Where has Tuna been?

Glad to see you're back! I think even the most solid house requires a bunch of maintenance. So far we're into ours for a new furnace, paint, and now some new windows. Scary thing is that we picked the house we thought would require the least maintenance!

My one working garage bay is now filled up with a bunch of windows, and the auto projects are mounting. I need to move the windows so I can get the real work done

Hang in there, it sounds like you're getting on top of the home stuff, and it was a good upgrade for your family!

SVreX wrote: I wasn't kidding when I told you I'd come help if you need it. Just ask.

Perhaps a fun opportunity was missed. We could have had a "Habitat for Tuna-manity" weekend.
Envision a bunch of GRM'ers ascending onto Tunafamily for a weekend of destruction and construction.

Best of luck. They're all fixer-uppers, just to varying degrees.

In reply to JohnRW1621:

Extreme Home makeover GRM edition, or how to fix up a home for the cost of a decent NA miata.

Dr. Hess wrote: Small steps. Prioritize. Don't let it get you down. Friend of mine wound up killing himself (litterally) over a worse house than that. So don't get too worked up over it. 1. Roof. 2. Bathroom. 3. Fridge. Or maybe 1. Fridge, 2 Bathroom, 3. Roof. Whatever, just small steps.

Fridge holds beer, so that gets priority.

moparman76_69 wrote: In reply to JohnRW1621: Extreme Home makeover GRM edition, or how to fix up a home for the cost of a decent NA miata.

The issue is I was leaving a home which was in pretty good condition, with some problems (some bad grout, cruddy deck boards, iffy sliding door, not-great upstairs carpet) for one which we thought would have less problems.

We were not intending to buy a fixer-upper. It was not priced at the bottom of its range. We did not need nor want nor benefit financially from a project.

So it's all a bit more annoying than it ought to have been. This isn't a GRM challenge, where you totally expect problems as part of the experience. This is like buying a slightly newer beige Avalon to replace your silver Camry.

JohnRW1621 wrote:

SVreX wrote: I wasn't kidding when I told you I'd come help if you need it. Just ask.

Perhaps a fun opportunity was missed. We could have had a "Habitat for Tuna-manity" weekend. Envision a bunch of GRM'ers ascending onto Tunafamily for a weekend of destruction and construction. Best of luck. They're all fixer-uppers, just to varying degrees.

I really can't impose that on people. Plus, I only get to work on stuff at night when everyone else is doing... actually, I guess I don't know what normal people do between 9-11 (last night 9-1). I either fix things or work on the truck.

In reply to tuna55:

Mrs. VCH and I were discussing that one time. What DO "normal" people do? You know, people who drive cars with warranties and buy brand new homes and have "a guy" for stuff?

I honestly have no idea. They can't have any money. Maybe they sleep. I hear that's a thing.

When I got married and asked my Dad if I would enjoy raising a family, he said "Most likely, but you will be too busy to notice".

Once again the old guy was right.

tuna55 wrote:

moparman76_69 wrote: In reply to JohnRW1621: Extreme Home makeover GRM edition, or how to fix up a home for the cost of a decent NA miata.

The issue is I was leaving a home which was in pretty good condition, with some problems (some bad grout, cruddy deck boards, iffy sliding door, not-great upstairs carpet) for one which we thought would have less problems. We were not intending to buy a fixer-upper. It was not priced at the bottom of its range. We did not need nor want nor benefit financially from a project. So it's all a bit more annoying than it ought to have been. This isn't a GRM challenge, where you totally expect problems as part of the experience. This is like buying a slightly newer beige Avalon to replace your silver Camry.

So you just unintentionally bought a Biturbo with 20k miles on it, without an engine swap or parts car?

Kidding aside, that's frustrating as berk. We had a few surprises after moving into the current homestead, but nothing of that magnitude. On the plus side, it seems like you know what you're doing with this stuff.

I know the feeling, at least in terms of never ending home projects.

In reply to XLR99:

Exactly! I was trying to buy an Avalon to replace my Camry and accidentally bought a biTurbo. Good analogy.

I'm not sure I know what I am doing, but I'm stubborn enough to learn the fourth or fifth time. My Dad was doing sheetrock with me when I was eleven or so, and I said something like "Dad, you sure know how to do a lot of stuff", and he said "HA! If someone who knew what they were doing saw us right now they'd laugh their asses off!"

It's something like that.

In reply to tuna55:

That is a great quote and exactly how I feel working on stuff most of the time. Hang in there.

In reply to tuna55:

Don't be afraid to accept help, especially skilled help. You're not Superman; you're a father which is pretty close to the same thing, but even Superman had the Super Friends.

Volunteering to help people is not an imposition to me. It's just what I do.

However, for the record, I am NOT volunteering to stay up all night with you to replace a rotted floor. Sleep means more to me than doing a good deed. I was perfectly fine pointing you in the right direction at 9:45 PM and getting the updated pictures when I woke up in the morning after a cozy little nap.

If that's the way you work best, great! I'll do my part, watch you work while I have a beer, go to bed, and see you in the morning!

volvoclearinghouse wrote: In reply to tuna55: Mrs. VCH and I were discussing that one time. What DO "normal" people do? You know, people who drive cars with warranties and buy brand new homes and have "a guy" for stuff? I honestly have no idea. They can't have any money. Maybe they sleep. I hear that's a thing.

My brother is that kind of guy. I assume it's because he has seen his own DIY efforts, which all need to be nuked from space.

SVreX wrote: Volunteering to help people is not an imposition to me. It's just what I do. However, for the record, I am NOT volunteering to stay up all night with you to replace a rotted floor. Sleep means more to me than doing a good deed. I was perfectly fine pointing you in the right direction at 9:45 PM and getting the updated pictures when I woke up in the morning after a cozy little nap. If that's the way you work best, great! I'll do my part, watch you work while I have a beer, go to bed, and see you in the morning!

It's my over-reaction to my Dad never spending any time with us when my sister and I were kids.

The kids have dinner with us, they get time, they get family worship, a bedtime story, and then I can do projects.

Unless something is actively pouring water or something like that, I tend to avoid messing with that time.

But I sincerely appreciate your offer. You would have spent more time driving than fixing!

SVreX wrote: Most people just call the guy "their" Realtor recommended. That's not smart.

In Summerville, SC back in 1997, I hired an inspector with the nickname "deal killer". When I told my realtor who would do my inspection... she told the others and the seller's realtor almost cried.

So then I knew I had the right inspector.

The guy crawled every inch of the crawl space and attic. Noted water management issues like flashing at porches and windows. Checked under every sink and around every fixture - checked everything in great detail.

I grew up building and renovating houses. My dad's a retired structural engineer and I've been an architect for 22 years, doing strictly construction administration for the last 14. I did a stint as a waterproofing and roof consultant for 1.5 years (hustling 40 projects at a time wasn't for me)... anyway, point being.. I know my way around residential and most flavors of commercial buildings, and have many friends in the construction industry.

I still feel that a GOOD home inspector is worth every penny. A bad one is dangerous to your financial security.

So, Tuna, sorry for your hard and expensive times. I hope you get over the hump and back into the garage soon. Congrats on the new house. I am glad you didn't keep the old one and buy this one.

Good to know I'm not the only one that has been rather MIA. Life is busy. Keep on kickin ass.

Just imagine what someone without your skills would be up against?

Last nights project was to sand and get tung oil on the island top.

NOHOME wrote: Just imagine what someone without your stubborn tendency to learn how to do things in situ would be up against?

I fixed that for you. God blessed me with many things, skill at home repair isn't one I got easily, it's more that I had to learn things to finish the job. Remember I taught myself to weld after finding tons of rust on the truck.

More "Isaac Newton and Calculus" than "Albert Einstein and Relativity"

And half of the shower door is installed. We're still going to put a row of tile above, and the painting in the bathroom isn't completed, and the ceiling needs paint, too, and the guy doing the sheetrock (me) was apparently on LSD, but hey, it's almost a place where we can shower.

Looks great!

So, here is some more Tunanews.

We celebrated ten years married, so I spent a long time making her gift. I did a timeline for our fifth on wood, and the traditional ten year is tin, so:

Here is what she got me:

We finished our hobby room, painting many things (although the ceiling could still use some paint). THis also included reassembling the sewing table, hanging some stuff up, and having some fun with the walls. The green wall is a chalkboard.

True to the house's leaky nature, we were wondering why our last water bill was sooooo very high, and I did some digging. Literally. The last guy in there put the irrigation system in with PVC, and since he didn't have 1 1/2" connectors, he just stuck 1 1/4" pipe inside 1 1/2" and left it at that. So it's leaking. I will repair that this week, you know, in my extra time.

I also built this bin rack for under the kids workbench in the hobby room

I also cleaned the garage in a big way. No pics of that, though.

A few more things to go, namely:

Hardwood floors upstairs (asthma is really bugging wife)
Redo arch siding (terrible construction means water intrusion)
Knock out old tile in mud room and replace
Replace stairway carpet
Paint every ceiling
Paint the rest of the kitchen cabinets
Stain the concrete in the screen room
Fix many construction sins in the screen room
Fix the weird spot on the siding that buckles when it gets hot
Address the tiny upstairs A/C home builder swapped up and downstairs units)
Replace toilets (someday)

OHSCrifle wrote:

SVreX wrote: Most people just call the guy "their" Realtor recommended. That's not smart.

In Summerville, SC back in 1997, I hired an inspector with the nickname "deal killer". When I told my realtor who would do my inspection... she told the others and the seller's realtor almost cried.

I wish I had done that. The week I moved in I had to replace the chimney. I had fix poorly done plumbing and wiring, and a large beam in the basement that apparently shouldn't have been hacked into all in the first couple months. I've been here nine years and still haven't fixed all the previous owner's halfassery.