Home Improvement Today?

Looking good! Getting rid of that rock on the front and the overgrown bushes gives a real boost in the curb appeal.

 

Definitely made it less “old” and seemed to brighten up the look of the house.

We’re both not a huge fan of the blue but for now until we can paint the whole house it’ll do for now.

Those bushes really blocked a lot of the front and to me, opened up the front of the house for visuals.

 

Much improved.
So what is up wiht the entry? It looks as though the previous owner enclosed the front door landing?

If that garage wall near the entry is south facing, a bougainvillea on a trellis would really liven up the entry until you get around to more landscaping.

 

We use lags or redi rod & epoxy but I like lags when the timbers are exposed , less messy

 

The previous owner closed it off and made it into a mud room before the entry door. The garage entry is separate from the interior of the house. So it’s now covered and closed in from the weather when we go from the house to the garage. Not all the houses in the neighborhood are covered so it’s been a nice addition in the winter.

The wall is southwest facing and is 100% in the sun from 2pm-sunset. We had two tall beautiful pink bellflowers up by the garage corner but the heat spell killed them. So we need to replace.

 

Unfortunately I have to remove this all-in-one LED fixture, so i figured I'd just go with an LED ready fixture so I don't have to worry about ballast conversion

 

Does putting an offer in on a new house count?
We haven’t even owned the house we’re in for a year (we put the offer in 1 year ago today) and we're trying to buy another (bigger) house.

 

Yes you can, but you still have a ballast in the mix that can fail. Also you aren't getting the efficiency of the leds by using a ballast.

 

I did not know that. Yeah makes sense the ballast could fail. Had no idea about the reduced efficiency. Thanks!

 

so had our dishwasher fail on on us, so did some trouble shooting and the simple fixes didnt help. Opened up the control panel and removed the fuse and according to my meter its shows open. I ran a jumper wire to verify and the dishwasher started up. Now I wait on the new fuse to come in the mail. $6 vs a new dishwasher is great if this fixes it

 

A lot of the inefficiency in fluorescent is in the ballasts. Hence getting rid of it.

 

Built a little fieldstone tree ring today with free stones from my buddies property. Need to add some topsoil to finish it off. Most likely going to put some type of juniper ground over or ornamental grasses in there.

 

Nice wall!

Be very careful with adding soil in there. You don't want to build up soil against the tree trunk's current elevation. Increasing irrigation could further contribute to issues, like crown rot. Might want to consult an arborist before proceeding.

 

Could he build another ring around tree but spaced away? That’s what I’d do

 

I think it will depend on the type of tree to some degree. But an old established tree like that has been acclimated to its environment for a very long time. Soil type, drainage, water, etc., All the way out to the drip line.

 

True

 

Planted and mulched a bunch of stuff today

Rhododendrons


Red Cedars


Elm tree and dawg

 

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthkind/landscape/protecting-trees/

Here’s a reference that I used for it. It’s a huge maple that was planted on a slope, only adding about a foot of soil to the low side of the tree. The majority of the roots at the base of the tree are still in open air. A lot of trees get suffocated because people change the grade so it goes to far up the trunk.

 

Nice tree, that shot gives some perspective.

 

Sounds like you're do a BIG improvement to your home - getting a whole new one! Welcome