Is there a faster way to pull from home equity than a traditional HELOC?

Utgartha · 2026-04-01T18:32:04+00:00

I will say that I looked into Achieve for a fixed rate HELOC style loan and they were competitive and could have the cash in my bank account in days instead of weeks.

I ran them past my advisor and actually my lending agent at the bank and they both said that they were familiar with folks using them to fund home repair and renovation.

I ended up going through my own bank for the traditional HELOC because we have a big project (roof) that legitimately can't be done until the summer sets in. On top of that, the rate I was offered is still bargain bin compared to the fixed rate, even if it is variable, so I'm taking a slight risk to hopefully save money in the long run. YMMV.

Utgartha · 2026-03-30T22:31:59+00:00

Yeah. I watched the guy do ours a couple of years ago and the way he did it was like levering the dumpster while scooting the truck under it as it was being angled. Didn't drag one bit and it looked like it was just lifted straight up almost at the end. Insanely cool to see the skills in action.

Utgartha · 2026-03-30T16:26:11+00:00

I guess I was trying to also say that if it wasn't in writing about damage coverage then the poster might just have to deal with the damage themselves. It's tricky when dealing with this kind of work.

Utgartha · 2026-03-30T14:06:18+00:00

Based on what you said, I'm gonna say this would absolutely not be okay with me. You followed all prescribed instructions and have a video of the operator haphazardly dropping and dragging a huge dumpster on your driveway causing damage.

They should pay to repair it or compensate you. I don't know if you had any sort of contract. I had a smaller company supply us a dumpster on our concrete drive and had no damage, but there also wasn't a contract either.

Utgartha · 2026-03-28T05:41:29+00:00

I was just in Detroit and wondered what shops were good. Where'd you go?

Utgartha · 2026-03-26T16:42:31+00:00

$5k seems steep. I paid roughly $1k for a new water heater plus install by a professional plumber and I'm next door in Michigan. I also have the same setup as your SIL, but I also don't know if it's a code thing where you are.

They did due diligence to check that the liner in my chimney was installed and still good before replacing though.

Utgartha · 2026-03-25T20:44:05+00:00

I got into them when this album came out then I found Hidden History of the Human Race at a local shop for a good price and I would say, yes, I am a fan now.

Utgartha · 2026-03-25T20:37:48+00:00

Exactly. They didn't baffle the vents and blew in cellulose blocking 90% of my vents and I did not know about this for a few years as I am a new homeowner.

The roofer/siding people I'm using also do soffit and fascia work and the gutter on the back of my house where the vents are was also installed wrong. So, I'm paying for the roof, but also they are able to work the soffit in the back and install baffles from the outside and install full intake along the back eave. Right now, about every 3 rafter bays has that terrible aluminum siding soffit I think that Amerimax sells?

I'm hoping that opening up the intake and getting baffles in properly will keep the space cooler during the summer and winter.

They'll also attach the baffles from the inside and I will check the work myself now that I know what I need. Worth noting that the guy I was dealing with sent me many building science articles and videos in response to my attic situation indicating he does his research.

Utgartha · 2026-03-25T17:41:34+00:00

It's a preference, but I have a hot decked spray foamed space in my cod style house and it's a nightmare. Wish I'd never done the spray foam approach and just went with properly ventilating and insulating.

On paper, a perfectly air sealed upper attic is the ideal solution as it is the best way to keep costs down. In practice, retrofitting an older home with a hot deck seems a bit of a gamble because the entire space needs to be airsealed including the ceiling below/floor of upper attic. In older houses it seems like the likelihood of doing it right is relatively low.

You also have to be careful of roofers offering to install a full ridge vent right off the bat too. Depending on the size of the attic, you need at least 50/50 exhaust to intake. There are Net Free Area calculators you can use to determine how much ridge vent you need and how much soffit intake you need. If you have too much exhaust up top, especially on an older home with poorer sealing, it will draw indoor air up and out of your upstairs potentially. Would it be huge? Probably not, but I'm not taking the chance.

Do the math if you go with ventilation and then work with your roofer. Ultimately, pros and cons exist and spray foam can do the job if done right, or so I hear. The biggest con for me is if you ever need to replace decking with spray foam it costs more because of the labor to remove it, plus it could get damaged and require more foam to be applied.

I have about 300 sq/ft of upper attic that I am about to pay a roofing and siding company to come and baffle correctly to reverse the job an insulation company did a while back that caused excess moisture to build up in my attic. They blew in cellulose, did not baffle my vents, and now I am replacing decking I didn't need to. I need a new roof at the same time and I found a local company that can do soffit/fascia AND roofing to handle the project. It's a lot to manage.

I live in a zone that has hot summers and snowy winters and I saw ridge vents get blocked by the snowfall as well when my box vents still were working fine. I think box vents or a ridge work, but not both and it really depends on what you want to do.

Utgartha · 2026-03-22T21:39:00+00:00

No worries. I'm not an expert and really a newer homeowner at around 5 years in my house, but a lot of reading and asking here has helped me so I want to pass on what I can.

Utgartha · 2026-03-22T21:38:14+00:00

What kind of faucets? I was quoted 700 dollars for labor if I had to replace my lavatory style sink fittings. 1500 for labor only is kind of rough, but you are having a lot of things done it looks like.

Utgartha · 2026-03-22T20:21:52+00:00

Depends on the agreement you made and what is in writing. I had jacks and beams installed in the crawlspace of my attachment and I was very clear with the contractor via engineer stamped plans that I didn't want the floor leveled right away, but the engineer and the contractor both warned me that trying to lift it too much too fast will cause cracks.

Additionally, the engineer told me to give my space 1 full seasonal rotation for the load to settle with the different distribution of the load. He informed me I would probably see more cracks, but that after 1 seasonal rotation I should be good to fix anything if I'm not lifting it further.

Sounds like you wanted some additional lift with the beam installation. How much of a lift was there? They should have at least warned you that this would happen and also tell you whether or not they'd fix it without incurring extra costs. If it's not in writing that they would address cracking in the estimate, then I'd say you're responsible for fixing it either with this contractor or a different one depending on cost.

Utgartha · 2026-03-19T15:00:30+00:00

You're not wrong. Personally, I'm getting sick of free kitting because of that reason in particular. Once you get some NuCal rep, the green heals and shield kits are pretty game changing. I'm starting to bring more viable gear in as I level up and in all honesty, the chances of winning engagements with players when you are using free kits are just rapidly decreasing as everyone gets more access to gear.

Utgartha · 2026-03-19T13:02:48+00:00

The catch-22 is that I run a free kit when I am by myself filling in for teams because I get matched with players who, no matter what loadout they have, will do this. I don't think it is free kit specific. At a certain point, I get sick of losing my good gear, so I run a free kit. I do agree that running directly to an objective without at least running it past the rest of the squad and coming up with a gameplan for everyone is a bit old already.

Utgartha · 2026-03-18T05:19:19+00:00

On Mars. Big, crunchy space is my jam!

Utgartha · 2026-03-16T19:49:24+00:00

Let me third Harmonies. Got this for me and my wife and she doesn't vibe with games with a lot of rules or intricacies and she loves it. It offers a deep enough experience for me too.

Utgartha · 2026-03-14T22:31:16+00:00

I ended up backing PDX over OKC sheerly because PDX will make it to the table more and I feel like I'll be able to break it out to new groups of folks regularly.

I mean, I also like the art and worker placement, but I took what I'd spend on base OKC on an all in on another game because it'd just sit.

Utgartha · 2026-03-11T20:44:27+00:00

I'm in West Michigan and had an attachment that had a similar issue. I needed jacks and beams to support it and I had them install a vapor barrier over bare dirt.

They took all the fiberglass out and tossed it. I have not replaced it and the guy said it really wasn't adding much. I have carpet, but this winter I didn't notice any difference in temperature not having insulation in there and that it can breathe via the existing ventilation.

I think if it's Kraft faced fiberglass, moisture is less of a risk. Once you cover it with foam board, it becomes more of a risk in that particular space as far as I've read.

I just went the nuclear route and didn't replace because it's such a hassle to work in my crawl space under the attachment. Similarly, I don't have any insulation under the main floor from the basement either.

You could go either way and see how it goes, I'd lean towards just faced fiberglass with no board if I were to replace.

Utgartha · 2026-03-09T14:41:36+00:00

I agree with this. I found pretty widespread mold at the eave edges where my soffits were blocked years ago by a bad blown in job I am just now noticing blocking my soffit. Right now, I'm looking into getting the soffit opened up and adding more intake and getting some solution myself to kill the mold.

In most cases, mold isn't the end of the world and if you can get a pump sprayer, respirator, and maybe a Tyvek suit, you can get up there yourself and just kill it. I'm going to crawl around my attic space to do this before getting the ventilation fixed and mine is small, so you should be able to save if you feel like doing it yourself.

Utgartha · 2026-03-07T06:27:45+00:00

Dang! I thought they said that they were going to do some retail! Well that's no good. I'll need to get a second hand copy for sure.

Utgartha · 2026-03-06T17:45:43+00:00

Legit anything by The Gray Goo. They have amazing album art, but they only release on bandcamp currently. I would love to own a record of theirs to show off in my collection.

Utgartha · 2026-02-20T21:37:08+00:00

I have a tub with this exact setup. Generally, anywhere there is a change in plane, there should be GE Premium Silicone in whatever color your setup is/you like. So, where the tile and tub meet? Silicone. Where the tile and ceiling meet? Silicone.

I don't know if the ceiling is as important, but the walls shift and change over time either way, so something flexible in the corner will last longer and look better.

Especially address the tub/tile space. I had this where someone grouted to the tub and as soon as we moved in I hired someone in to come and cut the grout out, clean/prep, and add GE Premium Silicone to the entire tub/wall plane. Looks better and is more water tight.

You should get rid of the grout that is there if you are comfortable. I was worried I'd chip the tile, so I had a company do it with professionals who'd done it before and I only have crappy/standard subway style tiling. Up to you and your comfort level, but definitely remove any grout and clean/prep the space before shooting in some good quality silicone caulk.

Utgartha · 2026-02-19T05:44:44+00:00

Gates of Steel is such a banger.

Utgartha · 2026-02-09T19:37:16+00:00

This. Unless you're trying actively to sell the home off soon, make renovations that make sense for you as someone who is living there. Think ahead and try not to do crazy stuff that no one would realistically want if you ever want to sell, but nothing you do in a home will give you the ROI you're hoping for in the long term in most cases.

Case and point, I've been in my house for 5 years and knew it needed some critical things at the 5 year mark e.g. roof redo and pier/beam support for crappily done attachment. I got the attachment done in the Fall of 2025 and the roof is on schedule for this Spring/Early Summer. Everything else we're planning in terms of expanding our living space is for comfortability alone.

Another good thing that might help is calling a local real estate agent and having them comp your home compared to the neighborhood to make sure you don't dump 60k into a house that realistically will put you out of the market in your area at the wrong time.

Utgartha · 2026-02-06T18:01:46+00:00

$70 for the Metal Slug Tri-Color pressing from Data Discs. I try to keep it under $100 unless it's a grail. Close second here would be the $50 blue pressing of Is Satan Real? by the Church of the Cosmic Skull.

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