The Home Ownership Thread

[NakedYoga]

Also, how ******* ridiculous/hilarious is it that someone can have a tree law specialty?

It's better than bird law.

A classmate of mine from law school was struggling to find his footing for a couple of years after we graduated. I ran into him at a CLE a few years ago, and he's apparently found a very lucrative niche suing timeshare companies to get people out of the contracts. It takes all kinds...

 

[Omega Male]

And he's doing God's work. Awesome.

 

[double00]

i asked a biz buddy (designer) if he'd ever been litigated, i think he settled in some way. it was trees.

 

[ValidusLA]

The usual rule is that you can cut anything that's on or overhanging your property.

Within limits yes. If you cut so much you kill the tree you can get hammered.

I have a neighbor w/ a beautiful 100 year + coastal live oak that overhangs my backyard significantly.

If i cut off everything that hangs over (not that I would want to), significant damage to the tree would likely occur and I would probably be screwed. Probably by the city itself, then my neighbor in that order.

 

[RedLantern]

Drywall finished and textured today - the boss man came back at 730pm to make sure I had the texture done so that we can move on to flooring tomorrow and I can paint over the weekend. Threw him some extra bucks for the after hours work and let him know how much I appreciate that. Great communicator, a pleasure to work with.

In contrast, the floor guy texted me tonight to see if we were all set for tomorrow, and I told him the flooring and adhesive has been in for a couple of weeks, and we just need plywood underlayment. He shot back that "the bid was labor only" which (though a bitchy way to put it) is fine, I politely offered to pay for the materials and time to pick them up. I'm still a little nervous he's going to flake on me.

Thankfully, after the flooring guy, the only folks I need to deal with going forward will be my cabinet maker, and the electrician, both of whom are wonderful to work with. Having good, communicative, and dependable tradesmen is ******* priceless.

edit: I take that back, I've still got the countertop guy to deal with, and he's kind of a typical blowhard boomer asshole. Doesn't listen and thinks he knows everything. Has to have his office manager handle his emails.

 

[brokencycle]

Drywall finished and textured today - the boss man came back at 730pm to make sure I had the texture done so that we can move on to flooring tomorrow and I can paint over the weekend. Threw him some extra bucks for the after hours work and let him know how much I appreciate that. Great communicator, a pleasure to work with.

In contrast, the floor guy texted me tonight to see if we were all set for tomorrow, and I told him the flooring and adhesive has been in for a couple of weeks, and we just need plywood underlayment. He shot back that "the bid was labor only" which (though a bitchy way to put it) is fine, I politely offered to pay for the materials and time to pick them up. I'm still a little nervous he's going to flake on me.

Thankfully, after the flooring guy, the only folks I need to deal with going forward will be my cabinet maker, and the electrician, both of whom are wonderful to work with. Having good, communicative, and dependable tradesmen is ******* priceless.

edit: I take that back, I've still got the countertop guy to deal with, and he's kind of a typical blowhard boomer asshole. Doesn't listen and thinks he knows everything. Has to have his office manager handle his emails.

It is unbelievable how many contractors have zero business or communication skills, so count your blessings.

 

[RedLantern]

Yeah, there's definitely a reason people pay general contractors to deal with this, but in my experience, if you have something specific you are after, and it's not whats popular at the moment, you are unlikely to find a general who will share your vision.

 

[NakedYoga]

i asked a biz buddy (designer) if he'd ever been litigated, i think he settled in some way. it was trees.

Ah, so he got hit with a possession charge and had to hire a criminal defense lawyer.

 

[romafan]

Bonapart & Associates: Tree Law Experts

www.treelaw.com

I retained Barri a while ago to **** with our HOA. It was totally worth it. She’s a mensch and will likely answer simple questions for free.

Brobeck alum!

 

[sftiger]

Yeah, there's definitely a reason people pay general contractors to deal with this, but in my experience, if you have something specific you are after, and it's not whats popular at the moment, you are unlikely to find a general who will share your vision.

We are struggling with this right now. Every time we let our GC run with a design choice (usually a small and seemingly inconsequential one) and make the decision without us, we regret it.

 

[SirGrotius]

Lol, same. I remember we were going to modify our deck by adding an additional set of stairs. When discussing it with the general contractor, I looked into his eyes, and knew it was nothing but a build and had no visualization on the aesthetics, flow, or impact on shrubbery, etc.

 

[RedLantern]

Flooring is in - it’s hard to see both the black and the white tiles have little pieces of silver glitter in them.

drywall and texture is primed, will paint this weekend and cabinet installation starts Monday!

 

[imatlas]

^ I like that floor a lot.

[ View attachment 1415851

We have some of those in the neighborhood that are going on 100 years old and 75’ high. Eventually falling branches become a hazard, but you’ve got a few decades before that’s an ossue

CA/SF homeowners: Our neighbor's ****** pine trees deposit a never ending supply of needles into our back yard. I don't really have any recourse, do I?

Our place is so positioned that the wind deposits every leaf that falls on the block in our driveway. I’ve been contemplating ‘ring-barking’ all the trees that are downwind of us.

 

[imatlas]

Anyone have a suggestion for a place to get good quality alpaca blankets?

 

[sugarbutch]

Anyone have a suggestion for a place to get good quality alpaca blankets?

Why do alpacas need blankets?