c/atlanta-homeowners

Pro tip: check your sewer line before closing on a house in Decatur

My buddy bought a place last month near Oakhurst and found out day one the main sewer line was collapsed and roots had grown through it. Cost him $4,800 to dig it up and replace it. Has anyone here had a sewer scope inspection save them from a nightmare?

The radon test i was sure was a waste of money

I bought a radon test kit from Home Depot for $15 just to shut my wife up about it. Left it in the basement for 3 days and it came back at 5.2 pCi/L which is way over the EPA action level. Had to drop $1200 on a mitigation system last month but now our basement level reads 0.8. Has anyone else found something cheap that ended up saving you a bunch of money?

Those 'inspection-only' roof repairs are a trap - learned the hard way

I had a roofer come out last spring to check a small leak over my garage in Decatur. He said it was 'just a flashing issue' and charged me $250 to seal it up, no paperwork or permit since it was 'just an inspection' type deal. Fast forward to last month's storm and the whole section near that repair peeled off, exposing rotted decking underneath that he never even mentioned. Turns out he patched over the symptom instead of the real problem. Anyone else run into roofing companies that dodge proper permits or repairs?

Finally got my rain barrel hooked up after 3 tries

I live in Decatur and my backyard turns into a swamp every time it rains hard (which is like every other week in spring). So I got this 50 gallon rain barrel from Home Depot back in February thinking it would be a simple drain fix. First try I put it under a downspout that didn't actually get enough water flow. Second try I forgot to add a screen and ended up with mosquito larvae in there, gross. Third time I watched like 4 YouTube videos and finally got it right with a proper diverter kit. The overflow pipe drains into a little gravel pit I dug last weekend. Now my garden hose actually fills up from the barrel instead of the city line. Has anyone else dealt with trial and error getting these things to work right?

Pro tip: Check your gutters before August storms hit

I ran into a guy named Dave at the Home Depot on Memorial Drive last spring who said he'd ignored his gutters for 2 years. His foundation took on water after a big storm in July and he ended up paying $3,800 for a French drain install. Has anyone else had a close call with gutter neglect around here?

Picked a fiber cement siding over vinyl for our 1950s bungalow in Decatur

We had to choose between James Hardie and vinyl when we replaced the cladding last spring. Went with Hardie because a neighbor in Kirkwood said it holds paint better in our humidity. 6 months in and the curb appeal is way better than I expected, even if it cost us $3,200 more. Anyone else dealt with contractor pushback on fiber cement installation?

The overpriced coffee shop that moved into my neighborhood is a joke

I stopped at Brew & Bloom on Highland Ave last week and paid $7 for a latte that tasted burnt. They have this totally pointless pour-over setup that takes 10 minutes and costs $9. I just want a decent cup of coffee without the hipster theater, you know? Am I the only one who thinks these places are ruining the neighborhood vibe?

Overheard a contractor say caulking baseboards is a waste of time if the gap is under 1/8 inch

I just learned that tiny gaps under baseboards actually let moisture escape better than a fully caulked seal, so now I'm rethinking the trim work I finished last month - has anyone else had issues with caulk trapping humidity behind baseboards in Atlanta summers?

My neighbor the old timer told me to paint before caulking

When I bought my 1920s bungalow off Dekalb Ave, Mr. Henderson next door kept saying I should paint the trim before I ran a bead of caulk. I thought he was nuts, that's not how you do it. Well I did it his way on one window and my way on the other, and his side still looks clean three years later while mine is cracking and pulling away. Has anyone else gotten weird old school advice that actually worked better?

Found out my 1920s bungalow has knob and tube wiring hiding in the ceiling

I was poking around in the attic to run a new light fixture and spotted the old ceramic tubes sitting right there, which I guess means I need to budget for a rewire sooner than I thought. Has anyone else in Atlanta dealt with this surprise in an older home?

Found a busted pipe behind my kitchen wall at 2am

Was at Home Depot off Ponce de Leon last Saturday getting paint samples. Overheard two contractors talking about old galvanized pipes in houses built before 1980. Didnt think much of it until I heard dripping behind my kitchen wall at 2 in the morning. Crawled under the sink and found a pipe with rust holes the size of a dime. Had to call a plumber at 4am and he charged me $450 for an emergency visit. Said half the houses in this neighborhood have the same problem. Now Im checking all my exposed pipes every month. Anyone else dealing with old plumbing in their older Atlanta home?

Spent $40 on a cheap moisture meter and it saved me from a bad deal

I was looking at a 1950s bungalow in Decatur and the inspector flagged nothing. I grabbed a generic moisture meter from Home Depot and poked around the basement myself. Found 18% moisture behind the drywall near the sump pump. Anyone else do extra checks the inspector misses?

Can we talk about water heater maintenance in Atlanta

I ignored my water heater for 4 years. Then my neighbor's unit flooded her basement off Piedmont Road last month. $3,800 in damage. She was kicking herself. I called a plumber the next day. He flushed mine for $150. Found a small crack starting on the drain valve. Replaced it for $40 part. Has anyone else had a close call with their tank?

Had a talk with a plumber about tree roots in my sewer line

My neighbor's plumber was over last week fixing a backup and I asked him about the constant gurgling in my downstairs toilet. He told me that even small roots can sneak into old clay pipes in Atlanta and cause big problems over time. That hit different because I've been ignoring a slow drain for months thinking it was just hair. He said a $200 camera inspection saved him from a $5000 digout job on a similar house two streets over. Has anyone else dealt with sewer line issues in older Atlanta homes and caught it early enough?

That neighbor who taught me about my soil 8 years ago

I was digging up a patch in my backyard in Decatur to plant some azaleas and this older guy from two doors down walks over. He said 'you got that red clay hardpan, you gotta break it up deep or those roots will never spread.' Spent the next hour with him and a pickaxe turning the whole bed into something usable. Has anyone else had a random neighbor just walk over and give you advice that actually saved your yard?

That week I found a leak behind my shower wall by accident

Last month I was just replacing a cracked tile in my master bath near Decatur and noticed the drywall behind it felt a little soft. Turned out there was a slow drip from the shower valve that had been going for maybe 6 months, and I ended up tearing out three sheets of cement board to fix the rot. Has anyone else discovered a hidden water issue while doing something small like a tile repair?

Shoutout to the termite inspector who saved me $3,000

TIL that paying $400 for a home inspection was actually worth it

I was dead set against spending that much just for a guy to walk around with a flashlight. But he found a slow leak under my slab in Decatur that would've cost me $3k to fix later. Has anyone else had a inspector find something they almost missed?

Finally tried those spray foam window seal kits vs the old rope caulk I've been using for 10 years

My energy bill last January was $280 at my house in Decatur. I'd been using that rope caulk stuff from Home Depot on my old single pane windows every winter and it always crumbled by March. Bought a $25 can of Great Stuff window and door foam last weekend and sealed the gaps around three windows. The draft is totally gone and my thermostat hasn't kicked on as much this week. Anyone else make the switch and notice a difference?

Just finished year two of native plant gardening, finally seeing the payoff

Two years ago I ripped out most of my front yard grass and put in native plants from the Georgia Native Plant Society sale. For the first year it looked like a weedy mess and my neighbor asked if I was renting the house out. This spring the blooms went nuts - black-eyed Susans, coreopsis, and some milkweed I didn't even think survived. I counted 14 monarch caterpillars on three plants last week alone. Total cost was around $120 for everything including mulch. The best part is I only water once a week now compared to every other day with the old turf. Has anyone else tried replacing sections of their lawn with natives and seen a difference in their water bill?

The old electrician who showed up at 7am on a Saturday

Found a handwritten note taped to my breaker panel from the guy who wired this house in 1982 - he included his phone number in case I ever had issues. When I called him last month about a flickering light, he talked me through the fix over the phone in 10 minutes flat.

Finally got my moss to grow on brick instead of killing it

Been trying for 2 years to get moss to take on my back patio wall near the Beltline. Tried buttermilk mixtures and store spray stuff, nothing worked. Found out my neighbor uses a cheap yogurt blend with local soil water and brushes it on before a rain. It's actually working after doing it 3 times since March. Anyone have luck keeping moss alive through our July heat without it turning brown?

Hit $12,000 in unexpected plumbing repairs last year, couldn't believe it

I bought a house in Decatur back in 2021, thought I had a solid inspection. Then last spring the main sewer line backed up into the basement. First plumber quoted $6,500 just to dig up the yard. Turned out the previous owner had patched a broken clay pipe with a rag and some concrete. Spent the whole year chasing leaks and replacing old galvanized pipes under the slab. Ended up at $12,000 total before I could stop the bleeding. Has anyone else had a major surprise repair bill that made you question your whole budget?

Finally got my backyard patio pressure washed after 2 years

I put it off forever, but last Saturday I rented a surface cleaner from Sunbelt Rentals on Memorial Drive. Took about 3 hours and the difference is night and day. Has anyone else had luck getting old moss stains off concrete without damaging it?

Can we talk about how long it took me to fix a simple leak under my kitchen sink?

I had a slow drip under the sink for weeks, and everyone told me it was just a loose pipe. Turns out the seal on the disposal unit near the drain was cracked, and it took me three separate trips to Home Depot in Decatur to find the right size gasket. Has anyone else dealt with a problem that seemed obvious but was actually a hidden issue?