Popular home items you never want to have?

[tranquility]

I've thought of 3 and they all pertain to outdoors:

swimming pool
It's a no-brainer for me since I'm not into swimming, and the upkeep is a bit of a nightmare in addition to just not liking the idea of stagnant water being treated w chemicals to keep it 'clean'.

hot tub
I thought that I would like it and actually was entertaining the idea but then I found out it's basically like a mini swimming pool w the stagnant water thing.

BBQ
Just don't want another hard-to-clean appliance, the grills are left outside and who knows what critters can crawl in there?

[diirk]

Alexa or any similar appliance
Smart thermostat that allows the govt to remote acces

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by diirk

Alexa or any similar appliance
Smart thermostat that allows the govt to remote acces

Darn, I missed that, you're totally right about those, well the Alexa/etc for sure. How lazy does one have to be?? Voluntarily giving up control and privacy....insane.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by tranquility

I've thought of 3 and they all pertain to outdoors:

swimming pool
It's a no-brainer for me since I'm not into swimming, and the upkeep is a bit of a nightmare in addition to just not liking the idea of stagnant water being treated w chemicals to keep it 'clean'.

hot tub
I thought that I would like it and actually was entertaining the idea but then I found out it's basically like a mini swimming pool w the stagnant water thing.

BBQ
Just don't want another hard-to-clean appliance, the grills are left outside and who knows what critters can crawl in there?

Same list for me. Add a big TV/Entertainment center to that list. Our living room TV might be turned on 2 hours a week at most, unless we decide to watch a movie or some such thing. Odd thing is, we have 4 TVs in the house. But two are used in my exercise room for Fulgaz and EXR, one is in the garage in case I want to watch a game while I'm out there, and then there's the one in our living room.

[vreihen16]

Marble or granite countertops.

Let me also add the deck off of the back of our house. I can count the number of *minutes* that we've ever sat back there over the past 18 years on two hands, because we live in the freaking woods and the biting bugs are atrocious and laugh at bug spray, citronella candles, and bug zappers.....

[diirk]

As for a BBQ, I use mine year round.
I consider it the best option for keeping the kitchen clean.
Streaks, burgers, chicken, etc. No plans, no splatter. Nothing I can't burn off the grill at 650°

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Marble or granite countertops.

Ya, I've seen enough YT videos of 8 strong men lifting a whole slab trying to install, then having someone mess up and BAM $$$$$ mistake. I'm sure they look nice but I'm not big on fancy kitchen materials.

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by diirk

As for a BBQ, I use mine year round.
I consider it the best option for keeping the kitchen clean.
Streaks, burgers, chicken, etc. No plans, no splatter. Nothing I can't burn off the grill at 650°

Pt taken. Maybe the cleanliness thing is psychological for me then.

[iminhell1]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Marble or granite countertops.

Let me also add the deck off of the back of our house. I can count the number of *minutes* that we've ever sat back there over the past 18 years on two hands, because we live in the freaking woods and the biting bugs are atrocious and laugh at bug spray, citronella candles, and bug zappers.....

then you've wasted 18 years.
I've had fair results from this stuff. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Cutter-3...67-6/100211822


I'll go with, land but failure to enjoy it.

[diirk]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Pt taken. Maybe the cleanliness thing is psychological for me then.

To be fair, it's mostly laziness. Less to clean and a better end product.
I usually use it a few times per week.
I think the regular use helps reduce the likelihood of critters, plus it's on an elevated deck.
Wasps are my only real concern

[oVeRdOsE.]

1- electric fireplace, and bonus if there's a TV over it



2- combo stove. bonus point if the microwave is over it.



3- vinyl siding. And bonus if it's the front of the house too.

[a5m]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Darn, I missed that, you're totally right about those, well the Alexa/etc for sure. How lazy does one have to be?? Voluntarily giving up control and privacy....insane.

If you have children having a hands free device is a God send, especially one you can give commands to in order to put on a YouTube video or turn the volume down.

Same with the thermostat, if you're preggers or old, can come in handy on a cold or hot night to adjust the temperature.

[p0p]

Karaoke system in the basement - I think my wife and friends are tone deaf

[akin67]

Originally Posted by diirk

Alexa or any similar appliance
Smart thermostat that allows the govt to remote acces

I use both. I have a smart thermostat that I can control from anywhere. It learns our usage habits so self adjusts, I don't have to tinker with it every time we change the clocks, and I can control it from anywhere anytime (including from my Alexa :-). But I do not provide access to it to my utility or the government. If the government wanted access to anything, my suspicion is they could access anything they want from our internet connections.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Ya, I've seen enough YT videos of 8 strong men lifting a whole slab trying to install, then having someone mess up and BAM $$$$$ mistake. I'm sure they look nice but I'm not big on fancy kitchen materials.

I bit my tongue on replying to the $2,200 countertop/sink repair thread a few days ago.

My DW and I have already agreed on a free-standing $100 plastic garage slop sink for the kitchen when we build the Garage Mahal, along with cheap/disposable workbench "butcher block" tops for the counters. Function over bling.....

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by a5m

Same with the thermostat, if you're preggers or old, can come in handy on a cold or hot night to adjust the temperature.

Those of us with proper home automation systems (no cloud stuff) have things like Z-Wave thermostats Comes in handy more when traveling, so that we can VPN into the house from the road and adjust the temperature when we're on our way home.

Originally Posted by iminhell1

then you've wasted 18 years.
I've had fair results from this stuff. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Cutter-3...67-6/100211822

Very funny! The bugs in our yard have in all seriousness sent a professional exterminator *running* for his van to call for backup. We live next to hundreds of acres of protected wetlands in the woods, and nothing short of a crop duster over government-owned lands would stop them. As an example, my DW's homemade carpenter bee traps are catching 2 liters of bug carcasses every week at this time of year...and those aren't even wetland bugs.

I'll go with, land but failure to enjoy it.

I will agree with this, but only because I'm living 750 miles from our lakeside SC tree farm that strangely has no bugs whenever we visit it. I set up my folding camp chair and can sit there for an hour just soaking in the southern pine smell.....

[vreihen16]

Let me add a guest bedroom to this thread. Ours has been used exactly zero times in 18 years. The one overnight guest that we ever had was my F-I-L, who slept on our couch after coming from an hour away to bring us an emergency generator during a major snowstorm back in 2010. For the amount of time it is never used, I'd be better off paying for a guest room at the Holiday Inn Express if someone actually came to visit. Ditto for when we go to someone else's house and they offer their guest bedroom. Thanks and I appreciate the sentiment, but I'd rather pay for a hotel room than impose on them.....

[Alfisti]

Hands down it's a central vac. Absolute nightmare to lug around that stupid huge hose, just an awful idea. I think OP would be surprised how few chemicals go into a salt water pool.

[paimon.soror]

Originally Posted by tranquility

I've thought of 3 and they all pertain to outdoors:
...

hot tub
I thought that I would like it and actually was entertaining the idea but then I found out it's basically like a mini swimming pool w the stagnant water thing.

...

https://www.reddit.com/r/hottub/comm...ng_of_success/

Ahhh, my home came with a hot tub. Was out of commission since i moved in because it sprung a nice leak as the previous homeowner drained it but not all the way so the water froze in some of the pipes.

it was awesome for the first several months after repair .....

now its just sitting htere .... getting very little use .... but im still balancing water.

it has become an additional chore :-p

[bagekko]

Swimming pool or boat... things you want your friend to have. Unfortunately we got a pool when we moved and now I am stuck being the pool guy at this house and any house the next 10 yrs... being the pool guy sucks.

Smart thermostats, the nests provide the option to opt out of your utility controlling it. By default its enabled, but on the OG models it was disabled.

Yeah always thought central vac was nice but then after having it I hated it.

Smoker BBQ, wife suckered me into this, yeah its great but again so much work.

The #1 home thing I wish I didn't have is NEIGHBORS. #2 is HOA, really hoping next house is no HOA.

[Alfisti]

Odd, i love nothing more than having folks over, pool full of fun and games and man-ing the grill.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Odd, i love nothing more than having folks over, pool full of fun and games and man-ing the grill.

Sounds like fun to me. I'm in.