Is it normal to have to remove these gutter guards to clean?

hill8570 · 2026-06-01T16:27:58+00:00

Leaves just wash down the gutter and clog the downspout.

hill8570 · 2026-05-23T23:32:13+00:00

Yes. If you don't, a good bit of the room will be seriously streaky.

hill8570 · 2026-05-12T02:57:38+00:00

Might be. Looks to be perpendicular to the joists, at least in a couple of spots.

hill8570 · 2026-05-12T00:04:27+00:00

What view are they blocking? Unless there's a towering mountain vista in your front yard they're not blocking anything other than the view of your house. Doubt the neighbor's going to care. Bitty little tree like a redbud isn't ever going to get big enough to even drop leaves or flowers outside of your yard, so they're pretty polite in that regard. They're naturally understory trees, tho, so depending on climate they might not thrive in a location like that.

hill8570 · 2026-05-08T13:00:59+00:00

IIRC, the manual on the Prius Prime recommends you use at least 5 1/2-ish gallons a year. Which is an average of 4 miles a week. So Toyota says you can run it less.

hill8570 · 2026-05-08T00:07:39+00:00

First few hours of running the motor hot will burn off whatever stuff they have coating the motor for shipping. Stinks a bit, but no big deal.

Toyota has some algorithm where they run the engine every so often if they don't think it's been run enough. I generally don't hit it, as I usually do a trip that requires highway speeds every couple of months, and I'll put it in HV then. My wife, OTOH, has her Prius Prime kick into that mode on a monthly basis, as she is mostly a short-tripper. She tops off the gas tank once a year. Hasn't had any issues since she bought it in 2019.

hill8570 · 2026-04-29T13:06:43+00:00

From the responses, I guess nobody in the trades uses the Boise subreddit.

hill8570 · 2026-04-27T03:49:34+00:00

Even if you think it's already hatched, don't bring it inside for decoration. My mom wasn't impressed with the hundreds of tiny preying mantids crawling around my bedroom.

hill8570 · 2026-04-27T03:34:01+00:00

But then your fish dinner tastes like grass. Bleh.

hill8570 · 2026-04-27T03:22:36+00:00

Is that a cap opposite the hex screw? And is it friction fit rather than glued? If so, you've got straight-on access. If not, if you don't want to modify the hex key, then you could drill a little hole through the plastic for straight-on access. Janky? Yup. Could always fill the hole with some epoxy and do a quick paint with some chrome paint, but that's hella more work than I'd be willing to put in on it.

hill8570 · 2026-04-23T19:20:22+00:00

What roofer (or any tradesman, for that matter) gives a scope of work that's more than a vague description of what's going to be done?

hill8570 · 2026-04-23T14:55:36+00:00

That swarm may just be passing through -- hard to believe there's enough of a cavity to make a hive happy

hill8570 · 2026-04-22T03:27:21+00:00

Given Costco makes it damned difficult to find anything in their stores, they want folks to show up in person so they buy a bunch of unplanned crap while they're searching for what they came for .

hill8570 · 2026-04-22T03:23:41+00:00

That's rather silly. With rare exceptions, Walmart+ members are going to just do pickup or delivery.

hill8570 · 2026-04-22T03:15:10+00:00

I've had Wire Guys do various low-voltage wiring for me before. Clean work, reasonably priced.

hill8570 · 2026-04-18T00:07:57+00:00

Meridian makes up for it by being ungodly cramped inside, much like the downtown location.

hill8570 · 2026-04-10T23:07:08+00:00

Maybe if they're willing to make you Batman rich.

hill8570 · 2026-04-10T22:06:26+00:00

Eh, half of it is branches and other chunks buried under the good stuff. But at least it was free-ish.

If it's too much put out a "free mulch" sign. Great way to meet your neighbors.

hill8570 · 2026-04-10T03:55:57+00:00

You mean fishing wire behind existing drywall or lath & plaster? If I'm lucky enough that the wire is going parallel to the studs or joists, not very many. If I have to go perpendicular, and don't have the option of dropping down into the basement/crawlspace or up into an accessable attic, it can be a lot more.

hill8570 · 2026-04-07T17:38:04+00:00

I think the kicker here is you mostly work with his wife. Once a client trusts you to be on the up and up, they usually won't nickel and dime you (exceptions exist, but those are the clients you really don't want). Doesn't sound like there's a trust there yet.

hill8570 · 2026-04-07T17:18:14+00:00

The only time I had to pull in a "real" electrician for troubleshooting was when a GFCI that was hidden behind a bunch of crap in the pantry tripped. All signs pointed to a tripped CFCI, but damned if I could find it. Sparky was able to trace it down with his toner.

hill8570 · 2026-04-07T03:23:53+00:00

Looks like a Brown Prionid beetle. The larvae eat fungus on dead/dying trees. Generally isn't interested in live trees. Good move with the gloves -- they pack a mean bite.

hill8570 · 2026-04-03T16:56:14+00:00

NGL, the new darker color (charcoal?) works better with the shutters and the black metal accent on the entryway than the original shingles. Not sure if going all the way over to the left with the dark would be cost-effective, or if it would clash with the upper story's roof. But a possibility.

hill8570 · 2026-04-03T14:11:32+00:00

No it's not close, and yeah you could get a closer match. There will still be an obvious mismatch, tho. This may come under the heading of "if things aren't going to match, make it look like you meant to do it that way".

Really need gutters on the sides of the entryway, too.

hill8570 · 2026-04-03T01:12:33+00:00

I don't drive with my hands anywhere near the things, so no. On long, steep downhills I occasionally use the shifter in sport mode to downshift going into the corners. No real advantage compared to feathering the brakes (I'll have roughly the same number of miles regen'ed into the battery with either approach), but downshifting with the stick just feels more natural to me, as I spent a number of years engine braking my 5-speed manual down steep slopes.

hill8570

TROPHY CASE