You husband has the right idea. Sandblast - then the paint will adhere better to the birdbath. Spray enamel - good quality - We it is done change the water occasionally and I bet the water will be a better quality than most. Good luck - Mike

I started putting seed out for the birds in the winter only. But they hung around expectantly in the spring, so I've continued feeding year-round, adding a couple bird baths. The entire area behind our tall, wooden fence has grown tall and wild - it's an unmaintained strip of "public utilities" land, and has become a natural habitat for birds (and other critters). So we have our backyard and gardens and the birds come and go from behind the fenced area. I bought an Audubon bird field book and enjoy looking up new visitors. There's always a new bird to id. Over the years I've added many suet feeders that attract all kinds of woodpeckers, nuthatches, and sapsuckers. All of the other "regulars" enjoy the suet occasionally, too, and all of them eat from the suet feeders year-round, not just in the winter. The biggest attraction, though, comes by way of everyone's favorite food that I now put out regularly on the deck rail - at least all the insect eaters: I buy inexpensive jars of dry-roasted, UNSALTED, peanuts. I run them through my food processor until they are crumbly. I have yet to see a bird that doesn't come and gobble them up, including the woodpeckers and especially the cardinals. We have hundreds of cardinals. The best part is in the spring, when the mother birds cram as much crumbled up peanuts as they can into their beaks and fly off to feed their babies, then come right back for more. This goes on all day and it makes me feel good that so many babies are being well fed. We've had several bluebird and mockingbird families come to our deck, as the young'uns grow and learn to fly. Later in summer, the visits pare way down, so I know they're on their own now as far as feeding themselves with insects or whatever they'd eat naturally. They don't come around much at all during the summer. It's really fun and interesting - I didn't start this expecting to be a "birder", but I guess that's what's happened. During the early winter, we have many birds stop by that aren't usually seen in NC, on their winter migrations to someplace warmer. Sorry for the long post!

Scully, yep - we are a bit warmer here, but it's the overnight hard freezes that crack birdbath basins. On cold winter days, if I notice an ice skim forming, I'll add warm water too, but if I'm gone for the day the risk of freezeover escalates. The heater works 24/7. We've had a warm fall too, but if the Old Farmers Almanac is right, once it gets here, we're in for it this winter. Btw - Everytime I open this thread I get a mental picture of Woodstock ice skating on the birdbath - brings a smile to my face ....... thanks! Another little aside is that in the heat of summer, I take a pitcher full of ice cubes out to the birdbath - the flapping about definitely increases when I cool it down! :o) Love my birds!

Much of this depends upon the area and the local market. Is this home in a "family" type neighborhood with children? If that was the case I'm sure many would prefer the 3 bedroom, even with 1 bath. Is it an area that appeals to singles or those without children? In that case, the 2 BR/2 BA would have more resale appeal.