What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Otis in the Suburbs (3 Viewers)

Otis in the Suburbs

  • Yes

    Votes: 12 17.1%

  • Right-O

    Votes: 18 25.7%

  • You betcha

    Votes: 40 57.1%
  • Total voters
    70
'Otis said:
Got a quote from the landscaper to finish out the run of Leyland Cypress trees we have in the back. He thinks we need 6 or 7 more to complete the incomplete run the people before us started, at around 200 a pop for ones that are 5-7 feet tall. He'll also fix/bring back to life the ones that were previously improperly planted nearly a foot too deep (thus depriving the roots of the nutrients/moisture they need, which is why they are thin and look like crap). So we're looking at about another 2 grand.By the way, if any of you guys want a check for 2 grand, I'm pretty much just writing them daily and giving them out to everyone, so come on by. Owning a house in the suburbs is awesome.
Click to expand...
We got them in 15 gallon buckets for $40 each, but we installed. The folks we got them from would install them for $40 each though. This is a great place for you to save some dough. It's easy to dig a hole and drop them in :shrug:
 
'Otis said:
By the way, if any of you guys want a check for 2 grand, I'm pretty much just writing them daily and giving them out to everyone, so come on by. Owning a house in the suburbs is awesome.
Click to expand...
Not a chance in hell I would pay that kind of money for those trees. And I'm a bit skeptical of his story about why the other trees are a littl scraggly.Installing the railing on the roof is simple. In fact, it's far easier than getting crown moulding perfect. Just sayin'. I did three sides of a 25' by 12' 2nd floor deck in three hours not counting paint, which was done by someone else. That was about an hour taking measurements. marking and prepping the job; an hour screwing in the footings/baseplates, and an hour mounting the posts and panels.
 
'Chaos Commish said:
'Otis said:
By the way, if any of you guys want a check for 2 grand, I'm pretty much just writing them daily and giving them out to everyone, so come on by. Owning a house in the suburbs is awesome.
Click to expand...
Not a chance in hell I would pay that kind of money for those trees. And I'm a bit skeptical of his story about why the other trees are a littl scraggly.Installing the railing on the roof is simple. In fact, it's far easier than getting crown moulding perfect. Just sayin'. I did three sides of a 25' by 12' 2nd floor deck in three hours not counting paint, which was done by someone else. That was about an hour taking measurements. marking and prepping the job; an hour screwing in the footings/baseplates, and an hour mounting the posts and panels.
Click to expand...
This house is old. I'm guessing when they go to install the railing, there will be rot, etc.
 
'JerseyToughGuys said:
:patiobonfire:
Click to expand...
Sitting out back enjoying th burbs in all its glory. Wife just went up to check on the baby. Sitting out back under our lit umbrella on the patio, citronella candles chasing off the bad guys, drinking scotch and wine and smoking stogies. Perfect night out here under the stars and trees. Life in the burbs is totally and completely awesome.
 
'Otis said:
'the moops said:
'Mr. Pickles said:
Home inspection is a racket, if you haven't figured that out already. They charge, what, $400 or so, and spend about 20 minutes looking at the house. Nice gig.
Click to expand...
The guy I used spent 4 hours and his findings got the seller to pay almost all of our closing costs. :shrug:
Click to expand...
Ours spent 4 hours and he cleared all the big stuff I really cared about -- structural, roofing, septic, electrical, etc. Yeah it would have been nice if he'd caught this so I could have quibbled about it and had the seller kick in and probably split the difference with us (1k), but there is still some peace of mind in the stuff he actually did inspect.But yeah, I called and e-mailed the company about it today. We'll see if we can get anything out of it.
Click to expand...
But if he was that sloppy in missing something obvious like the railing, how do you know his assessment on the major issues was accurate?
 
'Mr. Pickles said:
'Otis said:
Guy came by to give us an estimate on installing a railing today. 2200 bucks. His comment to my wife, repeatedly:"I just can't believe you guys bought a house without a railing. The inspector should have caught this.":bag:Heading back to look at the inspection report to see if I can take it up with them.
Click to expand...
Home inspection is a racket, if you haven't figured that out already. They charge, what, $400 or so, and spend about 20 minutes looking at the house. Nice gig.
Click to expand...
There are good ones. My last one came highly recommended. Cost $500 and spent 6 hours at the house going over every little thing.
 
'Tiger Fan said:
'Otis said:
'JerseyToughGuys said:
:patiobonfire:
Click to expand...
Sitting out back enjoying th burbs in all its glory. Wife just went up to check on the baby. Sitting out back under our lit umbrella on the patio, citronella candles chasing off the bad guys, drinking scotch and wine and smoking stogies. Perfect night out here under the stars and trees. Life in the burbs is totally and completely awesome.
Click to expand...
no video monitor?
Click to expand...
Oh we have one. Thing is money.
 
'Mr. Pickles said:
'Otis said:
Guy came by to give us an estimate on installing a railing today. 2200 bucks. His comment to my wife, repeatedly:"I just can't believe you guys bought a house without a railing. The inspector should have caught this.":bag:Heading back to look at the inspection report to see if I can take it up with them.
Click to expand...
Home inspection is a racket, if you haven't figured that out already. They charge, what, $400 or so, and spend about 20 minutes looking at the house. Nice gig.
Click to expand...
Our home inspector took almost 5 hours and saved us more than the price of his services in things we got the vendor to take care of before close. He was very thorough.
 
'Drifter said:
'Mr. Pickles said:
'Otis said:
Guy came by to give us an estimate on installing a railing today. 2200 bucks. His comment to my wife, repeatedly:"I just can't believe you guys bought a house without a railing. The inspector should have caught this.":bag:Heading back to look at the inspection report to see if I can take it up with them.
Click to expand...
Home inspection is a racket, if you haven't figured that out already. They charge, what, $400 or so, and spend about 20 minutes looking at the house. Nice gig.
Click to expand...
There are good ones. My last one came highly recommended. Cost $500 and spent 6 hours at the house going over every little thing.
Click to expand...
Agree. On the first house we put an offer in, the guy took one look around outside and said "you don't want to buy this house because of x, y and z." he only charged me like $100, and that probably saved me thousands if I would have bought the home.
 
First price for the masonry work is in. Turns out you guys were right, this ain't cheap. Now, the patio is bigger than I realized -- he will make it 20x25, which will be a pretty nice size. He also is going to do a large step/landing up to the doorway, along with removing the existing deck (which is enormous and a mess). Finally, he made a good suggestion of re-stucco-ing the back retaining wall, which looks like total crap (he said this is cheap, not affecting price much). For all that, we are looking at 9,900. Another approx 1700 to redo the front stoop in nice pavers/bluestone. Grand total of 11,600.

I think I was hoping for 6-8k for this, but I was expecting the whole thing to realistically approach around 10k. Really though he's at 12k.

#### ain't cheap, fellas.

Next guy coming at noon to give an estimate. Final estimate coming Monday.

 
'Otis said:
'OC Zed said:
'ODoyleRules said:
'JerseyToughGuys said:
next on your agenda should be outdoor speakers and Sonos (or the like). million times worth the investment imo
Click to expand...
I'm hoping the sound on this will be good. Probably not since it's iHome, but the idea is great.
Click to expand...
I'd love to hear a review if you get it. How much are these things?
Click to expand...
:popcorn:
Click to expand...
They speculate ~200. I think Klipsch will have a similar concept priced around 500-600. They are supposed to come out later this summer or fall. I'm gonna wait on these before looking into Sonos. (plus I don't have a good spot to put a receiver for our patio).
 
'Otis said:
First price for the masonry work is in. Turns out you guys were right, this ain't cheap. Now, the patio is bigger than I realized -- he will make it 20x25, which will be a pretty nice size. He also is going to do a large step/landing up to the doorway, along with removing the existing deck (which is enormous and a mess). Finally, he made a good suggestion of re-stucco-ing the back retaining wall, which looks like total crap (he said this is cheap, not affecting price much). For all that, we are looking at 9,900. Another approx 1700 to redo the front stoop in nice pavers/bluestone. Grand total of 11,600.

I think I was hoping for 6-8k for this, but I was expecting the whole thing to realistically approach around 10k. Really though he's at 12k.

#### ain't cheap, fellas.

Next guy coming at noon to give an estimate. Final estimate coming Monday.
Click to expand...
It's this sort of stuff that justifiably can get costly that keeps me humping the yardwork type stuff I can do myself. I hate paying out $ more than I hate brutal landscaping it turned out.
 
'ODoyleRules said:
'Otis said:
'OC Zed said:
'ODoyleRules said:
'JerseyToughGuys said:
next on your agenda should be outdoor speakers and Sonos (or the like). million times worth the investment imo
Click to expand...
I'm hoping the sound on this will be good. Probably not since it's iHome, but the idea is great.
Click to expand...
I'd love to hear a review if you get it. How much are these things?
Click to expand...
:popcorn:
Click to expand...
They speculate ~200. I think Klipsch will have a similar concept priced around 500-600. They are supposed to come out later this summer or fall. I'm gonna wait on these before looking into Sonos. (plus I don't have a good spot to put a receiver for our patio).
Click to expand...
:blackdot: I've got two outdoor speakers connected via buried wire to the sonos receiver inside. But, I kind of like this setup for other purposes (when I am on the other side of my house working, in the garage, anywhere in the house, ect.).

 
'Otis said:
First price for the masonry work is in. Turns out you guys were right, this ain't cheap. Now, the patio is bigger than I realized -- he will make it 20x25, which will be a pretty nice size. He also is going to do a large step/landing up to the doorway, along with removing the existing deck (which is enormous and a mess). Finally, he made a good suggestion of re-stucco-ing the back retaining wall, which looks like total crap (he said this is cheap, not affecting price much). For all that, we are looking at 9,900. Another approx 1700 to redo the front stoop in nice pavers/bluestone. Grand total of 11,600.

I think I was hoping for 6-8k for this, but I was expecting the whole thing to realistically approach around 10k. Really though he's at 12k.

#### ain't cheap, fellas.

Next guy coming at noon to give an estimate. Final estimate coming Monday.
Click to expand...
Got our second masonry guy in today. Family and friends have used him, and I like him a lot. He really seems to care to help us out and makes suggestions to save cost etc.But the estimate was enormous -- mostly because we added a ton of work.

About a month ago he gave us an estimate of about 20k to redo our front walkway and steps. It's a long stairway up -- 26 steps -- and he was going to do the entire thing in blue stone and cultured stone. We decided we just couldn't afford that right now given everything else we need to have done. So I had him back in to get a quote on this job of doing the back patio and also just the front stoop to make it a little nicer.

He quoted about the same as the other guy for the back patio -- 9500 bucks -- which seems pretty standard, and he'll also be re-doing the stucco etc. on the back retaining wall that looks like ###. No more sticker shock there. Then he quoted about 4k for the front stoop and walkway -- it would involve a little more work than the guy above, in that he's doing the walkway too, and better materials in that he's using bluestone. All of that is fine, but the real kicker is we got to talking about the front steps again. I asked if there was something he could do in terms of just coating them in stucco, or something on the cheap to make them look not so much like the eyesore they are now. He finally came back and said that if we want to do the steps, he really thinks we need to top them in bluestone all the way done, and bluestone along the rails. He said he would do the bluestone part free of charge other than materials, given how big the project is. Seems like he just didn't think it would look good the other way and didn't want to half ### it and wanted to see it come out looking great. Grand total for all this work -- 19k, and then we talked a bit more and he agreed to knock off another $500 --> $18,500.

It's a lot more than we were looking to spend on masonry right now, but it really covers EVERYTHING. And for less than the initial estimate we got for just the front stoop and steps a month ago, we're now also getting the back patio and retaining wall done in addition. He's going to fire off a written estimate to me this week confirming all this and indicating the various components. Given how much work it will be and the huge difference it will make to the look and enjoyment of the house, I think we're gonna do it. Yeah we could get away with doing less here at around 12k, but for another 6 grand we'll have a much much better looking entry to our home. And if we do this we really will now have done everything we need. The rest is small stuff.

I did a grand total tally of all the work we're having done this month, per Mr. Pickles' fax request, and we're probably looking at around 52-55k. It's a crapload of loot, yes, but it's still less then we were originally spending on the kitchen alone, and the end result is that the entire house will really be revamped -- siding, paint inside, masonry in front and back, privacy trees, roof railing, redone downstairs bathroom, redone kitchen floor/appliances/countertop/refinished cabinets -- and it will look like a totally different place. All for the price of what would have been a high end kitchen renovation.

:bowtie:

 
You asked him to stucco your steps? :confused:

Also I refer to myself as a serial diy-er who considers working with concrete, mortar, thinset, brick, blocks, pavers, tile, etc., to be my favorite kind of home improvement. I just tiled a bathroom floor for my mom last month. Your project is one where you pay to get it done right even if you're capable of doing it yourself. My sis put 30 grand of masonry and concrete on her property last year and was disappointed that I wanted no part of it. Meh, I moved some irrigation before the pros arrived. :thumbup:

That said, I was at a nursery yesterday and 15 gallon 10-12' Leylands are going for $90 here. You can get 8 footers delivered anywhere for under $100 each. Any youtube logging christmas tree killing general laborer can dig 7 or 8 holes and plant them.

 
'Chaos Commish said:
You asked him to stucco your steps? :confused: Also I refer to myself as a serial diy-er who considers working with concrete, mortar, thinset, brick, blocks, pavers, tile, etc., to be my favorite kind of home improvement. I just tiled a bathroom floor for my mom last month. Your project is one where you pay to get it done right even if you're capable of doing it yourself. My sis put 30 grand of masonry and concrete on her property last year and was disappointed that I wanted no part of it. Meh, I moved some irrigation before the pros arrived. :thumbup: That said, I was at a nursery yesterday and 15 gallon 10-12' Leylands are going for $90 here. You can get 8 footers delivered anywhere for under $100 each. Any youtube logging christmas tree killing general laborer can dig 7 or 8 holes and plant them.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Yeah i saw small 3 foot leylands at HD for 30 bucks a pop yesterday. I think 100 per tree sounds right. I'll see what I can do about negotiating down with this guy, or else I will try and get them delivered from some other source and plant myself. The catch is that these are on an incline and in a tight area among old stumps and lots of roots. He may be better off planting if I can get the price down. Plus he offers a lifetime guarantee and will replace any if they die.
 
'the moops said:
O - You should have just spent an extra 200 grand in the first place and not bought such a dump. :thumbup:
Click to expand...
The thought has crossed my mind. Though i still think we got great value even after we put the money in, and the house will be pretty great after we are done. Just doing our part to improve the world and leave something better than how we found it ...
 
'Otis said:
'desert rose said:
Too bad you couldn't have just bought a house in New Jersey. I mean, once you left Manhatten, it was all just the same.
Click to expand...
That million dollar house comes with a sweet two hour commute. No thanks.
Click to expand...
Stop already. With your bucks, you talking about a 20 minute car ride to the ferry and then another 40 minute ferry ride to lower manhatten. Only downside is that its super expensive, but that shouldn't be a problem for you.
 
'NutterButter said:
'Otis said:
'desert rose said:
Too bad you couldn't have just bought a house in New Jersey. I mean, once you left Manhatten, it was all just the same.
Click to expand...
That million dollar house comes with a sweet two hour commute. No thanks.
Click to expand...
Stop already. With your bucks, you talking about a 20 minute car ride to the ferry and then another 40 minute ferry ride to lower manhatten. Only downside is that its super expensive, but that shouldn't be a problem for you.
Click to expand...
It's a two hour commute unless I'm taking a helicopter. And there are dozens of other reasons I wouldn't want to live there.
 
'Otis said:
'NutterButter said:
'Otis said:
'desert rose said:
Too bad you couldn't have just bought a house in New Jersey. I mean, once you left Manhatten, it was all just the same.
Click to expand...
That million dollar house comes with a sweet two hour commute. No thanks.
Click to expand...
Stop already. With your bucks, you talking about a 20 minute car ride to the ferry and then another 40 minute ferry ride to lower manhatten. Only downside is that its super expensive, but that shouldn't be a problem for you.
Click to expand...
It's a two hour commute unless I'm taking a helicopter. And there are dozens of other reasons I wouldn't want to live there.
Click to expand...
Sorry, but you're wrong. Close to 2 hr by bus, but that's way too lowbrow for your kind.
 
'Otis said:
How much time does Brit tack onto his jobs by stopping several dozen times each day to take pictures? Gotta be 50% longer, no?
Click to expand...
I moved a large rock this weekend, because there was a bare spot in our rock wall, and could not resist taking a series of pictures to chronicle the journey. I also videotaped myself surface cleaning my deck. bag
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ProburbTip 52C(a)(1):

Figure out if you want outdoor lighting now before they start the patio, ect. Much easier to plan ahead and run the lines now, rather than retrofit it all in later.

good outdoor lighting + patio = :moneybag:

(example: path lights)

 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Ministry of Pain
I think I'm in the wrong here...BUT I'm kinda not and in fact I'm getting more frustrated by the minute.
2
Replies
60
Views
2K
JetMaxx
JetMaxx
D
Snake in the Grass
2
Replies
53
Views
2K
Ditkaless Wonders
D
Arizona Ron
My Friend...The Alcoholic 11/23/16
2 3 4
Replies
179
Views
13K
JAA
JAA

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 3 (members: 0, guests: 3)
Back
Top