Hi gang-

Found out over the weekend that my wife and I are finally going to join the ranks of homeowners!

We'd come in second place on two other properties recently but found this one a few weeks ago. I never knew buying a house would be such an emotional roller-coaster type affair! WOW!!!

We're, (my family of 5 plus 2 pugs, 2 guinea pigs, a rat and some goldfish) are moving from a 1000 square foot ranch (i.e. a sardine can) to a 2300+ square foot split level corner property just across town. We go from having a rather small back yard to having over 3/4's of an acre in BOTH our front and back yards. (Any suggestions on a good riding mower?)There is also a small creek that runs through the rear of our property...with an additional section of our land just across it. (We'll need to build a nice deck-bridge over its span...)We have roughly 30 mature trees (mostly Oak and some Evergreens) outlining our lot. 2 fireplaces, four bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, family room, laundry room, double bathroom upstairs, jacuzzi and new bathroom downstairs, finished attic, also. Same school district too, which is a plus.

Our 3 girls will finally get their own rooms and I'll finally have a permanent, user friendly space to work on music. Nothing overly fancy is in store, but we have a huge finished basement (38' X 12') with which we'll use as a family room in front of the lower level fireplace, with my acoustic piano, my Tryos, PSR 3000, etc...getting set up in the other side of the room.

I'm not as sophisticated recording wise as most folks around here. Typically, I'll just run RCA's from my Berhinger PA amp to my Sony CD Recorder...then burn everything to my hard drive...then to a final version on a CD.

Our computer will be set up in the same room as I will be, so perhaps it's time for me to take the next step in home recording and consider a program like Cakewalk or Cubase I suppose. I'll be looking for a set-up that I can easily switch keyboards in and out off, of course. A nice workstation desk unit may be another thing to look at.

Any fresh suggestions or ideas would be appreciated. It's a blank slate right now...so, I can set it up however I wish. I don't ever see myself with a highly exotic set up but I'm open to straight-forward ideas that can enhance my creative juices.

Also, the house uses oil heat, has a spetic system and well water. NONE of which we've ever used. If anyone has experience with these, please drop me a line. Everything will be getting a hard look during our home inspection on Tuesday morning, but early indications suggest everything is in good working order.

The heating oil especially interests us. How much will we use during a winter, how much does it cost, how often delivered, etc. I'm usually paying $160-$200/month for electric currently...a few friends have said I'll save money bigtime between the oil heat and our two fireplaces.

Very exciting times for all of us...just wanted to share...

Very much looking forward to hearing/seeing some studio/workspace ideas!

Bill in Dayton

Bill... CONGRATULATIONS .... it sounds GREAT ...
Quote ... "(Any suggestions on a good riding mower?)"...
Nothing runs like a Deere ... a little pricey, but from what I hear, well worth it in the long run ... I have a Murray which has served me well for a number of years ...
t.

Bill... congrats the new home! Having a music room will be great.



I would give you my most humble recommendation for PG Music's PowerTracks Pro Audio. It will do everything you want, less expensive, and more user-friendly than any other audio/sequencer program.

http://www.pgmusic.com/

Glenn

Bill Congrats! I too have just moved into my first home. The wife an I bought ours just under two months ago. You're right it is without a doubt an "emotional roller coster"

Like you I now have my own room for my music and other hobbies. I'm in the process of setting mine up.

I never dealt with a home on (heating oil). Are your fireplaces woodburning or gas? If they're gas (look out for that heating bill YIKES! especially considering natural gas is going up quite a bit this season). If they're woodburning fireplaces, I suggest you use them the entire season. Woodburning will help lower your heating costs. The house we just purchased has a woodburning fireplace in the basement. Plus having an open stairwell leading to the basement will allow the heat from the fireplace to come upstairs.

How big is your room for music? How you set it up would depend on the size of the room and equipment you're using.

Squeak

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 09-26-2005).]

Bill...Congratulations....a big step up...
you will enjoy the fireplace especially in the winter....good show...
Tony Rome

I to would recommend a John Deere mower.

Cousin Ken

Congratulations on your new home. I endorse Glenn's suggestion. Power Tracks Pro is a great budget application and it records both midi and/or audio and has lots of advanced features. I doubt if you would want anything more for your home studio.

Regards - Keith

Bill: Congratulations on your new acquisition. Hope it brings much happiness to your and your family and critters. My recommendation for your "studio" is to take a slow and steady approach. Start with a good tape recorder (with dubbing capability) and record directly to it from your keyboard. Next acquire a digital recorder (too many good ones to mention) but I use a Boss (Roland) BR-864. Record from the tape player/recorder into the Digital Recorder and transfer the resultant digital song to your PC (via USB)for editing and enhancement. I use a nice "free" editor called Wave Pad (from Australia) and am highly pleased with it.

Once I have a song edited the way I think it sounds best, I copy the file to my Dell DJ so I can listen to be sure the song is all that it should be before commiting it to a CD. This saves me tons of CDs not to mention all the time I save. Finally, I print the song info & titles directly on top of the CD with an Epson R200 Inkjet. (Requires Printable CD-Rs now beginning to show up on Wal-Mart shelves.) Fairly inexpensive, too!

Hope this helps. I can't afford to have my songs cut in a professional studio yet. For making demos (some say these are just a little more than fancy work tapes) I am satisfied that it gets the song across to the record label or publisher. (I want somebody talented to sing and record my songs because I am not a performer.)

All the best,

RICE (The Lone Arranger)

Bill,

Congrats on the new home, and I know you'll love it more every day.

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

hi Bill, congratulations and welcome to homeownership + a much roomier place to spread out. I bet your new home surroundings will stimulate fresh music creativity as well. As far a recording either Cakewalk Sonar and/or PowerTracks are excellent choices as BOTH include custom downloadable Yamaha Tyros keyboard 'instrument definitions'.

Like you, here in California, we're not familiar with heating oil, septic tanks, or well water sources of home energy, or their associated cost benefits, compared to the standard 'gas, electric', and water utilities, primarily available here. I too am interested in learning more about how heating oil and the like is purchased, delivered, and the relative cost compared to the standard gas & electric utilities.

Scott

I do my software on the side. Most of my day is devoted to a property management business that I do with my wife. We purchase old Vermont farmhouses and totally rennovate them and then rent them. We just finished our 14th property. Most have septics, all have oil heat and most have fireplaces or stoves.

Vermonst is colder than Ohio and traditionally $1000-1200 was a typical cost of oil for a 2000 square foot home. This is likely to have almost doubled. You can take the uncertainty out of what you pay buy placing an order for the year at a fixed price with your supplier, but this is done in July so you are too late. Things you can and should do to conserve heat: 1) get the furnace cleaned and tuned yearly. This is for safety and can improve the efficiency and the reliability of the system, 2) Shop around for the best price (not pratical for every 200 gal fillup, but you can do it once a year to see who is the most agressive, 3) Reduce air leaks around doors, windows, and in cellar areas, 4) reduce the heat in areas where it is not as important (entrance hall, bedrooms).

Here are some guidelines we give our tenants regarding septic systems:

• Don't deposit coffee grounds, cooking fats, wet-strength towels, disposable diapers, facial tissues(Kleenex, etc), cigarette butts, and other non-decomposable materials into the house sewer. These materials won't decompose, will fill the septic tank, and plug the system.

• Normal amounts of household detergents, bleaches, drain cleaners, and other household chemicals can be used and won't stop the bacterial action in the septic tank. But don't use excessive amounts of any household chemicals. Do not dump cleaning water for latex paint brushes and cans into the house sewer.

• Avoid dumping grease down the drain. It may plug sewer pipes or build up in the septic tank and plug the inlet.

• Use a good quality toilet tissue that breaks up easily when wet. (One way to find out is to put a hand full of toilet tissue in a fruit jar half full of water. Shake the jar and if the tissuebreaks up easily, the product are suitable for the septic tank.) High wet-strength tissues are not suitable. As long as the tissue breaks up easily, color has no effect on the septic tank. Many scented toilet tissues have high wet strength.

• Using too much soap or detergent can cause problems with the septic system. It is difficult to estimate how dirty a load of laundry is, and most people use far more cleaning power than is needed. If there are lots of suds in your laundry tub when the washer discharges, cut back on the amount of detergent for the next similar load. It's generally best not to use inexpensive detergents that may contain excessive amounts of filler or carrier. The best solution is to use a liquid laundry detergent, since they are less likely to have carriers or fillers that may harm the septic system. Many washers also now have settings to reduce the amount of water used for small loads. This can help reduce the burden placed upon the system.

• Starter or septic additives are not needed. Some additives, particularly degreasers, may contain carcinogens (cancer-causing) or suspected carcinogens that will flow into the ground water along with the water from the soil treatment unit.

Septic systems need to be cleaned (pumped, approx $300) periodically. For 5 active people and a washing machine, every 2-3 years as advisable. Make sure that you find out when it was last done and do it now if needed. Septic repairs can be very expensive.

Fireplaces are wonderful, but not good for reducing general heating costs. The problem is that too much warm air is sucked up the chimney. This does not mean you should not enjoy them, but just do not consider it as a solution to the cost of oil. You can improve their heating efficiency by using a glass screen and opening the vent for outside air (if it has one). If you are serious about heating with wood (many do in Vermont), then you should consider installing a good quality wood stove that uses the fireplace flue ($1500+).

Good luck in your new home.

Michael


[This message has been edited by Michael P. Bedesem (edited 09-28-2005).]

Michael ... excellent advice for all homeowners ... As far as the fireplace goes, we live in a good sized (2900 sq ft) raised ranch ... We have a fireplace in the lower family room and in the upstairs living room (used mostly for effect) The downstairs fp has a glass screen and a 'heat-o-later' unit purchased from Sears ... It takes the air from the room, circulates it through pipes that serve as the 'basket' for the wood in the fp and then blows it back out ... When we have that running we can turn off the heat upstairs (we have a 4 zone system...) ...
t.

Bill:

Best of luck in your new home, you'll love it, nothing like home ownership!

Michael thanks for the great tips, amazing what I learn at this forum!

[This message has been edited by Stephenm52 (edited 09-28-2005).]

We had our home inpsection done yesterday. The highlights:

House was built in 1953...

Roof is in excellant condition. Zero signs of any leaks whatsoever...it was built with 2x6's and optimal spacing for additional strength. Should have an estimated 15+ expected life remaining on it at the minimum.

Attic is loaded up with good insulation.

Central Air unit was installed in 1991...everything works well...

Furnace was replaced in 2001!

Water heater (electric) has no date...estimated install somewhere around late 80's early 90's...

Water softener (electric) estimated install date of mid to late 90's...

(both appear in good working order...)

Breaker box has 220 properly wired with large number of additional breaker potentially added. Some wall outlets are only 2 prong which we'll change to 3 prong grounded outlets soon after moving in.

That's the big stuff so far...we're having the county come out and inspect the well water for bacteria and some other contaminants next week.

Regarding the septic system, I'm trying to locate the former owner of the property to learn more about the history of the system. I know from county records the leach fields were relocated in 1999. I'd like to know how often he had it pumped & by whom.

Shutters need replaced across the board, we have almost 40 shutters in all, so this will be an expense for sure. We may do two sides of the house this fall, the rest next spring...

We close on the 7th...everyone is invited over to help move!!!

Thanks to everyone for the info so far. (Michael's post was especially informative!)

Bill in Dayton

Bill,

Congratulations on your new home. I too just moved into a brand new model on Sept 2 after cashing in on my huge equity of my old house. I actually doubled the size.

Anyway, best of luck with your new found freedom and privacy!!!

Regards,
Al