Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

28firefighter · October 2023

@stickguy said:
A question for Mr. Flip-it JMonroe, and anyone else that wants to chime in.

we have to decide on how to do our shower room (yes, it is a room, not a shower, I think it is 6x5). It is fully tiled walls and ceiling, but standard is a white shower pan. We can pay extra ($850) to have the floor tiled also (plus I guess an overage on the tile allowance!).

question is, what would you do for effect and bang for the buck? I am considering not tiling the floor because I really hate grout and tile in the shower to start with. Especially on the floor since the water sits there. we did add the tiling into the initial contract but could always swap that out since they are far from that stage.

one thing I am not quite sure of though (question for the builder) is how he does a pan in a stick built room like that (I assume he must frame it to fit, unless they custom make pans for that application).

In a primary bathroom? Tile. Tile. Tile all day. Personally the number one thing I look at as a tell of someone investing in a Reno, flip, or new build is a tiled shower pan in the primary bath.

Edit to add: I am not mr flip it. Just someone with expensive taste.

stickguy · October 2023

it's the master bathroom, so I guess that would be primary. The hall bath comes with a tub. And both have tile floors.

Grout on the shower floor just bugs me to no end. I hate dealing with discolored or mildewy grout! Really need a convincing faux-tile material for that. They actually make panel walls for the shower that look like tile. One neighborhood we looked at offered it as a middle ground between a full tile job, and a fiberglass insert.

tjc78 · October 2023

I hate our shower pan and wish it was tile. It makes an otherwise nicely done tile shower feel builder grade.

tjc78 · October 2023

RiteAid store closing list

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/rite-aid-closing-stores-locations/

stickguy · October 2023

tjc78 said:
RiteAid store closing list

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/rite-aid-closing-stores-locations/

Philly taking a major haircut. plenty in San Diego though so Andre should be happy.

stickguy · October 2023

tjc78 said:
I hate our shower pan and wish it was tile. It makes an otherwise nicely done tile shower feel builder grade.

I might think that but not when I am cursing at the stupid grout for being dirty again.

we did a parade of houses last weekend, and I was surprised at how many very nice, and expensive, new houses had shower pans with tiled walls. So it got me thinking.

tjc78 · October 2023

@stickguy said:
Philly taking a major haircut. plenty in San Diego though so Andre should be happy.

Many large retailers are closing urban locations. Rent is high, shrink is high, and while top line sales are high most of the time the stores are losers.

Back when I was at my past employer we opened a giant store at Broad and Chestnut in Philly. Most days except Sunday they led the chain in sales… yet it lost 7 figures at the end of the year.

Even if you consider that loss a marketing expense (which many retailers do with flagship stores in major cities) it still is a big number.

tjc78 · October 2023

@stickguy said:
I might think that but not when I am cursing at the stupid grout for being dirty again.

we did a parade of houses last weekend, and I was surprised at how many very nice, and expensive, new houses had shower pans with tiled walls. So it got me thinking.

I struggle with the joint between the tile and shower pan too. I’ve already dug out the caulk once and it may need it again soon. I guess that is still easier to deal with than many lines of grout.

My suggestion would be to use a larger tile to minimize the grout lines. As for waterproofing they have amazing membrane systems today. Schluter is one brand.

stickguy · October 2023

I’ve already been “debating” with the wife about shower tile. She’s thinking subway style so smaller tiles. I want the biggest ones possible. Bigger tiles = less grout!

explorerx4 · October 2023

In our last house we had to have part of the shower rebuilt due to water leakage at the pan/wall tile joint.
After it was fixed, since there was a horizontal lip at the joint, I caulked in some vinyl quarter round and never had a problem after that.

ab348 · October 2023

tjc78 said:

I struggle with the joint between the tile and shower pan too. I’ve already dug out the caulk once and it may need it again soon. I guess that is still easier to deal with than many lines of grout.

My suggestion would be to use a larger tile to minimize the grout lines. As for waterproofing they have amazing membrane systems today. Schluter is one brand.

When my bathroom was redone in 2017 I wanted a tile shower floor for the 3'x5' shower, but the cost quoted by the builder and the opinion of the plumbing guys was not to do it and get a pan instead. I wasn't thrilled but took their advice. The only problem with the pan has been that it has a center drain which I do not like. I wish it had been pitched to one end. The wall tiles are 12"x24" and the grout needs specific cleaning a couple of times a year. I use a general shower cleaning foam to start and then once that is done a Vim product that contains bleach to really clean it up and make it bright.

The caulk seal at the base where it meets the wall was a problem only because the builders used the wrong type of caulk. I also cleaned that out and redid it with GE white silicone and it has not been a problem since. It responds well to the cleaners above.

kyfdx · October 2023

imidazol97 said:
I know the stores are under pressure to sell extra services. The previous manager at
that store left because he didn't like having the pressure for unecessary sales.

Tire Discounters?

kyfdx · October 2023

I'm with the tile floor contingent. Shower pans look cheap in an upscale house.

stickguy · October 2023

I look cheap in an upscale house, so a match made in heaven.

Our downsizing plan seems to be snowballing the other way. new place started at 2,400 SF, expanded(we pushed the entire back of the house out 2') to almost 2,600 SF, then went up another 40 or so when the builder tweaked the front facade and pulled a couple of rooms out 2', and with the latest change (adding a room over the garage) will be 2,800+ when that is fully finished out.

I think we are finally going to get in and wander around lost, wondering why we have such a big house. Hopefully my son and his fiancée start popping out grandkids soon after getting married in case we want to downsize again so we can sell it to them.

I did confirm with the builder there is room for building a garage (the lot is 3/4 acres but there are various setbacks that limit the building envelope) and he said where they sited the house allows for about a 22x22. He is going to shift it a few feet to allow for a 24x24 one, even though I doubt I would put more than a big 1 car space up. the main garage is already 612 SF and I don't have that much stuff to store! and won't get more than 1 extra car.

mjfloyd1 · October 2023

@tjc78 said:
RiteAid store closing list

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/rite-aid-closing-stores-locations/

Now they definitely won’t take the watch back at those locations 😂

mjfloyd1 · October 2023

@stickguy said:
I look cheap in an upscale house, so a match made in heaven.

Our downsizing plan seems to be snowballing the other way. new place started at 2,400 SF, expanded(we pushed the entire back of the house out 2') to almost 2,600 SF, then went up another 40 or so when the builder tweaked the front facade and pulled a couple of rooms out 2', and with the latest change (adding a room over the garage) will be 2,800+ when that is fully finished out.

I think we are finally going to get in and wander around lost, wondering why we have such a big house. Hopefully my son and his fiancée start popping out grandkids soon after getting married in case we want to downsize again so we can sell it to them.

I did confirm with the builder there is room for building a garage (the lot is 3/4 acres but there are various setbacks that limit the building envelope) and he said where they sited the house allows for about a 22x22. He is going to shift it a few feet to allow for a 24x24 one, even though I doubt I would put more than a big 1 car space up. the main garage is already 612 SF and I don't have that much stuff to store! and won't get more than 1 extra car.

I hope you kept your stuff in the boxes for the next move!

stickguy · October 2023

Most of it still is.

explorerx4 · October 2023

In my last house I had walk in access to over the garage space from the 2nd floor of the house instead of the garage ceiling.

stickguy · October 2023

@explorerx4 said:
In my last house I had walk in access to over the garage space from the 2nd floor of the house instead of the garage ceiling.

That’s what he offered to do with ours. Only problem is the door will be off the back of the master closet so can’t serve as a bonus room or bedroom. Working on those details now.

tjc78 · October 2023

We can get to the space over the garage via an access panel in one of the upstairs bedroom walls. That’s a very large attic space if needed. The second attic space is accessed through another bedroom via a small hatch. I’ll never put anything up there.

ab348 · October 2023

stickguy said:

@explorerx4 said:

In my last house I had walk in access to over the garage space from the 2nd floor of the house instead of the garage ceiling.

That’s what he offered to do with ours. Only problem is the door will be off the back of the master closet so can’t serve as a bonus room or bedroom. Working on those details now.

Maybe you should add a third floor.

stickguy · October 2023

That is out of budget.

stickguy · October 2023

@tjc78 said:
We can get to the space over the garage via an access panel in one of the upstairs bedroom walls. That’s a very large attic space if needed. The second attic space is accessed through another bedroom via a small hatch. I’ll never put anything up there.

Issue with ours is the design just has full trusses in the dead space over the garage. What he wants to do is change that to attic style trusses to carve out about a 10x20 room, and add a window at the front (over the garage but on the front facade since the garage is side entry. Basically another window in the dormer). And add a normal door so it is fully accessible. We are thinking of taking part of the space to push back the master closet (doubling that which have my wife drooling) and doing about a 10x14 room off that to use as an office maybe, but to start walk in storage.

It looks like it will be relatively cheap to add lots of function and 200SF to the house.

jmonroe1 · October 2023

stickguy said:
A question for Mr. Flip-it JMonroe, and anyone else that wants to chime in.

we have to decide on how to do our shower room (yes, it is a room, not a shower, I think it is 6x5). It is fully tiled walls and ceiling, but standard is a white shower pan. We can pay extra ($850) to have the floor tiled also (plus I guess an overage on the tile allowance!).

question is, what would you do for effect and bang for the buck? I am considering not tiling the floor because I really hate grout and tile in the shower to start with. Especially on the floor since the water sits there. we did add the tiling into the initial contract but could always swap that out since they are far from that stage.

one thing I am not quite sure of if you only plan to staythough (question for the builder) is how he does a pan in a stick built room like that (I assume he must frame it to fit, unless they custom make pans for that application).

————————————————
I’m getting in here late and I’ve seen other’s opinions but here’s mine:

There is no way in hell that I’d want a tile floor in a shower. If you only plan to stay 5 or 6 years then maybe I’d be fine with that. Even if they installed the old style 2 or 3 inch mud floor before tiling (that almost no one does today plus you’d fall over when you got the price to do that), I still wouldn’t want a tile floor. You don’t have to get plain white, although we go with white just to be sure the pan doesn’t clash with the tiled walls. And you don’t have to get a center drain. Once the builder knows where you want the drain, his plumber will place the drain line based on the pan you select. And yes, the pan goes in after the builder frames the walls to fit the pan. The pan manufacturer provides the rough opening for the pan.

As for caulking where the tile meets the shower base we rough up the base with 100 grit sandpaper being sure to get the rounded edge where the pan makes the turn from the wall lip to pan itself before we install the pan. This insures the best grip for the caulk. And here’s the most important part about the caulk, use ONLY the GE 100% Silicon Caulk (don’t use anything else) to fill the at least 1/8 inch (preferably 3/16 inch) gap where the bottom tile meets the pan. It’s your choice of color (we use clear) so it goes well with any tile grout.

I’d be willing to bet the builder or the plumber will tell you the grout they make today is better than years ago so you can use grout where the tile meets the pan, don’t believe that because it will definitively crack over time. It might take a few years but it WILL crack. If they don’t want to use the GE caulk tell him to use it anyway. I am 100% adamant about that.

jmonroe

kyfdx · October 2023

25 years... we've re-grouted the shower floor, once.

jmonroe1 · October 2023

kyfdx said:
25 years... we've re-grouted the shower floor, once.

————————————————
I’m betting with GE caulk you wouldn’t have had to do it at all.

jmonroe

kyfdx · October 2023

jmonroe1 said:

kyfdx said:
25 years... we've re-grouted the shower floor, once.
————————————————
I’m betting with GE caulk you wouldn’t have had to do it at all.

jmonroe

It's tile..

jmonroe1 · October 2023

kyfdx said:

jmonroe1 said:

kyfdx said:
25 years... we've re-grouted the shower floor, once.
————————————————
I’m betting with GE caulk you wouldn’t have had to do it at all.

jmonroe
It's tile..

————————————————
Oops, I read that wrong.

Are you satisfied with the life you got out of the first grout job?

jmonroe

kyfdx · October 2023

jmonroe1 said:

kyfdx said:

jmonroe1 said:

kyfdx said:
25 years... we've re-grouted the shower floor, once.
————————————————
I’m betting with GE caulk you wouldn’t have had to do it at all.

jmonroe
It's tile..
————————————————
Oops, I read that wrong.

Are you satisfied with the life you got out of the first grout job?

jmonroe

Yes.. 15 years. Re-grouted mostly for cosmetic purposes.

Didn't have to look at that ugly floor pan, either..

roadburner · October 2023

We wnt with tile in the shower as well.

jmonroe1 · October 2023

I guess I’m the odd ball about this but I’m still going to install pans.

jmonroe

stickguy · October 2023

I’ll discuss with the builder. Our last house we tiled the floor during the remodel. After 11 years when we moved was in fine condition just a bit discolored. I did seal the shower tile a couple (well, at least 1) times per year.

tjc78 · October 2023

@stickguy said:

@tjc78 said:
We can get to the space over the garage via an access panel in one of the upstairs bedroom walls. That’s a very large attic space if needed. The second attic space is accessed through another bedroom via a small hatch. I’ll never put anything up there.

Issue with ours is the design just has full trusses in the dead space over the garage. What he wants to do is change that to attic style trusses to carve out about a 10x20 room, and add a window at the front (over the garage but on the front facade since the garage is side entry. Basically another window in the dormer). And add a normal door so it is fully accessible. We are thinking of taking part of the space to push back the master closet (doubling that which have my wife drooling) and doing about a 10x14 room off that to use as an office maybe, but to start walk in storage.

It looks like it will be relatively cheap to add lots of function and 200SF to the house.

I like that idea. Seems like a win for a nice amount of extra space.

stickguy · October 2023

we do too. just need to get an actual quote but when he first mentioned adding the room (without the closet bump out, which really should not cost much at all), it was only about $3k to add a 10x20 room, including the different trusses (no clear if they cost more), a window and fire rated door, floor decking, and insulation. Seemed like a screaming deal, other than losing too much usable closest space without or reconfiguring added in ..

oldfarmer50 · October 2023

stickguy said:
A question for Mr. Flip-it JMonroe, and anyone else that wants to chime in.

we have to decide on how to do our shower room (yes, it is a room, not a shower, I think it is 6x5). It is fully tiled walls and ceiling, but standard is a white shower pan. We can pay extra ($850) to have the floor tiled also (plus I guess an overage on the tile allowance!).

question is, what would you do for effect and bang for the buck? I am considering not tiling the floor because I really hate grout and tile in the shower to start with. Especially on the floor since the water sits there. we did add the tiling into the initial contract but could always swap that out since they are far from that stage.

one thing I am not quite sure of though (question for the builder) is how he does a pan in a stick built room like that (I assume he must frame it to fit, unless they custom make pans for that application).

Go with your gut and skip the tile on the floor. Sure it looks pretty when new but you’ll be doing a lot of cleaning.

oldfarmer50 · October 2023

stickguy said:

@explorerx4 said:

In my last house I had walk in access to over the garage space from the 2nd floor of the house instead of the garage ceiling.

That’s what he offered to do with ours. Only problem is the door will be off the back of the master closet so can’t serve as a bonus room or bedroom. Working on those details now.

How about using it as a secret man cave?

stickguy · October 2023

don't think that did not cross my mind. Office, exercise room, man hideout. All work!

explorerx4 · October 2023

If you look at picture 24 you can see the 8x20 attic floor space over the 2 car garage.
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/24-Centerbrook-Dr_Farmington_CT_06032_M32697-82440

stickguy · October 2023

that looks like it would come in real handy.

kyfdx · October 2023

stickguy said:
don't think that did not cross my mind. Office, exercise room, man hideout. All work!

Make sure they have a plan for ventilation

stickguy · October 2023

@kyfdx said:
Make sure they have a plan for ventilation

Can always open the window. We are waiting for options on running HVAC to it. Might put in piping to allow a mini split later on. Still TBD

explorerx4 · October 2023

The past couple of weeks, my new Explorer seemed to have been riding a bit rough.
It does have a sport suspension.
Checked the tire pressures and they were actually a bit low, so added some air.
Took it for about a 35 mile ride and after a while, it seemed fine.
Then I remembered, Pirelli tires. They start out rough then smooth out after a few miles.
Guess I was just taking too many short trips.
Picked the Explorer up on 9/30 and still on my first tank of gas.

kyfdx · October 2023

stickguy said:

@kyfdx said:

Make sure they have a plan for ventilation

Can always open the window. We are waiting for options on running HVAC to it. Might put in piping to allow a mini split later on. Still TBD

I would not bother with extra space on a 2nd floor that didn't have A/C ductwork.

kyfdx · October 2023

explorerx4 said:
The past couple of weeks, my new Explorer seemed to have been riding a bit rough.
It does have a sport suspension.
Checked the tire pressures and they were actually a bit low, so added some air.
Took it for about a 35 mile ride and after a while, it seemed fine.
Then I remembered, Pirelli tires. They start out rough then smooth out after a few miles.
Guess I was just taking too many short trips.
Picked the Explorer up on 9/30 and still on my first tank of gas.

We had similar experience with my wife's X3. The Pirellis were stiffer, but miles better in tracking and handling.

sda · October 2023

explorerx4 said:
The past couple of weeks, my new Explorer seemed to have been riding a bit rough.
It does have a sport suspension.
Checked the tire pressures and they were actually a bit low, so added some air.
Took it for about a 35 mile ride and after a while, it seemed fine.
Then I remembered, Pirelli tires. They start out rough then smooth out after a few miles.
Guess I was just taking too many short trips.
Picked the Explorer up on 9/30 and still on my first tank of gas.

Do they flat spot a little? I believe the tires on my Passat do the same if not driven daily. I get some minor roughness/vibration around 50 mph. After I’ve driven a while, smooth going.

tjc78 · October 2023

Ugh ! Phillies giving me heartburn early!

explorerx4 · October 2023

@sda,
The ride was somewhat harsh not bumpy.

oldfarmer50 · October 2023

I never thought I’d be bringing the discussion back to appliances but I need opinions on electric stoves. The one we have is old enough that I don’t remember when we bought it. It’s a GE stove which seems to be having a problem with the controls. Once turned on you can’t modulate the heat so it’s basically on or off.

I’m sure it’s a problem with the control circuits.

My question, will a repair be as expensive as just buying a new stove?

stickguy · October 2023

That old might not even be able to get parts. If you feel handy, just take it apart and see what you find. Might be videos on YouTube.

Otherwise go to the scratch and dent section and look for a deal. I’d bet a repair call will be at least half the cost of a new one

qbrozen · October 2023

@tjc78 said:
Ugh ! Phillies giving me heartburn early!

I’m depressed today.

I don’t understand letting Kimbrel blow it 2 days in a row. He shouldn’t have even been available last night. Ridiculous.

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