The Super Official Homeowners Thread

[JPolen01]

Rj with the most insightful comment in the thread.

ALWAYS OUTSOURCE DRYWALL WORK.

I've been helping a buddy flip houses lately and somehow I always get conned into the drywall days. I don't mind hanging the drywall but mudding and sanding? Fuck outta here. It's good to have the skills to replace small pieces if need be but you won't catch me doing an entire room start to finish.

[.RJ]

The dudes that do drywall all day are fucking amazing, and it looks good. Doing drywall twice a year, its gonna look shit, and gonna see it every day.

[JustinG]

Sucks about those problems Lee, we actually had the exact opposite. Shitty PM built other houses then they switched PMs for our neighborhood. Everyone bitches about the build quality from the other guy. Luckily we have a Ben house not a Matt house, cause apparently Matt was a lazy fuck and let shit slide all the time. Walls out of square, etc.

Only major issue we ran into was our pipe freezing earlier this week to our Master Bath toilet, I need to have a conversation with them about this. They were able to get it thawed and working with no damage. But I feel an Energy Efficient house should not have pipe insulation issues.

There have been some minor things we have been picky about, and they are cool with fixing it, cause our PM was just as anal as we are.

Making a running list for our 1yr, mostly just a few nail pops and trim needing to be recaulked or regrouted since our house is settling.

LED cans are awesome. Our builder has CFL and switched to LED right when our house was being built. The LED cans are amazing compared to our friends with CFL cans.

[Jewels]

So my kitchen is on the back side of my house, and I live on a hill up above the town. About 2 weeks after I moved in, it was cold out, and the wind was whipping around, and I went to do a couple of dishes in my sink and the hot water was frozen. Apparently, all my neighbors had the same problem. So the building supervisor sat in my townhouse for like 6 hours with a space heater to get my water unfrozen so it wouldn't bust. He suggested I keep the cabinet doors open when it was really cold. I was like fuck that, this is a brand spankin new house, you'll fix it correctly. Then as soon as it warmed up he had his boys get into our storage closets and fix the problem. I think he realized his boys cheaped out and didn't insulate that area really well, where the damn kitchen water pipes were. Knock on wood, 2 years later, but I haven't had any trouble.

[BLINGMW]

You guys need to stop with the 2700K lights, that's fine for maybe the dining room or outside. But kitchen, bath, and just about everywhere else 3500K will give you more accurate colors, is better for reading, and brightens things up a bit without looking cold.
Also, if you're installing can lights, just get regular E26 base cheap cans and install LED spot bulbs (like the ones linked previously, though I'd insist on at least 100lm / watt these days). Then when they do fail, you'll actually be able to replace the bulbs instead of the whole can or finding proprietary parts that somebody stopped making 5 years ago because LED is still advancing so rapidly.

[Apoc]

I had to from 9W (60W equiv) 2700K to 6W (40W equiv) 2700K on some applications because it was too bright.

I guess I'm just used to tungsten. :dunno:

edit: Warmer colors also disrupt sleep cycles less. I'm sensitive to light, especially blues, so the warmth of 2700K is better for me. I also use f.lux to warm up my screen temps: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://justgetflux.com/">https://justgetflux.com/</a><!-- m -->

[Beej]

My old man only, and intentionally, buys the super bright (5000k?) lightbulbs. He's a maniac.

I just thought that, for those renters reading this, it'd be worth rehashing the point that home ownership is a lot more than the delta between rent and mortgage/tax/insurance. It's been around 3 years and I'm still often surprised about the number of projects both done and on the todo list.

[BLINGMW]

edit: Warmer colors also disrupt sleep cycles less. I'm sensitive to light, especially blues, so the warmth of 2700K is better for me.

Agreed, I have one 2700K in my bathroom to use at night and then 3500s at the vanities to help wake me up in the morn. It looks a little crazy but I like options! I also use the 2W 2200K Edison style bulbs for nightlights and outside just because I like 'em.

[Apoc]

That dimmable I linked warms to 2200K at its lowest setting - I really like them for hallways, etc.

I use the Philips sunrise clock for my nightstand: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://amzn.to/2jD2ovK">http://amzn.to/2jD2ovK</a><!-- m -->

[WRXtranceformed]

Yeah i'm all for higher Kelvin in car HIDs but for me 2700K is the win for home temp. Anything over that and I feel like I'm in a hospital or mental institution.

With that said, I could only find 3000k LED replacements for our microwave oven lights that my wife likes to keep on 24/7 so those are on the way (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HV9HZVE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1">https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HV ... UTF8&psc=1</a><!-- m -->) along with a Shop Vac Drain Hero (hose is too small to make a seal around the drain I need to suck out) and some door weatherstrip corner seals because the builder forgot one on our front door.

We're testing our water for hardness tonight so I may end up with a whole house water softener in the near future too.

[BLINGMW]

I use the Philips sunrise clock for my nightstand: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://amzn.to/2jD2ovK">http://amzn.to/2jD2ovK</a><!-- m -->

Heh I have an older version of that too, love it

We're testing our water for hardness tonight so I may end up with a whole house water softener in the near future too.

FWIW I got quotes and researched a few from the usual names, ended up with a refurb'd Kinetico system (all mechanical, which, like a carb, is obviously better lol). It's been ticking away for 3 years now without issue and is known for being pretty efficient on the salt usage.

[.RJ]

\
I use the Philips sunrise clock for my nightstand: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://amzn.to/2jD2ovK">http://amzn.to/2jD2ovK</a><!-- m -->

Same. Good product.

[Sully]

Anyone have any good links to 150w equivalent led flood light bulb? And maybe something in the 40w super warm regular bulb category. The first is just something I haven't really been able to find. The second, I'm looking more for someone who has one they know to be dim or not bright. We recently did a bathroom remodel and put in a down firing 3 light fixture. Haven't been able to even put 3 60w incandescents in it because it just becomes blinding. I tried a 40w led from Costco but the base was too long and the bulb came down past the shroud and it was still too bright

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[BLINGMW]

For the first you're likely looking for a par38, Philips makes a good lineup, you'd want something around 2000-2500lm, and you can get them in 25 or 40 deg beam angles:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.lightingsupply.com/32-watt-par38-led-25-degree-flood-3000k-e26-medium-base-120v.aspx?&gclid=Cj0KEQiAnvfDBRCXrabLl6-6t-0BEiQAW4SRUIoP03fIvfy4aEZ_xlsOzFk1XSXz1BkjgQwwDmh9-ZcaAp8M8P8HAQ">http://www.lightingsupply.com/32-watt-p ... Ap8M8P8HAQ</a><!-- m -->

Try these Edison style bulbs for the second, maybe 4w would be enough for you. And if it's 2200-2400K, it's really really warm. Stop looking at the "equivalent" watt rating, find the lumen output of what you've tried and go lower.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.1000bulbs.com/category/led-filament-antique-globe-bulbs-1inch/">https://www.1000bulbs.com/category/led- ... lbs-1inch/</a><!-- m -->

[ScottyB]

I just thought that, for those renters reading this, it'd be worth rehashing the point that home ownership is a lot more than the delta between rent and mortgage/tax/insurance. It's been around 3 years and I'm still often surprised about the number of projects both done and on the todo list.

so true. as a first time homeowner i've felt it sneak up on me.

especially once your house hits that magic 10 year mark. just his year i've replaced a bunch of little things that just break out of nowhere...ceiling fans, garage door spring, dishwasher, re-caulking stuff, etc.

[Sully]

For the first you're likely looking for a par38, Philips makes a good lineup, you'd want something around 2000-2500lm, and you can get them in 25 or 40 deg beam angles:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.lightingsupply.com/32-watt-par38-led-25-degree-flood-3000k-e26-medium-base-120v.aspx?&gclid=Cj0KEQiAnvfDBRCXrabLl6-6t-0BEiQAW4SRUIoP03fIvfy4aEZ_xlsOzFk1XSXz1BkjgQwwDmh9-ZcaAp8M8P8HAQ">http://www.lightingsupply.com/32-watt-p ... Ap8M8P8HAQ</a><!-- m -->

Try these Edison style bulbs for the second, maybe 4w would be enough for you. And if it's 2200-2400K, it's really really warm. Stop looking at the "equivalent" watt rating, find the lumen output of what you've tried and go lower.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.1000bulbs.com/category/led-filament-antique-globe-bulbs-1inch/">https://www.1000bulbs.com/category/led- ... lbs-1inch/</a><!-- m -->

So I guess you're limited to 40 deg beams with LED that bright. I thought the 75w equiv ones I bought were like 110 degrees but I could be mistaken. 40 degrees seems more like a spot light than a flood.


Also for that price, I'll probably just go with regular bulbs. I was optimistic they'd be cheaper since it seems like led bulb prices have gone down so much lately


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[BLINGMW]

40-45 is considered "flood" and 25ish "spot". And yes, if you're not using them much, the savings going to LED is not there. I haven't bothered to swap mine out yet. If you're using say 500W worth of floods for a couple hours a month, you're talking about 25c worth of electricity. Not worth getting out the ladder until they burn out.

[Steve85]

We just closed on a house that took 8 months longer than anticipated to sell and went for a lot less than anticipated which kind of sucks. OK, really sucks especially since it impacts plans we had for the new house and life in general. Also emotionally sucks, the house required a lot of interior remodel, it was built in the 80's so good bones, just never redecorated. We had professionals do the kitchen which included removing a load bearing wall and the associated beam and support pillars. But everything else was us, removing carpet and refinishing the hardwoods, relocating the laundry room, splitting one of the family rooms into an office and laundry room, tons of wallpaper removal and so on...

While I'm glad to be relieved of the burden of the old house, getting something out of it would have made it easier, financially and emotionally.

Although we have two less kids living with us we didn't necessarily downsize living space, they still visit and one of the girls has a 1 yr old of her own so it's nice to still have the space and bathrooms. The outside is where we really downsized - from 1 mostly wooded acre and a large in-ground pool (that over the last ten years has lost a lot of sunlight to the trees around it) to about a 1/4 acre and community pool up the street.

So, moving on with new house with a lot less maintenance inside and out and less mortgage payments!

In short order though we need a water softener (looking at the Whirlpool 33K system from Lowe's), some window shades not made of paper and better lighting for the bedrooms. We didn't use blinds too much in the old house - with an acre, I figured if they could see anything from that far away I had nothing to hide.

Thanks for the LED light recommendations, I want to get rid of the CFLs move towards the LED.

[Apoc]

especially once your house hits that magic 10 year mark. just his year i've replaced a bunch of little things that just break out of nowhere...ceiling fans, garage door spring, dishwasher, re-caulking stuff, etc.

Come talk to me when your house hits 80 and you have to update all the electrical wiring. :lol:

[ScottyB]

Come talk to me when your house hits 80 and you have to update all the electrical wiring. :lol:

you drive an air-cooled porsche, don't tell me you aren't used to a little adventure in your life. keep shoveling coal into the furnace downstairs long enough and you'll forget about the other problems!