Home Improvement Thread

[mac5155]

Has anyone procured landscaping services before? We just got a quote for 5K to clear out the front and side yard and lay mulch. No tree removal, only digging up bushes.

Got a picture of it? Seems high but hard to say.

[meow]

Landscaping like that can be bonkers expensive for some reason

[mac5155]

You ever try to do it? It can quickly become a multi day job. If someone's bringing equipment, figure 80-100 per hour, per machine.

[shafnutz05]

Landscaping like that can be bonkers expensive for some reason

I am still thankful that we randomly chatted up the Amish guy across the street that was removing a tree for our neighbor. He ended up removing a TON of large, nasty shrubs from the front and side of our house, ground and removed five stumps, leveled all of the ground so I could plant/mow easily, all for $1200

I thought it was gonna cost us upwards of $5k

[shmenguin]

Has anyone procured landscaping services before? We just got a quote for 5K to clear out the front and side yard and lay mulch. No tree removal, only digging up bushes.

Does your town have a Facebook page for parents? Even if you aren’t one, this is where you can often find detailed info and options for local vendors like this.

[Troy Loney]

Front Hillside.
Remove Everything Off The Hillside Install Topsoil,Fabric, Blue Rug Junipers,Mulch. Rest of Hill Along Side Street
Weed,Fabric, Install Mulch.
Landscape Crew $2493.60
Landscape Truck and Equipment $593.92
Mini Excavator $392.72
Bark Blower $306.48
1 Roll Ground stabilization Fabric - 12.5 x 432' roll $663.21
15 Yard Mulch - Dyed - Brown $636.30
60 Each Juniperus (Juniper) - 15-18" Blue Rug $1603.20
1 Each Snapshot Pre Emergent - 50 lb bag Pre Emergent20-25000 soft coverage per
bag. $139.77

Total 6879.31

He came back with an official quote, and bumped it up to 7K. I emailed him back and told him our price range was 3500. I'm not sure where 1600 in Juniper bushes came from, but I think that's cause my wife was there when he came out and not me.

I need to know someone that owns a landscaping business.

[mac5155]

THe mulch is high by about $10/yard
The juniper bushes are about right. $25-30 ea. 60 bushes though how big is this area over an acre?
Stabilization fabric is probably so the job is done right and all your mulch isnt at the bottom of the hill after it rains once.

All ni all I mean that doesn't sound like it's very far off for a "do it 100% correctly" job. The landscape crew price still seems a bit high though.

[Troy Loney]

No, not even close to an acre. I think slashing the juniper bushes is probably the easiest way to cut costs. The primary job is there is a about a 30' by 20' front area that's on a slope that is lined with some bushes and has a bunch of perennials that need to be dug out and mulched over. There is definitely some equipment needed that I don't have, but I can't imagine this being over 5K, based solely on how small the area is.

[mac5155]

I would get another quote or two. You'll find someone who will adequately do it for your price range.

[NTP66]

I've been waiting for something new to come out to compete with the Ecobee/Nest. Reviews in here plus ones on Amazon have kept me from pursuing either. I know we waste a lot of energy bc we basically just leave our thermostat on "hold" at all times (except for vacations). My wife's work schedule and our weekend schedule are so random that it's hard to set any type of program.

NTP, please feel free to be my guinea pig. tyfys

You're welcome in advance. Woot had the Ecobee4 (with 1 remote sensor) for $179 earlier this week, so I snatched one up. Initial setup was super simple, but it definitely had a different feel to it for the schedule configuration. I ended up adding new comfort zones for myself and my wife so that the temperatures would change depending on who was working from home on which day. What I'm trying to figure out now is how to use the remote sensor for only the Sleep zone. I have both Smart Home/Away and Follow Me disabled, and only have the remote sensor enabled for the Sleep zone. If I'm reading everything correctly, this should give me what I'm looking for. For your wife, since it's so random, I'd assume that you would want Smart Home/Away and Follow Me enabled.

The customization options are outstanding with this, and the iOS app is far superior to the Total Comfort Connect garbage that Honeywell uses. I read the reviews for the latest Honeywell t-stat, and they were all awful, with everyone complaining about the same problems and limitations. I already have this one connected to my SmartThings hub, so I can automate things even further down the road. Having Alexa built into the unit is actually pretty nice, as well.

[willeyeam]

quoted 3,500 for new a/c unit and removal of old one. reasonable? they offer 60 month interest free so if that's not unreasonable I'm inclined to just take it as opposed to shopping around to maybe save a couple hundred bucks but paying up front

[NTP66]

Source of the post quoted 3,500 for new a/c unit and removal of old one.

What model unit? I can ask my BIL who is an HVAC guy. I assume this is literally just swapping the condenser (outside) and evaporator coil (inside)?

[robbiestoupe]

I've been waiting for something new to come out to compete with the Ecobee/Nest. Reviews in here plus ones on Amazon have kept me from pursuing either. I know we waste a lot of energy bc we basically just leave our thermostat on "hold" at all times (except for vacations). My wife's work schedule and our weekend schedule are so random that it's hard to set any type of program.

NTP, please feel free to be my guinea pig. tyfys

You're welcome in advance. Woot had the Ecobee4 (with 1 remote sensor) for $179 earlier this week, so I snatched one up. Initial setup was super simple, but it definitely had a different feel to it for the schedule configuration. I ended up adding new comfort zones for myself and my wife so that the temperatures would change depending on who was working from home on which day. What I'm trying to figure out now is how to use the remote sensor for only the Sleep zone. I have both Smart Home/Away and Follow Me disabled, and only have the remote sensor enabled for the Sleep zone. If I'm reading everything correctly, this should give me what I'm looking for. For your wife, since it's so random, I'd assume that you would want Smart Home/Away and Follow Me enabled.

The customization options are outstanding with this, and the iOS app is far superior to the Total Comfort Connect garbage that Honeywell uses. I read the reviews for the latest Honeywell t-stat, and they were all awful, with everyone complaining about the same problems and limitations. I already have this one connected to my SmartThings hub, so I can automate things even further down the road. Having Alexa built into the unit is actually pretty nice, as well.

Once again tyfys

I’ll look at this more when we get back from vacation

[meow]

quoted 3,500 for new a/c unit and removal of old one. reasonable? they offer 60 month interest free so if that's not unreasonable I'm inclined to just take it as opposed to shopping around to maybe save a couple hundred bucks but paying up front

That seems low, so I’d pull that trigger

[DigitalGypsy66]

quoted 3,500 for new a/c unit and removal of old one. reasonable? they offer 60 month interest free so if that's not unreasonable I'm inclined to just take it as opposed to shopping around to maybe save a couple hundred bucks but paying up front

Depends on size and manufacturer, but sounds pretty good to me (keep in mind I spent $12K on a new heat pump, thermostat, and ductwork.)

[willeyeam]

Source of the post quoted 3,500 for new a/c unit and removal of old one.

What model unit? I can ask my BIL who is an HVAC guy. I assume this is literally just swapping the condenser (outside) and evaporator coil (inside)?

I believe he said luxaire 14. Which probably isn't the whole story but not sure. Yeah swapping compressor and coil. As well as a valve inside too, that went bad and caused the whole thing to sht itself

[willeyeam]

quoted 3,500 for new a/c unit and removal of old one. reasonable? they offer 60 month interest free so if that's not unreasonable I'm inclined to just take it as opposed to shopping around to maybe save a couple hundred bucks but paying up front

That seems low, so I’d pull that trigger

If meow says so I'm sold. I was leaning towards it seeming reasonable after online research

[mac5155]

I'm looking for a real heavy duty fire pit with bottom. Metal, powder coated preferably. Maybe with a rack. I'll be setting it on a concrete slab I'd like to not stain. Any suggestions? 2-300 dollar budget.

[grunthy]

Build your own. They aren’t too difficult to build.

[mac5155]

I don't really want to do stone. And I want something I can remove from the patio if my plans change down the road.

[grunthy]

I don't really want to do stone. And I want something I can remove from the patio if my plans change down the road.

I know several people who have landmann fire pits that really like them.

[NTP66]

I contacted the same company that cleaned my gutters last year about having gutter guards installed. They informed me that even with the guards, I should still have the gutters cleaned annually. So, why would I spend $725 on guards if I’m still going to pay for cleaning every year?

[nocera]

I don't know much about that, but my guess is a gutter cleaning company wants that gutter cleaning money.

[NTP66]

That very well could be the case. I don’t know anyone with guards, though, so I have no real way to validate that the expense is worth it.

[dodint]

I have guards. I hose the debris off if it happens to be laying, which isn't often. No idea what it looks like in the gutters but they're not growing anything so I'm happy.