someone's gonna get a bargain

[glenn kangiser]

Thanks, Stinky.  I once had a dog named Stinky....not that long ago.

[muldoon]

you might want to sleep on firing her outright if you decide to go that route, it is a buyers market and the buyers know this.   If the realtor is representing the buyer as well she is obligated to inform them of any information she has in order to get them a good deal.  Unfortunately if she is representing you she has a similar obligation to you as well, which puts her in a moral crunch when she represents both.  Usually a higher commission yields the realtor acting in the sellers favor, but in this climate - any sale may be good enough.   Someone mentioned above it might be a friend or relative of the realtor looking to get a sweetheart deal as well, I wouldn't rule it out. 

I understand you can't wait to just have it settled and behind you... for good or bad.  I wouldn't go making plans to fix the driveway on the new place until the old one was gone.  First things first and all that.  Keep the focus on priorities, out with the old.  Get stable.  Then plan to move forward.   

All that being said, I have some plans I worked out for a homemade rake/boxblade you can tow behind your truck to even out that driveway on the cheap. 

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

She is not representing the buyers... another realtor is, from the same real estate company but in a different office.  I think I lit a fire under her tonight.  Got a short and to the point email promising that she and the other realtor would talk tomorrow about taking the closing costs out of their commissions.  We'll see. 

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Oh, and Muldoon, I might have to check out your plans if/when this all goes through and if/when we're able to buy a place. 

[Whitlock]

Thanks, Stinky.  I once had a dog named Stinky....not that long ago.

Glenn your dog Stinky has been over at my place again

[StinkerBell]

 

[glenn kangiser]

That's one big dump, Whitlock.... you sure it was her? hmm

[Whitlock]

That's one big dump, Whitlock.... you sure it was her? hmm

You tell me she is your dog Glad I didn't step in it, the picture doesn't show it but that pile is about 12 inches tall


Sorry for stealing you thread HG

[apaknad]

hi homey,

just thought i'd let you know that i had the same problem w/my long driveway. someone had put sandstone down and it didn't work worth a you know what! turned to mush in wet weather. grade it like muldoon was saying and in the bad spots dress with slag if you have it out there. it works great and hardens like concrete so water doesn't get under it and soak the driveway. it used to be cheap(by product from steel smeltering) and they couldn't give the stuff away but now it is more expensive. do the bad spots first and as you can afford it spread out from there. i found it works much better than gravel. downside? it may have to be removed if you want to pave w/asphalt and maybe concrete.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Is slag the crushed, whitish-grey stuff that is really fine and ends up almost as good as pavement?  My grandparents used to dump gravel and more gravel on their quarter mile driveway when I was a kid, and finally they put some of that stuff down and never had to add gravel again.  The sandstone is outcroppings from underground where the soil has washed out.  Don't know if there is a solution without building the road bed back up, and if we do that, how and with what materials?  For now, I am thinking that surely there can be no objection to parking the Impala out at the cattle guard by the main county road, and then DH would have to either walk 1/2 mile to the road in the morning, or I'd have to drive him out there in the truck on bad weather days.  Don't know.  Counting chickens again here.  We're hoping to reach some sort of deal on the Wisconsin house today.  I told the realtor to take the difference between the final offer we gave and the buyer's last counter out of the commission.  I think she gets the point that if she doesn't make this happen, she is going to lose our listing.

[muldoon]

Some notes on rural driveway design, soil identification, and base material.
http://theurbanrancher.tamu.edu/construction/ruraldrivewaydesign.htm

As for grooming, get creative.  an old box spring with a few 50 pound sacks of concrete being drug behind a truck would be better than nothing.  Or, a 6x6 board with a 10' length of chainlink fence attached, again with some concrete blocks or sacks to weigh it down.  If you need teeth on the front, drive in and epoxy some rebar vertical on the front face.  Theres always a way to make do using what you have.  Kinda fun to lash something crazy to a 4 wheeler and drag it around a while too. 

You can look at some of the commercial styles to get ideas,

http://www.drpower.com/twoStepInquiry.aspx?X=1&Name=Power_Grader_G&src=AW61060XE2813309&gclid=CMq9koK87ZYCFRg6awodCDh0rA

And cheaper alternatives that you might mimic in design if they are not outright attainable for you. 

http://www.drivewaygroomer.com/

http://www.handozer.com/html/mg.htm

[apaknad]

yes, that's slag. all the country folks up here use it and it hardens like concrete. it also blends in w/the country look IMO. no maintenance. good luck on house. if you get your house let me know and i will give you more info on how to use slag(nothing to it).

[glenn kangiser]

Also, Homey, if water washes down the slope of the driveway put waterbars in the repaired work to make the water drain off to a side ditch.  They are just bumps to take the water to side - I like to angle them toward the down hill side about 30 degrees in the direction of downhill travel- they can be gentle - so the water doesn't gain velocity down hill and remove material.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Well... after 9 months of beating our heads on the wall, the buyers in Wisconsin reached an agreement with us.  Closing is on Dec. 9th.  I'll be soooo glad to be done with it!  Now, to start figuring out what to offer on the house we want here.  Need more coffee.

[StinkerBell]

WOOOHOOOO!

Congrats!


I beat a weight has been dislodged from your shoulders.

[fishing_guy]

Congrats HG! 

Good luck on the new home!

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Thanks guys!  I'm glad it is going to happen finally.  When our last house sold, we did well, and we went out for steak that night.  I think tonight we'll celebrate with ramen noodles or something!

[ScottA]

Grats HG. I bet you're happy.  

[MountainDon]

I'm happy for you all, but I'm holding my breath till Dec 9.    Just the way I function. 

[muldoon]

Thanks guys!  I'm glad it is going to happen finally.  When our last house sold, we did well, and we went out for steak that night.  I think tonight we'll celebrate with ramen noodles or something!

awesome news and not a minute too soon.  I agree with Don on waiting for the 9th to officially have your big steak celebration night, banks are still acting funny lately so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you until it's finalized.   . o O ( Hope that potential mortgage isn't with Downey  Financial after today )

The even better news is that you have learned that as the buyer YOU now have the leverage the next time at the negotiating table. 

[apaknad]

YEA HOMEGROWN, CONGRATS!!!!

[glenn kangiser]

Here's hoping all continues to go well until closing.  Best to you, Homey, Lyon and kids.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

  And it comes with a free pizza!  We decided to go out for pizza last night, and I stuck the chicken stew in the fridge for tonight because I hadn't had time to finish it up yet anyway with all the interruptions yesterday.  Hadn't been to Hideaway Pizza since college, so we went in and sat down.  They brought us menus, and then we just sat there for about 20 minutes.  I didn't think too much about it because the one in Stillwater where we went to school always used to have kind of slow service.  Anyway, this kid comes out and apologizes profusely for not waiting on us.  There was a mix-up as to whose table we were.  So, he takes our order and runs off to get our drinks.  About ten minutes later, he comes out and tells us that they made the wrong pizza for us, and it will be even longer, so would we like a free appetizer while they remake our pizza?  Then he brought us a huge plate of fried mushrooms (yum!) and apologized some more.  We're sitting there enjoying the mushrooms when the manager, who looks like a character out of some sci-fi fantasy movie with his strange and painful looking piercings, etc.,  brings out the pizza and apologizes yet again, and then tells us our dinner is on him.  We didn't even ask.  It wasn't a big deal, but it would have been over $30 with the drinks and the mushrooms, etc.  I was in shock that we got a free meal, and we hadn't even complained about the service or how slow they were.  Anyway, it was kind of a fun way to celebrate, especially since it didn't cost a dime, except for the tip.

they are doing the well test and inspection tomorrow on the WI house.

[NM_Shooter]

Way to go Homey! 

A year ago I was deep in the offer / counter offer stage and was biting my nails.  It is a great feeling to get closed on the old and the new.

Congrats on the pizza too 

-f-

[Whitlock]