In the builder interview phase of doing a an addition/whole home remodel on our house (architectural plans and permits are in process) and the news of the tariff war and its effect on lumber and materials is just super swell.
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In the builder interview phase of doing a an addition/whole home remodel on our house (architectural plans and permits are in process) and the news of the tariff war and its effect on lumber and materials is just super swell.
Thanks Foggy, from running a business myself I get all that. IMO for my needs it is the smaller shop that will likely work out best as it is hopefully run by a guy with years of experience that went out on his own and doesn't have the huge overhead of the bigger guys. Finding that person is the challenge, but to save maybe a couple of grand, I will put in the effort of 5 bids.
Those are estimates not bid. My parents have an semi retired GC that is basically their fixer that they pay to just make it happen. The sub trades loves to have vetted customers. An inherent issue with the trades is the customer views it as transactional and the business owner views it as relationship based. For this reason, direct referrals are the way. For the customer, you have some hope that the guy that didn't fuck over your friends isn't gonna fuck you over. For the business, you have some hope that your A grade customer doesn't have D- shit bag friends.
If you get in the circle of trust with the good guys, it gets easy. I get so many txts and VM from customers "hey, do you know any good carpet guys". And then I just group txt the customer and the carpet guy and it all works out.
^^^^ this is the way. Old school networking.
Hey, customer X was super chill and easy to work with and paid on time. Bingo. That’s a customer everyone wants.
Pareto optimal.
20% of your customers can be 80% of your problems otherwise.
Well, 5 bids later I ended up in a different place than where I started and learned a lot (that I will forget by next week). Received a solid price on good equipment (not Trane quality) for our rental. Should be a solid upgrade for the tenants and much more efficient than the 30 year old Rheem unit that was in there.
Do architects bid remodels? How about new homes?
BothQuote:
Originally Posted by Mazderati
They do in my hood.
Fun with electrons. I have a 4 gang box in my laundry room. I plug something in to the GFCI--no juice. I see the red light on and the GFCI won't reset. I flip the breaker off and on--still can't reset but the outlet now works. I notice that when I had the breaker off the other two outlets still worked, so apparently they are on a different circuit. I figure I need to replace the GFCI so I try to turn off the breaker to the other outlet, since I'll be working in the box. None of the breakers turns it off, so apparently that outlet is double fed--I didn't try to figure out which two. The last time the wiring in that part of the house was about 6 years ago when some questionably licensed Romanians remodeled the kitchen. Time for a real electrician.
If you can gut a human being you can wire an outlet.
I would have guessed that the other outlets were wired off the gfi circuit. I guess not.
Gfi outlets get old. Just replace it.
As for the other hot outlets. That is odd. But no one has died yet. So either Fred them off the gfi output or leave them be.
You are talking about a "Design/Build" firm right? As in they are bidding the job as a contractor because they are both an architect and contractor right?
Yeah, I've replaced GFCIs and bought a new one but I figured I'd better kill the other outlet in the box. When I couldn't do that is when I decided to call for help. I suppose I could turn off all the breakers and turn them on one at a time but getting the double feed fixed, if that's what it is seems worth doing. Especially if we ever want to sell the house. I'm not that worried about fire from the outlet--if the house burns down it will probably be from the K and T lighting and some of the outlets--the ungrounded ones. Leaving that for the next owners.
Find the circuit with a loud radio if you can hear it from the fuse box. Or ask your wife to tell you on the cell phone when a lamp or radio turns off.
Once it’s all dead, cap the offending wires with nuts (if they feed through the other outlet they feed something else so just connect black to black and white to white). Then feed the old outlet from the gfi protected output.
You got this
PS. Anyone doing any electrical needs a tic tracer. Ten dollar tool that goes beep beep. It’s saved my ass from similar situations.
^^ can’t edit What I meant is if the hot outlet has two blacks and two whites it’s mid stream and feeding something else and needs to stay connected inside the box.
If there’s only one black and one white wire in then just cap them individually
@::: ::: what is being bid when there are no prints? An idea?
^^^ a general number pulled out of the ass?
I’ve seen contractors meticulously do takeoffs on plan sets and set a fair price. I’ve also seen numbers for fifty percent more that were ass pulled. They figure it’s not worth the time. Just build enough cushion to make it worth pushing.
A simple remodel isn’t hard to price. New construction and additions need plans. Or at least a good mapping sketch
Damn autocorrect
I meant napkin sketch. Like the laffer curve. Or spinal tap building Stonehenge
Core shot, what did I ever do to you that you are trying to get me killed? Time for a pro. Last time I had an electrician out they got shocked from a double fed circuit. Fortunately didn't fall off the ladder. They get paid the big bucks to fuck with that stuff. Not me.
might be good idea ^^ I hired a pro to deal with some stuff and school my tennnat
So buddy told her the reason you keep blowing bulbs is these dollar store bulbs are shit
The pro did some other things so I also had him put in new plugs for my work island it was worth the $$$ so something else to consider
and you just never know wtf builders did or do so an aquaintence has a metal carport roof that I discovered is HOT SO 115V to ground which could sit there at 115V as long as there was no ground and I could not turn off the roof I discovered becuse the circuits were were also wrongly labeled she just turned the roof off and thats how it sits
For the design build method you need a program: SF, rooms, general level of finishes, budget. Firms compete on what they provide within those parameters.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mazderati
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Any of you gays ever have a Main Sewer Line replaced by having it split and new abs installed (pulled through) rather than doing the epoxy liner method?
We have about 75 feet of old school clay pipe (1949 build date) that is fine except my neighbors Magnolia tree roots grow under the wall and get into the pipe section joints.
I have rooter routered myself for about the last 5+ years, but with a move in mind, I am certain tenants won't want to do that.
Are you happy with the results?
To do pipe bursting they have to dig a hole on both ends of the section being replaced - hole big enough to get the equipment and pipe level with the work…
Relining is typically what’s done these days. Less impactful, especially if you have convenient clean outs on both ends….
Get a quote from a few local “trenchless” plumbing outfits
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Google pipe genie A family member used to market the Pipe Genie
the unit used to be a big frame that fit in the hole but the unit appears to be a lot smaller than the literature I rmeebr seeing
I believe it was invented by a plumber in vancover and its been around 20+ yrs
Does not pop up in a San Diego search, but thanks.
Assuming access is available where needed, is there any reason not to install bathroom fixtures before plumbing is in place? Like, install the sink but leave the wall below it open. Connect the shower drain after the pan is installed.
if it's not being inspected (rough then finish), the only concern would be damage of new fixtures from any demo/repair efforts.
What’s the benefit to installing the fixtures in advance?
The plumber might add a PITA charge and/or the additional hours to work around the finishes.
It would prevent the plumber's schedule from impacting mine. Or, if I mounted a sink and then wanted to move it the plumbing would not be impacted. Access would be present above, below, or through the wall so the work seems like it would be the same. The rough-in inspection is an interesting point and something I would want to run by the inspector.
Inspector won’t give a shit as long as they can see what they need to see….
Remodel I assume? Otherwise you’re hanging just a chunk of rock to hang the sink?
New construction - in general most efficient / best quality order of operations: rough in, inspect, hang, tape and finish, first coat paint, trim and fixtures, final coat paint.
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Six months after the job's finished you'll discover where a chunk got broken off the bottom edge of the sink and there won't be a thing you can do about it.
I sure hope not.
Yes to renovation. Two bathrooms that share a common wall. The showers are on the common wall and the layout for one of them is awkward so I want to change it. The bathrooms are more deep than wide. I'll post a picture if that becomes a thing again.
^^are we talking about city of Portland?
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As a finish surface engineer, I'd rather just prime and then let shit get installed in new construction. Prefinishing is kinda dumb. Too much backtracking or fixing other trades bullshit between coats. Plus having to get set up and clean up an extra round. Fuck that
sounds like a pain. Do you just need a sink to use? You could just go buy something cheap like a cabinet sink at restore and donate it back later.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mazderati
" Do you just need a sink to use? You could just go buy something cheap like a cabinet sink at restore and donate it back later."
Where is he going to piss while the bathrooms are out of order? s
^ This guy knows what's up.
@ticket, I'm two towns up now.
My buddy the electrician sez roughing in the services and hiding it behind the DW to be common practise if a basement is going to be an illegal suite
he has heard the inspecotor mutter You don't fool me know I what you guys are doing but i can not fail what I can not see so pass
Where the fuck is the water coming into my basement from? Near the corner of the house, the outside is cement driveway and graded away. The one questionable spot has a drainage channel that I cleaned out recently and it's diverting runoff away from the house as designed. It's a big WTFF. we only get a cup or two on a rainy day and it's an unfinished basement so NBD, but it's pissing me off
Tell us more about the "questionable spot" and the nature of the drainage channel. Assuming the indoor basement wall is dry, as well as the ceiling, and that there's no obvious path to trace the water back to?Quote:
Originally Posted by dan_pdx
Next dry day, get the hose out and see if you can duplicate it simply by spraying water at ground level. If this happens right after it rains, and stops when the rain stops, then it decreases the chance that it's hydrostatic/underground. If that's the case, I'd start looking for points of ingress above grade (roof, walls, penetrations of any kind). It could be fairly far away from where the water actually collects, or immediately overhead. A thermal camera could be a useful invesigatory aid. You could borrow mine next time you're out toward Hillsboro.
Is youre groundwater high? You might have a perched groundwater situation where an impermeable layer of soil is 5' down and so surface water infiltrates down and then flows sideways ontop of that layer getting trapped up against your basement wall. My $0.02 would be to auger/dig a hole near your leak, to below slab. Cover with a board and see if/when it fills with water. If it fills with water, you got a groundwater issue. McGuyver solution would be to dig the hole a little deeper, drop a couple inches of gravel in, drop a home depot bucket (w/ lid) into the hole that has holes drilled in the bottom. Surroung the bucket with more gravel. Get yourself a shitty $50 sump pump from harbor freight and either rig a float system, or just manually flip it during storms.