specifically in the basement. Everything else is hardwood, except for two bedrooms which both have carpet. No static problems anywhere else in the house either. I'm not entirely sure what's underneath the carpet. With my luck so far, I think I rather just leave everything alone and not risk finding more stuff to fix LOL.

 

Any handy links you used to research floating floors with cork lining? Never heard of that before.

[SaveByRichter35]

Crisis averted over the weekend.  My wife placed a pick up order with Stop & Shop which I picked up Friday morning.  In that order was a bottle of dishwasher soap.  Saturday afternoon I ran a dishwasher cycle.  About 20 minutes later my almost 3 year old daughter started yelling "BUBBLES!!!!  MOMMY DADDY LOOK BUBBLES!!" while standing by the dishwasher.  My heart dropped.  Thankfully is wasn't a lot.  We put towels down on the floor, soaked up everything that we could.  I pulled out the dishwasher as far as I could, thankfully nothing leaked down under the machine out of reach.  

I accept 50% responsibility for the mishap.  The clerk at S&S that picked the order gave us dish soap instead of dishwasher soap.  I should have looked it over with more detail because when I grabbed it I did see that it said "Dishwashing Soap."  It just didn't click that it said "dishwashing" instead of "dishwasher" because that is what I was expecting.

[Pete]

Anyone have a reco/thoughts/advice on an AO Smith Water filter vs NovoClear?

[siddious]

On 1/25/2022 at 12:11 PM, Cash or Czech said:

 

Carpet specifically in the basement. Everything else is hardwood, except for two bedrooms which both have carpet. No static problems anywhere else in the house either. I'm not entirely sure what's underneath the carpet. With my luck so far, I think I rather just leave everything alone and not risk finding more stuff to fix LOL.

 

Any handy links you used to research floating floors with cork lining? Never heard of that before.

Surprised you’re having a humidity problem in the basement- usually basements need de-humidifiers. I’d get rid of the carpet but yes expect some nasty stuff under there. 
 

my small “get new floors” project turned into about 5 bigger projects all because the second floor of my house was carpeted and disgusting.

[Cash or Czech]

@josh you were right about the installation. Now I gotta find a real installer for my next appliance.

[Morphinity 2.0]

On 1/20/2022 at 5:20 PM, Cash or Czech said:

Just got a quote for a humidifier to be integrated into our forced air heat. It's so dry in my basement, I shock my keyboard or computer as soon as I sit down. If it were a meh PC or keyboard I'd be okay with it, but it's enthusiast-level stuff and a small room humidifier just isn't doing the trick. Anybody add an integrated system, and how has it turned out for you?

Do you have a humidistat? I've got one of those wireless thermometer/humidistat things and on cold winter days (like today) my humidity is about 33%. I'd ideally like it to be higher, but I just don't know what's possible. 

[Cash or Czech]

7 minutes ago, Morphinity said:

Do you have a humidistat? I've got one of those wireless thermometer/humidistat things and on cold winter days (like today) my humidity is about 33%. I'd ideally like it to be higher, but I just don't know what's possible. 

 

Not in the house, but one was included in the control panel/dial for the humidifier. I've seen the sweet spot be around 37% to 40% to be honest. Really noticed a difference in air quality and static. Haven't tried jacking it up to max setting, don't want to risk damaging and rotting my windows.

[Morphinity 2.0]

2 hours ago, Cash or Czech said:

 

Not in the house, but one was included in the control panel/dial for the humidifier. I've seen the sweet spot be around 37% to 40% to be honest. Really noticed a difference in air quality and static. Haven't tried jacking it up to max setting, don't want to risk damaging and rotting my windows.

Right, but what you set it to might not be what the humidity of your house actually is.

 

I say this because I've got my humidifier set to 60% humidity (the max) and it struggles to keep it above 35% most days. It's just such a heavy lift to get good humidity with forced air in a reasonably sized house. So I'm just curious what your actual is, might be worth getting a thermometer/humidity monitor just to check.

[Cash or Czech]

16 minutes ago, Morphinity said:

Right, but what you set it to might not be what the humidity of your house actually is.

 

I say this because I've got my humidifier set to 60% humidity (the max) and it struggles to keep it above 35% most days. It's just such a heavy lift to get good humidity with forced air in a reasonably sized house. So I'm just curious what your actual is, might be worth getting a thermometer/humidity monitor just to check.

 

Ah I hear ya. This morning, I had it turned down because it was cold and it was at 25%. Way too low. I've had it running for a few hours now in tandem with my heat, and I'm now sitting at 32%. It warmed up a bit more than the current setting, so I turned it up. Will report back in a few hours.

[Pete]

37 minutes ago, Morphinity said:

Right, but what you set it to might not be what the humidity of your house actually is.

 

I say this because I've got my humidifier set to 60% humidity (the max) and it struggles to keep it above 35% most days. It's just such a heavy lift to get good humidity with forced air in a reasonably sized house. So I'm just curious what your actual is, might be worth getting a thermometer/humidity monitor just to check.

If your humidity was +35% on a day like yesterday, or today, you'd probably have a ton of condensation on your windows, which is bad for the sill and frames.

[Morphinity 2.0]

9 minutes ago, Pete said:

If your humidity was +35% on a day like yesterday, or today, you'd probably have a ton of condensation on your windows, which is bad for the sill and frames.

I do not have any condensation on my windows or frames, so I guess I'm good lol

Like I said, it can't get above 35% on these days.

[Pete]

54 minutes ago, Morphinity said:

I do not have any condensation on my windows or frames, so I guess I'm good lol

Like I said, it can't get above 35% on these days.

Is the humidistat tied to the humidifier? Because that's what it's for, it makes sure that (based on outside temps) that your inside humidity doesn't go past a certain level (in your case 35%) to prevent condensation.