What home improvement work did you do today?

When using Hardee Panels... Treat it like drywall.. try no to break the face with the nail/screw head... If so you have to seal it with caulk (which you should do on all fasteners anyways)... Moisture will get in the damaged spot and the Hardee Panel will start to come apart (delaminate) after time...

 

Rain broke just enough the get these planted finally. BlackBerry row is finally done!

Or until the wife has more plans.

 

I've been meaning to do this on my side yard. You go with one of the tribe-named thornless varieties?

 

You mean like hide the screw head with caulk?

 

Can I ask what they charged you? My stamped concrete needs a good wash and reseal as well.

 

Ugh... too much.

It was $1,295 total.

The "Wet Look" sealer I use is about $400 for the 6 gallons it takes to do my patio.

The guy I used before charged me like $350 and I'd buy the sealer, but he was a flake and would sometimes no show/reschedule. He'd just pressure wash with water only and a wand, this guy used a good degreaser and a serious truck mounted pressure washer connected to the surface sleaner/scrubber thing you push around.

The other guy sprayed it on only, this guy sprayed and then rolled it in, seemed to soak it into the concrete deeper.

We had let it for too long, so I paid to have this guy do a really good professional job, and now the plan is that I'll keep up on it and do it myself.

 

If you end up going (scortched earth) with muriatic be careful to pick a day with at least some light wind and place yourself UP wind. If you get a snoot full of that vapor it will take your breath away.
Hard to tell from pictures bit is that top beach ball or basketball sized? Looks like a behemoth to move. Very cool fountain! Do you get avian/bird traffic on it?

 

Direct quote when I fact checked my answer, "We went with the El lowes variety."

Aka, not sure. bought them from lowes because the tractor supply options didnt take.

 

Living where I do, it never ceases to amaze me when people plant blackberries

 

Thanks for the info. We also need a good professional cleaning and resealing. This will at least give me an idea of what to expect.

 

Yes... Sink head just enough to cover with caulk but not show a bump from the caulk

 

I thought the same thing The best growing weed there is

 

Given that he was only there a couple hours on Friday to clean, and 2-3 hours Saturday to seal, he made $100+/hr.

I didn't like paying that much, but I did like not having to do it, and he did a much better job than I would've soooo...

We bought this house in '08 as a TOTAL fixer-upper (translation = shithole) and with all the blood and sweat I put in over the years sometimes I am just not nearly as motivated to DIY as I used to be.

 

I think with some possible exceptions, most carved stone water water features are made from Marble, Basalt, and occasionally Granite.

Marble is pretty soft and would likely be the most vulnerable to damage from acids and chemicals.

That could be GFRC (glass fiber reinforced concrete) That's what these are.

 

It is 18” diameter ball on the top. It is not bad, Roll it on my shoulder and kneel down and put it on the ground. But that made it a bitch to lift. I put it on a temp stand I use in the yard now so I do not have to wrestle with it on the ground.

Every morning when I was running it the hummingbirds would take a bath on the top of the ball. All of the birds use it as a bath and watering hole. Once I get it going again I can show a picture of it in use.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

That's awesome, humming birds are such amazing little buzzers.
OH, vinegar is a less toxic acid to try as well. Good luck.

 

The last one at the bottom that is 6’ tall looks EXACTLY like this and same color ball when it is wet. So I will start with CLR first since it is the least aggressive and work my way up I guess. I really do not want to damage it but starting inside the bottom tub is the most inconspicuous approach I would think

 

I am going to tackle this hopefully if I can find someone to take it apart for me since I still need help to pee…

I have an important task to accomplish today. My Zulus NV scope with Range Finder comes in the mail today so I downloaded the user manual. A lot of reading and I need to get familiar with the Ballistic app

Good times!!

 

I agree with you. My hope is here before long I clear out some of the thick crap behind it and it eventually takes over that whole area as a weed. Fingers crossed. I will fight with blackberrys all day versus some of the crap down here. Plus I found a place that will buy them off me as they become harvestable.

Trying to make a self sufficient, cash generating homestead. This was step two, following closely to the purchase of the property.

 

Love this idea. The family is on a 5 year plan to move out to the country. The wife's dad has a nice plot of land and since he is getting up there in age has been asking us to move out there to help. We are going to start planting some fruit trees and have a well dug. Things like that to prepare for the house and shop to be built which will probably be the last year year and half before we make the move.

 

Love everything about that! Best of luck!

I currently have a full home and water system in place. Next year (if not earlier) will be my shop. We have found where we are purchasing fruit trees from, i just need the cash and time. Time is harder to come by right now. Eventually we will get livestock, but thats probably 3+ years out. I already named the property and am finishing up the logo. Lots to do, but lots to wait on too. I just want the fruit items in ASAP since they take a while to produce.

 

Great minds my friend. We want some live stock also and make the garden her dad has bigger to support everyone. I want a few dogs too. I envision watching the sun rise and set everyday.

 

One of my favorite photos so far.... (AKA, get there bud!)

 

I can't be the only one who pictured Atlas when reading that.

 

Did not think of that but when I seen it LMFAO!!

 

Took me a minute to find a pic of Atlas where he wasn't full Monty!

 

We have brambles all over my neighborhood. I could probably pick a couple quarts of blueberries walking the dog tonight. However, the new varieties like Kiowa are thornless, just as hardy/spreading, and the fruits can be as large as an egg, sweet as pie. They'll definitely grow in FL, when we were stationed at NAS JAX, we had a couple of stands in our neighborhood vacant lots, and my brother and I would pick buckets full, my aunt would make all kinds of stuff for us with them.

Some really interesting thornless varieties are out there. Kiowa, Navajo, Arapaho, Natchez, etc.

Bold text - that's a keeper. It's so impossible to find these days, and it's why I refuse to hire out work anymore!!

Been working on ours a little more than 15 years, at least for the landscape part. If you ever want to compare notes....

I will say, keg tubs are your friends when it comes to herbs that like to run, mint, oregano, etc. Good way to keep it contained, with easy reseeding.

Lots of fruits and herbs easy to grow. Most recent I put in was a Bay Laurel, so we'd have an endless supply of bay leaves for cooking.

Blueberries and blackberries have been the biggest no-brainers IME. Stone fruits are a bitch to keep pest-free, pears are easier. You're lucky you can get away with citrus in your zone! Get a meyer lemon in the ground STAT! And some satsumas!

I'd probably kill every squirrel on the planet if I could.

 

Got done painting trim, casing, and walls last weekend. Starting on the floors.

 

Tile?

 

Please don’t say you’re putting down vinyl.