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Author Topic: might be buying a house  (Read 74050 times)

Offline rrocket

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #40 on: March 17, 2016, 06:55:32 pm »
Quote from: Vmango on March 17, 2016, 06:52:31 pm
Quote from: rrocket on March 17, 2016, 06:48:55 pm
Quote from: Vmango on March 17, 2016, 06:44:07 pm


Your friends are cheap and buy from shitty builders. You get what you pay for when you shop for lowest $$$ per square foot. There were shitty builders in the past and there are shitty builders now. You get what you pay for.



My dad is not cheap.  And built with one of the best, award winning builders in the area.  And he had some issues.  Nothing your head would explode over.  And they were fixed of course.  But still had some issues.



It's construction - not building satellites. There are going to be errors. The key is fixing them.

Exactly.  That's why I said it has little to do with "shitty builders".  All builders have issues.  And even the best ones sometimes take longer to fix the issues than a new homeowner would like.

House builders are not much different from car salesmen.   :stick:
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Offline KD

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #41 on: March 17, 2016, 06:57:29 pm »
Most new houses around here are 200A, but there is no ng here, so more of a draw on electricity as a result in most cases.  My house is 2800 sq ft including finished basement and it had a 100A entrance when we bought it, but i had it upgraded to 200A when i put in the man-cave.  I put in a pony panel instead of a new main breaker panel to save money.  I also put in in-line surge suppressor at the time as they are relatively cheap and that's the time to have it done. 

Anyway, check out the 400A entrance at my buddy's 2 year old cottage.... :rofl:

« Last Edit: March 17, 2016, 07:00:43 pm by KDS2K »
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Offline johngenx

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #42 on: March 17, 2016, 07:02:19 pm »
There is no shortage of crap builders in Alberta.  The boom/bust cycle here means trades can be in super-short supply - so houses are put up by stoners that barely found their way to the job site, much less did a quality job.  Then they slap some granite and other finishes on it and it's "premium" construction.  Buy a house built during a boom period and you better go though it very, very carefully.

A close friend of mine is the CEO of a residential/commercial construction company.  They bought out a project from another builder that overextended and had to walk away.  He knew he was buying garbage, so that was factored into the deal with the bank - I went to see some of the houses - so much not even close to code.  Not that it was "low end" it was unsafe.
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Offline mmret

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #43 on: March 17, 2016, 07:05:07 pm »
Many thanks all.

Quote from: HeliDriver on March 17, 2016, 05:53:39 pm
Speaking of which, I thought OP is an electrical engineer...

Mostly did information theory / signal processing / semiconductor physics / microelectronics. Applied math basically. Not power stuff.

Quote from: Vmango on March 17, 2016, 06:44:07 pm
MMRET, for A/C I would recommend the Lennox Elite Series XC14.

Disapointed I didn't get a PM with questions. I must have offended you.  :)

Not at all! This has been a sudden whirlwind and I wasn't sure how long you'd take to respond ;) I will PM you details.


Also, builder got back to me and they say the CAC will be included at their cost. I will inquire about SEER and cost to upgrade to higher rating.

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Offline wing

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might be buying a house
« Reply #44 on: March 17, 2016, 07:29:02 pm »
200 amp and full panel
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Offline KD

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #45 on: March 17, 2016, 07:39:43 pm »
^ Nasty wiring job.... :P

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Offline HeliDriver

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might be buying a house
« Reply #46 on: March 17, 2016, 07:52:29 pm »
Quote from: KDS2K on March 17, 2016, 07:39:43 pm
^ Nasty wiring job.... :P

What's it supposed to look like?

I remember that ours looked like a bit of a rat's nest, but then they covered it up.  :-\ And it still bugs me that the electrician had lousy hand writing and used four different colours of pen to make the labels.  :P

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Offline johngenx

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #47 on: March 17, 2016, 07:52:46 pm »
Many of us Albertans use gas for heating/hot-water/etc/etc.  My inlaws in BC have electrical heating, hot water, AC, and on and on.  I think their 200A panel is about maxed out.
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Offline bridgecity

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #48 on: March 17, 2016, 07:55:28 pm »
We need a "show me your electrical panel" thread.
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Offline rrocket

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #49 on: March 17, 2016, 07:59:49 pm »
Quote from: bridgecity on March 17, 2016, 07:55:28 pm
We need a "show me your electrical panel" thread.

I had to put a special, separate, panel box in for that sauna heater.  And when it shuts off, you see blue sparks.  Electrician said to keep the panel door closed for that reason.   :rofl2:
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Offline KD

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #50 on: March 17, 2016, 08:00:57 pm »
Quote from: HeliDriver on March 17, 2016, 07:52:29 pm
Quote from: KDS2K on March 17, 2016, 07:39:43 pm
^ Nasty wiring job.... :P

What's it supposed to look like?

I remember that ours looked like a bit of a rat's nest, but then they covered it up.  :-\ And it still bugs me that the electrician had lousy hand writing and used four different colours of pen to make the labels.  :P

Well, it should look neat for one thing and the labeling should be legible.  When i see something like that i wonder how well, or more likely how half-assed they terminated everything.  The guy who did mine was no neat freak either and i had to tell him to redo a few things and i wouldn't recommend him to anyone.  I'm pretty anal when it comes to neatness.  It shows a pride in workmanship if nothing else.   :D

Anyway, if i ever build new i will hire the guy that did my buddy's cottage, who is also a friend of mine now.   :)

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Offline HeliDriver

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #51 on: March 17, 2016, 08:01:52 pm »
Quote from: bridgecity on March 17, 2016, 07:55:28 pm
We need a "show me your electrical panel" thread.

It's kinda funny, isn't it?  :rofl2:

So far I've only shown two of mine. I still have a third panel to show, but am waiting for the proper moment to get maximum effect.  :D
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Offline mmret

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #52 on: March 17, 2016, 08:03:13 pm »
Quote from: KDS2K on March 17, 2016, 08:00:57 pm
Anyway, if i ever build new i will hire the guy that did my buddy's cottage, who is also a friend of mine now.   :)

My OCD'ness is pleased by this picture.
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Offline Hannibalsmith

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #53 on: March 17, 2016, 08:04:28 pm »
KDS2K, that is one neat panel!
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Offline HeliDriver

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #54 on: March 17, 2016, 08:04:46 pm »
Quote from: KDS2K on March 17, 2016, 08:00:57 pm
Quote from: HeliDriver on March 17, 2016, 07:52:29 pm
Quote from: KDS2K on March 17, 2016, 07:39:43 pm
^ Nasty wiring job.... :P

What's it supposed to look like?

I remember that ours looked like a bit of a rat's nest, but then they covered it up.  :-\ And it still bugs me that the electrician had lousy hand writing and used four different colours of pen to make the labels.  :P

Well, it should look neat for one thing and the labeling should be legible.  When i see something like that i wonder how well, or more likely how half-assed they terminated everything.  The guy who did mine was no neat freak either and i had to tell him to redo a few things and i wouldn't recommend him to anyone.  I'm pretty anal when it comes to neatness.  It shows a pride in workmanship if nothing else.   :D

Anyway, if i ever build new i will hire the guy that did my buddy's cottage, who is also a friend of mine now.   :)

Yes, that is pretty awesome! But it looks like he had lots of space to work with, which has to make things easier.
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Offline rrocket

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #55 on: March 17, 2016, 08:07:35 pm »
Quote from: mmret on March 17, 2016, 08:03:13 pm
Quote from: KDS2K on March 17, 2016, 08:00:57 pm
Anyway, if i ever build new i will hire the guy that did my buddy's cottage, who is also a friend of mine now.   :)

My OCD'ness is pleased by this picture.

I'm pretty sure the electricity doesn't work any better though.   ;D
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Offline tpl

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #56 on: March 17, 2016, 08:07:48 pm »
^^^^  I wish mine looked like that.     But I don't have that expanse of wall in the furnace/water heater/electrical room   and there was existing wiring.
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Offline rrocket

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #57 on: March 17, 2016, 08:11:01 pm »
This thread has a huge potential for awesomeness...especially if MMrets new house has a squeaky floor!!   ;D
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Offline tpl

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #58 on: March 17, 2016, 08:12:18 pm »
^^^ yes it does indeed.    :o  ;D    Or a ticking from the ductwork as it heats or cools.
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Offline rrocket

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Re: might be buying a house
« Reply #59 on: March 17, 2016, 08:14:42 pm »
Quote from: tpl on March 17, 2016, 08:12:18 pm
^^^ yes it does indeed.    :o  ;D    Or a ticking from the ductwork as it heats or cools.

OMG...yea!   :rofl:

If he thinks a car has the potential to drive him bananas.....wait until he owns a house! 
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