The Joy of Home Ownership

[Snattlerake]

Well, all I can say is if'n I was down there on all fours, you would have to call 911 to get me back up.

My LE career wasn't as hard on my body as my alarm tech career.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

I could never make a living at a skilled trade, I end up taking way too long to get it just right before I can put my name on it.

That's me. I'm way too meticulous, even when I don't know what I'm doing.

Same here. A model I live by = "Your work is a portrait of yourself" I might be slow, but I do my best to do it right the first time.

Yep. When someone asks me "Who did the work?" I want to be proud, or at least not ashamed, to say I did it.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

That's just it. I don't have the knowledge or the skills to tile the bathroom. I never knew you had to grout in a tub to keep it from flexing. had no experience moving a cast iron drain 3 feet. I didn't know, and apparently the three tilers before this one, about a metal tile transition piece instead of bull nosed tile. So, ya see, I picked the wrong contractor to do a week's work a year ago.

Hell... I'd never done a lot of the things I'm doing here. YouTube is your friend...at least it was my friend. I'll watch videos of 2 or 3 guys doing what I want to do...maybe a few more if it seems complicated or I want to learn some of the tricks.

I find if I can just get myself to start a project I can do it. For me it's the apprehension of not knowing the ins and outs that keeps me from doing some things. Once I get started I can kind of get into a rhythm and generally get it done.

Some things, like plumbing, has become so much easier than it was in the past due to some of the technical advances...like SharkBite fittings. None of the sinks in the bathroom or kitchen had shutoff valves in this house. But the water lines are all PEX. Buy a SharkBite valve, cut water line in half, push SharkBite valve on each end of cut pipe, done. It literally took me longer to shut the water off at the pump house than it did to install the valves.

 

[swampratt]

I tell people all the time to watch a video or buy a how to book.
Good on you.

I will leave this here for you.

 

[mmerrill]

Never.

What he said

 

[Snattlerake]

Hell... I'd never done a lot of the things I'm doing here. YouTube is your friend...at least it was my friend. I'll watch videos of 2 or 3 guys doing what I want to do...maybe a few more if it seems complicated or I want to learn some of the tricks.

I find if I can just get myself to start a project I can do it. For me it's the apprehension of not knowing the ins and outs that keeps me from doing some things. Once I get started I can kind of get into a rhythm and generally get it done.

Some things, like plumbing, has become so much easier than it was in the past due to some of the technical advances...like SharkBite fittings. None of the sinks in the bathroom or kitchen had shutoff valves in this house. But the water lines are all PEX. Buy a SharkBite valve, cut water line in half, push SharkBite valve on each end of cut pipe, done. It literally took me longer to shut the water off at the pump house than it did to install the valves.

I guess my skills are mostly for construction and rough in. When I try for fine detail, I always mess up.

 

[TerryMiller]

Wife and I were discussing this topic today while out on our Summer work gig and driving on all kinds of highways and byways. It is amazing to see all the new homes built out in the sticks.

However, there are almost as many old homes decaying and rotting because the families passed on or passed away and others didn't care to have the property. This has been going on in my experience ever since I was a kid. I remember going with my mother to old abandoned homesteads and looking for antiques.

All that said, I'm not sure that I will EVER own a home again, and certainly not out in the country where it might be that no one else wants to live.

 

[Foxfire5]

Does it ever end? I've owned my own home(s) since 1983 and it's a non-stop list of things that are always needing to be done.

Today, it's pressure washing the deck so it can be stained/sealed. The previous owners never did it...because it's covered, I think. I'm hoping this is a once every 5 years or so thing instead of every year or two since it is out of most of the elements. It's still a pain in the ass...

View attachment 291801

Never ends! Fifteen years here now and everything is starting to go or has already been replaced. First was water heater, then water softener then furnace and AC. Now the carpet and new laminate install is back logged until October. Fence most likely next. Roof has a thirty year warranty so in another fifteen it will be ready. Vinyl siding needs nothing and has been pressure washed lately and every three years since we moved here. Yep. Home ownership is a never ending story!

 

[Profreedomokie]

I have a stone house built around 1955. With the attached garage it is 3800 sq.ft. We need a new roof because part of it is so near flat it leaks in a heavy rain on one porch. If we get a buildup of leaves in some of the valleys, that can cause leaks too. Two areas of our roof are so near flat that shingles should have never been put on them. We had Erie Metal give us an estimate of $120,000 I believe it was. I told them no thanks. We had a local company give us an estimate and it less than 25% of Erie's estimate. This local company we have used before, and they do great work. We were debt free until this happened.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

Wow! That's an expensive roof!