c/atlanta-homeowners

Overheard a neighbor say their HOA fine was 'the cost of doing business'

This guy down the street in Decatur just casually dropped $200 on a fine for a rusty mailbox instead of fixing it... made me wonder how many people treat fines like a subscription fee. Has anyone else seen folks in your neighborhood just paying penalties instead of following the rules?

My water heater died at the worst possible time.

Last Tuesday morning I went to take a shower and got nothing but cold water. Checked the pilot light on my water heater and it was out. Tried relighting it a few times but it wouldn't stay lit. Called a plumber who came out and said the thermocouple was shot and the tank had a small crack too. He quoted me $1,800 for a new 50 gallon unit installed. I ended up having to borrow money from my brother because I didn't have that kind of cash sitting around. Took two days to get it replaced so we were taking cold sponge baths like animals. Anyone else had an appliance completely fail without warning?

Appreciation post: My neighbor showed me how to fix my own gutters

Had a clogged gutter last week. Water was pouring over the side. My neighbor Bob came over with a cheap gutter scoop and a garden hose. Showed me how to clear it in 10 minutes flat. Saved me $150 on a handyman visit. Anyone else got a neighbor who saved them cash?

Why does nobody talk about how bad straight bleach is for cedar siding?

I power washed my house back in April and a neighbor walked over and told me I was wrecking my cedar by using straight bleach. I had been doing it that way for like 3 years because nobody ever said a word. He showed me his mix of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water and a soft brush instead. My siding looks way better now and no more fuzzy grain lifting. Has anyone else been told their cleaning method is ruining their wood?

My backyard fence fell over during a storm last spring

I was inside watching TV when I heard this loud cracking sound around 7pm. Went outside and found about 20 feet of my wooden fence had blown down into the neighbor's yard. Called three companies the next morning and got quotes from $1,200 to $2,800 for a replacement. Has anyone here dealt with a fence falling over and had good luck with a specific contractor in the Decatur area?

Spent $400 on a foundation repair that did nothing...

I hired a guy from a local ad to fix a crack in my slab foundation over in Decatur back in March. He came out, injected some epoxy, and charged me $400 cash saying it was a lifetime fix. Two weeks later the crack opened up wider and I even saw water seeping through after a storm. I called him back and he ghosted me completely. Has anyone else dealt with foundation scammers around here or found a legit contractor who actually stands behind their work?

Stop letting tree services dump wood chips on your driveway without a contract

I noticed a bunch of neighbors in East Atlanta letting tree crews leave massive piles of wood chips on their driveways and lawns, and then getting stuck with cleanup costs when the crew never comes back. It happened to my buddy last month, a crew quoted him $400 for tree removal but left a 8 foot tall pile of chips that cost him another $150 to haul away himself. I asked around and found out this is super common, the tree guys do it to save on dumping fees at the yard. I always make them put a line in the estimate that says they haul ALL debris off site same day, or I don't sign. Anyone else run into this sketchy practice with Atlanta tree companies?

The fiber optic debate on my street in Decatur got heated last month

My neighbor and I have been going back and forth about whether to go with the new fiber optic line being offered by Google Fiber or stick with our regular cable from Comcast. He says the speed difference is night and day (he works from home), but I've heard the installation crews mess up lawns and it takes weeks to fix. Has anyone here in the Atlanta area dealt with Google Fiber installation? How bad was the yard damage?

Why does nobody talk about how bad cheap gutters clog in Atlanta

I moved into a house in Decatur last year and the previous owner had those snap-together vinyl gutters. After one oak tree season they were full of leaves and seeds and started pulling away from the house. Spent $180 to replace with seamless aluminum - no clogs in 4 months. Has anyone else had the same issue with the snap-together kind?

Rain gutter failed after 2 years, found out it was installed wrong

Was cleaning leaves out of my gutters last Saturday in Decatur and noticed one section just sagging with water inside. Turns out the installer forgot to put in the proper downspout outlet and it was just dumping water against my foundation instead of draining. Anyone else had issues with new construction gutters failing way too fast?

Old timer told me to stop power washing my roof back in '09

Guy named Hank who lived three streets over in Decatur swore I'd wreck my shingles by blasting them with a pressure washer. I shrugged it off and kept doing it for years, figured he was just old and paranoid. Last month my roofer pointed out I've basically stripped the granules off half my roof and now I'm looking at $4,800 to replace it - anyone else get bad advice from a well meaning neighbor they wish they'd listened to?

I finally understand why my neighbor's house sold in 3 days

I was talking to my realtor friend last week and she mentioned that staging isn't just for rich people. She told me about a house in Decatur that sat on the market for 6 months, then the owner spent $800 on a staging service and it was under contract in 3 days. Made me wonder how many of us are leaving money on the table by not even trying to make our homes look their best. Has anyone else seen a big difference after staging their place?

My neighbor saved me from a $2,000 plumbing mistake last weekend

I was about to dig up my front yard to fix a slow drain, thinking the main line was clogged. My neighbor Bob saw me with the shovel and asked what I was doing. He pointed out that my cleanout cap was cracked and letting in tree roots. We cleared the roots in 20 minutes with a cheap auger from Home Depot instead. Has anyone else had a neighbor spot something obvious you were about to overcomplicate?

Just realized a cheap dehumidifier trick for my crawlspace

Honestly, I was getting tired of dumping my crawlspace dehumidifier bucket every single day during Atlanta summers. It was a 50-pint unit from Home Depot and I was emptying it like clockwork. Then I tried hooking up a simple condensate pump hose directly to a floor drain nearby. Cost me like $30 for the pump and some tubing from Lowe's. It's been running nonstop for 2 weeks now with zero bucket duty. The humidity in my basement dropped from 70% to around 50% almost overnight. Anyone else tried this setup or got a better way to handle crawlspace moisture without the hassle?

Picked sprayed foam over fiberglass for my attic - here's what I found

I had to choose between spray foam insulation and fiberglass batts for my 1950s bungalow in Decatur. The spray foam cost me $2,800 for the whole attic. Fiberglass would have been around $900. I went with the spray foam because of air sealing. Three months later my AC bill dropped by $40 a month. The house stays way more even temp now too. Anyone else make this call and regret it or love it?

Finally checked out that giant Ace Hardware on Moreland

Went in for a single shower head gasket last Saturday and ended up spending 90 minutes wandering the aisles. Found a whole section of obscure plumbing fittings I didn't even know existed, like brass toilet flanges from the 1950s. But the weirdest thing was the key cutting machine right by the front door - it was broken and had a hand-written sign taped to it saying "Out of Order Since April 2023." It's almost 2025 now, so I guess nobody cares enough to fix it. Anyone else seen random stuff just abandoned like that in Atlanta hardware stores?

Found out my 1920s bungalow has no insulation in the walls

I was digging into a plaster repair in my living room and noticed the wall cavity was completely empty. Turns out a lot of older Atlanta homes don't have any wall insulation, which explains my $250 electric bills in July. Anybody else run into this with their old house?

Overheard my neighbor yelling at his HOA board meeting about his fence

I was walking my dog past the clubhouse last Tuesday and heard this guy named Mark screaming that the HOA fined him $200 for a 3-inch gap under his gate. Turns out it was a drainage issue from the city repaving the street and nobody told him about the rules when they bought the house in 2019. Has anyone else dealt with surprise fines like that from their HOA?

Old lady next door gave me a key to her house last week

I've lived in my house in East Atlanta for about 7 years now. My neighbor Margaret is 84 and lives alone. She came over last Tuesday and handed me a spare key. Said she fell in her kitchen two months ago and couldn't reach her phone for 3 hours. She told me she trusts me more than her own son in California. I put it on my key ring but it feels weird having it. Like I'm responsible for her safety now. Has anyone else had a neighbor do this and how do you handle it?

Picked a gas water heater over tankless and glad I did

Everyone in my neighborhood group kept saying tankless was the way to go. My old 40-gallon finally gave out last month so I had to choose. I went with a regular gas model for $1,200 installed instead of the $3,500 tankless quote. It's been 3 weeks and I've got plenty of hot water for showers and dishes without the fancy setup. Anyone else stick with the old style and not regret it?

Gutters or landscape grading - which one actually stops water in your crawlspace?

I dropped $2,800 on new seamless gutters last spring and my basement still got damp after a heavy July storm. A neighbor told me I should have spent that on regrading the yard first. Has anyone else dealt with this water issue and found the real fix?

Just realized my attic insulation was way too thin after a $400 power bill in August

I kept cranking the AC last summer and couldn't figure out why my house in Decatur wouldn't stay cool. My neighbor came over to borrow a ladder and mentioned his attic had like 6 inches more insulation than mine. I checked and sure enough mine was barely 4 inches deep in spots. Spent a weekend blowing in another 8 inches of cellulose from Home Depot cost me about $200. This August my highest bill was $280 so it paid for itself in like 3 months. Anyone else had a surprise like that with their attic?

My driveway drainage fix turned into a 6 month saga

I noticed water pooling near my foundation after a storm last spring, so I figured a simple French drain would do the trick. Turns out the clay soil in my Decatur neighborhood is worse than I thought, and I had to dig up 40 feet of line three times before it actually worked. Has anyone else dealt with Atlanta clay turning a weekend project into a half-year ordeal?

Pro tip: that $150 'professional grade' plumbing snake was a total dud

Bought one from Home Depot off Piedmont after my main line clogged at 3 AM, and it broke on the second twist. Borrowed a neighbor's $40 manual auger and had it cleared in 10 minutes. Anybody else had luck with the cheap ones over the fancy junk?

Finally got my backyard shed wired up after 4 months