[N/A] Home Renovation: “The Rise of Absurd Quotes”

WDD said:
With the Covid, people are spending so much time at home they want to make it nicer. Same thing with landscaping - they're swamped.

I had some plumbing I had to do 2 months ago. It involved whether or not we were connected to the main sewer line and I'll leave it at that. Three guys and 2 days for $7000. Maybe $1000 in parts. It was something I didn't know how to do, didn't have the tools, and had to be done right. Sometimes you just get stuck.

I've given up trying to get contractors and am basically doing things myself. Takes a long time, but it does get done.
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I had a recurring issue with a sewer backup (house is on a septic). The tank was always fine and it was localized to the main drain. The outfit that diagnosed the problem (violation of plumbing law #1) gave me a quote and did the work relocating the main-drain on time and without leaving a mess. For hand-digging around raw sewage in a basement, I thought the check that I ended up writing to the company was entirely reasonable.
 
flyingron said:
(and these guys are perhaps the CLEANEST contractors I've ever dealt with).
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Send them my way please..!! :yesnod::yesnod:

I had the master bath redone in my moms house. The guys left a mess and tried to flush trash down the commode.

I took $700.00 off the bill for cleaning up their mess and having the septic tank sucked out. The guy complained until I showed him the video and pictures.

3 years ago I had the floors tiled in my kitchen, hallway and hall bathroom. The tile guy was training a new guy on grout. He did not do a good job as the grout broke up in less than a month. He said he will redo the grout soon. We have a court date later this month. Now he wants to finish it for me. I said no way, you can pay whomever I hire to finish it.
 
Contracting... I get a bid for labor. Then do the job myself. Then take the labor money that I would have paid the contractor and buy something nice for myself. The way I look at it, I can lay a tile floor myself, but I can’t build a motorcycle or a big screen TV.
 
I went to 9 different big box stores, local hardware and lumber yards and was unable to buy pressure treated anything, 10 inch strap hinges, T 1-11, 3 inch lag bolts or carriage bolts and 3 inch nails for my nail gun. Everyone gave me the same answer, not available, don't know when it will be. I finally called in a favor and (barely) got what I needed.
Anyone have a theory on what's going on?
 
Shepherd said:
I went to 9 different big box stores, local hardware and lumber yards and was unable to buy pressure treated anything, 10 inch strap hinges, T 1-11, 3 inch lag bolts or carriage bolts and 3 inch nails for my nail gun. Everyone gave me the same answer, not available, don't know when it will be. I finally called in a favor and (barely) got what I needed.
Anyone have a theory on what's going on?
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"They" are hiding all the of the materials right next to all the coins and the COVID vaccine.
 
Shepherd said:
I went to 9 different big box stores, local hardware and lumber yards and was unable to buy pressure treated anything, 10 inch strap hinges, T 1-11, 3 inch lag bolts or carriage bolts and 3 inch nails for my nail gun. Everyone gave me the same answer, not available, don't know when it will be. I finally called in a favor and (barely) got what I needed.
Anyone have a theory on what's going on?
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I think some of it is a carryover from the spring. When people were locked up at home with nothing else to do, a whole of yard and landscape projects started. I wonder if that's still part of what's going on? People aren't spending money on vacations this year, and a lot of people working from home are saving a lot of money on gas and dining. Even a lot of people that were unemployed were getting an extra $15/hr ($400/week) in federal unemployment benefits on top of their state benefits. There's a lot of cash for a lot of people that are bored.
 
Shepherd said:
Anyone have a theory on what's going on?
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Everyone stuck at home is renovating and some suppliers are in areas where they aren’t considered “essential” businesses or had to slow production for “distancing” inside their facilities.

But mostly the renovation thing.

A friend had to travel a long way to find the large beam he needed to build his grandkids a new swing set. Out of stock everywhere at three major local lumber yards.
 
Matthew said:
I think some of it is a carryover from the spring. When people were locked up at home with nothing else to do, a whole of yard and landscape projects started. I wonder if that's still part of what's going on? People aren't spending money on vacations this year, and a lot of people working from home are saving a lot of money on gas and dining. Even a lot of people that were unemployed were getting an extra $15/hr ($400/week) in federal unemployment benefits on top of their state benefits. There's a lot of cash for a lot of people that are bored.
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My local supplier is saying plants are shut down because of executive orders. Seems there is a lot of variety it what is considered essential. Currently can only buy two colors of shingles here. The plant is running at less than half capacity due to covid restrictions. Aluminum coil for gutters is hard to find as well. I have a deck project I’ve been planning for almost two years. Can’t buy the treated lumber.

it’s just dumb.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
My local supplier is saying plants are shut down because of executive orders. Seems there is a lot of variety it what is considered essential. Currently can only buy two colors of shingles here. The plant is running at less than half capacity due to covid restrictions. Aluminum coil for gutters is hard to find as well. I have a deck project I’ve been planning for almost two years. Can’t buy the treated lumber.

it’s just dumb.
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Ya.

The Costco here is out of toilet paper. Again. Plenty of paper towels.

And Clorox wipes? Fuggedaboutit.
 
wsuffa said:
Ya.

The Costco here is out of toilet paper. Again. Plenty of paper towels.

And Clorox wipes? Fuggedaboutit.
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I'll have to check on paper goods at our local shops. For some reason the paper napkin supply never caught back up.

I did see an article about a week ago that was talking about the Clorox wipe shortage. According to Clorox, the shortage is due to the fiber material they use in their wipes. It's the same base product that N95 masks are made of and it's in short supply right now.
 
I was a little surprised to hear about the Clorox wipes shortage, because I have seen them around here on occasion. In fact a bought some, then a couple weeks later forgot that I had any and bought some more.
 
Everskyward said:
I was a little surprised to hear about the Clorox wipes shortage, because I have seen them around here on occasion.
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I've seen non-Clorox brand wipes, and I've seen baby wipes. But I haven't seen (I don't think) the Clorox brand wipes.

Our local grocery store is still overstocked with the Mexican brands of toilet paper, napkins, and dishshoap. They loaded up on that stuff when they couldn't get the American brands and now they can't seem to be able to give that stuff away.
 
Matthew said:
I've seen non-Clorox brand wipes, and I've seen baby wipes. But I haven't seen (I don't think) the Clorox brand wipes.

Our local grocery store is still overstocked with the Mexican brands of toilet paper, napkins, and dishshoap. They loaded up on that stuff when they couldn't get the American brands and now they can't seem to be able to give that stuff away.
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These were definitely Clorox brand.

70139018-218D-4F48-86AF-63861344B9CE.jpeg
 
wsuffa said:
Ya.

The Costco here is out of toilet paper. Again. Plenty of paper towels.

And Clorox wipes? Fuggedaboutit.
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Clorox has done a number of press releases that they won’t meet the new demand level until middle of next year. They say the supply chain for them pre-wipes is messed up also.
 
ARFlyer said:
I’m starting to think there is a home remodeling conspiracy afoot!

So I just received two quotes for my two bathroom remodels I posted about a month or so ago. Both quotes were between $30,000 and $40,000 with the higher one stating the start date would be Summer/Fall 2021. I called an additional two highly recommended contractors who both told me no thanks. A third guy said I’d have to pay him half up front because I’m too young and he’s concerned I can’t afford to pay.

What in the h e double hockey sticks is going on??
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Just do it yourself.

It's not hard, buy the tools you need. YouTube for things you don't know how to do. Sub -out the plumbing and electric if you're not comfortable or to satisfy code inspectors.
 
paflyer said:
Just do it yourself.

It's not hard, buy the tools you need. YouTube for things you don't know how to do. Sub -out the plumbing and electric if you're not comfortable or to satisfy code inspectors.
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+1
It isn’t that hard. You Tube has endless diy videos. Basic plumbing is easy. Electrical, most of the time you are just replacing old appliance with a new one. Black Wire goes to black wire. Get a book at Home Depot called Basic Wiring. You will have a new sense of accomplishment and more money in you wallet and no frustration with contractors that never show. You are in control.
 
Morgan3820 said:
+1
It isn’t that hard. You Tube has endless diy videos. Basic plumbing is easy. Electrical, most of the time you are just replacing old appliance with a new one. Black Wire goes to black wire. Get a book at Home Depot called Basic Wiring. You will have a new sense of accomplishment and more money in you wallet and less frustration with contractors that never show. You are in control.
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And then you buy the really old house that didn’t follow modern standards, and once you get the electrician and plumber in they say “yeah, I’m ripping all of that mess out!”

LOL. Not our current house (which has plumbing totally screwed in some places by one of those “plumbing is easy to DIY!” types who appears to have also had severe ADHD, but our former early 60a house. Built like a tank, awful electrical. Haha. And I know electrical.

Eventually one day a blizzard dropped the back awning on the house knocking the meter clean off the building under a thousand pounds of snow (probably more) and I used it as the excuse to hire my electrician buddy and re-do the entire service entrance panel. What a freaking mess the original was.
 
denverpilot said:
And then you buy the really old house that didn’t follow modern standards, and once you get the electrician and plumber in they say “yeah, I’m ripping all of that mess out!”

LOL. Not our current house (which has plumbing totally screwed in some places by one of those “plumbing is easy to DIY!” types who appears to have also had severe ADHD, but our former early 60a house. Built like a tank, awful electrical. Haha. And I know electrical.

Eventually one day a blizzard dropped the back awning on the house knocking the meter clean off the building under a thousand pounds of snow (probably more) and I used it as the excuse to hire my electrician buddy and re-do the entire service entrance panel. What a freaking mess the original was.
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Grumpy Guss, All I am saying is you don’t know what you can or cannot do until you tried. If I can do it, most others can also.
 
Doing new electrical (or plumbing) isn't that hard (it ain't rocket surgery). Simple replacements should be pretty easy. But figuring out the old stuff of various vintages and/or skill sets? Yeah. That can be fun squared.

Also, I'll say this about You Tube DIY videos, there is a ton of information out there. And ten tons of crap. If you know enough to know the difference, it's great. If you don't, beware.

John (son of an electrician and plumber, grandson of a carpenter)
 
denverpilot said:
And then you buy the really old house that didn’t follow modern standards, and once you get the electrician and plumber in they say “yeah, I’m ripping all of that mess out!”

LOL. Not our current house (which has plumbing totally screwed in some places by one of those “plumbing is easy to DIY!” types who appears to have also had severe ADHD, but our former early 60a house.
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DIY types certainly can commit some awful sins on the plumbing and electrical. But you know who can also do that? Contractors. Hiring a contractor does not in and of itself guarantee the job will be done right or pass code.

Plus doing it yourself generally means you'll need to buy some tools. Ain't no job worth doing unless it starts with buying a new tool.
 
denverpilot said:
And then you buy the really old house that didn’t follow modern standards, and once you get the electrician and plumber in they say “yeah, I’m ripping all of that mess out!”

LOL. Not our current house (which has plumbing totally screwed in some places by one of those “plumbing is easy to DIY!” types who appears to have also had severe ADHD, but our former early 60a house. Built like a tank, awful electrical. Haha. And I know electrical.

Eventually one day a blizzard dropped the back awning on the house knocking the meter clean off the building under a thousand pounds of snow (probably more) and I used it as the excuse to hire my electrician buddy and re-do the entire service entrance panel. What a freaking mess the original was.
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Knob-and-tube? Yah, I'm ripping it out. And I do know electrical. I have rewired one old house completely.

Likewise lead piping. But not copper piping that happens to have used solder with lead unless testing shows hig lead levels.
 
Juliet Hotel said:
DIY types certainly can commit some awful sins on the plumbing and electrical. But you know who can also do that? Contractors. Hiring a contractor does not in and of itself guarantee the job will be done right or pass code.

Plus doing it yourself generally means you'll need to buy some tools. Ain't no job worth doing unless it starts with buying a new tool.
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I was going to say that too. DIY can sometimes do things bad, but professionals know how to cut corners and get lazy sometimes too. I've literally seen a drain hose for an ice maker routed through a doorway by a licensed plumber.
 
and then we can look at there-I-fixed-it.com or redneck-repairs (or whatever the sites are) for some truly stunning work.
 
I do my own electrical and most plumbing. The electrical because I get tired of the electricians cutting corners. "Hey, rather than put a hole in this wall we can seal up let's just cut through the mesh in this crawl space vent that will never seal quite right." "Yes, let's just use these galvanized water pipes to support these wires because we're too lazy to support them properly." And yes, I ended up taking that set of galvanized out as part of my "all the galvanized must eventually go" project, hopefully before any more of it rusts through.
 
My pole barn was originally wired by my neighbor, a certified journeyman electrician. It was done with romex wiring to meet absolute minimum code because that was all the previous owner (builder of the pole barn) would allow him to do. And said neighbor was every bit as annoyed by it as I ended up being once I bought the place. Sometime after the build, that previous owner then went through and made his own alterations and additions to the wiring, none of which were anywhere close to code. That the barn never burned to the ground was nothing short of miracle.

I (a rank amateur) tore out all of the existing electric and put in all new circuits, fixtures and EMT conduit sheathed wiring. I asked the electrician neighbor to come inspect my work. His comment was that my pole barn was a residential structure with wiring that exceeds commercial structure code. It ain't that hard if you're willing to do the research and spend the cash.
 
My parents built a 3,800sq ft home about a decade ago, and the electrical contractor who wired it loaded most of the high amperage circuits into one breaker box which subsequently melted the bus cars and had to be completely redone in a few years. Nothing like having 3 HVAC units, water heater, and kitchen appliances running through one panel, then having outlets, lights, and other light loads in the other.
 
wsuffa said:
Knob-and-tube? Yah, I'm ripping it out. And I do know electrical. I have rewired one old house completely.

Likewise lead piping. But not copper piping that happens to have used solder with lead unless testing shows hig lead levels.
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Wasn’t quite knob and tube bad but early copper with lots of paper, BSD earth grounds or missing completely, ancient plastic stuff that was crumbling... you get the idea. At least it was copper instead of aluminum but ugh.
 
jsstevens said:
Also, I'll say this about You Tube DIY videos, there is a ton of information out there. And ten tons of crap. If you know enough to know the difference, it's great. If you don't, beware.
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Yeah. It’s like me seeing YT stuff about “how to build your own server to do X” and it’s so horrid you just want to scream at the person who made it that they just described how to make a malicious server in the first five minutes it’s on the web, and then you see there’s a million views. Great... adding to the total cesspool the public network has become... LOL. :)

They usually start with “download Wordpress...”. ;)
 
denverpilot said:
Wasn’t quite knob and tube bad but early copper with lots of paper, BSD earth grounds or missing completely, ancient plastic stuff that was crumbling... you get the idea. At least it was copper instead of aluminum but ugh.
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Some early stuff had steel or copper-clad steel with cotton insulation. All ugh.

SoonerAviator said:
My parents built a 3,800sq ft home about a decade ago, and the electrical contractor who wired it loaded most of the high amperage circuits into one breaker box which subsequently melted the bus cars and had to be completely redone in a few years. Nothing like having 3 HVAC units, water heater, and kitchen appliances running through one panel, then having outlets, lights, and other light loads in the other.
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Putting them in one breaker box is OK assuming the box is appropriately rated. It's done in commercial service for high power equipment.

Most likely, they simply didn't rate the box properly (probably too cheap...)
 
denverpilot said:
Yeah. It’s like me seeing YT stuff about “how to build your own server to do X” and it’s so horrid you just want to scream at the person who made it that they just described how to make a malicious server in the first five minutes it’s on the web, and then you see there’s a million views. Great... adding to the total cesspool the public network has become... LOL. :)

They usually start with “download Wordpress...”. ;)
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Some of the auto repair stuff is just as bad.
 
I've done a well above average amount of electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and carpentry work compared to a typical home/plane/boat owner, but don't have near the expertise or skills the true quality professionals (or devoted amateurs) have in those fields. I have enough to know that it seems like I spend MUCH more time diagnosing and fixing other people's poor, lazy, or just plain wrong work than I do anything else except routine maintenance.
 
wsuffa said:
Some of the auto repair stuff is just as bad.
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I saw one video where the guy talked about the "rubber thing" on the rear of the rifle stock. I ran away from that video as fast as I could.
 
Bob Noel said:
I saw one video where the guy talked about the "rubber thing" on the rear of the rifle stock. I ran away from that video as fast as I could.
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Take it off...just adds unnecessary weight. I replaced the one on my double barrel 12 gauge with those metal-teethed ice grippers you clamp onto your boots in winter. Grips my shoulder real good and improves my aim.
 
denverpilot said:
Yeah. It’s like me seeing YT stuff about “how to build your own server to do X” and it’s so horrid you just want to scream at the person who made it that they just described how to make a malicious server in the first five minutes it’s on the web, and then you see there’s a million views. Great... adding to the total cesspool the public network has become... LOL. :)

They usually start with “download Wordpress...”. ;)
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I view the first little bit and think either "This'll be useful" or "This'll be entertaining." But I'm not watching stuff they're going to connect to the internet.
 
I've worked on knob & tube (fixed one by removing the fried squirrel that got in the attic) and pretty much everything since at one time or another. Anybody know what BX cable is? When I worked for my Dad, we refurbed a whole bunch of early 1900's houses into commercial offices. Wood lath plaster (which is HEAVY), knob and tube wiring (which, of course was removed). How to get EMT (before smurf tube) down two stories of wall from an 18" attic space (lots of 15" pieces with couplings-don't drop it!) etc.

I've enjoyed working on the house we live in now. It was built in 1979 which is when I was wiring houses for a living. I'm very familiar with how it was done. 9 times out of 10 I can predict where the wire goes before I've opened it up.

Contractors are no guarantee of quality work, though if you find a good one, treat them well! I think the biggest advantage of my own construction knowledge is I know when somebody's blowing smoke.
 
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