Home Improvement Thread 2: Electric Redo the Loo

Mather said:
I could be wrong but... I don't see ANY insulation in that attic. That looks like plywood along the roof joists no?
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I recall the inspector using an old potato/digital camera to take the photos but I think that is the insulation in the foreground and background. It's just below the height of the joists.
 
wokeupnew said:
I recall the inspector using an old potato/digital camera to take the photos but I think that is the insulation in the foreground and background. It's just below the height of the joists.
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Ah ok, I have blown in insulation which is generally pretty decent, but probably best to hire someone if you're going that route. But yes if that's insulation it should definitely be at the joists and also it could be really old really ineffective stuff too. Other thing to look at is how powerful is your AC fan unit. They're rated for square footage I think and it's possible that the insulation in combination with a less effective fan might not be getting the air to the upper floors. I'm kinda talking out my ass here because I can't remember exactly how the AC unit sizing works but I know I bought the biggest one I could get when I bought my house just to avoid issues with trying to get cold air in distant rooms...
 
To answer your question, @wokeupnew roll insulation is not hard to install. My attic has no insulation on the roof either, just on the floor. Works fine. We do have a vent fan that doesn’t close properly and I get lots of leakage through there.
 
Mather said:
Ah ok, I have blown in insulation which is generally pretty decent, but probably best to hire someone if you're going that route. But yes if that's insulation it should definitely be at the joists and also it could be really old really ineffective stuff too. Other thing to look at is how powerful is your AC fan unit. They're rated for square footage I think and it's possible that the insulation in combination with a less effective fan might not be getting the air to the upper floors. I'm kinda talking out my ass here because I can't remember exactly how the AC unit sizing works but I know I bought the biggest one I could get when I bought my house just to avoid issues with trying to get cold air in distant rooms...
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yeah! I read that for 2 story houses you sometimes want separate cooling areas. Whether that is a separate unit, bigger unit or compartmentalized cooling/heating zones. I don't know if that is something we need or should get but the AC tech should be able to give some insight. The previous owner of this house lived here for 2 years and I don't think they did anything in regards to servicing (and even cleaning) so the unit should be looked at regardless of this issue.
MyWifeHatesTrain said:
To answer your question, @wokeupnew roll insulation is not hard to install. My attic has no insulation on the roof either, just on the floor. Works fine. We do have a vent fan that doesn’t close properly and I get lots of leakage through there.
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oooooh I misread @Mather's first ask. Yes, I don't think you need insulation on the roof, but I was referencing the floor. From that potato picture I think there is insulation on the floor but it's not enough thickness I believe.
 
wokeupnew said:
yeah! I read that for 2 story houses you sometimes want separate cooling areas. Whether that is a separate unit, bigger unit or compartmentalized cooling/heating zones. I don't know if that is something we need or should get but the AC tech should be able to give some insight. The previous owner of this house lived here for 2 years and I don't think they did anything in regards to servicing (and even cleaning) so the unit should be looked at regardless of this issue.

oooooh I misread @Mather's first ask. Yes, I don't think you need insulation on the roof, but I was referencing the floor. From that potato picture I think there is insulation on the floor but it's not enough thickness I believe.
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That is certainly what your report says. To back up @Mather earlier… if you have spray insulation, hire someone. If you have rolled insulation, it ain’t hard to do.
 
It’s possible I misread @Mather as well. I ain’t climbing up into my hot ass attic to take pictures, but you cannot see the floor beams anywhere in my attic. There is plywood over a section surrounding the entrance.
 
MyWifeHatesTrain said:
That is certainly what your report says. To back up @Mather earlier… if you have spray insulation, hire someone. If you have rolled insulation, it ain’t hard to do.
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MyWifeHatesTrain said:
It’s possible I misread @Mather as well. I ain’t climbing up into my hot ass attic to take pictures, but you cannot see the floor beams anywhere in my attic. There is plywood over a section surrounding the entrance.
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Yup I think we will go the rolled insulation route first, see if that makes a difference in temperature. If it is still too hot/cold, then I'll get a professional in to take a look and do a better job.
 
So proud that I have a reason to post in this thread: we closed on our first ever house on Friday!

More importantly: today I received an email from my home insurer with an aerial photo of my house with a warning that if I don't trim the trees touching the roof by end of August they'll drop me. I'm officially an adult! 😅
 
Bull Shannon said:
So proud that I have a reason to post in this thread: we closed on our first ever house on Friday!

More importantly: today I received an email from my home insurer with an aerial photo of my house with a warning that if I don't trim the trees touching the roof by end of August they'll drop me. I'm officially an adult! 😅
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Congrats that's awesome and also fuck all insurance companies! Enjoy the new abode!
 
Bull Shannon said:
So proud that I have a reason to post in this thread: we closed on our first ever house on Friday!

More importantly: today I received an email from my home insurer with an aerial photo of my house with a warning that if I don't trim the trees touching the roof by end of August they'll drop me. I'm officially an adult! 😅
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IIRC you mentioned wanting to move to Vermont or maybe somewhere outside of Oregon. Did that happen?
 
wokeupnew said:
IIRC you mentioned wanting to move to Vermont or maybe somewhere outside of Oregon. Did that happen?
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We failed on that front; we had a really great spring here (PDX's vibe has been off for a while, but it seems like it's returning) and decided to search locally through the summer, then expand the search if things didn't work out. We made a list of must-haves and agreed to be super picky and within-budget, and found a real lovely house in town. The previous owners had an unexpected job shift and are moving out of state, so the place has a lot of improvements and changes which they clearly expected to enjoy for years to come. They actually had the yard Backyard Habitat Certified, which is exciting and scary, as we'll have to work to keep the place up and keep out invasive/nonnative plants.
 
Djxfactor511 said:
Wife ran a bath for the boys today in our tub. After, she notices a stream of water flowing down our outside siding. Thinking we have a leak in the pipe there. Just great.
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Okay this may have nothing to do with it but just have a look at the overflow drain. My tub drain was fine but when I moved in my overflow drain wasn't properly connected and it leaked. Only reason I say this is two kids, in a tub splashing etc, it may not be the main drain. Hopefully.
 
Mather said:
Okay this may have nothing to do with it but just have a look at the overflow drain. My tub drain was fine but when I moved in my overflow drain wasn't properly connected and it leaked. Only reason I say this is two kids, in a tub splashing etc, it may not be the main drain. Hopefully.
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I did just replace the drain linkage a few months ago, but the kids have had maybe a dozen+ baths since then and nothing until tonight. It wasn't a small amount of water leaking outside.
 
Djxfactor511 said:
I did just replace the drain linkage a few months ago, but the kids have had maybe a dozen+ baths since then and nothing until tonight. It wasn't a small amount of water leaking outside.
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I'm not saying it's the overflow necessarily, but it's generally only connected by a couple of screws that run through the overflow drain from the tub basin. And it's hard to tell it's not connected if you can't see the back of the tub drain connections. Mine was a bad seal from the previous owner. So the drain linkage is separate from the overflow, at least it is in the way my tub is connected.
 
Mather said:
I'm not saying it's the overflow necessarily, but it's generally only connected by a couple of screws that run through the overflow drain from the tub basin. And it's hard to tell it's not connected if you can't see the back of the tub drain connections. Mine was a bad seal from the previous owner. So the drain linkage is separate from the overflow, at least it is in the way my tub is connected.
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Sorry, didn't mean for my response to be terse. Just a little overwhelmed with what seems like the next in a long series of incidents at this house. The linkage is attached to an up/down switch, and the overflow is actually right below that and connected to the same pipe. It's possible it's that and the last bath was just a little more rowdy.
Mather said:
But yeah, if it was a tonne of water then... It's probably the drain. I guess you don't have a basement?
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Yeahhhhh, we do. Master bath on the second story, leaking through the siding onto our back patio on the ground floor, but also dripping down the wall of the unfinished side of the basement. Luckily not the finished side, which is also where my records are.
 
Djxfactor511 said:
Sorry, didn't mean for my response to be terse. Just a little overwhelmed with what seems like the next in a long series of incidents at this house. The linkage is attached to an up/down switch, and the overflow is actually right below that and connected to the same pipe. It's possible it's that and the last bath was just a little more rowdy.

Yeahhhhh, we do. Master bath on the second story, leaking through the siding onto our back patio on the ground floor, but also dripping down the wall of the unfinished side of the basement. Luckily not the finished side, which is also where my records are.
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Oh don't worry I get it, I just feel like for it to suddenly leak like you're describing it's a bit odd that it would be the main drain, or you would have noticed it every day when you shower or have a bath. But maybe if it's only leaking outside it wouldn't have been noticed unless someone was there to see it. Just seems like it COULD be the overflow. Maybe... hopefully... time to do a test... probably the best way to tell.
 
Mather said:
Oh don't worry I get it, I just feel like for it to suddenly leak like you're describing it's a bit odd that it would be the main drain, or you would have noticed it every day when you shower or have a bath. But maybe if it's only leaking outside it wouldn't have been noticed unless someone was there to see it. Just seems like it COULD be the overflow. Maybe... hopefully... time to do a test... probably the best way to tell.
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So my wife took me upstairs and described exactly what she was doing when it happened. She started the water to get it warm and got sidetracked by a particularly nasty diaper from my oldest and by the time she came back the tub was "almost full"

Well what does almost full mean? I asked her to point at how high the water was. She pointed higher than the overflow, so yeahhhhh looks like it may indeed be that. Which is probably best case scenario and like you mentioned why we only have this instance of it ever happening.
 
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