Home Projects (upkeep/repair/mods/cool sh*t/advice/question)

[Default]

Soffit.
Pics would be nice.

[Carpet_pissr]

Yeah, I’ll second ‘this post needs pics’

[LordMortis]

The garage has no real soffit. The roof sticks out over the siding just enough to fit the "fascia covering" and it is the fascia under that covering that it rotting out, so the fascia covering is coming loose. Again, I suspect it was rotting when I bought the house and covering was up to fix it quickly. Such is life. At least I am in a position where I have the time to work on it and my poor craftsmanship should be covered by the covering. I just have figure out what to do and how to seal it so it doesn't rot again.

In essence, it's like this, only the remaining wood under covering looks like the remains of drift wood and there is no overhang other than the three inches or so the covering goes over.

https://www.therm-eco.net/when-should-y ... ia-boards/




The roof patching will be another consideration and one I will review hopefully in the next few days.

[malchior]

I've got a new project courtesy of our very stable weather here in NJ. It was lightly windy at time with no wind gusts. We must have seen a downburst or something highly energetic because an umbrella on my deck was PULLED UPWARD out of the base (bending the tubing where the lock pin was holding it) and flung into the side of the house. I estimate it was about 20 feet up and 15 feet lateral. It destroyed the umbrella and cracked and exposed the vinyl siding above my sliding glass door. It was so loud that I thought a tree fell on the house. Cool.

[jztemple2]

It destroyed the umbrella and cracked and exposed the vinyl siding above my sliding glass door.

As a very long time homeowner (39 years) I would recommend something my wife (who designed our house) and our contractor worked up together: commercial grade aluminum siding, soffit and fascia. It was more expensive, but the pieces hasn't faded at all; if I lift the end of one piece of siding there isn't any difference between what has been exposed to the sun and what has been hidden.

Also being metal, if it is dinged you can usually pop the ding back out. Those pieces have been hit by a lot of debris over the years and still look good. And, a big plus for me, they never require painting.

[Daehawk]

I took time to spray the weeds and grass on and around the little multiple pet graves we have. I haven't been able to take care of them this year before now and grass had grown on them some. So killing all that off. In a couple days Ill go back and pull it all up. In a week or two Ill be able to buy more white marble chips to fix them up nice again and also put some on a grave or two I never have before due to time and costs.

They need little headstones with their names and dates on but I just cant afford that for a few years yet if ever. Im not sure what will happen to the little guys when I die and someone probably tears down this house. They are in the front yard right up near the house on the right. I wish we could move them to our own plot but far as I know you cant put pets in a human cemetery.

[em2nought]

Just replaced my disposal.

Sooooo, I finally got around to doing a load of dishes in my dishwasher, but the darn thing wouldn't drain. Downloaded the manual and thought about it a little bit. Thought about that disposal I installed, and I couldn't remember removing the knock out that lets the dishwasher drain. Disconnected the hose from the new disposal and sure enough I hadn't removed that knock out. Dishwasher works great now. Used some soap packet that supposedly cleans the dishwasher too. Never saw it so clean. Still a pain to get under that sink, while I was there I replaced the pass thru fitting in the granite that the spray nozzle sits in as it's been broken forever. Watched a youtube vid on how to get that nozzle off and back on. Has a little tiny c-ring that has to be popped off to get the nozzle off the hose and then back on once the pass thru was replaced. Made sure to put the plug in the drain before I removed that tiny c-ring. LOL

I wish we could move them to our own plot but far as I know you cant put pets in a human cemetery.

That's kind of touching. My dad asked my mom if she thought they should dig up our sweet little dog's homemade coffin and take her with them when they moved once.

[naednek]

I replaced my disposal 2 weeks ago, well I paid someone to do it.

Now I'm paying someone to replace my water heater $2400 grrrr.

[Lassr]

I screened in the back porch, now we can watch TV without the bugs pestering us, and the wife added shade sail and lights to the deck.

[em2nought]

I replaced my disposal 2 weeks ago, well I paid someone to do it.

Now I'm paying someone to replace my water heater $2400 grrrr.

If I do it myself, then it only takes one year to get the job finished correctly. I guess it wouldn't have taken as long if I didn't usually just hand wash my dishes.

[Carpet_pissr]

I screened in the back porch, now we can watch TV without the bugs pestering us, and the wife added shade sail and lights to the deck.

Looks great!

[ImLawBoy]

Anyone have any insights on whole house air purifiers? We've got our HVAC company suggesting the Respicaire Oxy 4. The brochure has a NASA logo on it and everything, so I'm sure it's high tech and made of space age polymers.

Anyway, I don't mind the idea of an air purifier for fresher smelling air myself, but it would be more important for my wife's allergies and my oldest's respiratory issues. Coming in at around $1400-1700 per installation (we have 2 HVAC systems in the house), though, it seems pretty pricey if it doesn't really do anything.

Thoughts?

[RMC]

One of the home improvement shows I listen too, is always recommending, https://ezbreathe.com/

I saw them at a show I went too, they seemed like a class act, but not sure it is what you need/want.

[em2nought]

I knew somebody was talking about air purifiers here before. Not a whole house air purifier, but for large rooms from another thread here viewtopic.php?p=2922685&hilit=air+purifier#p2922685 Seems to be well thought of https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/revi ... -purifier/

Another thing to consider: I removed almost anything from my house that I thought could evaporate, leech, whatever into the air and stuck it all in an outside closet.

[Smoove_B]

Are there any that come with an ASHRAE statement or endorsement?

The NASA statement is interesting, at least.

[em2nought]

So I'm putting a new counter and vessel sink in my bathroom. I really hate getting under a sink, but I just got most of that done by removing the old faucet and drilling holes around the border of the old sink to follow with my jigsaw. So now I'm temporarily recovering before cutting out the old sink. I'm putting a second layer of counter on instead of removing the old counter. Kinda goofy, but I think it's going to work without looking too bad, and also saving me lots of work. Less likely to destroy the old cabinet I think. I like the continuity of the cabinet in the bath matching the cabinets in the kitchen. Luckily the old valves work well and don't leak or I'd have to hurry.

[Kraken]

One item on our checklist to sell our house is to either replace the bathroom vent window, which is stuck closed, or install a vent fan. Both prospects are expensive, and possibly avoidable, because I think the window's just painted shut.

So yesterday I excavated my bigass ladder, wrestled it over to that side of the house, pulled the cord to extend it...and the cord broke when it was halfway up. Damned cord was only 30 years old. So I manhandled the unextended ladder to another corner and reattached a downspout that's been dangling for a year or two, then ordered a replacement cord via Amazon.

This afternoon I strung the new cord, trundled the ladder back to window position, and extended it to just below the window. With Wife pretending to steady the base while serving up nervous warnings, I ascended as far as I was comfortable going and came up a good five or six feet short of where I needed to be. Came down, moved the ladder to the side of the window and extended it three more rungs. Friends, that is as far as that ladder goes. Gingerly, I climbed again, and found myself still a foot or two below minimum effective height. Reluctantly came back down and lugged the ladder to another corner, where I unblocked a downspout. I had to get some benefit from the $13 that I spent on the damned cord, which I expect I'll just have to replace again when I'm 96.

I have a 16' ladder and that window must be 18-20' up. Ima have to hire someone to chip that window free for me. At my age I have no business working that far off the ground anyway, nor can I transport a longer, rented or borrowed ladder in my Miata.

Another thing on our punchlist is painting the back porch, so I think Ima hire a painter for that and tell them to bring their ladder. Even if I have to pay them an extra $50 to climb up there and free the window, that's a lot cheaper than replacing it or putting in a fan, and my risk of splattering on the ground is close to zero.

[Lassr]

Had the great room painted, then we had the fireplace cut down from 5 ft tall to 3 ft, redesigned and painted. Now we can hang the TV above the fireplace and added floating shelves and cabinets for a much cleaner look. Before the TV sat on a TV stand to the left of the fireplace, it always looked odd.

[Daehawk]

Ive seen a ladder with a rope but never used one. I'm guessing because they are heavy and tall. Maybe 3 sections? I have a extendable but its just 2 pieces and made of aluminum. It will reach nearly the highest end roof point on the house. And thats where the chimney is. I have a bad fear of heights and being alone and up that high is not for me. i had to seal a animal hole where the wood met the chimney last year or two.

My first thought was get on the roof and simply lay down and hang my torso over some. Ohhh bad idea. I used to be able to get on a roof and work all over. Even at the edges and squat and clean gutters out with just my hands. No More.

So raised the ladder. But the end was right at the hole i needed to fix. And my fear wouldn't get me go up that high. So I took the new board. Painted it on the ground then drove 16 penny nails at each end. Then reclimbed and put it in place and simply reached as far as i could and hammered the top nail in. Was relieved then and got the one at the bottom near me. Looks great and Im damn glad Im done.

Tonight trying to take off light globes and replace two dead bulbs in my living room with 11' ceilings made me unsteady and dizzy to where i almost fell. Being weak and fearful didn't help me.

[dbt1949]

Last time I got on the roof I panicked and had to call 911 to get me down.

[Kraken]

30 years ago I used to scamper over the roof like a squirrel. I seem to be heavier and slower now, and this new blood pressure pill makes me a little dizzy, so I'm happy if I can still reach Level One. But dammit, I just spent $13 on a new rope and that ladder ain't going to climb itself.

[Carpet_pissr]

Has anyone ever installed or used a non-wifi camera (security or otherwise)?

The situation:

My elderly mom's house which she is not currently inhabiting, has been broken into at least a couple of times the past week or two. Maybe not relevant, but this is a "hoarder house" like you would see on the TV show. And the yard is a mess as well (pots, standing water, etc etc). So no wifi, and even access to the breaker box is EXTREMELY difficult due to the clutter. Years ago I installed a security flood light with sensor and had to get to that box, and it was absurd (I was climbing on top of masses of junk). It's only worse now.

Apparently the thieves have enough courage/time to turn off the lights when they go in to loot the place, because the switch to turn off the security light was flipped. They also turned off the always on front porch light, so obviously they are looking around and trying to make the place "safe" for them to loot. I imagine that any camera I set up would promptly be removed or destroyed by said thieves.

Couple of things:
1. My mother lives about 1.5h away, so I can't just pop over there easily
2. Worst possible timing with my eldest (and first kid) leaving for college this week, and lots of shit going on

From what I can tell there are three options for security cameras:
1. wifi camera. Out due to no wifi, router, etc.
2. cel data camera (looking like the most viable option, but how to prevent theft of this device, or destruction by thieves?
3. locally recordng cam. Which means no live stream for monitoring, or even being able to check from a remote location (she lives in an apartment approx 8m away) Not even sure she has a laptop these days that is functioning, to be able to read an SD card or whatever they use. Also, if the thieves see this cam, they could destroy or remove it and then the footage (on the local SD card) would be gone.

Any advice appreciated!

[Smoove_B]

Any advice appreciated!

Consider getting a game camera (like hunters use) and set it up in the driveway to capture the license plates of the cars that pull in. They work off battery power and store images to a flash card. They work great in all kinds of weather and in low light/dark conditions. This (ideally) would be set up in a bush or low to the ground; they're camouflage and really hard to see unless you're really looking.

They're cheap enough where you can grab a few and set them up around entrances or places where you think people might be coming in to grab photos, but there's definitely an "art" to setting them up to try and get usable pictures (i..e identifying) of people's faces (assuming they're not wearing coverings.

Anyway, being able to (perhaps) tell the police you have vehicle tags might be better.

[Blackhawk]

It's also worth considering to get a decoy camera or two. It'll scare off some thieves, while others will just 'disable' them while in plain view of the ones that aren't so obvious.

[gilraen]

If it's a "hoarder house", maybe the thieves can help with clearing it out some?

[em2nought]

You could put trail cams inside too. Should be easy to hide amongst the hoard.

[Daehawk]

You could read that Temple boy's thread about wanting a bird watching camera.

This was one of the suggested cameras in it btw.....

Amazon LINK

[em2nought]

You could read that Temple boy's thread about wanting a bird watching camera.

I pictured him as about 37 instead of 70.

[Carpet_pissr]

It's also worth considering to get a decoy camera or two. It'll scare off some thieves, while others will just 'disable' them while in plain view of the ones that aren't so obvious.

I had written this response to Smoove yesterday, but forgot to hit SUBMIT apparently, so you solved that issue! Hidden trail cams PLUS decoy installed cams on the house.

"Thanks for that!

The only trail cams I saw when I first looked were the celular data kind, but thanks to your comment, dug a little deeper and found the locally recordng ones. Now let's just hope they are appropriate for capturing human faces instead of animal tracking.

I'm sure there's an art to placing these so that they do a proper job, and I'm also sure I have no idea what that looks like.

My only hesitation at this point is the impact of a would be thief seeing active cameras installed vs something like this which is designed to be hidden. In the former, you are trying to use deterrence (visible cameras), which of course introduces the "they could destroy or disable the cameras" argument. In the latter, you are just trying to "catch" the thief in action, and 1. hope you put the cameras in the right place, 2. hope you get a useable shot if you DID do 1. correctly and 3. hope that the resulting footage actually helps police find said thief. That whole sequence just seems fraught with failure points and a super low probablity for hitting on all three."

[Carpet_pissr]

If it's a "hoarder house", maybe the thieves can help with clearing it out some?

Oh trust me, this was my siblings and my first reaction in our group text about this.

"Should we offer a reward to the looters?"
"Who do we write the check to?"
"Can we leave a hand trucks there to assist them in some way? I feel so grateful I want to do SOMEthing for them"

Having said all that, this is a legit mentally taxing (traumatic, MAYBE, considering the state of her mind) event for my 82 YO mom, who has very real mental issues around "stuff", her stuff particularly, so I joke, but I am also trying to deal with the issue, with her, in a serious way, with "typical" responses if the house were "normal": increased lighting, increased window and door security, cameras, etc. I will say if she actually lived there, I would be MUCH more motivated, would have gone up there immediately, etc etc. As it is, the house is very much an eye and neighbor sore...causes nothing but problems for her (though she won't ever admit that), us, the city, and her neighbors.

At this point, and especially after the police showed up and tried to go inside for fingerprinting (! LOL), I would not be surprised if she gets a letter from the city condemning the place. Apparently she has been cited numerous times for open water containers in her yard causing mosquitos problems (that's no lie...a recent trip up there had me fleeing the place...malariaville).

[Carpet_pissr]

You could put trail cams inside too. Should be easy to hide amongst the hoard.

Excellent idea, thanks!!

[Unagi]

You could put trail cams inside too. Should be easy to hide amongst the hoard.

Excellent idea, thanks!!

If you do that, also place a glitter bomb somewhere - just for laughs.

More seriously: I would be concerned that by placing them inside, the thieves will have enough time to find those cameras and you'd stand a higher chance of having them stolen too.

[Carpet_pissr]

You could read that Temple boy's thread about wanting a bird watching camera.

This was one of the suggested cameras in it btw.....

Amazon LINK

That's a wifi camera, no worky in this situation. The ones I found look exactly like that though (there are multiple manufacturers all copying the same design, or possibly coming from the same factory).

[Carpet_pissr]

You could put trail cams inside too. Should be easy to hide amongst the hoard.

Excellent idea, thanks!!

If you do that, also place a glitter-bomb somewhere - just for laughs.

You joke, but I actually mulled how I could set something up to piss off or deter the thief without harming them (which would be a lawsuit, moral issues, etc). No idea what a glitter bomb is, but googling it now, as that sounds right in line with what I was thinking.

[Smoove_B]

I'm sure there's an art to placing these so that they do a proper job, and I'm also sure I have no idea what that looks like.

There's a tiny view screen on the inside of the camera housing so you can review them locally (i.e. without needing to be at a computer). Set them up and tinker with the angles and positioning by walking by them (or if you're looking to get license plates, driving by) to see what they capture and then reviewing the stored images afterwards.

[Unagi]

You could put trail cams inside too. Should be easy to hide amongst the hoard.

Excellent idea, thanks!!

If you do that, also place a glitter-bomb somewhere - just for laughs.

You joke, but I actually mulled how I could set something up to piss off or deter the thief without harming them (which would be a lawsuit, moral issues, etc). No idea what a glitter bomb is, but googling it now, as that sounds right in line with what I was thinking.

No, we think alike. It was a silly suggestion - but a sincere one.

[Blackhawk]

My only hesitation at this point is the impact of a would be thief seeing active cameras installed vs something like this which is designed to be hidden. In the former, you are trying to use deterrence (visible cameras), which of course introduces the "they could destroy or disable the cameras" argument. In the latter, you are just trying to "catch" the thief in action, and 1. hope you put the cameras in the right place, 2. hope you get a useable shot if you DID do 1. correctly and 3. hope that the resulting footage actually helps police find said thief.

The point is to use both deterrence and (potential) enforcement, combined with the extra safety that comes with decoys (if they want to destroy/disable the cameras, they'll do so to the wrong ones.) There is no reason not to layer the defenses. You could even pick up a fake 'Monitored by OO Security Services' sign for the window.

That whole sequence just seems fraught with failure points and a super low probablity for hitting on all three.

Anything short of bars, reinforced doors, and live, armed guards is going to be fraught with failure points. You aren't going to fully secure anything - you just want make the house unattractive enough to not be a prime target, and you'll get rid of a majority of burglars. The rest get to have their picture taken.

[em2nought]

My cousin is a hoarder too. Her house has single lane one way pathways from room to room, but only the important rooms. You can't even get into the other rooms. There have been squatters in the area, and another local house burned mysteriously recently. She's out working in another state right now. The best thing that could happen to her (and me) would be for some of those squatters to torch that dump, but instead I installed better locks for her. Unfortunately, she'd be traumatized if all that absolute junk evaporated in a cloud of smoke. I'd feel much differently.

[Blackhawk]

I didn't post it before, but it would also be a good idea to implement the usual safety measures - a few lights on timers (preferably something with a random element), a TV on a timer (your mom is now a night owl - have it play late), a neighbor picking up any mail (or simply stopping delivery, depending on the circumstance), install deadbolts, install window locks (even if it's just a dowel), notify the police about the break-ins (they may increase patrols), make sure the lawns get mowed, trim any bushes near the house so they don't provide cover to someone skulking around, etc.

[Carpet_pissr]

My cousin is a hoarder too. Her house has single lane one way pathways from room to room, but only the important rooms. You can't even get into the other rooms. There have been squatters in the area, and another local house burned mysteriously recently. She's out working in another state right now. The best thing that could happen to her (and me) would be for some of those squatters to torch that dump, but instead I installed better locks for her. Unfortunately, she'd be traumatized if all that absolute junk evaporated in a cloud of smoke. I'd feel much differently.

Funny (not really) you say that because I was going to half joke with my siblings in the group chat that maybe someone would drop a match in there accidentally, but then I considered the ramifications if that DID happen, and any resulting arson investigation, etc.

It would kill my Mom, but in another way, it would reduce the CONSTANT burden that that house is on her, whether she is conscious of it or not. It's sad really (and she has ANOTHER house as well, this is not the only one...and it's in similar shape). I would sure hate to lose the family photos and maybe a few other things, but I doubt they are accessible now, and what shape would they be in at this point? Very likely ruined, if you could even find them.