Hydroseeding is nice because it tacks the seed and straw down. Looking at price, hydroseeding is about $.05/sf and sod is about $1/sf installed. The guys we deal with use unit prices...what you get is how much you pay for, however most seeders have a minimum quantity because their mobilization is expensive. If you want some contacts, I can send them your way.

8/21/2008 3:52:36 PM

Yes plz.

8/21/2008 4:37:38 PM

Quote :

"No joke, it sounds like you really got screwed on that purchase unless you got an amazing price on it. How "new" was this new house? 70's? 60's?"

80's. sadly, the house had renters before we bought it, which led to a lot of the things that needed to be repaired. it should be noted that we're doing all the repairs and remodeling ourselves (minus the windows and gutter installation). if we had looked at this house and my father-in-law wasn't as handy as he is (and i didn't have parents who are obsessed with landscaping), we would have said fuck it. but this was the best house available within our price range, and so we just bit the bullet.

it's not a bad little house. decent starter home. of course NOW my husband gets a 26K raise. but we'll probably stay here for about 5 years, or until we have 2 kids (because i'm not giving up my critter room as a third bedroom ), whichever comes first.

edit: oh yeah, and the two smaller bedrooms need to have overhead lighting/fans installed. but that's just another weekend project we'll eventually get to.

[Edited on August 21, 2008 at 6:16 PM. Reason : .]

8/21/2008 6:14:12 PM

Quote :

"What I really hate is how so many builders like to put the water heaters in the attic. The idea is to locate them closer to the showers, but that benefit is not worth the risk of tens of thousands of dollars in water damage when it leaks?"

does it have a drain pan underneath it?

8/21/2008 9:49:42 PM

^ it's code, you have to. doesn't matter, the drain isn't meant to handle a full on failure.

i'm just glad my WH is in the garage.

8/22/2008 12:52:26 PM

Quote :

"It's code, you have to. doesn't matter, the drain isn't meant to handle a full on failure."

This is true, and it's an excellent example of how the NCBC really calls for the bare minimum. Ours was built in 78, (single pane windows) I'm feeling the frustration here. Even though our WH wasn't in the attic, it was put in poorly, with copper piping from the iron natural gas pipe into the unit itself. (When we pulled the pipe off it was full of copper sulfide crystals.)

8/22/2008 2:25:05 PM

Recently had the compressor on my downstairs AC unit lock up. Good thing it's covered under the home warranty, so just $60 took care of a new compressor and the labor to replace it.

Next up is my horrid excuse for a lawn. The people that had the house before us obviously did nothing at all to maintain the grass. Now it's an embarassing array of crabgrass and huge bald spots. Sodding is so damn expensive, so I think we're going to go with renting a sod-cutter, taking the old crap up and starting new with seed and fertilizer. Since the prime time for seeding is in the next couple of weeks, we really need to decide what we're going to do for sure.

8/26/2008 5:33:50 AM

Lots of options for lawn, if you have time you can get one of the lawn care companies out there (like the Weed Man, etc) to come out and kill off existing grass, come back a week or two later and prep the existing dirt for new seeding (in our case this was just spreading gypsum) and then come back and seed / fertilize. (The whole process for a good size lawn was only a couple hundred bucks)

It worked excellent for our yard, and we had a fantastic green lawn in early spring. From there on, it's regular maintenance and in your court. (A little weed and feed a couple times a year, and being diligent about fungus when it first shows up saves you on headaches later.)

But if you haven't done anything yet, I highly recommend looking at other options for landscaping than grass. (Especially Fescue) Our yard has been good for ours, and we've done very little watering to keep it going... but there are lots of low irrigation / no irrigation alternatives that give you a lower maintenance yard, and can look much nicer than a typical green lawn. (Or some portion of them both, which if done right, can give you grass where it will grow best with the least watering, and other plants where the dirt dries out took quickly for cool season grass to thrive.)

If you have a drier, very sunny yard you also may consider a warm season grass (although I know some people really hate the way they brown in fall/winter.)

8/26/2008 10:20:01 AM

What company did you use?

8/26/2008 10:38:19 AM

http://www.weedmanusa.com/franchisehomepage2.aspx?FID=87&LN=Chatham%2fSouthern+Wake+Counties%2c+NC&State=NC

8/26/2008 10:44:42 AM

Sweet. Thx.

Please forward your address and we will come out and take a look and measure, and leave you information with prices about our services. Then we will follow up with you.

Regards,

Paul Brooks

[Edited on August 26, 2008 at 11:01 AM. Reason : nice response time]

8/26/2008 10:47:51 AM

Good stuff man. Hope they help you out without too much trouble.

8/26/2008 11:26:56 AM

So I'm just learning about lawns. I have a nice fescue lawn that the previous owner obviously did a lot of work to maintain. I've heard about fall seedings, but what else do I need to do to keep it going (besides watering). thanks for any info

8/26/2008 11:45:59 AM

aerate?

8/26/2008 12:06:57 PM

yeah, aeration is good. you might also want to run a thatch rake over your lawn as well, and then overseed.

i get most of my info here:

http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/


I'm about to start prepping my backyard for a new lawn. currently, it looks like Ethiopia.

8/26/2008 2:35:42 PM

^ Great resource. Much appreciated!

8/26/2008 2:42:57 PM

Quote :

"(The whole process for a good size lawn was only a couple hundred bucks)"

I'm going to check them out... but how big is your lawn? Just curious to compare. We've been having Scott's come out and do some kind of lawn/soil prep and I'm supposed to call them about their seeding procedure (if we decide to go that route). Anyone ever deal with Scott's Lawn Service on here?

8/26/2008 10:38:15 PM

The whole lot is .44 Acres, but about a third of that is the front where they did the work.

8/27/2008 8:11:00 AM

They said they would come out do an eval and leave prices for services.

8/27/2008 2:30:15 PM

^^^ my next door neighbor has a scott's truck pull up to his house a few times a year. I don't know any details about price or what they do for him, but he has the most beautiful lawn I have ever seen. Thing could be in a magazine.

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 2:40 PM. Reason : d]

8/27/2008 2:40:07 PM

Really? That's great to hear. In that case, I guess I'll continue to let Scott's do their thing and see what we get.

My wife has been overly interested in bathroom remodeling stuff lately. I guess I know what the next big expense is going to be... :-/

8/28/2008 6:24:04 AM

I have been having a lawn service (Spring Green) service my lawn for 5+ years. As with any lawn service, using them will only 'help' you maintain a nice lawn. it wont get you there. My grass is always the greenest and irritatingly quickest growing lawn of any of my neighbors, but they have not turned it into anything amazing. You need to start out with a good lawn, and spend time on it (weeding, feeding, watering) to make it look really good.

8/28/2008 1:25:30 PM

yeah, my neighbor spends about every day in his yard watering, grooming, etc.

8/28/2008 1:41:28 PM

Cool. I contacted Spring Green.

[Edited on August 28, 2008 at 3:33 PM. Reason : ]

8/28/2008 3:33:03 PM

what can i expect to pay for a lawn service?

8/28/2008 3:38:17 PM

They come out about every 3 months and do some treatment. The costs have unfortunatrly gone up considerably as fertilizers (derived from petrol products) have gotten more expensive as well as transportation costs. I think it costs me around $45 a treatment. The cost can grow with lawn size. I have a small lot of .19 acres.

8/28/2008 4:12:26 PM

how much grass do you have? my lot is about .33 acres, but the grass is a small fraction of that

8/28/2008 4:29:23 PM

square footage wise, probably around 5-6k sq feet.

My entire front yard is about 1,300 square feet (I know since I had to measure for sod).

8/28/2008 4:32:36 PM

cool thx for the info

8/28/2008 4:35:35 PM

This is the shit I have to deal with now. My front yard was trenched ALL over to put in the irrigation system. The ground is uneven. Just before the irrigation, I removed a huge bradford pear in the front yard that also tore up everything. For me to bring it to a state where it will look nice, I dont think I have many other options that to remove all the grass, and start over with sod. The hill is a bitch. I am actually amazed the front yard even has grass growing at this point.

IN my back yard, I have killed off about 400 square feet of bermuda. I have to keep killing it until I can seed (or hydrosdeed) the hell out of it.

I am also debating installing a stone retainer wall that goes up about 3 feet from the sidewalk, to reduce the grade. You'll have to ignore the nonsymetrical flowers and other shit. This was experimentation summer.

The yard condition is not spring green's fault, btw. I simply got work done durnig the middle of the summer, that resulted in my yard being destroyed, and at that point, nothing is going to bring it back.

[Edited on August 28, 2008 at 4:49 PM. Reason : .]

8/28/2008 4:40:41 PM

do you have tint on your windows? if so, have you noticed a savings b/c of it?

8/28/2008 9:46:29 PM

i have tint on my front windows and although I haven't noticed energy savings, it makes the front room a hell of a lot cooler in summer afternoons

8/28/2008 10:52:18 PM

Yeah, I spent a small fortune on that window tint last year. I think it helps, but use it as part of a package to make the home more efficient (try adding attic insulation with it as well- which can be done very cheaply)

8/29/2008 7:45:47 AM

Can I get some info on window tinting?

I got an estimate from weedman to aerate, seed, and lime? for $450.

8/29/2008 11:00:40 AM

Hm. That's a fair bit more than it was for my lawn.

How does that compare to the cost of sodding the whole thing?

8/29/2008 11:07:28 AM

^^ To aerate and seed my yard it is $99. Unless they are dropping some serious lime I do not see how it could cost that much!!!!

This is my yard so I do not know how yours compares size wise:






[Edited on August 29, 2008 at 12:06 PM. Reason : s]

8/29/2008 12:03:33 PM

Damn. Nice yard. I'll bring the details with me and post them on Monday. I too that 450 was a bit much. $99 would be awesome.

8/29/2008 12:31:41 PM

who does your yard YOMAMA? that looks really nice. how often do you water it? i don't really want to put in an irrigation system and would prefer not to have to water it at all but obviously that's not gonna happen when we get no rain for a month.

do you use an edger or the weedeater for trimming at the driveway?

8/29/2008 12:37:47 PM

TruGreen does my yard - they come out once a qtr and its $30 each time. So $120 a year.
Plus the $99 I mentioned above.

That picture was from the spring but I do not water all that often.

I just have an attachment edger that fits onto my weedeater.

8/29/2008 12:49:01 PM

very attractive yard. Thats what Im attempting to go for with mine. Just with my house being on a hill, I have to keep the damned thing watered....

8/29/2008 12:56:49 PM

If I were you I would think about putting in 2 or 3 tiers of stone/block in that area instead of that grass. Would look real nice if you ask me.

8/29/2008 1:06:28 PM

Yeah. I have thought about tiering it. Unfortunately, I just blew my wad on a high end HVAC, irrigation system, and new kitchen with granite and jenn-air appliances. The plan is to get the majority of the yard looking good for next year, then possible put stone work in the year after that. There is only so much blood I can get from an onion.

To get that work done professionally, it would be $6k+ (yes, retainer walls are astronomical for some reason). If I did it, I'm looking at around 2k in material, and a shit ton of work.

8/29/2008 1:09:45 PM

yeah - I feel your pain.

I would definitely do that work myself.
Would be back breaking work though!

8/29/2008 1:15:56 PM

Just lost a huge branch from one of the oak trees:



Anybody need firewood?

8/29/2008 4:31:10 PM

Quote :

"(yes, retainer walls are astronomical for some reason)"

I think if they're taller than 3 ft, or if you have to stagger them so they're pretty close together (i.e. if your yard is steep enough), you need to get an engineer's stamp on whatever design ends up in your front yard. Whether the walls would be too close together, or if they're taller than 3 feet, that one stamp will cost you a pretty penny. I imagine that they might have quoted you the price for a commercially designed residential retaining wall that won't fail for a good long time. Those would also have an engineer's stamp on them (and they would be quick to install).

Did they give you a detailed quote on what they were going to put in and how the costs broke down? Was it going to be a simple stacked stone wall, or something way more badass?

8/29/2008 5:12:09 PM

No detailed quote. You're the first person that has said (including the store that sells the materials) that I would need any real engineering to a retainer wall that would be less than 3 feet tall. I think the wall is mainly decorative. If it was actually holding much back, or was supporting a structure, then I could understand it.

In any event, the only approval I plan on getting is with my home owners association...

[Edited on August 29, 2008 at 9:05 PM. Reason : .]

8/29/2008 9:04:00 PM

I said you'd need it for one that was more than 3 feet tall. If it's less than 3 ft tall then they're just using some fucking sweet ass stonework in the wall. That or they're taking you for a ride.

[Edited on August 29, 2008 at 9:21 PM. Reason : Or, as a final option, it's a longer wall than I thought.]

8/29/2008 9:21:04 PM

Quote :

"Yeah, I spent a small fortune on that window tint last year. I think it helps, but use it as part of a package to make the home more efficient (try adding attic insulation with it as well- which can be done very cheaply)"

i'm having an active attic fan installed. i'm hoping that will help with summer cooling costs.

8/29/2008 9:47:40 PM

Mindstorm, I meant to edit that out, but was distracted.

I have honestly talked to about 4 people over this wall. All really pricey. Its just a lot of labor. Its definitely a do it yourself thing if you have the time and patience.

8/29/2008 11:17:45 PM

Quote :

"TruGreen does my yard - they come out once a qtr and its $30 each time. So $120 a year. Plus the $99 I mentioned above."

They quoted me $320 to seed and aerate. That is such bs. My lot is .22 acres with a 2000 sqr foot house and I already have sod in the front yard.

9/4/2008 9:47:17 AM