One of the advantages of being retired
glenda_al
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
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marilyn_c
4 years agoUser
4 years agoRelated Discussions
How does this sofa look? Retiring the old one.
Comments (20)Thanks y'all!! Funkyart- I am glad you ordered the sofa you WANT!! You know what's the difference over the life of the sofa for getting what you want. The green/brown color sounds pretty.Show us a pic of your new to be sofa!! BTW, this is a Henredon. They had a factory clearance this weekend so I was pleased with the price. Les, yes, I need a big tray for the ottoman. I have been looking but the ones I like are way more than I want to spend. I'll pop on the right one. I noticed in the pic how the leathers didn't play too nicely, too. But irl it looks alot better. You have really been so helpful with this room. Thank you very much:) Squirrelly - my head just blew up like a big balloon!! You think I have special touch:) I am flattered. I have to disagree and have actually called a decorator to come help me. Jim - Wonderful, wonderful. You have that knack of putting it all together that I lack. Love all your doggies and your staffordshire doggies, too. Sueb - My house is animal - like, too. Bird prints, rooster, french war with horses, ducks, geese decoy. Even an elephant print on a chair. Go on back and get you that pig on a bike - hee hee. Sounds cute and whimsical. Yes, I think that dog print was from Newhomebuilder's beautiful home. I like that one, too!! Thank you all so much. I greatly value the opinions here at the GW!! Smiles:)...See MoreTankless water heaters....one more advantage
Comments (16)No desire to start water-heater wars. I'm not a plumber, just another schmoe with the experience I reported and this particular emerging opinion based on that. My life -- as most others, I suspect -- has been lived in houses with myriad poor design features. My current house with this water heater tank configuration is certainly among them. The tank water heaters I've owned in my life have always failed in exactly the same way -- they begin leaking like this one did. In my (limited non-plumber) experience, I've never known a tankless heater to fail in this way so brought forth the observation that I think that is an advantage of tankless installations. If I'm wrong about that, I'm happy to learn about it. However, I live in a neighborhood with hundreds of tank water heaters in homes built in the late eighties and early nineties none of which have drip pans or any other configuration designed to prevent containment of leakage such as I've just experienced. The replacements that are made from time-to-time -- installed by licensed professional plumbers and inspected and signed off on -- do not include pans either. I agree they should, but I find it hard to believe an entire city/region should have such installs and replacements throughout if its not "code". I didn't know tankless heaters would fire without water flowing through them. (Have never known one to clog or leak either -- even some that are 20 years old.) Have never encountered that. All I know of have fail-safes built in that will not allow that to occur. No objection at all to differing opinions no matter how they're stated....See More2 homes for the Divorced Mom and the Retired Parents - one project
Comments (8)Welcome to a roller coaster ride of a life time! To start, you(parents and you) need to decide what is the best option. You might try listing all the wants and needs in a list. Keep in mind the possibility of a major life change. Now, generally, building new is faster/cheaper than extensive remodeling. Reason? Building new is just putting together the components of the building. Remodeling is removing, restructuring, and replacing parts of an existing building. Twice the work and labor. The differences depend a great deal on location. We bought a great house that was a foreclosure, built in 1965. I was able to do all the necessary work myself and we got the house for less than the appraised value. Even after all the work, our investments left us with equity. Had I had to have all that work done by others, we would have been over equity and upside down. And there was no structural rework needed. We could not have built new for less money in this area. On that list, include where you want to be 10 and 20 years from now. And projected needs. Will your parents need handicapped access? Is there room for expansion if necessary? Look at the projected changes in the area. How are the demographics changing? Example: My neighborhood was original owners and retirees 10 years ago. In a three block section of our street, there are about 25 homes. In 10 years, half of those homes have been sold. Most of the new families all have children. All of those new families, except one, are in their 30's and 40's. My wife and I were the 'New Kids' when we moved in, now we are the 'Old Couple'. All that change is fine with us, but had we expected things to remain the same(ala retirement home type life) we would have been disappointed. Once you have the wants and needs list in general terms(number of bedrooms/garage or not/single level or two story/and so on), you need to discuss cost. Two houses will cost twice what one will. Two houses will need twice the maintenance---yard mowing/leaf raking/snow removal/etc. One building(shared house/duplex) lessens the individual costs. But impacts personal styles/space differences. Your parents may need easy access down the road. A two story means that will be an issue. A single story/duplex minimizes that issue, but raises the cost of the building. As Virgil posted, you will need help. You need a professional who understands the dynamics of your situation. I'd hesitate to say a realtor would be the best choice. To find the house(s) you finally decide on to be sure, but not what to look for. Realtors are pro's who find/sell properties. There are realtors who can do what you need, but in my experience, those folks are far and few between. You should talk to different trades. Contractors, realtors, architects, and designers and find the person/firm that can best work with you towards your goal. Your feelings about that choice are important, but it will be a long journey. An extra 6-12 months in deciding on the best option will pay off later....See MoreIf you could go back and change one thing, what would it be?
Comments (46)I wouldn't have believed the societal message that the only honorable thing to do when having a baby, if you were unmarried in 1969, was to place that child for adoption, so he could have a "normal" stable, two parent home. It was not the best for him, nor was it good for me. The societal message was that it was the loving thing to do and the only way to redemption for the "sin" of pregnancy outside of marriage. That was immediately replaced by a new societal message: What kind of mother would give away her own flesh and blood? That "normal, stable" two parent adoptive couple divorced when he was 5 and he was raised by a single mother! I knew the minute I left my baby in the hospital and returned home without him that it was a mistake. But the adoption industry ($$) was so powerful, they would have young women believe that there was no turning back, no changing your mind. All lies. They had a baby to sell and there was no hope or help to fight them....See Morerob333 (zone 7b)
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