Paying for something you'll never get the full benefit of.

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BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
64,208
12,528
136
I have a 30 year mortgage...there's about zero chance I'll live long enough to pay it off... :p
 
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Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
68,458
12,611
126
www.anyf.ca
Mine is a 25 year, I'm 10 years in and have around 5-7 years left. Still crazy to think I'll be close to or in my 40's by that time though. Getting old. Hopefully I have better luck than my dad in the heart department. He started having heart issues at 39. It's genetic so I might very well start having issues too at that point.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,136
30,084
146
I planted two dawn redwoods. I'll never see those grown up, but hopefully they'll be pretty big before I die, and some tard cuts them down.

Maybe you should plant a tard tree, so that the tard makes its nest there and ignores your redwoods.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,981
8,219
126
Maybe you should plant a tard tree, so that the tard makes its nest there and ignores your redwoods.
The last thing I need is more tards around. They're not exactly an endangered species. I see them everywhere! I'd trade 10 tards for 1 extinct mega fauna specimen. Make enough trades, and the tard population will be kept in check.
 
Jun 18, 2000
11,155
733
126
I still pay for Netflix DVD service for new releases that aren't available anywhere. I probably only watch a couple movies on it a month, definitely not worth the cost. Really though with Prime, Netflix streaming, and DVD not sure I get proper value from any of them.
 

BarkingGhostar

Diamond Member
Nov 20, 2009
8,409
1,617
136
I've heard the argument before about oversizing a zone and short cycles. I have to wonder why the system being replaced after 19 years and not one HVAC person visiting my home has ever noted it short-cycling. And most HVAC like to set customer's expectations to their benefit by saying a given system will only last 10, maybe 12, years. So, if an existing 3 tonne oversized system isn't short cycling and lasted 19 years then WHY? I'm a reasonable person. I can accept reasoning, logic, etc. Blind comments with no evidence except for the contrary isn't helpful.

BTW, thanks for the code aspect of the garage.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
68,458
12,611
126
www.anyf.ca
If you like it cold over sizing the unit a little can't hurt. That way even in the big heat waves where it hits like 30C and higher it will still be able to keep up. To prevent short cycling you can also set a bigger "dead zone". I have a fully custom coded thermostat so not sure if this is a feature off the shelf ones have but basically it would set a zone of like 0.5 or 1 degree where the unit won't come back on until it moved by that amount. So say you set to 20 and it reaches 20 and turns off, it won't turn back on before it hits say, 21. For heat when I'm not home I actually have it set by like 3 degrees. House temp will drop to like 12, then it will heat until it hits 15 and so on. If I try to just keep it at 12 then the furnace will by cycling like every 5 minutes. Some people swear by keeping it at like 20 non stop but you actually use more energy doing that because the on cycles will actually last longer then if you're just keeping it at like 12. When I revamp my system I want to add more sensors, such as at the water lines, then I will be able to bring it even lower safely.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
64,208
12,528
136
Mine is a 25 year, I'm 10 years in and have around 5-7 years left. Still crazy to think I'll be close to or in my 40's by that time though. Getting old. Hopefully I have better luck than my dad in the heart department. He started having heart issues at 39. It's genetic so I might very well start having issues too at that point.

I'm probably older than most of y'all's daddies...I signed a new 30 year mortgage last December...and will be refinancing it this month for a reduction of nearly $200/month.
 

[DHT]Osiris

Lifer
Dec 15, 2015
15,284
13,581
146
Anvil's a pretty good example of something you'll never get the full benefit of. Most trees, too.

Also, imho, don't be afraid of oversizing an A/C. It'll be more relevant as time goes on. Definitely make sure its dialed in though, the unit I've got in my place was slightly oversized but whatever silly person installed it didn't reconfigure the fan profile for it, so it had issues with freezing. Adjusted the profile myself, and it's been humming along ever since.
 

snoopy7548

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2005
8,126
5,151
146
Your insulation plays a large factor. A certain AC tonnage might have been OK all along because your house leaks like a sieve, but if you improve your insulation and do air-sealing, you may find that your AC was grossly oversized.

For comparison, in the Northeast I have a 1.5 ton AC with a two-story 1560sq. ft. house, and it's certainly oversized given I have good insulation and air sealing. Even when temps are 100F (rare, but it happens) it still only runs for ~8-10 minutes during each cycle.

Sizing an AC is more than just cooling the house, it's also getting proper dehumidification; an AC can't dehumidify if it's not running continuously. That's why variable-speed units are great, and I wish I had one...
 

nakedfrog

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
59,239
13,840
136
Bureaucracy stuff, like permits and other fees and artificial costs that only exists for bureaucracy BS reasons.
Sure would suck to have your house burn down because Genius Joe next door thinks he's an electrician, yeah?
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
68,458
12,611
126
www.anyf.ca
Sure would suck to have your house burn down because Genius Joe next door thinks he's an electrician, yeah?

That's what insurance is for. Most people who do stuff to their own house are doing it to the best of their knowledge and as safe as they can - sometimes even better than code. They have to live there too. Good example is my grandpa built a deck and used 2x8 joists. Inspector told him it had to be 2x6 so he had to redo it all. (or something to that extend I don't recall the full details). BS like that is just retarded and just there for bureaucracy reasons and at the end of the day it's all a money grab. You have to do it X way because the rules says so, and no other reasoning. You go to another place, and the rules are different. They make this shit up as they go.
 

nakedfrog

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
59,239
13,840
136
That's what insurance is for. Most people who do stuff to their own house are doing it to the best of their knowledge and as safe as they can - sometimes even better than code. They have to live there too. Good example is my grandpa built a deck and used 2x8 joists. Inspector told him it had to be 2x6 so he had to redo it all. (or something to that extend I don't recall the full details). BS like that is just retarded and just there for bureaucracy reasons and at the end of the day it's all a money grab. You have to do it X way because the rules says so, and no other reasoning. You go to another place, and the rules are different. They make this shit up as they go.
LOL
Okay, buddy. I'd rather just not have to replace all my stuff because somebody ain't gon' let no gubmint tell him what's he can do. No, it's not all a money grab, there are valid reasons for permits. You listed an example of where it wasn't well applied, it doesn't invalidate all permits.
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,935
6,310
136
That's what insurance is for. Most people who do stuff to their own house are doing it to the best of their knowledge and as safe as they can - sometimes even better than code. They have to live there too. Good example is my grandpa built a deck and used 2x8 joists. Inspector told him it had to be 2x6 so he had to redo it all. (or something to that extend I don't recall the full details). BS like that is just retarded and just there for bureaucracy reasons and at the end of the day it's all a money grab. You have to do it X way because the rules says so, and no other reasoning. You go to another place, and the rules are different. They make this shit up as they go.
BS. And that's a bad example. Most people don't know their asses from a hole in the ground so "to the best of their knowledge" isn't good enough if they can kill me and mine.
 
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Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
68,458
12,611
126
www.anyf.ca
Shit happens. Does not matter if there was a permit or not. Things can go wrong for any reason. It's a false sense of security to think that just because there was a permit it's 100% guarantee not to fail. What matters is that it's done right and that does not nececerily mean to code. Some codes are good yes but the issue is when inspectors are nit picky and they will be. Ex: you put staples at every foot and code says 16 inch, you have to redo. Shit like that has nothing to do with safety.

Now if some idiot uses wrong gauge wire or other unsafe practice that's a whole other story. Someone like that should not be doing electrical in first place.

Besides I'm talking more about things that require a permit that are just retarded to even worry about like in some places you need a permit to hang drywall. Drywall is not going to catch on fire no matter how bad you install it.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,136
30,084
146
That's what insurance is for. Most people who do stuff to their own house are doing it to the best of their knowledge and as safe as they can - sometimes even better than code. They have to live there too. Good example is my grandpa built a deck and used 2x8 joists. Inspector told him it had to be 2x6 so he had to redo it all. (or something to that extend I don't recall the full details). BS like that is just retarded and just there for bureaucracy reasons and at the end of the day it's all a money grab. You have to do it X way because the rules says so, and no other reasoning. You go to another place, and the rules are different. They make this shit up as they go.

Dude, it's not 1850 anymore.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,136
30,084
146
Shit happens. Does not matter if there was a permit or not. Things can go wrong for any reason. It's a false sense of security to think that just because there was a permit it's 100% guarantee not to fail. What matters is that it's done right and that does not nececerily mean to code. Some codes are good yes but the issue is when inspectors are nit picky and they will be. Ex: you put staples at every foot and code says 16 inch, you have to redo. Shit like that has nothing to do with safety.

Now if some idiot uses wrong gauge wire or other unsafe practice that's a whole other story. Someone like that should not be doing electrical in first place.

This is incorrect. It is part of code because it has been previously identified as a common fault. That is why it is that way, not some conspiratorial "faceless bureaucrat is out to get me!" nonsense.

....but it's weird that you selectively accept "nonsense codes" for electrical work (which is your field, right?) but dismiss it for general contracting/structural work (not your field). Why is that?
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
64,208
12,528
136
That's what insurance is for. Most people who do stuff to their own house are doing it to the best of their knowledge and as safe as they can - sometimes even better than code. They have to live there too. Good example is my grandpa built a deck and used 2x8 joists. Inspector told him it had to be 2x6 so he had to redo it all. (or something to that extend I don't recall the full details). BS like that is just retarded and just there for bureaucracy reasons and at the end of the day it's all a money grab. You have to do it X way because the rules says so, and no other reasoning. You go to another place, and the rules are different. They make this shit up as they go.

I ain't buying the story about the deck. Building codes set the MINIMUM that's acceptable...you can ALWAYS go better/heavier as long as the underlying structure will handle it.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,136
30,084
146
I ain't buying the story about the deck. Building codes set the MINIMUM that's acceptable...you can ALWAYS go better/heavier as long as the underlying structure will handle it.

oh yeah that too. I missed that detail.