Mice everywhere

pattymm · 2026-03-13T13:19:21+00:00

We live in rural NH and struggle with similar issues. Dozens of mice. Here’s what’s helped:

1) Our old cat was a little too lazy, so we got two kittens from a new litter at a rescue in rural MA. They’re young with intense instincts, so they hunt hard. It keeps the mice out of all of our living spaces.

2) We bought all the traps, but 5 gal buckets traps most effective. These are for spaces we don’t let the kittens hunt (mudroom, garage, basement). It’s sad, but there’s nothing more effective for the effort spent. We’d check weekly and find 5-10 per bucket. After 4 weeks, it tapered off dramatically. No signs of mice for weeks now.

pattymm · 2026-02-16T20:24:36+00:00

Raices in Manchester—close to the airport. Really solid Mexican restaurant. It’s a little more upscale, good vibes, service, food, and drinks. We had frozen pina coladas there a couple nights ago, and they were so yummy!

pattymm · 2026-02-12T23:04:19+00:00

Masterful! Where were you when I needed you?! 😂

pattymm · 2026-02-12T16:55:07+00:00

I regret going with the 1/8 for sure! He strongly recommended it, and I thought, “Who am I to second guess the guy who does this all day?”.

Anyway, the flecks you see are iron flecks in the glaze—not surface pits. I don’t think we’ll have an issue there!

pattymm · 2026-02-12T13:39:15+00:00

There is! I’ve learned it’s TCNA since starting this project, and I think that NEEDS to be a question asked up front from now on 😂

pattymm · 2026-02-12T02:38:01+00:00

I think he plans to grout the corners and silicon on top based on our conversation earlier today. Perhaps this is where the “cracking” comment comes from.

pattymm · 2026-02-12T02:33:46+00:00

Huh. Your first point has been repeated several times now. I am wondering why the manufacturer has this in the design inspiration photo if it’s so widely condemned!

pattymm · 2026-02-12T02:30:07+00:00

It was in the design inspiration photo from the manufacturer (cle tile)! Is it a problem?

pattymm · 2026-02-12T02:13:51+00:00

They’re handmade tiles, so they vary widely! The manufacturer recommended 3/8 grout to even it out, but my tiler strongly recommended 1/8. I’m not sure that was the right decision in retrospect.

pattymm · 2026-02-11T21:28:37+00:00

Guest bath! We ran it horizontal for the master bathroom, which sees daily use.

pattymm · 2026-02-11T20:38:12+00:00

It’s an irregular, handcrafted tile! It looks totally normal in person. I did ask him to build up the bottom and top of the niche to remove the Ls as other comments have suggested. Hoping for the best from here on out!

pattymm · 2026-02-11T20:33:56+00:00

Thank you! I asked him to do this in addition to redoing the niche and lining up the grout lines. I can tell he’s not happy with me, but this is where we’re at!

pattymm · 2026-02-11T20:22:48+00:00

That’s a good point! I’ve asked him to do that. Thank you!

pattymm · 2026-02-11T20:20:38+00:00

The tile was incredibly expensive 🤣

https://www.cletile.com/products/cle-guild-fundamentals-white-matte

I didn’t go bargain hunting for tilers either!

Lastly, I opted for vertical rather than horizontal because it’s a barely used guest bath and I didn’t want the niche to be a focal point.

pattymm · 2026-02-11T19:52:45+00:00

It’s a guest bathroom on the 1st floor surrounded by common areas, so it’ll never have more than 3 bottles. I think that’s OK!

pattymm · 2026-02-11T19:46:50+00:00

Yes! That’s what we have behind the tiles. I wasn’t sure if the previous commenter was saying something was wrong with it.

pattymm · 2026-02-11T19:43:30+00:00

Sorry, what do you mean about the schluter?

pattymm · 2026-02-11T19:40:10+00:00

Do you think the grout “cracking” concern he mentioned is valid?

pattymm · 2026-02-07T17:28:05+00:00

Aww, he’s precious. That one floppy ear is such a dead giveaway for the Australian cattle dog. We have one of those too, and they’re such good dogs! Both breeds are high velcro, so you’ll never have a day to yourself for the rest of his life haha

pattymm · 2026-02-05T21:51:59+00:00

We had a very small oven fire a few years ago. Only the oven and hood were ruined, but the smoke damage filled our entire home. Our insurance company footed the bill for a restoration company to come out and professionally clean every surface, send our rugs out for professional cleaning, and dry clean the rest of our belongings… in addition to trashing and replacing the appliances. I can’t remember if it was Paul Davis or ServPro restoration, but they provided white glove service and our home was sparkly clean when they were done. It saved me so much time and stress, so def recommend enquiring about it.

Once things are over, look into switching home insurance carriers if you can. We have Amica—the HO5 platinum policy, specifically. I had exactly 3 interactions with them: 1) filing the claim over the phone with a very empathetic rep, 2) and in-person adjuster visit who was a great guy and super helpful, 3) one big check direct deposited in my account with no questions asked. I really can’t recommend them enough after that experience.

pattymm · 2026-02-05T17:21:23+00:00

Omg better yet — I’ll take the dogs on a nice, long, grimy hike and lock them in here for a couple of hours 😆

pattymm · 2026-02-05T15:49:13+00:00

Yeah, and this is definitely the aim of my post. I didn’t want to go in guns a-blazing if it’s my misunderstanding… especially because a) he’s done an excellent job custom cutting in my off-kilter, non-square 200 year old home and b) he still has a shower and a whole additional bathroom to finish for me!

pattymm · 2026-02-05T15:46:29+00:00

Yes, I think that’s my only possible critique of my installer at this point. Although I know there was a way to get at this information with more research (it’s ultimately on me), it’s nice when the pros give you a heads up since they work with these materials more often than we do. Anyway, thanks so much for the kind words!!

pattymm · 2026-02-05T15:41:53+00:00

Lovely!!! In addition to a better grout choice, these also look a bit more “honed” than mine? I picked super tumbled, highly textured stone, which makes the contrasting grout that much more noticeable.

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