The Home Ownership Thread

[Piobaire]



The promise here is that if I get a landscape service, she gets a cleaning service.

Win/win.

 

[MrG]



Hire a landscape service. So much less pain.

This. I'd never mowed a lawn when we bought our house just after I turned 31. It was awful. MrsG and I agreed that, when we moved out of that house, we would sell off our landscaping equipment and never do it again. Now I smile on Saturdays when I'm heading out to do fun stuff and my neighbors are out in the Georgia heat toiling away on their lawns (just like I did this morning).

I suspect we'll soon do the same for housecleaning.

 

[dah328]



Most of the problems people have with small engines are maintenance related, especially bad gas. Make sure you use fuel stabilizer and empty the fuel tank and run it dry when long-term storage is anticipated.

All true. Unfortunately, fuel stabilizer helps only with the problem of gasoline degrading as it ages. It does nothing to prevent ethanol from gumming up the internals of the engine, carb, fuel lines, etc.

 

[dah328]



Hire a landscape service. So much less pain.

I'm sure it is. If I ever make it to medium-timer from small-timer, it will be one of the first things I do.

 

[otc]



This. I'd never mowed a lawn when we bought our house just after I turned 31. It was awful. MrsG and I agreed that, when we moved out of that house, we would sell off our landscaping equipment and never do it again. Now I smile on Saturdays when I'm heading out to do fun stuff and my neighbors are out in the Georgia heat toiling away on their lawns (just like I did this morning).

I suspect we'll soon do the same for housecleaning.

Pretty soon your kids will be old enough to be your landscaping service!

 

[MrG]



Pretty soon your kids will be old enough to be your landscaping service!

 

[otc]

My parents paid me to mow when I was in middle school (although, I think my dad kind of likes mowing the lawn...). I think it stopped when I had other ways to earn money.

If I only knew how much a real landscaping service charges!

 

[texas_jack]



Pretty soon your kids will be old enough to be your landscaping service!

My brother cut it from 14-19 and I cut it from13-19. My dad didn't cut the grass for a decade. And no, they didn't pay either of us.

 

[Joffrey]



Pretty soon your kids will be old enough to be your landscaping service!

Not if you don't have any lawn care equipment!

 

[Piobaire]

Part of why we have a landscape service is that when I was a kid I spent whole summers doing nothing but mowing grass. At one point I did the church lawn, about three acres, our lawn at about .5 acres, my brother's at one, and a neighbor's at two. All with a push mower, of course, so I never want to mow another lawn in my life.

Started the dance for our major project today. Spent an hour with the first iteration on how our property will be laid out. We liked most of it but some of the major features need revising. He also extremely highballed us overall while simultaneously under sizing the pool and telling us it was a major driver of the price. I like his hutzpa but will school him.

 

[Snoogz]

Would enjoy some before, during, and after shots of this major transformation, Piob.

 

[texas_jack]

if you feel like sharing

 

[brokencycle]



Part of why we have a landscape service is that when I was a kid I spent whole summers doing nothing but mowing grass. At one point I did the church lawn, about three acres, our lawn at about .5 acres, my brother's at one, and a neighbor's at two. All with a push mower, of course, so I never want to mow another lawn in my life.

Started the dance for our major project today. Spent an hour with the first iteration on how our property will be laid out. We liked most of it but some of the major features need revising. He also extremely highballed us overall while simultaneously under sizing the pool and telling us it was a major driver of the price. I like his hutzpa but will school him.

How do you know? Have you had other bids for similar work? Just know from talking to friends?

Would enjoy some before, during, and after shots of this major transformation, Piob.

+1

 

[Piobaire]



How do you know? Have you had other bids for similar work? Just know from talking to friends?
+1

We've not bid out the whole thing yet, and we will, but I extrapolated from two data points. We had thought about maybe doing some pavers in certain areas to phase this project some. His quote for the per square foot installation cost was about 35% higher than the quote we were recently given for the same material. Then he told us how the pool and spa was where the biggest amount of dollars were. Well, you can search around the web for local pool installers and they all have package deals based on perimeter/surface area and level of equipment. Based on the size and level of equipment he's spec'ed he's way overcharging.

This company does high end jobs for high end properties so I figure they're used to charging top dollar. I've talked to a couple of neighbors that have used them and looked at the jobs. The jobs look great and the neighbors are very happy with them. I just need to reign in the pricing.

 

[Ataturk]

What's the general opinion of faux-wood porcelain tiles for bathrooms?

The idea of faux-anything is kind of offensive to me, but I'm willing to give it a shot. Have to retile an upstairs bathroom. It's just hideous, has an off-white 6" tile floor at the moment, small, shiny white tiles for the bath. The walls are actually a bright blue and the cabinets appear to have been painted straight white with a cheap brush.

Will probably keep the white tiles around the bath but the rest is open.