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Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 12:43 pm
by NTP66
So your fan just continuously runs then?
Yep. I’m going to be tracking what this means in terms of my electric bill, but I doubt I’ll notice anything. In terms of the motor/fan itself, this is actually better for the equipment than many start/stop cycles.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 12:49 pm
by shafnutz05
So your fan just continuously runs then?
Yep. I’m going to be tracking what this means in terms of my electric bill, but I doubt I’ll notice anything. In terms of the motor/fan itself, this is actually better for the equipment than many start/stop cycles.
My house isn't zoned...what is the benefit of running the fan all day?

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 12:50 pm
by NTP66
While we are talking HVAC...as I was walking through the neighborhood, I noticed some fairly large central air units next to some of the houses. Assuming nothing is wrong with my duct work, etc., would just buying a larger central air unit help push more of the cool air upstairs? I'm afraid it would just cool the downstairs even faster and the upstairs would still be hot as balls.
Buying a larger two stage condenser isn’t going to solve the problem if you’re dealing with the same issue that I was - imbalance between floors. Your ductwork can only handle a certain cfm, so trying to force more isn’t going to work. Assuming your ductwork is properly sized - or, like in my case, close to it - balancing the entire system is probably your first logical step. It has absolutely made a noticeable difference in our house after only 12+ hours.

We went around and checked the airflow at each register, and then adjusted the dampers closed on some that were too wide open and unnecessary, never fully closing anything off. That equaled out the pressure much better for our master, which is literally at the furthest end of the house, so those three runs are the longest. Now instead of it being 65 downstairs and 75 upstairs, it’s currently 71 downstairs and 75 upstairs (ecobee set to 73). Last night was significantly better in terms of sleeping temps.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 12:52 pm
by NTP66
So your fan just continuously runs then?
Yep. I’m going to be tracking what this means in terms of my electric bill, but I doubt I’ll notice anything. In terms of the motor/fan itself, this is actually better for the equipment than many start/stop cycles.
My house isn't zoned...what is the benefit of running the fan all day?
Neither is mine. Running it all day is circulating some of the colder air from downstairs throughout the house, so when the condenser does turn on, it doesn’t have to rub as long to cool everything down. Looking at my ecobee data, that appears to be the case with my house. Even though my system is now more balanced, I may still keep the fan on during certain cycles.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 12:54 pm
by shafnutz05
Awesome, thanks so much for the advice man! I might give that a try.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 2:48 pm
by King Colby
How does that impact the electric bill?

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:03 pm
by NTP66
muchas gracias. I may pick a few up for the basement. i have linkable LEDs in the garage.
I replaced all six lights in my basement with these LEDs, and holy **** is it an amazing improvement. Every inch of the basement is now lit up like Clark Griswold’s Christmas lights.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 8:27 pm
by Beveridge
I loved those lights so much, I put them on my shopping list for a house I don't even have yet.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 8:29 pm
by Trip McNeely
Yea I ordered one for my shed. Gonna see what they are like then get them for the basement

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 6:14 am
by NTP66
They’re probably way too high on the Kelvin scale (6200k) to be used in your living room, bathrooms, etc, but seeing the change from yellow to white has me interested in Hue lighting again. I wonder if they have newer bulbs that put out more lumens than the last ones I looked at. Hell, I may look at some standard LED bulbs just to see how they look.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 10:51 am
by Kane
I hate the compound phase of hanging drywall.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 11:08 am
by NTP66
I hate the compound phase of hanging drywall.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 11:11 am
by meow
I'd rather get punched in the pills for 8 hours than do any drywall work

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 11:55 am
by Kane
Eh. Much cheaper than paying someone else to do it.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 12:11 pm
by skullman80
Had a tree service come by to quote trimming back of some trees that hang over our back patio and roof. Was hoping 1000$ max... he quoted between 1600 and 2000$. *sigh*. I can put gutter guards on for less than that.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 12:29 pm
by AuthorTony
I'd get a few other quotes. I had 10 pines trees cut down for less than $1000.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 12:36 pm
by skullman80
I'd get a few other quotes. I had 10 pines trees cut down for less than $1000.
Yeah I am going to do that. I know where they are located is a PITA which doesn't help as far as getting a bucket truck back there or anything.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 12:50 pm
by shafnutz05
Had a tree service come by to quote trimming back of some trees that hang over our back patio and roof. Was hoping 1000$ max... he quoted between 1600 and 2000$. *sigh*. I can put gutter guards on for less than that.
Find an Amish person.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 12:57 pm
by NTP66
Had a tree service come by to quote trimming back of some trees that hang over our back patio and roof. Was hoping 1000$ max... he quoted between 1600 and 2000$. *sigh*. I can put gutter guards on for less than that.
That’s insane, even more so for simply trimming the trees.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 1:01 pm
by shafnutz05
Our neighbors across the street have a termite infestation that is so bad their son's bedroom wall was caving in. WTF. I am dreading the visit from the termite people, haven't heard or saw anything but I'm nervous.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 1:08 pm
by Dickie Dunn
Had a tree service come by to quote trimming back of some trees that hang over our back patio and roof. Was hoping 1000$ max... he quoted between 1600 and 2000$. *sigh*. I can put gutter guards on for less than that.
Our friends have an absolutely gigantic oak tree in their backyard that’s probably 200+ years old and covers their backyard and several neighboring backyards. They pay a couple hundreds bucks a year for a company to come and inject fertilizer into the ground to keep it healthy because a couple years ago a neighbor with a similar sized oak had theirs removed after years of neglect and it cost them $20,000 to get rid of it.

It’s stunning to me how much tree removal costs.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 1:41 pm
by mac5155
It's the insurance these guys have to carry more than anything.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 2:18 pm
by skullman80
I'm going to get a couple other quotes. I realize the placement of the trees don't help. We are on a corner lot and there is no easy way to get a bucket truck from our side yard to our back patio/yard area since we but up against a main road. I like having the shade back there, but want to keep the gutters from getting clogged from tree stuff. One is a giant oak tree, the other I think he said was a Sumac tree.

My wife didn't like the idea of me climbing up a ladder/tree and trying to trim them back myself.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 2:35 pm
by meow
Come on, skullman. How long have you been married? This is day one stuff. Send her to get groceries then shimmy up there and start whacking away.

Home Improvement Thread

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 5:20 pm
by Tomas
Just need a quick advice: for the last several days, I sense that our HVAC system is - surprisingly - cooling "way too much" (it's 90+F outside, but the air coming to our house is really cold). We haven't had our annual summer maintenance done yet (coronavirus concerns) - so we just scheduled that for Tuesday. But, in the meantime - any ideas why this may be happening (other than me getting sick and feeling imaginary chills)?

Importantly - there are two pipes at the base of our unit - one (thicker) is tightly wrapped in insulation, and I *think* that one is cold. But - the other one (more narrow, copper-colored) is always warm - is that the correct way? (I know nothing about HVAC, obviously...)

Thanks!!