Mike

We're new home owners trying to maintain a 1/2 acre yard in Central Massachusetts. I'm trying to find a simple lawn care calendar to follow but this is proving difficult as the internet is full of contradictory information on the subject.

Specifically we're looking for the best times to overseed, fertilize, lime, treat for grubs, mow heights, watering amounts, etc. Does anyone have a good link or good advice on this subject? A simple calendar format would be ideal.

So I've had a couple of painters come by our house and give us estimates on having the exterior of our home painted. Two of them said it wouldn't be a problem to paint the cedar shake. They suggested lightly power washing, wire brush scraping, 1 coat oil based primer, and two coats of latex paint. The third painter that came by seemed to be really concerned with the condition of some of the shakes where large shrubs had been in contact with the surface at for several years. They should signs of surface damage and brittleness. He is telling me they will need to be replaced or they will not last / hold paint. I don't want the job to cost a million dollars on one hand but on the other I don't want it to fail prematurely. Any painters / home owners out there have a similar experience? Can this just be sanded down? Should I save my money and throw some vinyl siding up?? :)

So I'm trying to figure out what they call the canvas type material used to surround outdoor construction sites. Typically stakes are driven into the ground and a canvas or tarp like material (I'm guessing it comes on a roll) is attached to the stakes to form a temporary wall / divider / fence type deal.

I want to put this temporary wall or pen up in front of my house and fill it with mulched leaves this fall. That way it will compost over the winter and in the spring I will have a good base for flower beds. The purpose of the temporary wall is to contain the leaves neatly and prevent them from being blown around.

So we bought a foreclosed home and yanked out some huge unkempt shrubs that were right against the front of the house causing damage to the siding. In doing so we discovered that underneath the soil there is both a plastic weed shield as well as a substantial layer of crushed stone. There are also sprinkler pipes running underneath that we have to be careful of. Now that the bushes are gone we would like to put in flower beds to cover up the scorched earth left behind.

Our initial thought was to sift out and remove the crushed stone and keep it asside for another project. Then add some soil to build up the flower beds.

A couple of questions for the Yahoo community.

1) Does the crushed stone serve a purpose other then stopping weeds? Is it some form of drainage for the perimeter of the house? Should it not be removed?

2) How deep should the top soil be to support small shrubs / flowers? If we were to build up the top soil could we leave the crushed stone alone? Or would this not allow for propper root development?

3) Any advice / tips to make this project flow smoothly and successfully?

Thanks in advance!!

I have this question on my homework and need some help. Using the PS command get list of daemons. Also id the rc / init files used to start the daemon and the unix command used to start the daemons.

I don't necessarily want the answer I just need some direction. Which PS switches should I use and how do I figure out which RC file launched each of the daemons? Please help!!

Hello,

I just purchased an unfinished pine wood picnic table. I want it to last a long time but have been having a hard time trying to find out the best way to finish it. Does anyone know the best way to do this (ie sand, prime, paint, seal)? Also any particular brands / types of paint?

Thanks

I have to dress business casual for work and typically wear khakis or chino pants. Lately I'm getting annoyed because all of my pants are getting worn out just from normal wear and washing (cold water, powder detergent, tumble dry).

Is there a brand of khakis or chinos out there that tends to last a long time? Something well made that will hold up to a lot of use?