Home Remodel: Do, Don'ts, Advice

[bagtagley]

I’m in VA. Not a lot of cold days, but summer is hot and humid. The only issue we’re having is that the hardwood floors cup in the warmer months. Generally I couldn’t care less, but we want to get them refinished so I was waiting for the end of winter when it’s dryer and the floors flatten out. Unfortunately, that’s not gonna happen with the wet and warm winter we’re having.

I talked to a couple companies and my take away is that it’s really expensive for work that seems tedious and uncomfortable, but generally pretty straightforward.

There’s no heat or HVAC down there, just some plumbing. There’s batting in the joists, and it’s fine. There’s a little mold on one corner, but that was from a leak in the pressure valve from the main. It’s minimal. It’s already lined with clear plastic which definitely helps. We don’t need to store anything down there.

One complication is that I live in a split tri-level, so the crawl space is only under the single story level and shares a wall with the basement of the two story side. Do I just line to the dirt level on that side? Is that going to drive all the moisture into the basement wall? The dirt against one end of that shared wall is wet, but there’s no standing water and no mold. It’s been crazy wet so I think that isn’t common. Exterior drainage is good. It’s only like 400 sq feet so I figured a dehumidifier would make a big difference. I’m just deciding if I want to take it further.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

I sounds like you're on the right track. A sealed vapor barrier will do wonders for what you got.

If you're only encapsulating 400 sq ft I think your bids are probably reflecting the "I don't want to do it so I'll give an outrageous price" effect.

[bagtagley]

Ha! I bet you’re right.

[Garbowski]

From the perspective of someone who owns a 125 year old house, spray foam insulation seems like something that in 30 years everyone who has to move/inspect/update/work around will be bitching about, and someone will be paying handsomely for the increased hassle. Not inconceivable that it gets declared 'dangerous' and would have to be remediated- it happened to baby powder so it can happen to anything.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

I don't feel that way at all. I like it, it literally glues houses together and is fantastic for sound insulation. Removal is pretty easy with a handsaw and claw hammer, but does make a mess.

Now before someone comes along with the dangers of burning polyurethane foam, yeah it's bad but breathing smoke from the other shit burning in your house will kill you just as quick.

[Vt-Freeheel]

This fits here

[riff]

I just got a quote for a new roof on my place, and I’m trying to find a way to reduce the sting. Here’s the situation; 50 year old house, 20 year old metal roof, prior owners never checked the fasteners and they loosened on the solar side, leaked, and rotted the plywood underneath so a screw won’t hold. The metal is fine, i just have leaks. The metal is over ply, then 1.5 in tongue and groove decking that’s visible in the vaulted ceiling inside the house. Of course there’s vapor barrier and i think some foam board, but not certain on that. It’s 8/12 pitch.
Full quote for new ply and metal with exposed fasteners is 37k, hidden fasteners 43k. I may do the tear off to save 4k.
The contractor suggested longer fasteners to get some purchase on the tongue and groove material to make it last longer which sounds fine. It’s cheap and probably wrong to wonder, but i found myself wondering if i could just put longer fasteners in myself on the leaky side for a few hundred dollars and skip redoing the entire thing. No other part of the roof leaks. Terrible idea? Metal is fine, just compromised ply underneath.


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[climberevan]

the fasteners and they loosened on the solar side, leaked, and rotted the plywood underneath so a screw won’t hold. The metal is fine, i just have leaks. The metal is over ply, then 1.5 in tongue and groove decking that’s visible in the vaulted ceiling inside the house.

If it were mine I'd put longer and fatter screws in the holes and call it good. Optionally you can make some kind of joke about your house's holes being all stretched out and needing bigger shafts fill them.

[Bronco]

Former commercial sheet metal installer here. I would absolutely replace the existing with bigger screws before replacing the roof. Exposed fasteners should be checked every couple of years and retightened if needed. Only problem is that it seems unclear on what's behind the plywood. You should be cautious about using too long of a screw and peppering your interior ceiling with screw heads poking out. You could avoid this by using fatter screws that are the same length as the existing, depending on how rotten the plywood is.

If you do replace the roof, hidden fasteners is the way to go and very much worth the extra 20%.

[riff]

Thanks Bronco- i did replace the 1/4” screws with 5/16” as a first effort, same length. The leaks continued so I had given up, but the longer screws are intriguing. I’ll see if I can tell how many layers of what are in play, maybe i can get some bite without going through.


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[baron]

I’m in VA. Not a lot of cold days, but summer is hot and humid. The only issue we’re having is that the hardwood floors cup in the warmer months. Generally I couldn’t care less, but we want to get them refinished so I was waiting for the end of winter when it’s dryer and the floors flatten out. Unfortunately, that’s not gonna happen with the wet and warm winter we’re having.

I talked to a couple companies and my take away is that it’s really expensive for work that seems tedious and uncomfortable, but generally pretty straightforward.

There’s no heat or HVAC down there, just some plumbing. There’s batting in the joists, and it’s fine. There’s a little mold on one corner, but that was from a leak in the pressure valve from the main. It’s minimal. It’s already lined with clear plastic which definitely helps. We don’t need to store anything down there.

One complication is that I live in a split tri-level, so the crawl space is only under the single story level and shares a wall with the basement of the two story side. Do I just line to the dirt level on that side? Is that going to drive all the moisture into the basement wall? The dirt against one end of that shared wall is wet, but there’s no standing water and no mold. It’s been crazy wet so I think that isn’t common. Exterior drainage is good. It’s only like 400 sq feet so I figured a dehumidifier would make a big difference. I’m just deciding if I want to take it further.

Are the boards outside edges raised? or the middle?

If its the outside edges >the original contractor installed those boards upside down. Wood has a hard side and a soft side. You can see this from the cut edge that shows the old tree rings. The convex side of the tree rings is the one you want to be on top. Very typical problem on exterior wood decks.

If the middle of the wood slats are raised you are in a high moisture area and what ever is fastening the floor down may not be biting into the studs below well enough.

In a high moisture environment the best option is to seal the wood on all 6 sides> this stopes moisture from getting in in the 1st place.

[zion zig zag]

TIL that I need to check my roof fasteners for tightness. Thanks TGR. Whole house or just the sunny side?


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[riff]

Only sunny side for me; thermal cycling I assume.


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[BCtransplant]

Anyone have experience with T&G composite decking, Timber Tech or similar?

How watertight is it once installed? I’m just thinking about what I’ll need to do for gutters, soffits etc if we want to have a sitting area underneath.

[XXX-er]

I don't think it will be waterproof especialy in Vangroovy

I have a wooden deck of 1x5 treated deck that was no where near water proof, so I had some metal roofing i took off a shed, instead of taking it to the dump I screwed to the bottom side of the joists and now the area under my deck is 100% waterproof

[BCtransplant]

I don't think it will be waterproof especialy in Vangroovy

I have a wooden deck of 1x5 treated deck that was no where near water proof, so I had some metal roofing i took off a shed, instead of taking it to the dump I screwed to the bottom side of the joists and now the area under my deck is 100% waterproof

That’s exactly what I did on the current (now rotted to shit) wood deck. I’ll probably do the same with the composite, I’m just hoping a little less water comes through.

[Flounder]

Trex has a system to make your deck watertight. Never used it so I don’t know how well it performs or how high the cost is.

https://trexrainescape.com/

[Core Shot]

Trex has a system to make your deck watertight. Never used it so I don’t know how well it performs or how high the cost is.

https://trexrainescape.com/

I have it. Ipe wood above. But the rainescape works. So nice to have it dry underneath. Gutter at the end.

[::: :::]

Those systems work well with synthetic decking, but natural materials will maintain a level of humidity because the airflow is restricted on the bottom side. This will eventually cause differential movement leading to cracking & deterioration in the finish boards, especially if exposed to the sky. Even jungle hardwoods like ipe need air movement to keep from warping/cracking. It also stores humidity near your framing so it will always be more damp than the surrounding air.

[BCtransplant]

Huh. That’s a pretty interesting solution. Is there any issues with putting screws through deck boards into joists with the membrane in place? I assume the compression of the deck boards on the joists keeps everything tight?

[californiagrown]

I installed a drip irrigation system in my yard this weekend. Longest run from hosebib connection is about 180', the second half is in the shady part of the yard so lower water pressure is less of an issue. I used 1/2" tubing, with 1/4" hose connection to drip emmiters. Probably 55 total connections. And then i buried it under about 3" of dirt. I have end caps on the line for flushing, but how quickly will these lines silt up and required flushing and or replacement, or am i good for a good 10+ years probably?

I have a second 1/2 line on a separate connection to my veggie garden area (raised planters and in-ground beds) with 2 loops stubbed at the tees ready to go once i figure out what/where im going to plant and thus the routing of my 1/2" emiiter hoses. Any suggestions here?

[John_B]

I'm assuming your water source is town water or a well. If so I'd assuming that you'd be good for a long time but potentially may have to replace an emitter or too. Flushing could help but realistically any sediment is going to clog the emitters and you won't be able to flush it out. If you are on ditch irrigation water then a pre filter is highly recommended.

[bfree]

Add a filter for sure. https://www.dripdepot.com/item/three...BoCVGkQAvD_BwE

[californiagrown]

Add a filter for sure. https://www.dripdepot.com/item/three...BoCVGkQAvD_BwE

I have a BFP and a PRV attachment on the spigot already. Im not sure what the purpose of the filter is for unless the source water is ditch/nonpotable water?

[bfree]

I have a BFP and a PRV attachment on the spigot already. Im not sure what the purpose of the filter is for unless the source water is ditch/nonpotable water?

I guess I haven't tried without the filter, but to me the filter is cheap insurance against headaches later. Different purpose than the PRV and BFP. Even potable water can have particulate, picked up from piping along the way.