The Home Ownership Thread

[Piobaire]

Growing up I mowed several acres of lawn weekly with a power mower (push vs. self-propelled.) We had a huge lawn, front and back I had to cut for free (never got an allowance,) my brother had a huge backyard lawn, and then I mowed the lawn at the town church, to include the two acre lawn for the manse. The minister was also quite a piece of work.

If I never mow another law before I die it'll be too soon.

 

[UnFacconable]

I've never owned a home with any grass and my kids are aging out of the zone where a backyard lawn is most useful. Fortunately there is a great public park a block from our house where we go a few times a week to play soccer and such, so the lack of an exclusive lawn hasn't prevented my kids from getting out there completely but I do have some disappointment about not having a place for them to play every day after school or on weekends.

So it's likely our next home will have some grass now that I need it least! I definitely haven't missed lawn care since I greatly prefer a home with the least amount of work possible - that sort of stuff isn't a hobby of mine and any time I spend working on the house is taking me away from other things I would rather be doing.

Long story short, I'm probably somewhere in between the SB and OTC camps, except if I were in the OTC camp I would 100% outsource everything. I couldn't even name a single plant on my property and I'm perfectly happy that way.

 

[Lizard23]

I used to love caring for my own lawn but several fungal infections later (lawn not me) coupled with busier work / family time as kids grow older have me strongly considering throwing in the towel. Its not a fun "hobby" anymore as much as an obligation.

I have made the decision to outsource it all starting this spring but am also strongly considering having it all xeriscaped professionally with minimal lawn (maybe just a patch in the back for kids to run around). Trouble is I am having a hard time finding a landscaping design company that specializes in this... we shall see.

 

[Numbernine]

I used to love caring for my own lawn but several fungal infections later (lawn not me) coupled with busier work / family time as kids grow older have me strongly considering throwing in the towel. Its not a fun "hobby" anymore as much as an obligation.

I have made the decision to outsource it all starting this spring but am also strongly considering having it all xeriscaped professionally with minimal lawn (maybe just a patch in the back for kids to run around). Trouble is I am having a hard time finding a landscaping design company that specializes in this... we shall see.

Not in California I'm guessing. Xeriscape is the way here.

 

[Lizard23]

Not in California I'm guessing. Xeriscape is the way here.

Nope. Northeast.

 

[double00]

here in the Willamette valley lawn is a reasonably sensible option , at least the climate is idyllic for northern grasses . the frontage on our street is probably like 85% lawn with some foundation plantings and overlarge trees .

that said we've been steadily reducing our lawn footprint to ~1000sf altogether : in the front we replaced the lawn under the maple with a bank of ferns , replaced the frontmost strip of lawn with fruit production , so just a postage stamp left .

in the backyard the lawn is actually part of a drain , actually the whole backyard is programmed as an intrusion system in addition to the top of grade stuff .

 

[venividivicibj]

Toilet seal is apparently not great/slightly leaking- easy enough to replace the wax seal on my own?

 

[Fueco]

Toilet seal is apparently not great/slightly leaking- easy enough to replace the wax seal on my own?

Yeah, it’s pretty easy if you can follow a YouTube video.

 

[gettoasty]

If I can do it so can you

 

[jbarwick]

I have a memory of someone in my family replacing their own wax ring then the toilet was always wobbly after that. I still carry that thought that I could never replace a wax ring otherwise I would have a wobbly toilet and no one wants that.

 

[Numbernine]

Guys just know this: if a plumber can do it.

 

[otc]

I have a wobbly toilet.

I need to go and buy a $4 bag of plastic toilet shims.

 

[double00]

backyard is coming together ! most of the digging is done and the boards are going in .

it's always pleasant to see a drawing come to life . i'm back on paper figuring out the finer details of the next step but I'm really happy with how the project is coming along . we should be ordering more materials for delivery and really driving this phase home .

 

[imatlas]

I think someone mentioned Task Rabbit recently and I just had a couple of good experiences.

Bought a tool chest to use for art supply storage in the apartment, the fu(king box was labeled 107 lbs and we live on the 3rd floor. Wound up paying my furniture assembly ‘Tasker’ an extra hour to help carry the thing up, but it was worth every penny. Likewise, the assembly was next level difficult. Kobalt isn’t exactly known for quality, and I’m really glad I wasn’t the one wrestling it together. Looks great now, though!

Had another small but vexing issue that I was happy to hire someone to do: weatherstripping and caulking our windows, which are about 30’ off the ground.