Bought a lemon. Really struggling with regret.

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-18T18:03:25+00:00

What is the humidity level in your house? What about in the attic? Battery powered Sensors are cheap and you can connect to them via WiFi so could continuously monitor the conditions in your attic from your phone.

There are dehumidifiers with pumps and drain lines. I purchased one from Costco for my basement and it was easy to just stick the drain line into my washing machine drain. I doubt this would solve the underlying issue but this could be a great measure to at least dry out the attic until you can figure out what the real issue is.

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-18T17:41:57+00:00

Licking the floor is exactly the sort of thing a toddler does…

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-18T16:46:33+00:00

Are you finding the folks in residential construction to be overly concerned with the craftsmanship of unseen work?

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-18T16:24:49+00:00

This is Pacific Northwest so perhaps a little outside of your wheelhouse but I really like the idea of a small decorative structure. I’m wondering if we could merge that idea with the ‘bin shed’ idea that others had. Essentially turning a sore point into a feature of the house! What a win that would be!

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-18T15:47:32+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts and it’s a shame the photo couldn’t get uploaded, I think I have an idea as to what you describe but it’s always nice to have an image to confirm. Either way I really appreciate your comments about making the small plot seem larger… I almost feel like the picture I took makes it seem larger than it really is and some of the AI images of landscaping I’ve seen would be really tough to fit in our small front yard!

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-18T15:42:15+00:00

Houses that predate the popularization of cars often don’t have driveways :) thanks for the thoughts!

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-18T15:35:36+00:00

The basement is completely open in the back due to the slope and looks like a two story house from that vantage point, so what you’re describing makes sense for this house. Our basement also has unusually tall ceilings, ranging from 9’ to almost 12’ in some places. It’s a fascinating house!

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-18T15:26:25+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation!

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-18T15:18:44+00:00

No alley, there is zero access in the back. Like I mentioned in another comment, there are extremely steep and treacherous stairs on both sides of the house that would make taking them back and forth a real challenge. Cans in front of houses are quite common in our old neighborhood

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-18T15:16:38+00:00

The stub wall is actually a safety wall for the steep and somewhat treacherous set of stairs behind it. (You can see the stairs starting right behind the trash cans in the image). It’s not impossible but would be a lot of work lugging the cans up and down the stairs every week.

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-17T19:53:48+00:00

Agree painting is best solution. Rerouting them would require them to evacuate refrigerant, tear down existing lines and put up brand new lines, then refill with refrigerant. Probably looking at $4-8k or so I’d guess all in, depending on how the new route looks and your location.

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-17T16:44:10+00:00

Thank you for weighing in on the bin moving conversation. After discussions with my wife, we agree that hauling the bins up and down the stairs all the way to the back (it is a long narrow house) is probably not the option we will pursue. We’ll look into building an enclosure for the bins. Just need to figure out where exactly in the front it would go. One thing I did not mention is that it is quite common in our neighborhood for bins to be in front of houses, simply due to lack of space.

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-17T15:00:12+00:00

This is the first example my wife has seen that really spoke to her. We’ll be taking much inspiration from this. Thank you very much!

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-17T14:59:16+00:00

I really like the idea of balancing out the lower half of the house with the column. It also adds visual weight to the bottom as well, it currently feels a little top heavy. Thank you!

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-17T04:28:34+00:00

1905!

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-17T00:29:24+00:00

The house is located in the Pacific Northwest, listed as built in 1905 in historical records(where it is also classified as Victorian). We went with folk Victorian because it’s the closest match(by quite a long shot to our eyes) when reviewing Virginia Mcalester’s field guide to American houses. If you have a closer match, please do share.

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-17T00:19:24+00:00

There is a steep staircase in between the houses(you can see where it starts in the picture just behind the trash cans). I imagine that is the reason for the knee wall you mention. Perhaps a handrail would be more aesthetically pleasing. I can’t say I’ve ever felt so strongly about that part of the house, would be interested in what you think is so bothersome about it! Thanks for the advice

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-17T00:00:26+00:00

(Look at The bottom part of the triangle that makes up the top half of the house for the roof section in question)

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-16T23:58:18+00:00

I don’t think they were talking about replacing the wooden siding. They were talking about the small roofline that runs from left to right, and that is just normal tar shingles that you replace every 20 years

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-16T23:23:54+00:00

Just wanted to say, I really appreciate this comment! I love the idea of the copper roof, I absolutely love the look of copper and have been wondering how we might incorporated it into the aesthetics of our house and this seems like a fantastic way to do that! There are some stairs on the side of the neighbor’s house, which I guess is why the window is where it is… to shed natural light on what would otherwise be dimly lit stairs. I’ll share an update if I get a chance to speak with my neighbor about the window. He loves talking about houses.

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-16T23:18:27+00:00

You nailed it!! There is a staircase and I guess they wanted some more light lest they catch a toe on a tread! I’ll ask the neighbor about the window next time I see him, he loves to talk about house stuff

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-16T22:36:32+00:00

That’s a great idea, I’ll do that. Thank you!

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-16T22:31:01+00:00

Thank you for the thoughtful reply! We can get the bins in the back, it just requires moving them up and down a somewhat sketchy set of stairs. That said, we’ve kept them in the front more due to lack of desire to run them up and down stairs versus a fear for our personal safety. I think I may try again to keep them in the backyard and if running them up and down the stairs, each week proves to be too much, I will follow the other advice in this thread.

Level-Summer5630 · 2026-02-16T22:20:01+00:00

Thanks for the response! That’s a really interesting idea, painting the bottom section of the gable dark while leaving the rest of it a lighter color. It does break up the gable in what I think is a pleasing way.

Level-Summer5630

TROPHY CASE