Home repairs

[PessOptimist]

I could have sworn I started a home repair thread or there was one but searching finds nothing.

There should be one. Yeah this forum is about investing in TSP but it has developed a social aspect which I love.

I have a 13+ year old split (natural gas furnace) HVAC system. 12 SEER 5 ton. Furnace is not really an issue since it is an insignificant amount of the yearly cost.

I am retiring within 5 years and trying to get the big cost items out of the way before that big pay cut. (FERS) Likely I will stay in this house until they put me in a home or I die.

The current system runs OK but works real hard here in the land of 100F+ for 3-4 months. The total usage for those months is 3+ kWh.

I read all the hype on line and from the proposals we have gotten. Buying a super duper hot **** system will not pay for itself in my remaining life. They all hate it when they want to hype the savings but are trained to talk $ and I talk kWh. Some don't know what a kiloWatt hour is. Energy costs will never decrease.

On the other hand, buying a two stage 16 SEER system will probably use less kWh per month and will preclude that catastrophic failure on the hottest day of the year and all the ensuing problems. (sig other saying I told you so, moving to a hotel, etc.)

I have lived in a few deserts without AC or in the BCAC era. I have lived in houses with a 20+ year old systems still working.

So, TSPTalkers, what do you think? Do it now? Wait a couple years? Keep the money in the bank (1.23%) and run to failure? That would make me popular with the B&C, no?

Please use this thread. We are all experts at investing:laugh: but should discuss other mundane stuff like houses here.

And BTW, the house is worth about 70% what it was bought for in 98. Glad I didn't buy it for an investment!:worried:

 

[nnuut]

Can't you use a Swamp Cooler down there?

 

[WorkFE]

FWIW
Interest rates are in your favor to fix it right and last you through your best years. I put in a heat pump a few years ago using the existing blower. Now I have Heat pump for primary and heater coil for emergency heat for those nights heat pump is not effective. Not a problem for you but the AC side works well. I do recommend a TRANE.

 

[Show-me]

Great topic and right up my ally. I built my own house and I mean actually built it. Only work I did not do was HVAC, concrete basement and shingles. I work as building maintenance too.

1. Air infiltration is the number one killer of efficiency, caulk everything............EVERYTHING! One of the talk show guy I listen to years ago claimed the average house was built with enough air infiltration points that equated to a open door year round.

2. Insulation in walls and attic. Get that attic insulated properly, that is what I did on one of my AL day in December.

3. Windows and doors, weather seals and quality. The more widows you have the more energy transfer you have. Heat radiating in during the summer and out during the winter. In the summer use curtains, blinds, or better yet radiant barrier. Radiant barriers are a fantastic subject alone.

As to your HVAC, I'm a run it until it dies guy as long as it is sized properly and it is not eating you up in maintenance cost, but proper preventative maintenance will help. I dislike the newer models because I like the immediate effect from a old AC unit. I like to feel the freezing cold air coming out of the ducts. The newer ones cool sloooooowly over the day and you can not adjust the thermostat down and feel a immediate cooling effect. Multi stage air handle is a big plus, if the unit is not cooling down the space properly the Variable Speed Motor VSM will pick up the speed and force more air through the system.

Home HVAC tips.

1. Buy and use the good quality pleated filters and change often. Stay away from the blue fiberglass crap filters, they let too much dirt get by and that plugs up your evaporator and restricts air flow and heat transfer.

2. Clean evaporator (inside) and condenser (outside) at least once and in some locations two or three times a year. Evap. won't need cleaned every year if you use a good filter.

A. If you were using the crappy filters you need to have someone clean the evaporator because that filter has let a ton of dirt go through and collect on it.

B. Condenser (outside) can collect dirt, dust, leaves, seeds, pollen, etc. These items reduce air flow and heat transfer. Just rinsing them out with "LOW PRESSURE WATER" will clean and rinse them out. LOW PRESSURE WATER because you do not want to damage or bend the cooling fins, that will screw up your air flow. DO NOT BEND THE FINS OVER AND IF THEY ARE ALREADY BENT OVER THEY NEED TO BE CORRECTED.

If cleaning needs to be more aggressive there are cleaning products that clean the fins. These are foaming cleaners that react to the aluminum and have lye to dissolve the organic matter. If you use these product they WILL BURN YOU AND ANYTHING ORGANIC. They have a high concentrate of alkalinity, opposite of acid, but burn just a good. Using this might be better off for the professionals because you need proper PPE.

3. Seal duct work with the aluminum tape. Your ducts should not be in your HOT, HOT, HOT attic but many are and you can not always fix that one cheap. You can seal the seams so that the "conditioned" air makes it to your area that need cooling or heating. If you have duct work in the attic seal all ducts and insulate duct work. Duct work in the attic warms your cooling air up before it gets to your rooms.........very bad.

I will stop here as I could ramble on forever talking about making a house efficent.

 

[grandma]

Great topic and right up my ally. I built my own house and I mean actually built it. Only work I did not do was HVAC, concrete basement and shingles. I work as building maintenance too.
1. Buy and use the good quality pleated filters and change often. Stay away from the blue fiberglass crap filters, they let too much dirt get by and that plugs up your evaporator and restricts air flow and heat transfer./QUOTE]

Thank you, Show-me. It is nice to see I am using the right filters!
By the way - what happened to your album of photos of you & family working on the addition several years ago?

 

[PessOptimist]

Can't you use a Swamp Cooler down there?

Yup and they work pretty well except for a 8-10 week period approx mid Jun-end of August. When the dew point gets up around 60 and the temp over 100, evap cooling has a real hard time cooling much below 80. Some people have both but to really integrate the evap in to the existing a/c system would cost more than it is worth. They are very common in other parts of AZ but not so much here in the beautiful valley of the sun. I think it's called that because the sun actually lives here.

 

[nnuut]

Yup and they work pretty well except for a 8-10 week period approx mid Jun-end of August. When the dew point gets up around 60 and the temp over 100, evap cooling has a real hard time cooling much below 80. Some people have both but to really integrate the evap in to the existing a/c system would cost more than it is worth. They are very common in other parts of AZ but not so much here in the beautiful valley of the sun. I think it's called that because the sun actually lives here.

Yep they work fine in low humidity, but down here in GA the walls would sweat!

 

[PessOptimist]

Thanks for all the replies.

WorkFE fortunately there will be no financing involved. Probably will stick with refrigeration and natural gas split. Yeah, I am leaning toward a high end SEER 16+ system as it is for the rest of time (to me) if done right.

Show-me (hey it finally clicked based on your location-no one ever accused me of being the sharpest bulb in the pencil drawer) lot's of good suggestions.

A big part of the battle in the replacement is to get the proposers to actually do a study of the load calculation and the existing duct work. The two proposals so far say the return air is undersized for the unit but are quick to say it was OK in 98. Laws of physics changed since then I guess? Most of the HVAC companies here had their fingers deep in to the pie during the housing boom and will not ever say it was not built properly.

This in no way is meant to dis the builder, contractor, sub contractors, sub-sub contractors or any of those guys they used to bring in to the site every morning in a pickup.

I used to stop by the building site daily, usually after work so they had left for the day, to review progress. The builder tried to stop this but I just did it anyway. My one mistake looking back on it was stopping by when I was in the area at lunch time. I was driving a SUV with GSA plates and a cage in the back. Cage is for safety as we carry a lot of equipment. I have nothing to do with LEO. Apparently this made some of the "union craftsmen" uneasy and some left for the day. I was asked to never come to the site again. I still stopped by every night in my personal vehicle. One evening I had a need to use one of the porta-potties (one per every 4 house sites?) and when I opened the door it was absolutely chock full of beer cans and pint liquor bottles. There were empty alcohol containers all over the place. I am sure I have posted stuff about this before. Water over the bridge or under the dam.

Since we are talking a lot of money here (about what I would have made in TSP if I had left it alone in Jan) and the provider will be ripping up the attic, asking for a study using industry standards (manual J, D, S) and possibly redoing duct work seems reasonable. All responses are "does it work OK now"?

A note about ripping up the attic, most of the evaporator/furnaces were installed before the dry wall went up. So guess what?

I was surprised to find a lot of comments by HVAC people about the pleated filters. Maybe those high efficiency filters are not helping efficiency? Especially if the return air is a bit undersized? Hard to say who to believe. I was told years ago that the return air filter was to protect the equipment and not to filter the air humans breath. If you want that, install a properly designed additional air filtration device. Reducing the CFM of the return air will decrease efficiency.

Insulation, another funny thing. Of the two proposals we have so far, one said the insulation was fine, one said it was not. The one who said it is not mentioned that they do insulation. I forgot what the R value is supposed to be. I have all that info somewhere. The house was "energy star compliant" circa 1998.

Thanks again for the replies.

 

[Show-me]

I was surprised to find a lot of comments by HVAC people about the pleated filters. Maybe those high efficiency filters are not helping efficiency? Especially if the return air is a bit undersized? Hard to say who to believe. I was told years ago that the return air filter was to protect the equipment and not to filter the air humans breath. If you want that, install a properly designed additional air filtration device. Reducing the CFM of the return air will decrease efficiency.

Insulation, another funny thing. Of the two proposals we have so far, one said the insulation was fine, one said it was not. The one who said it is not mentioned that they do insulation. I forgot what the R value is supposed to be. I have all that info somewhere. The house was "energy star compliant" circa 1998.

Thanks again for the replies.

Yes, the pleated filter can ruin efficiency if you go over board. I buy the lowest rated high quality pleated filter and I have the option of using a 4 inch thick filter. The thicker filter gives me more surface area and better flow. I don't need my filter medium to filter out bird flu, west nile or the zombie apocalypse virus :nuts: just pet hair, dust bunnies and dirt.

 

[PessOptimist]

Resurrecting this two month old thread. Been doing some research on residential HVAC and home envelopes in general and decided to get one of those home efficiency analyses sponsored/subsidized by DOE and local power company. The main reason was to get the blower door test and duct analysis. I did get one new low flow faucet aerator, a "smart" shower head that is supposed to shut off when the water gets hot (haven't tried it yet, designed to save water while waiting for it to get hot) and six cheap spiral CFL bulbs. Woo effing hoo.

Those CFLs have been addressed elsewhere. Try to get anything out of the warranty on the package. I replaced two of them this weekend, one lasted four years, one two. I only know because I write the date on them when I replace them. So much for seven years.

Plus now I have an environmental decision to make. EPA says it's OK to put em in the landfill. Local hazardous waste collection is once every year and last year wouldn't take mercury. Like Kermit said, "it's not easy being green".

Yeah, EPA says it's OK based on the amount of mercury per bulb. Now, if thirty million households throw two per year in the landfill...not a problem. CFLs will save the polar bear cubs, rain forests, earth and Al Gore's money. Besides, the incandescent bulb industry pretty much doesn't exist in the US. Those people must have other jobs by now right? Let the future generations worry about the mercury. It can be their VOC thing.

The blower door test showed the house is pretty tight, the duct work sealed except for the return. That's got to do with the ducts being installed before the electrical wiring.

The electrical wiring in my attic is stretched out so tight you could play music on it. That's normal to save money I suppose. Two of the HVAC ducts were partially crushed by it.

Yeah, we had a home inspector look at the place before we closed. He said it was "typical of the construction in the area". Guess I should have asked what that meant.

The analysis got people up in the attic looking at areas I haven't been in 15 years and no one else has been since the place was built. Including the "home inspector" we paid for. When I was up there I was focused on my task and didn't look around much. Silly me. These people took pictures and I can see they are of my house. It turns out that there is almost no insulation in parts of the attic. Well, not none, drywall has a R.5 value. The good news is that the batt insulation on the outside walls and stub walls is intact. The bad news is the blown in insulation was never blown in to the less accessible areas. Turns out most of the southwest part of the house is one big plenum open to the outside through the soffit and peak vents. Glad the home was energy star rated and we had that home inspection.

Guess now we will have to spend a few thou on making the home as efficient as it was supposed to be 15 years ago.

What? Sue someone you say? Sure, after 15 years. Right, Most of the sub contractors are long gone, most of the workers have gone on to their home country or other things. Sue who?

Ah well, the joys of home ownership in LA East. Roof (concrete tiles installed by craftsmen from the parking lot) needs some work on the edges and the water heater is about to die. Should I spend a few hundred on a new gas heater or go solar for a few thousand? Think of the polar bear cubs! So many issues.

PO

 

[KevinD]

Our water heater's getting pretty old. The wife wants a tankless. Happy wife, happy life.

 

[alevin]

I did a whole lot of research over the last few years on mini-split heat pumps, insulation, attic fans, soffit vents, roof vents, blow-in insulation, mylar insulation, foam insulation, heat-reflective shingles, heat-reflective paint, hvac, etc, etc. etc. solar tubes and skylights. I looked at the minisplits really really hard-they didn't require adding ducting. ducting won't fit under my low-pitch roof, not much headroom in the crawlspace.

3 main objectives-1) replace roof near end of natural life, 2) create cool(er) house in summer-(we get up over 85-100 for weeks at a time too, and house would go over 90 at night (sweat to death in livingroom, office, master br, etc.). 3) improve natural lighting (house constructed/oriented in a way that makes it naturally fairly dark in most daytime living areas of house.

What I ended up doing-solar reflective shingles (tax credit for extra cost beyond ordinary shingles), added soffit vents (there were none), added (tax credit) attic insulation-wasn't up to code (50yo house), added (tax credit) WALL insulation-(there was none!), and as long as I had reroofing job (complete tearoff and redo), had roofer add (tax credit) 3 solar tubes (tubular skylights) in strategic places in 3 different rooms, after I bought the tube kits I researched. tax credits added up to the max allowable, $1500 for cy2010. good timing,

I'm pretty happy with the results, home office and livingroom only get to about 82-83 in evenings now, liveable. 90+ wasn't. I still sleep in den with creaky old wall ac tho during the hottest months. I don't know how the previous owners, elderly couple, lived here without the heat-reduction measures I added as new owner after they had passed on.

 

[PessOptimist]

Our water heater's getting pretty old. The wife wants a tankless. Happy wife, happy life.

Thanks, KevinD. I thought about one of them (or smaller point of use ones) years ago but hadn't given it a thought at this time. Another alternative.

Solar would make so much sense here but it is sooo expensive and you still have to have an alternate heat source.

PO

 

[Mapper]

Can't you use a Swamp Cooler down there?

We can use them here in UT, but they are pretty nasty things to work with.

 

[Mapper]

Thanks, KevinD. I thought about one of them (or smaller point of use ones) years ago but hadn't given it a thought at this time. Another alternative.

Solar would make so much sense here but it is sooo expensive and you still have to have an alternate heat source.

PO

I talk to my dad about these frequently. He's pretty good with numbers and concluded (as a few years ago) the smaller tank option is the cheapest to operate.

 

[PessOptimist]

I brought this up before in a pay off mortgage thread or perhaps elsewhere.

To recap, there was minor storm damage to my roof in late May. Discussions between the insurance company and their designated contractor have determined we need a new roof. Much negotiation and pain later, including paying off the mortgage, the supplies have been delivered and the destruction starts tomorrow. This will either cost me $500 or $10,000. Not sure yet.

Haven't seen a contract yet for this job.

Opinions?

 

[alevin]

I brought this up before in a pay off mortgage thread or perhaps elsewhere.

To recap, there was minor storm damage to my roof in late May. Discussions between the insurance company and their designated contractor have determined we need a new roof. Much negotiation and pain later, including paying off the mortgage, the supplies have been delivered and the destruction starts tomorrow. This will either cost me $500 or $10,000. Not sure yet.

Haven't seen a contract yet for this job.

Opinions?

Well, my first question is, did the contractor contract with the insurance company? Can your agent or adjuster answer that question for you? If there is no contract between those 2 parties, how can the work proceed? there must be a contract. Your insurance company may only cover the part of the job that relates to the storm damage....what does your insurance policy say about such things?

 

[nnuut]

Watch out for this one, I had my roof replaced last Sept. my insurance covered everything except an upgrade in the shingles to architectural grade and some soffit work. There should be paperwork from your Insurance Co. accepting an estimate submitted by the contractor for the damage done to the roof, usually by weather. My Insurance wrote checks to me to pay the contractor if I was satisfied with the work to date, there were two checks one for completion of the roof up to a point established by my Ins and one for completion, as I said the homeowner is responsible if the contractor does substandard work and is paid not the insurance company.

 

[PessOptimist]

I am sure you have all lost sleep over this. I have been extremely busy at the j.o.b. and not keeping up. I also may have been somewhat paranoid when I posted as I had been out of the loop for a couple weeks.

Well, my first question is, did the contractor contract with the insurance company? Can your agent or adjuster answer that question for you? If there is no contract between those 2 parties, how can the work proceed? there must be a contract. Your insurance company may only cover the part of the job that relates to the storm damage....what does your insurance policy say about such things?

I should have said I have not seen the latest interim contract for this job. I have seen the insurance company agreement with the contractor. I have seen and signed the initial go forward agreement. I had not seen the start work agreement. This was a "home network problem". A family member did sign this and write another check. That family member just neglected to tell me and make available a copy. I e-mailed the insurance contractor rep and he sent me a copy along with assurance he had e-mailed the other family member a copy.

We are familiar with what the policy says and the depreciation part of it.

Watch out for this one, I had my roof replaced last Sept. my insurance covered everything except an upgrade in the shingles to architectural grade and some soffit work. There should be paperwork from your Insurance Co. accepting an estimate submitted by the contractor for the damage done to the roof, usually by weather. My Insurance wrote checks to me to pay the contractor if I was satisfied with the work to date, there were two checks one for completion of the roof up to a point established by my Ins and one for completion, as I said the homeowner is responsible if the contractor does substandard work and is paid not the insurance company.

All good points nnuut. There will be two checks here, as we have a depreciation clause in our policy. The insurance company wrote us one check for the coverage which we decided to parcel out to the contractor as he reasonably requested. The depreciation coverage comes in after the job is done. The insurance company has appointed the contractor and sub contractor as the inspectors. The roofers are a sub-sub. This is very complicated.

Whatever, the inspector/contractor situation, they showed up on time and so far seem to be doing a competent job. I find that my comprehension of mexican is improving. (OK whoever, it's spanish but it ain't the same) They ripped off all the old tiles Friday and ripped off the battens/felt (underlayment for those never having had a tile roof) on the front and laid the new felt and wood. Promptly at 6AM Saturday they removed all from the rear and installed the new felt and battens. They left at noon. Based on what I have read about concrete tile roofs and has been pointed out to me about the original roof, I believe they actually know what they are doing.

Late Sunday night we had a storm much like the one that caused the damage in May. A quick inspection this morning showed no interior water damage and no damage to the roof work. The stuff on the patio was moved west and around the corner of the house. Winds and rain are funny things. On the way to work I noticed some trees down.

The person who signed the contracts and wrote the checks did inform me the crew only worked from 9 AM to noon. They put all the tiles on the roof with an extended boom forklift.

They also placed the tiles on the back except for the transition points and edges. This will be the point where I know if it is a good job or not. The original builder's subcontractor either did not know or did not care.

As far as having the job inspected. I have done a lot of reading about this type of roof. The insurance company is saying that the original contractor they chose will be the final inspector. Should I pay a different roofing contractor a couple hundred to inspect it? Should I find one who hates the insurance companies contractor? Should I bother to look at all? My research leads me to believe this roof is being installed better than the original. The original lasted 15 years, and possibly longer if not for the insurance companies intervention.

PO

 

[nnuut]

Sounds like you're moving right along and is basically how the process worked for me. Never dealt with a tile roof so I'm no help there. Just be happy it's not you on the roof in the hot sun.