The Home Ownership Thread

[Gus]

I'm new to snow country. In our new home and with two major recent snowfalls. I'm finding that when I park in the garage after my car has picked up snow and ice while driving, it melts but slopes to the right side of the garage creating a pool of water against the wall that is being absorbed by the dry wall. Paint is peeling and I can't store anything there that is potentially absorbant. Common sense tells me the garage floor should have had a slope towards the entrance. Any suggestions? Can I go after the builder (we are second owners by he had to fix a water leak in the garage for the previous owner). If I can't go after the builder to fix the floor grade then what common remedies are you currently using for excess melted snow/ice?

 

[Piobaire]

It's probably going to depend how long ago the home was built as to if the builder still has any liability. If the builder is still in the liability period maybe pay for an expert opinion on the situation?

Of course, NAL.

 

[Ataturk]

For starters, drywall shouldn't go all the way to the floor in a garage. That might be a place to start. There's usually a lip of concrete or brick that the sill board sits on for exactly this reason. The lip shouldn't be covered with drywall.

Concrete can be leveled in various ways if it comes down to that. But should the whole floor slope toward the door enough for small amounts of water to run off? I don't think they're usually built like that. Maybe it's required by code in some places.

As far as suing the builder, good luck. I have no idea what the answer is, and this is totally not legal advice; but I'd expect that if anybody could sue the builder it'd be the previous owner. The previous owner presumptively took the hit for the construction when you settled on a sale price for the house as it was, so any right to sue would be his. Maybe that was assigned when you bought the house. Maybe there's a warranty that's transferrable. There could be statute of limitations issues. Who knows? You gotta ask a lawyer in your jurisdiction.

 

[Gus]

Thanks for the feedback. SInce posting, there is now a contractor, agreed to by both the seller's RE agent and my agent, coming to the house to assess the matter in the morning (requested by my agent). Both the RE agents are highly regarded in the area so that seems to help, so far, in at least being professional about discussing the matter properly. Will see where it goes. Wish me luck!

 

[PhilKenSebben]

Bathroom remodel questions

Has anyone done any under tile heating? Thoughts? Reviews?

We are doing a gut job, should the new tile go ubder the vanities? I would think that is the "right" way to do it, but I see conflicting reports.

Thanks all!

 

[cross22]

Most of the time they don't tile under unless it is a floating vanity which also requires the pipes to be positioned accordingly. But I would have them do it anyways as it gives you the flexibility to change the vanity size if you want to and also raises the vanity around 3/4 inches.

 

[brokencycle]

I have always had then tile under the vanity

 

[PhilKenSebben]

Most of the time they don't tile under unless it is a floating vanity which also requires the pipes to be positioned accordingly. But I would have them do it anyways as it gives you the flexibility to change the vanity size if you want to and also raises the vanity around 3/4 inches.

I will make sure my lazy contractor (me) goes all the way with it

I was thinking of putting in the counter height (comfort height?) Vanity. It is what I great up with and it is weird with the lower ones for me. Are these popular? I still don't see as many options for this as the standard height ones!

 

[brokencycle]

I will make sure my lazy contractor (me) goes all the way with it

I was thinking of putting in the counter height (comfort height?) Vanity. It is what I great up with and it is weird with the lower ones for me. Are these popular? I still don't see as many options for this as the standard height ones!

Do it. We had custom ones built, and I really like it. Downside is small children. Won't be able to reach.

 

[PhilKenSebben]

Do it. We had custom ones built, and I really like it. Downside is small children. Won't be able to reach.

This is the master bath, so limited sink use by the child anyway. And we used to have a stool that worked well when we grew up with the higher ones. Was the custom built really pricey?

What about the heating systems? Any experience?

 

[brokencycle]

This is the master bath, so limited sink use by the child anyway. And we used to have a stool that worked well when we grew up with the higher ones. Was the custom built really pricey?

What about the heating systems? Any experience?

We used a local guy. He built us a bunch of stuff (closet, master vanity with linen towers, tub surround out of South American mahogany, laundry room cabinets, and a secondary bathroom vanity). Compared to a standard sizes vanity, yes: especially if you shop around and find a clearance one you like. For example, we found a clearance 24" for our third bathroom. It came with a quartz top for less than my guy charged for the similarly sized one he did with butcher block top.

With that being said, our closet and master bath vanity had to contend with a sloped ceiling, and he was cheaper than those chain closet places.

I have never installed heated floors. A friend has the hydro system in his basement, and I have been places that use electric, and they all seem to work great and are enjoyable.

 

[cross22]

Definitely counter height for master, no question. No personal experience with heated floors but several friends have it and love it on those cold winter mornings. They are not expensive or difficult to install either.

 

[jbarwick]

Since our bathroom was so small, our GC said it was cheaper to put in a blower based heater vs. under the tile but if I recall, it wasn't too much per square foot to add.

 

[imatlas]

We put in under-floor heat in both of our bathrooms. The cat loves it

We also put a towel heater in one of them, and that is not something I'd do again.

 

[Gus]

We put in under-floor heat in both of our bathrooms. The cat loves it

We also put a towel heater in one of them, and that is not something I'd do again.

Why not a towel warmer?