Home Improvement Today?

I had an electrical outlet installed in my garage. For some stupid reason the builder put one plug in the garage and no where near the garage doors. Now I can plug in my pressure washer or vacuum cleaner to clean out the cars.

 

electrical code only requires one outlet per garage stall, with older code versions(i'm seeing pre-2017 electric code) only requiring one outlet.

blame the people that built the house for accepting the minimum code, not the builder for doing it.

 

Looking real good. In general things seem to be more expensive in CT.

 

Tomorrow is going to be busy. Got a trailer full of lumber today...

 

I would agree, the northeast in general seems to be pricier than other areas of the country with some exceptions I’m sure. I’m in MA on the border to CT and we see similar pricing.

Did get a drywall quote this morning for 2300 to come in, hang 5-6 new sheets where we tore some old stuff out, tape and mud, then skim coat the entire room (walls and ceilings) for 2300 cash which I was happy with. He said he typically charges around 2.50 a square foot for these jobs. He’s done work for us before and we were very happy so I’ll take it. Before and after from the prior work.

 

Looks professional

 

Wrapped up this deck refresh project today (day 4). Replaced old punky cedar decking with PT. Added the blocking for the 2 perpendicular pieces. This allowed for zero butt joints as the deck is 32' long. Had to replace some deteriorated aluminum ledger flashing, had to sister up a few joists due to dry rot along top edge (mostly where the old butt joints were located) and had to reinforce some very poorly secured posts. Pulled about 1200 undersized SS nails. Oh, and used joist tape on deck and stairs.

Got a beautiful load of 16' PT deck boards from a local lumber supply company. Far superior than what's available/offered at the big box stores.

 

looks like a cool house on a nice piece of property! Enjoy the renovation.

 

Quite a manly job! Professional grade.

 

I replaced my sprinkler controller last year and have been curious about what kind of water savings I have between the old, dumb one and the new smart one. I was finally bored enough last night to dig into the numbers.

I did make some assumptions on some things but it should be close enough.

Parameters:
I have 8 zones, four with rotor heads, three with spray heads and one with drip.
I used 2 gallons/min for the rotors, .25/min for the spray and .5/hour for the drip.
Water rate is $5.70/1,000 gallons.

Result:
Each run of the system costs me $7.60
My old controller would have watered 15 times in June and 13 times so far in July.
My new controller watered 6 times in June and 6 times so far in July.
Water for the two months with the old controller would have cost $215.
Water for the two months with the new controller cost $92.
In just the last two months, I saved $123.
The new controller cost $130.

Verdict:
I should have replaced it sooner.

 

I forgot to update the thread here with my finished fence, back in March 2025. So here is one shot from the side house, fence goes all the way to the front sidewalk. 8 Posts, 7 panels, 4 are 4' and 3 are 6' in height. I put the copper colored post caps on to minimize rotting and I think they look good after all.

 

If duel fuel is an option go that route heat pumps are great down to about 25/30 degrees then gas kicks in.

 

We finished this small landing.

 

that's definitely the route i'm gonna go.

but that said, i've had some time to come back from panic-mode a little. after hearing about lots of other local people's bills, i've been under all of them. so i'm really not doing terrible overall.

for those with a heat pump setup, how are the running costs? is it cheaper than a normal a/c? but then because it runs down to 30 degrees, is it the same as what i'm currently experiencing in electrical costs for 'running the a/c' down to that temp?

 

Not something many will consider a major thing, but I put up a clean wall for the temporary laundry area. Got tired of dirt and spiderwebs falling from the wall and ceiling.
Now, clean wall and clean table just for laundry.

 

I need to do the same honestly. My wife has been “fine” with the laundry room but it’s a total mess. I can’t finish the room because I need access to the ceiling for the future kitchen/dining room gut and remodel but a few sheets of drywall and some paint around the main area would make a huge difference I bet.

 

Terrazzo floor problem, crack is growing. I have a giant tree in the front yard that I am pretty sure is extending a root under the foundation and is currently growing and cracking the floor. It's terrible to see this crack grow, I think its about twice as wide and longer than it was 5 years ago. Has anyone had this issue before? What did you do?

 

Might consider tree removal

 

Yeap. I have. I had a couple branches removed from it couple years back for under $2,000.00. Complete removal would probably be in neighborhood of 7-10k. It needs to be done.

 

Welp Friday night wife says AC not running . Got a contract for maintenance with a local co. so she called them while I set up the backup window AC and fans and cranked lower the garage mini-split. Guy couldn't make it out till Saturday. At first I thought it might be the capacitor. That checked out ok. He said seems like your thermostat is the problem. He went under the house and started checking the wires and it made a series of clicks trying to start. He re-did the connections, all is good and running. I guess sometimes they come loose not sure how that happens.
Sunday morning no AC again same guy called me back. I asked can a thermostat go bad? Yes. Ok . He said go get a new one from Lowe's but make sure it is for a 2H1C (2 heat source and 1 cool source). Picked it up and got home took pictures of the connections and cut off the power. Wife says can you lower it so I can see if? I guess so. Stud finder and razor knife hole cut found wire and pulled it out. Wired it up and turned on the breakers. So far so good. Threw some spackle on the old thermostat holes, it was old and drying out so a temporary fix until I get some fresh and a pint of paint to touch up. Not quite the weekend I wanted but, it got done so far.