This is what we did, Ark. Our cabinets are good solid wood and came with nice hardware, but were a mustard color. With all the other work that needed to be done, replacing the kitchen cabinets wasn't in the budget. So, we removed (don't forget to number and/draw a diagram/legend) all the doors and hardware, sanded everything, repainted an offwhite color, applied a poly finish, and replaced everything. They turned out great for a fraction or the cost to replace.
Are all these photos from the same space? It looks like brick above a lower roof. So foundation issues wouldn't be the cause. Need to make sure flashing to the roof is good and that whatever support below the roof has been designed to accommodate the brick load. "Easy" fixes for the most part, could be tricky to get to where the support is. Edit: oh you're selling, then I would just get a mason to repoint it.
a house I've had my eye on for months finally was put back on the market. great price, too. going to look at it tomorrow and pretty sure we're going to make an offer on the spot.
So who has a good idea for moving costs? From Georgia to Florida...4 bedroom house with packing services (we won't have time to pack everything) one company quoted $8,200. Thats definitely higher than what i was expecting but what do i know... $1,900 is packing and like $1,500 is temporary storage to cover us between closings... (couple of weeks)
I've been working on installing "smart" lights over the last couple of weeks and getting them setup with Alexa. I was on the fence between the Phillips Hue and the bulbs from Lifx and ultimately decided on Lifx because they don't require a hub like the Phillips Hue. I feel like hubs are the new wires and I'm trying to avoid them wherever possible. The Lifx bulbs have individual wifi embedded in each bulb. The uniqueness of the bulbs centers around their ability to change to any color. And you can change the color and intensity: Color is hard to relay over the phone but here are some pics I took: The ability to brighten/dim means these colors don't have to be very abrasive, you can easily take a subtle approach if desired. In addition to colors the whites reach the full spectrum as well. Something like 2,000k to 9,000k which you can see on the app wheel above. Through Alexa I can turn on and off the lights, increase intensity or dim, and change colors. Those are the only Alexa functions. The app however really takes the lights to another level. You can associate the lights into different groups, for instance I have them set up in the kitchen and our bedroom currently and those are separated when I talk to Alexa. I have the bedroom lights set so they automatically turn on 30 min before I need to get up and slowly increase to full intensity by the time I need to be up. The things you can do with these lights are incredible. You can type in your favorite sports team and when they score the lights will flash the colors of your team. You can set the lights to music so they will flash and increase/decrease intensity following the music playing in that room. You can set themes (for ex. Red and Green for Xmas). You can input your zip code and the lights will flicker blue if it starts raining. You can set it so the lights signal if the doorbell rings, you get a text or email or you are mentioned in a tweet. The lights can be synced with nest and Logitech remote among other devices. Way too many applications to mention here. Biggest downside of the lights is the cost. I only have two rooms outfitted but I'd like to do the whole house but they are cost prohibitive. At times the lights can be a little glitchy when using Alexa but I've resolved most of this by purchasing a router listed on their recommended list that can handle the muliltiple wifis that come with multiple bulbs. Lastly you can't put these bulbs too close together as their wifi signals can interfere with each other. The recessed lights in my kitchen are pushing the proximity boundary. Admittedly these bulbs are best if you have kids because they love the colors but I think there is a lot of functionality and usefulness for others as well.
some guy that bought a 700k house a street over from where I live must have bought these. he apparently cycles through the colors at night on occasion.
Really been wanting to do under-cabinet lighting in my kitchen, the LED strips from Lifx would be awesome for that. Think I will try a few of those regular bulbs too.
We just got finished with drywall and I was in the house and showed my wife these pics. I at least convinced her to try one room. Where do I get these? Also, completely unrelated but I like your thinkkng...what thermostat do you use?
Amazon: If you know you are buying more than one, buy in bulk to save money. I use Nest. This site gives a brief demo of some cool collaborations you can do between Lifx and Nest products: http://www.lifx.com/pages/works-with-nest My , I'd do some research between Lifx and Phillips Hue to see which fits your needs better. I know a few people that swear by the latter. Additionally the hub doesn't bother most people. Good luck. Let us know how it turns out and post some pics!
Definitly will post pics. Found the mm on amazon but they do say they ship 1-2 months. I'm wondering if they just released or will be soon the HomeKit compatibility and maybe that's why the back order. I do like the compatibility with Nest. Haven't decided yet on that but need to very soon. Thanks and nice work with the house.
I appreciate it. Didn't even noticing that shipping delay. I got mine maybe 3 months ago and received them in 2 days. Just checked newegg and few other websites and they are definitely backordered. Not sure if its a low supply or high demand issue.
But they last 23 years (3hrs per day). I really think the out of stock is more of an issue with them trying to release the 3rd gen that are home kit compatible in Q1 2017.
On Saturday, I was in the front yard pushing my daughter on her swing when a guy in his 80s was walking by and said, "that was my house from 1963-1989" (house was built in '58). We started talking and next thing you knew, I was giving him a tour. It was really nice getting a history lesson on the house and neighborhood. Anyway, he seemed really interested in the finished basement and asked if he could see it. He told me it had always been his dream to add a bathroom down there. I told him I shared his dream and jokingly asked if he wanted to go halfies with me on the cost. He laughed and declined, but told me that he and his done already dug a trench and connected the plumbing back to the main line, just didn't connect it back to a shower/toilet. Then, he showed me the chip he made in the slab where the line is supposed to connect. He even came back on Sunday and shared a bunch of old pictures of the house, including him and his son laying the sewer line in the backyard. Really cool stuff.
When I add up all that I paid to hire just a few local guys to move us from the city out to the burbs I bet it ended up being close to half of that and we did most of the packing (putting stuff in boxes, not loading the actual truck). Adding in the transportation costs/hours I would think it could add up pretty quickly. I dont know that your quote is low or high, but I guess I wasn't surprised if that helps at all.
When I moved from college to my "real job" I had a $5000 limit on expenses. I owned barely anything. Got a 10-12' uhaul and a car trailer. That doesn't sound too out of line, IMO.
lechnerd your kitchen looks pretty awesome. The reason for hubs is that there isn't a great low-power Wifi adaption yet. The hub is needed for conversion. I think Zigbee (what Hue uses) uses like 25% of the power that Wifi does. Probably not a big deal since your bulbs have a constant power source, but definitely something to consider if something was on batteries.
That's just how they represent the life expectancy of a bulb. I'm not sure why/how they come up with that.
As I mentioned in my post the biggest appeal is for the kids no doubt. But I also mentioned many other uses as well, admittedly most of them involve novelty as NPR noted. Do I need the blue lights flickering to tell me it's raining outside? Probably not. Do I need maroon and white lights flickering during that one TD we scored in our 56-7 loss to Bama? Probably not. Do I need colored lights flashing to let me know someone is at the door or I was mentioned in a tweet? Nope. Do I need the lights in my bedroom to slowly increase in intensity to help me get up in the am? Probably not. Is the light switch really too far away to manually hit as opposed to talking to Alexa? No. Do I enjoy the gay bar look? Yes. I think these are little things that in aggregate make the house more enjoyable and interactive and add to the functionality in some small manner.
i was genuinely curious about some benefits i wasn't aware of. I think the capability is cool, but at this point in time its not 50 bucks a bulb cool for me, unless there is something significant to get out of it
Thats like the ultimate use of the Budweiser Red Light they use for hockey. Basically a small goal light that lights up via wi-fi everytime your team scores.
godfuckingdammit. someone put in a blind offer 10k above asking and they are under contract less than 24 hours after listing. went to see it anyway. it's even cooler than I thought. fuck. i'm depressed.
They're laying the foundation blocks today, it sounds like a fiesta with spanish, music, and power tools filling the air.
I think theres an accompanied app so you can just turn it off... I actually know there is a delay function for people watching via stream though since even a live stream can be several seconds behind.
If you don't venture over to the cutting the cord thread, YouTube just announced a very attractive TV service that appears to have solved most of the issues with prior workarounds related to cancelling cable service. YouTube is asking $35/month for these channels:
"One of the standout features of YouTube TV is its cloud DVR system. This lets subscribers record as many shows as they want simultaneously, with no storage limits. This feature won't use any data from your mobile device, either. Each show you record will stay in your saved videos collection for nine months. " https://arstechnica.com/business/20...he-companys-new-live-tv-subscription-service/
That's a pretty cool feature. Really the only complaint my wife has had since I cut the cord a couple years ago.
"In addition to broadcast and cable content, YouTube TV subscribers will have access to shows and movies that were previously exclusive to YouTube Red. Red is YouTube's other subscription service that costs $10 per month and removes ads from its videos, provides access to Red content featuring YouTube creators, and lets customers save individual videos to watch offline at a later time. However, a YouTube TV subscription only gives you access to Red Original content—other features of YouTube Red, including ad-free viewing, are not part of YouTube TV. The only way you can watch YouTube content (not broadcast or cable content) without advertisements on YouTube TV is if you're also a Red subscriber."
Anyone have tips on putting up a retaining wall in their backyard? Specifically materials used? Recently moved into a house that just turned a year old and the backyard isn't landscaped at all - also, backyard is rather small (approx 40' x 10'). The house has a modern feel so I'd like to do something more than the standard rock wall. Also, any ideas/tips/hacks that you guys really like about your backyard? Despite being on the small side, I want to be able to enjoy our backyard here in Denver.