house-history

2022-06-01

HVAC filter replacement

We were about three months overdue for our filter. We replaced it as needed.

Before replacing the filter, it's important to turn off the HVAC system. Here's how to do so with the EcoBee.

2022-02

Dishwasher replacement

Model: Bosch 500 DLX 24 Inch Fully Integrated Tall-Tub Dishwasher Model code: #SHP865ZD5N

The bottom legs can be rotated with a flathead screwdriver. This can be used to level the dishwasher. If the dishwasher must be removed, it would be recommended to lower the dishwasher to get it over the hump of the flooring at the bottom.

Drain hose height

The drain pipe height must be a minimum of 33 inches high to a maximum of 43 (need to make sure this is correct in the ddocumentation) inches high.

2022-01

Furnace issues

We had the ecobee shut off after the service technician came out to do our yearly checkupt. We primarily thought that the issues were caused by a mistake made by the maintenance person. They were new.

Ended up calling Western to come out and service the furnace later the same day and they mentioned that it was a problem with the condensate container and level not being reseated properly.

One more issue came up and they came out and mentioned that if problems continued it might be the distance that the pump is from the drain.

2020-09

Furnace replacement

Chimney tear out

Chimney

Had the chimney torn out. The initial scope of work was going to be a tear out that went a few inches below roof line. However upon further review, the chimney install was done rather poorly. A seam ran from the top all the way to the bottom of the chimney which made it unstable. This prompted us to remove the chimney down to the floor level of the garage. After further review it was clear that the chimney was still unstable and should be completely removed. This lead us to tear the chimney down to the foundation.

After we completed tear down we, discovered that the HVAC tubing from the 80% furnace was not connected to the flu. The flu was run in a separate chamber next to the chimney. This meant that the exhaust from the furnace was running throughout the cinderblock in the that was supposed to be protecting the flu. This is probably what caused excess deterioration to the chimney structure as the combustion byproducts from the furnace accelerates the chemical process that triggers deterioration in mortar and concrete.

Roof patch

We had the roof patched to cover up the hole where the chimney was protruding.

Floor hole

The hole that the chimney ran through in the second floor of the garage was left open until further HVAC work is to be completed. Jacob will come back and work on patching the floor once thata's done.

Misc

Jacob pointed out some bad wiring above the kitchen vent.
Jacob left some extra shingles for the hvac guys

A1 Handyman LLC

Jacob Snowball
2089956457
www.handyman-boise.com

Landscaping

Had a designer (Kim) come out and look at the house.

Designs by Kim

Residential Garden Design
(208)870-3795

Notes

She recommended a gray color for the shingles may work a little better with the color of the house.
She mentioned that it would probably be easier to wrap our concrete stairs in wood.
Mentioned that tilling grass one foot away from fence would make maintenance easier.
Could use a curb instead of retaining wall for the property next to the parking lot. Said that this would be cheaper.

2020-08

Plumbing revamp

New water heater

Changed to a tankless water heater system.

Cleaning

We'll need to clean the system once every 6 months to a year using a solution.

Replaced plumbing in house

Replaced drain and incoming lines to the house.

New work

Need to look into:

Water softener: The water was rated at a hardness of 6 out of 10.
Resonator (device that cleans the): Would be good to add a device that sends soundwaves throughout the plumbing in the house to stop sediment from forming.
Didn't redo the water main. It's still galvanized and would impact water pressure to the house.
Hole in crawlspace that needs to be plugged. Could lead to rodents making it into the house.
New easy out was not put in.

2020-07

Plumbing work estimation

We had A+ plumbing come out and do a quick overview of the house to revamp the plumbing.

They estimated doing the following for approximately $5k

Clean out: for scoping
New lines
Emergency shutoff valve with easier access
Water softener: Nueovo (something that uses citrus vs salt)
Water heater install

Some things we learned

The plumbing was recently redone for the drain lines, so that work wouldn't need to be done.
Didn't recommend on demand water heater
- Requires a lot of maintenance
- Would require a larger exhaust vent for the gas

Concrete estimate from Mr. Mudd

Description

A gentleman from Mr. Mudd came to the house to give us an estimate on the concrete. This includes the front of the garage, car port and asphalt replacement. An estimate was emailed to us coming in at $12,962 (sent on 7/21/20). If we pay within 7 days of the proposed estimate, we could save 4% which brings the cost down to $12,444.

Front door painted and interior doors installed

Description

We had our front door painted a beautiful scallion green, outside facing as well as inside.

All interiors doors, excluding garage door, were replaced with solid white doors and new black fixtures.

A1 Handyman sent Jacob and Mike to do the projects. The total cost was approximately $1,250.

2019-12

Had can lights and bathroom vent installed

Description

We had can lights installed in the living room. A Feit dimmable smart switch was installed along with a new circuit in the living room. Six can lights were installed.

We also had a vent and concomitant switch installed along with an exhaust tube that was added to the roof.

Nicholas the handy man installed the vent and Alex the electrician who was contracted for the electrical install installed everything.

Furnace filter replaced

Description

We had the furnace filter replaced by Nicholas the handy man. He told us that we need to do this once every six months.

Filter dimensions for furnace: 20 x 25 inches.

2019-10

Kitchen drain was clogged

Description

Again the drain was clogged. It was bad enough this time that we didn't catch the blockage before we ran the dish washer. Unfortunately the dish washer overflowed due to the blockage. There was a pool of water in front of the dish washer in the kitchen.

We had A+ cleaning and draining come out and they roto routed the clog out. We haven't had issues since.

2019-09

Kitchen drain was cloggged

Description

Shortly after having the disposal installed the sink drain in the kitchen started clogging.

Had disposal wiring looked at

Service provider: Same day electric

Description

After having the disposal installed we realized that for some reason the switch to the disposal that was already wired wasn't working. We had the electrician come out and take a look. It was nothing major, the wiring was poorly done though so one of the nuts had come loose which caused the issue. He cleaned up the wiring to make it make a bit more sense and then got the disposal wiring working.

Installed disposal

Service provider: A+ Plumbing Drain Cleaning and Plumbing LLC

Description

We had the disposal installed on the left hand side. We decided to get this done at the same time while they were looking at the water hammer to cut down on osts.

Had water hammer looked at

Service provider: A+ Plumbing Drain Cleaning and Plumbing LLC

Description

Over the last year we were noticing a banging noise that would take place about 30-45 seconds after flushing. This turned out to be due to a couple of issues. A water hammer effect along with a poor selection of a serires of 90 degree joints in the plumbing under the house.

While we had the plumbers going under the house they ended up mentioning a few things:

There were a strange series of 90 degree joints under the water softener. The work there didn't make much sense.
The piping under the house was galvanized. We already knew this from the inspection and it's no surpirse due to the age of the house.
The piping under the house was made of two separate materials copper and then the galvanized pipe. If the two pipes were not put together with a proper coupler a reaction causing a current and in turn degredation of the piping could happen.

I asked about how much it would cost to have them come out and revamp the plumbing in the house. They mentioned around 3500 in estimate to revamp the plumbingall the way to the city connection.

2019-08

Installed Ring floodlight

Description

Installed a flood light under the cover of the carport.

We found out that there is a junction box installed in the area. It is a bit further back so you'll need longer screws. It uses a #8 machined screw. We used a #8 machined screw that's 2 inches long. We found out that the previous owners seemed to have used a drill gun to remove the aluminum siding. The cut isn't very smooth.

Installed Ring smart doorbell

Description

Installed a smart doorbell in the front of the house. Found out we have 24v power going to the front.

The circuit for the doorbell is mapped to the Kitchen O. light switch.

2019-07

Electricity went out because of hall light setup

Service provider: United Electric Contracting, Inc.

Description

Electricity went out in three separate areas of the house:

Guest bedroom
Bathroom
Hallway light switch

It turns out that nothing major happened. The wiring for the aforementioned locations is located within the light. Something came loose and caused the lighting for those three areas to go out. The electrician just had to tweak some of the wires that were in some wire nuts.

Old air conditioner disconnect

Description

The air conditioner seemingly stopped working after installing a smart thermostat. It turned out that the disconnect (big ass switch) next to the the air conditioner was just old and wasn't connecting the leads to the circuit in the switch. We jumped the leads for a day and then had the air conditioner servicer come out and fix the disconnect.

Refurbish the air conditioner pump then connect it to the
replace the air conditioner filter
Lay down vapor barrier in the crawl space

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