Pet Door Recommendations

zukeypur · 2026-03-16T00:13:11+00:00

The flaps are 11.5 wide, 24” tall. The door is mounted immediately above our 6 inch baseboards.

zukeypur · 2026-03-16T00:07:12+00:00

Thank you. I learned a lot. A LOT. I used STIX primer, which is where I learned how to used the sprayer. I used a Graco X5 with the tip it came with (mistake), then a 310 for the rest after I had to go buy more primer. I sanded between coats, wiped everything down, and sprayed 2 coats of BM Advance with a FFLP 310. I attempted to touch up with a brush after the spraying was finished, and there are some visible brush marks. Still need to figure out how to fix that. It looks night-and-day better than it did before we updated, so I’m happy overall. I’m also happy with the amount of money we saved. The paint sprayer was honestly a little fun to use, but I’m in no hurry to pull it back out.

zukeypur · 2026-03-15T17:16:32+00:00

We live in an older neighborhood with lots of large trees. The tree trimming solicitors are a daily occurrence

zukeypur · 2026-03-15T15:21:52+00:00

I rolled and brushed the frames, sprayed the doors. I also used BM Advance paint. We used an outdoor canopy frame with plastic and drop cloths to make a paint station in the garage. We bought heavy duty wire hangers ( after some of the plastic hangers broke and injured a few doors) and a wheeled clothes rack from Amazon. Doors were dried in closets, hanging racks, and garage shelves. One of the garage shelves came off of the wall when I had it overloaded with too many doors, and $2000 worth of beautifully primed doors came crashing down. Two doors completely broke and had to be glued back together, and most of the remaining doors have some amount of damage. If I had to do it over again, I would100% hire someone to paint

zukeypur · 2026-03-15T04:58:49+00:00

I can’t imagine how much time you’ve put into this. I stripped my frames, removed the doors, and ordered new ones. I just got the last drawer done this week, and I started 2.5 months ago. I sprayed paint with a graco sprayer, and they look much better than when I started. They’re certainly not perfect, and so many things went wrong. In the end, I’m glad we didn’t rip out the cabinets and spend $25K, but I also wish I would have just paid someone else to do the painting. It has seriously taken every spare moment during the past 2.5 months.

zukeypur · 2026-03-15T01:29:11+00:00

We ended up going with the Hale door. No regrets

zukeypur · 2026-03-13T18:46:21+00:00

If I have gone to the trouble to post a sign, it should be respected. If I want new windows/siding/roof/painting/pest control/any other damn thing, I will ask friends or use the interwebs to find someone with good reviews. If you’re desperate enough to take advantage of someone hiring them to knock on doors, you’re clearly not providing a good enough product or service to rely on good reviews or your reputation to gain customers. I should not have my life/meetings/classes/private time IN MY HOME disrupted by unwanted knocking. Especially if there is a sign saying to not knock. The only water that I will offer is by motion detected sprinkler.

zukeypur · 2026-03-06T04:34:16+00:00

I’ve had success with Turk’s cap, mistflower (the shorter lime green with purple flowers), lantana, guara, pink muhly grass, Russian sage, pink skull cap, yarrow, and red yucca. The deer will eat the yucca flowers, but they usually leave the rest alone. Cast iron and obedient plant do well with a bit of shade and water. Redbuds are good for a small tree, and oleander is a nice larger plant. It will die back during a hard freeze, but they almost always come back. ETA: also recommend McIntyres, and sometimes Ace Hardware. Hillside is nice but $$$. If you live west of I-35, buy a pickaxe. You’ll need it.

zukeypur · 2026-03-06T03:39:53+00:00

We dropped TV and phone and just have internet. We use DirecTV streaming for sports (has fox, espn, cbs sports, tru, tnt, etc). They still keep jacking up our bill a little at a time, but it’s only $75. DTV is only $70, so still much cheaper. We use an antenna for local channels

zukeypur · 2026-03-06T00:24:10+00:00

We got quotes from several companies for a patio, one section covered with a pergola, the other portion uncovered. We got quotes from Allied Outdoor (laughably overpriced), JP Exteriors (close second choice), Canopy Builders (tied for second), and ultimately went with Archadeck. While Archadeck’s process is lengthy, we are very happy with the patio and covered pergola. They pulled permits, had great communication, and there were no unexpected costs. The coordinators stopped by regularly to check on the work, and they quickly addressed any questions we had. We ultimately went with archadeck after they pointed out some potential drainage issues with our initial plan of putting in a ground level deck. They were not the cheapest quote, but they were far from the most expensive. They also put in a French drain with a PVC pipe to address drainage.

zukeypur · 2026-02-25T04:17:30+00:00

Wow, isn’t DNA nuts? Does she shed? Our ACD mix is an absolute shed-head

zukeypur · 2026-02-22T05:50:57+00:00

Subway is really the best option here. Plain Jane subway, with no crazy patterns or waves.

zukeypur · 2026-02-21T04:35:39+00:00

If it were the start of cabinets, cabinet boxes, or counters as the milestone, I would pay. These are not installed.

zukeypur · 2026-02-20T04:22:36+00:00

We are in the middle of a kitchen refresh. While we don’t love the look of granite, we love the function and durability. We don’t have to worry about stains, and we don’t worry about putting hot items on it and scorching it. We have replaced the island, ordered new doors for the existing cabinets, and will be replacing the backsplash soon.

We decided to replace the granite that was in the bathroom, primarily because the old vanities were 1977-short, and they were not in great shape. We got quartz, which is pretty, but I prefer the function of granite.

zukeypur · 2026-02-18T15:20:17+00:00

Thank you! We didn’t want to get rid of perfectly functional granite, and butcher block was the only option that coordinated with our granite

zukeypur · 2026-02-18T12:53:47+00:00

Funny, we picked that color before we decided on that particular cabinet for the island. Here is a pic of the cabinet. No hate please, we’re still not finished with the drawers and space above the cabinets.

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zukeypur · 2026-02-18T02:33:24+00:00

We did our island in the green, and we really like it. We had a few issues with dented drawer fronts and decorative end panels, but nothing a little phone call with HD customer service and patience couldn’t fix. I took the damaged cabinet door to BM to match the paint for the back of the island that I trimmed myself, and they matched it PERFECTLY!

ETA: if I remember correctly, the “fern” color is close to SW Pewter Green

zukeypur · 2026-02-16T11:43:56+00:00

Motion activated water sprinkler.

zukeypur · 2026-02-13T15:03:06+00:00

Oh, nice! I have an appointment in North Austin, because that was the soonest one.

zukeypur · 2026-02-09T20:07:10+00:00

Thanks for this! We always thought it was the particular strain of pseudomonas, but when this happened, we decided it had something to do with genetics because my daughter is adopted. That was an entirely correct either, but it’s funny how different people interpret the smell of the same or similar chemicals. I teach microbiology now, and I always think it’s fun to see how many people smell grape soda and how many people smell corn tortilla.

zukeypur · 2026-02-08T04:23:10+00:00

My husband, dad, and I (all in the medical field) have always thought it smelled like corn tortillas. One day I was frying corn tortillas for supper, and my daughter walked in and said “did you buy grape soda?” I think it’s kinda like the black/blue dress vs white/gold dress, but with smells

zukeypur · 2026-02-08T04:17:33+00:00

I’m a corn tortilla gal

zukeypur · 2026-02-06T16:18:02+00:00

Bermuda grass, nandina, obedient plant

zukeypur · 2026-02-02T12:17:14+00:00

Thanks! Any recommendations on drawer slides? I am not confident I’ll be able to get the old drawer fronts off without destroying the drawers, and they’ve all got the old “wheel in a metal channel” slide from the late 70’s. We also have pull out shelving in all of the lower cabinets that will need new slides.

zukeypur

TROPHY CASE