My gutters are free and clear, thank god. I agree with you, having some type of gutter guard system is crucial for homes in Raleigh.

4/25/2018 11:37:44 PM

Quote :

"My gutters are free and clear, thank god. I agree with you, having some type of gutter guard system is crucial for homes in Raleigh near trees."

I fixed this for you.

4/26/2018 10:58:54 AM

which gutter gaurds keep out the catkins and the ones with the little pollen dingleberries

those catkins are a PITA, they pile up behind my chimney

4/26/2018 4:38:58 PM

I use these gutter guards
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Spectra-Shield-Aluminum-Gutter-Cover/3825753?CAWELAID=320011480002019278

They keep everything out.

I'm ordering my synthetic turf tomorrow. No more grass pollen, no more watering, no mowing.

4/26/2018 5:31:04 PM

I talked a little bit about this on the last page, but I used: https://m.lowes.com/pd/Amerimax-Snap-in-Gutter-Filter-PVC-Gutter-Screen/50040810

I installed at my last house and my new house, and also at my father-in-laws.

4/26/2018 10:35:59 PM

I saw this open-cell foam stuff that goes into the gutters that should keep all that bigger stuff out. No idea if it works well or creates any other issues.

4/30/2018 11:44:11 AM

I probably cleaned 50lbs of soggy catkins along 100LF of gutters Friday. These things are a nightmare and were causing my gutters to overflow during last week's deluge of rain. I don't think the screens from Lowes are the right solution for these things. They get wet and essentially start to clog up everything they encounter. I feel like they'll sit right over the screens blocking any opportunity for water to siphon through into the gutter.

4/30/2018 4:18:12 PM

They blow off my roof with little issue. The ones that get wet in the rain do "sit" on the screen, but I have never noticed them blocking the water. Once the rain is over and the sun comes out, they dry out and blow off the screens again. I haven't ever had to clean them off the screens and the screens are clear shortly after the catkins stop coming down.

4/30/2018 11:09:03 PM

god. damn. Japanese. beetles.

fucking milky spores is expensive shit!

5/1/2018 1:45:30 PM

anyone have a generator running off natural gas? i've been considering the generac units, i probably need ~11kW (want to run fridge, microwave, a/c, gas heat, and maybe washer/dryer as well as outlets in 1-2 rooms)

5/2/2018 10:31:13 AM

You have a question?

These don't cost as much as I thought they would.

5/2/2018 11:34:23 AM

while removing a built in grill, the gas pipe broke they used iron pipe without painting it and just buried it. I guess 25 years is a decent run. spent 6 hours of time I didn't have disconnecting it and rerunning all my buried gas pipe with new stuff

5/3/2018 12:54:34 AM

That could have been a disaster. Please tell me you replaced it with something approved for underground use?

5/3/2018 4:35:23 PM

Quote :

"You have a question? "

what brands are good and does that size sound reasonable for what i want

5/4/2018 9:13:24 AM

Generac is a good brand.

What's your realistic risk of power loss?

The microwave and AC running at the same time could easily pull 8 KW. Add the dryer to the mix and you'll blow through 11 KW. That said, you can run a lot on 11 KW and you don't need everything running at once. Do you really need or want to keep everything (or most everything) up and running? Personally, excepting an extended power outage like I'd expect post-hurricane and near the cost, I'd just want to be able to keep my fridge and freezer online, a few lights, and have the option to run an appliance like a coffee maker or microwave. Running the heat would be nice in winter but there are maybe two to three nights in a typical year where no heat would be a true problem.

My grandmother lives in a remote rural area and she got one to keep her heat online during winter storms.

5/4/2018 2:20:57 PM

My house is currently under contract to sell. The buyer is getting his inspection done tomorrow and I have such an overwhelming fear that they will find so many things wrong with it that they will back out all together. Anyone have any words of wisdom? This house is old and I feel like anytime something can go wrong with it, it will go wrong.

5/6/2018 12:30:47 PM

Take a deep breath, and it is what it is. Best case, nothing major is found, both you and the buyer are happy. Middle case, you and the buyer have to do one last round of negotiation, but it will be less painful than the sale price negotiation. There is a chance that something bad is found, but at least now you'll know and you can take steps to address it.

I stressed like crazy about my house selling since I had removed load bearing walls and rewired half the house. It all came out fine, and I hope your inspection goes smoothly too.

5/6/2018 7:56:37 PM

^^ what market? The hotter, the less u need to worry imo.

5/6/2018 8:53:39 PM

We got an offer for asking price (with us paying closing costs) after the house had been on the market for a day, but it fell through after the buyer wasn't able to secure a loan. Had a few more days on the market with a handful of showings then the original buyer came back after being able to secure their loan from a different bank. So obviously they are very interested in the house. Not many options for houses of similar size/price in my area, but at the same time my house is pretty old and is far from perfect. The previous owners half-assed EVERYTHING, so this house has fought me every step of the way in terms of maintenance.

5/7/2018 9:33:36 AM

Inspection report came back. Tons of things on it, but mostly minor. Buyer only requested that we fix 5 things, and my realtor says she knows a handyman that can knock them all out in a day for a few hundred dollars. So that's a relief. Was worried a bit about my roof.

So now I get to be on the other side of an inspection report next week with the new house we are buying.

5/9/2018 1:05:50 PM

$50 for a damn shower handle cartridge. jebus.

5/22/2018 9:23:14 PM

Jebus indeed. I'd take a shot a refurbishing the old one. Some CLR, new o-rings, and some silicone grease go a long way.

5/23/2018 10:31:27 AM

nah. i watched that TOT video too. not worth the trouble.

5/24/2018 5:02:12 PM

TOT does plumbing? I must have missed that one.

5/24/2018 6:40:44 PM

fixed a faucet, but all it needed was seats and springs.

5/24/2018 7:34:18 PM

What are you guys' thoughts on pop-up emitters? My yard is on a gentle slope from front to back. But it's enough that i can't really install a downspout drainage line to the street in the front without going pretty deep. So my next thought it getting the pipe out away from my foundation and just installing a pop-up emitter in the back yard. The yard drains pretty well, so i don't think I would have any issues with pooling or standing water around the pop-up. and I can't really take it to daylight in the back yard because of my privacy fence and the lots behind me being even lower than mine. I guess I could take it under the fence and let them deal with it, but i feel like that's a pretty dick move.

5/29/2018 9:13:15 AM

mine work fine other than occasionally getting clogged and needing to be flushed

5/29/2018 2:47:34 PM

Any of you guys use a powerline ethernet adapter? The study in the house I'm moving into doesn't have any coax or ethernet ports. Seems like one of these would do the trick if it can keep up with speeds it advertises.

5/29/2018 3:18:21 PM

My understanding is that they mostly live up to the billing these days. Find one that's well reviewed make sure you understand their limitations. They only provide moderate bandwidth not gigabit speeds. They ones that advertise really high speeds are talking about aggregate bandwidth from multiple steams or something that only applies in a non-realistic environment. The length of the signal paths and your local RF environment can make your experience highly variable.

5/29/2018 4:00:27 PM

I have a few throughout my home, no complaints. +1 on most of that.

These come in a two-pack and are the brand I use:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Y3QPG1A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

5/29/2018 4:13:06 PM

A/C unit went out last friday. portable units were clutch! had the motor replaced this morning and all is well again. that was 500 bucks I was happy to spend. 30 year old unit still alive and kicking.

6/6/2018 11:58:04 AM

30 years! Wow. Get a new one. The power savings alone would probably pay for it in 5 years. They don't even make refrigerant for it anymore.

6/6/2018 2:45:32 PM

the new ones are made out of eggshells and hope. stick with the old one until you can't fix it again.

how do you think they make them so efficient? by making them thinner and adding more controls shit to flake out. VFDs and shit. fuck that.

[Edited on June 6, 2018 at 8:29 PM. Reason : s]

6/6/2018 8:28:47 PM

I agree. The more modern the technology is the less reliable it is. Only buy old shit.

6/6/2018 8:41:47 PM

when it comes to residential HVAC units, I definitely think the old ones are less prone to breakdown.

6/6/2018 8:49:46 PM

I guess I've been lucky with my 9 year old Trane then (knock on wood)

6/6/2018 10:06:24 PM

they don't make em like they used to.

6/7/2018 10:56:34 AM

so...let's talk mosquitoes and treatment options that are pet (dog/chicken), plant (veggies and herbs), and kid safe...

because holy fuck, these bastards are EVERYWHERE!!!

I'd murder them with science, but my wife is trying to have a safe option that won't cause our chickens and kids to mutate.

7/16/2018 5:12:39 PM

apparently mosquito joe has a product that is plant based/non-mutating or something.

7/16/2018 5:34:13 PM

Did Nathan Myhrvold's automated death lasers for mosquitoes ever hit the market?

7/20/2018 1:47:35 PM

is deet really that bad?

7/20/2018 5:33:46 PM

For mosquitoes, yes.

Seriously, unless you're drinking it, it's low risk. It's way safer than mosquito borne illnesses.

7/24/2018 3:39:54 PM

Quote :

"Seriously, unless you're drinking it"

That's why I don't want it on my veggies, or my chickens, or my kids (1 year old and 3 year old) who don't know jack shit about not drinking standing water.

Halp!

7/25/2018 4:19:41 PM

Drain the standing water?

7/25/2018 10:45:07 PM

i think the yard sprays for mosquitos are pyrethroids

short of treatment just remove any standing water or damp areas and keep your grass cut short. maybe put up a bat house?

if you don't want DEET on your kids you can get the lemon eucalyptus spray, it's actually tested well

[Edited on July 26, 2018 at 10:31 AM. Reason : .]

7/26/2018 10:30:26 AM

I'm not talking about big puddles or anything. We're on an acre and when the dog, chickens, rabbits, etc. dig divots in the yard, that's where the standing water comes from, so it's not necessarily a drainage issue. My grass is typically cut short and we get lots of bats already, so I'm not sure if adding bat houses would help any more. I'll look into the lemon eucalyptus stuff. Thanks guise!

7/26/2018 11:50:17 AM

Quote :

"lemon eucalyptus spray"

has worked well for me

[Edited on July 26, 2018 at 2:32 PM. Reason : and if you have legit standing water put those mosquito dunks in there]

7/26/2018 2:31:41 PM

dammmmmn that shit is like 5 dollars for 4 ounces. Imma need to spend $Texas to cover an acre. da fuq????

7/26/2018 4:33:47 PM

the lemon eucalyptus spray is for your kids, not your yard

not really any yard sprays that are safe for kids to put in their mouths

7/27/2018 10:08:13 PM

So with all the rain we've been having, I've noticed the seal around my window (in my office, bottom floor of a 3 level townhouse, deck is on the main floor)has been leaking, no big deal, I'll just throw some caulk on it or something.

Rain keeps coming, notice water spots on the wall by the door coming from the ceiling, decide to call someone to take a look.

It looks like the water is getting in from where the deck meets the house (brick exterior on the bottom floor, vinyl on the main floor). The send out out a water reclamation expert, he thankfully does detect moisture in the walls. Next up is the repair estimate guy, he comes in and is like 'look, I can put a bandaid on this, but we'll need an insurance adjuster out here if you want a real fix cause it might involve cutting into drywall and/or removing parts of the deck to get to the hole'

So this has been swell.

8/13/2018 8:07:11 PM