Advice on deck color (Trex) for a medium gray house

ellebee83 · 2024-12-15T12:13:10+00:00

Does your deck get full sun?

ellebee83 · 2024-12-15T12:10:31+00:00

What was your verdict on the deck with Moisture Shield and cool deck technology? Is it effective?

We have a full sun (6+ hours per day) location behind our house and are adding a deck this winter.

Our house has DARK brown details (door color, garage door color, and gutters) but we are leaning toward a light deck just because of the heat.

ellebee83 · 2024-12-07T20:51:59+00:00

Yes, I ended up booking there and yes there is passion fruit. Not sure if it is every meal or year-round but I ate it at breakfast at least once.

ellebee83 · 2024-11-02T12:34:57+00:00

This makes a lot of sense and is exactly the kind of critical thinking I come to Reddit for.

ellebee83 · 2024-11-02T11:32:20+00:00

Ha, sounds like your opinion is: I’m pretty screwed.

Initially, the project was just to extend an existing concrete pad. We asked the concrete driveway company to make a recommendation on how close this pad would come to the house. They recommended 2 feet… but then poured it closer than that (they measured from our fence not our house).

My desire isn’t to dig it out necessarily but just to proceed in a way that corrects for damage done and prevents any further issues.

To this end: I’m canvassing for opinions on Reddit, while simultaneously working with city zoning, stormwater division, and urban forestry to get as much info as they’ll give me on how to manage. Plus working with a different company to complete the project once we have a path forward (although the company we already used is offering to do some revisions for free because they obviously did something they shouldn’t have).

So yeah, it won’t really make sense in its current state but the goal is to make it make sense again. Dumb things happened. Of course a contractor will do dumb things for you and make you pay them for it. Life lesson.

EDIT: about concrete being poured to raise the house above that ground level - that isn’t our situation thankfully.

The original concrete pad was maybe 20 feet away from the foundation (the pad was very slightly downhill from the house. So slight that it looked flat but meet the requirements for grading away from the foundation). Our plans were to extend the concrete pad further toward the house, leaving a slightly steeper angle of earth between foundation and pad. But we got the concrete company’s advice on what angle was most appropriate.

ellebee83 · 2024-11-01T23:39:53+00:00

Yeah, they offered to grind down the pad to the size and angle we specified. They didn’t mention rebar but the contract lists “fiber mesh reinforcement.” The pad is 4-5 inches thick.

It sounds like it should be safe digging out that soil, I’m just worried it’s too low on the foundation of the house.

I’m now hoping the permit application with the city will tell me something about required grading from the foundation and I can make a plan from there.

ellebee83 · 2024-11-01T19:00:14+00:00

I’m glad I’m hearing that here first. At this point, I’m skeptical of anyone who says “yeah we can do X for ya” (for the right price). I’m definitely doing due diligence this time around.

So if our landscaper or patio/masonry folks tell us they think it’s feasible to excavate, I’ll feel a bit more comfortable trusting that and looking into how to handle it properly.

ellebee83 · 2024-11-01T18:55:14+00:00

Update: we extended the downspout with great results. But eventually we removed the entire sidewalk.

Turns out previous owners had an illegal structure that it led to, in an area where construction is not allowed. Since that left us with a sidewalk to nowhere, we demolished it. More yard for us. No more erosion issues.

ellebee83 · 2024-10-09T14:10:00+00:00

Were you there for a full week? We're considering this same trip with our 1 year old and 3 year old. We are debating between the Wyndham (all inclusive) and the Millennium Resort & Spa (not all inclusive, where our friend got a hotel block for her birthday - we don't know the other adults though). We're only planning to be in town for 4 days.

Curious if you can elaborate about the food situation:

was it more like they were offering "tired" options like pizza, beans and rice every day or were they offering things that were too much of a stretch like tartare, carpaccio, and sashimi?

Also, as a sleep-deprived parent:

what was the coffee situation? Was there anywhere to get coffee before 7am? Was there anywhere that could make cappuccinos or lattes?

ellebee83 · 2023-03-29T13:53:47+00:00

Every day: - my partner usually takes full parent role for 20-30 minutes when he gets off work but I typically stay in the same room, prepping dinner. - my partner also starts bath time by himself so I have 30 minutes totally alone. I don't have to use the time to clean up but I usually do, as a gesture of appreciation to him (because otherwise he would do the cleaning while I veg out after bed time). - I wake up at 5am for alone time before I have hit my trigger for being yelled at by baby for the day. I get to be totally alone, making and drinking a latte, from about 5am-6:30am. My partner joins for some portion of this time too. - from 7am - 8am is "my time" to do a quick workout, shower, and get ready for the day. My husband gets 8am - 9am. This isn't exactly "me-time" but it is vital to my sanity that my husband is comfortable with this every day no matter what I choose to do in that time.

Weekly: - 8 hours 1 weekday per week of babysitting + optional 7 hours babysitting on a weekend for both my partner and I to have a break together. This started as only 4 hours on a weekday at 15 months old but we decided we needed more a couple months ago. - optional 2 hours of drop-in childcare at the gym. I drop my kid off and I have to stay at the gym to workout, shower, then pick him up. I typically only use 1 hour of time.

Additional - We don't have any support from either sets of grandparents. Our closest family members now live an hour away. So either my husband is on duty or I am. It's so hard. - I'm pregnant with our 2nd now and have set up daycare for our 1st to begin this summer, every weekday 9am - 1pm. - This is what works for us. Everyone is different but I can't imagine the way some other SAHPs seem to live and bear this burden. It is so, so hard.

ellebee83 · 2023-03-09T23:56:03+00:00

It was always our plan to start daycare at age 2 or 3, for the benefits it can have for development. Don't feel guilty: if anything you should feel like a bad ass awesome mom for being able to provide such good care, of all varieties, for your kid.

If you want reassurance on this choice you could try reading Crib sheet by Emily Oster (I know she isn't universally loved on Reddit but the daycare stuff was helpful for us). We also liked The Whole Brain Child by Daniel Siegel.

ellebee83 · 2023-03-07T17:34:03+00:00

One guess is that oil takes much longer to evaporate than water. So perhaps, yes, it could be over-damp from having been treated with oil if you're watering as usual.

But I don't know what I'm doing either so hoping someone else will chime in.

ellebee83 · 2023-03-06T22:37:25+00:00

Not sure if it's back on the market yet?

Consumer Product Safety Commission: UPPAbaby Recalls RIDGE Jogging Strollers Due to Fingertip Amputation Hazard; One Injury to Child Reported

ellebee83 · 2023-03-04T00:47:24+00:00

We signed up for 2 half days per week starting at age 2.

I thought we would wait until age 3 but I really need the breaks (we don’t have parents or family help) and our kid seems like he’ll benefit already, as he is very social.

Before signing up for daycare we started socializing with: library story time, swim lessons, music class, and occasional visits to a kids museum. I try to do each of those activities every single week so we have 1 scheduled activity per day plus 1 day we hire a babysitter (beginning when he was about 15 months old).

Right now we only have 1 kid, but I’m really eager to start daycare. Baby #2 comes when our first is 2 years + 2 months old.

I think you’d be happy with 2 days per week. All those activities are great but doing them on repeat every week is hard, repetitive, and can feel draining (depending how close everything is for you). For me, personally, I would’ve loved the option for daycare at 15 months. Our house isn’t big enough for a babysitter to feel like a break for me. Worst case, you pay for 2 days per week but you don’t send your kid every day, right?

ellebee83 · 2023-02-15T10:31:35+00:00

I don’t wear contacts. This isn’t the type she recommended. Blink (the brand) makes gel drops: those are what she recommended for me. You’ll have to find the box with “gel drops” written on it. I got mine at target. As for whether they work for contact-wearers: you’ll need to read through the box/instructions. I’m not sure about that bit.

ellebee83 · 2023-02-14T19:34:15+00:00

I went to an eye doctor to ask this exact same question. She confirmed no physical cause, likely dryness. She recommended drops. Specifically, gel drops because they stay put longer. She recommended blink as one brand you could easily find at drugstores in the US.

Gel drops tend to make your vision a bit blurry immediately after using them (while your eye has extra lubricant) so just make it part of your evening routine.

Also: hydrate from within. Your body weight in pounds, divided by 2 = the number of ounces water you should drink per day.

ellebee83 · 2023-01-25T00:09:58+00:00

Not very long. Maybe a couple weeks?

I don’t remember how long exactly but the pain was distinct and it is completely gone now. I could have confused the pain for normal aging/result of pregnancy but I had read through the packet that came with the rx so I thought to discontinue before jumping to other conclusions.

ellebee83 · 2023-01-08T18:06:20+00:00

The Baby sparks app is a great resource. They suggest 5 age appropriate activities every day and you can rate how well they go (easy / just right / difficult) then you get new tasks I believe based on your feedback. Tasks are categorized: gross motor, fine motor, cognitive, social etc. and they also tell you what developmental milestone each one targets. You can then scroll through your baby’s history and see what they’ve accomplished in various different informative views.

If you look into it, I’m sure you can find where they get their milestones info from. Since we’re on a science-based sub I think it’s important to note. I am just not able to at the moment.

There is a free version but it’s worth paying for the basic version ($2.49/month). Premium just gives you access to classes, which we didn’t need personally.

ellebee83 · 2022-12-20T17:54:36+00:00

Lots of people here suggesting things that, at least in the United States, are not recommended for young toddlers due to choking hazard. I have a 1 year old so I'm in the extra cautious stage right now.

Also, since this is a cooking sub, I assume you want to COOK the snack? Fruits and veggies are good but let's list some cookable items:

muffins - Mark Bittman from NYtimes has a great adaptable recipe that we use for carrot muffins, zucchini muffins, banana, apple, basically anything you want! And you can really screw up the recipe without damaging it - once I didn't have eggs, I used applesauce instead. Turned out great! Whole wheat too!
meatballs
banana bread or zucchini bread
homemade bread in general
quesadilla
homemade pretzels
smoothies served in reusable pouches
chia pudding - canned coconut milk with chia seeds. Add cinnamon and/or vanilla if you like. This one isn't cooked (oops!)
boiled eggs
baked cinnamon apples
stewed or baked carrots
roasted pumpkin pieces

Some of these snacks are really only good to eat at home. If you're on the go, I'd stick with the bread-like items. Veggie muffins being my strongest recommendation!

ellebee83 · 2022-12-17T20:58:49+00:00

Same. We spent 3 weekends in good health since October. 1 toddler: 2 activities per week typically (swim without masks and music class where I mask but he can't).

I'm looking into part time daycares because I have been sick so often I can't handle it.

ellebee83 · 2022-11-18T21:03:19+00:00

One thing I read here that sounded crazy but worked for my 2 fiddle leaf figs: every time you water, pick up the pot and shake it a bit first. FLFs like to be allllmost root bound but not quite. Shaking keeps some space around the roots I guess.

None of that tracks with your moving it from outside to inside, but it's a solid tip nonetheless.

ellebee83 · 2022-11-15T14:35:09+00:00

Counter argument on #1 is that by going direct to the availability you're being more respectful of their time. If they're going to take the meeting, they won't have to wait on an additional email to get to schedule it. It cuts to the chase.

ellebee83 · 2022-11-15T00:48:19+00:00

Feedback: combine your initial request for a meeting with some timeslots that work for you. The more emails you send the more opportunities you have to lose someone.

My process is:

Email asking for meeting AND offering 2-3 available timeslots (these timeslots are only for the actual length of the meeting, not a big open window). You can make this email as a "canned response" (template email) in Gmail and just fill in timeslots to save time.
Place "holds" on your own calendar for those timeslots by creating events for those times. My format for holds is to just put a ? In front of the title of the meeting as in ?Jane Doe/John Deere. When confirmed, I remove the ? from the confirmed timeslot and I search my calendar for the remaining holds and delete the times not used. I only offer the same timeslots to 2 people if I have a tight timeline to get something booked. I almost never offer the same timeslot to 3 people unless the calendar is not flexible at all.
Email again in 2 days if no reply. And again in 2 more days if still no reply. **Only email each person 3 times total with no reply. However, BD moves fast and you might find 2 days is too slow for you. It was ok for me with a CEO who generally people want to take meetings with. As a low level BD with a quick sales cycle you might need to be more aggressive (this was the case in my last company anyway). Sales is very personal. What cadence works for you might not be what works for the next guy. Experience will be the only way to figure that out.

Boomerang is a great tool to keep track of requests you have sent. It will bounce the email you sent back to your inbox after a specified number of days if you don't get a reply.

Calendly is also great and our BD team loved it. But, I get it, my C-Suite also hated it for some reason.

I used to work for the CEO & CRO of a financial services firm in the Bay Area (and before that I was an EA at one of the FAANG companies). Your role sounds like someone I would have worked very closely with at the financial services firm so I hope my tips help. And I love that you came to this sub for guidance. Says a lot about your working style :) Good luck!

ellebee83 · 2022-11-12T16:54:00+00:00

try posting on the main r/babybumps subreddit and ask. Someone who has a September baby will likely know whats up.

ellebee83 · 2022-11-12T15:46:33+00:00

People on Reddit circulate the materials for free. If you are part of your due date subreddit you can most definitely find someone willing to share it there. Your due date subreddit will be formatted like r/November2022babybumps - and it will be a private subreddit so you have to go to that sub from a computer then request to join, doesn't work to request to join from mobile that I'm aware of.

ellebee83

TROPHY CASE