Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

tjc78 · October 2021

Our MBR is over the garage. You’d never know except for the garage door opening, like @stickguy mentioned.

Can’t go wrong building new, congrats. We originally wanted to do that, but when we found our current home we knew it was the “one”.

jmonroe1 · October 2021

@stickguy said:
I had a corner lot. Kinda liked it (fewer neighbors), other than the extra sidewalk to shovel!

that house also had the master over the garage, but it was never an issue. I don't think I ever noticed. About the only issue could be hearing the garage door opener running.

if you are building new, congrats. Takes longer but get exactly what you want, and they always smell nice!

He didn’t say he was buying a car.

jmonroe

explorerx4 · October 2021

@stickguy and tjc78,
Re: rooms over the garage, you guys live in the south!

Michaell · October 2021

If you buy ranch style homes, you don’t have that problem!

explorerx4 · October 2021

@michaell,
Exactly!

qbrozen · October 2021

Plenty of homes in NJ have rooms over the garage. I honestly don’t know how they do it. Must be very well insulated. Our master closet is over the garage and that thing gets COLD!

stickguy · October 2021

Michaell said:
If you buy ranch style homes, you don’t have that problem!

I wouldn't mind a ranch. But really not all that common up this way. Some older places, but tend to be smaller. And the new build neighborhoods sometimes have ranch models, but they tend to be more expensive per SF. And mostly smaller models.

I actually want a place with a nice open great room, 1st floor master and office, then 2 BRs and a loft/bonus room upstairs that we can pretty much close off. Not easy to find resale either.

we were leaning new builds but just weren't comfortable putting a bunch down on a build we would not get until next summer, at an inflated price, with no clue what our house would be worth at that point when we went to sell. So, probably buying used (or finding a rental when we are reading and then ordering a build)

stickguy · October 2021

explorerx4 said:
@stickguy and tjc78,
Re: rooms over the garage, you guys live in the south!

nope. not a FROG. Just normal bedrooms!

28firefighter · October 2021

We have a family room over the garage. Very few actual basements in the PNW, our home is no exception. We just have crawl space.

jipster · October 2021

benjaminh said:
Vredestein tires have been getting really good reviews.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPGGCXmWfjI&t=386s

The Michelin Cross Climate 2 and the Vredestein Quatrac Pro are ranked #1 and #2 at Tirerack. The Michelins are around $30 more per tire at $190. The Vredestein's actually do better in wet conditions, but are a 50,000 mile tire compared to the Michelins 60,000.

@jmonroe1 Thx. But, I don't do the sack lunch buying strategy anymore. I've discovered a cookout using a portable Kingsford grill is much more effective.

oldfarmer50 · October 2021

qbrozen said:
Plenty of homes in NJ have rooms over the garage. I honestly don’t know how they do it. Must be very well insulated. Our master closet is over the garage and that thing gets COLD!

All our bedrooms are over the garage so we put a lot of insulation in the floor/ceiling. Even when it’s 20 below we don’t have a problem. Pays to do this house building stuff yourself.

snakeweasel · October 2021

stickguy said:
I had a corner lot. Kinda liked it (fewer neighbors), other than the extra sidewalk to shovel!

that house also had the master over the garage, but it was never an issue. I don't think I ever noticed. About the only issue could be hearing the garage door opener running.

if you are building new, congrats. Takes longer but get exactly what you want, and they always smell nice!

I am just off to the side of a T intersection on the side of the through street that doesn't have the other road so the other side of the street has the corners. Needless to say the neighbor across the street from me has a corner lot. I moved in just after him in January and after the first big snowfall we were both outside shoveling and all he could say was "why did I buy a corner lot?".

snakeweasel · October 2021

oldfarmer50 said:

qbrozen said:
Plenty of homes in NJ have rooms over the garage. I honestly don’t know how they do it. Must be very well insulated. Our master closet is over the garage and that thing gets COLD!

All our bedrooms are over the garage so we put a lot of insulation in the floor/ceiling. Even when it’s 20 below we don’t have a problem. Pays to do this house building stuff yourself.

You either have one big garage or some very small bedrooms.

jmonroe1 · October 2021

@jipster said:
The Michelin Cross Climate 2 and the Vredestein Quatrac Pro are ranked #1 and #2 at Tirerack. The Michelins are around $30 more per tire at $190. The Vredestein's actually do better in wet conditions, but are a 50,000 mile tire compared to the Michelins 60,000.

@jmonroe1 Thx. But, I don't do the sack lunch buying strategy anymore. I've discovered a cookout using a portable Kingsford grill is much more effective.

Good idea. Make a couple wieners for the salesman and he’ll dart into the sales managers office and really go to bat for you.

jmonroe

Michaell · October 2021

Do ya feel lucky, punk?

28firefighter · October 2021

@Michaell said:
Do ya feel lucky, punk?

Is that the supercharging dock for Tesla’s new electric boat?

Michaell · October 2021

28firefighter said:

@Michaell said:

Do ya feel lucky, punk?

Is that the supercharging dock for Tesla’s new electric boat?

Lol. I suppose they could detach the bed from the Cyber Truck and add a motor to it…

driver100 · October 2021

Here is a question for DIYers;
2 of our bathrooms are near (just above) the hot water heater which is in the basement.
All of a sudden, it seems you have to leave the hot water for the sink on for a very long time to get hot water to the sink.
The hot water going to the shower in both bathrooms doesn't seem to take any longer...possibly a little but not much.
What do you check? Is it that the taps have broken down where the water gets divided....both bathrooms have 3 holes (faucet and 2 handles - hot and cold).

stickguy · October 2021

With 2 handles, you don’t have a mixing valve. Maybe your water heater is going?

stickguy · October 2021

Or it’s just colder out, so the cold water is, well, colder. So takes longer for hot to counteract that?

driver100 · October 2021

@stickguy Thanks, makes sense.......

sda · October 2021

Under your bathroom sink confirm the hot water valve is fully open. I doubt that is the issue, but worth a try.

driver100 · October 2021

sda said:
Under your bathroom sink confirm the hot water valve is fully open. I doubt that is the issue, but worth a try.

I'm not sure yet but that might be the issue. I didn't realize it had a separate valve. I did turn it a bit and the hot water seemed to come out sooner....I'll check again later in the day to see if it is real or a fluke.

ab348 · October 2021

How old is your hot water heater? What type?

imidazol97 · October 2021

I am assuming each bathroom has a supply pipe going to the shower first and then to the faucet.

Try running the hot water for the tub slowly until it's hot. Then go to the faucet for
that bathroom and see how long it takes for the hot water to move from the larger
supply for the tub/shower to the lavatory faucet.

If the bathrooms are back-to-back they may be plumbed differently than I'm picturing.

driver100 · October 2021

Thanks for the suggestions guys. We were away for 4 days in Sept and Mrs D turned off the hot water heater when we were away. It is hard to tell what the dial means when you turn it up or down. I did open the valve at the sink more. I moved the dial to hotter on the hot water tank. It took a little while to get hot water but not nearly as long as it was taking......I think it is back to where it used to be.
It is a Rheem and it is 8 years old.
I am curious about running the shower with hot water, and seeing if the sink gets instant hot water....I'll test that this afternoon.

driver100 · October 2021

If I turn on the shower to hot, it takes about 15 seconds to get hot water, but if I turn on the hot water at the sink it is hot right away - instead of waiting what seems like about 40 seconds.
What does it all mean?
When water comes out of the shower a lot comes out in a short while - mainly all that cold water.
I have a feeling the water heater isn't very efficient these days too.
But I get hot water faster in the kitchen and the 3rd bathroom faster....and they are much further away from the water heater. ?

?

stickguy · October 2021

I think it has to do with how the pipes run. Basically which fixture comes first in the route.

tjc78 · October 2021

You should come to my house with a really long run from an instant hot water heater. Can be well over a minute at the shower, slightly less at sink since it’s not flow restricted like the shower head

jipster · October 2021

Same with our master bathroom shower. Takes about 40 seconds or so to warm up. Walkout basement. House built in 2001. Always been like that.

driver100 · October 2021

I am surprised hot water takes that long to get to a sink or shower.
Maybe as I get older, it just seems to take longer. It seems I am wasting precious time....waiting for hot water

explorerx4 · October 2021

I usually run the sink for over a minute before the water warms up.
Water heater on one end of the house in the basement, bathroom on the other end on 2nd floor.

imidazol97 · October 2021

Locate your hot water heater. The single outlet pipe would usually go to the nearest hot water user, kitchen sink, bathroom 1, bathroom 2....

Don't forget the laundry connection for the washing machine. If a kitchen sink has drawn hot water, or the washing machine has pulled hot water to it, they have heated up the pipe to that area. If your bathroom is on the same circuit as the washer, then that shower/tub or lavatory will get hot water faster for an hour or so til the pipe in the wall cools depending on how much of the length of the run is shared with the appliance that just drew hot water..

Our heater has a single pipe out going to a cluster of connections. A tub with its shower and a shower in the adjacent master bath are connected to that main pipe there; they are back-to-back.

Another pipe must supply the washing machine and a lavatory in Master Bath at the end of a 15-foot run through a wall. The lavatory in the other bath with the tub/shower gets its supply from the tub/shower pipe.

tjc78 · October 2021

Same with us. The water heater couldn’t be any further from our master bath than it is. Then add in 15-20 second startup time for the Instant hot.

cdnpinhead · October 2021

"Instant" hot -- right.

jipster · October 2021

@driver100 said:
I am surprised hot water takes that long to get to a sink or shower.
Maybe as I get older, it just seems to take longer. It seems I am wasting precious time....waiting for hot water

Waiting? Good opportunity to get some of those pesky chores out of the way. Here's what I do. Turn on hot shower water. Shave (electric). By the time I'm done, water nice and hot.

oldfarmer50 · October 2021

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

qbrozen said:
Plenty of homes in NJ have rooms over the garage. I honestly don’t know how they do it. Must be very well insulated. Our master closet is over the garage and that thing gets COLD!

All our bedrooms are over the garage so we put a lot of insulation in the floor/ceiling. Even when it’s 20 below we don’t have a problem. Pays to do this house building stuff yourself.
You either have one big garage or some very small bedrooms.

Split level.

tjc78 · October 2021

@cdnpinhead said:
"Instant" hot -- right.

They have their pros and cons. Fast hot water to the faucets is certainly a con.

jmonroe1 · October 2021

@tjc78 said:

@cdnpinhead said:
"Instant" hot -- right.

They have their pros and cons. Fast hot water to the faucets is certainly a con.

I know 2 plumbers who won’t install the tankless water heaters anymore because of complaints from most of their customers that got them.

I wonder what our plumbing company poster buddy has to say about them.

jmonroe

stickguy · October 2021

I bet his customers don't buy a lot of them for rental properties in the city.

imidazol97 · October 2021

jmonroe1 said:

I know 2 plumbers who won’t install the tankless water heaters anymore because of complaints from most of their customers that got them.

I wonder what our plumbing company poster buddy has to say about them.

jmonroe

I heard that recently too about problems with the fast units.

imidazol97 · October 2021

On a car related topic, I think of @abacomike almost daily because I drive past a house with a G90 in the driveway and another Hyundai product a Telluride or Pallisade or whatever the name also in the driveway.

The G90 is black. Its styling is just pleasant to look at. it has nothing about screaming "Look at me."
It's just pleasing to the eye in its balance and design.

But the G90 has the longest rear door I've noticed in a long time. That rear seat must really have room. That means the front can be adjusted to handle someone who needs more legroom.

tjc78 · October 2021

@jmonroe1 said:

@tjc78 said:

@cdnpinhead said:
"Instant" hot -- right.

They have their pros and cons. Fast hot water to the faucets is certainly a con.

I know 2 plumbers who won’t install the tankless water heaters anymore because of complaints from most of their customers that got them.

I wonder what our plumbing company poster buddy has to say about them.

jmonroe

Honestly the biggest issue is you need a dishwasher that heats the water because the new ones fill so slowly it doesn’t turn the heater on.

Washing machine can be an issue too. We don’t wash with warm or hot ever so no big deal.

explorerx4 · October 2021

I like having a tank type water heater because if you lose power for a while, you still have hot water for a while.

28firefighter · October 2021

@imidazol97 said:

But the G90 has the longest rear door I've noticed in a long time. That rear seat must really have room. That means the front can be adjusted to handle someone who needs more legroom.

It’s not the length of the door that matters.

jmonroe1 · October 2021

explorerx4 said:
I like having a tank type water heater because if you lose power for a while, you still have hot water for a while.

We have a gas water heater so we have NEVER been without hot water. The range is electric so we have gone out for dinner a few times when the power went out. Many years ago when we were in our first house and the power went out I told Mrs. j to just take something out of the fridge and put it in a container of hot water. Needless to say I got one of those looks. But better than laps around the dining room table.

jmonroe

jmonroe1 · October 2021

tjc78 said:

@jmonroe1 said:

@tjc78 said:

@cdnpinhead said:

"Instant" hot -- right.

They have their pros and cons. Fast hot water to the faucets is certainly a con.

I know 2 plumbers who won’t install the tankless water heaters anymore because of complaints from most of their customers that got them.

I wonder what our plumbing company poster buddy has to say about them.

jmonroe

Honestly the biggest issue is you need a dishwasher that heats the water because the new ones fill so slowly it doesn’t turn the heater on.

Washing machine can be an issue too. We don’t wash with warm or hot ever so no big deal.

Can’t you solve that problem by running the hot water at the kitchen sink first. In fact, most dishwasher instructions say to do this as a matter of course anyway. Mrs. j has done that since she had her first dishwasher back in the early 70’s.

Notice how we always get back to dishwashers.

jmonroe

driver100 · October 2021

@imidazol97 Thanks for suggesting tracking the hot water lines...I am going to do that the first chance I get.
Well, I am glad I am not the only one who finds it takes a long time to get hot water to the tap. You'd think if they can get a man to the moon, then......................................

tjc78 · October 2021

@jmonroe1 said:
Can’t you solve that problem by running the hot water at the kitchen sink first. In fact, most dishwasher instructions say to do this as a matter of course anyway. Mrs. j has done that since she had her first dishwasher back in the early 70’s.

Notice how we always get back to dishwashers.

jmonroe

Yes we do that all the time, which helps but eventually the tankless shuts off because the new “HE” appliances fill very slowly.

My personal favorite thing that happens with the tankless is the “cold water sandwich”. Say your wife takes a shower, and then 10 minutes or so later you decide to take one. You turn the water on and it’s warm right away. So you jump in and once the warm water in the pipe flushes out you get 15 seconds of cold while the unit is firing up. That is fun in the winter.

sda · October 2021

That is called the ‘Wake up’ feature, an expensive option. Brrrr

Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles