moving...

[katharsis]

Ok - I got something really off topic.

My company is relocating from Hawaii to CA.
Burbank to be exact.
I have been there to check out the new office and the surrounding areas.
Burbank, North Hollywood, Studio City...

Pretty much all of our office staff is willing to leave the islands and start over. Problem is we have all been to downtown Los Angeles, but don't know much about the valley. We will be back up there early March to look for apartments. Now I have been looking around on some of the websites for rentals, some seem decent, others not so much. Of course it's hard to tell from pictures online and I am a person who has to physically walk into a place to see whether I like it or not.

Big questions now is what areas are good/safe... and which ones to avoid?

Our new office will be on West Burbank Blvd, and I would really like to be somewhat close to it as I head traffic can get worse than in Hawaii and I am not willing to spend an hour each way on commute.

Few people already said to avoid Van Nuys or areas below Ventura Fwy. to look for apartments.

This is just a shot in the dark, but I would really appreciate if someone with knowledge about this area could help out a bit.


Another question I got -
I got a bunch of shelving units and big painting that have been mounted to my walls. Now I took a few off, and there is big holes. Really big holes. I am talking almost able to put my pinky in there holes.
Any good recommendation how to fix those up? I am sure the old toothpaste trick from dorm days won't be working too well this time around.

[Rob71]

Are your walls sheetrock? Plaster? Or?

[katharsis]

Yeah, I guess it would have helped if I mentioned that. d'oh!

They are sheetrock. I have one wall where they are nailed into building blocks.
One wall is plaster and I got something for that one already.

Originally Posted by Rob71

Are your walls sheetrock? Plaster? Or?

[Rob71]

Try using spackling compound. Just put a glob on a putty knife and swipe it across the hole. On the bigger holes you will probably need to go in different directions to build it up. Let it dry good then sand.

[mewantyblu]

For those big holes you might consider using joint compound also referred to as mud, but you will most likely have to do 2 coats on the big holes. As in put first coat on let dry, sand smooth , if slight indent is there still add 2nd coat , repeat process until you have a smooth wall.

As for moving to California that states is so broke I'm not even sure US currency is good there anymore , but good luck .

[Rob71]

Originally Posted by mewantyblu

For those big holes you might consider using joint compound also referred to as mud, but you will most likely have to do 2 coats on the big holes. As in put first coat on let dry, sand smooth , if slight indent is there still add 2nd coat , repeat process until you have a smooth wall.

As for moving to California that states is so broke I'm not even sure US currency is good there anymore , but good luck .

I thought Gov. Schwarzenegger was guaranteed some "Abadah" money to bail the state out.

[Hi-Def Steve]

I would echo the opinion of staying away from Van Nuys. Unless you like being around a bunch of weed dispensaries, porn and concrete scenery. Studio City is pretty nice and upscale for the most part. And Burbank has the awesome Fry's Electronics!

[katharsis]

Thanks guys.
I shall attempt to use the above mentioned ways to take care of these holes.

A Frys in Burbank... I guess that's where I'm moving then. None of them over here at all!

[jsteinhauer]

For bigger holes, you can buy mesh tape or mesh patches to put over the hole before filling with joint compound. It helps hold the compound in place. OR, you can wad up some newspaper or paper towel to stuff into the hole before spackling to accomplish the same thing for cheap. If the compound won't hold because the spaces are too large, you will need to enlarge the holes and cut sheetrock patches to fit and fix them into place with either the nearest wall studs or a piece of wood fixed to the backside of the hole with drywall screws. I suspect the paper wad trick will work fastest and give the best cosmetic result. Joint compound is really cheap. You can get very small tubs, 8 or 16 ounces.