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Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

Appliances are complete fucking shit now.

I've bought top of the line Electrolux, and the cheapest Whirlpool I can find. In the past 10 years in two homes, I've gone through 5 clothes washing machines, 2 driers, 7 dishwashers, 3 microwaves and 4 refrigerators.

My strategy at this point: buy the cheapest thing on the shelf that suits your needs, then just fucking price in the longest warranty you can buy (typically 5 years).

If someone magically appeared before me right now and said, "I will sell you an appliance that has a 10 year shelf life" I would pay $2,000+ for it just to eliminate the fucking hassle.

Appliance reliability is one area Consumer Reports and similar services provide useful information. They get data from thousands of customers on brand reliability.

Dishwashers were massively redesigned some years ago to greatly reduce noise. The noise reduction was effective. However, there were side effects that impacted reliability and also removed some useful features.


Another trend that has had an impact on reliability is the use of electronics in the operations. Instead of a $50 electro mechanical timer that put the appliance through its cycles, there is a $500 computer that can talk to your favorite internet service. Not sure I need that.

Many appliance brands are now part of the same corporate entity. In some cases this means the same equipment inside slightly different sheet metal with a different logo and price. Do your research when spending that kind of money. Unless you are Jay Leno.
 
I think its just market manipulation and collusion to make sure every expensive product made by every company will break within the same time frame so consumers are forced to buy new products that have improved or added very little. Sort of like the slowing of phones. In this case its your dishwasher breaks, cost half of a new one to fix, and the warranty has ended by 3 months. What do I need the dishwasher to do, wash the dishes on pretty much the same setting every time, maybe improved water and electric efficiency as well as noise reduction and increased speed if any improvements were made. What I don't need, 15 different settings controlled by Alexa that will text me when my dishes are done.
 
It costs between $500 and $1000 to get a natural gas meter moved from the back to the side of the house. Very annoying. Think we're just going to leave it where it is and hide it with some nice wood planter boxes.
 
I think its just market manipulation and collusion to make sure every expensive product made by every company will break within the same time frame so consumers are forced to buy new products that have improved or added very little. Sort of like the slowing of phones. In this case its your dishwasher breaks, cost half of a new one to fix, and the warranty has ended by 3 months. What do I need the dishwasher to do, wash the dishes on pretty much the same setting every time, maybe improved water and electric efficiency as well as noise reduction and increased speed if any improvements were made. What I don't need, 15 different settings controlled by Alexa that will text me when my dishes are done.

It could even be simpler than collusion:

A. Company goal = make as much money as possible from selling washer
B. Company subgoal = if washer last beyond warranty, make more money
C. Metal part cost $$$, but lasts way beyond warranty, Plastic part cost $, and lasts a little longer than warranty

Company goes with Plastic part time and time again, over time, product gets shittier and shittier until some equilibrium of "making the most money."
 
i do like getting notifications on my phone that the cycle is done and when it needs rinse aid.
 
Does rinse aid actually do anything. Our Frigidaire dishwasher that came with the house and is probably pretty cheap does fine with just the standard Cascade pods.
 
it definitely improves the performance in my washer re: dry spots on glasses and what not

some pods include a bit of aid in the pod; also depends on your water
 
offer accepted - moving to inspection

Nice. Congrats! Our inspection was shockingly clean for a house built in 1963 with no one having lived in it for 4 years. We got very lucky, as it was a sold as-is situation. I believe one of the owners had been using the top story of the house as a home office, which helped.
 
offer accepted - moving to inspection

If there are findings that need repair, think long and hard about whether you want the repair done by someone hired to get it done cheaply and quickly. Seller wants to put minimum funds into getting out.

Many times you are better off getting funds or lower price and overseeing the repairs yourself. You will be living with the results of the repair. The departing owners will not be.
 
So I'm planning to replace my gas range with a new induction model. I'm getting it through Ferguson, and they told me they will do simple install and haulaway. Since it is currently set up for gas, do I need to have an electrician come out beforehand to make sure things are okay to switch? For what it's worth, the inspector told me when I bought the house that there likely used to be an electric range there, and the current range sits slightly out from the wall because of what looks to me like an electric box down there.
 
So I'm planning to replace my gas range with a new induction model. I'm getting it through Ferguson, and they told me they will do simple install and haulaway. Since it is currently set up for gas, do I need to have an electrician come out beforehand to make sure things are okay to switch? For what it's worth, the inspector told me when I bought the house that there likely used to be an electric range there, and the current range sits slightly out from the wall because of what looks to me like an electric box down there.


First, and easiest thing to do is look in your circuit breaker box and see if there is a large breaker or a pair of breakers tied together. Mine is a single 50 amp breaker that occupies two slots in the box. It should be labeled something like "range" or "stove." Given that there hasn't been an electric stove there, it (they) should be in the off position. Also, this circuit will be 220/230/240 volts, not 110/115/120 like most circuits in your house.

The simple installation would be attaching a power cord with prongs matching the existing outlet box to the new stove, plugging it in and setting the breaker to "on." This assumes that:

1. The size of the breaker is large enough to meet the needs of the new stove.
2. The configuration of the holes in the outlet behind the stove matches the prong configuration on the cord of the new stove.

One possible issue may be that, depending on how long it has been since the outlet was installed, the hole configuration may not match current stove power cord prongs. In that case, you would need to have the outlet replaced with a new one to match the prongs on the cord on the stove, or have a different cord attached to the stove.

A note of caution, not all old stove outlets meet current electric code.

Changing the outlet is technically only a little more difficult than changing out a regular 15 amp outlet. Physically it can be more challenging, because wire for a 50 amp circuit is a lot larger and more difficult to work with than the 12 or 14 gauge wire typically found in 15/20 amp circuits. Also, the stove outlet should have four wires, (three plus ground ground) instead of the three wires (two plus ground) in most circuits.

Hope it"s simple.
 
Earlier this year I replaced an all-gas range with one that is a gas stove and electric oven. Didn't really think about it beforehand, but the range is made in Italy and of course they do things different. So when it was delivered the guys took one look and said they couldn't install it because it was 220v and had to be hard-wired rather than plugged. So I had to have an electrician come out and convert the outlet to 220, change some stuff in the fuse box and and hardwire the range in. Kind of a pain in the ass and not cheap. But I love the range so it was worth it.
 
Earlier this year I replaced an all-gas range with one that is a gas stove and electric oven. Didn't really think about it beforehand, but the range is made in Italy and of course they do things different. So when it was delivered the guys took one look and said they couldn't install it because it was 220v and had to be hard-wired rather than plugged. So I had to have an electrician come out and convert the outlet to 220, change some stuff in the fuse box and and hardwire the range in. Kind of a pain in the ass and not cheap. But I love the range so it was worth it.

Gas stoves only require a little electricity for lights, igniters etc. Any stove/range/cooktop or hybrid that uses electricity for cooking will require 220V and a much bigger breaker than a gas stove.

I am surprised that there wasn't a box to install a cord on the range. That is common in Europe, Asia and here. Install a cord that has the prong configuration that matches the outlet configuration in the country where the appliance is used.

ETA:

If your electrician wanted to do you a solid he should have done that, and put in a stove outlet. He did 90+% of the work required.
 
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Gas stoves only require a little electricity for lights, igniters etc. Any stove/range/cooktop or hybrid that uses electricity for cooking will require 220V and a much bigger breaker than a gas stove.

I am surprised that there wasn't a box to install a cord on the range. That is common both in Europe, Asia and here. Install a cord that has the prong configuration that matches the outlet configuration in the country where the appliance is used.

Defs didn't come with a box to install a cord. The electrician said we could order one or we could just hardwire. So we just hardwired.
 
Defs didn't come with a box to install a cord. The electrician said we could order one or we could just hardwire. So we just hardwired.

A bit surprising, but you did say made in Italy, so the connection box was an "extra accessory, not included."
 
Anyone have any thoughts/tips on getting hard water spots off shower door glass? I've tried regular cleaner that says it'll remove them (nope), rubbing vinegar on them for a while (nope), same with CLR (nope). I just ordered some cerium oxide powder and big polishing wheel for my drill which should be able to do it considering it can polish out actual scratches (and the internet says it works). Assuming there's no other option, anyone have any tips/advice for a first time try at that?

On a related topic, we're on a well with no water softener. Yes we have a filter, but obviously our water is really hard. House is a year old and we have rings in our toilets, buildup on the shower door, some buildup in our sinks. Would a water softener help with that? And if so, is it true that using potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride makes the water not feel so...slimy? Wouldn't be doing this until covid times (hopefully) end, but figured I'd ask now.
 
Anyone have experience with the product Groutshine? It seems a little pricey but I'm interested. How much area does a single pen cover?
 
We’ve got a painting crew coming in two weeks to do our entire interior.
 
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