c/albuquerque-home-reno

Shoutout to the guy who told me to just 'patch it' with stucco from a different batch

Three years ago on my house near UNM, I listened to some advice and tried to match a small crack with a bag of premix from a different store. The color difference is insane, like a giant tan patch on my adobe wall. I've been staring at this mismatched eyesore every single day since. Anyone know a good local crew that can actually do a proper color match and fix this mess?

My swamp cooler pad frame gave out during the last heat wave

It happened about two weeks ago when we hit 98 degrees. I went to turn on the cooler and heard a loud crack, then water started dripping down the side of the house. The whole plastic frame holding the aspen pads had snapped right in the middle. I shut off the water and power, then ran to Lowe's on Coors for a new one. Has anyone else had this happen and found a more sturdy brand than the basic blue ones they sell?

Finally got the old tile up in my Nob Hill bathroom without wrecking the subfloor

Used a heat gun on low for 15 minutes on each section and they popped right off. Anyone know a good local supplier for the new cement board?

Overheard a guy at the lumber yard say he'd never put a tile floor in an Albuquerque house, and I think he's dead wrong

He was loading up some pine boards and said to his buddy, 'The ground moves too much here, tile's just gonna crack, it's a waste of money.' I was grabbing some thin-set and it stopped me cold. I've done three tile jobs in the last year in different parts of the city, from the Northeast Heights to the South Valley. The key isn't skipping tile, it's using the right underlayment and a flexible grout. My bathroom floor from 18 months ago looks perfect, zero cracks. It's not the material, it's the method. Has anyone else put in a tile floor here that's held up for a few years? What did you use under it?

TIL my whole plan for a stucco patch job was wrong

Honestly, I tried to fix a crack in my stucco near the UNM area last weekend with some premix stuff from the hardware store, but it all just crumbled out after two days. Ngl, a neighbor came over and said I didn't wet the wall down first or use the right base coat, which makes total sense now. What's the right way to prep the area for a small repair like that?

I thought a cool roof coating was just a gimmick for our Albuquerque sun

When my neighbor suggested a reflective roof coating last summer, I honestly rolled my eyes. I figured it was just another expensive product that wouldn't make a real difference in the heat. But after my AC unit struggled through July and my power bill hit $180, I decided to try it on my own flat roof section over the garage. I used a basic white elastomeric coating from the local hardware store, and the change was shocking. The surface temperature dropped over 20 degrees on a hot afternoon, and my house just felt cooler overall. My next power bill was $35 lower, which convinced me it wasn't just hype. Has anyone else tried a specific coating brand here that held up well after a few seasons?

Unpopular opinion: I think the new stucco colors going up in the Northeast Heights look cheap

I watched a house on my block get a full exterior redo over the last six months. They went from a classic, warm tan to this bright, almost grayish white that everyone seems to love now. The sun here just bakes it and makes the whole place look flat and washed out, not rich. Am I the only one who misses the earth tones that actually fit our desert light?

TIL you can use leftover roofing cement to patch hairline cracks in a stucco wall

My contractor buddy said it was a hack, but after a year and a monsoon season, the patch on my garage is still solid. Is this actually a terrible idea long-term, or a legit fix?

Saw a house on Carlisle with a sunroom floor that was totally wrong for the heat

Was over near UNM yesterday. Looked at a flip. They put in dark laminate in a south facing sunroom. Felt like a frying pan. My buddy who does tile said it was a rookie move. Anyone know a good material for a hot room like that?

Choosing between a stamped concrete patio and a flagstone one for my backyard in the North Valley

Went with the concrete for cost and speed, but after our first real freeze I'm seeing a hairline crack. Anyone have a good local mason for repairs?

Rant: my dad told me to skip the vapor barrier under my new tile floor

He's a contractor in Phoenix and swore up and down that with our dry climate, a vapor barrier under tile in a slab-on-grade house was a waste of money and time. He said, 'You're in the desert, not Seattle.' So I listened, saved the $200 on materials, and laid the tile directly on the slab in my kitchen. Fast forward eight months, and I'm seeing efflorescence and a few tiles starting to feel loose. A buddy who does tile here in ABQ came over, took one look, and said the moisture from the slab is wicking up. Now I'm looking at pulling up a section to fix it. Has anyone else in the Heights or similar areas had this happen, or was my dad's advice just flat wrong for our specific soil?

Remember when everyone in the NE Heights had those pink stucco walls?

Three years ago, I helped my neighbor on Juan Tabo redo his living room and we had to chip off three layers of that old pink stuff. Last month, I saw a house on Menaul that still had it, and it looked so out of place now. Last week, I drove by and they were finally putting up a nice tan coat. Has anyone else had to deal with removing that specific old color from a house?

Hot take: I hired a guy off Craigslist to do my stucco patch in the South Valley and it was a disaster.

I needed a small stucco repair on my house near Isleta, maybe a 4x4 foot area. A guy on Craigslist said he could do it for $400, which was way less than the other quotes I got. He showed up, slapped on some mix, and said it was good. Two months later, after our first real rain, the whole patch cracked and started to crumble away. I called him back and he ghosted me. I ended up paying a licensed contractor $1200 to rip it out and do it right, with the proper base coat and finish. So I was out $400 plus the new cost. I'm torn because sometimes you can find a good deal with a smaller operator, but this felt like straight-up fraud. Has anyone else in ABQ had a nightmare story with hiring someone without checking their references first?

The tile in my Nob Hill bathroom had a layer of old mastic that fought back.

What should have been a one-day demo turned into a three-day battle with a heat gun and a 4-inch scraper. Anyone have a better method for that pink adhesive from the 80s?

Hit 1000 linear feet of fencing installed in the NE heights this year

I always thought that was a big number, but seeing it on paper made me realize how much ground we cover. Anyone else track their work like that, or am I just weird?

Hot take: I thought spray foam insulation was a total scam for our old house near UNM.

My contractor pushed hard for it, but the $4,500 quote made me sure it was just an upsell. After a brutal winter with a $300 gas bill, I finally caved and my heating costs dropped by almost half. Anyone else in a historic home see results this drastic, or did I just get lucky?

PSA: Had to pick between a new build addition or a full historic remodel for my 1920s Nob Hill bungalow

Went with the remodel to keep the original plaster and woodwork, but man, finding matching old-growth pine for the baseboards was a six-month hunt lol. Anyone know a good salvage yard besides the one on Menaul?

The guy at the lumber yard on Central told me to just use OSB for my shed floor

I was asking about 3/4 inch plywood and he said 'nobody out here pays for that, the ground's too dry to matter'. Has anyone actually had an OSB floor hold up past five years?

Hot take: Albuquerque folks keep putting the wrong kind of tile in their showers

I've seen it three times now in houses over in the Northeast Heights, people using that beautiful Saltillo tile inside the shower stall. It looks great for about six months, then it starts to soak up water and crack because it's not sealed for that kind of wetness. My neighbor learned this the hard way after a full redo last spring. What's a better, local material that holds up to our dry air and hard water?

I was sure I wanted a gravel yard for my place near UNM, but the dust changed my mind.

My contractor friend in the South Valley told me to just try a bag of decomposed granite in a corner for a week, and the fine grit got on everything. I ended up going with a mix of flagstone and drought-tolerant plants instead, which looks way better and is way cleaner. Anyone else in the Heights or UNM area deal with this dust issue and find a good fix?

Just realized my new patio cost me double because of our soil

I spent about $2,500 on a nice stamped concrete patio, but the crew hit caliche just a few inches down and needed a jackhammer. That added another $1,200 and a full day of extra work I hadn't planned for. Anyone else in the Heights run into this and have a better way to check for it before digging?

Question about using spray foam insulation in our older homes

I was helping my buddy redo his 1950s house near UNM last fall, and we filled some wall cavities with spray foam. A few months later, he started having serious moisture problems in the exterior walls. The inspector said the foam trapped existing moisture and didn't let the old adobe brick breathe like it needed to. Now I tell people to think twice before using modern sealants on our historic materials. Has anyone else run into this with older Albuquerque builds?

Talking to a stranger at the grocery store made me see my leaky faucet in a new way.

Unpopular opinion: I used to think xeriscaping was ugly until I tried it myself

I always thought xeriscaping would make my yard look barren, but after trying it with some local plants, it's actually really vibrant. Plus, my water bill dropped a lot this summer.

Skipping native plants was a mistake for my mental health.

Including them in my remodel has lowered my stress.