Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Mission Monitor Board It is so ridiculously hot

Cobie, when you buy, invest in a private home inspector.

Couple of things.

1. In south carolina, inspectors are not allowed to move things to check, so, if there's a bucket in the tub, be there with the inspector to move it, he cannot if its like SC. I say this because I was a home inspector. Things like they have a system turned off and the inspector cannot turn it own legally can be a warning sign. My cousin didn't move the bucket in the tub. It covered a hole in the tub they didn't know about. The leak rotted the flooring/ceiling of the room below and they had to tear out a second floor bay window to replace the tub, as well as repairing the water damage.

2. If possible, have the owner there. A lot of salesmen don't like that, but the owner CAN turn on anything that needs to be checked. I had a situation where a pool system was turned off when I inspected a home that had been closed for some time. The pump burnt up and algae nearly ruined the pool. They tried to say I did it during my inspection. What they didn't know was that I took pictures of all my inspections. And while i didn't inspect pools, a quick pic made sure I was covered.

3. Turning on an electrical circuit that is off... well, there might be a short and the current owners don't use it. Turning it on could start a fire.

4. Any inspector worth his salt will give you a written report. I always broke mine down by rooms and systems.

5. ASK ABOUT ANY PREVIOUS FIRES THAT MAY HAVE TAKEN PLACE! I did and was lied to. I have been working on my master bedroom overhead light for a couple of years now, thinking I had done something wrong with the fan/light installation. Turns out they lied and didn't tell me about a wall fire that burned up the wiring and made it brittle.

I could go on and on. I was a private home inspector as well as a county inspector, so I've seen a lot of shit covered over. When the time comes, if you have any questions, I'll try to help. Remember, you cannot have enough questions, you HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHEN YOU BUY, DON'T BE SCARED OR INTIMIDATED INTO NOT ASKING QUESTIONS!

We've had a lot of rain here in Houston the past couple weeks, which has kept things a little cooler than it would be otherwise.

BTW, Cobie, just to add to rickshaw1's advice:

You could do worse than to register at an iVillage offshoot called GardenWeb , when you're ready to think about good plants for your region. They actually sort threads and topics by your planting zone as well as by type of plant (or problems with same). It's great to get tips and feedback from people that actually live where you live.

Most definately what Cleome said. I'm on there myself. I'll still be happy to help if I can, though.

Rick, thanks for the advice. I actually own my condo now, so I've *kinda* gone through it once before, but to a much lesser degree. I remember I asked for advice last time you gave me a lot of the same great advice. When the time comes, you can bet I'll start a thread for it!

Cleome thanks for the link! Since this would be the second home I'm going to buy, I'm kind of hoping (and possibly being naive) that this is my permanent home now, for you know, forever. So I'm looking forward to doings things like planting trees and gradually redoing the backyard.

PS - A backyard is a MUST HAVE for me. A nice big one. I want LAND.

Rick, any tips on Arbor Vitae? Mine are taking a beating in this heat ...

Thunderstorms tomorrow in the NYC metro area ... a possible end to the heat?

I haven't dealt much with the Arbor Vita, I don't do hedgeshrubs much, sorry to say. However, given that its in the cyprus family, make sure its watered frequently. Those types of trees are made for wetlands and swamp for the most part. They tend to grow on the edges of fields around low, wet areas down here in the south when they occur naturally.

I might actually try a soaker hose in a ring around the base, about two to three feet away from the trunk, depending on size. Please understand, this is just knowledge I've picked up and extrapolated on over the years, I am not an arborist or horticulturist. I generaly CUT trees for a living...its one of the reason I'm trying to grow stuff, put a little back.

thanks, rick ... I've got a soaker hose on them now ... some folks have said to water them an hour a day, others to keep the hose going most of the day ... so far they're doing alright ...

Hot but breezy here. If I wasn't so beaten down from the workweek, I'd probably be outside. Eh. Maybe after a nice dinner and a couple of cold drinks...

Today was not at all bad. Still humid, but with a nice breeze. If I thought this would last, I'd enjoy summer more.

Thunder showers in the morning followed buy hot humid and mildly sunny followed by extreme thundershowers in the late afternoon-night. That was yesterday.

Today, so far, the sun is hiding behind stormclouds that look like they are ready to create god's own sauna out there today. And if I could, I'd be out playing a round of golf in it.

... that my front lawn is toast

well then, throw on some of those little birdie eggs and have breakfast.



All joking aside, things down here are getting green again after a summer that cooked a lot of people's lawns. Mine, unfortunately, looks like a jungle since I can't cut it right now. I only have a push mower, and they don't go well with a broken knee, lol.

The weather is so gorgeous that I'm tempted to go for a second bike ride today, but my leg muscles would definitely take a horrible revenge come tomorrow morning.

... that I walked around all day with buckets under my arms just to catch the sweat that was falling!

Bwaaaaahahahahhahaha.

I dance on the fires of the Sun. Hell is icicles for me! I AM AL THAT IS SOUTHERN MAN!

>ahem<

...not anymore here in Yankee land.

...and I am loving the cool weather.

Hitting the 70s again the next few days before dipping back to the lower 60s. I'm ready for 60s or lower, the 70s can kiss my arse.

On the bright side, we haven't had a typhoon for the last couple weeks.

.... no it's not (ridiculously hot that is).

I am.

I wuz, but ah got old.

Chicks dig middle aged bald fat guys! Yeah baby!

Dammit! I though they dug scars.