amyfaith's Profile

We own a house with asbestos cement shingles and, believe it or not, there's actually one advantage: cementatious siding is extremely dimensionally stable, meaning it doesn't expand and contract in heat/cold. What this means is that the siding takes paint beautifully and the paint lasts MUCH longer than it would on wood siding (fewer coats too).

As far as the safety of asbestos is concerned, many people get freaked out by the mere mention of the word, but what you need to realize is that asbestos is inert and COMPLETELY harmless as long as it's encapsulated; ie. encased within something. Only if the fibers are able to float around does it become a hazard (this is called 'friable').
(I grew up in a family construction business and worked in it both as a kid and for years as an adult. I've had to read up on and address asbestos issues for many projects)

Many other factors about the house are perfect, so remember that location is permanent - everything else can be changed. Buy the house.

- divide into two 10' x 10' "rooms"… check

- make TV area to the right -- at the opposite end from french doors -- for better flow… check (I'm assuming the pics are of the previous owners furniture)

- put a THIN console table behind couch (ie. wide but not deep)… check (it will make for a more finished and purposeful look)

- use left side for conversation/craft/game/storage area… check

BUT, here's one thing no one has mentioned yet: look for slightly UNDERSIZED furniture -- preferably not in super dark colors. 10 feet is actually a very small dimension for a LR and it will be easy to inadvertently buy pieces that will impede the flow and make the room looked over-stuffed. Remember that the furniture you are looking at in the store is in a cavernous room with super high ceilings; the look and feel of a piece will be very different once you get it home.

Honestly, if you take a few moments to find a joist to screw into (thus negating the need for something like a toggle bolt), the hook will hold tons of weight, the hole is tiny -- as in less that 1/4" across -- and takes literally 6 seconds to shove a dab of spackle in there with your finger when you move.

I'm a landlord and because ceilings are usually painted with bright "ceiling white", I have no problem at all with this sort of fix from my tennants; it's actually much more problematic to patch holes from hanging pictures, curtains, etc, because walls are always painted a color (even off white), and the bright white of the spackle shows up there.

DovieAnn is absolutely right: DON'T mix with water and use 91% alcohol (easy to find at the drug store and either isopropyl or ethyl alcohol is fine to use). The whole idea is to have a solution to lift the grime, but that evaporates very quickly before any moisture gets into the electronics. I definitely wouldn't use acetone (nail polish remover) at all, because it's a powerful solvent and depending on how they're printed, will dissolve the letters on some keys.

If you're using a hairdryer, set it on cool/cold only - forgo the dryer if it only goes to "warm" - and stand the keyboard upright on it's short side and blow straight down the rows so you don't end up blowing crumbs deeper inside.

m23b: if your screen is glass, you can use the alcohol (I do), but it does leave streaks that you have to "buff" out. If not, the manufacturer will recommend a cleaner - check their website.

I agree with BonnieProject: walls and ceilings the same (light) color. The nice floors and beams are lost and all that red reminds me of a 1980's era formal dining room.

And for the love of god, don't use ceiling paint; with low slanted ceilings, you'll be constantly aware of how cheap and flat (read dead) it is. Plus it will show every hand print and they won't wash off.

As a veteran of several kitchen gut-renovations (and, by extension, MANY more kitchen renovations done by my mother, a serial renovator herself and owner of 14 rental units) I agree wholeheartedly with your save/splurge advice. Particularly about the cabinets. My mother and I have both used IKEA cabinet carcasses multiple times and have nothing but praise for their sturdiness and affordability.

ps. if your cabinets pulled away from the wall, that's an installation fail, not a cabinet fail.

We have a very similar problem and my solution was to buy 2 rectangular patio umbrellas and line them up. Now it's almost as if we have a regular porch.

I like that I have the option to quickly crank them down and tie them securely if it's particularly blustery and I'm worried about the wind (which would be harder to do easily with a canopy or exterior blinds, which don't secure at the bottom). Plus, it's nice to have them down on chilly days to catch the sun.

THATKRIS: I think I love you!

The instant my son was old enough to be trusted with real glass, I ditched the plastic-ware (there is TOO MUCH primary colored plastic in my life!), but my system is even simpler: I just put a different colored rubber band* around each persons glass so they know which is theirs for the day.

*nice thick ones in different colors come on various produce from the grocery store. IIRC, purple is on organic broccoli, yellow is organic leafy greens, green from the cashier when they secure a deli container, etc.

I think we need a little more info, such as: floorplan with window placement, size of windows and exposure (ie. east, west..?); what will be your primary activity there (crash pad only? bring back a date? working during the day?); what sort of "feel" would you like and what styles appeal to you.

We could throw out a color (blue!), but that would be kind of meaningless without more context.