That flat spot

[wdfifteen]

I have a flat spot on my forehead from smacking myself over the the years. This morning I had another "WTF was I thinking?" moment. I've been trying to get someone to remove this sun room from my house so I can build a different one. Low bid so far was $800. I really don't want to throw it away because it is a nice room. This morning the solution for saving the room and saving the money came to me .
I took two pictures, put it on Craig's list. And within three hours a guy a mile down the road responded and came by and gave me $100 deposit to keep it until next weekend.
SCORE!!




I am building a bigger sun room on my house and the old one must go. It came as a kit and was designed to be a hot tub room. It is of modular construction. The 24" panels bolt together. You just need to unbolt them and reassemble them on the new site. Some of the glass is bad, but there are 13 good wall panels and 8 good triple cell Lexan roof panels - enough to make an 8x16 room. The wood is so nice I hate to tear it down and haul it to the dump, but it must be gone by May 1st. If you can take it down by then you can have it.

[Brando]

Even though there are tons of complaints of the weirdos, hippies and retards on Craigslists... there are a few worthy gems.

[wdfifteen]

I gave the guy his $100 back and he just left with the room packed up on his trailer. He and his wife took it down yesterday in about 6 hours.
The builder gave me a $1500 allowance if I took care of the demo. Low bid to PAY someone to take the room down was $800. Thanks to Craig's list I got it disappeared on schedule for free!

[azasadny]

Excellent! Recycling at its best!

[sc_rufctr]

Good outcome Patrick.

So what are you going to build in its place?

[Laneco]

Craigslist is riddled with flakes and scams but I use it all the time for the benefits such as this.

Got something to get rid of for free? Someone probably wants it! Post a couple of pics as you did and people WILL come and get it. By the way, the $100 deposit to remove it later was a great idea. If it's free, I won't do "holdsies' for anyone. You take it with you or the next guy takes it with them. Your clever deposit idea ensured either someone would come back, or at least you would have $100 for your troubles.

angela

[masraum]

You should have charged the guy $288, but you'd have probably let him have it for $2 instead.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Good outcome Patrick.

So what are you going to build in its place?

I'll keep you updated. That room was 12x21 feet across the back of the house. It blocked off a lot of windows and obscured the view. The new room will be stick built on a block foundation and will be 18x14 - 7 feet less wall space used up, but projecting into the back yard farther.
This is my back yard. By projecting the house into it and wrapping it around the new room and deck with more plantings I want to create more of a feeling of being in the garden even when you are in the house.


The pond/garden is a pleasant place to be, but hard to see from the house because of the old room.



I was going to be easier to get the ambiance I wanted with a new room than by moving a 2500 gallon pond. (not to mention the old room needed a lot of work)

[azasadny]

It will be very nice!

[herr_oberst]

Crikey! That's a nice yard! Looks like a park!

[john70t]

1). Take a digital picture out the window of the "most common view", usually from a kitchen or living room.

2). Using that digital picture and Paint/Photoshop/other, break it up into the basic elements of shooting photography:
-I.e.: big visual objects being offset from the center in the 1/3'rds.
Not centered.
-Paint desired visual elements(plants/bushes/trees/chairs/swings/etc.) to that digital picture.

3). Keep in mind color and visual co-ordination from the outside.
a). Small bushy plants make a small house seem larger.
b). Tall plants break up and block tall fences, a/c, and other "unsightly" things.
c). Curves are sexy. Rows are formal. Each has it's place.
d). Big plants in the distance. Small plants forward to the viewing area.

4). Get some scrap lumber and junk. Place these where the stuff will go.

5). Walk slowly with arms outstretched. Visualize the space.
Will you want something "over there" later on?

6). Tear the plan all up, and start again.
You've only wasted about 15 minutes of daylight, but potentially added tens of thousands to the property value, and your own (daily)"quality of life".

Here is an example of a kitchen view. It took 30 seconds.