Home buying questions I should know, but I don't

[1SEIACLONE]

Yeah this is very true and I don’t recommend Pella windows at all

We had Pella windows in the home we purchased, and replaced them. Not ripping on Pella, but they do have some horrible products, while others seem to be very good. I suppose it all comes down to price point. If you plan on staying in the home for awhile, it's never a good idea to go cheap on windows, love our Anderson windows.

 

[AgronAlum]

Update time....

We moved into our new house last Friday. Urbandale address and Waukee schools. 30 days ago, the home was in drywall stage so when we moved in, it was just completed. We've had a few hickups, but the builder has been quick about fixing the issues. We're the last home to go up in this neighborhood, which I'm sure makes our neighbors happy.

Question time:

What does I have to do for car registration when I move from polk to dallas county? I seem to be getting mixed messages.

Call Dallas County and get the rundown from them. They were actually very helpful the last time I was in there and didn't act like dicks like when I've had to deal with Polk County. I'm pretty sure you just update your license and everything follows.

 

[clones_jer]

There were a few other things/trends noticed that changed a lot between the 20 years of purchasing a home.

1. Huge windows, most of which are not able to open. This is totally fine with me, we keep our windows open like 2 weeks a year. Out of the probably 25 windows in this new house, only 4 can be opened. They are Pella windows. I've noticed this house is a lot quieter compared to our old house. I haven't heard one vehicle. Some of this could be due to us no longer being on a corner lot, with a stop sign. I'm assuming the home will also be a lot more efficient.

2. Community mailboxes-Don't care either way.

3. LVP everywhere

4. Electric fireplaces instead of gas

5. Things like pot fillers above the range don't seem to be a thing.

6. Composite decks were very uncommon 20 years ago (at least in my price range)

LVP is awesome imho. 30 years from now they'll probably laugh about us using it like we do Linoleum, but it looks nice & cleans easy, is reasonably easy to install, and if you use the right underlayment it reduces noise and isn't hard on our feet. I've put luxury vinyl in 3 bathrooms, a basement living room, and a retail store and never second thought it for a second.

 

[dmclone]

In our previous home, we had a lot of canned lights and I replaced a lot of the lights with smart bulbs. It now looks like all the lights in the new house are Recessed LED Kits. They look nice but how do I add more control/dim?

 

[TitanClone]

In our previous home, we had a lot of canned lights and I replaced a lot of the lights with smart bulbs. It now looks like all the lights in the new house are Recessed LED Kits. They look nice but how do I add more control/dim?

Assuming the LEDs are dimmable you can replace the switches with smart switches.

 

[AgronAlum]

In our previous home, we had a lot of canned lights and I replaced a lot of the lights with smart bulbs. It now looks like all the lights in the new house are Recessed LED Kits. They look nice but how do I add more control/dim?

Some are dimmable and some are not. Try throwing a regular dimmer switch on and see if it functions normally. If it does, replace the switches.

Or see if the builder can get you a couple spares. It should say on the box. My only issue with LED kits is that when they go out, you have to try and match a fixture. It would be good to have a couple spares on hand.

 

[clones_jer]

In our previous home, we had a lot of canned lights and I replaced a lot of the lights with smart bulbs. It now looks like all the lights in the new house are Recessed LED Kits. They look nice but how do I add more control/dim?

are they the spring loaded LED pucks? you can pop one out pretty easy, basically just pull it down, you'll see the spring clips to push back after it's out a little ways. I'd get one out - it'll have the model number on it, look it up and see it they're dimmable. They also may have a switch on the back of them to allow you to set the light from soft to bright. I've seen them with 6 different settings.

 

[dmclone]

When we moved from MN I just made an appointment with the Dallas county treasurer in adel and they pretty much helped with everything. We had some hiccups to MN losing the title for one of my cars, but that's on the ******** at Dakota County license office in Lakeville (I'm still bitter).

You're not kidding about calling Dallas county. So refreshing compared to having to deal with Polk county for the last 20 years.

 

[ackatch]

are they the spring loaded LED pucks? you can pop one out pretty easy, basically just pull it down, you'll see the spring clips to push back after it's out a little ways. I'd get one out - it'll have the model number on it, look it up and see it they're dimmable. They also may have a switch on the back of them to allow you to set the light from soft to bright. I've seen them with 6 different settings.

If you have a Costco membership, check to see if the LED "Pucks" they have will work. We had one go out the other month, and the ones at Costco are SLIGHTLY different looking than what the builder had, but they are about $40 cheaper for a bigger pack.

 

[dmclone]

If you have a Costco membership, check to see if the LED "Pucks" they have will work. We had one go out the other month, and the ones at Costco are SLIGHTLY different looking than what the builder had, but they are about $40 cheaper for a bigger pack.

They look like this on the outside. Does the whole thing just pop out?

 

[clones_jer]

They look like this on the outside. Does the whole thing just pop out?

yeah, just you may need a table knife to get under the edge, just gently pry one side up til you can get a grip on it, then pull the whole thing straight down. looks like some variation of this: the spring clamps will be move up and and slide out of the hole in the drywall.