Fifth Avenue Forum

The ants have returned. This time they are in the kitchen near the windowsill. Still such a weird thing that we've never had an ant problem in 5 years and now all of a sudden I can't keep them out. I have bait traps lining the perimeter of the house. I've also sprayed it a few times. I put a few interior bait traps near where I saw the grouping so I guess I'll just let those do their work.

I'm in your boat except my pests are cockroaches. I've killed 4 in the past week. I got some hot shot traps to set up arriving today and I hope that does the trick..

USAA is coming by to see if we need a new roof after a hail storm last month. We are literally (no exaggeration) the only house that doesn't have a roofing contractor sign in front of it in our neighborhood. We don't have any obvious leaks, but a few of the shingles look warped. I'd rather get it over with before hurricane season.

USAA is coming by to see if we need a new roof after a hail storm last month. We are literally (no exaggeration) the only house that doesn't have a roofing contractor sign in front of it in our neighborhood. We don't have any obvious leaks, but a few of the shingles look warped. I'd rather get it over with before hurricane season.

My parents are finally getting quotes for the replacement of their roof - including a number of joist replacements. Not fun, but it's worth doing before one problem turns into multiple problems.

I need to slope the ground away form the one side of our new house per the inspector to prevent any potential water issues down the road. I just need to get some dirt, build that **** up and slope it away right?

Depending on how bad it is, "some dirt" could be one or many tri axles worth.

I'm probably going to get a big pile of dirt just dumped here. Easier than getting bags. I measured it out yesterday and it's a bigger area than I thought.

Where I am, screened topsoil goes for about 40 a ton. If you're using a rake and your arms only, I suggest paying for that.

Speaking of soil, we decide to dig a patio/fire pit into the hillside in our back yard. It's not really feasible to get an excavator in there, so I've gotten underway manually. It has really just become an exercise routine more than anything else. I think it will take weeks to finish. 15'x15' and probably about 30-36" at the highest/deepest point. I figure around 12 yards in total to be dug out.

Speaking of soil, we decide to dig a patio/fire pit into the hillside in our back yard. It's not really feasible to get an excavator in there, so I've gotten underway manually. It has really just become an exercise routine more than anything else. I think it will take weeks to finish. 15'x15' and probably about 30-36" at the highest/deepest point. I figure around 12 yards in total to be dug out.

Give the excess dirt to @skullman80.

I dug out a 22x22 area in the corner of my yard last weekend that was covered by ground ivy. I dont know what I want to do there but its a hell of a space. Probably going to till it, bring in some topsoil, and put in a bed. But I might want to get a little fancy.

Its a slight slope so I could do multiple levels, or even a water feature.

Advice?

"Plant grass" is still on the list too

yesterday when we were filling up the bath for the baby, i flushed a toilet and a bunch of brown water came through. ran all the faucets in the house for showers, sinks, tubs, etc for 30+ min and the brown color disappated but it is still murky and smells a little funky. any thoughts to what caused this? tried to call the water authority and they basically told me to pound salt til 8am today

It's probably just sediments that are being swirled up from the water main. A lot of things could cause it...increased flow, hydrants, etc.

I know some water authorities add orthophosphate to reduce corrosion in pipes. Did you ever call them back?

yesterday when we were filling up the bath for the baby, i flushed a toilet and a bunch of brown water came through. ran all the faucets in the house for showers, sinks, tubs, etc for 30+ min and the brown color disappated but it is still murky and smells a little funky. any thoughts to what caused this? tried to call the water authority and they basically told me to pound salt til 8am today

It's probably just sediments that are being swirled up from the water main. A lot of things could cause it...increased flow, hydrants, etc.

I know some water authorities add orthophosphate to reduce corrosion in pipes. Did you ever call them back?

my neighbors didn't have any issues so it was local to us. the water authority said nothing. they are coming tomorrow afternoon

yesterday when we were filling up the bath for the baby, i flushed a toilet and a bunch of brown water came through. ran all the faucets in the house for showers, sinks, tubs, etc for 30+ min and the brown color disappated but it is still murky and smells a little funky. any thoughts to what caused this? tried to call the water authority and they basically told me to pound salt til 8am today

This happens to us about once every 6 months. Something with them stirring or flushing the pipes as regular maintenance. Looks horrific but goes away pretty quickly.

*edit* New page, nevermind.

Bought a 14ft SummerWaves pool in September last year for $99 (its going for $250 now and out of stock everywhere, so thats a win for me) and finally installed and filled it up this past weekend.

I had to clear out the spot in my backyard and then leveled it without about 1,600 pounds of gravel and then six 8'4' sheets of Permabase cement board on top of the gravel. Plus some edging around the rocks to help keep them in place. I hauled all of it myself. What a pain in the *** to do but the kids are happy at least.

This tops out our 'Rona Home Checklist. Previously we cleaned out our basement, attic, shed, and storage unit plus rearranged and helped clean all of our kids' rooms. Probably threw away a metric ton of trash, garbagemen probably love us.

USAA is coming by to see if we need a new roof after a hail storm last month. We are literally (no exaggeration) the only house that doesn't have a roofing contractor sign in front of it in our neighborhood. We don't have any obvious leaks, but a few of the shingles look warped. I'd rather get it over with before hurricane season.

I just filed a claim from a hailstorm that happened last May - as in 2019. We were gone when it happened and never bothered to check the roof. Had a contractor up there looking at wrapping fascia and he said there's damage. Hopefully I'm not outside any time period where I had to report it.

Interesting. I was worried being a month away from the storm.

He came today and we should have the report in 7-10 days.

Adjuster is coming Wednesday. At least it wasn’t an outright rejection

Tesla just cut the price of their solar panels by 20%, while simultaneously increasing output. $22k for the 8.16 kW panels and 2 Powerwalls. It'd produce 91% of the energy for my house, and would have enough juice in the batteries to run the AC for 3 days. The only thing I can't get past is the break even point, which is 17 years. I still don't know if I'll even be in this house in 17 years.

If you sold couldn't you recoup the cost in your home sales price?

If you sold couldn't you recoup the cost in your home sales price?

I honestly have no idea. I’d have to do some research on the value of solar panels during a sale. It would have to somehow add value for me to really have a conversation with my wife about. $22k is a lot of dough to drop at once.

I would be curious to know what you find out.

I would be curious to know what you find out.

Looks like solar actually increases value by 3-4% based on recent studies, so this just got more interesting. They don't note whether or not the includes having power banks, either, so that may add even more value. Gonna talk to the wife about this, and possibly contact Tesla for full details. PA apparently doesn't have any decent incentives for putting power back into the grid, compared to NJ which would cut down your break even point very quickly.

Interesting, thanks. Our country house isn't positioned well for solar but we will own it very long term so I am always curious.

Our house faces perfectly east, so panels on the rear roof are a no brainer. My wife still isn’t that convinced because the estimates are showing that it’ll only cover 91-98% of the energy, depending on which estimate you use.

Our house faces perfectly east and gets all but 3 or 4 hours of direct sun.

Hmm

Furnace is leaking water, first problem it has had since we moved here three years ago and this is our last month living here. Yay.

You got a clean filter? Shut off the AC, let it thaw, change the filter...and Let er rip