I know this has been a long time coming, but I just still really can't believe the leadership has driven this stock so low with horrible choices and bad planning. It's just such a shame.
I don’t think there’s much to do about this, but I had an older friend come to see the house I just bought last night and it really made me feel awful. He’s about 20 years older than me and bought a house in a nicer area back in 2011. He asked me straight up how much I paid for my house and then asked me what my monthly payment was and proceeded to look around the house and say “WOW I can’t believe this cost that much.”
I didn’t really know what to say so I basically started trying to explain the market and that this is what houses cost now, but the more I tried to explain, the worse I felt. He also was like “this price feels like it would even be expensive for where I live.” And the thing is it is expensive, but I am living north of Boston and the housing market is crazy, and this is literally what houses cost now.
I just don’t really know what else to say besides I am so sick of having this conversation. It makes me so uncomfortable and has started to make me feel shame and embarrassment around my house, which is the opposite of how I want to feel. I just wish older people could realize how they sound when they talk like this.
Idk any strategies for dealing with this besides slowly trying to give less and less of a fuck?
Hey! I’m replacing the treads on my very creaky narrow staircase to improve the feel, function and look. I am replacing the 8.25inch treads with 9.1 inch treads that are much more solid feeling. I tested one out in the second photo even though it isn’t the right length and it made a *huge* difference in the feel. They covered up the original trim on the sides with very thin white trim (you can see the remnants of it in the top picture).
I’m just trying to figure out how to make this look the best it possibly can - should I scrape off the paint off the original trim and sand it down and just add some crown molding to the top? Should I paint the treads a different color? Stain colors for steps once they are replaced? Any input would be welcomed!!
A couple months ago I had an in-person meeting with this woman my company was hoping to work with on something -- she also worked directly with one of our existing partners.
We had a good meeting. I think I was a little awkward because I was stressed that day, but we ended with next steps and it seemed good overall. Since then, she has not responded to a single email of mine, and has now even ignored an email from the partner of ours she is working directly with.
I'm struggling to move beyond this. Every day I check the email thread. Every few mins I think about it. I wonder if I did something bad that day or offended her or creeped her out. I can't understand why this is happening. I just feel awful.
I recently bought a house where the previous owner had (very poorly) tried to improve her laminate countertops with an epoxy covering.
It looks okay from a distance, but up close it’s not great. The problem is that it never cured properly it seems and even a year after it was installed it’s still very sticky and also has an off gassing smell that is particularly bad in the summer. I’m planning on just replacing the countertops in about 8 months, but I’d love to just get rid of the stickiness and reduce the smell in the meantime.
I’ve read about a couple options online. The best one seems to be washing and lightly sanding the counters and then adding a water based polyurethane in a few thin coats. How does that sound to you all? Would you have other suggestions?
Recently bought a 127-year-old home and one of the stairs is fairly steep with narrow treads. It’s about an 8 inch riser with an 8 inch tread.
I don’t think it’s worth it to try to re-do them completely, but I would like to try to increase the tread size slightly if possible. Right now there is almost no nose on the treads (maybe there’s a quarter inch overhang), so I am considering trying to rip out the treads and replace them with new ones that have a nose on them. I’m concerned though that that’s going to just create a whole world of issues.
Any advice here?
Hi friends — the landing at the top of my stairs on my older home slopes slightly down making it feel a little dangerous at the top of the stairs. I’m used to it now, but I always feel a little nervous when I have new people traveling up and down them. I’m planning on getting a runner installed and that should help with traction, but is there any fairly easy solution to leveling out the top landing? I know there are not structural issues with the house, this is just one of those fun 126 year old house features :)))
Any guidance would be so appreciated! Even if it’s just ways to make it feel more safe.
I'm working to repair some pocket doors that were off the track when I bought the house and the previous owner (a 70 year old single woman) didn't have the energy to fix. I was able to fish out one of the two pieces of hardware that connect the door to the track and the other one is still on the track (pictures attached).
I think I can figure out how to get this back together, but I am assuming there is a reason why this came off track in the first place and I would like to avoid this happening again if possible. Any tips or tracks people have who have repaired old pocket doors? Anything I should make sure to do? (e.g. vacuum track or something like that?)
Any advice would be very much appreciated!
I closed on a house yesterday and I’m so happy that the process is over, but I can’t stop obsessing over my decision. I’m hoping you all can help.
I spend months looking in a very competitive market. Everything was selling for way over asking within a couple days, but things did cool down a little bit at the start of the war in Iran, which made things a little confusing.
I wanted to be in a specific mid-size city in Massachusetts, within a 10 min walk to the commuter rail in Boston, within walking distance to the downtown, so the options were extremely limited. But, one weekend, two places came on the market that I was interested in for totally different reasons — they were also priced exactly the same. One was a massive third floor condo in an old Victorian building with 5 total units. One was half a duplex with a backyard and a garage that was about 200 sq feet smaller.
I ended up going with the duplex because I liked the backyard and the garage and it was much closer to downtown and the commuter rail. I also liked that it had a direct entrance from outside. Since then I’ve felt good about the decision but I can’t stop thinking about the Victorian with the dramatic windows and staircase and the super thick original wood floors. It just had this wow factor that I know would have been cool to entertain in.
Anyone else face a dilemma like this? Got any soothing advice? I just want to move forward.