Lennox Villa Vista - Poor Performance
foxes4us
17 years ago
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jerry_nj
17 years agoRelated Discussions
Bella Cera Oak flooring? Anyone heard of it?
Comments (121)My husband and I put Bella Cera Monza french oak flooring (color Adriana) in our home about a year before we decided to sell. We loved it because it was the only engineered flooring I could find that actually looks like authentic traditional wide plank solid hard wood. There's no sheen to give it away. In fact a RE agent who sees tons of homes asked if it was solid wood and our installer who does tons of floors said he wanted it for his home. We got lots of compliments. We love it so much that we plan to put it in our new home that we're currently building....See MoreGood or bad brands Manufactured homes
Comments (120)I am not familiar with that manufacturer. That recent a model *should* have decent construction and insulation, but you never know. I’d suggest finding and hiring a home inspector that specializes in manufactured homes. Have the plumbing checked in particular, as I recall there being an issue with a type used widely in that time frame. Be sure the furnace, A/C, hot water heater, and roof have been replaced since it was new. Get receipts/proof of that. Or be sure the price reflects the need to replace those items. Find out about any owner/contractor performed repairs or alterations. If it is in a park, get a copy of the park rules before committing, and talk with a few random residents about the management. Do they repair the things that are their responsibility, or do they put it off? If it is on land in the country, be sure the well and septic system are inspected (generally health department) and in good shape....See MoreProgress pics - floor and fireplace
Comments (22)Dilly, it will probably be a few more weeks before the room is completely arranged. We waited to order the cabinets that will go against the fireplace wall until the wall was framed to ensure that the measurements would be correct. It is a good thing because we ended up making the fireplace a little wider than originally planned and had to shave a couple of inches off the cabinets - which is a lot easier when they are still on paper. This is what that wall should look like after we are done: The first cabinet to the left of the fireplace speaker cloth section will have a pull out component rack for amplifier, media computer, DVD, etc. The rest of the cabinetry will handle media, toys and some kitchen overflow as well as the front three speakers. The subwoofer will sit on the floor by the right side of the windows. We had a speaker cable installed in the wall to that spot for it. We already have the TV mounted. Our GC is such a dear - he had asked if we wanted blocks put in behind the drywall to attach the mount. We said we didn't think we needed them because the mount has a lot of slots for adjusting to where the joists were and it seemed like it would work. After the room was painted but fortunately before touch up, we found that the change in fireplace dimensions had put the joists in just the wrong position and we needed blocks after all. He came over and put them in before the touch-up was done and there is no evidence of the surgery he did on the drywall. He didn't complain and was very sweet about it. We will stay pretty light on furniture in the family room because it leaves plenty of play space for the grand children. A couch will sit between the island and the fireplace wall (facing the TV and fireplace of course, except, when we are going to have a party, we sometimes move the couch against the side wall to make more space). We also have a chair with an ottoman which is nice but takes up a lot of floor space. When we replace the couch, we might get a couch and love seat or something that allows an L shaped seating configuration with some seating along the side wall opposite the window wall. We have a rug that goes in front of the couch. Actually, we have two - a very nice one that we bought in Istanbul which is rolled up until the grandkids get a bit older and an inexpensive one that no one will be bothered about if it gets ruined. The inexpensive one does a good enough job of giving some warmer floor space for kids play for now. That is pretty much it for family room furniture. There are two stools and a learning tower at the island overhang. Here is the table in the breakfast room: I took this shot for the table thread so I pulled some of the chairs away to show the structure of it. Eastern windows to the pond in the front courtyard are behind me in that photograph....See MoreThe Cosmetic Wonders of Mulch
Comments (50)Bart, here we're in stodgy northern Italy, distinctly not home to numbers of people who understand garden design or even much like plants. Quite a few people do like flowers and color, which is endearing, and the hills are beautiful, but I know of only one garden locally that I really like. Central Italy, or parts of it, may be distinctly different. I remember a vacation years ago not far from Lucca, where I walked around the small town where we were staying marveling at people's yards. The camellias and pink spirea and orchids in cans suggested an affection for plants that I seldom see here, where most green seems to be simply part of the home decor, required for the socially necessary 'bella figura'. I know we have a difference of opinion on the subject of photinia. Actually I agree about hedges of pure photinia, which I place on a par with forsythia pruned into balls or squares: both cases of plastification of shrubs that are marvelous when left to develop their natural form and mingle with other plants. Photinia has to be mixed with other shrubs, preferably ones more subdued in color than it is, and then it works very well. At least, that's what I think. I have a good deal of it scattered through the garden, as I like leathery foliage and appreciate photinia's massive toughness. I've bought a lot of baby plants over the years from Vivaio Dendroflor of Bologna, spending two or three euros a plant for minute specimens that actually adapt more easily to planting out than larger plants, though they take longer to grow to size. It's thanks to Dendroflor that I have the garden full of yews, flowering ash, Mahonia aquifolium, common lilac, forsythia, eleagnus 'Ebbingei' and a zillion other plants. They have a minimum order of eighty-five euros, which has rarely been a problem given the amount of space I have to fill in my garden. I just took a look at their site and find it's uncommunicative about prices and available plant sizes--it may be necessary to get a user ID and log on--and I haven't ordered from them for two or three years. However I've dealt them since 2004 and have always found them to be honest, competent, and helpful. Oh, more notes. My agapanthus gets morning sun only, which may be beneficial, but it's unirrigated and blooms regularly; also, cold has never damaged it. I leave the old foliage to cover it for protection during winter. My patch has been in place for over a decade. I don't know where to get 'Pissardii' myself, but it is common here, so I should be able to find it. Though I must admit there are some locally common plants that I can't track down, like the pink-flowered variegated weigela I've wanted for years, or the glorious cool pink double tree peony I admire every spring. The quality of tree peonies on offer in local nurseries seems to have deteriorated in late years, to the point that I'm reluctant to buy them. I suspect that each year brings a different group of varieties, all glorious, and that this particular kind hasn't been offered since I've been here. On our southfacing, hot, dry hillside we have oaks and flowering ash, and never chestnuts; but chestnuts grow on the opposite north-facing side of our hill, and are common at higher elevations, along with beeches. Our local town five miles away and in the bottom of the valley with its alluvial soil again has different vegetation....See Moretomoftarsus
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