For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

[zasbury25]

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

Concrete isn't smooth at all. Even in my shoes I can feel how rough it is. Many spots there are several raised jagged spots. Was just curious before I brought it up with the contractor.






Not sure about your question, I have never had to put in a deck, so I am clueless as to the cost. I do know lumber is pretty pricey right now

That's a broom finish on the concrete, which I believe is the "standard/easy" finish for concrete. They say it is done specifically for traction and so you don't slip when there is moisture on it. Our screened patio was done the same way, so we waited the standard month for it to cure and etched/sealed it. It is smoother and took out the really sharp spots, but it's not basement-smooth and I wouldn't really want it like that because of the potential moisture/slipping issues in there. You can talk to your contractor and I am sure they can smooth it down, but they'll likely charge extra for it.

[Fresh Tendrils]

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

We are looking to extend our deck (14'×15' addition) and just for the deck part (not the grass removal in the area it will cover, irrigation head reroute) we were being quoted anywhere from $4200 to $5250. So I'd say for the deck and light $3800 is good.

My brother in law and I are going to do ours, he's done a few decks including my parents and I'm pretty handy so I think we can do it for far less. The problem is finding time both of us are available to work on it.

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Interesting. What kind of material?

We also had an estimate from Lowes which, to me, seems too low (~$2700). For treated wood it would be about $3800.


Decisions.

[Redacted01]

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

That's a broom finish on the concrete, which I believe is the "standard/easy" finish for concrete. They say it is done specifically for traction and so you don't slip when there is moisture on it. Our screened patio was done the same way, so we waited the standard month for it to cure and etched/sealed it. It is smoother and took out the really sharp spots, but it's not basement-smooth and I wouldn't really want it like that because of the potential moisture/slipping issues in there. You can talk to your contractor and I am sure they can smooth it down, but they'll likely charge extra for it.

Same on the patio my parents had added on years ago. Now, it doesn't sound as rough as this one is, but it's definitely not skating rink smooth or anything and you wouldn't want that like you pointed out. It's fine walking on barefoot, though. You notice but it's not cut-inducing jagged.

[Fresh Tendrils]

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

Interesting. What kind of material?

We also had an estimate from Lowes which, to me, seems too low (~$2700). For treated wood it would be about $3800.


Decisions.

Update on this. I talked to the contractor this morning and (as I figured) the material they did the estimate for was for treated-wood. Naturally.

Lowes estimate for treated wood is actually higher than his at $3900 which makes the decision to not use Lowe's a lot easier now. Not that I ever had a good feeling about them anyway.

[bvb24]

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

Update on this. I talked to the contractor this morning and (as I figured) the material they did the estimate for was for treated-wood. Naturally.

Lowes estimate for treated wood is actually higher than his at $3900 which makes the decision to not use Lowe's a lot easier now. Not that I ever had a good feeling about them anyway.

$3800 seems reasonable.

[bvb24]

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

Concrete isn't smooth at all. Even in my shoes I can feel how rough it is. Many spots there are several raised jagged spots. Was just curious before I brought it up with the contractor.






Not sure about your question, I have never had to put in a deck, so I am clueless as to the cost. I do know lumber is pretty pricey right now

Broomed finish is necessary outside but it shouldn’t have anything you feel with shoes on. He should grind the high points down. We have a smooth non-broomed finish in our garage and it is crazy slippery with any water. Put some snow on your shoes and it’s a death trap. We had to buy a 20’*4’ piece of rubber flooring to put between the cars as most of our visitors come through the garage to enter the house.

[seasprite]

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

Broomed finish is necessary outside but it shouldn’t have anything you feel with shoes on. He should grind the high points down. We have a smooth non-broomed finish in our garage and it is crazy slippery with any water. Put some snow on your shoes and it’s a death trap. We had to buy a 20’*4’ piece of rubber flooring to put between the cars as most of our visitors come through the garage to enter the house.

Update on this: Spoke with the contractor and he said that he hadn't personally looked at the job because he has been stretched so thin recently. Told him to come out and take a look for himself and he did and agreed that his crew didn't do the best job on it. He came out the next day and they smoothed the entire concrete and also refunded me $100 for my inconvenience. Pretty happy and would have been happy without him refunding me money.....I just wanted the job to be right.

[Redacted01]

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

Finally starting on my wall. The Donald would be proud...

[youvalss]

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

This is pretty much what my yard looks like now:



Add to that that I have lots of other weeds growing everywhere...it's a battle I can't win at this point. It has become a monster and it ain't getting better (until winter, God bless it, when everything is covered with snow). It's pretty much the same every year, so this time I'm calling one of those companies. It may be the first time ever that my yard will look on par with the neighbours'...(none of them doing it on their own, I may be the only one who's been trying to do it himself).

If we didn't have extreme winters here, I would consider covering all the front/back yard with artificial grass, but I'm not sure how long it will last with the weather conditions here. Anyone has experience with artificial grass and extreme cold weather?

[dales]

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

This is pretty much what my yard looks like now:



Add to that that I have lots of other weeds growing everywhere...it's a battle I can't win at this point. It has become a monster and it ain't getting better (until winter, God bless it, when everything is covered with snow). It's pretty much the same every year, so this time I'm calling one of those companies. It may be the first time ever that my yard will look on par with the neighbours'...(none of them doing it on their own, I may be the only one who's been trying to do it himself).

If we didn't have extreme winters here, I would consider covering all the front/back yard with artificial grass, but I'm not sure how long it will last with the weather conditions here. Anyone has experience with artificial grass and extreme cold weather?

I don't know about the artificial grass but this year I hired a professional company to treat the lawn. I have been weeding/feeding my lawn for the past 5-6 years and doing it four times a year. The company came out and has done one treatment and my lawn has never looked better. I never had a massive amount of dandelions but there were quite a few popping up in some areas. Two days after the first treatment, those dandelions were all dead and I haven't seen a single one since. I pay $47/treatment with no contract. Definitely worth it to have it professionally treated and just cut the grass myself.

[Stu]

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

I don't know about the artificial grass but this year I hired a professional company to treat the lawn. I have been weeding/feeding my lawn for the past 5-6 years and doing it four times a year. The company came out and has done one treatment and my lawn has never looked better. I never had a massive amount of dandelions but there were quite a few popping up in some areas. Two days after the first treatment, those dandelions were all dead and I haven't seen a single one since. I pay $47/treatment with no contract. Definitely worth it to have it professionally treated and just cut the grass myself.

Do you water it as well? I've been debating hiring a professional to treat my lawn but wasn't sure if I would see the benefits without irrigation.

[dales]

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

Do you water it as well? I've been debating hiring a professional to treat my lawn but wasn't sure if I would see the benefits without irrigation.

I don't have an irrigation system but I just put out some sprinklers attached to hoses. The company let me know how much I need to water (how often and for how long).

[Phobia]

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

Question for anyone who has dealt with this. We purchased and installed a 20' above ground pool. A critical piece of the pool is the pump which requires power to run. Currently I have a 50' extension cord run to the pump assembly, which is pretty darn far from our house. What is the best route to supply power without having this darn extension cord? Its pretty annoying having to unplug and wind up everything when I need to cut grass or unplug to move out rain. I've considered burying pvc with an extension cord run through it but I'm unsure how that would survive.

Any ideas?

[Stu]

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

The best option would be to dig a trench and install a conduit. We have one in our yard but it was there when we bought the house so can't speak to how difficult it would be to do yourself.

http://www.familyhandyman.com/electrical/wiring/how-to-bury-underground-cable/view-all

[bvb24]

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

Question for anyone who has dealt with this. We purchased and installed a 20' above ground pool. A critical piece of the pool is the pump which requires power to run. Currently I have a 50' extension cord run to the pump assembly, which is pretty darn far from our house. What is the best route to supply power without having this darn extension cord? Its pretty annoying having to unplug and wind up everything when I need to cut grass or unplug to move out rain. I've considered burying pvc with an extension cord run through it but I'm unsure how that would survive.

Any ideas?

PVC conduit 12" down with wire to a GFCI outlet with a weatherproof cover. Extension cords are not meant to run things long term.