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DIY Home Improvement Thread..


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Yea, i was reading that it would have to be that cold for them to freeze however at the extremely low temps its saying that the pressure in the tanks could drop low enough to cause problems. The system is pretty much brand new...less than a year.

 

I just dont know the best way to insulate the tanks. Or if i could wrap heating tape around the tanks and then put some insulation around them to at least get me through the next few days.

 

I have a delivery of propane coming today. Hopefully that will boost my pressure up.

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Hey friends. Wife wants those heated coil things in our basement. We are going tile down there, and live in colorado where it's cold.

Contractor said 2,500ish. Worth it?? For what it's worth, we are going to area rug the **** out of the basement

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Might as well say "thingy" next time and get it over with.  :P

 

Tough to say on pricing and such. Depends on what's being put down and how. It can be just about the most efficient way to heat a house or in this case,a basement imho,(well. Depending on what kind is put in).  Lived in the Rockies for 25 years myself,(now in the Sierra),and there's nothing like a warm floor in the Winter time. :)

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Jesus, you guys are brutal lol.

New construction, we chose to have basemen finished asap after house is done. contractor Suggested coil Warm Floors For Colorado, We Were Like ehhhh.....maybe. just wondering if anyone had any experience with them either way

Edited by Chew
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Jesus, you guys are brutal lol.

New construction, we chose to have basemen finished asap after house is done. contractor Suggested coil Warm Floors For Colorado, We Were Like ehhhh.....maybe. just wondering if anyone had any experience with them either way

 

I don't know much about it, but the cost is going to depend on how many square feet need to be installed. 

 

I would:

 

1. Do some research about this floor-coil-thingy to determine the options - i.e., types of floor-coil-thingy.

2. Find out from the manufacturer's reputable contractor's in your area who install it

3. Get a quote from several for each type you like 

4. Make a decision

 

As others have said (and things I've read) it's the nuts for cold weather areas. 

 

Here's some info from Bob Villa. It includes some info on cost to operate, which is probably important to you:

 

http://www.bobvila.com/articles/2161-radiant-floor-heating-101/#.VLbU3SvF_ng

Edited by GoSkins0721
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Thanks, GOskins. Out of likes

Ya, we have a few months to research. Ktr asked us if we wanted it, then he went through his whole spiel about warming coils in basements. Reviews go both ways, many people saying it's a nice option, some saying not worth it. As of today, I'm leaning toward "**** that ****." If your feet are cold, put on some socks. But end of the day, wife's opine reign supreme :(

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Thanks, GOskins. Out of likes

Ya, we have a few months to research. Ktr asked us if we wanted it, then he went through his whole spiel about warming coils in basements. Reviews go both ways, many people saying it's a nice option, some saying not worth it. As of today, I'm leaning toward "**** that ****." If your feet are cold, put on some socks. But end of the day, wife's opine reign supreme  :(

 

 

 

No problem. Sounds like you have some time to research options. Make sure you ask the contractors for references.

 

Look at options to floor heat - what other options exist? One thing you don't want is to NOT get the floor heat, finish your basement, & then be cold. Space heaters are expensive to operate. And you don't want to tear everything up & then do the install. Talk to neighbors, friends, coworkers to find out what they've done. Make sure to ask them the cost to operate & maintain the floor heat. 

 

Yeah, we're all at the mercy of our better half. Just file it away to use when you want to get that special thing for yourself...  ;)

Edited by GoSkins0721
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  • 4 weeks later...

Well it looks like mom nature decided to give me another couple of projects. Windstorm this past weekend,(while we were away),ahead of a storm had fun with parts of the place. This is the worst of it and that's fine by me. Considering that gusts were measured as high as 104mph and the damage elsewhere around town,we did just fine. Hell not a single shingle is lifted and the neighbors trees stayed up. That'll work. Fences are labor intensive at times,but still fairly easy to make strong. The shelterlogic shed in a box however,well that's it for that. I'll build my own damn shed thank you. :) 

 

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Hey friends. Wife wants those heated coil things in our basement. We are going tile down there, and live in colorado where it's cold.

Contractor said 2,500ish. Worth it?? For what it's worth, we are going to area rug the **** out of the basement

If it were me I would lay a subfloor over the concrete

Vapor barrier followed by 2x4 joists (lay them flat) and lay closed cell pink insullation (pink boards) in between the joists. Then plywood on top

I don't like the idea of heated floors, too much to go wrong. If money isn't an issue go for it though why not

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does anyone have a hot water heater with an (external) "mixing valve"?

 

i got a hibred (not quite tankless, but uuber fast 20 gallon) hot water heater.  when it is working you can basically take a shower forever... as long as it is just 1 shower!

 

but... it flows out through a "mixing valve" that mixes the very hot (potentially scalding hot) water with cold water immediately upon leaving the unit (before it gets to the hot-water pipes.

 

but the damned breaks like clock-work after 12 months. (i am on my third, and it just started to fail), and the damned thing stops mixing properly, and the water gets colder and colder.

 

 

 

how hard can a valve be??   why does it have to be any more complex than ANY other water valve???   (like the super complex ones at every effin SINK that mix hot and cold water, and NEVER fail??) 

 

 

I don;t feel like continuing to pay $250 every year for the rest of my life for a plumber to come out and change this obviously flawed piece of ****.   Is there any reason that i can't just get a more primitive (and durable) valve put on there?   (like the the pressure regulator valve i had put on my house intake...because my was water pressure was tooooo high)

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Anyone here know anything about home solar panels? Toying with the idea.

Where do you live and do you know of any "group buy" programs locally? Solarize Loudoun or something like that was/is running a program locally that I looked into. Basically I decided that it wouldn't be worth it for me because I don't have a south facing roof and I've got limited roof space in general that would limit the size of the solar panel I could get up there. You can get bigger ones that knock out a significant chunk of your electric bill and pay for them over 10-15 years so your monthly cost would be minimal.

You'd still have to consider a lot of unknowns though. How much value is it really adding to your house once paid off? How much is going to cost to repair/replace the solar panel? How long will it last? And extra maintenance concerns for your roof? Any structural concerns with the heavy panels up there? And so on... Like I said, I decided it wasn't for me at this point but it could make sense for other people.

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Does anyone have any experience adding a wood stove insert into an existing fireplace? I'd love to get one with a glass front so I still get the aesthetic value of the fireplace but greatly increase the functional heating ability.

If anyone has added one to their home, how much did it cost, did you have it installed, how much was installation, and do you know of any local contractors that your recommend for it? I'd consider a DIY but the diagrams I've seen look like you really should make some lower chimney modifications that I would be more comfortable leaving to a professional.

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Where do you live and do you know of any "group buy" programs locally? Solarize Loudoun or something like that was/is running a program locally that I looked into. Basically I decided that it wouldn't be worth it for me because I don't have a south facing roof and I've got limited roof space in general that would limit the size of the solar panel I could get up there. You can get bigger ones that knock out a significant chunk of your electric bill and pay for them over 10-15 years so your monthly cost would be minimal.

You'd still have to consider a lot of unknowns though. How much value is it really adding to your house once paid off? How much is going to cost to repair/replace the solar panel? How long will it last? And extra maintenance concerns for your roof? Any structural concerns with the heavy panels up there? And so on... Like I said, I decided it wasn't for me at this point but it could make sense for other people.

I live in Western PA. Not too concerned, my work colleague is German and they have as much/more cloudy days than we do and they lead the world in solar production. I'm going to get the structural stuff checked out too. But I looked at my annual usage and we use an average of 505 kWh per month (6060 kWh/year). I looked at a local installer and they had a previous job with a setup which appears feasible with my roof—it produced 4,158 kWh/year—I could cut my electric bill down to about $15/month. 

 

Biggest soft cost might be getting permits and architects work/drawings.

Edited by Elessar78
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  • 2 months later...

Well after a couple of years in the place,we decided that the garage is just about unusable as just that. A garage. One of those L shaped driveway/garage setups that was designed for cars about the size of a matchbox. So I converted 1/2 of it for a shop/garage gym. Cool. It's been open,(storage courtesy of my brother),and busy. Home office shelving done,front door in,(help from the wife's ex),18' of fence replace/repaired and assorted little things completed as well. Building a 25' planter in the backyard and building a corner desk with drawer are two projects for the near future. Along with completing the shop of course. :)

 

Oh. And replacing the garbage disposal. Sigh. I went to unjam the thing and it literally fell in to my hands. Apparently,the previous owner got lazy and used the same upper assembly for the one he put in. Problem was that it was too small. The plumbing and garbage disposal were holding each other up. Grumble. 

 

 

the%20shop-M.jpg

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I've been doing work on my yard this entire week. I have been possessed by the yard work demon.

 

I want to start a small vegetable garden in my back yard but don't want to go through the hassle of buying or assembling a raised bed.

 

I've got a couple of mulch beds that could serve as potential candidates to be converted into small veggie gardens.

 

Anyone have any experience with starting an in-ground vegetable garden? Any tips? I can find plenty of info online but figure it would be worth asking.

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I didn't do a raised bed, but did build a a rectangular border last summer for a small herb garden out of 2x8's, and used some landscaping tarp under the area where I planted.. This was in an large, already mulched are near a tree, where plenty of sun gets to it. I just happened to have some 2x8s laying around, so I used them. I put good soil in that area only and partially buried the 2x8 frame. Helps keep the weeds out and have a clear defined area to focus on.

 

This is pretty much what I did, just a little smaller, and with no planning on what to plant, or thought about what I was planting where. My wife wanted to plant herbs, so I let her decide what was going in it:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Above-Ground-Square-Inch-Gardening/

 

 

For anyone with no room to plant stuff, I saw this the other day for a hydroponic wall garden, and thought it would be cool to do if you live in a space-challenged area.

 

http://www.instructables.com/id/Clip-on-Hydroponic-Wall-Garden/?ALLSTEPS

Edited by SoulSkin
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A type of vertical gardening. Using old pallets is a cool too,(I've used one as a garden tool holder). I know about being bitten by the landscaping bug. I've been all over ours as I slowly change things around to a more xeriscape type set up. The areas that I haven't targeted are in the shade and don't require a lot of water due to the sun not hitting it a lot. Man those plants love it there. Interesting note about our landscaping right in front of the house. We have an L shape house and it faces South West. Winds kick up and a lot of stuff basically ends up that part of the yard as well as the driveway and porch. Bleah. This year,the result has been a nature finds a way thing. We have plants growing we didn't plant. The sunflowers I had for a few feet in the front,are now growing,well,everywhere. ;)  

 

As for the garden,we have 3 raised planters and a designated area for in ground planting. Tilled it then bordered it with river rock,(this stuff is all over the place here). Hooked up a drip system via the hose,(have to do that in a certain order),and away we went. The zucchini we planted there made a decent effort of taking over 1/2 the back yard. ;)  

 

Footnote to the garbage disposal replacement I mentioned earlier. I get the old assembly out finally and get the new disposal in place. Plumbing replaced and I'm making the final adjustments on the beast. I'm tapping the lower ring ears to lock it in place when snap. It breaks on one side.  :angry: So I take it all apart,put it back in the box,and start drinking beer. ;) Today is round two with a different disposal,(crosses fingers). 

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