DIYbanter - View Single Post

Don Y[_3_]

On 2/18/2016 2:04 PM, wrote:
It must have popped his cork to see other homes in the area getting
painted bright yellow, teal, purple, "metallic chocolate", etc.]

That was the appeal of the wood or fitted stone approach -- something
not quite as monotonous as the dreary stucco (that covers most of the
house, already).

We have stucco over block for most of our houses, just because of the
wind code. You have to put so much steel in a stick built home, block
is cheaper.

Hurricanes?

My "village" has pretty much decreed that baby poop beige is the
standard here but my neighbors have all sorts of different colors on
their house.

Many HOA's, here, are mandatory and impose covenants on residents.
Some of those make sense (keep up appearance, etc.). Others are
just overzealous attempts at control.

The first guy to break from the earth tones is a Mexican guy who went
with school bus yellow and once people understood that there are other
colors in the box, we see blues, greens and soft purples.
(sorry if I am not real good on the real colors, my crayon box only
had 7)

Here, most of the "non beige" homes are the most attractive. I.e.,
the owners were actually thoughtful about the appearance and it
is reflected not just by the house color but lawn adornments,
upkeep, etc. The beige/brown homes are more likely to look like
they are in need of some attention!

I suggest you find a good stone yard around there and walk around. If
you are like us and like stone, it can be addicting tho. We are in a
state with pretty much no natively occurring rock and our house looks
like a Rocky Mountain CCC project. It is all stone and wood.

I'm just trying to see what options are available *before* putting
myself under the salesman's "spin operation". Always (IME) better to
have contrary arguments ready at hand to see how well (if at all) he
handles them.

I kicked rocks around at my stone yard for months before I bought the
first batch. Those guys are pretty easy to get along with, at least
here. They will usually give you a handful to take home and play with.
They are only about a quarter a pound so you really can't carry away
any significant amount, money wise.

We put in a decorative walk many years ago so went through the
experience. And, of course, selecting the "aggregate" for the
front and back yards.

But, walking on stone is different than selecting stone
PURELY for its decorative appeal (e.g., on a wall)

We did zero in on the quartzite pretty fast once we got serious about
it, then it was just the color (silver or gold).
This stuff in flagging seems to be the perfect pool deck. It has
enough texture to be safe when wet but still easy on your feet and it
is totally maintenance free. We hose it off now and then but that is
about it.

Pools here tend to have some form of cement (?) decking -- with drains
interspersed (to keep water from accumulating on top -- perhaps it just
drains to the soil beneath?).

We wanted a yard (less maintenance?) but have considered an "infinite
pool" (a spa seems to be a total waste of space -- giant bathtub?)

But, then we're back to yet another maintenance issue...

It is a little labor intensive laying them but the time consuming part
is doing the puzzle. We always end up playing with rocks for days
deciding which one goes where. It is sort of fun tho.

Are they somewhat standardized shapes -- i.e., to limit the number of
possibilities that you'd have to address?

E.g., if they were just random/natural stones (size/shape), you could
see yourself getting into a situation where you needed a 3" stone
but only had 4's and 2's (silly example). OTOH, if they are all
4, 8 and 12 inches, then you really can't create a "void" that
also isn't 4, 8 or 12 inches! (ignoring, for the moment, the boundary
conditions)

Said another way, is it truly a puzzle (like a store bought puzzle!)
or more like a *chore* (just some motions that you have to go through
but you KNOW there WILL be a solution)