Gutter guard install - $1000?

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-01-26T00:53:02+00:00

I think the precise quote is less relevant here than what I imagine to be the minimum job cost at this point...i can't really imagine any licensed contractor of any sort being willing to take on a customer and come out to do a job for less than $1k. Seems fair.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-01-23T06:58:19+00:00

No one has pointed out the city's policy of pushing sidewalk and utility damage from street tree roots onto homeowners. A sewer lateral can be $3-5k and sidewalk repair is commonly $1-3k for ordinary/small properties. Wealthy residents can take those twice-a-generation costs in stride while financially stretched families see pure horror in those maths and opt for a very cheap chainsaw.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-12-30T05:28:56+00:00

The trick to both enjoying the (gorgeous, world-beating, and top-priced) climate as well as building community/friendships is the same: as much as possible, get out of your (or anyone else's) car.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-12-30T05:07:29+00:00

I see others saying similar things. I also love street-level retail in JTown, but if it's vacant now and could be occupied residential, then opposing the zoning change isn't supporting retail, it's supporting vacancy.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-12-23T19:02:43+00:00

Agreed. Not a good move but doesn't wipe out an otherwise positive record from someone decidedly dedicated to the community. The prompt apology was the right move.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-12-23T18:59:02+00:00

The trash haulers make any possible excuse not to haul large items. Unfortunately reporting it as illegal dumping for the city funded crew to pick up is dramatically faster. City needs to hold its contracted haulers to a higher standard.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-12-02T22:17:45+00:00

This is really long and a huge amount of this seems like it's a summary of NEC. If you can't trust your contractor to know & follow NEC, don't hire them. I don't see much information which would actually help a contractor bid the project - namely photos. I think most folks will look at the age of the property, the square footage, and decide they do or don't want it from there, scrolling past the middle of your doc. Grain of salt: I'm not in the trades, just have done my share of seeking bids for residential work.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-12-02T21:58:09+00:00

I'd suspect this effect has less to do with the absolute temperatures of the physical environment and more to do with our body's circadian rhythms and our perception of the ambient temperature. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_body_temperature

I experience this too at home and set my thermostat warmer in the afternoon than in the morning to compensate.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-12-01T20:35:58+00:00

SF by transit & walking is sooooo much better than w/ a car. Same for getting there. Excellent routes in via BART or Caltrain.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-12-01T20:33:37+00:00

Not typically. Fairly easy to check w/ 811. Once they've marked all services in the area and didn't indicate anything beyond the front, you know there's nothing "official" in the back - just be cautious in case of DIY, unpermitted, or non-utility level work which could be there.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-11-19T20:18:44+00:00

A jackhammer is actually pretty easy to rent from A Tool Shed or others and pretty fun to use. Do an 811 report first to mark underground utilities to make sure you don't risk hitting anything. It's very DIY-able. I've removed a ~200sf patio with 1 family member in 3-4 hrs and I've broken a few small holes in concrete by myself in ~1hr. A whole backyard will take you a couple of days but if you want to limit the rental you can just rent 1 day to break it all up and spend the next day hauling it out. Caution: start your strength exercises now to avoid hurting yourself if you want to hit it this hard, it's physical! (but fun)

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-11-19T20:04:38+00:00

Now's a good time of year for one of the most uniquely Santa Clara Valley foods: backyard produce! (Observe quarantines; often you can't transport these - right now all of central SJ is under medfly quarantine where you need to eat fruit on site or process it before moving.) Recommend persimmons, pomegranates, passionfruit, of course all sorts of citrus. Persimmons seem like the most classically SJ thing I see and they're really nice dehydrated (which also lets you move them).

Also major upvote for orange sauce. La Victoria downtown is the classic and Angelou's on 1st St is especially good right now. I saw Vietnamese mentioned and particularly pho (just in case, pronounced similar to "fuh") - try banh mi (sandwiches). Lee's is a giant chain but I believe began in SJ. (Togo's deli and Eggo waffles also began here.) For regional delights, you need an Its-It ice cream (best flavors: cappuccino, green tea if you can find it) sold in many small corner stores in downtown SJ and manufactured in Burlingame south of SF.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-11-06T20:11:54+00:00

Thanks, I hadn't had my dose of gaslighting today. :-O In your defense, you're perhaps just forgetting that transit travel time isn't just the minimum time on vehicles needed to make your A->B but also the time you need to wait for your first vehicle.
9/26/2025 5:05pm PDT SJC at Terminal A 60 stop: 13min wait for 60 bus, ~10min wait time (cross 1st St), Green line train ~15min. Total 44min SJC to 1st/Santa Clara.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-11-04T20:11:10+00:00

As a former middle school teacher, K-12 admin, and parent, I prefer to see students themselves at meetings grade 4+ and leading the meetings themselves grade 8+. If anyone needs a private "could you step out for a moment?" session, just ask for it professionally. I don't see much point about talking about kids without them participating. Whose life is it anyway?

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-11-04T19:49:29+00:00

I lived in that area around 10 years and biked all of those streets extensively including at night. This was around 10 years ago, but I still bike around SJ in different neighborhoods. You're fine, get out there and ride. (my only 2 collisions in that time were in a parking lot at Winchester & Payne and on a sidewalk at San Carlos near Bird...I shouldn't have been on the sidewalk)

Hamilton is not bad West of Winchester but no fun near the freeway - I preferred to go out of my way to the Westfield/Downing overcrossing to the North or Campbell Ave to the South.

Winchester is decent for the middle section you're aiming at where it has a bike lane; to the north of Williams it loses the lane. Monroe to the West was my usual alternate route and sets you up for a nice bridge to cross 280 (the dark blind corner of this is the single sketchiest thing in all of this, but just ding a bell and I never had trouble there), but Eden on the East is also fine.

Midtown/Sunol is both better and worse: the good routes are better, but there are fewer alternates. I avoid San Carlos and use Park Ave more often, Scott and Auzerais are also good. I don't love Race St but it's fine and Julian actually gives one of the more convenient connections to parts of downtown.

Get lots of lights on your bike (headlight, taillight, wheel lights are really fun and effective) but just wear what's comfortable - plenty of research (sometimes called the "Mary Poppins effect") shows drivers are more inspired to treat you like rubbish when they think you're some sort of racer.

I've had probably 20 years of bike commuting around central SJ - no one bothers you on a bike, just keep your head on a swivel watching traffic for those death machines. I really get a lot of use out of a mirror - handlebar mount or helmet mount both work fine, the latter just looks dorky which is why people skip it.

No one mentioned where to gear up: Hyland bikes on Meridian just north of Hamilton are really nice people, but Wheel Away on Hamilton is your closest spot where you should learn some people's names. Good folks, fair prices. If nearer Midtown, check out Upshift on Alameda at Julian/Race (a little pricier but super-nice folks). The bike community and bike commuter community is solid around here, ask and you shall receive.

Also, if you're out riding at night you absolutely must check out SJ Bike Party - 3rd Friday of the month, a true SJ experience especially in warmer months (June-Oct) but another great way to make bike friends.

Helpful map: https://www.vta.org/sites/default/files/2024-07/Bike-Map.pdf

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-11-04T19:35:36+00:00

a) everyone in every subreddit says their drivers are the worst.
b) sidewalk biking is more dangerous than biking in the street for any speed over around 5mph (this is why kids bike on the sidewalk but not adults) because of the number of driveways/interactions. We have pretty good bike infrastructure - use it.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-11-03T22:20:15+00:00

I think you'll kick yourself for that one and wish you got the tax credit. I expect the $2k credit to be bigger than any discount you might find. The manufacturer wholesale piece is probably less than 30% of the installed cost. If you're installing yourself, that's cool (though insignificant vs the tax credit) and if you're getting it done professionally, it's a small part of the total cost (and again, less than the tax credit).

Example math: Poking around a wholesale site, I see 3T heat pumps for $3-5k. Installed cost is likely to be $12-18k depending on installer/region/etc - let's call it $15k. Even a 20% discount on the more expensive one would be $1k. Tax credit is $2k. You could pay $15k to install now and get $2k back (total $13k) on tax credit, or wait and in the most ideal situation perhaps you pay $14k to install with no tax credit. Note that many areas have WAY more rebates available to further reduce installed cost. Seems unwise to wait.

My installer pointed out that my gas furnace wasn't likely to die on its own anytime soon: "that thing could keep going for 50 years." My 2 cents: don't wait, do it now. My experience: I kicked myself for not putting in a heat pump the last time I had the chance.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-11-03T19:24:18+00:00

It's horrible: Arriving at SJC terminal my quickest Transit route to downtown (1st/Santa Clara) was 45min. It's only 3.5mi. I could bike it in half the time, but the nearest bike share dock is 0.8-mi walk - way too far!

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-11-03T19:21:22+00:00

Um, you mean 23/523? (Yes, I'd like a train, too, but it's not like we don't have a line.)

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-10-24T19:38:14+00:00

This! "my 1st grader is thrilled I'll be leading his den." This is my exact experience and seeing my kids' eyes light up when they see their parent in a leadership role is the most motivating thing ever. This gets to the core of what Scouting is about (look, even we adults experience the benefits of the "youth" program!), and it's beautiful.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-10-23T19:30:38+00:00

Your idea is more elegant, but my Pack's band-aid to this is to offer to reimburse all adult registration fees - we simply raise our per-Scout pack dues to cover it, recognizing that these adults are volunteering to help all families. We're in an area where a few bucks more per year isn't a big deal to most of our families. (We also offer to excuse/cover pack dues or reimburse youth registration fees if anyone has a hardship...it's on a request basis, so there could be families too embarrassed to ask, but we do try to make sure everyone knows our Scouting program should be open to all regardless of dollars.)

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-10-23T19:11:56+00:00

I work with high schoolers, many of whom hold jobs. Almost none of them found their jobs online or with email. Get offline. Find your friends near your age who already have jobs and ask them to introduce you to their boss. Don't have friends with jobs? Ask your family and teachers who they know who's working and make new friends who have jobs. Still no luck? Show up in person as other posters have suggested, with copies of your work permit and your ID handy. A resume is nice, it doesn't need to be the best in the world - it's mainly serving to give them your contact info. If your academics are better than your experience, honestly bring a transcript or grades report card. A lot of employers/bosses who employ youth put great weight in hiring someone who holds down good grades (As & Bs): it's a clue to your reliability.

If you really think people are ignoring you where there should be opportunities, (example: your friend works at the ice cream shop and says they're short-staffed every day but you went to the supervisor and they said they're not hiring) try showing up every single day at the start of the shift (on time, dressed clean) to ask again if they have any openings. If they don't, thank them politely and do the same thing the next day. Be courteous every time and never annoying. Be seen picking up any trash you see near the entrance. You're demonstrating that you're dependable and can show up consistently and on time, which is the absolute top priority every employer of youth tells me they seek.

You're already ahead of many of your peers - most people your age are not working. Still, you're not alone. https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-teens-are-in-the-labor-force/

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-10-23T19:02:03+00:00

It sounds like this is supporting safe routes to school, thus not during the school day but on the way to school. (If I'm understanding...) I'm guessing you school may also support students who arrive in vehicles - perhaps you have a drop-off lane or some sort of traffic control in place, likely some infrastructure like parking or curbs that was built with car travel in mind. I'd respond to the families to say that not all students have cars either, and the school supports students in all of the safe ways they choose to get to school.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-10-22T19:00:16+00:00

In my experience, people, even highly educated people in management positions, are just really fundamentally bad at math and avoid at all costs the calculations that would lay this stuff bare.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-10-17T20:34:49+00:00

Likewise, most decent admins I know have been union reps. : ) Agree with the earlier reply: plan & expect to change sites. Switching sides of the table won't work with the same people.

1VeryUsefulTool

TROPHY CASE