4 Ways American Homes Are an Absolute Nightmare

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Six months in, I've loved living in my first American house. But sometimes, it can be a major pain in the arse. Here are four ways in which this is true.
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[@EvaHoffmann153]

Southern California's housing market has experienced an unprecedented surge over the past 7-8 years. I've witnessed staggering price jumps, with tiny, poorly constructed 950 sqft homes in mediocre neighborhoods skyrocketing from $130K in 2015 to $590K. Similarly, average-sized homes in nicer neighborhoods have more than doubled in value, selling for $750K+ compared to $300K+ a decade ago. The rapid appreciation is astonishing, especially considering the quality and location of these properties.

[@henryallard245]

Home prices will inevitably drop, but don't wait - act now. Extract as much value as possible from the housing market and reallocate to financial markets or gold. The combination of skyrocketing mortgage rates, an impending recession, and stricter mortgage guidelines will drive prices down 40-50% before the market stabilizes.

[@AshleySommerset808]

Exactly! With guidance from an investment coach, I successfully diversified my $450K portfolio across asset classes, generating an impressive $830K in net profits through a strategic mix of high-dividend stocks, ETFs, and bonds.

[@AshleySommerset808]

This is precisely why I like having an asset manager look over my day-to-day market decisions: with their extensive knowledge of going long and short at the same time, using risk for its asymmetrical upside and laying it off as a hedge against the inevitable downward turns, their skillset makes it nearly impossible for them to underperform. I've been utilizing a manager for more than two years, and I've made over 85% of my initial amount.

[@MarshalWagner457]

Mind if I ask you to recommend this particular coach you using their service?

[@AshleySommerset808]

Rebecca Noblett Roberts, is respected in her field. I suggest delving deeper into her credentials, as she possesses experience and serves as a valuable resource

[@psubond]

One thing you quickly learn as a homeowner: if something breaks you either fix it or you find out that there is no one to call that doesnt cost a lot of money.

[@greggi47]

You also marvel at the way emergencies requiring expertise beyond what you can Google laways occur on weekends and/or national holidays.

[@mrbob4u495]

Just spent $3K over the past several months getting my AC and Sprinkler system up to snuff.

[@chrismiller5198]

As my dad always said, "A man's home is his hassle".

[@deaniej2766]

Amen, brother, amen!

[@cmikesmith664]

The scary thing is when mold is growing inside your central air conditioner, and you get mold toxicity and neurological and respiratory issues. Yet you can’t see inside the plenum or duct, and the HVAC technicians have your life in their hands. True story here in America.

[@TheFilwud]

As a homeowner of an old Scottish home, which is probably nearly as old as the U.S. I am well acquainted with the joys of rainfall ingress. There have been times during heavy rain where I had up to 6 buckets deployed on drip catching duty. I have just spent a couple of weeks surrounded by scaffolding, I have a brand new roof on my ancient pile. Not a drop of water has ingressed, but then again there hasn't been a drop of rain, inside or out. So my roof seems to be very effective as it has stopped the rain for the whole of Scotland!

[@wolfe6220]

😂

[@bansheedearg]

Our attic is peppered with buckets. Aluminum shingle from the 1940s. I was supposed to last _forever_ :.(

[@corinnem.239]

​@@bansheedearg😂 Nothing lasts forever,

[@MissingRaptor]

OMGS, this comment made me laugh waaaay too hard 😂😂😂😂😂😂👍

[@josiecroix]

I'd say thank you for your service, but I am neither a Scot nor do I hate rain. In fact, quite the opposite, I love the rain. But if I were a Scot who happened to hate or dislike the rain, I would thank you for your service of installing an anti-rain roof.

[@aecirohawke2796]

Discarded drain pipe, you are the best. You are managing to improve this man's situation, specifically regarding the distribution of water away from his basement. You are the example of what a drain pipe should be You're not discarded to me.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

That discarded section of drain pipe is the hero we need AND the hero we deserve! I find it funny that it is set up with two downspout diverters being used to give it a proper slope.

[@MichaelAlderete]

Thank you random drain piece.

[@pandawaaluminium]

Salam kenal saudaraku🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩

[@nosch43]

he literally placed it atop of two water diverters that were facing the wrong way...

[@lilolmecj]

Discarded drain pipe, you are superior to that vapid rain diverter, is too flat to do an adequate job during a heavy downpour. You are the best .

[@DemonicNightmare]

Thank you, discarded piece of drainpipe, for assisting in preventing the house slowly turning into a swimming pool. You are truly doing a service and providing peace of mind while a permanent solution is in the works.

[@hansoak3664]

Indeed. Three cheers for discarded drain pipe. 🙂

[@andrewvelonis5940]

It isn't discarded, it's been put there on purpose.

[@SongOfEire]

Lawrence, Might you ever choose to discuss the prevalence of crooked teeth in British people, or is that a forbidden subject? This has been true long enough that I dont think it’s probable that it can be blamed on the NHS, although I do wonder if they include orthodontia in their health coverage. I had braces as a child, as did one of my four children, so I’m not holding myself up as a paragon of perfection, teeth-wise. But it does seem a common occurrence among Brits.

[@jackiebuchanan3024]

One time, I walked into our family room and found a huge swarm of ladybugs on the ceiling in a corner. Hundreds of them. They had apparently come in through (to me) invisible cracks around our sliding glass door. It was like they were having a convention. But what to do? If I sprayed them or smashed them, the ceiling would have to be repainted. And it was evening--there was no way I would be able to get a ladybug removal expert out to my house in the country that night. If there even is such a person. So I gave up and went to bed. The next morning I got up to check on my little visitors and found them all moving together across the ceiling towards the sliding glass door. I knew a victory when I saw it, so I opened the door wide and they all left.

[@samanthab1923]

Lady Bugs are good luck. Never kill one.

[@TheSouthIsHot]

Ohmygosh, you actually THOUGHT ABOUT spraying or smashing Ladybugs?😲 They are beneficial insects. Not to mention adorable.

[@demikus]

@@TheSouthIsHot if it was a swarm it is likely they were not Ladybugs, but probably Asian Beatles which are actually a nuisance, sure they will prey on some other insects, but for the most part they just damage your property. For the OP look at your ceiling if it has a yellowing discoloration you had asian beetles and you should get an exterminator to treat your house/yard to get rid of potential eggs.

[@CommodoreFan64]

@@samanthab1923 maybe but the "ladybugs" we get in the south really are not ladybugs, but a Japanese beetle hybrid experiment by the US government, and Clemson University from the late 50's that was meant to help pollination of crops, but they have been nothing but a nuisance over the decades, and they stink when they land on your skin like a stink bug, so I say the hell with them!!

[@BillPeschel]

Leaving behind mini beer bottles and bongs, no doubt.

[@TheDriedfrogpills]

As someone who lived in a house where the basement was always at risk of flooding despite our sump pump, shout out to the discarded piece of drain pipe for doing the best it can

[@jmt8706official]

That drain pipe is the unsung hero.

[@adde9506]

If you have a sump pump, make sure you have a sump pump endorsement on you insurance. It's the only way to have flood damage paid for on a normal policy.

[@RaspberryLemonade101]

Same

[@ItsmeAndrew123]

Thank you discarded drain pipe 👀🤣

[@atomicbuttocks]

evryobody gangsta till the spare pipe starts suckin

[@stefaninafla]

Even more weird is that clotheslines used to be standard in the US, so these bans are a pretty recent thing, I've never lived in a place that tried to ban them. Of course, trying to get your clothes out & dried with no bird poop on them before it rains was always fun...

[@uigrad]

I'm sure clotheslines are still used in arid parts of the country, but for the midwest and east coast, they never really worked well because of the humidity. Once dryers became ubiquitous, people stopped using clothes lines.

[@rogerandjoan4329]

@@uigradmy mom used a clothesline in upstate NY in the early 70s.

[@charlesperez9976]

Many years ago,whilst in Australia,I used a clothesline for the first time. One of the soon to be dry garments was a pair of boxer underwear,that hat a Tartan pattern on it. The next morning that single item was gone. A few hours later,I noticed a Scottish backpacker who suspiciously no longer made eye contact with me. True story.

[@GelatinCoffee]

I don't blame him, I imagine keeping your undergarments clean is difficult to do traveling in a kiln 😂🙃

[@goranmiljus2664]

@@GelatinCoffee Was the Scott traveling in a kiln or kilt

[@wendymuir7818]

(Giggle)

[@jk_22]

@@lurch789my thought exactly

[@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131]

Well, at least you didn't 🐾 find fruit bats or possums in your tartan boxers....🦇 Also. You might have asked wich clan the backpacker hailed from ! 🩳 🧑‍🦰👣 😆

[@hieronymusbutts7349]

"Completely and utterly a little bit harder" - what an absolute magnificent brainscrew of a phrase. As if you tried to go all in on the enthusiasm like an American, and then remembered at the last second to understate your case like a proper Brit.

[@wordkyle]

A phrase that will strike terror into the heart of any homeowner -- "property taxes". Your home can be paid off, and the government can take it away if you don't pay your taxes.

[@nashvegasmgt]

And it’s crazy how much that varies from state to state. Texas property taxes about killed me.

[@JamesGriffinT]

Around us there's a pretty strong correlation between places that are nice to live and property tax rates. No one wants to pay higher taxes but they all choose to move to places with higher taxes!

[@Starscreamious]

At least as of a couple weeks ago they have to pay you the money from the auction (minus what you owed).

[@mikebarnes2294]

The UK has council tax - which is levied on the occupier of a property, so if you rent in the UK YOU get the tax bill and not your landlord.

[@JamesGriffinT]

@@mikebarnes2294 Yep, not a property tax and one of the reasons that UK house prices are so out of control.

[@erinmurray6957]

Lived in an HOA townhouse community for 3 years and am SO glad I'm out. Fines for grass being an inch too high, fines for not using the correct paint on my doorframe, not being allowed to grow anything that isn't a shrub, no clothesline, no outdoor furniture without approval, no changes to your home's interior or exterior without approval (including remodeling the unfinished bathroom), no more than 2 pets per household (my neighbor was told to give up her dog by the HOA since she and her husband already had a dog and a cat or receive heavy monthly fines), no yard signs, no growing your own herbs or vegetables because it's considered "farming", the list goes on... I have a new house with my husband, 2 cats and a dog, a tomato and herb garden and we've remodeling our basement. We couldn't be happier.

[@randomphantom3976]

An HOA is what happens when you give Karens legal power.

[@Ellie-cq2wt]

I will never live in a HOA for that reason. I will do with my house and yard as I please for the most part.

[@heindaddel2531]

Germany here: These (ridiculous) HOA rules are only used in allotment gardens where you are not allowed to live permanently. In normal neighbourhoods HOAs would have a bitter taste of a control authority of the infamous Nazi regime. HOAs are the perfect hotbeds for annoying Karens 😂

[@toomdog]

Lawrence: If you didn't already see it somewhere else, you also need to clean the fins in the outdoor unit with the big fan. Just take a hose and spray them off until they are clean. Just as your restricted airflow caused the lines to freeze, if the fins are caked with dirt, the condenser will not be able to get rid of the heat it pulled out of your house. If you want to spray from the inside of the unit, disconnect the power on the wall first.

[@Montgomerygolfgator]

I would recommend the use of a power washer with a fan spray attachment, once you've moved aside the top/fan. Lawrence will need (badly want) a power washer anyway, and electric one works well for this, and it will blow the dirt out from the fins instead of into the center of the fins. Or just get a professional to do it, not a bad thing to consider when it probability needs a service anyway. A/C systems can freeze up due to low Freon levels too, but only someone with a gauge set can check those levels.

[@ferinzz]

@@Montgomerygolfgator been a while since I worked in apartment,s but I think checking the levels is possible without a license, but buying and filling the coolant is not. I'm a bit scared the find out how much those suckers cost now... Was over 200 for certain collants nearly 10 years ago. Gotta be careful about the washer though. you don't need a power washer to clean the fins, and pressure that's too high will bend/damage them, so best to just use a normal hose.

[@YellowBrickRoadBlog]

One of the best things we did was to set up automatic maintenance appointments for our heating and cooling. Professionals come in twice a year to clean everything out and make sure it's ready for the season. If something does go wrong unexpectedly, we're at the top of the list for repairs because we have a contract with them. It's nice to have one less thing to worry about.

[@isthisoneunavailable]

@@Montgomerygolfgator no. Just no. You'll bend the fins. Nobody listen to this dude. Use a regular hose.

[@ram0166]

It might be full of that cottonwood crap.

[@sugarplum5824]

You can't survive in the American South without air conditioning. You're spot on about those nasty HOA's, though. It's like a whole neighborhood full of Karens intent on ruining any chance of happiness for those around them.

[@CommodoreFan64]

Yep in the deep south it's dangerous to not have AC, and even with AC, and good house insulation we have our fans running a good chunk of the year because of the humidity that can make 80 feel like 90+ some days, and I've even seen days where it was 100+ where it feels like 121, and we get heat stroke warnings. Also far as HOA's I'm glad I live in a small somewhat rural town, where HOAs have never been a thing, and no one here would ever want one, in my neighborhood we all just do our best to keep our homes, and yards looking the best we physically can, and if someone needs help with something we pitch in, and do what we can to help out. screw HOAs!!

[@mlmmt]

@@CommodoreFan64 Meanwhile over here in California, the Humidity tops out at 30% most days, but in exchange you get temps up to about 112 each year...

[@sixoffcenter80]

Yeah I was a bit taken aback when he described 75 degrees as uncomfortably hot. That's what I cool my house down to at night so I can get to sleep, and I keep it a few degrees higher during the day so my energy bill doesn't get too crazy.

[@superman9772]

i can attest to the HOAs... i was the president of the HOA board (272 homes, 2 pools, and clubhouse plus the roads) the rules are crazy.... i had a member harassing another member over their cat... she said the neighbor's cat was "stalking" her kids... yep, had to deal with the most insane issues ... now i live in the middle of nowhere USA, in a "hollar" out past the last briar patch and love it

[@jlpack62]

@@CommodoreFan64 I spent an entire Summer in Florida without AC. I have no idea how I got through it.

[@tinag5867]

Hi Lawrence, I enjoy your channel and the humor you add with it. A major caution about the coyotes is that they will attack and eat pets, especially cats. As for dogs, they’re very crafty in that they first try luring the dog away with playing, then will attack and eat the dog once it’s lured away from the yard. The best thing is to keep your pets in at night and if your dog needs to go out at night, go outside with them to keep watch over them. And avoid letting your cat out at night. Best regards.

[@SheilaRough]

We don’t have a HOA in our neighborhood, we have a Karen. She’s backyard neighbors with my next door neighbor. She once called the city to complain about the gazebo next door neighbor was building in her backyard, so neighbor could sit outside, drink her coffee & watch her dogs play. The Karen said it obstructed her view. Her view of what you might ask? Her view of the back of neighbor’s house.

[@veramae4098]

Oh, that's a really lovely story!!

[@julie.1081]

Makes me wonder if the problem wasn't looking at the gazebo but which window into their home she could no longer peep into.

[@SheilaRough]

Neighbor Karen since planted tall hedges across the backyard. She's always been this way. Even when her daughter & I were kids , acting like her poo doesn't stink.

[@tibzig1]

HOAs are a uniquely American creation. It is strange how one society gives you a great deal of freedom in one area and restricts it in another area. In most non-Western countries in the world, they may have what are called "neighborhood societies" which serve somewhat the same function as HOAs but have NO enforcement powers. If you own your home, nobody can tell you what color to paint it, how big your lawn can be, what decorations you can use outside, lights and so forth. Also, nobody can file "liens" against your property. This concept simply does not exist. I once saw a story back in the 1990s in Texas where an elderly widow had her house taken from her by the HOA because she failed to check her mail for some violations of the deed restrictions. She had the beginnings of Alzheimer's and did not check her mail anymore. The HOA sent her several notices and since she never complied, they filed a lien against the home and eventually took it from her. The story broke in the media, and I don't recall how it was resolved. What a nightmare! For all the freedoms Americans have, this sounds rather weird that an HOA can legally take away someone's home. And yet, while most countries prohibit civilian ownership of firearms, the US is in the opposite direction in this area. Go figure.

[@julie.1081]

@@tibzig1 You may be interested in some of the videos where HOAs have practically stolen people's houses. One military guy was getting deployed. (Afghanistan I think). Before he left, he informed the HOA, USPS, & all the people who should know. He arranged for yard care. He even asked neighbors to park in his driveway once in awhile. Sometime after he deployed, the HOA President & VP decided to say that he had abandoned the house & put liens against it by posting notices on his door. I think they claimed it was for overdue HOA fees. Some how, they got it pushed through court real fast, the HOA was given ownership & they sold the house to the sister of the HOA President for about 25% of the real value & she moved in. The soldier comes home & SURPRISE! Except.....his HOA fees were paid by automatic deductions. The house & lawn had never fallen into to disrepair & in the state he lived in, there was some sort of law or clause about when a soldier is deployed, no one can take the house by liens. Not only did he get his house back, the HOA was made bankrupt by the settlement, it had to be disbanded & the HOA President & her VP both lost their homes from the civil suit. All the neighbors had a huge block party & thanked him for getting the 2 wicked witches out of their neighborhood & private lives.

[@mikefochtman7164]

Drainage away from your foundation is always a key thing in my book. You'd be surprised what a difference just modest extension, leading rainwater just 4 or 5 feet from the house can make. Also, a frozen up AC coil can also be a sign of a low refridgerant charge. But pick your servicer carefully. One may charge you just a hundred dollars or so for a service and top off the charge, while another will try to sell you a $10,000 complete system replacement for the same problem.

[@chrishebert5672]

Down south in Texas, we direct water TO our foundations (concrete slab). Some homes have foundation watering systems. No basements here. We need to keep the foundation evenly moist to prevent sinking.

[@Beanzoboy]

Unfortunately, my 24 year old A/C uses Freon that you can't get anymore, so I can't get it topped off. Gotta replace it.

[@chrishebert5672]

@@Beanzoboy You should never have to "top off" refrigerant. If it gets low, then there's a leak that should be fixed.

[@vdeserisy]

Cvc

[@Beanzoboy]

@@chrishebert5672 I'm well aware of that, but it's a *lot* cheaper than 12k to replace the whole set.

[@samuelmcclellan8625]

A good example of how America is different, all over the country. You said about clothes lines not being common, here. I live in Pennsylvania, near the Maryland line. Clothes lines are INCREDIBLY common, all across both states, and into the Virginia's, up into New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Ohio. Plus, we have lots of Amish communities. They use clothes lines, even in the middle of winter. So yeah, that one was odd to hear for somebody over on the east coast. Very common thing.

[@karenk2409]

Urban vs rural maybe?

[@fidelogos7098]

HOAs have been the bane of my homeowning existence. Usually they are run by neighbors who may have a slight control issue. In a neighborhood where all the townhomes are exactly alike, the HOA has jurisdiction over what color you paint your door, if you can add shrubbery in your front yard, the height of your grass, where you store your garbage can, how long a car can be parked on the street in front of your house. Big Brother is watching.

[@kellyb6198]

The fact that HOAs exist still baffles me, our HOA fee is $305 and they don't do a goddamn thing. They aren't breathing down people's necks which is nice except we pay $305 for literally NOTHING, they don't take care of the parkways or the parks. Nothing, it's bull.

[@XSemperIdem5]

Let's just call it like it is, it's mostly Karens running HOAs. A lot of times it's basically paying the bully to bully you on your own property.

[@wendeln92]

The neighborhod I've been living in since 2007 wanted to start a HOA and I shot it down right away. It had to be 100% all the homeowners and the street wasn't even filled yet, maybe 1/2 the houses were built. I experienced a HOA and swore no one would ever have the power to tell me what i can and can't do on my own property especially when school and property taxes are about $8,000 +/year.

[@danielled8665]

America: home of the Free. Unless you want to dry your clothes or paint your house purple or grow some dandilions for the bees. Or strike without being legally mandated back to work or have a legal pet boa or go to school without worrying about being shot or go to school as a girl and have bare shoulders because its hot out or end a dangerous pregnancy or in some states dress differently than your assigned gender, or get lifesaving medicine at the reasonable cost the rest of the world pays or be paid a decent fair wage for your work... the list goes on. Land of the free my ass.

[@andreabradley5837]

Never, ever buy in an HOA.

[@tiffanyspliff9623]

Just had a bee keeper open up my garage celling and pulled out a 5 gallon bucket of bee hive and the accompanying bees. We noticed when there were about 100 bees flying in and out of the corner of our garage at any given time. It's a great sign because our area had a very mild winter and wet early spring, so the honey bees are thriving and hives are growing!

[@camillep3631]

YAY!! Protect the pollinators! Bees are fascinating

[@laurie7689]

My Dad used to do that as a hobby - bee keeping. His name was on a list for the cops or the fire department to call when there was a swarm. He'd collect the swarm and take them in the trunk of his car over to my uncle's place who would have several empty brood boxes waiting. My uncle had a bunch of acreage and also raised bees. We'd get honey from our own hives each year.

[@ToniHinton]

​@@laurie7689 For several years in the late spring my parents had a swarm of bees that would come and live on the tall brick pillar at the back of their house. They'd be there for days. I helped my dad get in touch with the local beekeeping society and someone was always happy to come out and collect them. The first year of COVID he couldn't get in touch with anyone and told me, "Those bees are making your mother nervous, so I think I'm going to spray them." I told him if he did, I'd come over there and spray him! He didn't know about the problems bees and other pollinators are having, once I explained he held off. The bees left after a few more days but they've never returned.

[@angelachouinard4581]

So nice to see someone happy about bees and passing on good news. They've been struggling. I wish everyone knew just how critical bees are to the food supply, maybe they'd get more help.

[@duckyday1099]

Thank you for having them removed and not exterminated.

[@Lauragraceabels]

Just curious. What area are you? Did you find the real estate transaction to be different from England? I know the commission laws are different. Love your content!

[@adamweah8037]

I’ve begun to notice all the American idioms I use and hear without realizing it. Check out the origin of the expression “to tie one on”

[@adamweah8037]

Hi Laura , Are you an Expert Advisor ? i just went through your channel.What are you into?

[@Lauragraceabels]

@@adamweah8037 Yes i am , My certifications are on google . you could read up by searching my name

[@floydchusset3143]

Economists and business leaders were voicing concerns at the start of 2023 that the year could be a difficult one. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said that the Federal Reserve may need to raise interest rates to 6% to fight inflation, higher than the peak level between 5% and 5.5% in 2023 that most Fed officials penciled in after their December meeting. Although I read an article of people that grossed profits up to $500k during this crash, what are the best stocks to buy/short now or put on a watchlist.

[@adamweah8037]

@@floydchusset3143 There are so many stocks and other assets to put on watchlist right now ,The market is in a favorable position at the moment

[@Jay_Scott_Raymond]

Good on you for avoiding the HOA nightmare. When I was house hunting "no HOA" was requirement 1. Nobody is telling me how often I need to mow my lawn carnsarn it. 🤠

[@j.heilig7239]

Try not *having* a lawn to mow. You’ll reduce your carbon footprint, you’ll do good for wildlife, it will be a lot prettier to look at, and it will be WAY less work.

[@Jay_Scott_Raymond]

@@j.heilig7239 Learn that not every joking comment needs to be part of your holy crusade. You are part of the problem.

[@marcelosantana9311]

I am in Florida and we have too many HOAs. The idea is good, but the lack of regulations can be a nightmare when you have an incompetent board of director or a mean one. Some are ok, but thing can turn sour overnight. It helps in some degree to keep an standard in the community but we have situation that it goes to far. Worse part is that unpaid dues can get you foreclosed. 😢

[@TheGreenGrower618]

Every town around me has ordinances that require you to keep your lawn cut or be fined and sent a large bill when they mow it for you.

[@Jay_Scott_Raymond]

@@TheGreenGrower618 I'm guessing ... New Jersey?

[@juliettedemaso7588]

My mom once lived in a townhouse whose HOA manager (sigh yes this exists) lived right next door, and they had such rules as 1 white backed curtains only, no dark or bold colors, no prints 2 only one car in the driveway lest you get a permit for a second one 3 the garage door has to be closed unless you’re getting in or out or doing some brief yard tending 4 guests may not park in the street overnight And on and on and on And how they loved issuing citations. Every “house” was beige. Or else. Gross. She doesn’t live there anymore.

[@frankmitchell3594]

Land of the free!?

[@avalerie4467]

I got yelled at by the hoa lady one morning. " Get your things inside - no personal items outside, per the rules". I had just started renting this condo, had read the bit about no outside furniture/grills/strollers/bicycles. Understood. However, I was drinking my coffee, gathering books and sorting papers to head to the library on my 3 × 5 little stoop between my front door and my car. I didn't say anything, just threw everything in the front seat and got organized in the car. Hoa managers have deep seeded control issues and i'm glad your mom got the heck out of there !! I will avoid hoas like the plague once I'm out of here.

[@HodgPodg5490]

@@frankmitchell3594 Not everywhere is HOA covered, you have the freedom to not buy into the association. I certainly will never buy into one

[@questioner1596]

While it shouldn't be a rule, I recommend the white backed curtains since each room can have its own colour inside but it looks uniform from the outside, where you don't see the room differentiation. It also lets the curtains do a better job insulating, great in winter and summer!

[@JJfromPhilly67]

All HOA properties are a no go for me. They seem to be run by what the English call: "Jumped up little Hitlers."

[@TL-is8pk]

Knowing someone who knows the right and good people is so key. The general contractor who did our reno is now our go-to guy whenever stuff needs repair that we cannot fix. Glass repair, plumbing, electrical--he knows the best people who won't rip you off.

[@angelachouinard4581]

As the owner of a former rental house you have my deepest sympathy. I also really appreciate the way you recount your adventures in housing. I do get a laugh. When I recount my issues I tend to sound like Gordon Ramsey with a particularly incompetent trainee.

[@kathy3178]

HOA's are a nightmare. My best friend's mom wanted to extend her driveway by 2 ft. They told her no, it would devalue her property. That was after the neighbors were calling the police because my best friend was parking on the road, because the driveway only had room for 1 car. The police came out and said it was perfectly legal to park there. Meanwhile, the same complaining neighbor extended theirs with no problem. A lot of times they are run my power hungry control freaks who love to make people's lives miserable.

[@DanDanDoe]

Do HOAs have regular meetings for the entire neighbourhood? Are they democratic in any way? In my country we don’t have them, except for apartment buildings. Those generally are only to organise maintenance for the building and its shared spaces.

[@tenhundredkills]

@@DanDanDoe It depends on the HOA. Mine for example has annual meetings for the entire neighborhood. Additionally, the board has meetings (that anyone can attend) on the 4th Thursday of every month. When there are positions open for new board members, anyone can volunteer and the entire neighborhood votes on the candidates.

[@tenhundredkills]

I suppose I'm lucky with my HOA. I live in a condo complex and there aren't that many restrictions. There are only a couple restrictions I find a little odd. 1. You can't have a flag/banner that's too large hanging on your patio/deck. I don't remember the exact restriction, but no one has said anything about my American flag, so I don't worry about it. Oddly enough, there are zero restrictions on hanging plants. Many of my neighbors have pants all over their decks. 2. You cannot work on your car, unless it's in your garage (assuming your unit came with one). The caveat is that you can work on your car in the open if it's for "an emergency". The rule doesn't specify what constitutes an "emergency" so people work on their cars anyway (myself included).

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

And a lot of HOAs won't let you replace your lawn with something more eco-friendly...

[@benitaw614]

Poor Laurence!!!! 75 degrees!!!! I live in Florida. WE CALL THAT WINTER!!!! :-)

[@rogerandjoan4329]

I caught that too. 75 isn’t uncomfortable. Most won’t even turn on the AC for that.

[@johnhammond6248]

Something i really reccomend looking into with you central AC system is getting an ultra violet light or ionizer installed in your furnace to protect your evaporator coil (inside box above furnace with the copper tubes going into it). That coil gets the humidity out of the air and is wet constantly and can grow mold and fungus in it, which can cause airflow restrictions and allergies. Putting a UV light overtop of that indoor coil will benefit your allergies and breathing issues if you have any and kill any mold and fungus that might be growing in it

[@heatherknopp3723]

Wow, cool idea! Thanks for sharing that! I do have allergies, and mold is one of them.

[@veramae4098]

Also, before adding AC, or even if you already have it, look into a good "whole house" fan. They install in the ceiling below the attic. I open my windows at night, turn on the fan for about 10 minutes, turn it off and the house is delightfully cool. In the morning close all the windows. If the heat's really extreme I might leave it on all night. Still cheaper than AC. I've got it down to using AC for usually only about 2 or 3 weeks each summer.

[@heatherknopp3723]

@@veramae4098 I grew up with a "whole-house" fan, we called it the attic fan. Works great, to a point. But it doesn't cut the humidity that makes it impossible to get comfortable at night.

[@vanhattfield8292]

Something to consider when installing a UV filter, especially if doing it yourself, is that UV light can cause damage to some air handler components and materials and is also a safety hazard, especially to the eyes, so caution is needed when installing and for use.

[@danapb]

LOL! The "bee" in "garage" = "garbage"! I don't know why but I couldn't stop laughing. Subscribed!

[@cmdreffietrinket]

I recently moved to the USA from the UK and have bought my first American home too. It is unusually old for America, having been built in 1871. It looks a little like the scary house in the movie, Psycho! Interestingly, the previous owner’s name was Bates!!! 🙀 Trying to get head around all of the machinery in the basement is a nightmare! Two furnaces/AC units, all manner of pipes and ducting and something very odd indeed, a water softener! That thing confuses the heck out of me and regularly decided to make the most horrendous noises at 3am, making us think that we accidentally locked a wounded Bear in the basement! Much fun!

[@biffmalibu3733]

It depends on your location. In Pennsylvania houses built in the 1800s are common.

[@amandagish5976]

Hard water sucks! It ruins all it touches, washing machines, hair, you name it.

[@janelleg597]

Believe me, you want the softener... Good luck

[@nopegaming2117]

Ahh, I love old house machinery, then again, I love to tinker and fix things, hehe.

[@amethystanne4586]

My goodness, that is a massive(!) furnace filter. Okay, this is related to your 1st and 3rd topics: Our AC did not work when DH tried it out in April (prior to the hot weather). We called our very good HVAC man. He came out, did his thing, and found that a wasp had built a nest inside the ductwork. He got rid of it, and the AC has been it’s hard-working self since then. for the temporary fix for water drainage diversion! HOA……. We live in very rural county in southcentral Kentucky with a total population of about 10,000. If I asked my coworkers about an HOA, their response would be “What is that?”

[@oceana9294]

Don't leave your pets outside at night, think of the coyotes. Thank goodness for Britbox, it helped me to remain sane thru the Pandemic, as did KZbin.

[@Gr3nadgr3gory]

You're right, I should protect the coyotes from my wolfdog.

[@marshmower]

True almost anywhere..... Is front porch hunting permitted? 😂

[@5stardave]

My 3 Great Pyrenees keep the coyotes away. I'm too old worry about cougars, they're more interested in the frat boys down the street.

[@jrgunn5]

Ah, yes. The joys of home ownership. Like when I bought my house and during the first heavy thunderstorm, my fireplace began to weep. Inconsolably. Sigh..

[@davenport7321]

My parents’ brick house had weep holes. During Hurricane Alicia, my dad was mopping up water coming in through the weep holes.

[@margarethutchison9552]

Many of us can relate!

[@CommodoreFan64]

I can relate as I inherited my grandparents place that was built in the mid 50's, and last year we had to have the fireplace resealed, and capped because of leaks, and man that was a pain in the wallet, now in the winter we put one of those electric radiant fireplace style heaters in the insert

[@crybebebunny]

​@Commodorefan64 lucky you inherited and still complaining 😂❣️👍🏼🚨💝

[@jarvindriftwood]

Yeah lots of homebuyers don't ask about a fireplace inspection. You don't want to light fires without one, in case there are cracked pipes or a squirrel's nest inside.

[@AuraMaster7]

I love him saying "75 degrees outside" as if thats some horribly hot temperature and not, like, normal a/c room temperature.

[@stargazer7644]

He keeps his AC set at about 65.

[@msjazzmeblues]

Good Lord, Laurence! 75 degrees is not hot! It's been 96 degrees already here in sunny Tennessee this year..Once long ago in the dark ages when I was a kid, we visited my father's brother just west of El Paso, Texas! It was so hot there (100+) that when we hung out all the baby diapers on the line, by the time we had hung up the last one the first one on the line was already dry! Yes, it was hot as Hades, AND the humidity was hovering around 1%. Now that's hot and dry!

[@mikespangler98]

My AC is set to 82. Of course I do live on a desert.

[@fidgetssailing4725]

As a homeowner with a house that has 5 hvacs - we started replacing most of the hvacs with mini splits - where you have a cassette(unit) in each room. It's not the prettiest - but so nice to keep each room the temp needed - plus it has some feature that if it's really humid it will dry that out. I live in an extremely humid state so that's a big plus.

[@nate6862]

Plus it's heatpump solution for when it's not extremely cold out.

[@TiredMomma]

5?!? How big is your house?! Even a 4 bed 2 story home only gets 1 unit.

[@tonypajamas610]

HVAC guy here. Minisplits are great for applications where you can’t fit ductwork into the structure. Beyond that, though, they’re a PITA to repair. Also get ready for another round of “your refrigerant has been banned by the EPA and you’ll need to replace this system soon.” because they’re already working on that.

[@dl7596]

Information for those not familiar with "mini-splits", like me: I googled it and saw a few entries that said things like this from a heating and cooling place in Wichita, KS: "Having mold in your ductless mini split unit is a disgusting problem, and unfortunately, a rather common one. Ductless Mini Split systems can be filled with dirt, debris, and mold if they are not properly maintained. Left ignored, the inside of your ductless mini split could become a home for mold and mildew. Feb 8, 2022"

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

​@@TiredMomma depends on who designs the system really. I've seen one house that had a mini split to pre-dry or warm, depending on season, the fresh air coming into a house, that was then through 3 separate units before entering the house. Those were not the only units. This house had 16 outdoor condensing sections, and 11 electrical panels I think. Maybe 12. And that's just what I can say about the house.

[@ddrowdy2]

Rule number 1 for buying a home. Never buy a home that is encumbered by an HOA or CC&R's, NEVER. I am glad you figured that out.

[@hiddentruth1982]

He came all the way to America to get sponsored by a British company.

[@thesquirrelherder]

He has come full circle.

[@shattered_helix]

This is the way.

[@Techlifeandmore]

LOL yeah.

[@shmataboro8634]

Yes, but he had to work his way back into Britain's good graces first 😉

[@acme_tnt8741]

.... that sells a British product in the US? Why wouldn't he?

[@suemccoy7533]

LOL, the clothes line was in every yard when I was a kid. I know it makes me OLD. My mom taught me the proper way to hand the sheets, the shirts, jeans etc. She had her rules for hanging our clothes for sure. Oh, first rule, take a damp cloth to wipe off the clothes line to make sure the clean clothes were hanging on a clean clothes line.

[@catherinesanchez1185]

You’re the first person I’ve ever seen being this up besides myself . Lol! Where i used to live the cloth line would collect all sorts of gunk

[@thomasnunya1438]

What were the other ones? I’d love to learn how to use it properly haha

[@engletinaknickerbocker5380]

Ah. The smell of line-dried sheets! I used to wash all my skirts and hang them out on the line in the back yard. I'm sure it was a hoot for the neighbors, but it was a quick process. The only problem is that I get dizzy looking up to clip the clothes and trip on tree roots.

[@mirandolina46]

Indeed, considering the number of birds that like to sit on the line. Here in Italy I don't have a garden, but clothes driers hanging on the balcony and I do wipe the line for the same reason.

[@Xxxxxx19-p1c]

How do you properly hang t-shirts on a clothesline?

[@emilywhite9899]

Many thanks to the misc. discarded piece of drain pipe! You have saved the day again as a temporary solution. Bravo!

[@nickwoolgar]

I'm from the UK, moved to the US this year and have just bought my own first American house in, wait for it, Illinois! So these homeowner videos are of great interest, keep up the good work!

[@Eric-xh9ee]

Illinois property taxes are very high. If you move to other states, your taxes will drop dramatically. Just something to consider. Also places like Iowa and Wisconsin have much lower crime rates and stronger economies so you'll be able to resell your house for more.

[@Xxxxxx19-p1c]

Again… why the communist state of Illinois?!?! Any place is better than Illinois, except California. Move to God’s country: Indiana. Then commute.

[@jaxxon98]

@@Eric-xh9ee Realtor?

[@Eric-xh9ee]

@@jaxxon98 are you asking if I'm a realtor? I've lived in the area my whole life. No, I'm not a realtor.

[@scheralgreider5406]

We bought some property and had a house put on it last year. The only problem so far is not having the green stuff on the ground called grass. We finally got around to seeding the lawn, then a wonderful drench of a rainstorm washed a lot of it into areas it needn't be. But, alas! The grass has started germinating! We still have some bare spots. Those will be dealt with this fall. Also, we are not in a HOA development! Yay!

[@Bay-BGhost]

I live in Florida and the lowest we set our air conditioning is 72, and people are always cold when they come in. When you said 75 outside and you were toasty, it made me lol.

[@avalerie4467]

72 !!! Yikes . I think my teeth chattered LOL I've lived in Florida for 60 years, the ac goes on only if it's in the mid 90s outside. Set to 80-82 inside. Less bothered by the heat outside that way. Growing up, we had fans, never a/c. However, i am a wimp come florida winter. When it drops to 50, i barely leave the house ! 😂

[@kimberlyx4060]

75 is a good spring day where we keep the windows open and Central Air off.

[@katiemiller8313]

I live in Ohio and I too was surprised at him saying 75 was too warm. My AC is usually set to 75. And AC doesn't go on until at least 80 outside.

[@pyewacketkitty8404]

I live in Oklahoma and our AC is set to 75 in the summer. It's hilarious he thinks that's toasty. I don't start feeling toasty until at least 78 inside!

[@alisaperry2902]

If you lost your AC on a 75 degree F day consider yourself very lucky. Normally the AC picks the hottest day of the year to roll over and die. Expect the furnace to die on the coldest day in January.

[@jeanjaz]

Growing up, my father only rented a few times, and only for short periods - he considered a purchased house an investment, where renting was like flushing money down the toilet. But then 4 of the houses we owned he sold for nearly double what he bought them for, so for all intents and purposes, we lived there for just the cost of the maintenance. My dad was raised on a farm where they always did their own fixing. The key is to know the working life of all your appliances and home systems. Buy your filters, light bulbs, and such in bulk. When you know your oven, water heaters, hvac, dishwasher, or other things are getting old, start looking for sales - like black Friday sales. Relaxing it before it fails, means you can usually sell the old appliance for at least a little bit instead of paying to have it disposed of. If you have an older house whose pipes aren't well insulated (and even if you've been told they are) make sure you let your faucets drip when the outside temp is below freezing. If your pipes freeze, this allows for the expansion and the pipes won't burst. My dad had the "maintenance schedule" in his head because he'd done it so long, but I have to have a calendar to keep track. Cleaning gutters twice a year, covering the outside faucets for winter, washng the outside of windows so they don't get mineral buildup, replacing critter traps in the attic and crawlspace, checking for termites, carpenter ants, and dry rot. In Texas, we had to water the foundation during prolonged hot dry spells because the ground would crack, and crack your foundation too. In the northwest, we'd pressure wash the roof to get the moss and tree debris off so it didn't rot the roof. I think a lot of problems are first time homeowners who have never experienced or been taught how to maintain a house so you are less likely to have disasters. It's very likely, these days, that when you buy a house, the previous owners didn't know how to maintain it. My dad looked for that neglect and usually brought the price of the house down by noting them. What didn't get fixed, he addressed after moving in. If you can't afford $100 - $200/ month on maintenance, you probably bought too much house for your budget. Whether you spend that or not, you should set it aside for the big jobs - painting, gutter replacement, appliance replacement, reroofing, re-flooring, etc.. Seems like my dad was good at choosing houses that needed some improvement, like a fence, or a couple trees, or finishing the basement, that added value to the property. He was REALLY good at planting a beautiful lawn. Ugh, I'm getting old and rambling with my reminiscence. 🙃

[@julie.1081]

@jeanjaz- Don't apologize. I found your post entertaining & informative. But it got me thinking that the best house warming present you could give to a first time home owner would be some good DIY books on home maintenance. There are so many things that need to be done that if you've never owned a home, it may not even occur to you.

[@jjones9395]

I actually enjoyed your rambling. In fact, I wouldn’t even call it rambling because every thing you said was on topic, informative, and well stated. Thanks much for sharing!

[@seitanbeatsyourmeat666]

Your dad was spot on… I try to tell my husband these things, that maintenance is required but he’s just shrugs so I point things out. Our fridge is getting old and I’m thinking it could go out any time so we should shop the sales for a new one and sell this one for 50. We’d get something for it, and the person buying it can invest some to fix it when it does die (it’s about 15 years old and a good brand). My husband just says to let it die… I’m like, what a waste Some men have no common sense 😅

[@abigailgerlach5443]

Our city actually puts out a recommended list of people who can fix a variety of issues about your home: plumbers, electricians, painters, plasterers, and many other service people. It's been a very helpful little booklet.

[@SeldimSeen1]

I was a homeowner for 16 years. Fortunately, I rarely had any interaction with my HOA except for them raising my dues. However, the home repairs were too high and the taxes kept going up. Since I live in Raleigh, NC I was able to sell my house last year at a 100% profit. I am now renting an apartment. Granted apartment rentals are extremely high but when you consider that I do not pay a mortgage, property tax or HOA dues, it comes out even. One really nice benefit is when the sink got clogged, maintance came out and fixed it without any extra cost to me. Anyway, enjoy your home. You've and your lovely wife have definitely earned it.

[@jimw7550]

The HOA in my suburb were set in 1964 and can only be changed by the state legislature. They have never been changed.

[@ericpeterson336]

Oh you're paying property taxes, it's just part of the exorbitant rent you're paying and no tax deduction either.

[@stargazer7644]

(Not) Thinking like this is what keeps people from getting ahead in life. You quite simply cannot save money long term by renting. How do you think your landlord is paying all those costs you're "saving" like repairs, taxes, and mortgage? He's paying them out of your rent, with some profit left over to go in his pocket. Landlords don't lose money renting their properties. They make money. How would that be possible if you could save money by renting?

[@McMillanScottish]

I haven’t been to England for 20 years, but I just think they remember enjoying the different architecture even from home to home. But a couple of things struck me as dumb. One being the presence of a hot water heater on the second floor of the house. I had relatives who were getting some work done outside and somebody bent the drain pipe to the hot water heater and their entire house filled up with water. Many thousands of dollars in damage.

[@ariste01]

Had to holler at the hubby for discussing money in front of the appliances. Back in March our furnace and our hot water heater both went within 24 hours of each other. Luckily tax return went in our bank account shortly after.

[@CaitRoufa]

There's a large urban population of coyotes in the Chicago area. They aren't much of a bother and don't like being around people, and can help with keeping populations of rabbits and other critters in check. The only thing you need to worry about with the coyotes is your puppy. Just make sure that you are outside with your pup when you let them outside to do their business, especially at night. Because coyotes can snatch up a small pet for super.

[@jenniferkozak447]

I do love how you showed a small wolf rather than a coyote😂 and just so you know any predator can be a problem for pets. My neighbors Chihuahua recently got picked up by an eagle and killed. Even after I repeatedly warned them. Not to mention I live in Florida and we have to worry about Gators climbing the fence

[@dvjolly19]

Those 2 green things sitting under the AMAZING discarded piece of drain pipe do the same thing as the discarded piece of drain pipe

[@derekporter7651]

It seems to me that the USA has not cottoned on to the concept of a soakaway! Why discharge a rainwater pipe so close to the building that the water finds its way into the basement? Connect the pipe to an underground drain and terminate it 5m from the building in a soakaway where the water will just permeate the ground harmlessly.

[@stargazer7644]

@@derekporter7651 Those don't work so good in clay soils.

[@scytaleghola5969]

When I lived in the UK, there were some homeowner surprises, as well... mostly related to plumbing. The first thing I noticed was that when I turn on a little hot water and a little cold water, in order to get a warm stream, I did not get a warm stream. I got an icy cold stream and a scalding hot stream coming out of the same faucet, yet still separate. It turns out this is by law. When I asked a friend how I was supposed to get warm water to wash my face, I was told, "That is what the basin is for." I said, "OK, I can live with that in my own home, where I can make sure the basin is clean. What about public toilets where people spit and probably piss in the sinks?" His reply was, "Thanks a lot. Now I can never wash my face in a public toilet again." One day, the hot water stopped working. Nothing would come out of most of the faucets, except one. I called a plumber. He looked at me kind of crosseyed and asked, "What? You've never experienced vapor lock before?" No. I hadn't. He showed me the trick to force cold water backwards into the hot water pipes. This is a trick that you couldn't do with a mixer faucet... but then I have never needed to with mixer faucets. The plumber was nice and did not charge me for teaching me this trick that every child in the UK already knows. One day, the water coming out of my faucets was brown. Very brown. I was about to call someone when my neighbor came by to warn me to not drink the water. Apparently, a construction crew had hit a water main and mud was getting into the system. She told me that they were fixing the system and that after it was fixed I would need to run the water until the water cleared. After the system was repaired, I opened all of my taps and let the water run... and run... and run... It did not seem to be getting better. I asked my neighbor if her water was clear and she said that it was. Then she told me about "the tank". In the UK: no water towers. Instead, everyone has their own reservoir in the attic to provide water pressure. So I went up to inspect the tank. There was about 3 inches of mud in the tank. My neighbor said that was not uncommon and that if I let the water continue to run, eventually the water would clear and the mud would just be a sediment in the tank... nothing to worry about. For me, this was unacceptable. I drained the tank. Then I removed the mud. Then I flushed the tank several times. My neighbor was stunned. First because she had never heard of anyone cleaning their tank and second from the huge pile of mud that I had removed from the tank - about 3 buckets full. She was also concerned about the smell of the mud - it was pretty foul. I learned later that several of my neighbors had their tanks cleaned over the next couple of weeks. On a related note. After I cleaned the tank and refilled it, the rafters of the house creaked for days from the restoration of the weight of the water. I kept half expecting the tank to come crashing through the ceiling at any moment.

[@alistair1978utube]

pretty fowl 🦆

[@scytaleghola5969]

@@TheMcspreader As near as I can tell the regulations concerning NRVs were introduced in 2014. The house I lived in was built in the mid 1980's and I lived there in the mid to late 1990's.

[@WildBikerBill]

"...she had never heard of anyone cleaning their tank...the smell of the mud - it was pretty foul....several of my neighbors had their tanks cleaned..." It sounds like word traveled fast and a bunch of people went from a state of 'ignorance is bliss' to a state of 'we are drinking poo and it has got to go!'. Question: How does one open one of these tanks to clean it?

[@scytaleghola5969]

@@WildBikerBill Mine was just an open tank in the attic. No lid, or anything. Crazy. I turmed off the feed valve, drained the tank through the plumbing, reached in with a makeshift shovel, and filled buckets. When most of the mud was gone, I turned the feed back on (still draining) and used a brush to scrub it down.

[@WildBikerBill]

@@scytaleghola5969'No lid, or anything' - Wow. I was imagining something like a standard American water heater and wondering how on earth do you get inside to clean it? But nothing at all - so any dust, dirt, or other filth blowing in the air, or bugs, or animals could leave almost anything behind. I think I would put some sort of rubber trim over the top edge, then a metal sheet across the top to at least semi-seal it from the environment.

[@VeretenoVids]

Not being in an HOA was our number one requirement when we started shopping for houses. And, yes, coyotes are thick in IL. On the one hand it's good for keeping the rodent and trash panda (raccoon) population down, on the other anything small to medium critter sized is at risk of becoming a coyote snack, so you have to be careful about pets and smaller livestock. (One recently tried to get one of my sister's kids--as in goats.)

[@scalylayde8751]

We have a house with older clay pipes- and recently discovered that tree roots are growing inside them, flooding our basement (which is half our living space) and causing a huge problem

[@radioflyer68911]

Ditto.

[@kitefan1]

Which clay pipes? The ones from the twenties which are supposed to drain waste water, either domestic or roof, away from the building.

[@user-ih6fd7py8n]

Yikes I'm sorry. I remember the same thing happened to my parents house when I was a teen. I remember the plumbing was out of order for quite a few weeks.

[@markisherwood-tj4uo]

for the roots.. go to a local rental place get a power sewer auger with a root cutter, find the main clean out, remove the cap and feed the cutter in... that will clean them out... not easy or clean , but, cheaper than hiring someone to do it,, after that get root killer ( copper sulphate) you just add it once a month to a toilet and flush . keeps the roots from growing back

[@adriannaconnor6471]

My parents' house has this problem. They hired someone to clean out the roots, and it hasn't been a problem in years. Unfortunately, to actually put in a new pipe would cost a fortune, as the city won't pay for the portion under the street, so my parents would have to pay to dig up the road and then to repave it.

[@chrisschembari2486]

I grew up in Bolingbrook, IL (SW suburbs of Chicago), in a house that I think was built in the 1960s, and it had a retractable clothesline in the backyard. The clothesline was kept in a spring-loaded spool attached to the back wall of the house. You just pulled it out and attached it to a freestanding post at the back of the yard when you wanted to use the line. My parents only used it in fair weather as a convenience, not out of some urgent need to avoid using the dryer in our basement - though a bit of cost saving certainly also appealed. Bolingbrook was named after the family name of two English kings, Henry V and VIII (Bolingbroke). As a child, I was told that many of the village's oldest streets were named after English authors.

[@radioflyer68911]

It's a good idea to clean filters regularly. Just like changing the battery in the smoke detector, but more often.

[@mkpleco]

"it was 75 degrees outside" Open a window, and throw in a fan. lol

[@jstringfellow1961]

I live in OK, it's 75 in the wintertime. We have A/C, box fans, and blocks of ice to sit on.

[@pacmanc8103]

Open the windows and wake up with a fine layer of tree and grass pollen coating every horizontal surface! No thanks!😛

[@LTBudd]

The evaporators in your AC unit (in the basement) may be clogged with dust and debris as well. Every so often, maybe 5-10 years, these need to be cleaned off, otherwise the evaporator can freeze over leading to your basement becoming a pool. What happens is the evaporator coils become iced over, the drain typically clogs, the water spills out over into the basement, and you don't realize it until a week after it's been happening. At my parents' house, this happened twice before we knew what was actually going on.

[@dwaneanderson8039]

You should keep that temporary drain gutter permanently. It has the advantage that you can move it out of the way whenever you need to, such as during yard work or any other activity in the yard, and just put it back when you're done. A permanent pipe will sometimes be in the way.

[@markisherwood-tj4uo]

they make a extension that rolls out by itself when it rains and directs the water away . after the rain it rolls itself back up

[@davidwilkins5932]

You can also buy an extension with a pivot that can be tilted up and out of the way when doing yard work.

[@d.jensen5153]

It's so dry in our neck of the woods that our clothes lines are in the basement - our unheated basement. Even in the dead of winter, shirts or sheets take only a few hours to dry. Fortunately we have 12,000' mountains to catch snow and provide us water.

[@susieinthesouth1931]

This reminds me precisely why we sold our home. I am enjoying no-maintenance at the moment. As for the boiler room , I highly recommend finding an HVAC company that will come out twice a year to service/clean/check the furnace in the early fall and air conditioner in the spring. It is worth every penny. Plus if they miss something, you then have a record and can hold them accountable for any repairs. Good luck.

[@dorothybaez]

I second this. It's worth every penny.

[@craigcorson3036]

5:13 "discarded piece of drain pipe" Not a drain pipe, nor is it any other kind of pipe. I know this, because I am familiar with the official specifications for pipe, and several criteria for pipe are unmet. I list those criteria below. I couldn't quite tell, but it looks like it could be a piece of rain gutter. What I was able to tell for certain is that those two pieces of green plastic upon which you laid it are - guess what? - rain diverters! Also known variously as splash blocks, decorative gutter downspout extensions, splashguards, foundation water diverters, and rain gutter guards, they are available at your local home center or online - but you already have two of them. And please, stop shopping at the home center with the initials HD - they are evil incorporate. Government Pipe Specifications Written by Pastor Tim Published: 02 October 2008 PrevNext 1. All pipe is to be made of a long hole, surrounded by metal or plastic centered around the hole. 2. All pipe is to be hollow throughout the entire length - do not use holes of different length than the pipe. 3. The I.D. (inside diameter) of all pipe must not exceed the O.D. (outside diameter) - otherwise the hole will be on the outside. 4. All pipe is to be supplied with nothing in the hole so that water, steam or other stuff can be put inside at a later date. 5. All pipe should be supplied without rust - this can be more readily applied at the job site. N.B. Some Vendors are now able to supply pre-rusted pipe. If available in your area, this product is recommended as it will save a lot of time on the job site. 6. All pipe over 500 ft (153m) in length should have the words "long pipe" clearly painted on each end, so the Contractor will know it is a long pipe. 7. Pipe over 2 miles (3.2 km) in length must have the words "very long pipe" painted in the middle, so the Contractor will not have to walk the entire length of the pipe to determine whether or not it is a long pipe or a very long pipe. 8. All pipe over 6" (152 mm) in diameter must have the words "large pipe" painted on it, so the Contractor will not mistake it for small pipe. 9. Flanges must be used on all pipe. Flanges must have holes for bolts quite separate from the big hole in the middle. 10. When ordering 90 degrees, 45 degrees or 30 degrees elbow, be sure to specify right hand or left hand; otherwise you will end up going the wrong way. 11. Be sure to specify to your vendor whether you want level, uphill or downhill pipe. If you use downhill pipe for going uphill, the water will flow the wrong way. 12. All couplings should have either right hand or left hand thread, but do not mix the threads - otherwise, as the coupling is being screwed on one pipe, it is unscrewed from the other. Created: 02 October 2008 Last Updated: 13 July 2011

[@kh3612]

🤣🤣🤣☮️

[@HybridMiranda]

When I was taking care of my grandfather, his house was part of an HOA in that neighborhood. We literally got a passive aggressive note about me putting the garbage cans in the 'incorrect place' during garbage day, but I had only been there for less than two weeks, and my grandma had died only a few months ago... HOAs are just a way for obnoxious, petty people to have power over others.

[@MrsABC7997]

Coyotes are looking for some mammals to eat... like your pets! Please keep your pets inside at night (I'm sure you do!)! I live in the Tensaw Delta of Mobile Bay in Alabama. We have them too & they are very active this time of year (April-June) as they have just had their litter. Cheers!🍷

[@chloeveneneux3901]

I am a first time homeowner; I moved from West Coast(Oregon) to the East Coast(Georgia) to a city I'd never even visited before. Although not quite "Lost in the Pond", it's definitely been something of a culture shock. Your videos about the joys and nightmares of owning a home have definitely resonated with me. And while I've never had to deal with an onslaught of squirrels, I've had my own share of nasty surprises. I've found myself on more than one occasion thinking " If Lawrence had to deal with this, he'd been grateful for the squirrels!" PS- I put up a clothes line shortly after moving in and I think that they are absolutely wonderful. Although I recently purchased a fancy new clothes washer and dryer and I've been somewhat concerningly enamored with them. The first time I ran a load through the washing machine, I literally sat on the floor watching the clothes go round and round for a good fifteen minutes or so. Not so marvelous as an episode of "Lost in the Pond" but a marvel nonetheless.

[@Pocchari]

Watching the laundry go round and round is the only reason I want to get a front-loading washer when I can finally afford a new one. 😅

[@chloeveneneux3901]

@@Pocchari there are many reasons but it is the only one that truly matters...

[@GreatGreebo]

I’m in SW WA (and am from SE Alaska) & the majority of the “modern” houses (circa 1970s) and all the older houses here don’t have AC either. There are lots of heat pumps which don’t do well above 85 degrees or below 31 degrees 🤣. Also, HOA aren’t something I’m familiar with either. The USA is such a massive country that a USA vs Britain comparison doesn’t always work. Perhaps a NE USA or a Midwest USA vs Britain would work better. So many of the things Lawrence describes are also things that I am not familiar with either 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@OddWoz]

This comment even reads British. 🫣

[@AlexKS1992]

You’re going to have a fun time in summer where the humidity is a 100% and the temperatures are about the same.

[@nohrt4me]

The clothesline thing is fairly recentand very weird. I grew up in the 1950s when a regular part of childhood was getting yelled at for running through the clothes. Diapers were always dried outside unless it was below freezing or raining because sunshine was thought to make them cleaner and fresh smelling. And there was no pleasure like getting into bed with dried-outside sheets.

[@hiVanderLinden]

Agreed, I grew up in the 90s in WI and it was a normal thing for us to need to run outside to pull the laundry down when it looked like it was going to rain. I now live in Portland so it didn't make sense to me to get a clothesline here but I do fondly remember the feel of sheets being dried outside.

[@faiyoake]

Dad uses the clothesline in summer when it’s too hot to run the dryer during the day. My short ass (like literally I can’t reach either end of the line connections) just waits until nightfall

[@iowagirl19631]

I would never buy in a HOA. So good call on your part. For new gutters we went with KGuard, easy financing and no interest if paid back in 18 months. We are saving for a new HVAC system. Hopefully it will happen this summer! I love your house!

[@KillerQueensRyche]

Laurence - be sure to take a garden hose and was down those 'box things' outside the house too. If you can stick the hose down inside them and wash the inside of the walls out even better. This will also help keep your central air system running well. We try to wash ours down after every time we mow the lawn.

[@LoriL010]

We have cental heat/ac, but also have 3 portable ac's in the garage in case the central unit stops working. When you have weeks of 100+ degree weather (Texas) air conditioning is a must have. And you should change your filter every month. We have a clothes line, but only use it for sheets because I love how they smell when air dried, but we also live in the country with no neighbors.

[@DavidinMiami]

Lawrence, have you done a video on any changes your English pronunciation has undergone since you moved to the States? Also, do you think you'll ever do another Brit vs. American pronunciation battle with the wife? Those were fun!

[@BrLoc]

Most American homes did not have a clothes dryer inside the house until about the 1960s. The 60s and 70s is when they started becoming more and more popular here. Before that just about everyone dried their clothes on a line outside.

[@samanthab1923]

My Nan & mom & her sister always had clotheslines even with dryers. Beach towels, sheets, jeans all the big heavy stuff.

[@BrLoc]

@@samanthab1923 And they smelled so much better when dried outside.

[@CommodoreFan64]

I grew up in the 80's, and 90's, but my grandmother always had both a clothesline, and a dryer, and when the spring pollen was not bad, or it was not too cold/raining outside she would almost always hang things like sheets, towels, etc.. on the line, and I always loved the way they smelled. I now own my grandparents house, and we no longer have the clothes line because we put in a fire pit in the backyard, but I made sure to when I remodeled the laundry room several years back to put in a metal bar across the laundry room to hang clothes so I'm not using the dryer as much, and I don't wear out things like my shirts.

[@samanthab1923]

@@BrLoc Right? My mom also likes the feel of a rough towel. Go figure 😀

[@zazubombay]

Yes, almost everyone had a clothesline when I was growing up in the 1960's. My mother liked to gossip with our next door neighbor while they tended to the laundry.

[@hannahcrossett3415]

I own a condo in an old building from the late 1980's. The biggest issues have been plumbing-related, whether it has been the toilet, garbage disposal, or something else.

[@MariahJade1]

I kind of found it funny that you were hot at only 75. That's just spring temp. Ah yes all the critters that visit the homeowners property. Coyotes are mostly running around after dark so I wouldn't worry to much as long as you keep your pets inside then. We have them in Pa and they are good for keeping a rodent population down. Glad to hear the squirrel problem got solved. We had that freezing in our air conditioner before, it usually happens to us when it's really hot like in the 90's.

[@lizzaangelis3308]

Yep I don’t even turn my AC on until around 84 degrees comes around.

[@dotar9586]

@@lizzaangelis3308 Sitting here in Arizona with the A/C set at a cool 79°. 😎

[@scottd9448]

75 to me is comfortable & I don't have to wear a jumper. 70 I need a blanket, 78 and I need to strip.

[@trueaussie9230]

75 - I assume that's fahrenheit. That's 24c. I'd more likely have the heating on. 🤣🤣🤣

[@MereMeerkat]

Speaking of critters, don't worry about possums. They only look scary because they have that marsupial "that is too many teeth my god" thing going on, but they'll just hiss at you and then go back to cleaning up ticks.

[@melissaewing4821]

When you were putting the gutter below the downspout pipe, underneath it I glimpsed 2 green objects. Didn't get a close enough look, but I'm pretty certain those are intended to do what you are using the gutter piece to do. Place one of them beneath the down spout and it diverts the water away from the house.

[@astrostoney]

What I came to say

[@laurie7689]

My house is 35 years old. Within the last couple of weeks, my kitchen faucet went bad, my oven died, my upstairs A/C died, and we discovered that my dryer vent was clogged. My husband and I had to pay big bucks to replace the A/C and the oven. We paid a plumber to repair the faucet because when we went to replace it ourselves, we found that the shut off valve wasn't working either. Oh, joy!. Tomorrow, I've got a handyman coming out to work on the dryer vent because we discovered that the 4" dryer vent that we're replacing doesn't actually fit through the hole that it is supposed to fit through and is partially blocked by an electric cord and a drain pipe that the builders put in the most awkward of places. We had discovered that the old vent pipe was actually being crushed inside the wall which it shouldn't have been. That is first thing on the agenda tomorrow. .

[@Objective-Observer]

I offer my condolences. I've spent entire summers, with triple digit heat in the wilds of West Texas... without AC and the windows painted shut.

[@laurie7689]

@@Objective-Observer I live in Alabama with its Southern humidity. The bedrooms in our house are upstairs, so we had to make do with the couches in the downstairs living room until the upstairs A/C could be fixed. At least the downstairs still had A/C. The upstairs was absolutely suffocating. At least I was able to open the windows upstairs to let out some of the heat, unlike yourself. Very rarely have we ever seen triple digit heat here. Thank goodness.

[@elultimo102]

1980s house. 2 years in, a new roof @ $46000 ($31,500 was insured and covered). New steel ductwork in the attic, to replace the plastic eaten by the vermin @ $8000. Still need a total reroof of the pumphouse and the back barn wall repaired. Then there is about $8000 for a new central AC unit-----The fun never stops!!!!

[@jblyon2]

@@elultimo102 I have a friend with a 1980s house in AZ. It had plastic ductwork in the attic. Split right open. The air loss on their system was higher than the utility company's energy audit people had ever seen...then they looked in the attic and saw the ducts!

[@laurie7689]

@@elultimo102 Yes, but I still prefer owning over renting, myself. Also, when my husband and I pass on, our daughter can either rent it out or sell it. She's talking about renting it out. She says that if she has one kid, then she'll give it to that kid to rent or sell and if she has two or more kids, she'll sell it and split the monies between them. I love a daughter who talks about my demise so easily, but at least she is thinking about the future.

[@DanaPAH]

I've been in my home for ten years. Two months ago, the gas company found a leak in my gasline. I not only had to have the the line replaced, but have it moved outside as well. The gas people said that they see the same situation in about 1 in every 1000 homes. Lucky me. Anyway, the first plumbers I reached out to estimated the work to be around $6K, but I managed to find someone to do the work for $2K. I had to spent a week in my home with no hot water and no heating. The morning after the gas got turned back on, I took a long, hot, luxurious shower.

[@craigbomer8962]

We bought a Victorian house in NW Ohio (built 1880-1890ish, near as we can figure out). We discovered the joys of plaster walls, clapboard siding, and 130 year old windows. At least the previous owners already replaced the roof, re-plumbed the entire house, re-wired most of the house (non-grounded knob and tube BEGONE!), and installed central heat and air(since the windows don't open anymore).

[@TheOfficialTarynTots]

Did you notice the green things you stuck the discarded drain pipe on? Those are supposed to be used for that exact purpose. Also, did you call a furnace room a boiler room?

[@kitefan1]

The problem is that over time the heights of things change and those green channels don't make enough of a ramp or the force of the rain is so hard that the curved attached extensions fall off if you don't put in screws. I gave in to the ugly corrugated spout extensions. Once the water drains several feet away from the foundation the basement stays dry.

[@acmeopinionfactory8018]

The vast majority of British houses use radiators for heating, which, obviously, require hot water, which is supplied by a boiler. US houses generally use hot air to heat the rooms and thus require a furnace.

[@TheOfficialTarynTots]

@@acmeopinionfactory8018 I'm aware. I was just being a smartass. Plus, I don't know anyone in the midwest who refers to a furnace room as a boiler room.

[@kandipiatkowski8589]

I am at the end of my 3rd foray in home ownership. Unlike the first 2 times, i am actually selling the house after buying it outright (it was only $11k). Being at that price point, i should have assumed it was going to need items replaced, but not to the extent reality gave me. Electrical and plumbing were the 2 main issues. In the end, my adult children thought it would be best for the 3 of us to live together again. We are able to afford a larger place, which is going to eliminate the need for a storage unit, which was costing around 400 a month.

[@Anelisa8520]

I need to know where in the US you can buy a house for $11k! (Here by the SF Bay 5,000 Sq ft empty lots cost half a million dollars. Insane, but true.)

[@kandipiatkowski8589]

@@Anelisa8520 well, I live in Wichita, KS....but tbh the house is technically a mobile home...lol...built in 1979. I did own a 2300 sq ft house as my first purchase, and it was only 30k...and built in 1930. That was my favorite house, except for the fact that I didn't have the extra money to make some needed repairs, so I had to let the bank have it back.

[@kandipiatkowski8589]

SF is on my bucket list to visit! I love the Victorian architecture!!!

[@jayhom5385]

@@kandipiatkowski8589 Just don't drive a stick/manual if you're touring the neighborhoods.

[@Anelisa8520]

@@kandipiatkowski8589 it's a beautiful (expensive) place. Definitely visit! But be forewarned: it can be hard to leave!

[@ChuckBoris3]

I hate living in a rainy area in the US and that my basement used to flood. I actually became a basement waterproofer for a while and I'm horrified with Lawrence's fix.

[@abacab87]

I'm horrified by how little waterproofing is done on new construction. It costs so little to do it when the house is being built, and so much to replace and basement and retro-fit it.

[@ChuckBoris3]

@@abacab87 agreed. If you are building new construction in an area with a high water table or a lot of rain it doesn't make sense not to build it in from the start

[@jerelull9629]

Being a home owner is the start of a life-long learning experience. Things are always popping up that need to be fixed or cut down. We also have some native (very hardy) plants/weeds. My wife likes the purple or blue flowering weeds that have popped up, so whomever mows the yard needs to be on the lookout for the smallest bit of blue and avoid it. "Happy wife, happy life."😄

[@ericpeterson336]

Don't worry, the weeds won't go away without nuclear weapons, so mow away without regret.

[@melissatrick9324]

When I moved a year ago, I left behind my clothes line. I miss it, but I do use drying racks. We just replaced the sewer line from our house to the easement. Cost more than I care to say, but our house is more than 60 years old, so not unexpected.

[@chidagamer6497]

The house I grew up in-this would have been early 90s-had a clothesline in the backyard, although we hardly ever used it. They’ve become steadily less common in the years since. We’ve found old post holes in our current backyard where we think a clothesline used to be. Also, coyotes-I think the main concern with them is that they can, and do, attack pets and livestock.

[@MLiesel]

1:58 I was so delighted by this subtle beans-on-toast reference!

[@stuckinmopro8533]

Just 24 hours ago we handed a gentleman a check for $15,000 because we had to have our A/C and furnace replaced. Oh, the joys of homeownership!

[@bettyboop1524]

I'm still paying off my mini split from two years ago, but it is a better solution than replacing the rusted furnace in my dirt and stone Stephen King cellar.

[@pacmanc8103]

But just think how comfortable you’ll be year-round now. I say it’s worth every penny!

[@cynthiaalver]

​@@pacmanc8103 I'd say the people who bought my sister's house after the new a/c, new furnace and replacement of all double paned windows went in, probably said that too! My sister and her husband sold the house within months of squeezing that last nickel.

[@robertabarnhart6240]

I think you might have gotten ripped off. Did you check prices beforehand?

[@stuckinmopro8533]

@@robertabarnhart6240 we got quotes from three different companies and they were each within $200 of each other.

[@richardwhite4923]

2:48 “The box thing” in the garden is called the condenser unit. This unit consist of the compressor, for compressing their refrigerant gas, as well as the condenser coil. Also in this unit is the condenser fan. This fan pulls air through the coil, expelling the heat from the coil, essentially expelling the heat transfer from your house via the refrigerant within your system. There’s some thermal dynamics involved as to how that work, which is interesting to me. It’s probably boring and complicated to most people. Which is why most people pay people like me to fix you A/C, furnace, or air handler. Also, many problems that people pay to have “repaired” are easily avoidable with routine maintenance.

[@richardwhite4923]

5:32 One thing you need to have checked are your weeping tiles. If they’re severely damaged or collapsed, they’ll need updating or replacement. Which can cost $$$$. Weeping tiles are buried along side your foundation. When there’s a hard rain, any ground water gets carried to drainage before it penetrates the foundation. It’s usual carried to either a sump pump or city sewer. Most house in Chicago go to the sewer. Many in the suburbs further from the city use a sump pit.

[@becca6663]

As someone who grew up in Mississippi, I can assure toy, Lawrence, that many Americans have or have had clothes lines lol Nothing like the smell of clothes dried outside. Joy and sunshine

[@laurab5750]

And clothes stiff enough to use as sand paper! Clothes dried outside might smell great but their texture leaves a lot to be desired.

[@Allenmarshall]

I'm really happy for your success, Lawrence.

[@sheribarnett3180]

As first-time homeowners, we’ve had frights that the central air didn’t work. With the first, we discovered the folks who did the reno FAILED TO RUN ELECTRICITY to the big box outside. The second was more embarrassing as we paid a service fee to have a HVAC professional clean the big box with the garden hose. Huh.

[@moonwolfv671]

That last one was interesting. Since I'd heard something along the lines of washing lines being banned in Arizona (it's arid environment would make drying clothes outside ideal), I thought those laws were passed by lobbying from the electricity companies, it just seemed absurd otherwise. P.S, I don't live in the US, I come from New Zealand.

[@DavidRichardson153]

While it is true that the arid environment would help with drying, Arizona is not just arid, it is a desert, and with deserts comes wind-blown dust and sand. This sand/dust can cling to clothes that are even just slightly damp (and dampness is not required for sand to cling - any beach experience, even without ever entering the water, should have taught that), rendering their time on the line moot. This can get especially bad in certain areas that are not limited to only Arizona. I moved to New Zealand myself, but I used to live around San Antonio, Texas. While we did usually hang our bedding out to dry, clothes were typically dried inside (with the occasional exception for both groups, of course). This was because the specific area I lived in regularly got quite the dust (there was no HOA, which spared us from being forced to spend a sh^t-ton of money and effort on maintaining a grassy lawn that does not belong in such an environment at all), so there would be plenty of days when drying out on the line was not a good idea. Still, while I cannot confirm or deny what Arizona did, I will say that banning clotheslines is absolutely insane. I may be ingrained to use a machine (more available drying times after all), but I do appreciate a good clothesline. An airing station works, but it still takes up a lot of space, and I am not in the best position to give up space, even for the most compact of such.

[@richdurbin6146]

Even where they’re not banned, clotheslines are rare.

[@uncletiggermclaren7592]

It really is funny, when Americans tell me they are the "Last Bastion of Freedom !" and we are not as free in New Zealand. Did you know there are whole towns where it is illegal to ride a skateboard ANYWHERE in public?. More than 400 Towns where there are blanket curfews on children being outside your house at night?, if the police find them walking to a friends house, or walking home from a friends home, after dark, the child AND THEIR PARENT can be arrested and charged with a felony?. A judge, and remember that judges are political appointees that don't need ANY legal experience to be allowed to sit on the bench, can put you in jail because your kid climbs out the window to visit his girlfriend. Yeah, "Freedom", that is what that all sounds like.

[@pacmanc8103]

@@uncletiggermclaren7592 Judges in my state are elected, non-partisan positions.

[@samanthab1923]

@@richdurbin6146It’s a rare sight to see clothes out on a line near me. But there is one house across the river in NJ, she hangs stuff out in the winter!

[@KalTarMadrin]

Bought a house in Mississippi once and didn't find out until the signing that it was part of an HOA. That HOA had some reasonable rules but only two instances ever had an effect on me and our little dead end street. 1. When the county paved the main road and skipped us the HOA convinced them to pave our street also. 2. An out of state investment group bought the 3 plots of land next to my house and started building a apartment complex. The HOA ran them out of the neighborhood. So that's my story of an HOA that actually protected its people from random BS.

[@lisapop5219]

Our a/c died last labor day weekend. One of the fan blades snapped in half and it took 4.5 days to get fixed. I live in Georgia

[@Roadiedave]

My house nightmare is that ever since 2020, I haven't been able to afford an American house.

[@GoAway-y3x]

I miss being able to dry my laundry outside as I used to back in the midwest, but it's too damned humid all the time down here in the south.

[@aggiewitsend7206]

Thanks, drain pipe!🎉🎉🎉

[@Nakedwow]

Thank you discarded piece of drain pipe. We are ever so grateful for your service.

[@lilburro3]

2 summers ago my AC unit went out costing $5000 and 2 nights in a hotel because we live in Texas and it was 98 degrees (36C) by noon in August. We also frequently get squirrels in the attic and twice one will fall through the AC intake pipe coming from the ceiling. Calamity ensues when the dog goes crazy chasing the terrified creature. Love your channel Lawrence.

[@johnball8758]

You need to check that the screening on your attic vents is intact and also make sure tree branches are at least 8 feet from the house, even if it means cutting down some trees.

[@lilburro3]

@@johnball8758 we figured out they were getting into the attic vent and ha e it secured now. Thanks!

[@chrisE815]

Hilarious

[@thesweetone]

As a homeowner, wood worker, metal worker and hobbyist DIY guy... Don't cheap out on a ladder.

[@perfumedelight66]

Very sound advice.

[@davidcashin1894]

The hardware stores, and online they sell these long flexible expandable plastic lines that you can attach to the bottom of your downspouts and direct the water far away from the house. Mine are actually dug into the ground and extend out to well down on the slope behind the house.

[@firesurfer]

My washing machine just died. We have to get a new one tomorrow. Good thing there is a new holiday this weekend. That means sales. Oh joy.:) The bad thing is we have to take off the door to the utility room because that's the only way to get anything in or out of that room. :(

[@jeffallen3598]

My suggestion is to learn how to do everything in your house. Unless you feel it may be dangerous, like getting on your roof, gas or electrical work. If you have to call a pro in, watch him (or her) learn what they are doing, checking, etc. Many times they don’t mind letting you know whats going on and what they are doing and why. You might be able to pick up some helpful tips. And since every home is different, you will learn the specifics about your situation and where things are. You van ask questions, etc.. You are paying for it, might as well get some knowledge too. I was hovering over the guy replacing my gas water heater and noticed before he go too far that he had the wrong one. It was for natural gas and not propane. So you could be helpful too. Not that they want you hovering and pointing out mistakes but in many cases you could save them and you a lot of headaches. Plus make sure they do it right in case there are any problems later. By “doing it right” i mean, you can pretty much tell someone who knows what they are doing versus someone who doesn’t. Or if you see them struggling on something and you know they just want to finish and leave, you can pin point where your troubles may lie. Possible go look for yourself and correct. I watched every season and episode of Holmes on Homes, many different YT videos, watched several contractors to a point where its rare that i need to ever call anyone in. If i need to, i most likely know whats wrong but dont have the proper equipment or time.

[@robertwilloughby8050]

I will agree with you on everything, but will add laying carpet - damn near impossible if you don't know what you're doing - and hanging doors, which is a trip to what us UKISTS call Casualty, and you would call ER!

[@jeffallen3598]

@@robertwilloughby8050 Ah! Totally forgot about carpet.. Ive seen it installed and i still cant believe what i see. I had my basement done ( two rooms and stairs) not an easy layout either. But it took one guy about 4 hours. As for hanging doors, the only thing hard about that is getting things squared and lined up. Its a lot of back and forth with levels, shims and testing (fiddling) which can drive you nuts.