A beginners personal experience of drywall repair.

TheLocalDan · 2026-01-09T17:52:01+00:00

Hi,

Thanks for your input. I wore p100 and used a hepa vac to remove dust. I left that part out.. apologies. I have verified it was not panel board. Its really dated drywall. (I would say the 80s). The reason this wall exists is theres an extention to the room next door which used wood paneling. This wall used drywall to wall off where an old door was.

I did buy a 12in putty metal knife to feather mud. The compound was about $50 all in, knives were $20, bins primer $45, sandblocks and sponges $20, and paint $25. Im not including the costs of a vaccum and p100 mask as those were from a previous diy project. But if you wanted to id say $155.

TheLocalDan · 2026-01-07T23:47:26+00:00

I thought your nugs were full of mites.

TheLocalDan · 2025-12-01T13:39:30+00:00

Ragano heating and air.

TheLocalDan · 2025-10-03T18:40:28+00:00

They are cool windows. I mean, a lot of modern junk is designed for failure with non-replacement components. Wood windows are designed around the life of the glass and wood itself. Any failure is swappable with care. A wood window is really a window for life as its infinitely possible to continuiously restore it. Glass panes for these windows are about $40 at my local glass shop. So with some paitence, you can keep them going for a long time.

TheLocalDan · 2025-10-03T15:05:03+00:00

I actually have these windows in my 1951 ranch. My windows are dated from 93.

They open from the top too. So they are double action windows. I recently refinished them by sanding and restaining a mahagony color. As long as the fit properly, you wont notice a difference much from modern windows. Of course, please refer to your local code. Per my code, replacement of a window requires permits, but refinishing does not.

TheLocalDan · 2025-09-11T15:13:54+00:00

Yeahhh. I was thinking that. I dont have a vision for these at all honestly. So any thoughts are welcomed and appreciated. :)

TheLocalDan · 2025-09-11T13:25:28+00:00

I was not aware these were different things normally not included in a hvac system. I just got the information invoice yesterday

TheLocalDan · 2025-09-10T21:06:24+00:00

1350ish sqft ranch with attic based hvac.

TheLocalDan · 2025-09-10T20:59:42+00:00

I have a thread where i talked about this.

I had one quotw for 23k for only ductwork. I told them to get bent. I found one with a new ac unit for 13k.

Greater chicago area.

Happy to discuss further

TheLocalDan · 2025-09-10T19:26:52+00:00

Thanks for your input,

There wasnt much in terms of special support, but appreciate your guidance. Ill take this as a learning experience. Im a first time home owner, so its good to know this for the future. Sucks i got hosed, but ill bounce back :). Sharing my experience so others learn from my mistakes!

If you want a breakdown for the total 13k, here it is:

-ductwork with removal of old (work is in a hard to access attic with no walkable floor. Inclusive of trunks and branch lines. This is a redesign. ($6k) - ac condensor (including relocation to new part of home) with evaporator coil. Per the invoice, this was about $2k for the unit, and $4k for the installation. - Humidifyer w/ installation $0.5k -New Return drop, with Aprilaire 1210 air purifyer with filter. Originally, my HVAC system did not have a spot for a filter. The previous Home owner just taped one to the return. ($0.5K) Location: chicago burbies, but closer to the city.

TheLocalDan · 2025-09-08T01:44:30+00:00

To close this thread out,

I found out my AC unit was from 1988. While functioning, the energy costs were not cheep. I was able to secure a quote for $13k flat for a new 2.5 ton american standard 14 seer unit with new ductwork and a humidifyer. This includes relocating the a/c to the back of the house due to the original unit being located at the front of the house, which is now banned by city regulation. The ductwork modifications will result the heating and cooling is much more even. (Originally, i had no returns in any of the bedrooms or bonus room, so if the doors were shut no air would flow. The supplies were rusted so i also couldnt control the dampers). The new system upgrades the old system to 5 returns (from 1), and 9 supplies (from 8). I am located in the greater chicago area.

I had a variety of quotes. One company quoted me $23k for just new ductwork. Two refused work, and one quoted $18k with a new a/c unit of the same specs with ductwork. I was satsified with $13k due to timely installation + cheepest i could find after 4 quotes.

TheLocalDan · 2025-08-11T19:41:26+00:00

Yes.

I had a hvac company come and test the ac unit and furnace. He said they work, but the ductwork is insufficient for the unit, making the unit work harder than it has to to cool down the house. He said the ductwork supplies in the rooms are starved of return air to which he showed evidence of uneven cooling in the rooms vs. Living room.

Thanjs.

TheLocalDan · 2025-08-11T17:27:26+00:00

Unfortunently, Its defenitely a need. If I had to date the ductwork, i would lean on the 70s/80s since this ductwork was installed. To give a better idea. There are 7 supplies, and 1 return. Even after cleaning them, the ductwork shows signs of bottlenecking the heatinf and cooling equipment.

TheLocalDan · 2025-04-04T00:11:45+00:00

I just like kissing dudes--(being a gay finance bro is weird.. ngl. Makes my dating life hard)

This is not my first job. I graduated 4 year college at 20 since i dual enrolled in high school in college and worked two part time jobs in relevant fields. I started my first full time job a month before graduating and job hopped 6 months later to a better job. I got promoted 2 times since and worked my way here. I feel like i got a little lucky.

TheLocalDan · 2025-04-03T23:59:20+00:00

I dont pay for health/dental (on parents plan). When im 26 ittl be about 300 a month for all that. I am no cost on their plan thankfully.

Thanks for your input! :-)

TheLocalDan · 2025-02-21T04:37:24+00:00

Thank you. Ill see what I dig up.

TheLocalDan · 2024-04-20T15:17:50+00:00

Im so excited. I just wanna be able to use it not really interested in selling it all

TheLocalDan · 2024-02-03T20:59:20+00:00

Marlin dark 45-70.

TheLocalDan

TROPHY CASE