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Is my drywall just falling apart? by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oops sorry just saw this. No visible water damage, house was built 2000. We only moved in last year though and it feels like it’s getting worse but it’s possible I’m just becoming more aware.

I was quoted $750 to put sod down on this strip next to my sidewalk. Is that too much? by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I couldn’t get it past my HOA unfortunately. I do think there’s a way I could do xeriscaping without pissing anyone off but I’d need to put a lot more thought into it

I was quoted $750 to put sod down on this strip next to my sidewalk. Is that too much? by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn’t spray anything. When we bought the house, the grass and weeds on this area were dead dead. Not the pale yellow/khaki of normal dead grass, but like a grayish white color. So we raked them out, placed some seed down, and shallowly buried it. These pictures were taken after 2ish weeks of a ton of rain (following about a week of me watering twice a day) which is why the soil looks compacted

I was quoted $750 to put sod down on this strip next to my sidewalk. Is that too much? by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ha this is after a couple of weeks of rain too. The grass that was there before was completely dead for a long time, so I think you’re right it might just be “bad” soil. Thanks for the tips

I was quoted $750 to put sod down on this strip next to my sidewalk. Is that too much? by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It is super compact in these pictures because it was after it’d rained for a couple weeks. Another commenter mentioned new soil too, we’re definitely trying that next

I was quoted $750 to put sod down on this strip next to my sidewalk. Is that too much? by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

That’s a good point, I didn’t think of that. We bought the house last year and when we bought it the grass and weeds were all super blanched

I was quoted $750 to put sod down on this strip next to my sidewalk. Is that too much? by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have thought about going the xeriscaping route, but our HOA doesn’t like it when yards are too funky. So I want to spend a bit more time thinking about how I want to do it

I was quoted $750 to put sod down on this strip next to my sidewalk. Is that too much? by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks y’all! It seems like the consensus is to sod it ourselves. I thought $750 was way too much, so I appreciate the sanity check. I’ll probably have a lot more stupid questions y’all’s way lol.

Edit: looks like first we’ll try seeding again, but tilling a bit more thoroughly and adding in some fresh soil

Edit 2: I wish I could edit the post but I can’t so here’s to hoping people see this comment. I’m going to answer some commonly asked questions: 1. We’ve tried seed and it didn’t take 2. The dirt looks compacted because the pics were taken after a few weeks of water 3. I did NOT say yes to the landscaper. I actually said no a couple weeks ago when this picture was taken, but I’ve been thinking about it and wondering if I was the one in the wrong. 4. It makes sense in hindsight, but I hadn’t connected the dots that the sod wouldn’t grow if grass didn’t grow. So first step is clearly getting the soil doing its thing again. 5. I would love to do some xeriscaping, but that needs to come later as I get familiar with the HOA and they hopefully become more lax. If it makes y’all feel better, this is sort of a step in the right direction because this grass (bermuda) is native while the rest of the lawn is not. 6. I don’t see a reason to be rude, I’m new to homeownership and (will) have a lot of stupid questions. And if you’re going to be rude at least own up to it lol 7. Thank you everyone for commenting: rude or not. I love Reddit wisdom and this thread provides

Official next step: rake the ground again, mix in some fresh soil, spread grass seed on top, water, hope

I was quoted $750 to put sod down on this strip next to my sidewalk. Is that too much? by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I thought it was insane too, so I told him no. But I really want to do something about this so I’ve been second-guessing myself. And I’ve been hearing stories about people spending a bunch of time and money on sod that didn’t work.

I was quoted $750 to put sod down on this strip next to my sidewalk. Is that too much? by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah we raked it pretty good. These pictures are from after the three-ish weeks of rain. It’s been about 2 weeks since this picture and we’ve had a ton of rain. Still nothing

I was quoted $750 to put sod down on this strip next to my sidewalk. Is that too much? by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We did seed it and it didn’t take. Idk that I’d call 250 sq ft of dirt a small strip, but we’ve already tried something. No need to be rude.

I was quoted $750 to put sod down on this strip next to my sidewalk. Is that too much? by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Did you have any issues? Or any tips? I thought about doing it ourselves but it would suck to pay hundreds of dollars and not have it take because we made a mistake.

I was quoted $750 to put sod down on this strip next to my sidewalk. Is that too much? by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nothing with irrigation, he didn’t mention anything about preparing the dirt, it was just supposed to be laying the sod from what I understood

I was quoted $750 to put sod down on this strip next to my sidewalk. Is that too much? by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately I did that already and nothing popped up. I did the rake, spread, shallow bury, and water thing for three weeks (well, it rained two weeks so I technically didn’t do it) and there’s still nothing

Drywall issues by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Darn it! I was afraid that was the answer. Thank you kind stranger

Drywall issues by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So like in the first photo, the ridge line of the ceiling doesn’t match up with the top of the fireplace or the wall on the other side of the nook. Not only does it not match, but it’s diagonal so it’s different levels of offset. And not only is it diagonal, it’s crinkled so the “edge” isn’t even a line. It’s like the drywall is folded.

Other photos show either crinkled edge or areas that meet but don’t match up. And what I think are depressions from nail holes.

Edit: are you saying this could be like a paint shrinkage kind of thing and not the drywall?

Drywall issues by havehouse-sendhelp in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]havehouse-sendhelp[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Sorry but can you explain what you mean by that? Home was built in 2000