The Home Improvement Thread

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Recommendation for Electrician to do the Electrical part of an A/C install? Family member is HVAC guy doing supply and install of unit, but I need an electrician. I’d do it myself but can’t as per permit rules.

Sorry not being a dick, but have you asked your Family member?

My buddies that are in the trades always know someone they would recommend.

[Nufy]

Tree roots (Mine) have raised the pavement level in the back alley (City owned and Paved) to the point where water / snow etc...collects regularly.

I would like to have the pavement removed, the roots cut out and then the level lowered so that I dont have a speed bump on one side when entering into my garage.

Is that a city issue or can I do it privately ?

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Nufy

Tree roots (Mine) have raised the pavement level in the back alley (City owned and Paved) to the point where water / snow etc...collects regularly.

I would like to have the pavement removed, the roots cut out and then the level lowered so that I dont have a speed bump on one side when entering into my garage.

Is that a city issue or can I do it privately ?

What did 311 say?

[blender]

Originally Posted by Nufy

Tree roots (Mine) have raised the pavement level in the back alley (City owned and Paved) to the point where water / snow etc...collects regularly.

I would like to have the pavement removed, the roots cut out and then the level lowered so that I dont have a speed bump on one side when entering into my garage.

Is that a city issue or can I do it privately ?

I would not do any work to the city's property under any circumstances. If you make a mess out of it you are in a world of trouble.

[Nufy]

Originally Posted by Sliver

What did 311 say?

CP knows way more than 311...

I always ask here first...

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Nufy

CP knows way more than 311...

I always ask here first...

haha, fair point (and probably true).

[Fuzz]

I think there are certified contractors with the city you would have to use, and they are permitted to do this type of thing. Or, you know, Doug from kijiji.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I think there are certified contractors with the city you would have to use, and they are permitted to do this type of thing. Or, you know, Doug from kijiji.

I use Doug for everything. Good guy. Can recommend. Leveled the pavement in my alley like a pro.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

No idea. That's why I'm tempted to go through with the $1K deposit to get more info. I kinda follow the logic of why the dude is saying $30-70K in his explanation, but what he's describing doesn't seem like what they'd need to do for my place.

The guy's reasoning on the phone was the initial assessment was that from the information they collected, they needed to dig north, potentially into the driveway then straight across west to cross the road, through some lawn and pathway before finally reaching my house for a distance of 35-50 meters. However, a project manager would go in more detail to figure out the most optimal path. If that's what they actually need to do, which is basically underground for 2-3 properties away plus crossing the road, yeah. I could see that being the quote.

But if I stand at my meter, I can see the transformer and I estimate it's around 50-70 feet away, not 100-150 feet (Transformer around 5 feet from road and assuming road is about 20 feet, driveway is 20 feet and then meter is another 10-15) feet from there. Other than the road and sidewalk, a lot of the trenching would also be in lawn, not driveways and pathways. It is not 100-150 feet away unless C or S shaped paths are being selected.

Quoting myself with additional information in case anyone was curious. I paid the deposit mid April and it took about 2 months for Enmax to get me a breakdown quote. The breakdown quote is less detailed than a detailed quote and is non binding. A detailed quote would have more detailed breakdowns but would require engineer involvement to prepare that. It was mentioned that it could potentially cost more than the $1K deposit to prepare that type of detailed quote.

The scope of this project would have basically involved:
- Pedestal upgrades and installation
- Asphalt cut and remediation
- Trenching, extending and installation of two 22-23 meters of conduits 1.5 meters underground. One for the service upgrade, one for future CC (No idea what this means and why two are required).
- Approx 20m of new 4/0 cable (unsure if it was replacement, or adding of cable, but I seem to recall in one of the phone conversations it was implied it would be adding cable)

Original ball park $30-70K. My estimated quote (directly across road from transformer) ~$48K non-binding.

Speculation and guessing on quote breakdown.

Spoiler!

If I had to guess, I assume it'd be closer to the $15-30K range if it was a neighbor on the same side of the road requiring around 20 meters of work. (no sidewalk and asphalt work).

I'm assuming the asphalt and sidewalk work is half the cost, materials a quarter of the cost (cable and conduit) and the remaining quarter of the cost just minor stuff and the labour on the non asphalt and sidewalk stuff. Directly across a road is around $40-50K. So I assume trenching road and sidewalks costs around $25-35K?

If the first assumption is correct, $15-25K on same side of road, add that again if a few doors down and across the road. I guess that's how the $70K ballpark was established (although I read something on the website that it can potentially go even higher than that range).

Line and cable differentiation and guessing...

Spoiler!

It seems it's possible to have a 100A panel situation with a copper cable. With some "minor" (in comparison) upgrades at the meter and transformer, you are all set to upgrade your 100A panel to a 200A panel. Fuzz's situation sounds a little like he was a lucky one and may have had a copper cable and situations like this might be how someone can do an underground 100A to a 200A upgrade for around $10-15K.

However, this isn't me and like me, the vast majority of older homes are likely aluminum cable, not copper. I also assume this meant that there is no conduit under the road between my house and transformer based on the reference to two full length conduit installations. (I think it was Wormius that mentioned a question about something like that earlier about cables that were just buried underground without a conduit?) This is perhaps why my project would have been more complex and costly as the conduit is required for the upgrade?

So basically, some homes don't need as much work done for a service upgrade if their home is fed with copper cable vs aluminum cable. If I had to guess, maybe that's why some people reported doing it for around $5-15K? Either the transformer was directly on their property and/or they had a copper cable and only needed to do work on the meter and transformer side and whether trenching through a drive way was required?

Now to go back and figure out the details of what is my existing cable size so that the electrician can figure out what options I have to replace and upgrade my existing electrical box.

[Fuzz]

I had aluminum run from the garage to the house, because it is cheaper and fine for that(and the electrician recommended it). I'm not sure what runs from the pole to the meter.


I suspect they recommend 2 runs since it is easy to do, and leaves options for future, or if something happens to on of them.


Did you look at any of the no dig companies that basically do it with high pressure water?

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by DylanScores

Does any member of this forum upgraded to heat pump? Have seen so many cons vs pros in our climate. Thanks!

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Has anyone ever used a sewer jetter or hydro jetter kit on a power washer to clean out a rain gutter downspout that's clogged with leaves and sticks? Anything to be aware of? Or just stay out of the range of the backwards jets and basically let it rip?

My downspouts are clogged pretty bad and water leaks out vs drains out. I've tried plumber augers and stuff to no avail but somehow stumbled on a video of these. For $50-100, it seems like it's worth a shot before calling in a pro.

Err... after the water restrictions are lifted, of course...

Bump

Would like to know the same thing. I'd have to go up from the bottom of the eaves so not ideal but it's a two story house. If I can't do it myself from below we'll have to get someone to come do it.

[Fuzz]

It can be easier to unscrew a section and clean it on the ground, but depends on your house. Warning, will probably be heavy if fell of wt leaves.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Nufy

CP knows way more than 311...

I always ask here first...

What’s underneath the pavement? Is it clay? We have a poster on here who’s an expert in all things clay.

[Fuzz]

To subscribe to my newsletter, text CLAY to 403-666-CLAY. Texts are billed at a rate of $9.99. To cancel, text NOCLAY, and allow 6-10 business decades for processing.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I had aluminum run from the garage to the house, because it is cheaper and fine for that(and the electrician recommended it). I'm not sure what runs from the pole to the meter.


I suspect they recommend 2 runs since it is easy to do, and leaves options for future, or if something happens to on of them.


Did you look at any of the no dig companies that basically do it with high pressure water?

No, it was all done by Enmax's people. Even if it was a no-dig approach, I'm not convinced it'd be less than $15-20K.

I'm just going to upgrade my electrical box from the old type (cartridge fuse?) that keeps tripping and has a chance of overheating/is a fire hazard and have a discussion on how to redo some of the electrical in my house. Pretty sure it'll be less than $5-10K all in. There are many fuses in my house that are basically connected to electrical outlets that I don't care about. There are even electrical outlets with dimmer switches on them. There are plenty of switches that controls between 3-9 light bulbs, half of these basically are 4-5+ bulbs. Even with LED bulbs, my electrical usage is kinda crazy. All bathrooms have 3-5 bulbs and I've decided I'd like to use the money address that instead of 200A.

This isn't even including two chandeliers that are 11 and 14 bulbs respectively, and these two chandeliers use A19 bulbs, not candelabra. These chandeliers are on regularly because of the way the lighting works in my house.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

Bump

Would like to know the same thing. I'd have to go up from the bottom of the eaves so not ideal but it's a two story house. If I can't do it myself from below we'll have to get someone to come do it.

In theory, based on the descriptions and Youtube videos, I think it should work well. I have all the components, but unfortunately with these water restrictions, I haven't had a chance to try them out and I may not for a while until it's fixed. I'll definitely comment about what I think when I try it though.

It only costs around $60-80 for the kit with hoses and extra attachments and I also opted to spend an extra $30-50 on an extra spray gun and other attachments so that I wouldn't have to detach/reattach my normal pressure washer gun stuff. A few videos showed people attaching the kit directly to the pressure washer and "turning it off and on" by turning the pressure washer off and on. I only saw a few videos where they attached the kit to their pressure washer gun (as I am planning to do), but in some of those videos, they keep swapping back and forth between the kit and a wand.

it's just basically this one small attachment though:

https://www.amazon.ca/Challco-4000ps...s%2C116&sr=8-2

I've even seen a plastic version that goes on a garden hose. I've also seen that this attachment can be used for clearing things other than gutters, but I don't think I'll ever need it for that purpose.

My situation is legitimately clogs from leaves, sticks, up to several cm of mud, pieces of asphalt shingles granules etc. from years of build up. I'm pretty sure it'd be several hundred to get someone to professionally do it, so fingers crossed that it works and then I have thos kit to use for regular upkeep.

[calgaryrocks]

anyone purchased a storm door recently? The wind has basically broken the bottom of our existing door so it no longer closes so (hinges are broken). Looking on Home Depot and Rona it seems there are two brands that both have some bad reviews.

[Zary's-Mustache]

Originally Posted by calgaryrocks

anyone purchased a storm door recently? The wind has basically broken the bottom of our existing door so it no longer closes so (hinges are broken). Looking on Home Depot and Rona it seems there are two brands that both have some bad reviews.

I have this one and it's been great.


https://www.homedepot.ca/product/and...oor/1001331515

[photon]

Looking to put some railing down the concrete stairs that go down the side of our house. I assume it's just as simple as getting the railing, laying it out, putting in the anchors and bolting it all down?

It would be free standing along the property line-ish, I don't see something like that at Home Depot where would be a place in Calgary that would sell something like that. I did see a few wrought iron type places so I'll find out how much that would be but thought there was something a bit more modular.

EDIT: something like this:

[Fuzz]

https://www.vistarailings.com/produc...icket-railing/


Would something like this work? I got mine from Bigtime at Timber Town. I just did the steps up to my house(not a walkway like your photo), and perhaps this is more than you were looking for, but it is modular.