I bought a place outside Tucson back in 2019 and the walls were a mess. Cracks everywhere, plaster flaking off in chunks. Spent about three years on and off patching, replastering, sealing. Just finally got the last section done last month. The difference is wild - used to feel like the house was slowly falling apart, now it actually looks solid. Anyone else deal with old adobe repairs taking way longer than you planned?
The airflow difference was night and day with these media pads on my setup in Tucson last month, has anyone else tried switching types or is it just me?
I was out on a job last Thursday near Tanque Verde and this old school plasterer was fixing a wall near my fence line. He told me I was using too much water in my mix, that it makes the patch crack way faster in the dry heat here. Just tried his trick of letting the mix sit for 5 minutes before applying, and my test patch actually looks solid for once. Anyone else get a random tip from a tradesperson that worked better than any YouTube video?
I had those dark tinted windows for 3 years here in Tucson and they still let in so much heat during summer afternoons. Last month I finally tried a reflective window coating from the hardware store for about $80. My living room dropped almost 10 degrees and I don't even need the blinds pulled anymore. Has anyone else tried both and noticed a big temp change?
I was using a regular roller like on drywall inside, but a neighbor doing his own place pointed out I needed a heavy nap roller for rough stucco or the paint just sits on the peaks and the valleys never get covered.
After 3 scorching summers in Phoenix where my AC ran nonstop and my electric bill hit $320, I finally swapped out the duct tape for actual rubber weatherstripping from Home Depot last weekend and now my house stays cool without the unit fighting 110 degree heat - has anyone else dealt with that awful draft through single pane windows out here?
I was skeptical about spending $400 on those roll-down solar screens from a local shop in Phoenix. Figured regular blinds would do the job. Six months later my west-facing living room hit 95 degrees by 3pm even with the AC running. Finally bit the bullet and had them installed last week. Now my thermostat stays at 78 and I can actually sit in that room after noon. Has anyone else found a cheaper alternative that actually works for desert heat?
I tried to save money last month and bought a $5 tube of caulk from the hardware store near Phoenix for sealing windows. It cracked within a week because it couldn't handle the 110-degree heat. Now I gotta scrape it all off and buy the good stuff. Anyone have a brand that actually lasts out here in the summer?
I used to change my AC filter every 30 days like clockwork. But after my third summer in Phoenix, I noticed a ton of dust caked on after just 2 weeks. Last month I tried swapping to a cheaper MERV 8 filter every 2 weeks instead of a MERV 11 once a month. My electric bill dropped $20 that month and the air feels less stuffy. Anyone else adjusted their filter schedule for desert dust?
I put Gaco roof coating on my Tucson house last June and figured it would peel off by August like every other DIY fix I try. But after a 115 degree week my AC ran half as much and the coating still looks new. Anyone else had luck with this stuff or did I just get lucky with the prep work?
I fought my contractor for weeks about going with traditional fiberglass in my Tucson place. Kept saying spray foam was overhyped and overpriced for our dry climate. After 6 months my July cooling bill was $87 compared to $220 last summer at my old house with the same square footage. Has anyone else here changed their mind on a desert home product after seeing the actual numbers?
Met this guy at a job site last August. 110 degrees outside. He's installing a new AC unit but leaving the old single-pane windows. I asked about insulation and he laughed. Said we're in Arizona not Alaska. Six months later that house is struggling to stay cool in spring. The owner called me to fix the design. Now I'm pulling out drywall to add foam. That one dude cost them $4,000 extra. Has anyone else run into builders here who think the desert means you don't need basic energy stuff?
My neighbor Dave said I was making a huge mess because I wasn't wetting the gypsum before sanding. Tried it on a patch job last Saturday and the difference was night and day. Barely any haze on my windows. No idea why I didn't think of that sooner. Anyone else have a trick that seems obvious now?
I was helping my neighbor Frank swap out his old swamp cooler last summer in Mesa. He kept insisting on using that cheap foam padding for the water distribution instead of the proper media pads. Three weeks later he called me because water was pouring down his interior wall. Does anyone actually check the incline on their cooler pad frame before sealing it up?
I track precipitation at my place near Tucson and crossed 12 inches last week. That's way above the 8 inch average for this area. My exterior plaster started showing these thin cracks along the south wall and I'm wondering if it's from the extra moisture or just normal settling. The old timers here say adobe needs dry cycles but this year was anything but dry. Anyone else dealing with unexpected weather shifts throwing off their desert home plans?
My neighbor Bob stopped by while I was mixing stucco for the back wall of my house in Tucson. He said I should just plaster over the old stuff instead of chipping it all off like I planned. Told me he patched his own place 12 years ago and it still looks solid. Now I'm wondering if I'm overcomplicating this whole job. Has anyone else just layered new stucco over old?
For the longest time I kept painting my interior walls white like every other desert house I saw. Finally realized after repainting my living room near Tucson for the third time that the dust just shows up worse on light colors. My neighbor Patty used a warm terracotta from Sherwin-Williams and her place looks clean for weeks while mine looked dirty after two days. Has anyone else gotten better results going darker with their wall colors out here?
Everyone says use spray foam for desert homes but I wrapped my south wall in 2-inch foil-backed bubble wrap three summers ago and my AC runs half as much. The reflectivity beats R-value in dry heat. Anyone else experiment with radiant barriers over traditional stuff?
I was out in Phoenix last August trying to keep my house under 80 degrees during a 115 day. My electric bill hit $380 and I was losing it. Then a friend who does energy audits came over and pointed out my attic insulation was basically useless because I had it crammed against the roof deck instead of the attic floor. He said all that heat was just baking into my living space through the ceiling. I had no clue I was supposed to leave an air gap and use radiant barriers in this climate. Now I'm ripping it all out and starting over next weekend. Has anyone dealt with retrofitting a 1980s tract home for desert heat or am I the only one who missed this?
The swamp cooler needs monthly cleaning but it keeps my Tucson house comfortable when it's 110 out, has anyone else found the maintenance tradeoff worth it long term?
Honestly, I spent 6 months trying to clean the scale out of my swamp cooler pads with vinegar and commercial descalers, but it kept clogging up every 3 weeks in the summer. Finally broke down and replaced the whole pump and pads last Tuesday, and it took less than 2 hours total. Has anyone else dealt with this nonsense where simple fixes just don't cut it out here?
Ran into this old mason at a hardware store Saturday. He said light colors might look cooler but dark ones actually hold up better against the sun's UV rays out here. Anyone else hear the same thing about desert exteriors?
I spent last summer fixing a 60 year old adobe wall in Tucson that was basically crumbling from monsoon moisture. A neighbor swore by it for keeping cool, but I had to resurface half the thing. Has anyone else had better luck with something like compressed earth blocks?
Been doing stucco repairs on my Tucson house for two years and every patch would crack within a month. Last week I watched a guy from the next town over do a patch and he barely misted it. Anyone else had a simple fix like this take way too long to figure out?
A contractor walked by my job last week, watched me sand a patch, and asked if I was trying to polish the wall, so now I'm wondering how many other little things I've been messing up for that long.