New construction woes help..zone 7 North Carolina
hartcm08
7 years ago
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hartcm08
7 years agoRelated Discussions
rooster woes
Comments (21)I lost the first version of this, so apologies if it posts twice: Help! I'm stumped by this one: Has anyone ever had a rooster who won't mate? We got a flock of 25 hens and two roosters last September. Due to mis-sexing we ended up with five roosters. It was clearly too many once they reached maturity, so we culled three. The two remaining Aruacana boys unfortunately became quite a team; rather than fighting each other, they ganged up on the hens. They were both on the hens constantly, usually one right after the other. So we culled the more aggressive one, Falcon. (Our kids named all our roosters.) That left "Banana." Since his sidekick's demise, Banana does all the things a rooster does except, um, the most important. He crows, he guards the hens, he looks vigilant. But we have seen NO signs of any mating going on since Falcon departed a month ago. Two of our hens have gone broody and we were hoping to hatch another flock. But I hate the idea of dealing with either sitting hens or an incubator for three weeks only to find we have a lot of unfertilized eggs. We joke that Banana fears meeting Falcon's fate, or that he was just posturing to impress Falcon, but honestly -- has anyone ever heard of this happening before? Maybe he's just a lot, er, quieter and more subtle than before when he had competition? Advice is appreciated, Meredith...See MoreNew Construction - Rheem vs Trane
Comments (14)Agree with above comments. For some reason I misread your previous post and thought they were pairing XL15i units with 4TEC blowers - my mistake. The XR15's and 4TEE air handlers are good matchups. That's a 5 ton air handler on the 3.5 ton unit but this is okay as long as they adjust the airflow for 3.5 tons. Same goes for the other air handler -- the airflows need to be changed from factory settings or else you will have too much air for the given tonnage. Very important. No problem with Trane equipment -- it is a good product -- but you may wish to investigate Carrier's product line as well....See MoreBudget Woes
Comments (18)This seems a high, and I would get more quotations. For a simpler project with no wall removals and no relocations, you might consider acting as your own GC. My KD had a list of recommended GCs but also had the option of going with separate contractors. It means more work and more risk, but big savings. I'm trying to examine your breakdown and figure out what is covered by your labor quote. Does it include plans, permits, demo, cleanup, appliance install, and most important GC markup on the other items being managed? Depending on where you live, the GC markup can add 15 to 25% to the cost of the other items being managed. My most expensive labor-related item was the electrical. Rewiring the entire kitchen and then putting up new drywall and matching existing texture in the entire space was much higher than I originally expected. In total, those two items were almost a third of my 18K labor bill (out of a roughly 70K kitchen). Edit to add -- and i had a wall taken down, utilities rerouted, a sink and water line moved, and a bunch of stuff you are not having done. This post was edited by gooster on Fri, Aug 30, 13 at 15:28...See MoreHelp with new construction landscape design
Comments (22)Sarahbr2 I just want to mention a few more things. The house is two story and faces north. The plants closest to the facade will get shade most of the day. You need to be sure the plants you choose do not require full sun. By the way, when I say the plants closest to the house I hope you know that shrubs should be planted at least two feet away from the wall of the house. Most ornamental grasses require full sun. I much prefer Yardvaarks offered drawing to the one your former landscape designer left you with. First, your designer wanted to hide some of the walk with plants near the entrance. I like a clear and obvious path to the door. I also think there was too much variety of plants in the original design. Too many and it just looks like a hodge podge. I did not like the planned Hollies near the porch stairs. In time they would crowd the steps and dwarf all the other plants. I like low things for that area. I wish I could help choose plants but I know little of your zone. I think you should seek advice on the Perennials forum for something that grows in a northern exposure. Show them the drawing Yardvaark made. Mature plant height is important if you don't want to spend a lot of time shearing. You want to be sure the porch is not obscured from view. I would love to hear what you decide on. As far as budget is concerned you can relax and do a little at a time if you have a plan. Luckily your house is good looking and does not require shrubs to keep it pretty....See Morehartcm08
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7 years agoLogan L Johnson
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoPlant Map
7 years agoMike McGarvey
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agohartcm08
7 years agoLogan L Johnson
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoLogan L Johnson
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7 years agoLogan L Johnson
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