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Oh, and the PO took the TV that was supposed to be left on the pack patio.
So, I'll be shopping for a 75"-ish unit to put up there. Need to measure & see what I can fit, and if it's worth the extra $$ to go to an 80-85" if it'll fit.
We're officially, fully, moved out of the old house.
Was over there all day yesterday, we had to have the house cleaned, per contract, so I WFH on a card table while cleaners did the house.
Got the last 2 loads done & the Rotus off to its new owner, and we're completely out.
Bittersweet, as we loved the neighborhood & the neighbors, but looking forward to the new chapter.
The yellow bldg is a tiny house, guest house with a kitchenette & it's own bathroom. Has a mini-split A/C & it's own mini-tankless W/H.
To the right of the back patio is a small shed. It's a cluttered mess right now, it'll eventually become my little workshop & am thinking about picking up a project motorcycle to replace the Rotus.
Thanks gents.
It's a big change, as it's nearly half the sq ft of our old house, but on a bigger lot.
We cut out a lot of the space we weren't utilizing & made a decent profit in the process.
Bought my first EV
We'd been using a lawn svc at old house, after my edger & blower both died, and having 300' of sidewalk to edge & clean up after.
Bought a Ryobi AWD mower & complementary Ryobi blower.
2 big 6ah batteries & 2 4 ah batteries on the blower.
Went through both 6ah batteries & about half of one of the 4ah to get the whole yard done.
HD had a combo deal that had the RWD mower & a blower included, but only had 2 batteries & 1 charger.
Spent the extra $ for the AWD mower (2 batteries & charger) and the blower separately (2 batteries & a charger) so I have 4 batt & 2 chargers. It ends up cheaper (by about $150) than buying the combo deal, then adding 2 more batteries & an extra charger, and I got the higher spec mower & blower (Whisper series, and a more powerful blower).
Bought my first EV
We'd been using a lawn svc at old house, after my edger & blower both died, and having 300' of sidewalk to edge & clean up after.
Bought a Ryobi AWD mower & complementary Ryobi blower.
2 big 6ah batteries & 2 4 ah batteries on the blower.
Went through both 6ah batteries & about half of one of the 4ah to get the whole yard done.
HD had a combo deal that had the RWD mower & a blower included, but only had 2 batteries & 1 charger.
Spent the extra $ for the AWD mower (2 batteries & charger) and the blower separately (2 batteries & a charger) so I have 4 batt & 2 chargers. It ends up cheaper (by about $150) than buying the combo deal, then adding 2 more batteries & an extra charger, and I got the higher spec mower & blower (Whisper series, and a more powerful blower).
AWD mower is key, better for those fast starts in wet conditions. Did your Ryobi come with launch control?
In all seriousness I never saw the point of an AWD lawn mower lol. But if the price is right then go for it.
My old Honda was RWD, the subsequent Husqvarna was AWD & it is helpful.
The Ryobi, the AWD was helpful with the ditches, otherwise I leave in RWD (assuming longer batt life in RWD mode & not engaging the front motor). Our ditches have a paved center at the bottom, so I just get the front wheels on the edge & let it pull up until the rears grab.
I have a big hill in my yard and have a RWD mower, works fine for me. I should avoid AWD mowers so I don't find that it's better...
RWD is good to for most hills. Any FWD mower would suck especially if you bag your clippings. Not saying it won't work but I'd rather have RWD or AWD over FWD any day.
Stepping up to the AWD also got the cross cut blades & the Whisper series, which is supposedly quieter. Not sure by how much, but I was able to talk to the kids while mowing without having to yell.
RWD is good to for most hills. Any FWD mower would suck especially if you bag your clippings. Not saying it won't work but I'd rather have RWD or AWD over FWD any day.
Agreed. My parents had a FWD mower and it sucked. RWD or AWD is the way to go.
I'd also switch to electric when my mower eventually dies but it's a newer Honda mower so chances are that I'll die first.
My Honda ran great for quite a while, RWD on slicks, not ideal for lawn work.
It had been sitting in the showroom of the Honda dealer where my dad & I both worked, in a little Honda power equipment display. Dusty & with cut grass dried on it.
My dad bought it for next to nothing & used it for a while, hit a nasty tree root & bent the crankshaft, vibrated like crazy after that. He bought a 'cheap' big-wheel garden mower,, just for the Honda engine on it. Swapped the motors (after changing out the crankshaft on the OE Honda motor) and sold the big-wheel. Nearly broke even. The garden mower still vibrated a bit, but worked well enough.
I inherited the Honda when they moved out to the country & he bought a ZT to mow the 1.5 acre yard. Ran it until it had ring failure & got progressively worse. Picked up a free Husqvarna AWD from someone in our neighborhood that was going to a lawn svc. Did my own until my old corded electric edger & blower both died, got tired to cleanup on the 300' of sidewalk & curb with a push broom, went to a lawn svc.
Then we moved into the new place & back to DIY with the Ryobi.
Awesome place and hope you keep the "Grandpa's Place" sign
I used to mow 10ish acres on a regular basis at my mom's and while I used a 21 HP zero turn diesel, AWD would have save me from sliding down hills and helped me get out of soggy areas, where it couldn't' put down the power.
Sprinkler repairs were on the docket over the weekend.
Had a 12' geyser where the left box is, turned out to be a pin hole in the PVC, cut & repaired with a slip coupling.
2nd repair I recalled from the inspection. The inspector mentioned bubbling in 'zone 5'. Turs out, there was 10" of missing PVC where the right box is. 2 more slip couplings & a short piece of PVC.
All back in business.
Need to take some time & run each zone to check all the heads & the spray patterns. Just haven't had the time.
Watering daily, and the lawn is starting to bounce back from the system being off for over a week in the 100* TX sun
On to room projects.
We're converting what was the PO's office into a bedroom for our youngest.
Primary tasks are paint (it's white & navy, currently) and installing a door where the PO had a sliding barn door.
Original:
The framing was an odd non-standard size, so I started removing the trim, only to find the door double trimmed
Got the original trim removed last night & now have a rough opening & can order a pre-hung door to install.
All that wood was the trim installed in this one doorway.
For bedrooms, agree 100%
We have 2 others, master closet & kitchen pantry that have the barn door rollers. The pantry has limited swing space, so the roller works great there.
Laundry room & master bath are pocket doors, which serve their purposes well.
Sprinkler repairs were on the docket over the weekend.
Had a 12' geyser where the left box is, turned out to be a pin hole in the PVC, cut & repaired with a slip coupling.
2nd repair I recalled from the inspection. The inspector mentioned bubbling in 'zone 5'. Turs out, there was 10" of missing PVC where the right box is. 2 more slip couplings & a short piece of PVC.
All back in business.
Need to take some time & run each zone to check all the heads & the spray patterns. Just haven't had the time.
Watering daily, and the lawn is starting to bounce back from the system being off for over a week in the 100* TX sun
Congrats on your new home! Do you have plans for solar panels?
Looking forward to your renovations! Are you doing any eco upgrades such as insulation? I insulated my garage doors and other areas in FL and it made a HUGE difference in both summer and winter.
If any vehicles or trucks have driven over the ground, be prepared for more broken pipes. I have sprinklers along my road edge and UPS/FedEx and others will drive up on the grass and break the pipes even they are nearly a foot down. All I can recommend is not to buy to many rainbird products, have never had great luck with them. I came across Hunter brand sprinklers more than a decade ago and I still have some that have been active for a decade. Hunter PGP is what I buy for the longer distance ones. 2 pack is normally $15 at Lowes and comes with spare nozzles with different GPM ratings. I end up sticking with 3.0GPM for about 36 mins for St. Augustine grass which can be very thirsty. Don't fall for any of the newer "gimmick" sprinklers, most of them turn to trash in short order.
Undecided on solar at the moment.
We are likely going to get a generator first, especially with hurricane season.
Luckily, for a house built in '73, it was fully remodeled about 5 years ago, so it's been dramatically improved on the efficiency front. We'll see how the first few months' utility bills look.
The garage is insulated, as it was converted into a room (but still has a functional garage door [insulated as well]).
Painters are coming today to get our youngest daughter's room painted (door destruction above). Door is ordered, but has about a 4 week lead time.
Once we can get her room done & get her moved into it, it'll let us really get moving on getting settled more. We still have a lot of boxes & stuff floating in random places due to rooms not being ready.
If you consider solar, definitely shop around and get multiple quotes. And if you'd like a referral to a national company (they were the cheapest option for me and use local installers), I can give you one.
Some nice things to keep in mind with solar is that you obviously get a discount for every kWh you backfeed into the grid and you can sell the RECs for extra income. Depending on what state you register to trade those RECs will dictate how much you get per REC, which can help speed up ROI.
Thanks, our last house had solar (4 panel, 1.5kw system) but it was already in place with no documentation about it of how it all works.
We have a lot of old growth trees (read, tall) so I know it'll be less effective than the prior house which had few trees higher than about 20ft tall around the house.
Cleaned rain gutters yesterday & blew the pine straw off the roof.
Gutters have a metal mesh cover on the top, thinking about removing those, as is just traps pine needles & creates a dam that builds up debris.
Also have a run on the back of the house, with no downspout, capped on 1 end & just runs into the soffit on the other Water runs out the end & puddles in the corner. Need to either put in a downspout, or remove that gutter entirely.
Cleaned rain gutters yesterday & blew the pine straw off the roof.
Gutters have a metal mesh cover on the top, thinking about removing those, as is just traps pine needles & creates a dam that builds up debris.
Also have a run on the back of the house, with no downspout, capped on 1 end & just runs into the soffit on the other Water runs out the end & puddles in the corner. Need to either put in a downspout, or remove that gutter entirely.
In a heavy pine needle area myself. To prevent that the installation I have actually has window screening under the larger mesh to keep the pine needles out. Works really well. Just an idea.
06-22-2022, 11:22 AM
Water runs out the end & puddles in the corner. Need to either put in a downspout, or remove that gutter entirely.