Otis in the Suburbs (2 Viewers)

[Otis]

Not fishing in here at all.

 

[Otis]

Stupid Air Conditioning Question:We don't want to get window air conditioners, because frankly I think it's a junky look, and all the nice windows are half the charm of this house. We considered getting a couple through-wall units at strategic points, but there's really not a good place anywhere downstairs to include one -- and again, I think even those can muck up the look of the place (though not nearly as bad as window units).That said, I've been informed there is a third option -- my buddy told me that if you're going to invest the cost in multiple wall unit ACs and getting them installed, there is a central-air-like alternative where they put the big unit outside in the yard and they put a duct on the back of the house that flows the air through that one unit through small vents into multiple points in the house. I have no idea what this is called or what it costs, but it seems like a pretty decent option. Anyone know what the hell this is called, and any thoughts on it?The ceiling fans are nice for now, but this may suck come August.

Here's my understanding: - A slim jim has a condenser outside, a thin copper pipe running up the outside of your house (you can paint over it) that goes in through a hole in your wall to a small wall unit called a register, which blows the cool air from outside in. It's like an air conditioner, except the heavy part goes down on the ground, so you only need a small blower inside, and a pipe running between the two. This is a couple grand, and it will cool one room/space. - A split ductless system lets you have two or possibly three registers off a single condenser. As you can imagine, the big condenser on the ground is the most expensive part, so you can get a bigger ground unit to cool more than one room. In an older house, where you probably have lots of smaller rooms instead of big open spaces, this is a good option. It's going to run at least a grand more than the single slim jim unit, and probably more than that. - Most other central air systems use a big wide duct in your house to blow the air through vents around the house. You can cool several rooms off of a single duct by having multiple vents. The bigger the condenser, the more room you have. The key here is having room to put your duct work - do you have easily accessible attic space? Wiring to the attic? How about your electric panel (the box with the breakers in it) - are there empty slots with no switch thingy in them? The answers to these questions will dictate whether it's possible, and whether you have additional expenses. - Regardless of which of those you choose, you should also look into ventilation for your attic. Do you know if you have a round vent in your roof? Or one of those sliding cheese grater vents on the side of your house? Getting hot air out of your attic is important in the winter and summer - in the summer, all that hot air gets trapped up above you and acts like a blanket on the house; in the winter, it melts the snow on your roof just enough during the day that it can freeze at night, which creates lots of ice on your gutters and big icicles hanging down that can do damage to your house. Ventilation is cheap and effective, and it can usually be done as part of your central air project. - One last option that you won't look into is the whole house fan. If nobody has mentioned this one yet, it's because they don't think you'll do it. It's basically a giant fan in the attic that blows so hard it turns your whole house into a wind tunnel. It works pretty well, except maybe on the super hot august days, but it's a little noisy and you'll turn your yuppie nose up at it.

I'm not a yuppie, and my parents got one of those whole house fans installed when we were kids. Guess what, years later they installed AC. That fan was stupid.Regarding the attic, I've noticed the few times I'm up there, even on mild days, it is SUPER hot. 20 degrees warmer than the rest of the house. I see what you are saying and it sounds like I need to look into this.Thanks for the rest of the info. Split ductless seems like it would work best. We should be able to accommodate central based on what you are saying, even though we would need an electrical upgrade.

 

[Otis]

Got home after a long day of work. Sweated my way through putting together the patio set. What a PIA. But it came together OK. Also we did our first BBQing. The bacon-wrapped asparagus came out WAY better than in the oven. The turkey burgers with feta cheese in them were dried out. I'll need to work on that. Regular burgers next time...

 

[Rohn Jambo]

CITY CARRYOVER: Turns out wife found a place that will pick up my dry cleaning each week and deliver it

SUCK IT FRED!!1

Looks like I was worrying too much to think that Otis will get driving everywhere instead of walking a few steps.

 

[GreatLakesMike]

If you get Central Air, make sure it's away from the patio you plan on putting in. When the wife gets fat, she'll want the air on 24/7, and you and your buddies sitting outside enjoying a few cold ones won't want to hear a ### #### air conditioner 5 feet away kicking on every 15 minutes.

 

[bostonfred]

If you get Central Air, make sure it's away from the patio you plan on putting in.

great advice

 

[Getinthemix]

Got home after a long day of work. Sweated my way through putting together the patio set. What a PIA. But it came together OK. Also we did our first BBQing. The bacon-wrapped asparagus came out WAY better than in the oven. The turkey burgers with feta cheese in them were dried out. I'll need to work on that. Regular burgers next time...

gas grill \= BBQ. gas grill = grilling HTH

 

[Otis]

Got home after a long day of work. Sweated my way through putting together the patio set. What a PIA. But it came together OK. Also we did our first BBQing. The bacon-wrapped asparagus came out WAY better than in the oven. The turkey burgers with feta cheese in them were dried out. I'll need to work on that. Regular burgers next time...

gas grill \= BBQ. gas grill = grilling HTH

The nerdy purist thread is in the timsochet forum thx

 

[Getinthemix]

Got home after a long day of work. Sweated my way through putting together the patio set. What a PIA. But it came together OK. Also we did our first BBQing. The bacon-wrapped asparagus came out WAY better than in the oven. The turkey burgers with feta cheese in them were dried out. I'll need to work on that. Regular burgers next time...

gas grill \= BBQ. gas grill = grilling HTH

The nerdy purist thread is in the timsochet forum thx

Not a purist, but I would think that a high brow member of society such as yourself should know this.I also am admiring the credit being taken for hiring people to do all of the work. That is impressive.

 

[dnurk]

Got home after a long day of work. Sweated my way through putting together the patio set. What a PIA. But it came together OK. Also we did our first BBQing. The bacon-wrapped asparagus came out WAY better than in the oven. The turkey burgers with feta cheese in them were dried out. I'll need to work on that. Regular burgers next time...

gas grill \= BBQ. gas grill = grilling HTH

I cannot understand spending that kind of cash an overpriced gas burner when he could have bought a big green egg or similar for the same price. Insane.

 

[GreatLakesMike]

If you get Central Air, make sure it's away from the patio you plan on putting in.

great advice

Sorry, the rest of that was a rant in the name of my father.

 

[KGB]

Ill be building walls around my ac units to try and hide the noise. Far away

 

[bostonfred]

I'm not a yuppie

Don't be ashamed of who you are.

 

[Premier]

Oat > feta isn't a moist enough cheese to go into dry, boring turkey meat.

 

[GreatLakesMike]

Oat > feta isn't a moist enough cheese to go into dry, boring turkey meat.

Feta is great in Greek salads.

 

[Premier]

Oat > feta isn't a moist enough cheese to go into dry, boring turkey meat.

Feta is great in Greek salads.

Well if he made a Greek salad he would've had a great dinner.

 

[Otis]

Oat > feta isn't a moist enough cheese to go into dry, boring turkey meat.

Wife did the prepping part. I just threw it on the grill Wasn't terrible for our virgin voyage. A decent bottle of dolcetto d'alba didn't hurt matters.

 

[Rohn Jambo]

Got home after a long day of work. Sweated my way through putting together the patio set. What a PIA. But it came together OK. Also we did our first BBQing. The bacon-wrapped asparagus came out WAY better than in the oven. The turkey burgers with feta cheese in them were dried out. I'll need to work on that. Regular burgers next time...

gas grill \= BBQ. gas grill = grilling HTH

The nerdy purist thread is in the timsochet forum thx

Not a purist, but I would think that a high brow member of society such as yourself should know this.I also am admiring the credit being taken for hiring people to do all of the work. That is impressive.

Hey O, what measures have you taken to secure your XBox?

 

[shuke]

We painted the trim the same color as the walls with hardwood floors.

OOF

http://imageshack.us/m/829/2118/img0768mg.jpg

So white trim would have been better?????

1000 times better, friend.

 

[shuke]

How trim should be done.http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk161/offdee/FBG/IMG_2261-1.jpg

What is that paneling stuff on the wall?

 

[shuke]

Sorry to interrupt DecoratingChat here ladies, but I have a quick question:Wife wants to know if she can leave outgoing mail in our mailbox, and will the mailman take that with him. I have never heard of this before -- I always thought you had to bring mail to a post office mailbox. Is this how it works in the sticks?

 

[Britney Spears]

Got some guy off craigslist to swing by today to pick up the crappy plastic patio set they left behind -- new one inbound as we speak.

Craigslist is totally awesome.

I've been wanting some patio furniture. Details on what you got?

I made the decision today that I'm going to wait until after summer to buy a set. You can typically get them at least 50% off when they want to clear floor space for other things.I do like the set that Otis got though

We tried this last year and it backfired. Started looking around in late august and all we could find was leftovers and junk nobody wanted.Patio furniture has been surprisingly difficult to conquer.

Hmmm...not what I wanted to hear. On the plus side though, I can't find anything I like in the stores here; so it's not like I'm sacrificing something.

We just took the plunge yesterday.Went to Kohl's for the first time in my life to get a wedding gift for my sister, who registered there.

They were having a two-day sale, 55% - 65% off patio furniture. We got one item on "floor model" for a discount as well. The sale is still going on if you are interested: LINK

We got the "Madera" brand. It's wicker resin, which I like a lot more than some of the other stuff, and we were seeing for like $1000 elsewhere.

 

[shuke]

Stupid Air Conditioning Question:We don't want to get window air conditioners, because frankly I think it's a junky look, and all the nice windows are half the charm of this house. We considered getting a couple through-wall units at strategic points, but there's really not a good place anywhere downstairs to include one -- and again, I think even those can muck up the look of the place (though not nearly as bad as window units).That said, I've been informed there is a third option -- my buddy told me that if you're going to invest the cost in multiple wall unit ACs and getting them installed, there is a central-air-like alternative where they put the big unit outside in the yard and they put a duct on the back of the house that flows the air through that one unit through small vents into multiple points in the house. I have no idea what this is called or what it costs, but it seems like a pretty decent option. Anyone know what the hell this is called, and any thoughts on it?The ceiling fans are nice for now, but this may suck come August.

 

[wilked]

Stupid Air Conditioning Question:We don't want to get window air conditioners, because frankly I think it's a junky look, and all the nice windows are half the charm of this house. We considered getting a couple through-wall units at strategic points, but there's really not a good place anywhere downstairs to include one -- and again, I think even those can muck up the look of the place (though not nearly as bad as window units).That said, I've been informed there is a third option -- my buddy told me that if you're going to invest the cost in multiple wall unit ACs and getting them installed, there is a central-air-like alternative where they put the big unit outside in the yard and they put a duct on the back of the house that flows the air through that one unit through small vents into multiple points in the house. I have no idea what this is called or what it costs, but it seems like a pretty decent option. Anyone know what the hell this is called, and any thoughts on it?The ceiling fans are nice for now, but this may suck come August.

you know...the thing, with the thing, that does the...

 

[OC Zed]

Getting back to the trim issue, I think just about everyone in here is overlooking the fact that Urbanhack is going for a modern look to his place which necessitates clean, simple lines. Ideally, UH would have done away with the trim altogether, but I'm guessing he didn't do that for budget and/or craftsmanship reasons (you really need well-constructed, straight lines to do away with the trim)?

UH, I think your taste in jeans is embarrassing, but I like what you have done with that apartment.

 

[Otis]

The makings of our own little suburban paradise -- in your eye, Fred!!1 That wood is in pretty awful shape, so someone is coming by this weekend to give us a quote on pulling it out and putting in a stone-type or paver patio. I'm expecting it to be around 4k, and probably worth it. We'll see.

But we're gonna have to do something about extending this line of trees/tall shrubs to get us some privacy from the neighbors. Fella coming by this weekend to chat about that and give us some ideas and an estimate. Our landscaper guy. One of the few good, honest vendors we've found so far.

By request. picture of the den leading out to the patio, with that ugly wood ceiling. The tile flooring is different but we kind of dig it. Needs an area rug. Reverse view of the room here -- it's a pretty great room, even if a bit small, all windows, and the view looks out down the hill, lots of trees, pretty nice. I'd run those TV wires through the wall but that's the back of the chimney (fireplace on the other side in the living room), so no can do. The room is long and narrow so we got one of these uber thin LEDs and had it mounted, and I found these side towers, which were supposed to be part of a full TV stand unit, but they fit perfectly into the little nooks we have on either side of the chimney and they just barely squeeze the FioS set top box in... (and notice the slate accents at the top which near perfectly match the floor) ... just need to take care of the wires now...

 

[The Commish]

The makings of our own little suburban paradise -- in your eye, Fred!!1 That wood is in pretty awful shape, so someone is coming by this weekend to give us a quote on pulling it out and putting in a stone-type or paver patio. I'm expecting it to be around 4k, and probably worth it. We'll see.

But we're gonna have to do something about extending this line of trees/tall shrubs to get us some privacy from the neighbors. Fella coming by this weekend to chat about that and give us some ideas and an estimate. Our landscaper guy. One of the few good, honest vendors we've found so far.

By request. picture of the den leading out to the patio, with that ugly wood ceiling. The tile flooring is different but we kind of dig it. Needs an area rug. Reverse view of the room here -- it's a pretty great room, even if a bit small, all windows, and the view looks out down the hill, lots of trees, pretty nice. I'd run those TV wires through the wall but that's the back of the chimney (fireplace on the other side in the living room), so no can do. The room is long and narrow so we got one of these uber thin LEDs and had it mounted, and I found these side towers, which were supposed to be part of a full TV stand unit, but they fit perfectly into the little nooks we have on either side of the chimney and they just barely squeeze the FioS set top box in... (and notice the slate accents at the top which near perfectly match the floor) ... just need to take care of the wires now...

That "wood" ceiling looks like beadboard, yes? No problem painting that IMO. You see it painted more than stained if you think about it. If it is stained and has poly on it, you'll want to strip that poly off first though. Is that ceramic tile made to look like slate?

 

[Koya]

Got home after a long day of work. Sweated my way through putting together the patio set. What a PIA. But it came together OK. Also we did our first BBQing. The bacon-wrapped asparagus came out WAY better than in the oven. The turkey burgers with feta cheese in them were dried out. I'll need to work on that. Regular burgers next time...

try dicing up some red/green peppers (and/or finely diced onion) to help keep a turkey burger moist. I also find chicken burgers are less dry, but more difficult to work with (they are wetter and stick to things, like your hand).

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

But we're gonna have to do something about extending this line of trees/tall shrubs to get us some privacy from the neighbors. Fella coming by this weekend to chat about that and give us some ideas and an estimate. Our landscaper guy. One of the few good, honest vendors we've found so far.

Good luck getting any privacy of any value from that guy up on the hill...dome perhaps???? And ya better get some landscaping in on that hill ASAP because the washout will be a PITA everytime it rains hard...

 

[Tiger Fan]

Got home after a long day of work. Sweated my way through putting together the patio set. What a PIA. But it came together OK. Also we did our first BBQing. The bacon-wrapped asparagus came out WAY better than in the oven. The turkey burgers with feta cheese in them were dried out. I'll need to work on that. Regular burgers next time...

Mrs. TF and I are contemplating the same set.How long did it take to put together? Can you post some pics? Thx

 

[glock]

The makings of our own little suburban paradise -- in your eye, Fred!!1 That wood is in pretty awful shape, so someone is coming by this weekend to give us a quote on pulling it out and putting in a stone-type or paver patio. I'm expecting it to be around 4k, and probably worth it. We'll see.

But we're gonna have to do something about extending this line of trees/tall shrubs to get us some privacy from the neighbors. Fella coming by this weekend to chat about that and give us some ideas and an estimate. Our landscaper guy. One of the few good, honest vendors we've found so far.

By request. picture of the den leading out to the patio, with that ugly wood ceiling. The tile flooring is different but we kind of dig it. Needs an area rug. Reverse view of the room here -- it's a pretty great room, even if a bit small, all windows, and the view looks out down the hill, lots of trees, pretty nice. I'd run those TV wires through the wall but that's the back of the chimney (fireplace on the other side in the living room), so no can do. The room is long and narrow so we got one of these uber thin LEDs and had it mounted, and I found these side towers, which were supposed to be part of a full TV stand unit, but they fit perfectly into the little nooks we have on either side of the chimney and they just barely squeeze the FioS set top box in... (and notice the slate accents at the top which near perfectly match the floor) ... just need to take care of the wires now...

Some nice, well placed privacy trees a few feet back from that wall- a wall that can be refaced to go with your deck replacement stone- and you'll be set in the privacy department. I'm dealing with the very same issue right now.As for that "ugly wood ceiling?" Personally?? In a sun room setting like that one, I think it looks just fine. The whole "bring some of the outdoors indoors thing" with wood I guess. A white glossy paint carried into the trim will look nice, too though... Edited to add: that is one really sweet room.

Nice score on those towers. As for running the cable? Maybe you could find a shallow, freestanding book shelf to place below the TV and run the cable straight down behind it- creating a channel in the wallboard- then run it around to the tower behind a beefed up new baseboard??

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

The makings of our own little suburban paradise -- in your eye, Fred!!1 That wood is in pretty awful shape, so someone is coming by this weekend to give us a quote on pulling it out and putting in a stone-type or paver patio. I'm expecting it to be around 4k, and probably worth it. We'll see.

But we're gonna have to do something about extending this line of trees/tall shrubs to get us some privacy from the neighbors. Fella coming by this weekend to chat about that and give us some ideas and an estimate. Our landscaper guy. One of the few good, honest vendors we've found so far.

By request. picture of the den leading out to the patio, with that ugly wood ceiling. The tile flooring is different but we kind of dig it. Needs an area rug. Reverse view of the room here -- it's a pretty great room, even if a bit small, all windows, and the view looks out down the hill, lots of trees, pretty nice. I'd run those TV wires through the wall but that's the back of the chimney (fireplace on the other side in the living room), so no can do. The room is long and narrow so we got one of these uber thin LEDs and had it mounted, and I found these side towers, which were supposed to be part of a full TV stand unit, but they fit perfectly into the little nooks we have on either side of the chimney and they just barely squeeze the FioS set top box in... (and notice the slate accents at the top which near perfectly match the floor) ... just need to take care of the wires now...

patio back there would be sweet. And some arborvitaealong that hill/ridge would work (depending on how much sunlight they'd get).

 

[TLEF316]

Not knowing what central air is is tremendous schtick

 

[ODoyleRules]

The makings of our own little suburban paradise -- in your eye, Fred!!1 That wood is in pretty awful shape, so someone is coming by this weekend to give us a quote on pulling it out and putting in a stone-type or paver patio. I'm expecting it to be around 4k, and probably worth it. We'll see.

But we're gonna have to do something about extending this line of trees/tall shrubs to get us some privacy from the neighbors. Fella coming by this weekend to chat about that and give us some ideas and an estimate. Our landscaper guy. One of the few good, honest vendors we've found so far.

By request. picture of the den leading out to the patio, with that ugly wood ceiling. The tile flooring is different but we kind of dig it. Needs an area rug. Reverse view of the room here -- it's a pretty great room, even if a bit small, all windows, and the view looks out down the hill, lots of trees, pretty nice. I'd run those TV wires through the wall but that's the back of the chimney (fireplace on the other side in the living room), so no can do. The room is long and narrow so we got one of these uber thin LEDs and had it mounted, and I found these side towers, which were supposed to be part of a full TV stand unit, but they fit perfectly into the little nooks we have on either side of the chimney and they just barely squeeze the FioS set top box in... (and notice the slate accents at the top which near perfectly match the floor) ... just need to take care of the wires now...

As for that "ugly wood ceiling?" Personally?? In a sun room setting like that one, I think it looks just fine. The whole "bring some of the outdoors indoors thing" with wood I guess. A white glossy paint carried into the trim will look nice, too though... Edited to add: that is one really sweet room.

that ceiling doesn't look too bad at the moment, but if you don't like it, white would be OK too.

Before you rush into investing $4K into a patio, you might want to live there awhile and think about bigger plans for the patio. You might still be able to re-purpose the pavers in the future, but it's a good chunk of change you're investing so don't be completely impulsive.

 

[The Commish]

The makings of our own little suburban paradise -- in your eye, Fred!!1 That wood is in pretty awful shape, so someone is coming by this weekend to give us a quote on pulling it out and putting in a stone-type or paver patio. I'm expecting it to be around 4k, and probably worth it. We'll see.

But we're gonna have to do something about extending this line of trees/tall shrubs to get us some privacy from the neighbors. Fella coming by this weekend to chat about that and give us some ideas and an estimate. Our landscaper guy. One of the few good, honest vendors we've found so far.

By request. picture of the den leading out to the patio, with that ugly wood ceiling. The tile flooring is different but we kind of dig it. Needs an area rug. Reverse view of the room here -- it's a pretty great room, even if a bit small, all windows, and the view looks out down the hill, lots of trees, pretty nice. I'd run those TV wires through the wall but that's the back of the chimney (fireplace on the other side in the living room), so no can do. The room is long and narrow so we got one of these uber thin LEDs and had it mounted, and I found these side towers, which were supposed to be part of a full TV stand unit, but they fit perfectly into the little nooks we have on either side of the chimney and they just barely squeeze the FioS set top box in... (and notice the slate accents at the top which near perfectly match the floor) ... just need to take care of the wires now...

As for that "ugly wood ceiling?" Personally?? In a sun room setting like that one, I think it looks just fine. The whole "bring some of the outdoors indoors thing" with wood I guess. A white glossy paint carried into the trim will look nice, too though... Edited to add: that is one really sweet room.

that ceiling doesn't look too bad at the moment, but if you don't like it, white would be OK too.

Before you rush into investing $4K into a patio, you might want to live there awhile and think about bigger plans for the patio. You might still be able to re-purpose the pavers in the future, but it's a good chunk of change you're investing so don't be completely impulsive.

Also, it's hard to tell if the wood is actually bad/rotten or just dirty. My brother bought a house and his deck looked pretty close to that, but it was just dirty. An hour with a pressure washer did him wonders.

 

[tri-man 47]

Oat > feta isn't a moist enough cheese to go into dry, boring turkey meat.

Premier knows moist.

 

[Giant Wooden Badger]

Sorry to interrupt DecoratingChat here ladies, but I have a quick question:Wife wants to know if she can leave outgoing mail in our mailbox, and will the mailman take that with him. I have never heard of this before -- I always thought you had to bring mail to a post office mailbox. Is this how it works in the sticks?

Oh, c'mon. Between this and the central air thing

 

[Koya]

Big O' - enjoy your first long weekend in the burbs. Summer season officially begins!

TU is heading out of the dirty dingy city to hang with me and the Fiance (last weekend of Fianceness mind you) - swing on by for a drink.

 

[glock]

Big O' - enjoy your first long weekend in the burbs. Summer season officially begins!

TU is heading out of the dirty dingy city to hang with me and the Fiance (last weekend of Fianceness mind you) - swing on by for a drink.

You're doing THAT next weekend already!?

 

[Otis]

Got home after a long day of work. Sweated my way through putting together the patio set. What a PIA. But it came together OK. Also we did our first BBQing. The bacon-wrapped asparagus came out WAY better than in the oven. The turkey burgers with feta cheese in them were dried out. I'll need to work on that. Regular burgers next time...

Mrs. TF and I are contemplating the same set.How long did it take to put together? Can you post some pics? Thx

Was a PIA to put together, but not the end of the world. Most of the work was in pulling off all the packing covering. The actually building was fairly painless. Maybe took me a couple hours last night. Quality seems good, everything is HEAVY. Chairs are comfortable, table decent. We still need to get an umbrella. All in all, we're very happy with it so far. I'll take some more pics for you tonight.

 

[Otis]

The makings of our own little suburban paradise -- in your eye, Fred!!1 That wood is in pretty awful shape, so someone is coming by this weekend to give us a quote on pulling it out and putting in a stone-type or paver patio. I'm expecting it to be around 4k, and probably worth it. We'll see.

But we're gonna have to do something about extending this line of trees/tall shrubs to get us some privacy from the neighbors. Fella coming by this weekend to chat about that and give us some ideas and an estimate. Our landscaper guy. One of the few good, honest vendors we've found so far.

By request. picture of the den leading out to the patio, with that ugly wood ceiling. The tile flooring is different but we kind of dig it. Needs an area rug. Reverse view of the room here -- it's a pretty great room, even if a bit small, all windows, and the view looks out down the hill, lots of trees, pretty nice. I'd run those TV wires through the wall but that's the back of the chimney (fireplace on the other side in the living room), so no can do. The room is long and narrow so we got one of these uber thin LEDs and had it mounted, and I found these side towers, which were supposed to be part of a full TV stand unit, but they fit perfectly into the little nooks we have on either side of the chimney and they just barely squeeze the FioS set top box in... (and notice the slate accents at the top which near perfectly match the floor) ... just need to take care of the wires now...

Some nice, well placed privacy trees a few feet back from that wall- a wall that can be refaced to go with your deck replacement stone- and you'll be set in the privacy department. I'm dealing with the very same issue right now.As for that "ugly wood ceiling?" Personally?? In a sun room setting like that one, I think it looks just fine. The whole "bring some of the outdoors indoors thing" with wood I guess. A white glossy paint carried into the trim will look nice, too though... Edited to add: that is one really sweet room.

Nice score on those towers. As for running the cable? Maybe you could find a shallow, freestanding book shelf to place below the TV and run the cable straight down behind it- creating a channel in the wallboard- then run it around to the tower behind a beefed up new baseboard??

Good link to the privacy trees. If they will grow well in that area, I think I want to go leyland cypress. Uncle has those along his property and they grow INCREDIBLY fast and tall, and very thick. You can't see or hear a damn thing from his neighbor. They could be perfect.

 

[Otis]

The makings of our own little suburban paradise -- in your eye, Fred!!1 That wood is in pretty awful shape, so someone is coming by this weekend to give us a quote on pulling it out and putting in a stone-type or paver patio. I'm expecting it to be around 4k, and probably worth it. We'll see.

But we're gonna have to do something about extending this line of trees/tall shrubs to get us some privacy from the neighbors. Fella coming by this weekend to chat about that and give us some ideas and an estimate. Our landscaper guy. One of the few good, honest vendors we've found so far.

By request. picture of the den leading out to the patio, with that ugly wood ceiling. The tile flooring is different but we kind of dig it. Needs an area rug. Reverse view of the room here -- it's a pretty great room, even if a bit small, all windows, and the view looks out down the hill, lots of trees, pretty nice. I'd run those TV wires through the wall but that's the back of the chimney (fireplace on the other side in the living room), so no can do. The room is long and narrow so we got one of these uber thin LEDs and had it mounted, and I found these side towers, which were supposed to be part of a full TV stand unit, but they fit perfectly into the little nooks we have on either side of the chimney and they just barely squeeze the FioS set top box in... (and notice the slate accents at the top which near perfectly match the floor) ... just need to take care of the wires now...

As for that "ugly wood ceiling?" Personally?? In a sun room setting like that one, I think it looks just fine. The whole "bring some of the outdoors indoors thing" with wood I guess. A white glossy paint carried into the trim will look nice, too though... Edited to add: that is one really sweet room.

that ceiling doesn't look too bad at the moment, but if you don't like it, white would be OK too.

Before you rush into investing $4K into a patio, you might want to live there awhile and think about bigger plans for the patio. You might still be able to re-purpose the pavers in the future, but it's a good chunk of change you're investing so don't be completely impulsive.

Also, it's hard to tell if the wood is actually bad/rotten or just dirty. My brother bought a house and his deck looked pretty close to that, but it was just dirty. An hour with a pressure washer did him wonders.

Na, some of these boards are rotting pretty badly. Breaking in multiple spots. We could probably survive with it for a while, but it will need to be redone soon enough, and I just as soon do it now and get the use out of something nicer for this season.

 

[Otis]

Sorry to interrupt DecoratingChat here ladies, but I have a quick question:Wife wants to know if she can leave outgoing mail in our mailbox, and will the mailman take that with him. I have never heard of this before -- I always thought you had to bring mail to a post office mailbox. Is this how it works in the sticks?

Oh, c'mon. Between this and the central air thing

 

[The Commish]

The makings of our own little suburban paradise -- in your eye, Fred!!1 That wood is in pretty awful shape, so someone is coming by this weekend to give us a quote on pulling it out and putting in a stone-type or paver patio. I'm expecting it to be around 4k, and probably worth it. We'll see.

But we're gonna have to do something about extending this line of trees/tall shrubs to get us some privacy from the neighbors. Fella coming by this weekend to chat about that and give us some ideas and an estimate. Our landscaper guy. One of the few good, honest vendors we've found so far.

By request. picture of the den leading out to the patio, with that ugly wood ceiling. The tile flooring is different but we kind of dig it. Needs an area rug. Reverse view of the room here -- it's a pretty great room, even if a bit small, all windows, and the view looks out down the hill, lots of trees, pretty nice. I'd run those TV wires through the wall but that's the back of the chimney (fireplace on the other side in the living room), so no can do. The room is long and narrow so we got one of these uber thin LEDs and had it mounted, and I found these side towers, which were supposed to be part of a full TV stand unit, but they fit perfectly into the little nooks we have on either side of the chimney and they just barely squeeze the FioS set top box in... (and notice the slate accents at the top which near perfectly match the floor) ... just need to take care of the wires now...

As for that "ugly wood ceiling?" Personally?? In a sun room setting like that one, I think it looks just fine. The whole "bring some of the outdoors indoors thing" with wood I guess. A white glossy paint carried into the trim will look nice, too though... Edited to add: that is one really sweet room.

that ceiling doesn't look too bad at the moment, but if you don't like it, white would be OK too.

Before you rush into investing $4K into a patio, you might want to live there awhile and think about bigger plans for the patio. You might still be able to re-purpose the pavers in the future, but it's a good chunk of change you're investing so don't be completely impulsive.

Also, it's hard to tell if the wood is actually bad/rotten or just dirty. My brother bought a house and his deck looked pretty close to that, but it was just dirty. An hour with a pressure washer did him wonders.

Na, some of these boards are rotting pretty badly. Breaking in multiple spots. We could probably survive with it for a while, but it will need to be redone soon enough, and I just as soon do it now and get the use out of something nicer for this season.

Just checking...it was hard to tell. I agree with the Leyland choice for the top of your hill. We put in 6 at our house and they doubled in size the first year and have grown very quickly the last two. They are filling in nicely. Just need to make sure they don't compete with the other trees for space. Hard to tell from that pic what all is up on that ridge.

 

[Sconch]

My wife just called and she's a little upset. There are these strange flying creatures in the trees near our house. She says they look like they're made of feathers or something. And they chirp and stuff. A neighbor told her that they were called 'burrs' or 'burds' or something like that. Should call someone and have them removed?

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

The makings of our own little suburban paradise -- in your eye, Fred!!1 That wood is in pretty awful shape, so someone is coming by this weekend to give us a quote on pulling it out and putting in a stone-type or paver patio. I'm expecting it to be around 4k, and probably worth it. We'll see.

But we're gonna have to do something about extending this line of trees/tall shrubs to get us some privacy from the neighbors. Fella coming by this weekend to chat about that and give us some ideas and an estimate. Our landscaper guy. One of the few good, honest vendors we've found so far.

By request. picture of the den leading out to the patio, with that ugly wood ceiling. The tile flooring is different but we kind of dig it. Needs an area rug. Reverse view of the room here -- it's a pretty great room, even if a bit small, all windows, and the view looks out down the hill, lots of trees, pretty nice. I'd run those TV wires through the wall but that's the back of the chimney (fireplace on the other side in the living room), so no can do. The room is long and narrow so we got one of these uber thin LEDs and had it mounted, and I found these side towers, which were supposed to be part of a full TV stand unit, but they fit perfectly into the little nooks we have on either side of the chimney and they just barely squeeze the FioS set top box in... (and notice the slate accents at the top which near perfectly match the floor) ... just need to take care of the wires now...

As for that "ugly wood ceiling?" Personally?? In a sun room setting like that one, I think it looks just fine. The whole "bring some of the outdoors indoors thing" with wood I guess. A white glossy paint carried into the trim will look nice, too though... Edited to add: that is one really sweet room.

that ceiling doesn't look too bad at the moment, but if you don't like it, white would be OK too.

Before you rush into investing $4K into a patio, you might want to live there awhile and think about bigger plans for the patio. You might still be able to re-purpose the pavers in the future, but it's a good chunk of change you're investing so don't be completely impulsive.

Also, it's hard to tell if the wood is actually bad/rotten or just dirty. My brother bought a house and his deck looked pretty close to that, but it was just dirty. An hour with a pressure washer did him wonders.

Na, some of these boards are rotting pretty badly. Breaking in multiple spots. We could probably survive with it for a while, but it will need to be redone soon enough, and I just as soon do it now and get the use out of something nicer for this season.

Just checking...it was hard to tell. I agree with the Leyland choice for the top of your hill. We put in 6 at our house and they doubled in size the first year and have grown very quickly the last two. They are filling in nicely. Just need to make sure they don't compete with the other trees for space. Hard to tell from that pic what all is up on that ridge.

what kind of sunlight do they need? Full sun? I need to redo what the deer have destroyed at some pt.

 

[Otis]

Yeah the leylands on that hill shouldn't have to compete with anything, though we uprooted a small tree from there last weekend and you can see someone before us cut down a tree or two and left a stump there, so it may be tricky finding a right place to put them. I'm thinking maybe we also just have the other trees that are there, and don't seem to be taking well, pulled out, and just do leylands all the way along for uniformity.

The only other catch is we have a LOT of shade, so I wonder whether these will grow well there. Landscaper seems to know his stuff and is coming by this weekend to give us his thoughts. I'm going to suggest leylands, or something like them -- those trees there now are sparse and don't seem to provide much privacy. He last time he visited suggested running more of those (but running them right -- he says the ones there are planted too deep and that's why they aren't thriving). But I am hoping he will tell me leylands or something like them will work.

 

[The Commish]

The makings of our own little suburban paradise -- in your eye, Fred!!1 That wood is in pretty awful shape, so someone is coming by this weekend to give us a quote on pulling it out and putting in a stone-type or paver patio. I'm expecting it to be around 4k, and probably worth it. We'll see.

But we're gonna have to do something about extending this line of trees/tall shrubs to get us some privacy from the neighbors. Fella coming by this weekend to chat about that and give us some ideas and an estimate. Our landscaper guy. One of the few good, honest vendors we've found so far.

By request. picture of the den leading out to the patio, with that ugly wood ceiling. The tile flooring is different but we kind of dig it. Needs an area rug. Reverse view of the room here -- it's a pretty great room, even if a bit small, all windows, and the view looks out down the hill, lots of trees, pretty nice. I'd run those TV wires through the wall but that's the back of the chimney (fireplace on the other side in the living room), so no can do. The room is long and narrow so we got one of these uber thin LEDs and had it mounted, and I found these side towers, which were supposed to be part of a full TV stand unit, but they fit perfectly into the little nooks we have on either side of the chimney and they just barely squeeze the FioS set top box in... (and notice the slate accents at the top which near perfectly match the floor) ... just need to take care of the wires now...

As for that "ugly wood ceiling?" Personally?? In a sun room setting like that one, I think it looks just fine. The whole "bring some of the outdoors indoors thing" with wood I guess. A white glossy paint carried into the trim will look nice, too though... Edited to add: that is one really sweet room.

that ceiling doesn't look too bad at the moment, but if you don't like it, white would be OK too.

Before you rush into investing $4K into a patio, you might want to live there awhile and think about bigger plans for the patio. You might still be able to re-purpose the pavers in the future, but it's a good chunk of change you're investing so don't be completely impulsive.

Also, it's hard to tell if the wood is actually bad/rotten or just dirty. My brother bought a house and his deck looked pretty close to that, but it was just dirty. An hour with a pressure washer did him wonders.

Na, some of these boards are rotting pretty badly. Breaking in multiple spots. We could probably survive with it for a while, but it will need to be redone soon enough, and I just as soon do it now and get the use out of something nicer for this season.

Just checking...it was hard to tell. I agree with the Leyland choice for the top of your hill. We put in 6 at our house and they doubled in size the first year and have grown very quickly the last two. They are filling in nicely. Just need to make sure they don't compete with the other trees for space. Hard to tell from that pic what all is up on that ridge.

what kind of sunlight do they need? Full sun? I need to redo what the deer have destroyed at some pt.

I am pretty sure full sun is best, but can handle partial sun. They also need soil that drains well. If it's a ton of shade, I recommend some sort of hemlock. They have some that are somewhat bush like (short and fat). All depends on what is available to you.

 

[bostonfred]

My wife just called and she's a little upset. There are these strange flying creatures in the trees near our house. She says they look like they're made of feathers or something. And they chirp and stuff. A neighbor told her that they were called 'burrs' or 'burds' or something like that. Should call someone and have them removed? I called a burr guy and he said he'd get rid of them for only $5k.

 

[shuke]

My wife just called and she's a little upset. There are these strange flying creatures in the trees near our house. She says they look like they're made of feathers or something. And they chirp and stuff. A neighbor told her that they were called 'burrs' or 'burds' or something like that. Should call someone and have them removed?