Have any of you guys had much experience with heated tile? It’s awesome.
I haven't. In principle I can imagine it being pretty cool though.
Have any of you guys had much experience with heated tile? It’s awesome.
we didn't have sod in place before closing, due to builder scheduling it for the day before and then weather came in and it was too muddy to even cut the sod from the field. We were in a corner because our mortgage lock from last May was expiring and we couldn't afford the interest rate hike that would come with waiting.
After the weather, I told builder the grade past the side and back of the driveway was unacceptable and that needed to be fixed before sod goes down. For one it's too steep, also it's not compacted at all, it's like a soft dirt pile. She gives me the number to the guy that did the dirt work originally....like I want him back after doing such a half ass job. I go ahead and have him out and he quotes a $10k retaining wall. Ultimately, maybe that's the best solution but hell if I'm gonna hire HIM to do it. He was gonna throw some gravel down under it and some sort of mat behind it, no means for drainage.
So then we have a landscaper come and look at it and tell us what he thinks. He'll do a better retaining wall, for less, but also suggests we would save a lot of money just putting 2-3 loads more fill out there to smooth out the grade. I like this option.
problem is, we can't seem to get more than 2-3 days between precipitation, which means by the time things dry out enough to do anything, it's raining again. Last weekend I rigged up a drain (the concrete work isn't pretty) thinking it would buy us time, but the first rain brought a bunch of mud from the front yard and clogged it right up, so the water just ran over the sides, washed out underneath it, and then it sagged away from the driveway so the water just runs right over the edge as it was to start with.
View attachment 398900
Now I've got all means of downspout catchers, tarps, lumber scraps, rocks and bricks to catch the water and direct it down the slope before it goes under the concrete. Also, a pair of very wet, muddy Dickie's and mud boots. I've got 36 tons of fill dirt and 12 tons of topsoil scheduled for delivery at noon on Friday but the rain has continued longer than forecast so I don't know if I'll even be able to get it by then. Guy we wanted is also noncommittal about getting it done, but we have another guy that can probably work us in and if all else fails, my father in law has a skid steer and we'll just do it ourselves.
View attachment 398902
View attachment 398904
View attachment 398906
but at least the back yard is cool.
View attachment 398907
working on getting the backyard to be usable, and by that I mean not overrun with ticks and copperheads. That means eliminating the places they like to hide.
I dispensed $160 worth of Roundup a couple weeks ago, gave it a couple of weeks to do it's work and then mowed and bagged it with my push mower, to minimize the amount of poison ivy debris left on the ground. Then I pulled the rake behind the mower making several passes to pull most of the mulch into piles, spread grass seed, raked again, and let the rainstorm that night water it in.
The roundup seemed to kill a portion of it but there was still quite a bit that looked alive and well. I'm gonna give the grass (bermuda) a chance to choke out what's left.
Now to water and wait.
View attachment 434360
You willfully planted Bermuda grass? I have that shit in my yard and have been working at eradicating it for 5 years now. It really ruins a nice fescue/bluegrass mix.
You willfully planted Bermuda grass?
it's the only thing that will survive the summer heat we get here.
I hate it (and am actually allergic to it) but unfortunately it's the only thing that will survive the summer heat we get here. Fescues will do ok in the shade, but in the sun it takes more water than I can reliably supply without irrigation, and its too late this year for it to have a chance to get established before July scorches it.
The intent is once my wife gets out of school and some money frees up, we'll go back and install a sprinkler system and then I can either overseed with fescue or kill the bermuda and lay fescue sod.
Bermuda grass is super common here, as it's one of the few that can take the heat in summer. Besides that, it's tough enough to drive on. I don't mind it. You just keep it short and it stays green. Overseed with a fescue blend for green into the cooler months.
Yeah, I get that down south. If you want a green lawn, you have to use st Augustine, Burmuda, Zoyosia, or some other coarse blade, Warm season grass. Up here, we have the luxury of being able to plant the cool season grasses. In OK, where @freedom_in_4low in 4 low is, I think you could go either way.
The problem is that is very hard to get rid of. Round up won't do it. It will kill it for the season, but it will come back (trust me on that). Even though its a warm season grass and I live in a cool season zone, that shit seems to do OK here. Not good enough to make a yard...but good enough to ruin a yard of another species. A utility company absolutely destroyed my yard a few years ago, when they came through to upgrade their lines. I live on a corner lot and I guess there are two or three junctions in the easement. They "repaired" the area, but I think they had seeds on the equipment or something, and it took me a lot of time to restore it, up to and including rototilling 50% of the yard and scooping the organic material out. Its still not gone, but I have it beaten back to where its manageable. Every now and again, I go out and pull whats left.
I have been reading a lot about "NoLawn" this past month. The idea is to not have a high water consumption monoculture lawn, but instead to carefully choose alternatives with a strong emphasis on native plants, conservation. rain gardens, xeriscaping etc. There is one house in my neighborhood that did that after covid and their front lawn looks amazing now after 3 years. It really sparked my interest this spring since everything seems to be nicely set now and it became very beautiful.
I will share some photos tomorrow .. I actually talked to the guy and they did the same in their backyard too. It's an absolute treats and it feels like a real garden instead of just a landscaped grass lawn. When I buy a house I am so doing something like this. He said that once you get them all planted the garden kinda takes care of itself for the most part and I believe that.
Found one from earlier in the year as things were just staring to come back to life, I would take this anyday over grass.
View attachment 434760
The whole "English Manor House" model is just wrong. Waste of land, waste of water, waste of money. I like the traditional houses found in Morocco and other places throughout the middle east - that often come right up to the street but face inward with a beautiful atrium. What with bullshit setback regulations in this country, you can't even use your front yard for much. Once in a while, you'll see a wall or fence built around a front yard in a locale that allows it - that's the most sensible thing to do with it if you can. The above picture is the next best, I like it for what it is.
This is also one of the many reasons why I will never buy in a HOA neighborhood.
I have been reading a lot about "NoLawn" this past month. The idea is to not have a high water consumption monoculture lawn, but instead to carefully choose alternatives with a strong emphasis on native plants, conservation. rain gardens, xeriscaping etc. There is one house in my neighborhood that did that after covid and their front lawn looks amazing now after 3 years. It really sparked my interest this spring since everything seems to be nicely set now and it became very beautiful.
I will share some photos tomorrow .. I actually talked to the guy and they did the same in their backyard too. It's an absolute treats and it feels like a real garden instead of just a landscaped grass lawn. When I buy a house I am so doing something like this. He said that once you get them all planted the garden kinda takes care of itself for the most part and I believe that.
Found one from earlier in the year as things were just staring to come back to life, I would take this anyday over grass.
View attachment 434760
The whole "English Manor House" model is just wrong. Waste of land, waste of water, waste of money. I like the traditional houses found in Morocco and other places throughout the middle east - that often come right up to the street but face inward with a beautiful atrium. What with bullshit setback regulations in this country, you can't even use your front yard for much. Once in a while, you'll see a wall or fence built around a front yard in a locale that allows it - that's the most sensible thing to do with it if you can. The above picture is the next best, I like it for what it is.
I'm with you regarding typical suburbia where people have oversized yards and resource-hungry lawns that they rarely use, but I'm grateful for the option to have semi-rural living where I can go in my backyard and forget society exists without having to be a farmer. I have my front yard and patio if I'm feeling social, but from behind the house I can't even see another structure and I LOVE it. I have the space and terrain for a proper backstop on a 150yard shooting range, though I'll use a suppressor out of courtesy. Insects and frogs are the dominant source of ambient noise instead of traffic and music other people think I want to hear. It's on average ~8°F cooler here than in town 5 miles west because I have plant life absorbing solar energy instead of acres of pavement to radiate it back at me. I went out to take a leak off the back patio yesterday mid-morning just because I can, and made eye contact with a whitetail doe. It's not for everybody, and that's ok, but it's my happy place.
Yea - my comments are intended for suburbia. I grew up in the country, I know what its like. It has its good and bad points. Taking 30 minutes to get a gallon of milk isn't one of the the good points!