Home ownership - Page 143 - Other Topics Forum - Discuss Pop Culture, Arts and Entertainment

I found a few winged termites in my basement. I called an exterminator to come for a free estimate. He quickly walked through my house and said I didnt have a problem

I'm thinking of calling another place?

you're fine, they just found a light source in your home and swarmed in from the outside. A handful of winged termites aren't a problem- a ton coming out of your walls like this is a problem.

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07-16-2018 , 02:39 PM

#3553

CheckRaise

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 22,067

I think I would leave my house and never step foot in it again if I walked into a room and saw that, Jesus Christ

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07-16-2018 , 04:00 PM

#3554

Didace

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 19,866

New tile and grout. Do I need a grout sealer? Why?

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07-16-2018 , 05:50 PM

#3555

zikzak

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 22,199

No, because it only lasts for a year or so and you're never going to bother resealing it annually so don't waste your time, and it doesn't even do that much to begin with, but if you really wanted to be a nit you'd use something like Mapei's FA grout which says right on the bag that you don't need to use grout sealer.

Your grout will also stay cleaner if you take your shoes off when you're home.

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07-16-2018 , 06:24 PM

#3556

Didace

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 19,866

That's what I thought. Plus, the grout is already gray.

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07-16-2018 , 06:37 PM

#3557

Banana man

veteran

Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 3,423

just had the disastrous water pipe break between my house and County valve on sidewalk. I was not home but did catch it early. I rented a carpet extractor but looks like I will be tearing out carpet in my finished basement tomorrow. No water until it gets fixed on Wednesday. FML

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07-16-2018 , 06:51 PM

#3558

Garick

Oberbiergenießer

Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 26,514

Home insurance call time, my very good friend.

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07-16-2018 , 08:52 PM

#3559

Banana man

veteran

Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 3,423

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garick

Home insurance call time, my very good friend.

lol I guess I am a gullible idiot. My ahole insurance agent tried telling me the inside damages were not covered because it was flooding lol. I called the main number and complained and they added the inside damage to my claim which my ahole agent did not include. So now I will have to get my adjuster out here

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07-16-2018 , 08:53 PM

#3560

Legion

journeyman

Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 207

Quote:

Originally Posted by Banana man

If you have a close neighbor and working main water shut off in your house you can have water. You shut your main off. Then run a hose from your neighbors hose bibb to your hose bibb. You need a washing machine supply line on one end as it has two female ends. Open both hose bibbs and you have water. We do this all the time when a main breaks and cant be repaired immediately.

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07-16-2018 , 09:33 PM

#3561

dw2006

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 7,220

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeeTheMirage

My toilet has started running for a few seconds every 5 minutes or so. I live in an apartment so maintenance will take care of it but it will probably be later in the week before they can get to it.

I don't know anything about this stuff so I'm just curious if there is any chance this problem could result in an overflow while I'm at work over the next few days?

I shut off water to the toilet (well at least closed the valve) before I left for the day today to be safe but the toilet kept running lol. So I guess I will need them to address that too

Any super simple tricks I could try to do to resolve the issue? Only suggestions from google were to replace the flapper which is beyond my skill set

(apologies in advance for the noob question)

Like others said, probably the flapper.

Sometimes you don't even have to replace the flapper. Gunk can build up on the flapper or around the seal preventing it from sealing. Take the rough side of a sponge and give it a good scrubbing and then see if it solves the problem first. I just had this issue and it worked after that.

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07-16-2018 , 09:39 PM

#3562

Garick

Oberbiergenießer

Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 26,514

Wow, what dooshery! Flooding not being covered is in case of natural flooding (separate insurance), not burst plumbing.

In fact, the only two home insurance claims I've ever made were for water damage from plumbing.

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07-17-2018 , 01:34 AM

#3563

Rexx14

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 7,215

Pretty much check your policy with anything that gets knocked back because if you get a douchey insurance person who only cares about their targets, you're pretty much going to get screwed.

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07-17-2018 , 01:46 AM

#3564

microbet

Solar Powered

Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 56,514

A pipe leaked in my Mom's house and caused buckling of wood floors and the insurance co had some bs reason for not covering it.

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07-18-2018 , 09:07 PM

#3565

stevepa

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 5,812

Quote:

Originally Posted by zikzak

If the problem is what I think it is, it shouldn't be too bad. You'd be looking at maybe a half day for a plumber and another few hours for a drywaller, spread out over a couple days.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legion

Judging from the pictures that hose bibb looks like it is above the ground floor. I am a plumber and if I was doing the job I would need to open about a 1 foot by 1 foot hole in the wall on the inside. You cant just unspin the hose bibb out from the outside because if it is plumbed directly into copper pipe it could break that pipe. Frost free hose bibbs have a tendency to split when a hose is left on them in the winter time.

So the hole inside is just to be able to back up the hose bibb and maybe to apply teflon tape and pipe dope on whatever the hose bibb is threaded onto. Good luck.

Just wanted to say thanks, you guys pretty much nailed it. Got it all fixed up now and we luckily avoided any significant water damage.

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07-20-2018 , 10:34 AM

#3566

btc

Challah Atcha

Join Date: Dec 2017 Posts: 2,576

Went twelve rounds with a spider cricket at 3am. Needless to say, but when your wife is awoken by something moving around or poking her, it better be attached to you. I shall never forget the sound of that blood curdling shriek followed by a stream of profanities that our kids will be repeating for weeks to come.

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07-20-2018 , 02:58 PM

#3567

p2 dog, p2

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 7,536

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07-20-2018 , 06:45 PM

#3568

RunDownHouse.

veteran

Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 2,605

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legion

Kinda curious about your situation where this is an, "all the time," type of thing.

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07-20-2018 , 08:20 PM

#3569

Legion

journeyman

Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 207

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunDownHouse.

Kinda curious about your situation where this is an, "all the time," type of thing.

I work for a plumbing contractor. We install multiple water services and sewers per week among all the work we do. Sometimes we cant get a water service in immediately and the people need water. If the line is broken you dont want to leave it open so we do a cross connect.

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07-26-2018 , 07:33 PM

#3570

timmay28

veteran

Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 2,845

Need to build a new 280 square foot composite deck (just a plain squared design, nothing fancy)

Anyone with suggestions on best brand for the buck?

I realize they are all kinda expensive...

Thx

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07-26-2018 , 08:10 PM

#3571

crdjeep

old hand

Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,417

I would just check prices of lowes home depot or menards. Then get a 10% coupon for the store you choose. Unless your going to live there forever, I would get the cheapest trex type they have. unless it's super crappy.

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07-26-2018 , 08:17 PM

#3572

zikzak

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 22,199

They're all about the same imo. There's only like a buck's difference at most in $/ft, and the cheaper ones usually just have less material because of the grooves in the bottom.

Never really been a fan of the composites. You should be able to do something like ipe of mahogany for around the same price, or even domestic black locust if you can find it. Weathered wood is just as maintenance free as plastic, and it looks a lot better.

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07-26-2018 , 09:05 PM

#3573

timmay28

veteran

Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 2,845

Wow i just kinda assumed composite was the way to go nowadays. Just spent an hour researching ipe wood, it has me curious now.

Something like this seems good?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DeckWise...4x24/206466347

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07-26-2018 , 10:29 PM

#3574

de captain

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 5,514

I built a deck last fall and used composite for the first time. Never again, I hate it. It looks dirty all the time.

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07-26-2018 , 11:46 PM

#3575

zikzak

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 22,199

Quote:

Originally Posted by timmay28

Didn't look too closely at it, but I'm gonna guess no. That seems like a really expensive way to get something inferior to just installing ipe deck boards.

eta: You're not going to find tropical hardwood decking at Home Depot. You need a lumber yard (sorry gregorio).

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