Ahhh, now THAT is a good point! I have made it my passion to NEVER use ANY ethenol gas in ANY small engine devices. ETHENOL FREE ONLY! Run the carb dry before storing. Ever since I started doing that, all my tools start on first or second pull every time.I do not miss my %^$%##!! 2 cycle string trimmer that didn't want to start or run worth a crap the last couple of years. I got so frustrated with having to constantly tinker with it to get it running.
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I bet SWMBO hates it when you stop and say "we've got a puncture... pass me down the spare, please"![]()
Best of luck I can see how frustrating that would beIn case anyone is interested, I tore into ithe leaky wall/window again with the rage of a frustrated homeowner ticked off at both his own folly and the builder's incompetence that contributed to the leak (would not have needed to tear into it the first time around had it been done right the first time!). I do believe I found the issue and know the fix. Hardware store run is imminent.
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That doesn't work. Years ago my OH made his own beer. IIRC it cost about 1/6th of the price... but, being on tap at home, he drank at least 6 times more than beer he boughthis is great. I want to get into homebrewing in an attempt to save money in the long term... I know not many hobbies work out that way, but good beer is so damn expensive. When I did back of the envelope math, it seemed like it'd be easy to save money doing homebrewing
They build there without house wrap? I see they used fan fold but it doesn't cover the whole wall? The fan fold at a minimum should have been run on the outside of the top window flange, not behind it. A friend of mine had someone side his house and he installed fan fold instead of house wrap. The fella siding it ran the fan fold just like yours and water ran in every time it rained. He borrowed my off road forklift and scaffolding to pull the siding off and properly flash it. He said he should have sided it himself as he ended up having to do twice the work fixing the mistakes. This is how I do mine: House wrap on wall, on windows the wrap is cut and ran into the opening except for the top. Starting at the bottom, the flashing tape is ran across the bottom with overlap inside the opening and inside corners covered. Flashing tape up each side extending past the bottom and top. Flashing tape on top is under the house wrap which is slit slightly on each side. After installing the window, the house wrap goes over the top window flange and I run flashing tape again all around.In case anyone is interested, I tore into ithe leaky wall/window again with the rage of a frustrated homeowner ticked off at both his own folly and the builder's incompetence that contributed to the leak (would not have needed to tear into it the first time around had it been done right the first time!). I do believe I found the issue and know the fix. Hardware store run is imminent.
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My place that my grandfather finished building in 1993 also had no wrap (he was cheap, and it wasn't as common back then). All the windows need to be replaced; I'm removing the siding, adding a wrap and/or possibly a foam layer for extra insulation, and going back with colored metal roofing vertically. That way I can use new-construction windows have a more durable exterior and increase my insulation value.Yeah I was shocked to find no house wrap. Not sure if it is because they didn't do it as much back in 1999 when it was built, or because the builder cheaped out. Probably the latter. There was NO flashing around the windows at all. Just stuck in a hole in the side of the house with some caulking. What prompted me working on it the first time was rotted sheeting, studs, etc. I had to rebuild all that. My mistake was leaving that half circle window in place and just redoing the other two below. So now I get to yank the top half circle window and redo it with flashing and all that.
.If I had my druthers I'd take everything off, replace the random bits of foam board with actual sheeting, wrap the whole house, reinstall all the windows.... Not likely to do that though.
I suspect I'm going to have to do some repairs to another window install on the south wall. Not cool...
Try having an 80+ year old house that also was cheaped out on in recent years. My roof, which was replaced a couple years ago before moved in, has leaks from tons of popped nails. They also re-used the flashing, so there's just a bunch of silicone holding water back. As you'd expect, it's also bottom-of-the-barrel 15-year shingles.Yeah I was shocked to find no house wrap. Not sure if it is because they didn't do it as much back in 1999 when it was built, or because the builder cheaped out. Probably the latter.
You can always do one side at a time. It took 3 years to side my whole 1905 house. It had aluminum from the late 70's on it plus the original cedar.Yeah I was shocked to find no house wrap. Not sure if it is because they didn't do it as much back in 1999 when it was built, or because the builder cheaped out. Probably the latter. There was NO flashing around the windows at all. Just stuck in a hole in the side of the house with some caulking. What prompted me working on it the first time was rotted sheeting, studs, etc. I had to rebuild all that. My mistake was leaving that half circle window in place and just redoing the other two below. So now I get to yank the top half circle window and redo it with flashing and all that.
.If I had my druthers I'd take everything off, replace the random bits of foam board with actual sheeting, wrap the whole house, reinstall all the windows.... Not likely to do that though.
I suspect I'm going to have to do some repairs to another window install on the south wall. Not cool...
Back in the day, they used what's called Balloon construction, which means there may not be firestops in your walls. That makes it much easier to go the cheaper "blow-in" insulation route. For open cell or closed cell foam, you will need to rip out all the sheetrock first.Try having an 80+ year old house that also was cheaped out on in recent years. My roof, which was replaced a couple years ago before moved in, has leaks from tons of popped nails. They also re-used the flashing, so there's just a bunch of silicone holding water back. As you'd expect, it's also bottom-of-the-barrel 15-year shingles.
Basically, gonna have to get the whole thing replaced a lot sooner than expected.
The house, being as old as it is, also seems to have zero insulation in the exterior walls. Anyone ever had spray-in foam insulation done to a property? Seriously considering that, as we really, really don't want to rip out all of the drywall.
I could go on, and on, and on about the various issues between just being an old house, and the extremely questionable "upkeep" that had been done.
I blew cellulose in my old house and a rental that I still own. Both had plaster walls with backplaster that was in good shape. My old house just had cedar siding so I pulled the nails out of the siding every 5 feet and blew in from the outside. The rental was done on the inside, simply used a diamond tile bit to drill a hole then use a hole saw on the lath. Easy to patch later.Back in the day, they used what's called Balloon construction, which means there may not be firestops in your walls. That makes it much easier to go the cheaper "blow-in" insulation route. For open cell or closed cell foam, you will need to rip out all the sheetrock first.
Most of my houses have all been over 100 years old. They don't build them like the used to, and once you go 10 foot ceilings, you wont want to go back to 8 foot. That said, your energy bill will be higher due to the lack of insulation, but thats why we do solar, right?
You are correct, in all of the original parts of the home, there are no firestops that I encountered.Back in the day, they used what's called Balloon construction, which means there may not be firestops in your walls. That makes it much easier to go the cheaper "blow-in" insulation route. For open cell or closed cell foam, you will need to rip out all the sheetrock first.
My main problem with going whole-home solar is that this house is grandfathered in to so many code requirements. When I moved in, the entire home had two-conductor, no ground, paper/rubber insulated wiring. That stuff has degraded and crumbles apart. I had the bulk of the home rewired with modern romex. Still need to do the circuits for the overhead lighting. But there is still a lot of stuff that would need to be updated to code, I would guess.That said, your energy bill will be higher due to the lack of insulation, but thats why we do solar, right?
I'm not sure what my options would be. This is a brick-and-mortar home (real bricks, not fake siding). The interior is drywall. I did have the thought that filling a bunch of holes drilled in mortar sounds a lot less of a pain than patching a ton of drywall holes.I blew cellulose in my old house and a rental that I still own. Both had plaster walls with backplaster that was in good shape. My old house just had cedar siding so I pulled the nails out of the siding every 5 feet and blew in from the outside.
Not something I had thought about, but totally makes sense considering there's certainly no vapor barrier wrap or anything like that.Adding spray foam to a structure that wasn't designed for it gives me the willies. I have seen a few with rotted structure under the foam because leaks can't dry out.
You are correct, in all of the original parts of the home, there are no firestops that I encountered.
This made it even easier to run my network drops to the various rooms. If I decide to do blow-in insulation, I guess I better run all the network drops beforehand.
My main problem with going whole-home solar is that this house is grandfathered in to so many code requirements. When I moved in, the entire home had two-conductor, no ground, paper/rubber insulated wiring. That stuff has degraded and crumbles apart. I had the bulk of the home rewired with modern romex. Still need to do the circuits for the overhead lighting. But there is still a lot of stuff that would need to be updated to code, I would guess.
I think the electricians here would be horrified to see the breaker box and associated wiring.
I kind of expect if I opt to go whole-home solar, I will need to have the breaker box relocated to something that meets the "accessible area" requirements (which might end up being outdoors due to the limited space in the home).
This whole home has been my biggest non-solar project for a few years now. The saving grace that keeps me going is that we own the home free and clear, no mortgage.
I'm not sure what my options would be. This is a brick-and-mortar home (real bricks, not fake siding). The interior is drywall. I did have the thought that filling a bunch of holes drilled in mortar sounds a lot less of a pain than patching a ton of drywall holes.
Not something I had thought about, but totally makes sense considering there's certainly no vapor barrier wrap or anything like that.
My house was built in '55. There have been four distinct levels of work done to it.... the extremely questionable "upkeep" that had been done.
i would gut the interior drywall in a heartbeat vice drilling holes in the bricks, thats an invitation for water leaks from the outside where you currently do not have any.You are correct, in all of the original parts of the home, there are no firestops that I encountered.
This made it even easier to run my network drops to the various rooms. If I decide to do blow-in insulation, I guess I better run all the network drops beforehand.
My main problem with going whole-home solar is that this house is grandfathered in to so many code requirements. When I moved in, the entire home had two-conductor, no ground, paper/rubber insulated wiring. That stuff has degraded and crumbles apart. I had the bulk of the home rewired with modern romex. Still need to do the circuits for the overhead lighting. But there is still a lot of stuff that would need to be updated to code, I would guess.
I think the electricians here would be horrified to see the breaker box and associated wiring.
I kind of expect if I opt to go whole-home solar, I will need to have the breaker box relocated to something that meets the "accessible area" requirements (which might end up being outdoors due to the limited space in the home).
This whole home has been my biggest non-solar project for a few years now. The saving grace that keeps me going is that we own the home free and clear, no mortgage.
I'm not sure what my options would be. This is a brick-and-mortar home (real bricks, not fake siding). The interior is drywall. I did have the thought that filling a bunch of holes drilled in mortar sounds a lot less of a pain than patching a ton of drywall holes.
Not something I had thought about, but totally makes sense considering there's certainly no vapor barrier wrap or anything like that.
I have a cartoonish image of a house shaped like an apple!I blew cellulose in my old house and a rental that I still own. Both had plaster walls with backplaster that was in good shape. My old house just had cedar siding so I pulled the nails out of the siding every 5 feet and blew in from the outside. The rental was done on the inside, simply used a diamond tile bit to drill a hole then use a hole saw on the lath. Easy to patch later.
I always just used full square footage, didn't subtract anything for doors or windows and used thickness that was higher with the back plaster. I would end up with 1 to 2 bags left over so it definitely was in tight. Cellulose was fed slow with air fully turned up. You can't do that with drywall, it will blow it right off the wall. I made a nozzle where it was necked down from 2 inch hose to 3/4 inch. Worked very well, nice tight pack.
Many builders are moving away from spray foam and using dense pack cellulose with netting before installing drywall. Works well with double studded thermal break walls.
That's called deferred maintenance and encapsulates many of the decisions made by the PO.I could go on, and on, and on about the various issues between just being an old house, and the extremely questionable "upkeep" that had been done.