Purchasing a new property, but there's a problem, it turns my shoes orange!



The house is new, on a lot full of big tall pine trees. It's been on the market all summer so the lawn hasn't been getting properly watered/maintained. The soil is very light sandy clay.

It looks like the lawn was "blown in", however you say it. The green foamy stuff they spray all over.

I'm trying to get info from the builder on the grass variety.

A little research leads me to believe that this is "rust disease". Can one of the many of you with a PhD in lawn care verify and suggest the appropriate treatment method?

Here's the obligatory grass macro:

 

Yep, that's rust. It's a fungus and is treatable.


http://www.yardcareproblems.com/inde...d662ca679dde05

http://www.lawncare.com/index.cfm/ev...6555F84FF4A100

http://www.lawncare.com/index.cfm/ev...1ed04657847082

 

Never heard of it.

Forget about only the grass...Pics of the house?

 

From Scibs links, it looks like a little water and fertilizer should take care of it.

Also, the contrast of your rusty shoe on the grey gravel is pretty suite!

 

Has it been pretty dry there?

 

yup....i had that this summer as well
just mowed the lawn, bag it and clean off the lawn mower with some vinegar spray on the blades to keep the rust from spreading the next time you mow.

in the meantime, after the first mowing, drop some fertilizer on the lawn (ringers lawn restore works great...get it at lowes), water it in and the rust should go away in a week or two.

good luck!

 

yep, not much rain to speak of in several weeks.

 

good tips!

any special considerations given the abundance of pine trees on the lot? i've been warned that they create a very acidic environment that grasses may not like.

 

Keep in mind, I don't own it - yet. I've entered into a purchase contract but any number of things could cause the deal to fall through.

Nonetheless, this is - hopefully - the next soopa-pad:

Front


Rear


Garage


Driveway (from the street)



Getting in to take interior shots tomorrow.

 

Anyone want to take a stab at guessing what the grass variety is? My best guess is Ryegrass going off of a few pictures, but I've no clue.

 

Very nice. Hope everything goes smoothly.

How large is the lot? Looks like quite a bit of land.

 

1.24 acres, I'm actually trying to get the property map scanned in now to try and find help deciphering it. I want to make sure I own all the parts of the property I think I own.

 

Let me know if I may be of some assistance in decifering the map. I do a bit of work with right-of-way maps.

 

awesome possibility at a new pad adam......will you miss moving out of the last one after all the work you put in?

 

That's an absolutely awesome looking property. I'm crossing my fingers that you get it.

 

Nice upgrade.

Large trees are a double edge sword. They look great but can be a pain in the ass. Mainly because there is always some kind of stuff falling out of them. Your layout looks good, the trees don't look like they are close to the house so the crap falling out of them probably won't be that big of a hassle. I have maples all over my yard, they provide great shade but their is a price to pay for it.

Pine needles are very bad for grass, don't mulch the needles into the lawn. Rake them up or bag them. You will find that the trees will suck the life out of any grass that is around them because they are all competing for the same nutrients. You will need to fertilize more than you are used to in the areas around the trees. If you get areas that you can't grow grass in don't worry about it, landscape those areas with ground cover and other stuff that likes to hang around trees. It will look great.

BTW gardenweb.com has a good lawn care and organic lawn care forum.

Man that is a long driveway you better figure out how you plan to deal with snow.

 

Good tips, thanks. I don't have much in the way of a green thumb.

plow service?

 

a little bit. the kitchen in the current place fits me like a glove. but the rest of the house just will never be what i want it to be, and the neighborhood / school district isn't what i want for the boy.

the new place is in the areas most desirable school system, is 3x the size of my current house, finely detailed, and is "done", meaning i can focus on something other then hating my house

so ya, i'll miss a few things about the current crib but i'll get over it... quickly

 

thanks, that'll be helpful. i'll PM you the map tomorrow.

 

while we're on the subject of the driveway, the builder had agreed to pave the thing before the closing. this doesn't give them much time. being as they'll be doing it fast is there anything i should watch out for?

i don't know too much about paving techniques, especially in regards to a driveway of this size.

 

What will they be paving it with? Asphalt or Concrete?

 

asphalt

 

Well, it's good that you'll have the gravel base. You should try to get about 4" thick asphalt, which should be placed in two separate 2" "lifts". The main thing to keep an eye on is making sure that you don't create any place where the asphalt blocks drainage. Water is the main enemy of asphalt. Just make sure that water drains away from it on both sides. Water going across it isn't bad, you just neet to make sure no water gets underneath.

One disclaimer - most of my knowledge is more applicable to street paving, but the same likely applies to driveways.

 

get a soil test if possible to check what the pH level is on your lawn and see what it's lacking.

i think an application of lime will help with the pine needle problem.

the house and surrounding area looks awesome

congrats!

 

That is SUCH a beautiful property!!! I love all the land, but especially the surround trees. The design of the home fits right in! Is it out in the country? ---- It makes me think of a nice weekend getaway place, but you'll live there full-time. It looks so relaxing! So nice!

Will you have many neighbours? Other kids for Noah to play with around there?

Okay, I'm done. Sorry.

 

Thanks!

Nope. Not the country. It's in a populated suburb right outside the city. Literally 5 minutes from downtown on city streets, yet we'll have 1 1/4 acres of very private land.

Across the street is a high school, and being built next door is a brand new elementary school -- in the areas highest rated school district.

Because of the privacy of the lot, we don't have many direct neighbors unfortunately (or fortunately, some might say), but just across the road are all of the towns largest developments, so I'm sure Noah will find plenty of friends to ride bikes with

For me being from the city, and Mandi from the country, this seemed like the perfect mix to us, like it was meant to be!

We passed attorney approval today, so - barring any unforeseen circumstances - we close next month!

 

Kitchen


Dining Room


Butlers Pantry


Living Room (As seen from Kitchen)


Living Room (As seen from Office)


Center Hall


Master Bedroom


Lower Level (aka Walk-out Basement)


Garage

 

congrats Adam! looks like a fantastic pad.

 

Looks even better on the inside than the out, and that's saying a lot. Great looking floors, kitchen and general workmanship. Congrats!

 

Nice upgrade Adam !!

 

damn Adam, Love the potential I see there. I hope the contract goes through.

Whatever camera you took those pics with is rockin'.

 

How much does something like that cost on the east coast? On that much land here in town you'd be looking at $600k or more.

Beautiful!

 

Very very nice. The stairs down into the basement from the garage are a great touch.

 

Same ol' F828 I've been rockin' for years.

 

about 530

 

Yes, major selling point for me. Access to the basement from the garage, the main living area, and the yard itself is a HUGE plus for me.

 

omg amazing house soopa! be sure to show us more pictures of the whole property once you find out what's yours; I love daydreaming about what I'd do with over an acre...maybe a mini mountain bike pump track...

 

That property is absolutely stunning. They did a gorgeous job inside and out! Good luck closing on it!

 

Adam, awesome place! Congrats on the upgrade!

BTW, for the land, I'd recommend just getting a survey done. We've done it on every house we've bought, and are also doing it on the new property we are going to contract with. Not sure what the prices run up there, but down here we're only laying out $250 to verify our property lines, which to me is something that is a must before we sign....

 

Oh ya, I forgot to mention, I had it confirmed that we will in fact own all the land we thought we would (and then some thanks to the terrain), which is why we've passed attorney approval.