All Forum Posts by: Travis Hatch

@Leah Stuever thank you!

Hey everyone.  I'm currently finishing setting up a single family home house hack.  I'm living in the basement, and renting out the 1st floor rooms individually.  I was wondering, for others in my situation, how do you handle utilities?  Do you increase the rent and have "utilities included" in each room rental's price, or do you split utilities between all residents?

I can see pros and cons to either, wondering your personal experience!

Thank you

@Matt M. hah!  I guess i'm searching for a unicorn then :D I'm going to get a couple more quotes and move forward with replacing the FPE box and pigtailing the outlets.  Maybe I could "get by" with doing nothing but i'd rather spend the money for peace of mind and if I were to sell it i'm sure the buyers would have the same concerns.

Thank you for your help here, $25/outlet is a good point of reference as well for the quote.

And hey, if I find a unicorn i'll let you know!

@Anthony Dooley interesting, this is similar to what my inspector said, although he recommended replacing the FPE box.  I hear a wide ranges of responses from investors, inspectors, and experienced electrician's alike from "ticking time bomb" to "not a big deal", so i'm trying to decide what to do.  My inclination is to replace the FPE box and pigtail the outlets, and then leave the rest of it alone.  From my understanding at this point that should be safe indefinitely.

@Steve K. right on thank you!  I'll keep you posted if I get Gabe on the phone.  I appreciate all the insight, this is super helpful.

@Craig Curelop will do buddy thank you!

@Steve K. thank you for all the advice, and I completely agree.  I have heard many horror stories about FPE boxes.  I know it is "working fine" for now and there's no issues at this point, but I will be replacing it within the next week.  At this point, my plan is to replace with a new box, and pigtail all the outlets.

I'm counting this as a learning experience, and i'll know what to do next time I encounter a property with this old electrical!

Thanks for your referral, I will give Gabe a call tomorrow for another quote.

@Matt M. thank you for the advice!  After speaking with a few electricians I think the plan is: pigtail the outlets, replace the FPE box. I will make sure to demand a permit as well!  Do you have any "go to" electricians in Denver for a good price?

My house has aluminum wiring (one breaker is copper, the rest aluminum), a federal pacific box, and a couple other electrical projects.  Everything is working perfectly for now, but I want to initiate a solution.  

I'm looking for a trustworthy electrician who has experience with aluminum wiring to help get everything in a good, safe condition as i'm house hacking and will be bringing tenants in soon.

If anyone on here is an electrician that would be able to check it out, or if any Denver investors have any referrals that would be much appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

I am in Northglenn Colorado (Denver), and it has been snowing a lot this week and very cold. There are ice dams building on my roof, and the gutters are totally full. With the sun out, and it rising close to 40 degrees it's melting but not able to flow through the gutters.

I have some sort of plastic / vinyl material for my soffit and it appears that water is leaking and traveling across the soffit until it hits the outside wall of the home. It seems it's not properly sloped away from the house to the gutter. The water is then dripping down the outside wall of my house / kitchen window.

I do not see any water in the house yet, but i am concerned that it will find its way inside and cause much more damage.

A few things I think I can do are:

1. 1. increase insulation in the attic to stop heat escaping to the roof and melting the snow un evenly.
2. 2. add heat strips on the gutters to melt the gutter ice (once the ice has melted and I am free to install them)

I'm looking for advice on:

1. 1. Any other ideas to help protect against this in the future?
2. 2. Based on the description, what should I do now?
3. 3. Is there a risk if water getting into my house?

Other ideas: what do you think?

1. 1. remove soffit / re balance and slope away from the house
2. 2. remove gutters
3. 3. Add insulation to the attic, leave it alone and wait for it to melt this week (hoping there's not water damage) and then install heat strips in the gutters for next time

All advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you