Bought my first house! 1955 Craftsman Home. Help!
syntria
5 years ago
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Bought my first Mandevillas...Please help!
Comments (2)Thanks Vine Lover! Your Mandevilla looks beautiful. I'm not sure I understand. You said that you have had yours in the same round pot for 3 years, but then you also pot them up? I didn't understand that. To let you know, I've only been gardening for a little while, so I may be behind on some of the terminology. :-) So, do you recommend that I put my little mandevillas in a big pot right away? Thanks! Najia...See MoreFirst Home, First time appliance purchases, Help please!
Comments (7)We bought our counter depth Frigidaire Gallery FGHC2342LF model at Lowes for $1200 we love it. It's very attractive and works well. We like the in door ice and water dispenser. Previously we had a Samsung RSG257AARS at our previous condo (sold with the condo). It was similar in form and function but cost $2400. So far we are just as happy with the less expensive fridge but we have not owned it very long so I can't speak to longevity. For dishwashers, I will never again buy a Whirlpool or any line made by the same company (that includes now Maytag, Frigidaire, and Kitchen Aide, possibly a few more!). We had a Whirlpool "Gold" dishwasher in our previous home, the motherboard died at 13 months of age - only 1 month out of warranty! Whirlpool would do nothing for us, not even offer us a discount on a future appliance or the part. The replacement part was $250 plus installation labor. Apparently the same motherboard is used in all the dishwashers made by Whirlpool, Frigidaire, Maytag, KA, etc. and it is notorious for failing. We chose to replace the Whirlpool with an entry level Bosch SHE43P05UC dishwasher, on sale at a local specialty appliance store for $600. I loved that dishwasher, I wish we could have taken it with us when we sold the place! Stainless inside and out, beautiful, whisper quiet, and everything came out clean, even with very hard water, every time. The Bosch warranty is 1 year complete and 5 years for parts including electronics/motherboard (which makes me feel better about the quality of the electronics). So when we bought our current home it came with a cheap-looking Frigidaire. It's "stainless look" which next to real stainless just looks silly. Anyway it stopped draining and it appears the pump is dead, and the part and labor to replace it is not worth it for a dishwasher that was not great to begin with. So I am at home today awaiting the delivery of our new Bosch SHE3AR56UC, this time in white, but still stainless inside, where it counts. Our cabinets are white so with the stainless version costing about $150 more, we opted for white this time to blend in with the cabinets. We had a Whirlpool Gold range at the old place and the new place also came with a Whirlpool range. Ours is entry level and just OK. We'll replace it some day but Whirlpool ranges seem OK based on my experience. We have an LG washer again model WM2650HWA (we had LG also at the previous home - so happy with it we bought another) and a Hotpoint cheap dryer. I didn't want to pay more for a fancy matching dryer since we didn't need to stack it- this one dries just fine! But I did want the front loading water efficient washer for 2 reasons - it is on the second floor and if the washer ever leaks, FL's have much less water in them so a disastrous flood is not as likely. Also water is expensive in CA and saving water is important, and after the $150 in rebates the LG on sale was actually cheaper than a top loader. This model WM2650HWA has steam and gets things nice and clean, they also solved the issue of smelly washers by putting a magnetic seal on the door so that when not in use it stays slightly open to dry, without endangering children or pets. It seems to me that you can't just choose one brand for each appliance, few brands make quality items for different applications. So you may want to gather some info on each type of appliance and find the best deal/quality rather than looking for a matched set. They tend to look the same once installed as long as the finish is all real stainless (some are just "stainless look" which is metallic painted plastic and I'd rather have white than that!)...See MoreIs My Home a Craftsman? Victorian?
Comments (9)Lazy - I do have interiors - I'll dig some out later on today (hopefully will remember!). Columbusguy - that's a shame about the gutters, especially since I recently had them replaced as the old (replaced?) ones were in awful condition, falling off the house and causing water infiltration into the basement. Seeing as you said that, now it makes sense that they were. They were not attached properly at all, and the contractor was somewhat puzzled about how they were put on in the first place. I mean, they were kind of just hanging there on hooks. He said it was a haphazard kind of job and he had to actually build new fascias for the new ones. Which wasn't surprising considering the overall condition of the home. I also was sure the porch railing was not original by a long shot. It just looks too rough and basic. I'd like to replace it at some point but not now. It's in decent condition, sturdy at least, and we just had the floor of the balcony repaired for leaks to the porch. My bigger concern is trying to find a material for the floor of the porch itself, as it only is a torch down and it's terribly unattractive to look at from the bedroom you access it from. The contractor is trying to come up with a solution for that (wood slat decking most likely). Anyway, had I known the gutter situation, perhaps I may have found someone more adept at recreating a more original look for the home, although my money at this point isn't holding out too well. As everyone knows these homes are a labor of love! I purchased the home for $225K, and have already spent another $200K over that to renovate - much on safety issues (electrical, plumbing, water remediation, new windows, and even the kitchen remodel goes under that category as it was not usable in the condition I got it in). So much more still needs to be done (the main bathroom is falling apart daily but it all works - it's a cosmetic issue) but nothing right now which is really pressing so I'm at a much needed lull for a while other than minor things, like light fixtures....See MoreI just bought my first house plant (Dracaena) - help me not kill it
Comments (18)You have to know what you're doing with rescues. And the success rate is lower than with healthy plants bought new. In addition, there is sometimes a good reason why the plant was thrown out (pest infestation, fungus, mold, other contagious diseases, etc.). Not everyone wants to hunt though things thrown out, take those risks, and wait years for a lovely mature plant (assuming that even happens). As Caro123 says, sometimes you just want a nice plant. If I were getting a first plant, I'd want to know it was healthy so as to give myself and the plant the best chance at a happy relationship. Also, when you're new to a field, it's hard to know what a good price for something is. And that is a beautiful, big, healthy-looking plant. I don't think we should be too hard on No Thanks, just help them along as requested. No Thanks, it's good that you came here. This site has lots of friendly, knowledgeable and experienced plant lovers that are happy to help. Welcome, and good luck with your beautiful plant....See MoreUser
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