All Forum Posts by: Johann Jells

I'm not sure what a "Flush Ball Diameter Rating" is. Googling the phrase has no hits at all. Cadet 3 has a 3" flush flapper valve.

 Stay far away!  Got a Gerber one for my home, not only was it so loud it scared the crap out of my small kids, but it didn't do as good a job as the Cadet 3. Including the 2 in my home I've installed 14, and have never had a problem.  I feel like I should post a video of it flushing for those used to 1st gen low flows that weren't properly designed.  I just replaced my last one and was shocked at how long that thing took to flush. The Cadet 3 flushes with a soft woosh and is done, as fast as a commercial tankless toilet.

 Answer is don't buy a Glacier Bay. For slightly more an AS Cadet 3 1.3L is an amazing toilet. HD had them on sale recently for $99. Secret is a 3" diameter flush valve.

I'm confused, why do you not use conventional baseboard doorstops? They work great, and if you're concerned about them being kicked out, use the springy ones. $2 and come in 6 finishes. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-Satin-Nickel-Spring-Door-Stop-15582/202033976.  The only times I've used the hinge ones is in very unusual circumstances, like the door opens to a glass front built in cabinet.  The only downside I've found to the springy ones is the kids might drive you crazy plucking them to hear the thwanggggggggggg sound.

I disagree on bright white trim, I think it gets dingier looking than a slightly off white. I've settled on HD "swiss coffee" for trim and Ben Moore "Navajo White" (really a pale neutral yellow) for walls. 

My stock speech is this: 

The main difference between rental RE and any other form of investing for us mere mortals who aren't hedge funders is that this is the only market we can take serious advantage of borrowing leverage. If you buy a rental with 25% down on a 15 year note that pays all it's expenses and mortgage the whole time, and nothing more, at the end of the mortgage you've made 9.4% on your 25% down.   That's considered great in most investments over that long. Had you bought a stock that didn't go up, at the end of that time you'd have lost a significant chunk to inflation. Now consider that rents usually go up over 15 years, as do values. Even if you have no cashflow at the start of the mortgage you likely will by the end.

Yes it's worth it, but I'm also very handy.

I don't know why anyone would throw something in the disposal that they can just as easily toss in the kitchen trash. When I installed one for the 1st time I was startled my wife insisted on throwing just about everything in there from food prep. I can't imagine it's cheaper to pull all this crap out of the water at treatment than just to landfill it to begin with. (we don't have anyplace for composting)

Existing tenants are an asset when it comes to a loan, the bank considers the income yours when evaluating your finances. Vacant, no income. If you have no tenant protections in your city other than a lease, at least you can be easily rid of them when it runs out. The wait is the cost of doing business.

Had to share this. After being fed up with conflicting advice on detector locations from 3 city and state inspection agencies, I took a floor plan of a unit down to the city FD to have them tell me where to locate them.  A city FD inspector says "you want the CO outside the bedrooms where you can hear it, but you should have one outside the kitchen in case the pilot light goes out". When I pointed out that a unlit pilot would leak methane but not create CO, she goes "yeah, I guess you're right". Trained. Fire. Inspector.

 I'm curious, did the engineered wood have beveled edges or flush, and if the latter, does it get the slight "tent" effect at the seam that laminate can get? I've not seen EW under $2/ft, I could have gotten 8mm Costco w lifetime wear warranty on sale last week for $1.05/ft, but I ordered 10mm from LL for $1.30.  The warranty is nothing but an indicator of how thick the finish wear layer is. The cheap stuff can be as low as 10 year.

@Eduardo Cedeno, if you consider "Is this based on personal experience?" to be a personal attack, you must spend a lot of time in conflict. But thin skinned contractors are a stereotype. A friend was just telling me last night about their GC who got hysterical and stormed off when he pointed out things he thought weren't done right. My friend had once been a professional carpenter, and I've had similar experiences. That's why I DIY as much as I possibly can.