🐿️Pinecone Attack

c/albuquerque-home-reno

15

linda_mason82•15h ago

Last Tuesday was a nightmare with our bathroom tile demo

We started ripping out the old shower tile around 8am and by 10am I realized the previous owner had used mastic on cement board - took forever to chip off. Then my angle grinder died halfway through cutting the backer board, so I had to drive to Home Depot on Coors. Finally got it all out by 4pm but found black mold behind the wall, which added two extra days and $300 in supplies. Has anyone else dealt with surprise mold hiding behind tile in an old Albuquerque house?

5

ryanrodriguez•1d ago

My buddy swore I could use a machete to cut drywall

Ngl, my friend Carlos told me to save money and just use his old machete to cut drywall for my garage reno. Honestly, I tried it on one sheet and it left this jagged mess that looked like a dog chewed it. I ended up spending $40 on a proper drywall saw from Lowe's anyway. Has anyone else had a friend give them terrible reno advice that backfired?

15

derekp70•2d ago

Lost $400 on a crappy drywall crew from a Facebook ad in Albuquerque

Tbh I hired these guys off a Facebook ad last month to fix some water damage in my living room. They charged me $400 upfront and did such a bad job the mud cracked within a week. Has anyone else dealt with fly-by-night drywallers around here or found a reliable crew?

20

the_kevin•4d ago

Took me 4 hours to find a single drywall anchor that would hold in my 1960s plaster

I was hanging a heavy shelf in my North Valley living room and kept hitting nothing but crumbly old plaster behind the lath. After drilling 6 test holes, trying toggle bolts and even a lead anchor, I finally found a spot that grabbed into a stud behind the mess. Anybody else dealing with this old abq plaster and have a trick for finding studs without a stud finder?

13

roseb47•6d ago

South Valley Renovation Supply is worth the drive from the Heights

Last weekend I finally took a trip down to South Valley Renovation Supply off Isleta. I'd heard about it forever but figured it was just another salvage place with overpriced doors. Boy was I wrong. They had a whole stack of old Douglas fir windows that were already pulled out and cleaned up. I grabbed two for $35 each, which is half what I'd pay online. The guy running the place told me they get new shipments every Tuesday morning. I spent almost two hours just walking the yard and kept finding things I wanted. Has anyone else had luck finding good used windows or doors in the South Valley?

14

stella_lee•7d ago

Just learned adobe bricks need to breathe and I've been sealing mine wrong for years

Was watching a YouTube video about historic preservation in the North Valley last night and found out that painting old adobe walls with modern latex paint traps moisture and causes them to crumble from the inside. I sealed my whole front wall back in 2021 and now I'm wondering if I messed it up bad. The guy in the video said you need a breathable lime-based render instead. Has anyone else dealt with fixing this kind of moisture damage on their old adobe?

17

barbararamirez•7d ago

Just overheard a plumber say copper is overrated for desert houses

Was at Lowe's this morning grabbing new gutters and this old plumber was telling the guy next to me that PEX is actually way better here in Albuquerque because it handles the ground shifting better. Said he's pulled copper out of three houses in the Northeast Heights that burst during that big freeze two years ago. Made me rethink my whole plan to replace my old galvanized pipes with copper like my dad always swore by. Has anyone else here gone with PEX and regretted it or is it really the way to go for our climate?

3

mason.anna•8d ago

Unpopular opinion: Those spray foam insulation kits are actually worth it

I was super skeptical about the DIY spray foam kits from Home Depot, figured they'd be a mess and not work. But I used one on a weird corner of my attic near the garage last month, the seal is way better than the fiberglass batts I had before. My heating bill dropped like $25 in December alone. Has anyone else tried the Froth-Pak 12 and had good results in a tricky spot?

34

nora_barnes•9d ago

Messed up my foundation vent placement and now I'm stuck

So I was laying out the foundation vents for a new addition on my house near the North Valley last weekend. I thought I had it all mapped out right, marked my spots with spray paint and everything. But after I poured the concrete and the forms came off, I realized one vent is sitting right where I planned to run a future gas line for a patio heater. Cost me about 180 bucks for that concrete pour plus the vent kit itself. Now I'm looking at either moving the vent which means breaking up concrete or rerouting the gas line around it. Has anyone else dealt with shifting stuff around after a foundation pour in Albuquerque?

18

robin777•10d ago

Debated between spray foam and fiberglass for my attic insulation

I spent two whole weekends going back and forth on whether to use spray foam or keep my old fiberglass in my 1950s Albuquerque bungalow. My buddy kept pushing the spray foam, saying it seals everything tight and saves big on cooling bills. But I went with the fiberglass because it was way cheaper and I could DIY it for under $400. First night after I laid it all down, a family of pack rats chewed through my soffit vents and nested right in the fresh insulation. Now I'm finding droppings and chewed up pink fluff every time I go up there. Has anyone else dealt with critters wrecking their insulation project down here in the South Valley?

9

reese550•11d ago

Found black mold behind my bathroom vanity

Pulled out the old vanity last weekend and found a whole colony back there. The previous owner must have had a leak for years. Anybody dealt with remediation in Albuquerque and got a company they trust?

21

spencer_wood•11d ago

My brand new water heater failed after 3 months and the installer ghosted me

Last December I paid a local guy $1,200 to install a Rheem unit and it started leaking from the top seam two weeks ago, so now I'm stuck draining it myself and trying to figure out who to call next. Has anyone else had luck getting warranty service on a Rheem without the original installer?

29

johnson.adam•11d ago

That conversation with a stucco guy at Lowe's changed how I see my whole house

Ran into an old timer in the stucco aisle who said 90% of Albuquerque home issues come from bad flashing, not bad stucco - made me realize I've been patching the wrong things for 5 years. Anyone else ever had a random stranger at the store totally reframe a problem you've been fighting?

26

claire992•12d ago

Told me to skip the vapor barrier in my adobe home in Albuquerque

My neighbor said vapor barriers are a waste in our climate, but after one wet monsoon season I found mold behind my drywall and had to rip out $2,000 worth of work in my North Valley house - has anyone else regretted listening to that advice?

4

parker_foster53•13d ago

Three weeks to fix a single crooked window frame

I was replacing a window in my 1950s adobe house near Old Town and found out the original frame was off by almost 2 inches. The studs were all weird because of settling or bad work back then, so I had to shim and reframe the whole opening myself. Took me three weekends instead of the one I planned for, and my neighbor kept asking if I was ever gonna finish it. Anyone else run into hidden problems in these older Albuquerque houses that turned a quick job into a month-long project?

8

the_jesse•13d ago

Just finished stripping old linoleum glue off my kitchen subfloor in the Heights

Took me three weekends with a heat gun and a scraper, and the difference between day one and today is night and day. What finally made it click was spraying a little water on the glue after heating it up, which softened it way faster. Anyone else found a weird trick that saved them hours on demo?

9

skyler_craig•16d ago

Pro tip: Skip the fancy spray foam for attic insulation in ABQ

I get why everyone loves that closed cell spray foam for attics. It seals everything up tight and has that high R-value. But after my own experience last January, I think it's overkill for most homes here. I paid a guy $2,800 to spray foam my attic in Albuquerque, and three months later I had moisture problems. The house couldn't breathe and I got condensation on my roof decking in February. My neighbor did the old school blown in fiberglass for $900 and his place stays just as cool in summer. I ended up having to rip out a section of drywall in my north bedroom because of mold starting behind the insulation. Has anyone else had trouble with spray foam not letting the house breathe right in our dry climate?

3

leor37•16d ago

Finally got through a full day of drywall mudding without a single bubble

I've been working on my guest bedroom for two weeks now and every time I thought I had the mudding down, I'd come back the next morning to bubbles and pinholes everywhere. Yesterday I tried mixing the compound way slower and letting it sit for 10 minutes before using it, and not a single bubble showed up. Has anyone else found a weird trick that just works for getting smooth mud here in the dry heat?

28

viola_cooper62•16d ago

My adobe wall took 3 months to fully dry after a roof leak

Back in March we had that big rainstorm that flooded the whole valley. I had a leak in my flat roof that I didn't catch quick enough, and water got into a section of my interior adobe wall. Took me three months of running a dehumidifier and using a moisture meter twice a week before it got below 15 percent. Anyone else here dealt with moisture trapped in traditional adobe construction?

28

holly_craig•17d ago

Rant: My neighbor swore by spray foam for window gaps - big mistake

He told me to just fill the gaps around my old casement windows with spray foam and trim it flush. 6 months later the windows won't close right because the foam expanded and warped the frames. Has anyone else had a simple fix turn into a nightmare?

11

eric_price•18d ago

My kitchen demo turned into a plumbing nightmare

I was pulling out the old tile backsplash in my Nob Hill place and my pry bar went straight through a copper pipe behind the drywall. Water shot across the room for a solid 30 seconds before I could find the main shutoff in the utility closet. Anybody have tips for patching copper pipe without a full replumb?

32

garcia.charles•25d ago

Just found out my insulation was totally wrong for 2 years

I bought this house in the South Valley back in 2021 and just discovered last week that the previous owner stuffed regular fiberglass batts in the attic with no vapor barrier, lol. My energy bills have been crazy high during summer and now it makes sense. Has anyone here had to rip out and redo their attic insulation in Albuquerque?

19

ross.jason•1mo ago

Walked into the ReStore on Menaul and saw a whole kitchen sink set up with a butcher block counter

Honestly, I was just looking for cheap light fixtures for my guest bath reno. But I walked past this kitchen display they set up and it stopped me. Someone donated a full farmhouse sink with a custom cut butcher block counter, still had the mounting brackets and everything. The sink was like a 60/40 split with a deep basin on one side, perfect for washing big pots. They had it tagged at $250 which is a steal compared to the big box stores. I stood there for ten minutes measuring it with my phone and thinking if I could make it work in my layout. My wife is gonna kill me if I bring another project home but this one seems worth the hassle. Has anyone else scored something way too good to pass up at the ReStore and regretted not buying it?

35

derekp70•1mo ago

Just figured out why my grout keeps cracking in my shower

I regrouted my shower a year ago and it started cracking again in 6 months. My neighbor who does tile work finally told me I was mixing the grout too wet. He said I should aim for a peanut butter consistency, not soup. Now that I'm doing it right, the new grout has held solid for 3 months. Has anyone else dealt with grout cracking way faster than it should?

19

grace565•1mo ago

Conversation with a tile guy at Home Depot made me rethink my whole floor plan

I was grabbing some grout last Saturday and this older guy stocking shelves started chatting. He asked what I was working on and I told him about laying tile in my kitchen. Then he said something like "you sure you wanna run those tiles straight through the doorway?" and pointed out how my layout would make the hall look narrow. I had just lined it up off the wall without thinking about sightlines. He showed me on his phone how angling the pattern a half inch could open up the space. It hit different because I'd been staring at that floor for weeks and never noticed. Has anyone else had a random stranger at a hardware store completely change how you did a job?