The Home Ownership Thread

[Joffrey]



Ha, I just told my wife today to tip the refrigerator delivery guys. She questioned me on it. Anyone who has done manual labor would probably agree with tipping. Even $5 makes these guys days.

I've done a good deal of manual labor and I don't think tipping is necessary. If for some reason the delivery folks do more than deliver a product (like say move some other furniture around a la Piobaire) then yes tip them.

 

[zalb916]

Need to get our marble counter tops cleaned up, polished, and sealed. There is no major damage, just some light scratches, water marks, and a few chips. However, it's beyond anything that I want to do on my own. I have no idea what to expect on cost. Any ideas what to expect for service on counters in a small to medium size kitchen?

 

[dcg]



BTW before buying rugs I'd take the time to learn what makes a good one a good one. It's one thing to read about it, but it also helps to see it in person. There's no harm in visiting the rug dealers just to see what they have to offer.

FWIW the rug I have my living room came from eBay. I lowball bid about a dozen before I got it. It's moderate density, probably made in Pakistan, but otherwise pretty nice. The auctions around here are full of old guys looking for deals, which are few and far between.

Yup, makes sense....reading about machine made vs. hand tufted vs hand knotted, but will be helpful to see the differences in person.

One thing I'm unclear on - seems to me that machine made/woven would be preferable to hand tufted (in terms of longevity). Is that accurate? Hand tufted seems to be this middle ground where you're paying more for something that's not going to last anyway just to say it's "handmade"

 

[venividivicibj]

Also, I toss them some bottled water which is always appreciated by folks doing physical labour.

My dad does this - told me somethign along the lines of - if these guys are in your house, moving around/dealing with your stuff, you want them to be as happy and helpful as possible. (plus its not like water is expensive or anything)

 

[SkinnyGoomba]



BTW before buying rugs I'd take the time to learn what makes a good one a good one. It's one thing to read about it, but it also helps to see it in person. There's no harm in visiting the rug dealers just to see what they have to offer.

FWIW the rug I have my living room came from eBay. I lowball bid about a dozen before I got it. It's moderate density, probably made in Pakistan, but otherwise pretty nice. The auctions around here are full of old guys looking for deals, which are few and far between.

I don't mind buying from a rug dealer. There is one guy in my area who is really reliable, doesn't try and make the month's rent on me and is selling stuff that I enjoy looking at.

I have a rug or two I have bought at auction, they're nice and probably nicer than what I have from him in ultimate quality, but his are designs that I enjoy more and it was good to pick from a larger selection. They're wool kazak's from him vs silk persians from the auction.

 

[Douglas]

So they found all kinds of roof rot in my house. I'm not surprised - it sat idle for years before we bought it. We've known that ideally it could use a new roof, but slat roofs are no joke, so we've been living with it. No major leaks or anything, but things had been starting to sag in places and eventually it will come time to bite the bullet...

...anyways they've had to remove entire sections of tile and replace big sections of the roof deck. Ditto soffit and fascia. 250+ slate tiles and counting. Miraculously, their quote for this work is not breaking the bank. I know a proper slate contractor would be pillaging us over this; these guys are really cutting us a deal. Hopefully this will let us get by for another 10-15 years without needing to redo the whole thing.

They raised up a couple of the sagging rafters and started framing in the playroom too. It sucks that there's all this crap to deal with but for the money, and considering it's fixing real problems we've known were eventually going to raise their ugly heads, I'm pretty excited.

 

[The Noodles]

Ugh, the pain of owning your own home. I see my neighbors renovating their roofs and I wonder if I have to as well. The last inspection was back in 2013 when I bought the house.

So wife decided on maple for hardwood floors. Any opinions?

 

[lefty]

Douglas, I know that slate roofs are expensive, but I'd be inclined to get that sorted before beginning attic renovations. Especially if someone is trying to do a quick fix on the worst parts. Warm and dry are your goals.

lefty

 

[SkinnyGoomba]



Ugh, the pain of owning your own home. I see my neighbors renovating their roofs and I wonder if I have to as well. The last inspection was back in 2013 when I bought the house.

So wife decided on maple for hardwood floors. Any opinions?

Maple is fairly hard, should do well for a floor. It's slightly harder than oak and ash, but in the same basic vicinity. Personally I prefer how oak/ash look over maple, but if its something you like it's certainly a viable choice.

 

[Ataturk]

Maple is highly variable in what you get. It could be hard or soft, white or mixed with darker heartwood or streaks, it could have prominent grain, figure or no figure, etc.

Other than the boring color, figured maple is really beautiful. But much of it is soft maple which is closer to pine in hardness than it is to oak (i.e., it's soft). Not sure whether someone would try to sell you soft maple for a floor, but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[RedLantern]

Here in the PNW, it's not uncommon to see pine flooring in houses, especially in the bedrooms of houses (mostly in average/below average grade craftsman homes). Is that something that happens elsewhere or just around here?

 

[lefty]

Heart Pine was used in a lot of Craftsman houses at the turn of the century. It is strong and beautiful, and as it came from very tall trees was available in long lengths. Unfortunately we more or less knocked all the Longleaf Pine so the only place to get it now is from mills that reclaim old factories, warehouses, or sunken logs.

My old house was filled with it and I loved the colour and grain.

lefty

 

[Ataturk]

There's no reason you can't use softer woods (or softwoods) for floors. They just get dinged up really easily. When I say dinged, I mean dented. Resistance to superficial scratching comes from the finish (though deep gouges are easier to inflict on soft woods).

A very soft floor like pine can be a plus because it will get very uniformly worn, whereas harder woods will dent, but less frequently, making the dents you do get (and you will get them) stand out more.

 

[Mr. Moo]

We are completely redoing out driveway (sloped, long), a large retaining wall (8 ft + in places), and everything that comes with all of that (landscaping, engineering, etc.). **** me.

Does anyone have opinions on Allan Blocks vs. concrete blocks vs. poured concrete for retaining walls?

We are thinking of paver stones for the driveway to reduce cracking (and because they look nice).

 

[Douglas]

Other than in the largest, most clearly public areas in my house (entry, living room - which are oak), most of my house has heart pine floors.

No worries Lefty, I obviously have to get the roof to a certain point before I can even think about finishing anything. I'm not going to replace the roof, but I am going to make sure it's all squared away.