Home Remodel: Do, Don'ts, Advice

[SoVT Joey]

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[m2711c]

is that a "do" or a "don't"?

[SoVT Joey]

That would be strongly advised as a don’t. Here’s another pic….




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[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

I love waterproofing. I would be happy as a pig in shit if I could fix fucked up waterproofing on beach houses for the rest of my days.

[mcski]

Those position of that guy’s head looks like the before pic on a Darwin Award

[nickwm21]

I love waterproofing. I would be happy as a pig in shit if I could fix fucked up waterproofing on beach houses for the rest of my days.

Those days would be short - peeling / grinding off all of that ACM bitumen…


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[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Like the old school hot mopped shower pans? Removing those was always a joy. Almost killed myself one time doing that shit.

[SoVT Joey]

The piers supporting the house are floating and the glass is cracking above. Supporting and jacking it and replacing, piers for the deck, veneer on the foundation, veneer pairs add 250k in deck and patio hot tub.


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[SoVT Joey]

Timber


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[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Guessing there wasn't supposed to be a foundation wall there?

[m2711c]

You putting the house up, or taking it down?

[John_B]

I'm going to guess someone pooped their pants at the job site today.

[BCMtnHound]

I had a basement entrance put in 10years ago using one of those big saws. Loud, messy, and so very fun. Contractor complaining that my concrete was too hard (curing since 1970).

[gravitylover]

Is ~$11k right for a new AC condenser, lines, coil and electrical work? Our 35 year old AC retired a few days ago

[skaredshtles]

Is ~$11k right for a new AC condenser, lines, coil and electrical work? Our 35 year old AC retired a few days ago

No heat pump?

[::: :::]

How many sf does it cover?

[adrenalated]

Is ~$11k right for a new AC condenser, lines, coil and electrical work? Our 35 year old AC retired a few days ago

Depends, but sounds like it's in the ballpark.

I paid $11k last year for a 5 ton heat pump (edit: Bosch 20 SEER unit), lineset, and coil. The concrete pad for the condenser was already there and this did NOT include electrical (in my area I was able to pull a homeowner permit and do the electrical myself). I imagine an A/C only unit is cheaper, but paying for someone else to do the electrical would offset that.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Just spent $9,000 on a 4 ton Lennox Elite 18 seer fully variable energy star condenser. Coil was already installed and I pulled electrical.

[gravitylover]

~1500 sq ft. Heat pump is $8k more and we won't be here long enough to break even on that. It would also force us to have the oil tank pressure tested and it'll almost surely fail because it's about 70 years old and the breather doesn't work anymore. That's another $6k+ ? This idiot county doesn't issue electrical permits to anyone that's not licensed so I couldn't do it even if I wanted to and the state doesn't allow anyone but licensed HVAC companies to buy the AC unit and the gas (410a?) On the upside I was able to convince them to put in a separate, switched, 30 amp outlet for a future car charger in place of the GFI outlet that they have to include to meet codes..

[dan_pdx]

Looking at hiring a design/build firm in Portland this fall to finish our 1000 sq ft basement. Hoping to add a 3/4 bath, possibly an egress window, seismic reinforcement, and possibly change the existing layout (there are walls now, but we might want to rearrange them).

What should I look for when vetting companies? I've hired trades a fair amount, but haven't worked with a GC before. And, any recs in the Portland area?

[fatnslow]

Look for a GC in the FIR program and be prepared to pay twice what you think your budget should be. I have a buddy who's in the seismic business but that's a whole different ball of wax than a turn key solution.

[::: :::]

Check whether your stair to the bsmt is going to grandfather. Pamphlet #9 from BDS has the criteria. If so, great. If not, the geom of the new stair may cause upstairs effects (addl $$$).
If you choose a FIR cert pro, have them do a pre-con site walk with their inspector to determine any issues with the stair.

https://www.portland.gov/ppd/documen...ure-9/download

[ETA] this a linchpin issue for having living space in the basement

[dan_pdx]

Great info, thanks guys! ::: :::, thanks for calling out the stairs, they're def a question mark. I'm not in town until September, when I'm there I'll have to measure to see if we squeeze by or not. Upstairs modifications would be really painful, we'd only need a few inches but it would cost (guessing) a new bike or more.

[SorryBro]

Great info, thanks guys! ::: :::, thanks for calling out the stairs, they're def a question mark. I'm not in town until September, when I'm there I'll have to measure to see if we squeeze by or not. Upstairs modifications would be really painful, we'd only need a few inches but it would cost (guessing) a new bike or more.

If all you need is a couple inches of head height room, you can slope cut the ceiling to squeeze it in. I did that at my old house to build better stairs that met code. rough sketch below.
Always check to see if the beam you are notching is carrying load before you cut into it.

[dan_pdx]

If all you need is a couple inches of head height room, you can slope cut the ceiling to squeeze it in. I did that at my old house to build better stairs that met code. rough sketch below.
Always check to see if the beam you are notching is carrying load before you cut into it.

There's a stud that was already cut to a bevel, if we need much more than that, we're potentially getting into the base cabinets on the floor above. Would be funny to completely remove the subfloor so you're just looking at the bottom of the cabinets when you go down the basement stairs, but hoping that's not necessary