For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

[RockinDaMike]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I always had one of those pool vacuums to keep it clean most of the time. The pool store guys will always be a great resource, they usually will help with most of your questions. I got lazy and got a pool guy to maintain it once a week which wasn't too bad at all. I honestly couldn't handle the heat even at night to clean it in the summer.

[mgoblue]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

House is starting to pull together. With both of us working from home (my office in AZ doesn't open up until May 2), it's helped us put a good dent into unpacking and cleaning. We've got around 10 boxes left to go through, so hopefully by this time next week, those will be done.

Today we picked out a new kitchen table, chairs, a couple of bar stools (we will use the countertop as a breakfast/lunch/extra seating area) and new bedroom set. Those all get delivered on Saturday. All that's left after this is to get new patio furniture, but that'll be in a month or two.

For those that have a pool ... any tips on maintenance/cleaning? I've been skimming the water every day and I know we have to get a cover ASAP. There's a pool store down the road from us so I'm going to stop in and see if someone can show my wife and I how to properly use the equipment and make sure all of our settings are right.

I've had above-ground pools as a kid, but this is clearly more involved than that, haha.

troublefreepool.com will show you the intense way to manage a pool.

I've learned from that (and gotten test kits) to help me fix my pool when it got horrible. Though now I tend to put the chlorine tablets in a floater and call it a a day. The people on that site hate that though, cause stabilizer never leaves water, so eventually you may have to drain a bit of water in AZ if the CYA level is too high...

It's a constant battle, but over time you'll learn how the chemicals work and figure out what works for you. I don't want to have to spend tons of time each day doing stuff, so their method of just using liquid chlorine is a bit rougher.

[jeremym480]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

House is starting to pull together. With both of us working from home (my office in AZ doesn't open up until May 2), it's helped us put a good dent into unpacking and cleaning. We've got around 10 boxes left to go through, so hopefully by this time next week, those will be done.

Today we picked out a new kitchen table, chairs, a couple of bar stools (we will use the countertop as a breakfast/lunch/extra seating area) and new bedroom set. Those all get delivered on Saturday. All that's left after this is to get new patio furniture, but that'll be in a month or two.

For those that have a pool ... any tips on maintenance/cleaning? I've been skimming the water every day and I know we have to get a cover ASAP. There's a pool store down the road from us so I'm going to stop in and see if someone can show my wife and I how to properly use the equipment and make sure all of our settings are right.

I've had above-ground pools as a kid, but this is clearly more involved than that, haha.

We've only had our pool about a month and a half and so far it's been surprisingly easy. Our pool builder gave us all of the basic supplies we need and that included these test stripes that tell you where your levels are:



So far I've only had to add chlorine (obviously) and one bag of Alkalinity. I'm sure things will get tougher in the future, but so far it's been a breeze.

We have a large water oak in our back yard and once it starting getting new leaves there was a lot to skim. Also we had a big storm that added a lot of debris as well, but even that wasn't too bad.

I manually vacuum the pool myself and do it as needed which is normally only once or twice a week. I eventually want to get one of auto vacuums, however the cost versus how much work it is isn't worth it to me right now.... My tune may change once it gets really hot though.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

What kind of trees and shrubs do you guys like for all-year decor? I want some green to keep the front from looking so dead during the winter. I was thinking about picking up a couple of dwarf Alberta spruces, but wasn't sure about other shrubs or plants.

[DJ]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

troublefreepool.com will show you the intense way to manage a pool.

I've learned from that (and gotten test kits) to help me fix my pool when it got horrible. Though now I tend to put the chlorine tablets in a floater and call it a a day. The people on that site hate that though, cause stabilizer never leaves water, so eventually you may have to drain a bit of water in AZ if the CYA level is too high...

It's a constant battle, but over time you'll learn how the chemicals work and figure out what works for you. I don't want to have to spend tons of time each day doing stuff, so their method of just using liquid chlorine is a bit rougher.

We've only had our pool about a month and a half and so far it's been surprisingly easy. Our pool builder gave us all of the basic supplies we need and that included these test stripes that tell you where your levels are:



So far I've only had to add chlorine (obviously) and one bag of Alkalinity. I'm sure things will get tougher in the future, but so far it's been a breeze.

We have a large water oak in our back yard and once it starting getting new leaves there was a lot to skim. Also we had a big storm that added a lot of debris as well, but even that wasn't too bad.

I manually vacuum the pool myself and do it as needed which is normally only once or twice a week. I eventually want to get one of auto vacuums, however the cost versus how much work it is isn't worth it to me right now.... My tune may change once it gets really hot though.

Thanks, guys. Met a neighbor who has a pool at his house, so he's going to stop by one night after work and give me the rundown. I've been doing some chemical research on my own and figured out the vacuum system, but always good to hear from someone with first-hand experience.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

My front yard was pretty much dead and full of weeds. Sprayed the weeds and pulled them. Basically took it back to the dirt. Question: I'm in SC where it will be hot in a few weeks....do I go ahead and plant grass now or wait til the fall. Also, I originally had bermuda in the front. Got a big bag of Scott's fescue on the cheap....would that be suitable?

[p_rushing]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

My front yard was pretty much dead and full of weeds. Sprayed the weeds and pulled them. Basically took it back to the dirt. Question: I'm in SC where it will be hot in a few weeks....do I go ahead and plant grass now or wait til the fall. Also, I originally had bermuda in the front. Got a big bag of Scott's fescue on the cheap....would that be suitable?

Fescue is a cold weather grass, have it in my yard in GA. You may be able to get it to grow, but normally it goes dormant in the summer. I have issues in my yard and missed getting it fixed last fall, so have to wait until September now.

Most likely anything that grows would die. I tried to fill in some spots last spring, but the summer ended up killing it.

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[mgoblue]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Thanks, guys. Met a neighbor who has a pool at his house, so he's going to stop by one night after work and give me the rundown. I've been doing some chemical research on my own and figured out the vacuum system, but always good to hear from someone with first-hand experience.

You can go crazy doing all the testing daily, but I realize I'm lazy, so accept using the pucks to save time.

Our pool started going green and I instantly dumped some liquid chlorine in and it got it all killed and clear fast. Every pool's different, so I just know my pool's tendencies. Getting warm enough now where I couldn't ignore it, over winter it's cold enough where algae doesn't come in for me.

I love starting to understand all the chemical aspects though...definitely helps!

[DJ]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

You can go crazy doing all the testing daily, but I realize I'm lazy, so accept using the pucks to save time.

Our pool started going green and I instantly dumped some liquid chlorine in and it got it all killed and clear fast. Every pool's different, so I just know my pool's tendencies. Getting warm enough now where I couldn't ignore it, over winter it's cold enough where algae doesn't come in for me.

I love starting to understand all the chemical aspects though...definitely helps!

The pucks are awesome! The former owner left a bag of 'em here, which was great.

[allBthere]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

My wife and I just moved into our new home a week ago - we closed Dec 21st (super awkward close) and since then I've been renovating as well as hiring people to do certain jobs.

Well - 6 weeks turned into 4 months!

I had a load-bearing wall removed, got rid of all the popcorn ceilings, put new flooring all in basement, new flooring in 1/2 main floor, painted 1/2 the house and designed and installed an new ikea kitchen - countertops come friday.

Needless to say renovating is a serious biotch. I'll get into specifics once i put a little before/after vid together - but I can say I've learned a ton going through this process. Handy would have been the last thing to describe me, but now I think I deserve my mr. handyman card.

Now I know why things take so long, it's not that it's grueling work all-day everyday, it's that there is an order to things and a serious amount of oddities and new problems you come across that you then need to research and find a solution for. Even Ikea for example has strange things going on that you wouldn't expect given that it's the walmart of renovation - their ovens don't have a plug and need to be hard-wired which I found to be quite odd and unnecessary. "here's your oven, now go hire an electrician to plug it in!"

wowzers, now that I'm finally getting to the finish line I can see why so many people swear off renovating or hire someone to just do it all even if it's double the cost.

Small child, working, other obligations make it tough as well. Anyone else go through a big-time reno recently?

[DJ]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

My wife and I just moved into our new home a week ago - we closed Dec 21st (super awkward close) and since then I've been renovating as well as hiring people to do certain jobs.

Well - 6 weeks turned into 4 months!

I had a load-bearing wall removed, got rid of all the popcorn ceilings, put new flooring all in basement, new flooring in 1/2 main floor, painted 1/2 the house and designed and installed an new ikea kitchen - countertops come friday.

Needless to say renovating is a serious biotch. I'll get into specifics once i put a little before/after vid together - but I can say I've learned a ton going through this process. Handy would have been the last thing to describe me, but now I think I deserve my mr. handyman card.

Now I know why things take so long, it's not that it's grueling work all-day everyday, it's that there is an order to things and a serious amount of oddities and new problems you come across that you then need to research and find a solution for. Even Ikea for example has strange things going on that you wouldn't expect given that it's the walmart of renovation - their ovens don't have a plug and need to be hard-wired which I found to be quite odd and unnecessary. "here's your oven, now go hire an electrician to plug it in!"

wowzers, now that I'm finally getting to the finish line I can see why so many people swear off renovating or hire someone to just do it all even if it's double the cost.

Small child, working, other obligations make it tough as well. Anyone else go through a big-time reno recently?

Wow, that's quite the project! Sounds like you've made good progress, though.

Our first home we had to re-do everything. We wound up personally doing all of the painting and bathroom reno., along with tearing out all the carpet and demolition of the kitchen (which saved us a lot of money). We hired people to install new flooring in the entire house, and also had someone install the kitchen countertops and appliances.

I was glad we went with that hybrid approach.

You're right in that once you go through a big project like that, you don't want to do it again. That's why when we looked to buy this time around, we only considered houses that were move-in ready, or very, very close to that.

[Scott]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

My wife and I just moved into our new home a week ago - we closed Dec 21st (super awkward close) and since then I've been renovating as well as hiring people to do certain jobs.

Well - 6 weeks turned into 4 months!

I had a load-bearing wall removed, got rid of all the popcorn ceilings, put new flooring all in basement, new flooring in 1/2 main floor, painted 1/2 the house and designed and installed an new ikea kitchen - countertops come friday.

Needless to say renovating is a serious biotch. I'll get into specifics once i put a little before/after vid together - but I can say I've learned a ton going through this process. Handy would have been the last thing to describe me, but now I think I deserve my mr. handyman card.

Now I know why things take so long, it's not that it's grueling work all-day everyday, it's that there is an order to things and a serious amount of oddities and new problems you come across that you then need to research and find a solution for. Even Ikea for example has strange things going on that you wouldn't expect given that it's the walmart of renovation - their ovens don't have a plug and need to be hard-wired which I found to be quite odd and unnecessary. "here's your oven, now go hire an electrician to plug it in!"

wowzers, now that I'm finally getting to the finish line I can see why so many people swear off renovating or hire someone to just do it all even if it's double the cost.

Small child, working, other obligations make it tough as well. Anyone else go through a big-time reno recently?

Only thing we've done was turn our loft into a home theater. Added riser, recessed lighting, and false wall.

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[bigeastbumrush]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Fescue is a cold weather grass, have it in my yard in GA. You may be able to get it to grow, but normally it goes dormant in the summer. I have issues in my yard and missed getting it fixed last fall, so have to wait until September now.

Most likely anything that grows would die. I tried to fill in some spots last spring, but the summer ended up killing it.

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The grass is my headache now. Been trying to fill in bare spots for the past month now. Nothing is growing.

Gave the Scott's EZ Seed a try but nothing. Raked the ground beforehand and everything.

I actually mowed all of the grass down to the bare minimum before planting hoping that they'd all grow in together. But that good grass sprung up right away. Nothing in the bare spots.

I'm starting to think maybe I need some top soil or Pete moss on top of the seeds after I scatter them.

[p_rushing]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

If you have clay, you do need to break it up. I did use Scott's ez seed and had some success. I put down black cow and broke up 4-6" of clay and mixed that in. Then I put the ez seed down and it did grow, but ended up dying during the summer.

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[Redacted01]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I want to kill my fescue. It's a weed here that invades my regular sod. Looks terrible at 6 inches tall already while the rest of my grass doesn't even need to be mowed yet. Luckily it's just in the back of the backyard against an empty lot (i.e., the troublemaker). I'm trying roundup to see how well spot treating works, but may just wait until the fall, roundup the whole back 30 feet or so, till in some better soil, and then seed. Maybe it'll have a chance next year then.