Otis in the Suburbs (4 Viewers)

[jwb]

This is all kinds of awesome. Put a Chain around the bushes and rip them out????

????This works really well. Even small bushes can have deep / difficult roots.

 

[mr. furley]

The walk to the train this morning was the most grueling 13 minute uphill walk of my life. I can't believe I have to do that every day.

 

[belljr]

The walk to the train this morning was the most grueling 13 minute uphill walk of my life. I can't believe I have to do that every day.

Can't wait for it to be uphill on the way home also....

 

[Otis]

Kill joy post

Warning: Good sense spoken here.

I climb, prune and remove trees for a living and this looks like a disaster. You would be better off hiring someone unless you have extensive knowledge of the different fiber strengths of different species. Nearly every week I hear about another home owner who thinks they can do this safely and ends up dead, cutting off an arm or leg (or someone else's), or dropping a tree on a car or house. I work with a chainsaw daily and it never ceases to amaze me the lack of respect that people have for these tools. Chainsaws are not something to joke about and can cut your face in half before you know what is going on. Google chainsaw accidents, go buy some chaps, hearing protection, safety glasses, boots, and gloves. Use the saw for cutting up fire wood, I strongly urge you to not attempt felling trees.

I used to work for a tree service in college. We took out massive trees. It was perilous work. That quote applies to them. What Otis wants to do is doable enough for anyone with a chain saw, determined and not stupid. His trees sound small enough.A tree or branch straight cut will fall in the combined direction of it's weight distribution and gravity. I've seen trees leaning left that you would guarantee would fall that way, but because heavy branches were growing back to the right it fell that way or some way inbetween.

A good home owner approach is to deternine the lay (place to drop tree) and cut off branches from the other side of the tree, leaving the heaviest branches in the direction of the lay. You start to choose which way it is going to fall before cutting. Then I wrap a rope around a couple remaining branches and get someone to pull the tree in that direction while I cut the tree. It is possible to do this alone tying off the rope with good tension to something in the right direction but this not a great idea sometimes.

Three cuts fell a tree. Two face cuts and the back cut. The first face cut is hip high on the side of the tree in the direction you want it to fall - horizontal, a quarter into the trunk, deeper for bigger trees. The second is diagonal down from above the first cut to make a wedge -- a 33 degree angle is fine for most smaller trees. Screwing up this cut is often the reason people accidentally take out power lines and stuff. The back cut can be horizontal or slightly angled down. It should meet the face cuts an inch or so above the first horizontal cut. When the tree moves, pull away and stand back. It is a very big mistake to just straignt cut a trunk. It is okay for some branches but never the trunk. The tree can and often will pinch the saw with all it's weight and nothing good happens after that. Three cuts on the trunk, please.

Otis, if you're taking the trees out of the ground, stump, root ball and all, you generally want to top the tree, trimming branches until left with just the trunk fairly high for leverage. Then you dig a moat around the tree cutting roots as you find them. Then with the truck and chains you can usually pull the thing out of the ground. A couple of these is a long hard days work. I've done several Italian Cypresses over the last couple weeks and they come out with ropes and a couple men pulling, but they're especially easy.

If you're leaving the stumps still fell the tree from hip high then take the stump down to the ground. You can poison the stump so it rots in a year of so, or you can rent a stump grinder and get it down a foot beneath the soil. This what I generally do. You can plant grass right over it even if it is only 6" below the surface. Stump grinders are great one day rentals. I've prepped gardens with them, made irrigation trenches, dug out a huge hole for my basketball hoop post, etc. One of the truly great unsung power tools.

Holy crap this is awesome.

 

[squidrope]

3. The prior owners let this place go to hell. There hasn't been any trimming or gardening in millenia. I can't wait this weekend to hit up the home depot and get some shovels and hedge clippers and a chainsaw. Multiple trees are coming down, multiple bushes are being dug up.

There is zero chance you are going to take down multiple trees and dig up multiple bushes in one weekend.My bet is it is sometime in July before both of these things happen.

Good luck though.

Inviting brother in law and cousins over to assist. Captioned the e-mail "Taming the Wild Party." We'll drink a few cold ones, dig up a couple bushes (one guy said he'd bring his truck and we'd hook a chain up around the bushes and to his tow hook and yank em out), and use the chainsaw to take down 3-5 thin trees. (A foot or two thick). Seems totally doable to me.

This is not a "thin" tree. Anything over 3"-4" in dia. you really should know what you are doing. Chainsaws are VERY dangerous. Drinking and operating a chainsaw shouldn't be mixed. Pound the beers back after. As mentioned earlier, get a Stihl. Buy a smaller saw 14"-16" bar. They are much easier to limb/trim with. Buy a wedge, sledge, a few extra chains, bar lube, 2 cycle oil and a seperate marked gas can to keep the gas in. It's probably best that you run the gas out of the saw before you put it away for the day. That'll prevent the carb from gumming up with the old gas.

Booze and Chainsaw=One Legged "City Slicker"

 

[Nigel]

The walk to the train this morning was the most grueling 13 minute uphill walk of my life. I can't believe I have to do that every day.

lay off the smokes

 

[squidrope]

3. The prior owners let this place go to hell. There hasn't been any trimming or gardening in millenia. I can't wait this weekend to hit up the home depot and get some shovels and hedge clippers and a chainsaw. Multiple trees are coming down, multiple bushes are being dug up.

There is zero chance you are going to take down multiple trees and dig up multiple bushes in one weekend.My bet is it is sometime in July before both of these things happen.Good luck though.

 

[ODoyleRules]

INITIAL REPORT AND FINDINGS

4. Craigslist is amazing. You can convince dozens of people to e-mail you to come pick up the horrendous eyesore that is the enormous wooden playset on your FRONT lawn, and they will fight over who will get there first. Dude supposed to show in an hour to disassemble that monster and cart it off. Score 1 for the city slicker.

12. HOLY CRAP it is quiet out here. We sat on our stoop drinking wine and smoking cigarettes and it was dead silence. Very cool and relaxing, but creepy as hell.

13. Bugs. Ants, bees, flies, mosquitoes. We didn't have these in our apartment. But if we leave the doors open here for more than 4 seconds, it's like the whole ####### insect kingdom. I guess I need fly swatters.

We're a good month from being able to host a barbecue. This #### is hard work.

Sounds exactly like our move from the city to the burbs. 4. I put a trampoline eyesore up on Craigslist's Free Stuff and had 100+ inquiries in 60 minutes. It was almost like people were hitting a refresh button waiting for a free trampoline.

12. The first time we heard birds in the morning, our initial reaction was WTF. Chilling on the patio is great. I still sit out there every night like Stewie Griffin.

13. Big surprise to me too. Every week I was asking my neighbor about how to deal with wasps, mosquitos, spiders. Then it became chipmunks, bunnies, foxes, skunks... . Ortho Home Defense helps some with the bugs, but we still get all types of spiders in our basement. I never thought I'd see myself fighting bunnies over shubbery, but here I am. FML.

 

[mr. furley]

Kill joy post

Warning: Good sense spoken here.

I climb, prune and remove trees for a living and this looks like a disaster. You would be better off hiring someone unless you have extensive knowledge of the different fiber strengths of different species. Nearly every week I hear about another home owner who thinks they can do this safely and ends up dead, cutting off an arm or leg (or someone else's), or dropping a tree on a car or house. I work with a chainsaw daily and it never ceases to amaze me the lack of respect that people have for these tools. Chainsaws are not something to joke about and can cut your face in half before you know what is going on. Google chainsaw accidents, go buy some chaps, hearing protection, safety glasses, boots, and gloves. Use the saw for cutting up fire wood, I strongly urge you to not attempt felling trees.

I used to work for a tree service in college. We took out massive trees. It was perilous work. That quote applies to them. What Otis wants to do is doable enough for anyone with a chain saw, determined and not stupid. His trees sound small enough.A tree or branch straight cut will fall in the combined direction of it's weight distribution and gravity. I've seen trees leaning left that you would guarantee would fall that way, but because heavy branches were growing back to the right it fell that way or some way inbetween.

A good home owner approach is to deternine the lay (place to drop tree) and cut off branches from the other side of the tree, leaving the heaviest branches in the direction of the lay. You start to choose which way it is going to fall before cutting. Then I wrap a rope around a couple remaining branches and get someone to pull the tree in that direction while I cut the tree. It is possible to do this alone tying off the rope with good tension to something in the right direction but this not a great idea sometimes.

Three cuts fell a tree. Two face cuts and the back cut. The first face cut is hip high on the side of the tree in the direction you want it to fall - horizontal, a quarter into the trunk, deeper for bigger trees. The second is diagonal down from above the first cut to make a wedge -- a 33 degree angle is fine for most smaller trees. Screwing up this cut is often the reason people accidentally take out power lines and stuff. The back cut can be horizontal or slightly angled down. It should meet the face cuts an inch or so above the first horizontal cut. When the tree moves, pull away and stand back. It is a very big mistake to just straignt cut a trunk. It is okay for some branches but never the trunk. The tree can and often will pinch the saw with all it's weight and nothing good happens after that. Three cuts on the trunk, please.

Otis, if you're taking the trees out of the ground, stump, root ball and all, you generally want to top the tree, trimming branches until left with just the trunk fairly high for leverage. Then you dig a moat around the tree cutting roots as you find them. Then with the truck and chains you can usually pull the thing out of the ground. A couple of these is a long hard days work. I've done several Italian Cypresses over the last couple weeks and they come out with ropes and a couple men pulling, but they're especially easy.

don't do any of this. wing it.

post pics of the offending trees before you get to cuttin for more accurate analysis

If you're leaving the stumps still fell the tree from hip high then take the stump down to the ground. You can poison the stump so it rots in a year of so, or you can rent a stump grinder and get it down a foot beneath the soil. This what I generally do. You can plant grass right over it even if it is only 6" below the surface. Stump grinders are great one day rentals. I've prepped gardens with them, made irrigation trenches, dug out a huge hole for my basketball hoop post, etc. One of the truly great unsung power tools.

we had a guy grind our stumps. truly an awesome sight. what took me hours of frustrating, backbreaking digging, hacking and swearing before total failure.. he buzzed down in about 20 minutes.

 

[squidrope]

This is all kinds of awesome. Put a Chain around the bushes and rip them out????

A friend tried this approach and the stump suddenly snapped free. The chain and the stump flew back at the truck and destroyed it's hood and windshield.

 

[Sconch]

The walk to the train this morning was the most grueling 13 minute uphill walk of my life. I can't believe I have to do that every day.

I thought all the cool kids had their wives drop them off at the station.

 

[Otis]

The walk to the train this morning was the most grueling 13 minute uphill walk of my life. I can't believe I have to do that every day.

I thought all the cool kids had their wives drop them off at the station.

Pondered this as I was about 3/4 of the way up the hill. That's definitely happening in summer and winter. And on rainy days. And any other time she'll volunteer it.

 

[Sconch]

The walk to the train this morning was the most grueling 13 minute uphill walk of my life. I can't believe I have to do that every day.

I thought all the cool kids had their wives drop them off at the station.

Pondered this as I was about 3/4 of the way up the hill. That's definitely happening in summer and winter. And on rainy days. And any other time she'll volunteer it.

this

 

[bostonfred]

9. It was cool that the Verizon guy finally got here and installed our FioS. I'm not sure about his design choice when he ran a white cable up the side of our house and into the upstairs bedroom.13. Bugs. Ants, bees, flies, mosquitoes. We didn't have these in our apartment. But if we leave the doors open here for more than 4 seconds, it's like the whole ####### insect kingdom. I guess I need fly swatters.

9. You should never have the "cable guy" do this. They will always go with the path of least resistance, which is running a big ugly cable outside your house, then drilling a hole through your exterior wall. Then they overcharge you for it. Hire an electrician, who can fish the cable through the wall so it's not so visible. While he's there, ask him to take a look around the house for things that stand out as electrical projects you'll need in the future, and tell him what your plans are. If you're thinking about adding central air, make sure your panel can support it. If you're thinking about hanging a plasma TV in the bedroom, make sure you have a good place to wire everything. Don't waste his time, but get the lay of the land. 13. Put your ortho down now. Check all of your screens and sliding doors for holes. You can get a screen repaired cheap at a hardware store. Put ant traps down in the kitchen before you see the first ant. Check around the perimeter of the house under eaves, overhangs, etc. for hornets nests. It's not a bad idea to have hornet spray on hand before you find them.

 

[Sarnoff]

F'in city boy

 

[Chaos Commish]

we had a guy grind our stumps. truly an awesome sight. what took me hours of frustrating, backbreaking digging, hacking and swearing before total failure.. he buzzed down in about 20 minutes.

My dad nearly killed himself taking trees out of our backyard. When I worked for the tree company and first saw a grinder in action, I called my dad and explained it to him. He felt dumb.

 

[belljr]

9. It was cool that the Verizon guy finally got here and installed our FioS. I'm not sure about his design choice when he ran a white cable up the side of our house and into the upstairs bedroom.

13. Bugs. Ants, bees, flies, mosquitoes. We didn't have these in our apartment. But if we leave the doors open here for more than 4 seconds, it's like the whole ####### insect kingdom. I guess I need fly swatters.

9. You should never have the "cable guy" do this. They will always go with the path of least resistance, which is running a big ugly cable outside your house, then drilling a hole through your exterior wall. Then they overcharge you for it. Hire an electrician, who can fish the cable through the wall so it's not so visible. While he's there, ask him to take a look around the house for things that stand out as electrical projects you'll need in the future, and tell him what your plans are. If you're thinking about adding central air, make sure your panel can support it. If you're thinking about hanging a plasma TV in the bedroom, make sure you have a good place to wire everything. Don't waste his time, but get the lay of the land.

To run some coaxial cable through your house?? It's not rocket surgery. If he is going to do the other stuff than I agree, but running some RG6 through your walls is pretty easy.

 

[Otis]

9. It was cool that the Verizon guy finally got here and installed our FioS. I'm not sure about his design choice when he ran a white cable up the side of our house and into the upstairs bedroom.

13. Bugs. Ants, bees, flies, mosquitoes. We didn't have these in our apartment. But if we leave the doors open here for more than 4 seconds, it's like the whole ####### insect kingdom. I guess I need fly swatters.

9. You should never have the "cable guy" do this. They will always go with the path of least resistance, which is running a big ugly cable outside your house, then drilling a hole through your exterior wall. Then they overcharge you for it. Hire an electrician, who can fish the cable through the wall so it's not so visible. While he's there, ask him to take a look around the house for things that stand out as electrical projects you'll need in the future, and tell him what your plans are. If you're thinking about adding central air, make sure your panel can support it. If you're thinking about hanging a plasma TV in the bedroom, make sure you have a good place to wire everything. Don't waste his time, but get the lay of the land.

To run some coaxial cable through your house?? It's not rocket surgery. If he is going to do the other stuff than I agree, but running some RG6 through your walls is pretty easy.

I've done this before and I'm thinking at some point I will peel off the eyesore he ran along the side of the house and run it internally myself.

 

[Otis]

So I think this weekend I'm also gonna get in some fellas.

- I want to get in a gardening/arborist type dude who can look at the property and tell us what trees/shrubs can go and how we might be able to tier the space with retaining walls and add lawn (if even possible given the shade)

- Also want to get in a paving/mason guy to give us an estimate on doing the front walkway and stoop. Right now it basically is just cement all the way up. Wanna have him throw down some stone/slate/brick or something nice looking on top of all that, along with handrails. Also maybe some stone columns with lanterns at each flat part of the stairway.

Other upcoming projects include:

- We're getting a painter in ASAP to paint the downstairs. The walls look like crap. I'm figuring this will be like 2k.

- I'm assuming the front stoop will run 5-8k

- Gonna get it resided and have a portico built on front. I'm assuming this will run us around 30 large.

Houses are expensive.

EDITED TO REVISE COST ESTIMATES

 

[Mopap]

we had a guy grind our stumps. truly an awesome sight. what took me hours of frustrating, backbreaking digging, hacking and swearing before total failure.. he buzzed down in about 20 minutes.

My dad nearly killed himself taking trees out of our backyard. When I worked for the tree company and first saw a grinder in action, I called my dad and explained it to him. He felt dumb.

We had a guy in to grind up a bunch of bush stumps. He also ground up our phone line. This after getting the "call before you dig" guys out to mark the location of buried pipes and lines. Apparently, the phone guys didn't lay their line where they were supposed to, down along our driveway, but rather took a short cut diagonally across our front yard and right through the landscaping we were having torn out. Guy who came out to fix it was not happy.

 

[belljr]

9. It was cool that the Verizon guy finally got here and installed our FioS. I'm not sure about his design choice when he ran a white cable up the side of our house and into the upstairs bedroom.

13. Bugs. Ants, bees, flies, mosquitoes. We didn't have these in our apartment. But if we leave the doors open here for more than 4 seconds, it's like the whole ####### insect kingdom. I guess I need fly swatters.

9. You should never have the "cable guy" do this. They will always go with the path of least resistance, which is running a big ugly cable outside your house, then drilling a hole through your exterior wall. Then they overcharge you for it. Hire an electrician, who can fish the cable through the wall so it's not so visible. While he's there, ask him to take a look around the house for things that stand out as electrical projects you'll need in the future, and tell him what your plans are. If you're thinking about adding central air, make sure your panel can support it. If you're thinking about hanging a plasma TV in the bedroom, make sure you have a good place to wire everything. Don't waste his time, but get the lay of the land.

To run some coaxial cable through your house?? It's not rocket surgery. If he is going to do the other stuff than I agree, but running some RG6 through your walls is pretty easy.

I've done this before and I'm thinking at some point I will peel off the eyesore he ran along the side of the house and run it internally myself.

Things to note - don't run on a wall with plumbing. For example a bedroom shares a wall with the bathroom. Good luck dropping the cable through, most like hit a pipe. The builder may have stapled the exisiting wire to studs, you may have to jut tuck the old cable in the wall and run the new stuff.

When removing the cable from outside if he use nails in the clips, put some clear caulk in the holes.

ETA: You have a basement so it make running "most" cable easy

 

[Sarnoff]

- We're getting a painter in ASAP to paint the downstairs. The walls look like crap. I'm figuring this will be like 5-8k.

 

[belljr]

So I think this weekend I'm also gonna get in some fellas. - I want to get in a gardening/arborist type dude who can look at the property and tell us what trees/shrubs can go and how we might be able to tier the space with retaining walls and add lawn (if even possible given the shade)- Also want to get in a paving/mason guy to give us an estimate on doing the front walkway and stoop. Right now it basically is just cement all the way up. Wanna have him throw down some stone/slate/brick or something nice looking on top of all that, along with handrails. Also maybe some stone columns with lanterns at each flat part of the stairway.Other upcoming projects include:- We're getting a painter in ASAP to paint the downstairs. The walls look like crap. I'm figuring this will be like 5-8k.- Gonna get it resided and have a portico built on front. I'm assuming this will run us around 30 large. Houses are expensive.

You could cut your cost in half doing it yourself

 

[gmbacm]

So I think this weekend I'm also gonna get in some fellas. - I want to get in a gardening/arborist type dude who can look at the property and tell us what trees/shrubs can go and how we might be able to tier the space with retaining walls and add lawn (if even possible given the shade)- Also want to get in a paving/mason guy to give us an estimate on doing the front walkway and stoop. Right now it basically is just cement all the way up. Wanna have him throw down some stone/slate/brick or something nice looking on top of all that, along with handrails. Also maybe some stone columns with lanterns at each flat part of the stairway.Other upcoming projects include:- We're getting a painter in ASAP to paint the downstairs. The walls look like crap. I'm figuring this will be like 2k.- I'm assuming the front stoop will run 5-8k- Gonna get it resided and have a portico built on front. I'm assuming this will run us around 30 large. Houses are expensive.EDITED TO REVISE COST ESTIMATES

Is the current siding in bad shape or just faded? You can have the siding painted if its in decent shape.

 

[mr. furley]

we had a guy grind our stumps. truly an awesome sight. what took me hours of frustrating, backbreaking digging, hacking and swearing before total failure.. he buzzed down in about 20 minutes.

My dad nearly killed himself taking trees out of our backyard. When I worked for the tree company and first saw a grinder in action, I called my dad and explained it to him. He felt dumb.

We had a guy in to grind up a bunch of bush stumps. He also ground up our phone line. This after getting the "call before you dig" guys out to mark the location of buried pipes and lines. Apparently, the phone guys didn't lay their line where they were supposed to, down along our driveway, but rather took a short cut diagonally across our front yard and right through the landscaping we were having torn out. Guy who came out to fix it was not happy.

 

[Otis]

- We're getting a painter in ASAP to paint the downstairs. The walls look like crap. I'm figuring this will be like 5-8k.

That was a typo. That was my guesstimate for the brick/stone work.

 

[bostonfred]

9. It was cool that the Verizon guy finally got here and installed our FioS. I'm not sure about his design choice when he ran a white cable up the side of our house and into the upstairs bedroom.

13. Bugs. Ants, bees, flies, mosquitoes. We didn't have these in our apartment. But if we leave the doors open here for more than 4 seconds, it's like the whole ####### insect kingdom. I guess I need fly swatters.

9. You should never have the "cable guy" do this. They will always go with the path of least resistance, which is running a big ugly cable outside your house, then drilling a hole through your exterior wall. Then they overcharge you for it. Hire an electrician, who can fish the cable through the wall so it's not so visible. While he's there, ask him to take a look around the house for things that stand out as electrical projects you'll need in the future, and tell him what your plans are. If you're thinking about adding central air, make sure your panel can support it. If you're thinking about hanging a plasma TV in the bedroom, make sure you have a good place to wire everything. Don't waste his time, but get the lay of the land.

To run some coaxial cable through your house?? It's not rocket surgery. If he is going to do the other stuff than I agree, but running some RG6 through your walls is pretty easy.

Have you been reading this thread?

 

[glock]

- We're getting a painter in ASAP to paint the downstairs. The walls look like crap. I'm figuring this will be like 5-8k.

That was a typo. That was my guesstimate for the brick/stone work.

We had siding/roof/2 skylights done and a portico built two years back. $25K. I designed the portico and they built it. Has Craftsman tapered columns on brick pedestals. I'm currently researching the pricing on retaining wall materials. From PA bluestone to concrete blocks... I need to replace about 40 feet of 50 year old railroad ties. Why is it like pulling teeth to get simple linear price quotes on materials? I am considering buying the materials and working on it myself this summer. I'll share any info I get...

 

[Tiger Fan]

The walk to the train this morning was the most grueling 13 minute uphill walk of my life. I can't believe I have to do that every day.

Can't wait for it to be uphill on the way home also....

 

[Tiger Fan]

So I think this weekend I'm also gonna get in some fellas.

- I want to get in a gardening/arborist type dude who can look at the property and tell us what trees/shrubs can go and how we might be able to tier the space with retaining walls and add lawn (if even possible given the shade)

- Also want to get in a paving/mason guy to give us an estimate on doing the front walkway and stoop. Right now it basically is just cement all the way up. Wanna have him throw down some stone/slate/brick or something nice looking on top of all that, along with handrails. Also maybe some stone columns with lanterns at each flat part of the stairway.

Other upcoming projects include:

- We're getting a painter in ASAP to paint the downstairs. The walls look like crap. I'm figuring this will be like 2k.

- I'm assuming the front stoop will run 5-8k

- Gonna get it resided and have a portico built on front. I'm assuming this will run us around 30 large.

Houses are expensive.

EDITED TO REVISE COST ESTIMATES

Read this to save about 6% every time you shop at Home Depot/Lowe's (with a little bit of planning involved)

 

[DA RAIDERS]

 

[DA RAIDERS]

So I think this weekend I'm also gonna get in some fellas.

FYI. People aren't as accepting of this type of behavior out in the burbs/sticks. HTH

 

[Reaper]

9. It was cool that the Verizon guy finally got here and installed our FioS. I'm not sure about his design choice when he ran a white cable up the side of our house and into the upstairs bedroom.

13. Bugs. Ants, bees, flies, mosquitoes. We didn't have these in our apartment. But if we leave the doors open here for more than 4 seconds, it's like the whole ####### insect kingdom. I guess I need fly swatters.

9. You should never have the "cable guy" do this. They will always go with the path of least resistance, which is running a big ugly cable outside your house, then drilling a hole through your exterior wall. Then they overcharge you for it. Hire an electrician, who can fish the cable through the wall so it's not so visible. While he's there, ask him to take a look around the house for things that stand out as electrical projects you'll need in the future, and tell him what your plans are. If you're thinking about adding central air, make sure your panel can support it. If you're thinking about hanging a plasma TV in the bedroom, make sure you have a good place to wire everything. Don't waste his time, but get the lay of the land.

To run some coaxial cable through your house?? It's not rocket surgery. If he is going to do the other stuff than I agree, but running some RG6 through your walls is pretty easy.

I've done this before and I'm thinking at some point I will peel off the eyesore he ran along the side of the house and run it internally myself.

When they do the Siding, that guy can probably hide it somewhere.

 

[tommyGunZ]

over/under on the "Otis moves back into the city" thread date?MGM currently has it at 8/14.

The walk to the train this morning was the most grueling 13 minute uphill walk of my life. I can't believe I have to do that every day.

Due to an influx of recent heavy wagering on the under, the line has been moved to 8/13. All previous tickets will be honored.

 

[Koya]

The walk to the train this morning was the most grueling 13 minute uphill walk of my life. I can't believe I have to do that every day.

Aren't you able to get a parking permit to do the usual 2 min suburban drive to the train?

 

[Otis]

The walk to the train this morning was the most grueling 13 minute uphill walk of my life. I can't believe I have to do that every day.

Aren't you able to get a parking permit to do the usual 2 min suburban drive to the train?

I think so. But we only have one car. I guess I could buy a beater to leave at the station...

 

[Garrett]

The walk to the train this morning was the most grueling 13 minute uphill walk of my life. I can't believe I have to do that every day.

Aren't you able to get a parking permit to do the usual 2 min suburban drive to the train?

I think so. But we only have one car. I guess I could buy a beater to leave at the station...

Ride your lawn mower

 

[Sammy3469]

The walk to the train this morning was the most grueling 13 minute uphill walk of my life. I can't believe I have to do that every day.

Aren't you able to get a parking permit to do the usual 2 min suburban drive to the train?

I think so. But we only have one car. I guess I could buy a beater to leave at the station...

get a beater bike

 

[DA RAIDERS]

How far is it? Mile? Mile and a half?

In order to hit your weight goals, the missus needs to drive you

 

[St. Louis Bob]

The walk to the train this morning was the most grueling 13 minute uphill walk of my life. I can't believe I have to do that every day.

I thought all the cool kids had their wives drop them off at the station.

link

 

[bostonfred]

Otis in the Suburbs

we only have one car

 

[ShaqAttaq]

I understand folks drive everywhere too.Crap, will we need a second car?

foreshadowing

 

[The Commish]

I know we've never really been on the best of terms, but I believe this tree trimming excursion could change that

 

[Koya]

The walk to the train this morning was the most grueling 13 minute uphill walk of my life. I can't believe I have to do that every day.

Aren't you able to get a parking permit to do the usual 2 min suburban drive to the train?

I think so. But we only have one car. I guess I could buy a beater to leave at the station...

No can do buddy. People JUDGE you by your ride in the 'burbs. Your kids future depends upon this.

 

[Otis]

Well, after getting some sucker to come by last night and dismantle and haul off the stupid wooden playset on our front lawn, I'm realizing that people apparently want that weedy pachysandra crap that makes up our front "lawn," and I can put an ad on craigslist to convince some schmuck to come and take that too. God bless craigslist.

i found like 4 more trees on our front area that I can totally cut down. They're all like a foot in circumference and maybe 20 feet tall. This seems like easy pickins.

 

[urbanhack]

how many total trees do you have?

 

[mr roboto]

Well, after getting some sucker to come by last night and dismantle and haul off the stupid wooden playset on our front lawn, I'm realizing that people apparently want that weedy pachysandra crap that makes up our front "lawn," and I can put an ad on craigslist to convince some schmuck to come and take that too. God bless craigslist.i found like 4 more trees on our front area that I can totally cut down. They're all like a foot in circumference and maybe 20 feet tall. This seems like easy pickins.

I HOPE this goes without saying, but you need to control the direction of the tree falling. Throw a rope over a branch, control the kind of cut you put into the base etc. You may think these are smallish trees, but they could destroy your roof or car or whatever else is around.I've seen this a dozen times. New house, everything will be easy. Screw Home Depot and their 'You can do it. We can help.' crap. Most of the time, that is not true.But good luck.

 

[gmbacm]

Well, after getting some sucker to come by last night and dismantle and haul off the stupid wooden playset on our front lawn, I'm realizing that people apparently want that weedy pachysandra crap that makes up our front "lawn," and I can put an ad on craigslist to convince some schmuck to come and take that too. God bless craigslist.i found like 4 more trees on our front area that I can totally cut down. They're all like a foot in circumference and maybe 20 feet tall. This seems like easy pickins.

Thats not too big. Trees that size will go for several hundred or more at the nursery. Throw an ad on craigslist for free trees and see if someone will come dig it up and take it away.

 

[Otis]

how many total trees do you have?

Good question. I'll step outside and get a count now...Holy crap. It's somewhere between 30-40 or so. It's dark out now so hard to confirm. The ones around the side and back are typically the oldest and biggest. Up front and scattered in between we have lots of smaller, thinner, younger ones. No wonder the place is completely covered in shade and has weeds and little grass. I think I may go nuts this weekend and take down as many of the small ones as we can. It looks like we've got a good 12 or more trees that fit within the "under 20 inches circumference" restriction. Will my neighbors hate me for killing all these nature/trees or love me for cleaning up the look of the property? I'm hoping the latter, but who knows. None of the ones I'm looking to cut down are big enough to impact anyone else's property really anyway.

 

[urbanhack]

Wow....that's a boatload.