Biggest lesson learned when buying your home?
Emily H
6 years ago
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Lesson learned from buying seeds
Comments (17)How I am going to cull will depend on the cross. I bought most crosses with the specific intent of making sib crosses or even crossing back to the parent (when I own it). I don't expect anything of value to come through in the first generation. In those cases, I will make seeds, destroy the all the sibs, and then select in the following generations for horticultural merit. And by this I mean tall scapes, topped with large, flat and abundant flowers - good foliage, too. A plant with good proportions. I know it's against the trend, but I'm not hung up on branching, it's not the end-all and be-all. I think a high scape:fan ratio is a valuable statistic, too. I have a seedling that doesn't branch at all, and is awash in well distributed blooms, great shape, great color... scapes like crazy (its flaw: very weak, skimpy foliage). Other crosses will be ready for selection next summer. To give an example, I think "Born To Run" has a superb floral face and color. I actually bought "Born To Run" to compare it to all the seedlings I have grown in order to have a gold standard. To know if "Born To Run" is improved upon, I must have that plant... So to condense all this rambling, what you select depends on the cross....See MoreBiggest lesson learned painting the exterior of your home
Comments (3)We did not do the painting ourselves but did get references from the painter we did hire. Here's our before and after:We went around our neighborhood and compared paint choices on a lot of other houses to see how we felt about making changes. Originally I wanted a darker and slightly less intense teal, but the painter wanted to use a different brand of paint, and so I settled on a more intense color. It was exactly the hue that I wanted, and my brother preferred it, and now I am happy that we used this color instead. Our house is on the west side of Los Angeles, less than three miles from the beach, and so color schemes here are probably brighter than most parts of the country, except Florida. I'm very glad to be rid of the fake shutters, and I don't miss the planter shelf, even though it was original to the house from 1950. We never used it, and so it only collected dirt. The front yard is busy enough without it....See MoreBiggest lesson from redoing your floors?
Comments (9)I like Emily's Posts. I'm less fond of Emily Post, however. When we redid our wood floors, I made sure that no polyurethane was used, and we only used a waxed finish. This way I can keep them looking like new indefinitely and never have to have them refinished again. I had poly on floors before and hated it, as it does not wear well and has to be completely redone once it is damaged. If waxed floors get scratched, it is easy to buff out the scratches and simply rewax them. I also would never have laminate....See MoreLessons learned from your build?
Comments (50)We are 3 weeks away from closing on our custom build job. Here are my "lessons learned". 1. Hire a local architect. We were referred to a draftsman to draw up our plans. We were not trying to save money, he just came highly recommended. We initially thought he did a good job, but once framing started, it became obvious there were many mistakes. Our builder even had to hire a structural engineer to come make framing recommendations because the plans were so off. 2. Take your time trying to find the right builder. We spent 6 months interviewing builders. We ended up using the one that checked off the most boxes for us. We saw a custom home he was currently working on, we talked to a former client, we talked to some real estate agents who had several clients successfully use him, we talked to an interior designer who had worked with him and we felt like our personalities would get along. Most importantly, he lived 5 minutes from our build site and he only builds 2-3 houses a year. And the best part of all, he is on the job-site every day (as he said he would be). Definitely worth the 6-month process. 3. The amount of decisions that need to be made is overwhelming. For me. there was no way I could pick everything out before going under contract with the builder. I hired an interior designer to help me pick out everything from the foundation brick color, cement colors, and patterns, Hardiplank, windows, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, sinks, tubs, trim styles, cabinet styles, countertops, tiles, paint colors, flooring selections, stairway trim, hardware for doors and even the door styles. We drove out of town together to go look at specialty countertops and she was worth every penny. 4. Take pictures of each stage of construction. We live too far away to check on the house more than every week or two. Having the pictures helps us to see where the pipes are behind the walls for picture hanging. 5. Treat the subcontractors well and show your appreciation for what they are doing. I was very pleased with several of our builder's subcontractors and would compliment their work. They have put their best into building my house and everyone likes positive affirmations. One contractor even gave me quite a bit of his products at cost because I was so appreciative. 6. Have a home inspection. Yes, the county building inspector will come by, but you really need a home inspection just like someone who is buying a resale home would do. That way, no stone is unturned. Even the best of contractors can make a mistake or forget something, 7. Have patience. It will take longer than you think it will....See MoreLillian Herceg
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