Haha Sally...
Judy, you're totally right about the cats. Definitely publicity hogs...and they always look all coy too like it wasn't on purpose.
Gita, we don't have a lot of things on our walls. We would probably have some more things on the wall but haven't really gotten around to it yet.
Home projects in the mid atlantic forum- May 2015
Sally---
If you can find a "SAVERS" Thrif Shop anywhere near you--go check it out.
It is clean,,,it smalls nice...All clothes hang by sizes and everything is by categories.
There are not too many of them around. My closest one is on Joppa Rd. just past
the Perring Pkwy. interchange.
About 4-5 miles from me. I really love it! it is NOT junky at all.
I buy a lot of my clothes there and, recently, bought 3 pr. of tennis shoes for $25 total.
Two New Ballance and one "all weather/water resistant" pair from Lands End.
These will be great when fall and winter comes.
I just throw them in my washer with the rest of my dark laundry--and they look like new.
http://www.hoursguide.com/savers-store-hours-locations
Gita
Darn, that finicky elect circuit just went out again (moisture and buss bar corrosion...needs new fuse box and enough moolah to hire electrician) Wish me luck in getting it to work for another 30 hours or al least when appraiser is here tomorrow am! (Controls over head lites in Brms, hall, Bath. Kitch and porches)
Eeek!! Moisture and electricity do NOT mix well!! < =/ Lots of "wishing luck" and oodles of prayers that you stay safe until you can get that properly repaired!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Couple more estimate appointments under the belt today for that fence. So far they're all in roughly the same ballpark money-wise (no surprise there). I'm really liking one in particular though (won't mention any names 'cause I'm not sure that's the "right" thing to do here); I really like the fact that their fencing is "custom built" on site, they do not offer prefab 8' panels. They are also a wholesale distributor of said materials, which means they're not taking the cheapo route and buying low quality stuff at a Big Box Store then marking up by 400%. They are the highe$t ones so far, but I think it's worth it for the tongue-in-groove quality, the long-standing history of the company, and the 12-star word-of-mouth reviews I've been getting locally.
On Friday I'll have one last fence appointment, a tree estimate, and hopefully the concrete guy out here for that estimate as well. Pheewwww, GOTTA make sure I'm taking really good notes! =)
fingers crossed coleup..and today's drier weather hopefully helped.
Speedie, you're getting your driveway concreted right? How big is your driveway?
Oh coleup, not again!
Thanks Speedie and Sally and SSG. Yep, sometime between 4 and 7 am that circuit stopped making good enough contact with the corroding buss bar.
Do you all think that if I put a vase of lovely blooms in every room that the appraiser won't notice that certain light switches don't work?
Sequoia, great job! I love all of the built-in shelves and the "ledge" around the wall. Very nice-looking and practical too.
LOL, Judy!! Maybe if you also open all the drapes/curtains in all those rooms as well, to let in the natural light! :)
Jeff, no, we're getting a concrete pad put down for the shed(s).. hopefully not just the main one, but also a "lean to" under the deck for the gas-powered stuff.. and then also creating a bit of a walkway from the deck steps to the little concrete pad just outside the basement slider. The driveway is tarmac and we just had that resealed, it's pretty ok. :)
Thanks Muddy!
Ok Speedie, that makes sense. I only asked because we are going to be needing our driveway redone soon and I'd love to do concrete but I'm sure it's super expensive.
Coleup, can you have an electrician come in and put in a new circuit breaker? I don't think it's that time consuming of a job. You could buy the circuit at Home Depot and perhaps get someone from the electrical dept. to do the job under the table.
Replacing a breaker takes less than 5 minutes total time in the room, but the breaker may not be the issue. Corrosion may be preventing the breaker from getting juice from the buss bar. Shut off the main power, remove the breaker, keeping the line feed attached, clean the buss bar with steel wool/emery, and replace breaker.
Lol Jeff and David, would that I had a circuit breaker! No, I have screw in fuses to protect my circuits. Due to corrosion of the buss bar the fuse on at least one circuit no longer makes sufficient contact with the buss bar to complete the circuit. They used to make special fuses with a longer contact bottom but I haven't located any. Gee, it is even difficult finding regular 15 and 20 amp fuses. In the olden days people would just stick a copper penny in the socket and then screw in the fuse.
Lest you all think I am allergic to electricians and/or putting my life and house at risk, I have had two electricians out re this problem and the 'solution' is to install a new fuse box (cheaper and not necessary to pull a permit) which will start corroding ( might take 65 years to do so, like the old one) or 'upgrade' to a circuit breaker system for 100 or 200 amp service. Way more expensive as panel would have to be located some distance from existing service entry, on and interior wall.
Last electrician 'fixed' the problem and things worked for over a year. When it recurred, we 'fixed' the problem by changing out all the fuses, cleaning their recepticals as best we could and snugging them in real well. Worked until yesterday morning, the day before the appraisal. I know I have to get a replacement electical panel and that is # 1 on what to do with refi cash out.
Jeff, one company I spoke with made a good point when he said his company always pulled permits because not onlt did it protect his company, it also protected the homeowner in an insurance claim where electric may have been cause of damages. When I rewired my basement I am proud to say that my work was better than what was there before! I'd love to rewire the whole house and then have an electrician hook up those wires to a new service panel and have the whole thing pass inspection! Likelihood of my getting a round tuit anytime soon? Practically zero. Not building one of those 20 years to complete 'castles' lol!
Yikes Coleup, what a conundrum! Will it pass inspection as is?
I should hear something Mon or Tues on the Appraiser's report and what the lender wants me to do pre or post settlement on the electric or anything else. My fate is cast to the wind!
Speedie I tried for a happy medium between natural light and so much light that all the dust bunnies and imperfections became obvious! She did like all my plants and said my roof looked good.
Coleup--
Please show us your hose--front and back so we can see where you live.
If you don't mind....Thanks, G.
Judy, you live in a hose? ;) Hahahahaaa!! Sorry, just couldn't resist. =D
Was thinking all the same things David said... before you clarified what sort of panel you have. For the sake of making the house more sellable, you really might want to strongly consider changing out that panel entirely to something more 'up-to-date'.... when you can. That can be a really big 'make or break' factor. When the time comes, hopefully you can work with the company who says they always pull permits no matter what -- sounds like a reliable way to conduct business.
You've reminded me, however... need to ask DH to stop feeding the dust bunnies.. they're getting too big and fat. =)
I've got a day full of lawn mowing and contractors today; Last 2 for the fence, one for the tree removal, and a call this morning to the concrete guy, hoping he can come out today as well.
Jeff, you are right, a concrete driveway is considerably more expensive; then you have to consider cold/icy/snowy Winters and what affect that will have on it. If not poured correctly, you could have major cracking issues with the freeze-thaw cycles. Forgive me for not remembering, but what sort of driveway do you have now?
Here's a shot of under the deck (where we want the lean-to), and the current crooked paver 'pathway' that we want to have redone as properly poured concrete:
1- Nothing special, just under the deck. We want/need just a very small structure, so we're hoping to have it custom-built on the right side, nearest the steps. However, we still want the concrete slab to be poured across the entirety of the floor beneath... for the sake of making it weed-free.
2- sorry, this is the only shot I have of those pavers... guess you can see why, huh? < =/ YIKES, that is not a neat job!! Well, we weren't aiming for an award, just getting that muddy dirt area covered!
3- last shot is of that area while we were in the middle of the work. You can see here what we were trying to accomplish.
I have a very old asphalt driveway that is in bad shape.
Your lean-to is going to have to be pretty short. That deck doesn't look more than 5' from the ground. Your deck is very beautiful btw. I really like that corner piece on the left. Are you going to concrete under the deck too? Are you going to do regular concrete for the path or that stampcrete?
Jeff and Speedie, a number of my customers are replacing their driveways with permeable ones. I believe in MD there is some tax incentive by County to do so as part of storm water management plans to reduce hard surfaces and run off. There is such a variety now that the permeable options can really be a design element as well as good for the environment and I believe the costs and maintainability are comparable to asphalt or concrete.
Wow, those are beautiful! How do they hold up to snowblowers and the freeze/thaw cycles of winter?
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This message was edited Jul 24, 2015 12:07 PM
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This message was edited Jul 24, 2015 12:07 PM
We get it, sally! is that why you posted it THREE times???....:o)
Geez! I have posted picture of my house many times....?????
g,
Sally, as crazy as it sounds, I'm not sure everyone on the internet is out to stalk you...LOL
Don't forget that Coleup has a rusting bus on her property too...that should narrow things in a bit ;-)
love those duplicate posts!!
Jeff, it was a small leap for me to go to my first swap. What- to a STRANGER'S house that I met on the Internet!?
still, i feel funny, I must be too private, or too Silly.
I love those permeable looks coleup posted, but still have not accepted that it would take a different attitude towards snow clearing and weed control.
I don't think Ric has any trouble running the snowblower over our brick walks and patio. I would think it would be much the same.
I'm with you, Sally, on maintaining some privacy in this forum. There is the sense that it is just a group of MAG friends, but it is true that anyone who wants to can read the posts. When I was away, I went to the library and without logging in, I was able to read the MAG posts, even though it says on the list of forums that it requires you to be a member.
I didn't feel silly at my first swap, just a little overwhelmed with trying to figure out how things were done, who to meet, and such. I'm fairly outgoing though and will talk to pretty much anyone. I'm way more public than my wife would like too. I'm not saying I'm going to post my address and phone number all over the forum but I don't mind having a whole pic of my home posted on the forum, much like Gita.
A funny thought....
Anyone lurking would have to read through hundreds of Posts about
flowers and gardens and pets and Swaps, and renovations, and what's for dinner,
etc...etc...before they would, by chance, see someones house from 2009.
The "My House" picture i always post is from 2011, because it is a good picture.
Maybe i am a fool--but i have never felt threatened by anything in all the 47 year
I have lived here....I just don,t think I could live in fear of...life.....as it is.
G.
Not like I'm quivering in the corner here. I guess I am silly AND weird. Forgive me.
I don't feel comfortable giving out personal information on here, either.
This is a very public forum, even more so than facebook. At least on facebook I can make my profile private and only visible to friends/family, but I don't have that option here. I'd prefer to stay as anonymous as possible so I can freely make fun of some of my neighbors! :D
No not silly, Sally. I think it is unlikely that anyone will do much with the personal info that I put out here but it does happen. I do put out pics of the house that would be easily recognized from the road but I wouldn't post my addy out there in public. When I am traveling I sometimes wait till I get home to talk about it but not always. If I am talking about traveling I usually include the info that we have house sitters and that the house won't be empty. I do on occasion post pics of the Grands but not often. Mostly I think the likely threats would come from people who live in the area or travel thru. We have very little crime here but it does happen. Just last month someone made two attempts at stealing my neighbors motorcycle.
Sally, DH is much like you; 'You're actually considering posting pictures of where we LIVE!?!? On the INTERNET!?!?!" And my first plant swap at your house; "So, you're going to drive HOW many hours away to see someone you met ONLINE?? What're ya, NUTS!?!?" =) I totally get it, I really do, but I tend to be more like Gita - I just can't live like there IS someone lurking around every corner ready to pounce on me and kill me. While I'm sure not gonna post a phone number or address here (or even get a peek of a license plate in one of the photos I share), someone would SERIOUSLY have to go searching HARD (like- FBI searching) to find me based on the pics I share. And, good luck finding me "Somewhere in, MD". < =P I guess it's a combination of non-paranoia and exercising wisdom... and hopefully I fall in the middle there some place. ;)
Now, that lean-to under the deck - we've actually got 6' of clearance on the right side; it's only got to be tall enough for me (I am WELL under 6'!) and the lawn mower with the handle fully attached. The width and depth will surely be enough for the remaining few small things we need to put in there. And yes, we want the ENTIRE area under the deck concreted... easier to keep cleaned up and not invite critters like snakes. We were very happy with the turn-out of the deck as well, though it is currently in need of a cleaning and re-sealing. I've had a couple guys looking at it for that as well (while I've been getting all those other estimates), and a few of the guys say that they've done decks for YEARS and we really have a good-looking well-built deck. It's reassuring to hear that! :)
Judy, yes I have heard of the newish 'rain tax' that has recently been implemented in many counties in MD. Thankfully I do not live in one of those counties, but our driveway is not old at all... maybe 5-7 years or so, so we really don't have the funds to revamp it already. As it is, with all we plan to get done, we're just about spot-on with our budget for these improvements. Got a PHENOMENALLY WONDERFUL price for the tree-removal yesterday so I told the gentleman "Lovely, you're hired, when can you start!?" =) Nice to have some decisions made, feels like crossing things off the list. ;) The excavation/concrete pouring team will be here next Weds. for the estimate; after that, it'll just be a matter of starting the scheduling.... to be done in this order:
Trees
Fence & deck clean/seal
Excavating/concrete
Shed(s)
Not sure if I wanna post "before" pics now, or later, heeheeheee
Best wishes, speedie, on ALL the projects.
Looks like we'll be home end of next week. Yep, we have neighbors and friends checking on the house, etc.
Having quite the adventure! Camped at a hot springs near Lolo Pass in MT. Contemplating a grand tour of hot springs around the country. Wouldn't that be awesome?! Drove through Theodore Roosevelt national park this morning after camping near its entrance in ND. Tonight we're near Detroit Lakes, MN.
We'll have two weeks when we get home to try to finish the bedrooms before we go camping for a few days with the grandies in the Adirondacks. Then Jeff will be starting school. Looks like he'll be teaching 3 courses and be finished by noon. WooHoo!!!
Coleup, praying you get a positive appraisal. I agree with Sally. Very shady lot and lots of lovely container gardens.
Good morning Jan, and thank you!! ♥
Sounds like you guys are having a grand time!! I think you SHOULD do that tour of hot springs around the country, that really would be awesome!! Have you taken a dip in the Lolo Hot Springs? I mean, what the heck, while you're there... =)
How much work do you have left to do on the bedrooms? (Eewww, seems sort of icky to talk about home projects while you're out playing but... YOU STARTED IT!!) < =P heehee
Progress is being made on my little group of projects, yay! The tree-removal date is set for Aug. 5th, and a tentative date for the fence is set for the 25th. (that is always dependent on weather, of course). Had the excavator out the other day, to give us ideas of how to prep the area(s) for concrete, and ideas of co$t$; the concrete guy will be here today at 4:00 for his own ideas and estimates. Those 2 guys work together, and I tried so hard to get them both TOGETHER for the estimate appointment, but it all kept falling apart (this one could come but the other one couldn't, then the other one could, but the first one got delayed at work...), so I ended up HAVING to schedule them in 2 separate appointments. Don't like that, but whatcha gonna do, eh?
Here's a couple "before" shots of the trees to be removed...
1: the little "copse" out back
2: the horrid Holly (nothing personal Holly, you are wonderful!!) on the side of the house.
Been staring at that icky looking wood fence out back, imagining how pretty it's gonna look with a fresh new white vinyl privacy fence back there. AND along the side! Ooooh BOY!
It's exciting to make things happen at your house like that. Yay for you!
Copse, what a great vocabulary word. Off to look it up. You must read good books!
LOL, working for a landscaper/nursery/tree service, I feel I'd better know how to use 'copse' in a sentence! ;)
Funny, while DH and I were watching tv last night, I'd commented on some lady's 'maniacal fervor', and he was like "Whoa, you get $20 for that phrase!" LOL!!
Thank you, and yes, it is exciting. Been waiting a LONG time to get this done. The fencing was never a big deal until 'the new neighbors', but the shed has been a long time coming. Everything has always been stored in our unfinished basement (since we don't have a garage), and DARN IT, we need to move all that carp outta there and get that basement finished!! Once we get that shed done, there will be some MAJOR culling of the herd when we move the carp from the basement into that shed. Yikes!
Yeah I had to look that one up too. Thanks for the vocab lesson.
LOL, you're very welcome. =)
Well, nearly all estimates are in now, the concrete guy was here today. Pheeww, a bit higher than we expected, but it simply MUST be done. I'll be sure to take good 'before' pics of everything... then do a happy dance when I take the 'after' pics! =)