Home Improvement.

[MrsGorilla]

We put new vinyl windows in our house this summer and painted and landscaped the exterior. We'll be painting and carpeting the interior in the next two months in order to get our house on the market by Feb. 1st so we can find a bigger place. When I get some time I'll try to post a before and after pic. The color of paint they had on this place when we moved in was absolutely hideous. Of course, the house was built in 1955 and we bought from the original owners (yikes), so we got in it pretty cheap because it needed some work (cosmetic only, structurally it's fine) and that's what we were lookikng for at the time. Wanted to keep our house payments as low as possible while I was finishing my schoolin'. We've put a ton of work into it.

 

[lmnop7854]

Can't you just get a new pane of glass?

You know, Rich, I could. But it would be a "pane" in the ass, and the storm door is really old, so why not spring for a new one? It'll look nice on the door, too.

Lisa

 

[Lister]

Ok I come from an island at the bottom of the South Pacific in the province of Hawkes Bay, which is lucky to get down to -5c in winter and has only once in my life seen snow.

What they hell do you do with a "Snow Blower" and what do they cost?

 

[lmnop7854]

Ok I come from an island at the bottom of the South Pacific in the province of Hawkes Bay, which is lucky to get down to -5c in winter and has only once in my life seen snow.

What they hell do you do with a "Snow Blower" and what do they cost?

Lucky, lucky you. A snow blower is a power machine (not unlike a lawn mower) that sucks up the snow on your driveway and throws it off onto the lawn (which by now is already covered with snow also). Then you can get your car out of the garage, and make your way to work. When you come from an area of the world that sees a lot of snow, this device is a necessity. The trick is to blow the snow WITH the wind, so it doesn't wind up in your face, or back in the driveway.

They can cost anywhere from $200 - $2000 depending on your snow blowing needs.

Lisa

 

[Friday]

Looking into getting wall-to-wall carpeting - I HATE hard wood floors. Lisa

Lisa:

Why do you hate hardwood floors? Carpeting is just a germ sponge. The first 10 years if offgasses nice things into your body. And you never get it clean, ever. (just my opinion, of course...)

 

[lmnop7854]

Lisa:

Why do you hate hardwood floors? Carpeting is just a germ sponge. The first 10 years if offgasses nice things into your body. And you never get it clean, ever. (just my opinion, of course...)

They are just so labor intensive. You need a different vacuum attachment to clean them, and even then, they aren't clean. Then you have to dustmop them, and that it just the weekly cleaning. Then you have to mop them, and with a special soap, because they are wood. Then maybe they are clean. And besides that, they are noisy - you can't walk on them in anything but socks without having it echo throughout the house. Even with throw rugs, it is still noisy. And cold, unless you have insulation in the basement, under the floor. And you can never get them wet.

I don't mind laminate, but the noise factor is the same. And the dog slips on it all the time.

Just MHO.

Lisa

 

[Rich]

I don't mind laminate, but the noise factor is the same. And the dog slips on it all the time.

Just MHO.

Lisa

The noise factor needn't be a problem I have a basement with same echo problem, it can be overcome by laying the flooring over polystyrene baps first, there is also good medical reason for not having carpets if your children suffer with asthma

 

[TessB]

Oh I would LOVE wood floors!

 

[Pat Hartman]

Actually, I don't find them that much of a pain at all. I have them in every room except the kitchen. When we moved into the house 25 years ago there was wall-to-wall carpet in every room. Gradually as the carpet wore out, we removed it and didn't replace it. Luckily our house was built at a time when hardwood was used even if the floors would be carpeted. Two years ago, the carpet in the master bedroom was the last to go. If the floors are properly sealed, you can damp mop them. So I sweep them and mop them. Once a year it's a good idea to move all the furniture and clean and wax the whole room.

They are noisier than carpet but if your floors are insulated, the noise isn't bad.

 

[Brianwarnock]

I prefer the cosy comfort of carpet myself, but I do tend to walk around the house in bare feet. I reckon that if we are heading for colder winters there will be a move back to carpet. The house had solid oak strip in the dining room and hall when we moved in but we always found it cold so eventually covered it.

I have laminate in my study and its not too bad but prefer carpet elsewhere although our newly fitted bathroom, well actually no bath so shower room. has a tile floor but with under floor heating

Brian

 

[Rich]

Will you be able to sell the house without a bath?

 

[Brianwarnock]

Don't know , but apparently there is a trend to remove them.
We did it so that we could have a decent size shower enclosure, my wife's illness has reached a stage where she cannot manage a bath, infact neither of us have used one for years, so we thought why not have a decent sized shower without cramping the room.

Brian

 

[Rich]

Don't know , but apparently there is a trend to remove them.
Brian

Yes I have noticed this trend, however I've also noticed that trying to sell a house without a bath is difficult to say the least.
For some strange reason most women prefer to have a bath and in order to save electricity they then fill the room with candles

 

[ColinEssex]

This summer, while I was pregnant,

In another thread you were pregnant for a year - do summers in the USA last a year?

So here's what we have done so far and what is yet to do:

Had a new furnace installed

Is that a thing that burns wood?

Bought a new snowblower

Whats wrong with a shovel and a brush?

Looking into getting wall-to-wall carpeting - I HATE hard wood floors.

The 'fashion' over the last 10 years in the UK was to have laminate flooring - now its old hat and people are changing back to carpeting - much warmer and the germs build up immunity in children in todays sterile world kids suffer more now of infections because everything is disinfected clean

Plan to get a new storm door for the front door

What does a storm door do? is it like another door that fits over the proper door why do you need it? does the first door not fit properly?

Col

 

[Brianwarnock]

Yes I have noticed this trend, however I've also noticed that trying to sell a house without a bath is difficult to say the least.

Is it actually difficult or is the lack of a bath just used as an argument to lower the price?

We do not intend to move, we have only been in this house since '68

Brian

 

[lmnop7854]

In another thread you were pregnant for a year - do summers in the USA last a year?

Colin, you kill me. It's good to hear/see you out here. I have been lurking for a few weeks, and haven't seen much of you. And to answer your question more succinctly, I was pregnant from November last year til August 30 of this year. For me, that is the better part of a year, and included the summer.

Is that a thing that burns wood?

No - not sure if this is a linguistic difference in our cultures, but a furnace on my side of the pond is the device that burns any kind of energy medium - coal, gas, wood, water, whatever. My particular furnace is a gas furnace. I would love to have a wood burning furnace, because it is more moist, and the winters are so dry. But wood is labor intensive, and I am all about convenience.

Whats wrong with a shovel and a brush?

Well, when you have a driveway that is about 50 feet long and about 2 cars wide, and you have to clean it yourself with a baby in the house in order to get out to daycare and work, a snowblower will do the job mighty fast. And again, I am all about convenience.

The 'fashion' over the last 10 years in the UK was to have laminate flooring - now its old hat and people are changing back to carpeting - much warmer and the germs build up immunity in children in todays sterile world kids suffer more now of infections because everything is disinfected clean

I have laminate in my kitchen, and I love it for the ease in cleaning and the durability. I wouldn't mind having it in the whole house, but there is still the noise and slippery factor. I like living with a proverbial blanket around me, especially in the winter, and carpet is the closest I can get to that.

What does a storm door do? is it like another door that fits over the proper door why do you need it? does the first door not fit properly?

A storm door is a screen/glass combination door that goes on the outside of the big front door on most houses at least here in the Northeast US. It allows you to leave the front door open during the summer when the screens are in it and no bugs can get in your house. Then in the winter, you put the glass in, and it provides extra insulation from the cold against the front door. Do you guys not have anything like that, or is it just called something else?

 

[Rich]

Is it actually difficult or is the lack of a bath just used as an argument to lower the price?

We do not intend to move, we have only been in this house since '68

I think it's actually more difficult, however since like me you're and not doing your place up to sell but for your own comfort it doesn't really matter anyway, does it
I blame these stupid reality tv house makeover shows for putting stupid ideas into punters heads anyway

 

[Rich]

A storm door is a screen/glass combination door that goes on the outside of the big front door on most houses at least here in the Northeast US. It allows you to leave the front door open during the summer when the screens are in it and no bugs can get in your house. Then in the winter, you put the glass in, and it provides extra insulation from the cold against the front door. Do you guys not have anything like that, or is it just called something else?

A lot of houses here have front or even back porches, they're mostly now double glazed and the glass isn't removable

 

[ColinEssex]

No - not sure if this is a linguistic difference in our cultures, but a furnace on my side of the pond is the device that burns any kind of energy medium - coal, gas, wood, water, whatever. My particular furnace is a gas furnace.

A furnace in the UK is a huge thing that burns gas / coal in a steel works. The little jobbies you get at home are called 'wood burning stoves' and you can cook on them or they're called 'gas boilers', these heat the radiators and supply hot water.

Well, when you have a driveway that is about 50 feet long and about 2 cars wide,

I admit I forgot that in the USA you have driveways the length of an airport runway

and you have to clean it yourself with a baby . . . .

taken out of context but I thought it was funny

A storm door is a screen/glass combination door that goes on the outside of the big front door on most houses at least here in the Northeast US. It allows you to leave the front door open during the summer when the screens are in it and no bugs can get in your house.

Do all doors have this storm door thingy? and do the flies / bug not come in the open windows in summer? Why not just get air-con in the house, its much easier than all this door business you have.

Col

 

[lmnop7854]

taken out of context but I thought it was funny

It was quite funny now that I read it this way - perhaps I should use a shovel and the baby

Do all doors have this storm door thingy? and do the flies / bug not come in the open windows in summer? Why not just get air-con in the house, its much easier than all this door business you have.

Usually all the doors have this, unless the door is in the garage, then you would probably just have a screen door for the summer. And with the windows, we have removable screens that go on the windows, so they get put up in spring, and you can open the windows without bugs coming in. I like fresh air much better than air con, although it would be nice to have it in July when the humidity is about 1000%.

Lisa