Ditto. Sometimes there's a piece of crud one doesn't notice. As far as the wood level goes, I'm sure the label had Quality in the name.
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Enough of COVID...what are you doing to the house?
- Thread starter mimico_polak
- Start date
Sometimes it is way easier to carry a selection of levels to find one that says it is all OK, than to make it OK. Specially in an old house!
To be fair to the craftsmen out there.... I know in our house looks right is not always level and sometimes level looks wrong,
To be fair to the craftsmen out there.... I know in our house looks right is not always level and sometimes level looks wrong,
Got one of these recently. GLL30 Self-Leveling Cross-Line Laser Measure - 30'. Wouldn’t say it’s a game changer but it’s certainly a nice bit of kit. Better for indoors rather than outdoors but it depends on the distance from the object being levelled. Looks to rely on a pendulum for self levelling. The crosshairs are very nice for hanging a series of pictures and I believe you can use it for tile setting but I’ve not done that yet.
Love these things. Will be using it to set up the siding installation.
Also a great tool for tiling.
Cats love them too, especially when you give it a little nudge.
Brought home the JH samples today and wife is like ‘I don’t know if you can do this…maybe we should pay someone’
I’m not paying 50k plus for siding installation. It doesn’t appear to be rocket science and LOWES currently has a 15% off anything purchased until the 5th so it may be now as the best time to buy.
I’m guessing 15-20k in materials.
I’m not paying 50k plus for siding installation. It doesn’t appear to be rocket science and LOWES currently has a 15% off anything purchased until the 5th so it may be now as the best time to buy.
I’m guessing 15-20k in materials.
Is it going to help property value if not it isn't worth doing.
Sent from the future
I believe so. Zero insulation in walls and I know your feelings about covering brick.
Insulation is always good , start on the back or side of the house , you’ll be better by the time you get to the front .
Covering brick was never my thing however if it’s not making the house more livable, cover it .
Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
Covering brick was never my thing however if it’s not making the house more livable, cover it .
Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
Alrighty....
Measured out the house...Looks like I need about 1830sqft of siding. So that's close to $6-7k in siding (waiting for quote)...
And the LOWES nearby was kind enough to let me use their JH nice samples to show my wife...but of course it's missing the one colour I wanted.
Measured out the house...Looks like I need about 1830sqft of siding. So that's close to $6-7k in siding (waiting for quote)...
And the LOWES nearby was kind enough to let me use their JH nice samples to show my wife...but of course it's missing the one colour I wanted.
Must have been the same installer that did our front entrance. Doors are equal spacing in the opening and not sagging but sill is high in the middle. Door sweep starts binding when the door is half closed as the gap gets less. Sill not adjustable either.We had a call from an customer saying the patio door he bought was defective, not closing tight.
After the usual Q&A about leveling the track etc and being told they had, we sent a techie out. He found the sill out by 1/2". The installer, in broken English, insisted it was level and pulled out his level to prove it. It was a Pacific rim wooden level from a dollar store.
I hate the colour of our brick, you've seen it. Drab and grey.
I don't see many options here, and the insulation should do wonders. I'd like to do the windows at this point in time, but I can only afford so much at once.
Plus, with JH siding, it's easy enough to cut out in the future to replace the windows.
Now one question I've still not been able to answer...scaffold or just rent a Genie to do the higher parts. Dad says scaffold due to cost...
Anyone got hookups for heavy equipment rentals?
We have crap barely insulated siding on our house too. I’m guessing it might be a little cheaper to tear it off and replace it rather than starting from scratch? Actually, I only really want insulation on the front of the house and one upper side (as the siding is only at the second level there) so it might be even cheaper. Even so, the prices you’re getting have me thinking about it but it doesn’t look cheap.
Just consider the cost benefit.
How much do you pay in heat/cooling per year today?
How much do you expect to save per year?
How much will it cost to insulate?
Example 1, say you pay 6K per year to heat and cool the house.
Insulating will drop that by say 33% (no idea just a number).
Total project will cost 20K (again just a number).
In the above the savings are 2K per year in heating and cooling. It will take roughly 20 years to break even (ignoring TVM), even the government would have a hard time justifying that ROI.
Example 2, 4K in heating and cooling per year
Say 33% savings again (IDK, just a number)
Total project cost 50K
We get a savings of 1.3K per year but an ROI of 38 years, much longer with TVM.
Positive game changers, possible gov rebates, increasing energy costs, and possibly the increase value of the house, but that is only when/if it is sold.... and covering brick may make it a wash in value, IDK.
Negative game changers, TVM and interest on the initial costs (loan or lost opportunity).
Low hanging fruit is air sealing, specially doors and windows...
As another example, in the context of the above calcs is a high efficiency furnace:
Old furnace is running at 85%
New one will be 95%
Current heating costs are say 4K per year.
New heating costs will be around $3.6K, saving $400 per year.
New furnace with install 3K
ROI is 7.5 years (ignoring TVM which makes it longer) assuming the old furnace does not need to be replaced of course.
I agree with everything you wrote @backmarkerducati, every word.
But in the end, we feel like this would improve the quality of the house, living inside of the house, and the overall enjoyment of the house inside.
We've already upgraded the AC/water heater/furnace and all that. Windows will be the next expense, and the ROI may be greater on that.
But in the end, we are planning on living here long term.
And if I look at it simply as a cost - benefit analysis...I'm an idiot for moving forward with this project.
I could probably shave 5-7k off the project by removing the insulation, and just focusing on the visual aspect of the house.
Strap the house, install siding, and done.
But in the end, we feel like this would improve the quality of the house, living inside of the house, and the overall enjoyment of the house inside.
We've already upgraded the AC/water heater/furnace and all that. Windows will be the next expense, and the ROI may be greater on that.
But in the end, we are planning on living here long term.
And if I look at it simply as a cost - benefit analysis...I'm an idiot for moving forward with this project.
I could probably shave 5-7k off the project by removing the insulation, and just focusing on the visual aspect of the house.
Strap the house, install siding, and done.
Or another way to look at it....
We have the sames style construction and total heating and cooling is around 4K/year (hot water removed) with lots of current air leaks all original windows and doors.
If the cost to insulate is 30K
I want to figure out 4 year ROI and 10 year ROI...
Forget 4 year, as I would need to save 7.5K per year in heating!
10 year ROI I need to save 3K per year, so insulation needs to reduce my heating and cooling by 75%!
We have the sames style construction and total heating and cooling is around 4K/year (hot water removed) with lots of current air leaks all original windows and doors.
If the cost to insulate is 30K
I want to figure out 4 year ROI and 10 year ROI...
Forget 4 year, as I would need to save 7.5K per year in heating!
10 year ROI I need to save 3K per year, so insulation needs to reduce my heating and cooling by 75%!
Sounds like expanding foam was used.....on the threshold at least.
You can cut it out. Remove 'silly cone' seal along the bottom, and start slicing the foam until it settles in the centre. A 2x4" cut to your "perfect" vertical opening size, to gently bend the sill plate down should help get it right.
Yes for sure. I think my actual heating bill (water + furnace) is about 2k/year or so. And with continued increasing costs from Enbridge will continue to rise annually.
Whether the insulation of the walls helps out...is only one aspect. However, while I'm installing the siding, I'll be removing all the trim around the windows and will re-insulate around them at the same time. My windows appear to be fine, and I don't believe they need to be replaced currently.
I'd assume 10-15k for windows alone. Probably should ask dad how he's feeling as he's ok with the siding...but we used to do window installs all the time when I was younger.
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