Fifth Avenue Forum

I like pretending that I’m driving into heaven’s light when I pull into my garage with those 3 million lumen lights shining down on me.

I didn’t make the meme, but we refer to it as “turning on the sun” when we flip the switch.

Have yinz ever gotten a text like this?

Hi, Matthew! My name is Grace and we got a list of homeowners in your area and I am inquiring for interest-- I am showing here that you own (my correct address), correct?..if it's available, or if you're thinking about moving on, I'm free to chat daily from 3-5pm.

Yes. Several a week. Our house is valued at almost three times what we paid for six years ago so I assume that is why but who knows.

Follow up on this. We got a letter in the mail yesterday from a local realtor. Inside was a letter from a family that has been looking for a home but hasn't been able to find one, asking if we are looking to sell. It had a picture of them, their names, etc.

They are laying it on thick.

I hate those letters... I got one, from a realtor who lives in the same townhouse development as I do, that says that one of the client's requests is a place that has a pool. This development has no pool, so good work spending money sending out those letters to everyone who you know already doesn't have a pool

This is like new age jehovah's witness stuff.

I have those lights in my basement too and must say I'm not thrilled with them. 2 of the 4 ive had burned out after less than a year of use. Amazon replaced one of them but then I was out of the return period on the other.

All 8+ of mine are still going strong.

One over my saw horses as I finish my basement, and one in the garage because the area where that workbench is doesn't have great lighting.

Thought on an extended warranty on a washer and dryer? The LG front loaders we just replaced were 10 years old, and only had a few minor issues - all of which I addressed myself. I'm a little torn on what to do with the new ones. Reliability, if you trust Consumer Reports, is very high for these models - top of the list, actually. Costco also extended the manufacturer's warranty by one year, as does my CSP card. I have 90 days from purchase to buy an extended warranty from Costco (Allstate).

Of course, if they don't charge me for the washer and dryer by then, I will have my answer...

Two heating elements and the moisture sensor at four years old. Annoying, but easily fixable.
The real problem is if the fancy electronic controller board goes out.

Source of the post The real problem is if the fancy electronic controller board goes out.

Yeah, that's probably my biggest worry. The door assembly is probably the most expensive part, at around $460. I can do all of the labor myself, so if I can find the parts, I can replace any part. Hell, I had the dryer disassembled on day 1 to install the propane orifice.

I remember completely dismantling my dryer on day 1 also because I needed a side vent, not a rear vent.

One thing's for certain - no chance I can run anything larger than these units. I have maybe 3" of leeway side to side overall, and to do anything behind them requires you to bend yourself like a pretzel. Ideally, the washer would have to come out to do any real work.

My parents wanted to get rid of some antique furniture that I knew had been passed down for generations. It turns out that one items we took is a cedar hope chest my great-great-great grandfather made for my great-great aunt, probably in the 1830s in Somerset County, not far from the Flight 93 Memorial. Teenage girls would get a hope chest where they would keep things to take along when they got married- dresses, blankets, linens, etc. She never got married and left it and her house to her brother, my great-great grandfather. It was passed down and now has been passed along to me. I don't think it's a rare item, if most teenage girls had them, many still exist today, but to me with the family history, it's priceless.

We are having a friend of mine who is a carpenter do some work at the house soon, I need to have him look at it but we don't believe it's been refinished or had anything replaced. I'm not a huge antique person but it's just a nice thing to have in our home, and at 4' wide x 2' deep by 2-1/2' tall- it holds a ton of stuff.

We also got a drop -leaf table that my Dad thinks was handed down in the same will in 1896 but we can't establish who made it or when. We know it had been painted white at one point then stripped and stained. Nice piece but without the provenance it doesn't mean quite as much.

Very cool.
I have a trunk my family emigrated from Slovakia with. I keep it for similar reasons.

Any recommendations on a heating option for a detached garage? I'm going to put a golf simulator in and am looking for something that could keep it somewhat inhabitable during winter. The garage is insulated so I think I can make it work without anything crazy

Electric or fuel?

Yeah if you have natural gas available that'd be my choice, I'd be sure you do something vented and not ventless.

When I eventually do a detached garage I will be using a wood burner.

Park your car in there and have it run

I'm not really married to either. Electric seems easier.. I was looking at something like this, but figured I'd see if anyone used anything they liked here

https://www.lowes.com/pd/NewAir-5000-Wa ... 1001143248

Yeah if you have natural gas available that'd be my choice, I'd be sure you do something vented and not ventless.

When I eventually do a detached garage I will be using a wood burner.

Hmm okay I'll see what my options are there. Funny thing is it has a wood burner. The inspector said it was out of operation and so insurance doesn't even know I have it. So that's kinda of a question mark for me but if I can figure out what's wrong with it, it's an option. Then I'll just have to decide if I want to deal with insurance or not

I'm not really married to either. Electric seems easier.. I was looking at something like this, but figured I'd see if anyone used anything they liked here

https://www.lowes.com/pd/NewAir-5000-Wa ... 1001143248

That's the same exact one that showed up when I was looking at garage heaters on Tractor Supply, nice.

Keep in mind for something like that you need not only a dedicated breaker but also 30a worth of available amperage. If you are up against it with a 150a service, or like a 50a disconnect/sub panel in the garage, well good luck.

That's one of the reasons why I asked. Cause that will also be a little pricey to run.

How do I tell if I have 30a available? The garage has a separate fuse box.

Gas would be cheaper to run?