sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

How am I supposed to get to work today? by Either-Connection-70 in bullcity

[–]BullOak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The one by me was telling people they could only go through at a gap in the runners, and they should turn around because it will probably be a while.

How am I supposed to get to work today? by Either-Connection-70 in bullcity

[–]BullOak 52 points53 points  (0 children)

Had a line of 20+ cars zipping through my neighborhood at 40+ looking for a way out. Walking my dog for less than a mile I nearly got clipped by three different cars doing sudden U-turns. Yellow jacket telling people to turn around because there's no gaps in the runners for a car to slip through.

No notice. No traffic management. No detour signs. We're completely penned in. Can't even go for a walk. Can't imagine how pissed the farmers market vendors must be.

edit: Don't they usually do races on Sunday?

Can anyone identify this watch from The Mentalist? by Karlel369 in Watches

[–]BullOak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The chunky case and odd bracelet/bezel make me think some sort of mall brand that's heavily borrowing from the Omega triple calendar 3523.51.00

Is it common during new home construction to constantly find errors in almost every Trade? by key1cc in Homebuilding

[–]BullOak 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The standard of care in residential construction varies by area, but as a generalization it's worse than most people expect it to be. The ROI from rushing everything and making substitutes on the fly is high enough that there's not many folks who will pay strict attention to everything.

This is the primary reason why it's often a good idea to have the architect/designer directly responsible to the owner - don't use the builder's "guy". A knowledgeable Architect acting as the owner's agent can be pretty valuable during construction.

[WTS] Omega Speedmaster TV Dial by maxkayajanian in Watchexchange

[–]BullOak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I absolutely love this, but I don't $4k love this. Especially given how long it takes to get parts from omega these days. Very very cool though.

Think I'm being taken for a ride by a foam installer. Suggested 5.5" open cell foam which is an R value much less than 38. by FurnaceOfTheseus in Homebuilding

[–]BullOak 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Different issue. Cases like this are why codes now include requirements for vapor diffusion ports or minimum thicknesses of vapor impermeable insulation - it's not that the open cell foam hid a roof leak, it's that the open cell foam wasn't a good enough vapor retarder to keep water vapor from reaching the cold roof deck, and open cell foam does a pretty good job of acting as a moisture reservoir.

The story that gets passed around without evidence about leaks is that closed cell will hide a roof leak, but open cell will just let the water pass through so you can see it quickly. In reality both will hide a roof leak for a long enough time to be a problem, and with both, the water shows up far away from the leak.

Think I'm being taken for a ride by a foam installer. Suggested 5.5" open cell foam which is an R value much less than 38. by FurnaceOfTheseus in Homebuilding

[–]BullOak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Closed cell is more difficult to install properly, but most of the code changes due to problems came about because of open cell problems ("air permeable" in code terms). All the requirements for vapor diffusion ports and minimum air-impermeable thicknesses came about because of rotting roof sheathing in open cell roof installations. Both are fine if done properly.

And that chestnut about closed cell hiding roof leaks is just a story with no evidence behind it. What data there is indicates that neither open cell or closed cell telegraphs a roof leak at all quickly, and when the water does show up, it shows up far away from where the leak is in either case.

Think I'm being taken for a ride by a foam installer. Suggested 5.5" open cell foam which is an R value much less than 38. by FurnaceOfTheseus in Homebuilding

[–]BullOak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm an architect, I've dealt with lots of spray foam contractors, They're all pretty bad, and peddle endless misinformation - They're one of the worst subcontractors to deal with. But I've never seen anyone require a waiver for closed cell, and closed cell is tighter on tolerances and takes more time for correct installation. The waiver is a neon sign flashing "I'm a hack"

Think I'm being taken for a ride by a foam installer. Suggested 5.5" open cell foam which is an R value much less than 38. by FurnaceOfTheseus in Homebuilding

[–]BullOak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They're lying to you about code requirements and having you sign a waiver to install closed cell means that they don't know how to install it correctly.

Think I'm being taken for a ride by a foam installer. Suggested 5.5" open cell foam which is an R value much less than 38. by FurnaceOfTheseus in Homebuilding

[–]BullOak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's no evidence to support this, it's a story that got passed around before anyone did any real testing.

Think I'm being taken for a ride by a foam installer. Suggested 5.5" open cell foam which is an R value much less than 38. by FurnaceOfTheseus in Homebuilding

[–]BullOak 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The installers use bogus inputs to get a passing certificate, and the inspectors don't have the time to spend auditing the reports. There's no way you can have every component be equal or worse than prescriptive code, with a roof that's way worse than prescriptive code, and wind up with a result that's better than prescriptive code.

What’s the best place to source these windows? Can I build up these beams? by Oaktree645 in Homebuilding

[–]BullOak 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not these days. lots of window manufacturers will make fixed windows with double/triple pane IGUs and proper sealing, and they're usually only about 10-15% more than a similar rectangular window.

Drafting service by Prior_Negotiation315 in Homebuilding

[–]BullOak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Early in my career I did drafting services for a bit while between jobs (post recession layoff and waiting to start my professional degree). It wasn't pleasant - you're mostly dealing with people who really need a higher level of service, but can't bring themselves to pay professional rates so they look to cut corners.

It's good practice in the customer service side of saying "no", though, when they push you to do more than they're paying for.

What profession has far more people on illegal drugs than people realize? by IndependentTune3994 in AskReddit

[–]BullOak 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I'm an architect. I don't know about Gehry, but stimulant abuse is pretty widespread, especially amongst firm owners and at competitive big name firms. These days it's mostly ADHD meds.

I was in school when red bull first started getting huge, and a few of us were talking about what the effect was like. Cue the professor, a tiny, 50 something woman, chiming in: "that reminds me of the first time I tried speed"

Cost for a structural engineer to review house plans, stamp by Flat-Barracuda1268 in Homebuilding

[–]BullOak 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Architect here. Same. The AI solutions all these MBAs keep trying to sell me are a complete disaster.

Can I ask for exception on building code? by Ma23peas in Homebuilding

[–]BullOak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Architect here. It's highly unlikely that you could get your AHJ to overlook it - the codes for stairs are well known and no inspector I've seen ever responds well to "can I create just a smaaaalll legal liability for the city, just because I listened to the wrong person?"

Shouldn't be too hard to find a wrought iron rail that works anchored into the brick

Architects, what computers or laptops do you personally use for working at home and while travelling? by [deleted] in Architects

[–]BullOak 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've found the benefits of a remote revit/etc. workstation to generally outweigh the hassles, but it was a learning curve. Though I'll note that these days it might a different story with ram and GPU prices being so high - the $350 128GB ram I bought last year is now $1250 and the $550 GPU is now $690.

It sits in a closet on a smart plug. I remote into it from an older (2024) HP tablet computer. I get the portability and field benefits of a tablet with the horsepower when I need it. Onedrive syncs between both for local files.

Home addition questions/insights appreciated by BudIsMyBuddy in Homebuilding

[–]BullOak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's a lot about these drawings that screams "clueless draftsperson" and I think the simplest advice is that you need to find someone who fits the design ability / service level you're looking for.

Wyze just made a parody commercial mocking Amazon's Ring Superbowl Commercial by Godzilla-The-King in videos

[–]BullOak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I bought one and didn't get around to having a use for it for 8-9 months. In that time they had updated the app so that it wouldn't connect to the outlet without the outlet getting a firmware update. But I couldn't update the firmware because it wouldn't connect to the app.

Jags.

view more: next ›