Let's play with my Snazzy Garottage project
To be economical, we're planning on a 2-story structure. The new garottage must meet city code and have more living than garage space--61% living space--but the city is allowing a screened porch to count as living (Yay!) so we want to incorporate that on the structure. We hope to get 2br, 1 bath, a kitchen(ette) and laundry from the living space above, and a large-ish garage space below. This is a summer vacation spot and family/guest overflow space is what we're after!
We're meeting with the city planner and our builder/carpenter this weekend. We have some general ideas from looking at plans online, but have not purchased any yet. We'll know more soon about what we can and can't do after talking to our people here.
I don't have a specific dilemma/question yet, but started the thread to have a spot to be able to do that. I'm sure I'll have TONS of things I'll need opinions about! So, I'd appreciate any feedback as this project moves along! I'm terrible at envisioning things, and more terrible at decorating, so I hope the feedback, suggestions, advice and encouragement will keep me sane and make this a snazzy garottage worthy of the lovely setting it's on. Thank you! :)
Comments (140K)
glschisler
2 days ago
fissfiss
2 days agoRred, is it a Montgomery Blue Spruce? It’s natural shape leans toward the Bird’s Nest Spruce, so not meant to be pointy at the top. And yes, mine grows toward the light, too.
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While husband's away I'll play project
Comments (11)Mentha, You just have to get creative. My husband (bless his pea-pickin'-heart) is a slug at home. We've lived in the same house for 21 years and to get ANYthing done takes forEVER because he feels HE has to do it (he IS in the construction industry, after all), but will he get out of the recliner and work on a project? Heck, no! So, for example, we talked and talked and talked about remodling the basement (for YEARS, mind you!!) Saved our money, HAD the money, but he never had the gumption to get it started. I finally started bringing contractors in to give me bids, which scared him into getting started. It still took a few months to get it done, but it got him off his butt!! As for my GH - and a lot of you have heard this one - I just waited until he wanted a "big ticket" item and negotiated that I would go along with HIS Harley if I could have a GH of equal value. Result: he was a little smarter about how much he spent on his Harley (because it did, in essence cost him twice as much!) and I got my GH. You just gotta know how to manipulate them - just do it with a big kiss-kiss and love-darts in your eyes! Here's another... I got a little inheritence when my Dad passed away - it's been sitting in savings for nearly 3 years now, earmarked for a complete remodel of the bathroom in our 88 year old house. My plan: as soon as I have a couple days off, take a sledge hammer to the walls while love-muffin is at work, then proudly show him how "helpful" I was to get started on our project when he comes home from work. He'll do a bad job of hiding his irritation (after all, he CAN'T be mad 'cuz I was being helpful!!), but then he'll kick into gear and get going on it, OR he'll concede to let me hire a contractor to get it started. It's all about the "win-win"!! Denise in Omaha...See MoreLet's play a new game called...What IS that?
Comments (23)OOO ooo oo, I guess it's some sort of way-to-big ant mound? I've seen that picture (one similar) on one of these forums and was amazed at what critter built it. Ah, Sherry! I was being slow and just understood your answer. Okay, I change my answer from ant mound to the same as Sherry's--"mother earth" Haaaa, LOL! Carla...See MoreAre the construction scraps safe for my kids to play with?
Comments (23)A short lesson on construction lumber. Lumber is cut from trees at a sawmill, stacked(with spaces between boards) and either air dried(6+ months or more) or kiln dried(in a huge heated oven for several hours) to remove most of the moisture in the wood. That stabilizes the wood so it does not warp as it dries. Untreated construction lumber is the same color all the way through a piece where a cross section is visible. Treatment is done to better protect the wood from moisture damage, insect infestation, or mold formation. The treatment consists of stacking the lumber on rail cars(usually specially built) and placing the rail cars in huge pressure chambers where the treatment liquid is introduced and the chamber pressurized to force the liquid into the wood fibers. Then the treated lumber is again dried to reduce the moisture from the treatment liquid. Often, due to demand, this second drying is shorter(and sometimes eliminated) in order to ship. That is why some treated lumber is heavier than standard. Properly dried treated lumber is virtually the same weight as untreated lumber. I've picked up treated boards that were dripping liquid. As long as I did not get that liquid in my mouth, on my face, or in my eyes, there were no bad effects---but I did wash. I also never used treated lumber that was that wet, since the probability of it warping was high. Treated lumber is generally only used where framing contacts concrete, dirt, or in wet areas. Treated lumber generally shows a different color in the center of a cross cut section. Newer treatment colors are yellow and light green. The previous treatments were copper, chromium, and arsenic(CCA) compounds. Those chemicals protected from moisture(the CC's) and insect(the A) infestation. Newer treatments are chemicals that offer similar protection without arsenic. (ACQ--Alkaline copper quaternary) There are external treatments that coat lumber in blue or pink colors, which are obvious. That coating is anti fungicide or fire retardant treatments.Those can be used as wall studs or ceiling/floor joists. Probably not a good idea to let kids play with scraps of those. So, standard, untreated construction lumber is simply trees made into boards and completely harmless(unless an allergy is present). Treated lumber is treated with chemicals and usually fairly recognizable. Best to dispose properly(DO NOT BURN!) and keep away from kids....See MoreWant to play? "My House in August"
Comments (47)Am late to the party, as I was getting ready for DD to get home for a visit from grad school (yippee!) , but here are mine. And, BTW, the rugs shown here are fantastic! I am lusting over a few of them. Cushion: I made this cushion/pillow cover from a Mexican wall hanging. Love it! Tiles: I am so proud of the tile and design I came up with for our kitchen reno. Ten years later and I still like it so much! Crema Marfil tumbled marble tiles in two sizes with metal tile inserts that are scattered throughout the kitchen. That's a real fireback inserted into my backsplash, BTW. Rug: Hand woven rug created here in New Mexico. DH fell in love and bought it for his study....See Morefissfiss
2 days ago
juliab51
2 days agoCiao! Jumping in to say we are having a marvelous time with such wonderful leisurely meals that every night is a late one. Genoa was very enjoyable, but we are now staying in the Cinque Terra which is charming beyond description.
ladma
2 days ago
liasch
2 days ago
samoken
2 days ago
mamabear2014
2 days ago
This is as close as I will ever get to cinque terre.
Lovely gardens, ladies! Lots of hard work!
Our long drive wedding weekend in Texas is over. Back home!
ladma
2 days ago
Molly
2 days agorredpenn
2 days agorredpenn
2 days agoDuckie Warning!
The following information is guaranteed to give Duckie the willies. Consider yourself warned.
Ok guys... so hear me out on this idea... LOLI think I have found a "something worth trying" to lay out on ya.
You all remember my scarecrow garden scene a week or so ago, where I had been treating some work clothes with permethrin spray to kill and repel ticks/chiggers while we are out working in our woodsy yard. The next day, I found a regular ole wood tick on our rug, so I did a test run. I dropped it onto the cuff of the hoodie I had treated, and watched in glee as it succumbed to a grand mal seizure and died after contacting the cuff for approx 15 seconds. The stuff DOES work!
Well, in my research on "tick eradication/prevention" I also found a product that was researched by the Harvard School of Public Health, and approved as an effective and safe way to reduce the tick population around our home. It's the same chemical, permethrin, in a format that goes right to the source of the problem... rodents!
Meet "Tick Tubes" ROFL
These are literally just cardboard tubes, stuffed with cotton that has been treated with permethrin, that you place all around where mice and ground squirrels make nests. The rodents use the free fluffy bedding to nest in, and the permethrin does what it does. The ticks die, the rodents live happily ever after, and the cat and dog and humans here enjoy a reduction in tick numbers. It works over time, for sure, but it really seems too good to be true. Can't hurt anyhow, right?
Fear not, however, that I would spend good $ on these things. We've already invested in a gallon of that permethrin (one gallon was cheaper than two aerosol cans and goes much further). We have TP tubes just sitting here waiting to be recycled. We have a sprayer we can dedicate to the cause, and we have oodles and oodles of known mouse nest areas to boo -by trap.
All I need now is fluff. And I have a brand new, too-fat-for-my-specs body pillow I wanted to rip apart and unstuff a bit anyhow.
So, I'm gonna be making tick tubes of my own.
Bwa ha ha ha!
I'll let you know if I think it's made a difference. Remind me next April to let you know.rredpenn
2 days agolast modified: 2 days agoDuckie Warning again...
P.S. From pest control articles I have been reading:
Deer mice are the main vector for Lyme disease-carrying "deer ticks"... Deer mice are just what we here call "field mice" or "outdoor mice". We have them in abundance here in the Tree House woods. We just have so many woodpiles. And that's where they live.
Worth a shot anyhow. We're sick of this threat to our health.
nwduck
2 days agomamabear2014
yesterdayladma
yesterdayladma
yesterdaynwduck
yesterdayfissfiss
yesterdayglschisler
yesterdaylast modified: yesterday
Nora Lambert
yesterday
pickyvicky
yesterdaypickyvicky
yesterday
happyleg
yesterdayliasch
yesterdayhappyleg
yesterdayliasch
yesterdayladma
yesterdayA friend of mine has a farm, we brought the Lass and Groot to see the goats, pigs, chickens, and cows. They had a blast!
ladma
yesterdayliasch
yesterdayrredpenn
yesterdaylast modified: yesterdayOh how sweet! That looks like so much fun, Lad!
Lia, one gallon of permethrin here is around 25.00. I found a similar product at the Orange Home store (I believe you have that in Halifax?) meant for home use. It's a J.T.Eaton insect spray at .5% dilution for 23.00 USD.
The Tick Tube stuff uses a .7% solution, but this would probably do it for homemade rodent nest fluff too.I think I broke this post with the link. Just go to the Orange website and search "JT Eaton Ready to use spray"
rredpenn
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yesterdayHaha Gls… did I see that you were in Savannah? I’ve always wanted to go there ever since I read this book.
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4 hours agoWe’re in Lecco on Lake Como now. This is the view from our room, and the top of one of the mountains. It is quite cold here now, but absolutely beautiful.
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2 hours agoI see the construction crane is photo #1 but none of the buildings are taller than that tower. Here in Tallahassee there is a law - must be a state law - that no local building in this city can be built taller than our 22 story state capitol building so we'll never have 'skyscrapers'. We've got some about 12+ stories high but no really tall ones.
rredpenn
1 hour agoliasch
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nwduck