Quote :

"anyone got any cures to dog urine killing grass? not a huge problem but just wondering if there is anything out there."

Don't believe all the rumors and miracle cures and food additives that people talk about. It's not acidity, it's not hormones, it's not limited to one sex or another. It's the nitrogen in the urine. That's why you may notice the area around the dead spot typically looks green and healthy. It's just like over-fertilizing your lawn, too much nitrogen will "burn" it, but the right amount will green it up nicely.

The best thing you can do, besides training, is to follow your pup with a watering can or a hose. If you soak the pee spot, you'll dilute and distribute the urine (and therefore the nitrogen) and shouldn't have any problems. Actually you may notice greener, faster growing spots instead.

[Edited on May 19, 2011 at 5:08 PM. Reason : .]

5/19/2011 5:07:34 PM

Our dog's pee appears to green the grass. I couldnt figure out why a few spots in my front yard between the curb and the sidewalk are a deep green. Guess that answers the question. Her pee doesnt yellow the grass.

5/20/2011 10:42:01 AM

you're lucky then! different dogs have different levels of nitrogen concentration. Some of it is biological, and it can also vary with how much water they drink. The grass saver pills do work(at least for my dogs), but it takes a few days before it becomes effective, and you have to give them the pills every day.

every time we drop the dogs off for a week while we're on vacation, the first few days they're back, they'll create a few dead spots if i don't follow behind them with the garden hose until the pills start doing their thing.

5/20/2011 11:15:03 AM

Our boxer gives our yard no ill effects. The previous owner's black lab left dead spots here and there in the backyard that have come back to life now.

5/20/2011 1:11:02 PM

I need to stain my deck, and it sounds like I need 24+ hours of non-rain before and after said staining. Does that sound right to you all?

5/20/2011 1:25:55 PM

I would imagine as long as the deck has had ample time to dry out from the last rain it should be fine. My deck is still damp in a few spots that don't get much sun for a day or two after a rain. You don't want to paint or stain treated lumber when it is wet - I've made that mistake.

5/20/2011 4:09:35 PM

Anyone having not positive memories with their house and trying to get rid it?

I'm trying to start going thorough things but its hell actually doing it. I don't really have a choice, but it sends like its not a totally uncommon thing.

5/21/2011 1:37:50 AM

^what happened?

[Edited on May 21, 2011 at 7:30 AM. Reason : nm I looked it up]

[Edited on May 21, 2011 at 7:31 AM. Reason : srry]

5/21/2011 7:03:11 AM

Meh, thanks.

There has just gotta be a way to pack up and move from a house easier than this. I know moving companies can do the packing, but it is $texas and doesn't really help with the going through stuff. That is probably the only option though... but was curious if anyone else has had to leave a place in not good terms.

5/21/2011 10:58:58 AM

Matt, now that we have a house in Greenville and the baby will be here in less than a month, we're thinking about paying a company to pack everything up for us and move us. We are so done with Raleigh that we don't even want to set foot in the house anymore.

5/21/2011 11:39:45 AM

Here's a home ownership woe. I've got a front yard full of weedy grass (only in the ~20' strip by the road, the rest is just dirt or random weeds popping up through pine straw) and I went outside today to go get some food. By the time I got home I couldn't really breathe that well. How'm I gon cut my grass if I can't even breathe, and I'm on some damn allergy meds.

I need a remote control lawnmower, or perhaps a replacement cyborg body.

5/21/2011 9:00:42 PM

HOA decided they want to raise the rates and 100 one time fee nothx

5/22/2011 1:27:08 AM

Quote :

"Don't believe all the rumors and miracle cures and food additives that people talk about. It's not acidity, it's not hormones, it's not limited to one sex or another. It's the nitrogen in the urine. That's why you may notice the area around the dead spot typically looks green and healthy. It's just like over-fertilizing your lawn, too much nitrogen will "burn" it, but the right amount will green it up nicely. The best thing you can do, besides training, is to follow your pup with a watering can or a hose. If you soak the pee spot, you'll dilute and distribute the urine (and therefore the nitrogen) and shouldn't have any problems. Actually you may notice greener, faster growing spots instead. "

learn something new everyday...thx for that

5/22/2011 8:10:08 AM

Quote :

"Here's a home ownership woe. I've got a front yard full of weedy grass (only in the ~20' strip by the road, the rest is just dirt or random weeds popping up through pine straw) and I went outside today to go get some food. By the time I got home I couldn't really breathe that well. How'm I gon cut my grass if I can't even breathe, and I'm on some damn allergy meds. I need a remote control lawnmower, or perhaps a replacement cyborg body."

What about a much simpler, more cost effective solution... perhaps a respirator? You can get a decent one for 30 or 40 bucks.

5/23/2011 8:49:07 AM

5/23/2011 10:37:03 AM

i was trying to clean up a severely overgrown area in front of my house this weekend and managed to piss off some yellow jackets that were nesting there. it was my first time getting stung by anything since like first grade.

unfortunately for the yellow jackets, I work for a chemical company in the pest control industry. long story short, we make some good stuff.

5/23/2011 10:43:23 AM

WENT OUTSIDE TO CLEAN AND SAND DECK

ENDED UP DECIDING TO REPLACE THE WHOLE DAMN THING

i feel like there should be a scumbag steve meme for homeowner woes

5/23/2011 11:13:41 AM

lol^ OVERPRODUCTIVE HOMEOWNER

5/23/2011 12:02:48 PM

^^ does it really need replacing? The house we bought had a deck in terrible shape. Only 7 years old but hadn't been cleaned or stained once and boards were starting to warp. Sanded, power-washed, flooded it with stain and it looks pretty darn good now.

5/23/2011 12:29:54 PM

upon closer inspection, a couple of the boards had separated a bit in a way that sanding would not help -- the sort that looks like you've pulled the lid back 1/4 of the way on a sardine can, if that makes sense. so those boards would have to be replaced. the tops of some of the handrails have split as well and would need replacement. same goes for some of the stairs.

i'm not interested in just slathering opaque stain over all of it, so at that point i imagined how bizarre that deck would look with the different colors of old and new wood, and thought i might as well redo it.

it helps that the deck isn't very far off the ground, and i'm not replacing the beams or resetting footings, so i can skip the permit process.

[Edited on May 23, 2011 at 12:57 PM. Reason : pretty sure the deck is nearly 20 years old]

5/23/2011 12:57:16 PM

Quote :

"does it really need replacing? The house we bought had a deck in terrible shape. Only 7 years old but hadn't been cleaned or stained once and boards were starting to warp. Sanded, power-washed, flooded it with stain and it looks pretty darn good now."

same here. I stupidly only put 1 coat on last year, but i sanded and applied a second coat this year and it looks pretty damn good now all things considered.

5/23/2011 3:15:14 PM

i skimmed the previous 49ish pages iso anyone doing siding replacements - but saw none

so, with that said, is anyone doing any minor or major replacements/repairs to their home's siding?

my house was covered in junky masonite - some still ok, but mostly it was a wreck.

i'm replacing with the same style, smooth beaded 8.25", but with hardieboard. -

5/23/2011 4:29:16 PM

are you doing the work yourself? what are the supplies going to run you? (ballpark?)

5/23/2011 9:15:38 PM

yes, i'm doing it all myself.

a 12' stick of siding runs 6.3- paint is 29ish per gallon

i donno, i got quite a few estimates for just the necessary repairs to the siding and trim and i was blown away. for example - the bottom couple rows of siding all around the house were pretty bad off - so they needed to be replaced. the white vertical trim boards were pretty much toast after soaking up water and from never being caulked. so a few things here and a couple things there, bam - 6k repair bill.

so ya, 6k is wayy more than i need to replace almost every stick of that siding, trim, and paint that som-beach - we're almost done too -

5/24/2011 9:53:52 AM

finally painted my bathroom. no pics atm. the color is Behr Premium's "Minted Lemon". I would have preferred it a tiny bit lighter, but it's within a standard deviation of satisfaction to me.

tackling the bedroom sometime over the weekend.

only bad thing with the bathroom is i had an edging tool that i thought would allow me to not have to tape the edges of some tile that goes halfway up my bathroom walls, so i left it bare and cut in with the tool, but the paint seeped down over the lips of the tile a bit. next time i paint i will just tape every edge possible, and do it the right way, fancy tool be damned. for now ill have to take some Goo Gone or other petroleum based paint remover and get the paint off of the tile edges...

5/24/2011 9:59:22 AM

I replaced a couple of rows of siding on the front of my house last summer with the smoother hardieplank. I have several places that the previous homeowner repaired rather crappy and other areas where the paint / surface of the masonite has deep cracks and needs to be replaced. I've been contemplating getting pre-colored hardieplank but haven't decided what I want to do. It looks like I need a permit in Raleigh for siding work?

I also have a bunch of fascia and soffit that needs to be replaced because the previous owners didn't take care of the gutters.

5/25/2011 11:04:58 PM

i dont believe that you need a permit and if you can get a close enough paint match, i wouldnt bother with the pre-painted hardie - it's quite expensive - -

5/26/2011 9:04:14 AM

Has anyone replaced an HVAC system that qualifies for the tax credit of $1,500?

5/26/2011 9:41:52 AM

I believe that credit expired last December, right?

The new credit is nowhere near as generous. Unless you're referring specifically to last year's stuff.

5/26/2011 9:46:28 AM

schwank, how difficult a job was replacing the siding, and about how long did it take you?

5/26/2011 9:58:26 AM

^^hmm, i'm not sure. I've just been checking some HVAC service company websites and they're still mentioning the $1,500 amount. I honestly know nothing about it.

But if it still applies I'm hoping it would be something that would help entice my landlord to replace my system.


nm...

Quote :

"Tax Credit: 10% of cost up to $500 or a specific amount from $50 - $300 Expires: December 31, 2011 Details: Must be an existing home & your principal residence. New construction and rentals do not qualify. "

[Edited on May 26, 2011 at 10:06 AM. Reason : add]

5/26/2011 10:05:06 AM

wlb420 - the hard part is piecemealing it. because of the way most of the Masonite was installed in my area, inserting a piece here and there to replace damaged boards results in a hella ugly finished product with massive gaping holes from where you had to back nails out.

if you can afford the time and money to do larger areas, you wont regret it.

5/26/2011 2:26:24 PM

Well, my house is 3/4 brick, so there isn't too much to replace (and only a 1 door and 3 windows to deal with)...I was thinking of just doing it all....rough estimate of 400-500 sqft.

5/26/2011 3:46:31 PM

So I bought a vacant lot along a 4 lane road a few weeks ago and we're still waiting on the building permit. In the meantime, the county was kind enough to send us a certified letter telling us we had to mow the grass. It's tall, but no worse than the median across from it that they haven't mowed yet. My builder simply laughed and welcomed me to York County. I knew I was paying a premium to live in a snotty area, but didn't realize it was that bad.

5/26/2011 4:24:54 PM

Quote :

"upon closer inspection, a couple of the boards had separated a bit in a way that sanding would not help -- the sort that looks like you've pulled the lid back 1/4 of the way on a sardine can, if that makes sense. so those boards would have to be replaced. the tops of some of the handrails have split as well and would need replacement. same goes for some of the stairs. i'm not interested in just slathering opaque stain over all of it, so at that point i imagined how bizarre that deck would look with the different colors of old and new wood, and thought i might as well redo it. it helps that the deck isn't very far off the ground, and i'm not replacing the beams or resetting footings, so i can skip the permit process. "

I'm thinking about doing the same thing. Our deck is really high off of the ground though (probably 10 feet up due to our sloped yard). I'm just kinda torn on either getting the deck boards/rails/pickets replaced now or waiting a few years and doing a full remodel job. My wife and I would really like to extend the deck out and turn it into a nice screened in porch

5/27/2011 1:00:04 PM

Quote :

"What about a much simpler, more cost effective solution... perhaps a respirator? You can get a decent one for 30 or 40 bucks."

Yeah I was just being dramatic. I'm using one of those cheap-ish face masks like you can pick up at lowe's (basically a dust mask) and it makes it tolerable. Instead of a day of coughing it's more like an hour.

On the plus side, the weeds look really nice now that they're all short. Manually pulling out the ~15 odd clumps of grass in the middle of the natural areas in my yard made the whole thing look half decent once it was cut. Still need to plant a couple small landscaping trees in the front yard to break up the nothing I have now.

5/28/2011 12:07:35 PM

wlb420 - knocking out 500ft, depending on the location *(like a 2nd floor with requiring scaffolding would take longer) i could knock out in a weekend - demo/installation/caulk - everything but painting *(unless i got lucky)

bonus if you have someone that can cut while you work - sawing the hardie is a bit slower than if you were chopping a wood based product

i did the top section in three days, all with the exception of the very top of those peaks where the siding was actually pretty protected and didnt need to be replaced. did the siding, the white vertical end trim, caulked, and the miss painted one piece -

5/31/2011 9:21:46 AM

hallelujah I may finally be getting a new HVAC system. I finally got through to the owner with a stern, yet not threatening letter. Now lets just hope she gets it done asap.

6/1/2011 9:16:29 AM

Not really a 'woe', per se, but here is a visual representation of last night's wildlife encounter:

6/1/2011 9:46:18 AM

So for the last 6 months or so, whenever water is run, you can hear a really loud squealing in the pipes.

- This happens when any faucet or shower is run, any toilet is flushed, or the washing machine runs. One of the two outdoor spigots also will make the pipes squeal.
- The only exception is that the kitchen sink, dishwasher, and the other outdoor spigot, which is on the same side of the house as the kitchen sink and dishwasher.
- The squealing is independent of hot or cold water being used.

Possibly related, but could be a red herring: the water pressure in the master bathroom shower is lower than it was a few months ago. Hard to say if there was any change when we first noticed the squealing. The other shower in the house is never used (kid's bathroom), so can't say if there is a change there in water pressure.

googling this find a lot of varying possibilities: air in the pipes, water pressure to the house, or other causes are very specific such as only when hot water is used.

Any ideas? This is annoying as fuck.


[Edited on June 1, 2011 at 10:49 AM. Reason : .]

6/1/2011 10:48:40 AM

My overflow? pan beneath my ac is filling up with water and water is now coming out of a secondary pipe outside which I was should never be used unless something else is fucked up so how can I get it flowing through the main pipe again?

6/1/2011 11:56:12 AM

^ a long piece of wire or one of these with a piece of cloth tied to the end to push down/out whatever's clogging the pipe

http://www.dannylipford.com/images/article/how-run-wires-walls-2.jpg

6/1/2011 1:16:16 PM

Any clue where to find that pipe? I figured it would be connected to the pan but I can't seem to determine where it is. The damn pan is full off insulation, so I'm guessing that's the culprit and if I hire someone to fix it it's $90.

6/1/2011 3:45:30 PM

do you have a shop vac? i've seen a guy solve this before by going outside, sticking the shop vac hose onto the drain pipe exit, turning it on and low and behold, a ton of mold/mildew/water/junk was sucked right through. often, like at my house, there's a t-junction where you can jimmy a wire down to knock any blockage loose. most units use the drip pan as a back-up system and there will be two separate drain pipes on the exterior of the house - one for the pan and one for the actual coil compartment.

g/l

6/1/2011 4:15:07 PM

Quote :

"So for the last 6 months or so, whenever water is run, you can hear a really loud squealing in the pipes."

Doubt this is helpful, but I had the same problem in my shower after I bought my house. A few weeks later, it went away.

Recently, I went out of town for a week, and when I returned, it was doing it again. I think it's stopped now though.

6/2/2011 12:25:00 PM

^^ No, but I'll try the wire suggestion. Thanks.

6/2/2011 1:14:45 PM

For future reference, a 3300psi pressure washer IS worth the money over the 2200-2700 consumer units if you ever plan on pressure washing your own house and/or driveway and/or deck.

6/2/2011 5:14:53 PM

Having my house professionally cleaned for the first time my bday today.

6/3/2011 11:34:15 AM

for the overflow issue, i ended up using compressed air. it worked really well for me. no problems since. though with this method you could cause a leak. so perform at your own risk.

for my parents house, i used a garden hose with a rubber reducer on it. after a little pressure built up, the semi obstruction popped out.

this was all due to construction debris.

----------

bobby, we had the squealing pipe issue. called a plumber, they had us run all the sinks, toilets, washing machine, etc... anything that used water for a while. that helped some, but when they arrived, they checked every wall to pinpoint the source and found that there was a place where the copper piping was vibrating when the surge from opening a spigot occured. they did two things for us. they cut the wall open, wrapped the pipe with insulatation and the installed a water hammer device that absorbs the shock from turning the water on and off. no problems since. though what worked for me may not necessarily work for you.

6/3/2011 11:44:55 AM

also the plumbers tested the water pressure to the house. i had been meaning to do that. too high pressure can cause that as well.

6/3/2011 11:51:46 AM