I wish I were more creative. I want to redo some of the things around my house. Partial list:
(1) Resurface pool area
(2) Elevate floor in patio and redo screen porch
(3) Repair patio area
(4) Replace outdoor fencing
(5) Redo sidewalk in front of house
(6) etc , etc.
I have a whole list. I have the money to do these projects but I can't seem to figure out what to do and how to do it. For example I was thinking about using Granitite to resurface my pool. It looks nice and isn't too expensive , but it has 15 colors. Which one do I choose? I can't make these kind of decisions. The same problem with my porch area. I know what I want to acheive but not how to go about it. Why can't the HGTV people do a special on my house and do a makeover? If I took some pics do you think I could get you guys to help me decide what to do? I'm getting frustrated. I like to get things done. I don't like to mull around and do nothing. It's spring and I want to renovate.

Take your pics. I'm good at home rennos and would like to wade in and help out. Cheers, doc.

Take your pics... after our addition I learned a few things.

Not to??

Exactly!!!!!!

Thought so. Sorry you had to find out the hard way, brah.

No worries dude - take your pics and I'll offer some advice too. Home reno is my game - just call me Gandalf the Toolman Taylor!!

G

I'll provide a sound track......

'Uh nuh......nuhhhhh.....yeah.....no.....sound good....but....'

I'd elevate the floor in the patio and redo screen porch first so as you pondered the remaining items from the newly redone screened porch you could be assured that the time spent would be bug free.

I have a new house and actually contacted HGTV for one of the landscaping shows and they flat out told me that they have no plans in the foreseeable future to take the show outside of California... nothing like having a landscaping show but only concentrating on a single zone.

/subscribe to subject....

I am in the market for a house now, myself. Not going to buy anything terribly expensive- just something to get into the market and start building equity so I can roll it over into the next one...

I've been drooling over the home improvement shows for years, and can't wait to get into it...

I have come to hate home improvement. We are doing our house a little at a time. Remember the movie "The Money Pit"?

Done:

New 36x10 26x10 wrap-around deck
Removed all bushes and crap around the house and moved the LP tank
Heater and A/C (that died during the deck project)
Redid laundry room
Ran all new water and gas lines
Redid downstairs bathroom
New electric service
Replaced the POS shower in the downstairs bathroom (see above)
Built 12x12 storage shed
Replaced septic system (that died right after the shed project)
Took out 2 bedrooms and moved the kitchen in their place
Divided the old kitchen/DR and put one kid's bedroom
Ran cat5 to all rooms for computers
Am now just finishing the 2md kid's bedroom/hallway and stairway

Still on tap:

New roof
Siding
Upstairs bathroom
Living room/family room

I should have just built a new damn house.

Good luck aladoc.

Ok. Good solid advice. Don't tell me to move out or sell. 1st picture is a fence that has seen better days.



I am thinking of replacing it with . I just need to decie if I want to dig up the old posts or have someone do it. I'm thinking this won't be too hard. A weekend job perhaps.

The next three pictures are on the existing patio area.





It is made of large pavers that are set in sand. The area wasn't leveled too well and you might can see that the center of the patio is slightly depressed and water accumulates after a rainfall. Various weeds grow up between the stones that require roundup several times a year. The bottom of the porch you might can see mildue where standing water always comes into the porch. The inside of the porch has an aluminum ceiling and rain gathers into the gutter system. Where it abuts the brick wall of the house seems to leak down the wall some.

The next two pics show part of the pool area and decking.




I was thinking about using some type of concrete dressing for the pool deck. Either Granitite of colored stamped concrete overlay.

The last picture shows the sidewalk in the front of the house.



I was again thinking about Granitite or perhaps using red brick pavers ( 1/2 thickness reg brick) to overlay with. The first step up from the sidewalk is about 10-12 in.

Ok doc...first thing...purchase a pressure washer to clean up the moss and keep the brick clean.

Come on the rest of you guys, when I have more time I will help the doc out, but lets see some input.

I have a pressure washer . I use it to clean the deck , sidewalks , etc. It isn't very good for mildue. a 50/50 blend of bleach and water does great for that.

Okay... step one: make yourself a stiff drink.

Step two: get out yellow pages.

Step three: find good landscape companies

Step four: start drinking.

:wink:

Hmnnn , and I actually thought I would get some serious suggestions...

I'd work on the screened-porch area first. The rest of your close-up yard is sweet!

You could always white wash the fence for almost the same look as the vinyl fence - it would take less time and money for the meantime, if the fence is still solid. Otherwise, might as well replace it. Look into wiring the post-tops with some nice lights since it's the driveway area and tie it into the porch lights or something. I'm putting some eave lights on the roof over our garage with a motion detector shooting into the close driveway so when we pull into or step out into the driveway, we'll have instant lighting to get out of or into our cars without having to 'feel our way around.' Maybe something like that would be helpful as well.

And the pump area of the pool either needs the same treatment as your fence or maybe build a modest building (bigger than the fenced area) to house the gear and store the pool toys/products/maintenance gear - white siding to match the house. Doesn't have to be an actual building... just enough to hide the pool equipment from sight.

Maybe border the concrete walk in the front with some inset bricks to match the house - on both sides. Line the 'lawn' side with some nice landscaping lights. Trim back the ground cover on the 'house' side and use more bricks to make a 'planter' of a sort to keep the ground cover under control. You could even install inset lights that shine onto the walk into the bricks on the 'house' side instead of the 'lawn' side to light the walk at night - finish the brick border around to where it meets the house to complete the planter box. It would look a lot like the walk on the Grantite site in the 'Example Pictures' area, except with a raised brick area on the 'house' side boxing in the ground cover.

If you do the Grantite on the pool/patio area, I would think you'll need to pull up the pavers and lay a slab in its place - I'd hate to spray that stuff down, get a nice pattern going, then have the pavers shift and ruin it all. As for colors, maybe something that matches the pool for the main surface color, and something close to matching the bricks of the house for accent & trim. I like the circular area of the pavers under your table/chair combo. Maybe center that on the patio area, and have some accent 'rays' or 'spokes' heading away from the circular area (which could be even another color) - kind of a 'sunburst' pattern thing. But no more than 8 of them - it'll be too busy otherwise... and it looks like your pool heads off on a 45 degree on the shallow end. Or maybe even just a nice grid pattern with the circular area in the middle. (I really dig the circular area... can you tell?)

Then I'd think about building a traditional style Gazebo on the octagonal decked area by the pool - white columns and trim, of course... to match the fence and siding on the house. Leave a couple inches opening on the bottom of the sides of the Gazebo so you can either hose it off or use the leaf blower to tidy it up quick as necessary... stuff collects in there as I'm sure you know. - Same with the pool 'pump house' if you decide to build one.

The screened porch area - is it accessible from inside the house, and does the deck above keep it dry when it rains? If so, I'd look into pulling all the 'studs' from the exterior walls of the porch area, install a permanent half-high or quarter-high wall around it, then fill the open areas between the support columns with large windows that can either be removed or opened wide during the summertime - with screens of course. Then finish the joists, support columns, and stairwell runners (not the treads or deck surface though) with white paint to match the siding of your house. That would make it look more 'finished,' IMHO. Also paint the joists/trim of the decking that surrounds the pool (octagonal area, the sides of the benches, anything that's verticle on your decking) to tie in the deck to the house. Blast the decking surface and either stain it or at least seal it. Oh hey, the center of the circular pattern on your patio could be the same color equivalent of your stained decking...

Also maybe a permanent BBQ/Food-prep area on the end of the patio either close to the stairwell or the other end by what I'll assume is the shallow-end of the pool. That would be pretty cool as well. A nice BBQ pit with a weather-proof sink on the side. Perfect for outdoor entertainment without having to make many trips inside. Or maybe build some kind of wet-bar area inside the screen porch area (sink, countertop, storage, and a small fridge).

I could go on all day with stuff like this. Hope this helps and let me know if I need to explain what I'm talking about any further to help visualize.

That is what I'm talking about. Thanks Mr. 4 x 4 for some good ideas. We would like to keep the pavers but feel like the undersurface needs to be redone correctly with crushed rock mixture. The screened in porch enters the basement right into my media room. The floor either isn't high enough or outside the drainage isn't correct because when it rains a lot water pools up in the corner near the screen door. We are thinking of building up the floor with additional concrete or other material.

Slope it away from the house ever so slightly as well. Although it's going to be tough to work the drainage issues without having the run-off go right into the pool. And it sounds like the drainage problem might be responsible for the paver shifting as well. Going with a slab and spraying the Grantite would solve that problem as I'm sure the concrete contractor would address the drainage issue when the slab is poured.

A concrete border 2-3" high and 4-6" thick around the screened porch complete with thresholds for the door(s) could help keep water out of the screened in area as well and serve as a nice 'foundation' to build the quarter or half-high walls I was talking about. Make the concrete border thick enough to completely surround the support columns to prevent any water from seeping in between the columns and concrete. Also, have the concrete run at least 1" tall under the thresholds to keep water from coming in under the doors as well. Then you could put whatever kind of windows or screens above that while having something solid underneath them. If you decide to close the windows up during the winter or something, then you would need to address air circulation issues to prevent mustiness, mold, mildew, and otherwise from accumulating. I'm assuming that room is on the north side of the house, based on the shadows from the house.

I really do like the pavers, and yeah - if you decide to keep them, it would be better to pull them up and re-prep the undersurface. And pack it down tight... then pack it some more... and when that's done - pack it again. I can imagine putting them back into the same place would be tough as well.

But if you go with the Grantite, I'd still pull it all out and go with a slab... unless the pavers are individually sprayed. Because if they do shift, they'll crack and bust loose the Grantite at their seams - which might produce some very undesirable results. I suppose you could have them individually sprayed though to alleviate that problem - that would be neat to see.

The screened porch right next to the media room is perfect. Get some nice indoor/outdoor speakers (like some Bose 101s or something)and wire them into the stereo with a volume control on the wall outside in the screened area too, or even use a 'line out' port with a small amp in the screened area to drive the speakers. Always nice to have tunes by the pool, and you can take even more advantage of any digital radio service you might have (XM, DirecTV, etc...) without having to haul a boom-box out there all the time.

Picking up an old (but nice-looking) fridge and making a 'keg-o-rator' would be pretty cool too, and make a nice addition to your 'wet-bar' area in the screened porch, if you go that route. Another friend did that for around $100, including the price of the fridge - it's very cool. Holds a full-keg with a single shelf for stuff, or a pony-keg with 2 shelves. He keeps his beer mugs frozen in the top, along with his Apfel Korn and other cold 'beverages.' The tap is right on the side of the fridge, so he doesn't even have to open it to draw a pint.

Oh, and one more thing about the Grantite - ask about the grip and traction properties of the material after it's sprayed down. A friend of mine had his front walk done so it looks like stone (sprayed on material then the 'edges' of the 'stones' carved into it), and that thing's slicker than snot when it rains or even if the sprinklers hit it. I can't remember the name of the process... but that's a lawsuit waiting to happen after it gets wet. The Grantite looks like it could actually increase traction by its granual properties if it's applied properly. But it's tough to tell from the pictures.

I love this kind of stuff, and I'm serious when I mentioned I was going to become an Architect but the Air Force had other ideas.

My approach would be to procrastinate and thus avoid any hard work.

I guess me and old 4X4 are thinking along the same lines - there's not much to add expect that I think you might want to get some help - be it neighbours, family, friends etc - some fairly big jobs there if you're doing it by yourself. Nice touch with the "wet bar" idea - hadn't even considered that!

I would definitely take the time to repack the area under the pavers - save you a lot of hassle in the long run.

Nice advice E man - 'tis a pity you couldn't continue with the architecture - I reckon you might just have a bit of a flair for it!

G

Thanks G. I do sometimes get a little bummed thinking about the 'What Ifs' where that's concerned, but not as much anymore.

So, what did you figure out, Doc?

You guys didn't think I was gonna do any of this myself did you? Heck no. I've got a guy coming nect week to look at the patio paver deal. The guy who did the brick on my house is goona look at puting brick pavers on the sidewalk. I'm gonna ask the granitite people to come give me an estimate on the pool area. A contractor will call this week about the porch. Nothing definite yet but I should get things moving soon.

Good move Doc - I wasn't sure how you were going to be doing any of it - one of my good buds had us all helping him dig out an earth/mud bank and lay a patio not so long ago. Friends, eh?!!

G

LOL at ^ Gandalf. More fool him!

Yeah, with friends like that who needs a torturer?

I put some nice colored mulch in the garden bed. Don't you think it looks better than before. And I've got a lot more to do back here.

I love the color of the water in the pool.

Mulch looks very nice though.

I think there may well be new lifeforms living in that there pool!

G

You are probably right. But it will clean up. It will just take time.

Just Invide WDoll into the pool and let him bring air into it.....it sure way to either i) drive them out of the pool or ii) bring it into oxidation cycle....

On the subject the mulch look nice....

Where is the hickory suana??
I dont see it

It's cedar and right now its inside.

Ok , the granitite is down and looks pretty good. Pool is better after phosphates removed and cleaned for twenty minutes until the cleaner head broke. Pool store tomorrow. But does look better don't you think?

Much Better! I can't believe it's that much cleaner after only 20 mins.

Much, much better.

Big improvement!!!!!!

That mulch is muy grande'. Very nice, Doc.

I was only yanking your chain Doc, but yeah that's a huge improvement!

G

Its nice but where are the scantily clad women?

As soon as I get the pool cleaned out ..... they will come....

If they come, so will I.

4peeps pool party???

Right... and the pasty white lot that we are will score so much...

Hey, I could score tons but I am married. !!!!! Yeah, that it.

Speak for yerself! I'm getting tired of hiding from groupies.

Sheep don't count lad, sheep don't count.