BG Homeowner and DIY Thread - Out of the Basement Edition

**Julian** · 2021-01-29 11:40

Yeah, if you can get a low interest rate + low PMI rate, going in at just 5% is a no brainer.

**Corrderio** · 2021-01-29 13:14

Thanks I'll talk to my bank about it some time soonish. I tried a calculator and it was saying that my interest would be between 50-100 a month so trying to get a more accurate estimate

**bywa.pl** · 2021-01-29 16:58

I have an issue regarding electrical outlets. Used an outlet tester, and so far, 2 rooms seem to have problems.

Room 1 has 1 outlet working normally, and 2 outlet testing open ground
Room 2 has all outlet testing open ground.

The problem is when I popped the open ground ones all open... the ground line is wired correctly to the green bolt. Went out and bought new 3-prong outlets and replaced 2/6 of them and they are still testing open ground, and didn't waste further time replacing other 4.

**archibaldcrane** · 2021-01-29 17:42

Originally Posted by bywa.pl

I have an issue regarding electrical outlets. Used an outlet tester, and so far, 2 rooms seem to have problems.

Room 1 has 1 outlet working normally, and 2 outlet testing open ground
Room 2 has all outlet testing open ground.

The problem is when I popped the open ground ones all open... the ground line is wired correctly to the green bolt. Went out and bought new 3-prong outlets and replaced 2/6 of them and they are still testing open ground, and didn't waste further time replacing other 4.

Swap the black and white wires if you want it to stop saying open ground. Or just ignore it, it doesn't matter. Same thing happened to me.

(I am not an electrician, I don't understand why that solved the issue)

**Rombot** · 2021-01-29 18:57

Originally Posted by archibaldcrane

Swap the black and white wires if you want it to stop saying open ground. Or just ignore it, it doesn't matter. Same thing happened to me.

(I am not an electrician, I don't understand why that solved the issue)

The ground line could’ve been interrupted in the circuit somewhere.

A trick I’ve done when doing electrical work (I work with a general contractor, so I’m your jack-of-all-trades type) is to pigtail the same gauge wire from the ground screw into the neutral screw on the outlet. If you happen to do this to the right outlet in the circuit, it may correct all the other open grounds.

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**Boyiee** · 2021-01-30 05:28

I just did about 30 outlets and 18 switches in my home.

First off, fuck that 4 way switch and the 3way dimmer.

Second, I have one light switch with no ground. Does it matter? It's a regular switch. It's part of a 2 switch box and the other switch is a grounded 3way so I could take it back off and piggy it but I was lazy and reinstalled it the way the last one was as I was doing fucking 48 boxes.

**Rombot** · 2021-01-30 06:33

I never wire up a ground to a switch... now I’m not a licensed electrician, but I do the work the way I was taught by one.

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**Bardicrune** · 2021-01-30 11:19

Originally Posted by Boyiee

I just did about 30 outlets and 18 switches in my home.

First off, fuck that 4 way switch and the 3way dimmer.

Second, I have one light switch with no ground. Does it matter? It's a regular switch. It's part of a 2 switch box and the other switch is a grounded 3way so I could take it back off and piggy it but I was lazy and reinstalled it the way the last one was as I was doing fucking 48 boxes.

Metal or plastic box?

**Boyiee** · 2021-01-30 11:32

Plastic.

**Bardicrune** · 2021-01-30 13:47

Then yeah I would take just a few min and a bit of scrap wire and tie the two grounds together. Better safe than sorry.

**Xno Kappa** · 2021-02-17 19:11

Pretty sure I have a clogged sewer line. This should be fun.

**Byrthnoth** · 2021-02-17 20:38

Originally Posted by Xno Kappa

Pretty sure I have a clogged sewer line. This should be fun.

Narrator >> It was not fun

**archibaldcrane** · 2021-02-18 17:36

Getting someone to rooter your cleanout should be like $99, nbd

**Malithar** · 2021-02-18 20:09

Clearing the line isn't that bad, the fun comes from why it clogged to begin with. Roots or old busted clay lines can lead to massive repair bills real quick. Here's hoping if there is such an issue, it's on the city's end.

**TsingTao** · 2021-02-19 10:15

Originally Posted by Byrthnoth

Narrator >> It was not fun

My brain heard Morgan Freeman as the narrator. Thanks for the chuckle!

**synistar** · 2021-02-19 13:30

Originally Posted by Malithar

Clearing the line isn't that bad, the fun comes from why it clogged to begin with. Roots or old busted clay lines can lead to massive repair bills real quick. Here's hoping if there is such an issue, it's on the city's end.

Yep. Cost my dad $12k to repair/reinforce our sewer line last month. We were nursing that thing for the past 10+ years constantly snaking it every 6-8 months.

**Ksandra** · 2021-03-05 13:24

Demolishing starts today!

And I ended up just having them take out the whole bed because I bought my kids a swing set. Pool is going to be 12 X 20 instead of 12 X 24 to accommodate the swing set.

The guy I hired does a lot of cool things with above grounds for decks and like fiberglass surroundings, so we might use him later for that. I actually picked him because the other contractors didn't know much about above grounds, and this guy knew a lot and even is installing 5 others in the neighborhood.

Price ended up being $14k for the work. Which is slightly higher than I wanted, but was the middle estimate. This does not include the pool. He said they do the installs, but it's cheaper if we get the pool and find a dad and son duo to put it together. He's gonna help me find a good pool though for the spot. Once we get to that part we may actually still have them do the install and the deck depending on cost/designs.

[edit] Also, we were on the verge of trying to do it ourselves, and looking at the work they are doing I am so glad we didn't. lol If hubby and I had lots of time, it would have been doable, but we have both been working crazy hours lately, so it just would have taken forever.

**Roranora** · 2021-03-05 14:36

we just spent $17.4k on windows and i can't swim in them

still feel a bit anxious about them but that too shall pass

**Souj** · 2021-03-08 11:48

Lease is up in September. Looking into getting my first house. I know what monthly mortgage payments I want to make are, but I'm unsure where to start as far as figuring out house cost/loan amount. Should I find a place to see what kind of loan I could even get first?