Yes, that lovely substance that provides us with driveways, sidewalks and various other niceties of life which require a smooth, hard surface.
My project for today was to start contacting various contractors and seeing what the cost would be to tear out our existing patio which has settled and cracked horribly. Oh, and the front steps which are now starting to list to port might cost us a few trick or treaters sliding off into our bushes should it snow that night. Yes, it is usually cold around here at Halloween (sadly enough).
My first step was to start asking friends and acquaintances if they had recently had work like this done and whether or not they could recommend someone. I start this way because I would rather give my (husband's) hard earned money to a local business that's a known quantity and has someone I personally know to vouch for their work.
I have set up a few companies (usually about 3 for a large job like this) to come by and give me estimates on the work. I will ask them about start dates and completion times, as well as other contingencies depending upon the job. For instance, working in the back yard with all this labor and equipment brings to mind the other expensive component of our outdoors: the sprinkler system. I was assured by the contractor today that if they happened to damage any portion of the sprinklers, they would cover the cost of replacement. I will also be sure to get this in writing when I agree upon the final contract. There might be other special considerations and concerns with certain project; the best thing to do (I think) is sit down and list everything you can think of that relates to the project you have planned. That way, you can be fairly sure that you've covered most, if not all, of your bases and won't have any nasty surprises.
Oh, well. There is no shortage of things to be done around our house, both major and minor, but as long as I keep working on them, I'll be done eventually (right?).
Thanks for being a friend and reading my blog. It feels good to know there are folks like me (and my family) out there trying to keep up with everything!
Take care,
Kellacious
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Word for the day: cull (as in Home Depot)
Merriam-Webster's online dictionary gives discard as a synonym for the word cull and that's what I'm focusing on today.
You see, Home Depot has a selection of cull in their lumber department, and, each individual piece is only . . . wait for it . . . $0.51. That's right. 51 cents. Barely over half a dollar. BARGAIN! The cull section is usually at the back end of the store near their cutting station and all the pieces have been sprayed with green paint on one end to mark it as cull for the cashiers.
This is their stash of unsalable wood products (like Trex, MDF [Medium-density fibreboard], shelving, etc.) that, once you find out where it is, you will visit again and again and again (trust me).
I found a piece of MDF a couple of months ago that was big enough to put a door on our crawl space (not really a standard door size, you know). The gentleman working in lumber was even nice enough to cut this huge piece to my dimensions for NO EXTRA COST! The hardware to set this baby up cost $12, but the actual door only cost me 51 cents. Oh yeah, I am the champion!
Why, just today, I sauntered through one of my two local Home Depots and visited the cull pile. I spied another piece of MDF and the light bulb going on would have BLINDED you (not kidding). I am working on my basement (as you well know) and finally got the kitty litter boxes swapped to the other side and my sewing table set up under one of two windows down there. But, as with all good ideas, there is an *issue*.
Ahem. We have those interlocking mats as our basement floor to protect our little footsies from the rough particle board serving as our floating floor. This is not going to ever be a finished basement while we're here; it's just not practical. Now, the back end of the sewing table isn't on the mat while the front end is. I'm not a very balanced person myself, but I require that I usually work on a level surface. Helps keep stitches straight, you know. Enter the rescue MDF piece! I will pull out two mats and put down the MDF and voila! Level sewing table! I'm also going to paint it white so I can see those pesky pins and needles I seem to drop occasionally.
See how this works? Many times, you don't need tons of lumber (or 7 feet of whatever piece) for a particular project. Knowing about this cull pile will save you a pile (of money)!
Any handy hints about bargain stashes you've found at your favorite haunts? Share them here!
Take care,
Kellacious
You see, Home Depot has a selection of cull in their lumber department, and, each individual piece is only . . . wait for it . . . $0.51. That's right. 51 cents. Barely over half a dollar. BARGAIN! The cull section is usually at the back end of the store near their cutting station and all the pieces have been sprayed with green paint on one end to mark it as cull for the cashiers.
This is their stash of unsalable wood products (like Trex, MDF [Medium-density fibreboard], shelving, etc.) that, once you find out where it is, you will visit again and again and again (trust me).
I found a piece of MDF a couple of months ago that was big enough to put a door on our crawl space (not really a standard door size, you know). The gentleman working in lumber was even nice enough to cut this huge piece to my dimensions for NO EXTRA COST! The hardware to set this baby up cost $12, but the actual door only cost me 51 cents. Oh yeah, I am the champion!
Why, just today, I sauntered through one of my two local Home Depots and visited the cull pile. I spied another piece of MDF and the light bulb going on would have BLINDED you (not kidding). I am working on my basement (as you well know) and finally got the kitty litter boxes swapped to the other side and my sewing table set up under one of two windows down there. But, as with all good ideas, there is an *issue*.
Ahem. We have those interlocking mats as our basement floor to protect our little footsies from the rough particle board serving as our floating floor. This is not going to ever be a finished basement while we're here; it's just not practical. Now, the back end of the sewing table isn't on the mat while the front end is. I'm not a very balanced person myself, but I require that I usually work on a level surface. Helps keep stitches straight, you know. Enter the rescue MDF piece! I will pull out two mats and put down the MDF and voila! Level sewing table! I'm also going to paint it white so I can see those pesky pins and needles I seem to drop occasionally.
See how this works? Many times, you don't need tons of lumber (or 7 feet of whatever piece) for a particular project. Knowing about this cull pile will save you a pile (of money)!
Any handy hints about bargain stashes you've found at your favorite haunts? Share them here!
Take care,
Kellacious
Friday, September 17, 2010
Confessions are good for the soul
As you might have guessed, I have a confession to make. It's not good or bad, per se, but it was affecting my timely blogging practices. I stalk several blogs and I'm addicted to them. As I find new blogs that I enjoy regularly, I will add them to my sidebar here so you may (get sucked into) enjoy them like I do.
That was a major reason for me putting off my blogging from August until mid-September. These ladies not only blog every day, they blog WELL! I was dutifully following their blogs and catching up on them from before I knew about them which took some time and allowed me to cultivate my lazy side.
Their blogs are entertaining, informative and . . . make my inner English teacher sing for joy. No misspellings or grammar abuse to make me cringe *AND* they manage to inject humor, humility and lots of fresh outlooks on their worlds and therefore mine too.
A well written blog is a joy and I find myself refreshing my own page to see if their links have updated with a new post. I'm addicted, as you can see.
But, hopefully, it is for a good cause. They influence me in many ways, not the least of which is to remember that if I'm going to do this, I had better do it well!
Which reminds me: the best way to reward a blogger is twofold. One, you should comment often and positively (and I will be doing that shortly, since I need to follow my own advice) and two, you should definitely recommend the worthy blog to your friends, family, neighbor, postman and anyone within earshot. I've been known to recommend these blogs to total strangers while standing in either Home Depot or Hobby Lobby.
Keep the love going and hug your favorite blogger today! If you can't do it in person, then leave a nice comment to generate that warm, fuzzy feeling!
Love to you all,
Kellacious
P.S. It's a bad sign when I have to type my 'name' over four times to get it right. Sheesh! You'd think it was Friday night or something . . .
That was a major reason for me putting off my blogging from August until mid-September. These ladies not only blog every day, they blog WELL! I was dutifully following their blogs and catching up on them from before I knew about them which
Their blogs are entertaining, informative and . . . make my inner English teacher sing for joy. No misspellings or grammar abuse to make me cringe *AND* they manage to inject humor, humility and lots of fresh outlooks on their worlds and therefore mine too.
A well written blog is a joy and I find myself refreshing my own page to see if their links have updated with a new post. I'm addicted, as you can see.
But, hopefully, it is for a good cause. They influence me in many ways, not the least of which is to remember that if I'm going to do this, I had better do it well!
Which reminds me: the best way to reward a blogger is twofold. One, you should comment often and positively (and I will be doing that shortly, since I need to follow my own advice) and two, you should definitely recommend the worthy blog to your friends, family, neighbor, postman and anyone within earshot. I've been known to recommend these blogs to total strangers while standing in either Home Depot or Hobby Lobby.
Keep the love going and hug your favorite blogger today! If you can't do it in person, then leave a nice comment to generate that warm, fuzzy feeling!
Love to you all,
Kellacious
P.S. It's a bad sign when I have to type my 'name' over four times to get it right. Sheesh! You'd think it was Friday night or something . . .
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