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Congrats Chris! This is the fun part before everything gets really stressful, but I'm told it gets easier.
Easier, harder, different.
Two of our three over 30 year Olds live rent free in our house in México. We get regular reports of needed maintenance (exploded solar water heater last week)
I say they have jobs, they can pay. Wife says we pay.
Not worth the argument AND paying so mostly I let her pay.
Ouch. I've got no tips for that, I'm just bracing for it myself lol
I am happy to report that we decided to give the Snoo one last try before boxing it up - and I can't believe it but she slept in it for a little over an hour. We've started using it multiple times a day to get her more used to it and each time is getting better. Of course, that was until last night when she lasted a whopping 23 minutes in it before freaking out Kids are weird...
In house related news, we've decided to get the ball rolling on some work in the backyard. I'll be going sometime this week to put a deposit down on a 10'x12' shed, then clearing out the overgrowth, building raised garden beds, mulching, and having a deck extension built. I was hoping to do the deck first, but the guy that's building it won't be able to get to it until May at the earliest. Hopefully lumber prices will come down a bit, but I'll most likely be doing Trex if the cost is still close. The deck will be two platforms - one 12'x16' section that comes directly off the existing deck, with a step down to a 31' long section thats 6' wide on one portion where the grill will reside and ~12' on the other side for a small sitting area. I'd like to do a mitered edge (aka picture frame) and have a divider on the 31' long section so there aren't any butt joints on the long runs. Assuming I can finish this stuff this year, I'd then like to convert the screened in deck into a three season room using Sunspace windows (or something similar) to make it a bit more usable for us. Right now, it's either way too cold, way too hot, or covered in pollen.
Dude, just pony up and do the Trex no matter what. It's honestly worth the money. I installed Trex when I redid my deck back in 2016 and it still looks the same as the day I installed it. I've done literally nothing to maintain it other than pressure wash the dirt off in 10 minutes each spring.
If you do end up going composite, make sure you get the one that's dual extruded with the PVC outer jacket. If you get the single extrusion, grease spills can/will soak into the board and never come out and can get mold growth over time because the board is somewhat porous.
Dude, just pony up and do the Trex no matter what. It's honestly worth the money. I installed Trex when I redid my deck back in 2016 and it still looks the same as the day I installed it. I've done literally nothing to maintain it other than pressure wash the dirt off in 10 minutes each spring.
If you do end up going composite, make sure you get the one that's dual extruded with the PVC outer jacket. If you get the single extrusion, grease spills can/will soak into the board and never come out and can get mold growth over time because the board is somewhat porous.
About 2 years ago when I was looking into doing a deck, the composite was 2-3x more than PT wood, but these days...it's a much easier pill to swallow. We prefer the finishes on the Trex Enhanced and Transcend lines, which IIRC are dual extruded.
I'd be forever doing the phantom step-down before the step, or the walk-off right past the step each time. Then kicking the step full force each time I went up.
I think it's funny when people trip.
Just nobody I love.
Trust me it'll get easier.
I never said it wouldn't be because you've finally had enough
and decided to drink the whole bottle of pills.
About 2 years ago when I was looking into doing a deck, the composite was 2-3x more than PT wood, but these days...it's a much easier pill to swallow. We prefer the finishes on the Trex Enhanced and Transcend lines, which IIRC are dual extruded.
Brain fart, not sure why I was thinking Enhanced. Really the Transcend is the only line we would go with because of the scratch resistance (dogs).
Brain fart, not sure why I was thinking Enhanced. Really the Transcend is the only line we would go with because of the scratch resistance (dogs).
We have the Trex Select and it's scratch resistant enough that I can drag my deck furniture around on it and it doesn't show anything. I don't think my dog is going to cause a problem unless he's really going to town on it.
That's good to know. The Select is more scratch resistance than Enhanced, according to Trex, but I'm not a fan of the colors available in the Select line
That's good to know. The Select is more scratch resistance than Enhanced, according to Trex, but I'm not a fan of the colors available in the Select line
It was 30% off at Lowes one day which is why we have it. I think they were changing over their inventory colors or something so they were liquidating existing stock.
I had built this garbage can screen on the side of the house about 3 years ago with a plan of putting in a paver walkway to it. However, it fell apart over the years, and putting in a paver walkway seemed overly complicated.
So I ripped it out, poured a concrete pad right off the driveway and built a screen using some cedar fence pickets. I was able salvage three of the four pressure treated 4x4s from the old screen to save some money. The rest of the PT boards were split or warped and went into the trash.
Supplies:
Form leveled and ground tamped and prepped. The bush in this photo was in front of the downspout, so I moved it to where the old screen was:
Concrete poured. I left it uncovered for about 2 hours while it was setting up and a fucking stray cat walked across it, so there are paw prints in it...
Which can be seen here :annoyed;
Prior to sanding and sealing:
And sealed it with an oil base clear sealer, it's since lightened up quite a bit. I may add another rail at the bottom, but I need to put mulch down first to see what size it needs to be.
That planter is one half of another project I knocked out using those cedar fence planks:
Sealed (they've lightened up as well):
All in all, I spent around $130 and a weekend on both projects. I still need to mulch but that's not going to happen for a while.
Next up was a repair. While prepping the house for the baby over the winter, I completely forgot to winterize my irrigation system. That's pretty dumb when our winters can be cold. And this past winter had some really cold days. As a result, the backflow froze and cracked
I had contacted a few irrigation companies and was quoted around $800 to replace it. I found the part for $306 on Amazon and swapped it in about 10 minutes. I just have to get it tested ($85) and that project is done.
And lastly, I finally put down a deposit on the deck. I ditched the 2-tiered design and we decided against composite. The composite that is readily available is either dark brown or light grey, both of which we think is pretty ugly. The stuff we like is on backorder until Sept/Oct, and we want to enjoy the deck this summer, so we just went with pt 5/4 boards (and aluminum railing since I had wood rails). It's still cheaper (by about $5k) and will be done by the end of June. Doing all wood may be something I end up regretting, but we really just don't want to wait, and we only plan on being in the house another 5 years or so
Next up is the shed, but I'm having trouble sourcing the siding. Due to the HOA, it has to match the house in color and material, which is annoying. My next house will likely be a normal color that is relatively easy to match.
Last edited by civicdrivr; 05-25-2021 at 11:19 AM.
I had built this garbage can screen on the side of the house about 3 years ago with a plan of putting in a paver walkway to it. However, it fell apart over the years, and putting in a paver walkway seemed overly complicated.
So I ripped it out, poured a concrete pad right off the driveway and built a screen using some cedar fence pickets. I was able salvage three of the four pressure treated 4x4s from the old screen to save some money. The rest of the PT boards were split or warped and went into the trash.
Supplies:
Form leveled and ground tamped and prepped. The bush in this photo was in front of the downspout, so I moved it to where the old screen was:
Concrete poured. I left it uncovered for about 2 hours while it was setting up and a fucking stray cat walked across it, so there are paw prints in it...
Which can be seen here :annoyed;
Prior to sanding and sealing:
And sealed it with an oil base clear sealer, it's since lightened up quite a bit. I may add another rail at the bottom, but I need to put mulch down first to see what size it needs to be.
That planter is one half of another project I knocked out using those cedar fence planks:
Sealed (they've lightened up as well):
All in all, I spent around $130 and a weekend on both projects. I still need to mulch but that's not going to happen for a while.
Next up was a repair. While prepping the house for the baby over the winter, I completely forgot to winterize my irrigation system. That's pretty dumb when our winters can be cold. And this past winter had some really cold days. As a result, the backflow froze and cracked
I had contacted a few irrigation companies and was quoted around $800 to replace it. I found the part for $306 on Amazon and swapped it in about 10 minutes. I just have to get it tested ($85) and that project is done.
And lastly, I finally put down a deposit on the deck. I ditched the 2-tiered design and we decided against composite. The composite that is readily available is either dark brown or light grey, both of which we think is pretty ugly. The stuff we like is on backorder until Sept/Oct, and we want to enjoy the deck this summer, so we just went with pt 5/4 boards (and aluminum railing since I had wood rails). It's still cheaper (by about $5k) and will be done by the end of June. Doing all wood may be something I end up regretting, but we really just don't want to wait, and we only plan on being in the house another 5 years or so
Next up is the shed, but I'm having trouble sourcing the siding. Due to the HOA, it has to match the house in color and material, which is annoying. My next house will likely be a normal color that is relatively easy to match.
Yeah, I was annoyed looking at some of the other models on the market. I have 1" lines, which drive up the price. The 3/4" backflows are around $120 and the 1/2" versions were $70
This HOA is actually pretty good; they're not really intrusive, at least on my side of the neighborhood. There's some rules around things like sheds that they're working on addressing, since most of the rules are in place from when the developer ran it. One thing I wish they'd address is the shed size limitations though - it's capped at 10x12. I'd love a 16x16 so I can have a true workshop. 10x12 is still doable, but it's tight.
Yeah, I was annoyed looking at some of the other models on the market. I have 1" lines, which drive up the price. The 3/4" backflows are around $120 and the 1/2" versions were $70
WTF? Do you even adapter, bro? Get a 1"-to-1/2" reducer and a 1/2"-to-1" expander and you'd probably be looking at $80.
Call me next time, I'll walk you through that sort of thing for a very reasonable price.
Like the final deck design. Do you have to use the same material on the shed or just the same color? In our neighborhood minor HOA it must just be the same color so you could take a scrap piece to Lowe's or Home Depot and have a paint color spun up to match it and then just use regular standard shed siding and paint it.
Last edited by CCColtsicehockey; 05-27-2021 at 07:35 AM.
Like the final deck design. Do you have to use the same material on the shed or just the same color? In our neighborhood minor HOA it must just be the same color so you could take a scrap piece to Lowe's or Home Depot and have a paint color spun up to match it and then just use regular standard shed siding and paint it.
Same material, which wouldn't be a big deal if the color I chose for the house was more normal. I don't mind putting vinyl on it, since it's less maintenance. But trying to find the color I need locally is a pain. I found it at Menards, but they won't ship, and the nearest location is about 6 hours away, in West Virginia. I did find the distributor for the siding, but they won't sell direct to consumer
Don't forget the Duluth cooling underwear.
I'm curious...you are very skilled and good at cuts and calculations, why not just build it
yourself? I think you'll do a better job and save a ton of cash in the meantime.
This HOA is actually pretty good; they're not really intrusive, at least on my side of the neighborhood. There's some rules around things like sheds that they're working on addressing, since most of the rules are in place from when the developer ran it. One thing I wish they'd address is the shed size limitations though - it's capped at 10x12. I'd love a 16x16 so I can have a true workshop. 10x12 is still doable, but it's tight.
Ours stinks. Letters if there is one weed, garbage cans out a day early or late. Don't really police the no street parking rule/sent us a letter when someone else was in front of our house. let the golf course sell land/ go under so now it's 18 holes of dead grass & dying trees. ON & ON.
Don't forget the Duluth cooling underwear.
I'm curious...you are very skilled and good at cuts and calculations, why not just build it
yourself? I think you'll do a better job and save a ton of cash in the meantime.
The deck or shed? I've thought about building both but these days I value my time a bit more than I used to. I've never built a deck or any structure that needs to carry the weight of people, and I'm a bit nervous to attach the ledger to the house incorrectly. I'd rather let someone that's more experienced do it.
The shed on the other hand - I'm back and forth on that. The savings to build it myself is about $1500. It'll probably take me two or three weekends to build. I'd love to have it done no later than mid-July. But it's also hot as fuck out and I can't stand working in the heat and humidity
Originally Posted by e30cabrio
Ours stinks. Letters if there is one weed, garbage cans out a day early or late. Don't really police the no street parking rule/sent us a letter when someone else was in front of our house. let the golf course sell land/ go under so now it's 18 holes of dead grass & dying trees. ON & ON.
GAAAAA
I could see why that would be frustrating. Especially since most HOAs say that they exist to help protect property values, then let the major attraction (golf course) fail and go unused, which I'm sure isn't helping values.
My community has been around for about 15 years, but the HOA was only given to the community about 2 years ago when the last section of the community was finished. Prior to that, the developer ran it. The HOA seems to police the older areas more, probably due to aging products - things like paint on mailboxes peeling and moldy siding. I used to leave my trashcan in the driveway because I didn't want to keep dragging it over my grass. I've also left wood in the driveway and taken down trees without getting approval, and so far I haven't gotten any letters. It may help that my house is in a less traveled section, and my neighbors don't really complain. Whenever I'm doing a large project, I'll let them know so they understand the mess is only temporary.
Gotcha...
I value my time also but the reverse engineering of that is that it takes x amount of time to generate that $5K that you're paying someone
to do for you.
The way I looked at painting the house was the 3 grand I saved doing it myself paid for our entire West Coast vacation.
Plus, although you would like it done by a certain point...it's no big deal if it isn't done by then...
For the deck, it was the engineering work that was involved, building the plan for the HOA to sign off on (not difficult tbh), getting the permits, ordering all of the material needed, building the deck, and crucially, the inspections (my county can be sticklers on decks). I could have saved around a few grand doing it myself, but the risk wasn't worth it for me on a 400sq ft deck.
The shed on the other hand doesn't require permits or inspections. So it's really just the blueprinting, submitting the plan to the HOA, ordering everything and building it. The last quote I received for the shed was about $4600 to have it built on site (I have a fence so can't get a prebuilt shed delivered). To do it myself, it's $3k in materials, but that's for standard OSB flooring (not engineered T&G), no insulation, 6' walls (not 8' walls like I prefer), and doesn't include the cost of the vinyl siding. So the cost difference is even thinner. For that though, it really comes down to how quickly I want it. Lead time for someone else to do it is about 8 weeks, and once they're on site they'll get it done in 2 days. I can have the materials here in 2 weeks and it'll take me about 4 days to get it done (theoretically). But, doing that also takes me away from the family.
I'm trying to figure out if that's a positive or a negative.
Originally Posted by e30cabrio
Scary that was my first thought.
I'm referring to my nearly 4 month old and my fiance - absolutely not my extended family. I get sick of them after a day. I'm not looking forward to a beach trip we're taking this summer with her family. It's never relaxing, just exhausting.
I'm referring to my nearly 4 month old and my fiance - absolutely not my extended family. I get sick of them after a day. I'm not looking forward to a beach trip we're taking this summer with her family. It's never relaxing, just exhausting.
03-31-2021, 07:39 AM
