Home Improvement Dreams

Replace the Siding: There are two portions of my house that have decaying siding. The material that was used just isn’t up to snuff of the hot and humid summers, or the crazy 40 degree variations in the fall and spring. 

Remove the Trees: I love the giant oak trees that are on my property but they have reached the late stage of their life and are becoming hazards. I’d like to remove the trees, enjoy the additional sunlight on the property and replant the areas where they were with fruit or nut trees (or just go again oak or pine). 

Solar Panels for Power: This is an experimental space, but I would like to add solar panels to my barn or guest house in order to feed power back into our grid. We’re not struggling for power, but I would like to do a low stakes test.  Can we power the sauna? Our heat during the winter? 

Water Catchment: Jackson has a water problem that isn’t going away. I would like to decrease reliance on water from the city and also catch water for use in our gardens. 

Bathroom Remodel: Both of our bathrooms in the main house are in need of remodeling. The plumbing itself is old and in the master bathroom, the tiling work was not sealed correctly, so the grout has become quite gross. 

Kitchen Remodel: The kitchen in the main house has incredibly bad flow and is just not cozy in the way a good kitchen should be. It’s functional now, but I’d love to have a kitchen where it’s pleasant to entertain and cook.

Anti-grass Yard Conversion: Yards are a weird hold over from previous urban and suburban design. They are maintenance heavy and wasteful. I would like to convert my whole yard to clover and thyme and replace large chunks of it with raised garden beds or buried potato crop. My suspicion is that with the right planning, the majority of my property can be converted to either no-maintenance or growing easy crops.

Jiu Jitsu Fight Club Garage: I would love to convert either the upper or lower floor of my garage into a jiu-jitsu gym. I dream of being able to charge a very low membership fee to recoup costs and have folks come over just to train with me, or even have them train whenever. I’m day-dreaming about adding a camp shower out there and a grey water drain so folks could shower then head to work, or come over midday and train. I think I could learn a lot of jiu jitsu from instructionals and just having regular mat time and training partners.