Home owner diy

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Had the gutters cleanen about 50 days ago.

Bad rains this weekend , and i noticed this.

Guss i either clogged again or the guy did a shit job.

>>1169587
Gutter is more work than it's worth, ground gutter is a better idea.

Ground gutters.... new to me I'll read up

I want to finish my basement.


It has a little water in it after bad rain.


Should i do an interior or exterior french drain. Or both?

As an inspector, please put $10,000USD in a savings account for when shit goes bad in your house and you need to fix it. WHEN, not IF. Insurance will not cover every fuckup in your house, and you cannot fix everything on your house. There will come a time when you have to hire a professional to fix something in the house. You may not have the tools, knowledge, or ability to fix something and MUST pay someone to do it for you.

Save enough cash to fix something major in your house.

>>1169606
Nope. This is diy

>>1169587
Those mesh plastic sheets are worth the investment if you already have gutters. Or at least the steel mesh cone that goes into the inlet of the downspout.

As >>1169593 said, gutters rarely prevent enough erosion to be meaningful. You could go with ground gutters, or you could just fill in the eroded soil with a bag of potting soil every few years.

>>1169606
I've bought a few houses from people for very low prices because they couldn't afford foundation or roof work that was needed.

If anyone wants to really get into buying real estate, make friends with electricians, foundation repairmen, and plumbers. They run into people who can't afford the work all the time. It's a good opportunity to buy the house for a low price. Just promise the contract to whoever refers the people to you.

>>1169607
No motherfucker, you don't understand. Got to re-pipe your house? yeah that might take a few days. Are you, your wife, and/or kids going to endure your dumbass researching the differences between copper pipe and PEX, asking /diy/ how to repipe a house, or willing to go without water for a couple days while you do it after working for 8+ hours a day?

How about fucking around with water heater for the weekend?

What about having a covered insurance claim that saps you of a $2000+ deductible, and needing to float money for a hotel because your charred and smoke damaged house is uninhabitable?

Sorry, your $8000 insurance claim is denied, no coverage, bitch. Now you've got to re-tile the kitchen, and fuck with cabinetry. Your wife is going to leave you for being a poorfag that can't afford repairs under a month.

>>1169611
Are you OK, anon? This sounds like you're speaking from experience here...

>>1169623
Correct, as an insurance inspector, I've seen it too many times. People lose their shit over a $2000 repair bill, and their wives look at them like they're complete idiots. I turn 360 degrees and walk out of the house and laugh when they say they cannot afford a $3000 re-pipe, and ask how they're supposed to afford the damages.

>>1169628
I loathe plumbing with a passion. Even the smallest leak causes so much damage before most people detect it.

>>1169628
yeah, but whats the square footage on a place like that?

most people buy more house than they can handle. a simple 40x25 with a 4/12 pitch roof can be maintained by pretty much anyone, with virtually every major repair task encompassing a single weekend.

>>1169629
Same, plumbing is a fucking bitch and nobody even thinks about it even if the pipes are 40 years old. Some people think because they patched a 12 inch section of pipe with their daddy 20 years ago they're fine to repair plumbing. Not so much when they should replace all the supply pipes in their house to avoid problems.
>>1169630
What the fuck are you on about? Plumbing isn't priced by the square foot, its priced on the connections, and by the distance from each connection. 3 bathrooms right next to eachother is going to be cheaper than 2 bathrooms 40 feet apart.

>>1169632
yeah i know that jackass. but a 1000 sqft house is probably only going to have one main bathroom, or maybe 1 3/4 bath where all the plumbing is in the same wall and is shared with the kitchen and laundry room. especially if its some ez-mode ranch style home thats literally a box with a lid.

>>1169632
Can you shut the fuck up? You are acting like an autist and shitting up this board.

This is DIY. I took a shitty small house and repaired everything myself: foundation, roof rafters, mold, asbestos, plumbing, and rough electric.

Just because you and the faggot government think a permit and a "licenced contractor" are so important doesn't mean these repairs can't be done. I am an engineer but it's not like you need to be a genius to watch some tutorials and read some local building codes. 90% of contractors do a shit job and don't give a fuck anyway.

Get the fuck off DIY if you don't like DIY.

>>1169642
>90% of contractors do a shit job and don't give a fuck anyway.

fuckin' preach nigga

>>1169636
>1000sq house
An apartment you mean?
No seriously, its fucking moronic how people "own" a house and don't have money to repair a house. Even if you went full /diy/ you will need money to buy supplies, probably buy tools, and will need days to fix it. If you've got a wife an kids, you won't have "days" (read weeks) to fix shit while you learn how to repair, learn how to use the tools, and fix access to repairs.

Theres always homos who think "oh I can fix anything" and they take weeks or months to fix something a contractor would take hours or a couple days to fix. Truth hurts; even if you could fix something, you've got a regular job to attend to, and needs of family to attend to, sometimes paying someone to fix something is better than /diy/.
>>1169642
Eat a dick; buying a 1000sq foot house as a fixer upper isn't the same as having a normal house, wife, kids needing repairs done right fucking now while you're at your regular job.

>>1169645
Can you please stop posting.

Not everyone's wife leaves them when the AC breaks or when there is no water for a day.

In a normal healthy relationship your wife and kids can actually help you. This may be an incredible revelation to you.

Please stop posting and being so butthurt over nothing.

>>1169647
I know i'm doing a bit of hyperbole over the "wife leaving you" because you're Tim Taylor bit, but seriously, have cash set aside to pay someone to repair your house. If you never need it, then great you have a nest egg for whatever. But when you do need it, its there and you're not pulling out your hair trying to figure out how to pay for something necessary to live.

>>1169649
Hey, I am not the same guy as early in the thread. I was defending the first guy who told you to shut the fuck up.

My house was 950 square feet not 1000 like the other guy. So there are two people telling you to stop posting.

Either add some DIY advice or leave.

>>1169645
>An apartment you mean?
oh wait, didn't you just say that repairs weren't based of square footage or some other bullshit?

now you are clinging to that number and moving the goalpost like the huge retarded faggot that you are?

my entire argument was that most people buy more house than they need. even 1500 square feet is manageable by yourself provided the layout of the electrical/plumbing isn't full retard. shut the fuck up you ignorant piece of shit and get off my board.

>>1169654
Yeah I am the guy who agrees with you. This guy really pissed me off with his bullshit sage advice.

10k for fucking repairs? Keep 6 months living expenses in savings and invest the rest. 10k around me could be a down payment on another property.

>>1169651
I did; make sure you have enough cash to pay for repairs as if you'd have to pay someone to do it. Then in usual /diy/ fashion people said they'll just do it themselves for pennies on the dollar in less time it would take to for a professional to do.

I guess everyone on /diy/ is a professional contractor.

>>1169642
>90% of contractors do a shit job and don't give a fuck anyway.

This, they all just subcontract to the same illegal mexicans anyways.

>>1169655
That guy probably works for Allstate and is his job to deny all claims.

Avoid these insurance companies https://www.justice.org/sites/default/files/file-uploads/AAJ_Report_TenWorstInsuranceCompanies_FINAL.pdf

>>1169584
No. Run. ITS A TRAP

>>1169607
Until a monkey tree kulls your garage and u have to spend 3k to have them killed and rebuild your garage...

>>1169611
This. Shit is fucking anoying. Work 70 hours. Take cold shower. Drive and hour and put hot water tank on credit card. Kms

>>1169632
I'm fucking done. Runing wtf ever max diameter line from the meter to water tsnk and then runing 3/4" pex to all my shit.

Stupid fuckin copper faggotry

>>1169647
Topkek.

Was laid up hurt for a year while the wife worked 2 jobs.

>house built 1953
>2.5 story (attic is done)
>poured concrete basement. Half can be finished other half is the furnace, water heater, water softener, w/d, and sump pump.
>new roof 2016
>own furnace, own ac.
>kitchen and bathroom, main floor renod. Up to date plumbing and outlets. House is copper in cast iron out though.
>breaker box up to date with grounders for each circuit.
One thing that surprises me for the house is the amount of outlets it has given it's age. There are projects but glad those were handled. Getting new gutters.

Given the market around the GTA I was lucky to get a pre-inspection. My kitty is still adjusting from an apartment life.

>>1169833
Insurance covers it minus deductibles.

>>1169847
When the pannel was updated thet no doubt added outlets.


Otherwise you would have 2 prong outlets based on the age of the house.

>>1169584
>>>1169623
>Correct, as an insurance inspector, I've seen it too many times. People lose their shit over a $2000 repair bill, and their wives look at them like they're complete idiots. I turn 360 degrees and walk out of the house and laugh when they say they cannot afford a $3000 re-pipe, and ask how they're supposed to afford the damages.
nice 360 degree turn mr. inspector!

>>1169922
I bet he does post-claim underwriting, which is illegal.

>>1169802
This is why I hire the illegal mexicans. They love when I hire them because I pay them a decent wage and help them out.They are subs for all the local contractors and they live in shitty conditions while sending money back home for their families.

I hace a house with bx grounded cable.
With no ground wire in the box

I wand to add some new smart home switches and dimmers that require a ground.


Can i just you a ground screw into the box, or should i try and remove the bx and replace with nm?

>>1169960
where do you get your mexicans? there aren't any out in front of my home depot.

>>1169922
Lurk moar, post less, newfag.

So let's say that the detached garage at my new condo has no power outlets and one light. The only wiring running from the house is powering a single lightbulb, an automatic garage door, and an outdoor outlet.

Now, I could run a power strip in from that outdoor outlet like a poorfag, but this is /diy/. Would it be possible to remove that outlet, run the wire through the wall, and use it to wire up a sub box to put a couple proper indoor outlets in? Or would I be better served using whatever is powering the light and garage door? The entire garage is drywalled so I'm relatively limited as to how much I can really do without getting in over my head.

My goal is to turn the garage into a small multipurpose shop. And I'm just looking for some input on things to look out for.

>>1169982
All outlets can be grounded by the screws that hold them into the box. It is kind of a safety backup in case the ground wire becomes detached. If you have an outlet that is screwed into the box and it still doesn't have show a ground when you test it that means the box isn't grounded either. Sorry.

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>>1169993

>>1169997
An outlet, a light, and a garage door. Are those the ONLY things on the circuit? Switch off the breaker and see what else stops working. Nothing? Hey, you have a full circuit to use. You can put a few more outlets on it. If a bunch of stuff stops working, well, you are fucked.

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>>1169960

>>1169611
>water heater for the weekend?
How about an hour to do mine, fucking retard.
<$2000 deductible, save up faggot.

>>1170080
i've never replaced one, but it seems like the hardest part would be moving it into position.

any idiot can solder copper or use pex.

>>1170088
They're incredibly light once the water is out. My drain plug was seized up, so I had to shop vac all the water out.

You have to be careful though, some cities require a permit to swap them out. The permit, of course, can only be given if a licensed plumber does the work.

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>>1169611
>Now you've got to re-tile the kitchen, and fuck with cabinetry
yeah okay now what?
Picking up $300 worth of tile tomorrow....

Oh yeah, i'm doing this myself...

>>1169611
>fucking around with water heater for the weekend
if it takes that long, you suck at life. 2 hour job, tops, including the trip to the hardware store to buy one.

>>1169629
>I loathe plumbing with a passion.
yup.... I can do it, but I fucking hate it.
Thought about a PEX/manifold system here ... then I replaced a tub drain, and hated that, so the piping replacement is off the table.

>>1170110
>implying they'll ever find out

>>1170144
Just did a tub drain last week. Worst experience I've ever had with plumbing. It was a trailer, so it used a locking nut underneath instead of just screwing into the drain. I did everything the proper way and I still got leaks under the tub. I ended up having to sand the bottom of the tub flat so that the gasket would sit flush.

It was a fucking mess. To even access the nut, I had to reach my arm up 2 ft and through a 1x1' hole. Of course, the crawl space with just high enough to crawl through, but not high enough to sit upright in.

>>1170144
Tile is easy. Once you establish your initial straight line.

>>1169850
$1,000 deductable. And the left over 4 went to monkey tree removal. Now i get to build a wall out of trash after all my shit been rained on for a month. Fuckit. I dont wanna move it all anyway. On a scale of 1 to faggot homosex how gal will it be to put a hall up half of it and leanto the other side for full roof and park a car?

>>1169960
Till one fall and owns your peraonal reaidence

>>1170110
Liscense to change my water heater.

How did we get so cucked anons

>>1170144
My trip to the hardware store to buy one IS 2 hours u fuckstain

>>1170150
Shit anon. Get my level. My fat ass gotta tunnel like a veit cong under my shit.

>>1170481
I don't understand, insurance should cover the entire cost of the rebuild minus $1000, just get a GC who can handle everything for you.

>>1170674
Policies have limits; limits on tree removal, limits on code upgrades, limits on debris removal, limits on outbuildings, however it should have covered the vast majority of the rebuild. Some people are underinsured and get mad when insurance doesn't throw money at them.

>>1170695
Mine's main limit is on code upgrade and mold remediation, everything else is pretty much limit to the insured amount.

I loved paying every cent of my premium. One claim right now, and all of it is back and more.

>>1170700
Theres a lot of stupid people that use insurance for $2000 of damages, then are shocked when their rates get jacked up. The way I explain it to people is this:

You don't use your health insurance to buy cough medecine when you get the flu, need to stock up on bandaids, or sprain your wrist from a fall. You use it when you get cancer, you use it when you break a leg or need surgery, its used when you incur large expenses.

$2000 is NOTHING when it comes to fixing a problem in the house, use homeowners insurance for when it burns down, you've got water damages on 3000 sqft of flooring, or a tree splits your house in half.

>>1170713
Kek, yup. For hail prone areas, it's a new roof every few years. Almost feels like a home maintenance plan instead of home insurance.,

>>1170713
So, wgat if you need a foundation,new electrical,plumbing, and wanna have the design of the roof updated? Ever heard of a "hog-valley" roof?

>>1170942
I don't understand what you're asking.

>>1170483
This is a really good question. and something for the new DIY homeowner to watch out for. What's disturbing is how restrictive some places are on what you can do yourself; in some areas even changing a light switch requires a permit, with all the appropriate fees. Also consider that depending on what work you get a permit for, a copy of that permit will go to the City Assessor's office. There they will decide if the work warrants a revaluation of your home, and increase in your property taxes. Thus you are punished for improving your home.

Decide to skip the permit red tape and DIY anyway? There could be problems if and when you sell the home. You're required by law to disclose unpermitted work, and that could scare off potential buyers and lower the resale value. A remodeled home without a permit history could be a problem.

Also watch out for jackass City Inspectors, try to get a feel for who they are before you let them in. If they don't like you they could trap you in "permit hell" by making you re-do work or they notice other things not up to code once inside.

>>1169584

Looking for feedback and info. I want to convert my garage into a bedroom/bathroom but the HVAC system is in there. Should I be worried about carbon monoxide from this? It is gas forced air heating.

>>1171230yeah , that prwtty much sums up my situation. Town i luvw in is very insolar and a bit big in themselves. My fathers house, that he never really madw enough to maintain. I have a decent job, don't know much about construction. The place is fallin' apart. Need to get a fairmy large loan ti cover it, but where to start?....

>>1171274
Don't do it.

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>tfw i make 90k$ a year but this thread makes me doubt if i can afford a house.

100 year old fixer uppers are going for 200k$ in my area.

should i just eat a 45 minute commute to get something better priced?

>>1171341
Depends on how much work that 200k house needs. If you can get everything modernized for 100k, you'd definitely be able to make those payments.

Most banks will allow you to roll rehab costs into the loan if the house will appraise.

>>1171341
Buy land, have a builder build on it.

>>1171350
can i finance just a land purchase or should i save for a few years and just pay cash?

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>>1171341
>should i just eat a 45 minute commute to get something better priced?


My first job was a 50 minute commute and its hell.
If you can at all get away with lowering your commute, do it.

>>1171364
even if its a 3x price difference in comparable houses?

>>1171364
>If you can at all get away with lowering your commute, do it.
this

long commutes suck

Is there a way to remove paint from a brick fireplace without hurting the brick or causing a gigantic mess on the new carpet?
Its supposedly "chalk paint" if that matters

>>1171360
You can finance both the land and the home construction. It's a pain in the ass though because you have to get a loan on the land, then take out a construction loan, then transfer it all to a mortgage, assuming it appraises high enough to cover both.

>>1171395
shit tons of chemicals. shit tons of time.

>>1171395
Cover the carpet with painters plastic to avoid messing it up.

>>1171395
brass or stainless steel cup brush in a drill, or if you have it, wire wheel disc on angle grinder. metal wont harm the brick (unless its crumbling) and will take off the majority of the paint. then you wipe up with solvents

>>1169611
Jesus this sounds almost personal.

>>1169623
didn't see this before reply cause Im blind. but second this.

can i murder my neighbors?

all the old people have moved out or died. now all young families. they don't take care of their lawns properly. now my zoysia grass lawn is being overtaken by weeds. slowly every year the weeds get worse and worse.

neighbor to the south doesn't even have grass anymore. it is all weeds and he mows it so low that dirt is flung up in the air. across from them is a mcmansion that is a rental. nothing but weeds as the house sits empty. across from me is grass, because they hire a service. though they have a patch work of different fescue. so at any time of the year a different part of the lawn is dead and another part is green. then the californians(reeeee) have a nice lawn. though they spray a lot of chemicals and it is killing my english ivy between us.

>>1171407
Sorry, desu. This is one of the rare occasions where an HOA would be handy.

At least you're getting young families and not poor minorities. Though if these young families keep it up, they'll depress property values enough that you'll start getting poor minorities. Once they start to move it, sell ASAP. It's always a downward spiral after that.

>>1171409
the south neighbors have to be previous apartment dwellers.

they actually live trapped squirrels and hired an exterminator to try and stop them from being in the back yard. all because the squirrels were digging holes in the backyard.

it is an older neighborhood built in the 60s. so all the houses are over grown with 50 foot tall oaks, hickory, and magnolias. squirrels are practically infinite here.

>>1171412
People are weird. I love 1950s houses. They knew how to build them back then.

When I first started in real estate, converting 4br/1ba into a 3/2 and reselling it was my bread and butter.

gutter cleaning is easy.

1. get on roof
2. leaf blower
3. dry weather past couple days
4. blow the gutters out.
5. dont' fall like a dumbass


also, gutters love to clog in the downpipe. in that little bend area where the pipe goes from the gutter to the side of the house. it is a pain in the ass to disassemble, clean, and reassemble. So I put metal mesh over a few downspouts. since it is easier to clean the clog out of the gutter while sitting on the roof. then it is to stand on a ladder 20 feet in the air and wrestle off pipe.

>Gutters.

I ree every time.
>Had company install them on the house.
>Look out to see how they did.
>The motherfuckers designed it so the downpipe was on one side of the house in both the front and back yard.
>I told them to divide the flow and the dumb motherfuckers could not understand simple directions.
>Make them fucking fix it.

>>1171417
I just use that attachment that goes on the pressure washer. It throws leaves everywhere, but it gets the job done.

That little mesh screen for the downspout is a great investment. I once had a dead squirrel stuck in my downspout.

>>1171417
>1. get on roof
Fall off roof
>2. leaf blower
Try and drag appliance up with you, fall off roof after your neighbors call you a jackass for using power equipment on your roof
>3. dry weather past couple days
Slip off roof
>4. blow the gutters out.
Make a tremendous mess on the ground fucking up your landscaping, slip on leaves
>5. dont' fall like a dumbass
Call yourself a dumbass for not hiring a mexican to do it for $50.

>>1171431
Can't hire Mexicans.
I have a wall.

>>1171438
Can you hire "refugees"?

>>1171439
They bring blankets and take too many breaks.
And I have to clean all the IED's I didn't set up in my yard.

>>1171284
Did you inherit the house from your father, and do you like and want to stay in the town? I'd like to know how bad "falling apart" is. If you have any friends, family, or someone you can trust that works in the trades or is a knowledgeable homeowner, see if they'll do a good inspection with you. Need to know what needs fixing first, potential costs, and if it's something you want to tackle. How are the big ones, roof, structure, and foundation? Write down everything that needs fixing and the costs. What needs to be done now, and what can wait?

Be realistic if you want to DIY. That old line of "however long you think it'll take, triple it" is true, especially when you're new to it. You need a game plan, because it's real easy to get overwhelmed. You can hire some larger stuff out, then do more time consuming repairs yourself. Check other home prices in your area; after it's fixed up would you lose money when selling? Make sure you know EVERYTHING before applying for a loan, and not everything has to be done at once.

What does "insular and big in themselves" mean? I've met some unpleasant City workers here, but it's a big city and easy to be anonymous. Would suck to get in a scuffle with Inspectors and Assessors in a small town where everybody knows each other. Like a HOA drama nightmare or something.

>>1171438
A see through wall is called a fence

>>1171458
My gun can be considered a fence but the distance of it would piss off the neighbors.

>>1171368

twice a day, five days a week, all year for years on end. You get tired of it three days in. Purely from the perspective of the time you get back to yourself, which rounded up is forty hours a month, its worth it.

>>1171338
Because of my concern or because having an attached garage is better for the home value?

>>1171468
Get a wfh or partial wfh job.

>>1169810
Holy SHIT that article article is bad, like to the point you'd think it was satire but nope. Searching all the names shows it's true, just shameless corruption from the top down. Thanks for posting that.

>>1171963
I don't know why they changed to that stupid justice name, but it's from the association for trail lawyers, so they know what they are talking about.

But yeah, it doesn't matter how cheap the insurance is if they don't pay out, it's the same as having no insurance except you are paying for it.

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First house, moving in soon, Trying to decide how to replace the locks.

This is a very basic layout of the house.
The all season back porch room was added on. So the 2 "interior" doors are heavy duty, supposed to be outside doors with locks on them.

>front and back door have matching keys
>interior door to kitchen has its own unique lock, missing the key
>interior door to garage has its own unique lock and key

When I get new locks for the front and the back, should I also put matching keyed locks on the interior doors?
Should I put unique keys on the interiors?
Should I just say, you have to get through the large garage door or locked back door to even see them, so dont even key them anymore?

Its a full blown insulated and finished all season room with carpeting and a real door, Its not just a porch with some cheap windows thrown in.

>>1172239
How bad is local crime? Would locking a second layer of doors bring you peace of mind? Do you drive a car that is desirable for theft?

If it were me Id key the front, back, and garage the same, and put deadbolt on the interior door that would only be locked when I was sleeping.

If its a bad crime area someone would probably just bust a window anyway, so matching keys for all the doors might not be the first place to spend money on security.

Either way if you use your garage, you'll probably be happy to have one less key.

A few year ago my parents basement flooded, they pumped the water out and never cleaned it.

So now not only does it have black mold growing everywhere down there, but there's also rats down there too.

How do I get them to fix this? Is cleaning it all up even diy-able?

Besides health concerns, could the mold damage the house in any way?

>>1172287
>How do I get them to fix this?
Have they seen the mold growth? or smelled the mustiness?
>Is cleaning it all up even diy-able?
Yes, but you should really get some PPE like a tyvec suit, respirator, goggles, booties, and a lot of cleaning equipment just to wipe down your equipment.
You'll want to tear out all porous materials like drywall, wood, insulation, carpet, etc if its a finished basement. If its just cinderblock or concrete, you'll want an antimicrobial (not just bleach) to spray the fuck out of every surface, even the ceiling. Sand wood surfaces like framing to expose fresh wood to allow penetration of the antimicrobial.

>Besides health concerns, could the mold damage the house in any way?
Every stick of framing has wood mold in it; but structurally no; it would be water causing rot at the top of your concerns list. If you haven't dried it really well, you should still be concerned with dry rot which mandates you replace framing (walls, ceiling joists, stair supports). Don't wait on it because dry rot slowly spreads like rust. Rats will chew through important shit like plumbing and electrical, so you'll want to get rid of them. If rats are persisting, that means they have a food and water source down there; find and fix that.

Also keep in mind, along with rats and the health concerns they bring, mold spores spread through the house through the air and can bring a bad odor throughout the house. This is VERY bad if you ever wanted to sell the place.

>>1169611
lol how is that capitalism working fer ya

t. eurofag

>>1172390
You're right, socialism where everyone lives in the same 600sq foot socialist government housing would be optimal.

How stupid of an idea is it to buy one of those "hunter cabin" style houses for $10k-20k and learning DIY/homesteading to maintain it
They usually don't have one or all utilities but that isn't very important to me

>>1169610
This is incredibly illegal and everyone involved could be fined huge amounts and have licenses revoked

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>>1172454
>making conclusory statements about the law in all 50 states and 260 countries

>>1172454
>>1172458
I suppose I'll post a more substantive response.

A roofer walks into a home, gives an estimate for $10-15k for a roof that HAS to be replaced, the family tells them they can't afford to pay that amount. The roofer then gives them the number of my local company that buys houses for cash, they contact me, and I buy their house for an agreed priced. There's nothing illegal at all about that. People do this all the time, it's called networking.

>>1169645
Bro, a 1,000sqft house has the same shit in it as a 10,000sqft house. Just bigger or multiples of things like water heaters, HVAC, electrical service etc. I own a log cabin. Own a 1,600 sqft log cabin like I do and you won't whine about your vinyl sided sheetrock interior square footage home. Constant vigilance to keep carpenter bees/ants at bay even with 50 gallons of top shelf stain on the exterior.

So don't be a dick saying a small home isn't a "home". Older small homes built just post WW2 are awesome but require consider upkeep with everything being wood not shitty vinyl or badass hardiplank.

>>1169611
Actual information given to the crab bucket.
Appreciate your input, Inspector Anon!

>>1171442
>>1171439
Drones can do it.
And if you know what you're doing, you can hook a motorized tenga to them.

>>1172462
Do you then provide work to the roofer on that house?

Are the sellers informed of this business relationship when the roofers refer you?

If not, no matter what state you are in, this is a federal crime.

>>1169642
Hit the nail on the head.

Don't need to be a pro contractor to do a bathroom remodel or residential wiring. Running 12/2 or 14/2 romex or plumbing is easy for me than building a deck or framing. If you are technical at all then picking up basic electrical/plumbing is pretty straight forward. Just follow your local code and over engineer for safety if you are unsure. Aka - 8 gauge stranded when you may be OK with 8 gauge solid.

>>1172469
What crime is that?

>>1169587
>the guy

Wat? Diy is "do it yourself", not "the guy did it for me and complain"

>>1172463
Are you familiar with construction techniques over the last 100 years? Also, nobody was wining about a vinyle sided anything.

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>>1169810

Thank you for sharing that.

>>1172462
you are a piece of shit and i hope you get aids, then i hope you get cancer, then i hope you get hit by a drunk driver the day they discover a cure for both.

>>1172501
>preventing people from falling into foreclosure makes me a piece of shit

Not my fault these people don't save money for repairs. Without my buying them out they would either move out and let the home go into foreclosure, or stay in the house until it's uninhabitable, then move and let it go into foreclosure.

Buying these people out helps them to avoid foreclosure and it prevents the neighbors' home values from plummeting because of the decaying house next door.

>>1172502
you profit off the misery of others. that makes you a piece of shit.

>>1172503
I prevent further misery from a poor choice the person made. Welcome to the real world. If not for me, these people eould lose all the equity in their home and have a foreclosure stain their record for the next 7 years. The world isn't black and white, anticap retard.

>>1171341
A few days late but thought I'd add a caveat to buying an older home. Home insurance companies have been getting more selective about what homes they want to insure and assume risk for. Older homes may come up more on their radar. They may want to do internal inspection on all homes they insure, or just the older ones.

Depending on what it has, like older plumbing or roof, they may refuse coverage or drop you altogether unless certain things are updated. That can be stressful when you buy a fixer upper; you know the things that need updating and intend to do them, then the insurance company comes around and gives you a fix-it deadline or you're dropped. I have heard there is high-risk insurance available in these cases but the cost may be high and it could be hard to get standard insurance for the home later.

>>1172504
Yes, instead of moving onto a new chapter in their life, they have to deal with a faggot slum lord like you coming in fucking them in the ass and telling them to be thankful for it.

>>1172550
Yeah, they're alot worse off after avoiding foreclosure and getting money in their pocket instead of walking away with nothing.

>>1172566
>make a living off of others misfortunes, swooping in like a vulture
>have deluded yourself into thinking you are doing them a favor

I wonder how drug dealers try to justify what they do too.

>>1172568
How are they worse off for avoiding foreclosure while walking away with thousands more than they would have?

>>1172569
>foreclosure proceedings take a while
>have every opportunity to sell their house for a reasonable price until the house is officially foreclosed

>you go in at a time of weakness and lowball the fuck out of them
>they walk away with less than they could have gotten
>you take away the opportunity to get themselves out of the hole
>you actually think you are a decent human being

"I only rob houses to feed my family, so it makes it OK"

>>1172572
I'm not sure why you're offended that people sell their home for an agreed priced. The only people willing to buy homes that need this much work are people like me. I don't do any high pressure sales bullshit, I give them three didn't offers and if they don't like it, they don't accept. The world operates on these meeting of the minds, you'll find that out when you graduate college.

>>1172573
Not him but I'll take the bait up for a moment here. It sounds like you're offering pennies on the dollar and having the roofer give a high estimate just so you can get the house as cheap as possible anon, that's why people have trouble with what you're doing. If the house is worth $100k with a new roof, they're told it'll cost $15k to replace (and that's a true estimate), and you offer say... $75k then I'm not offended. You have to make a profit, have that work done and maybe more, and $10k isn't a killing really. The problem would be if the real cost of the roof would be like $7k but your guy doubles it, then you offer $43k and after that roofer does the work you pocket half the value of the house. If that's your business model all that stuff you said about being Robin Hood was total shit and you know it and so are you. In fact they're kind of right about it being a little slimy if the roofer is your go to guy for roofing and he's not telling the homeowner about it. The fact that you haven't given any numbers pretty much says you're slimy too, just so you know.

>>1172576
Your proposed business model doesn't even make sense. If all the plumbers I network with give estimates that are double what they should be, how could they ever make a living? I try to make $20-25k if I'm flipping a house. Every project is different, so it's difficult to give hard numbers on an average deal.

>>1172579
Well, as long as you can live with yourself I guess that's all that matters in the end. Sounds sketchy, like a 16 year old saying, "...and that's the only place we'll be going mom, I promise."

>>1172452
You won't be able to live in it long term if that's what you are planning, otherwise it's fine.

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>>1172573
>I'm not sure why you're offended that people sell their home for an agreed priced

Pic is him

>>1172527
>A few days late but thought I'd add a caveat to buying an older home. Home insurance companies have been getting more selective about what homes they want to insure and assume risk for. Older homes may come up more on their radar. They may want to do internal inspection on all homes they insure, or just the older ones.

As said earlier, avoid the worst insurance companies in America See https://www.justice.org/sites/default/files/file-uploads/AAJ_Report_TenWorstInsuranceCompanies_FINAL.pdf

Get an independent insurance broker to find you a policy, I got my house with old roof insured this way, and insurance paid for a new roof during a latter hail storm.

>>1172636
Not him or any of the other complainers, but he offers to buy the house, and the "owners" agree. I really don't see why people are upset about that.

Its only dubious if he uses dubious methods to make the purchase, but if its simply "oh you can't afford your house? I'll buy it from you to save your credit and you can move on with your life" then thats really just helping them.

>>1172640
Insurance companies by law have to make a profit, and them avoiding underwriting an old house needing repairs, or a house in a flood prone area, or a house in a likely wildfire area isn't a good policy to write. If you're looking for a company that will haphazardly write a policy for any old shack, then thats not a great sign of business.

I glanced through a few of those "worst insurance companies" and it just seems they were adhering to the legal contract document known as the "policy" in deciding how to extend or deny coverage until the government forced them to do extra-contractual obligations.

I'm guessing the worst insurance companies are also scrutinized for increasing premiums after being forced to pay out on non-covered claims.

>>1172640
Good advice. I was also speaking to the fact that even if one is insured with good standing through a company for a long time, their policies may change leaving you to fix on their deadline or find another company.

The home doesn't necessarily have to be a rickety old shack either. Could be a problem if no reasonably priced insurers in that coverage area want to underwrite an older fixer-upper which would have had no problem getting covered 15 or 20 years ago.

>>1172822
I still find it amazing that insurance is paying me more money than I have paid insurance all these years with just 1 claim... and the contractor will be asking more money for more repairs yet to be done too.

>>1172834
Did you think Insurance companies just take your premiums and put it in a shoebox for you and you alone for you waiting for a claim?

My god I'm glad I live in an area with a decent building tradition.

Concrete slab, double brick, metal over timber roof. Literally the only thing that can go wrong is the hot water. But with a 22.5deg roof any dickhead can swap the tank.

I guess if you have evaporative aircon there is more to go wrong. But again with the low pitch the only real bastard is replacing a few metres of ceiling.

>>1173070
Which 3rd world country is this?

>>1171360
land loans have higher percentage rates because the property does not appreciate as much as a normal home does, better to buy in cash

Just got our inspection report back. How bad is Vermiculite insulation in the attic?

The seller seems apprehensive about doing anything with it, but the inspector mentioned the high possibility of it containing asbestos.

Would something like that be a deal breaker to any of you?

>>1173130
Depends, do you like lung cancer?

>>1173130
>How bad is Vermiculite insulation in the attic?
Well its asbestos, so its fine if you leave it the fuck alone, but you have to hire a special company to remove it, and they typically charge $1500 just to show up to your door.

You can remove it yourself if you're willing to risk personal protection, but then you usually have to pay special dump fees, and transport it a certain way.

Not a deal breaker, but its a pain in the dick if you ever have to remove it (roof leaks) or want to upgrade the insulation in the attic (which you probably should).

Its kinda up to you.

>>1173142
>so its fine if you leave it the fuck alone

Nope, this is loose stuff in the attic, by now it's within the walls and everywhere, it'll be in the air of that house at all time. There's no way to clean that house short of take it down to the studs.

>>1173142
>Well its asbestos
My understanding is that some but not all vermiculite contains asbestos. What's more, it's long fibers, where short fibers are the ones that fuck up your lungs. In other words, everyone freaks out about it, it'll cost you $$$ to get rid of, but if you leave it alone it's not a problem, health-wise.

What is a problem is that it tends to settle over the years and provide a lot less insulation.

>>1173147
Because the local vermiculite contains asbestos, and the mine's byproducts were used in local buildings and landscaping, the town suffered from an extremely high rate of asbestosis. Nearly 10% of the population died from asbestos contamination

>>1169611
>Your wife is going to leave you for being a poorfag that can't afford repairs under a month.
You married the wrong woman. Good riddance.

>>1173130
It's fine. If you're really nervous, have it tested. If it's positive, spend a few hundred dollars to encapsulate it. Ask the seller to pay for some of the costs. Start with asking him to pay all the costs if testing.

>>1172819
>Insurance companies by law have to make a profit

Source on that?

>>1173147
>My understanding is that some but not all vermiculite contains asbestos.
You're right, and even then, a lot of times an asbestos test may return 5% results which means you remove it with modest PPE in most states and probably pay a little more at the garbage dump. However in some states like CA with retarded OSHA standards, you have to do much more. Try sending a sample of it off to a testing facility, should cost about $150-250 to test. It may require encapsulation or complete abatement. If you can split the cost with the seller thats decent, or just have them reduce the selling price for the full cost of abatement.

>>1173146
No, there isn't open gaps from the attic to the walls, but chances are if its in the attic it might be in the walls. Theres nothing wrong with asbestos as long as its not dispursed in the air and you're huffing it in.

>>1173153
If they do not make a profit to have funds in reserve, they are considered insolvent and in violation of department of insurance laws and guidelines.

Say a company is only sometimes profitable; then katrina, or an earthquake comes along causing billions in damages, that insurance company MUST be able to pay out covered damages. That digs into their profits, but they are obligated to make profits in anticipation of those large events.

>>1173155
I don't know about you, but my attic is full of dust, and that dust goes into the rest of the house.

>>1173160
Are your ceilings and ducting made of chicken wire? How does the dust make it through the plaster/drywall?

>>1173161
I have no idea... Older houses are really damn leaky. I would run away from that house.

>>1173156
Eh, it's a bit misleading to put it like that. Most insurance companies break even on premiums, they make their money by investing the float. State law dictates how much in liquid reserves insurance companies have to have, this is called the float. In between the time you pay the premium and the time they pay out claims, they invest the money.

This is how Buffett made most of his money. He would buy insurance companies just to access their liquid reserves and invest those reserve shrewdly.

>>1173164
Right, since part of the deregulation between banking services and insurance services, they can invest a bit more aggressively, however they have to have a certain amount of cash on hand as liquid reserves in the event of a major disaster. Its a similar idea to fractional banking, but the fraction is much higher. Nothing wrong with that since making more money through investments helps cover any poor policies written.

Also, the regulation boards prevent insurance companies from making too much profit; if they're having a banner year on premiums, investments, and relatively few claims, they can be forced to lower premiums or an audit of denied claims if they're high.

>>1173142
>>1173151

Thanks, I actually just got done talking to our realtor about it. He said the company he contacted about dealing with it said the EPA recommends encapsulating it and leaving it the fuck alone.

He agreed and I'm inclined to trust him because he's actually a friend of the family and has talked us into to not buying a couple houses we looked at a few years ago. If we close he'll make money, but his dealings with us are more a favor than actual work.

The seller actually already agreed to have quite a bit of costly electrical work done as well radon mitigation and a few other odds and ends. I might try to get him to split the cost of encapsulating it but if he still says no we might go ahead anyway. Its a nice old house in a nice area and the price is right so its hard to walk away from right now.

>>1173172
Seems like the right thing to do. Asbestos is only dangerous if it gets airborne, and like the other anon said, there's a slim chance it even gas asbestos. I'd get it tested before bothering with encapsulation. Either way, it shouldn't be a high priority when you first move in.

>>1173172
Encapsulating it is fine. My only hesitation is upgrading insulation to have a higher R-value. But in reality it means very little.

I'm assuming they're just going to put plywood over the joists and call it a day. Its good enough, and a cheap fix on their part. Alternatively, they could just sell "as is" and reduce their selling price; this sometimes is better if you have connections with contractors to do the work for less than the delta in the selling price, and you know its not the "cheapest contractor" available to do the work to sell the house.

>>1173180
Not that anon, but would covering the insulation with plastic, then putting another batt on top of it be enough to encapsulate it? This is assuming that there is even asbestos in the insulation in the first place.

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>>1173175
>>1173180
Another question, that will probably be retarded.

The attic in question is finished. It looks a lot like this pic, though older. It has three access panels that are little more than a painted piece of plywood on hinges with a latch to keep it closed.

Would it be wise to seal these a bit more substantially? I really dont need or want the space for storage, we'll have a ton of that throughout the rest of the house and garage. Or would that lead to some other problem. I realize that probably sounds dumb but this is a first for us and after renting most of my life I'm starting to realize I don't know jack shit about homes.

>>1173189
Uh, it would probably behoove you to seal it off as best as possible, and doing a really good job if you plan on using the attic space as a "living" area. If its only going to be used as storage then don't go crazy hermetically sealing it off.

It couldn't hurt to just get a quote to have the insulation removed; some contractors are certified to remove asbestos and generally don't charge very much since they have to use a special vacuum to remove it anyway.

Do you spend $1-2000 sealing off all the asbestos and hoping for the best, or do you spend $3-4000 removing it and adding new higher R-value insulation and refinishing the living area to be a comfy room? Thats a question only you can answer. Me, I would pay to have it tested, removed, and make it another room.

>>1173183
I'm not certain what the exact encapsulation methods are. Usually what I see is sealing off the area with plywood, covering it with another material, or pretty much ignoring it if it doesn't pose a health risk to anyone. That would be a question better asked to a contractor that specializes in it, or the city code official.

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>>1173189
ayy i remember this

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>>1169584
What is this and can I cap it? Located in the basement floor. Seems to be some original piping to the house from the 1950's. After the crazy rainfall we've had all month and finally the past few days it has been overfilling with water. The pipe is full of dirt. The other pipes in the basement like this are not and they are dry as far as i can reach.

>>1173254
>The pipe is full of dirt.
I hope you washed your hands before eating. Because thats not all dirt.

Its likely an old drain line abandoned, and they just left it as is. Drain it, dry it, flush cut it, then fill it with concrete. The water coming in is the soils becoming saturated with water, and they're "draining" through this pipe into your basement.

>>1173093
The one with the worlds biggest houses

>>1173274
>Because thats not all dirt.

LOL, that's an access hole so you can snake the sewer line if it's clogged, and looks like it is.

>>1169628
uh.. dont you mean 180.. 360 would just put you looking right back at the dumb wife..

>>1169999
Assuming the box is metal. And your metal box is grounded.

>>1172391
If the only choices are living in a mcmansion and randomly getting fisted in the ass by the invisible hand of the market OR living in a small apartment, with good insurance, health care and other services... I know what I'd choose.

But then, I happen to know there are other options and have chosen one of those.

>>1173305
You can purchase good insurance for any dwelling. US has the best healthcare. invisible hand only increases prices, you'd have to buy, wait, then get the opposite of fisting.

>>1173333
>US has the best healthcare
and if you could afford that healthcare you wouldnt be here posting on this Zimbabwean basket weaving forum

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Knocked down the shed in pic related earlier. Going to tear it to pieces tomorrow. Didn't have a ladder to take it down from the roof or a truck to pull it over, so I had to do it the redneck way with hand tools and brute force.

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>>1173338
first step was knocking off the walls to get better access to the support structure. i did this with a sledgehammer (really satisfying actually) and a prybar + mallet (for the wall sections that were stuck on with glue or too many nails for the hammer to be practical)

>>1173338
>>1173339
Looks like it has good bones. Why did you rip it down?

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>>1173339
tried to simply unscrew the door bracket but these screws had been on there so long that they were rusted to shit (pic related) most of them just stripped out and I decided it wasn't worth the time to do it the proper way, so i just bashed the latches off with the sledgehammer

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>>1173341
threaded the only rope i had over the roof and through the middle supports. then i cut all the way around it, doing the corners last. I made sure to slope the cuts in a way that would guide it how i wanted it to fall. if i did it again, i would definitely make less uniform cuts so it wouldnt have a comfortable place to rest after the supports shifted. (would've made it easier to pull down)

>>1173340
the floor was rotten and full of rat shit and piss, and the structure was built into the floor. the foundation was also wooden directly built onto the ground. i also wanted to reclaim the ground for gardening and I don't need or want the shed.

>>1173345
Fair enough. Look into a "demolition bar" next time. Its designed to rip down houses with a single man. torquing 2x4's, ripping nails and screws out, and applying leverage to ripping shit out. Its a great tool for anyone /diy/ing their house, even if they're only doing the demolition.

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>>1173345
first pic is the setup i used to pull it down. i just tied the rope around a thick board i saved and torqued it away from the shed. 2nd and third pics are progress pics. i would pull on it until it shifted then go around with the hammer or sawzall loosening up boards wherever they would catch.

>>1173348
i looked into those and they seem really cool. im not sure if its better than having a sledgehammer and a prybar separately though, but then again it would probably be convenient to not have to switch tools.

>>1173351
Well, as with any tool, if you're only ever going to rip down one shed, or tear out one kitchen, the separate tools likely would be a better investment as a demo bar is only useful for tearing shit up. A sledge and prybar have other uses.

Also, for others considering demolition, consider a 12pack or 5th of booze, its easier to get a group of dudes liquored up to demo some shit than it is to buy a couple hundred dollars of tools and get tired over a weekend. Even if nobody has the right tools, sometimes manpower is better than the hardware.

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>>1173351
this pic shows where it really wouldve been better to cut the bars at uneven heights. because it was uniform the whole shed shifted and rested on the dirt, leaning forward. if it had been cut differently it may have very well just tipped over here. instead the posts dug into the dirt, so i soaked the ground to weaken the support.

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>>1173354
>>1173354
and after the ground was wet enough, i was able to tip it over by pulling the board rope towards the ground. not gonna lie, you feel like a fucking man knocking over a building with your bear hands.

also like >>1173353
says the best way to do this is not like i did it, but go find a buddy with a truck.

anyway that's what i did this afternoon. i'll definitely save the good wood from the supports but everything else is getting cut up and trashed. demo is fun.

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>>1172239
front back and garage the same bro. interior door doesnt matter unless the rear room is super easy to get into. don't key your doors differently, what a pain in the ass.

also i totally recommend getting a keypad deadbolt for your front door. makes your life so easy to not have to fish around for keys every time you enter the house, especially with groceries. i got one like pic related and wouldnt ever go back to a normal setup. i think its totally worth the extra $50.

>>1173333
>US has the best healthcare.

That is like saying Italy has the best cars. Sure they make Ferraris but everyone drives shitty little Fiats.

>>1173433
The passcode is 1488

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Shower snake got caught and I had to yank it out. I ended up pulling out these two pieces of metal.

Big deal or can I ignore it?

>>1173443
>shitty little Fiats

hey, the Panda is a good car. fuck you.

>>1173536
Yeah, that's the key to the foundation of the whole house, abandon ship anon.

>>1173539
RIP my home and life

>>1173536 here
I figured it out, it was just the base for some drain plug that doesn't work anyway.

>>1173433
What happens when the power goes out

>>1173812
They're battery powered.

>>1173812
They're battery powered. If the battery dies, you just use it like a regular deadbolt.

>>1169611
Nigga I replaced my water heater this past Sunday. Shit took three hours and cost me ~$500.

You sound like a bitch.

I want to run a Ethernet cable from the second floor to the basement. There is a supply vent in the room for hot/cold. The previous owner ran a coax cable through and it's still in there for me to use to fish my Ethernet cable. From what I've read this may be an insurance issue.
1. Is running a cat5e cable through it a good idea in ontario? Should I go for plenum to cover my ass or just find a different way?
2. Isn't having a coax cable also a no no? I should remove it shouldn't I.

Something that might be easy to overlook is how buying and improving a fixer-upper can affect your property taxes. If the home has sat in disrepair for a while (peeling paint, rotten porch, bad and weedy landscaping) the assessed value and thus property taxes may be attractively low. Fixing just exterior items can help to cause jumps in value when the home is reassessed. Maybe good if you intend to eventually sell, not so good if you don't. Even when avoiding the mistake of making your home the "jewel of the block" the tax increase can be significant.

Another caution is buying a home in an "up and coming" neighborhood. Of course it's nice when the area starts to improve and other homes begin to be fixed up as well. But you can bet the City notices too and they want your money. Soon your relatively quiet, blue collar neighborhood is the hot new area for property development. Along with chain stores and cookie-cutter urban lifestyle apartment buildings comes higher property taxes. Your alderman may be the one pushing for this; like the City, they can be hard to oppose.

A neighbor owns an old brick 6 unit apartment building. His property taxes jumped several thousand dollars this year; he just gave his tenants notice about the upcoming rent increase. You can dispute the assessment but the process can be convoluted and stacked against the homeowner. Even if you succeed, there's a chance you'll meet a vindictive City assessor. I heard a story about someone who successfully challenged his assessment and got it lowered. The assessor was angry about it and said the taxes would go up again next year, and if the homeowner complained they would go up even more. Consider a hidden camera or microphone if you try this.

>>1175480
It depends on your state law and your local assessment rules.

In NC, they only do reassessments every 4 or 8 years. Locally, assessors don't even assess each home individually, they find an average value per square foot and multiply by the number of square feet. It's an absurd system. Homes regularly go for 30-35% of their "tax value." I just bought a house last month where the annual mortgage payments are LESS than the annual tax bill.

This is a weird question, but how long can you ignore paying property taxes before you get your land seized?

I have a really scummy relative who nobody talks to if we can avoid it. Like, living in a "tow away for scrap 50s mobile home" with 3 other old dudes on a cheap barren piece of land while working minimum wage scummy. We have always joked that he makes meth and sells it, but I wouldnt at all be surprised if it were close to the truth.

We knew he lived with a few other dudes, we knew he had a shitball trailer.
What we didnt know is the land he and the other guys bought was almost 30 acres.

We just caught wind that the dumbfuck didnt pay taxes and the land is gone
Everyone is kind of baffled of the situation.
One that he owned that much land, and two that he didnt pay the taxes for it.

Is it a long term thing, like the retard refused to pay for years? Or do they pounce on you real quick if you dont pay?

>>1175492
Depends on the jurisdiction. Some will let it go on for decades, others will wait only a few years. I know my county unofficially doesn't seize the property of people over 60 years old if the house is paid for. They figure they'll get their money eventually anyway, and the interest keeps building anyway.

Usually, these records are all public information, you should be able to look on your county website and at least see the court documents from the seizure. This should outline the pertinent facts.

>>1175243
Low-voltage stuff like RF and data cabling doesn't usually fall under the same category as mains voltage wiring does.

If you're ever in a situation where the cable can burn in your house, you've got bigger issues than plenum-rated/lszh cable ratings. That's mainly for commercial buildings and installations.

I'd try to run it in an adjacent stud bay to any piping or electrical, not in the same one. Check vertically for any blocking in that bay, I ran into that problem on my bedroom wall.

>>1169644
>90% of the least expensive contractors dont give a shit, and do a shitty job
FTFY

>>1175583
>Paying some cunt 120 an hour to terminate cables or run pipes because they are """professional""" tradesman
>Plus whatever obscene margins on the cable and shit
>Plus van charge
>Plus whatever the fuck else they dream up
>If you argue the bill you just get told to pay or go to court since they know it will be cheaper to pay then getting a lawyer

Actually, wait

>Having someone else work on your house
>Ever
>At all

>>1175492
Side note: that property may be sitting on the county tax rolls, for sale at the bargain price of the back taxes&fees. It could be yours, if that is the kind of thing you want.

>>1175594
In my state, these cunts all put mechanic's leins on your house if you don't pay up. The liens accrue interest at 7% a year and the interest starts on the day they gave you the estimate.

>>1175601
Jesus Christ. And people wonder why no one wants tradesman working on their house. Homeowner shit has gotten so prevalent in my country that the government is bringing in heaps of regulations so that only """certified""" tradesman can do work on your house.

>You want to replace that light switch?
>Too bad you need an electrician
>100 dollar van charge
>50 dollars labour
>40 dollars for a switch
>Plus GST on top lol

Over 200 dollars to get a cunt to change a switch. Fuck that.

>>1175604
That's how it is here. You aren't supposed to touch the HVAC, plumbing, or electrical work without a permit. Of course, you can't get a permit unless you're licensed.

>>1175605
>HVAC

What the fuck man. I guess at least if you mess up electrical or plumbing you can fuck your house, what's the worst case for HVAC? It doesn't work properly?

>>1175610
Same for roofing work. It's just tradesmen who get into power trying to protect their industry. It's the same reason you need a license and 6 months if school to cut hair.

shovled and spread 24 cubic feet of compost today. i get it for free from the county's sanitation department. used it as top dressing to cover the bare clay around plants in the gardens.

>>1175540
Thanks for the reply. The house was built in the 50's so the gas furnace and ac are on forced air I believe as I don't see any return ducts upstairs. Would a house built then be any easier to fish lines through the wall? The vent just supplies cold and hot air and the access hole to the vent in the basement is roughly 15feet away from the furnace.

>>1175610
Not supporting the high cost of tradesmen, but if you're talking about heat via natural gas or propane, you could blow up/burn down the house or gas the occupants with CO.

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So, when we bought a house recently, the newly installed granite kitchen counters weren't sealed. I went out and bought pic related to do it myself and it worked great.

Anyway, the quart was around $40 USD, and I still have half of it left. It seals the shit out of granite, tile, and other porous stuff, so I'm wondering what else I can use it on. When I was sealing the counters I used one of the rags that was soaked in this stuff to wipe down the tiles in front of the sink and dishwasher, and water just beads off of those tiles now.

Should I use this stuff to seal up the rest of the tiles in the kitchen and/or bathrooms? Would that make it a slip hazard? Are there any other things that I can seal with this stuff? It was expensive enough that I don't want to waste half of it.

>>1171431
Are you a 70 year old disabled woman?

>>1175480
I come from the land of Jew York where tax and spend liberals rule. They limit the assessed value increase to 6% per year, but guess how much they try to raise my homes value every year...6%. I'm paying almost 30% of what I paid for my house in taxes. Almost half of that goes to schools that pay useless unionized teachers six figure salaries. School enrollment across the entire state has gone down and schools are closing, but the budgets keep climbing.

>>1171412
>infinite squirrels
I have bird feeders and expensive bird seed. Squirrels fuck that up hard. I started shooting them off the feeder with a pellet gun. I stopped counting after my 100th kill, which was six months into this experiment. I continued killing them for two years before giving up. It did not even slow my seed loss.

>>1169611
Your wife left you, huh? what a slutbag.

>>1177336
No, I was a bit drunk and giggling at some inept guy trying to get on the roof.

>>1171407
Just buy a sprayer and spay the weeds. You have to do that no matter where you live. Nobody actually wants english ivy.

>>1180016
Weed did nothing wrong, #allweedlivesmatter

>>1173443
its better to have the option of having a ferrari, then everyone forever being stuck with fiats and never being allowed to have a ferrari

>>1177441
>I leave out infinite, tasty food
>I wonder why animals are coming to eat it.
fuck die already, you dumb shit

>>1169587
Buy a fucking caulk gun, go up on a ladder, push the endcap back on and seal it. This is pretty elementary stuff.

>>1172474
Its not normal for your average person to own a seamless gutter machine. If you go and buy precut gutters and 'do it urself' you will end up with garbage gutters that leak everywhere and are basically useless shit.

>>1169608
>>1169593
I disagree. I've seen some houses that had serious siding/fascia/foundation damage from a simple lack of gutters. The necessity of gutters is dependent on where you live. Seattle? I would recommend 6" gutters with 3x4" downspouts. Arizona? They're not even necessary.

My front porch steps are all types of cracked. They are solid concrete slabs. Is there anyway to salvage the steps without buying new ones?

>>1181930
>siding/fascia/foundation damage

Brick veneer is awesome anon.

>>1181930
>seamless gutters

I've put up half a dozen gutters and never had a problem. Just use the brand that has the gaskets built into the joints. The other brand is a bit cheaper, but it's a pain to install or repair properly because you have to caulk every joint.

>>1181944
Clean them with a pressure washer or oxyclean and a brush. Fill the cracks with a concrete filling caulk. Then paint the whole thing with a paint designed for concrete. Whole setup with cost you 40 dollars and a few hours of time.

Alternatively, you can just pick up a spare set up concrete steps for 100-300 dollars.

>>1181948
I agree, but lets be honest most people have cedar or vinyl. Vinyl will usually be fine, but it may discolor a bit. Cedar gets fucked up fairly quickly. The absolute worst is dryvit. If a little bit of moisture gets behind that you're going to have serious damage and need to spend some money.

Dryvit is evil stuff.

>>1181944
What >>1181956 said, but if any of the cracks are exceptionally large pick up some filler rope/backer rod to save $$ on expensive concrete caulk.

>>1181944
>>1181956
Also, make sure you post some before and after pictures here.

>>1169656
Just a professional cunt like yourself

>>1169960
And sending money away to never circulate into our economy.

>>1169993
Newfag calling a newfag a newfag kek

>>1170144
Guaranteed your work is shit

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This is my laundry room tile floor on top.

This is a single step onto the rear stair landing where the back door is.
Im gonna replace the broken tile soon.

The only sort of trim is that thin strip of metal that is loose.
Im afraid the new tile will crack again because there isnt much at all on that almost exposed edge of the tile.

What kind of edging or trim can be used on it without being a tripping hazard?

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What do I do about these lil niggas getting into my lounge and sliming up my carpet?

All I can think of is putting a mesh over the airbricks outside or putting down a beer trap, I've already plugged any holes I can see with sealant (drilled for cable etc) and laying down salt sounds like a swell way to get molten slug all over the carpet.

>>1184323
The first thing that comes to my mind, is to salt the surface. Fuckers won't be able to even get near that.

how do you guys get on the roof guys? any safety precautions?

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>>1184329

>>1184337
and where should I tie the rope? chimney?

finish a basement y/n?

a realtor said it could lower resale value

>>1184350
>Additional space
>Lower value
wut

>>1184354
maybe people want their basements to fit their own tastes

>>1184338
>what is a roof anchor

>>1184359
unfortunately I don't have one

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Just inherited my fathers house after his death 2 weeks ago. I started cleaning it up and fixing some issues while he was in the hospital, hoping he might come home. But once it was clear he wasn't coming home, I started gutting it and modernizing it. It's a 30 year old house, the one I grew up in, and hasn't had any major updating or maintenance in those 30 years. Gutted everything down to bare subfloor, drywall and scraped off the horrible popcorn ceilings. The carpet was 80's brown shit tier stuff, the wall colors were horrible purple, yellow and other nauseating colors, the trim was dark brown wood, along with the doors and windows. I ripped out the wall that was put up 20 years ago by my at the time step mother, and brought it back to an open design between the living room and kitchen. A custom made bar top will go on the left side of the opening, like it used to have. Got the opening framed in, built up the original support column, put up some molding to fancy it up a bit, painted everything, all molding/trim, windows and doors will now be white. Old flat hollow core doors will now be 2 panel round tops like pictured. Floors will now be LVP vinyl wood looking tiles, for resistance to dogs and their destruction... Downstairs is 80% there. Still need to do crown molding, baseboards, finish framing in the column, a little more painting, and install my custom built lower cabinets and countertops, and move in the new appliances. The only other major change downstairs will be finishing an old bedroom into a large bathroom, and turning the old tiny bathroom into a walkin closet, accessible from the new bathroom.

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>>1184395
Before picture, though I had already gutted the old ugly carpets, cabinets and removed the wall, as well as primed the walls. Couldn't have imagined how different it would look just 2 weeks ago. It's like a whole new house.

I got a free pressure washer with no hoses or gun with it. I unclogged the carb and have the motor running well. Is there anyway to test the water pump without having a hose for it?

>>1184338
Tie thyself to God.

>>1185248
I'd prefer something more solid
I guess I will use cimney temporarily to install the anchor
I can easily go up the roof but going down is a challenge