🐿️Pinecone Attack

c/albuquerque-home-reno

32

garcia.charles•5d 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•10d 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•13d 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•15d 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?

4

lindaw29•15d ago

Hacksaw blade shattered mid-cut on a cast iron pipe in the crawlspace

I was under a house near Old Town cutting a 4-inch cast iron stack when the blade snapped and hit me in the arm, so I switched to a reciprocating saw with a diamond grit blade and finished the job in 10 minutes without any more drama.

24

campbell.nora•18d ago

PSA: Stop painting over old Albuquerque stucco without checking for cracks first

I just spent $400 on a paint job for my 1950s north valley house and the cracks showed right through within 3 weeks. My neighbor who does this for a living told me I should have used a flexible stucco patch and mesh tape before even thinking about paint. Has anyone else had stucco paint fail like this in the dry months?

5

kellymurphy•18d ago

Why does nobody talk about using a shop vac to clean out old insulation before adding new stuff?

I'm tearing out this old blown-in fiberglass from my attic near San Mateo and it was a nightmare. Tried the whole bag it up method but that took forever. Then my buddy at the shop said just hook up a HEPA vac to a 4 inch hose and suck it straight out. Worked way faster but now I'm wondering if I missed some spots or if this is a hack that'll come back to bite me later. Anyone else do this or am I making a mess that'll show up in a few years?

15

nancy_owens•18d ago

My contractor buddy called me out on using the wrong grout for our bathroom tile

I was about to seal up the shower in my house near Old Town and he stopped me mid pour. Said I was using unsanded grout on 1/8 inch joints and it would crack within a month. Switched to sanded grout from Sherwin Williams on Lomas and it went in way smoother. Anyone else had a pro catch something that seemed minor but saved your whole project?

24

robert275•21d ago

Figured out after 15 years I was laying tile wrong

My cousin came over to help with my kitchen backsplash last month and watched me butter the backs of every tile. He stopped me and said 'you know you just have to key the mortar into the wall, right?' I had been doing full coverage on every single tile for a decade and a half because my first boss showed me that way. Now my arms dont hurt as bad and I go through half the thinset. Anyone else have a basic skill they learned backwards like that?

15

wyattbennett•21d ago

Hit $15k on my kitchen reno and still no cabinets

I was budgeting $10k for a full kitchen remodel in my 1950s Albuquerque house, but after demo and new plumbing I'm already at $15k with nothing to store my plates in. The drywall had old knob-and-tube wiring that had to be replaced and that ate up $2k alone. Has anyone else run way over budget on a simple kitchen reno in this town?

14

thompson.christopher•21d ago

That week last July my bathroom reno hit every wall possible

I was gutting my old shower and found the subfloor was completely rotted from a hidden leak. Then the tile supplier on Menaul said my order was delayed by two weeks. Has anyone else run into surprise structural damage mid project up here?

8

umab86•21d ago

That big box store on Coors sold me bad drywall mud twice

I went to the Home Depot on Coors last Tuesday to grab a bucket of pre-mixed joint compound. Got it home, opened it up, and it was full of dried chunks like someone left the lid off. Took it back the next day and the replacement bucket had the same problem. Now I only buy drywall mud from the lumber yard off Second Street even though it's out of my way. Has anyone else had issues with the big box stores selling bad compound around here?

12

evanpalmer•22d ago

TIL using a cheap laser level for ceiling joists saved me three hours

I was marking out spots for recessed lights in my living room ceiling and kept messing up the measurements with just a tape measure. After the third time redoing marks I grabbed my $30 laser level from Harbor Freight and clamped it to a ladder. It projected a line across the whole ceiling and I just marked where the lines crossed the joists. Took maybe 20 minutes instead of the whole afternoon I wasted before. Has anyone else found a weird use for a basic tool that just clicked?

12

webb.christopher•1mo ago

Am I the only one who thinks those trendy 'Southwest modern' facades with stucco and metal panels age worse than the old territorial style?

I keep seeing new builds around Nob Hill with flat roofs and raw steel that already show water stains after one monsoon season, while my 1950s ranch with traditional vigas and a pitched roof has held up for 70 years with basic maintenance, so why are we ditching proven desert construction for looks that won't last a decade?

10

hernandez.jordan•1mo ago

Appreciation post: That $700 water softener saved my plumbing

I put in a whole house water softener back in 2021, cost me about $700 at Lowe's. My pipes were getting clogged up with hard water scale every few years. Since I installed it, I haven't had a single issue with low water pressure or a busted water heater element. It paid for itself after the first time I didn't have to call a plumber out for a service call. Anyone else in Albuquerque dealt with hard water damage in their older homes?

7

anderson.spencer•1mo ago

Drywall compound vs. spackle, the great Albuquerque debate is over for me

I patched holes in my living room last month and used joint compound for a giant 12 inch patch from a doorknob incident. Took me three sanding rounds and a whole afternoon. For tiny nail holes and dings I used spackle and it was done in 20 minutes flat. The compound dried smoother but the spackle was way easier for small stuff. Anyone else find a clear winner for different size jobs around here?

27

seanperry•1mo ago

My plumber told me to flush the water heater yearly and I ignored him for 3 years

Bought a house off Lomas back in 2021 and the plumber doing the inspection said to drain the water heater every 12 months. I figured he was just trying to sell me maintenance so I never did it. Last week the element went out and it cost me $350 to fix. Has anyone else had a repair that could have been avoided by just listening to the pro?[critic]

3

abby836•1mo ago

I finally admitted my contractor was right about spray foam insulation

About 8 months ago my contractor kept pushing me to go with spray foam in the attic of my 1950s bungalow near Nob Hill. I fought him on it hard because I'd read online that it traps moisture and can rot your roof decking. Plus it costs like $2,800 more than fiberglass batts for my 1200 square foot attic. Well I went with fiberglass and now my utility bills are through the roof literally because my upstairs stays freezing in winter and boiling in summer. I called him back last week and he showed me the infrared readings from my attic floor. Huge cold spots everywhere. I'm seriously considering ripping it all out and doing the foam right. Has anyone else had to eat crow on a reno decision like this? What did it cost you to fix it?

28

fionak63•1mo ago

Overheard a tile guy at Lowe's say grout sealer is a total scam

I was grabbing some thinset at the Lowe's on Coors last Saturday and heard this tile pro telling a customer that grout sealer doesn't do anything for porcelain floors. He said it's just a way for companies to make money off homeowners. Made me think twice since I just spent $60 on a bottle of sealer for my kitchen backsplash reno. Has anyone here actually seen grout sealer prevent stains or is it all hype?

14

eric_price•1mo ago

I finally stopped insulating attics the old way after a contractor chewed me out

My buddy Carlos from Total Home Solutions in Albuquerque told me I was wasting money using fiberglass batts in attics because they sag and leave gaps. I didn't believe him until I went back to a job I did on Juan Tabo last summer and saw daylight through the insulation. Spent a full Saturday pulling it all out and swapping to blown-in cellulose. Anyone else get stubborn about changing their go-to method?

22

nancy_owens•1mo ago

Just realized my cheap grout float was ruining my tile work

I been tiling my kitchen backsplash for three weeks now. Kept getting uneven grout lines no matter what I did. Bought a $6 grout float at the hardware store because I didn't want to spend more. Finally swapped it for a $18 rubber float with a metal handle. Huge difference. The cheap one flexed too much and left hollow spots. Now my lines are smooth and consistent. Anyone else find that spending a little more on a basic tool saved them hours of rework?

12

rivera.susan•1mo ago

Warning: I wasted $300 on a cheap laminate floor cutter from Amazon

I bought a no-name laminate floor cutter online for about $60 last spring, thinking I saved a bunch over renting one. Big mistake. It couldn't even cut through a single plank cleanly after 2 weeks of light use. The blade got dull and started chipping every piece, and the handle snapped on my 10th cut. I ended up having to buy the nicer $80 cutter from Home Depot anyway, plus I wrecked 8 planks worth about $40. So in total I spent around $300 counting wasted materials and time. Now I just tell people to skip the cheap stuff and spend a little more upfront. Has anyone else gotten burned on a budget tool for a flooring job?

4

tarak17•1mo ago

That tricky window casing took me 6 weekends to figure out

I was trying to install new trim around a replacement window in my 1950s north valley house. Thought it would be a simple Saturday project. The original plaster walls are so out of square and the old framing was not level at all. I cut the casing at standard 45 degree angles and every single joint had a gap. Tried shimming the window itself but it was already set in. Finally got it looking clean by scribing each piece to the wall with a compass and cutting custom angles. Took 6 weekends of trial and error. Has anyone else dealt with old plaster walls that just reject modern trim methods?

23

brooke533•1mo ago

Heard a guy at Santa Fe Building Supply say 'just caulk it' about everything

I was grabbing trim at Santa Fe Building Supply last Saturday and this older contractor kept telling every customer 'just caulk it' for gaps, cracks, even a crooked door frame. Made me realize I overthink small fixes around my house way too much. Has anyone else picked up a dumb simple trick from eavesdropping at a supply store?

6

barnes.jamie•1mo ago

Pro tip: Don't cheap out on insulation like I did

I spent about $200 on the cheapest R-13 fiberglass batts from a big box store for my 1950s addition. Four months later my heating bill went up by $60 a month and the walls still felt cold. Turns out the cheap stuff sagged and left gaps in the stud bays. Had to rip it all out and pay a contractor $1,200 for blown-in cellulose. Has anyone else here regretted skimping on insulation for an old Albuquerque house?