Lanx
<Prior Amod>
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Home Improvement
- Thread starter Picasso3
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Guest, it's time once again for the massively important and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!
Go here and give us your nominations!Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Give us your worst ones!
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One of the first things I did yesterday was go to home depot, pick up a few 4x4's and made temp supports under the most affected parts. Had to do this to move items off the patio safely and into the garage (patio fridge and chest freezer predominantly). Pics were for the claim process. As you might surmise from the comment about COINDUIT STRONK! it also effectively ripped out the electrical on the patio (lighting, plus that conduit was part of the thermostat controlled heat/cooling for the patio). It was a fully functional greenhouse for the previous owners (I've owned the house for 20+ years), for us it's been a recreational patio and the "world's fanciest place for dogs to sleep".
As per number of claims... in the couple decades I have had it this is a grand total of the second insurance claim. The first was a weather related roof claim, which the insurance determined wasn't enough damage to overcome my deductible.
Dandai
<WoW Guild Officer>
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I want to be devils advocate and say it’s not mandatory to have home insurance, but that’s only true if you aren’t paying off a mortgage. So yeah, I agree. Bullshit.
Lanx
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so i don't think i have birds, probably squirrels now, b/c we had near tornado winds today and the vinyl siding off my chimey came off, 6panels and theres a big ass hole there the size of my, cuz i stuck my head in there (there are other holes too)
so this tornado is a plus and minus, a plus now that i know there must be some shit in my attic, a minus in that i'm missing 1 panel and cant find it (i found some a few houses away)
so this tornado is a plus and minus, a plus now that i know there must be some shit in my attic, a minus in that i'm missing 1 panel and cant find it (i found some a few houses away)
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Daidraco
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Had to replace vinyl siding on a condo in one of my HOA's. Hopefully, your home is newer and the size and color wont be too off if you buy brand new. They like to discontinue Vinyl siding sizes and shit so incidents like yours requires you to buy a shit load more just to fix a small spot.
But that sucks man - if you come across something you dont understand, feel free to ask.
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Edaw
Parody
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Lanx
<Prior Amod>
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yea, they did discontinue what i needed, i guess my measurement i need is 4in and homedepot only has 4.5 (or 5), so it'll over hang a bit. (i went to 2 hds and a lowes, no luck)(i bought a long sheet of 4.5) idk if i want to do a donor panel from somewhere more hidden like say my porch backyard vinyl hidden behind bushes, cuz not only is this annoying but i hate climbing up there cuz it's on the second story and i want to be done w/ the repair quick, cuz i'm worried about fitment and also color, my siding is like beige, so it'll really stand out if i patch it w/ this white panel... i'll probably do the donor route.
Lanx
<Prior Amod>
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yea cuz the fireplace is also on the same side as where the majority of the side comes from on the 2nd floor too, so i ordered strobe lights and ultrasonics, my attic is either gonna be the most awesome dj club or a light beacon from space
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Daidraco
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Box stores arent going to carry much of a variety. Especially in the 70's - 90's 4 inch variety. Try some of the specialty stores in your area (that do carry 4 inch) and hope they have a color that comes close to what you have (darker is going to fade, remember). If they dont, they are pretty good at recommending you to their competitors, surprisingly. Even though I ordered from a specialty store for Windows and Siding here in Lower Virginia, the siding itself was from a warehouse in New Jersey. So if it is some long wait to get what you need, do the donor patch or similar and then fix it correctly when your replacement gets there. You might as well do it this way because this probably wont be the last time you'll need to fix the siding.
Edaw
Parody
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Squirrels love chewing on wires, so it might be time to call someone if you really think you had some living in your attic/walls.
Squirrels Chewing Wires is a Major Problem - How to Prevent It | Squirrel Removal
The biggest problem squirrels can cause is to start an electrical fire in your home by chewing wires. Learn why they chew wires and how you can prevent it.
www.attic-solutions.com
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Follow up on "Insurance is bullshit" and the patio. Insurance comes back and says $15k to replace the covered and enclosed patio. I get quotes from three contractors to do the job. The quotes? $35k, $52k, $110k. Yes, I laughed at the third guy when he was doing his proposal pitch. And the first company had better references, had done work like this in my part of town, and said they had a group at their offices who were specialists in going back to the insurance and beating them up for adjustments. (They're a combination contractor and roofing company)
So yeah, home Insurance is bullshit.
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Daidraco
Avatar of War Slayer
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I feel like you're not working your insurance company correctly. If you feel like you are, and the quotes you're getting are to restore the outside patio to the way it was before and no more - then you need to get a lawyer and sue for more. Materials have went up of course, but labor has skyrocketed. Building it yourself, you could get away with 15k but thats not how this works. My company does well with Property Management and I see claims all the time - talk to a lawyer.
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Yeah, first step is see if this contracting company who has a group for this can get a reasonable change. I know that some of what I asked for in the quote was upgrading the structure some, and I expect to pay a little out of pocket. But not $20k. If that doesn't help then yeah it will be time to lawyer up.
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Just got a $1300 power bill at my rental house. Pretty sure there's a leak to ground on one of the circuits, since the lights in my master closet are drawing ~2.5 kW even when they're off. I'm surprised nothing has caught fire...
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Lanx
<Prior Amod>
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you can hook one of these to your circuits and see which one is drawing the load
AC Current Voltage Amperage Power Energy Panel Meter LCD Digital Display Ammeter Voltmeter Multimeter with Split Core Current Transformer CT AC 80-260V 100A Multi-Function Power Monitor
Erronius
<WoW Guild Officer>
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2.5kW? On a single residential circuit?
Leaking to ground?
And this isn't tripping a breaker?
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