REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

In the garden, and RAIN!!!!

POSTED BY: SIGNYM
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Saturday, April 27, 2019 8:42 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Take a breath, Brenda.

This is a happy day. Moving sucks big time. Everything's going to be fine.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Saturday, April 27, 2019 9:20 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by BRENDA:
I'm moved and for a minute coming to you from my local library.

I'm glad for you.

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Thursday, May 2, 2019 5:07 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.




I agree with SIX - moving is a pain!! I hope you're settling in comfortably BRENDA.



-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Thursday, May 2, 2019 5:18 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Hey SIX, how's the reno going?

More importantly, how are things with the folks? I don't understand this move that they're making, it DOES seem pretty implusive and maybe not the greatest decision ever. I hope things turn out alright for both of them ... especially your mom, since it sounds like she might be isolated from any family support she would enjoy in IN. If I were in your shoes I'd be hurt. But it seems to me that you realize that you can't control their decisions, and it sounds like you're aware enuf not to make her possible isolation worse by lashing out and freezing them out so I think you're doing everything you can. If it makes any difference, I feel for you. You have my virtual sympathy.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Thursday, May 2, 2019 11:55 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Well, I finally got the big back bedroom walls painted. I can only devote a few hours every other day before I have to run off and shop, or walk the dog, or take someone to the doctor, or do yardwork, or cook, or something. Plus, I had to seal the walls first. But the walls look great, it's the softest off-gray I could find; very relaxing. The trim will be bright white and the ceiling a soft white with a hint of green. It will look cool in hot weather. Now I have to get curtain rods and drapes.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Friday, May 3, 2019 2:35 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Hey SIX, how's the reno going?

More importantly, how are things with the folks? I don't understand this move that they're making, it DOES seem pretty implusive and maybe not the greatest decision ever. I hope things turn out alright for both of them ... especially your mom, since it sounds like she might be isolated from any family support she would enjoy in IN. If I were in your shoes I'd be hurt. But it seems to me that you realize that you can't control their decisions, and it sounds like you're aware enuf not to make her possible isolation worse by lashing out and freezing them out so I think you're doing everything you can. If it makes any difference, I feel for you. You have my virtual sympathy.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .




The situation on both fronts isn't good, which is largely why I haven't posted anything about either of them. :(

The job has turned out to be more than I would be able to do myself. I have to make a choice now of getting professional help involved, or tearing down the porch. There was decades of structural damage beneath the walls and floor. I've been able to get under there and see that it stops 5 to 7 feet before the house, so I'm not really concerned that the only thing holding up the walls are the sheetrock in the home proper, but the terrible job these weekend warriors did on this addition back in the days where you didn't need to pull permits for such work is appalling. It's amazing to me that from the street you still can't see any evidence that something is amiss.

They really did a good job hiding the shoddy work too. I went for years not knowing what lied beneath and it wasn't until the floor started crumbling beneath it that I even had a clue.

I've been stressing heavily about this, but I'm formulating a plan right now. I've been thinking more and more about moving down by my brother to take some of the burden off my old man and to give him the peace of knowing that he's got family close by when he's no longer with us. This is way too much house for one person. There are houses within walking distance of my brother that are really nice 2 bed/1bath places with lawns that would take 15 minutes to mow instead of nearly 2 hours. They're reasonably priced, and if I could get double what I paid for my current place by putting $30-$40k into this place, I could still make money on it aside from living rent free for the last 8 years. Doubling what I bought it for isn't unreasonable either. It would still put the asking price around $13k less than what the previous owners had paid in 2006.

I love it down by where he lives. There isn't much surrounding the area, but the town does have a population over 15,000 people and it's not too far from Peoria. Plenty to do, and they've got great internet down there too.

I'm trying to look at the positives here. This porch scenario might be the catalyst to start the next chapter of my life. I've felt this house has been an albatross around my neck for years, and now it's finally coming to a head.



Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Saturday, May 4, 2019 9:28 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


What's the haps at the McJob?

How far does your niece live now? How far from Peoria? Are you talking Normal?

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Sunday, May 5, 2019 3:40 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:


Hey SIX, how's the reno going?

More importantly, how are things with the folks? I don't understand this move that they're making, it DOES seem pretty implusive and maybe not the greatest decision ever. I hope things turn out alright for both of them ... especially your mom, since it sounds like she might be isolated from any family support she would enjoy in IN. If I were in your shoes I'd be hurt. But it seems to me that you realize that you can't control their decisions, and it sounds like you're aware enuf not to make her possible isolation worse by lashing out and freezing them out so I think you're doing everything you can. If it makes any difference, I feel for you. You have my virtual sympathy. SIGNY


The situation on both fronts isn't good, which is largely why I haven't posted anything about either of them. :(

The job has turned out to be more than I would be able to do myself. I have to make a choice now of getting professional help involved, or tearing down the porch. There was decades of structural damage beneath the walls and floor. I've been able to get under there and see that it stops 5 to 7 feet before the house, so I'm not really concerned that the only thing holding up the walls are the sheetrock in the home proper, but the terrible job these weekend warriors did on this addition back in the days where you didn't need to pull permits for such work is appalling. It's amazing to me that from the street you still can't see any evidence that something is amiss.

They really did a good job hiding the shoddy work too. I went for years not knowing what lied beneath and it wasn't until the floor started crumbling beneath it that I even had a clue.

I've been stressing heavily about this, but I'm formulating a plan right now. I've been thinking more and more about moving down by my brother to take some of the burden off my old man and to give him the peace of knowing that he's got family close by when he's no longer with us. This is way too much house for one person. There are houses within walking distance of my brother that are really nice 2 bed/1bath places with lawns that would take 15 minutes to mow instead of nearly 2 hours. They're reasonably priced, and if I could get double what I paid for my current place by putting $30-$40k into this place, I could still make money on it aside from living rent free for the last 8 years. Doubling what I bought it for isn't unreasonable either. It would still put the asking price around $13k less than what the previous owners had paid in 2006.

I love it down by where he lives. There isn't much surrounding the area, but the town does have a population over 15,000 people and it's not too far from Peoria. Plenty to do, and they've got great internet down there too.

I'm trying to look at the positives here. This porch scenario might be the catalyst to start the next chapter of my life. I've felt this house has been an albatross around my neck for years, and now it's finally coming to a head. -SIX



I can't really offer any pearls of wisdom, but I do have a few opinions.

In another thread, you posted about "painting yourself into a corner". Let me point out that a house is a refuge, and investment, AND an anchor. In your case, your house was what kept you from being HOMELESS. I KNOW homeless people and, trust me, you don't want to be one. Don't ever think that having a home was ever a mistake; Consider your other options at the time: rent? homelessness? Have no regrets: It was absolutely the right thing for you at the time.

It may even be the right thing for you into the future ... it's the magnitude of repairs combined with familial desertion that's throwing you for a loop. You won't be able to cure the desertion by your mom and FIL. No matter where you move .., unless you move to FL ... you will still be far away from them. And IF you move, you will no longer need their help. That's one of those "sideways" events that affects you emotionally but should have no bearing on whether you stay or move, because whether you stay or move doesn't change THAT situation.

When faced with a "disasterous" situation, most people have two reactions: run,or fight. Your house is associated with many negative experiences, and not too many positive. From an emotional standpoint, you may want to run. Sometimes, that's the best choice. Sometimes not. If ... once this problem is solved ... you project your house to be a CONTINUING serious drain on your time and effort and finances with no redeeming features to your life, moving may be the best.

But think ... Can you find an equivalent or better job, if you move? Would your new house have resources ... land that you can garden and space to repair your cars, for example, if the shit hits the fan? Would a (realistic) sale price* of your current home make financial sense if applied to a new home?

*From an investment standpoint, I only have experience with the LA market. We're in the same conundrum. Now that we're retired, we don't HAVE to live here. And LA area offers serious disadvantages ... earthquakes, drought, traffic, crowding, crime, homelessness, and general vulnerability if the SHTF.

However, the real estate market IMHO has peaked. We've sold into THREE down markets, and I think we're heading into another one. For THIS area, house prices can decline by 30-50% in a down market, so you have to not over-invest. Don't put more $$ into a house than you think you can recover, even in a down market. Fixing up your house doesn't mean that you get to ask more money, just that you get to sell it faster. And drop your price right away, or you will be trailing the market down and you'll sell your house six months later, at the price you were reluctant to take six months before. It makes the most sense to sell into a down market when buying UP. It doesn't make sense t seel ito a down market when buying down.

So given that you may not recover the cost of home plus repairs/improvements, and that in a serious down market you will probably not find a job in your new location either ... timing may be of the essence. THAT however, is location-dependent.

Western NY never really experienced a real estate boom, so it never experienced a real estate bust either in 2008. Real estate prices there are just SOOOOO much more stable than RE prices here. If your town is like that, and the town you want to move to is like that, then timing not so critical. But if prices have been jumping like jumping beans then you really need to watch the market you may not have more than 6 months to sell and still make a profit.


-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Sunday, May 5, 2019 3:44 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Hooray!!! BRENDA! One big step forward!!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .



Yup, movers were late though. So took longer than I anticipated.

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Sunday, May 5, 2019 3:45 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Take a breath, Brenda.

This is a happy day. Moving sucks big time. Everything's going to be fine.

Do Right, Be Right. :)



Still deep breathing even after a week. Believe it or not.

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Sunday, May 5, 2019 3:46 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by BRENDA:
I'm moved and for a minute coming to you from my local library.

I'm glad for you.



Thanks JSF.

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Sunday, May 5, 2019 3:48 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:


I agree with SIX - moving is a pain!! I hope you're settling in comfortably BRENDA.



-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .



I'm settling Sig. Almost have a living room. Just a few more boxes to clear out. Then I can get a couch and a small kitchen table. Course as with any move I am still looking for things I bought before the move. *L*

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Sunday, May 5, 2019 3:54 PM

BRENDA


Cable, internet people coming tomorrow morning and I should be back on tomorrow night. If all goes well.

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Sunday, May 5, 2019 4:03 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:


Hey SIX, how's the reno going?

More importantly, how are things with the folks? I don't understand this move that they're making, it DOES seem pretty implusive and maybe not the greatest decision ever. I hope things turn out alright for both of them ... especially your mom, since it sounds like she might be isolated from any family support she would enjoy in IN. If I were in your shoes I'd be hurt. But it seems to me that you realize that you can't control their decisions, and it sounds like you're aware enuf not to make her possible isolation worse by lashing out and freezing them out so I think you're doing everything you can. If it makes any difference, I feel for you. You have my virtual sympathy. SIGNY


The situation on both fronts isn't good, which is largely why I haven't posted anything about either of them. :(

The job has turned out to be more than I would be able to do myself. I have to make a choice now of getting professional help involved, or tearing down the porch. There was decades of structural damage beneath the walls and floor. I've been able to get under there and see that it stops 5 to 7 feet before the house, so I'm not really concerned that the only thing holding up the walls are the sheetrock in the home proper, but the terrible job these weekend warriors did on this addition back in the days where you didn't need to pull permits for such work is appalling. It's amazing to me that from the street you still can't see any evidence that something is amiss.

They really did a good job hiding the shoddy work too. I went for years not knowing what lied beneath and it wasn't until the floor started crumbling beneath it that I even had a clue.

I've been stressing heavily about this, but I'm formulating a plan right now. I've been thinking more and more about moving down by my brother to take some of the burden off my old man and to give him the peace of knowing that he's got family close by when he's no longer with us. This is way too much house for one person. There are houses within walking distance of my brother that are really nice 2 bed/1bath places with lawns that would take 15 minutes to mow instead of nearly 2 hours. They're reasonably priced, and if I could get double what I paid for my current place by putting $30-$40k into this place, I could still make money on it aside from living rent free for the last 8 years. Doubling what I bought it for isn't unreasonable either. It would still put the asking price around $13k less than what the previous owners had paid in 2006.

I love it down by where he lives. There isn't much surrounding the area, but the town does have a population over 15,000 people and it's not too far from Peoria. Plenty to do, and they've got great internet down there too.

I'm trying to look at the positives here. This porch scenario might be the catalyst to start the next chapter of my life. I've felt this house has been an albatross around my neck for years, and now it's finally coming to a head. -SIX

I can't really offer any pearls of wisdom, but I do have a few opinions.

In another thread, you posted about "painting yourself into a corner". Let me point out that a house is a refuge, and investment, AND an anchor. In your case, your house was what kept you from being HOMELESS. I KNOW homeless people and, trust me, you don't want to be one. Don't ever think that having a home was ever a mistake; Consider your other options at the time: rent? homelessness? Have no regrets: It was absolutely the right thing for you at the time.

It may even be the right thing for you into the future ... it's the magnitude of repairs combined with familial desertion that's throwing you for a loop. You won't be able to cure the desertion by your mom and FIL. No matter where you move .., unless you move to FL ... you will still be far away from them. And IF you move, you will no longer need their help. That's one of those "sideways" events that affects you emotionally but should have no bearing on whether you stay or move, because whether you stay or move doesn't change THAT situation.

When faced with a "disasterous" situation, most people have two reactions: run,or fight. Your house is associated with many negative experiences, and not too many positive. From an emotional standpoint, you may want to run. Sometimes, that's the best choice. Sometimes not. If ... once this problem is solved ... you project your house to be a CONTINUING serious drain on your time and effort and finances with no redeeming features to your life, moving may be the best.

But think ... Can you find an equivalent or better job, if you move? Would your new house have resources ... land that you can garden and space to repair your cars, for example, if the shit hits the fan? Would a (realistic) sale price* of your current home make financial sense if applied to a new home?

*From an investment standpoint, I only have experience with the LA market. We're in the same conundrum. Now that we're retired, we don't HAVE to live here. And LA area offers serious disadvantages ... earthquakes, drought, traffic, crowding, crime, homelessness, and general vulnerability if the SHTF.

However, the real estate market IMHO has peaked. We've sold into THREE down markets, and I think we're heading into another one. For THIS area, house prices can decline by 30-50% in a down market, so you have to not over-invest. Don't put more $$ into a house than you think you can recover, even in a down market. Fixing up your house doesn't mean that you get to ask more money, just that you get to sell it faster. And drop your price right away, or you will be trailing the market down and you'll sell your house six months later, at the price you were reluctant to take six months before. It makes the most sense to sell into a down market when buying UP. It doesn't make sense t seel ito a down market when buying down.

So given that you may not recover the cost of home plus repairs/improvements, and that in a serious down market you will probably not find a job in your new location either ... timing may be of the essence. THAT however, is location-dependent.

Western NY never really experienced a real estate boom, so it never experienced a real estate bust either in 2008. Real estate prices there are just SOOOOO much more stable than RE prices here. If your town is like that, and the town you want to move to is like that, then timing not so critical. But if prices have been jumping like jumping beans then you really need to watch the market you may not have more than 6 months to sell and still make a profit.

I don't do a lot of moving, but...

Some people like to buy their next house first, and then set it up the way they want, move from the old house, and then sell the old house. This would benefit from a market which is going UP, in both communities. Buy the new house at the best discount, and shop around for good deals, and then sell the old house at the best price. Many people recommend against this, having 2 mortgages at once, if you cannot afford such.

Many of those people think you should sell the old house first, and then jump right in to whatever new house the market will get them affordably. This means not much shopping around, or holding out for a good deal. You might get raped on the new purchase.

Others think you should sell first, and the closing process gives you time to move out, find a small rental apartment for the interim, plus a storage locker for all of your household belongings. Then take your time, shop around, find or build your new house, and move out of your apartment. This is beneficial in a DOWNward market, selling your house at an UP price, and then buying a good deal house as or after the market prices drop. The thing here is that, by and large, apartment prices remain quite stable, in most markets, so you are not really losing or gaining anything by renting an apartment while you do the rest.

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Sunday, May 5, 2019 4:06 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by BRENDA:
Cable, internet people coming tomorrow morning and I should be back on tomorrow night. If all goes well.

Why have I not heard Brenda mention anything about luxuries such as HEAT, or HOT WATER?

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Sunday, May 5, 2019 6:28 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


I'm already beginning the process of finding people to take whatever furniture they want. I'm not looking to take much with me whenever I'm ready to go. Some of the stuff I have is really nice, but I never bought any of it. As long as I have a couch, a bed and a few dressers, I'm good. I don't need all of this clutter, and the next house I'm buying is going to be tiny compared to this one. As for the rest of my stuff? Except for all of my tools and electronics, if I haven't used it in 2 years, it's going to good will or the trash. I hate moving, and I'm not carting a bunch of crap to another house.

The porch is history. I had been talking myself into believing the last few weeks that I could save it, but I got to tear it down. It's out of level, the "support" structures make no sense and stuff that I would think was load bearing isn't even touching the ground. I'm liable to kill myself if I try to do this on my own, and there's no guaranty that I could even if I tried.

I'm definately not going to pay somebody to do it, since I'd never recoup that money without doing a ton of other work to the house. The money I'd spend getting the necessary structural repair work done, or building a new one from scratch would be far better spent putting a good furnace in there and finishing the upstairs and basement and some light touchups on the first floor.

I think if I do a tear down and fill in the hole, re-side the side of the house that will expose, and pull up the patio pavers the ants destroyed and put down a nice bed of river rock there instead, I could probably get away with $20,000 in repairs/upgrades and expect to see around $80,000 for the house (since it won't have an updated kitchen or bathroom).

I'll lose a little bit on that if it works out that way, but can't forget the 8 years of basically free living. I should be able to move where I want and get a finished and dry 2 bed/1 bathroom house with a small lot for 3/4 of that price and live right down the street from my brother.

We'll probably go see a movie at the local 2 screen theater every week. 5 bucks a show, even on weekends, and 8 bucks if you want pop and popcorn with it.

I've got a busy summer ahead of me...

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, May 5, 2019 7:56 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Yard Sale.

Get rid of a bunch of stuff, it gets hauled away for you, you get some money. You could take pics of stuff too big or heavy to take to the yard.
Make a pitcher of lemonade, relax outside under some shade, take everybody's money.

Adding a 2nd bathroom can add a pile of value. Sounds like your basement has room. Shower, toilet, sink from discount or Restore can be very cheap, or even just toilet, sink, cabinets. Or even convert one of your closets, or under stair areas.
Leave the heat issue to next owners - let them make the decision they want instead of being stuck with your decision. They might want a certain type of heat, and/or A/C, High Efficiency, Solar Panels, etc. They might get Tax Incentives or allow the Government to buy them a new system.

Same with any remodel - whatever you choose won't be liked or appreciated by somebody, narrowing your market.

You still working?

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Sunday, May 5, 2019 9:12 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


SIX, you're forgetting one big thing ... job??? Do you have a job to go to? Because it all sounds real sweet and nice where you're moving to, but it's not going to work out unless you're gainfully employed. Seems almost as impulsive as your mom and step dad.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Monday, May 6, 2019 3:03 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


All I'd need is any near minimum wage job out there if I can buy a house that's water tight and won't fall apart with cash. Some of my step-mom's family live down there too. That's how my dad found out about the housing for my brother. My step cousin runs a landscaping business. I'm sure I could get some work from him too.



No yard sale, I'm afraid. Spent 3 days having one at my parents house and only sold 1/5th of the stuff they had and had to dump the rest anyhow. Only made about $450. People buying furniture that was thousands of dollars for IKEA prices. I'd rather people I liked get the stuff for free.

Quote:

Adding a 2nd bathroom can add a pile of value. Sounds like your basement has room. Shower, toilet, sink from discount or Restore can be very cheap, or even just toilet, sink, cabinets. Or even convert one of your closets, or under stair areas.
Leave the heat issue to next owners - let them make the decision they want instead of being stuck with your decision. They might want a certain type of heat, and/or A/C, High Efficiency, Solar Panels, etc. They might get Tax Incentives or allow the Government to buy them a new system.

Same with any remodel - whatever you choose won't be liked or appreciated by somebody, narrowing your market.

You still working?



There's a toilet in the basement. The standing shower unit was busted, but the basin remains and there's plumbing that works... it would just go everywhere without any walls. I could find a cheap vanity and put it in there and call it a half-bath with the potential for a full bath. No ceiling and the room was never finished.

The bottom half of all of the walls in the basement are still gone after I got rid of all the mold. My friend knows a lot about plumbing and he says he'll advise me on getting the sump system properly backed up so I can finally put the insulation, walls and trim back up without worrying that it would just flood again. I'd probably want to do something about the bare floor in the back "bedroom" down there. The living area sometimes takes on a minor amount of water during huge flood seasons like we recently had with the two weeks straight of rain that left my back yard looking like a marsh, so no carpet. The rest of the basement living space has nice ceramic tile that looks as good as the day I moved in. Maybe just put some cheap vinyl in the last room and call it a day.

Finishing the second floor would only require putting trim up everywhere, and putting doors on the closets. I wouldn't bother putting any money into the bathroom except for re-caulking everything that was caulked. I had already ripped up the carpeting and repaired and refinished the hardwood floors, and repaired the walls and ceilings and repainted everything.

First floor could use some minor wall repairs and a quick coat of paint. Kitchen is outdated, but I'm not going to sink any money into that. Cheap tile floor looks like hell though. I might buy some bargain basement cheap tile replacements and put new stuff down. Also need a banister going from the first to second floor. Not having one of those is probably a big contributor to when I nearly broke my back about 4 years ago. I've heard it's against code not to have one and I'd probably have to sell the house as-is if I didn't put one in before selling.

I need gutters too. Never got around to doing them.


Yeah. I'm still working. Overnight shift hasn't changed yet, as far as I know. I'll know more on Tuesday.

If they won't work with me with the same schedule, I'm going to offer to work weekends. I can't imagine that many people would do that, so I can't see why they'd turn that down. I'll need my free time more than ever now.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Monday, May 6, 2019 6:11 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Just keep in mind that if the economy slows down, or we suffer a giant crash, landscaping jobs will be the first to go as people try to save money. Also, don't ASSUME that you can get a job with your step-cousin, you better ASK. And you better be sure of the answer you get, and that it isn't wobbly.

However, if a job is assured and your daily expenses would be about the same here or there, then job or no job would have the same impact here or there. in other words, jobless at your new place would be the same as jobless at your current place, and all you would need to do is be able to pay taxes to stay "homed".

So after that, it's just a question of preerving your wealth; you want to make sure you don't LOSE any money selling your current house versus buying a new one.

Look at Zillow.com or redfin.com, or trulia.com or other alternate sites
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/100215/5-best-alternativ
es-zillow-trulia.asp

for "comps" (comparable sq footage/ number of beds/baths/ lot size) to get an idea what the prices are, if you haven't already. I don't look at asking prices, instead, I look at "recently sold". Just be aware that some sites (like zillow) dont't update as frequently as they should so some homes that come on the market may not show up for few weeks, also some homes sold or taken off the market. Also look at properties sold due to repossession: they really drag the price down.

The market is already sinking in "hot" areas (SF, Hamptons, Portland, Seattle etc) so ...

I agree about yard sales. I've had or helped with a couple of really successful ones (sold all our worldly possessions before moving cross country) but mostly they have been disappointing and not worth the effort. My most successful yard sale at had a bucket of machbooks, and when people tried to jerk me down from $0.25 for a $10 item I'd say "Pay the asking price and grab some matches" and it woked. The other successful one I helped run for ome friends, they just tok their stuff to an empty gas station lot at the corner pf two busy streets and sold nearly everything. So maybe there's something in there. call if "moving sale" and people will know there will be large items and you ight get better traffic.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Monday, May 6, 2019 9:43 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Just keep in mind that if the economy slows down, or we suffer a giant crash, landscaping jobs will be the first to go as people try to save money. Also, don't ASSUME that you can get a job with your step-cousin, you better ASK. And you better be sure of the answer you get, and that it isn't wobbly.

However, if a job is assured and your daily expenses would be about the same here or there, then job or no job would have the same impact here or there. in other words, jobless at your new place would be the same as jobless at your current place, and all you would need to do is be able to pay taxes to stay "homed".



It's more than landscaping. It's mowing lawns and all other sorts of things. I haven't spoken to him in years, but he's a pretty handy guy like me. You're right. Shouldn't make assumptions about anything.

This place isn't exactly in the boonies though. There is a walmart, mcdonalds and other fast food joints. I assume there's at least one big box home depot type store around there. There aren't many decent jobs out there for 40 year old white males without college degrees in 2019, but there's always a shitty part time wage out there with the high turnoever rates of those jobs.

There is a difference between "suburbs" of Peoria vs. suburbs of Chicago though, even NWI suburbs. They are smaller, for sure. But that's part of the draw. It's also why the houses are more affordable out there. Some of the houses listed in that area that are far out of my reach top off around nearly $300k there. If they were in or around some of the Chicago suburbs I grew up in, they'd be closer to a million bucks.

There's no way around the taxes issue. Some light research on listed homes yesterday on the local assessor's office proved my theory right. Nearly any home that I move in will be somewhat to considerably more property taxes than I'm paying right now. After a low income tax break I get here, my yearly taxes are actually under $1,000. Taxes there would likely be anywhere from $600 to $800 more than I'm paying now, for a much smaller house and yard. Not a deal breaker by any means. It's still less than I thought I was going to pay in this house before I fought them. It's just something I'll have to add to my cost of living.

I've only seen one house in my desired price range that I really, really liked so far, but realized that it was 30 minutes away from my brother, defeating half of my purpose of moving. Not that I'm in any position yet to consider moving, but nothing so far popping up is what I'd be looking for. I definitely don't want to rush anything and want to make sure that I'd be happy with this one, since it's likely the house I'm going to die in this time.

Houses listed in my range right now require moderate to a large amount of work. I can deal with moderate. I don't want to take on another full rehab though, even if the land is dry. The problem with them, really, is that they're all larger homes too. I have no need for a $40,000 to $60,000 3-4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house that needs a ton of work. I'm hoping to find a smaller 2 bed/1 bathroom house that is a lot closer to "move in" quality in that price range when I'm ready. My old man has looked out there from time to time and says that if they're not up there now, they will be.

My brother is going to be keeping an eye out now too, but I told him not to get his hopes up that this will happen any time soon. Emotionally, I want to leave tomorrow, but I know that I have a lot of work to do unless I want to lose a ton of equity. I'm not going to waste any money making this place my definition of "Perfect", but I do have a lot of things I could sink money into that were left unfinished that I shouldn't have any problems recouping on the back end. If I don't even attempt to make the basement as waterproof as possible and put the missing half of the walls up and throw a few gallons of cheap paint on them, I'm severely limiting who would even be interested in this house outside of investors. Same with the floor and door trim upstairs, the closet doors, laying down some cheap tile on the bare floor in the basement and replacing the ruined tile in the kitchen with some more cheap tiles. I'm on the fence about investing much in the 2nd bathroom or buying a new furnace. JSF might be right about that. Either way, they're both low priority at the moment.

Quote:

Look at Zillow.com or redfin.com, or trulia.com or other alternate sites
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/100215/5-best-alternativ
es-zillow-trulia.asp

for "comps" (comparable sq footage/ number of beds/baths/ lot size) to get an idea what the prices are, if you haven't already. I don't look at asking prices, instead, I look at "recently sold". Just be aware that some sites (like zillow) dont't update as frequently as they should so some homes that come on the market may not show up for few weeks, also some homes sold or taken off the market. Also look at properties sold due to repossession: they really drag the price down.

The market is already sinking in "hot" areas (SF, Hamptons, Portland, Seattle etc) so ...




Housing prices around my area have remained generally stable. I didn't find that out because of Zillow, but just from living here and observing trends, and my own property taxes over the last 8 years. Unlike the south suburbs of Chicago where family lived that skyrocketed before the crash and subsequently fell to around half of their value before turning around a fair bit, prices around here had been much more stable. It pretty much looks like any other Chicago suburb out here, but anybody who moves out this far has a decent trek to the city and back if they were working there. After cutting my taxes by virtually half, the assessed value has made a relatively slow creep of about $16k in 8 years. After it leaped about $3500 i the 2nd or 3rd year, I had called the assessor about it to find out if somebody mistakenly changed something on my property tax card. Nothing changed. Home values were just slightly on the rise. I believe I got it devalued to around $86k from a peak of around $156k at one point. Since then, it has creeped over $100k one or two years, but I believe my tax bill this year said $98k. (This is assuming that the basement is not considered livable and unfinished. I will have to pull permits to do that work when that time comes because I would want to be adding value back into the house and if I go to the Assessor about it after the fact I could get in trouble with the city for not doing it legit and they may even make me tear everything down).

Though this will add value to the property, increasing the taxes, I will also be reducing taxes by not having the porch or shed on the property anymore. It won't exactly be a wash, but they'll still be extremely cheap relative to any comparable homes in Illinois. Part of my push when I do try to sell this house is advertizing it in Illiois as a much cheaper alternative to living there, yet being just 10 minutes from the border once you hop on the expressway. I'll probably also mention that I have no senior discounts, and the homestead exemption is exactly the same for a new owner, vs trying to figure out that mess of lies in Illinois. So what I'm paying is what they'd be paying, and they wouldn't have to worry about a doubling in tax prices a few years down the road.



Quote:

So after that, it's just a question of preerving your wealth; you want to make sure you don't LOSE any money selling your current house versus buying a new one.


Yeah. I'm going to take a hit losing that porch and shed. No way around that. To add to that problem, the way it was all constructed made my house look much bigger from the street than it actually is. I guess the plus side is that my already gigantic yard looks even bigger, but only if I do work over the next summer or two to really make the yard look good, and I make the new empty space tie in well too.

Without the porch, and with the hole filled in, I suspect I could ask for $40,000 without doing any more work at all. I have to figure out how to get the best bang for my buck and for my labor on the rest of the house when that is done. My end goal would be to cash out with $70,000 after all of my future work and expenses. (Meaning if I put $20k into it now, I'd have to sell it for $90k).

This house sold for $144k in 2006. I don't think I'd ever get that price no matter how much I beautified it. A recent ad I got from a local bank supposedly values my property at around $128k, sight unseen, based off of comps (they were offering me a large loan off of my equity).

I don't think that $90k should be an unreasonable price point for this area if all the work I intend to do is done. And if I'm dropping $20k to get there, that is if I include a new furnace, so I might not even have to get that much if I don't do that. I do believe I'm being quite conservative with these numbers.


Quote:

I agree about yard sales. I've had or helped with a couple of really successful ones (sold all our worldly possessions before moving cross country) but mostly they have been disappointing and not worth the effort. My most successful yard sale at had a bucket of machbooks, and when people tried to jerk me down from $0.25 for a $10 item I'd say "Pay the asking price and grab some matches" and it woked. The other successful one I helped run for ome friends, they just tok their stuff to an empty gas station lot at the corner pf two busy streets and sold nearly everything. So maybe there's something in there. call if "moving sale" and people will know there will be large items and you ight get better traffic.


Yeah... I'm probably just not going to bother with any of that. My garage is already full because of stuff I had to pull out of the shed and porch that I need to get rid of. If I take time to lug all this shit down for a sale and it doesn't sell, I still have to get rid of it. Nobody's going to want to see all of that being rained on for months as I patiently wait week by week for them to pick up and throw out one big piece at a time.

I'm going to keep all of the artwork I've gotten though. I've got those Notre Dame pieces I mentioned in the other thread, and I've got quite a few beautiful Civil War pieces too. I have no idea at all what they're valued at, but they were definitely more pricey than I ever would have paid for something like them. I'm sure if I took my time and found the right buyers I could make a good buck off of them.

They're small though. The furniture that I don't ever use and just collects dust is crowding out all the empty space in the house. I want to empty the bedrooms, and there's a lot of good furniture in them. I'm going to give my brothers first dibs, and I let my friend know that he's on the list of people who can take some of the stuff if they don't want it. He's getting married soon and I bet his new wife would love some of those pieces for their house to replace whatever IKEA/Target crap they have. I'm hoping to barter here for some assistance on the two man jobs like putting up the gutters, and possibly getting help with the tear down project.



Thanks for your concern that I'm possibly jumping into something and being stupid like my parents. I'm not going to do that. I just dread having to get the city involved on my vacation before doing a teardown and I want my place to be immaculately clean before they come over. I don't want them focusing on anything other than the porch and investigating the whole house.

They never once came in to see any of the damage done by prior flooding when I bought it as a foreclosure. I was able to remediate all of that mold work without getting anyone involved. Chances are, this might be a relatively painless experience with the authorities, but I don't ever take anything like that for granted. All I can do is hope.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Monday, May 6, 2019 7:42 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Basement shower. Basin is there, but water would go all over? just get one of those shower curtains, makes a full circle, or leave one side a shower curtain that stays in place, overlapping, and then all the water just flows into the basin.

Walls are easy. Get the 2x4s at Home Depot that are discards, or whatever the term is for the cheap stuff. None of these are load bearing, so no big deal. If you want a vent, run it to join with your clothes dryer output. Doesnt need to be fancy, a 2nd bsath, or half bath, or 3/4 bath really makes a difference in the pricing, compared to 1 bath. Let new owners chose whatever remodeling they want to do with it. When you have a home with more than one shower, you cn remodel the other bath without a major inconvenience.


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Monday, May 6, 2019 8:27 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


It's just the base of one of those shower kits. There's bare studs behind it and bare joists on top of it. I could rig up a circular curtain, but it would be pretty ghetto.


Turns out I've got bigger problems. I noticed a big hole in the dirt by the house yesterday, and today I did some digging and investigating. It seems the ants have caused more havoc and there's been a lot of shifting of the ground in front of the house too. The storm drain pipe no longer is attached to the house. The shower I never use in the basement is expelled this way, as well as the laundry, the kitchen sink upstairs and the sump pump that is always working. (No sewage/toilets. The shower, sink and toilet upstairs as well as the toilet in the basement are expelled from the back of the house and there's no evidence there is any problems there).

The storm drain still has a grade down toward the street and doesn't seem to be backed up. When the pump runs, the water fills to the top of the hole, and is constantly draining through the pipe, but a lot of the water just goes into the soil around the pipe and stays right at the foundation. The pipe from the house is higher than the pipe in the sewer, and I checked a bunch of walls in the house and they all seem level. Checked the foundation inside and what I could see from the digging outside and it seems to still have all of its integrity. I don't believe the foundation of the house is sinking, because the pipe going out is higher than the detached storm drain by about 1/2". I have no clue how to fix this problem, even temporarily. I can't find anything online about it either.

I have no idea how long this has been going on. Could be for a very long time since my pump is always going off.


I'm kind of freaking out right now. I may just have to sell this house to anybody for any price before it all falls apart on me. I'm out of my depth here.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Monday, May 6, 2019 8:34 PM

BRENDA


Back on line.

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Monday, May 6, 2019 10:23 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


6ix needs Flex-Seal. $20 at Walmart.

Wrap a rubber collar around the gap, spanning the separation, give a little play for future shifting. Seal it all with Felx-Seal. Test and fill it back in.
There used to be repair collars, like metal. But it seems everybody uses the rubber ones now. If your pipe size is small enough, you can just use the giant hose clamps - think I've seen 8" diameter repair rubber collars, and the hose clamps that go with them. See that stuff at home depot all the time. Once installed, the repair joints knda self-seal, from the gunk inside. Not going to stop it from separating in the future, but neither did your metal/concrete/whatever original, either.
Since you have a gap, that makes it really easy to install the repair collar.


To somewhat stress test it, fill both sinks in the kitchen, and the sump well just to a level right below the trigger. Then unstop both sinks, run down and hand trip the sump pump switch (or have a big bucket of water handy). If the ground stays dry, you are good.

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Tuesday, May 7, 2019 4:40 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


The gap is only around 1/8" It didn't really separate lengthwise all that much and it's just lower where the pipe goes out to the street than it is from the house. It looks clean, so I assume it was joined somehow, but I didn't find any remnants of whatever joined it while I was down there. I would probably have to cut part of the pipe to make it bigger to get a collar on there. Any idea how I could cut an iron pipe in a two foot deep, constantly wet and muddy hole?

I filled the hole back in yesterday after I miserably failed trying to rig up something temporary to join them. I figure that since there is still grade and a good deal of water still manages to make it out regardless, I didn't want that exposed to prying eyes while I'm having all these other problems that I'm going to have to get the city involved.

It's easy enough to dig back up. The clean out is my marker.... assuming that the mud doesn't get washed away immediately and I'm left with another hole in a week.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, May 7, 2019 10:41 AM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
The gap is only around 1/8" It didn't really separate lengthwise all that much and it's just lower where the pipe goes out to the street than it is from the house. It looks clean, so I assume it was joined somehow, but I didn't find any remnants of whatever joined it while I was down there. I would probably have to cut part of the pipe to make it bigger to get a collar on there. Any idea how I could cut an iron pipe in a two foot deep, constantly wet and muddy hole?

I filled the hole back in yesterday after I miserably failed trying to rig up something temporary to join them. I figure that since there is still grade and a good deal of water still manages to make it out regardless, I didn't want that exposed to prying eyes while I'm having all these other problems that I'm going to have to get the city involved.

It's easy enough to dig back up. The clean out is my marker.... assuming that the mud doesn't get washed away immediately and I'm left with another hole in a week.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

For the collar, you might make your own if you don't want to cut a bought one. Take a metal shears to an old tire, they even have steel belting in them - maybe even run some bolts through the overlap (at the top). Then Flex-Seal the top overlap flap, plus the house side and Street side.

For alignment, you didn't say how much play was in the street wide pipe. With all that flooding action, it may have settled and got packed down. Also, how much pipe sticking out of the house? If you are able to lift/hoist the end of the street side pipe, then wedge some bricks under it. With already settled &packed dirt, that can hold it up quite a while, without water washout all the time. Even surface bricks need vehicle weight to settle down much. Otherwise, some angle iron, triple strapped to the top of Street side pipe (leave a spacer for the collar), could then rest upon the house pipe, to keep the slope aligned.


Actually, that Flex-Seal is supposed to be quite durable. For the water-seal, maybe just duct tape the gap, providing a surface and form for the Flex-Seal to adhere to while it dries. But before you let all the dirt get dried and packed, see how much play there is in lifting that Street side pipe.

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Tuesday, May 7, 2019 10:46 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


There's just about zero play in the street pipe. It's packed down good. There are heavy decorative stone units that divide the lawn from the dirt on the side of the house for landscaping. I'm sure that weight isn't helping matters there.

I might be able to remove more dirt when I finally decide to do something about it, but whatever I do is likely to draw a lot of attention. My house is really far from the curb from your average house, but it's not going to look like I'm just doing gardening when my arms are disappearing down to my shoulder along the side of the house.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, May 7, 2019 10:55 AM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
There's just about zero play in the street pipe. It's packed down good. There are heavy decorative stone units that divide the lawn from the dirt on the side of the house for landscaping. I'm sure that weight isn't helping matters there.

I might be able to remove more dirt when I finally decide to do something about it, but whatever I do is likely to draw a lot of attention. My house is really far from the curb from your average house, but it's not going to look like I'm just doing gardening when my arms are disappearing down to my shoulder along the side of the house.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

Your wheelbarrow or yard wagon full of gardening tools should hide you. Grab one for cheap at a yard sale.

Maybe those stone untis did the damage. After getting the pipe action done, on each side of the pipe, place and stack a few layers of brick. Put 6-12" or more of topsoil back on top. This should allow the brick to support the weight of the surface stones instead of the pipe.

If you haven't moved the stone unit directly above the pipe yet, then do the pipe stuff first, mark clearly where the pipe is (maybe eyeball a spot on the sidewalk and chqlkmark it), and then a week or 2 later go to the stone and move it to shore up bricks under it, or just leave it alone. If you didn't install those stones, then it took this long to create the problem, and will take that long for the problem to repeat.

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Tuesday, May 7, 2019 12:22 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
There's just about zero play in the street pipe. It's packed down good. There are heavy decorative stone units that divide the lawn from the dirt on the side of the house for landscaping. I'm sure that weight isn't helping matters there.

I might be able to remove more dirt when I finally decide to do something about it, but whatever I do is likely to draw a lot of attention. My house is really far from the curb from your average house, but it's not going to look like I'm just doing gardening when my arms are disappearing down to my shoulder along the side of the house.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

Your wheelbarrow or yard wagon full of gardening tools should hide you. Grab one for cheap at a yard sale.

Maybe those stone untis did the damage. After getting the pipe action done, on each side of the pipe, place and stack a few layers of brick. Put 6-12" or more of topsoil back on top. This should allow the brick to support the weight of the surface stones instead of the pipe.

If you haven't moved the stone unit directly above the pipe yet, then do the pipe stuff first, mark clearly where the pipe is (maybe eyeball a spot on the sidewalk and chqlkmark it), and then a week or 2 later go to the stone and move it to shore up bricks under it, or just leave it alone. If you didn't install those stones, then it took this long to create the problem, and will take that long for the problem to repeat.



Wheelbarrow is a good idea. I've got one. Should do the trick. I'm not the bright shiny center of the universe, but when I'm doing something like this you just get that paranoid feeling that all eyes are on you.

By "stone units", I mean things that are way too heavy for me to lift. They're decorative dividers that slither like a snake. I never measured one of them, but I can't believe they're less than 10' long and would probably take 3 or 4 people to move them. They're not natural, they're fabricated. I've never seen anything like them before, so I don't know what else you'd call them except for landscape dividers.

I don't think they did the damage themselves, but the ground has shifted after years of not having gutters, and all of the recent ant activity. Probably made it even worse once the pipe broke and all that additional water was alongside the house all the time.

That's why I'm happy to see that the pipe coming from the house (about 4") is higher than the pipe going out to the street. Because of that, and taking the level on what I believe to be load bearing walls in the house checks out, I don't think the house has shifted at all. However, the concrete slab under the shed at the end of the porch is cracked in half. It always was, but now there is about an inch in between and it's obvious to the naked eye that it's way out of level. That is supporting most of the weight of the roof for the porch right now. Checking the headers for level, there is a bad dip toward the slab now. That's why I said that has to go.

This shifting of the slab also moved the small gated metal fence to the point you can't really close it anymore. I never liked it and always wanted to replace that one day, so not too bummed about that, but at the far end it's also messing with the siding on the garage because of the shift.



These ants are like the plague. I don't know what to do about them. Even if I gave up trying and paid big bucks for pros to come out, my idiot neighbor has been infested with them for years and I can't believe that his garage that hasn't been sided since I've lived here is even still standing. My next door neighbors that I like have had them in their house. I warned them to start putting stuff down and showed them the massive ant hills in between our houses that he thought were from gophers (I thought that too before). I also saw an Orkin truck across the street on one of the old guy's properties that take really great care of their lawn.

I'm starting to suspect that they came from the man made ditch that keeps the flooding down to reasonable levels. Anybody paying to have them removed might be wasting money unless these are killed at the source.

I didn't even know this was a thing that people needed to be concerned about.



Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, May 7, 2019 7:39 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


The ant stuff from Home Depot always worked fine for me, it seemed. Almost forgot that I had those issues, until you posted this. I also head about some trick, to put a line of something across their trail, which they then can't find how to cross. Maybe it was salt, or lime, or talc powder, lemon juice, can't recall.


Have you looked into mud-jacking? It hydraulically raises concrete slabs or other pavement or structures.
Not sure how much it costs, but supposedly much much cheaper than paying for a new slab of concrete, so it might be worth it to you to check. Not for you to do, but have somebody do it for you.

I don't get why you haven't done gutters. I called around, checked prices, had a guy bring his crew at his convenience, put seamless gutters on both sides of my house, 4 levels of roof eaves, connected them all, sloped them all, with downspouts, for about $350 cash. While I watched. I didn't really even need it on one side, which was lined with the driveway the whole way, but still worth the little cost.
Give your nearest cheap guy a month to pick his day, for the cheapest price.

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Tuesday, May 7, 2019 8:32 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
The ant stuff from Home Depot always worked fine for me, it seemed. Almost forgot that I had those issues, until you posted this. I also head about some trick, to put a line of something across their trail, which they then can't find how to cross. Maybe it was salt, or lime, or talc powder, lemon juice, can't recall.



I've been using Amdro Ant Block, mainly. It's a marvelous product. Putting it down around the perimeter of my house kept them out almost immediately. Above the concrete slab where I had seen no less than 4 constant lines of ants coming to and from the house in front, the very next day the activity was halted completely and thousands of ants lie dead around the stuff.

Just last week, I also added a few gallons of the spray killer for the perimeter of houses to the mix. As far as I know now, there is no ant activity in the house or even the porch. Since the porch is exposed almost entirely now, I don't see any evidence of live ants there.

That's not the problem though. They're EVERYWHERE. My idiot neighbor told me years ago when I first noticed evidence of problems that he couldn't afford to pay the Orkin man who wanted thousands of dollars to put several subterranian treatments all around his house. He said his entire back yard was like a sponge to walk on. This year, I've noticed that the entire path around those winding stone pavers in front of my house is spongy and has risen. Over the last two years they've destroyed the paver patio on the back (again, something I thought was ugly as hell and always wanted to tear up and replace with other pavers or just gravel or river rock anyhow, but nothing I'm going to sink money into until I know the ants are gone).

While mowing last week I also noticed spots easily 100 ft from the house that seem infested too. These are in spots where there used to be trees that were cut down prior to my moving in.

Activity on the pavers seems to be down so far this spring with the vast amounts of poison and the early start I've gotten, but then again, as you know, it's still dipping down to some quite seasonably cold temps at night this far north and that may have more to do with it than the poison.


Quote:

Have you looked into mud-jacking? It hydraulically raises concrete slabs or other pavement or structures.
Not sure how much it costs, but supposedly much much cheaper than paying for a new slab of concrete, so it might be worth it to you to check. Not for you to do, but have somebody do it for you.



I haven't. This week while I'm working I'm going to spend a few hours every day making my house spotlessly clean. I plan on calling the city the first week I'm off and hoping that some of the guys I worked with when I first bought the house are still in the building department. I'm hoping they can give me some insight and some good advice/news. I really don't know what my options are at all at this point, and since I generally expect the worst in all things, I may be making this all much worse in my mind than it actually is. I haven't been able to get my friend or his dad to check this place out yet and give me any ideas. I can't exactly be mad about that since except for 2 phone calls in the last 4-5 years I shut all of my old friends out of my life while I was drinking and haven't tried repairing those relationships to this day. He's got his own rental property that his tennants let fall to shit that he and his old man have been trying to get back up to code before a deadline the city gave him next month. I offered to help him next week when I'm off work, but with what I'm dealing with I doubt I'll be able to get them to at least scope it out before I get the city involved.

Jacking everything up might actually be a solution, if I'm allowed to have my own crew and I can get my friend and his dad to help out after it's jacked up. However I doubt I'd be willing to put the money into paying a crew to do it for me rather than just tear it down. The frame and roof of the structure is still stable. If we could get a new slab under the shed and do some work on the existing porch walls and frame work with it all jacked up to make everything level, that might actually be cheaper than tearing it all down and filling the hole. It certainly would be less work. I have to get the city involved now either way, which was something I was hoping to avoid from the start, so I might find out I have more options than I'm currently considering.

Quote:

I don't get why you haven't done gutters. I called around, checked prices, had a guy bring his crew at his convenience, put seamless gutters on both sides of my house, 4 levels of roof eaves, connected them all, sloped them all, with downspouts, for about $350 cash. While I watched. I didn't really even need it on one side, which was lined with the driveway the whole way, but still worth the little cost.
Give your nearest cheap guy a month to pick his day, for the cheapest price.



I don't either man. I'm cheap? I'm an idiot? I'm an asshole? All of the above?

Do you mean $350 in labor, or for the materials too?

I priced it out at a local place that would make the gutters on the spot to whatever specs I wanted. I don't have the measurements on me right now, or the exact prices, but all of the aluminum and fasteners came out to around $800-$850 if memory serves. That includes for the garage and the porch/shed. Whatever the exact price was, it was 50% cheaper having quality continuous gutters made on the spot than it would have been to buy cheap shit from menards that I'd have to join every 12 feet or so.

Like I said before, it's a really big house for a single guy. Most of the house I could have done with just the help of my brother who is too heavy to get up on an extendable ladder. The back of the home though, given the tri-level design, is about 15ft off the ground and I'd need another friend who was much more agile to put up with me... and to be fair, until I started my diet and this job and got back in shape, I wouldn't have been able to do it myself either.

In retrospect, the gutters are just one on a list of things I would have done different. I just ignored my problems, hoping they'd go away on their own, and they've lead to a host of much more expensive problems. I call my neighbor "the idiot", but at least he has the excuse of barely even scraping by while raising his daughter in their decaying property. Since day one I've always had enough money in the bank to at least put gutters on my house.





Oh... something occurred to me today in a moment of clarity in between near-panic bouts here...

The clean-out for the bad pipe leading away from the house is large PVC, and is about 3 feet from the foundation of the house. It's hard to tell what's down there at that point of the system, but it's definitely not iron. So whatever pipe that I'm looking at that is 1/8" lower than the pipe coming out of the house, whether it sheared off from the pressure or lost whatever was connecting it, is a short piece that's no more than a few feet long.

That would explain why I could I could move it up slightly by hand better than thinking I'm Thor raising his hammer. When it comes time for me to tackle this issue, it might not be so bad. I might have to dig up a trench of roughly 3 feet to remove that pipe and then I can just find a solution to join roughly 3 feet between the pipe coming out of the home and whatever is at the clean-out. Given that I can see a steady stream of water draining through the clean-out even though the water fills up around the foundation first every time the pump goes off, and I don't see any back-flow when it's done, I know the grade is still good (or good enough), and if I can just join the two properly and make sure that the land doesn't sink anymore by getting the gutters and getting rid of the ants at least in that area I should be okay.



Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, May 7, 2019 10:53 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
The ant stuff from Home Depot always worked fine for me, it seemed. Almost forgot that I had those issues, until you posted this. I also head about some trick, to put a line of something across their trail, which they then can't find how to cross. Maybe it was salt, or lime, or talc powder, lemon juice, can't recall.


I've been using Amdro Ant Block, mainly. It's a marvelous product. Putting it down around the perimeter of my house kept them out almost immediately. Above the concrete slab where I had seen no less than 4 constant lines of ants coming to and from the house in front, the very next day the activity was halted completely and thousands of ants lie dead around the stuff.

Just last week, I also added a few gallons of the spray killer for the perimeter of houses to the mix. As far as I know now, there is no ant activity in the house or even the porch. Since the porch is exposed almost entirely now, I don't see any evidence of live ants there.

That's not the problem though. They're EVERYWHERE. My idiot neighbor told me years ago when I first noticed evidence of problems that he couldn't afford to pay the Orkin man who wanted thousands of dollars to put several subterranian treatments all around his house. He said his entire back yard was like a sponge to walk on. This year, I've noticed that the entire path around those winding stone pavers in front of my house is spongy and has risen. Over the last two years they've destroyed the paver patio on the back (again, something I thought was ugly as hell and always wanted to tear up and replace with other pavers or just gravel or river rock anyhow, but nothing I'm going to sink money into until I know the ants are gone).

While mowing last week I also noticed spots easily 100 ft from the house that seem infested too. These are in spots where there used to be trees that were cut down prior to my moving in.

Activity on the pavers seems to be down so far this spring with the vast amounts of poison and the early start I've gotten, but then again, as you know, it's still dipping down to some quite seasonably cold temps at night this far north and that may have more to do with it than the poison.
Quote:

Have you looked into mud-jacking? It hydraulically raises concrete slabs or other pavement or structures.
Not sure how much it costs, but supposedly much much cheaper than paying for a new slab of concrete, so it might be worth it to you to check. Not for you to do, but have somebody do it for you.


I haven't. This week while I'm working I'm going to spend a few hours every day making my house spotlessly clean. I plan on calling the city the first week I'm off and hoping that some of the guys I worked with when I first bought the house are still in the building department. I'm hoping they can give me some insight and some good advice/news. I really don't know what my options are at all at this point, and since I generally expect the worst in all things, I may be making this all much worse in my mind than it actually is. I haven't been able to get my friend or his dad to check this place out yet and give me any ideas. I can't exactly be mad about that since except for 2 phone calls in the last 4-5 years I shut all of my old friends out of my life while I was drinking and haven't tried repairing those relationships to this day. He's got his own rental property that his tennants let fall to shit that he and his old man have been trying to get back up to code before a deadline the city gave him next month. I offered to help him next week when I'm off work, but with what I'm dealing with I doubt I'll be able to get them to at least scope it out before I get the city involved.

Jacking everything up might actually be a solution, if I'm allowed to have my own crew and I can get my friend and his dad to help out after it's jacked up. However I doubt I'd be willing to put the money into paying a crew to do it for me rather than just tear it down. The frame and roof of the structure is still stable. If we could get a new slab under the shed and do some work on the existing porch walls and frame work with it all jacked up to make everything level, that might actually be cheaper than tearing it all down and filling the hole. It certainly would be less work. I have to get the city involved now either way, which was something I was hoping to avoid from the start, so I might find out I have more options than I'm currently considering.
Quote:

I don't get why you haven't done gutters. I called around, checked prices, had a guy bring his crew at his convenience, put seamless gutters on both sides of my house, 4 levels of roof eaves, connected them all, sloped them all, with downspouts, for about $350 cash. While I watched. I didn't really even need it on one side, which was lined with the driveway the whole way, but still worth the little cost.
Give your nearest cheap guy a month to pick his day, for the cheapest price.


I don't either man. I'm cheap? I'm an idiot? I'm an asshole? All of the above?

Do you mean $350 in labor, or for the materials too?

I priced it out at a local place that would make the gutters on the spot to whatever specs I wanted. I don't have the measurements on me right now, or the exact prices, but all of the aluminum and fasteners came out to around $800-$850 if memory serves. That includes for the garage and the porch/shed. Whatever the exact price was, it was 50% cheaper having quality continuous gutters made on the spot than it would have been to buy cheap shit from menards that I'd have to join every 12 feet or so.

Like I said before, it's a really big house for a single guy. Most of the house I could have done with just the help of my brother who is too heavy to get up on an extendable ladder. The back of the home though, given the tri-level design, is about 15ft off the ground and I'd need another friend who was much more agile to put up with me... and to be fair, until I started my diet and this job and got back in shape, I wouldn't have been able to do it myself either.

In retrospect, the gutters are just one on a list of things I would have done different. I just ignored my problems, hoping they'd go away on their own, and they've lead to a host of much more expensive problems. I call my neighbor "the idiot", but at least he has the excuse of barely even scraping by while raising his daughter in their decaying property. Since day one I've always had enough money in the bank to at least put gutters on my house.





Oh... something occurred to me today in a moment of clarity in between near-panic bouts here...

The clean-out for the bad pipe leading away from the house is large PVC, and is about 3 feet from the foundation of the house. It's hard to tell what's down there at that point of the system, but it's definitely not iron. So whatever pipe that I'm looking at that is 1/8" lower than the pipe coming out of the house, whether it sheared off from the pressure or lost whatever was connecting it, is a short piece that's no more than a few feet long.

That would explain why I could I could move it up slightly by hand better than thinking I'm Thor raising his hammer. When it comes time for me to tackle this issue, it might not be so bad. I might have to dig up a trench of roughly 3 feet to remove that pipe and then I can just find a solution to join roughly 3 feet between the pipe coming out of the home and whatever is at the clean-out. Given that I can see a steady stream of water draining through the clean-out even though the water fills up around the foundation first every time the pump goes off, and I don't see any back-flow when it's done, I know the grade is still good (or good enough), and if I can just join the two properly and make sure that the land doesn't sink anymore by getting the gutters and getting rid of the ants at least in that area I should be okay.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

I don't think you understand mud-jacking. It would level everything for you, without digging or whatever.

Put that ant stuff we here you see them. You don't have leftovers?

That gutter price was for the whole deal, including whatever taxes might have been applied (I did work a discount for no receipt, cash). My house is only 40 ft long, including porch, so that is 80ft, with 4 different levels, including everything to connect them to each other, and downspouts. I did call everybody in the book, and I think had quotes around $1500. My eaves are about 15 ft up as well. Crew was about 3-4 other guys with the boss. I wanted to get them to do my other house, but my schedule didn't work out.

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Wednesday, May 8, 2019 8:05 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
I don't think you understand mud-jacking. It would level everything for you, without digging or whatever.



I don't honestly know what mud-jacking is. My porch is attached to the house, with a huge 15'x15' hole that's around 3 1/2 feet deep that extends the crawl space of the house proper (although the original foundation wall was thankfully left in there, so it probably doesn't benefit directly from the sump pump like the crawl does). At the end of the porch, it is attached to a shed that is around 6'x15' that is on a busted concrete slab that has cracked and shifted considerably.

Though I've checked for level all over the house and it passes, there is a considerable downward grade from the roof of the porch all the way to the end of the shed. If I were to guess, about 90% of the weight of the entire unit is resting on that slab right now. I have to do something one way or another soon, because all signs point to the doubled up 2"x12" headers on the front and back are actually tied into the house and if the thing falls it's taking a big ass chunk of my house with it.

Quote:

Put that ant stuff we here you see them. You don't have leftovers?


I've been doing that for 3 summers now. I kill one ant hill popping up from under those pavers and 5 more pop up to replace it. It's like a demented game of wack-a-mole that you're destined to lose.

I used all I had left over from last year and another $12 bottle I bought last week already. Going to pick up more this week.

Quote:

That gutter price was for the whole deal, including whatever taxes might have been applied (I did work a discount for no receipt, cash). My house is only 40 ft long, including porch, so that is 80ft, with 4 different levels, including everything to connect them to each other, and downspouts. I did call everybody in the book, and I think had quotes around $1500. My eaves are about 15 ft up as well. Crew was about 3-4 other guys with the boss. I wanted to get them to do my other house, but my schedule didn't work out.



Yeah.... there's the difference. I need about 2/3rds as much aluminum gutter for my garage alone as you do for your house. With the porch and shed included, my guess is I'd need around 70 feet for both the front and the back, which is another 140 feet total. Two downspouts for the garage, and 5 for the house, given the way it's built.

Like I said, I don't remember the exact quote I had for the aluminum off hand, and it was a few years back so it's probably higher now, but if memory serves it was around $700. May have been $800. Whatever the exact measurements were, I compared that to smaller width, segmented gutter trash at Menards and they came in roughly 50% cheaper than buying that shit that I'd have to tie together every 10 or 12 feet or so.


Also, like I said before... WAY TOO MUCH freakin' house for one person. Let's just say I was a lot more ambitious when I was 32 years old and I still hadn't all but ruled out the idea that I might get married and have kids one day. No point in crying about bad decisions now. My next house will be 1/3rd the house and lawn that I have now.



Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, May 8, 2019 8:19 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Job update...

Night shift is gone on the 22nd of June. Not sure what that means for everybody else, let alone my future there. I've heard that they're offering severance to night shift employees who don't come to days. That only amounts to 2 weeks pay for how long I've been there, so that's nothing. Because of the severance offer, I inquired with Number 2 about the possibility of unemployment and he said that the company has never fought it before and that even people who were fired for stealing got it.

I'm no dummy though, and with the massive changes throughout the company recently that means nothing today. It's also possible that in the fine print of the severance package that you're signing away your ability to get any unemployment as well. I wouldn't make any decisions on anything until I have all of the details.

I'm not going to like this new system no matter what happens, but my schedule means more to me right now with the house problems than it ever did before. I think my days of working 6 and being off 8 are done for, but I'm mulling over the idea of offering them weekends instead. It seems the new schedule is going to be "block scheduling" where every part and full time employee will work the exact same days and time every single week so nobody has to be in charge of scheduling anymore. I think I at least have a shot at getting this since I doubt very much the list of people offering to work every weekend is very long.

If I don't like the terms, there is always the third option of a 3 month leave of absence, unpaid. That would give me time to work on the house, while taking out a home equity line of credit for the repairs that need to be done. Also it would give me plenty of time to help my friend out with his problems and get his help with mine. I could also likely re-establish a working relationship with his dad who hasn't retired and get some work on the side in the mean time.

If I'm working part time still at this job, I may even work for free for him if we can barter for his own help with my house project.

I'm hoping that a summer of repairs is fruitful and I'm in a better position to reassess everything and make a more informed decision. I'd not like to burn my bridges with this company because there's a good likelihood that I could get a request for transfer approved if I were to move down by my brother. It wouldn't exactly be walking distance from where I'd be living, but neither is the place I'm working at now.


For better or worse, my life just got a whole lot more interesting overnight.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Thursday, May 9, 2019 12:55 AM

BRENDA


Gotta be careful with moving boxes around here and unpacking. Succeeded in irritating both branches of my sciatic nerve over last weekend. Woke up Tuesday morning with pain in my right leg but the left was worse. Pain from my left ankle to my hip.

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Thursday, May 9, 2019 1:05 AM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Gotta be careful with moving boxes around here and unpacking. Succeeded in irritating both branches of my sciatic nerve over last weekend. Woke up Tuesday morning with pain in my right leg but the left was worse. Pain from my left ankle to my hip.

Why would you be in any hurry now? Take your time, relax. Enjoy the new place.

Do you have a view? Stairs? Laundry room? Heat?

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Thursday, May 9, 2019 11:40 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Hey BRENDA, welcome back! I hope the new place is everything you want it to be! I'm with JSF ... don't hurry with the unpacking. Take your time and don't tweak anything worse than it already is.



-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Thursday, May 9, 2019 11:51 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Wow, SIX, you're dealing with a lot more than I can imagine, house-wise. But FWIW my uninformed opinion is that the porch hasn't collapsed yet, so unlikely to do so in the near future. My equally uninformed advice: Take your time, don't panic. I would start by connecting the pipes up first, since water around your foundation will only make things worse by carrying away the sand/dirt from around your porch. Erosion ... a powerful force for damage!

As far as the job is concerned, I'm glad that you're not burning your bridges. The homeless guy that I knew who found a job and a place to stay in Idaho? He's back again in LA, homeless and jobless because he refused to fill out a timesheet detailing his work that some byatch in the front office wanted him to fill out. I know that jobs are filled with all kinds of aggravations, but it's like they say: The only thing worse than working is not working. So try to make it work out, keep your job until you find another, and don't hang your entire future on to your house sale because I have some questions about some aspects of your house (not structural ones, you're already looking into that) which I will bring up at some later date when you're not facing so many issues.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Thursday, May 9, 2019 1:10 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Gotta be careful with moving boxes around here and unpacking. Succeeded in irritating both branches of my sciatic nerve over last weekend. Woke up Tuesday morning with pain in my right leg but the left was worse. Pain from my left ankle to my hip.

Why would you be in any hurry now? Take your time, relax. Enjoy the new place.

Do you have a view? Stairs? Laundry room? Heat?



It's not really being in a hurry JSF but I was stagnant for so long that I now am able to do things. I am working on slowing down now that I have things a little bit more organized.

I am at the back of the building on the 10th floor. So, yeah I can see. There is an elevator that I use. No way am I tromping up and down 10 flights of stairs. There is a laundry room and right now heat is no problem with all the natural light I get in here. So, I know it will be fine come winter.

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Thursday, May 9, 2019 1:13 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Hey BRENDA, welcome back! I hope the new place is everything you want it to be! I'm with JSF ... don't hurry with the unpacking. Take your time and don't tweak anything worse than it already is.



-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .



Hey SIG. Yup, I'm back. I am working on slowing down now. Problem is that I am looking for things that have been boxed up for so many years. Someone I play mah jong with came over yesterday and between the two of us, we got the main storage space sorted out. Found my dad's medals for his WWII service that when I have time I can make a presentation out of and hang them on a wall.

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Thursday, May 9, 2019 1:15 PM

BRENDA


Gotta make a quick call and cancel this idiot cellphone I had gotten for emergencies. I hate the things. Then some other stuff to do and off to work.

Later peeps.

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Thursday, May 9, 2019 1:17 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


I read your previous post, I'm so happy that you have space for your things and natural light; I feel that much of your winter blues came from lack of light. BRENDA, I'm so happy for you! I hope that you'll like the new place a whole lot!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Thursday, May 9, 2019 8:02 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


"Later Peeps"?

Somebody seems rather chipper these days.

Good on you, Brenda. Glad you could finally get that miserable cave and miserable landlady out of your life for good. Your place sounds a lot like my brother's. If it's anything like his, and you're on the side that his is, you may need to have the A/C on more than you'd care to during the summer, but the reverse good news is that you won't need to use as much heat during the winter. The one little oddity of his place that I don't have an explanation for.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Thursday, May 9, 2019 11:17 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I read your previous post, I'm so happy that you have space for your things and natural light; I feel that much of your winter blues came from lack of light. BRENDA, I'm so happy for you! I hope that you'll like the new place a whole lot!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

It is good. I know that A LOT of my winter blues came from lack of light. I already like it SIG. I'm still adjusting a little but I think most of my twitchiness has gone.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .



It is good SIG. And I know A LOT of my winter blues came from little natural light in that place.

I already like this new place. I think most of my twitchiness has gone but I am still settling in. Gonna take time but I got that now.

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Thursday, May 9, 2019 11:23 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
"Later Peeps"?

Somebody seems rather chipper these days.

Good on you, Brenda. Glad you could finally get that miserable cave and miserable landlady out of your life for good. Your place sounds a lot like my brother's. If it's anything like his, and you're on the side that his is, you may need to have the A/C on more than you'd care to during the summer, but the reverse good news is that you won't need to use as much heat during the winter. The one little oddity of his place that I don't have an explanation for.

Do Right, Be Right. :)



Yup, been a long time since I have felt this happy in the place I am living. Oh, I'm sure I will have to turn on a fan this summer. But that's okay. I have a balcony that once I get a small chair I sit out on and watch the world go by.

The reason I won't is because as I stated I am on the 10th floor and we all know that heat rises.

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Friday, May 10, 2019 1:14 AM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Gotta be careful with moving boxes around here and unpacking. Succeeded in irritating both branches of my sciatic nerve over last weekend. Woke up Tuesday morning with pain in my right leg but the left was worse. Pain from my left ankle to my hip.

Why would you be in any hurry now? Take your time, relax. Enjoy the new place.

Do you have a view? Stairs? Laundry room? Heat?


It's not really being in a hurry JSF but I was stagnant for so long that I now am able to do things. I am working on slowing down now that I have things a little bit more organized.

I am at the back of the building on the 10th floor. So, yeah I can see. There is an elevator that I use. No way am I tromping up and down 10 flights of stairs. There is a laundry room and right now heat is no problem with all the natural light I get in here. So, I know it will be fine come winter.

From the basement to the 10th floor - that's moving up in the world. Sounds like No nasty sidewalks to deal with, and no snow or ice for your first 5 minutes out your door, and none to do laundry.

Don't take this the wrong way, but maybe try taking one flight of stairs at least, on a regular basis. They should be in good repair in your skyscraper, and this will help you keep in shape, limbered, and not fall into a habit many do and skip the stairs entirely. First flight on the way up, last flight the way down. Getting the blood circulating should keep your mood improved as well.

Your balcony should get a decent breeze at 110 feet above the road. Next you'll be getting all tanned from snoozing there. Which direction is it facing? How far is visibility?

Hope it all works well.

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Friday, May 10, 2019 2:19 AM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Gotta be careful with moving boxes around here and unpacking. Succeeded in irritating both branches of my sciatic nerve over last weekend. Woke up Tuesday morning with pain in my right leg but the left was worse. Pain from my left ankle to my hip.

Why would you be in any hurry now? Take your time, relax. Enjoy the new place.

Do you have a view? Stairs? Laundry room? Heat?


It's not really being in a hurry JSF but I was stagnant for so long that I now am able to do things. I am working on slowing down now that I have things a little bit more organized.

I am at the back of the building on the 10th floor. So, yeah I can see. There is an elevator that I use. No way am I tromping up and down 10 flights of stairs. There is a laundry room and right now heat is no problem with all the natural light I get in here. So, I know it will be fine come winter.

From the basement to the 10th floor - that's moving up in the world. Sounds like No nasty sidewalks to deal with, and no snow or ice for your first 5 minutes out your door, and none to do laundry.

Don't take this the wrong way, but maybe try taking one flight of stairs at least, on a regular basis. They should be in good repair in your skyscraper, and this will help you keep in shape, limbered, and not fall into a habit many do and skip the stairs entirely. First flight on the way up, last flight the way down. Getting the blood circulating should keep your mood improved as well.

Your balcony should get a decent breeze at 110 feet above the road. Next you'll be getting all tanned from snoozing there. Which direction is it facing? How far is visibility?

Hope it all works well.



You are right the sidewalks will be fine around where I am. If we get snow this winter I will need my cane for getting to work as those sidewalks will be bad.

You might have a point about some of the stairs. I'll have a think on it.

I'm sure it will. I am facing East as I get sun all day now that it is Spring and as long as it isn't raining. Since I am now in apartment building which is in the main shopping district, I can see all the other apartments and shops. Though from my balcony I should be able to see the Fraser river.

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Friday, May 10, 2019 8:36 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
"Later Peeps"?

Somebody seems rather chipper these days.

Good on you, Brenda. Glad you could finally get that miserable cave and miserable landlady out of your life for good. Your place sounds a lot like my brother's. If it's anything like his, and you're on the side that his is, you may need to have the A/C on more than you'd care to during the summer, but the reverse good news is that you won't need to use as much heat during the winter. The one little oddity of his place that I don't have an explanation for.

Do Right, Be Right. :)



Yup, been a long time since I have felt this happy in the place I am living. Oh, I'm sure I will have to turn on a fan this summer. But that's okay. I have a balcony that once I get a small chair I sit out on and watch the world go by.

The reason I won't is because as I stated I am on the 10th floor and we all know that heat rises.



That's great! Really been pulling for you and it's nice to see a happy ending for once.

If you feel it's safe to do, I like JSF's suggestion about taking the stairs... but only if it's safe. It'll maintain those muscles that you wouldn't otherwise be working out by regular walking. It's one thing to make the choice to not take the stairs, but another thing entirely to allow yourself to get to the point where you no longer have a choice at all.



Speaking of working out... I'm going to have to start myself. In fact, after I came home from work today I did my first bench press sets in about 15 or so years. I do a ton of pulling at work and actually avoid the pushing of the real heavy pallets as often as possible because I have a majority of my strength in my shoulders and legs and back these days, so it's a lot easier. Back when I was power lifting in my 20's I focused too much on my chest if anything, like most people do, and I was able to lift 375 lbs. Man... Past me would bitch slap current me. I did 1 set of 12 reps, 1 of 10 and 1 of 8 and I was done. Only 125lbs. So sad... Going to have to fix that now.

The job is all but over for me. This new guy is a by the book bitch and he told my manager that I would not be allowed to work weekends. Only full timers will have set schedules, and part timers will have to work whatever days they give you, and whatever hours they give you. This means I wouldn't even be getting the 8-10 hour shifts I've been working and I'd likely be getting only 4-5 hour shifts. It's not even worth the gas money and the wear on my car for that.

If he's going to be a by-the-book bitch about it, he's going to lose the hardest working employee he has in his store.

Managed to dodge him again today. I was actually hoping he'd catch me after I punched out and I could do a little walk by him like on Office Space and head right out the front door. If I can manage to dodge him for 3 more days, then he'll see what the place looks like when I'm not there for 3 weeks straight.

I figure every day that I don't see him until the night shift is gone is another day I don't say something I might regret.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Friday, May 10, 2019 10:22 AM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:

Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Gotta be careful with moving boxes around here and unpacking. Succeeded in irritating both branches of my sciatic nerve over last weekend. Woke up Tuesday morning with pain in my right leg but the left was worse. Pain from my left ankle to my hip.

Why would you be in any hurry now? Take your time, relax. Enjoy the new place.

Do you have a view? Stairs? Laundry room? Heat?


It's not really being in a hurry JSF but I was stagnant for so long that I now am able to do things. I am working on slowing down now that I have things a little bit more organized.

I am at the back of the building on the 10th floor. So, yeah I can see. There is an elevator that I use. No way am I tromping up and down 10 flights of stairs. There is a laundry room and right now heat is no problem with all the natural light I get in here. So, I know it will be fine come winter.

From the basement to the 10th floor - that's moving up in the world. Sounds like No nasty sidewalks to deal with, and no snow or ice for your first 5 minutes out your door, and none to do laundry.

Don't take this the wrong way, but maybe try taking one flight of stairs at least, on a regular basis. They should be in good repair in your skyscraper, and this will help you keep in shape, limbered, and not fall into a habit many do and skip the stairs entirely. First flight on the way up, last flight the way down. Getting the blood circulating should keep your mood improved as well.

Your balcony should get a decent breeze at 110 feet above the road. Next you'll be getting all tanned from snoozing there. Which direction is it facing? How far is visibility?

Hope it all works well.


You are right the sidewalks will be fine around where I am. If we get snow this winter I will need my cane for getting to work as those sidewalks will be bad.

You might have a point about some of the stairs. I'll have a think on it.

I'm sure it will. I am facing East as I get sun all day now that it is Spring and as long as it isn't raining. Since I am now in apartment building which is in the main shopping district, I can see all the other apartments and shops. Though from my balcony I should be able to see the Fraser river.

I would hope you at least take 2 stairs down, if you're going to avoid up. But at least 1 up per day would be better. Not with groceries or when hurried, but make a habit of it.

Facing East means you'll be largely in the shade side during the hottest part of the day in summer.
My sneaky side would be getting some binoculars (Army Surplus store) to watch which stores have the longest lines, biggest crowds to know where the best sales are.

Your new place sounds great. Send a box of chocolates to the people who helped you get in there.

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