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- Nov 22, 2009
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Please report back - thanks!!
I bought an Anolon cookware set from Macy's a couple black Fridays ago and it's held up well.
Please report back - thanks!!
LOVING THIS THREAD - so happy I am not the only one!
MANY home improvement projects on the agenda!
Home built 2001, 6800 SF, 6+BR and 8 BA.
Owned 15+years
NEEDS:
Kitchen updated - cabinets + quartz counter tops. All hardwood floors sanded and updated. Update all BA, paint interior, some windows/doors replaced, update a bunch of furniture, landscaping.
JUST BRING HOUSE OUT OF THE 90's.
What accomplished in COVID years.
-2 new 50gallon water heaters
-New Roof
-most pool equipment repaired and updated
-sprinkler system repaired (what a POS)
- 3 new A/C units (A/C and furnace) went from 3 barely working 21yo 10 seer 2.5 and 4 Ton units to 17 seer 4 ton 2-speed Rheem units with NEST thermostats. Replaced them while they were still working - because wife said do it. Estimates from Home Depot, Lowes, and Costco. They all use contractors that are pushy used care sales types, and went with our local guy. Look at budgeting about $30K !
My wife says she loves the A/C units more than me and the kids. Georgia summers are Brutal.
You just have to constantly fix and update. Good, honest contractors are very hard to find. The good ones are too busy, the bad ones are available immediately. They come over, take a look at the house, and give you a ridiculous estimate based on the house value!
Projects Pending - Need some cash!
Used my yearly bonus to buy a hot tub. Best purchase ever.
I need to insulate my garage, but I’m just being lazy about it.
I can’t even imagine cleaning/maintaining EIGHT bathrooms, let alone updating/renovating that many!! Good luck!!LOVING THIS THREAD - so happy I am not the only one!
MANY home improvement projects on the agenda!
Home built 2001, 6800 SF, 6+BR and 8 BA.
Owned 15+years
NEEDS:
Kitchen updated - cabinets + quartz counter tops. All hardwood floors sanded and updated. Update all BA, paint interior, some windows/doors replaced, update a bunch of furniture, landscaping.
JUST BRING HOUSE OUT OF THE 90's.
What accomplished in COVID years.
-2 new 50gallon water heaters
-New Roof
-most pool equipment repaired and updated
-sprinkler system repaired (what a POS)
- 3 new A/C units (A/C and furnace) went from 3 barely working 21yo 10 seer 2.5 and 4 Ton units to 17 seer 4 ton 2-speed Rheem units with NEST thermostats. Replaced them while they were still working - because wife said do it. Estimates from Home Depot, Lowes, and Costco. They all use contractors that are pushy used care sales types, and went with our local guy. Look at budgeting about $30K !
My wife says she loves the A/C units more than me and the kids. Georgia summers are Brutal.
You just have to constantly fix and update. Good, honest contractors are very hard to find. The good ones are too busy, the bad ones are available immediately. They come over, take a look at the house, and give you a ridiculous estimate based on the house value!
Projects Pending - Need some cash!
Tell me you are renting/leasing…as opposed to having like a dozen offspringLOVING THIS THREAD - so happy I am not the only one!
MANY home improvement projects on the agenda!
Home built 2001, 6800 SF, 6+BR and 8 BA.
Owned 15+years
NEEDS:
Kitchen updated - cabinets + quartz counter tops. All hardwood floors sanded and updated. Update all BA, paint interior, some windows/doors replaced, update a bunch of furniture, landscaping.
JUST BRING HOUSE OUT OF THE 90's.
What accomplished in COVID years.
-2 new 50gallon water heaters
-New Roof
-most pool equipment repaired and updated
-sprinkler system repaired (what a POS)
- 3 new A/C units (A/C and furnace) went from 3 barely working 21yo 10 seer 2.5 and 4 Ton units to 17 seer 4 ton 2-speed Rheem units with NEST thermostats. Replaced them while they were still working - because wife said do it. Estimates from Home Depot, Lowes, and Costco. They all use contractors that are pushy used care sales types, and went with our local guy. Look at budgeting about $30K !
My wife says she loves the A/C units more than me and the kids. Georgia summers are Brutal.
You just have to constantly fix and update. Good, honest contractors are very hard to find. The good ones are too busy, the bad ones are available immediately. They come over, take a look at the house, and give you a ridiculous estimate based on the house value!
Projects Pending - Need some cash!
We are renting out every bedroom to a family of immigrants! Helping the less fortunate!Tell me you are renting/leasing…as opposed to having like a dozen offspring
We are renting out every bedroom to a family of immigrants! Helping the less fortunate!
Hey, I can make that joke, I am an immigrant!
I have 10 kids - all of them working to make the mortgage payments.
NO. Can barely afford the 3 I have!
Sorry, just a wife and 3 kids. Two of them grown up and gone. Just the 3 of us now!
The one kid is a teenage girl, she avoids us, unless she needs something, then we text.So when you are looking for one kid, do you have to call them on their cell phone or is there an intercom system or something? Hide and go seek must take hours!
6800SF omg. I would get lost in there.
Forreal, I thought my house was big (~4200 sq ft). My friend had a 7000 sq ft house growing up and we played hide and seek in it, it took so long, person hiding fell asleep in like this elevated closet that was more like a studio apartment between floors, lol.
4200SF is big. My house is like 2k SF and feels big.
I love planting, I have 110 plants on my terrace.
I love that tub! Is it staying or being replaced during the remodel?So we are getting ready to remodel the 2nd floor bathroom. We always do the demo to save money. First my wife wanted to buy a very expensive mirror. So we went to measure the space to see if it would fit. Then we started to pull up the wall paper and see what was under it. Then we decided to take the doors off of the built in medicine cabinet and take the 1950's tiles off. I guess it's true if you give a mouse a cookie....
The tub is staying. WE will have to have it re-glazedI love that tub! Is it staying or being replaced during the remodel?
Glad to hear!The tub is staying. WE will have to have it re-glazed
Another DIY project I’ve got in the works…preference to do it myself for the sake of experience/rewarding adding to the laundry list of random skills.The tub is staying. WE will have to have it re-glazed
I would not reccomend this as a DIY project, The chemicals are caustic and not amenable to breathing...Another DIY project I’ve got in the works…preference to do it myself for the sake of experience/rewarding adding to the laundry list of random skills.
I do find the hot tub chemicals to a bit more challenging than my pool. When we use it regular, not so much. I just toss som chlorine in it after we use it. Check it once a week to adjust pH. Clean filter once a month.Guess I'm in the minority but I found a hot tub to be a burden. It was a pain to add chemicals each week and drain it 4 times a year or more. One time I refilled it and a girl with spray tan went in and there was a huge layer of scum. So I had to drain it, refill it, and start the whole shock process over again. One time some kids came over and used it as a swimming pool, filling it with dirt and grass. Same process all over again.
I do find the hot tub chemicals to a bit more challenging than my pool. When we use it regular, not so much. I just toss som chlorine in it after we use it. Check it once a week to adjust pH. Clean filter once a month.
Now consider my pool is basically adjust run time/chlorination once a week, and add a half bottle of muriatic acid once a month or so. Add water more often than most due to our pool cover leaves a fairly narrow pool level window.
I'm a huge fan of my hot tub maintenance schedule: Find a couple friends who have one and go use theirsI used the hot tub a few times a week when we first got it, but after that I only used it once a month maybe. So it became more of a chore for something I hardly used.
I'm a huge fan of my hot tub maintenance schedule: Find a couple friends who have one and go use theirs
As a pool owner for the last 15 years, I can tell you it ain't that simple! You have chlorination (now salinity levels), you have salt levels, you have alkalinity, you have pH, and calcium hardness. Don't forget Flocculant Agents. it's cont. Robotic vacuum action since organic matter cannot remain at the bottom of the pool! It's like one big chemistry experiment. If one thing is off, everything gets off !I do find the hot tub chemicals to a bit more challenging than my pool. When we use it regular, not so much. I just toss som chlorine in it after we use it. Check it once a week to adjust pH. Clean filter once a month.
Now consider my pool is basically adjust run time/chlorination once a week, and add a half bottle of muriatic acid once a month or so. Add water more often than most due to our pool cover leaves a fairly narrow pool level window.
Just got a pool off amazon... will report back with details if I flood my yard or get a great tan
View attachment 356401
Latest kitchen gadget/Tom foolery…saving a bunch by making my own cold brew coffee with a system of giant mason jars, coffee socks, French press. Only bust out the nitrogen for special occasions, making coffee for friends, etc.
more satisfying than buying store made cold brew (never got in the habit of being one of those daily Starbucks or Dunkin’ users…like 5$ everyday for days on end really adds up)
Looks cool. . . But I think I would rather have a regular keg system.View attachment 356401
Latest kitchen gadget/Tom foolery…saving a bunch by making my own cold brew coffee with a system of giant mason jars, coffee socks, French press. Only bust out the nitrogen for special occasions, making coffee for friends, etc.
more satisfying than buying store made cold brew (never got in the habit of being one of those daily Starbucks or Dunkin’ users…like 5$ everyday for days on end really adds up)
Coffee socks great too…reusableThat's interesting. Link to purchase/read more? Love a good cold brew in the summer.
How much are you expecting to save per year?
Yes. 26% of the cost of the system if memory serves. Honestly I think solar is a total no brainer if you plan to live at your home for at least 5 years. Energy costs are only going to go up over time.For anyone who got solar panels, do you really get a big fat check after you do your taxes for 10k or so? I'm getting solar quotes and it costs around 43k for a 11kwh system. Seems expensive.
Yes. 26% of the cost of the system if memory serves. Honestly I think solar is a total no brainer if you plan to live at your home for at least 5 years. Energy costs are only going to go up over time.
43k does seem pricy to me. I would get some more quotes personally.
Do whatever you want but personally I didn’t go for the battery. It’s so expensive - you can stay at a five star hotel during every power outage for the rest of your life for less money, probably.Everything got jacked up since Covid. A Tesla power wall used to be 10k, now it's 15k.
I spent about that on our system. Took 2 years to claim the whole tax credit and the state kicked in another quarter-ish. About $20k after credits. Power is pretty expensive out here. I’d say it paid for itself in 4 or 5 years, except we probably just would have suffered without a/c most of the time instead of paying $400 a month for electricity if we hadn’t done the panels. I haven’t been able to make the math work on batteries yet. Depends what you power company will buy your oversupply for, I guess.For anyone who got solar panels, do you really get a big fat check after you do your taxes for 10k or so? I'm getting solar quotes and it costs around 43k for a 11kwh system. Seems expensive.
Last year we looked at a whole house generator, and it was ungodly expensive, and we went through the snow-pocalypse without significant incident. Might want to consider something to cover the AC.
I’d really like panels with battery. . . But i keep thinking the prices will get better.
So I've been shopping around for quotes here in TX. Averaging at $30k for a 11-12kw system, prior to the rebate, about $22k ish after. My monthly bill averaged over the last 13 months is $180, making my yearly electric cost $2160. Based on these figures, my 'break even' point would be around 11 years time.Yes. 26% of the cost of the system if memory serves. Honestly I think solar is a total no brainer if you plan to live at your home for at least 5 years. Energy costs are only going to go up over time.
43k does seem pricy to me. I would get some more quotes personally.
I looked at generators but they didn’t make any sense to me from a cost perspective so I don’t have much to say about that.So I've been shopping around for quotes here in TX. Averaging at $30k for a 11-12kw system, prior to the rebate, about $22k ish after. My monthly bill averaged over the last 13 months is $180, making my yearly electric cost $2160. Based on these figures, my 'break even' point would be around 11 years time.
I have no intentions of moving, but still not sure if that's worth it...Also heard installing solar panels increases the resale value of your house, by about $40k. Anyone know if there's any truth to that?
If it's not worth it, I'm probably going to throw this amount at my mortgage to pay it down by 50%, and get a generac natural gas generator instead.
So I've been shopping around for quotes here in TX. Averaging at $30k for a 11-12kw system, prior to the rebate, about $22k ish after. My monthly bill averaged over the last 13 months is $180, making my yearly electric cost $2160. Based on these figures, my 'break even' point would be around 11 years time.
I have no intentions of moving, but still not sure if that's worth it...Also heard installing solar panels increases the resale value of your house, by about $40k. Anyone know if there's any truth to that?
If it's not worth it, I'm probably going to throw this amount at my mortgage to pay it down by 50%, and get a generac natural gas generator instead.