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Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

Maybe you could install the deadbolt and handle yourself but I can't imagine that's a significant component of the quote
 
Hey what's up with foundation issues? I'm thinking about buying a house, good deal, but may have an issue. I see a crack on the outside bricks and a couple of the bedroom tiles in that area of the house sound hollow which I'm told is a sign. Another dude told me you can fix foundation issue pretty affordably if not major, and the deal on the house is good enough to warrant that. Anywho, I have a guy coming to inspect later this week but figured I'd seek random internet advice in the meantime
 
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RubbinsRacin said:
Hey what's up with foundation issues? I'm thinking about buying a house, good deal, but may have an issue. I see a crack on the outside bricks and a couple of the bedroom tiles in that area of the house sound hollow which I'm told is a sign. Another dude told me you can fix foundation issue pretty affordably if not major, and the deal on the house is good enough to warrant that. Anywho, I have a guy coming to inspect later this week but figured I'd seek random internet advice in the meantime
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Foundation issues are tricky. You're doing what needs to be done, that is get an expert to do an on-site inspection. Some foundation work isn't too bad. does the house have a basement, crawlspace, or is it slab on grade?

What do you mean by "bedroom tiles?" Are these ceramic tiles on the bedroom walls or??
 
Ugh, my upstairs unit is not pumping out cold air anymore. I'm hoping it is just low on coolant, but then it makes me wonder where the leak is. The unit was installed 8 years ago. I've had an issue in the past with the heat when one of the elements went bad. I could be way off here, but the unit is in my attic, and although I have adequate insulation up there, I wonder if the unit is having to work too hard in the summer to cool and too hard in the winter to heat, which is causing undue wear and tear on the unit. My other unit is in my basement and works magnificently, but it also has 60 degree air to work in year round.
 
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tsywake said:
Ugh, my upstairs unit is not pumping out cold air anymore. I'm hoping it is just low on coolant, but then it makes me wonder where the leak is. The unit was installed 8 years ago. I've had an issue in the past with the heat when one of the elements went bad. I could be way off here, but the unit is in my attic, and although I have adequate insulation up there, I wonder if the unit is having to work too hard in the summer to cool and too hard in the winter to heat, which is causing undue wear and tear on the unit. My other unit is in my basement and works magnificently, but it also has 60 degree air to work in year round.
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By not pumping out cold air, do you mean it's still moving air, it's just not chilled?
I had the weirdest experience with my upstairs unit, the last hot day of 2015 it stopped working like that, but I didn't sweat it because I wasn't going to use AC for a while. Heated fine all winter, and now it's cooling fine also and I never had it looked at. There was no visible freezing up of the outside unit at all. MYSTERY.
 
Its blowing air, but not cooling. The temperature of the air coming out is maybe a few degrees cooler than the room air, which has been around 80 degrees.
 
Leaks are likely at connections, you could always dab dish soap around everything and see if bubbles form anywhere. When I've had leaks in the past they pump a dye in the line which makes it super obvious and messy.
 
Ok. 10 year old water heater leaking and supposedly needs replaced (house is in Fl, I'm in Ga). Home warranty tech is saying replace the current leaking 80 gallon heater with a new 50 gallon "quick reheat" model. I'm told the new one will be cheaper and with the quick heating element deliver the same hot water throughput.

That just doesn't make sense to me. I'm losing 30 gallons of hot water, right?
 
Deacon92 said:
Ok. 10 year old water heater leaking and supposedly needs replaced (house is in Fl, I'm in Ga). Home warranty tech is saying replace the current leaking 80 gallon heater with a new 50 gallon "quick reheat" model. I'm told the new one will be cheaper and with the quick heating element deliver the same hot water throughput.

That just doesn't make sense to me. I'm losing 30 gallons of hot water, right?
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I'd trust the guy in FL on his opinion of how quickly he can reload 30 more.
 
Deaconblue said:
Foundation issues are tricky. You're doing what needs to be done, that is get an expert to do an on-site inspection. Some foundation work isn't too bad. does the house have a basement, crawlspace, or is it slab on grade?

What do you mean by "bedroom tiles?" Are these ceramic tiles on the bedroom walls or??
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Slab on grade, no basement. The house has tile floors, and the bedroom floor has a couple tiles that sound hollow, like they are not properly sealed to the floor anymore.
 
Deacon92 said:
Ok. 10 year old water heater leaking and supposedly needs replaced (house is in Fl, I'm in Ga). Home warranty tech is saying replace the current leaking 80 gallon heater with a new 50 gallon "quick reheat" model. I'm told the new one will be cheaper and with the quick heating element deliver the same hot water throughput.

That just doesn't make sense to me. I'm losing 30 gallons of hot water, right?
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Generally the reason for big tanks on water heaters is to compensate for slow heating. The tank size is a buffer on the use of hot water so you don't run out before you finish your shower, load of laundry etc. 80 gal is a big water heater. Unless you have unusual hot water needs (hot tub/whirlpool) for instance, a 50 gal is usually adequate for regular family needs. If it has quick recovery, then 50 should work. Also, you have less water sitting in the tank getting cold for most of the day, so yeah, i'd go with the 50, save install cost, save operating cost.
 
Deaconblue said:
Generally the reason for big tanks on water heaters is to compensate for slow heating. The tank size is a buffer on the use of hot water so you don't run out before you finish your shower, load of laundry etc. 80 gal is a big water heater. Unless you have unusual hot water needs (hot tub/whirlpool) for instance, a 50 gal is usually adequate for regular family needs. If it has quick recovery, then 50 should work. Also, you have less water sitting in the tank getting cold for most of the day, so yeah, i'd go with the 50, save install cost, save operating cost.
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Plus think of all the extra space in the closet for activities!
 
50 is plenty. When I build my home I'm going to have two 40 gal tanks and a recirculation pump. The second tank would remain of unless we had visitors and needed extra for showers. The first would top of the second providing unlimited hot water.
 
What's the going rate/linear foot for a 6 foot cedar board on board fence, including labor? Anything in particular I should be looking out for?
 
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