c/desert-home-renovations

1

stella121•3d ago

Well water stain issue solved with a surprising trick

I've been fighting these nasty orange stains on my stucco for like 3 years now after I put in a new drip system. Tried every cleaner at Home Depot, spent maybe $200 on different stuff, nothing worked. Then my buddy who builds pools in Phoenix told me to try oxalic acid - the stuff they use to clean rust off concrete. Mixed up a batch from a powder I got at the hardware store for $12, sprayed it on with a pump sprayer, and let it sit for 15 minutes. The stains just dissolved like magic, no scrubbing at all. Now I'm thinking I should have tested a small spot first because I got a little nervous about the overspray hitting my windows, but it rinsed right off. Has anyone else had luck with this stuff on desert mineral deposits or am I just late to the party?

5

wren230•6d ago

Caulking trick for adobe cracks that actually holds up

Tried using regular silicone caulk on my adobe wall cracks and it peeled off after two weeks in the heat. Switched to a mortar-based patching compound mixed with a little acrylic bonding agent and it's been solid for 6 months now. Anyone else dealing with adobe shrinkage around windows?

15

gavin_kim•6d ago

Overheard a contractor in Palm Springs say 'insulation doesn't matter' in the desert... yikes

I was at a hardware store in Palm Springs last Saturday and heard a young guy talking to a customer. He told them insulation is a waste of money here because it's always hot anyway. That is backwards thinking. Good insulation keeps the cool air in during summer and the heat out. I just finished adding radiant barrier foil to my attic in La Quinta and my AC ran maybe 40 percent less last month. Has anyone else had to correct this kind of bad advice from local handymen?

22

ericcraig•7d ago

Misted my cactus wall with the wrong water for 3 months in Tucson

Overheard a guy at the nursery say tap water minerals clog the pores on desert succulents, switched to distilled and they finally stopped getting those brown spots. Anyone else deal with hard water issues on their desert plants?

23

the_alice•9d ago

Shoutout to the guy who told me to check my attic insulation after 3 summers in Tucson

I moved in back in 2020 and the AC just ran nonstop every July and August, costing me around $280 a month. Last spring I finally crawled up there and found maybe 4 inches of old beat down fiberglass, so I blew in R-38 worth of cellulose for about $600. Now my bills are down to $160 in peak heat and the house actually holds cool air - has anyone else seen a drop this big from just insulation?

25

johnson.river•11d ago

Why does nobody talk about how bad stucco color matching is in the desert

I spent 2 weeks patching a wall on my Phoenix house and thought I nailed the color match until the sun hit it at 3 PM. The whole patch looked like a neon sign against the faded old stucco. Anyone else have this issue with the afternoon light making colors look completely different?

1

mason_reed47•12d ago

I finally understood why my grandpa's adobe house never needed AC

Was reading an old New Mexico building code manual from 1978 and saw they required 18 inch thick walls with a specific mix of clay and straw - my grandpa's place was built in 1952 and it stays 75 degrees inside when it's 110 outside. Anyone else notice older desert homes just worked better with the climate than these new builds?

9

stella_scott96•13d ago

Rant: Stop painting your stucco with standard exterior paint

I keep seeing people in Phoenix grab a can of Behr from Home Depot and slather it on their stucco walls. That stuff traps moisture underneath and will blister off within 6 months out here. Has anyone else dealt with peeling paint after a monsoon season?

6

brooket43•13d ago

The day my swamp cooler dumped water through the ceiling in Tucson

I was up on my roof in mid July checking the swamp cooler because it sounded off. The water line had a crack I didn't see and it flooded the pads so bad water poured down inside the wall. By the time I got downstairs there was a wet spot the size of a dinner plate on the living room ceiling. I cut out the drywall and ran a fan for three days before patching it back up. Has anybody else had a swamp cooler leak cause more damage than you expected?

6

dylan463•15d ago

My neighbor swore by reflective paint for our Arizona roof

Our neighbor Gary, who's lived here since the 90s, told me to paint our flat roof with a reflective white coating last spring. I thought he was just being cheap, but after a July with our AC running half as much as last year, I gotta admit he was right. We spent about $200 on the paint and rollers, and our attic temp dropped by a good 15 degrees on the worst days. Has anyone else tried that cool roof paint stuff in the desert? I'm thinking of doing the south-facing walls next.

22

wendy_lee48•16d ago

Concrete patio in Palm Springs cracked after just 6 months - found out why and it blew my mind

I poured a 400 square foot stamped concrete patio last spring and by October it looked like a spider web. I was so mad until I talked to a guy out in Quartzsite who builds pools. He told me my problem wasn't the mix or the pour, it was the ground prep. The desert soil expands like crazy when it gets wet even if you think it's dry. I didn't put enough gravel base down, only 2 inches instead of the 4 or 5 they recommend out here. Has anyone else had a slab crack because they skimped on base material?

22

wesleyflores•18d ago

Unpopular opinion: white roofs are a total scam in the high desert, not a savings

I had to pick between a reflective white coating and a traditional dark shingle for my Tucson house last summer, and after 18 months of tracking my bills, I'm convinced the white roof actually made my HVAC run longer in the winter, so who else has seen this backfire or am I missing something?

25

amyh12•18d ago

Took me 8 months to figure out why my stucco kept cracking

I repainted the south wall of my Tucson house three times and every time it cracked within weeks. Turns out I was using regular exterior paint instead of elastomeric paint that actually expands in the heat. Has anyone else dealt with paint failures they blamed on their own skills?

26

harperp24•19d ago

Learned the hard way about cheap desert paint...

I spent around $250 on bargain paint from a big box store for my Phoenix living room last summer. Within 4 months the south-facing wall was peeling and bubbling like crazy. The heat just cooked that cheap stuff right off the drywall. Had to sand everything down and prime it twice before putting on a proper elastomeric paint. That wasted time cost me a whole weekend I'll never get back. Anyone else get burned by cheap paint in the summer heat?

27

keith274•21d ago

Three years of fighting with adobe walls finally paid off

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?

5

mark_chen62•21d ago

Swapped out my swamp cooler pads from aspen to the honeycomb kind after 2 years of fighting dust

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?

-1

the_viola•22d ago

Talked to a plasterer in Tucson and he totally changed how I see stucco patching

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?

18

gracethomas•22d ago

Switched from tinted windows to reflective coating on my south-facing wall and wow, what a difference

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?

9

samrodriguez•24d ago

Realized I was painting my stucco walls wrong after 8 years in Tucson

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.

13

kai_burns73•28d ago

My old way of sealing desert windows with duct tape vs. now using proper weatherstripping

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?

6

felixm29•1mo ago

My solar screen install turned into a 110 degree nightmare

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?

29

jenny198•1mo ago

Wasted $200 on cheap desert caulk, what a mistake

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?

11

torres.blair•1mo ago

Swapped my AC filter schedule after 3 summers in the desert

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?

6

wells.christopher•1mo ago

That reflective roof coating I was skeptical about actually worked

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?

0

josephbailey•1mo ago

Was dead set against spray foam insulation until my electric bill proved me wrong

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?