The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

[state of hockey]

Depending on what it is, you may wanna cross a river to release it.

Please don't. With my luck it'll end up in our walls instead. :^)

[dxmnkd316]

Yeah, the nature preserve puts a small lake between us :-)

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

Depending on what it is, you may wanna cross a river to release it.

[dxmnkd316]

My parents neighbor just had a raccoon in their attic.

Oof. Last thing I want in my house. We've been trying to get rid of the raccoon that keeps draining our hummingbird feeders. ****er dropped a deuce on our deck the first time almost to let us know he's here. We've caught him up there a few times, he just looks up with DGAF face when the light hits him. Open the deck door (5' away!) and he just looks up like we're inconveniencing him.

anyways, we enjoy watching the flying squirrels chase each other. But this might be it :-(

we'll release what we catch at the nature preserve just north of us.

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

We've got a critter in the walls.

I'm hoping it's not the flying squirrel fren...

My parents neighbor just had a raccoon in their attic.

[dxmnkd316]

We've got a critter in the walls.

I'm hoping it's not the flying squirrel fren...

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Probably the cheapest vinyl windows they could source in bulk at a contractor rate. We have Brand X junk too, except our own previous AH owner installed them himself, along with a lot of other things around here. Let's just say an auto mechanic doesn't necessarily make a good handyman.

[burd]

Door is 22 years old and is a wide door that needed reinforcement at one time to keep it from buckling. New one has some R value to it which should keep the sewing room above the garage warmer in winter.

Oh - and an AC smoke detector went on the fritz 3 years early. Replaced the backup battery and it still went beep all through last night. Going to replace all the detectors just in case, but the previous AH owner didn't label which breaker runs the smoke detectors. Will have to play hunt and check this weekend. %&&**!!!

And now my wife finally agrees that we need to replace the 22 year old builder grade windows (30 of them!). More money. Think we'll wait a bit more for the supply chain & economy issues to resolve.

What do you mean by "builder grade" windows? Anderson? Hurd? Pella? Marvin?

[joecct]

Total replacement? Or just a touch up? My quote - for two doors and all hardware/sliders/whatever (no automatic stuff, all manual) was $3400. We aren't getting windows or anything fancy on them, and aren't having them painted. And my favorite part is that the salesman was honest about timing - "yeah, a few months? Honestly I have no idea and I'm really sorry, but I don't want to overpromise".

Door is 22 years old and is a wide door that needed reinforcement at one time to keep it from buckling. New one has some R value to it which should keep the sewing room above the garage warmer in winter.

Oh - and an AC smoke detector went on the fritz 3 years early. Replaced the backup battery and it still went beep all through last night. Going to replace all the detectors just in case, but the previous AH owner didn't label which breaker runs the smoke detectors. Will have to play hunt and check this weekend. %&&**!!!

And now my wife finally agrees that we need to replace the 22 year old builder grade windows (30 of them!). More money. Think we'll wait a bit more for the supply chain & economy issues to resolve.

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

Little over golfball-sized hail in GDO this afternoon. Upwards of 2".

Hoping for a new roof

My parents house got hammered. Outside lights shattered, roof is a wreck and getting total replacement

[Swansong]

About that garage door....

The HOA did its "annual" inspection (1st time I've seen them do one) of all the houses for compliance.

We got dinged for a dented and cracked garage door. Got an estimate from COSTCO. With 10% Costco card and a 5% senior discount, got the cost down to $3775. (cough, gasp).

Total replacement? Or just a touch up? My quote - for two doors and all hardware/sliders/whatever (no automatic stuff, all manual) was $3400. We aren't getting windows or anything fancy on them, and aren't having them painted. And my favorite part is that the salesman was honest about timing - "yeah, a few months? Honestly I have no idea and I'm really sorry, but I don't want to overpromise".

[joecct]

About that garage door....

The HOA did its "annual" inspection (1st time I've seen them do one) of all the houses for compliance.

We got dinged for a dented and cracked garage door. Got an estimate from COSTCO. With 10% Costco card and a 5% senior discount, got the cost down to $3775. (cough, gasp).

[dxmnkd316]

Little over golfball-sized hail in GDO this afternoon. Upwards of 2".

Hoping for a new roof

[walrus]

We need our driveway redone and we want a new privacy fence between us and our next door neighbor as well. Tricky thing is, there's a giant old oak right on our property line (mostly on the neighbor's side) which the fence will have to snake around somehow. In addition, the tree is so old and big that the roots are contributing to the breakup of our existing concrete and pouring new concrete in that area may be pointless (continued root growth will eventually break it up again over several years) and if whatever contractor we hire damages the roots while doing the work, it might also kill the oak. It really should be removed, but there's no reasoning with this lady. She got into a very nasty dispute with the previous owner of our house over tree trimming that he did which included branches on her side of the property line he shouldn't have touched, and I'm in no mood to torch off our own turf war with her.

Get a concrete contractor in there to give an opinion. You want someone that does flatwork. I'll bet I could place a concrete driveway that tree won't **** up : ) Excavate the roots all you want they are on your property.

[SJHovey]

In Minnesota it works this way. If the trunk is entirely on your property, you may do what you like with it. If it’s entirely on your neighbors property, you may trim that part hanging over your land, but only if it causes no harm to the tree(terrible appearance is not harm.) If the trunk is on the property line, you may again trim it if no harm will occur. Can’t go on neighbors property to do it. Both must consent to remove it. But if the tree is causing a nuisance ( sounds like it is) you can bring a nuisance claim and ask that it be removed.)