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Home-owners...What are your current projects? (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter wilked
- Start date
Mr Dingles
Amish Mafia
Close to finishing my basement. Building a secret room behind a bookcase for my younger sons. Currently waiting on an order of poplar so I can build the shelving.
Fat Nick
Footballguy
What kind of fridge? My Samsung is apparently notorious for issues with condensation. In my case, it's not ice forming in the freezer, it's ice forming in the ice maker - just not in the tray, but on all the moving parts, etc. I used to take it apart and scrape the ice out monthly until I finally found a recall notice. The fix for me was replacing one part and sealing up some gaps between the fridge and ice maker box with silicone.
Based on that experience, I'd bet pretty confidently that it's related to an air leak somewhere. The warmer air is seeping in, then rises due to the temp differential - once the warmer air rises and starts to cool, it condensates and that freezes. Check all the seals - not just the ones near where it's freezing. Could be the bottom too.
offdee
Footballguy
My son is on summer break now and has recently taken to shooting hoops into the night as the sun is setting. We have some exterior lights that light the court area up enough, but I came across this today. Purchased. He's gonna love this...and I'm gonna help promote anything that gets him outdoors and active. Neighbors and passers by are gonna love it too.
scroll down in link to see the gifs of it in action. Only goes bonkers when there is a true swish. I can't wait to splash some shots into this thing and light the night up!
https://promote-shop.com/products/60-off-last-day-promotion-awesome-basketball-hoop-sensor-activated-led-strip-light
scroll down in link to see the gifs of it in action. Only goes bonkers when there is a true swish. I can't wait to splash some shots into this thing and light the night up!
https://promote-shop.com/products/60-off-last-day-promotion-awesome-basketball-hoop-sensor-activated-led-strip-light
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OrtonToOlsen
Footballguy
Otis
Footballguy
Anyone else look into whole house water filtration? Anyone else install this? The reports on the water quality in LI have become increasingly terrifying, and we finally took the plunge. Guy from RainSoft came by last night and did his demo, went well over an hour, but he comes in and makes a convincing case for how much garbage is in our water, and how much better it can be. $6500 all in, Really curious to see how it works out.
wilked
Footballguy
Otis
Footballguy
Osaurus
Footballguy
Water quality is a big deal imo. I have a softener with a pre-carbon filter to eliminate some chlorine (live close enough to the source where it’s not diluted as much as it could be) plus a reverse osmosis setup with a tap at my kitchen sink. I noticed a big difference immediately. I had some charlatan from Culligan come out and basically do a magic show to show us how hard the water was. He skewed it significantly. The funniest part was him telling us how cheap it was per month, but was hesitant to tell us the total cost as we wanted to pay for it in full up front. His cost was $9,000. This was just for the softener. What a joke. Fortunately for me, a friend referred me to someone who installs food service quality systems for way less money. I think I paid around $2,700 total. I change the RO filters out and turn off the pre-carbon filter to run more chlorinated water through the system to get any possible gunk out (turn all faucets on for about 10 minutes) once a year. My pipes and water heater are much improved as well. Sait is cheap and I go through maybe 12 bags a year for the tank.
tl;dr Water softeners are great if you need one, but shop around or just pay $6,500 because you're Oats.
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wilked
Footballguy
Long Island has about 8 MM people (LA has half that as a reference). You trying to tell me that the public water to this population is not adequate, and that somehow this is not news story #1?
Otis
Footballguy
It’s been all over the news. Lots of cancer around here, including in people far too young. Can’t help but wonder
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fox5ny.com/amp/news/concerns-raised-about-drinking-water-contamination-on-long-island
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsday.com/amp/long-island/environment/long-island-drinking-water-quality-1.31846574
https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_58861b19e4b0d96b98c1de3a/amp
In addition to the dangerous levels of these chemicals, it’s supposedly good to have a water softener and chlorine filter. Our water tested really high in both.
Otis
Footballguy
Yeah there were a few cheaper options, but one guy on the local town FB page did a ton of research and concluded this one was best (see below). The reviews looked solid and I liked the sales pitch, so we went for it:
***
First, I want to state that the purpose of writing this note is not to advocate for a particular system or company, but to let people know how I came to my conclusion and buying decision.
If you decide to go with the company I chose, I have already told the owners that I do not want, and will not take, any sort of referral fee.
Short Story: I chose the Rainsoft whole house water filtrating system and the Rainsoft Reverse Osmosis System for my sink. The total cost for both, including install, was $6,500.
Rainsoft has an authorized dealer here on Long Island (. They are located in . You may contact them at () and ask for (). () has told me that everyone will get the same price. As with anything, do your own negotiating.
Why I chose Rainsoft:
1 – I based it on my research below. I wanted a product that would address all my concerns. I was particularly interested in reducing or eliminating VOCs (see below) and Rainsoft is one of the few systems that is certified to do so. I learned later on that no product addresses all my concerns, but this is the one I felt comfortable with for the reasons stated below. So I would rather go down swinging than not try at all.
2 – I wanted a Company that had a representative here on Long Island that I could speak to and ask questions.
3 – I wanted a Company that would also do the install. In other words, I didn’t want to hire a plumber on my own.
4 – Cost of maintenance. Although the Rainsoft system is more expensive than other systems upfront, the cost of maintenance was low. I found that other systems had some crazy maintenance numbers. So, you may be spending less in the beginning, but the costs will catch up quickly over time. The maintenance costs are as follows:
For the whole house water filtration system, there are two longscuba-like tanks and one tall, slim garbage can looking container. The two scuba tanks are what filters or softens the water. First, they take the water from the main and pass it through a carbon filter. From the carbon filter, it goes through a resin tank and then it goes to your pipes. The other container contains salt, which washes and cleans the carbon filterwhenever it needs to. The resin tank never needs to be changed. The carbon tank is changed approximately every 7 years and costs $250 to $300 dollars. The salt container needs to be refilled probably every 6 months and costs $5 a bag. Each bag contains 40lbs. The container holds 250lbs of salt. So approximately, $30 every 6 months, and you can easily dump it in yourself.
The reverse osmosis system has 2 filters and a membrane. 3 parts total. The filters need to be changed every 12-18 months and cost about $40 each. The membrane needs to be changed every 5 years and also costs $40.
All these costs were told to me by the rep. I have not confirmed them yet, but will update the group when the time comes.
5 – I wanted a system where I could drink the water and stop buying bottled water.
Long Story:
Last year, I became concerned about the water in Garden City when I read the 2016 water report, which stated:
“Our drinking water is derived from ten (10) wells. The source water assessment has rated seven (7) of the wells as having a very high susceptibility to industrial solvents. The elevated susceptibility to industrial solvents is due primarily to point sources of contamination related to commercial/industrial facilities and related activities in the assessment area.”
The industrial contaminants are: Perchlorate, Dichlorodifluoromethane, Tetrachloroethene, and Trichloroethene. These are also part of a group of contaminants also known as Volatile Organic Contaminants, or VOCs.
This was repeated in the 2017 water report.
I have also been concerned with the water when I noticed that our bathtub water was yellow sometimes and the pictures that some people posted in this group.
As I started researching more, I became concerned with other contaminants.
There are two websites that I found helpful in making my decision. The NSF website (www.nsf.org) and the EWG website (www.ewg.org).
NSF International is an American product testing, inspection and certification organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. NSF is a third-party certification body that tests and certifies products to verify they meet public health and safety standards. They assist the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to improve drinking water standards.
EWG is an American activist group that specializes in research and advocacy in drinking water pollutants, among other things. EWG, however, has been criticized for being an alarmist. You will see why below, but I also found them to be helpful.
On the NSF website, you can search for a specific contaminant and it will tell you what type of technology will reduce or eliminate it: filtration, reverse osmosis, etc. See http://www.nsf.org/consumer-resources/water-quality/water-filters-testing-treatment/contaminant-reduction-claims-guide. Then, when you click on the type of filtration for that contaminant, you will see what products are certified by NSF to remove that particular contaminant. See, for example – Chromium and reverse osmosis, http://info.nsf.org/Certified/DWTU/Listings.asp?ProductFunction=058%7CChromium+%28Hexavalent%29+Reduction&ProductFunction=058%7CChromium+%28Trivalent%29+Reduction&ProductType=&submit2=SEARCH.
That is how I found Rainsoft.
The EWG website has a database where you type in your zip code (see https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAtvPjBRDPARIsAJfZz0ruazp_eGm2lypigjKzxAmgoExMLnxclsANfWBfdK4071NfF98_olQaAm3zEALw_wcB), then you click on the Garden City Water District, and it tells you what contaminants are detected in our water that are “above health guidelines.” This is the part where EWG is part alarmist and part good information. EWG states that there are 6 contaminants in our water that are “above health guidelines”: 1,4-Dioxane, Chromium (hexavalent), Manganese, Nitrate, Perchlorate, and Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene). Two of those were cited above in the Garden City water report. If you look at the water report, none of these contaminants are considered “violations” by the state, but are contaminants that no one wants in their water at any level. However, with regard to 1,4-Dioxane, that contaminant is not regulated yet and is becoming a big problem on long island. See https://www.newsday.com/long-island/1-4-dioxane-cleanup-costs-1.27268149. Moreover, no system is certified to reduce or eliminate Dioxane or Manganese yet. Also, no system is certified to reduce perchlorates, but the NSF website says that a reverse osmosis system is the only way to reduce it.
The Rainsoft reverse osmosis system is certified to reduce the following:Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction, Barium Reduction, Cadmium Reduction, Chromium (Hexavalent) Reduction, Chromium (Trivalent) Reduction, Copper Reduction, Cyst Reduction, Fluoride Reduction, Lead Reduction, Radium 226/228 Reduction, Selenium Reduction, Turbidity Reduction, TDS Reduction, VOC Reduction, and Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction. I bolded the ones of concern from the Garden City water.
In short, no system is perfect.
My suggestion is that the reverse osmosis system is a definite. It is your best defense against all these contaminants. The whole house water system is good and softens the water and will stop the water from being discolored and smelly, but I wouldn’t drink the whole house water. Without trying to oversimplify things, the whole house system will reduce a lot of contaminants, but the reverse osmosis system will do that plus the really bad ones.I would drink the reverse osmosis water and have been since they installed. This is another savings over time. No more bottled water.
The reverse osmosis water is our new go to for drinking, rinsing fruit/vegetables, boiling water for pasta, making coffee, etc.
Some interesting things I found in this process:
1 – when Rainsoft/HD Water came to my house, they compared their reverse osmosis water to Poland spring to my faucet and also to my refrigerator filtered water. The worst water was the refrigerator “filtered” water because the filter is letting crap sit in there. This filter is changed by me every 6 months religiously and had been 4 months old at this point. With the new system, you can stop buying the filter, which for my GE refrigerator costs about $50. You will need to buy a bypass plug, which costs less than $15. The HD Water guys installed the reverse osmosis system to my sink (with a separate faucet) and directly to my refrigerator.
2 – I called several companies before and after my research. I don’t want to bash anyone’s system, but I want to report what they said to me.
Pelican: The salesperson said “We do not have a certified system to address the main containments you are concerned about, you would need a down flow carbon filter and ours is an upflowsystem.” He told me that he thinks Aquasana addresses those concerns. I thanked him for his honesty. For those of you who have pelican, perhaps this salesperson is mistaken, but I moved on.
Aquasana: The salesperson was very strange. When I asked her if she could certify that her system addresses the contaminants I was worried about (VOCs, among others), she said yes, but wouldn’t give it to me in writing. In the end, she said that she wouldn’t do the research for me and that “maybe this system wasn’t for me.” I still laugh thinking about her.
Based on my research, the Aquasana reverse osmosis filter does do a lot of the contaminants, but not as much as Rainsoft; specifically, they are not certified by the NSF for VOCs.
Long Island Clean Water: I almost went with this company. I believe they use 3M products. Their maintenance was much higher than Rainsoft and, assuming they do use 3M, the 3M products do not address as many contaminants as Rainsoft. Like Aquasana, they are not certified by the NSF for VOCs.
3 – My water pressure is fine. No change. The water has a different feel to it. My shower glass is not as stained as it used to be. I credit that to reducing the hardness of the water, i.e. softening it. Some of you may ask why not do a reverse osmosis system for the whole house? At this point, I do not think it is possible. And even if it was, the water pressure would be really bad because the filters are so fine that the water could not pass through it with enough volume.
I hope this helps everyone and doesn’t cause a mini riot. My intentions were to help since this topic has come up so often.
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Worm
slimy ninja
We have concrete...
http://imgur.com/a/DIFwp67
Materials delivered Monday, construction starting Tuesday.
http://imgur.com/a/DIFwp67
Materials delivered Monday, construction starting Tuesday.
Punxsutawney Phil
Footballguy
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
So the family and I are moving out of Brooklyn and up to the Hudson Valley. It's going to be painful because we are moving out of a house I had gut renovated into a house we don't have the money to renovate. First project up:
BASEMENT FULL BATH, BELOW SEWER LINE
Going to go ahead and call @El Floppo and @ChiefD to the thread as they have served me well in the past. What are our thoughts on this pump as a solution to a below grade bath? I'm not crazy about raising the shower but it looks like this pump, if close enough to the shower, would mean only raising the shower a few inches and not having to cut into the concrete slab.
Thoughts?
ETA, there is an existing toilet and sink in the basement. We want to add a corner shower to the mix so we can Air BNB it, or have guests come visit.
BASEMENT FULL BATH, BELOW SEWER LINE
Going to go ahead and call @El Floppo and @ChiefD to the thread as they have served me well in the past. What are our thoughts on this pump as a solution to a below grade bath? I'm not crazy about raising the shower but it looks like this pump, if close enough to the shower, would mean only raising the shower a few inches and not having to cut into the concrete slab.
Thoughts?
ETA, there is an existing toilet and sink in the basement. We want to add a corner shower to the mix so we can Air BNB it, or have guests come visit.
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offdee
Footballguy
I just watched a home show the other day where they were doing basement bathroom work and the guy talked about the need of a pump to push water up and out. The guy specifically said "you know, water isn't meant to go up"
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Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
El Floppo
Footballguy
offdee
Footballguy
What I was getting at is that they had a pump that solved the issue, just don't know what it was called. The guy saying water wasn't meant to go up, was saying this machine made that possible.
Unignore me now.
wilked
Footballguy
First, you sure this is a legal install? Is this going to be inspected by the town?
As for the technical,. toilet below sewage line, no problem. Lots of proven solutions there. If you have an issue it is immediately detected and impact is minimal
Shower/bath below grade, bigger issues, harder to control.
What height is your sewer line? I assume no basement floor drain, no?
Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
There is currently a toilet and a sink in the basement, no shower. The pump I linked above is similar to the toilet tank currently in place though it does have a separate intake for the shower and sits floor level.
There is no basement drain and I don't know the height of the sewer line at the moment but it isn't very high. The "basement" actually has a door that opens onto the driveway on one side of the house.
Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
El Floppo
Footballguy
lol
fwiw- raising the shower shouldn't be a problem as you know... done most of the time in city apts unless there's a dropped slab to work with. throw a curb in made of select grade calacatta gold and woola.
if the shower is against exterior/retaining wall, get some electric heat mat in those walls the way you would against exterior wall in apts.
eta: it was that masturbating pump that worried me.
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wilked
Footballguy
raising the shower is fine unless you only have 7 foot of vertical to work with. Raise the shower enough to get the 2" p-trap in, put the shower base in, install the ceiling / etc, and all of a sudden you have to really duck down to get under the showerhead. I've seen lots of basements with not a lot of overhead height, which is why I was saying would be good to see some schematics
Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
It's a full height basement, so I think we are ok there but good note.
@El Floppo, is there a practical reason for the heat mat on the wall or just a comfort thing?
El Floppo
Footballguy
but as a "must-have-a-shower" directive, he can still install a hand-shower as high as possible on a mount, and have shower-person use it as handshower once past the hair rinsing part. it's far from optimal, as you say- but do-able.
El Floppo
Footballguy
comfort. nothing worse than putting your hand against really cold stone/tile while showering.
ok- the masturbating pump is probably worse. as is the current price of calacatta gold (north of $300/ft)
Mario Kart
Footballguy
I won't post pictures yet but I finished the other side of my back yard with mulch. I want to get rid of these rocks off my patio first. I have two huge buckets already filled... one of these and another bigger than this one. Plus, I have, at least, another bucket sitting on my patio but I haven't cleaned and separated them yet.
How much are these rocks worth? If I put them on Facebook Market or Craigslist... is there a price I can sell them for? I'm not sure how much in weight I have but I can't move either bucket. It'd have to be in milk cartons or something.
How much are these rocks worth? If I put them on Facebook Market or Craigslist... is there a price I can sell them for? I'm not sure how much in weight I have but I can't move either bucket. It'd have to be in milk cartons or something.
Punxsutawney Phil
Footballguy
at mk & the rock diaries
offdee
Footballguy
Take a drive to Melvin Mulch (Milwaukee) and get a sense for how much rocks are. Or you can save the gas and just put them on Craigslist for free to get rid of them.
Otis
Footballguy
No better way to spend home improvement money than on a backyard setup. Our yard is like paradise now. People come over for cookouts and they consistently say "it feels like being on vacation." The covered patio is amazing -- we've had a couple of weekend cookouts with family where we get the late day thunderstorms after dinner, and we all sit under the covered patio and drink and smoke while the kids run around in the rain. It's pretty fantastic. Best money I ever spent.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
Mario Kart
Footballguy
Final update. Yard is swept and washed down. Grass is cut and rocks are in the garage and/or other places.
Would have been done last night but it began raining. But, here it is.
Would have been done last night but it began raining. But, here it is.
Tore out one of the decks that had a sunken hot tub. You know how to dispose of a giant old hot tub? Sawzall it up into a dozen pieces so it fits in the back of the truck. Replacing with a larger (26' x 18') flagstone patio and new hot tub. The two of us got the subgrade all graded out by hand in less than a day. Looked into stamped concrete, oh hell no, I can get real flagstone for $300 a pallet.
Wingnut
Footballguy
Welp I got a couple of estimates on gutter installation, and the 2nd guy actually got on the roof to measure and noticed some roof issues...so, I had a roofing company come out to assess the situation....I COULD do some repairs that would run a few thousand dollars (some soft spots around the edges and a couple of small leaks), but the roof is 16 years old and would need to be replaced in a few years anyway, so were gonna go ahead and get a new roof now and then get gutters afterward. So, instead of spending around $1500 on gutters, Im looking at $11k-$12k for a new roof. Yay. I knew Id need a new roof at some point but was hoping I could wait another 2 or 3 years before dealing with it. The joys of home ownership
Bull Dozier
Footballguy
Well, got a quote on a new garage, and I can't pull off taking the pool out and building a new garage at the same time (not a typically FBG). Going to get the pool taken out (which means demolishing my garage to get to it ) so we will be without a garage for a year or two. Was looking at the backyard over the weekend thinking about taking before pictures for this thread, but decided it looks so bad, I couldn't post them for the public to see. Thank goodness I have partial privacy fences so our neighbors don't directly see what our backyard looks like unless they try to see.
Waiting for my dumpster to be delivered so I can clean out the garage (needs to be empty for demolition). Since the pool is going, much in the garage is being tossed (pool toys, multiple sets of patio chairs and tables too old to sell, etc).
Next step will be building a shed in my backyard to house lawn mower, etc, until we get a garage again. I'm in the category of very un-handy, so building a shed, even from a pre-fab set makes me dread the ruined weekend. As I'm ordering it my wife told me she didn't want to hear me swearing out there all weekend. I told her that she better find someplace else to be that weekend then.
Mario Kart
Footballguy
Bull Dozier
Footballguy
I will at least for my use. The goal with the backyard is to build a fire pit where the pool sits now. If that looks cool enough to hold a candle to this thread, I'll post. I'm not posting my white trash backyard until I can prove it is no longer white trash.Mario Kart said:
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