All Forum Posts by: Genny Li

Goo gone. 

 I think we both overlooked the masterpiece of the nautical light fixture....

 I'm a serious house nerd. Lol. And furniture nerd. 

For more context.... The fireplace looks real but like it has never been cleaned. Those big fieldstones are probably just caked in cigarette smoke, which is why it's blotchy. For some reason, smoke shows up more on camera than IRL. I sincerely doubt it's fake because the house seems to be from the early 70s, and fake stone wasn't in use in fireplaces then, that I know of. 

Perma-stone and formstone had been blighting exteriors for a while, but never picked up indoors. 

I think the thoughtless decorating and the mixed message between the modern wall and rustic mantle are causing some major visual confusion right now, too. 

 Oh nooooooooooo.....

Oh, you could try the expanding foam trick to raise the sunken side toward the house before tearing it out. Might be something that needs experience to get right, though!

Yes, you could do pavers.  You'd want an extra thick sand layer to prevent telegraphing--like 2 inches? And crack fill first. Only do it if the slope is okay--not back toward the house. That back door is kinda floating in space now, so it should be fine. You're not going to be driving on it so I wouldn't be afraid of crack telegraphing. 

If you tile, you would absolutely need an isolation membrane. I dunno that it would be a great idea, though. I suspect the crack would eventually telegraph.

Those Ikea patio tiles would be a whole lot less risky than real tile and cheaper if you could get it level. Then the cracks opening up couldn't telegraph.

I'd be really temped to do that as a cheaper solution to jackhammering. Around where I am, landscape/flatwork is hideously expensive. You're not super far from me. (Regional prices are weird. Roofing and windows are actually cheap here....)

I am worried though that it slopes back towards the house. If it does, that is a tear out in my book. 

Absolutely NOT the stone. I think it's real. 

The paneling, if actual wood, is really expensive, but I would paint it for a flip. For an STR, I might run with it, making the right kind of modern statement wall with the right furniture. If it's fake and not bookmatched veneer, though, it goes regardless. (I can't tell on my tiny screen but I suspect it's fake.)

And of course replace the carpet with LVT. 

 It's very obviously a business transaction on both sides. I would feel really sorry for her if it wasn't, for being married to a user.  She came out of a miserable existence with a very poor future. No blame on her. It's how she could escape.  Given what she came from, putting up with him probably isn't a terrible price to pay, and many East Asian-born men treat women so terribly that even he might be tolerable.

Illegal in a town that cares. 

Originally posted by @Paul Sandhu:

2 game wardens showed up at my own house and asked my wife if I had a house at XYZ 4th street.  She said no, but I have a house at XYZ 5th street.  The wardens looked at each other.  They asked if anyone was staying there.  She said no, but the last people there were falconers (they had 12 falcons).  Wardens asked if they were eliminating pigeons at the refinery.  She said they were.  Wardens wanted to make sure everything was legit and legal.  Wife said the falconers wife travels with him, and she is an attorney.  They looked at each other and left.

 Do they not grasp that pigeons are invasive and so aren't protected game birds?????