I had a guy out to quote attic insulation on my house near Nob Hill last month and he pushed spray foam hard. Everyone on here seems to love it but I went with blown-in fiberglass instead for about $1,200. My neighbor did spray foam three years ago and now he's dealing with a roof leak that's impossible to trace because the foam hides everything. Has anyone else run into issues with spray foam trapping moisture up there?
I was patching a crack in my back wall off Central Ave and noticed the stucco felt spongey... dug into it and found black mold behind a 3 foot section. Turns out Albuquerque's freeze-thaw cycle can crack old stucco and let rainwater sit behind it for months. Anyone else deal with hidden moisture damage behind their stucco walls?
I was pressure washing this old broken concrete slab and this plumber neighbor walked by and said 'you know that's gonna crack worse if you keep that nozzle that close.' He wasn't wrong, I was just going through the motions like I always do but he pointed out the angle and distance thing I never even thought about. Has anyone else had a random neighbor drop some knowledge that totally changed how you worked?
I figured I'd save money insulating my garage attic myself with one of those DIY spray foam kits. Turned out the foam didn't cure right because it was too cold that weekend in February. Had to pay a guy $600 to scrape it all off and do it proper. Anyone else regret trying this stuff without a pro?
I see people grabbing those 99 cent foam rollers at the Lowe's on Coors for their interior walls and I cringe every time. They leave bubbles and lint behind no matter how much you prep, and I had to repaint my whole living room twice because of it. How do you all feel about spending a little extra on the woven ones at Sherwin Williams?
I grabbed a $5 caulk gun from the hardware store on Central last year and it worked fine for small stuff, but yesterday I was trying to seal around my bathtub and the plunger just snapped clean off halfway through. Turns out the cheap ones can't handle the thicker silicone we use in the dry climate here. Anyone got a recommendation for a caulk gun that won't break the bank but actually lasts more than a few jobs?
I spent two winters stuffing fiberglass insulation into the gaps around my old single-pane windows. It never stayed put and I could still feel cold air seeping through. A guy at the hardware store told me to try foam backer rod instead, said it seals better and doesn't settle. I bought a roll of 1/2 inch rod for $8 and pushed it into the gaps with a putty knife, then caulked over it. That was six months ago and my utility bill dropped about $30 a month. Has anyone else had luck with this stuff or is there a better trick for old windows?
I spent like 3 summers messing with that Orbit timer from Home Depot (you know, the one with the tiny buttons). Turns out it wasn't the timer at all - the solenoid on my back zone valve was just old and sticky. Replaced it for $12 at Ace Hardware on Central and now everything runs perfect. Anyone else waste money on timers when the real problem was a $12 part?
I just had to pick between paint and stain for my backyard fence off Central Ave. Paint looks cleaner but chips fast in our sun, while stain fades but is easier to touch up. I went with a solid stain last month because a neighbor warned me paint peels after two summers here. So far it's holding up okay, but I wonder if paint would've looked better longer. Anyone have experience with either option in this climate?
Last month I was retiling a shower in the Northeast Heights and kept ripping through standard cotton gloves, until a flooring guy I know said to try mechanics gloves with nitrile coating - they grip wet tile way better and I didn't replace a single pair all week. Anybody else found a glove that actually lasts through grout work?
I was dead set on doing blown-in insulation for my attic until I talked to my buddy who works at a local insulation company here in Albuquerque. He said with our crazy temperature swings from 100 degrees to freezing, spray foam seals way better and stops air leaks that fiberglass just can't touch. He showed me a house they did last summer where the AC bill dropped $60 a month after switching to closed-cell foam. That got me thinking because my electric bill hit $280 last July and I'm tired of it. Now I'm leaning toward spray foam but it costs twice as much upfront. Has anyone here made the switch in Albuquerque and seen real savings on their utility bills?
I spent 40 bucks on a bucket of pre-mixed stucco patch from Lowe's and it cracked within a week on my driveway wall in the North Valley. Mixed my own sand and Portland cement at a 3:1 ratio with just water and it held up through two monsoon storms without a single hairline crack. Has anyone else had better luck with the DIY mix or am I just getting bad batches?
Was at my house near Nob Hill last month. Pulled the trap and found a solid chunk of grease and coffee grounds. Took an hour with a bucket and a bent wire hanger to clear it out, but the pipes are 40 years old so I'm guessing this won't be the last time.
He said the 24x48 tiles would never lay flat enough for tight lines here in Albuquerque with our clay soil shifting. After 6 months I've got lippage all over and a few cracked tiles. Should I just let him handle the grout line size from now on?
I sealed up my garage in Albuquerque with closed cell spray foam last fall, thinking it would keep the dust out and save on cooling costs. Instead, I started finding condensation on the metal garage door and even some mold spots near the floor within a few months. Has anyone else in this dry climate had issues with spray foam trapping moisture in unexpected ways?
I was at the hardware store on Central last week and heard this guy telling a worker how his plumber charged him $120 to swap a washer, but then his water bill went up $40 the next month. It made me think back to when I replaced my own toilet flapper back in 2018 and saved probably $150 in parts and labor. Has anyone else noticed that some simple fixes backfire after you think you've saved money?
So last weekend I was fixing a hole in my hallway drywall about the size of a baseball. My neighbor Bill, who's done like 3 home projects ever, told me 'primer is a waste of money just paint over the patch'. I figured he knew what he was talking about since he just redid his bathroom. Now the patch is all shiny and stands out like a sore thumb against the old paint. How do you guys fix a patch that's already painted without repainting the whole wall?
Felt that draft for years but kept putting it off until a storm ripped the old aluminum frames apart, now I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner - anyone else notice huge savings after swapping to vinyl double-pane windows?
I was talking to a guy named Ed from Ed's Plumbing on Central last week after he fixed a leak. He told me most people set their water heaters at 140 degrees but 120 is plenty and saves like 10-15% on energy bills. It hit me that I've been wasting power for years without thinking about it. Has anyone else dropped their temp and seen a real drop in their gas bill?
Talking to a plumber last week who said modern PVC is fine but he's already seeing 20-year-old joints fail in this clay-heavy soil. Makes me wonder if the old ways really were built for the long haul or if we just got lucky back then.
Honestly I thought they were just a gimmick my neighbor recommended, but after my last electric bill dropped $18 I'm a believer. Has anyone else seen real savings from these things or is my insulation just that bad?
I was framing a shed addition in my backyard last weekend and this old framer named Dave walked by. He saw me struggling to snap a straight line on a concrete slab and just laughed. He told me to stop using cheap blue chalk and switch to a high-temp red chalk that won't fade in the sun. Then he showed me how to double-snap the line by going over it twice for walls that have to be dead-on. I been doing layouts the hard way for 5 years and this one tip saved me 30 minutes of rework. Has anyone else picked up a simple trick from a total stranger that changed how you do stuff?
I was grabbing supplies at the Lowe's on Coors last weekend and overheard this older guy telling the cashier about using a scrap piece of drywall as a backing patch instead of buying those metal clips. I've been patching holes for years and never thought to just cut a bigger square, slide a piece behind, and screw it in from both sides. Tried it on a quarter-sized hole in my living room wall and it came out way cleaner than my usual mesh tape method. Plus I didn't have to drive back for special clips or spend extra cash. Has anyone else found a cheap trick from just listening to strangers at the hardware store?
Last Tuesday the pilot light on my Rheem water heater just wouldn't stay lit. It was that old 50 gallon thing from 2004 that came with the house when I bought it in 2010. I spent 4 hours messing with the thermocouple and cleaning out the burner, but the rust flakes in the bottom were so bad it was done. Ended up dropping $1,200 on a new unit from Lowe's and had my buddy help me swap it out Saturday morning. Anyone else had a older water heater just quit without warning like that?
I was tired of my garage being an oven in summer and a freezer in winter, so I insulated the attic space above it. The spray foam cost me $900 but sealed every gap, while the fiberglass I used in another section left cold spots near the edges. Has anyone else seen a big difference between the two in their own place?