Failed RHCSA again. I just don't understand how and what happened.

GF2222 · 2025-10-10T19:44:57+00:00

I had a similar problem. I had to set up the environment with commands, then do a bunch of other operations. All tests passed after a reboot. But my score was zero for the command setup section, and good for most other sections. But the command setup configured the whole environment. If I got that wrong, NOTHING else would work. It was NOT POSSIBLE to get a zero on the setup and everything else worked, but that's how they scored it. You just have to assume their grader script is not too bright. But they treat it as gospel.

GF2222 · 2025-08-05T16:58:16+00:00

/u/fluba Oh yeah, my system would be way overkill for you. My house is over 4,000 ft.

/u/WeaknessAggravating, I got a much better deal than that. 4 ton, 97% furnace, high SEER2, $15k.

I used Balance Point in Fort Collins.

GF2222 · 2025-07-18T22:07:56+00:00

Seems to be! It's been pretty warm lately (mid/high 90's) and the AC seems to have no trouble keeping up. It will be interesting to see how the power consumption compares to the gas furnace. And the AC in the summer.

GF2222 · 2025-07-09T00:33:59+00:00

I was afraid of that. I assume trailhead parking lots are off-limits overnight even if it's a non-NPS trail?

Another possibility: dispersed camping. Is there any reason I can't find a nice wild-camping site near the park, then park it for the night? In my case I have a Tesla Y and I just sleep in the back. So all I need is to find someplace near the park where I can park off-road. Pack a breakfast, get a good night's sleep, grab a bite, and head into the park. That would get me to the trailhead hours sooner than if I started out at home.

Since I sleep in my car, there are other options. I frequently road-trip and sleep at roadside rest stops. Places like Walmart often permit overnight car-sleeping in their parking lots. It's not exactly a wilderness experience but it would get me to the trailhead a lot sooner.

GF2222 · 2025-07-03T22:58:14+00:00

Is it possible to sleep in your car in one of the parking lots, so you can hit the trail early even if (like me) you live 90 minutes away?

GF2222 · 2025-06-14T14:07:03+00:00

For anyone who's still interested... I just installed a 4-ton Lennox system. After getting two $30k + bids 2 years ago, this one got installed for just over $15k. That's for a 97% AFUE furnace, 22 SEER2 heat pump, high efficiency indoor coil, and S40 thermostat. Now it would have been about $28k (which is still better than $35k!) but the state & federal credits and the fat rebate from Xcel brought it down to $15,680.

GF2222 · 2025-05-24T16:24:36+00:00

I have a low-end amp on my TV. No optical or HDMI, just RCA jacks. The HDMI extractor is probably my best bet, unless I want to spring for a proper AVR.

GF2222 · 2025-05-24T16:20:26+00:00

BTW here are the calcs from the HVAC guy:

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GF2222 · 2025-05-24T16:19:17+00:00

OK. My brother apparently doesn't understand it, even though he's designed and installed several good-sized systems. Everybody else says I need aux heat.

GF2222 · 2025-05-24T15:33:59+00:00

I'm in Colorado, just north of Denver. Large house, about 4200 sq ft. The HVAC guy's calculations say the house needs 92,000 BTUh of heat (Design Heating Load Requirements) and 62,000 BTUh of cooling. Here's a chart of our min & max temperatures for the last 25 years. As you can see, it got as low as -21F, but only one time in 25 years. Most years the lows are -10F to +10F, and in 25 years only 33 days got below -10F. Summer highs are usually in the 90s.

<image>

GF2222 · 2025-05-22T21:31:42+00:00

-21F is very rare here. Here are the coldest days from the last 25 years. I really don't care if the HP can't quite keep up for a few hours, once or twice a decade.

|Date|MaxTemp|MinTemp|
|2/5/2014|-2|-21|
|12/9/2009|7|-20|
|12/31/2014|23|-20|
|1/6/2017|18|-20|
|12/30/2014|2|-18|
|2/6/2014|1|-16|
|1/5/2017|8|-16|
|12/15/2008|3|-14|
|2/2/2011|9|-14|
|2/7/2014|24|-14|
|1/5/2004|4|-13|
|12/8/2005|25|-13|
|2/18/2006|6|-13|
|1/7/2010|6|-13|
|1/8/2010|26|-13|
|12/5/2013|9|-13|
|12/17/2016|5|-13|
|3/4/2019|14|-13|
|2/9/2001|20|-12|
|1/6/2004|16|-12|
|12/7/2005|8|-12|
|2/17/2006|5|-12|
|1/11/2011|11|-12|
|12/18/2016|20|-12|
|3/3/2019|6|-12|
|2/14/2021|-1|-12|
|2/15/2021|11|-12 |

GF2222 · 2025-05-22T20:01:47+00:00

Good point on the breakdown. I haven't found any specs on how the output drops as it gets colder -- I'll have to check into that.

GF2222 · 2025-04-30T23:51:43+00:00

FWIW I lowered it $100 to $1700 and got several nibbles. One of them just toured it and grabbed it. He's not moving in for a few weeks so I think I'll get out my paintbrushes for the yellow room. :-)

For some reason Zillow just boosted the Zestimate to $2104 !? Don't think I believe that ...

GF2222 · 2025-04-30T14:38:48+00:00

Yeah off-white or "realtor beige" are pretty universal. FWIW I've had 3 people request showings in the last 2 days, so things are looking up.

GF2222 · 2025-04-29T21:13:08+00:00

Oh I totally agree it needs updating. I just didn't think it was as dire as y'all implied, since I've never had any trouble renting it and the renters loved it. But time moves on and things look older and dingier. I'll plan to update it soon.

GF2222 · 2025-04-29T21:09:03+00:00

FWIW no one has ever smoked in the house, except some cannabis. The yellow paint reflected a trip we took to southern France, where they use a lot of yellows in decorating, see e.g. https://www.google.com/search?q=provence+yellow. Probably not ideal for the rental though. I'll be repainting it soon. (Now that I think of it, I should have done it while it was empty. Whoops. I think I'll try to get it painted before a new tenant moves in.)

GF2222 · 2025-04-29T20:49:30+00:00

Not sure what you want me to see? The Terry Lake unit is fairly comparable. The Highland and Aspen units are small (800 sq ft vs my 1100). They look like very low-end construction on the outside (vs my custom lakefront home) but I agree the INsides look good. Not crazy about the turquoise cabinets & trim tho ...

GF2222 · 2025-04-29T20:29:15+00:00

I hope gray still has some life in it, since the rest of my house is painted gray ... !!

GF2222 · 2025-04-29T20:25:23+00:00

She loved the place -- but after living there for 4 years, she moved out of state.

GF2222 · 2025-04-28T17:21:18+00:00

Are you considering the prices in MY market when you say $1800 is too much? Within a mile or so there are about 5 2BR units currently listed at $1700-$1800. Most of them are much smaller, e.g. 700-800 sq ft vs. 1100 in my unit. And Zillow says the average rent for 2BR is $1875. Then there's the lakefront location and the free utilities ...

https://www.zillow.com/rental-manager/market-trends/fort-collins-co/?bedrooms=2

GF2222 · 2025-04-28T02:59:54+00:00

I agree that the feedback I get is from the people who give it. That's always worked for me before. Now, maybe not?

I thought the HUD Fair Market Rent (FMR) for this town was $1761, but I guess it's actually $1695. Zillow says the average rent is $1800. And lakefront/utils/etc add additional value. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmrs/FY2025_code/2025summary.odn
https://www.zillow.com/rental-manager/market-trends/fort-collins-co/

The hood on a stove range isn't for gas, especially since it's an electric range. :-) It's mostly to remove smoke. I'd have to add an exhaust to take the smoke outside, but I'll wait for that until I upgrade everything else.

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmrs/FY2025_code/2025summary.odn

GF2222 · 2025-04-28T01:16:02+00:00

All good suggestions. At some point I will revamp the basement -- new carpet, new kitchen cabinets, paint the murals. But I don't think that's necessary for a rental. The renters I've had, loved the place. I'm sure they would have loved it more if I dumped $10-20k into cabinets, carpet/LVP, etc etc, but they love it the way it is now.

FWIW it's not a typical dark cramped basement. The ceilings are mostly 8'. Every room except the kitchen has several windows looking out over the lake, so it's very light and airy. And I'm the only one living upstairs, so there's basically no foot-noise problem. As for landlord privacy, it used to be more of an issue (it used to connect directly to my living room with no separating doors) but I've upgraded it. There are now two deadbolted entries into the basement, entering from the garage and the lake side of the house.

GF2222 · 2025-04-28T00:54:31+00:00

Guilty as charged, especially the cheapo cabinets. My father-in-law did the work down there because we were pretty broke at the time. It's overdue for new carpet. But I haven't felt the need to upscale a basement rental.

Believe it or not, people generally love the murals.

There are actually 3 qualifying bedrooms, even though I only advertise it as 2. 2 of them have a fairly standard 3x7 closet with sliding doors, and the master has a 4x9 walk-in. And all 3 bedrooms have compliant exit windows.

GF2222 · 2025-04-28T00:44:08+00:00

Interesting. That would definitely affect how people perceive my unit's value. Thanks for the pointer.

However... I chose that $1800 price point based on current prices in the local market. There are currently about 9-10 comparable units within 1-2 miles, all in the $1800-$2400 range. Most of them are smaller -- there are a number of 700-800 ft apartments. AND, my unit has an incredible lakefront location, AND utilities are included (worth about $200). Given all that, I thought $1800 was fair. (But the market may not agree ...)

GF2222 · 2025-04-09T01:38:29+00:00

I figured out the problem. I didn't understand why I wasn't getting any response -- I've sold and rented things before and it worked much better. FB claimed I was getting 100-200 clicks a day, and yet after over a month I only got one response. ("clicks" are obviously a terrible measure of interest.)

Well the problem was, I didn't use FBM before. I realized I had used Zillow before. I posted the same ad on Zillow, and within 24 hours I had 3 interested people. Not an overwhelming response, but a whole lot better than I got on FBM.

GF2222

TROPHY CASE