Naveronski said:

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Plus with the ecobee you can have the additional sensors to put in bedrooms, etc.

I don't care what the hallway temp is when I sleep, I want the bedroom to be XX.

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Ecobee sounds like the way to go. Do you pay for the monthly subscription? Do your home insurance/energy savings more than pay for the $90/year subscription fee?

Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Naveronski said:

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Plus with the ecobee you can have the additional sensors to put in bedrooms, etc.

I don't care what the hallway temp is when I sleep, I want the bedroom to be XX.

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Ecobee sounds like the way to go. Do you pay for the monthly subscription? Do your home insurance/energy savings more than pay for the $90/year subscription fee?

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Maybe I bought my Ecobee before a subscription fee was a thing but... There's a subscription fee?

The little research I did shows it's primarily for security monitoring which sounds like it pays for itself in insurance savings. Looks like there is one energy efficiency feature that comes with the subscription

I do not have the subscription.

Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Tell me about Hailstorms in Centex/North Austin/Georgetown.

If I convert half my 2 car garage to a gym/workshop with the mini split idea above, can a car cover do enough to keep one of my vehicles mostly protected from the hailstorms I've heard so much about?

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Only if that car cover would protect your car from having baseball size hail stones from being hurled at it. We live about 30 minutes north of Georgetown & have had storms with hail from the size of golf balls to the size of baseballs multiple times in the last 10 years. I grew up in Georgetown and we never had hail like that back then.

Have the water heaters flushed

Get on an HVAC maintenance plan to service them 2x a year and blow out the drain lines

If you don't have a gas tap in the back patio area get one installed

Check your backyard drainage. Last 3 houses I bought had low spots where water collected. Might need to bring in some dirt or install French drains

Have an electrician install an outlet connected to your breaker box for a portable generator

Make sure you have a ladder that can reach your highest smoke detector and can get you on the roof

Install gutter guards

Security cameras with dvr for recording and playback

Install some outlets in your garage ceiling so you can add more lighting

If it will freeze where you live get something to protect your outside faucets, attic pipes, and any flower bed plants

Indoor/Outdoor thermometer so you can talk about the weather.

fullback44 said:

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Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Curious, why not install a smart thermo?

Only 2 of the rooms have carpet. We don't mind keeping it for those rooms, but this has come up in conversation.

Also, why epoxy the garage? Debating putting a gym into the garage too.

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My mom has 2 smart thermo's, those stupid things will stay at the temp you set for a few hours then start moving on their own, if you put 71 F for cool, they will be at 75 F and burning up by morning. I'm fixing to change both of hers back to simple up and down fixed temp set.. none of that smart BS

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My honeywell smart thermostats have been great. I haven't physically touched my thermostat in a couple years.

Bridge said:

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I have a ring and had the same issue. It would adjust temps on its own to save on electricity. There is a setting you can change to prevent it from doing that. Once I changed that, everything has been great.

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Thanks I need to figure this out for her, the part of the house I stay in has a nest and I don't know much about it, I need to do a little research. The other one is maybe a GE, it does the same thing

If you have not closed, make sure contract states that the previous owners remove all items from the house. Attics, garages, everywhere before close. Luckily we still lived in an apartment and had access to a dumpster.

If your sewer lines are cast iron, make sure they work and are in good shape, becasue replacing them tears up everything (landscaping, patios, possibly flooring) Something to think about.

Also, the wife will not care about any of the conditions of the working facilities of the house. Those items are wasted money to them. They only care about the items that their women friends will care about (paint, decorations). If the studs were all infested with Termites, but you never saw the termites, they would not want to fix it if it would ruin their decorations. It is odd.

Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Curious, why not install a smart thermo?

Only 2 of the rooms have carpet. We don't mind keeping it for those rooms, but this has come up in conversation.

Also, why epoxy the garage? Debating putting a gym into the garage too.

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I put a gym in mine. I have it wall-to-wall with horse stall mats. I've had it that way for years and I love it.

Take a step back from the house aspect.

Evaluate the neighborhood thoroughly.

Drive by early in the morning and late at night. Check weekends too.

In my case I didn't realize that I was within a quarter mile from a leaky oil well that blew H2S right at my back door.

I've got a running list of things I'll do on our next house:

Run Cat5e cable everywhere for POE cameras.

Backyard to be prepped with gas/extra electrical hookups. Water and French drain would be nice too.

Fans in every room

Definitely get flooring done first if needed.

May be overkill for some, but I'll have a water line manifold somewhere under my kitchen cabinets with access ports either drilled through the counters, or as pvc pass through in the wall. I want to be able to convert any appliances with water reservoirs to be direct-line. (Espresso machine, nugget ice, etc)

Inline garage door openers with wifi (no middle of ceiling unit).

Floor outlets anywhere if needed or possible.

chickencoupe16 said:

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Best way to miss the sprinklers with a lawnmower is to make sure they're buried low enough. If you have to worry about hitting them, they need to be lower.

One thing I wish I had done is to add more insulation and insulation baffles.

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100% to both of these. And get a separate HVAC inspection, if you haven't already. Might even be a good idea to get an irrigation guy out to inspect that system as well.

Also, make sure you know where all the valve boxes are located in the yard for your irrigation system.

We're probably neighbors in North Austin/Georgetown area. The hail storm a couple years ago was absolutely nuts. Both cars were not inside the garage so they got wrecked.

I have a gym in my garage so that's the risk I'm taking.

I just purchased my first house ever. We used the VA Loan and everything was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Do any kitchen upgrades first and before you move in. We spend 80% of our time here. Kids use it as their crafting area as well.

This is the before and after. (Well the microwave isn't installed yet in this picture). We knocked down that stupid wall, removed all hanging lights and put a giant breakfast bar separating the kitchen and living room. Knocked down a non-load bearing beam as well.

Like I said, start with the upgrades in which you will use the most. Went with a private contractor in the area. (Central Texas)

Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Curious, why not install a smart thermo?

Only 2 of the rooms have carpet. We don't mind keeping it for those rooms, but this has come up in conversation.

Also, why epoxy the garage? Debating putting a gym into the garage too.

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I did try to read all the comments on smart thermostats including the poster whose mom had issues with temperatures changing and another poster who claimed that had to be user error.

A couple points. Utility companies in Texas can adjust smart thermostats during peak demand according to a number of sources. I have noticed changes to my settings a few times over the years. Not often, but it happens.

During the last hurricane in Houston we had a weird glitch with one of the thermostats. After the hurricane we went to our Austin house for a few days. I guess the power in Houston went on and off a few times and it messed with one of the thermostats.

When we got back the upstairs thermostat was reading the correct temp in the house and attempting to cool it. The downstairs thermostat erroneously thought the temp was 58 degrees (it was actually 81 downstairs) and attempting to heat it. So probably 48 hours of heating and cooling simultaneously.

I rebooted the nest thermostat and it returned to normal, but obviously that wouldn't have happened with an old fashioned thermostat.

So 99% of the time I think they are great, but you have to accept the fact that they can glitch under rare circumstances and they are subject to external control.

aggiedent said:

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Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Curious, why not install a smart thermo?

Only 2 of the rooms have carpet. We don't mind keeping it for those rooms, but this has come up in conversation.

Also, why epoxy the garage? Debating putting a gym into the garage too.

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I did try to read all the comments on smart thermostats including the poster whose mom had issues with temperatures changing and another poster who claimed that had to be user error.

A couple points. Utility companies in Texas can adjust smart thermostats during peak demand according to a number of sources. I have noticed changes to my settings a few times over the years. Not often, but it happens.

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This is something you opted into, and it's also something you can turn off.

https://www.ecobee.com/en-us/eco-plus/community-energy-savings/

Naveronski said:

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aggiedent said:

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Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Curious, why not install a smart thermo?

Only 2 of the rooms have carpet. We don't mind keeping it for those rooms, but this has come up in conversation.

Also, why epoxy the garage? Debating putting a gym into the garage too.

---

I did try to read all the comments on smart thermostats including the poster whose mom had issues with temperatures changing and another poster who claimed that had to be user error.

A couple points. Utility companies in Texas can adjust smart thermostats during peak demand according to a number of sources. I have noticed changes to my settings a few times over the years. Not often, but it happens.

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This is something you opted into, and it's also something you can turn off.

https://www.ecobee.com/en-us/eco-plus/community-energy-savings/

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I'm aware of the fact that they are only suppose to control it if you opt in. I installed my own nest thermostats and certainly didn't opt into anything unless it's sort of built in with the install process and you have to opt out. A possibility???

But I also read an article online (I think it may have been the Ft. Worth newspaper) where there were confirmed examples of thermostats changing when people had not opted in.

The greater fact of the matter is that anything connected to your WiFi can be compromised. Legally or illegally.

That said, I still like mine. Even that temperature sensor glitch was just a one off in 11 years of use.

aggiedent said:

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Naveronski said:

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aggiedent said:

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Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Curious, why not install a smart thermo?

Only 2 of the rooms have carpet. We don't mind keeping it for those rooms, but this has come up in conversation.

Also, why epoxy the garage? Debating putting a gym into the garage too.

---

I did try to read all the comments on smart thermostats including the poster whose mom had issues with temperatures changing and another poster who claimed that had to be user error.

A couple points. Utility companies in Texas can adjust smart thermostats during peak demand according to a number of sources. I have noticed changes to my settings a few times over the years. Not often, but it happens.

---

This is something you opted into, and it's also something you can turn off.

https://www.ecobee.com/en-us/eco-plus/community-energy-savings/

---

I'm aware of the fact that they are only suppose to control it if you opt in. I installed my own nest thermostats and certainly didn't opt into anything unless it's sort of built in with the install process and you have to opt out. A possibility???

But I also read an article online (I think it may have been the Ft. Worth newspaper) where there were confirmed examples of thermostats changing when people had not opted in.

The greater fact of the matter is that anything connected to your WiFi can be compromised. Legally or illegally.

That said, I still like mine. Even that temperature sensor glitch was just a one off in 11 years of use.

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Nest likes to prompt you from time to time with a notice about how you can "Let Nest make suggestions about how to be more energy efficient" or something to that effect. If you say yes, you just opted in to letting them adjust your thermostat for energy efficiency (and grid load shedding).

If your property has live oaks don't look at them funny. That or breath near them or even think about them. I have the strangest ability to kill everyone I've come across.

Were your cars totaled from the hail?

Car insurance cover the repairs?

Do you use one of those car covers for them in the driveway?

txags92 said:

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Scoopen Skwert said:

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If your property has live oaks don't look at them funny. That or breath near them or even think about them. I have the strangest ability to kill everyone I've come across.

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Don't throw weed and feed under/around them.

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Been a long time listener and follower of Neil Sperry. I'm just cursed.

Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Were your cars totaled from the hail?

Car insurance cover the repairs?

Do you use one of those car covers for them in the driveway?

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USAA covered everything. They weren't totaled but was about $21,000 in damage between the two cars.

No, ideally we should park one of the cars in the garage.

We moved to a house down the street after the hail storm a year later. So we got a free roof!

That's definitely something to request from the sellers, a new roof given all the hail over the years.

A vent fan in the attic unless you have really good passive ventilation.

Think about which parts of your yard get light at which times of day if you are considering putting in a garden.

Is your gate wide enough to fit everything you want to put in the backyard?

Do you have a ladder tall enough to reach everywhere you will want to hang Christmas lights?

Will you want flowers in a certain spot in the next six months? Which kind of flowers? If they are bulbs, start looking for them now.

Figure out which corner of the house you can pee around without the neighbors being able to see you, including their security cameras.

amateur gene ecologist said:

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A vent fan in the attic unless you have really good passive ventilation.

Think about which parts of your yard get light at which times of day if you are considering putting in a garden.

Is your gate wide enough to fit everything you want to put in the backyard?

Do you have a ladder tall enough to reach everywhere you will want to hang Christmas lights?

Will you want flowers in a certain spot in the next six months? Which kind of flowers? If they are bulbs, start looking for them now.

Figure out which corner of the neighbor's house you can pee around without the neighbors being able to see you, including their security cameras.

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FIFY

Bonus points if you can convince them it is their cat doing it.

In my opinion, a lot of this will be based on the age of your house.

If it's an older home, a LOT will be riding on your inspection. Negotiate sort of hard on the roof and plumbing issues. Sending a camera down your waste trunk lines is not part of the standard inspection item, pay more and have this done. If you end up with issues under your slab you're going to have $$$.

No matter where you are, look up the property to see if you're in a floodplain. https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps

Try to find out if there are other issues in the neighborhood, cracked slabs, etc....

Before you move in, keep funds set aside to take care of core items before you move in.

How old is the main power panel? What's your service rating on it? If you're going to expand it, might as well do it ahead of time. When you have your electrician there, look into generator cut out, whole home surge protector and if you plan to add new outlets, ceiling fans etc... go ahead and have the electrician install everything then and there. If you're going to install more outlets in the garage, make sure they're 20A and maybe use the orange outlets so you know visually what they're for and what tools you should run off of them.

If your home has failing plumbing, look into getting replumbed. And while you're doing this, plan ahead. Maybe get it plumbed in the garage for an extra spigot. In my home we trenched and had waste water out, so I have a 3 basin SS sink which we use frequently. We also put sewer out and stubbed out H/C for future patio expansion, as well as a fresh 15A line so we can install power/lights to this future add on.

We had a fresh 15A line just for our entertainment system. Then we ran Cat5e lines all over the place (this is a 1 story), so that was pretty easy. We ran surround sound lines for everything, drops for the subwoofer etc...

We replaced all the carpet and installed wood like ceramic tiles through 75% of the house. Then patched all the holes from the plumber/electrician and re-textured and re-painted the entire house. We dropped a gas line for the kitchen range as well, double ovens are electric.

After it was all done, then over time we replaced windows, light fixtures etc... We replaced But everything in the walls was done just to make sure we could handle it all at once. It was expensive but the other option was having to deal with living there and in construction.

We also epoxied the garage floor, finished all the walls after installing 30A and 50A lines for tools, more garage lights.

So much of this depends on the individual home so your mileage will vary.