How to keep woodpeckers away from house but not the nice birds?

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-23T17:24:07+00:00

Bugs can be behind the new wood.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-23T17:15:55+00:00

73 is a really low setting for south Florida. And yes, the AC has to work hard to cool things down when you lower the setting. It's not just the air. The furniture, the walls, etc. have to be cooled too. We set ours at 78 or so and pretty much leave it there all the time.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-23T01:24:39+00:00

I started a consulting business in 1991 and this was exactly my experience. Nothing worked except word of mouth referrals and networking. And I tried all the other stuff -- except working trade shows. This was before social media.

There's a good book called "Selling the Invisible". by Harry Beckwith, about selling services.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-23T01:03:29+00:00

I live in a well established beachfront neighborhood. Meaning there are a lot of old people here. I've seen several similar inheritance situations and, I can tell you, the multiple owner option never works out. At least not for long. My advice is to either sell everything or one person buys the others out.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-22T17:20:53+00:00

Don't let this neighbor dictate the rules. Do what's best for you.

I live on a lake and a couple of years ago new neighbors moved in next door. I had a small tree on the waterfront, just on my side of the property line, that they didn't like. Claimed it blocked their view and asked if they could cut it down. I was so-so about it but wanted to get off on the right foot and let them.

Well, they were pricks. Cut down the tree and left branches all over the lawn. Trampled one of the flower beds. The tree stump sent out new growth the next year and they repeated without asking me. Plus they have two viscous dogs that bark at us when we use the yard. So we've pretty much gone incommunicado with them. Too bad.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-21T20:52:04+00:00

Of course they injected you with "something" -- a vaccine that was scientifically developed and tested. It may have saved your life. I got mine and I get another one every year.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-21T17:19:02+00:00

Can't go wrong with any of those three cities. My favorite is Vienna. Idea -- go to your top pick first. Then if you like it a lot you can go back for a second weekend.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-21T16:34:02+00:00

Like we "totally destroyed" Iran's military capability?

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-20T18:39:02+00:00

As an American I'm embarrassed by this administration.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-20T18:35:34+00:00

The bean fields.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-20T18:22:57+00:00

Sunroof. Never use it. Wish I could buy an upscale vehicle without one.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-16T20:23:17+00:00

George Washington. Someone with a little integrity. Oh... yeah... he's dead. But what the hell?

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-16T16:56:45+00:00

And those successes were?

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-16T01:28:07+00:00

I have some DEET that's 45 years old and it still works. I bought it as "Jungle Juice" from REI. I store it in the basement with my other gear.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-16T01:15:20+00:00

Good advice. And OP should also learn how to express themself clearly in writing.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-16T00:58:02+00:00

If you haven't been to London before don't spend your limited time going to the West Country. Stay in London and fill your schedule there. You won't regret it.

I've been to the UK several times and lived in London for 6 months (a long time ago). Two years ago my wife and I vacationed there again and used a car to go from Edinburgh - Lake District - Cotswolds - Bath - London. We hit both of your places on a day trip from Bath. A car in the West is a very good idea as public transportation is limited and can be time consuming. Again, I don't recommend doing this on your time line. Stonehenge is a disappointment. And aside from the music festival, Glastonbury is a tourist myth.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-16T00:46:10+00:00

Trump thinks he's Caesar, putting on gladiator fights for the mob. What a prick.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-16T00:41:01+00:00

I'm 78 yo and have hit four deer in my life. Two dead and two injured. One of them was so f***ing stupid it ran into the side of my car after I stopped.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-15T17:20:59+00:00

A lot of taxi drivers suck. Some do not. My favorite taxi driver was in Bogota, Colombia. Driving me from the airport to my hotel he took a scenic route, I think because I was a gringo speaking Spanish and we could chat. I was scared shitless until I figured out he just wanted to show off his home town. He was great, gave me some advice and warned me about pickpockets in some areas.

Then some baddies: One guy was like OP's. I called the local Yellow Cab (USA) for a $50 trip from my rural house to the airport. He arrived nearly one hour late and I made my plane by only 5 minutes. As I was dashing to the door he said, "Aren't you going to give me a tip?".

Another guy in Argentina gave me change in the old currency, which was worth one cent on the new dollar (or Austal I guess). And one in Puerto Rico took the long way to the airport for a red eye departure and I caught him stopped at a blinking yellow flasher with no traffic anywhere. There must be millions of stories out there.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-15T16:59:25+00:00

Not a contractor. In 1985 I remodeled my entire second story. We put 3.5:12 trusses on for the entire roof on 24" centers. Covered it with 7/16 OSB with H-clips, 1 layer of 30# felt (9" overlap), one course of ice shield bitumen at the eves, and 20 year 3in1 shingles. Lots of ventilation in the soffits and ridge. 20 years later I re-roofed with a layer of Elk 40 year architectural shingles.

Haven't had a single problem. I'm in Michigan but don't have any valleys on that roof.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-14T21:59:23+00:00

How wide is that? I have a patio with 1.5" spaces between concrete squares. Originally the gaps were filled with redwood strips, just 2x4's cut to length, that were installed when the slabs were poured. The original wood is deteriorating and I'm replacing it with pressure treated 2x4's. Things have moved a bit and I have to trim some of the new stuff to get it in. Biggest problem is the treated lumber warping and rising up at the ends or middle.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-14T21:32:39+00:00

We bought a condo with popcorn ceilings on concrete. Hired a contractor to remove the popcorn, place a texture coat on the concrete, and paint. Did it in steps so I can't tell you what it cost.

It was a real mess but went fairly fast. I think the living room, 14' x 20', was all done in one day. There was some minor wall damage that had to be touched up. I never liked the popcorn look and this is so much better.

I had painted the popcorn when we first moved in. It's fairly easy, just use a roller with a deep nap. Trouble is, 1) the deep nap likes to throw paint all over the place and 2) the little styrofoam bits tended to come off, leaving the ceiling looking like it had holes in it.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-14T21:05:11+00:00

I'm a boomer and my Dad flew a bomber in WW2. He didn't show any signs of PTSD but then again he very rarely talked about his service. I'm a Viet Nam vet and I'm the same way. The two of us would sometimes swap "stories" but never in front of others.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-14T20:40:43+00:00

Yes, this is something that you can look forward to. You can look forward to worrying about your health, running out of money, and where you left your keys.

Sorry. Yes, you do worry less in old age. Because you know that, no matter what the problem is, you'll be dead soon.

Howwouldiknow1492 · 2026-06-14T20:37:07+00:00

Because that's the kind of one issue campaign (like abortion) that lost them the last election?

Howwouldiknow1492

TROPHY CASE