Home Improvement Thread

robbiestoupe
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Postby robbiestoupe » Mon Jun 29, 2020 4:18 pm

I miss living in a ranch house with an attic fan. Only when it got into the 90's did I turn on the air conditioning. Also a great white noise machine if you're into that sort of thing.

mac5155
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Postby mac5155 » Mon Jun 29, 2020 5:03 pm

I'm 3 degrees higher than I wanna be rn. My system is on the struggle bus today.

NTP66
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Postby NTP66 » Mon Jun 29, 2020 5:31 pm

I miss living in a ranch house with an attic fan. Only when it got into the 90's did I turn on the air conditioning. Also a great white noise machine if you're into that sort of thing.
Kinda wish I had an attic fan right now. It’s clear the second story relatively quickly. I’ve resorted to reversing the ceiling fan in my master bedroom right now to see if it makes any noticeable difference.

skullman80
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Postby skullman80 » Mon Jun 29, 2020 5:36 pm

There is a whole house fan/attic fan in the house we just bought, but it doesn't seem to actually work heh. The little things that annoy me. The A/C unit seems to be keeping up though, it's cooler in the basement obviously, but it's not bad in the upper level of the split level.

mac5155
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Postby mac5155 » Mon Jun 29, 2020 6:47 pm

My grandfather put an attic fan in our old house, it was like a huge 4 foot belt driven fan. It would lower the temp in the house like 10 degrees in a half hour. It would run day in and day out for the entire summer.

willeyeam
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Postby willeyeam » Mon Jun 29, 2020 6:53 pm

I looked at a house that had an exhaust fan like that. I've never heard of one til I saw it and it made me want the house so much more when I realized what it was. Windows open all day and whoooosh nice and cool for bed time

NTP66
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Postby NTP66 » Mon Jun 29, 2020 6:56 pm

Yeah, my uncle’s house gets unbearably hot with the oven on. Turn on the attic fan and within minutes it drops 10 degrees or so. If he hooked that **** up to a decent thermostat he’d be set. But seeing as how he had a flip phone until last year, the smart thermostat is still a decade away, lol.

Trip McNeely
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Postby Trip McNeely » Mon Jun 29, 2020 7:07 pm

So I read awhile ago that attic fans aren’t useful in new homes. Basically with how air proof homes are built now, no air is pulled in through doors, windows and cracks in the house. Dryers, furnaces and attic fans pull air from the inside and create negative pressure. With all that negative pressure, air needs to be replaced.

I renovated an old house and spray foamed it, new windows, etc. I installed a gas fireplace and had so much of a backdraft that I had to get my HVAC to install a HRV (heat recovery ventilator) to try to even out all the negative pressure (and bring in clean air) and help with the chimney backdraft

So from what I understand, installing an attic fan would pull hot air, but then immediately replace that hot air when you open a door or window or it would bring in air from the chimney, negating any benefit

NTP66
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Postby NTP66 » Mon Jun 29, 2020 7:17 pm

Reversing my ceiling fan seems to be helping, even if only slightly.

mac5155
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Postby mac5155 » Mon Jun 29, 2020 10:08 pm

So I read awhile ago that attic fans aren’t useful in new homes. Basically with how air proof homes are built now, no air is pulled in through doors, windows and cracks in the house. Dryers, furnaces and attic fans pull air from the inside and create negative pressure. With all that negative pressure, air needs to be replaced.

I renovated an old house and spray foamed it, new windows, etc. I installed a gas fireplace and had so much of a backdraft that I had to get my HVAC to install a HRV (heat recovery ventilator) to try to even out all the negative pressure (and bring in clean air) and help with the chimney backdraft

So from what I understand, installing an attic fan would pull hot air, but then immediately replace that hot air when you open a door or window or it would bring in air from the chimney, negating any benefit
Yes, you're likely correct. This fan worked 10x better when a front door and windows were open. There wasn't an ounce of insulation in this house either.

NTP66
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Postby NTP66 » Tue Jun 30, 2020 7:12 am

I wouldn't say they aren't useful - perhaps not as useful in newer homes.

LITT
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Postby LITT » Tue Jun 30, 2020 7:47 am

anyone know where i can find dog ear cedar picket boards? everyone is out

Trip McNeely
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Postby Trip McNeely » Tue Jun 30, 2020 9:01 am

If all the big box stores are out, you can try Allegheny Fence. They build fences but will also sell fence parts, at least when I did my fence like 5 years ago

mac5155
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Postby mac5155 » Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:32 am

anyone know where i can find dog ear cedar picket boards? everyone is out
84 lumber maybe?
My dad just put up a new panel he had lying around in the garage too.

robbiestoupe
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Postby robbiestoupe » Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:43 am

anyone know where i can find dog ear cedar picket boards? everyone is out
How many you need? I have a few sitting in my garage I don't need.

LITT
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Postby LITT » Tue Jun 30, 2020 11:08 am

anyone know where i can find dog ear cedar picket boards? everyone is out
How many you need? I have a few sitting in my garage I don't need.
probably 5 or so

robbiestoupe
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Postby robbiestoupe » Tue Jun 30, 2020 4:44 pm

anyone know where i can find dog ear cedar picket boards? everyone is out
How many you need? I have a few sitting in my garage I don't need.
probably 5 or so
I have 3 full pieces plus a bunch of cut up pieces. I believe it's this type https://www.homedepot.com/p/19-32-in-x- ... 456986-_-N

mac5155
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Postby mac5155 » Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:08 pm

Price of cedar like tripled in the past few years.

mac5155
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Postby mac5155 » Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:36 pm

I think I've posted about 5 times on this topic now, but it's finally happening. I drew up plans to add a family room and full bath to our basement.

I'm going to do polystyrene panels, 2x3 framing, and then is R11 overkill? I already also have exterior insulation.

Should I Drylok what already has a tuff n dri waterproof system? I have a few spots that get slightly damp.

I'm still up in the air on finish. May do some drywall, some rough cut lumber and roofing metal combinations.

Nuge
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Postby Nuge » Wed Jul 01, 2020 7:12 am

I think I've posted about 5 times on this topic now, but it's finally happening. I drew up plans to add a family room and full bath to our basement.

I'm going to do polystyrene panels, 2x3 framing, and then is R11 overkill? I already also have exterior insulation.

Should I Drylok what already has a tuff n dri waterproof system? I have a few spots that get slightly damp.

I'm still up in the air on finish. May do some drywall, some rough cut lumber and roofing metal combinations.
That’s a pretty similar setup to what I went with. As far as the Drylok, I feel like in a basement any extra waterproofing can’t hurt.

I figured out the water issue that I was having. Turns out that nothing was seeping in from anywhere. My outdoor faucet must’ve had a slow leak. When I pulled out the insulation that was in front of it, I found a big tupperware container full of water that the previous owner put under it instead of fixing it. I replaced it with a new sharkbite sillcock and I’ve been dry every since.

shafnutz05
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Postby shafnutz05 » Wed Jul 01, 2020 7:30 am

Our neighbors on both sides let us know that they have encountered termites. A couple days before that, I was in my living room (we keep our door to the screened porch open when it is nice out) and I killed what I just dismissed as a "flying ant" at the time :scared:

LITT
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Postby LITT » Wed Jul 01, 2020 7:51 am

anyone know where i can find dog ear cedar picket boards? everyone is out
How many you need? I have a few sitting in my garage I don't need.
probably 5 or so
I have 3 full pieces plus a bunch of cut up pieces. I believe it's this type https://www.homedepot.com/p/19-32-in-x- ... 456986-_-N
if you are willing to part with them, i will take them off your hands. the scrap pieces, how big are they? if they are between bigger than 10" i would take those too (twss)

NTP66
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Postby NTP66 » Wed Jul 01, 2020 7:56 am

Source of the post if they are between bigger than 10" i would take those too
Title of your sex tape.

shafnutz05
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Postby shafnutz05 » Wed Jul 01, 2020 6:16 pm

Does anyone else's Nest go into Eco mode sometimes for no reason? I was sitting in my living room wondering why it was hot as balls and realized that was why.

LITT
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Postby LITT » Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:15 am

we have some odd zoning issues related to HVAC. two of our rooms getting very warm in the summer and very cool in the winter when the rest of the house does maintain appropriate temperature. does nest/ecobee have individual room sensors? i assume this would require some sort of damper integration for individual room control but looking for some solutions

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