u/OkAnnie-

Just bought my first house and the yard is a bit of an eye sore. From Google street view, I can see that the yard used to have more grass coverage years ago (last photo). Now it’s mostly just sand with patches of greener areas and a lot of roots.

I do live on a hill and the yard does slope downward some towards this side of the yard. The previous owners didn’t do any sort of maintenance outside so I am unsure if this is more neglect related or if I’m completely SOL?

I live in SC if that’s helpful.

Yes I know they’re both too long. I’m planning on raising the curtain rod a few inches and hanging them a little wider.

Option A: light filtering terracotta. I got these first as a temporary solution until the “real” curtains came. I like that they add warmth and color into the room, but initially wanted something black out. They definitely look pretty orange when closed but it doesn’t really bother me. I’m leaning towards these but everyone else says option B

Option B: black out “earthy terracotta” that pulls more chocolate brown. I planned for these to be his actual curtains, but now that I have them up I’m wondering if they are too dark. I can’t tell if I’m just used to the more orange tone or if they actually do look redundant against his brown sheets and dark furniture.

We just moved in a week ago so I will add artwork to the walls at some point, but for now this is what we’re working with.

My son is at camp so I can’t ask his opinion yet, but would like opinions on which is more visually appealing. Thanks!!

Info: The room is for my pre-teen son. His rug is sage and cream. The walls are grey but can pull green in certain lighting. I just bought the house and probably won’t be able to paint for a while, though I do have some brown brick peel & stick wallpaper I was considering putting on that back wall, but I’m not sure.

I will replace furniture over time, but for now my son has a black metal loft bed and a black dresser. I am hoping to add some wood elements to create a more traditional look as well as some of his own framed artwork for more color. I am stuck on what color/pattern curtains would add depth without clashing! Thanks for any suggestions ❤️

Original Post

Update:

The full rewire was completed this week and passed electrical inspection!

The light fixture my agent told me I was too worried about ended up not having any wiring going to it at all because it had been cut at some point.

Pictured is the 40amp FPE breaker that the HVAC, stove, and dryer wires were being fed through. I asked the electrician to let me keep it as a trophy after I single-handedly fought every attempt those assholes made to fuck me over. I will be following up with complaints to their respective licensing boards soon.

For now, here’s a virtual toast to knowledge and due diligence! Cheers, friends!!

p.s. I’ve been pretty busy making sure my house doesn’t try to kill us at some point but I finally found time to get my nails done as someone rudely suggested last week haha!

No I will not be touching the original tiling. I just really don’t like the white above the tile or on the door. It feels boring to me. It needs color, but I can’t figure out which colors would best complement this space. I am thinking of making the rest of the house a cozy cottage. It’s a small house, so I won’t be doing any super dark colors. I like warm and bright! Would appreciate some suggestions!

First time homeowner so I’m new to all of this. This was pointed out on my inspection and I would like to fix it asap. Could simply adding a gutter help here? Also are those vents too close to the ground?

I’m in contract to buy a mid-century home as a single mom and first time homebuyer. I noticed early on that the home had a FPE panel in the third bedroom closet. Ungrounded receptacles were noted on inspection. My agent had a master electrician inspect and quote for repairs because of concerns with my ability to get insurance. I independently verified his license with my state’s LLR after meeting him. He quoted $1000 for panel replacement and $500 to “ground” outlets. He told me that he’d wire the GFCI to itself for added protection which immediately flagged to me that he might bootleg ground the outlets.

I asked how much could be done before the whole house would have to be brought to code and was told it’s a non-issue. I expressed concerns that circuits may already be overloaded because there were a couple non-functioning fixtures. Again, I was told it was not a problem and only the fixtures needed to be replaced even though no actual inspection was done. My agent told me I was worrying too much about simple things and it probably just needed a new light bulb. He also mocked me for asking if the panel would be upgraded to 200amps, asking “where did you pull that number from?” I was told 100 amp replacement is fine. I asked whether the condition of 75yo wiring could present an issue and was told no again. After repairs were accepted by the seller, my agent told me that they would probably go with someone else anyway.

They did not.

Agent tried to cover up that no re-inspection of the panel had been done. Told the general inspector not to re-inspect the outlets. Told me I don’t get to do any more re-inspections and pushed me to close.

I discovered via the freedom of information act that there was no permit for electrical work and demanded a retroactive permit be pulled and inspected by the city before close. The house failed inspection because 1) panel upgrade in a bedroom closet and 2) bootleg grounded outlets.

Despite being pushed to allow the first electrician back to fix his “mistakes” I refused. While I know that GFCI is sufficient protection in an ungrounded house (if done properly), my contract actually said “ground all outlets in the home.” And because I was sick of being misled by the people who were supposed to be representing me, I demanded a full rewire.

Electrician #2 found that the HVAC, stove, and dryer were all feeding into a 40 amp FPE breaker. The previous electrician had cut the lock to the service meter and an absolute mess was found behind the cover. The cloth wiring was severely degraded throughout the home, with multiple areas of exposed wiring in the basement. There was also no power going to the fixtures I was initially worried about, so not just a missing lightbulb…

House is also now being upgraded to 200 amps like I initially asked about. Crazy how I pulled the right number straight out of my ass.

If you made it this far, thanks to all of you here for sharing your knowledge online so that people like me can learn what to look out for. I didn’t know a single thing about electrical before I signed the sale contract and I feel very grateful for what I’ve learned during this process. I’m excited for the rewire to be done (and reinspected!) so we can finally close and have a safe home. ❤️

About to purchase a home with an original 1950s bathroom. There was an issue with a sinking foundation ~5 years ago that has since been repaired. I assume this is a result of that. I want to preserve the bathroom but feel like this should be covered

Also curious if the floor tiles just need a good clean/seal or re-grout