The Home Improvement Thread

Pro tip: people are giving video tapes away

Yada wrote:

Space wrote:
I have an old pre-USB non-Smart tv that we still use. The sleep feature seems to have somehow become engaged and the tv shuts off after 5-10 mins. Sometimes it comes back on, sometimes not. Or at least i think it's the sleep feature. I tried unplugging but it's still doing it. Should i trash it or is there a way to fix it?

Which port do you stream VHS through?

I haven't had anything to play VHS with in a long time. Which is a shame, because it meant throwing away my vintage porn collection.

hutch wrote:
But I can use those $300 for something I don’t already own.


No but seriously making things last is fun and if it still works… now if its not a solvable issue guess you got to upgrade


We recently went from a 32” to 55”…my aunt in law gave us a tv she wasn’t using…it feels great!

Yeah, the power assist part of my power assist lawn mower broke many seasons ago. Now I just have an extra heavy regular lawn mower…

Heilung4eva wrote:

Yeah, the power assist part of my power assist lawn mower broke many seasons ago. Now I just have an extra heavy regular lawn mower…

I ended up getting stuck with one of those as a Teen, man did my triceps look good that summer

We want to have someone spray outside for mosquitoes

We have found three candidates

Mosquito Joe
Mosquito Squad
Mosquito Hunters


I keep insisting there is a Mosquito Coast but this is apparently a figment of my imagination

Anyways based on Yelp Mosquito  Joe sucks balls (I have seen their snazzy trucks around here), Mosquito Hunters is barely existing and Mosquito Squad is killing it

So I am strongly in favor of Mosquito Squad but if anyone knows anything on this stuff let me know

years ago we used Mosquito Squad (the organic spry) and it only really works if your neighbors do it too
you can't just do it once either.
they did have something that if it rained a day or so after the application all you had to do is call and they would reapply

focus on any standing water anywhere within 50yards of your home
even a bottle cap can breed the buggers
also cut grass that is long …even if it's on public land or your neighbors

also pro-tip…box fans
get a few of them stragaticly placed, the mosquitos can't get past them and typiclly fly a few feet from the ground


And Mosquito Joe is dead to me, stole my girl and weed back in 98 and if I see him again…just not sure what I'm going to do

Do you live in a swamp? Why not just drain it?

PestNow does all of our bug stuff. We have an ongoing contract with them. No complaints. Do these mosquito places only do mosquitos?

Swamp?


Not really..just mosquitoes kill us when we go outside


It’s pretty common issue in summer

Space wrote:
Do you live in a swamp? Why not just drain it?

wait, I thought Trump was taking care of the Swamp in washington, I just assumed that Arlington was a part of that

hutch wrote:
Swamp?

Not really..just mosquitoes kill us when we go outside

It’s pretty common issue in summer

something that i do not miss of the DC area in the least are the bugs.  our backyard was intolerable for most of the summer, you'd be eaten alive in under a minute unless it was noon (in which case it's too hot to be outside).  no point in spraying if the neighbors aren't also doing it.  frustrating that it would be a beautiful evening, perfect for having dinner on the patio… except that any attempts at eating outside would result in me becoming the meal.

we have no bugs here*.  none.

* we of course have insects, but none that bite or harass you

I thought those killer hornets were up there?

somewhat related…mortgage rates!

saw 2.85% on a 30yr fixed refi with no points!
that is as low as that's ever been and I thought I was the king of cool with my 3.65% refi last year

with rates this low, you could refi, cover closing costs, take out 10K and still have a lower monthly payment*

*ok I know how this works, yes you now have a longer term and bigger loan.  But if you are paying less per month and have cash in hand, seems like a win-win to me.

Hatchy wrote:
somewhat related…mortgage rates!

saw 2.85% on a 30yr fixed refi with no points!
that is as low as that's ever been and I thought I was the king of cool with my 3.65% refi last year

with rates this low, you could refi, cover closing costs, take out 10K and still have a lower monthly payment*

*ok I know how this works, yes you now have a longer term and bigger loan.  But if you are paying less per month and have cash in hand, seems like a win-win to me.

I want to say that we refinanced and got a 15 yr at about that rate a few years ago. Is that possible? I should keep better track of these things.

I read rates are low but banks aren’t granting mortgages without very very stringent requirements…

May differ with refis

Space wrote:
I want to say that we refinanced and got a 15 yr at about that rate a few years ago. Is that possible? I should keep better track of these things.

Nope…15yr rates are almost always lower
but few people can afford them, even if they are lower rates (as it's nearly double the monthly payment)
It's a far better loan on paper, but if it's too much to pay monthly, it's a deal-breaker for most to get a home
I mean the best deal is to pay for the home in cash and not pay any interest (that is the most depressing moment when you look and see that over the life of the loan, you will pay MORE in interest than the loan its self)

Used to be easier to swallow with the interest deduction…but with the new standard 16k deduction for families (while a good thing) that basically make it so most don't get to deduct your interest income anymore

hutch wrote:
I read rates are low but banks aren’t granting mortgages without very very stringent requirements…

May differ with refis

It is much harder to get a loan since 2008….much harder
forget about a good rate if you don't have STELLAR credit
You used to be able to get 'no doc' loans…talk about a recipe for disaster…part of the reason financial crisis
It should be somewhat hard to get a big loan

man…the amount of paperwork and documentation required is monumental now (compared to pre 2008)
some of the downpayment was a gift from a relative and the amount of work the 'gifter' had to do was insane
for each loan…a small forest is destroyed to provide the paperwork

hutch wrote:
I thought those killer hornets were up there?

true, 2 spots in the state have have murder hornet sightings, neither in my county.  based on what i've read, they won't bug you if you're just chilling on your patio (unlike mosquitoes).  people get attacked when they step on the hornet's nest, which they build on the ground.  so i'm happy to trade the very real threat of DC swamp bugs for the theoretical risk of murder hornets.

Mortgage rates really have to go down to be worth a refi

Cause there is a cost to a refi

Most of us that bought in last few years are already fairly low

No I read banks are clamping down mortgages now due to covid

hutch wrote:
Mortgage rates really have to go down to be worth a refi

Cause there is a cost to a refi

Most of us that bought in last few years are already fairly low

Of course there is a cost

The VA transfer tax is the bitch

But depending on how you do it .75 % is about $200 less a month in my case
About $25 a month covers closing costs
Or you could keep payments exactly the same and cash out $40k tax free.

Again you do have a bigger loan and a longer term.  But if your monthly payment stays the same
I think that is pretty good
But you need to understand the math
There are calculators out there to figure this all out

sounds like you are refinancing!

Keep us posted!