Summer projects

Daox · 03-21-09, 08:17 AM

Higgy's lawn post reminded me that we probably all have some good projects comming up now that its starting to warm up. What are you planning on doing this summer?

Number one on my list if definitely sealing up the house. Being such an old house I found numerous drafts during winter. Unfortunately, caulking and expanding foam don't work very well in cold temperatures. So, once it gets warm enough I can seal up all those drafty areas.

After sealing the house, its kind of a toss up. I'd love to insulate the basement on the outside, but that is a huge project and I don't know if I'll be up for it yet. Theres also a few additional projects that might get rolled up into that one like digging out a basement under the addition that currently only has a non-accessable crawl space. I also had some water problems this spring in the basement. I'd love to put in drain tile to avoid this problem in the future. So, I'll take it one step at a time and finish number one first.

mincus · 03-21-09, 08:02 PM

I got started on my "summer" projects yesterday. We have needed to put in a retaining block wall for a while in the front yard. So, I got the blocks and started yesterday. It took about 90 blocks, and we surprisingly got it done today. I was excited about that, because it's about time to start planting some flowers outside.

My other big projects for the summer include redoing the kitchen (new cabinets, floor, countertops, etc) and kicking the wall of our bathroom out a foot. Our bathroom (the only one on the first floor where all the bedrooms are) has a vanity in which the countertop had to be cut into in order for the door to be able to swing open. It's probably the worst feature of our house, so I'm planning on fixing it. Unfortunately, that means that one of the bedrooms is going to lose a foot. It wouldn't be such a big deal, except that the flu for the furnace will have to be moved too. Oh well, it'll be worth it in the end.

Other than that, I'll be doing a vegetable garden for the second year. The strawberries are already starting to come up, which I'm quite excited about. It was their first year last year, so we didn't get any berries.

Higgy · 03-22-09, 08:26 AM

I've got my list already as well, and I'm sure I'll be adding to it.
- Go into attic and caulk or sprayfoam around all fixtures…will have to shovel away insulation
- Go into attic and fix up insulation above garage
- Go into attic and install vent covers
- Get someone to come in and blow in more insulation into attic
- Add soil to front and side yard (may need to get a landscaper in to do some work inbetween my house and my neighbors)
- Fix fence
- Possibly start working on basement
- Purchase and install compost
- Plant garden
- Add cabinets to the garage

Ooooo mincus....strawberries. I'm considering adding some strawberries. Where abouts do they need to be in relation to sunlight, how big does the bush get and what are the negativites. Because I may have to add this to my list.

Don't worry Daox...I won't hijack your thread. Not too much anyway

mincus · 03-22-09, 12:30 PM

So far, I've had good luck with the strawberries. There's two types: junebearing (one big harvest around june) and everbearing (produce small crops throughout the growing season). I only have junebearing right now since that's what Home Depot sold last year.

I started with one plant, and divided it out of the pot. The plants spent all of last year propagating. They send out foot long runners that have little plant buds, which quickly grow roots. I now have probably close to 30 plants from the original one. I started with that one last spring. The first year this is all you can expect. I did get two berries about the size of grapes. You're supposed to pull off the flowers before they produce, but I just let it go. The second year, you should expect a good crop.

I have them in almost full sun (I think that's what they're supposed to have). The plants stay pretty short. The tallest one got last year was half a foot at most. And each individual plant is pretty small. Not sure what they're going to do this year....time will tell!

Put it this way, out of my entire vegetable garden and other plants I'm doing this year, I'm most excited about the prospect of free strawberries this summer!

Ryland · 03-22-09, 11:55 PM

I'm not sure how many out door project we will get to this summer as we are working on the inside of the house right now but in the plan is to replace all 22 windows, we already replaced 3 doors, we also want to dig up around the outside of the house, insulate the foundation and the ground around the house and install some drainage, then bank it up to help drain water away from the foundation.
I still need to get up in the attic and look around, we bought the house 5 months ago and haven't spent enough time up there yet, more insulation is most likely on the list but the heat bill wasn't that bad this winter, but with a tax credit that will pay for 30% of our insulation why not add more where we can?
It really comes down to time and money to do this stuff.
a garden would be nice, we plan to start asparagus, rhubarb, spinach, a better compost pile, pave the driveway with poruse paving bricks.

So much to do, I have hopes that some of my friends will want to help out with more projects too.

03-21-09, 08:17 AM	#1
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Summer projects Higgy's lawn post reminded me that we probably all have some good projects comming up now that its starting to warm up. What are you planning on doing this summer? Number one on my list if definitely sealing up the house. Being such an old house I found numerous drafts during winter. Unfortunately, caulking and expanding foam don't work very well in cold temperatures. So, once it gets warm enough I can seal up all those drafty areas. After sealing the house, its kind of a toss up. I'd love to insulate the basement on the outside, but that is a huge project and I don't know if I'll be up for it yet. Theres also a few additional projects that might get rolled up into that one like digging out a basement under the addition that currently only has a non-accessable crawl space. I also had some water problems this spring in the basement. I'd love to put in drain tile to avoid this problem in the future. So, I'll take it one step at a time and finish number one first.

03-21-09, 08:02 PM	#2
mincus Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 42 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I got started on my "summer" projects yesterday. We have needed to put in a retaining block wall for a while in the front yard. So, I got the blocks and started yesterday. It took about 90 blocks, and we surprisingly got it done today. I was excited about that, because it's about time to start planting some flowers outside. My other big projects for the summer include redoing the kitchen (new cabinets, floor, countertops, etc) and kicking the wall of our bathroom out a foot. Our bathroom (the only one on the first floor where all the bedrooms are) has a vanity in which the countertop had to be cut into in order for the door to be able to swing open. It's probably the worst feature of our house, so I'm planning on fixing it. Unfortunately, that means that one of the bedrooms is going to lose a foot. It wouldn't be such a big deal, except that the flu for the furnace will have to be moved too. Oh well, it'll be worth it in the end. Other than that, I'll be doing a vegetable garden for the second year. The strawberries are already starting to come up, which I'm quite excited about. It was their first year last year, so we didn't get any berries.

03-22-09, 08:26 AM	#3
Higgy The Gardener Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Manitoba - Canada Posts: 492 Thanks: 17 Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts	I've got my list already as well, and I'm sure I'll be adding to it. - Go into attic and caulk or sprayfoam around all fixtures…will have to shovel away insulation - Go into attic and fix up insulation above garage - Go into attic and install vent covers - Get someone to come in and blow in more insulation into attic - Add soil to front and side yard (may need to get a landscaper in to do some work inbetween my house and my neighbors) - Fix fence - Possibly start working on basement - Purchase and install compost - Plant garden - Add cabinets to the garage Ooooo mincus....strawberries. I'm considering adding some strawberries. Where abouts do they need to be in relation to sunlight, how big does the bush get and what are the negativites. Because I may have to add this to my list. Don't worry Daox...I won't hijack your thread. Not too much anyway

03-22-09, 12:30 PM	#4
mincus Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 42 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	So far, I've had good luck with the strawberries. There's two types: junebearing (one big harvest around june) and everbearing (produce small crops throughout the growing season). I only have junebearing right now since that's what Home Depot sold last year. I started with one plant, and divided it out of the pot. The plants spent all of last year propagating. They send out foot long runners that have little plant buds, which quickly grow roots. I now have probably close to 30 plants from the original one. I started with that one last spring. The first year this is all you can expect. I did get two berries about the size of grapes. You're supposed to pull off the flowers before they produce, but I just let it go. The second year, you should expect a good crop. I have them in almost full sun (I think that's what they're supposed to have). The plants stay pretty short. The tallest one got last year was half a foot at most. And each individual plant is pretty small. Not sure what they're going to do this year....time will tell! Put it this way, out of my entire vegetable garden and other plants I'm doing this year, I'm most excited about the prospect of free strawberries this summer!

03-22-09, 11:55 PM	#5
Ryland Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Western Wisconsin. Posts: 913 Thanks: 127 Thanked 82 Times in 71 Posts	I'm not sure how many out door project we will get to this summer as we are working on the inside of the house right now but in the plan is to replace all 22 windows, we already replaced 3 doors, we also want to dig up around the outside of the house, insulate the foundation and the ground around the house and install some drainage, then bank it up to help drain water away from the foundation. I still need to get up in the attic and look around, we bought the house 5 months ago and haven't spent enough time up there yet, more insulation is most likely on the list but the heat bill wasn't that bad this winter, but with a tax credit that will pay for 30% of our insulation why not add more where we can? It really comes down to time and money to do this stuff. a garden would be nice, we plan to start asparagus, rhubarb, spinach, a better compost pile, pave the driveway with poruse paving bricks. So much to do, I have hopes that some of my friends will want to help out with more projects too.