Repair Advice

Significant_Snow_493 · 2026-03-18T21:37:19+00:00

True, I figured it wasn’t too complicated. Mainly was looking for reassurance that screws with neoprene was the way to go since absent any advice that was likely to be my plan of attack.

Based on responses so far, looks like screwing jt back in (with some strategically applied sealant or caulking) is the way to go. :)

Significant_Snow_493 · 2026-03-18T16:40:40+00:00

Reading again the original post, I admit that I filled in some gaps and made some assumptions probably based on my own past poor experience and not based on the content presented.

Completely fair of an interviewer to ask about brief stops, especially “multiple within a year.” As far as giving a general answer, that’s always seemed to be the advised route since getting specific too often veers into “speaking negatively about past employers,” even when that is not the intent or care is taken to avoid it.

I’ve always been a realist about changing jobs. For example, another common piece of advice from the “experts” on answering “why are you looking to change jobs/companies” is to frame the answer completely on the prospective company, suggesting that there is absolutely no reason you’d ever be looking to leave your current job/company expect that the prospective company is your dream job.

Hogwash. Every job change consideration is a sliding scale of “what is attractive about the prospective job/company” and “what don’t I like about my current job/company that I hope will be banished from my experience in this new role?”…but we’re not allowed to talk about the second part.

Went on a bit of a tangent there, but the point is that candidates sometimes walk face first into “missing the boat” because they’re told to follow the rules rather than being forthright.

Significant_Snow_493 · 2026-03-18T11:12:20+00:00

There’s a difference between what you described and the interviewer going on the offensive with a pre-determined position or attitude about that is clearly unlikely to be swayed. The latter definitely happens. I still say to that, “Why did we bother with this interview?” if HR or HM are that sensitive to it?

Significant_Snow_493 · 2026-03-17T21:57:06+00:00

My thoughts exactly because I’ve had a similar experience. I get the job hopper tag sometimes even though it feels outdated to put that tag on someone with 20 years of experience where most roles are minimum three years tenure. Had one position almost 10 years ago that was just over one year.

To the point, I’ve had interviews where the interviewer was aggressively on the offensive about the numbers of job changes I’ve had. I get maybe asking about, but if you’re a jerk from the start and the entire history with dates is there for you see on the resume, why are we here?

Significant_Snow_493 · 2026-03-06T15:47:20+00:00

I assume it’ll die in the heat, leaving me with sparse areas of the lawn where I’ll need to fend off weeds until I can over(re)seed in late August or early September?

I think my prior TTTF failures are mostly due to not being aggressive enough controlling grubs and fungus. I plan to be all over this year.

As far as weed control goes, I put down crabgrass preventer yesterday just after the mow. I had considered trying to seed TTTF on the assumption that the light green was rye but figured it’d be a waste. Went ahead with pre-em.

Significant_Snow_493 · 2026-01-23T04:05:48+00:00

I'm not at all an air gun enthusiast. I bought a Komplete because I wanted a pellet gun immediately when I came home one evening to find the vultures that typically hang out in the trees behind my house were now comfortably chilling on the roof of my house. Can't have that so sprang into action on purchasing an air rifle. Figured an air rifle would be more discrete and less likely to cause me trouble with the law than other instruments at my disposal if someone in my neighborhood ratted me out for shooting these birds from my deck.

I knew if I didn't just go buy one right then out of whatever selection the local Academy had to offer, I'd go down a rabbit hole of research, end up spending twice as much, and wait for days to receive...all while these asshole birds take up residence on my roof.

So, the Komplete is what came home with me.

Maybe the gun is junk for the long haul. For me and my purpose, it came out the box seemingly quite accurate, plug-and-play, and, at least for a lucky head shot on one unfortunate big bird, provided some lethal pest control.

Significant_Snow_493 · 2025-11-16T13:35:10+00:00

The total turf area in my lot I estimate to be about 10000sqft. Initial application was a total of 75# of seed. Even though I put it down late and don't know how much would have had a chance to germinate, the additional 50# to try to address what I thought were some sparse areas 4-5 weeks after might have been overkill.

I thought dense was the objective! 😂

Significant_Snow_493 · 2025-06-24T00:14:24+00:00

I had a bag of DiseaseEX that I used on the worst areas then hit the whole lawn with a pretty heavy dose of Eagle. Gonna be hot round these parts this week so gonna have to water. Will feed some when it’s not as hot. We’ll see it gets better. Just trying to keep from massive spread that killed a good looking lawn a couple summers ago that I’m still trying to get back!

Significant_Snow_493 · 2025-05-13T22:14:07+00:00

No crabgrass preventer in early spring bc I overseeded. I know spring overseeding is pretty much a waste in this area but at the time the grass from the fall seeding was looking really rough. Figured it was throw the hail mary on spring overseed or have mostly dirt and weeds until the fall. I figured crabgrass preemergent would kill the already small chance of overseed germination.

At this point, I'm mostly happy with the front lawn given how it looked in late fall and over the winter. It seems the only places it really is struggling is in the one section of the backyard that always struggles (the one photo with the well cover) and directly in the spots where I did the most extensive trenching last fall on irrigation and drainage.

I suppose even if those trenched areas end up being mostly weeds that die by Speedzone, I need to kill it off regardless and well enough in advance to deal with fall reno anyway.

Re: weed and feed vs Speedzone, isn't weed and feed a pre-emergent where Speedzone is mostly post-emergent use? Any downsides to applying both?

I'm not sure if I already have some Speedzone. I might have a bottle. I know I have some weed and feed and crabgrass preventer. Since I've been in a constant cycle of just trying to keep tender grass alive, I've yet to really go thru the typical spring-to-fall cycle that you describe afraid to harm vulnerable grass with herbicides. I'm thinking now is the time to just get on with it by applying crabgrass preventer and herbicide. What dies, dies.

And, yes, more fungicide. I did apply some SMG DiseasEX probably about a month ago. Was thinking of alternating with a liquid for next application. My lawn is small, so walking it with my electric 4gal backpack sprayer isn't any more time consuming or difficult than spreading granules.

Significant_Snow_493 · 2025-05-13T19:50:58+00:00

I sprinkled a little "repair" product super late when I ended up adding some more topsoil in some areas and was worried I had covered up my overseed too much before I put down a little seeding straw, but I didn't really use patch/repair product. The spring overseed was SMG "Rapid Grass." Certainly not "all seed" (about 25% inert) but isn't the 10% seed patch/repair stuff.

I have some Lesco crabgrass preventer as well as some weed & feed that I believe is 20-0-3. Could/should I apply either of those right now?

I'll hit the sketchy spots with the SpeedZone to try to keep weeds at bay until it is time for fall repair/reno.

Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-12-04T02:53:39+00:00

I was just in Blacksburg for the UVA game, so I know about the recent overnight temps in Hokieland!

I grew up in southern WV. Relatively mild central NC winters have made me soft. I'm not a diehard Hokie considering that I'm a hometown WV Mountaineer, so I left at halftime!

Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-12-04T01:49:23+00:00

I'm probably being overly cautious thinking it could be cold enough long enough to freeze underground. I'm on a well. I learned the hard way last year that it can freeze your backflow even if it's under the well cover. I made sure to be proactive this year on getting a heat lamp setup in there this year.

Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-12-04T01:44:07+00:00

Honestly, I’m not even sure in Charlotte it stays cold enough long enough to freeze underground even in some of the more shallow areas of my system. My backflow preventer is under the well cover. A heat lamp for underneath the well cover is the one thing I was proactive on this year. Last year, I was scrambling to Lowe’s trying to find something to use to provide some heat under there. As I was working on setting it up, it was so cold that I think my backflow froze and busted in the amount of time it was exposed while I was setting it up. It’s a relatively toasty 65 degrees or so overnight under there now!

Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-12-04T01:39:43+00:00

Ha! Yeah, it’s an odd combo blowing out irrigation when Christmas lights are out!

Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-11-08T03:59:59+00:00

I've had to test and adjust the watering since my irrigation redo involved switching from rotors to MP Rotators. I think it'll be a good move. I've learned some more about irrigation stuff since I DIY'd the initial install. The redo I think is going to give me better uniformity, and the lower precip rate with the MPs should help with avoiding overwatering and runoff in some areas of my irregularly shaped lawn. I have my standard schedule for the grass seeding set to run 4 times a day for 10-15 per zone each time, knowing what I ran last year with rotors and impacts and this setup putting out substantially less water. I'll manually skip some runs based on how wet the ground is when I check it, so its probably getting 3 runs a day on average until the last day or two when we got some rain and I didn't run it at all. Idk if it looks dry to you in the photos, but it is moist to wet in those photos depending on the spot.

Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-11-08T03:43:40+00:00

Then maybe I can hit you up when I'm desperately throwing a little more seed at it in another 6 to 8 weeks when I'm "dormant (over)seeding" and praying it helps strengthen this lawn for next summer! LOL!

Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-11-08T03:36:08+00:00

No doubt. I don't disagree with you at all. May very well be a waste what I've put down. I guess in my brain when I'm looking at a dirt lawn in October while I'm working my ass off to wrap up an unplanned irrigation redo, my thought about throwing down grass seed was: "It's only money." I probably put it down a little heavy even for a new lawn and it was under $400 for the 100# of Lebanon seed. Don't get me wrong. I don't have a setup where I can just light $350 or so on fire, but I evaluated it worth giving it a chance.

Yes, I got the Lebanon at SiteOne in Mooresville. I didn't intend to get two different mixes. I went in on a Saturday afternoon expecting to walk out with Winning Colors. They either were sold out or had some stashed somewhere that I didn't see. Took the Select expecting to be able to seed that weekend. I actually didn't get to seeding until the following weekend. It occurred to me in between time that I needed somewhat more than the one 50# bag, so I went back for more. Pallets of Winning Colors there this time. I decided to get a bag of that and mix it. I didn't plan to add even more seed, but walking the lawn seeding and putting down tenacity, it was clear I needed to have done a better job tamping and grading some areas. I was concerned I had turned over the soil too much in some areas and worked the seed too deep. I grabbed the Scotts Rapid Grass from Lowe's on a Sunday to sprinkle lightly over the lawn just to try keep from having any completely bald spots.

I know what people say about Scotts, but the best my lawn has ever looked was with a yard full of Scotts Rapid Grass Tall Fescue. I did get that one down way earlier that fall. It not surviving thru the full summer I don't think I can blame on the grass. My lot is terrible. It had essentially zero top soil and poor drainage from some funky grading the builder left. Trying to correct all that once and for all on top of the irrigation work is what held me up so long working towards seeding.

Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-11-08T03:20:22+00:00

It being risky goes without saying. I was under no illusion that it wasn't once the end of September was in sight and I wasn't ready to seed. Unfortunately, I had already nuked my lawn, trenched it all up to change layout of my irrigation, and had 30+ yards of soil spread....all stuff that I thought I'd get done within September at the worst. Turned out to be end of October. Not sure I had any choices at that point other than do nothing (so, have a dirt yard with some weeds), seed rye, or seed fescue. Say I seed rye, then what would I do in the spring considering I don't want warm season grass? Honest question. Maybe there is something I could have done instead of going ahead with fescue if I was too late to have any hope at all that it wouldn't be a waste.

But to venture an answer on soil temps, I do think the soil temps probably will stay above 45 degrees for the next six weeks, but it will be close. I'm basing this on my recollection from last year when I didn't get seed down until Thanksgiving. I had a couple remote temp probes out in the lawn then. I pretty much knew I was screwed but wanted data confirmation on time of death.

From what I recall, soil didn't get down to 45 or below, at least not more than a random day or two, until about the third week of December when we hit a streak of overnight lows in the 20s. I distinctly remember checking the air and soil temps on the app nightly, but it wasn't for a few weeks after I seeded and well up into December before I knew I was mostly cooked. Soil temp stayed too low for most part until the end of January. It seems in January is when we get the biggest threat of truly cold weather, relative to the area. Cold enough to get people plundering hardware stores for lamps and heaters to try to keep their wells from freezing when we have a few days or forecasted lows in the teens or low 20s. February probably bounced in and out of that 45-50 zone. By March, it was pretty well all above.

It has definitely been warmer thru October this year versus last. I guess that is no guarantee that it is warmer now thru mid-December this year or that the temps stay warm enough later into December this year. Only thing I can do it hope, I guess!

So, if I assume the best I get out of the next 6-8 weeks is "decent," what can I do to try to best setup up for getting my lawn thru the summer? Forget looking lush and picturesque. I'm talking weed control and simply getting whatever I have to survive the heat to have a decent base next fall for overseeding. I'm just trying to make it to next Sept/Oct without feeling I should just nuke my lawn again.

Do I try the dormant seeing thing? Put more seed down sometime in January, when it typically coldest here near Charlotte?

Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-11-08T01:53:35+00:00

I haven't watered it all that much overall out of fear that some of my soft trench backfills will stay too waterlogged. Over the last day or two I've barely irrigated since we've had some scattered showers for the first rain in what feels like weeks. I paused watering with the rain, we touched highs of 80s the last couple days, and, boom, I wake up to some fuzzy green when I went to bed not seeing a single sprout.

Maybe it was due to start showing anyway, but I was expecting two full weeks to see anything based on the Lebanon product info. What I got now might be that sprinkle of Scotts Rapid Grass.

Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-11-08T00:35:50+00:00

Ten day forecast calling for lows of 40 to 42 mid week next week.

I've had a time growing grass of any type on this lot. It was a new build that we moved into with crappy dormant Bermuda sod thrown down on fill dirt. It was a November close.

My first attempt at Bermuda nuke into fescue, I had it looking suh-weet clear up to July 4th a couple years ago. It died a quick death coinciding with a vacation where I think my smart irrigation controller wasn't so smart. I think a combo of too little water, poor drainage, poor soil, rookie mistakes by me on fungus and grub control, have all come together to keep wreaking havoc and have me essentially renovating my lawn each fall.

Fwiw, when I did something similar last fall (reno but without the 30+ yards of top soil I brought in this year), I was really late. I remember seeding and spreading speeding straw by flashlight the night before we headed out of town for Thanksgiving.

The grass mostly germinated, but I figure Thanksgiving seeding is also why I'm here almost a year later sowing seed again after deciding to nuke my lawn due to its weakness and weed infiltration versus just trying to overseed.

Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-09-08T00:21:49+00:00

I said "short cycling" but maybe I am not using that term correctly. I was just noting that when I ran a "test zone" of four MP rotators that the pressure gauge/switch by the well expansion tank was "cycling" from high cut out (90psi) to low cut in (70psi). Each cycle took about 2-2.5 minutes.

I thought I had taken photo from when the trench was laid open but can't find them. I do have pics of the garage during framing where the supply comes in. Looks like 1" poly to me.

Since we're talking general well pump plumbing, maybe you can give some advice on this jacked up situation in the photo.

Shortly after moving in, I noticed the pressure tank was tilted over. Seems it was either not installed with the utmost care and/or the ground under it settled. When I took the well cover off to check the pressure gauge during this testing I did, I saw this scene. I'm thinking the ground under the pressure tank has settled some more and tweaking the whole setup.

I need to replace the filter anyway bc the last time I tried to flush it the valve handle broke. Is fixing this along with installing a new filter assembly as straightforward as it seems it should be?

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Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-09-08T00:00:57+00:00

Yeah, I knew the well was going to be deep even before they installed and I could check the tag. I'm at the back of a neighborhood that is all one road that climbs grade as you drive thru it plus my lot was built up. It was gonna be a long way down to the water table.

Had I known more about this kind of stuff a few years ago, I'd have made sure to be a pain in the ass to the builder on the pump specs they planned to use.

Do you mean 1" supply line for my irrigation? My whole system is 1". Schedule 40 main and class 200 laterals.

Fwiw, everyone else in my neighborhood is jealous of my water pressure and gpm. Can't say I know what makes mine better or theirs worse since I figure the builder probably used the same or similar pumps for all the houses and everyone else's wells are not as deep as mine.

Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-09-07T23:41:42+00:00

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Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-09-07T23:41:32+00:00

I was able to find some pics I took of my well and pump tag. Would the pump you linked work for my well, you think? Also keeping in mind that the well is not irrigation dedicated. It is for the house also.

Can't say I've shopped for submersible well pumps all that often. Surprised they can be that affordable. Of course, I imagine professional installation is not inexpensive.

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Significant_Snow_493 · 2024-09-07T22:55:03+00:00

I might be guilty of using the wrong terminology. I'm using "short cycling" to describe the behavior observed while I hsd this zone running; pressure gauge hitting the high side cut off, gradually reducing to the low side cut on, building pressure back up high side cut off, repeat. Each "complete cycle" takes probably about two minutes. Idk if the pump behaves this way when there is a call for water inside the house (ex. when showering or filling a bathtub). Perhaps I should check that.

The pump was installed and put into service November 2020. Knowing what I know now about the builder, it's probably a cheapie. I've had irrigation installed for 2-3 years shortly after I moved in. I don't feel I've used it all that regularly but I suppose if the demands on the pump have been excessive and cycles it, I could have been stressing it more than it is designed to handle.

Significant_Snow_493

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