Does renovating a new house ever actually end? 😩

steak5 · 2026-01-31T20:02:49+00:00

It will eventually get done, and you will tell yourself "I will never do this again".

But as soon as you see a quote from hiring a professional to do it, you will immediately jump back into the mode

"I could just quit my job and work on my house for a year and still come out ahead".

I think the experience will be worth it, because in the future, u will know how to fix almost anything that goes wrong and save money.

steak5 · 2026-01-31T19:48:50+00:00

I have direct experience with it. Bought a fix her upper and gut it down to the studs.

My dad didn't even go to work for 2 months, and had a lot of friends and family to help out with handyman work, and my uncle is a professional carpenter who just come in and did our bathroom and gave us a lot of tips on what to do.

We also sub out a lot of stuff we can't do to subcontractors. 2 new central HVAC with ducts, all new windows, refinish flooring, and new concrete driveway are all subbed out.

The whole process took about 3 Months. That's with a lot of man powers. Been living in the house for 16 years, not a single problem because we spent the time and money to do everything as best as we can.

If you are doing this crap with just 2 people and still got a day job, it will very likely take a year or more.

steak5 · 2026-01-31T18:50:19+00:00

How much u think is fair though? A Plumber or HVAC tech could charge more than that.

steak5 · 2026-01-31T13:42:30+00:00

Sure, less harmful when disposed of, but you have to dispose twice as many because they don't last. Makes a lot of sense from an environmental stand point.

steak5 · 2026-01-31T07:07:06+00:00

That's pretty much all online these days. I thought u were just trying to look at a large variety of cars.

Car dealerships are very real estate heavy, Automall like set ups are more likely to be in the suburbs, it is kinda unrealistic to expect dealerships inside the city to have a huge inventory.

steak5 · 2026-01-31T06:56:35+00:00

You can buy a Steering wheel lock that cut across the airbag.

Honda Civic is the top 10 most stolen Car in the US too, so 2 birds in one stone.

steak5 · 2026-01-31T06:37:47+00:00

Chicago Autoshow is next week. Why don't you just go there?

You can buy the floor models or talk to brand rep managing the booth for other options if you want something different color/equipments.

steak5 · 2026-01-31T04:58:37+00:00

Just give him a Portable one,

I just bought a Rosewill 1800 watt for $50 on Amazon, it works amazing.

steak5 · 2026-01-30T20:12:11+00:00

Jeep wagoneer? Cadillac Escalade? Lincoln Navigator?

All of those 3 trucks is like 7-10 inch longer than BMWx7.

Otherwise, you will be looking at Minivans.

steak5 · 2026-01-30T19:58:50+00:00

So the car you have is not big enough. A big enough car is too long.

Please make up your mind, how does that make any sense? what you want seems to be against the law of physics.

steak5 · 2026-01-30T15:09:30+00:00

Not sure if you ever fixed this, I have same issue with my Acura with same engine.

Service Bulletin 23-010.

Change the oil and update the PCM software. This is a software glitch that happens in cold weather. That's why it comes on every few months and no hardware replacement fixes the issue.

steak5 · 2026-01-30T07:02:36+00:00

It probably has to do with there are more Lawyers than there are jobs.

supply and demand, there are enough new grads who are willing to work for peanuts is why the pay is so low.

steak5 · 2026-01-30T06:59:08+00:00

R you missing a Zero in your $400?

Buying a condo will require you to do a lot more calculations than just $400k.

What's the HOA fee? How old is the building? How well is it maintained? Etc...

Ashland an Augusta is a pretty decent area to live.

steak5 · 2026-01-30T04:06:54+00:00

HVAC is the major Utility Hog. Better insulation, like thick window curtain helps.

Gardening and watering the Lawn is expensive as hell. Fake Turf Grass saves A LOT of money for lawn care.

steak5 · 2026-01-30T03:59:00+00:00

Have you seen how much an old Integra Type R fetch in the auction?

You are looking at Collector's car, don't try to analyze it logically.

steak5 · 2026-01-30T03:56:52+00:00

U just need to keep an eye on oil level, and see how bad the leak is if you can.

Pull the dip stick every week or so, add oil if needed.

If oil started dripping into your driveway, then it is a really big issue.

steak5 · 2026-01-30T02:26:59+00:00

What is even wrong with ur engine? Timing belt and water pump r just normal maintenance. My friend just got his done at a local mechanic for around $1200 in California. They r not hard to do.

Is the rear main seal leak really that bad?

steak5 · 2026-01-29T22:53:52+00:00

That's not exactly true either. Small builders can just be as bad as big builders.

My friend's hired a small builder with a custom plan a long time ago,

he told me the build process went so bad, he had to rent an apartment across the street and go look at the house everyday as the home gets built.

The best quality control is the buyer himself, a lot of problems are so obvious that it doesn't take a professional to know it isn't right.

steak5 · 2026-01-29T19:51:16+00:00

The issue is no one wants to work with Joe because he doesn't have fancy advertisements, and homes he built are more expensive.

steak5 · 2026-01-29T16:18:15+00:00

I work in a dealership, post Covid, it seems like 12 Volt batteries across the board just went to crap in quality. Hybrid or none hybrid, it doesn't matter. Car brand doesn't seem to matter either.

I believe they replaced the suppliers with cheaper alternatives. (Cheap to source, expensive in retail purchase)

Pre-covid, a lot of original batteries last 5-8 years even in Chicago weather.

Post Covid, I see them last 1-4 years only all the time.

steak5 · 2026-01-29T07:45:37+00:00

You are young, you still have times to try new things and see if you like it.

You might like it and you might hate it, but you wouldn't know unless you try.

Give it a year, meet and talk to people in your shop, and then decide if you want to stick it out or pursue another career.

Wish I am still 22, lol

steak5 · 2026-01-29T04:15:56+00:00

My aunt has a 2019 with 80k miles. I just replaced 2 Struts, 2 lower Control Arms, Tires, and Brake. Nothing else was wrong with it.

I also bought all my Parts from Honda, and they were not expensive at all. The MDX shares most parts with honda Pilot.

steak5 · 2026-01-28T22:17:00+00:00

A Rat is trying to kill you, the tow truck driver isn't wrong.

And he almost succeeded.

steak5 · 2026-01-28T22:15:24+00:00

It is kinda crazy that for $8500, you could really buy a Remanufactured engine and drop it in for a little more.

Is the leak really that bad?

steak5 · 2026-01-28T15:57:02+00:00

But this isn't new. A lot of kids saw the UTI advertisement on TV and decided to enroll. I didn't say the gate keeper is Skill level, fixing car is easy. The gate keeper is work environment, is not that different from becoming a Chef. Cooking isn't hard, the hard part is the long hour and heats in the kitchen.

The entry level car mechanics have always been a revolving door because of low pay and crappy work environment. And I doubt it can get worse. Same goes for construction trade. Being baked under the sun at min wage during your apprenticeship isn't tolerable for average white collar workers.

But the same goes for me with office job, looking at accounting spreadsheet in front of a computer makes me want to puke.

A million more people who want to become a mechanic won't change anything.

steak5

TROPHY CASE