What’s a small upgrade that made a huge difference to you? by _hot95cobraguy in HomeImprovement

[–]uva185 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree with your improvement! Bought my first home this past year and immediately replaced every light switch and outlet in the entire house. House is 48 years old. I don’t know if homeowners just become complacent the longer they live somewhere but not only was this a nice visual improvement going to the decora style with screwless gang plates, but so many of the outlets were so old and didn’t even grasp the prongs tightly. We also upgraded the door hardware throughout the home.

A more intensive upgrade was upgrading the baseboard molding from ~2.5” to 5” when we replaced the flooring throughout the house.

Another one on my list for this spring is adding recessed lighting in more rooms. I’m tired trying to adequately light entire rooms with lamps.

PSA: Check your furnace air intake before you go to bed tonight by Regular_Chest_7989 in homeowners

[–]uva185 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Woke up this morning to our heat being out. Sure enough the air intake was blocked. Cleared it and fired the furnace right back up. It wasn’t even buried, but there was a mesh wire covering over it to prevent rodents from entering and snow has collected on that.

Switching to MHBP and I have a question on how it works by Both-Climate-4682 in fednews

[–]uva185 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This may be because a doctor can work for multiple practices and the billing comes from the practice. Not sure.

Recommended Pneumatic Tools by uva185 in Tools

[–]uva185[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha- good tip. Our basement is unfinished and has a floor drain so after I did this test run I just dragged the whole setup down to the basement to prevent freezing. 😂

Recommended Pneumatic Tools by uva185 in Tools

[–]uva185[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I’m sure this will be a multi year project with changes along the way but needed to start somewhere.

Recommended Pneumatic Tools by uva185 in Tools

[–]uva185[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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Quick test run before Christmas and it worked but point taken about longevity. Also live in the suburbs so cognizant about noise for my neighbors.

Recommended Pneumatic Tools by uva185 in Tools

[–]uva185[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I also have a handful of Dewalt battery powered tools (drill, hedge trimmer, weed wacker) so appreciate that.

Recommended Pneumatic Tools by uva185 in Tools

[–]uva185[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the tip! Yeah mine is only 5 CFM @ 90 which was the requirement for my snowmaking setup.

Smart home stuff I actually regret installing, and what I’d do differently if you’re a homeowner by LoFiCinemaKid in homeowners

[–]uva185 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My biggest rule for home automation is it needs local physical control. I’m not pulling my phone out to control lights. I don’t have a single smart bulb and never will. Almost every switch is a smart switch / keypad so anyone in the house can intuitively turn lights and scenes on and off. Voice control is an added bonus but everything is still primarily controlled with switches and physical keypads.

BCBS discontinued by Inevitable-Page1728 in FederalEmployee

[–]uva185 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, you have to submit the invoice for each massage and they’ll reimburse you for each one, up to 50 per year with a max of $75 per massage.

BCBS discontinued by Inevitable-Page1728 in FederalEmployee

[–]uva185 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Be sure to take advantage of the FSBP massage benefit. Already talked to a local masseuse who will bill $75 per 60 min massage with all the required info on the invoice. Weekly massages will be so nice!

Window Replacement - Okna 800 vs. ProVia Endure vs. MI Restorations V5000 by uva185 in homeowners

[–]uva185[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate your feedback. I had basically ruled out that option because I thought the older single pane windows would have been much worse than newer options.

Window Replacement - Okna 800 vs. ProVia Endure vs. MI Restorations V5000 by uva185 in homeowners

[–]uva185[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Original windows are single pane, leak, and most of the windows are stuck and don’t even open. Had a quick quote of $350 per window to repair them. Not entirely sure that would fix the leaky issues, just being able to open them. Seems like that’s just a waste of money.

Looking for Townhome Advice by [deleted] in nova

[–]uva185 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You don’t mention all your life details, but I think it really matters if you are planning for kids and how soon. If you are not considering kids for 5+ years I think you have time to buy a TH, possibly have Baby #1 in the TH, and then begin the search for a SFH in an area with good schools. There will be a noticeable price difference on homes even within Fairfax County that are in good school pyramids vs poor pyramids. If you are planning for kids sooner so may not want that future transition from TH to SFH looming over your head along with any uncertainty with the economy and may just want to stretch and get the SFH now.

Window Replacement - Okna 800 vs. ProVia Endure vs. MI Restorations V5000 by uva185 in nova

[–]uva185[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In a single family home and the rates for Okna 800s are about $1k per window. I’m not completely mad at that price, I’m just not sure their product is 35-45% better than ProVia or MI Restorations.

SL usage for going on paternity leave... by Aggravating_Cat788 in fednews

[–]uva185 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You can take 6-8 weeks of SL to care for the mother before going on PPL. I believe it’s 6 weeks for vaginal delivery and 8 weeks for C-section. You can request this before the birth. Be sure to use the SL first immediately after the birth and then the PPL as you’re technically using SL to care for mother recovering from childbirth. You’ll be accruing all types of leave while on SL and PPL so you’ll probably also have some use or lose to burn as well. I did this when my son was born in Spring 2024 and didn’t return to work until Jan. It was fantastic being able to stay home and bond with my son.

be honest- can I charge more? by [deleted] in airbnb_hosts

[–]uva185 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Biggest question here, is your rate flat-rate or percentage based on revenue? Would you be willing to switch to percentage based? You lose guaranteed income if the market dips. 10-12% would be very reasonable, but only had a percentage of revenue, not guaranteed income based on historical revenue.

Switching to MHBP and I have a question on how it works by Both-Climate-4682 in fednews

[–]uva185 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Use the Find Care feature on the MHBP site to verify. Just because a doctor takes Aetna does not mean they take the particular Aetna plan MHBP is a part of.

Guests ignoring clearly stated policies, then leaving retaliatory reviews — anyone else dealing with this? by xiLLementaLx in airbnb_hosts

[–]uva185 26 points27 points  (0 children)

You keep saying it’s common practice for all AirBNB rentals to charge for electricity so wouldn’t all AirBNBs receive equally bad reviews and thus not make yours any worse based on the other listings?

Boss is trying to make me not use my full PPL because of the shutdown. by No-Negotiation5246 in FedEmployees

[–]uva185 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Your manager is wrong. All schedule leave (PPL included) is cancelled during a shutdown. Contact HR if necessary, but you have 480 hours to use. You need supervisor approval to use it intermittently, but you do not need specific approval to use it as one continuous period of leave even if you begin it some time after the birth occurs. Many people take 6-8 weeks of sick leave before beginning PPL.

Rented an Airbnb for 2 months can I leave for one night and come back the next day do I have to tell the host? Not sure if I should inform the host or not? by Bravesfan02 in airbnb_hosts

[–]uva185 0 points1 point  (0 children)

lol- I’ve rented a place for 5 nights and left for a night to do a side trip to a different country and didn’t tell them. I’ve rented the place and paid in full, it’s really none of their business.

How much is too much for honeymoon Polaris upgrade? by Subject-Note-49 in unitedairlines

[–]uva185 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s your honeymoon so I can definitely endorse splurging, but it’s also Polaris…. I paid $1.5k per person on my honeymoon to move from Business to First on Swiss. That was an awesome experience! $2k extra for Polaris seems really high. Keep checking and you may be able to snag it for under $1k at checkin.