c/alberta-homeowners

Furnace fan kicked the bucket at -28 in Edmonton, $340 fix but she's purring now

Woke up to a freezing house last Tuesday and traced it to a seized blower motor that I replaced myself with a part from AMRE Supply, has anyone else had that Carrier model eat its capacitor twice in one winter?

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uma_baker88•3d ago

Cut my Calgary utility bill by $42 a month with one dumb change

Last winter I was paying close to $180 a month for electricity and gas in my 1950s bungalow in Calgary, so I finally got around to sealing the rim joist gaps in the crawl space with spray foam and a caulk gun. It took me two weekends back in March, and now my July bill dropped to $138 even with the AC running on those hot days. Has anyone else seen that big a swing from just air sealing, or should I keep looking at my attic insulation next?

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wright.jesse•3d ago

Found out my sump pump was running every 2 minutes in Lethbridge

Checked the basement last week and heard the pump kicking on way too often. I counted 14 cycles in half an hour. Turns out the discharge line outside had frozen solid from the cold snap. Water was just recirculating back through the weep hole. Spent a Saturday digging it out and adding heat tape, cost about $60 at Home Depot. The pump now runs maybe 3 times a day. I never thought to check the outside line before. Has anyone else dealt with frozen discharge pipes here, and did you switch to a different setup?

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nancy824•3d ago

I finally tackled the drainage ditch behind my acreage near Red Deer

Rain in May turned my back yard into a pond for two weeks. I kept thinking it would dry up, but the water just sat there. After 5 weekends of digging and hauling gravel, I got a proper swale working. The trick was renting a small excavator for $350, best money I spent all summer. Has anyone else fought with low spots that never drain on their property?

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kelly968•7d ago

The reverse osmosis system I fought for 3 winters finally won me over

I put in a Kinetico system back in 2019 because my well water in Lacombe was ruining every faucet and leaving orange stains, but I kept complaining about the monthly rental cost of $48. Last month though, I got a new glass shower door installed and after 60 days there is not a single water spot on it, plus my coffee maker has never needed descaling. Has anyone else found that paying for water treatment actually pays off once you stop fighting it?

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ray324•9d ago

Rant: Paid $1,800 for a sump pump battery backup, motor blew anyway

We had that storm in Edmonton back in June, power flickered all night and the basement stayed dry, so I figured the backup was worth every penny. Then last week the pump itself died on a random Tuesday, no rain even, and the install guy said the cheap float switch they used was the issue, not the battery. Anyone else get talked into the fancy backup system only to have the main unit fail first, or did I just pick the wrong contractor?

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anthony_jenkins61•10d ago

I stopped hating my furnace after the $480 repair bill

For three winters I blamed the old Lennox for every cold room and high bill. I thought cranking the thermostat was the answer, so I kept it at 22 and paid the piper every month. Then last week a tech found a cracked heat exchanger and quoted me $480 to fix it, not replace the whole unit. He showed me the carbon monoxide readings on his tester, and that scared me straight. Turns out my "money pit" furnace was actually fine, I just had a blocked vent in the basement and a dirty filter. Now I check the filter every 30 days like the sticker says, and I keep the temp at 20 with a smart thermostat. Anyone else here ignore basic maintenance until something expensive forces your hand?

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claireo67•11d ago

Swapped my $40 hose nozzle for a $12 brass one, game changer for the garden

After 3 backyards in Edmonton with cheap plastic nozzles that leaked every spring, I finally tried a solid brass model and it holds pressure so well I barely touch the tap anymore, anyone else found the same with metal fittings?

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viola_butler•12d ago

My condo board spent $8k on fancy cameras but the parkade door still opens with a coat hanger

Last month I watched the management company install all this expensive surveillance gear, but when my fob died and I tried the emergency key, the whole lock cylinder just spun free in the frame, so has anyone else dealt with boards throwing money at the wrong fix while the actual weak point sits there untouched?

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linda_murphy•13d ago

Neighbor's fence guy quoted me $4k, then the real invoice showed up

Honestly, my neighbor in St. Albert recommended his fence crew and they gave me a quote of $4,100 for 80 feet of cedar. After the work was done they handed me an invoice for $5,300 and said the extra was for 'uneven grading' they never mentioned on day one. Has anyone else had a contractor pull the surprise surcharge after the fact, and did you push back or just pay it?

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riley_coleman8•14d ago

Asphalt shingles vs metal roof, picked metal after a hailstorm in Red Deer

Any input?

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james_butler•16d ago

My old furnace maintenance routine vs. what I do now in Calgary

For like 8 years I just swapped the filter whenever I remembered, usually twice a winter, and never touched anything else. Then last January my blower motor seized up on a -28 night and the repair bill was $1,140 from Apex Heating. Now I pull the cover off every 3 months and vacuum the burner chamber and check the flame color, plus I bought a $40 CO detector for the basement hallway. Has anyone else switched to a real seasonal checklist after a costly breakdown?

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mason_flores21•17d ago

Had a pipe burst in my basement while I was on vacation last month

Got back from a week in Canmore to find 2 inches of standing water in my finished basement. My sump pump failed and I didn't have a backup system installed. Anyone dealt with insurance claims for water damage like this and how long did they take to process?

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cameron_webb•17d ago

Talked to a roofer in Lethbridge about ice dam prevention

I was chatting with a roofer named Dave while he fixed a neighbor's shingles last week. He told me most ice dams start from poor attic ventilation, not just snow load. Showed me how his crew uses foam baffles to keep air moving under the roof deck. Saved me from a potential $3,000 repair on my 1980s bungalow. Has anyone else had luck with those electric heat cables on the eaves?

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dianagreen•18d ago

Talked to my neighbor about his basement flood last week and it changed how I look at insurance

We were both out shoveling our walks after that last snowfall and he mentioned his sump pump failed back in March. Cost him nearly $8,000 in water damage because his policy didn't cover sewer backup. I always figured my basic home insurance was good enough for anything that could happen. He showed me his claim paperwork and I saw line after line of stuff his adjuster denied. I went home and read my own policy that night for the first time in 5 years. Turns out I have almost no coverage for groundwater or sewer issues either. Has anyone actually had luck getting their insurer to add this kind of protection without jacking the premium through the roof?

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richard_sanchez43•19d ago

The week my basement flooded taught me a hard lesson about sump pumps

Last May during that big rain in Calgary my sump pump quit at 2am and I woke up to 4 inches of water in the utility room. Turns out the check valve had a crack I never noticed - has anyone else had a cheap plastic valve fail on them?

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jenny_sullivan97•19d ago

I finally listened to that old plumber about PEX vs copper

My neighbor Bob, who's done plumbing for 30 years, told me to use PEX for my basement reno back in March. I ignored him and went with copper because I thought it was 'proper.' After two leaks from a bad solder joint, I ripped it all out and did PEX in one afternoon. Has anyone else had a pro give advice that you brushed off and regretted?

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lee627•20d ago

Drained my hot water tank wrong for 5 years until my neighbor yelled at me last weekend

I always just cracked the valve at the bottom and let it run till it was clear, figured that was good enough. Turns out you're supposed to open the pressure relief valve at the top too otherwise sediment just sits there and you're basically doing nothing. Anyone else find out they've been half-assing basic maintenance for way too long?

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luna_craig58•20d ago

Rant: Paid $800 for a 'premium' roof inspection and all they did was take photos from the ground

Had a hail storm roll through Airdrie three weeks ago and the inspector literally sat in his truck and used a zoom lens, then charged me $800 for a report that told me nothing I couldn't see with my own eyes from the driveway - anyone else dealt with these fly-by-night roof inspection companies?

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elliotjenkins•23d ago

Hit 100,000 kms on my house's furnace this morning

I was changing the filter this morning and noticed the runtime meter on my furnace read 100,432 hours. That's like 11.5 years of nonstop running since we bought the place back in 2012. We live up near Grande Prairie so it's basically running 7 months straight every winter. I called my HVAC guy just to check if that's normal and he said most furnaces tap out around 150,000 hours. Has anyone else tracked their furnace runtime and found a similar number?

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derek_brown28•24d ago

Unpopular opinion: those online home value estimators are way off for rural Alberta

I was checking my property value on one of those big real estate sites last week and it said my place near Red Deer was worth $475k. But I just had a proper appraisal done for a refinance in March and it came back at $355k. That's a $120k difference which is wild. The algorithms just don't account for stuff like well water issues or septic age that actually matter out here. Has anyone else checked their appraised value against those online tools and seen a massive gap?

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parker_jones50•25d ago

Can we talk about those cheap garden hoses from the hardware store?

I bought a 50-foot hose from the big box store in Red Deer back in May and it split right down the middle after three uses. My neighbor saw me cussing at it and told me to get a rubber hose instead, even if it costs double. Now I am hauling water with buckets from the rain barrel while I save up for a better one. Has anyone else had better luck with the reinforced fabric hoses or am I just wasting money again?

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quinn_king16•26d ago

New property tax assessment came in way higher than expected

My house in Edmonton got reassessed at $520k but I could barely sell it for $460k right now. Are you guys challenging yours or just paying what they ask?

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james_butler•26d ago

The plumber who told me to skip the expensive water softener

Had a guy from Cochrane come out after my hot water tank started acting up last winter. He took one look at my brand new water softener setup and just shook his head. Said I wasted $800 on something I didn't need because my water hardness tests were actually fine from the city supply, it was just a clog in the inlet valve. Ever had a tradesperson talk you out of spending more money?

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margaretj40•26d ago

How I found a hidden pipe leak using a meat thermometer

Our water bill jumped $60 last month and I couldn't find any wet spots in the basement or yard. Tried listening for water running with a stethoscope but nothing, then I read online that you can check for warmth spots on concrete floors where hot water pipes leak. Picked up a $10 meat thermometer from the grocery store and sure enough found a 90 degree patch near the furnace - anyone else ever use a thermometer for plumbing detective work?

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