The Home Ownership Thread

[Ataturk]

First thing to do is figure out how old the wiring is. If it's older than 1990-ish, the romex is rated for a lower temperature and boxing it in with the lights could be dangerous. You might have to replace the wires to do it safely (not hard, but not fun either).

If it's safe to enclose the wires, you can build boxes from rigid foam insulation (which costs about $10 for an 4x8 sheet). Seal the edges with metal duct tape.

 

[jbarwick]

I will have to check on the ceiling fans but all of the can lighting is pretty new from the 2000s. There was some added blown in insulation at some point but not much. The rigid insulation is not a bad idea and seems easy enough. Another thing I need to look into is if I have enough air circulation up there before I add more insulation. If not I will have to add some vent chutes but that is easy enough.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Our contractors have always been great. Worked with the same subs for years, always see the same faces. Super conscientious guys who go above and beyond anything asked.

 

[Ataturk]



I will have to check on the ceiling fans but all of the can lighting is pretty new from the 2000s.  There was some added blown in insulation at some point but not much.  The rigid insulation is not a bad idea and seems easy enough.  Another thing I need to look into is if I have enough air circulation up there before I add more insulation.  If not I will have to add some vent chutes but that is easy enough.

You can never have too many soffit vents, especially if you have power ventilation. No matter how the attic is vented it's probably pulling the air out of your house. It really pays to seal the ceiling (do the wall cavities, too). Caulk is cheap. Do it before you add more insulation.

There should be no harm in covering ceiling fan wires with insulation. The problem with light cans is that the bulb can get really hot and the heat has nowhere to go if it's in a box surrounded by insulation. Ceiling fan boxes don't have that problem. Do caulk the hell out of those ceiling boxes, though. Each one is like a big hole in your ceiling.

Oh, when I said to tape the boxes, I meant tape the foam together to make a box. Shove the box down over the fixture and caulk it to the ceiling (a brick or a book or something on top helps to hold it in place as the caulk dries).

 

[yywwyy]

Quick question: When signing a contract to purchase a new construction property (condominium unit), is it important for the buyer (me) and the sponsor (seller) to have our ink signatures on the original document? Or is it good enough to send scanned, digital copies to be signed?

 

[LeatherBoot]

DocuSign worked fine for me.

 

[TheFoo]

Any top-notch contractors in Manhattan?

 

[texas_jack]

I've been taking down wallpaper. God this sucks

 

[Find Finn]



Any top-notch contractors in Manhattan?

http://fanuka.com


It looked like good work on tv.

 

[js0930]



I've been taking down wallpaper. God this sucks

I recently did pretty much my whole house. Assuming they use a water soluble glue, use a paint roller with a bucket of water (way more water than you would ever think you need) and a very sharp scraper (or do what I did and hire some people at $12/hour. They're going to be better at it than you are any way).

 

[itsstillmatt]

My ******* homeworks system fried last night when the generator switched on. I would kill to have regular light switches.

 

[texas_jack]

Owned

 

[itsstillmatt]

Good one, man. How long have you been waiting for that?

 

[lefty]

Don't say that - I'm about to switch my Crestron lights and Somfy shades over to a Savant system to unify AV, lights and shades. Maybe I should keep some switches.

You run off generators or is this a backup?

lefty

 

[itsstillmatt]

Backup. Storm last night. We have manual switching for emergencies, but only as four quadrants of the system.