I just can't say never again, yet. I need a real windfall to feel like I can afford to pay pros to do this stuff. A skilled craftsman is worth every penny they ask for, and probably then some. I can't even afford the schmucks that don't half know what they're doing. At least I'm confident it is water tight and strong. It's why I went with 1/4" grout lines, to hide my imperfections. I'm glad I did because if I tried 1/8", i don't think I would have gotten to the ceiling without a nice fuckup glaring at me right at eye level.
“By God, Woodrow, it’s been one hell of a party.” No one will ever play Gus McCrae like Robert Duvall.
A while back I posted about an animal possibly getting under our house. We finally had the pest dude out and he didn't see anything but is going to come back and set a one way "trap" so that if it's still under there, it will be able to get out but not back in. Cool, that's taken care of. Well, until the dingus fuck face went to lock the gate and did the lock backwards so wouldn't swivel towards me to put the key in. It would only swivel inwards but wedge between the gate and the pole. I had a shitty day today and this was the icing on the cake. Had a stage four meltdown and eventually beat/pried the lock apart while simultaneously shouting curse words. Eventually I was able to get a pry bar in there and use leverage to bend the shackle to the point of failure. Now I have to get a new lock, make extra keys and hope the wife is home to give them to the pool & yard people. Left the house at 6:30am, got home at 6:30pm and spent 30 mins dealing with that bullshit. Plus, I only have some Budweiser's to drink. And I really hope my neighbors weren't home.
Our single story garage has been slowly deteriorating over the years to the point it needs to be replaced. The original plan was to have someone come in and do the demolition, pour a proper pad, and build a new one. But the cost would be pretty high. So I recently decided that we’ll tear it down ourselves - we’ll be able to salvage a lot of old lumber that way. Then I’ll have someone come in to level the ground and put down several inches of crushed stone fo one of those pre-built garages. I stopped at a company that makes them this week to take a look and they’re really well built at a much lower cost. It’ll be something very similar to this: With some modifications ( one garage door, entrance door on other side, etc ). In place of the garage door on the left will be two windows which will be over my new 8’ work bench. We don’t use the garage for our cars, just tools, mowers, etc. so there will be more than ample room. The advantage of these buildings is not only the cost, but that it sets up off the ground a few inches. That’s good because the groundwater here is a real problem coming off of the back hill. We should be able to have this all done for the cost of a new car ( in the neighborhood of $30k ) and have it paid off in a few years. Now I have to wait like a kid waiting for Christmas. I could try to talk my wife into doing it this year, but I probably shouldn’t push it.
Finally finished with the shower. Still have to do the vanity, relocatethe toilet, delete the original shower and plumb and wire that space for a washer and dryer, and flooring and paint. I feel like that all will be easy work compared that shower.
That is an incredible job dude... except I think you fucked up a bit. Those lights are supposed to go in your toilet, not in your shower.
I, too, tried the light up toilet seat. I abandoned it because of cleanliness. It obviously did not help my child aim any better, because the light itself would get pee in it. I don't expect the lights to work very long in that environment, but we'll see. They are just crappy LEDs powered by two AA batteries. When I get rid of the popcorn ceiling eventually, I will probably put a light/fan combo over the shower. The current fan is about directly above where I am standing for that picture. I also hope that panel thing isn't a complete piece of shit. It was cheap enough to make me nervous, and the reviews go both ways, good and bad. I do still have to seal the tile and grout, so I haven't actually turned it on yet.
Continued saga of the animal getting under the house. Pest dude (the one that fucked the lock up) gave me a quote for $605 to set up the one way device and $407 install a new vent screen. That seemed absolutely ridiculous pricing so I started doing some research, found a one way door on Amazon for $38 and a vent screen at Home Depot for about $30. Put the one way door on and then set up a Ring camera to capture everything. Fuck that price gouging place.
In other news, the plastic handle on my front-loading Maytag washing machine is coming apart. Do you think I can find a replacement? The only thing I can buy is a whole front door assembly (that comes with the new handle), that is special order, weeks away from delivery, and is about $450. I fucking hate appliances. So yeah, the 3d printer is chugging away and some self-tappers are going into that front door tomorrow. It's going to look like shit, but it'll fucking work.
Man I love my 25ish year old washer dryer. They're so simple and cheap to repair. I'm going to cry the first time I can't find a part for them. I hope that day is decades away.
Somewhere on here I mentioned the state of disrepair our garage is in and the plan to replace it next year so we could pay my truck off and not be strapped for cash. Yesterday my wife suggested cashing out our Ford stock ( we bought a thousand or so shares back I. 08 when the auto industry was floundering. In the time since it paid for the new roof on the house and our 14x40 barn across the road ) We’ll pay my truck off and basically the new loan will be the equivalent of a car payment. I have someone coming to look at doing the demo and ground prep so I have a number to take to the bank. Plans for new birds are in hold because I’ll need that building for storage as one out the garage and my tool shop. We have a lot of work ahead if us, getting a dumpster to clean out the garage and the house. But I’m really excited to have a nice new garage that doesn’t have groundwater and water from the roof leaking in.
Do they recommend any kind of footing or something for the skids to rest on when they set it up? Any kind of ground contact is going to shorten the life of those skids under it. I saw it with a friend's building, and I set our shed up so it's not in contact with the ground. Maybe just a good compacted surface then some strips of the 2" thick concrete pavers for the skids?
Four inches of stone is what they recommend. We have a 14x40 barn across the road, same construction just a different company. We got it in ‘09 or ‘10 and it’s still in great shape. Come to think of it, the small one I have in the yard is as well, and it’s over 20 years old I think. As a precaution I want to look at putting some perforated pipe on the backside to mitigate run off, even through its probably overkill. The guy who will probably tear the building down is a really good landscaper and will have ideas as well I’m sure. The tree guy who was just here last week really pushed me to pour a concrete pad and get one of those steel buildings but the way we’re going, it’ll be vinyl sided and look exactly like our house. And I think it will be cheaper. Once it’s in and I do some landscaping and planting, it’s gonna be a giant upgrade to our property. I’ll try to remember to take pics.