Told we had a slate roof--turns out...
Comments (24)
elljays
16 years agobrickeyee
16 years agoRelated Discussions
Blank slate, front yard in San Diego - we need some curb appeal design help!
Comments (9)Ma'am, I am a bit slow to arrive at your door, as you have probably resolved all your needs. I ask your permission to respond, just in case you are not fully satisfied with your efforts, thus far. You won't match the concrete. First check with Miss Utility, to see if there is a line below this area. Just remove a foot of soil, add coarse gravel, then add a layer of fine gravel, then stone dust, compacting each layer in turn, then add a final layer of brick or cobblestone, or whatever fits the remaining budget - or even a layer of colored concrete, not attempting to match with what will be partially covered with Dad's trailer. If you are allowed to fence your front yard, I would suggest doing it with the 3' open look that will give a feeling of separation from the city street and add a little style. There are several types available at your major hardware stores that require little maintenance, and are simple to install, with matching gates. Your colorful plant bed can be under the fence and in the window box, even under that great wall of cedars, or whatever, on the right, as some plants love shade, even in Zone 10. Go to a nursery of garden center that majors in native plants and seek those who live under your desert conditions, although your soil may be more beneficial for plant nutrition. Go online to the California Native Plant Society, for suggestions of suitable choices for your garden. You were wise to remove the plants, but I wish you had transplanted the oleander over to the front left corner of the yard, by the sidewalk, I suggest you invest in that again, just inside of your new fence line, if allowed. With your new front yard, you will be bringing your guests into your homestead through a gate in the fence from their parking on the street, and down a path to the handsome double doors, which you may choose to paint, or paint the garage door so they don't match, or maybe you will match the front door to the color of the shutters, or paint the door and the shutters a new color you have been admiring across town, You might place the gate in the center of the fenced area so that the walk is not a boring straight run to the front door, a slow curve of series of shifts, depending on what material you are using - concrete, gravel, brick or flagstone. You might place a bench just inside the gate, and a post lamp, with your house number placed proudly on the fence or lamp post. Closer to the front door, you might consider a welcoming terrace to greet your guests, or have coffee with your neighbors. When providing a separate 'special' place for your daughter and her friends, you need to be careful of the surface drainage passing along your property line toward the rear. a small wall will raise a terrace above the flow, but perhaps a small ground level deck would be less expensive and just as much fun, perhaps with a built in bench facing away from the neighbor. As I don't know what is happening in your back yard, my initial thought is that your daughter might like to feel more separate from the street, unless they want to be seen and waved at by the guys in the convertibles. Well a lot has changed in 5 years, especially in your daughter's ambitions. Hope I have been of help to you. cascio.offsite@gmail.com analyze first, then plan...See MoreHas anyone out there had sucess painting over oil based paint?
Comments (31)What grit sandpaper were you using? I'm concerned when you mention using electric sanders because that shouldn't be necessary. You don't want to sand, you want to score the existing surface. You probably should be using 40 or 60 grit, not the 100 or 120 typically used for sanding walls. What was the topcoat paint you were trying? Have you tried different paints? If you don't have peeling issues with the current coating, then it doesn't sound like a moisture problem For the walls, I would wash with TSP, then score with 40 or 60 grit paper. Prime with the shellac based primer, or just use shellac. Fix the holes, dents, dings and cracks after the first primer coat, then spot prime all the patches For the trim, you may be able to find oil base trim paint in quarts. Check smaller hardware stores since they were able to continue to sell products and some stores may still have old stock on the shelf. You may also want to try one of the speciality waterborne enamels. Anything that can be used to paint ceramic tile, glass or formica should be able to cover enamel trim that has been well scuffed with rough sandpaper.. Depending on the profile, size and condition of your trim, you may want to consider heat stripping it. You don't need to get down to bare wood everywhere, just get 95% of the old paint off, sand lightly and prime. We often just do our best to score the surface, use good primer and then topcoat with semi-gloss. Then, we just deal with the chips as necessary I did a door a couple weeks ago that had the super hard, glossy oil enamel which had been topcoated with a latex and was peeling in spots. I took it down and used the heat gun to pull off the remainder of the latex, leaving the oil underneath. Then, I washed with TSP, scuffed the surface, and primed before painting. We had a five gallon bucket of a Benjamin Moore primer which has worked great as it covered much better than the cheaper primers. It's only been a short time since the door was painted, but I don't have any adhesion issues yet. If you decide to hire a pro, look for one who has been painting 25-30 years or more. Those guys started in the business working almost exclusively in oil and will be your best bet for knowing how to prep the surface to get new paint to adhere....See MoreHelp! We were just told that Ceasarstone 'Lagos Blue' is backordered!
Comments (8)Consider a different quartz company. Hanstone has 3 options that are good alternates to Lagos Blue. Have a look at Tiffany Grey, Basento or Alexandria, as all 3 are very close to the Lagos Blue. Cambria also offers a comparable colour, called Sussex, though it is a little more green in tone compared to the Lagos Blue. I think Hanstone would be your best bet if you don't want to wait! If not, then have your contractor install a plywood counter so he can hook up your sink while you wait for the Lagos Blue....See MoreHELP!!! I had it all figured out and then...
Comments (16)Sounds great! It will be lovely. Just get that backsplash tile right. I am afraid we didn't. Went with an antique white handmade and it isn't working as well with the transitional look of the kitchen than a purer white or a non-handmade. They just finished installing the splash so I told my husband we would live with it for 6 months. Then, if we are still unhappy we will change it. What's a little backsplash - in our case only 27 sf....See Morehgolightly
16 years agoPipersville_Carol
16 years agoredbirds
16 years agoWe bought a mid-1800's house in December, which was also listed as having a "slate" roof. This seems to be a common occurrence and is probably not often an intentional misrepresentation. The only thing that tipped me off was I started doing some web searches for cleaning methods for slate and saw a picture of an asbestos roof that was just like the one on our house, and really doesn't resemble real slate when you look at it closely. Luckily, we got a home inspector that specializes in old houses, and he confirmed it was asbestos. During our buying experience, we learned that many people that know a lot about new construction know nothing about old houses.
We knew about the asbestos before we bought the house and really debated on whether it was an issue we wanted to deal with. The bottom line was that we loved the house, asbestos roofs are incredibly durable and long-lasting, and we did offer a little less money for it due to the discrepancy with the listing. It is weird, because now, I notice our kind of shingle on all kinds of old houses!
I've attached a link to a photo like our shingles, and you should check out the rest of www.jenkinsslate.com, that site really calmed me down about the whole "ASBESTOS" word scare.
With all that said, it does seem to me like your inspector should have known about the material of your roof, or at least researched it to find out. Our roof is in pretty good shape, so we don't have to worry about replacement, at least for now. We did have a small stack of the shingles on our carport, so look around your house for some spares. You can get replacement shingles that have been salvaged, even though they are not made anymore. http://www.jenkinsslate.com/asbestos-tiles.html
Good luck and don't be too discouraged. I have actually come to really love my roof and its distinctive look.
Here is a link that might be useful:
sharon_sd
16 years agotleventer
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Jims home repair
7 years ago worthy
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Jims home repair
7 years agoThat photo which is sideways is my asbestos cement painted roof. I will have to get how to rotate photos figured out. But I thought I would share that old roofs can look great.
charles_von_hamm