Owning a Home is SO NOT WORTH IT!

[mark_wpduet]

Wow

I was expecting the worst and it was nothing major. Just a capacitor. He said the coils weren't even dirty which amazes me because they haven't been cleaned in a while. He added 2 lbs of coolant but he said there was no leak. Total charge $228. The city picked up the tree debris so that's gone. So I am nowhere near as bummed out as I was. I'm just happy to have cold AC blowing on me. I'm miserable without AC. In the winter, my t stat stays on 64. Summer t stat is 71. I think I'm going to plant a green giant. They seem to grow fast... One thing is for sure, I'm going to buy a portable AC for emergencies like this. I'm in an HOA and can't have window ACs. But portable ones will work. Over the years I've lived in duplexes, apartments, etc... People above me or below me. And it really IS so much better living in your own home......it's just that when things like this happen, you wish you rented where the landlord could take care of it.

 

[ea56]

See Mark, all’s well that ends well! I’m glad this turned out better than you expected.

Whatever you do, don’t plant a Sycamore or Liquid Amber tree. They grow like weeds and are beautiful, but their root systems are very destructive. I have first hand knowledge about these trees, as we have several of them at our complex, and they have been the cause of many broken pipes at our HOA.

Eddie

 

[good-shepherd]

I think I'm going to plant a green giant

No more big trees for me.

I'm in the process of taking down all the large trees on our property. They've caused a lot of work and damage over the years. Don't have to tense up anymore every time a storm is forecast wondering if another tree is going to come down.

Just left a few Cedar trees, they're conifers, rot resistant, grow quickly but don't get enormous, top out at around 20 feet or so.
They used to be more common in N.J. but builders and landscapers cut them down and plant non-native commercially grown trash like Fruitless Pear trees, White pines, Japanese Maples, Spruces and ugh!- Arborvitae..
,
We had three huge Willows at one time, talk about a mess. Nice to look at when healthy but they get HUGE and are weak with shallow roots. Plus several pines, the neighbors hardwood trees etc.

I have a new appreciation for wide open spaces.

 

[rp2813]

Fruitless/flowering pears are IMO one of the ugliest trees out there.  They look like shrubs stuck on trunks with complete lack of any pleasing structure, and they are often permanently tilted by the prevailing northwest winds.  They've been widely planted around here, likely because they provide reliable fall color in areas with relatively mild winters, but they are short lived and disease-prone.  One of the nicest urban parks in town had these planted all around its large square block perimeter about 30 years ago and now they're all nearly dead due to what appears to be fireblight.  Maybe this will prompt them to be removed from the city's list of approved trees for streetscape plantings.

 

OTOH, I like arborvitae/thuja for their well behaved and low maintenance growth habit.  I planted two of the slim variety flanking the front bay window at our previous house and they required little care or water once established.  Another home a few blocks away has a hedge planting of about ten of these along the driveway.  They have topped out at about 15 - 20' and need no trimming.

 

[mattl]

Plant a tree with character, not some quick growing weed that will topple over in a few years when the next big storm comes through.  There are some faster growing oaks and maples, but not the awful silver maples that snap in a strong wind.

 

[DADoES]

 
<blockquote>Mark_WPDuet:  He added 2 lbs of coolant but he said there was no leak.</blockquote> Shouldn't be a need to add refrigerant if there's no leak unless it was undercharged when installed.  Refrigerant doesn't wear out and need replacement.

 

[askolover]

My house is 62 years old.  It is framed out of real OAK 2x4's, 2x6's, and 2x10's, not the 1.5x3.5 crap you buy today.  When I redid my kitchen I had to pre-drill everything because the oak is so hard I was twisting the heads off the screws!  I'm in the process of having a new roof installed, just redid the roof over the deck (needed some rafters replaced and new decking), need new windows, a new front door, floors refinished, remodel the bathroom, vinyl siding, a new concrete driveway, and new carpet on the front porch....I've been here 20 years so it's time and it is a very overwhelming but I'm so glad it's MINE.  No mortgage, no rent, and best of all, NO HOA.  It just takes time to get everything done, especially since I'm the only one who can do this stuff now since Tony's accident. 

 

[iowabear]

Glad to hear it was fixed at a reasonable cost!

 

The hot surface <span class="ILfuVd yZ8quc NA6bn">ignitor failed in my furnace last winter and it took several calls before I found a place that would just sell me the part.  They all wanted to do a service call and diagnostic fee.
</span>

 

<span class="ILfuVd yZ8quc NA6bn">The $25 part literally snaps in without any tools at all.  Finally one guy relented and sold me the part for the "bargain" price of $50.  Still a fraction of what the other places wanted to install it for me.</span>

 

[askolover]

Two years ago my furnace failed.  Noticed it was cold in the house, looked at the Tstat and it said "on" but it wasn't on.  Went outside, removed service panel and turned stat to kick the heat on.  Saw an arc between an ignition wire and the cabinet insulation foil.  Wrapped the failed wire insulation with black electrical tape and pulled wire back from cabinet a little.  Reset Tstat and went back outside....igniter sparked and burners lit successfully.  No service call, no money other than the black tape which i already had in a drawer.  It pays to be functional if you own a home or a car (especially a German car).

 

[dartman]

I can no longer afford the rents they charge here but I can afford the mortgage on the house I bought in 2012. We figured out what the max was we were comfortable with and found the best house we could for our budget. Market had bottomed in 12 so there were lots of cheap but beat down houses. Finally accidentally found a 96 double wide 24x60 manufactured home that was completely redone with new appliances, roof, windows, siding, carpet, etc. 1400sf 4 br 2 baths, new kitchen cabinets for 115900. Mortgage is cheaper than my rent was for a 864sf 2 br pos house. I like being able to punch holes, paint, change whatever I want and nobody can tell me what to do. I added a 12x16 mini barn, a drive through privacy fence with a gravel parking area for my extra cars and life is good. When it's paid down to 20 percent equity my payments drop 100 a month because the required pmi goes away. Life was very tight for a while but it's totally worth not buying toys I wanted and we both got raises recently so things are getting way better and should just keep going better as things get paid down, plus the interest deduction has paid for a few appliance upgrades and some toy money.
I've talked to older retired folks that are selling their paid for big homes and renting somewhere that covers everything so they don't have to worry or work so hard at thing's anymore but I can do or fix just about anything and like said you tube will walk you through anything your willing to do.
You can always sell out and get something smaller when you're close to retirement and probably be in great shape just like some of the customers I've talked to.
Glad your issues turned out to be not as bad or expensive as you feared and life is looking better again. It certainly gets scary when something major seems to go down. A few winters ago the incoming water line under the house froze when the pipe wrap heat tape lost power during a cold snap. I was under the house with a hair dryer and got it unfrozen and the heat wrap plugged back in before something blew out but I could see money flying out the window before it turned out to be OK with some luck.

 

[tolivac]

I am bummed out with my place,too.Just too much at once-this old house-mine was built in '72.NEVER AGAIN will I try to buy an older place.Buy new if you can-at least you have some sort of warrantee on the building and the included appliances.I have things planned for future inheritances!One of which is replacing the HVAC.You can be handy but only so far.My roof and trim was replaced by insurance.Have the lawn mowing and yardwork done bty a contractor.This is cheaper for me.check that out if you don't like yard work.There is a HOA in the district where I live along with the lake and its dam.The dam is a constant expense for the HOA-they want MORE money from members.There is only so far you can gne thing--if you do have equity----DON'T use your equity like a bank machine or credit card.Save it for emergencies!!!I just go done paying for one second moertgage--no more unless its an emergency.

 

[vacerator]

Mark,

if your A/C was working before, and all of a sudden quit, often, it is the start relay, or internal fuse. This can happen during hot weather under heavy use.
Less than a $100 service repair.

 

[mark_wpduet]

History of my Trane Heat Pump

Brand new in Sept 2004.

These are estimates of time-frames if I remember correctly

year 2 or 3 (coolant leak) in outside unit due to vibration. I remember the tech saying that he could tell what caused the leak and wrapped something to prevent it from happening in the future after he repaired the leak.

Year 4 - Capacitor went out and was repaired
Year 5 - Compressor went out. But still under warranty for parts/ not labor

Years 6 to 14 (almost a decade) not a single issue until last week when the capacitor went out. I'm wondering if it had something to do with the storm we had a few days earlier and the power was off then came back on. Although the unit did work for a few days after that, so I don't know.

When the technician added a little coolant yesterday, I know they are sealed systems and should never have to have anything added. He said more than likely at some point it was never fully charged...he said it wasn't horribly below the threshold and since it had been almost 10 years if there were a leak, it should have been really low. Not only that, but the unit was performing fine just before the capacitor went out. Had there been a leak, it should freeze up or not cool properly at some point. He didn't see anything to indicate a leak. He seemed pretty confident. I don't know. I've read where leaks can bad if it's in the air handler...but most of the time it's somewhere in the outside part.

One other thing to note: A few years ago, I was in my attic which you enter through the laundry room. I couldn't believe I had never noticed this but I saw a duct going to the ceiling of the laundry room from the attic, yet there was NO vent, it was just all ceiling. When they put the ceiling in, they completely covered up the vent! I immediately called the installers and told them and they sent someone out to put a vent in where that duct was being covered. I will admit, it made me wonder if all the problems I had the first 5 years was because of that vent being covered.

 

[washman]

they say it is had to stop a Trane

I saw lots of them in FL, a few are up here, I think Lowes or HD has a display in their stores.

 

Kinda surprised that compressor gave up the ghost after 5 years.  It it was/is still the Climatuff, a Danfoss design, those are pretty much indestructible.

 

I keep a spare cap on hand for the Goodman and in fact, I would encourage anyone to do so if you are a bit handy and can read an ohm meter.  From what I have researched, most if not all the caps are China sourced, are pretty much junk, and all the majors use them.  Having said that, I scored a USA made Amrad cap for only a few dollars more than a Chinese cap. It is not a question of IF the cap will go, but when.  I think 4-5 years is the norm, probably less in hotter climates.

 

[good-shepherd]

framed out of real OAK

Highly unlikely framed in Oak.

Just very well aged and dry pine in real 2x4 dimensions, probably from harvested from dense old growth trees as well.

However, it can seem like Oak when you drive nails in such wood.

 

[lakewebsterkid]

Mark

I am glad it all worked out for you. Our 23 year old Lennox has been relatively problem free. It had a bit of refrigerant added, a capacitor replaced, a fuse replaced, and a whole home blower fan replaced. All relatively simple fixes. But again, we are trying to milk all the life out of it to avoid the replacement costs. However our monthly electric bill will be FAR cheaper. Although after taxes and fees, our electric costs around $.05 kWh. My next planned 'investment' is insulation.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Are they really that much cheaper?

The most my summer electricity bill was $220 I think? And this was HOT month. Mid 90s and there were a few 100s. The AC ran almost constantly, especially because I keep it on 71. I was watching a bunch of youtube vids yesterday (I guess because this was just on my mind). I read so many comments on people who had new systems and it wasn't cooling their home properly....they had techs out and techs said nothing was wrong. They said they were tired of 500 monthly electric bills. Obviously, something is wrong somewhere but my old system has never generated a monthly bill that high. Most of the time a typical summer month my bill will be around $130 to 150. In contrast (in fall and spring) when HVAC doesn't have to run much, the electric bill is usually around $80 to 90.

I also watched videos of how some house designers think it's DUMB to put ducting in an attic. After watching his video, that did make sense to be because the attic gets HOT. I'd like to go to my attic to check the ducts for leaks while the AC is on, but you'd need to be an acrobat to make your way over to the farthest end of my attic. I'm thinking there are no leaks because when I check each vent, air seems to be coming out of each of them pretty good. But you still never know.

Oh.. I also read someone's comment about being careful letting cable installers or anyone like that in your attic because (depending on their conscience) they will get so hot while they are up there doing work they will cut the ducts to get cold air on them.

 

[tolivac]

for my HVAC system the return air ducts are in the attic.The supply ducts are in the crawel space.

 

[tolivac]

In another house I lived in the HVAC died either in scorching hot or blustery cold.Was relays in the airhandler unit in the house.A trip to Grainger and replaced those myself and the HVA was OK.Cool air for my daytime sleep-yes worked mid shift in those days!!!Love it compared to dayshift.

 

[askolover]

GoodShepherd

I can take pictures of the framing if you like!  Believe it or don't.  Oak has a particular smell when it's drilled or sawed as does pine...and after working with my dad in wood for 47 years, I can assure you that this ain't no pine.   Solid oak in the roof rafters, the ceiling joists, under the floor, and in the walls.  We have Amish nearby and their lumber is cheap, and I think that's where it came from.