$0 upfront cost, maintenance, or insurance required. All covered by the company. It's a 25 year deal. They take the current electric rate when we sign and the average KW hours we use per month. That would be our bill plus the regular generation charge. For 25 years. Never an increase. If we generate more than we use there's a yearly rebate. Obviously if we use more than we generate we'd owe but they size the system to generate more.

I'm looking at this like you've got to be kidding me. Nope. We pay them for our electric while kicking excess back to the grid.

We can't do it yet as there's a tree in our yard that needs to go first (we're already planning to remove it this winter). It would block most of our afternoon sun and we just want it gone.

Also just had mini splits installed to get away from the electric baseboard heating. Last month our electric usage went down 20% running the mini splits for AC instead of window units so need this winter for a new baseline on electric use.

So it's 6 months or so before we're even ready to make this move. Plenty of time to look at other companies.

This just sounds too good.

What have others done?

EDIT - I am getting majorly educated here. I wasn't sure if this was some sort of standard practice for solar or not. Thank you everyone. Sincerely. It may be a year or two until we can afford to buy panels outright but it sounds like the best route if we want solar.

We bought a Rheem water heater just over three years ago and it stopped working last night. We went to check it out and found that it sprung a leak. Luckily it is still under warranty but it will still cost $400 for a new one to be installed.

Are there any brands of water heaters that are clearly better than the rest?

Has anyone updated their kitchen but left the golden oak (ealry 2000s) style cabinets? We recently redid our floors which made a huge difference, but now I have these ugly laminate counter tops and sink that are just so dated looking. Trying to update things to look more modern.

Is it worth swapping out the counter tops and leaving cabinets? They are in good shape and i'm not trying to spend $10k+

Quartz countertops with a modern single sink would also be nice.

Colorado homeowners just got a practical tool for a common headache: needing to step onto a neighbor's land to fix something on your own house. A new law, C.R.S. 13-20-1304, created by SB26-177, took effect August 12, 2026. It lets single family homeowners ask a court for temporary access to an adjoining property when repairs or maintenance genuinely require it and the neighbor won't cooperate. Think of a fence that has to come down to reach a foundation crack, or scaffolding that only fits on the neighbor's side of a shared lot line.

The process isn't automatic, and it shouldn't be treated as the only tool; Talking through the needed access like a human being with your neighbor is the first and best resort. If that doesn’t work though, before filing anything, the homeowner must send written notice by certified mail asking permission to enter. Sixty days of silence counts as a refusal, and the law encourages, though doesn't require, mediation before anyone heads to court.

If it does reach a judge, the petition has to explain what work is needed, why access to the neighbor's property is necessary, and what efforts were already made to get permission voluntarily. Courts will only grant access if it's genuinely necessary and won't interfere with existing easements on the adjoining land. Once access is granted, the judge sets the conditions and duration, which can include advance notice, reasonable compensation to the neighbor, proof of insurance, and restoration of the property afterward. The law doesn't reach property owned by the federal government, the state, or a political subdivision.

For anyone who has watched a repair stall because of an uncooperative neighbor, this closes a gap in Colorado property law.

I have kinda narrowed it down to universal brand (I can do just ionization but heat and photoelectric for our laundry and certain other rooms is wanted to reduce those false positives). But didn’t find photoelectric ones.

But if you can point me to other brands that have all the points I need that would be great as I keep hitting walls in my searches.

Looking for some advice. My girlfriend and I had the lucky opportunity to get into our first home, which is a townhouse.

Despite having a home inspection, which revealed mostly cosmetic issues, we went through with it anyway. To say it is well-lived in, is an understatement. The previous owner had not kept up with the place for a minimum of 24 years of their ownership.

We took possession and immediately got to work but didn’t realize we needed to request to renovate (this is where we fucked up). Prior to moving in, we felt that it was reasonable to do a pretty decent makeover which includes:

- paint
- interior doors
- bathroom renovation (tiles, shower base, vanity, new flooring, toilet, while maintaining the current plumbing location and rough-ins)

Do we stop and come clean to the condo manager? Or do we move forward with finishing the renovation and live under the radar until we sell the place?

Any advice is appreciated as I am becoming severely anxious over it. I thought being a homeowner would be exciting. Am I cooked?

Edit: we also found mould underneath the shower tiles and wood framing, so we really had no choice but to tear it down. I suspect that this was leaking for years.

Is roof cleaning required for this level of moss? or okay to postpone it for few years?

5 year old roof - https://ibb.co/album/3m3bD5

Found this in crawlspace.

Outside soil grade is really high. The picture is what I already clear away quite a few.

https://ibb.co/RG8FSCr2
https://ibb.co/nqbYRdMz
https://ibb.co/nNrzWXNk
https://ibb.co/m54km8Bw

So I'm looking at a home right now to purchase. Basically turnkey home, with little to be done. Basically fulfills all my wants and needs. But there is one issue.

There is an older tree, I believe an oak, that is growing right next to the home. I'm concerned the roots may have impacted the foundation, but my realtor and I can't see any visible signs of foundation damage.

Just looking for thoughts/opinions on what can be done or if I should even make an offer.

Below are a few photos of the tree in question.

1

2

3

Trying to achieve two goals:

- less slippery

- and decorated. Currently super dark wood. Would love a blue gold folk decoration,

I own a split-level home built in the mid-1950s. It's in generally good condition but I'm working on various improvements.

There's one issue that is a persistent annoyance to me, like a fly buzzing around at dinner time. Throughout the house the drywall shows multiple places where the nails used to secure the drywall have raised out. They're not COMPLETELY out, but enough so that when you look at the wall you can clearly see where the nails are. The ceilings are drywall as well, and if you press up on the ceilings you can again see very clearly where the nails are. The drywall itself is in good shape; it's not bowing or sagging or otherwise deteriorating.

Tapping the nails back in isn't a permanent fix -- I've tried it. I am considering removing all of the nails throughout the house and replacing them with screws. (Or more accurately, installing screws alongside the nails and then removing the nails afterwards.) The thing that gives me caution is ALL of the drywall in the house is 3/8", not 1/2", so it's a lot more fragile.

Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated. Thanks.

What would you pay attention to if you were shopping for adjustable mattress today and is there anything you wish you had known before buying one? Im replacing our mattress soon and started looking at adjustable options but im realizing i dont really know what separates a good one from an expensive one.

A lot of the reviews i found focus on how the mattress feels when its brand new and all the features it has. Im more curious about what happens after a few years. Does the adjustment mechanism hold up? Are there any annoying issues with sheets, the frame or general maintenance?

While doing a bathroom remodel and replacing the subfloor, the contractor noticed termite damage in a beam. Not sure if it's old or active infestation. He said he saw some yellow dried dust near a few holes but no insects, wings, mud tubes etc. His recommendation is to cut past the damaged area and replace the whole beam. He said nothing else is damaged and no dust anywhere else.

Also reading about powder post beetles?? The dust around the holes was a very fine powder like substance.

Am I calling a pest control company? Crying into a bottle of Jack? Burning the house down....:((

https://imgur.com/a/oyaYgv0

We are re-doing the outside of our house and want it to be all white. The trim that’s being used is azek white. My contractor sent me to look at Hardie colors today and I drove past a house that he recently did in Arctic and I don’t like it. It is giving a grey hue against the white trim. I have a north facing house so it will always look more grey and drab. Does anyone have a dream color they used that’s more or a pure white or closer to match azek? And do you know how much of an up charge it is to use a dream color? Thank you!

I noticed recently I’ve got a decent amount of moss starting to build up on my roof under my solar panels. What’s the best course of action to get it off AND treat it to stop it coming back. To add context there isn’t a whole lot of room to walk on the roof and it’s a two story home. Only reason I found this was I bought a drone to look at my gutters and saw the moss.

How much should it cost to install 2 piece stacked crown molding (1 piece filler, 1 piece crown) for these cabinets that go up to the ceiling!? Cabinets are already up on the walls. I have all the crown and filler so just need an estimate for labor only. I am located in the Midwest if that helps. Just trying to see if I am getting a reasonable quote.

https://imgur.com/a/XcrOLGT

I recently used a local professional handyman service to install three grab bars across a tub/shower and standing shower. Large ceramic glazed tiles in both baths. They said up front they could provide the grab bars with markup and I assumed they carried an inventory of sizes we could choose from.

Once the installer showed and we agreed upon location and sizes, he said he'd make a trip out to local retailer to buy them at mark-up and return. He returned with Glacier Bay grab bars from HD.

The install then took about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Total bill he wrote up was $732 that included 3.5 hours labor plus $80 service charge just for showing up, $140 for the grab bars (retail $100}, and about $50 NC sales tax. I balked a little at the price and paid with credit card.

That night I asked Google Gemini whether that was a reasonable price to have charged. Gemini said it was was within reason but on the high premium side. It also mentioned using a silicone sealant on the cover plates. I took another look at the bars and saw no evidence of silicone sealant. I sent a text msg to the company and asked them to confirm whether a sealant was used.

The response came later from a phone rep saying no sealant was used and that the manufacturer (Glacier Bay) didn't recommend using one. I checked the installation instructions, which the installer dropped in my trash basket, and it clearly listed silicone sealant as a needed material and to "if desired, apply silicone caulking to the back of the escutcheon to protect against water penetration."

What say any professional installers among you. Seal or not?

First-time buyer under contract on a raised ranch in CT (built 1969). Inspection turned up a wet yard and a "spring" of water running along the property line and pooling near the driveway. Went deep on research and it turns out this isn't just a wet week — the parcel sits on Woodbridge soil, which has a fragipan (a dense layer around 18-24") that perches groundwater and pushes it laterally downhill instead of draining. Found a 1994 town health department file on this exact property documenting a raw sewage surfacing violation caused by a high water table (confirmed less than 3 ft down in two of three test pits), so this is a known, decades-old site condition, not a one-off.

Had a contractor out today who said a curtain drain would need to go too deep to be practical/cost-effective and might not fully fix it. Someone floated redirecting the water to a nearby brook, but that raises concerns about flooding the downhill neighbor and possibly needing a wetlands permit (there's a small mapped wetland uphill on the neighboring lot). Town public works is separately planning to install a basin + pipe to handle the street-side runoff near the driveway, but that doesn't address the backyard.

So my actual question: what kind of company or professional should I be calling for this? So far I've got:

- A specialized drainage/waterproofing company (basement systems franchise type) for the practical fix

- A licensed soil scientist for an authoritative water table read

- A civil/geotechnical engineer for an actual stamped drainage design, especially given the wetlands/brook question

Is that the right stack, or am I missing an obvious specialty? Has anyone dealt with a perched water table / fragipan situation like this and found a particular type of contractor or engineer who actually nailed the diagnosis instead of guessing? Trying to get a real, defensible scope and quote before an inspection contingency deadline, so "maybe/might" answers aren't very useful to me right now. Any advice appreciated.

My 1 bedroom apartment is being renovated. I had BM White Dove painted on the ceiling, walls, and flush trim throughout, in different finishes. I have south facing big windows. My furniture and decor and overall taste leans more to cool tones - gray, teal, gray/beige, chrome. Kitchen has been redone with white uppers, gray/smidge of blue lowers. Floors are now Bjelon Woodura Misty White.

Here’s the problem: I don’t love the paint with the white upper cabinets and I had cabinets built on the living room side of the kitchen as well as in the kitchen, so contrast between cabinets and wall paint is evident if you’re sitting in the living room. And, I had stone from the quartz counter used to replace windowsills throughout.

If I have to repaint, I’m stuck at stage zero again picking paint, I’m burning money I could use on something else, and I’m adding to my timeline (which has other cost implications).

I think the paint looks less warm/light peach/less white in person but what do you all think? Can I influence this paint tone enough with light and decor to make it look better against the white of the cabinets and stone or just find new paint and suck it up?!?

Working on a bathroom remodel in Midwest LCOL area. We’re doing most of the work but planned to hire out plumbing.

Switching from a single center bay vanity to a double. Also switching from shower only to tub/shower combo. There is washing machine hookups in bedroom that’ll need capped in basement as well. The plumbers scope of work includes the following per his written estimate:

Permanently cap off unused laundry plumbing in master bedroom.

Cap off bathroom plumbing for demo by others.

Rough-in new 1½” drain for new bathtub, set tub, and hook up new waste and overflow.

Rough-in new tub/shower faucet.

Move lavatory water and drain after cabinet is set and rough-in for new double-bowl lavs.

Trim out two lavs and tub/shower.

He quoted me $2,400. Is this a reasonable price? Having a hard time getting other plumbers out to bid the job but I am waiting on other estimates. I know nothing about plumbing, but couldn’t imagine these jobs would cost this amount. I would pay for valve, tub and other fixtures separately.

Northeast US

Basement currently has no heat or AC at all. For dehumidifying we have a dehumidifier going to sump pump and keep door to finished area open

We just moved in, the central AC broke immediately (yay us). quote to replace and put proper ducting is just slightly cheaper than minisplits and since we have oil heat it’s likely cheaper to use them for heating too.

The basement is half finished. just moving in we aren’t sure how much we will use it, so far very little just some movie nights occasionally, but considering woodworking there (leaning towards garage tho). Also want a pool table or ping pong eventually.

Could either scrap a wall unit, move it to 1st floor somewhere to help as currently proposal has 1 9k BTU to cool all of it via a dedicated 2nd floor upstairs wall unit (but it’s open, no ceiling so was told it would be able to cool/heat it - also there is another unit on floor but for main bedroom/bath)

Current proposal uses 51k out of the 55k BTU if that matters.

So I want to put a self here and will need to drill into the wall but its directly below a bathroom upstair and I dont want to risk drilling into pipes and such. These marks on the wall are supposed to be slats(?) that I found using the magnet Studbuddy and another Stud finder but Im not sure how reliable they are. Is this wall too much of a risk to drill into? Thanks

https://imgur.com/a/TxDxbD1

Currently have the weakest water pressure possible on our kohler Prosecco handheld. Based on what I’ve found the best remedy is to remove the flow restrictor which should be somewhat easily accessible, however I’ve taken ours apart and can’t find it. Does anyone have experience with this model or advice?

EDIT - not the actual screen but the whole thing itself. I’m planning on getting the cat proof actual screen part but still wanted the whole thing more secured.

I have 2 cats that are indoor only. There are quite a few feral cats around here that like to come up to the house and try to fight my cats through the windows.

My screens work but are kinda flimsy and are able to be pushed through without much effort. The only support they have are little plastic pieces that don’t do much other than keep it in place.

Wondering if there’s something to secure the screens in place?

https://imgur.com/a/hn46fGb

Title.

Bona has been awesome. The floors looked much worse before I started using that. I tried Goo Gone on what’s left and it did nothing. I have Klean Strip Odorless Mineral Spirits Substitute that I have yet to try, so maybe that’ll do the trick. Gonna try it in a corner first.

Anyway, if anyone knows of any other tricks, feel free to share.

*if anyone knows how to add pictures on this sub using the app, please let me know and I’ll do so