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Posted

Probably pulling the trigger on some new granite counter tops this week. Might float some measurements past another place or two for additional quotes. But we have a place and a slab picked out.

 

They'll mount the new sink for free, but don't do the plumbing. So I will be doing that myself. We'll be going from two drains (one normal, one disposal) to a single, centered drain. I've never done plumbing before, but still shouldn't be too hard. Famous last words, I know...

Posted

As long as the connections at the wall/floor are sound, it should be pretty easy.  I've done it in the past.  If you run into trouble, you're probably looking at a couple hundred for a plumber to do it.

Posted

As long as the connections at the wall/floor are sound, it should be pretty easy.  I've done it in the past.  If you run into trouble, you're probably looking at a couple hundred for a plumber to do it.

 

I have a buddy with some plumbing experience, so I'm hoping it'll only cost 72oz of beer and a pizza if I run into any trouble :P 

Posted

Probably pulling the trigger on some new granite counter tops this week. Might float some measurements past another place or two for additional quotes. But we have a place and a slab picked out.

 

They'll mount the new sink for free, but don't do the plumbing. So I will be doing that myself. We'll be going from two drains (one normal, one disposal) to a single, centered drain. I've never done plumbing before, but still shouldn't be too hard. Famous last words, I know...

 

As long as you have the right fittings, it should just be lefty-loosy, righty-tighty.

... and teflon tape!  Awkward to work with, but good stuff for plumbing.  Other tips:

 

- remember that sometimes "left" and "right" are as observed from under the sink looking up at the faucet rather than top down

- don't make the same mistake I did and over-tighten any connections to copper lines for the faucet (oops).

Posted

... and teflon tape!  Awkward to work with, but good stuff for plumbing.  Other tips:

 

- remember that sometimes "left" and "right" are as observed from under the sink looking up at the faucet rather than top down

- don't make the same mistake I did and over-tighten any connections to copper lines for the faucet (oops).

 

And ...

 

She knows a thing, or two, about plumbing ...  :wub:

  • 2 months later...
Posted (edited)

Home prices in my neighborhood (pictures and prices from Realtor.com).  Since moving earlier this year, I still look at the market now and then; I think it's kind of interesting to see what's out there.  These three houses were listed consecutively in the listings; they pretty much capture the spectrum of my neighborhood.

$75,000:  4 beds, 1 bath, 1,280 sq ft.  Probably a flop-house for immigrant workers.

d9a4416c1ab66c54b781439c1142a23al-m0xd-w

 

$135,000:  3 beds, 1 full, 1 half baths, 1,193 sq ft.  Decent starter home with upgrades (5 blocks from the previous house).

5ea170d1c710735e2329cd3796f95728l-m0xd-w

 

$215,000:  4 beds, 2 baths, 1,854 sq ft.  A nicer home still.  This is similar to the house we bought this spring; I think it was built by the same builder (7 blocks from the second house, 4 blocks from ours).

2fc530dac071bdf3115c57feef774386l-m0xd-w

Edited by Doohickie
Posted

It's interesting to see a range like that.  My neighborhood is four years old and new construction, so there's far less variability.  Sure, some are different models and others went with more upgrades, but there really isn't all that much of a range.  People may try to list the house at an obscene price, but that will usually get knocked down quickly by the market.

A while back I said that the two neighboring houses to mine both were sold at the start of the year.  Now two more very close have gone on the market as well.  I really am chasing these people away.  I need to focus this power on specific people.

Posted

It is interesting, yes.

You can ride or drive through Fort Worth and read the development of the city almost like rings on a tree.  My neighborhood, South Hills, was built almost entirely between 1950 and 1960, and many of the homes are still largely original, with the 1950s bathroom tiles, kitchen cabinets and hardwood floors.  Some have been updated/renovated but most still have that 1950s feel.

The northeast corner of the neighborhood is the oldest, built in the very early 1950s.  The first house I posted is from that era.  It's also on a main thoroughfare so it got run down.  There are lots of other similar homes in better states of repair.  The early 1950s homes in the NE part of the neighborhood are generally about 800-1000 sq ft.  As you travel south and west through just a few blocks, you see the homes get noticeably larger and more modern looking (as in mid-century modern, including several examples of flat-roofed homes). 

The three houses I posted are a progression from NE to SW within the neighborhood.  The other thing you notice when traveling in that direction is that at the NE corner the streets are laid out in a conventional urban grid pattern, but transitions to a more suburban pattern that has streets at various angles and has several cul-de-sacs and looped streets.  It's almost like, within Fort Worth anyway, this is where suburbia was born.

My house is in the south-central part of the hood, in what I would consider the nice area, although if you go further west the homes get nicer still.  My house was built in 1956.

In the center (more or less) of the neighborhood is an elementary school and a charter school, both on the same superblock.  I found out the building that houses the charter school was originally a shopping center with a drug store, a five & dime, a 7-11, a barber, etc.  The neighborhood to the north of us still has their shopping center which includes a major chain supermarket (Albertson's) a rather large ACE Hardware, and several smaller shops, restaurants, etc.  A developer wants to level it and build senior housing.  The neighbors are up in arms trying to stop it.  I don't blame them.

Posted

I'm in a town that has had a huge population boom over the last 10-15 years.  The entire surrounding area for me, as far as I can tell, was completely farm land maybe 20 years ago.  It's such a foreign concept to me to be in an area this new.  I'm still adjusting to that because I had spent my entire adult life out in Boston where a 50 year old house probably still qualifies as new.  You can't drive anywhere hear without passing every stage  of construction for new neighborhoods.  It's fun talking to people who have been here 10+ years.  We have so many options in town and none of them existed just 10 years ago.  It makes me wonder how much of a fight people may have put up before all of this went up.

The only real character we'll have in terms of homes is the small section with some of the original farm homes.  I always wonder how long some of these will stick around before someone tries to tear them down and replace them with the cookie cutter stuff everyone else has.

Posted (edited)

We have been looking at many options for years now.  With my wife's health issues and other consideration (work space for me ...) it has been difficult to find something that would work well enough.  Nothing ever meets all the requirements, but we needed to be close as possible.

Yesterday we went with our realtor to view 3 options in our favourite area of the province.

We think we have found 'the one'.  We spent about an hour and a half at it yesterday and are going for a second showing on Monday afternoon.  We asked our realtor to bring all the paperwork to make an offer with him and if all goes well ...

Here it is ...

https://www.viewpoint.ca/cutsheet/201821623/1

It is overpriced and the asking price is out of our range, but our realtor and us think it can be had for a lot less.  The owners are German and this is their vacation home.  Come a few weeks a year for 15 years and have never rented it out to others.  So, they may be motivated to sell before the coming winter.  It is very well built and the finishes are top of the line.  It comes as you see it in the photos ... includes everything except for a few personal items.

EDIT:

If you click on the map and go to the satellite image you can see the details of the area.  Our favourite hike is along the coastal trail that starts in the Prospect village.

Edited by N S
more poop ...
  • Like (+1) 2
Posted

Sadly you need to register with viewpoint to get to the additional photos but it looks like an incredible spot.  Certainly, geographically, it would be something I would want.  Hoping for the best for you.

Posted
Just now, LTS said:

Sadly you need to register with viewpoint to get to the additional photos but it looks like an incredible spot.  Certainly, geographically, it would be something I would want.  Hoping for the best for you.

That's wierd.  The link was posted using my Viewpoint login.

So, I just logged out of Viewpoint and you are right that you need to log in to view all the photos.  Bummer.

The photos are great, but they don't tell the whole story.  Thanks for the good wishes.

Posted
6 minutes ago, N S said:

That's wierd.  The link was posted using my Viewpoint login.

So, I just logged out of Viewpoint and you are right that you need to log in to view all the photos.  Bummer.

The photos are great, but they don't tell the whole story.  Thanks for the good wishes.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kelly+Point+Dr,+Prospect,+NS+B3T+2K3,+Canada/@44.482008,-63.7860193,624m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x4b5a0341926f9d97:0x693d64156878d984!2sKelly+Point+Dr,+Prospect,+NS+B3T+2K3,+Canada!3b1!8m2!3d44.4825995!4d-63.7858728!3m4!1s0x4b5a0341926f9d97:0x693d64156878d984!8m2!3d44.4825995!4d-63.7858728

 

I looked at that picture and it tells me ALL I need to know. 

Neighors - present but at a good distance

Water - right there

Trees - all around

Unless the house was crap (and I am guess it is not)... it would be a place I would be drooling to buy.

6 minutes ago, N S said:

That's wierd.  The link was posted using my Viewpoint login.

So, I just logged out of Viewpoint and you are right that you need to log in to view all the photos.  Bummer.

The photos are great, but they don't tell the whole story.  Thanks for the good wishes.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kelly+Point+Dr,+Prospect,+NS+B3T+2K3,+Canada/@44.482008,-63.7860193,624m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x4b5a0341926f9d97:0x693d64156878d984!2sKelly+Point+Dr,+Prospect,+NS+B3T+2K3,+Canada!3b1!8m2!3d44.4825995!4d-63.7858728!3m4!1s0x4b5a0341926f9d97:0x693d64156878d984!8m2!3d44.4825995!4d-63.7858728

 

I looked at that picture and it tells me ALL I need to know. 

Neighors - present but at a good distance

Water - right there

Trees - all around

Unless the house was crap (and I am guess it is not)... it would be a place I would be drooling to buy.

Posted
1 hour ago, N S said:

We have been looking at many options for years now.  With my wife's health issues and other consideration (work space for me ...) it has been difficult to find something that would work well enough.  Nothing ever meets all the requirements, but we needed to be close as possible.

Yesterday we went with our realtor to view 3 options in our favourite area of the province.

We think we have found 'the one'.  We spent about an hour and a half at it yesterday and are going for a second showing on Monday afternoon.  We asked our realtor to bring all the paperwork to make an offer with him and if all goes well ...

Here it is ...

https://www.viewpoint.ca/cutsheet/201821623/1

It is overpriced and the asking price is out of our range, but our realtor and us think it can be had for a lot less.  The owners are German and this is their vacation home.  Come a few weeks a year for 15 years and have never rented it out to others.  So, they may be motivated to sell before the coming winter.  It is very well built and the finishes are top of the line.  It comes as you see it in the photos ... includes everything except for a few personal items.

EDIT:

If you click on the map and go to the satellite image you can see the details of the area.  Our favourite hike is along the coastal trail that starts in the Prospect village.

Holy cow man

Posted
Just now, nfreeman said:

NS -- that looks awesome.

Please make sure there's a high-quality bed in the guest room!

There is no 'guest room' per se.  It is a two bedroom / two bathroom home, but that works to our advantage, as it seriously limits the people that would be interested in it.

I am sure that something could be arranged if someone cared to honour us with a visit.

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