Home Improvement

Araysar · Sep 21, 2024

Captain Suave said:
You're not kidding. I hired a guy with stellar reviews to remove a bed of english ivy and he jerked me around for nearly three weeks before finally up. When he finally did it was great, had a full crew and they worked their asses off, but it was a disappointing customer experience.

Basically anyone doing remotely semi-skilled labor is writing their own ticket these days and no one seems to give a fuck about things like quotes, scheduling, callbacks, etc. Residential electricians are the WORST.

My basement got flooded this summer and needed lots of demolition, mold remediation, 1000 sq ft of carpet ripped out and replaced with LVP. Everything has to be repainted, etc. Big job. Had to file an insurance claim.

The crew that did it, did it in 3 weeks because they were juggling a bunch of other jobs at the same time. Sometimes they'd come in for a day and then be gone for 3-5 days, then come back on a Saturday or Sunday and do more work, etc.

Guy that owns the company and does the labor himself told me there are people waiting a year after their claim was approved to get a crew to come and fix their basement. Said there's literally no one who wants to work and it's extremely hard to find competent people with experience

Goatface · Sep 21, 2024

Araysar said:
Guy that owns the company and does the labor himself told me there are people waiting a year after their claim was approved to get a crew to come and fix their basement. Said there's literally no one who wants to work and it's extremely hard to find competent people with experience

One of my cousins lives in Alabama, they had a kitchen fire in February. I saw her in July, she said crew came in, ripped every thing out, boarded it up and left. Then they were still on a waiting list to get it rebuilt. Lucky their kids are grown and her husband's work provides him with basically unlimited hotel stays.

Kajiimagi · Sep 21, 2024

Araysar said:
My basement got flooded this summer and needed lots of demolition, mold remediation, 1000 sq ft of carpet ripped out and replaced with LVP. Everything has to be repainted, etc. Big job. Had to file an insurance claim.

The crew that did it, did it in 3 weeks because they were juggling a bunch of other jobs at the same time. Sometimes they'd come in for a day and then be gone for 3-5 days, then come back on a Saturday or Sunday and do more work, etc.

Guy that owns the company and does the labor himself told me there are people waiting a year after their claim was approved to get a crew to come and fix their basement. Said there's literally no one who wants to work and it's extremely hard to find competent people with experience

You are in KY yes? Worst state I worked in to find reliable help. I did a nursing home rehab/expansion in Paducah and had to bring over half my staff from NC. Unfortunately it's electrical work and nursing homes are specialized so I couldn't just hire anyone.

Araysar · Sep 22, 2024

Kajiimagi said:
You are in KY yes? Worst state I worked in to find reliable help. I did a nursing home rehab/expansion in Paducah and had to bring over half my staff from NC. Unfortunately it's electrical work and nursing homes are specialized so I couldn't just hire anyone.

My best electrician is a guy that looks like Yosemite Sam, right down to the handlebar mustaches that comes down almost to his belly

Foler · Sep 22, 2024

Gavinmad said:
I'd call that a DIY if it's already on the ground and there's no risk of doing further property damage, unless you aren't really comfortable with a chainsaw. I'd definitely want something bigger than the smallish one I have for that much tree and I'd also want lumberjack chaps.

Palum said:
Bigger problem is where to put it. That's a shitload of volume if you don't have a big chipper.

If you really wanna save moneys

Lanx then I’d DIY. Rent a trailer and haul it to dump. Id find 1-2 other pals willing to do the manual labor of moving the stuff to and from trailer.

Otherwise that’s gonna be a few grand. I think like others said, it’s hauling it off which may be the most pricey

Foler · Sep 22, 2024

Palum said:
You know they can put fans on the roof or in gables right?

Also soffits but not sure if the roofer changed those.

Siliconemelons said:
Every ridge is mostly vented in Florida, full soffits that are vented… i have 1 attic fan- kick on once the attic is like 100 or something.

Is there no insulation? On the “floor” of the attic?

The roofing in Florida is very different than up north- watching videos on building small houses up north, the roof is so simple compared to the vents, soffits etc etc we have because its so darn hot.

Haus said:
OK.... From my experience (and doing some AC work as an apprentice/helper when I was in my teens) You have a combo issue here.

A lot of humidity in the attic. (Can't solve this unless you move the house out of Florida)

Temp differences which cause condensation (cooler vents, or cold air getting into the attic causing large surface/air temp differences)

Not enough airflow through the attic to pick up and remove moisture

First point, well.. unless you're gonna move out of Florida crazy humidity is just part of the game....

Addressing the second means better insulating what is cold to lower the surface temp differences. This usually means better insulation around ductwork in the attic (thicker and better sealed), And better insulation between the ceiling and attic air space. Is the current insulation rolls, spray in shredded, or spray foam?

Sounds like you're already taking some steps to address the third. As mentioned, with a ridge vent you have to have good soffit vents along the outside and clear air paths from them. Check that, add soffits as needed. Next step from there is to add some kind of active air mover. You can get bonnets now that have solar panels on top and use those to actively pull air through, not incredibly hard to install can be a DIY project or should be simple for any competent roofing/AC person.

Lanx said:
you don't need a whole house dehumidifier, just get a 4k stand alone unit w/ a hose and turn it on and let it drain for a few weeks

Captain Suave said:
Sounds like the bigger issue is an insulation/sealing problem. You shouldn't be getting enough leakage in or out of the conditioned portion of the house to cause that kind of condensation, or get enough moisture in the primary volume to warp the doors (assuming the AC is running). Secondary issue, as Haus points out, is venting to stabilize attic humidity.

mkopec said:
Yeah im not sure thats the case if the problems only started with the roof being redone. Seems like a big coincidence, right? The roof should have a ridge vent but also vents along the soffit, so a constant flow of fresh air is pulled in while the hot air is pushed out. I would also reccomend an actual fan up there on one of the roofs ridge sides with an auto tep turn on. I have one which is set to 135F.

View attachment 546001

Aside that I dont know, maybe its an HVAC issue too. One of the primary uses of an AC unit is to pull all the humidity out of the house.

Ok I did some recon and data collection. The house does have soffit vents, ridge vent and at least one small exhaust fan. The house does not have baffles. I’ll attach Two pictures which show the insulation which looks like rolled fiberglass. I need to grab another pic to show soffit area. Soffits don’t look blocked and pretty much just empty into attic with no baffles. There is no gable vent but a window where I’d have thought a gable would normally go. At one point there was a fan here. I’m not sure if that was removed and replaced with this window as part of the reroof.

I’ve been measuring humidity in the house. The living and family room have average humidity of 53% and can peak up to 60%. These rooms have doors to the exterior which seem to swell depending on the time of day making them harder to open and then the swelling goes down making them slightly easier.

the humidity in the attic is pretty high… At the ground level door that leads to attic we’re at 90% high, 89% average humidity, which is probably why the attic side of that door is always wet.

In the general attic area we’re at 80% max and 58% average.

So I think there’s a few different things going on here.. First, should the family/dining room doors be swelling up in that higher humidity? 60% max is high but is it high enough for temporary swelling?

Second, the attic door is on the ground floor and has stairs inside that take you to the general attic area. Is the humidity so high at this door because it’s AC on one side and no AC on other?

Third, what are thoughts on general attic area humidity? Should I investigate having baffles put in? Should I do my investigation into this insulation to see if it’s any good? It looks kinda trashy. I think the duct work is insulated? See pics.

thanks

Fucker · Sep 22, 2024

Erronius said:
I've never met a more "if I feel like it" group of contractors, than people who fucking do tree removal.

If they say they'll come back, odds are good that they won't

Yeah. Now, that applies to just about anyone these days. I got lucky with this new crew.

Back when I lived out west, I needed 6 trees cut down. Lots of variety in quotes. One guy was something like $1k per tree, said it would take 5 days. My lawn crew did it in a few hours for $1200 total. It was a huge amount of work.

Here, I needed a tree in front cut down. $7k...$5k. One company wanted to cone off the road and get permits (a lie), then bring in a bucket to start at the top and cut down from there. GF found a crew that did it for $500. No cones, no stopping traffic. Two guys came out early and one guy looked for traffic. All clear! Other guy dropped the tree (it was huge), and it took them 45 minutes to clear it and load it. They worked like fucking dogs, though.

It's a square outfit, too. Owner has many crews all over doing many projects. I had them do more work this spring. Spendy, but still a lot lower than anyone else. The best part? They are here when they say they will be here. Owner does all the scheduling and assignments himself. Gets up at 5AM every day, on the road by 6:30. Punctual to the minute.

I had him over to go over the bill with me. Appointment was 6:45...AM. He knocked on the door 6:45 sharp....my kinda guy. We talked a bit about his business, too. He said he drops more trees in a week than many places do in a year. Low cost, high speed, high volume. He runs his crew like dogs, but he has low turnover because they get a cut of profits if they stay on for 12 months.

I know he's making bank, though. He's mid-30's. I see his crews everywhere, and I see him zipping around in his car pretty often. 7PM off somewhere to do a quote. They have all the best equipment, too. He doesn't short anything. He also runs a night maintenance crew. Repair, refuel, restock. Everything is ready for the work crews in the morning. God damned smart, slick operation, IMO.

Palum · Sep 22, 2024

Foler said:
Ok I did some recon and data collection. The house does have soffit vents, ridge vent and at least one small exhaust fan. The house does not have baffles. I’ll attach Two pictures which show the insulation which looks like rolled fiberglass. I need to grab another pic to show soffit area. Soffits don’t look blocked and pretty much just empty into attic with no baffles.

I’ve been measuring humidity in the house. The living and family room have average humidity of 53% and can peak up to 60%. These rooms have doors to the exterior which seem to swell depending on the time of day making them harder to open and then the swelling goes down making them slightly easier.

the humidity in the attic is pretty high… At the ground level door that leads to attic we’re at 90% high, 89% average humidity, which is probably why the attic side of that door is always wet.

In the general attic area we’re at 80% max and 58% average.

So I think there’s a few different things going on here.. First, should the family/dining room doors be swelling up in that higher humidity? 60% max is high but is it high enough for temporary swelling?

Second, the attic door is on the ground floor and has stairs inside that take you to the general attic area. Is the humidity so high at this door because it’s AC on one side and no AC on other?

Third, what are thoughts on general attic area humidity? Should I investigate having baffles put in? Should I do my investigation into this insulation to see if it’s any good? It looks kinda trashy. I think the duct work is insulated? See pic.

thanksView attachment 547395 View attachment 547396

I'm not an HVAC expert just from personal experience, but that seems high to me. From your explanation it seems more generally to be poor airflow between conditioned spaces in the living areas. Modern spec homes have vents everywhere (like above doors) to cheaply assist in that without ducting every corner. That and/or the air conditioning is overwhelmed or ineffective.

Attic wise it could be just poor ventilation that needs to be improved, I would probably try and get some cheap iot devices to track airflow by temperature. Also string/ribbon trick, if you don't see any movement even when there's breezes or air coming in from the soffits ever then it's probably poorly balanced and positive pressure so it's just slowly leaking air coming in from the living space below instead of being neutral and just circulating outside air.

BrutulTM · Sep 22, 2024

Goatface said:
One of my cousins lives in Alabama, they had a kitchen fire in February. I saw her in July, she said crew came in, ripped every thing out, boarded it up and left. Then they were still on a waiting list to get it rebuilt. Lucky their kids are grown and her husband's work provides him with basically unlimited hotel stays.

I have a cousin with the same story. Small fire in the attic but it led to basically the whole house getting gutted and then them begging contractors to work or doing a lot of the work themselves. They've been out of the house for over a year now and it's getting close to being ready to move back in but it's been a nightmare, especially since they have 5 kids. They did pull off one pretty nice little trick though. The insurance company was paying $3000 a month for a rental house for them to live in. My cousin's husband asked them if he could just get a rent-to-own camper and park it in the driveway of their house and they would pay the same amount on it. The insurance company said sure so they have been in cramped quarters but by the end of the year when the insurance stops paying, they are going to owe like $4000 on the camper. Pretty clever way to get a new camper I thought.

Erronius · Sep 22, 2024

BrutulTM said:
I have a cousin with the same story. Small fire in the attic but it led to basically the whole house getting gutted and then them begging contractors to work or doing a lot of the work themselves. They've been out of the house for over a year now and it's getting close to being ready to move back in but it's been a nightmare, especially since they have 5 kids. They did pull off one pretty nice little trick though. The insurance company was paying $3000 a month for a rental house for them to live in. My cousin's husband asked them if he could just get a rent-to-own camper and park it in the driveway of their house and they would pay the same amount on it. The insurance company said sure so they have been in cramped quarters but by the end of the year when the insurance stops paying, they are going to owe like $4000 on the camper. Pretty clever way to get a new camper I thought.

But isn't owning a camper a bit like owning a boat?

But I also know people who enjoy the everliving fuck out of campers/boats, so YMMV

My only experience is shit as a kid, though, and having a boat collect spiderwebs 364 days of the year.

whoo · Sep 22, 2024

Lanx said:
i'm getting 800 to 1200 just for the fallen trunk removal, everyone is really recommending i remove the tree, theyve said this bradford pear will just grow up and out and it looks rotted on the inside, cuz water got in from the top?

3 to 4k for tree removal not including stump. 1 guy that has good nextdoor reviews said 2400 to take care of it all and stump removal

i probably would have just done the tree removal w/ my neighbor but this rotted tree has me feeling antsy, so i'm just probably gonna take care of it all in one go

Once bradford pears split like that, it's over. Youll have to remove the tree. It will die, rot out, or another big chunk will split off due to the weakened trunk.

BrutulTM · Sep 22, 2024

Erronius said:
But isn't owning a camper a bit like owning a boat?

But I also know people who enjoy the everliving fuck out of campers/boats, so YMMV

My only experience is shit as a kid, though, and having a boat collect spiderwebs 364 days of the year.

I haven't owned one myself but I can imagine that being the case. I told him that after spending the summer in that thing with 5 kids, he might never want to go camping again.

Lanx · Sep 22, 2024

whoo said:
Once bradford pears split like that, it's over. Youll have to remove the tree. It will die, rot out, or another big chunk will split off due to the weakened trunk.

yea got a crew coming monday or tuesday, my main worry was that since 1/3 of it split, the other 1/3 is pointed at my house now

Araysar · Sep 22, 2024

Foler just turn off the AC and have the whole house at 90 degrees to equalize the temperature

Siliconemelons · Sep 22, 2024

Foler attic looks like mine, even the duct board AC… hardwood roof planks… etc lol is it a 50-70s house?

Humidity is not really /the/ cause of condensation, it just exaggerates it. Condensation is when you get two temps of a certain difference to meet - obviously the more humidity there is the more the condensation can form. But yeah, if your 0 humidity then yeah there is not water in the air to condensate… but this is Florida, there is always water in the air.

Heat rises so the attic fans and roof vents and soffits just help the super hot air from getting trapped and having your attic get to insane degrees - that then would result in your attic being way way different than your AC’d house and if the temps meet even through insulation… you can get condensation.

Is there anywhere the insulation is not there? Or gone? What is its R value? If it’s Low or super old it may be worth replacing and righting up everywhere.

Are the swelling doors pocket doors?

whoo · Sep 22, 2024

Lanx said:
yea got a crew coming monday or tuesday, my main worry was that since 1/3 of it split, the other 1/3 is pointed at my house now

In my limited experience, if the other side was going to fall, it would have. Usually the one sub-trunk cracking off relieves the stress and it will need high wind, ice, growth, or rot to split again. But pear rots quickly so 2 yrs if you wait on the rot.

Hopefully you don't get too breezy

Lanx · Sep 22, 2024

whoo said:
In my limited experience, if the other side was going to fall, it would have. Usually the one sub-trunk cracking off relieves the stress and it will need high wind, ice, growth, or rot to split again. But pear rots quickly so 2 yrs if you wait on the rot.

Hopefully you don't get too breezy

yea the inside is all black, i mean i had 2 tree splits in ks before, but splits still looked like wood inside, the inside just looks like death in here.

white ppl is weird, my culdesac came out today to look at my tree (i guess word got out that i scheduled it for 8:30am), i maybe saw half these ppl once or twice, but they all know my tree.

whoo · Sep 22, 2024

Lanx said:
yea the inside is all black, i mean i had 2 tree splits in ks before, but splits still looked like wood inside, the inside just looks like death in here.

white ppl is weird, my culdesac came out today to look at my tree (i guess word got out that i scheduled it for 8:30am), i maybe saw half these ppl once or twice, but they all know my tree.

The fat ugly one is a witch. They used to dance around that tree at midnight on the equinoxes. They are in mourning /boohoo

Foler · Sep 23, 2024

Siliconemelons said:
Foler attic looks like mine, even the duct board AC… hardwood roof planks… etc lol is it a 50-70s house?

Humidity is not really /the/ cause of condensation, it just exaggerates it. Condensation is when you get two temps of a certain difference to meet - obviously the more humidity there is the more the condensation can form. But yeah, if your 0 humidity then yeah there is not water in the air to condensate… but this is Florida, there is always water in the air.

Heat rises so the attic fans and roof vents and soffits just help the super hot air from getting trapped and having your attic get to insane degrees - that then would result in your attic being way way different than your AC’d house and if the temps meet even through insulation… you can get condensation.

Is there anywhere the insulation is not there? Or gone? What is its R value? If it’s Low or super old it may be worth replacing and righting up everywhere.

Are the swelling doors pocket doors?

Hah no, it was remodeled in the 90s. Is this type of construction outdated?

So for temps im getting the following

attic high: 106, attic average: 87
Attic door knob high: 76, average: 73
Living room high and average is about 70

Makes sense the temp at door is lower because it’s at bottom of stairs, heat rises etc. Makes me wonder then why that door is wet on the attic side. Just confused why this wouldn’t have been a problem until the reroof a few years back.

I’ll have to go back and double check it’s insulated everywhere. I’ll have to look at the insulation for R value as well. I imagine the R value is listed on one of those intact rolls. What’s the most Gucci R value I can get

What about the lack of baffles? Is that worth looking into?

Pocket doors are the sliding doors right? Nope. , these swing. They’re swelling to the point you really have to pull them hard to open the door but then the swelling goes down to make it easier, I’d say it never goes back to how it should be. These doors actually may have only been doing it this summer so I’m wondering if maybe they just aren’t sealed well and it’s Florida summer humidity/temp that’s doing it.

What kind of person could I hire to solve this problem? It’s multi-aspect issue so I’m wondering if I could get one of the better custom home builders in the area to evaluate.

Siliconemelons · Sep 23, 2024

Foler said:
Hah no, it was remodeled in the 90s. Is this type of construction outdated?

No, it’s just more expensive - not seen as much now days- duct board vs flex and wood planks vs plywood for the roof.

I really cant say what to do to help, other than add some vent fans that will circulate air more.. but you have one and the standard ridge vents and soffits. So… but 70… dang my house is 76 and it feels cold right now.

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Loser Araysar

Chief Russia Reporter. Stock Pals CEO. Head of AI.

Goatface

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Kajiimagi

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what Suineg set it to

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