I have firsthand experience!
According to an entomologist I spoke with in Puyallup about five years ago, WS is the northernmost area that has subterranean termites (let’s call them ST’s). They apparently have no interest in any areas east of here. ST’s need food and moisture, so if you have areas of standing water around your house try to fix that. Also remove any wood that may sit close to your house.
In my case, I discovered ST’s when they ate through a bit of caulk at the doorway of my mudroom. Mudroom has a cinderblock foundation (bad!), and the ST’s came up through the holes in the cinderblock and ate most of the mudsill and partway up the vertical supports. A handy friend removed the drywall inside and a few rows of siding outside to effect repairs and we tried to fill in as many cinderblock holes with quikcrete that we could access.
Cascade Pest Control was the only company I found in Seattle that deals with ST’s. He had to dig a shallow trench around the affected area, mix up several gallons of Termidor, and fill the trench with it. Termidor doesn’t repel ST’s, they go through the treated soil, and take it back to the nest where it kills everyone. It continues to work for five years. Next summer will be five years for me so I plan to have Cascade back for another treatment, just to be safe. It’s not cheap – cost around $400 just to treat around the mudroom, would be $1200-$1500 to treat around my 800 square foot house. If I remember correctly, Cascade will guarantee for five years if you treat around the entire structure, in my case I only did the one room so no guarantee.
I could go on for an hour about ST’s. I find them both horrifying ($$$) and fascinating.
If the inspector you used at time of purchase didn’t notice any damage to the mudsill in the crawlspace perhaps this is an early discovery. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.
I’ve only been to Fastan in West Seattle, but I do recall seeing tanning beds at All Star Fitness. If you choose that option, I’d bring my own spray bottle since their lazy employees probably don’t clean the beds often. There’s a tanning place on California between the Alaska and Admiral Junction (north of Charleston, I think) that looks reputable, but I’ve never been. I went to a great place in Bellevue growing up that would keep my pre-purchased tans on record for years. In fact, I bet I still have some over there, which is pretty cool and what you would expect from all tanning salons.
I make every effort to stop for pedestrians since my brother was hit in an unmarked crosswalk a few years ago. Has anyone noticed that it’s nearly impossible to see pedestrians at crosswalks on California when it’s dark and raining though? If there were a pedestrian crossing, I wouldn’t notice until I was 25 yards away which is too close to stop safely. At least I learned in my defensive driving class 15 years ago to pay attention to EVERYTHING on the road, not just cars.
Drivers don’t stop at ANY crosswalks in West Seattle, or downtown. This is a huge pet peeve of mine. I catch the bus at the park and ride below the West Seattle bridge and I always have a difficult time getting drivers to stop. The crosswalk I use was faded away and I called the city and metro. Within DAYS the crosswalk was repainted. However, drivers still do not stop unless I step into the crosswalk and force them to. Sometimes they just swerve around me into the other lane. Last spring my husband bought two buckets, put gravel in them, and made bright orange flags for me to use in that crosswalk. They’re gone now! The flags were taken and somebody dumped out the gravel and took the buckets. I have e.mailed the mayor about how to make our crosswalks safer, but got no response, other than my name was added to his monthly newsletter. His campaign to improve crosswalk safety needs to start with the drivers, not the pedestrians. Pedestrians in a marked, and unmarked, crosswalk at an intersection have the legal right of way, not the driver. What we need is drivers blowing through occupied crosswalks to be ticketed!
Worst thing that ever happened to us on this front didn’t exactly happen to us – but to the person who stopped for us – We (child included) were at the bus stop across from the Fauntleroy ferry, waiting for cars to stop so we could use the crosswalk to get over to the dock. Someone heading southbound on Fauntleroy finally stopped. Just as we were about to step into the crosswalk, another car roaring up from behind them rear-ended the first car, pushing it right to where we would have been in the crosswalk. We called 911, of course, and others rushed over to help, but boy, that was too close for comfort. For some reason people are not interested in stopping at that crosswalk – we stood there just the other day, waiting for a chance to cross, and no one ever bothered to stop; we just had to wait till there was no one coming at all.
Katherine, you can change the passwords. click on “member” below your name and it brings you to your profile. click on the “edit this information” link and you can change it there.
There are a few “for rent” signs on houses in the vicinity of Fauntleroy & Dawson right now. One is on Dawson (just west of Fauntleroy) and at least one is on the west side of Fauntleroy between Hudson & Dawson. The one on Fauntleroy looks to be a duplex, but I don’t know about the one on Dawson – can’t tell if it’s a duplex or an apartment. Don’t know if it’s still available, but there was another house with a sign up on the west side of Fauntleroy, a block or two south of Dawson, near the school.
What’s with these passwords? I’ll never remember that mishmash. Can we change them to our mother’s maiden name, or our dog’s birthday, or something?
For those of us that fully understand that UV rays are bad but like to soak up some fake sun before going on vacation pay special attention when signing up for those “specials” at Fastan.
Here’s what happened to me:
Between 8/14/2006 and 12/7/2006 I purchased Tanning sessions from Fastan on Fauntleroy. I went into the store today (12/27/2007)for a session and was told that my credits had expired. Like rubbing salt in an open wound I was then told that if I wanted to sign up for an additional package, I would be credited the expired tans. I remember thinking, “so let me get this straight, I didn’t use all the tans I previously purchased, but if I buy more tans that I probably won’t use, then you’ll do me a favor and give me back what I already paid for.”
I expressed my disappointment in their policy with hope of some good explanation by the sales representative but only got what appeared to be a well rehearsed response of “we tell all of our customers that they expire
While I was in the store, I noticed that none of the advertised specials that were prominently displayed mentioned that the credits would expire after any set period of time. When I inquired as to why there was no written disclaimer, the sales representative told me they verbally tell customers at point of sale and that it is stated in the contract that is signed. I asked to see an example of this contract where it was stated in writing that my tans would expire and wanted to see where I signed acknowledging this, and they could not produce one for me. If I wanted a copy I was then told that I would have to get it from their corporate office. What is most confusing is that some of my tanning credits are set to expire in 1 year while others last two years. At no point in time do I recall this being explained to me, as I would have been reluctant to purchase as many credits as I did. I’m not really into tanning but go before vacation so I don’t burn on the first day when exposed to sun.
In the end I asked for the regional manager and was only given a first name and a phone number which I later learned was their Burien location. When I asked for the managers last name, i was told that she didn’t know it. Seriously, who doesn’t know their boss\managers last name. Anyways, I’m done with Fastan, they may have gotten my unused tanning credits but lost a customer.
Anyone have a good recomendation on where I should go for fake sun?
Hmmm, thanks. I just checked it out and there weren’t many recs on their for gyms and/or trainers. The links didn’t work.
I guess I will have to just research it out myself. :-(
Jacks happy hour, best burgers for 5 bucks. I dont know if you can take them out, but sit down at the bar and have a wonderful burger!
I understand that you can take knives to be sharpened to the meat dept. at Westwood QFC…you might want to go and see if they’ll do your scissors for you…not sure of the cost, but it shouldn’t be a whole lot
I wouldn’t recommend Amante. We’ve tried them a few times and were pretty underwhelmed.
Luciano’s also has more than Pizza -Gyros, sandwiches, pasta, etc. They are much better than Amante, IMO.
Also, if you like Indian try Maharaja. It’s surprisingly good.
I’ve yet to find acceptable Thai delivery in West Seattle. For now, I’ll continue to get take out from Buddha Ruksa. The garlic chicken is to die for!
I *highly* recommend Ringo’s Landscaping. He cleaned up our overgrown lawn and beds, and he does almost anything (including hedges, I think). Conscientious, tidy, and a nice guy: http://ringolandscaping.com/
dunderp, thanks for the heads-up on the pastrami place – I work right near the Market, so I’ll be sure to stop on over and check it out. I don’t think I realized how much I missed pastrami until I was back in NY and walked into the Pastrami King and wanted to cry at the smell of the place. LOL!
House, I agree that Ho Win is more “east coast style” than a lot of other places. I still find it a bit mediocre (I’m with Kayleigh on her opinion of most chinese food in Seattle), but it’s closer than many other places. I still cringe at the mixed vegetables in my “eggdrop” soup though. And for what passes for an eggroll out here.
Hello,
As the New Year comes upon us so do the resolutions. I would like to kick start my fitness routine. I would love to find a gym or personal trainer that is in West Seattle. I belonged to All Star a few years back. I would like to get your take on the different gyms or your personal trainers. Also if you could include the cost that would be great too.
Thanks so much and Happy New Year
I would like to throw in my two cents and say that Diva Espresso makes a decent cup of coffee. C&P have GREAT baristas and the atmosphere is nice. Java Bean in my books is a NO GO!! I would rather wait in a line of 10 cars up at the 35th SBUX.
I am so-far quite satisfied with the message boards. I have for some time been looking for a place to communally kvetch about the ridiculously long east/west traffic-light at California and Charleston. Now ‘the Blog’, as it is referred to be my close circle, has given me this opportunity.
Keep up the good work
We know a lot of people in WSB-land won’t notice the new addition till things get serious after the holidays. But for everyone who’s here and participating, we’re awaiting feedback on this new addition – especially forum sections you’d like to see added, as we keep experimenting. Thanks!
Merry Christmas everyone!! Just got home from work and looking for somewhere to eat. Anyone know of anything open now? Thanks for you’re help.
Beacon is decently priced (they don’t charge an emergency surcharge for weekend work like most of the big ones) and very professional. We’ve used them to fix an internal flooding issue, but never for upgrades or remodels.
If you’re just doing hot water heater work, you can try some of the services that specialize in water heaters, like Action, Fast, or Benla.
Ken’s Lawn Service will do both routine maintenance and specific one-off jobs. I think their recurring service is limited to just cutting the grass; I don’t know if they offer complete landscaping on a routine basis, such as continual gardening. But we’ve used them for annual pruning and clean up and they did a great job.
For larger trees, we’ve also used Davie’s Tree Service. They also did a great job trimming back one of our larger trees so that it continued to thrive after the trimming.
We ended up enjoying an excellent Christmas Dim Sum lunch at House of Hong, along with the rest of Seattle that wasn’t cooking at home. The ID was much busier than expected but well worth braving the other non-traditionalists and waiting on a table. :)
One of my issues with crowded parking lots is when people take handicapped spots when they don’t have a handicapped placard or plate. We went to the farmers market yesterday and saw there was one last handicapped spot, but the woman in front of us pulled in. As we began to pass her, she got out of the car we noticed she did not put up a placard, so we beeped at her and held up ours. She was visibly very annoyed that we called her on it, but to her credit she did pull out of the spot. I can’t stand when people think the rules don’t apply to them because they’ll be there “just a second” or whatever their excuse is.
Cruiser – I concur with this list. Southcenter is the 9th ring of hell. I try to avoid it altogether, but yesterday we had to go there. I experience all 10 on your list, and then this one – people who walk around the mall with zero clue of the space around them!! Like the crazy lady yesterday who was tearing thru Macy’s w/ her stroller, coming right at me. Uh hello, do you even see that I exist, or is your stroller more important than me. Hey, no problem, go ahead and run over my foot…I wouldn’t want to get in your way! Arrrgghhh… Whew, got that out of my system
