Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

[DeaconCav06]

Contractor that gave us the $14k quote has just gone completely MIA & hasn’t responded to texts or calls. Sucks!

Our contractor is really tough to reach. Does good work and is fairly priced and because of that he is incredibly busy.

It takes weeks for us to get invoices from him after the jobs are done.

 

[birdman]

@Deaconblue or anyone else with experience, I had a squirrel chew through the power cord of a box fan in my barn. I am trying to replace the cord which I’ve done before, but this model has a cinched hole for feeding the power cord into the control box. Do you have any advice on feeding the cord through this little hole?

 

[Deaconblue]

It will be extremely difficult, headed to impossible to feed wire through. That plastic is a strain relief.
Best way is to remove it. It won't be easy. Need to push it out from the inside.

Then open it up and clamp it on the new wire and press the combo into the hole.

Forcing it out maydamage the strain relief. If so, get a replacement. They're cheap.

The purpose of the strain relief is to keep pulls on the cord from pulling on and breaking connections with the motor, controller or switch.

 

[birdman]

It will be extremely difficult, headed to impossible to feed wire through. That plastic is a strain relief.
Best way is to remove it. It won't be easy. Need to push it out from the inside.

Then open it up and clamp it on the new wire and press the combo into the hole.

Forcing it out maydamage the strain relief. If so, get a replacement. They're cheap.

The purpose of the strain relief is to keep pulls on the cord from pulling on and breaking connections with the motor, controller or switch.

Thanks Blue! I got the cinch popped out pretty easily, but it kinda broke and would not reinsert. So, I used some adhesive sealant to hold the new cord in place and take the pressure off the the connections. Hopefully the squirrels stay off this new wire. We need more barn snakes I think.

 

[YoungBuck95]

Just need some confirmation here but r15 insulation in the ceiling of a shed is a little low, right?

 

[Deaconblue]

Just need some confirmation here but r15 insulation in the ceiling of a shed is a little low, right?

Current recs for ceiling are a lot higher. R49-R60.

Recommended Home Insulation R–Values

Insulation levels are specified by R-Value. R-Value is a measure of insulation’s ability to resist heat traveling through it. The higher the R-Value the better the thermal performance of the insulation.

www.energystar.gov

 

[YoungBuck95]

Current recs for ceiling are a lot higher. R49-R60.

Recommended Home Insulation R–Values

Insulation levels are specified by R-Value. R-Value is a measure of insulation’s ability to resist heat traveling through it. The higher the R-Value the better the thermal performance of the insulation.

www.energystar.gov

Right. It is a vaulted/pitched ceiling that would be nice to leave open but doesn't seem reasonable from insulation perspective.

 

[Deaconblue]

Right. It is a vaulted/pitched ceiling that would be nice to leave open but doesn't seem reasonable from insulation perspective.

Do what you can with the space you have for insulation. More insulation lowers your HVAC needs.

 

[tiltdeac]

Anyone done a bathroom reno lately? I have a neighbor who runs a build/design company, and they've done great work for us in the past. They are high end, but prices had seemed reasonable to me. I asked him to give me an estimate for a full gut bathroom renovation. It's a guest bath, so not particular big. But everything out, replace the tub with a shower, all new subfloor, tile, vanity, etc. He quoted me $70k, which seems way high to me? Almost $10k just for demo and haul away?

 

[Deaconblue]

Anyone done a bathroom reno lately? I have a neighbor who runs a build/design company, and they've done great work for us in the past. They are high end, but prices had seemed reasonable to me. I asked him to give me an estimate for a full gut bathroom renovation. It's a guest bath, so not particular big. But everything out, replace the tub with a shower, all new subfloor, tile, vanity, etc. He quoted me $70k, which seems way high to me? Almost $10k just for demo and haul away?

That seems high, unless:
are you in a very high cost area like NYC or SanFrancisco?

Are you having plumbing re-routed?
Extremely high end fixtures?
Heated floor, with a lot of associated electrical work?

That sounds like an "I'm busy, I don't need the work but if I can make enough, somebody else can wait" price.

Or the "I don't want to work for you, but pay me enough and I will" price.

ETA: Get another estimate. You should be able to get that price down by about half. Maybe more.

 

[ImTheCaptain]

Just need some confirmation here but r15 insulation in the ceiling of a shed is a little low, right?

of a shed?

 

[Deaconblue]

of a shed?

A shed being turned into a living space for year round use.

 

[YoungBuck95]

of a shed?

Yeah, a shed that will be used year round as an office and maybe a living room type space.

However - we decided not to move forward right now. With the wedding coming up, we have a lot of expenses coming soon.

 

[deacdiggler]

On the rental property we're selling, our buyers still insist that they are concerned about structural issues in the house, despite our inspectors report explaining that the issue with a slant in the floor is flooring-installation-related. Is it possible to get a structural warranty on a 20 year old house? Seems like this should be insurance that you can buy, but I can't find much for existing homes. Any thoughts?

 

[2&2 Slider To Leyritz]

On the rental property we're selling, our buyers still insist that they are concerned about structural issues in the house, despite our inspectors report explaining that the issue with a slant in the floor is flooring-installation-related. Is it possible to get a structural warranty on a 20 year old house? Seems like this should be insurance that you can buy, but I can't find much for existing homes. Any thoughts?

Even if you could get it, that flooring issue would probably be excluded as it is a known issue. So it wouldn't solve the problem from the buyer's standpoint.

 

[deacdiggler]

if it's a flooring issue, then it's not a big deal. Unfortunately they had some guy glance at it and he told them it's a structural issue where 20 years ago, the builder misaligned beams/joists with load bearing walls, and that it would cost $35-50k to remediate it. We have a report saying that there is NOT a structural issue, but that the issue is simply some flooring and I have offered them a repair allowance. Problem is that they now have in their head that there's a $50k repair that they are at risk for, and I'm trying to bridge that.

 

[06deacon]

Buyers are morons, especially those that know fuck all about houses. Like the folks I sold my previous house to. They opened the negotiations by forwarding us the entire inspection report and asking us to pay to fix it all, even the stuff like “screw is loose”. Fix this ya jackoff.

 

[cookoutdeac]

if it's a flooring issue, then it's not a big deal. Unfortunately they had some guy glance at it and he told them it's a structural issue where 20 years ago, the builder misaligned beams/joists with load bearing walls, and that it would cost $35-50k to remediate it. We have a report saying that there is NOT a structural issue, but that the issue is simply some flooring and I have offered them a repair allowance. Problem is that they now have in their head that there's a $50k repair that they are at risk for, and I'm trying to bridge that.

at some point you just gotta walk away and keep that sweet sweet DDP money since iirc they "discovered" this outside of the inspection period

 

[Deaconblue]

On the rental property we're selling, our buyers still insist that they are concerned about structural issues in the house, despite our inspectors report explaining that the issue with a slant in the floor is flooring-installation-related. Is it possible to get a structural warranty on a 20 year old house? Seems like this should be insurance that you can buy, but I can't find much for existing homes. Any thoughts?

What does the buyer want for remedy? Redo of floors? Price reduction? If so, how much?

What does your agent recommend?
Do you have a real estate lawyer? Recommendation from the lawyer regarding the issue?

Depending on how you feel about the buyer and whether or not you can.get another buyer. I'd be tempted to give them a take it or leave it with the inspection report.

 

[deacdiggler]

They want $35k off $300k. I laughed and offered $5 just to get it done.