The Home Ownership Thread

[unrooted]

The inspector gave us 48 pages of obvious issues, he also said its typical for this town.

I love projects, but I'm not very happy to have to spend so much for so little. Oh well American dream.

 

[Piobaire]

Our house was plumbed at build for central vac. Think we're going to get one installed this summer. Anyone have long term, positive experience with a brand or model?

 

[RedLantern]



Our house was plumbed at build for central vac. Think we're going to get one installed this summer. Anyone have long term, positive experience with a brand or model?

I've always wondered about the utility of those. Always seemed like a mid-century "wave of the future" thing.

 

[Piobaire]



I've always wondered about the utility of those. Always seemed like a mid-century "wave of the future" thing.

The fact we've been here two years now and not looked into it tells you how much this was on my radar. However our latest vacuum is about to die. If you vacuum twice a week and have a couple of cats it seems to kill vacuums about everyone 12-18 months. We've got a big house and have to empty the canister multiple times when we do the house. Research is indicating a huge, powerful motor with a several gallon canister might be our answer. Also you can get a host of accessories for blinds, etc.

 

[Ataturk]

Carrying around a huge, long hose that you have to plug into the wall seems like a terrible way to vacuum, to me, though I've never actually used one. A buddy of mine has one with floor sweeps in strategic places (like under the kick plates of cabinets); that seems like a great idea.

I love my lithium ion cordless stick vacuums. They work exceptionally well and not having to deal with cords and hoses cuts down on vacuuming time dramatically. Got one for each floor now.

 

[RedLantern]

maid service?

Also, poast Katpics plz. I haven't seen your cats in a while!

 

[Piobaire]



Carrying around a huge, long hose that you have to plug into the wall seems like a terrible way to vacuum, to me, though I've never actually used one. A buddy of mine has one with floor sweeps in strategic places (like under the kick plates of cabinets); that seems like a great idea.

I love my lithium ion cordless stick vacuums. They work exceptionally well and not having to deal with cords and hoses cuts down on vacuuming time dramatically. Got one for each floor now.

We did a walk through today. Not worried about the distance from a plug in. The house is plumbed for a floor sweep in the kitchen and the utility room.

maid service?

Also, poast Katpics plz. I haven't seen your cats in a while!

I didn't broadcast it but we lost one of our guys several months ago. The beautiful calendar cat, Devin, came down with feline infectious peritonitis. We had a visiting vet come over to put him down. Haven't posted much about our cats since then.

 

[RedLantern]



We did a walk through today. Not worried about the distance from a plug in. The house is plumbed for a floor sweep in the kitchen and the utility room.
I didn't broadcast it but we lost one of our guys several months ago. The beautiful calendar cat, Devin, came down with feline infectious peritonitis. We had a visiting vet come over to put him down. Haven't posted much about our cats since then.

Really sorry to hear that

 

[otc]

Sorry to hear about the kitty

The fact we've been here two years now and not looked into it tells you how much this was on my radar. However our latest vacuum is about to die. If you vacuum twice a week and have a couple of cats it seems to kill vacuums about everyone 12-18 months. We've got a big house and have to empty the canister multiple times when we do the house. Research is indicating a huge, powerful motor with a several gallon canister might be our answer. Also you can get a host of accessories for blinds, etc.

Bro, you gotta get a bagged vac. Bagless vacs are garbage. Bags hold a lot more stuff (and get it all nice and compressed), so its not like you will be replacing them anywhere near as often as you empty the canister.

I don't have a specific recommendation from experience...right now I have a 50 year old electrolux canister vac with a hose and a hoover bagless for the carpet.

I'm waiting for the hoover to die. It has a hose, but I use the electrolux for everything hose-based since it works so much better and I never have to empty it or replace the bag. Once the hoover dies, I am thinking about going to a canister vac with a powered carpet head instead of an upright. Looking at Miele and Sebo, but there are some Riccar models in both upright and canister that might be nice.

Read this thing:
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1pe2bd/iama_vacuum_repair_technician_and_i_cant_believe/

 

[Pennglock]

After looking at homes in the burbs, I have to wonder why it took so long to discover this wonderful invention called insulation. Our utility bills in these older homes are going to increase by a factor of 20 compared to our high rise flat.

The tax man also seems to penalize square footage in their assessments...

 

[JohnGalt]

The house I grew up in had central vac - it was great. Far more powerful than a standard upright or canister, very clean air output and the hoses are a non-issue. We have a Miele now and it is excellent (far better than the Dyson it replaced) however, it has clogged a couple of times in places that I couldn't get to. The air output is also very clean with the HEPA filter. With that being said, we have an upright and I think that a canister would have been the better way to go. I considered going with a central vac here but decided not to bother.

 

[Michigan Planner]



Just closed today on my own personal ****-hole. California is too damn expensive-especially compared to my household income.

Anyone here ever replaced their own windows? There are still 4 single pane windows I need to replace.

Congrats on the new home! I have no experience replacing windows on my own (though I do have a couple broken window panes so maybe I should learn?) but the most recent issue of This Old House magazine had a write-up on doing just that for the DIY type.

 

[unrooted]



Congrats on the new home! I have no experience replacing windows on my own (though I do have a couple broken window panes so maybe I should learn?) but the most recent issue of This Old House magazine had a write-up on doing just that for the DIY type.

I was thinking about getting a subscription to that mag, do you find a lot of value in it?

 

[Michigan Planner]

@unrooted My mom got me a subscription a couple of years ago when we bought our house and she keeps renewing it for me so the value is fantastic! . As far as home improvement type magazines go, it seems to be the most practical and isn't full of things you'll only find in million dollar homes. The DIY write-ups are pretty easy to follow and they've given me quite a few ideas on things to do that I've actually been able to follow through on and accomplish. I also like that it has quite a bit of landscaping topics which is what I enjoy doing.

If my mom didn't keep renewing my subscription for me, I'd probably go ahead and pay to renew it myself.

 

[unrooted]

MP,

Thanks! Just subscribed for 3 years.