DIY Home Improvement Thread..

[Park City Skins]

Well I guess that takes care of the retaining wall part. Though I did help put in one that was around 90 feet in length and 4feet in height using pavers and it came out pretty good. Still there and doing well as far as I know.

I have a gas tankless in this house. Works very well,but as with all of them,takes a minute to get water up to temp. Cons. Electric uses a lot of power while in use. Remember,it has to heat water to temp so that alone is going to draw power. So much so,that in some houses,it's necessary to add to the present electricity in the house. It will take it longer to bring it up to temp too,(if memory serves). Running two showers at the same time doesn't work too well,(same goes for the gas kind as well),hence why a larger one is needed. We have a smaller gas one and it's not all that fond of heating two sources at the same time. Especially when the two sources it's trying to supply hot water to are in two very different areas of the house. Running a gas line can be expensive as well if one isn't already there by the way. I researched them heavily for my condo,(not necessary as it's one bedroom),and when helping my fiance' with buying this house. Lot's of good info out there.

Speaking of which,it's getting in to that time of year when the temps begin to climb some more,so it's about time for the outdoor work,(extensive ),to start. Cleaning and sealing eaves. Putting in eave vents,then screening them off so every living thing in the area doesn't try to move in to them. Trading out the vents to the crawl space is part of the gig too. And that's just the first week.

[Mr. Sinister]

The cleaning and screening off eave vents was a good place to start. There's no telling what kind of Hellish surprises could've been waiting for you later on in the year if you forgot to do it.

[Park City Skins]

We moved in last August and it was pretty obvious the previous owner wasn't interested in keeping things out. There was one bird nest,a half dozen or so hornets nests,and about 50% of the eaves had a pretty interesting looking spider living in them. I kept them around a bit to help guard the perimeter until I could catch up with things. I'm loading up on the Ortho already.

[Elessar78]

Well I guess that takes care of the retaining wall part. Though I did help put in one that was around 90 feet in length and 4feet in height using pavers and it came out pretty good. Still there and doing well as far as I know.

I'm always open to more info and guidance on the retaining wall, so if you have more to share I'd welcome it!

[Park City Skins]

I'd have to look at that a bit more,but right now I'd say no_pressure covered it pretty well. Don't forget to do a lot of research yourself too.

*

We just started a minor,cosmetic remodel in the kitchen. Took out the peninsula,(it sucked anyway),and put a nice,older,yellow pine buffet with hutch against the wall it took up. Made it a coffee bar along with using it as storage for a few appliances we have. Immediate impact on the room. The major remodels happen down the road when the money is there and when I'm done raising the floor back up and redoing the stuff below and possibly above the kitchen. Structure stuff.

[zoony]

Confused by the post. If I have gas, and deciding on going tankless, should I do it or buy the biggest hot water heater I can buy.

I have a 75 gallon water heater (gas) which has worked well, but I think it is coming near end of life. I was considering going gas tankless.

Buy the biggest gas tankless. They are rated by output.

You want. Something that will work if you have two showers going while dishwasher is running in February when groundwater is 48. The medium won't work. They will try to sell you the medium. They always do.

Put a few extra hundred up front. You will not regret it

[chipwhich]

Buy the biggest gas tankless. They are rated by output.

You want. Something that will work if you have two showers going while dishwasher is running in February when groundwater is 48. The medium won't work. They will try to sell you the medium. They always do.

Put a few extra hundred up front. You will not regret it

Thanks, I will look into it. My only other question is they say they require special ventilation. I have a ventilation pipe for my existing HW heater. Does that mean they would have to run a new ventilation pipe "certified" to work with the tankless? My basement is finished now, not sure I would want to run a new pipe to the outside as my HW heater sits under my stairwell which is in the center of the basement...meaning it's not sitting next to an exterior wall.

[zoony]

Thanks, I will look into it. My only other question is they say they require special ventilation. I have a ventilation pipe for my existing HW heater. Does that mean they would have to run a new ventilation pipe "certified" to work with the tankless? My basement is finished now, not sure I would want to run a new pipe to the outside as my HW heater sits under my stairwell which is in the center of the basement...meaning it's not sitting next to an exterior wall.

Ventilation was the sticking point for me, there was not enough room in my crawl space because of ventilation requirements. The vent pipe is large... 3 or 4" iirc.

I spent a lot of time researching only to find out at the very end installation wasn't possible. Several friends have them... They ALL wish they'd gotten the bigger unit. The salesman for the Natural Gas company vehemently tried to talk me out of the largest unit saying I didn't need it. This happened to everyone I talked to... Strange

Research your ground water temperature for your area. The hot water heater has to work much harder in Virginia than Florida. Heating 50 degree water up to 100 degrees is much tougher than heating 70 degree water to 100 degrees.

[China]

Yeah they had to install a new vent for our tankless system. I think it's 4", but regardless the vent from the old tank water heater was not sufficient. They made an entirely new vent.

[chipwhich]

Thanks, I will have to check and see if I even want to make the switch.

[GoSkins0721]

Yeah they had to install a new vent for our tankless system. I think it's 4", but regardless the vent from the old tank water heater was not sufficient. They made an entirely new vent.

Yep, new venting requirements for all new gas equipment (hot water heater, furnace). Not sure what year it went into effect and I don't know the details. But I had my water heater & furnace replaced about 2 years ago (house built in the early 90's) and they ran the vent out the back of the garage wall instead of up through the roof. Both the water heater & furnace are in the garage. They capped off the old vent that goes up through the roof.

[chipwhich]

My house is 8 years old, maybe my pipe is new enough?

[Park City Skins]

Had an inspector,(best in town. Known for being meticulous and a hard ass),come in and look at the foundation of the house. Easy fix. Looks like I've got one more thing for the Spring to do list but this is a good one and a relief. Get that floor raised and then I can really go to town on the interior stuff.

[HOF44]

Had an inspector,(best in town. Known for being meticulous and a hard ass),come in and look at the foundation of the house. Easy fix. Looks like I've got one more thing for the Spring to do list but this is a good one and a relief. Get that floor raised and then I can really go to town on the interior stuff.

That's good to hear I bet! Foundation problems run into HUGE money sometimes.

[Park City Skins]

True that. Foundation work can really cost. I was expecting some bad news,but didn't get it. Whew.