RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man

[james&olya 1,121]

I have talked about us getting a larger home so that more family can visit and our friends won't be on top of one another during parties. She complains about more to dust and wasted energy heating or cooling empty rooms. Once again the cultural differences show up. I'm not really complaining but it feels good to just get it off my chest once in a while.

Same problem here! I already have that larger home. A few years ago I added on so that my son, daughter-in-law and their kids could have a place to live while he finished at the local university. We made the basement a 'walk-out' apartment and also gained a new master suite and large new living room upstairs. Now my son and his family have their own home. The old living room area was slated to become a new, larger kitchen but I waited on doing that anticipating re-marriage. So now guess where we are living? Yeah, it's the basement apartment. She insists we should save the money I was ready to spend on that new kitchen! She is slowly warming up to the idea of living in the main part of the house but it is a huge adjustment for her to make. Her apt in Russia was probably only 450 sq ft and now even the bsmt apt is twice that. I try to tell her that it is not the square footage but the amount of people/traffic/use that determines the difficulty in keeping it clean. I miss my 3rd floor master bdrm with its view and the big living room with its fireplace! Hopefully we will be using all of it by Christmas. Her mother, brother, and sister-in-law all got visas and will be here for Christmas so it looks like we will be finally needing to begin using the space.

[james&olya 1,121]

I think 2 months since she has been here the dishwasher has been used twice..

One appliance I know she loves besides the curling iron and hot rollers.. is the dryer for clothes... :dance:

I give Olya credit here, she was all for trying all the new appliances. She loves the dish-washer, the clothes dryer, the vacuum and the carpet shampooing machine! She had no use for the Kitchenaid mixer but once she tried the bread-maker she was sold.

[james&olya 1,121]

Metal roofs are great, good choice. Especailly in snow areas and steep roofs are excellent also. Let the damn snow slide right off!

Only if it slides off where you won't be driving or walking! Here the building codes require a 70 lb/sq ft live load rating for roof systems so we don't shovel roofs even though we average 250+ inches of snow each winter! I still prefer shingles. The steel might last longer but I worry about the rubber washer on all those roof screws for the metal roofs. Unless you get one of the higher end 'concealed fastener' systems I am guessing that in 20-30 years a lot of people will be having problems with leaking from their metal roofs.

[james&olya 1,121]

Hardwood it is then. Now that I think about it my sisters house has a few "chips" in their Pergo entry way and it looks really bad. Like Sauder wood underneath...compressed wood shavings with glue or something. I'm going to price out the wood flooring boxes on Lowe's and Home Depot. The builder is getting it at contractor's price so that should help some. It's going over a cement slab...were doing a slab foundation with in floor heating.

I tried the laminate flooring and had that problem with chipping and particle board showing through. I have seen a new rubber or vinyl based laminate flooring that might be OK. Hardwood is probably best.

In-floor heating is DEFINITELY the way to go in a cold climate. I did that with the house I built in 97 and it is great! Plumbing contractors here were telling me it would be way too difficult to do, even they weren't doing them then. I did it DIY myself anyway, no problems, and it's worked perfectly ever since!

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I tried the laminate flooring and had that problem with chipping and particle board showing through. I have seen a new rubber or vinyl based laminate flooring that might be OK. Hardwood is probably best.

In-floor heating is DEFINITELY the way to go in a cold climate. I did that with the house I built in 97 and it is great! Plumbing contractors here were telling me it would be way too difficult to do, even they weren't doing them then. I did it DIY myself anyway, no problems, and it's worked perfectly ever since!

After reading some post on here I googled "tongue and groove engineered wood flooring" as I would like a "floating floor". Quick and easy and something in a knotty pine ...light and not too dark.

I helped a friend on a pour a few years back and he used Pex for his in floor heating in his shop he built. We just snaked it back and forth in big loops and then the Lennox guy hooked it up to a gas furnace after pumping glycol in it along with water and he says his heating bill is less than half of what it is in his house. We use the water + glycol here for our boilers...it doesn't freeze up that way.

[james&olya 1,121]

After reading some post on here I googled "tongue and groove engineered wood flooring" as I would like a "floating floor". Quick and easy and something in a knotty pine ...light and not too dark.

I helped a friend on a pour a few years back and he used Pex for his in floor heating in his shop he built. We just snaked it back and forth in big loops and then the Lennox guy hooked it up to a gas furnace after pumping glycol in it along with water and he says his heating bill is less than half of what it is in his house. We use the water + glycol here for our boilers...it doesn't freeze up that way.

I just use straight water. I have also used PEX in outside water lines that are shallow. They freeze in winter but don't break! If you want to heat a side-walk or driveway then you need anti-freeze.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I tried the laminate flooring and had that problem with chipping and particle board showing through. I have seen a new rubber or vinyl based laminate flooring that might be OK. Hardwood is probably best.

In-floor heating is DEFINITELY the way to go in a cold climate. I did that with the house I built in 97 and it is great! Plumbing contractors here were telling me it would be way too difficult to do, even they weren't doing them then. I did it DIY myself anyway, no problems, and it's worked perfectly ever since!

We have a normal gas forced air system but I did install electric floor heating in the bathrooom under the ceramic tile. OMG that is SOOOOOOOO great. Alla's two favorite things...the kitchen sink and the warm floor in the bathroom

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I just use straight water. I have also used PEX in outside water lines that are shallow. They freeze in winter but don't break! If you want to heat a side-walk or driveway then you need anti-freeze.

PEX is the way to go, virtually all of the new installation plumbing here is PEX and they have a special PEX for radiant heating in the floor.

[ONA 133]

I give Olya credit here, she was all for trying all the new appliances. She loves the dish-washer, the clothes dryer, the vacuum and the carpet shampooing machine! She had no use for the Kitchenaid mixer but once she tried the bread-maker she was sold.

I don't have any problem using any of the machines we have. My mom likes them too, she doesn't have that many in Russia, but she would love to have them all. They make your life so much easier, I don't see the point in not using them.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

PEX is the way to go, virtually all of the new installation plumbing here is PEX and they have a special PEX for radiant heating in the floor.

I changed most of the boilers here for the city over to pex when I was working maintenance for them. PEX low oxygen barrier is the one for boilers...in floor heating, etc.. it has a temp rating of something like +300 and it doesn't wear down with the use of glycol. PEX along with sharkbite fittings ftw. You just eye ball it and snap it on. They have sharkbite valves, sensors, etc.. now and it's nice. Easy to install and easier to maintain. No threading, no sweating pipe...just snap it on.

[slim 1,525]

In-floor heating is DEFINITELY the way to go in a cold climate.

I had it in Korea. Loved it.

floor heating in the bathrooom under the ceramic tile.

I do believe my wife would have relations with anyone who heated her bathroom floor.

I don't have any problem using any of the machines we have. My mom likes them too, she doesn't have that many in Russia, but she would love to have them all. They make your life so much easier, I don't see the point in not using them.

My MIL is supposed to visit in a few weeks. I'm going to make sure I allow her the privilege of doing all the housework. "Here, you can use this machine!"

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I changed most of the boilers here for the city over to pex when I was working maintenance for them. PEX low oxygen barrier is the one for boilers...in floor heating, etc.. it has a temp rating of something like +300 and it doesn't wear down with the use of glycol. PEX along with sharkbite fittings ftw. You just eye ball it and snap it on. They have sharkbite valves, sensors, etc.. now and it's nice. Easy to install and easier to maintain. No threading, no sweating pipe...just snap it on.

I have used those for everything. Added an outside water valve in just a few minutes, it took longer to drill the hole through the wall. I never have had a problem with them leaking. Not many architechs are specifying PEX for commerical/industrial projects yet. They will. They are dominant in any type of residential work. Yes, the orange oxygen barrier type is for heating. For big jobs the crimp fittings and rings are much cheaper but for household stuff, well, you need to buy a lot of fittings just to pay for the crimping tool you need.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I have used those for everything. Added an outside water valve in just a few minutes, it took longer to drill the hole through the wall. I never have had a problem with them leaking. Not many architechs are specifying PEX for commerical/industrial projects yet. They will. They are dominant in any type of residential work. Yes, the orange oxygen barrier type is for heating. For big jobs the crimp fittings and rings are much cheaper but for household stuff, well, you need to buy a lot of fittings just to pay for the crimping tool you need.

The city maintenance shop here runs off of waste oil...they have two 10,000 gal. tanks they use out back. The old set up had 2" black pipe running from the 1st tank to the boiler room but first it went through three walls and it had god only knows how many 90's. Anyways it backed up when they guy before me pulled off the bottom of the tank. So all that pipe had to be replaced or cleaned out with a hose and the air hose wasn't doing it. So I called the PEX rep at their main office about running waste oil through that low oxygen barrier and he said he couldn't recommend it, but off the record he said go for it...that he was doing the same at his home shop. I ripped out all that pipe and threw in 3/4" pex along with using shark bit fittings and it was the sweetest job Iv'e done in years. One guy pushing the pex through the hole and the other guy pulling it. Instead of having to use all those 90's I just made sweeps with the pex itself. The pump worked half has hard as it did before and man I was sold on that stuff from that day on. I ordered a ####### load of pex along with sharkbite fittings...sharkbite zone valves, ball valves, tee's...you name it and most all my boiler jobs since then have been primarily pex. I love it.

Edited November 30, 2011 by Why_Me

[AmyWrites 593]

My RUB man does a lot of housework, mainly because I am a grad student and I have a job too. In his parent's marriage, it's pretty 50/50. When I had no job, it would be about 60/40... him getting the 40, but he quit his job (lucky person has enough savings to live in Moscow for years without working), and apparently is so bored the flat looks amazing and he's done some remodeling here and there. He's a neat freak though.

I take care of our garden, and I cook. The only thing he'll cook sometimes is breakfast, if you consider making an ommelette cooking. But I like elaborate cooking so I do it all. I handle our investments, since that's my area, and he pays the bills and when needed helps me deal with Russian bureaucracy

[TBoneTX 45,284]

My RUB man does a lot of housework [...]

I was, uh, floored by the preceding conversation, but thanks for returning to the original topic, si ma'am.