Home Improvement Today?

Since heat raises winter should be good with minimal heat on the main floor. It's the basement, you will probably need a dehumidifier and that will give off some heat for the basement, but may need to be supplemented if you have forced air close off the duct work so the air conditioning isn't going down in the summer and only the return is going. That helps me keep a handle on both levels.

 

Stand alone mini split system for just the basement room. Control the upstairs system manually or with a programmable T-stat.

 

We finished about 1,300 square feet of our basement two years ago and installed three Fujitsu mini splits in the family room (put a larger one in this room), son’s bedroom, and workout room. They have worked like a champ and are extremely energy efficient. We also placed a dehumidifier in the family room down there and have it drained into our sump pump pit. I wouldn’t change a thing if I had it to do over again. Here are a few pics for reference.

 

You've quite a few suggestions on here but have you had someone come in and evaluate your insulation and thermal radiance with a thermal camera? You may be loosing heat in the winter and cool air in the summer through places where your insulation may need to be fixed. There are companies that will vacuum out your old blown in and install new insulation in your attic to bring the R value back up along with correct your eaves and attic vents. You may also have poor insulation in your walls which is more difficult to remediate. New windows might help control thermal loss through your windows but an easier fix would be to seal up any air gaps around the existing windows and external electrical outlets. Your interior walls (exterior facing) outlets may be leaking in air, there are gaskets that you can purchase to help control the flow of air but that's better than nothing. Your exterior doorways may need to have their seals replaced to further control the transfer of air. Maybe that might help get you some additional ideas on where to start.

-J

 

Looking for ideas/suggestions as to cause and how to fix:

linear garage door opener
Both remotes stopped working at same time except up close to the opener. -Changed the batteries on both to eliminate that, no change
-no new items in the home that would cause RF interference
-wire that sticks down for what I assume is the antenna has a dark end (almost like it’s charred which is weird because that shouldn’t be drawing any current). I’m thinking that is just dust and fly crap buildup though.

 

What brand? I recently had luck replacing the logic board with a refurbished one on my LiftMaster. It was a pretty straight forward job.

 

Linear.

 

Sorry, didn't recognize the brand name.

Linear Residential Garage Door Operator Parts (northshorecommercialdoor.com)

 

oof, thats almost the cost of a brand new one haha

i also tried "relearning" the code with no luck. Tried learning the wife's CRV homelink as well but couldn't get it to link up. Not really sure what could be causing this issue.

 

Yeah, I hear ya- it was a tough pill to swallow for sure, but it was an easy fix without causing any other interruptions in service.

 

I’ve used Liftmaster 850LM’s on two properties now. I’m generally a fan of the module. Hardwire it to each of up to 3 openers, either at the wall switch or directly to the opener. Works off 9-24v AC or DC. Easy to program and stores tons of codes. Great range since you can mount it high on the front wall even if you don’t have jack shaft openers (still better range than the jack shafts). Security 2.0 compatible to bring old openers up to current standards. Not expensive.

 

I hate how loud this one is. feels like it’s not strong enough/struggles for the door.

 

Garage doors should be easy to lift manually, so the opener shouldn't have to struggle to open it. That said, I had a Genie worm gear drive that even the neighbors two doors down were complaining about. Replaced it with a belt driven unit and it made a world of difference.

 

Sounds like you need new springs. They do the majority of the heavy lifting, not the opener.

 

If not springs, roller wheels, pulleys and cables.

I replaced all the parts in my doors, excluding the springs, and runs smooth and quiet now.

 

Agree.
Even large industrial doors will open easily with one hand when in good condition & properly adjusted.

 

Had a craftsman garage door opener that came with the house. Chain drive. Never had a garage before so I didn’t realize how loud it was until it broke and had it replaced with a lift master belt drive. Not sure which model but it’s very quiet.

 

Talk to me about permits for home improvements. I've never pulled one before and I'm wondering what the inspector actually does. I get they'll check the electrical, plumbing, etc. But, what happens to the existing work that doesn't meet current code. Case in point when my house was built code did not require arc fault protection and today's code does. If I add new circuits to my electrical panel do I have to retrofit arc fault breakers to all of the existing circuits or is the old work grandfathered in? What about other code problems that are not part of the scope of work?

 

usually existing work that is not touched is "grandfathered in" as long as it was done to code at the time of the original work and is not altered with the additional work

 

Usually an inspector is only able to look at what is on the permit at the time of inspection. They are pretty knowledgeable on what was and is code; and when to raise a red flag. I have had a stop work order put in place on a construction site from the city and I just had to go back and fill out the appropriate permit application for the work to be done and then get the inspections at every stage as required. I’ve never had an inspector notice something that was put in without a permit that they then had a stop work or required a new permit for that work. The assumption is that you already had it done under the original build or subsequent work permit.

Now I have had an inspector tell me to start work over and comply to code for work that a subcontractor had performed but this was a life safety issue not a code issue.