Building my own house! Will need advice as I go!
DFW Rusty
4 years ago
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DFW Rusty
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In My Mind I'm Going ... Need Advice & ...?
Comments (26)Gdionelli, thanks for the tip on the music store - as a member of MTNA, I'll get in touch with the South Carolina chapter when I get there, and that will give me a networking base. As far as amending soil goes, that's been in the works here for several years - my soil is good part sand, and underneath that, rock, so compost is the name of the game. I have heard about the clay in the Carolinas. Any possibility I'll escape Japanese beetles? Susan, plants have priority over clothes in this move, LOL. I'm hoping to take a piece of that Bluebird hibiscus that I gave Tiffy seeds from a few years ago (has that bloomed yet, Tiffy?). I also have some hydrangeas (one that bloomed beautifully after a 7-year wait, waaaah) I bent and pinned branches down to root in the fall (serendipity?); I hope that was successful and I can cut them loose and pot them up in the spring. Rich, that something that will remind me of my NE home has to be a rosa rugosa - I have successfully grown them from seed from Planting Island Beach (how appropriate is that?), and I will try some alba seeds from the bush my Mom gave me when we moved here in '96 as well. Mary and Tiffy, the other thing I'm taking in lieu of clothes is my overstuffed seed box. And I'm still trying to figure out a way to take the compost. Thanks for all your support, folks - this has been a bit of a rough week. I announced the move (via email) to my students, and the feedback I'm getting is that they are pretty devastated about it, especially the younger ones. And because this is a small town, by the time I arrived at school for the concert today, the music teachers already knew. When I get teary about it, I remind myself that not everyone is sad - there will be a couple of neighbors doing the happy dance when I go (this is true, and not a huge deal :))!...See MoreBuilding a home .. need some advice
Comments (3)Sorry, I have zero advice to offer with respect to colors and granite choices. I don't even know what color winestone is tho I'm guessing it's probably a deep maroon shade which sounds like it would be pretty. But I have to actually SEE colors together to decide what I like and even then, I wouldn't begin to hazard a guess about whether other people would like my choices or consider them utterly gauche! BUT, there is a home decorating forum on GardenWeb and there are some real decorating whizzes that post there regularly! They'll already KNOW what Giallo Veneziano and Tropical Brown granite look like and I swear, some of them must own paint chip decks from every paint manufacturer in existence! If you'll repost your question there, I'm sure you'll get helpful advice. There are even some regular posters on that forum who can and will do photoshop mock-ups for you to help you make your choices. Good luck!...See MoreFirst time building my own pool. Need help with some basic questions.
Comments (3)Hi Guys, Thanks for replying. Actually not even using it as a Spa. Its just a water body kind of thing for us. My bungalow is very small and hence we couldn't afford any more space for a pool even if we wanted to. So this pool (or water body as id like to call it) is only for visual appeal. Its located outdoor and is open to the sky and direct sunlight on it for about 4 hours. Secondly, im in India. Nobody here heats a pool at least as far as i know. We have only burning summers & other times summer. There is no actual winter in my country, at least in my state, as the temperature in winter is only as low as 23degree centigrade. That's our winter. We have gone with a combo filter from EMAUX POOLS brand. It comes with a .2hp pump and a sand filter matched for it by the company itself. This is ideal since i intend to run the pump on solar power (owing to abundant summer sunlight more than id like to have) and the pump shouldn't have a huge start-up power draw. Usually motors take about 3-4 times their rated power when they start ? Hence this small pump was preffered and they said its about 8000 ltrs per hour capacity. My pool has 6000 ltrs in it. I also heard the cartridge filters are very sticky and dont wash or hose out easily. Apart from this the pool company only advised us to use chlorine granules and brush the pool daily (or even alternate days, since its very minimally used). The location of the home is in the city outskirts so not much of dust and no trees around. Its located in the middle of a 20 acre grass land. What else will i need to do to maintain this pool on daily basis ? Thanks...See MoreBuilding dream home, architect wants cost plus 12%, need advice.
Comments (66)I built my custom home and design it as well. It was my first and I was very green. My advise is make sure you know what you want and what you are willing to pay for. Learn who your builder is and do not trust too much when they start tell you what you (should) want. I learned the hard way and two months into the build project I had to practically live at the construction site. The builder did not like it much but it was my house and not his so I did not care. We budded heads when he kept defaulting to "his standards". He was good for the big strokes but when it came down to the details he failed. Pick out as many items as you can upfront so you can get a very good idea of cost. We went $50k over budget and that was because the builder's defaulting to "his standards" at the budget discussion table that I was not aware of until we were into the build project. I initially took his advise on some designing, I wish I didn't. When I became the wiser I starting taking things back in my own hands. And I am speaking of selections like cabinetry, windows, flooring tile, countertops doors, decking materials and much more finishes. I had a budget I wasn't suppose to go over and he, the builder, did not make it clear as to what we were going to get within that budget. I do not regret that I went over. And I tell you if I had another $50k laying around I would have used it up....See MoreDFW Rusty
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