For the second Sunday in a row there was a clog between my cleanout and the main. After watching the plumber last time run the rooter I was like "going to rent one from home Depot and do it my damn self. Lugged that heavy fucker (100' of cable) into and out the truck. Got it down the stairs to the back yard. There is no connector to put on any of the tools. I call them back, after they closed, and they answered. Told me I had to bring it back. Drug that motherfucker back up the stairs. Back to the truck. Get a new one and repeat. Find the clog about 80' in and decide to make sure I pushed it clear to the main. About 95' out. I flip the switch to start reeling it back in and the cable snaps off the rotor. Had to pull 95' of that shitty steel cable out of the hole and shove it back into the spool, then back up the stairs. Next time I'm saying fuck it and calling the plumber. It will be the best additional 60$ I've ever spent in my life.
To my oklahomies in this thread. For a house warming my dad bought us a full house RO / water softener. In Arizona, we always keep these outside. In Oklahoma freeze issues could be a thing. Where do you all have your water softeners at? We're thinking of building a small shed and insulating it.
Not an oklahomie but curious. Mines in my house and I’ve never thought of putting it outside. Why wouldn’t you install it in your house?
I've never thought of anyone putting it in the house before. I guess the reason to put it outside would be to be able to put it between your water main and home plumbing. To go in the house requires some modifications I'd think. In this case the primary water in comes through the false wall under the kitchen sink it seems.
The important thing is you've created a nice dark, cool space easily accessible outdoors. Congrats on your new black widow nests.
We have ours in a garage closet with the water heater. We had extra room after installing a tankless water heater. I don’t know about putting it outside, but imagine it’s fine as long as it’s in the shade (the garage is plenty hot, but no ill effects).
Smart Home Help Needed So after reading a million articles, reviews, and posts I am still trying to wrap my head around exactly how I want to build out my home automation. I recently purchased a 50 year old single owner home that was technologically neglected so it is pretty bare bones. What I need help with is making sure I don't fuck up buying stuff that wont work together or work properly. Currently own: Google home Google mini Philips Hue Bridge w/ 3 bulbs AC Control Panel that looks like it is smart and connects to wifi (have not moved in yet to look at it). Smart LG washer and dryer Want to own now or in near future: Whole home security system - My original plan was simplisafe but its biggest drawback is home automation. Can someone explain if I can get around this or how it works with other smart home items? I am not sure which route to take if I don't go with them because of this and while reviews on vivint are usually good, actual people always say do not go with vivint. I have also seen frontpoint, ring, and adobe mentioned often. What do local monitoring services ussually offer and what equipment companies are recommended? I have seen things with alarm.com, 2gig, etc. but don't know much about all of that. Smart Lights - Going to fill out the home with the necessary amount of phillips lights. Home will be mostly lamps and recessed lights. Smart switches and plugs - Are smart switches and plugs worth adding or should I live in the home some before deciding this? Smart thermostat - A thermostat screen was installed with the new AC two years ago. I will either utilize this or get an ecobee, etc. Smart doortbell - Would get the one with the simplisafe system unless I went another direction. Smart doorlock - Would get an august lock that communicates with simplisafe. Otherwise may go in a different direction. Indoor camera - Would get one that comes with simplisafe system unless I went another direction. Outdoor camera - Simplisafe does not have an outdoor camera so no clue what I would do here. Smart smoke and carbon monoxide detectors - Would get ones that comes with simplisafe system unless I went another direction. Smart vacuum cleaner - So many solid options on the market so picking one isn't a huge issue. At the end of the day I want it all to work together and work properly. If I leave my house I want all of my lights to turn off, door to lock, security system to arm, AC to turn to away mode, smart vacuum to run, etc. I dont want to pay out of the nose for the monitoring or equipment but do not mind paying up for quality products and investing in a long term solution without it becoming obselete in a year. Do I need a hub like smarthings to work with all of this or will my google home work for that? How much can IFTTT help with getting everything to work together and specifically simplisafe if I go that route? So yeah I know this is a lot but those willing to reply and help I wanted to put all of the information out on the table. Any help is appreciated.
This should be its own thread. I think it may be, but not all into it myself. My two cents: going to need multiple hubs to get where you want to go IMO. The space is a complete mess still. Second make sure you get a fully mesh wireless network. You’re going to need a lot more than the biggest consumer router/AP all in one. The number of connections that can be required on something you’re trying to accomplish can bog down your network.
There is a thread for it but it hasnt been posted in since April of 2018. Ill post it in their as well. I know the questions I have are probably a lot of questions many people are looking for the answers for. Well that sounds promising lol. Not really sure what a fully mesh wireless network is but looks like they run about $300-$500. Yep. Its ambitious but I would rather handle it now while I am completely remodeling, the house is empty, and im not having to replace any existing home tech.
I have everything on that list besides the stupid vacuum cleaner (thats a different story for another time), and can complete the task as outlined. AMA
Because you already have one foot down the Google Home path, I'd continue down that route and simply find things that are compatible with Google Home/Assistant. I'm in the market for a doorbell/lock/alarm, and I'm not sure I'm going to go with Nest simply because other well-integrated products seem to be working just fine with Google Assistant. I have a Nest Thermostat and Camera and they work great, but so do non-Nest products.
I would start small and then start adding. Lightbulbs and thermostats first and go from there. I don’t get needing switches... unless you can’t get smart bulbs. I have a couple of bulbs on a switch which automate it coming on and off. Plugs, you can actually just get the ones that plug in to the plug and enable smart connections. But how much shit do you need to automate coming on and off? Tv? Nope, appliances? Nope. You might look into a SmartThings hub. It has Zwave and Zigbee radios so it’s pretty flexible. I can add more later.
Apparently a house on the next block from us is going to be on Stay or Sell. I think the show is 3-4 episodes in to its first season on HGTV. They haven't started working on the house yet so it must be for season 2.
Based on the pilot, which is the only thing I've seen, it is closer to Fixer Upper (Chip and Joanna). They compared staying in their current house vs moving like Love it or List It but they looked at plans for all the choices and only remodeled what was chosen from the plan instead of competing between moving or staying. Then once a remodel is chosen the guy is a contractor and the woman is the designer and features local artisans to personalize the space.
Haven't been posting ITT about the remodel much lately because the current contractor is slow as shit. Silver lining. The stove that has been sitting in a box in my living room for 2 months was recalled by Kitchenaid. Will make the exchange process easy
So got an update. He had a plumber come out and do a pressure test and there is no leak. He is fighting the city and claiming that there meter is wrong and it would be borderline impossible to actually use that much water. They have said that if he can get a note from a plumber they will do a one time adjustment. My pet theory is that they don't actually check each meter each month. The float that controls the level of the pool was broken a couple of months back and could have used a crap ton of water over a few month period before it was discovered. Im thinking that the meter reader had skipped his for a few months, just taking averages of the neighborhood, then checked it and it was way the fuck off. So the meter reader just claimed that it was all from this month. I think they are going to install a smart meter as well.
I'm thinking very hard about buying a vacant lot that is for sale. I've started to plan out what kind of house I would want, and our initial thoughts are basically a ranch with a basement, and then a finished out attic for a guest bedroom up there and maybe like a theater room. I've been trying to figure out though how you would properly insulate the attic ceiling. My area code calls for R-49 minimum. You would think this would be something easily googled but I haven't had any luck yet. Does anyone know the strategy to get to those values? Only way I can think of is 2x10 roof rafters with closed cell spray foam. Closed cell gives you about 6-7 R value so I would need about 8 inches of that, that would be pretty damn pricey though.
Who was the poster like a month or two ago who was trying to get an empty lot in a neighborhood, called the guy and he said make me an offer? Was wondering how that was going.
I never said that? It has a system now but it is pretty dated. The guy has dementia so I can't ask if he ever had an issue. I also travel a good bit for work and would like to know my family is secure when I am gone.
I read it like the guy hadn't updated anything in the house. Like still had old thermostat that looked like a dial, etc
Spray is expensive but 100% worth it. Efficient, and can extend the life of the roof as well. Some jurisdictions will allow R-38 or even R-30 in vaulted living areas. Call or email your building inspections office. Making friends now might pay dividends later. Might check in with an insulation sub too for a price. If you got them to do a "flash and batt" in the walls, you might get a better break on the roof. Geeked for you if you get to build.
Also, "flash and batt" is where they spray an inch of foam in the stud cavities and then install a conventional glass batt. Best of both worlds. Air seal from the foam, thermal break from the batt.
If you have to get a termite bond check with them before getting the spray foam. Have heard they are starting to refuse coverage since they can’t inspect the rafters and decking.
This is what I would prefer to do. I have read that a "vaulted ceiling" can be a lower code for R-value which I would need to do this strategy. If I framed with 2x10 rafters that would give me 9.25 inches of actual depth. 2 inches of closed cell would net me about 12-14 R value and then I could use rockwool R-30 batt which is a depth of 7.25 inches. That would be good for R-42ish, thus I would need a lower R-Value code for the "vaulted ceiling". On another note, doing all this research I came across a guy on youtube that has a ton of incredibly useful videos, Matt Risinger. Have been on a pretty good binge of his channel and have learned a lot of new useful things. https://www.youtube.com/user/MattRisinger
After reading GuyOnA_Buffalo 's situation I am thinking that switching to a tankless water heater might be the move for me to. Any suggestions as far as brands? It looks like they last forever so is getting one used a reasonable move?
If this short sale goes though we’ll have one until we’re 72. Ok not really since we own the current house outright and when we sell it the proceeds will cut the new loan amount by (hopefully) 1/3rd, BUT I get the concern/fear 100%
I've been searching for weeks and I'm desperate for help. Outdoor speaker setup options that: 1. Doesn't have me drilling holes in my house 2. A permanent install into an uncovered pergola 3. Can survive being outside. My preference is to not use rechargeable portable Bluetooth. The speakers aren't a problem but I have no options for powering them. Edit: I have 120v run to the pergola.
Do Sonos have outdoor speakers? That is probably your best bet. If you have a pergola with a waterproof area, you might look at a smaller receiver with a chromecast audio. I have three or four at my house and love them. You plug it in and you can stream almost anything you want to those speakers from your phone or laptop. Only drawback is I don't think you can stream apple music to it. I stream spotify, iheartradio, or a couple other apps to mine. You can control the volume and everything from your phone. You just need power for the receiver, and then run speaker wire from there to any number of speakers you install.