Home Remodel: Do, Don'ts, Advice

[::: :::]

Are you saying they are serving other units?

[Danno]

No idea re the question, but I understand the issue. We have a column of ductwork that we're going to have to live with in our new great room (moving it would be very expensive) and we have one return air in the wall we're removing, I am fairly confident we can figure that one out.

[Nobody Famous]

Are you saying they are serving other units?

No. The returns are for other rooms in the 2nd and 3rd floor of the condo unit. The Kitchen<>Dining Room wall is the only interior wall (wall not part of the 'vertical planes formed by the unfinished interior surfaces ... part of the perimeter' a.k.a. walls between adjacent condo units) on the first floor.

[::: :::]

Not sure there's any special advice...there are no shortcuts, just reconfigure the ductwork

[Nobody Famous]

Not sure there's any special advice...there are no shortcuts, just reconfigure the ductwork

I'm thinking it's not so simple. Reconfigured ductwork means one (or more) return airflow circuits has increased resistance, in turn the supply volume to that circuit increases or decreases, and you'll need to re-tune the dampers to compensate. Next jump in this is the size of air handler is affected.

Or am I over-thinking this?

[::: :::]

Why you trolling like that?

[jamesp]

I'm thinking it's not so simple. Reconfigured ductwork means one (or more) return airflow circuits has increased resistance, in turn the supply volume to that circuit increases or decreases, and you'll need to re-tune the dampers to compensate. Next jump in this is the size of air handler is affected.

Or am I over-thinking this?

pretty sure Danno is the only one here qualified to answer this properly

[Dromond]

I've got a concrete porch/steps that's about 9' x 12' and is in rough shape. It's stained, discolored, generally hideous and has a giant crack in (shoddily patched by the prior owner) that word-has-it appeared in the 2001 earthquake here. We redoing the railing and stuff there in preparation for painting the house and can't help but think that I should do something about this thing. Am I wasting my time doing anything but replacing it or should I consider resurfacing or painting it? Despite the crack, I've seen no signs of it worsening in the 3 years we've had the place. It's poured on top of / attached to the driveway/walkway that is also cracked/old ugly but I'm far from replacing all that at this point, thus the interest in fixing up the existing porch.

[Danno]

As anyone reading this thread knows, I have no answer for you. But posting a picture might help people give you meaningful advice.

[Mofro261]

I've got a concrete porch/steps that's about 9' x 12' and is in rough shape. It's stained, discolored, generally hideous and has a giant crack in (shoddily patched by the prior owner) that word-has-it appeared in the 2001 earthquake here. We redoing the railing and stuff there in preparation for painting the house and can't help but think that I should do something about this thing. Am I wasting my time doing anything but replacing it or should I consider resurfacing or painting it? Despite the crack, I've seen no signs of it worsening in the 3 years we've had the place. It's poured on top of / attached to the driveway/walkway that is also cracked/old ugly but I'm far from replacing all that at this point, thus the interest in fixing up the existing porch.

Pic would definitely be helpful, is it a raised concrete wall attached to the house, filled in with dirt and a pad poured on top, with a couple of steps going up to it? In my head it sounds more like a patio than a porch. Resurfacing or staining are the cheaper options. If it was originally poured without expansion joints it'll continue to crack though.

[Danno]

Anyone in the front range have recommendations for a hardwood floors company? Need to get some quotes for either lacing in flooring after the asbestos tile is pulled up or in the alternative, putting new flooring in over everything.

[::: :::]

I've got a concrete porch/steps that's about 9' x 12' and is in rough shape. It's stained, discolored, generally hideous and has a giant crack in (shoddily patched by the prior owner) that word-has-it appeared in the 2001 earthquake here. We redoing the railing and stuff there in preparation for painting the house and can't help but think that I should do something about this thing. Am I wasting my time doing anything but replacing it or should I consider resurfacing or painting it? Despite the crack, I've seen no signs of it worsening in the 3 years we've had the place. It's poured on top of / attached to the driveway/walkway that is also cracked/old ugly but I'm far from replacing all that at this point, thus the interest in fixing up the existing porch.

Pic would definitely be helpful, is it a raised concrete wall attached to the house, filled in with dirt and a pad poured on top, with a couple of steps going up to it? In my head it sounds more like a patio than a porch. Resurfacing or staining are the cheaper options. If it was originally poured without expansion joints it'll continue to crack though.

location of cracks will also tell about the likelihood of further problems (or lack thereof)

[Flounder]

We had a similar situation when we bought our house but it was only 6x8 porch with steps. Used bluestone on the top and cultured stone for the vertical faces. Been over 15 years and it still looks decent even though it was one of our first DIY projects.

First make sure it's structurally sound.

I've got a concrete porch/steps that's about 9' x 12' and is in rough shape. It's stained, discolored, generally hideous and has a giant crack in (shoddily patched by the prior owner) that word-has-it appeared in the 2001 earthquake here. We redoing the railing and stuff there in preparation for painting the house and can't help but think that I should do something about this thing. Am I wasting my time doing anything but replacing it or should I consider resurfacing or painting it? Despite the crack, I've seen no signs of it worsening in the 3 years we've had the place. It's poured on top of / attached to the driveway/walkway that is also cracked/old ugly but I'm far from replacing all that at this point, thus the interest in fixing up the existing porch.

[Dromond]

Pics, of course. I would say avert your eyes but that would defeat the purpose.




Why someone would add a partial brick veneer to a house I will never understand.

[::: :::]

Pics, of course. I would say avert your eyes but that would defeat the purpose.




Why someone would add a partial brick veneer to a house I will never understand.

looking at that, my concern is that your 2nd lvl lands on the top of that mass
the crack isn't immediately obvious as a line of structural failure...might be just stress relief in the mass of concrete.
(not ruling it out either, just saying it doesn't fit the classic shear lines one might expect from a structural failure)
how does the crack extend on the top surface?
is there obvious floor slope in the room on the 2nd flr?
any wall finishes cracked upstairs?
is there basement under the porch? or a notch cut out of the basement at this location?

[Dromond]

Looking a little more closely, it becomes apparent that the platform area of the porch was poured in the 1950s over the joists and subfloor that supported the original 1914 wooden porch.

how does the crack extend on the top surface?

About 2 feet before petering out.

is there obvious floor slope in the room on the 2nd flr?

There likely is although it's difficult to measure as that area is just a storage area consisting of joists with plywood over the top. The living room immediately to the left in the photo slopes noticeably and has definitely settled over the years. It's hard to tell if the settlement took place pre 1950s, post 1950s, or both.

any wall finishes cracked upstairs?

Difficult to verify but likely. There was plenty of cracked, ancient plaster covered in wallpaper and a zillion layers of paint throughout the house. TGR's best drywaller skim coated over all of that 3 years ago and no cracks have reoccurred in that area since.

is there basement under the porch? or a notch cut out of the basement at this location?

The basement runs under it with the joists running continuously across the width.

Thanks for the advice!

[Mofro261]

Oh the crack is in the wall, not so much in the porch surface.

What's the plan to replace/refinish the railing?

I'd go cosmetic update, ie either a paint or stain over the concrete after grinding the crack line a bit, or a more expensive - resurface with stone/tile options. Your steps and porch look in decent shape to me, though could probably use a good pressure wash. I wouldn't replace unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket and really want to go back to a different wood/decking option.

[::: :::]

The crack may just be that a brittle material was placed over a soft material (wood) and eventually the brittle material was stressed too much with no designed relief locations to propagate a crack; so it just did it on its own where it felt like it.

It's a good thing that you haven't seen further cracking, cracks growing, or movement since you've been in the house. That is a significant positive. And you haven't mentioned a wet basement below this condition so it seems to be doing its job so far.

That said, i'm not sure I can give you any real confidence that the condition is reliably stable. So, i hate to say it, but you may be in the best position to assess the risk of investing more work in this area. Unfortunately, these things are not definitive, even if I were visiting in person.

A solution that could eliminate worry is going to be more extensive than just replacing the post and adding a nicer guardrail. You'd want to remove the slab and land a new post on stable structure below (it could be the floor framing or the foundation wall proper). At that level of invasive work, you may as well address the brick and consider the porch holistically with this elevation of the house to make it right moving forward.

[Nobody Famous]

Tankless Electric Water Heaters.

Any comments other that the upfront costs are greater, ... serviceability, does the hot water really come out instantly, are the max temps not as high as conventional tank models?

[Shredhead]

Tankless are nice for vacation homes where usage varies a lot.
It also freed up enough space in a small condo, that I could add a stackable washer/drier.

Mines not instant and it did take a little while to get it dialed in.

[::: :::]

Tankless Electric Water Heaters.

Any comments other that the upfront costs are greater, ... serviceability, does the hot water really come out instantly, are the max temps not as high as conventional tank models?

Some info here:

Get Excited - Home Boiler Talk
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...d.php?t=302261

[Dromond]

Thanks so much for the tips, guys. I'm leaning towards minimal cosmetic treatment of the concrete as mofro suggests, understanding that It's not guaranteed to remain stable for eternity. The thought process there is that it's directly over the driveway/walkway which as you can see is hardly perfect either. I could envision a time relatively far in the future (decades?) where that has decayed enough to need replacement and it might make sense to rip it all out at once - and may feel ok about gambling/deferring on that one.

[::: :::]

Have you contacted SorryBro?

+1

[Nobody Famous]

A definite Do: Sweeping Compound and the correct broom make a huge difference when doing clean up.

- I never would have thought they make different brooms for different jobs.
- Sweeping compound, buy it by the 25 or 50 lb box

[m38571]

I totally agree with you