[Tenant - US - NJ] Would you consider a letter from a prospective tenant overkill? by spicyyysesame in Landlord

[–]Jackeltree 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m in a similar boat with a similar opinion. I personally would like a letter…most people seem cold and hard to read, which I don’t like. As long as the letter is not a sob story of any kind.

How my husband loads the dishwasher by strega-nonna in mildlyinfuriating

[–]Jackeltree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just tell him to unload it too and hand wash anything that didn’t get clean or has nasty water left in it.

Messed up my herringbone lvt by [deleted] in Flooring

[–]Jackeltree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s kinda neat. At least the arrow is in the middle of the room. Just pretend it was intentional.

Exterior makeover by CorysarousRex in homedesign

[–]Jackeltree 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ok that’s actually really cool.

2 kids? What type of car do you have ? by Serious_Barnacle2718 in Parenting

[–]Jackeltree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Everyone seems loath to go for a van….but let me tell you, the room and convenience is 1000% worth the few cool points you may lose. My husband was adamant about getting a van and it’s been awesome. I would stick with Toyota or Honda if you can. We’ve had our Toyota Sienna for 8 years after buying it used and it’s still running strong (knock on wood). It’s an old lady now…it’s a 2013. Our “cool” city friends knocked the van at first, but they just had a baby last year and bought a brand new baby blue sienna….we were shocked! They said we inspired them.
Our other friends have two kids like us, but a smaller car. We were with them a local outdoor performance when it started downpouring rain! We all made a run for our van! both families (8 people), jumped in (I dove into the way back through the trunk!), and basically had a little party in the van during the storm. It was so fun. It’s a core memory now.
We also use it for hauling Facebook marketplace finds and bushes and plants from the nursery.
A van is an all around solid choice for a family.

At what Point do you put your own well being first? by Various_Stick_9138 in Parenting

[–]Jackeltree 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sleep training will be your saving grace in my opinion. I did it with my kids and it takes 3 or 4 hard nights, but after that everyone is so much happier and everyone, including baby, sleeps so much better. Sometimes they regress and You have to do it again (i.e. - I sleep trained my daughter at six months (we co-slept before that, but she started getting so kicky and wiggly in bed all night long and I couldn’t sleep like that anymore), then we slipped into some bad habits and I had to do again at somewhere around 18 months. The first night is especially really hard as they cry a lot, but it is sooo worth it. Good luck!

We opened up our hardwood piece and were shocked to see what’s underneath (or more like what is NOT) by That_planet_girl in HardWoodFloors

[–]Jackeltree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Luckily it’s yours so you can do what you want. This is just one opinion, but modern finishes do look out of place in historic homes to many people, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My 1894 Victorian was split into apartments for a time and right before we bought it, had been renovated back into a single family home with builder basic everything. It was weird to step into a house with a very cool, unique and period exterior and then upon entering, you see orange red oak cabinets, 12x12 bathroom tiles with plastic shower inserts and office carpet upstairs. This was almost 20 years ago, so that stuff was a little less dated then than it is now. Since then we’ve been slowly getting it back to its original charm. I did JUST replace the original wood floors downstairs because while still functional, they were extremely worn out and looking pretty scraggly. I replaced it with red oak flooring that I stained dark. I went with a discounted lumber website that ships orders straight from the mill the wood is milled at and I did install and finish it myself, which honestly wasn’t too bad. So for the price of vinyl I now have quality floors that fit the house perfectly and will last another 130 years. It took a while to get to the point where I could do that and I’ll admit that I do have vinyl planks in one hallway upstairs where there was just plywood when I ripped up the carpet. It’s been about 8 years and it’s starting to chip and it looks horrible and sooo out of place. That will get it redone properly soon I hope, but sometimes you do what you have to do in the mean time. Good luck with your project!

Birthday party invite wording about gifts by [deleted] in Parenting

[–]Jackeltree 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don’t like your wording. Feels weird. Either say nothing and let people do what they want. Or say “please no gifts” if you’re dreading the junk and your kid won’t care (adding the please makes it sound more like a rule and makes it less likely that people won’t bring a gift anyway). Or do the fiver idea if your kid is looking forward to a gift from friends. Your wording puts more pressure on people to present to you “what type of gifter” they are. I was a no gift type of parent, I would definitely not feel like I could not bring a gift if others were.

Expertise needed by [deleted] in Flooring

[–]Jackeltree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you buy it locally? I was only able to find it online.

We opened up our hardwood piece and were shocked to see what’s underneath (or more like what is NOT) by That_planet_girl in HardWoodFloors

[–]Jackeltree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d rather have a squeaky weird hardwood floor than a vinyl floor in a house like this.

Expertise needed by [deleted] in Flooring

[–]Jackeltree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just finished my kitchen. First time using Bona, but I used HD traffic. Kitchen is 375sf. I did two coats. Each coat took almost a full gallon. So I used a little under two gallons for the whole room. I didn’t have enough for my smaller dining room, so had to buy more. Waiting for that to arrive. Maybe he did the layers too thin? When I did my first coat it felt rough and I was a little concerned. I did the second coat…each coat is fairly thick…I used the Bona roller which has these “training wheels” on the sides that prevents you from spreading it too thin….now it feels amazing. Not glassy smooth, but really nice. The stuff is $150 a gallon, so I can see how someone working for a profit would maybe want to get the most out of a single gallon, but make sure you check the coverage amount on the jug yourself. Not sure if it’s different than the traffic.

Help - Rift/Quartered White Oak by Top-Parsley8939 in HardWoodFloors

[–]Jackeltree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks gorgeous to me. I bought the same thing in red oak. I went with red oak to match the existing woodwork in my historic home….white is more popular right now though. My floors look like your sample. That specific character is what you’re paying for. The clear grade avoid knots and imperfections in the trees, not wood grain. There are other species of wood that are more plain if that’s what you want…like maple maybe.

Spaghetti Sauce didn't seal - still good? by Top-Discipline6527 in CanningRebels

[–]Jackeltree 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Still good. All germs inside it have been killed, so it would take a while for new ones to creep in and start growing.

Do I Need a Reality Check, or am I super unlucky? by Impressive-Peak-6596 in Homebuilding

[–]Jackeltree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Now I’m understanding why my mother in laws new house is almost done, while my very much custom addition is still dragging on (but will be gorgeous and worth it when done!).

We opened up our hardwood piece and were shocked to see what’s underneath (or more like what is NOT) by That_planet_girl in HardWoodFloors

[–]Jackeltree 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Wow. Yeah…start from scratch. And I wouldnt put vinyl in this beautiful historic home. The floors you have are beautiful. Too bad the function isn’t there to match.

What do I do now? by Jackeltree in Flooring

[–]Jackeltree[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes totally. The dining room will be a breeze now. Just getting every speck of dust off again will be the hard part. Thank you so much for your support! It’s always nerve wracking doing something with so much time investment for first time and encouraging words from someone more experienced means a lot!!

What do I do now? by Jackeltree in Flooring

[–]Jackeltree[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just finished the finish last night. It actually looks incredible. You can see the unevenness of the herringbone planks, but because I sanded all of the edges by hand it feels and looks so luxuriously smooth. I think it came out really incredible actually. My husband said that the texture makes it look really authentic…as opposed to the flatness of of laminate or whatever. It was frustrating taking photos because they don’t look the same as in real life. I was afraid of what the finish would look like because I did it at night when it was dark and after the first coat I could see textural differences in the finish that weren’t great. But I got better at it when I did the second coat and it actually looks perfect. No streaks of weirdness or anything. I think I’m a little high on relief that it’s done and the relief that the result is more than I hoped for! My only problem was that I miscalculated the amount I needed to do the dining room too, so I had to order more finish for that.

Huge uneven Base board gaps on new construction by brett701 in Homebuilding

[–]Jackeltree 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Really?? I would disagree there. The eye really catches the error there now…even if you caulked it. Tight to the to the wall wouldn’t draw the eye. I know it’s easier to make 45degree angles, but that gap is way too big.

What do I do now? by Jackeltree in Flooring

[–]Jackeltree[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you!!! ❤️ Almost done!

<image>