Asking for suggestions for dealing with my CD collection
kudzu9
2 years ago
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kudzu9
2 years agoRelated Discussions
A horrible suggestion for dealing with Japanese Beetles
Comments (44)Heh....I know what to do, go to the neighbors that cause you the MOST TROUBLE to you and your family since you moved there. Hide a bunch of JB traps in their undergrowth!! Go out with a pen lite at night and collect the full ones! I'm just JOKING, but it IS A BIT of a cleverishly demented idea! I'm think of the man whose dog always leaves a surprise by the hydrangeas when he thinks we aren't watching. ( oh, we are....it's just that he is a big dude with a big dog- we know its him, the poops are in same spot and the same size/color...oh...sorry for the TMD. ) our dog is big also, (a beautiful walker coon hound) but she is basically a chicken. Never barks when the doorbell rings, barks/howls only when she wants in house or is hungry. Then her howls can send shivers down people's backs all over the neighborhood. here is a trick that bears to be tried: anyone willing to experiment?⬇ On another post a person, SOFl, suggested a shop vac or a dust buster!...See MoreSuggestions on How to Deal with Our Problem Painter?!?!
Comments (9)You haven't mentioned where you are in your budget, but I just found myself in a similar spot and I'll share how I dealt with it in case it helps you. I don't know if your situation is salvageable because it doesn't sounds like you trust this guy AT ALL, but just in case there is a way, here goes: First: our GC is my Dad, who is a professional builder but has more experience with commercial work or large-scale residential, not single family custom homes. Next: the painter we hired was the painter I used in our last home, who re-painted every room in the house in my new colors and did a great job. Our problem in a nutshell: This painter quoted the interior paint job thousands less than the others ($16K vs. $23K+) and the final negotiation between my dad and the painter resulted in $12K. (The house is 7500 sq ft in metro Atlanta area for comparison's sake.) We are on a seriously tight budget, so the price really mattered and dad felt he could watch the guy like a hawk. Which he did, until it became clear that the painter was only going to do a primer coat and one finish coat, which did not (NOT!) cover the walls fully. So then dad and the painter got into it and dad terminated him, which resulted in the painter threatening to lien the house. (We are in the midst of securing our permanent financing so a lien would really stink right now.) Bottom line: there was no contract (!!!) which dad claims is OK because he says in a right to work state a GC can hire and fire at will, and this kind of work does not have to be formally contracted. (I wince when I hear this, because I am Consumer Reports-reading conservative rule-follower.) The painter then says he is done and is owed the remainder of his contract (amount of remainder in dispute, for other uninteresting reasons, bur range is $1600-$2800). And, if I want more paint on the walls, it will be another $3500. So, to: A) avoid a lien, B) attempt to find a win-win, and C) get my house painted, I offered the painter a written agreement to complete the job - including full wall coverage - for $2200. And, if he completed the work by Friday at 5 p.m., I would double the amount and pay him $4500. I wrote a 6 page document outlining the situation, the offer, and the requirements to get the $4500. I told him he was free to sign and do the work or not sign and we were done. He signed, and he's at work now doing what seems to be a nice job so far. Essentially, my strategy was to "start over" with him and identify clearly what had to be done and for how much and by what time. Then I got his signature. If you think your situation has the potential to work, then perhaps you could start over, too. I hope whatever you decide works out in the end. I have no idea if my strategy was smart because the work is not done yet. But, for now at least the paint is going up on the walls, and if it is OK in the end, I will have gotten the interior painted for $15K (including material costs) which I can afford. I am pretty sure the painter is coming out ahead of where he thought he would be, but I am OK with that if the work is good. Whether $15K is an appropriate amount for 7500 sq ft interior painting in Atlanta, I have no idea, but I hope at least it is not WAY too much. Good luck!...See MoreReview my floorplan want to go to CD this week
Comments (8)Congratulations on your upcoming build! This is a nice plan overall. I really like the master bath and the office off the master bedroom! The things that stood out to me that I would recommend taking another look at were: -Do you really want a giant window in the master bedroom (opposite the bed wall I'm assuming) that looks out onto the back porch where your kids, relatives & friends might be hanging out? Also, what is the view potential for such a large window--a wall, a door and an angled fireplace. Now the fireplace you're planning may be a beauty, but I don't think the trade-offs are worth it. -The door onto the back porch from the breakfast room will be useless unless you 1)enlarge the breakfast room or 2)use a table for 2. Any table larger than a 2-seater with chairs around it will block the access pathway to the door--especially if someone is sitting in the chair on that end of the table. I would eliminate the door or eliminate the breakfast room. -While we're talking about the breakfast room--I know they are the "in" thing and you see them in just about every plan out there, but do you really need 3 places to eat? You have the island that will seat 4 comfortable on the side facing the family room and maybe another 1-2 on the end. You always hear people complain that they don't use their dining room--take this as an opportunity--delete the breakfast area, pulling that wall back even with the family room wall and use the dining room. If you do this, you can gain 5 things: 1)more $$$ as you are saving square footage, 2)elimination of an additional jog in the foundation (another money saver), 3)more back porch space, 4)more light in the actual kitchen (even though it is under the porch roof) & 5)you can gain more storage by adding another cabinet run along that end of the kitchen. -While we're talking about porch roofs--I know everyone says the porch will make your rooms dark. I would not say dark, just more shaded--you will get more ambient light than direct sunlight. With the rear of the house facing SW, I think the porch is an excellent idea. You are more likely to be sitting in the family room in the afternoon/evening hours and the porch will eliminate the late afternoon direct sunlight glare in your eyes & on the TV.You have plenty of windows in there, so you will have plenty of natural light (just make sure those windows are long to maximize the amount of light that enters). -I'd move the porch access door in the back hallway closer to the family room wall--it will give you more options with furniture placement & give the door a 'place to rest' when open. -I think the entries into the J&J baths are fine--we have that exact set up in DS1's room on the door location where there is a short wall with the vanity on the other side, then the door then a longer wall. It works great as he has a nightstand that goes in that space. To give you an idea using your plan--his bed is on the wall that backs up to the family room with the nightstand on the bathroom side--when he gets out of bed, the bathroom door is directly in front of him. If you plan to put the bed on that wall as well & you slide the door toward the family room door, whoever is getting out of bed will have to skirt their nightstand to get to the bathroom door. If you plan to put the bed on the wall where the closet is or on the bathroom wall, that little area makes a great place for a dresser. -More on the J&J bath--what if you eliminated some jogs in the foundation (saving money again) and pushed the J&J bath wall out to be even with the window seat bumpouts in the bedrooms & pushed the back of the house out 1-2' using that space in the J&J? Then you could give each bedroom it's own bath. With all the plumbing you've got going in there already it really shouldn't cost that much more. Besides you saved money on the foundation at that point, so it will likely be a wash. -Definitely make some to-scale furniture cutouts & place them in the plan where you see them fitting just to make absolutely sure everything fits. Make sure you consider bed upgrades in the future if you plan to stay in the home any length of time (i.e. kids have twin beds now & they fit, but later on you want to upgrade to queen beds, which are wider & longer, in those rooms). It's no fun once the house is framed to realize a room doesn't work the way you wanted it to. -I don't care for the walk-thru laundry room entry from the garage into the house. I know the W/D are set back, but it is still in a position to be an eyesore. I would add a wall separating the mudroom area from the actual laundry area and put in a door. -2'0" doorways are something to reconsider. 2'6" would be my absolute minimum with 3'0" being ideal. How long do you plan to stay in the home? Any possibility of older parents who may need crutches, walker or wheelchair coming to live with you in the future for any length of time? What about resale especially with 1/3 of the US population being obese? Doorway clearances are increasing becoming a very big deal. I would steer clear of smaller doors (less than 2'6") unless they are providing access to a small reach-in closet. -The shower stall in the guest bathroom is very tight, I would definitely consider stealing some space from the closet to make it larger. It looks like that would make the two walk-in closets in the secondary bedrooms the same size. -I would change the pantry door to an inswing vs. an outswing. You don't have any shelves on the wall that backs up to the family room so this shouldn't be an issue. That's all I have. Hope it helps!...See MoreDD asking for cookware for Christmas - suggestions?
Comments (4)I think my mom's had the same set of Revereware pans my entire life. I've had mine for 17 years now. I don't use the frying pans anymore since I've gotten some nice nonstick ones (I've got Circulon), but the saucepans and steamer get weekly if not daily use. I was almost tempted by an enameled cast iron dutch oven at Macy's today but it doesn't have a flat bottom so I couldn't use it on my solid stovetop. I didn't really need to spend any more money today anyway....See Morebadabing2
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