BG Homeowner and DIY Thread - Out of the Basement Edition

[Byrthnoth]

Connect it to a hose and let it drain into something (like a sump pump hole) to make it easier on you.

I set mine for like 40% relative humidity target and have it run every other hour, unplugging it at night if people are sleeping down there. Mine runs the fan, which is a lot of the power draw, even if it is below target, so I give it every other hour off so it bounces between 60%ish (depends on outside) and 40%. You can listen for how often the compressor runs when you have reached equilibrium.

[Outlaw]

Unfortunately I don't have a drain nearby and would have to attach a really long hose. This has helped soooo much though. Humidity is down to 50% now. I let it run all night long last night and got up several times to empty it. I think it's getting under control now. It has a auto feature where it shuts off when it gets to the level you set and only turns on when the humidity gets above that. When it gets to 40% I'm going to turn that on and keep the fan on low and see how that does.

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[Ksandra]

I need some advice.

So we have one of those heavy interior doors that auto shuts for our garage. I hate how it’s constantly slamming anytime someone goes in and out of it. I was cleaning the garage this morning thinking how I wanted like a kickdown door stopper for it. I’ve been thinking about that for awhile but haven’t done it. This afternoon it became a more immediate need as my poor daughter got her fingers slammed into the door. Thankfully she’s ok but lost some surface skin and had a good amount of bleeding.

So my goal is to get that finally taken care of. The thing is I am finding shit luck on how to do it with that type of door. I can’t find anything that tells me if they can be drilled into (metal on inside), and do I need different screws for that. All the adhesive ones have terrible reviews stating the stick wears off quickly.

Any help?

Note: I don’t want to get one of the angle ones you shove under the door, as those are just going to get destroyed by the dog.

[Tyche]

It's likely metal on outside and some kind of filler and insulation on the inside. Small metal screws will work fine. If the metal is thin, those screws may pull out under stress and you'll have to get bigger screws or replace the door. You could reinforce with a metal plate if that's a concern. If you don't want to screw holes in the door, they have commercial stoppers that replace the center hinge pin that works as a stopper. That's what I'd use in your situation.

[Jamison]

Just thinking out loud, but I wonder if there's a safety or insurance issue there... in some areas I think they factor in that door essentially closing by itself which eliminates the chance of carbon monoxide issues if a car happens to be running (an accidental auto-start, for example). I remember my inspector pointing that out. Not that it's any easier, but maybe a soft-close hinge at the top could solve the problem?

[Ksandra]

It's likely metal on outside and some kind of filler and insulation on the inside. Small metal screws will work fine. If the metal is thin, those screws may pull out under stress and you'll have to get bigger screws or replace the door. You could reinforce with a metal plate if that's a concern. If you don't want to screw holes in the door, they have commercial stoppers that replace the center hinge pin that works as a stopper. That's what I'd use in your situation.

Just thinking out loud, but I wonder if there's a safety or insurance issue there... in some areas I think they factor in that door essentially closing by itself which eliminates the chance of carbon monoxide issues if a car happens to be running (an accidental auto-start, for example). I remember my inspector pointing that out. Not that it's any easier, but maybe a soft-close hinge at the top could solve the problem?

I’ll look into the hinge pin options! Ty!

I can’t imagine we’d ever get caught if it is a code thing. As is we don’t have any gas-powered cars.

[Buffy]

Paid my mortgage off Thursday. Bought the house in August of 2017. Feels pretty good, less then 6 years.

[Kanriel]

Paid my mortgage off Thursday. Bought the house in August of 2017. Feels pretty good, less then 6 years.

Hell yeah, I just paid mine off a month ago, took me just under 8 years. It's super nice to not be dealing with such a major monthly payment (ever?) again.

[archibaldcrane]

Good work both of you

(i have like... 880k of mortgage debt left)

[synistar]

Hell yeah, I just paid mine off a month ago, took me just under 8 years. It's super nice to not be dealing with such a major monthly payment (ever?) again.

Now live the life of home equity loans for home improvements/renovations and/or vacations.

[Buffy]

Now live the life of home equity loans for home improvements/renovations and/or vacations.

next two years become about saving and trying to buy a home in fairfax, va...takes us closer to the school for our kid and ideally work for me long-term would be in a corporate building near there...so new mortgage in 2 years but gonna slam away a mortgage payment a month in savings as long as I can.

[Outlaw]

Good job both of you guys! I think paying off a mortgage in less than 10 years is impressive in this day and age.

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[Byrthnoth]

I've got a lot of mortgage debt left but at ~2% it's going to be a while before it makes sense to pay more than the minimum.

[Kaslo]

I've got a lot of mortgage debt left but at ~2% it's going to be a while before it makes sense to pay more than the minimum.

This

[Ksandra]

I've got a lot of mortgage debt left but at ~2% it's going to be a while before it makes sense to pay more than the minimum.

This is where I am at. Congrats to the both of you! Despite the low rate for ours, it would still be awesome not making that payment every month.

[Kaslo]

This is where I am at. Congrats to the both of you! Despite the low rate for ours, it would still be awesome not making that payment every month.

You would think that, but likely half of it would still be made/saved for insurance and taxes.

[Ayn]

I didn't snag as great a rate as some people did (was kind of annoyed at the time), but oof is it still miles better than what people are getting today.

I think I paid down extra for the first few months then just funneled the rest into investment accounts. . or high yield savings above my rate.

[synistar]

Get an email from the insurance company covering my dad's house threatening to not renew the policy because a google maps/earth satellite image shows the roof is in disrepair.

The image they based it on barely shows anything of detail. It's also dated because the garage roof got replaced in June and is a different color/material than the older portion of roof (tar + gravel.)

Agent's office requests us to send pictures/invoice of the roof replacement and if possible get it inspected. Or at least send proof we're doing due diligence in getting repairs done as needed.

I reply - we can't trust roofers to inspect because they're looking for work and willing to say anything to scare us into hiring them. FFS the amount of pressure the roofers we hired for the leak repair/roof replacement on the garage just makes me want to vomit thinking about them.

[Salodin]

You don't have receipts for the repairs you did do? From the contractor that did it? That sounds like exactly what they're looking for.

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[synistar]

Only a section of roof was replaced, not the whole roof. So it's a coin flip if us promising to replace sections of roof would be enough to keep the insurance