This, When I had mine installed I asked about buying the cover, and was told he would sell it to me if I really insisted, but they are designed to be in the elements, and 90% of repairs are because the homeowner forgot it was covered up and the unit turned on in the spring.
I don't know that the installers have any sort of inside scoop on how these things weather or have done any research on how covered versus uncovered affects longevity. I'll grant them some people are going to turn on their AC without removing the cover, but you're also going to have people that drive through their closed garage door, or have faucet pipes burst because they didn't winterize them, or have an RV leak because they didn't cover it and caulk the roof, etc. Flick the breaker off when you cover it to help you remember and you'll be golden.
Cars are designed to be in the elements, but compare a car that has been in a garage for 30 years versus one that has spent a few decades in the middle of a field. Covering stuff protects it from the elements and lets it last longer. It's common sense 101. Or look at a lazy guy that doesn't cover his barbecue versus somebody who covers theirs after every use. My barbecue looks brand new even though it's eight years old because I cover it after every use. My BIL has the same one bought at the same time and it looks like it's from Chernobyl. An AC unit is a few thousand bucks. Sure you can let it live outside in the elements seven months a year even though it's not being used, but it's going to last you a lot longer if you take the basic step of protecting it with a $50 cover.
I don't know that the installers have any sort of inside scoop on how these things weather or have done any research on how covered versus uncovered affects longevity. I'll grant them some people are going to turn on their AC without removing the cover, but you're also going to have people that drive through their closed garage door, or have faucet pipes burst because they didn't winterize them, or have an RV leak because they didn't cover it and caulk the roof, etc. Flick the breaker off when you cover it to help you remember and you'll be golden.
Cars are designed to be in the elements, but compare a car that has been in a garage for 30 years versus one that has spent a few decades in the middle of a field. Covering stuff protects it from the elements and lets it last longer. It's common sense 101. Or look at a lazy guy that doesn't cover his barbecue versus somebody who covers theirs after every use. My barbecue looks brand new even though it's eight years old because I cover it after every use. My BIL has the same one bought at the same time and it looks like it's from Chernobyl. An AC unit is a few thousand bucks. Sure you can let it live outside in the elements seven months a year even though it's not being used, but it's going to last you a lot longer if you take the basic step of protecting it with a $50 cover.
It seems odd that multiples of these guys are refusing to make a quick margin on an AC cover though. Also weird that the thing that blows up AC units per their stories and increases their workload is a thing they wouldn't want to sell.
The difference between an AC unit and a vehicle is that a vehicle goes through a bigger strain from an outside cold start than from a garage. A lot less so with an AC unit which shouldn't be able to turn on if a temperature threshold and breaker system isn't bypassed.
In a different vein though, I'm keeping my eyes out for another smart thermostat this black Friday for a new home I purchased. I need dual thermostats at the new place, so I'll probably just nab another Nest with the one I already have so that they can communicate with each other.
Lowes is selling a Lyric T5+ for $99 bucks right now and if you use the honey app for the correct promo code or sign up for a newsletter for the first time, you can get $10 off. Add in the Alberta Energy Rebate, that's a pretty good price point to get in on the ability to adjust the thermostat from your bed (vs having to get up and do it manually). Add in the extra features? Awesome.
My brother installs AC units, and he did ours. He said not to bother with the cover unless we wanted to. And he doesn’t use on on the one at his house.
I'm curious to see if anyone has any recommendations for a light that I am having issues with. I installed an LED lantern outside my front door which has a built in GFCI plug. I wired it up and it works most of the time but I've noticed that periodically the GFCI trips which cuts power to the light until it is reset. This is quite common when it gets cold outside. Is it possibly the wiring job that I did when I hooked up the light? Or is it more likely that the light itself has some sort of internal wiring issue?
Looking for a recommendation for a painter from the CP brain trust.
We just had floors installed through the house, and looking to paint the baseboards and doors. Its a 2,600 sq ft home, and the one quote I have is for $6,000, which I find excessive.
Looking for a recommendation for a painter from the CP brain trust.
We just had floors installed through the house, and looking to paint the baseboards and doors. Its a 2,600 sq ft home, and the one quote I have is for $6,000, which I find excessive.
Thanks
Seems reasonable to me. Painting trim is a bitch.
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Looking for a recommendation for a painter from the CP brain trust.
We just had floors installed through the house, and looking to paint the baseboards and doors. Its a 2,600 sq ft home, and the one quote I have is for $6,000, which I find excessive.
Thanks
I was looking into something like this too. I was literally told to go to somewhere like Timber town and get a quote for base boards/trim for the entirety of my new place and compare it with the cost to repaint all the trim/baseboards. I was told that it might be cheaper and I even upgrade the old trim if going this route. This argument isn't the same if you are willing to paint your own baseboards though.
Apparently the labour required to paint base boards/trim is ridiculous/PITA. You're possibly better off buying new baseboards that are sprayed vs paying someone to hand painting baseboards.
Another way to save money is to help out with certain aspects near the beginning. Globbing spackle on holes and allowing it to dry before the painter shows up the first time to sand it down/spackle a second layer is also helpful. Removal of plates for light switches, power outlets, moving furniture, taping down protective plastic is also perhaps helpful. Why pay a contractor/painter their hourly rate to do something mundane and not requiring a significant amount of expertise? Pay them only to fulfill their expertise.
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Looking for a recommendation for a painter from the CP brain trust.
We just had floors installed through the house, and looking to paint the baseboards and doors. Its a 2,600 sq ft home, and the one quote I have is for $6,000, which I find excessive.
Thanks
Ended up going with Mountain View Painters. They gave us a reasonable quote, and the crew turned out to be very good at it, clean and efficient.
I'm starting a basement project and am getting a bunch of 2x4 studs. They were kept outside. Should I keep them in my garage or move them to the basement to acclimatize to the humidity until I can use them?
I'm starting a basement project and am getting a bunch of 2x4 studs. They were kept outside. Should I keep them in my garage or move them to the basement to acclimatize to the humidity until I can use them?
If your garage is not heated you should move them to the basement. You can start using them as soon as the obvious moisture has dried off. Make sure you keep the crown facing the same way on each section of wall.
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It's been just under 2 months since the last video that I posted, and we have made a decent amount of progress since then (still feels very slow to me though lol). This is what the house looked like this past weekend. Today we are pouring the basement floor and then hopefully we can get the roofs for the house and garage placed by the end of this week.
Apologies for the lousy video quality. Not sure what happened this time.
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Test your main water shutoff to make sure it works.
Especially if you're in an older home that has a gateway valve as the main shut off.
Had an incident with the valve that controls the flow of water to our hot water tank (also a gateway valve). I turned that sucker a quarter inch and water starts spraying out of it. Normally not a huge deal but after closing the main valve, water continued to fill the line making soldering impossible.
Tried finding a new stem for the existing valve body with no luck. Changing out the rubber washer also didn't work, seem like the leak was coming through the stem.
Luckily we found out about this issue in an area that was not in a finished area. If we had a blown water line in the walls with no way to fully shut off the water, a small problem would have gotten real big in a hurry.
Check your valves, operate them at least once a year to make sure they aren't seized up and fully shutting off the flow of water.
Last edited by GoinAllTheWay; 01-20-2020 at 09:58 AM.
Had mine replaced a few years ago with a ball valve. My wife was home alone and had to get our neighbour over to help turn off our previous one, it was so stiff. The ball valve works so smoothly, and an easy 1/4 turn.
Last edited by Fuzz; 01-20-2020 at 10:11 AM.
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Lol, yep! That's exactly what I went with. Quite handy, the pre-made assembly I bought included a braided steel water line with the attachment for the HWT on one end, ball valve in the middle and the Shark Bite connector to go over the copper line I had cut on the other end.
It's pretty neat actually but not sure I want to leave it there permanently. I'm a very big fan of the time tested combination of copper and solder.
I have been kind of hesitant to use sharkbite fittings in past DIY repairs just because they seem to be a kind of new-ish item. Are they really up to snuff compared to crimp fittings and solder? Is there a long enough history to say that these are reliable for, like the life of the plumbing?