/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>1472738
Bro you gave us nothing to work with. You sound like you are too lazy to research any of this on your own, so your best bet would be to address each problem with the house as it appears, bankrupting yourself in the process.

Maybe you'll kill yourself and we won't be bothered with you making the exact same thread every other day.

>>1473133
>Bro you gave us nothing to work with.
really?

Well, I thought some general "new home owner" tips might just be fun.

I guess I'm wondering specifically, if I should just rehire an inspector to go through our house and look for any issues that need to be repaired, and get very specific answers on how to fix the problems.

>>1473144
Hire a contractor instead of an inspector. He will find everything he can to fix. Jobs = money. Since its a side job for me, I teach the homeowner how to do it.

I made a grand last month doing small repairs to satisfy insurance companies requirements.
Light switch not UL listed, 5$ per switch. Same with power outlets. 25$ for light fixtures. Replace the breakers with AFCI, 15$ each. Prices dont include materials. Any of these items can and will let an insurance company refuse to pay because you "weren't up to code."

Crawl around in the attic during a very heavy rain. If anything looks damp, find the leak. If you find mold spray it with a mix of ammonia and vinegar. Bleach doesnt fuck up the spores. Dont freak out if the mold is black in color, most mold is black, only one specific type is really dangerous.

Got any specific questions?

>>1473152
Not op, but where did you go to school to become a contractor? If you did indeed go to school for it. Or did you train under someone?

>>1473156
Grew up in the mountains where we would have to straighten nails because the closest store was 2 hours away.
Joined the Navy as a Electricians mate and eventually crossed into Cyber. While stationed in Georgia got an electrical enginerding degree. If any young guys want free training with great job oportunities on the outside, join the Navy as a Electricians mate, Hull Tech, or Damage Controlman. They all teach construction skills and the Navy will pay for the civilian certifications.

>>1473160
Forgot to add, do 4 to 6 years and get out. The retirement plan now sucks balls and the yearly pay is less than what you can make on the outside if you get the certs.

OP get a pest inspection and they will go over everything and also give you a line item list of things to fix with prices for them to fix everything. Or you can do it yourself.

>>1472738
Ask ur insurance dude. Also stop being a fucking crazy person i work in water restoration and mold remediation omg black mold people are terrible get an inspection if you fucking care or dont buy a shitty house with cracked foundation thats falling appart.

>>1472738
Sounds like you got fucked bro. Let this be a lesson to conduct due diligence on your own and not listen to your agent. They just want a commission.

>>1473335
I also want to expand on this and say if you are in Florida buyers beware our real estate market is extremely shady. A lot of wanna get rich kids will just take a shitty house and paint over everything and caulk every crack and corner then flip it for $10k+

I just bought a house too, but lucky for me, everything's so busted up, there's nothing to maintain!

>>1472738
The trick is to maintain them until a earthquake or fire, etc., destroys your home and insurance covers it then.

>>1473156
Follow-up question. I too am a new home owner. Our house needs some repairs. I did not get a lot of construction/contractor education and now work in medicine. Is there a good way to gain experience? Do contractors let people shadow or volunteer for experience? I’d get a part-time job but my schedule is variable so I’m worried about being consistently available. I don’t need to become a contractor myself but would like to know how to diagnose and come up with a differential for home problems and not stare blankly when the contractor starts talking.

>>1473408
Habitat For Humanity.

>>1473416
Holy smokes, thank you

>>1473408
Personally I dont understand why people find it difficult. Just watch a youtube video, get some tools and materials and get started. Start with some easy stuff, and dont be afraid to fail the first time.

>>1472738
I worked in a shitty apartment complex for 5 years as a maintenance man, 5 years in an upscale hotel as a maintenance man and became a supervisor. I'm now a millwright but during that decade I've learned every trade you can maintaining those properties.

If i were you i would call at least 3 different contractors, get their quotes and opinions on each individual issue you got. Most of this kind of work is really easy and it doesn't take much to over complicate it and scare yourself out of doing it. If you got some basic tools, time to scour internet forums and YT videos you can figure anything out involving home repairs.

Get a few quotes from contractors, look into what they tell you and go from there.

>>1473152
>Hire a contractor instead of an inspector.

I'm not super confident in contractors, as they seem more likely to give biased information to get themselves work.

Funny story - we need some house repairs once, and 2 of the top rated repair companies had something in common - turns out both owners had been represented by my cousins law firm ( criminal defense ) small world huh! They both recognized my name and asked if I was related. This just added to my general unease about relying on contractor estimates.

>>1473248
I asked my insurance if they can inspect the house, waiting for a reply.

>stop being a fucking crazy person i work in water restoration and mold remediation omg black mold people are terrible

My accountant had black mold in her house, because of a shitty contractor, there was a leak in her wall. She can't eat sugar or gluten anymore, neither can her kids. He husband went temporarily blind from the mold, and if he eats sugar or gluten I guess the mold starts growing in his eyes again and he loses his vision.

> get an inspection if you fucking care or dont buy a shitty house with cracked foundation thats falling appart.

Yes, we had it inspected before we bought it, and our inspector said it wasn't a big deal, just to paint over it to prevent water from coming in

>>1473559
>Get a few quotes from contractors, look into what they tell you and go from there.

Thanks - that is what I'm doing for roof and foundation. Partially I was wanted to find someone "General" who can find problems I don't even know to look for. Like I just found out the dryer vents need to be checked yearly. My fear is I'll miss something, it will be a problem, and then insurance won't cover my burnt down house, or rotted roof or whatever.

>>1472738
Just find a descent general contractor or home builder. Those little cookie cutter cul de sacs going up on the outskirts of town. Theres signs in the yard for all sorts of shit. Look at aome youtube so someone doesnt see u as a 5 digit target for a half day job.

Or you could just be like my wife. Welp, the tub is stained. Better gut the fucking house we just closed on.

>>1472738

>>1473337
Thats everywhere. Fucking house flippers i awear

>>1473353
Ahh yes, the old jewish lightning.

Is gross negligence okay? I have a tree i cant afford to have cut that is dead and about to land on my shitty house.

Can i just get a laun chair next tume the tornadoes come and watch it crash or???

>>1473416
Yup. This or copious hours of youtube. I'm a complete D average retard and I'm the anon building the bathroom because of stained tub. She didnt railroad me. It's going in our shitty vanper and im building a half bath while im at it

>>1472738
Don't poop in the sinks.

>>1473992
Why not?

>>1473160
20 year old NEET here, used to do wrestling in high school but other than that I wasn't that active. I wanna know how in shape I need to be to do electricians mate with ease

>>1473994
Corn and peanuts

>>1474015
With ease? It's not hard work just lots of steady moving. Uo and down ladders and walking to the truck 490 times a day for parts or whatever. I would say go for it if you can walk an hour at a brisk pace nonstop.

>>1473691
>I'm not super confident in contractors
Yeah dude, but they want the job so they will show up in a minute and give you every detail of what they want to do. Get a couple consultations, keep asking questions, and you will get a very good idea of what you need to learn to do it yourself.
Hell I just had a tree removal quote and asked the guy why it was so expensive and he spent 30 mins telling me about how they had to climb it because if they just dropped it, this branch was going to bounce off the other tree, this branch would hit the house, etc...
1 hour with a chainsaw and I dropped said branches and I got another guy to drop the rest of the tree for $75.

>>1474088
>1 hour with a chainsaw and I dropped said branches and I got another guy to drop the rest of the tree for $75.
why didn't you just drop the tree yourself?

>>1474096
Risky thing to do depending on skill level and proximity to the house

>t. The idiot that fell a tree straight onto his detached garage

>>1473986
>Those little cookie cutter cul de sacs going up on the outskirts of town. Theres signs in the yard for all sorts of shit.


I don't get this - you mean go to the new developments and ask around from the guys working?

learn about preventing damp, such as regularly opening windows. there are a lot of things you can do to prevent damp. its bad for your house, and your health.

>>1472738
>(((insurance))) doesn't do shit
Quit falling for their tricks.

>>1474703
you know whats funny about this - all I can think of is Donald Trump accusing people of everything he is guilty of. It cracks me up. I guess he learned it growing up doing business with all those new york jews. It' such an effective tactic.

>Quit falling for their tricks.
Well, it is a requirement seeing as I have a mortgage.