Central Air deals and other new home stuff

Reliance it's offering a deal where they install Central air and you don't pay or accrue interest until October 2018. Of course they won't give a quote over the phone, all they do is set up an in house appointment. But on their website they have this:

Financing example: SmartAir 1000 Air Conditioner equipment is $4400 (based on the regular price of a 2T model) plus applicable taxes. With zero down payment and a 120 month amortization, the monthly payment is $79.99.

I got a quote over the phone from a local installer with good reviews, $2,800 for a regular and $3,300 for higher efficiency one.

Even assuming they $4,400 is the same rating, that's very high, nearly 14% on an annual basis. However I don't really know how close that "example" it's from reality.

Anyone have any experience with Reliant (other than tank/furnace rental)?

Any other suggestions for good A/C deals?

Need a recommendation for installing a dishwasher and hooking up the fridge. Last guy we used did a really bad job. Not sure if the fault was all his or partly on the builder, but don't want to use him again. I'm getting a Bosch and heard they can be a little difficult to install.

For the fridge, we paid for the upgrade to bring the supply line, so all we need is to hook it up. But it had to be copper tubing and not a flex hose so I doubt think this is something I want to do myself. But probably a simple task for a pro.

wprager wrote:Need a recommendation for installing a dishwasher and hooking up the fridge. Last guy we used did a really bad job. Not sure if the fault was all his or partly on the builder, but don't want to use him again. I'm getting a Bosch and heard they can be a little difficult to install.

For the fridge, we paid for the upgrade to bring the supply line, so all we need is to hook it up. But it had to be copper tubing and not a flex hose so I doubt think this is something I want to do myself. But probably a simple task for a pro.

Who are you getting your appliances from? I bought a Bosch from Lowes a couple years ago and they installed it for me and it's been totally fine.

tim1_2 wrote:

wprager wrote:Need a recommendation for installing a dishwasher and hooking up the fridge. Last guy we used did a really bad job. Not sure if the fault was all his or partly on the builder, but don't want to use him again. I'm getting a Bosch and heard they can be a little difficult to install.

For the fridge, we paid for the upgrade to bring the supply line, so all we need is to hook it up. But it had to be copper tubing and not a flex hose so I doubt think this is something I want to do myself. But probably a simple task for a pro.

Who are you getting your appliances from?  I bought a Bosch from Lowes a couple years ago and they installed it for me and it's been totally fine.

Canadian Appliance Source. They deliver but don't hook it up. Should be a fairly straight-forward installation as this is a new home and the water pipes under the sink should already have the taps to attach a dishwasher.

As for the fridge, now I'm beginning to think I should be able to do it myself (otherwise what did we pay the builder for).

Also, i this house I will (eventually) be putting the TVs up on the wall (got the "media ready" wall from the builder -- reinforced 2x4 behind for the bracket, 2x electrical outlet, cable conduit). Fairly soon I will be looking at attaching the brackets to hang the sets and running cables through the conduits. At some point I am considering putting an antenna in the attic (if I need that for City) and if I do that then I'll probably want to run a length of cable from the attic down to the basement where the cable comes in). Anyone have a "cable guy" they can recommend? I guess I can always talk to the Rogers guy -- they probably do some of this on the side.

The only problem with the dishwasher install is the balancing.

Oglethorpe wrote:The only problem with the dishwasher install is the balancing.

On our last one, the door swings down unless you latch it, that could be balancing or also maybe a spring came loose inside. To latch the door you had to push it with your hip. That's not normal. He didn't properly bolt it on under the cabinet; can't even begin to explain what he did but I eventually found a way to fix it. For a while the whole unit had a tendency to tip forward if the bracket holding it to the counter for misaligned (he did something really weird in cutting that bracket; of the cuts were aligned the bracket would still hold but if the unit moved slightly so the cut was misaligned it would swing right out). Hard to explain without pictures.

Also the washer itself (Frigidaire) was piss poor at washing dishes. The upper wand kept coming off (it just pushes on, held in place with the rubber ring gasket). Eventually ordered a new one off eBay and that fixed it. Cleaning the filter was a job and a half - had to remove three pieces to access it, plus the lower rack. In the Bosch I just reach in, turn and pull one piece.

So, in short, badly designed washer, poor quality, installation to match. And this was not a cheap washer, paid $700 for it almost 10 years ago. Compare that to the Bosch I'm getting now for $1k. Bigger, third rack for cutlery, stainless steel inside, better, quieter.

This will be one of the perks in the new place. Upstairs laundry room is another. And a driveway I can clear in 20 minutes.

I got a lower-end Bosch from Lowes a couple years ago for something like $600 or $700. It's been amazing. Clean the filter about once a month and I've never had an issue...and it's super-duper quiet. You will be very happy with that choice.

The one I got is a 500 series. 44 dB. List price was $1700. Bosch periodically does this when he models cone out. 10 years ago there was a similar large discount, but in that case the newer models had things I wanted (which the Frigidaire I bought had). In hindsight, of course, I write have been better off with a Bosch, even without those features.

This time around, I honestly don't know what other features they would have. I compared the feature list with the 800 series and the newest models and did not see significant difference.

I also highly recommend Canadian Appliance Source on Merivale. Their prices aren't the best but their deals are hard to beat. And their selection is very good. When I bought the fridge last year, it was $900 less than the same model at Home Depot that was on sale. You have to look for the sales, though, and sometimes act quickly as they have both manufacturers rebates and in store director that have a hard deadline.

I dealt with Mathieu Laquerre both times. I found him informative and helpful, without being pushy.

Dishwasher and fridge hooked up, A/C ordered. Will be installed Wednesday. Ended up going with Costco. With the cash cards and rebates I'll get the garage door opener and need frames for there kids.

Next big step will be hanging the TVs on the wall. Thinking of getting a pro to handle that, but still have to get the brackets and cables. For the family room, the outlet is about 6' up, the other end is about 4' to the left and a foot off floor.The cable will have to drop into the basement, then across to the other conduit, and up again. I'm thinking 15' may be too short, so I would need IP to 4x20' HDMI cables. Those aren't cheap. And I'll need 2 more for the bedroom, but 10-12' will do.

And, of course, still thinking of putting an antenna in the attic and running coax to the basement.

Anyone know a good TV installer and cable guy?

I don't know but whatever you do don't hang it high or over a fireplace

Why?

It's a "media-ready wall" and it is above the fireplace. Friends of ours have another model that is almost identical and they have the TV over the fireplace. I am not sure if they paid for the media ready wall or just did it themselves. Haven't heard any complaints from them. They've been in their place nearly 5 years.

We opted for no mantle or fireplace surround; will do our own later (still no mantle). Tilting bracket, for sure. Fully articulating one upstairs (in case we move furniture around or get a stationary bike or elliptical).

I don't know what the issue is with hanging it over the fireplace. There's even brackets available that let the TV slide lower when you want to watch it, down over the fireplace if you so desire ($$$$).

As for cables, wall-mounts, etc, www.monoprice.com is your friend, along with Amazon. I see 20' HDMI cables for $10.99 USD on Monoprice right now.

It's all about physical comfort. You don't want to hang your tv above eye level, it will cause neck strain and its best to look at the picture head on. If you are reclining then your eye level will go above 90 degrees and in that case it may make sense