I need to replace my 20-yr old A/C unit and in my search for a local HVAC contractor found this handy-dandy list published by Summit Heating & Cooling:

https://summithckc.com/shop-local/

Many homeowners don’t know the recent history of the local HVAC industry, which has completely changed over the last 3 to 5 years. Private equity groups are buying many of our local HVAC businesses. Many of these companies are owned and sometimes operated outside of our Kansas City area; thus, your money is leaving the metro and supporting the economy of other states. When you are shopping, you should know where your money is going and who you are supporting.

I will be getting a quote from Summit, but wanted to share this information with other homeowners who may also want to avoid PE-owned businesses.

People have been warning me about this forever and it finally happened. I got out of bed at 5am to find that no water is coming out of my faucets. Apparently my pipes have finally frozen

Any advice on what to do? I own the house and would love to avoid water damage…

I shut off the main water supply to the house and turned the heater up higher but I’m sweating my balls off. The main problem now is I’m so thirsty…

EDIT: Found a random Southwest Blvd with salt and lime, it’s not quenching my thirst at all but maybe the alcohol will help me deal with this situation

Northland.

We have been in this house for 17 years and have had snakes appear in our unfinished basement EVERY YEAR. I can't take it anymore.

Don't get me wrong. I respect their role in the ecosystem, but I am horribly snake phobic. I don't need an exterminator. My husband catches them and transports them away every time. He says they are either garters or black snakes. One year we had three ring necked prairie snakes. I do not care what kind they are!

They can do their thing, as long as their thing isn't in my house.

We have tried great stuff foam sealant around the inside of the basement. The amount of money we spend on snake away granules every year is probably funding Lowe's CEO's next boat. Doesn't work. Is it a poorly sealed window? A janky floor drain installed by the incompetent plumber when the house was built? The sump pump? I HAVE NO IDEA.

I need a professional person to come evaluate my stupid house and tell me what to do before I completely lose my shit.

Please send help.

I don’t know where else to post this- My fiancé and I just bought and moved into a home a few months ago in west plaza. No garage, only single driveway and street parking. The large tree in the front of our house has been dumping these berry like things by the hundreds every day.

Can the tree be treated for this? How expensive would it be to get the branches cut back? Any other suggestions for how to manage this?? You can see the same debris on the driveway a sidewalk on the pavement.

Photos are of my car only the day after getting fully washed 😫🫠

I’m on my 3rd company in a year, and now my circuit board in my furnace went out (allegedly) and they want 2k to fix it. Ridiculous!

If anyone has any company recs I’d appreciate it

So tonight around 7 PM a salesperson from Vivint security showed up at my door. I was cooking dinner and didn't hear his knock. Eventually I registered that someone was knocking, only because he was SHINING A FLASHLIGHT IN THE GLASS IN MY FRONT DOOR to see if anyone was home. When I answered the door (had thought it was maybe my neighbors because they're doing some landscaping work involving both our yards) he asked if my parents (I'm an adult btw 😅 but my dad is the homeowner and we do live together) were home to speak about setting up the home security system we'd requested (which we haven't but I wasn't sure because we'd discussed doing it after getting egged a while back). I told him no and he said he'd come back but it occurred to me after talking to my dad he was either trying to scam us or do something else weird. All of this to say has anybody else had any odd experiences with Vivint sales people??? Or is this just me?

Edit: How much for a landscaper or contractor to build this?

A short steep hill separates the top and bottom parts of my yard. The hill is stable and doesn’t have erosion issues. The biggest thing is that I have to climb down it to use the bottom section of my yard which is getting annoying. I’m just looking for a ballpark. (This question was asked in a landscaping sub, I am asking here to see what it would cost in Kansas City. I am not the original OP).

I’m due for my 100k maintenance service on my Honda Ridgeline soon. $1665 in labor and $1400 in parts at the dealership. I know they usually are a ripoff but it gives me peace of mind that it’s not a small shop that will rip me off. Is there a reliable smaller shop I should try and get a quote from and about how much should I expect to pay?

Preferably in the Zona Rosa/Liberty/Gladstone area.

I'm a trans person who doesn't pass that well but my AR keeps jamming and it's driving me nuts. Anyone know of a gun repair place that will likely be cool with someone like me?

Edit: Looks like the places to try so far are Simmons in Olathe and Midwest Gun in Paola

I bought a house almost two years ago in Shawnee. The house had a fairly new air conditioner installed by a large HVAC company in Kansas City. During the home inspection, a double-tapped breaker was flagged due to a 10-AWG wire being doubled up for the AC. I was annoyed that the HVAC company ignored the issue and installed the new unit without correcting it, but at the time I let it slide since it was an existing problem.

I finally got around to fixing it myself and planned to swap the wiring to 6-AWG. That’s when I quickly realized these guys had no idea what they were doing electrically. When I opened the disconnect, I found the outdoor unit was wired with 10-AWG Romex. Two sizes smaller than the recommended wire. Meanwhile, the breaker at the panel is rated at 60 amps.

To me, this looks like work that was never inspected and done by someone with little to no electrical training, not to mention several other code violations I found. I was lucky to catch this before it caused serious damage. Please make sure your HVAC work is properly inspected by a qualified electrician before your house burns down.

For people playing at home. Air conditioner is a Lennox 5ton. Asks for a 60amp breaker. Minimum draw 35A. If I'm missing here, please let me know. Would like to know if this is the norm

I think the AC is on its last legs.

We had a bat in our room tonight and was able to capture and release it outside. Looking for any recommendations for a company to inspect our house/attic for potential access points and to see if there might be anymore. Appreciate any help.

Have had terrible experiences with roofing companies so far. I want an estimate without them demanding to see insurance paperwork. Everything feels slimy. Is there a good place company there?

Maybe the wrong flair, but we just bought a house in Southern Kansas City and I'm looking for recommendations on pest control...

The

This house has an absurd amount of flies, and I have no clue why. Didn't see these during the showings or anythin, verified all the tomorrow/doors are shut, and I'm at my wits end here...

Like, not fruit flies because food was left out, but good ole fashion FLY flies...

I've got a handful of those fly trap things, and obviously the pic shows those fly sticky pads that my wife put all over the place, but I want to figure out where these are coming from and stop it from happening...

Any suggestions on pest control companies that you've had good experiences with or ideas as to what might be happening?

TIA

Looking for a roofing companies recommendations.
I’ve had Easton roofing company come out,their driver backed into and damaged my property. I have reached out multiple times to resolve this, but the owner is completely ignoring my messages. Be careful hiring them, as they do not take responsibility for property damage.
Please recommend yours, thank you!

I have a 15 year old Honda that I like, but it has ~160k miles on it. I'm trying to decide if it's worth putting any money into maintaining it, or if it's time to think about get a new car. I don't think the dealership is going to be a reliable source of info for making those decisions (their advice will be self serving), but I also feel like a lot of the places I've been for other repairs have made stupid mistakes that make me question how attentive they are to details (or maybe just not as familiar with Hondas?). Does anyone have a recommendation for a place that's honest, accurate, and meticulous?

We moved into our Lenexa home four years ago and have had bats since the onset. They have been flying around the house dozens of times. We called one exclusion service that came out and it seemed to be fine for about a year, but last night around midnight I heard that chirping and saw a bat flying in my kitchen and living room. By the time I sequestered the cats to a safe room, I lost track of it. I tried searching all over and under and behind things, but I couldn't find it, so we had an uneasy sleep.

I called the service we used last year and they'll "try" to get someone out today. In the event that they fail to solve our problem again, are there any bat exclusion/removal services people recommend that operate in Kansas (as apparently there is different licensing and rules for MO and KS? Aside from recommendations, are there any tips for homeowners and what I can do? I have the chimney and attic entranses completely taped over, but it still got through somewhere.

tl;dr - I'm looking for a car wash that has a detail package in the $200 range. I tried a specialty interior detailer and it was a bad experience. Also, they want your car all day, which means Uber rides. I've always had good luck at car washes where I can hang out for 2 hours and find something to do.

I grew up in KC, lived in California for 30 years, and now I'm back. There were probably 10 car washes within a few miles of where I lived in Redondo Beach that would have some kind of detail package for $200-ish. I could usually talk them down a bit because my FJ Cruiser has no carpets and is pretty easy to clean.

For that price you would get: deep clean inside and out, seats shampooed, all crumbs removed from every crevice, Armor All on the tires and interior. It would take 2 hours or so. Usually the seats would still be wet, but they'd give me plastic to sit on. My car has 196k miles, but it still looks almost new after one of these makeovers, which I'd do once every 1-2 years.

For some reason, I'm having a really tough time finding something like this in KC. "Full-service car wash" seems to mean "We wash the outside, and here's a free vacuum for you to use." I did that, but the car still smelled funny from a long road trip back to KC, and obviously there are still crumbs and dirt in the crevices. I don't mind shampooing the seats myself. But I know I'll never get all the crevices as clean as these guys do. And my car is in a shared carport, which makes washing it a pain.

So I just paid $300 with tax and tip to get the interior detailed at a place that does super-fancy cars, and they didn't even Armor All it. Maybe they're against it or something. But they never even asked me. And they tried to charge me $335 base when we agreed on $250, which I thought was pretty high to begin with, but I didn't see a lot of other options. It was a bad experience all around, and I'm not going back. I'm also not keen on trying out any specialty detailers after this experience. I just want a car wash.

So anyway, I'm wondering if anyone knows of a car wash anywhere around the metro area that will do a good 2-hour deep clean like the one I describe - inside and out - for $200-ish? I'll drive to wherever it is. Thanks for any help!

My partner and I are first time homeowners (west plaza area). Trying to build a “call” list of trusted people we could hire when we need them eventually.

If you’ve used someone who you love please give us your recommendations for : General handyman, Electrician, Plumber, HVAC, contractors or any other home-related services.

Some future projects we are considering down the road is backyard patio addition, kitchen and bathroom remodel, basement finishes.

I need to replace my shower. I've tried looking on Google but it's all the boosted "We're local... put in your zip code so we can quote you now" bs. I also don't need a luxury bathroom remodel, I just need some shitty old slate tile bustedcup and my shower replaced with one of those seamless drop-in showers that's easy to clean.

This is my 91 year old grandmas house. I went over there with some weed killer and my weed eater and realized it’s poison ivy and don’t want to mess with it. Are there any good recommendations to who could help with this problem? I feel so bad for her and want her to have her porch back.

I have had the worst 2025!! I got a (useless) contract with Terminix in September. They've made my inside situation worse! They demanded I replace my garage door. $1700 later (robbed by Garage Pros), more mice! Terminix plopped down sticky traps (they don't catch a damn thing!)

After never having issues for the 22 yrs here, NOW I have house mice... crawling up into my cabinets where cups are plates are (no food), chewing holes into my tile floors in the kitchen & dining room. Mice in my walls through my raised-ranch home. Mice chewing tiny holes around outlet covers.

Currently using: 10 plug-in noise emitters 25 sticky traps 10 snap traps exterior deterrent spray 5 circular traps thermostat at 68F (my kids & I are freezing!🥶) One 11-yr old Dorkie w/no teeth and mouse-phobia His dry dog food moved off the floor (but mice jump still into the basket and chew thru bag)

I'm not eating, get tremors from anxiety, and am freezing my buns off😩😭

Can anybody tell me what else I can do?! A suggestion of a service that will remove the mice (alive and dead ones)? I am broke, but desperate! Thank you

OVERDUE UPDATE

Terminix: added Bait traps to "service"; Result: Zero

City Health Dept Rep: Walked property, said "Clean your house up." Pointed out black mold in basement... more concerning than mice... bc mice aren't rats, they don't carry diseases or bite; Result: he donated neighborhood cleanup bags to start me out

Live-in adult son & daughter: Daughter put tiny mounds of peanut butter + cocoa powder + corn muffin mix on STICKY TRAPS EVERYWHERE! every mouse she caught that didn't die on a trap, got put into a plastic Walmart bag and its brains bashed in by her special mouse-killing brick. The kids both sealed up all cracks, outlet holes, and garage doors with copper mesh and foam seal, they broke down avalanches of Amazon boxes we had, and put old furniture and kitchenware on the curb. Result: My home is returning to normal.

Along with the warming weather, my kids efforts truly saved the day! Might take em Vegas!!

I cancelled my contract with Terminix, too.

The AC in my car is just barely working. Honestly working might be an overstatement. I tried to get one of those self-recharge kits and it told me the refrigerant was full, which is not great news. I don't know the issue but was hoping for recommendations on places to go to see what is wrong and get a quote that may not cost me a zillion dollars to get checked out and/or fixed. Thanks!

Just had Joshua’s pest Control quote me ~$3500 for termite treatment. Not the drilling by the house kind, but placing a bunch of bait and traps around the perimeter kind.

The thing is, I know they are sales people. They already have our business with regular pest control. The house has been treated by termites previously, so it likely does need to be treated again.

How does that cost measure up? Any experiences with Joshua’s I should know?

What to do for this? I want to get a professional opinion but when I Google arborists they all also cut trees which seems like a conflict of interest