Does having a pet mean a smelly home?
gwlolo
10 years ago
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Does a small home mean square footage?
Comments (8)Growing up in a family with seven kids, we lived in a variety of houses, thanks to Dad's military career. You'd think with nine people in the family, a small house would be out of the question, but we lived in some undoubtedly small houses. At one point, the military housing we were given was a small ranch house--three bedrooms, a galley kitchen, and a rectangular living/dining room space, one bathroom. Plus a small laundry/storage room off the kitchen. No attic or basement. Probably around 1300 square feet. We survived. The master bedroom was the boys' room, with two sets of bunk beds. My parents and the current baby had the next smaller room, and my sister and I had the smallest room. The large walk-in closet off the front entry was turned into a tiny office for my father. For one thing, we didn't have a lot of stuff. And we were sent to Catholic school, so we had our school uniforms, a dressy outfit or two and a few things to wear for playing around the house. So everything fit. And we had a large backyard to play in, and a playground within easy walking distance and a very safe neighborhood on the base. We lived in 3 or 4 variations of that house, although all the rest had 4 bedrooms and 2 baths. We never seemed crowded, although a lot of that is most likely due to the fact that we never accumulated a ton of stuff--with every move, we weeded and discarded things. We also lived in what I still call a "mansion." Formal living room, formal dining room, 20' x 20' kitchen, two pantries, a servant's room, five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a music room and a sunporch. Plus the huge front porch and a small back porch. And a full basement plus attic. Lots of built-in cupboards and closets in the upstairs hallways. Funny how everything expanded to fit that space. More of us had rooms to ourselves. We had a separate TV/family room, instead of having the TV in the living room (my parents disliked the TV in the living room, but had no choice in most of the places we lived). We accumulated more stuff, but it never seemed like it, because there was so much more space. While my mother really liked that house (and it was a lovely older house), it had problems. It was so big that calling everyone to dinner was a problem. Stuff got scattered around the house and no one picked it up, whereas in the smaller houses, it was easier to see when something was out of place. And easier to put it back, because you didn't have to walk so far. I'm convinced that smaller houses work better than larger houses--easier to clean, easier to tidy up. But the house has to be carefully planned. Adequate storage has to be built-in. The use of the rooms has to be thought out. I don't think it matters if you have one open living space or separate living/dining rooms and a separate kitchen, so long as the space works for the way you live....See MoreDoes this mean I CAN'T install central air? Xpost w/manufactured homes
Comments (17)Wow! You've all given me a lot to think about. Thanks! Ionized--my fuel source is electricity. Very few people use any kind of gas out here because it's a lot more expensive. After rewiring the house and doing whatever I decide to do with HVAC, my next project will be a wood burning stove. I hope for it to be our (my adult daughter lives with me) primary heat source, as well as our emergency backup for power outages. It will be another expensive upgrade, as I have to use a stove specifically approved for use in a mobile home, and it must be installed by a certified licensed contractor. A county inspection has to be done at the half way installation point and at the end. Don't get me wrong--I'm very glad these safety regs are in place! It just makes it expensive. Oh, and ducts are mostly inside, but in a manufactured home they have to get to them from under the house, as I understand it. That means crawling under the house, which is no fun. I hear you telling me maintenance is required and I will make sure that's done on a regular basis. Klemperer, thanks for the reassurance. I'm not sure if we'll have to move out for HVAC install--I know we will for the rewiring. As you probably know, these old mobile homes were wired with cheap aluminum wiring that isn't even legal anymore. Even if the system wasn't failing, I'd still rewire just for safety. It's wired for 100 amps; I'm thinking I should upgrade to 200 amps, to meet the demands of a future kitchen remodel and our modern electronics. Thoughts? SnidelyWhiplash--Love the name! Fond memories of watching of watching cartoons--Wacky Races!-- with my brothers back in the day! You are right--I'm dumping a lot of $$ into a 37 year old manufactured home. But I have my reasons. I cannot qualify for a conventional home loan, and I hate debt of any kind. I decided to buy an old manufactured home from a close friend for cash. I'm refurbishing it subfloor to roof. Without going into a huge long story, I'm an academic researcher and I have a research grant (private, not government) whereby I get a chunk of money three times a year that I can use however I want. I've designated $6,000 each trimester for home refurbishing, and the rest I live on. The home will never be worth what I'm putting into it, but at the end of the day, I'll have a well-built, comfortable home that I own outright. I will live here the rest of my life, Lord willing and the creek don't rise, and then it will go to my daughter. So ROI is not a concern for me. Money, however, is, so I want to do the smart thing financially. homepro01-- I agree. I'm sure the window unit in the LR is not well sealed. Luckily, we don't have a mosquito problem here, and really not many bugs. However, it certainly is insecure in terms of an access point for bad guys. At the moment, the unsealedness, if I may make up my own word, is the least problematic of my insulation concerns, but I'm going to buff up the insulation substantially when I put in new flooring, siding, and roof. Nevertheless, it is a point well taken. Thanks. HVAC consulting--Thanks. I know I can get a mini split that does heat (heat pump), a/c, and dehumidifying, although as one poster mentioned, humidity is not a big issue in my neck of the woods. I hear what you're saying--how "big" I want to go will affect what other choices I make, and of course, my costs. And you are so right about mobile/manufactured homes--there are differences that must be taken into consideration. Based on everything you all have said, I think it would be prudent to get estimates for both central heat/air and the mini-split, which all things being equal I think I'm leaning towards. Since I will have to replace the furnace and the window a/c within a couple of years anyway, I think it makes sense to do it all in one shot. Once again I thank all of you so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to answer my questions! :-) I truly appreciate it. If anyone's interested, once I get estimates and make a decision, I'll let you know what's happening! Thanks! Have a great day! :-)...See MoreWhat does "back to school" time mean for your home?
Comments (28)Ahh. Back to school. With only one of four left in HS, Back-to-School is dwindling. It is so much simpler now. There is only one child in one sport. And only one to track along on their school work. We will have time to deal with our overdue HOUZZ projects now that summer R&R is over. So let me weigh in on the controversial mamby-pamby comment. Hate to see name calling. It's negative and unnecessary. As for patience with the new traffic patterns, this is to the parents who take their children to their bus stops and feel compelled to chat with the bus driver. Please DON'T. It is really inconsiderate. The bus drivers are at work. They don't have time for social hour. It may brighten your day to "brighten their day" but it is not the time nor the place to "make a difference in the bus drivers' lives". I have been part of huge lines where the same parents do it daily. All the cars that are stuck behind the bus (and lawfully NOT passing the school bus) actually have somewhere to go. They sure do. Maybe it is an appointment. Or maybe, just maybe, they are trying to get to their job. Keep that in mind. Fortunately it is a small number of parents who want to chat it up. Unfortunately it has a big impact....See MoreDo you unplug your tree when you leave the house if you have pets?
Comments (26)Over 50 years ago, my parents had a cat. Every Christmas, we would find Mehitabel (yes, named for the famous cat in the book, Archie and Mehitabel) sitting on a sturdy branch, right up against the trunk of the tree, staring at us like the Cheshire cat. Now this was a tree with that old-fashioned tinsel put on it, lovingly one or two pieces at a time (it took forever!), and not one strand was out of place. We never saw Mehitabel get up in the tree, nor did we ever witness her descent. She looked quite lovely with her eyes "glowing" from the tree lights! She was quite a character. None of our cats ever got up IN the tree, but they did knock it over during the night one time (nasty old-style Christmas tree stand). We tied it to something from then on and never again heard that unmistakable sound in the middle of the night....See MoreHappyladi
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