c/albuquerque-homeowners

Hail damage from that storm 2 weeks ago - getting quotes and going crazy

The hailstorm on May 8th messed up my roof pretty bad. I've got three contractors coming out next week to give estimates and they're all saying different things about whether insurance will cover it. One guy said my shingles need full replacement at $8,500, another said I just need patching. My deductible is $2,500 so I'm trying to figure out if it's even worth filing a claim. Has anyone dealt with this in the NE Heights area and found a roofer who was honest about what insurance actually pays?

My $250 roof repair turned into a $4,000 mess

I had a small leak near the chimney back in March and thought I'd save some money by patching it myself with some roofing cement from my own store. It worked for about two months until we got that heavy April rain and water started pouring into my living room ceiling. Turns out I just masked the real problem and the rot spread behind the flashing. A real roofer had to tear off three sheets of plywood and replace the whole section. Anyone else learn the hard way that roof repairs are better left to the pros?

Neighbor told me my gravel was too sharp for his dog's paws so I switched to decomposed granite

He said his golden retriever kept limping after walking along my side of the fence. Swapped out the whole 30-foot strip for about $60 in crushed granite last month and his dog runs through it fine now. Any of you deal with this kind of driveway or walkway feedback?

Hit $2,300 in irrigation repairs this spring and had to take a step back

I bought my house in the Northeast Heights back in 2018 and the drip system always seemed fine. This March I noticed a wet spot near the front flower bed and figured it was a minor leak. Called a plumber out and he found three separate breaks in the underground PVC lines from old tree roots. Then the main shutoff valve started sticking two weeks later, which cost another $400 to replace. By the time May rolled around I had paid for four service calls and a partial repipe under the driveway. My wife finally asked me to run the numbers and I was shocked to see $2,300 gone in just two and a half months. Has anyone else in Albuquerque dealt with old irrigation systems that just keep failing one piece at a time?

Vent: The realtor who told me my backyard needed a "vision"

Had a showing agent come by last Tuesday to look at my house before listing. She walked into the backyard, looked at my 15-foot patch of dirt and dead grass, and said I needed to "envision the potential" before she could market it. I told her I've been envisioning it for 3 years while the weeds took over. She literally suggested I install a fake putting green to sell the place faster. Anybody else get a wild suggestion from a realtor that made you question their whole approach?

Rant: My $350 water softener install turned into a disaster

I paid a guy named Hector from a Craigslist ad to install a water softener in my house near Juan Tabo. He said it would be $350 total, but he busted a pipe in my crawlspace and left without fixing it. Now I'm looking at a $900 plumber bill and wondering if anyone has a local company they actually trust for this kind of work.

Neighbor told me I was watering my grass wrong for 2 years straight

Appreciation post for my old swamp cooler before I switched to AC

I grew up in Albuquerque and swore by my swamp cooler (you know, the old school kind with the pads). Ran it for 15 years in my first house off Central and it kept things cool enough for maybe $30 a month in summer water bills. But around 2018, the humidity started getting worse during monsoon season, and my allergies (pollen and mold, mostly) went through the roof. I finally switched to a mini-split system in 2020, and while my electric bill jumped to about $80 in July, I can actually breathe now. Anyone else nostalgic for swamp coolers but glad they upgraded?

PSA: I had to choose between a swamp cooler and a mini split for my 1920s adobe

I went with the mini split after two summers of swamp cooler humidity ruining my plaster, and my electric bill dropped $40 a month. Has anyone else dealt with humidity damage in older homes here?

Serious question about drip irrigation systems in the North Valley

I kept hearing from everyone that you need a professional install for a drip system to work right here in Albuquerque's clay soil. But last summer I just bought a $40 Orbit kit from Lowe's and set it up myself with a pressure regulator. My tomatoes and peppers did better than my neighbor's who paid a landscaper $600. Has anyone else had good luck with the cheap kits around here?

My swamp cooler fan motor died in the middle of that 95 degree stretch last week

I noticed the air coming out of the vents wasn't cooling anything and the unit was making a weird grinding noise. Took the side panel off and saw the fan blade was wobbling like crazy before it just seized up completely. I ended up finding a replacement motor at that place off Lomas for about 120 bucks and swapped it out myself over the weekend. Turns out the bearings were totally shot and had been leaking grease for months maybe. Has anyone else had their swamp cooler fail right when you need it most?

Found a huge crack in my foundation after that big rain last week

Walked into my basement Tuesday morning and saw a quarter-inch crack running along the wall near the furnace. Got quoted $1,200 to fix it plus waterproofing. Anyone else dealing with foundation issues after those monsoon storms?

Switched to desert landscaping and saw my water bill drop by $60

I finally gave up on the grass after it turned brown for the third summer in a row. Put in gravel and native plants back in March and my June water bill was $60 less than last year. Anyone else made the switch and noticed a difference on their bill?

Spanish style tile roof sprung a leak after last monsoon

Woke up to water dripping through the living room ceiling last Thursday from a cracked tile on a 20 year old roof, and now I'm deciding between patching it myself or calling a roofer who wants $800 for the repair.

Bought a cheap hose splitter at Lowes 3 months ago, finally threw it in the trash this morning

I got tired of dragging hoses around my yard in the Heights so I picked up one of those plastic Y-splitters for $8. Leaked from day one, but I kept telling myself it was fine. This morning after soaking the side of my house for an hour I yanked it off and smashed it. Picked up a brass one from Ace Hardware for $18 and it sealed tight first try. Anybody got a go-to brand for hose fittings that actually hold up in this sun?

I finally hit the 5 year mark in my house and the surprise maintenance bill hit me hard

Just realized I've owned my place in the NE heights for exactly 5 years, and the water heater finally gave up last week. The replacement cost $1,200 out of nowhere and I was not ready for that. How do you guys plan ahead for the big stuff like this?.

The old way of finding a plumber vs now

I used to just flip through the yellow pages and call whoever had the biggest ad. Picked a guy back in 2015 because his ad said '24 hour service' in bold letters. He showed up 3 hours late and charged me $180 just to look at my toilet. Now I check Nextdoor and ask for recommendations from 3 neighbors before calling anyone. Has anyone else had better luck with neighbor referrals than online reviews?

The guy who installed my neighbor's swamp cooler last week just used duct tape on every joint

Watched him slap it together in 20 minutes while I spent 6 hours on mine with proper screws and sealant - who else has seen cowboy work like that in the North Valley?

Warning: My swamp cooler took 5 days to fix because I ignored the float valve

I spent almost a whole week messing with my swamp cooler last August. Turns out a tiny float valve was stuck, and I kept thinking it was the pump or the belt. After 5 days of replacing parts I didn't need, a neighbor came over and pointed it out in 2 minutes lol. Cost me about $60 for parts I returned, plus a lot of sweat. Has anyone else wasted way too long on a simple swamp cooler fix?

Rant: My old sprinkler timer was a waste of $150

I used to run my sprinklers on that cheap mechanical timer from Home Depot and my grass always looked patchy. Switched to a smart timer last spring after a neighbor showed me his setup in Rio Rancho. Has anyone else noticed a big difference going digital?

My neighbor said I was watering my lawn wrong and it got me thinking about desert landscaping

She told me I was dumping water on dirt basically and that xeriscaping with native plants actually saves more water and looks better, which hit different after I saw her yard survive that 108 degree stretch while mine turned brown anyway, has anyone else switched from turf to gravel and succulents out here?

After 8 years I learned I was setting my thermostat wrong

My electric bill hit $280 last July and I couldn't figure out why. A neighbor mentioned she keeps her AC at 78 during the day and I was shocked because I had mine set to 68. Turns out the unit never cycles off at that temp and runs nonstop. Has anyone else made this mistake with their HVAC?

Stripped a screw head on my old windows trying to swap latches

I was replacing the latches on my 1980s casement windows in the North Valley last weekend. One screw was so stuck I ended up stripping the head with my cheap drill bit. Took me two hours with a screw extractor kit to get it out, and I learned to always use a fresh bit on old hardware. Anyone else run into this with older windows here?

Overheard a neighbor bragging about his new turf lawn saving 50k gallons of water a year

I did the math on my natural grass and with our monsoon patterns and metered rates, his $8,000 turf job would take 14 years to break even, so is anyone else sticking with real grass despite the HOA pressure?

Got a letter from the city about my fence being 2 inches too tall

So last week I'm sorting through mail and there's this official notice from the city of Albuquerque saying my backyard fence is 2 inches over the height limit. I've lived here 11 years and never had an issue. Now I gotta either trim it down or file a variance request that costs $75 and might take months. My neighbor said he got the same thing last year and just painted it to look shorter, which is insane. Has anyone here actually gone through the variance process? Did it work or did you end up just cutting the fence down?