The Official Homeowners Thread

[newarkhiphop]

I like to fancy myself as somewhat of a manly type of guy when it comes to diy type shyt. Maybe some folks can gain from some of the stuff that I've learned over the years of homeownership/working trade jobs. I'm looking to take out some money for a remodel so I'll probably be bugging some of you on advice on the best way of going about getting some money towards it in return.

Don't be afraid to familiarize yourself with your house's crawlspace. It's great for running wires under and troubleshooting gas/water issues.

Mandatory tools that every homeowner should have imo (I'm a fan of DeWalt tools personally):

Spoiler

18V drill / sawzall combo

Mitre Saw (A table saw is good too, but I wouldn't really consider it mandatory)

Speed Square and a heavy duty 25' tape measurer

20oz Estwing FRAMING hammer (Don't get the "claw" version, which has the more aggressively curved tail)

Palm Sander

Stanley Classic Utility knife (these can be hammered on)

General purpose drill bit set

Five-In-One Painter's tool

1" wide chisel

Center punch (for recessing nails)

Wet/Dry Shop vac

A large pair of channel locks and crescent wrenches in various sizes

Here's some before and afters of my house. I always hire friends with some background knowledge of whatever project I'm working on, but try to do a lionshare of the work. Kind of like a student/teacher relationship.



With gardens, remember that plants need more than just water to grow. They also need nutrients, and water washes out soil after so many times.

These irrigation timers are only ~$20

beast mode on the yard

question that plastic you laid down , whats its for ? did you lay dirty/ the mulch on top of that?

 

[Stir Fry]

beast mode on the yard

question that plastic you laid down , whats its for ? did you lay dirty/ the mulch on top of that?

Thanks! It's so that weeds can't grow through and fukk all your hard work up later on. I didn't use it under areas where I put planter boxes so that the roots could grow deeper.



Here's a few more pics.
.

 

[prince_peoples]

nice

where do you live?

Thanks! It's so that weeds can't grow through and fukk all your hard work up. I didn't use it under areas where I put planter boxes so that the roots could grow deeper.



Here's a few more pics.
.

 

[Stir Fry]

nice

where do you live?

Berkeley, ca


If anybody ever has any questions about diy repairs or projects feel free to drop me a tag or pm, and I'll try to help out in any way that I can.

 

[newarkhiphop]

whats everyone doing as far as security system go? I have ADT, but also want to install my own thing with a couple of cameras

 

[newarkhiphop]

whats everyone doing as far as security system go? I have ADT, but also want to install my own thing with a couple of cameras

 

[Stir Fry]

whats everyone doing as far as security system go? I have ADT, but also want to install my own thing with a couple of cameras

I'm a subcontractor for them. The costco systems are pretty much on par with what we have at this point, though it is nice being able to arm and disarm your system remotely. These Ring Doorbells are dope. They connect to your wifi, when it detects motion, it alerts your phone and you can talk through it.

 

[newarkhiphop]

I work for ADT. The costco systems are pretty much on par with what we have at this point, though it is nice being able to arm and disarm your system remotely. These Ring Doorbells are dope. They connect to your wifi, when it detects motion, it alerts your phone and you can talk through it.

Ya those ring door bells are dope, but I think they have a monthly fee, I'm already paying a good amount with adt


Say breh when are they going to fix that app for Android, I have pulse and Idk if it's cuz I have a lower end older android phone but the whole activate / deactivate the system from the phone never worked for me

 

[Stir Fry]

Ya those ring door bells are dope, but I think they have a monthly fee, I'm already paying a good amount with adt


Say breh when are they going to fix that app for Android, I have pulse and Idk if it's cuz I have a lower end older android phone but the whole activate / deactivate the system from the phone never worked for me

Are you at least able to log in? if so, what does the app say?

 

[-G$-]

whats everyone doing as far as security system go? I have ADT, but also want to install my own thing with a couple of cameras

i put in a bunch of cameras, inside and out. i have them available on my phone at all times, and they're recorded on a constant basis. the storage is in my basement and holds up to 2 weeks of back footage at a time. i also have my alarm and thermostats connected through alarm.com , which i can control from my phone too.

 

[newarkhiphop]

Are you at least able to log in? if so, what does the app say?

It connects fine and I can see if the system is enabled / disabled and if a door or window is open but when I go to deactivate or activate it nothing just the looping circle, same for my wife's phone

I chop it up to both of us having shytty phones cuz dude that installed it had a iPhone and showed us his home setup fine

 

[Stir Fry]

It connects fine and I can see if the system is enabled / disabled and if a door or window is open but when I go to deactivate or activate it nothing just the looping circle, same for my wife's phone

I chop it up to both of us having shytty phones cuz dude that installed it had a iPhone and showed us his home setup fine

-login to your Pulse site using a desktop browser
->"system" tab > click "security panel" > change code
-enter the same 4 digit code that you use on your panel's keypad in all sections, and then exit
-do a fresh app login, try to arm the panel

Let me know if that solves it

I pm'd you a number to call to ask about getting your account credited for the time you were without pulse

 

[beenz]

Have 20% for down payment
15 yr fixed
Don't buy more house than you need

most people don't have 20% of a home saved up in cash money. FHA loans require 3.5%. I had saved the 20% when I bought this house, but I didn't wanna come off so much cash at closing. I was able to get a conventional loan with only 5% down.

especially when I was paying most of the closing cost.

you can always get a 30 year fixed mortgage, and later on refinance it to a 15 year if you like.

 

[beenz]

Spoiler that thing. It's a sad sight.

If you live up north I expect it to look like that, though...isn't it still too cold for grass up there?

grass hibernates in the winter. it stops growing. then when spring comes around, it grows again. my grass looks like shyt cuz all these damn dandelions. I sprayed and put down fertilizer, but it's still fukked up. I cut my own grass, but the grass was already fukked up when I bought this house. I might get a professional to fix it next year.

 

[Rawtid]

most people don't have 20% of a home saved up in cash money. FHA loans require 3.5%. I had saved the 20% when I bought this house, but I didn't wanna come off so much cash at closing. I was able to get a conventional loan with only 5% down.

especially when I was paying most of the closing cost.

you can always get a 30 year fixed mortgage, and later on refinance it to a 15 year if you like.

Good shyt! Just note with FHA loans, the PMI is for the life of the loan. With a conventional you can pay down the PMI.