Random Thoughts - Part III The Search for Spark (No Politics)

[Kiske]

Originally Posted by pope

This was going to be my suggestion, but you beat me to it. My 25+ year old furnace and AC are still going strong (and somehow aren't horribly inefficient), but I don't anticipate them staying functional forever.
Once either has issues, both are getting replaced in favor of a heat pump system. Hard to beat the efficiency and recouping the chimney space while eliminating a roof penetration is a no-brainer.

I just went into that trap after my condenser smoked itself. Whole inside and exterior system, roughly 9.6k installed in an afternoon because the old unit was based off R22 and not the current R410A. All the techs/sales people told me how much more efficient it was going to be as I was now going to have a 2 stage setup that used fans even when the a/c wasn't running. The energy bill didn't move a cent despite the unit running less than the old one to hold the same temp.

I feel this is the similar experience many had when going from R12 to R34a with their older cars.

[86-75309]

For about a decade I lived in a small house on an equally small lot (about 45' X 145') that had three 70+ year old black walnut trees. When the fruit drops, it's not just the nut like what you might buy from the supermarket. They're encased in a greenish yellow outer husk that resembles a tennis ball and are about the same size. That outer husk gets soft, squishy, has a pungent aroma and stains everything. Not a tree anyone should plant in a residential landscape.

Fast forward a few years and I lived in a house that had three 40-50 year old silver maple trees. The winged helicopter seeds would cover everything, clog the gutters and trees would start sprouting along my roofline. The wood is relatively weak and prone to storm damage, like this:

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by 86-75309

For about a decade I lived in a small house on an equally small lot (about 45' X 145') that had three 70+ year old black walnut trees. When the fruit drops, it's not just the nut like what you might buy from the supermarket. They're encased in a greenish yellow outer husk that resembles a tennis ball and are about the same size. That outer husk gets soft, squishy, has a pungent aroma and stains everything. Not a tree anyone should plant in a residential landscape.

Fast forward a few years and I lived in a house that had three 40-50 year old silver maple trees. The winged helicopter seeds would cover everything, clog the gutters and trees would start sprouting along my roofline. The wood is relatively weak and prone to storm damage, like this:

Both scenarios exactly why mine are coming down!
Imagine the mess those walnuts made in the pool.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by spcmafia

Home owners. I want to hear your opinion on this. We want to work on some things on the house; Add AC to the house, pave driveway, build closets, re-do paint in bathroom, clear tree branches on driveway to prevent acorn damage.

We got two options; sell the house and look for something that has everything we need/want. Or take advantage of value added to our current house and invest in it by re-financing it without going too overboard. Have to get some estimates first.

Don't really want to move out of the town we live in; has low taxes, quiet, great schools, safe. But there isn't anything that we're interesting in as of this moment. We can wait, no rush to work on projects, or get another house.

Any thoughts on what would be a good idea from experience? House went up in value by $120K.

the house really didn't go up $120k. everything costs more to the point that your old places resale went up that much. same difference as the recent, but much lower depreciation of the 86's. now, they're going for $20k+. 10 years ago the same average new-msrp/age would've been $10k

the first thing is this: "We got two options; sell the house and look for something that has everything we need/want."

be honest with yourself, is this really attainable in your price/area? for me, it's not. every other house i look at, there's different compromises made in the similar price range..

the closets, bath painting, and tree cleaning is all really simple stuff. there's likely not even a reason to hire any company for any of those.

paving, and a/c are both larger projects, in liability, cost, and skill.

Originally Posted by spcmafia

Follow up question, the A.C would obviously be performed by a company of such expertise. But everything else, would it be preferable to hire a general contractor, or inquire individual companies separately. Im thinking the G.C would off load his work to other people and charge a premium so he could get his nice cut.

it really depends on what you want out of it, but i really don't feel like '2' projects justify that. now a gc can come in really handy for future projects down the road. i do work with a few gc's. one of them, due in no small part to his character, has become the only gc for a gated subdivision-- everyone loves working with him. i end up doing all sorts of tiny projects of cahnging an outlet or a light fixture for a customer of his, and then a year later, those people decide to do a $90k custom kitchen remodel because he was so easy to work with.

the benefit to a gc is that they deal with all the nuances of the project, and only leave the bigger simpler decisions to you. they also generally have a phone full of contacts of good licensed contractors for any project you can think of, usually contacts derived from years of trial and error.

not going with a gc means you're the one that's got to figure it all out-- figure out all the little stupid details, and figure out if the contractor is going to screw you over, or actually do a quality job. disadvantage is that gc's don't work for free, so it'd cost more.

that link is unrelated, but did just happen in my area. "same story, just different names". i can't find a link to the case near me.. but a local guy ripped off at least 10 people for $30k-50k each to install a pool that he never even dug a hole for--he'd get them to give him a hefty down payment, sometimes the full amount, tell them he was adding them to the schedule in 1-5 months, and never show a year later.. best part was his friend turned him in after he ripped off the friend too... real 'quality' guy. trades are all the same-- we all compete for work, but in the end, we all think similarly. when morons like this appear, word spreads fast in contractor circles. i know of 2 different companies that ended up having to pick up the jobs this guy dropped.

it wouldn't hurt to get quotes for paving and the a/c, but considering that you're in no rush, make it clear to them you're in no rush, and offer to hold off until a different time of year. for many trades, there's a slow season and a insane season. during slow season, deals are sometimes cut everywhere to keep employee's working. usually when the weather is the worst or most unpredictable, and work times tend to take longer-- most other customers want everything done NOW. for the a/c, definitely ask for entire system replacement-- they've got to remove a big part of the system to install the condenser anyways, might be a lesser cost to change/upgrade now than go "ship of theseus" route.

also be aware that the current market pricing is everywhere. i'm hearing stories of some contractors making quotes only good for 2-3 weeks, where they used to be good for up to 6 months. material availability and costs look like the stock market. one day, they're plentiful and cheap, the next, impossible to find and 6x's the cost.

personally, i'd call at least one place each for some rough ballpark figures for budgeting reasons, take care of all the non-contractor projects first, then try to do one large project every year or two, while assuming the given pricing will increase at least 30% by the time you get to it.

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

I like to hang everything as opposed to folding so these work better for me. My dresser is just for socks, thongs, and I rotate seasonal clothes from closet to the dresser.

how do you deal with the chafing?

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by soundman98

how do you deal with the chafing?

Just wax.

[spike021]

We have arrived at Tahoe for the first time:

[Ultramaroon]

@NoHaveMSG, am I doing it right?

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

@NoHaveMSG, am I doing it right?

Whatcha workin on?

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

Whatcha workin on?

Daughter's es350. Going to be either a fresh bank-1 head gasket, or scrap. Ran it without accessory belt for about 10 miles. Took a couple months before it sprang a leak.

[2020BRZtS]

Talk about a tease. My sister texts me today and says. I have a line on a Supra locally. Do you want it? Her BF works for Toyota so it could be an '87 that was traded or a '23 allocation.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Daughter's es350. Going to be either a fresh bank-1 head gasket, or scrap. Ran it without accessory belt for about 10 miles. Took a couple months before it sprang a leak.

Oh, I'd suggest you call a wrecking company and have that POS hauled off.

Then go with her to help her pick out a dependable car.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Oh, I'd suggest you call a wrecking company and have that POS hauled off.

Then go with her to help her pick out a dependable car.

Nope.

[bcj]

Can do it standing on his head.

Looks like.

[spcmafia]

Originally Posted by soundman98

the house really didn't go up $120k. everything costs more to the point that your old places resale went up that much. same difference as the recent, but much lower depreciation of the 86's. now, they're going for $20k+. 10 years ago the same average new-msrp/age would've been $10k

the first thing is this: "We got two options; sell the house and look for something that has everything we need/want."

be honest with yourself, is this really attainable in your price/area? for me, it's not. every other house i look at, there's different compromises made in the similar price range..

the closets, bath painting, and tree cleaning is all really simple stuff. there's likely not even a reason to hire any company for any of those.

paving, and a/c are both larger projects, in liability, cost, and skill.



it really depends on what you want out of it, but i really don't feel like '2' projects justify that. now a gc can come in really handy for future projects down the road. i do work with a few gc's. one of them, due in no small part to his character, has become the only gc for a gated subdivision-- everyone loves working with him. i end up doing all sorts of tiny projects of cahnging an outlet or a light fixture for a customer of his, and then a year later, those people decide to do a $90k custom kitchen remodel because he was so easy to work with.

the benefit to a gc is that they deal with all the nuances of the project, and only leave the bigger simpler decisions to you. they also generally have a phone full of contacts of good licensed contractors for any project you can think of, usually contacts derived from years of trial and error.

not going with a gc means you're the one that's got to figure it all out-- figure out all the little stupid details, and figure out if the contractor is going to screw you over, or actually do a quality job. disadvantage is that gc's don't work for free, so it'd cost more.

that link is unrelated, but did just happen in my area. "same story, just different names". i can't find a link to the case near me.. but a local guy ripped off at least 10 people for $30k-50k each to install a pool that he never even dug a hole for--he'd get them to give him a hefty down payment, sometimes the full amount, tell them he was adding them to the schedule in 1-5 months, and never show a year later.. best part was his friend turned him in after he ripped off the friend too... real 'quality' guy. trades are all the same-- we all compete for work, but in the end, we all think similarly. when morons like this appear, word spreads fast in contractor circles. i know of 2 different companies that ended up having to pick up the jobs this guy dropped.

it wouldn't hurt to get quotes for paving and the a/c, but considering that you're in no rush, make it clear to them you're in no rush, and offer to hold off until a different time of year. for many trades, there's a slow season and a insane season. during slow season, deals are sometimes cut everywhere to keep employee's working. usually when the weather is the worst or most unpredictable, and work times tend to take longer-- most other customers want everything done NOW. for the a/c, definitely ask for entire system replacement-- they've got to remove a big part of the system to install the condenser anyways, might be a lesser cost to change/upgrade now than go "ship of theseus" route.

also be aware that the current market pricing is everywhere. i'm hearing stories of some contractors making quotes only good for 2-3 weeks, where they used to be good for up to 6 months. material availability and costs look like the stock market. one day, they're plentiful and cheap, the next, impossible to find and 6x's the cost.

personally, i'd call at least one place each for some rough ballpark figures for budgeting reasons, take care of all the non-contractor projects first, then try to do one large project every year or two, while assuming the given pricing will increase at least 30% by the time you get to it.


how do you deal with the chafing?

I would say it is attainable. Just have to be smart. The amount of feedback I've been getting points out that instead of going with the wants (Paving), we should go with the needs, which is the bathroom, adding central air, and trimming the trees. We have a 50Ft+ Oak tree that is just impossible for me to attempt to cut branches as high as they are. I needs a JLG Lift, and someone experienced enough to maneuver between the power lines and the house, the tree is dangerously close to the house, the house to power lines, if you get where I am going with this. Is about 6 ft away from the front door.



We are building the closets, I don't have the tools, but we can, the in-laws have everything we need. Bathroom, I just don't have the time, nor the desire to paint for a few years, it needs a lot more than what Im willing to do.



As of this moment, Im going to get as many quotes as I can with the central air. Weight our options. There's a lot of variables to consider and we are in no rush to get everything else done. But switching to something more effective than window units and a loud furnace are our main focus.