Home Repairs

[mister d]

"Ha ha I think you meant COCK gun nah jk sorry about that I'll drop it off later when I know you won't be home."

[A_B]

"Ha ha I think you meant COCK gun nah jk sorry about that I'll drop it off later when I know you won't be home."

I'll take "things J-lo would ask the swamp about after realizing a missed opportunity for $1000, Aaron."

[The Sybian]

Been a fun 10 days here. When we put in our patio we put in a 3 foot wide planter bed with bushes along the side of the house. The contractor forgot to put the gutter pipe back on, and the first rain storm we had some flooding in the room there. My wife was convinced they damaged the outside wall in digging up the driveway. They dug it all up, nothing visible. Kept a close eye on the area. Saw some water once, but I went out and saw the drain pipe came out. I screwed it in, nothing since, but I always check when it rains.

Last week with the torrential storms, I kept checking and we were good. 12 hours or so after the rain stopped, my wife sees the entire floor is covered in 2 inches of water and the rug is soaked. Baseboard is damaged, but fortunately it's the only room in the house with tile floors. My parents visited this weekend and we use that room as a guest room. My father asks for a plunger. He clears the toilet, I tested hours later after they left, and it flushes fine. That night, wife goes in the room and there is substantial flooding and the garage is flooded. (This was 30 minutes before DSafe's Fantasy Football draft a bunch of us play in). Next morning, dirty sewer water covering the room. Long story short, clogged sewer line. Company I have a contract with tells me it's going to be $2,500 to snake the line, but tells me anything over $800 is too much and to find someone else. Got it done for $500, they are fucking nuts with their pricing.

I've mopped up that goddamned room 5 times in the past week, and now we are looking at 2 days of nonstop rain. I'm so fucking done with home ownership, I'm ready to go back to apartment life. I am wondering if the first flood was from the rain now. It's weird it happened that long after the rain stopped. Contractor came back to look and said it could be the rising water table coming up through the slab. I'm thinking it could have been a shower upstairs coming up through the toilet. I stood guard while my wife took a shower. Previously, no issue when she showered. Monday, it instantly filled the toilet. I didn't have time to run upstairs to tell her to turn it off, so I bailed into a bucket and dumped it in the back yard. Six or 7 trips and I managed to avoid spillover. Good times.

[mister d]

Wait ... you have a contract with someone but then they quote you 5x market so they don't have to fulfill the contract?

[The Sybian]

Wait ... you have a contract with someone but then they quote you 5x market so they don't have to fulfill the contract?

Contract is for annual inspections, no charge for emergency visits on holidays or late nights and embers get scheduling priority. If it's something easy to fix, they don't charge. If it's something bigger, they diagnose the problem, give me a quote, and I call someone else. It's Weltmans, they are based in BH, so I'm sure you've seen them. I don't understand the business model, but the membership paid for itself 10x in my old house. Wondering if I continue with them. I've had AC repairs, replacing furnace parts, unclogging a sink and a bunch of other issues fixed without writing up an invoice.

[mister d]

Oooo, I have heard of Weltman.

[Giff]

Been a fun 10 days here. When we put in our patio we put in a 3 foot wide planter bed with bushes along the side of the house. The contractor forgot to put the gutter pipe back on, and the first rain storm we had some flooding in the room there. My wife was convinced they damaged the outside wall in digging up the driveway. They dug it all up, nothing visible. Kept a close eye on the area. Saw some water once, but I went out and saw the drain pipe came out. I screwed it in, nothing since, but I always check when it rains.

Last week with the torrential storms, I kept checking and we were good. 12 hours or so after the rain stopped, my wife sees the entire floor is covered in 2 inches of water and the rug is soaked. Baseboard is damaged, but fortunately it's the only room in the house with tile floors. My parents visited this weekend and we use that room as a guest room. My father asks for a plunger. He clears the toilet, I tested hours later after they left, and it flushes fine. That night, wife goes in the room and there is substantial flooding and the garage is flooded. (This was 30 minutes before DSafe's Fantasy Football draft a bunch of us play in). Next morning, dirty sewer water covering the room. Long story short, clogged sewer line. Company I have a contract with tells me it's going to be $2,500 to snake the line, but tells me anything over $800 is too much and to find someone else. Got it done for $500, they are fucking nuts with their pricing.

I've mopped up that goddamned room 5 times in the past week, and now we are looking at 2 days of nonstop rain. I'm so fucking done with home ownership, I'm ready to go back to apartment life. I am wondering if the first flood was from the rain now. It's weird it happened that long after the rain stopped. Contractor came back to look and said it could be the rising water table coming up through the slab. I'm thinking it could have been a shower upstairs coming up through the toilet. I stood guard while my wife took a shower. Previously, no issue when she showered. Monday, it instantly filled the toilet. I didn't have time to run upstairs to tell her to turn it off, so I bailed into a bucket and dumped it in the back yard. Six or 7 trips and I managed to avoid spillover. Good times.

A lot of words to explain your shitty draft.

Sorry you're going through that!

[Gunpowder]

Wait ... you have a contract with someone but then they quote you 5x market so they don't have to fulfill the contract?

Contract is for annual inspections, no charge for emergency visits on holidays or late nights and embers get scheduling priority. If it's something easy to fix, they don't charge. If it's something bigger, they diagnose the problem, give me a quote, and I call someone else. It's Weltmans, they are based in BH, so I'm sure you've seen them. I don't understand the business model, but the membership paid for itself 10x in my old house. Wondering if I continue with them. I've had AC repairs, replacing furnace parts, unclogging a sink and a bunch of other issues fixed without writing up an invoice.

So like AAA for your house?

I've learned enough house stuff that I wouldn't want to pay for such a thing but I can certainly see the appeal.

[DSafetyGuy]

(This was 30 minutes before DSafe's Fantasy Football draft a bunch of us play in).

A lot of words to explain your shitty draft.

Sorry you're going through that!

It's hard to go under .500 for six straight seasons, but I believe in our boy Syb.

I was curious about the details, but didn't want to ask during the draft.

[HaulCitgo]

You could have someone rip out all the floors walls and ceilings to fix the problem. Not advised. As for the apartment idea. Advised. Just leave the family behind.

[The Sybian]

(This was 30 minutes before DSafe's Fantasy Football draft a bunch of us play in).

A lot of words to explain your shitty draft.

Sorry you're going through that!

It's hard to go under .500 for six straight seasons, but I believe in our boy Syb.

I was curious about the details, but didn't want to ask during the draft.

I was just logging on to join the pre-draft Google Meet when my wife started screaming. During my long breaks between picks I had time to mop and clean. A little smelly in the Swamp Monster draft room.

So like AAA for your house?

I've learned enough house stuff that I wouldn't want to pay for such a thing but I can certainly see the appeal.

That's the other thing, I've had plumbers/HVAC guys teach me how to fix stuff myself. A couple jobs I wasn't confident I was about to do something correctly, I had them diagnose and ask about the steps. The guys are great and will tell me if I'm correct, will tell me if it's something I can do myself, and advised on tools to buy to do it myself much easier. I had a hard to reach water line to a toilet leaking, I couldn't get it, guy told me to buy a faucet wrench, gave advice on which brand water line to buy and what to avoid. My old house was a money pit waiting to fall apart, so it was worth it. I kept the service because my house is a flip by a contractor, and I wanted the piece of mind. They did really in-depth inspections on plumbing, electrical and HVAC, so I know what was done well, and where they cut some corners. Now I am debating if the ongoing $20/month is worth it.

[pruitt2]

R.I.P. Furnace (1999-2021)

At least you didn't die in January.

[The Sybian]

Hopefully put an end to my flooding issues... A couple weeks ago had more flooding coming in. My patio guy came out to look, dug around the foundation and saw an old tree root that busted a small hole through the foundation. He dug under the rocks separating my backyard from the patio, and there was an underground drainage into the new planter bed he put in next to the house. It looked like a garden hose on full, just streaming into the bottom of the flower bed. He came back with a backhoe and dug to the bottom of the foundation and there was a water pipe going into the foundation. If the pipe was three inches, the hole was six inches with no seal! Who the fuck did that work and didn't seal the giant hole?

I'm lucky the contractor is so nice and felt guilty, as it was his idea to put in the bed of bushes. It was previously driveway, so it covered the hole. No way he could have known and not his fault, but he only charged me for materials and his hourly employees. So he sealed the pipe hole, patched the other hole, tarred the foundation, and put in a sump pump where the water pooled and dug the pipe along the back of the house and out the opposite side. He only charged me $2,100, said it would have been close to $10,000 if he did it for a new client. Also had to replace all the baseboards and repair the drywall where it was damaged. Fucking home ownership, man.

[EnochRoot]

So my furnace just went up. No longer blowing hot air. Just air. I just replaced the filter, so that wasn't the issue.

I googled and found out a likely cause is that i need to unscrew the flame sensor and then clean it off and put it back on.

I've no freakin idea where it is.

[EnochRoot]

Thankfully it is only 27 degrees outside, and it is currently 58 degrees in the house. Looks like I'm paying someone $100 to walk into the house and diagnose the issue.

[Rush2112]

Thankfully it is only 27 degrees outside, and it is currently 58 degrees in the house. Looks like I'm paying someone $100 to walk into the house and diagnose the issue.

Gladly haven't hit this as a homeowner..but when I lived in Boston I had a furnace fail in a rental. Had to bring the camping sleeping bags in. Went to work the next day as they fixed it and came home and couldn't find the cats. All three were in the feet sack of the sleeping bags, Totally baffling that they were able to seek out the warmest place in the apartment.

[EnochRoot]

Thankfully it is only 27 degrees outside, and it is currently 58 degrees in the house. Looks like I'm paying someone $100 to walk into the house and diagnose the issue.

Gladly haven't hit this as a homeowner..but when I lived in Boston I had a furnace fail in a rental. Had to bring the camping sleeping bags in. Went to work the next day as they fixed it and came home and couldn't find the cats. All three were in the feet sack of the sleeping bags, Totally baffling that they were able to seek out the warmest place in the apartment.

You could have a gigantic roomful of the most amazingly comfortable couches, pillows, etc and in that room is a beam of sunlight from a window that covers a about a 3 square foot area. That's where your cat will be.

The repair guy will be here this afternoon. Basically have to spend $100 to find out what's wrong with it. If it needs to be replaced I'm guessing StateFarm will cover that (outside the hilariously larger deductible).

[Steve of phpBB]

Here's hoping it's something minor or easily replaceable.

Last month, we were told that the heat exchanger in our house furnace was rusting through and posed a serious CO risk. Fortunately, that one was only eight years old and still under warranty, so we called the company that installed it. The guy came out, cleaned up some of the rust from the exchanger tubes, and gave us pictures saying that the heat exchanger is fine. So I guess we're fine?

Then last week, I had an inspection done by the same company, of the furnace at our cabin. He told us that the heat exchanger is rusting through and poses a serious CO risk. That furnace is 30 years old, and not under warranty. I really don't want to go through the hassle of replacing it in the winter (our driveway isn't plowed), so I bought some CO monitors and set them up. I haven't been back yet to see what they show.

In the middle of all this, part of the control board for our oven/stove went out. We can no longer input the numbers 3, 6, or 9. 6 or 9 is no big deal (hey!), but 3 is kinda important for baking. The board apparently is not available anywhere. (15-year-old stove.) The appliance people sent the piece back out east to be rebuilt, leaving us with no oven at all for four weeks. Now they say the board cannot be rebuilt. So we will need to buy a new oven, which means also a new fridge and dishwasher. So I really don't want to replace a furnace right now.

(And to top it off, the day after they took our control board out, our microwave up and died. Who the fuck did I piss off?)

[The Sybian]

Woke up this morning and notice the downstairs furnace wasn't running. Set to 70, temp reading 60. Played around with the furnace and when I turned it off then on, it was a quieter fan noise and the expectant louder noise and heat didn't click in, and it'd just shut down after 10 seconds. Scheduled a tech to come out, and the heat suddenly kicked on 20 minutes before he arrived. Tech came out and found water pooling in the unit. He thinks the drain was clogged and said that can prevent the pressure switch from turning on. He blew on the drain with his mouth then poured some vinegar into the drain. He said everything else looked good, so hopefully that is it.

Been a rough 2 weeks of homeownership. I detailed the ongoing flooding. They are going to install a drain in front of the sliding door, and a runoff pipe under the patio into the landscaped area. They can't do that until the ground thaws, so hoping the rains this week aren't a problem.

Our drawer microwave built into the island started making a really loud noise and running it forces cold air into the cooking area. I called Sharp and they said I may qualify for a class action lawsuit. I submitted the form and it was rejected, saying I need a time stamped video of an "arcing event," which is sparking or a fire. Not looking to create a fire inside my wood cabinetry. I couldn't see any sparks or flames, but there was a distinct odor of burning rubber. I need a certified repair person to write a report showing an arcing event occurred. There is one licensed repair place in New Jersey, and after 15 minutes on hold listening to recording repeatedly say "we repair your appliance from the comfort of your home," they tell me they no longer perform in-house repairs, and no longer look at drawer microwaves. This microwave costs $1,600, and the island is built around it, so I don't have much choice on a replacement.

And the major crack in my hardwood floors I had fixed 2 years ago is back. They put a continuous floor between the kitchen and family room, which was an addition at some point. The kitchen has a basement under it, the family room doesn't, so they are over different foundations and move separately. I think they need to pull up the floor and do something with the subfloor to balance the difference. They can access the kitchen through the basement ceiling, but I think they need to rip up the floor in the family room to fix the problem. Scared to think how much that is going to cost.

[Giff]

Crap, Syb. That's a lot.

[Steve of phpBB]

Woke up this morning and notice the downstairs furnace wasn't running. Set to 70, temp reading 60. Played around with the furnace and when I turned it off then on, it was a quieter fan noise and the expectant louder noise and heat didn't click in, and it'd just shut down after 10 seconds. Scheduled a tech to come out, and the heat suddenly kicked on 20 minutes before he arrived. Tech came out and found water pooling in the unit. He thinks the drain was clogged and said that can prevent the pressure switch from turning on. He blew on the drain with his mouth then poured some vinegar into the drain. He said everything else looked good, so hopefully that is it.

Been a rough 2 weeks of homeownership. I detailed the ongoing flooding. They are going to install a drain in front of the sliding door, and a runoff pipe under the patio into the landscaped area. They can't do that until the ground thaws, so hoping the rains this week aren't a problem.

Our drawer microwave built into the island started making a really loud noise and running it forces cold air into the cooking area. I called Sharp and they said I may qualify for a class action lawsuit. I submitted the form and it was rejected, saying I need a time stamped video of an "arcing event," which is sparking or a fire. Not looking to create a fire inside my wood cabinetry. I couldn't see any sparks or flames, but there was a distinct odor of burning rubber. I need a certified repair person to write a report showing an arcing event occurred. There is one licensed repair place in New Jersey, and after 15 minutes on hold listening to recording repeatedly say "we repair your appliance from the comfort of your home," they tell me they no longer perform in-house repairs, and no longer look at drawer microwaves. This microwave costs $1,600, and the island is built around it, so I don't have much choice on a replacement.

And the major crack in my hardwood floors I had fixed 2 years ago is back. They put a continuous floor between the kitchen and family room, which was an addition at some point. The kitchen has a basement under it, the family room doesn't, so they are over different foundations and move separately. I think they need to pull up the floor and do something with the subfloor to balance the difference. They can access the kitchen through the basement ceiling, but I think they need to rip up the floor in the family room to fix the problem. Scared to think how much that is going to cost.

Shit, man. You win.

[A_B]

In the middle of all this, part of the control board for our oven/stove went out. We can no longer input the numbers 3, 6, or 9. 6 or 9 is no big deal (hey!), but 3 is kinda important for baking. The board apparently is not available anywhere. (15-year-old stove.) The appliance people sent the piece back out east to be rebuilt, leaving us with no oven at all for four weeks. Now they say the board cannot be rebuilt. So we will need to buy a new oven, which means also a new fridge and dishwasher. So I really don't want to replace a furnace right now.

(And to top it off, the day after they took our control board out, our microwave up and died. Who the fuck did I piss off?)

Is the Microwave a hood unit above the range/oven? If so, you may want to get the electrical outlet looked at because they could be related. I had that happen once.

As for buying all the other appliances at same time, to fuck with that. Get one that looks close and roll on.

[The Sybian]

Shit, man. You win.

Wasn't trying to one-up everyone, just venting... Fortunately, no charge for the furnace, and he did a full inspection on the others and everything looks good. I was going to drop my contract with the company but kept it going for off-hour and holiday emergency priority and annual maintenance. I appreciated the tech's service. He saw my humidifier pad needs changing. Told me he had one in his truck, but it was $149 for him to install. I told him I'd get one myself, and he told me the model and had me pull it up on Amazon so he could confirm I bought a good brand and the correct size. $11 on Amazon. He told me to buy two, and they'd install it for me for free next year if I have one on-hand.

My mom told me she was afraid to tell me at the time I bought the house that they vowed never to buy new construction, because sometimes it's better to have someone else live in the house and discover problems. You feel like with new appliances you won't have shit braking, but it's always something with a house.

[Steve of phpBB]

In the middle of all this, part of the control board for our oven/stove went out. We can no longer input the numbers 3, 6, or 9. 6 or 9 is no big deal (hey!), but 3 is kinda important for baking. The board apparently is not available anywhere. (15-year-old stove.) The appliance people sent the piece back out east to be rebuilt, leaving us with no oven at all for four weeks. Now they say the board cannot be rebuilt. So we will need to buy a new oven, which means also a new fridge and dishwasher. So I really don't want to replace a furnace right now.

(And to top it off, the day after they took our control board out, our microwave up and died. Who the fuck did I piss off?)

Is the Microwave a hood unit above the range/oven? If so, you may want to get the electrical outlet looked at because they could be related. I had that happen once.

As for buying all the other appliances at same time, to fuck with that. Get one that looks close and roll on.

We tested the outlet to make sure it worked - what else can we do to test it? (In all honesty, the microwave we hurriedly bought to replace the dead one really sucks, so if it dies too, I won't be heartbroken.)

And we have a small kitchen, where it will be obvious (to my wife at least) if the appliances don't match ...

[mister d]

If all the appliances are 15+ years old its probably worth getting a bundle deal rather than replacing each over the next few years?

[Steve of phpBB]

If all the appliances are 15+ years old its probably worth getting a bundle deal rather than replacing each over the next few years?

Yeah, probably. How long are those types of appliances supposed to last these days?

[EnochRoot]

I'm in a row house so I can't do it now, but I'm looking forward to the time I own a home where I can install a wood burning stove in the fireplace.

[A_B]

If all the appliances are 15+ years old its probably worth getting a bundle deal rather than replacing each over the next few years?

When did you go into appliance sales? Cause an appliance salesman wrote this.

[GoodKarma]

If all the appliances are 15+ years old its probably worth getting a bundle deal rather than replacing each over the next few years?

Yeah, probably. How long are those types of appliances supposed to last these days?

If you get 10-15 years out of them you're doing good. I had a fridge (Kenmore) crap out after less than five years.

[EnochRoot]

So my furnace will require about $1700 in replacement parts, but the tech recommended I replace the unit. Apparently that's going to cost somewhere between 8 to 12 grand. I would imagine homeowners should cover most of that.

Fuck.

[Steve of phpBB]

So my furnace will require about $1700 in replacement parts, but the tech recommended I replace the unit. Apparently that's going to cost somewhere between 8 to 12 grand. I would imagine homeowners should cover most of that.

Fuck.

Gah. That sucks. I'm sorry.

[The Sybian]

So my furnace will require about $1700 in replacement parts, but the tech recommended I replace the unit. Apparently that's going to cost somewhere between 8 to 12 grand. I would imagine homeowners should cover most of that.

Fuck.

Unless the furnace was broken by some act of God, I'd be surprised if insurance covers anything. Unless you have some sort of appliance protection add on.

[EnochRoot]

We opted in on the HVAC replacement plan before the pandemic hit.

[bfj]

We opted in on the HVAC replacement plan before the pandemic hit.

Who are you using for HVAC repairs? We had a tech from Farnen and Dermer tell us the same thing and when we got a second opinion, we ended up just needing a $300 part.

[A_B]

We opted in on the HVAC replacement plan before the pandemic hit.

Who are you using for HVAC repairs? We had a tech from Farnen and Dermer tell us the same thing and when we got a second opinion, we ended up just needing a $300 part.

We got a second opinion on our heat pump and saved over 2500. New part has had no issues.

[EnochRoot]

We opted in on the HVAC replacement plan before the pandemic hit.

Who are you using for HVAC repairs? We had a tech from Farnen and Dermer tell us the same thing and when we got a second opinion, we ended up just needing a $300 part.

“At Your Service Heating & Cooling.”

So we opted to repair the furnace (and opted into the warranty where they will come out later this spring and in the fall to maintain it). $1700. I’d get another estimate, but they range between $90 and $150 to provide an estimate. We’ll deal with replacing the unit later this year.

[bfj]

We opted in on the HVAC replacement plan before the pandemic hit.

Who are you using for HVAC repairs? We had a tech from Farnen and Dermer tell us the same thing and when we got a second opinion, we ended up just needing a $300 part.

“At Your Service Heating & Cooling.”

So we opted to repair the furnace (and opted into the warranty where they will come out later this spring and in the fall to maintain it). $1700. I’d get another estimate, but they range between $90 and $150 to provide an estimate. We’ll deal with replacing the unit later this year.

Fair enough, just wanted to warn you about F and D.

[EnochRoot]

We opted in on the HVAC replacement plan before the pandemic hit.

Who are you using for HVAC repairs? We had a tech from Farnen and Dermer tell us the same thing and when we got a second opinion, we ended up just needing a $300 part.

“At Your Service Heating & Cooling.”

So we opted to repair the furnace (and opted into the warranty where they will come out later this spring and in the fall to maintain it). $1700. I’d get another estimate, but they range between $90 and $150 to provide an estimate. We’ll deal with replacing the unit later this year.

Fair enough, just wanted to warn you about F and D.

Thank you!

[EnochRoot]

So we had the furnace repaired yesterday. I figure I'll spend the rest of the year evaluating a replacement furnace that will add to the resale value of the house.

So three guys were here for about 10 hours yesterday. Two of them cleaned the air ducts. The other guy did the repairs. He still couldn't get it to run after finishing replacing all the parts. So he called his supervisor after four or so hours of dicking around finding alternatives. The supervisor (really, the senior-most tech of the now four guys) immediately diagnosed the issue. They cleared out well enough, but now my Ecobee thermostat can no longer control the furnace. That tells me they disconnected the thermostat from the furnace (at the furnace) to avoid the thermostat from sending messages to it.

I called today around 10a for them to come back and finish the job, but...crickets.

I can probably figure this out myself, but I'm not billing myself $2300.

[Steve of phpBB]

So we had the furnace repaired yesterday. I figure I'll spend the rest of the year evaluating a replacement furnace that will add to the resale value of the house.

So three guys were here for about 10 hours yesterday. Two of them cleaned the air ducts. The other guy did the repairs. He still couldn't get it to run after finishing replacing all the parts. So he called his supervisor after four or so hours of dicking around finding alternatives. The supervisor (really, the senior-most tech of the now four guys) immediately diagnosed the issue. They cleared out well enough, but now my Ecobee thermostat can no longer control the furnace. That tells me they disconnected the thermostat from the furnace (at the furnace) to avoid the thermostat from sending messages to it.

I called today around 10a for them to come back and finish the job, but...crickets.

I can probably figure this out myself, but I'm not billing myself $2300.

Are you able to turn the furnace on and off at all?

When I had my furnace inspection last week, the guy was about to leave when I noticed my thermostat screen was blank. It took him another hour and a half to connect whatever needed connecting to get it working again.