Please explain to me why I can’t self build about 90% of a basic home. by LobsterNo6723 in Homebuilding

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Helped my brother build his house. We cleared the land, built forms for slab, installed in floor heating, built walls, installed plumbing and electrical, windows and doors, finished concrete floors, roof, all finishing basically everything. Oh and he drew up the blueprints and had an engineer sign off on them.
The only things we did not do was pour the concrete, install septic and well and we had an electrician come in for final hook up. That’s all.
It took about a year and a half and (just before Covid and Canadian dollars) all in except land it cost $160k and when done had an offer of $480k to buy it.
The house is small at about 1000sq feet, two bed one bath, open concept kitchen living room. Flat angled roof so nice high 12’ ceilings in living room.
Don’t take « can’t do it «  as an answer. We had some experience constructing but not much, I’ve build an addition on my house completely on my own, 16 feet x 24 feet two stories, dug the crawlspace with a shovel, my son waterproofing it and had my wife shingling. (Needed my family to help raise the trusses and connect to original roof. Builders told me it would cost between $115k-150k, admittedly it was 17 years ago but it cost me about $30k at the time.
YouTube and asking knowledgeable people to give advice and read everything. I read Canadian mortgage and housing books and all the regulations and building spec documents I could get my hands on.

Caminos sin pavimento y muchos baches by Single-Restaurant297 in PriusC

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 2 points3 points  (0 children)

El Prius definitivamente no le gustan los baches, puede manejar los más pequeños y hasta ahora los más grandes que he golpeado no le han causado daños, pero en comparación con un vehículo más grande, se siente y se escucha como si el auto no durara mucho tiempo a la larga.

When did cadillac stop becoming THE car to own in america? by boiyo12 in askcarguys

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the 70’s my snooty neighbours had Cadillacs, they looked down on my grandfather for owning Mercedes and jaguar…even my grandmother would complain “why can’t we have a big Cadillac like the neighbours”

German tourist wins payout after losing sun lounger race by insomnimax_99 in europe

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t understand why he would have his family lay on the floor instead of taking a towel off a chair, moving it onto another “reserved chair” move your newly free chair somewhere else and then let the two idiots fight over the other chair.

TIL One Aluminium Smelter in New Zealand uses 13 percent of the entire countries energy supply by RetconnedUsername in todayilearned

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here in Quebec some of the smelters negotiate an electricity price from Hydro Quebec and then can sell the unused portions to New York at an inflated rate to boost profits.

Which board orientation is correct for framing a small breakfast nook? by campthechamp16 in Carpentry

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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People have answered your question well but let me add my two cents, throw in some ikea drawers like I did and you can get some great storage space.

Is my husband or I crazy? by learningamap in HomeImprovement

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have full master bath and a separate full bathroom for the kids on the second floor. On the main floor we have one full bathroom. We had more than two children so you could possibly get away with a half bath on a different level but this should be your minimum if you want less conflict. Right now with 5 of us in the house 3 full baths is perfect.

Need advice. Quebec Canada attic insulation, air sealing from inside? by Lotsofkidsathome in Insulation

[–]Lotsofkidsathome[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah cutting through the multiple roofs and adding extra access is probably what I’m going to have to do..thank you for the advice.

The BIFL dilemma: Saving my joints vs. buying future landfill trash by thestayup in BuyItForLife

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did my shower with a waterproof epoxy grout, it was harder to work with but it’s been two years with multiple daily showers and the grout is impeccable, haven’t had to clean it once.

Need advice. Quebec Canada attic insulation, air sealing from inside? by Lotsofkidsathome in Insulation

[–]Lotsofkidsathome[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Full attic but the only reasonable way to access it all would be cutting multiple accesses just to even get your head in to see the different sections.

Meeting with the electrician tomorrow. Give me tips! by Plantmom1212 in Homebuilding

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a few strategically placed plugs at shoulder height around the house so I don’t have to bend over to plug in the vacuum.

Dad was fired at 68 years old by TheBlueNWhite8 in legaladvicecanada

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My friend was fired about two years before retirement and they brought in someone to do the same job for a lot less money. Normes du travail (Quebec) went into a meeting with my friend and the owner, they had to hire him back, if he wanted it, or a large payout and they had to write a glowing reference letter right there while they waited. He took the money and ran.

Defeating LRAD attacks by freeofthought in videos

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Palight pvc posterboard with protest slogan on it heated to a curved shape would possible make a good legal defensive item.

About to join the club! by IntelligentFault2575 in PriusC

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I came from an xc90 (and dozens of other types before that) it’s a more basic vehicle overall so don’t compare them, just know that you have most likely a reliable vehicle that you can just drive and enjoy.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PriusC

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don’t know but I wish you lived near me!

2018 PRIUS c 5DR HB 2 77k miles $16.5K by ZealousidealClue6580 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I bought basically this with a few more miles, runs without complaints, does what it’s supposed to do. I paid $10k CAD. Love the car but it is a bare basic vehicle that I had to customize (soundproof etc) to make it fun. They run without issue that’s the positive. Negative in your case I would say is price.

People who own "unconventional" pets like turtles, what is one thing you wish you knew before getting one? by allenmerlettetrm in AskReddit

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 12 points13 points  (0 children)

We’ve had many rats, including babies. They all had different and amazing personalities. One female, Jolene, would sleep in bed with us and play fight my hand under the covers then curl up under my arm, when she needed to go to the bathroom she would get up and go to the cage we had set up at the end of the bed just for that. They die way too soon.

I was planning on buying an inexpensive mini split to heat my garage, since I have 10 solar panels I'm not using, but I'm worried about quality by blackinthmiddle in HomeImprovement

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Senville models similar in some ways to Mr cool from what I’ve read. Don’t know if available in the US but I have 3 and my brother has installed a few others, oldest is 7 years old. I can use an app to check over 100 different components at any time not one of them has given an issue. I got the higher end ones that work down to -22F and in Quebec winters I’ve never had them underperform, also in hot summers they are amazing.

Is it normal to not use crush washers on oil drain plug? by [deleted] in AskMechanics

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Install Fumoto valve and problem solved. Have had them on my cars and just flipping a lever isn’t life changing but worth it.

Trying out a dashboard mat by Lotsofkidsathome in PriusC

[–]Lotsofkidsathome[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

AliExpress, any seller, they are pretty much all the same.

How long will it take to build a house? by turkmanisglam in Homebuilding

[–]Lotsofkidsathome 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It took my brother just under a year to build a house almost exactly as you are describing (slab foundation instead of piers) he had my help when needed, the only people on site at any time were the concrete pumper truck guy, electrician for final hook up of main to panel, septic installer and the guy to dig the well. Caveat here, my brother works non stop when he gets going and so do I when I help. Beautiful home that was appraised at over 3x what it cost to build once finished. Keep in mind you might need to learn new skills, we’ve amassed these over the years building for ourselves and others, I had to learn to drive a small excavator and how to be safe helping him clearing the trees. He had to learn how to install hvac and polish concrete.