rebuilding burned/destroyed house - new foundation or use old?
hairmetal4ever
11 years ago
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11 years agobus_driver
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Need help with foundation plantings in front of old house
Comments (20)Just a comment on the north facing situation. It's the back of my house that faces due north. I'm in zone 6, which for me means very hot summers and winters with bitter cold, and cycles of snow - ice - thaw that can be plant killers. Throw in prairie winds out of the west and it's no fun right now. But my absolute favorite planting bed is a 9' x 20' border snugged up against the back of the house beside my back patio. I understand what you mean about the intense light in summer, but there may be a trick to it that will help you decide about what you will plant. I've watched how the shade line moves back toward the house as we move from spring up to the summer solstice (about June 21). At that point the shade line is about as close as it will get to the house itself. For me, there's a 3 ft band that is always in the shade. I don't plant that close to the house, but I do plant near that 3 ft mark. Those plants have access to growing some of their roots toward the shade. Plus the plants nearest the house are shaded through the days of the spring when the tilt of the earth thingy is moving that shade line. Anything closer to the house also gets the reprieve from the sun soonest as the shade line moves back in the other direction further and further from the house. In other words around the spring equinox (about March 21) the house shades an area extending beyond the bed and the patio. At that point everything is in complete shade and the plants are coaxed up from the ground by the warming earth and gentle ambient light. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths poke up a little later here because they are kept cooler in the shade. Right at the sweet spot (about 5 ft from the house in my situation) a gorgeously robust clematis is beginning to need a little more space. It usually blooms long and then blooms again in the fall. So far I mostly have shade plants in this entire bed in spite of the fact that I know the afternoon light is coming. Kept watered, and tended, and mulched, I have been amazed at how well these shade prefering plants do. But ... I think it helps that as the earth's tilt again shifts the light southward, the shade in this area slowly begins to give its reprieve to these plants. I once used this bed for vegies ... just to see how that would go ... and the things that really love light to do well and are harvested in Aug and later, didn't produce much once they were tucked under the growing edge of the shade. Your situation is different, so you'll have to watch the light. On a sunny day in January the north side of my house is gloomy and significantly colder. The south side is the brighter warmer side. Anyway, my point is that you can work with this exposure and expect good results. There are all kinds of ways to create shade protection. A stepping stone in just the right spot is incredibly effective for keeping the ground moist and cool near a plant. I sometimes use that technique in addition to plenty of mulch. I love my north side beds and was actually planning to add hydrangia to my little playground in back. Wellspring...See Morefireplaces in old house - what kind are they & can they be used?
Comments (7)Why not just buy some good bituminous lump coal and use that? It's what they were designed for. Additionally coal is safe to use in older unlined chimneys, as it does not produce any flammable creosote (liners initially came into favor because they reduced/eliminated creosote seepage through the soft mortar joints of older chimneys - when there was a chimney fire the flammable creosote with a low ignition temp that had soaked through the porous mortar would ignite not just on the inside of the stack, but on the outside as well thus igniting the home). It is likely that there is a coal source in your area. Coal is less expensive than burning firewood (unless you cut it from your own lands), doesn't spark, doesn't produce flammable creosote and requires much less frequent tending - a 5 gallon pail full of lump coal will create a bright cheery fire most of the day. The covers on your fireplaces would improve the efficiency for heating, however, they were always a pain to deal with and are difficult to use once the fire has gotten hot; for a recreational fire I would highly reccomend leaving them off (this is why they are so hard to find - most people didn't use them even back then). Here is a link that might be useful: scroll to the second post down - demonstraition of a fireplace coal fire...See MoreNew old house, ideas please...
Comments (18)Wow, thanks civ Iv fan!!!The links help alot and make me realize that shutters aren't the only answer to prettying-up the front a bit. I'm also a firm believer in 'if they wouldn't cover the window when closed, they don't belong.' It would look ridiculous if we tried to shutter them! Those two windows are like eyes too close together-you wouldn't want to draw too much attention to them. Ha, ha! These windows are actually fairly new too so I wouldn't really like to have to replace them. Good to know I can work with them. I like the darker trim colour on the windows of the green house plus that neat detail at the gable. Very pretty yet simple. Both pics have nice porches too which I can see at the front of ours and wrapped along the side. Update: my husband,(since lunch) now thinks we should treat the side as the backyard, which it really is or will be since it faces the largest expanse of lawn. Wants to put attention to making the front nice-looking-good, me too! Still wants to put in a nice door on the long side but we're thinking French doors now-I think that side needs a bit beefing up with detail but I guess if we keep the front simple then the rest of the house look should follow, right? So, no shutters on the rest? I'm guessing, it would look stupid. It wouldn't be following the 'Pioneer Tent Stle' of architecture as the blue house in link 2 indicates. Is that what style mine is?...See Morerebuilding cabinets using existing doors/drawers?
Comments (37)Matching is not part of insurance. They don't have to pay to match the undamaged uppers. And if they do, then they're going above an beyond their obligations. Whoever came up with that idea obviously doesn't read anything before signing and thinks life should just work they way they want it to simply because they think it should. It is common for people to think insurance is a big safety blanket to scoop them up and take care of everything whenever they have any kind of problem. When you have damage to your home, its nobody's problem to deal with but your own. You bought the house and said you were ready to handle the responsibility and that means even if there was no help to be had. Insurance is not a savings account, its a subscription service. The whole purpose of insurance is so that under certain circumstances, they will provide financial help so that you can deal with your problem. Most policies say something along the lines of "repair or replace with similar construction and for the same use". They have the option to repair if it can be repaired. It doesn't matter what you think insurance is supposed to pay for, because what they're required to pay for is in black and white in the contract that you signed and agreed to. The boxes and doors being 'one and the same' is irrelevant, there's no 'totaling' of anything, its not car insurance. 'Making you whole' is not in the policy, neither is your contractor's guarantee/warranty, nor anything regarding putting new materials with old materials, and certainly there is no requirement to pay for anything that is not directly damaged. You're not being cheated, its not absurd or preposterous. And furthermore, nobody is demanding that you have to make any repairs the way they're estimating for it to be done. What they are saying, is that the repairs can be done in such a way that meets their obligations under the contract and they can get it done for $X amount of dollars and that's as far as they're obligated to assist you financially with your loss. Its not 'short-cutting' or 'low balling' and its not relevant if everyone in the world thinks is 'not worth the trouble'; its called holding up their end of the contract to the letter. If you don't want it fixed that way, fine, its on you to make arrangements to take it further. Nobody forced you to buy a house with old cabinets. There's no law that says you have to have insurance on your home. This is how insurance works, you don't have to buy it if you don't like it; you're more than welcome to deal with everything on your own 100% out of pocket. I am an homeowner and an adjuster of 10+ years. But make no mistake, I am not a fan of big corporations in general and I'm not defending insurance companies, and I'm certainly not a 'company man'. But it does get under my skin in any area of life when people think they're entitled to something their not. I know exactly what I signed up for when I bought my property and I have no illusions of what our insurance will pay for if something goes wrong. Same as you guys, I am responsible for repairing and maintaining my own home in the manner I prefer it to be done. Just because you don't like the way something works doesn't mean you've been wronged, it just means you didn't know what you were talking about....See Moreworthy
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