what do you guys have planned to get done around the house this summer?

we're in the process of:

getting the flower beds out front taken care of

getting a new shed out back

replacing the carpet in the lower level

re-staining the play set



I think that's about it right now. what you got goin' on?

I started with the Nest Thermostat, then installed smart light bulbs. Byt the way if you want to do smart lights check this out at Best Buy:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lifx-adjustable-white-a19-wi-fi-smart-led-light-bulb-75w-equivalent-adjustable-white/9634099.p?id=1219430510648&skuId=9634099&lsft=ref:212,loc:1&ksid=c0b8d5f1-21e3-4a17-ab1e-22a9a1edac9e&ksprof_id=401&ksaffcode=pg8058&ksdevice=c&ref=212&loc=1&gclid=CjwKEAjw4dm6BRCQhtzl6Z6N4i0SJADFPu1nn7lt4DO9h1FCn5chdH65-cHri_BUHroIdgyDnR7CaxoCeUvw_wcB

On sale there much cheaper than I could find anywhere else, and REALLY easy to set up. You don't need a separate hub like the Phillips Hue system, just screw in the bulb and open the app to control it. I have them on each floor in the house and on the outside.

I need to get a smart security system next, but I'm not happy with the current options. We bought our house last year and it already had ADT service, but when that contract is up I want to have something without a monthly contract. A combination of Nest Cams and sensors for doors and windows would get the job done but I don't see an easy way to tie this all together. Any suggestions?

so i'm not much help there Haha

we agreed to take over the contract. Then they called up and said it was a 5 year contract and it was $40 a month. Fuck that..

but we still have the security sign out fromt and the keypad is right by the front door so it looks like we have it on.

having the sign out would be good enough for me too.

its funny because my wife's fam is all about some home security but I was raised the exact opposite. Plus i think our neighborhood is pretty good and hasnt had break ins.

the previous owners through some time this year. We also get a nice discount on our homeowners insurance for having a security system.

I definitely don't want the monthly bill, which is why I want to do a do it yourself setup. Cameras plus door sensors and an app to tie it all together and ability to contact police if needed shouldn't be a monthly bill type of thing.

The options I've found are Nest Cam (but there isn't any actual security features linked with it yet), Canary and Piper (but they are weak on integration with nest or ITTT type apps) and a couple other similar systems. Definitely not gonna do something with a monthly cost like ADT or Xfinity or Protection One.

but it isnt hooked up.

I looked at the home system out of curiosity. If you have cameras do you have the server at home?

always seems weird when people tell me thay have cameras. Does this mean some stranger at ADT is watching me fuck and watch porn?

It just has sensors on the doors and windows, and a few motion detectors that turn on when leaving the house and arming the system.

With the Nest Cam the cameras upload to your cloud drive hosted by Nest. It isn't a monitored system with them watching your ish, and the cameras only record when you are away anyways.

But yeah I know what you mean lol...

http://www.adt.com/content/dam/adt-core/resi/images/adt-pulse-demo-component.png

Which makes a pretty good combo.

the fun will really begin once you do and you figure out what needs to be updated, replaced, fixed, painted etc.

Don't be worried about all that BS for the first two years

but there's ALWAYS little shit here and there that needs to be done, especially outside/yard work.

i hate brand new neighborhoods, they're always so damn cookie cutter. no trees, no personality, houses too close together etc. i much prefer an established neighborhood with older homes.

you could open a window and touch the house next to you.

we have an older home. 1977. It was flipped and some of the work is shitty but the bones are good. We need new floors tho, they put in some cheap laminate wood.

Just started the search for a new house.

have to get this bamboo under control in the back. Shit is a serious problem. Im right next to a park with a soccer field and a few basketball and tennis courts. The bamboo is a nice privacy barrier but that shit is running like crazy.

I need to dig a trench and fill it in with a barrier to keep it under control. Its on both sides of thr fence and the city is responsible for the oitside of the fence. They came through and cut all that shit down and its already back and more aggresive.

Its also time to knock down this deck. Shit is old. Not sure if we will put a lower deck on it or just build done steps that lead to a patio. That might be next years project tho.

i wish we could start over and do it right.

she wont let me kill it.

we also have a good 8 to 10 types of birds living and flying in it.

once we get our noney right i want to add a little wooden sauna back in the cut and a little japanese type flavor with rocks and benches.

but thats what i want... what we need is a barrier. prolly going to see if i can rent one of those things to build a trench or just pay somene to do that shit.

had 4 short trees to dig up because of bagworm infestation. I replaced them, and put down some boxwoods and some other shrubs.
I have some annuals to plant this week. Just got some new timers for my sprinkler system.

"Get ready....for your blessing....."

"Get ready....for your blessing....."

ok... ha...

"Get ready....for your blessing....."

and my understanding is that you have to go down 18" or more depending on the type of bamboo. And even then the runners can climb over it.

If she'll let you, you can take out that bamboo (if you even can; it can be really hard to eradicate) and switch to clumping bamboo, which still spreads, just much less aggressively than the running types. you should be able to clump them well enough to provide a screen.

I have a friend who put bamboo in about ten years back as a screen against the Wawa behind his house. I gave him the same advice about building a barrier. He didn't listen. Now there's bamboo growing in the damn parking lot and he has to go around into the Wawa parking lot to cut it down a few times a year.

we bought our home new about 4 years ago and we had sod on the front but seed and hay around the sides and back. the sides grew in nicely but the back looks like some shit.. bald spots, big ass rocks in the lawn.

I was told to thatch the bald spots, put down an inch of top soil, and grass seed and water the hell out of the lawn to get it to grow

if you water the hell out of it you can get some growth in the summer, but there's a chance it'll just burn up before that happens.

thanks

-building a platform bed
-reupholstering furniture (sofa and dining room chairs)
-tiling kitchen floor and backsplash

>-reupholstering furniture

Not DIY though...
2nd floor framing finally underway as of yesterday, them jokers move FAST!
Hopefully have the roof on by end of day Thursday (shingles and all)...

Backstory:

We purchased our house back in 2006. 1 Story, 2Bed 1 Bath Cape Cod. It was perfect for us as we were on our small space living kick. (Entered it into the Small & Cool Contest a few years back even). We knew we'd outgrow our house pretty quick when our daughter was born in 2012, but we loved the location. I started in on the renovation design earlier in 2012 when we found out she was coming....but kicked it into "high gear" shortly after she was born. 3 years , and probably 6 different designs later we finally followed through with securing financing and I was able to get permits for my design last fall. Bank screwed us by dragging their feet on closing which was supposed to happen last fall, but didn't happen until February this year.

We moved out of the house in March 1, contractor went to town with interior demolition around the 2nd week of March... We thought BOY! This is gonna be QUICK!..... Yada Yada Yada, 40 days of rain, etc... the house sat like that for all of March, All of April, and most of May. They finally got the balls enough to tear the roof off two weeks ago....but didn't have the balls to follow through with framing the 2nd floor. The weather has finally given us a break and they started going to work yesterday. Fingers crossed they get everything dryed in by Friday.

Scary, but rewarding to see a design come to fruition.


"Get ready....for your blessing....."

where you been living since march?

day...

"Get ready....for your blessing....."

______________________________________________________________________________

cscpov.blogspot.com

"There's a fine line between persistence and foolishness..."
-unknown

"To Each His Reach"

Already did some of the automatic joints on the smaller dining room windows. Gonna hit the bedroom off with some light cancelling joints. The killers are gonna be the vertical blinds. I got two sets of french doors (one upstairs and one downstairs that walkout to the backyard), plus a sliding door that lets you walk out onto the deck from the dining room. That's three sets!!! Them jawns are gonna knife my pockets...and I want the two upstairs sets to be wood. ..not gonna be pretty.

a few people on my block have converted theirs and we are wondering if we should do it.

Our house is 1250 sq ft. I appreciate the garage when it's raining or cold as shit but that extra space would be lovely.

now it's a 4 bedroom with a laundry room Haha. much better, even though i wish it had a garage too.

It was a carport, converted to interior.

A garage should be a tad easier, since there's more structure there. You'll need to address the floor slab, the wall insulation, and getting conditioned air to the space. Also may need to check your jurisdiction's requirements for converting. Usually it's a zoning compliance issue.

You COULD DIY...but it'll honestly go smoother and faster farming it out to the pros.
You'll need:
*Carpenter to frame up walls and flooring
*Electrician
*Plumber if you're adding plumbing

I would think you could secure the necessary construction permit yourself.

I'd piece it out that way rather than finding a GC ..... unless that GC has all those trades under his roof already.


"Get ready....for your blessing....."

thinking about putting a half bath in it. we have 1 kid and will prolly have 1 more at the most.

thanks for the info

few people have told me it would hurt the resale value but all the houses on our block that converted theirs have a higher value due to more sq ft.

feels so good waking up in the morning on a shitty, sleet and snow day and the whip is chillin in the garage...clean and dry.

.

junk storage and working on rusty old Chevy's more than for parking and protection of your daily driver....

Hell, even here the only time I really see folks using their garage for parking is when i'm in the District.

I personally think garages should all be detached and that attached garages are one of the dumbest design idea ever implemented in the past 40 years.....



"Get ready....for your blessing....."

I was driving thru an upscale neighborhood and someone opened up there garage and it was boxes and boxes and boxes

>thinking about putting a half bath in it. we have 1 kid and
>will prolly have 1 more at the most.
>
>thanks for the info
>
>few people have told me it would hurt the resale value but all
>the houses on our block that converted theirs have a higher
>value due to more sq ft.
>
>


I mean, if the AC/heat is currently struggling to keep ya'll comfortable in the main house, an additional 200+ sq ft may make your current unit seem inadequate or even break it if you have to run it longer to keep everything comfortable

Good insulation in the new room will go a long way to help but if the system is already near it's capacity, you'll be buying a new AC at some point in the near to mid-term future too.

the unit is right next to the garage on the outside of the house.

Unit is a little old but works pretty well.

My neighbor does HVAC so I may need to holla at him to find out.

Laid down sod in the front yard. Took care of the flower beds. Added a bunch of mulch and shrubbery.

Cut down 3 small trees we had in our backyard. Need to dig up the stumps still. then plant stuff up there too.

Need to change out all the outdoor lamps we have. They are rusted to shit.

Add an attic fan to help control the temperature upstairs.

Need to fix my downstairs AC. Needs a new fan motor.

Need to organize the garage still.

Finish painting the banister

I think the water is running off too fast there. Or maybe that portion gets to much sun and needs shade. The top part is fucking lush and green as shit. But it is only in the sun for half the day. The rest of the day it gets sun from our house and our neighbors house. The bottom portion is in the sun all day long. There used to be an ugly as tree there but we dug that out 2 years ago. Looking at all the neighbors yards they have trees on that end of the yard. So now Im thinking if the purpose of the tree was for shade. Either way no turning back now. Just trying to keep it from dying completely. If we can make it through the summer Im gonna have some pro's take a look at it. If it is lack of shade I might try and convince her to plant a Japanese Maple tree there. I have always loved those.

- Possible installation of solar panels
- Finish weeding and planting in the flower bed
- Finish my container garden
- Replace the soffits. I'm hoping this is all we will have to do. I already know the birds are getting in the attic through the soffits, but I'm so scared of this becoming a Holmes on Homes episode.
- Paint the basement

we have these birds that post up on our front lamp. Every year they come back, post up and hatch 4 or 5 birds...

this year they did it twice already. I tried to fight them, I tear down the nest but they come back.

Light doesn't work anymore.

any solutions?

we had birds that posted up in my patio. Using the 2 inch ledge I have around these french doors on the front of my house. Every damn day shitting all over my patio. Bought a plastic owl and put him on our patio table and they never came back. I also heard you can get a CD and break it up then hang the pieces up with fishing line. I guess the light reflecting off the pieces simulates predators eyes and keeps birds away.

it'll scare 'em away and keep 'em from coming back. i had to do that above our back door too, Robins kept trying to make a nest up there. that was a no go.

some neighbors had a few trees taken down. I somewhat foolishly agreed to take the wood, which the tree guy was kind enough to bring over to my house but left as five 12-15' lengths of mature white pine trunks. So I had to saw them into firewood lengths and split. Then I had a mature white pine of my own taken down and split that too. I don't have a hydraulic splitter either, did it all by hand with an 8 lb maul. At least pine splits easier than hardwoods (though it burns faster of course, and needs to age until winter 2017-18 before I start burning it.)

I might actually have to split some more as my folks just had 6 oaks & tulip poplars taken down. Going to avoid it if possible (though I will need wood for the coming winter.)

Other than that:
-Veggies are doing great; spinach has long since bolted, radishes are going now and the lettuce will be done in a week or two. Need to clean out the greens and get my tomato/pepper/eggplant seedlings in. Sugar snaps are in now. Cucumbers are starting to put some vine on.
-I'll need to stain the playset and the 'tree fort' (really a deck built under a tree since my wife and I had differfing concepts of what constitutes a 'tree fort') by midsummer
-power washing the house
-Flowers: need to dig up, divide and replant several daffodil clumps that are getting less sun than they used to
-then in fall, need to transplant a bunch of hydrangea and azalea cuttings to the area that used to be under the white pine I had taken down. Will be much easier to garden there now.
-I need probably two truckloads of wood chips to spread. Some parts of my garden haven't been mulched in three years and are in bad need.

.

meant to do a pics post this year, never got to it.

This is the backyard space I am tired of trying to grow grass and am going to use astroturf.

http://imgur.com/kATNJO1



**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

bc that looks like it could make a nice shade to semi-shade garden. Little circular walkway through it, maybe a bench at the far end with a bird bath. Mix of big-leaf plants up against the edge (hydrangeas, some of the bigger hostas, jack-in-the-pulpits, etc., maybe some azaleas etc. if enough sun) and smaller woodland plants (shade irises, trilliums, smaller hostas maybe, primroses...) toward the walkway.

Looks like you already have some hostas at the far end?
Wisteria on the fence at the right? Could be trimmed up but still a nice enough plant for found material.


If you want a grass look, that looks like it could be a good spot for using thymme as a ground cover. Read something like https://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/groundcoverthymes.htm and see. Not good for playing ball, though. And maybe expensive to do a big swath like that.

Good luck with it. If you do turf, make sure the drainage question is addressed...

better earlier in the spring or in the fall...but that area looks like it could just have a ton of plants/flowers instead of straight up grass

Got the deck cleaned and treated. Used a semi solid stain that looks nice. Probably will do the fence with it next which will cost a lot more.

Been painting the exterior light fixtures. They were black painted metal and starting to fade and look bad. I took them off one by one and sprayed them with a flat rustoleum. Also did the lamp posts. Looks great.

Got and assembled a little glider bench for my wife for our anniversary. We have a small enclosed backyard with lots of trees and last summer we had landscapers tear all the wild shit out and make it into a nice finished area with stepping stones, perennials and some new small trees. The glider is a nice added touch, been spending some time on it back in the shade.

Mulched the flower beds around the foundation and planted annuals.

Fixed a drain pipe that went to the storm drain. Part of it was sinking and a smaller pipe that came in from higher up had broken off. I was noticing signs of water in the dirt there around the foundation. I cut the small pipe and spliced in another piece. That was memorial day weekend so I'm still watching to see if that solves the problem.

I'm trying to get a copper awning over my bay window cleaned, but it's hard to find someone to do it. I already tried to do some and it looks terrible. If I can get that done this summer then I'll be happy. Nothing else major planned really.

I bought the set... jeez... almost 15 years ago (Life comes at you fast...) so of course they've changed the voltage, amperage and design of the batteries so I'll have to back order some replacements. Looks like they are, at the very least, $60 a pop so $120 if I want to have a hot spare.

I can basically get a new drill for that price but their specs don't seem any better than my old joint (450 in/lb of torque, variable speed up to 1500 rpm, 18volt battery). Any new tech I'm missing? If not, I guess I'll just get the new batteries.

Home Depot had a Father's Day sale. I copped a Rigid 18v joint with the drill, charger and 2 batteries for a bill. Plus, Rigid gives a lifetime warranty on everything, INCLUDING the batteries. No one gives a lifetime warranty on batteries.

i was also planning on seeding some grass in a trouble spot in my yard but i think i missed my window. apart from that, we'll mulch at some point.

Still have the rest of the house to go, but it's off to a nice start. Solid prep work made the actual painting fun. Tiring-as-hell tho. Now, onto the dining room. Trying to get every room done before November.

now I'm working on a vinyl mural for the little one's nursery. Going with a birch tree theme for this room.

also finally said fuck it and paid to have my front lawn cut and trimmed every 2 weeks for $20.

Also trimmed a shit load of bushes and I'm getting ready to lay some rocks down in the front flower beds.

No more mulch.

been paying someone to mow, trim and clean it up ever since Haha. i coulda bought a few new mowers with that money by now, but damnit i like not having to do it. i'll keep paying until the older son is old enough to do it and get or fix the mower then Haha.

Had to borrow my pops' mower until I got my own. This jawn should last a decade or two at least, with proper maintenance.

But man, I have gotten lazy.

Drained the water tank
Cleaned the AC units
Fixed the tension springs on the garage door
carpet cleaned the whole house
repair screen doors
new faucet on the kitchen sink
stripped and repainted the cabinets
pressure wash deck and repaint

I want to do this SO bad, but I don't think I have the stomach for it. How tedious? Did you use one of the cabinet painting kits...like the Rustoleum joint Home Depot sells?

my garden gear shop sells a brand called Karcher, gas options start at $329 or so.

Last one was a Home Depot special, only $125 or so, but while the motor has run fine, everything else about it was shit. I use it once a year most years to powerwash the house, and in probably 8 years, had to replace each of the pressure hoses and the gun, and then last summer the female part where you attach the garden hose/water supply just cracked off. No way to replace it.

Anyhow.

Also expanded the veggie garden some more this spring.... now up to 14 four by eight beds, plus the separate raspberry & asparagus beds (replanted the asparagus this spring though). Had lettuce til mid-July, radishes, now eating lots of kale, getting some zucchini, green beans, cucumber heaven right now. Beets and carrots en route. Tomatoes (and esp peppers) are slow coming bc I got started late but I think I have 20 plants in the ground. Should keep me well fed until mid-October or later with some luck.

the shed is bangin, though. haha

well, we've done a little bit to the flower beds.

other projects took priority over those listed.

we had zero lighting in the bedrooms upstairs. getting two flushmount fixtures installed in the kids rooms, a ceiling fan in the 'office' and recessed lighting and a chandelier in the master bedroom.

finally selected a tile for the kitchen backsplash. getting that installed on Saturday.

we put the painting project aside til next year. everything else is done for the most part.

flower bed is looking nice. Grass still looks like shit though.

basically getting it ready to rent by December.

painting inside/outside, redoing the roof, updating the bathroom & kitchen, landscaping, building new shelving.

..We got a new construction back in Oct. I was peeping what you said earlier in the thread about the closeness/cookie cutter etc. I respect that. We didn't start down that road, but what we had to spend to get what we wanted (with an older home) came with too much work and $. The thinking was, "Might as well get what we want in a new crib." Lost yard space but...we Love it.

Anyhoo...we are getting the "paint" itch. Supposed to wait a year for nail pops and such, but I think we may take a room, and do it ourselves...and go from there. Also we have some shelves to put together...picture collage project. Yard's looking pretty good *pats self on back*. I don't have a green thumb, but thank the Lord I ain't messin' it up. Can't wait to aerate and over-seed in Oct. Lookin' goowit, though. Also, we need some ceiling fans and that doorbell thing-a-ma-jig. It's always sumn to do, cuh.

and my yard is shit. too many pine trees in the backyard (well really my neighbor's backyard, which is the problem) for good grass to really grow. the front is also a mess. i need to get on that, yards are a lot of work.

Thanks bruh...and yaaaaas, to this


>yards are a lot of work.

and I've been mad at myself all weekend for doing that but real talk, I wasn't going to get it done with my shitty weed wacker.

I don't enjoy this yet...I think I can in due time, though. I'm just in the "don't mess this up" phase.

Install recessed lighting

Fix the cabinets - the are laminate (I hate that) and the corners are peeling back

Power wash the patio

Dishwasher is having issues so we need to know if we should have it repaired or just get a new one

Get carpets cleaned

We also want to look into installing Japanese toilets

>We also want to look into installing Japanese toilets

you talking with the heated seat (a wonderful invention), auto-bidet (I'm not so wild about), and blow dryer?

We've done some reading up and went to some show rooms.

We found that there are a few the size of an American toilets, they require an outlet. So we have to hire an electrician to see if there is a possibility to install one.

*cross fingers*

August 26, I want to show it in the backyard, but because it's L.A., it won't even be dark enough when it starts for me to use a projector, unless there are higher quality projectors out there that work when it's still sun out.

I even considered trying to rent an actual TV to show it in the backyard, but eh. what should I look at?

We still need to take care of the carpet in the lower level. We'll get to it.

for the moment, just leave the bare concrete......haven't started upstairs yet.

I'm going t plant some flowers that should repel them. Lavender and Marigolds and such...

Cutter isn't working

i need to get on them flowers too, good call.

I have a citronella plant on the porch, and the citronella off spray. I still get a bite or two if I look at the flowers out front too long.

Was thinking about breeding dragonflies for this problem.

I can use a spray on lotion and it works for a while but anytime I take my kid out to play they eat her up. Can't even enjoy the yard like we want to.

Going to try these plants and see if they work.

my wife all get bitten up. I think my blood is too nasty, I get left mostly alone.

shit keeps my yard mosquito free damn near the entire summer with one application. You're Welcome (c)Kobe
https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/13967266?wid=520&hei=520&fmt=pjpeg

I like the flower idea because there's no chemicals, but this might be the lick to knock em out quick for the rest of the summer and get them flowers going for the future.