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Post by Russell Letson on Oct 12, 2019 15:20:53 GMT -5
I was going to clear some stuff out of the basement, but reading this thread has got me just too tuckered out to start. Maybe I'll change a litter box instead.
Come to think of it, there are still a couple clean spots. I'm sure the cats can find them.
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Post by Village Idiot on Oct 12, 2019 19:33:10 GMT -5
The hard part about cleaning out a basement is the stairs.
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Post by Russell Letson on Oct 12, 2019 19:43:37 GMT -5
Yah--we considered having the basement moved to the main floor, but we couldn't find a contractor who would take on the job.
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Post by xyrn on Oct 12, 2019 22:21:14 GMT -5
fauxmahaLooks fantastic. What a great project, I'd really enjoy such an endeavor, and all of the complications and re-figuring involved - I'm a little nuts like that. Still looks like it took some big coin, but it probably would've been 50-75% more with paid labor.
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Post by fauxmaha on Nov 19, 2019 11:28:14 GMT -5
Almost... Railing guys finished a little over a week ago. Took two guys who knew what they were doing almost a full day. Made me glad I didn't try doing that myself. The top cap on the rails was the last part. I did that myself, using the same Azek material as the deck. Had to special order that stuff, and seemed like it took forever to arrive. Sunnie and I got it installed last night. Other than the tedium of driving about a million screws up from the bottom, went on easy enough. I picked up a really nice Webber grill a few years ago. Love that thing. But from time to time, a hot coal would fall out the bottom. I really don't want to burn a hole in this new deck. That thought had been running around in my head for a while, when I had occasion to make the eight bazillionth Home Depot run on this project. And look what I found on end-of-season clearance: We've used it a few times already. Works great. Still kind of miss charcoal, but it will do. And I think I got a smokin' deal on it, so why not? In the "it's always something' file, I pulled the propane fire-pit-table thing back out of the basement. Decided to get rid of the lava rock and fake wood stuff it came with, and replaced them with these cool glass beads. BUT...trying to fire it up, I think the thermocouple is smoked, so I'll need to pull all those beads back out and dig in and see about that. Those cushions are starting to look a little tired as well. I bought that set about eight years ago, so probably time to freshen them up. BTW, that Little Tikes play kitchen was in my basement for 15 years. I finally managed to get it moved to my mom's basement some time back. Now it found its way back here. The play phone on that is the closest thing to a land line telephone my grandkids have ever seen. The real progress happened last week: The patio is finally in place. Came out great. I really considered doing a fancy paver stone patio, but that would have cost a fortune (I'm bleeding enough money on all this as it is) and taken forever. Took the guys two days to pour this. Good enough. One detail I need to figure out is what to do about that PVC "chimney" coming out the side of the deck. We put in a high efficiency gas furnace last year, and that's where the exhaust comes out. Problem is, it drips. (Peter can explain the chemistry.) I don't want a stain on the patio, so I'll need to come up with something. I had a guy come out and re-do gutters on this side of the house. Previously, there was a downspout on the right side. If you look, you can still see the bottom section I haven't gotten around to pulling off the house. I didn't want a hole in the new deck, and didn't want water draining to that corner of the patio, so the guy re-sloped the whole thing and now it all drains onto the roof over the deck, and then down to the yard on the left. The green gutter stuff is a "close enough" match to the house, but the white fittings are no good. At some point, I'll have to get some motivation together and get up there and paint them. Or maybe I just live with it until it's time to paint the house again. Still have a few finishing touches to add. That little section of retaining wall on the left got tipped a bit by all the bobcat traffic, so I need to pull it down and reset it. I'm also going to add some landscape lights to that, as well as around the planter and the firepit. Still need to properly tuck the wires on the underside of the deck. Need to get future son in law back over with some fill dirt and his bobcat to fix up the butchery in the yard. Need to get some proper patio furniture. Those plastic chairs are left-overs I took from mom's house. And the whole thing needs a proper cleanup that will wait for spring. But mostly, this thing is finally done.
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Post by brucemacneill on Nov 19, 2019 11:50:10 GMT -5
Time to get back to the boat?
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Post by fauxmaha on Nov 19, 2019 11:50:52 GMT -5
Time to get back to the boat? Have you figured out why there's a fire pit yet?
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Post by brucemacneill on Nov 19, 2019 11:53:55 GMT -5
Time to get back to the boat? Have you figured out why there's a fire pit yet? I had hopes I was wrong.
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Post by majorminor on Nov 19, 2019 12:14:31 GMT -5
If this binder thing doesn't work out we could use a guy like you here out west.....
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Post by coachdoc on Nov 19, 2019 13:20:54 GMT -5
Veddy nice!
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Post by RickW on Nov 19, 2019 13:46:42 GMT -5
So, when do you jackhammer up the new patio to add a pool to it? (Suggest that to your wife. Video the whole thing and post it.)
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Post by epaul on Nov 19, 2019 14:06:46 GMT -5
Pretty nice having a soon to be son-in-law with a Bobcat.
Having all those daughters is starting to pay off. Construction is taken care of. Now encourage the remaining to chose, in turn, a chiropractor, a plumber, an electrician, and a doctor.
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Post by fauxmaha on Nov 19, 2019 14:09:03 GMT -5
So, when do you jackhammer up the new patio to add a pool to it? (Suggest that to your wife. Video the whole thing and post it.) There are fights worth winning, and fights worth losing. One fight I refuse to lose is the multi-decade argument with my wife about the utility of a swimming pool. Won't have one. No way. No chance. No how. Not happening. This Backyard Wonderland project has a strategic component. Note that there really isn't enough room left for a pool. That's no accident. Also, initial experience demonstrates that this has achieved the primary objective she has for a pool: A gathering place for the kids/grandkids. I think I've dodged a bullet.
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Post by fauxmaha on Nov 19, 2019 14:11:22 GMT -5
Pretty nice having a soon to be son-in-law with a Bobcat. Not only the direct benefits, but soon to be sil also has all kinds of great hookups with local contractors. Got the cement work and the railing work done through them. PLUS, STBSIL just built a new house....complete with swimming pool. Although I question his judgement on that, it has taken more than a little pressure off of me on that front.
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Post by RickW on Nov 19, 2019 14:19:57 GMT -5
So, when do you jackhammer up the new patio to add a pool to it? (Suggest that to your wife. Video the whole thing and post it.) There are fights worth winning, and fights worth losing. One fight I refuse to lose is the multi-decade argument with my wife about the utility of a swimming pool. Won't have one. No way. No chance. No how. Not happening. This Backyard Wonderland project has a strategic component. Note that there really isn't enough room left for a pool. That's no accident. Also, initial experience demonstrates that this has achieved the primary objective she has for a pool: A gathering place for the kids/grandkids. I think I've dodged a bullet. My father jonesed for one for years. Finally put it in a few years before he passed away. I don't know what the weather is like all the time in Omaha, but here, it's just not that warm often enough to want to use it. Even in the summer, it doesn't get that hot, and often it's down right cool. The cost of putting it in, and then the time spent maintaining it, were certainly not worth it for the amount of use we got out of it. Though yes, had some pretty solid pool parties over the years, ones which my mother would probably rather have avoided.
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Post by fauxmaha on Nov 19, 2019 14:22:07 GMT -5
The seasons are really the thing. If we lived 500 miles further south, sure. But here you get maybe four prime pool months a year, and maybe two more iffy months.
Just not worth it.
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Post by t-bob on Nov 19, 2019 14:44:28 GMT -5
Great remodel! I remember that. A long time eh? Do you have a helipad yet?
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Post by epaul on Nov 19, 2019 14:49:11 GMT -5
Bruce has a pool. One these summers, maybe this coming one, we should have a big Soundhole five-day jam complete with Scotch and non-stop pool partying.
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Post by billhammond on Nov 19, 2019 14:58:40 GMT -5
Bruce has a pool. One these summers, maybe this coming one, we should have a big Soundhole five-day jam complete with Scotch and non-stop pool partying. Yeah, Bruce, let us know when you're gonna be out of town!
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Post by brucemacneill on Nov 19, 2019 16:02:23 GMT -5
I will but don't hold your breath.
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