New Sod is lookin' good...

[Sgt Beavis]

My house no longer looks like it is owned by white trash. I'm getting it ready for sale and I put in new sod a few weeks ago. I put St Augustine, just in the very front, under the trees. Bermuda is everywhere else..

Now I have to paint the outside trim and look into doing some repairs to the siding in the back of the house. My damn dogs damaged it along the bottom. I've also got an insurance company adjuster coming out to look at replacing the roof.

[Beej]

trim up the bradford pears. They will look much better plus you will be able to see the house.

[Sgt Beavis]

trim up the bradford pears. They will look much better plus you will be able to see the house.

Not sure how much more I can trim them up. They are already trimmed up about 8' off the ground.

[ceyko]

Grass does look good though.

[miketyler]

Ditto that, sod is looking great but those trees need to be trimmed big time. Your house will take on a whole new look.

[Redd]

Id cut the tree on the right down...

[Doug Hatton]

Did you do the sod yourself? Pay to have it installed? Cost per pallet? How many pallets? My yard needs a makeover!

[Sgt Beavis]

I did it myself. I bought it from StarrTurf in Carrollton. They are at the corner of SH121 business and I35E. I used two pallets and had a quarter pallet left over because I only wanted it in the shaded areas. The rest of my yard is bermuda.

I bought two pallets. I think they are 300sq ft each. The two pallets, delivery, and tax was $412. The quality of the delivered SOD was VERY GOOD. It looked to me like it had been harvested just a day before delivery. I've been told by others to get it delivered on Friday for the best quality. The delivery guy was very helpful and efficient. I would definitely use them again...

As for the trees, I was walking around the neighborhood yesterday and doing a little more research on trimming bradford pears. I noticed some yards having them trimmed much higher. I also saw just how extreme you can trim them in the fall. It is too late to trim them that much but I think I'll do just that next fall if I still have the house. For now I'm going to raise the trimming a bit more and open up the front as suggested. I'm putting it up for sale, so I don't want to get to extreme with it.

Cutting down the big one isn't really a viable option since I'm selling. But I do thing I need to take out a few of those larger branches to be safe. I'll probably knock that out next weekend. I'm also going to take out all the black mulch under my hedge and replace it with a lighter brown cedar mulch. I'm thinking that will brighten it up a little...

Thanks for the critiques. I actually appreciate it since I'm putting the house on the market soon....

[Sgt Beavis]

I trimmed up the trees a bit more. I know there is more I can cut, and I plan to, but it'll have to wait until next week. I'm thinking about taking a large branch out of the large tree on the side of it that faces the cars, for obvious reasons.

Also, I don't want to trim it too much since most home buyers don't know about that with these trees (I didn't). I'll do some major pruning in the fall I still have the house at that time.

[Chas_svo]

Looks like a good start. My 2 cents is that it is even more important when trying to sell. You want the buyer to be able to see the front of the house, but love the shade. There are about a million tips to sell, just watch HGTV, and listen to the people that are critiquing sellers, and then getting it sold.

<---has bought and sold several houses in recent years, and made money on every one.

[miketyler]

Much better. One more modern trimming style is called "umbrella-ing" the tree or bush. You cut most all of the inner leaving but leave all of the top leaves and limbs intact like an umbrella. I dont know how this fares with Bradfords but you see it in a lot of modern landscape design today.

[Sgt Beavis]

Much better. One more modern trimming style is called "umbrelling" the tree or bush. You cut most all of the inner leaving but leave all of the top leaves and limbs intact like an umbrella. I dont know how this fares with Bradfords but you see it in a lot of modern landscape design today.

I've seen that with a few trees in our neighborhood but not bradfords. It does look good..

I talked with a friend at our church today. He just got married and they've started looking for a house to rent. I'm going to have him over later this week to see if he is interested. I just need to check to see if I can refi this place and still get a new home for $250K ish... Meanwhile, I saw a home for sale near Lake Lewisville that I'm interested in. You get a decent view of the lake from the back porch, but an outstanding view from the upstairs windows..

[slowyellow]

Well good luck in whatever you decide to do man. House looks good.