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Let me first preface by saying that I'm not Bob Villa, and that the siding is the same color blue as the eaves so I'm not sure why it looks two toned.
Anyhow, the poop that we bought the house from who was the same DIYer that did the deck also did the siding, roof, gutters and wrap around porch. The house gets hotter than it should and it took me a while to realize the AC is doing what it should but the attic can't breathe because it's not vented at all. He covered all of the soffits with no vents, removed the gable vent and according to my neighbors house, only has 2 of 4 vents on the roof peak (can't think of proper term). Basically the attic is hotter than Satan's butthole and it heat soaks into the rooms below. I plan on fixing the eaves/soffits the right way but for now I'm just putting the vents in them and got to looking at his handy work on the gutters. Can anyone explain why in the hell he used three triangular cuts of board on the fascia boards? Maybe to get them perpendicular to the ground for the gutters because they are angled without them? And if so, is it normal for the fascia boards to sit on an angle and the gutters just rely on the long nails to keep them straight? I sincerely have no idea. It just looks like absolute dog shìt.
Not sure what code is for your area but there should be a whole lot more venting than that little square. Probably should also have a ridge vent. Surprised the inspector didn't point that out when you purchased the house.
My Father in law used to call that "N" riggin'. And by the way those joists should probably be hung in metal brackets too. Looks like a really bad DYI job.
Diver43 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 07, 2025 6:03 pm
Not sure what code is for your area but there should be a whole lot more venting than that little square. Probably should also have a ridge vent. Surprised the inspector didn't point that out when you purchased the house.
It's gonna get 12 of those vents, and yes the ridge vents is what he only installed 2 instead of 4. I couldn't remember the name for them. Ironically I never got a home inspection because I got burned on the first one I got for my first house. The guy pencil whipped his clipboard and missed everything so I assumed that's how they all went.
Wambli Ska wrote: ↑Mon Jul 07, 2025 6:24 pm
My Father in law used to call that "N" riggin'. And by the way those joists should probably be hung in metal brackets too. Looks like a really bad DYI job.
Ufffffff, I bought a house like that only to find out that the whole Family Room addition that sold me on the house was a DYI by the idiot previous owner. Of course this did NOT come up during the house inspection which was worthless and only later did I find out the building permit was for a screened in porch, NOT an addition to the house which necessitated ME having to get the proper permits for a room that was already built!
Started with the 2 wood burning stoves HE INSTALLED being too close to the walls and immediately losing my home insurance because of the stoves did NOT meet code. This was just a few days after closing which sent my bank into a freaking poop storm and contractors (another bunch of **** thieves) quoting me thousands of dollars to correct the problem, until I came up with a $20 solution that made them meet code...then dealing with endless repairs on two skylights that leaked every few months regarding of repairs I did and ending up with the while roof having to be redone and losing the skylights.
That joist thing sucks because if they are not on brackets normal movement/flexing from wind etc will constantly open up the nail holes until they just slip out and THEN you'll have a BIG problem.
The good news is that brackets are cheap and you can slip them over the BS nailing job he did and stiffen up the whole thing to avowing an issue down the line. Some bracing pieces between the joists would be a good idea too and easy/cheap to do.
Wambli Ska wrote: ↑Mon Jul 07, 2025 6:51 pm
Ufffffff, I bought a house like that only to find out that the whole Family Room addition that sold me on the house was a DYI by the idiot previous owner. Of course this did NOT come up during the house inspection which was worthless and only later did I find out the building permit was for a screened in porch, NOT an addition to the house which necessitated ME having to get the proper permits for a room that was already built!
Started with the 2 wood burning stoves HE INSTALLED being too close to the walls and immediately losing my home insurance because of the stoves did NOT meet code. This was just a few days after closing which sent my bank into a freaking **** storm and contractors (another bunch of **** thieves) quoting me thousands of dollars to correct the problem, until I came up with a $20 solution that made them meet code...then dealing with endless repairs on two skylights that leaked every few months regarding of repairs I did and ending up with the while roof having to be redone and losing the skylights.
That joist thing sucks because if they are not on brackets normal movement/flexing from wind etc will constantly open up the nail holes until they just slip out and THEN you'll have a BIG problem.
The good news is that brackets are cheap and you can slip them over the BS nailing job he did and stiffen up the whole thing to avowing an issue down the line. Some bracing pieces between the joists would be a good idea too and easy/cheap to do.
Ironically I'm in the same boat. Some of the reasons we bought the house was the large property, pool and finished basement. Unfortunately he finished the basement and ALSO did the pellet stove in the basement. As far as I can tell, he actually did that correctly and it's up to code. But you should see the rest of the hack job. I'll take a picture of the drop ceiling when I get home later. It looks like the ocean. Here was his solution to covering the ducting that used to go to the bathroom upstairs that he removed to put in a laundry chute. Took me a while to figure out why my son's room never got any heat or AC. It's a paint can that he utried to cover a 7" hole with.
JSD,
Just an FYI, as a retired electrician/facilities director, I surely do recommend an inspection of the entire house electrical system as well as hvac and plumbing. I mention this just going by the pics of the existing work in place, including the cloth wrapped electrical cable in your last pic. As it appears many shortcuts were taken by the previous owner, have reputable contractors for each trade do at least a preliminary inspection, especially the electrical and hvac. Deficiencies brought on by Bubba Engineering in those systems can kill.
FJB wrote: ↑Mon Jul 07, 2025 7:33 pm
JSD,
Just an FYI, as a retired electrician/facilities director, I surely do recommend an inspection of the entire house electrical system as well as hvac and plumbing. I mention this just going by the pics of the existing work in place, including the cloth wrapped electrical cable in your last pic. As it appears many shortcuts were taken by the previous owner, have reputable contractors for each trade do at least a preliminary inspection, especially the electrical and hvac. Deficiencies brought on by Bubba Engineering in those systems can kill.
So far I've already fixed his plumbing and AC screw ups. I do need to get the electrical looked at though. We get weird things happening when the wash machine runs like lights flickering and I don't like messing with invisible things that can kill me or cause a fire.
Those rafter tails were cut square to the rafter and not plumb to the ground. In other words the rafter tail has a back pitch to the house. Those boards were added to keep the gutter straight up and down, not pitched back to the house. The easiest way to repair this would be to screw a short tail with the correct pitch to the rafter tails. That means removing all the soffit which may not be a bad idea considering the lack of ventilation.
The other way would be to start all over with a new roof. Remove the soffit, cut the rafter tails correctly, add roof ridge vents and soffit vents with the correct vent inserts to prevent insulation from clogging the vents.
FJB wrote: ↑Mon Jul 07, 2025 7:33 pm
JSD,
Just an FYI, as a retired electrician/facilities director, I surely do recommend an inspection of the entire house electrical system as well as hvac and plumbing. I mention this just going by the pics of the existing work in place, including the cloth wrapped electrical cable in your last pic. As it appears many shortcuts were taken by the previous owner, have reputable contractors for each trade do at least a preliminary inspection, especially the electrical and hvac. Deficiencies brought on by Bubba Engineering in those systems can kill.
So far I've already fixed his plumbing and AC screw ups. I do need to get the electrical looked at though. We get weird things happening when the wash machine runs like lights flickering and I don't like messing with invisible things that can kill me or cause a fire.
If flickering is happening your circuits aren’t right. Major appliances should have their each dedicated circuit. I would also check on GFCI protection in wet locations. (Any power within 5 feet of a source of water.) That includes kitchen and bath of course but also garage and exterior receptacles.
All of the above may mean need to update your electrical service capacity wise. Sorry to provide bad news.
There shouldnt be ridge vents, there should be a ridge vent. Everything but about a foot on each end. Just had my junk metal one replaced along with the roof (20 years and done) Opened up the hole and put a ventsure sky runner https://www.homedepot.com/p/Owens-Corni ... /301902702
Selling point was its whats on the roofers house.
More air the better so as many soffit vents as you can fit.
That type of wire was used from the 50's to the 70's and is OK if its not damaged to the point the rubber insulation is bad. Knob and tube is still code if its not damaged. So at a guess the home is a 1960ish construction or older that has been revamped. How many amp is your service? Could be 60/100/200. An upgraded to 200 A panel wont help if there is a sub for the washer/dryer and its all off of one side. Check the incoming first. If not 200A, spend the money to upgrade.
Varmintmist wrote: ↑Mon Jul 07, 2025 10:14 pm
There shouldnt be ridge vents, there should be a ridge vent. Everything but about a foot on each end. Just had my junk metal one replaced along with the roof (20 years and done) Opened up the hole and put a ventsure sky runner https://www.homedepot.com/p/Owens-Corni ... /301902702
Selling point was its whats on the roofers house.
More air the better so as many soffit vents as you can fit.
That type of wire was used from the 50's to the 70's and is OK if its not damaged to the point the rubber insulation is bad. Knob and tube is still code if its not damaged. So at a guess the home is a 1960ish construction or older that has been revamped. How many amp is your service? Could be 60/100/200. An upgraded to 200 A panel wont help if there is a sub for the washer/dryer and its all off of one side. Check the incoming first. If not 200A, spend the money to upgrade.
It's a 200amp service. I'm not so concerned with the houses original wiring as I am with whatever he may have put in and butchered. True story here: We have a 220v garbage disposal that'll eat a tree limb. It went out so I had to put another one in. That's when I found out that he hard wired one leg to the panel without a breaker and put the other leg on a switch. Apparently it was a giant electromagnet when we thought it was turned off. As for the things I'm calling the rifle vents, they're those 12"x12" plastic looking caps, not like what you posted a link to. They don't look sufficient for ventilation and as much as I hate my neighbor, the guy is good at construction and rehabbing houses and his has 4 of the things that im talking about, plus a gable vent (which mine doesn't have.)
jbp-ohio wrote: ↑Mon Jul 07, 2025 11:52 pm
He didn't cut those boards. They are just scrap he used to replace the original wood that probably rotted.
If there are any gable vents. Put a fan with a thermostat in it.
images (1).jpeg
Definitely planning on installing one of these. Do they come with a standard "On" temperature for the thermostat or is it adjustable? I honestly have no experience with this kind of stuff. I think that alone with the vents I'm installing will make a drastic difference.
jkp wrote: ↑Tue Jul 08, 2025 1:44 am
What sort of insulation in attic space? Proper venting is important but if not well insulated it's a losing battle.
The attic is insulated very well which means he must not have messed with it lol. It's cellulose insulation.
