[UCGal]

Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry imagine a world where RM had not been born.
Hillarious – but very foul language… so not safe for work.

[UCGal]

Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry imagine a world where RM had not been born.
Hillarious – but very foul language… so not safe for work.

[UCGal]

Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry imagine a world where RM had not been born.
Hillarious – but very foul language… so not safe for work.

[UCGal]

[quote=briansd1][quote=UCGal]

We just got back from Sicily. We were struck by how many plants, trees and shrubs are the same as here… with the exception of one thing… NO lawns. Dirt or mulch between the trees and shrubs. Makes sense…we should copy this.[/quote]

Yes, good observation.

The lawn are a legacy of immigrants moving West and bringing their idea of the prairie house to California. Add to that the idea the tropical plants represent resorts and luxury.

I redid my dad’s backyard a few years back and took out the lawn. It takes more thought and design to create a nice yard using drought tolerant plants.

The Italians make great use of interior courtyards as living space. Behind a nondescript door facing the street could lie a beautiful interior courtyard and mansion.[/quote]
One of my husband’s cousins home was like this…Totally non-descript on the narrow street in the old part of town… inside beautiful marble, bright and airy -all opening to a central court. Full outdoor kitchen in the courtyard, too. I was impressed. It wasn’t a mansion but it was much bigger and nicer than you ever would have guessed from the street.

[UCGal]

[quote=briansd1][quote=UCGal]

We just got back from Sicily. We were struck by how many plants, trees and shrubs are the same as here… with the exception of one thing… NO lawns. Dirt or mulch between the trees and shrubs. Makes sense…we should copy this.[/quote]

Yes, good observation.

The lawn are a legacy of immigrants moving West and bringing their idea of the prairie house to California. Add to that the idea the tropical plants represent resorts and luxury.

I redid my dad’s backyard a few years back and took out the lawn. It takes more thought and design to create a nice yard using drought tolerant plants.

The Italians make great use of interior courtyards as living space. Behind a nondescript door facing the street could lie a beautiful interior courtyard and mansion.[/quote]
One of my husband’s cousins home was like this…Totally non-descript on the narrow street in the old part of town… inside beautiful marble, bright and airy -all opening to a central court. Full outdoor kitchen in the courtyard, too. I was impressed. It wasn’t a mansion but it was much bigger and nicer than you ever would have guessed from the street.

[UCGal]

[quote=briansd1][quote=UCGal]

We just got back from Sicily. We were struck by how many plants, trees and shrubs are the same as here… with the exception of one thing… NO lawns. Dirt or mulch between the trees and shrubs. Makes sense…we should copy this.[/quote]

Yes, good observation.

The lawn are a legacy of immigrants moving West and bringing their idea of the prairie house to California. Add to that the idea the tropical plants represent resorts and luxury.

I redid my dad’s backyard a few years back and took out the lawn. It takes more thought and design to create a nice yard using drought tolerant plants.

The Italians make great use of interior courtyards as living space. Behind a nondescript door facing the street could lie a beautiful interior courtyard and mansion.[/quote]
One of my husband’s cousins home was like this…Totally non-descript on the narrow street in the old part of town… inside beautiful marble, bright and airy -all opening to a central court. Full outdoor kitchen in the courtyard, too. I was impressed. It wasn’t a mansion but it was much bigger and nicer than you ever would have guessed from the street.

[UCGal]

[quote=briansd1][quote=UCGal]

We just got back from Sicily. We were struck by how many plants, trees and shrubs are the same as here… with the exception of one thing… NO lawns. Dirt or mulch between the trees and shrubs. Makes sense…we should copy this.[/quote]

Yes, good observation.

The lawn are a legacy of immigrants moving West and bringing their idea of the prairie house to California. Add to that the idea the tropical plants represent resorts and luxury.

I redid my dad’s backyard a few years back and took out the lawn. It takes more thought and design to create a nice yard using drought tolerant plants.

The Italians make great use of interior courtyards as living space. Behind a nondescript door facing the street could lie a beautiful interior courtyard and mansion.[/quote]
One of my husband’s cousins home was like this…Totally non-descript on the narrow street in the old part of town… inside beautiful marble, bright and airy -all opening to a central court. Full outdoor kitchen in the courtyard, too. I was impressed. It wasn’t a mansion but it was much bigger and nicer than you ever would have guessed from the street.

[UCGal]

[quote=briansd1][quote=UCGal]

We just got back from Sicily. We were struck by how many plants, trees and shrubs are the same as here… with the exception of one thing… NO lawns. Dirt or mulch between the trees and shrubs. Makes sense…we should copy this.[/quote]

Yes, good observation.

The lawn are a legacy of immigrants moving West and bringing their idea of the prairie house to California. Add to that the idea the tropical plants represent resorts and luxury.

I redid my dad’s backyard a few years back and took out the lawn. It takes more thought and design to create a nice yard using drought tolerant plants.

The Italians make great use of interior courtyards as living space. Behind a nondescript door facing the street could lie a beautiful interior courtyard and mansion.[/quote]
One of my husband’s cousins home was like this…Totally non-descript on the narrow street in the old part of town… inside beautiful marble, bright and airy -all opening to a central court. Full outdoor kitchen in the courtyard, too. I was impressed. It wasn’t a mansion but it was much bigger and nicer than you ever would have guessed from the street.

[UCGal]

We haven’t formally relandscaped, but we’ve been slowly converting to drought tolerant plants.

We just got back from Sicily. We were struck by how many plants, trees and shrubs are the same as here… with the exception of one thing… NO lawns. Dirt or mulch between the trees and shrubs. Makes sense…we should copy this.

[UCGal]

We haven’t formally relandscaped, but we’ve been slowly converting to drought tolerant plants.

We just got back from Sicily. We were struck by how many plants, trees and shrubs are the same as here… with the exception of one thing… NO lawns. Dirt or mulch between the trees and shrubs. Makes sense…we should copy this.

[UCGal]

We haven’t formally relandscaped, but we’ve been slowly converting to drought tolerant plants.

We just got back from Sicily. We were struck by how many plants, trees and shrubs are the same as here… with the exception of one thing… NO lawns. Dirt or mulch between the trees and shrubs. Makes sense…we should copy this.

[UCGal]

We haven’t formally relandscaped, but we’ve been slowly converting to drought tolerant plants.

We just got back from Sicily. We were struck by how many plants, trees and shrubs are the same as here… with the exception of one thing… NO lawns. Dirt or mulch between the trees and shrubs. Makes sense…we should copy this.

[UCGal]

We haven’t formally relandscaped, but we’ve been slowly converting to drought tolerant plants.

We just got back from Sicily. We were struck by how many plants, trees and shrubs are the same as here… with the exception of one thing… NO lawns. Dirt or mulch between the trees and shrubs. Makes sense…we should copy this.

[UCGal]

Our settlement says I can’t mention the name anywhere. (I had posted here about him – and had to have Rich remove the post.)

All I can say is with the first guy who shall remain nameless, his CSLB license shows a complaint, and if you click on the complaint you can read all about it – including the judgement.

That’s public record, because it’s the state’s record. But I’m not allowed to say anything.

Don’t want to jeopardize anything with our settlement…. But definitely check the licenses of potential contractors.

Look for the following:
* Gaps, even short ones, in their bonding history. This can indicate a bond was paid out and they needed to get a new bond company.
* A switch in bonding companies at an odd (not annual date) time. See above.
* Complaints filed.
* Disciplinary action.

Another red flag (to me) is if they refer to employees in their marketing, but don’t have workmans comp. If they have direct employees, they have to have workmans comp.

But – even if their record is clean on the CSLB – there may be complaints filed against them – the CSLB took more than 6 months to vet our complaint enough to agree it was worth posting, and another year to start prosecution. And we were exceptionally well documented in what had happened. In other words – people may have complained, but there’s a lag between the complaint filed and the reporting on the website.

Also – look up the contractor (under corporate name and under personal name) in the court records
http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=55,1056871&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
(click on court index, then party name search – look for civil cases).

And it doesn’t hurt to look to see if they’re lien happy – look them up on the county recorders site
http://arcc.co.san-diego.ca.us/services/grantorgrantee/search.aspx
If you see they have a lot of liens filed, decide if this is a contractor you want to work with.
(this would have been a “tell” with our second contractor – and yes we were slapped with a lien for not paying for work NOT provided)

And lastly, check their corporate status (if they’re incorporated or LLC) with the Sec. of State’s office. If the corporation is suspended that’s a HUGE red flag… if the contract is issued under the corporate name.
http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/

And, obviously, check references. Don’t just drive by… phone or knock on the door and talk to them about what it was like to work with the contractor.

[UCGal]

Our settlement says I can’t mention the name anywhere. (I had posted here about him – and had to have Rich remove the post.)

All I can say is with the first guy who shall remain nameless, his CSLB license shows a complaint, and if you click on the complaint you can read all about it – including the judgement.

That’s public record, because it’s the state’s record. But I’m not allowed to say anything.

Don’t want to jeopardize anything with our settlement…. But definitely check the licenses of potential contractors.

Look for the following:
* Gaps, even short ones, in their bonding history. This can indicate a bond was paid out and they needed to get a new bond company.
* A switch in bonding companies at an odd (not annual date) time. See above.
* Complaints filed.
* Disciplinary action.

Another red flag (to me) is if they refer to employees in their marketing, but don’t have workmans comp. If they have direct employees, they have to have workmans comp.

But – even if their record is clean on the CSLB – there may be complaints filed against them – the CSLB took more than 6 months to vet our complaint enough to agree it was worth posting, and another year to start prosecution. And we were exceptionally well documented in what had happened. In other words – people may have complained, but there’s a lag between the complaint filed and the reporting on the website.

Also – look up the contractor (under corporate name and under personal name) in the court records
http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=55,1056871&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
(click on court index, then party name search – look for civil cases).

And it doesn’t hurt to look to see if they’re lien happy – look them up on the county recorders site
http://arcc.co.san-diego.ca.us/services/grantorgrantee/search.aspx
If you see they have a lot of liens filed, decide if this is a contractor you want to work with.
(this would have been a “tell” with our second contractor – and yes we were slapped with a lien for not paying for work NOT provided)

And lastly, check their corporate status (if they’re incorporated or LLC) with the Sec. of State’s office. If the corporation is suspended that’s a HUGE red flag… if the contract is issued under the corporate name.
http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/

And, obviously, check references. Don’t just drive by… phone or knock on the door and talk to them about what it was like to work with the contractor.

[Author]

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