ever get overwhelmed?

[rieferman]

Between my yard and my neighbor's yard is a small swail area that is just a freaking swamp year round.

I'm not good at math, but I'm pretty sure this equation is true everywhere:
Surface water + underground natural spring + clay soil = swamp.

We had the same issue in the middle of our yard when we moved in 3 years ago, but we had a gravel field isntalled (30 x 30) and piped the water to the gulley where it was trying to get anyways.

Well, last year, I rented a trencher during the dry season here and made a big long french drain in the swail to capture the spring water and pipe it into the gulley where it belongs. Worked great... but was only about 25% enough drainage to take care of the problem.

Last weekend, we had a trencher at my place for running electrical from house to barn. Figured, "what the hell, let's add a few more trenches in the swail to see what kind of water flow we're talking about"....

We went 24 inches deep by 4 inches wide by about 30 feet long.. two stripes like this about 2 feet apart. Called it a day.

The next day, I go out and check out the trenches. FULL to the top of water. FULL. The entire thing. Overfilling at the end into my lawn.

All that to say this... I was on the brink of being totally overwhelmed by the barn re-build... and then this. It just pushed me over. I literally just sat down in the wet, muddy grass, and laughed a crazy sort of tired, exasperated, oh my god not more work, I can't do it all myself, sort of laugh.

It's just really hard and draining doing all this stuff solo, just thought I'd see if anyone else ever reaches the overwhelmed tipping point too.

(side note: I usually come out the other side of this tunnel even more determined to "win" the battle with this damn farm house of mine!!!)

 

[z28snksknr]

I got there a few months ago.

I bought a house that came with an above ground pool that I was planning on tearing out. Warm weather came and my wife convinced me to get it up and running to try out for a year before we take it out. I won't go into detail because it's a long story, but after 3 weeks of finding and plugging leaks in the plumbing that left my already poor draining yard look like a pool around the pool, cleaning out 3 years of debris that accumulated inside (that stunk like pure death) and dumping countless amounts of treatment chemicals into the water, the liner gave out and sprang a leak (or I cleaned out what was pluggin the hole!) Now that I had so much time invested, I couldn't give up and admit defeat, so I decided top replace the liner. The earliest appointment I could get to was 2 weeks out so for the next two weeks, the pool continued to leak and my yard was a catostrophe. On top of that, I'm sure you are aware of how wet the summer has been this year (I live in NJ). Needless to say, I reached that exact point of exasperation and temporary insanity just about every day I came home to that damn pool that I couldn't swim in.

All for something I wanted to get rid of in the first place!! And with the mild summer we've had so far, I think we've only been in it twice!!!

 

[CenTex52Chevy]

Man I wish I had that kind of problems. Here in Central Texas we would just about kill for some water. got a half inch today and you can't tell it even rained.

Been overwhelmed before, so I can appreciate how you feel. the first 3 years we were in our current house I swear that I could not get ahead. start to fix one problem only to find 3 more. Finally worked my way though and can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Hang in there it gets better.

 

[Kev442]

New Jersey is the only place I've lived that had water popping out of the ground everywhere. My neighborhood designed the storm drains to follow all the biggest springs and widened the creek. This was all about 7 feet below grade in a creek that never went dry. Watching the sand boil in about 10 different places in the creek bed from the springs in a weird feeling!

 

[tcianci]

I get overwhelmed myself. Projects, work, kids. The kids aren't really a problem for us but their social schedule is! I can honestly put 50-60 miles a day just pickng them up and running them around. Being self employed, I wrestle with the money making vs. kid time. Funny thing is I enjoy the time with them in the truck but then get slapped back to reality when I realize that I'm burning daylight again! GJ has actually been a much needed respite for me.

 

[rsanter]

5 days a week
usually happens about the time I show up for work

bob

 

[nate379]

I try to take it one day at a time... I have enough "to-dos" to keep me busy for easily 2 years at this point.

 

[ddawg16]

It's why God created Beer.......

 

[steven083008]

It's why God created Beer.......

My wife and I bought our first home (a foreclosure) in January. We have worked on it every single day except for 8 since that time. And when I say "worked on it" I mean working an 8 hour day at work and coming home to work at least 4-5 hours at night on the house, and weekends are 12+ hours each day. I've taken almost two weeks off of work to work on the house as well. Our appraisal (going from construction loan to conventional) is next Monday and I CAN'T WAIT to be "done"! All the while my shop hasn't been started yet, other than getting electrical in it. I've been overwhelmed for a LONG TIME at this point!

 

[MR. R]

Welcome to normal ! WE all get overwhelmed with daily life. When you add the additional stressers of any type of rebuild or repair that does not go according to plan and it seems that most of mine do not, then everything goes sideways. Between a very old home ( 1929's ) constantly in renovation/repair, very active 15 yr. old and work as a school administrator the days are constantly in upheavel. It is how you react that matters. Sounds like you have found a great pressure relief valve, laughter ! Go with it, SMILE, it will drive the others around you crazy wondering exactly what you are thinking. Good Luck.

 

[Bull]

I'm right there with you. I have an old house that my wife and I have been working on, one room at a time, for a few years now. We cringe at some of the mistakes we made that affected the quality of the finished product early on, but have learned from those mistakes and are happy to do better work now. I have an old barn that needs work to be more usable. I have an old garage that is falling down and needs money to pay someone competent to save it. I have a new barn that needs to be finished inside so I can finally set up and "move in." We have heavy clay soil that turns into trench mud with each rain, grading TOWARDS the damn house, and a perimeter trench in the basement that is always full of dank, fetid water (who the hell designed this in the 1930s should be shot.) Have a car with only two gears in the ******, and the ****** I bought to fix it arrived broken from UPS. Have a daughter on the way, and have to survive the delivery room and figure out how to be a great dad. Have a low-paying teaching job.

So yeah, I am overwhelmed. But, my list of "problems" sure is a lot better than the list of someone in, say, Liberia, so that helps keep me in check (a little bit.)

 

[Falcon67]

Mention "kitchen" in our house. That'll overload the frustration bucket quick. Me because I'm trying to plan and taking too long, her going in and out of do this/just do something/no money. We'll get there - she doesn't see sometimes that I'm trying to clear other decks to make ready for a big mess. We'll survive it! One day the house will all be sorta done. Back bathroom has been waiting on finish trim for only a year, whats the rush.

 

[Bull]

Back bathroom has been waiting on finish trim for only a year, whats the rush.

That strikes a chord! Trim can really seem almost "optional" in a room once you get it functional after a long down-time due to remodel. I still need to trim out one door and a very small section of baseboard in our kitchen, which we finished about 1.5 years ago!

 

[Old Moparz]

I get overwhelmed with projects for several reasons, but the 2 biggest ones are the fact that I hate paying for something that I KNOW will get screwed up by some incompetent *****, & the other is I just don't always have the money for it. When I built my garage, it took me about 1 year's worth of full weekends, weeknights after work, vacation time, holidays, & whenever else I could squeeze even a few minutes in. I roughly estimated that I spent $15K for what would have cost $45K if I hired a contractor. The only bad part was that by the time I had the building done, I didn't want to look at it or work on a car for a while.

Right now I need a roof on my house & got several estimates between $7K & $10K to do it. I've done roofing before & will do it myself for around $1800, but I have to do a few things before I start it. The roof has a slight sag because they used 2 by 8's over a 20' span & probably should have used at least 2 by 10's minimum.

So, in order to correct this, I'm going to install a beam in the center of the span to keep it from sagging further.

But, before I build the beam I have to open the walls & make sure I have a good mounting place to support it.

But, I have to remove a window in the same wall that was just a fixed piece of double pane glass that didn't have any frame & wasn't flashed or sealed & leaked.

But, before I put the glass back in I had to fix the rot inside the wall as well as replace the OSB sheathing that crumbled in my hands because it got wet.

But, I have to remove all the siding to replace the sheathing with some better exterior grade plywood.

But, I have to remove the deck on that part of the house so I can then remove all the siding on the wall.

But, before I can finish all the repairs, I have to get stain so I can now stain the cedar siding so it doesn't look like a jigsaw puzzle.

But, I CAN'T STAIN A DAMN THING WITH ALL THIS EFFIN' RAIN!!!

Yeah, I get overwhelmed once in a while.

 

[Bull]

Bob, that list of "Buts" is a doozy!

Ditto on the rain and staining, or in my case painting. I scraped and painted 1/2 of my house (the two sides visible from the street) last year, and wanted to do one more side this summer. Between the rain and all the interior projects I have been doing, it does not look like it's going to happen, and I feel like a loser about it!

 

[metal1313]

i feel that way all the time lately. i dont have a job so i figured i'd get alot of cheap projects done before i go back to school in sept. but money is tight so some projects are half done waiting on funds. some are half done because i cant do them alone and my brother works during the week and keeps running of to see his ******* the weekends. so i have no help, my parents have to use my truck to do stuff so im stuck at home.

o and then i realize, ususally when im grossly dirty, smelly and tired that i dont even own this house i just live here with mom and dad and that after my dad and i worked it out in the last 5 years ive sunk 50k of my own money into the house and yard. o and im 22, a full time student, with my own girlfriend who a rarely see now

god i better get this house from them

 

[charlie_nj]

We all get that way. I built my own house, 3200 square feet, pretty much single handedly from scratch, did all the framing, sheathing, plumbing, electrical, heating, finish carpentry, tiling and painting. Subbed out only the foundation (got screwed over by the mason and wound up finishing the foundation myself too), stucco exterior, and roof shingling. I had a wife, three kids and a full time job. It took me three years of nights, weekends, holidays and vacation time. I would look at this thing and say to myself "why the hell did I do this?". Not to mention juggling the credit cards, various construction and pension loans etc to pay for all the materials. I just plugged and plodded along, tried to have at least one minor accomplishment each day. I'm sure you've already figured out, as did I, that you really have to break these large projects down into stages and steps, when you look at it all at once it doesnt just feel overwhelming, it is overwhelming. Break it down and go for the small victories, win the small battles and eventually you'll win the war.

 

[Torque1st]

You guys are lucky! I have a huge To-Do list also but whenever I try to do something it takes me 10 times as long as it does you guys because my hands shake so bad I can barely hold a screwdriver much less use it. Try measuring something overhead when you can't see the tape because of your eyesight and you can't hold it still enough to read it or shake the hook loose a half dozen times. It is really bad for me because I could do almost anything with my hands and had 20/5 vision when I was younger. Of course it could be worse... I could be totally blind or paralyzed.

 

[wrigh003]

I have a 4 year old and an almost-2-year old, an old house that we bought in a nearly-habitable state 4 years ago this fall (and it still needs work to move from "livable" to "nice")- to say nothing of the projects that I/we just want to do... I STAY overwhelmed, sometimes I think we bring it on ourselves.

It could always be worse, though.

 

[Bender78]

After all these years of being a DIY type of guy, I have concluded that the more you CAN do, the more you will HAVE to do. It's a curse that I have brought on myself. Built the house and barn/shop myself....been at it for 25 years....still not done. Two project cars, as well as six daily drivers between me, the SO and our three kids combined. I won't catch up until I retire.



OK enough whining......we all have work to do!

 

[OccupantRJ]

I think we are all a little like the women who stay with abusive husbands, at some inner level, we must like it. I too, stay all but overwhelmed. We lost everything in !999 Hurricane Floyd floods, and had to start life all over. Lost 2 houses in one day. All those years of personally building my previous home up are all gone with the water. Shop got 5 feet of water in it, Bridgeport mill, lathe, fabrication equip. etc, all under. Good thing is, that which does not kill us only serves to make us stronger. I got off my ***, pulled myself out of dispair, and now, ten years later, I own 3 houses, a mobile home, and a camper setup at the lake. I am also trying to make somewhat of a shop out of a 26 X 26 garage in the backyard of this home I'm in. I was able to save a lot of my equipment from before, but it will all have to be cleaned up and repainted at the very least. A lot of it is stored in a semi trailer 20 minutes away. The rest of it is here, and it is a ***** to work around all of it, trying to get this building expanded. I have 2 mortgages and have to drive 45 minutes to cut grass at 2 of the houses, 20 minutes to another, and the lake place is an hour and a half away to try to keep up. These houses are in 4 counties of NC, due to chasing wife's job advancements. This is all a means to a goal. I am now preparing to sell off three places and that will pay off my present home and another, and give me retirement money. I had saved for the last 10 years for a new shop, so I'm in good shape with that.
Don't despair, as long as you love what you do, you will eventually win.

RJ

 

[WVBrady]

I have a 4 year old and an almost-2-year old, an old house that we bought in a nearly-habitable state 4 years ago this fall (and it still needs work to move from "livable" to "nice")- to say nothing of the projects that I/we just want to do... I STAY overwhelmed, sometimes I think we bring it on ourselves.

It could always be worse, though.

Right! We could be one of those refugees in Somalia or Nigeria. I'm sure most of them would be glad to change places with us.

 

[Bull]

If there is no room in your basement/attic or another outbuilding, what about renting a storage container to give you time to get the garage in order? Maybe one of those containers that they will drop off at your house. How long would it take you to finish the garage to your satisfaction?

Every time I walk out into the Garage.Seriously I have no idea what to do with everything.When I bought this house four years ago,moving from the old house to the new house was going really well and I was putting things away and had everything nice and neat.Then a serious buyer showed up and I could not pass on the chance to sell the old dump.So of course everything had to go in a hurry from that point on,which brings me to where I am today.What do you guys do with everything while your trying to/looking for a proper place to put everything away.I have a multi colored garage(paint spills) floor I would love to clean up and paint over,but where do I put everything.Help!!!!!.

 

[Bull]

Damn, that does sound like a challenge, then. Seems like you might just have to pack everything into one half, or one quarter of the garage, finish the clean half, then reverse the process. Would that work?

 

[nate379]

I have everything that would live in the garage either outside, on the front porch, in two of the unused bedrooms (put cardboard down first)... and some in the living room and dining room.... so pretty much spread out everywhere!

Every time I walk out into the Garage.Seriously I have no idea what to do with everything.When I bought this house four years ago,moving from the old house to the new house was going really well and I was putting things away and had everything nice and neat.Then a serious buyer showed up and I could not pass on the chance to sell the old dump.So of course everything had to go in a hurry from that point on,which brings me to where I am today.What do you guys do with everything while your trying to/looking for a proper place to put everything away.I have a multi colored garage(paint spills) floor I would love to clean up and paint over,but where do I put everything.Help!!!!!.

 

[judgethis]

I feel your pain. My garage was done about 2 months ago. As soon as it was done the wife got a pool which meant the yard got tore up. I now had pile of dirt that need to be spread(took about a week). As I finished that she took my truck and came home with the back bumper dragging on the ground cause the bed was full of sod. She said it needs to be put down right away. Of course I did it right away. HAPPY WIFE HAPPY LIFE. Then I had to move all my stuff from the basement and front garage to the new garage so now the new garage doesnt look like a new garage anymore. Then because of the dirt in front of the new garage the kids were now bringing it into the house. So now Im putting down patio pavers as an apron. The blocks are 2'x2'x2" at 75 pounds apiece. It takes all day to get a 8'x20' section done then I need 2 to 3 days off to recoup. But I just took it one day at a time and now I have one more section of pavers to do, the pool is up and running and the lawn is looking awesome. The new garage will be ready to work in, in about 2 weeks.

 

[rieferman]

got so overwhelmed this weekend while in the midst of 3 consecutive 12+ hour days, that we decided to hire out the mudding/taping of the drywall that I just hung (and boy was that a pain in the ****!).

Sometimes, throw money at it and it gets better

 

[Bull]

Why not change the truck engine in the garage?

Well the Labor Day weekend is coming up and I intend to make a max effort to get things moved around and put away.I need to get one car in the garage so I can get the driveway space to change the engine in my truck.

 

[Jaguar Fan]

We all get overwhelmed sometimes. I think it is why God invented single malt scotch.

I just got back the termite report. Sigh. And I had had it tented in 2002.

 

[e-tek]

I keep reading people's posts here and felling bad for ya'all. My opinion is: we often bring it upon ourselves .... Mind if I tell my sordid tale?
13 years ago, I decided I wanted to be a magazine publisher. From absolute scratch, knowing less than nothing about it, I "built" a magazine- learning the computer program, layout, color coding, all about printing, distribution, advertising, subscriptions. Got it on newstands across the country and sold 100K worth of ads (a year) to big-time companies including Subaru, Toyota, Nike. Travelled all over Canada selling and promoting the thing.... At the same time I built - almost completely alone - a cottage home overlooking a lake in the middle of nowhere. I worked from 6am til 6pm on the mag (when I was home), then 6pm-2am on the cottage - fo 3 solid years - without a break. I started needing some "help", so I started drinking, lots. Then I started feeling sore, so I took painkillers, lots. Then I started to feel overwhelmed, so I took sedatives (Valium), again - lots....things went crazy....then one afternoon it all came crashing down when I wiped out my Van: exhausted, drunk and stoned, it rolled over a ravine and I nearly killed myself. Got a brain and back injury and that spelled the end of the magazine. I tried to perservere, but no-one else could do it. It was the beginning of the worst year of my life. Because my beloved Mrs E-tek was more than willing to help - I dragged her down with me. Almost lost her too. It was all my damn fault - I wanted to make something of myself, do it myself, do it now.
After a stint in the hospital, then in rehab (I'll spare you the details), we ended up selling off the advertising, shutting it down and - after a few months of recovery - I got a job that afforded me MUCH more time to myself - and to spend doing what I like. Now when I decide wether I want to do something myself, or have someone else do it - even if I KNOW they won't do it to my "standards", I think about the time and exasperation involved. I think about the lasting repercussions of the magazine. So I had my shop built by others...and now I want to work in it. I had a big reno done by others and even though I had some trouble and had to fire the General Contractor, it got done and I didn't have to kill myself over it (though I did spend most of my holidays finishing it!).
I hope someone, anyone, can learn from this experience. It's just not worth trying to get it all and do it all and have it all - now. Take a break. Give yourself a break. Spend some time alone and spend some time with loved ones. Good luck to everyone.

 

[Bull]

Great post, e-tek, and some valuable lessons to be learned therefrom.

I feel a need to hurry and make progress every year, though, because I am never going to be wealthy enough to pay other people to do all the work around here...chose the wrong profession. So, I need to get most of the hard stuff done while I am relatively young and my body can handle it. Then, when I am older, I can relax a bit on the major renovations and just try to keep up with maintenance.

 

[rieferman]

e-tek I really respect that you A) came out the other side with a great perspective, and B) you were willing to tell us about it. Great post!

And now I feel awesome about deciding to hire out the mudding/taping!

edit: Also, I gain weight during every major project that I do because I, like the former you, have to numb the pain (in my case a few beers.. hence the extra weight) a bit when working myself to the brink - thankfully I keep it in moderation. I can see why many who use their strength for a living are at the bar at 5 p.m. every night.

 

[bimmer1980]

Well, I don't have it as bad as some of you, but how about this.... Belt sander, drill press, bandsaw, 40" tool box, 6' work bench are all in a small enclosed porch. The forklift, large table saw and the bridgeport mill are in half of a one car garage. The remaining workbenches and misc stuff are in the basement. And the skid loader has to sit outside.... How did I get myself into such a tight space? Simple, I married a great gal and had to move out of my apartment (it had a 22x32 garage under the apartment). Luckily, when I bought the Mill and the forklift I put that directly at her place so I wouldn't have to move it twice....

But it will get better--we are building a new garage! so I just have to stay focused on building garage and then it will ease up. moving 24 tons of rock into the bottom of the trenches for the foundation can be a bit overwheming.... more than that, it's fighting the weather--I just pumped about 4000 gallons of water out of the trenches...

 

[e-tek]

Thanks guys - never sure how much you want to tell your story.

 

[Gregg K]

Yes. Today was the day when it all became too much.

On Christmas day of 2007 I moved onto a piece of land I bought. No power, water, septic. Just trees and dirt. I had reason to believe that it would be pretty easy to get a place to live. But it ended up that I had to wait a year for plants to grow before I could even begin my coastal development permit process. Rare plants, etc. So now it has been a year and a half with nothing but a trailer and generator. Today I finally brought in my drawings and applied for permits. I've just finished excavation. And believe me it was not simple. I even broke down after moving a thousand or so cubic yards of dirt (not to mention huge redwood stumps and a bunch of smaller trees, all on hillside), and abandoned my old tractor for a newer one. Phew, that is helping a lot.

So I should be very happy. But I finally got the nearly 800 feet of trenching for power done, and over the last few days finished the water system. I had a hose coming down from the tank. But now I've got pipes all neatly underground. So I go and turn on the water, and NOTHING. Now this is when I begin feeling like this whole thing is just wearing me down. And it's all compounded by the fact that my lifetime supply of plumbing fittings is dwindling down to very little, and is all in a trailer a tenth of a mile from my trailer. So I'm running around back and forth, trying to configure temporary water lines back so I can actually take a shower. All the while trying to understand how water could not be flowing. I figured it all out. But it's just one of those little things that was like the straw that broke the camel's back. It's two days later, the water is working fine with my temporary setup, until I get the new system finished, and I just am not getting over this. I'm pissed off, and depressed, and just enraged about it all.

There's a lot more to the story. Believe me. It even involves the California court of appeal, regarding forestry practices. Just amazing. That part seems trivial in comparison to making it through the planning process. A year and a half on a stinking generator. It's blasting away as I type this. And I have the pole set and ready to go. Planning just doesn't want me to hook up until they've reviewed my drawings and issued permits. I never knew a project could be so complicated. And yet it's so simple. In 1958 terms, this is a simple project. But add up all the red tape, and it's a nightmare. And then there's Murphy and the water system. More than a man can take.

However, I have an ocean view, and shop to die for that will be completed in the next couple of months. How could I ever be upset?



Edit- This is just one of the monster stumps. About five feet in diameter. It took two days on a backhoe to get out. And a crane, pulling on the other side.

 

[e-tek]

Holy **** Batman!!! You certainly have bitten off a chunk there, haven't you? I totally know the feeling, as I had to clear the land that my own home (now cottage) sits on - alone. Cut brush and trees, bucked and piled many cords, pulled stumps, dug trenches....although your permit system seems much more involved and that can really pile on the outside stress. I guess you have to really think if it's worth it.
Do you ever get a chance to unwind? Get away? Living in a trailer sounds trying. We lived in an unfinished cement basement for 18 months, then in the unfinished cottage for another 14 months before I could feel half way normal. How far are you from people? The isolation - which I thought would be great - turned out to be another real problem. I ended up MISSING people and buildings and restaurants and stuff!!
Sounds like some of your waits are almost over though. Guess all we can say is hang in there and try not to get too exhausted, take a break. All the best and keep us posted. (Have you started a thread of the clearing/build?)

 

[OccupantRJ]

We all get overwhelmed sometimes. I think it is why God invented single malt scotch.

I just got back the termite report. Sigh. And I had had it tented in 2002.

Research a product called Termidor, must be applied by an exterminator. I have had it applied to 2 houses, and ****! they are no longer. It works like a slowly poisoning virus, and gets them all, since they groom each other.

RJ

 

[Gregg K]

Holy **** Batman!!! You certainly have bitten off a chunk there, haven't you? I totally know the feeling, as I had to clear the land that my own home (now cottage) sits on - alone. Cut brush and trees, bucked and piled many cords, pulled stumps, dug trenches....although your permit system seems much more involved and that can really pile on the outside stress. I guess you have to really think if it's worth it.
Do you ever get a chance to unwind? Get away? Living in a trailer sounds trying. We lived in an unfinished cement basement for 18 months, then in the unfinished cottage for another 14 months before I could feel half way normal. How far are you from people? The isolation - which I thought would be great - turned out to be another real problem. I ended up MISSING people and buildings and restaurants and stuff!!
Sounds like some of your waits are almost over though. Guess all we can say is hang in there and try not to get too exhausted, take a break. All the best and keep us posted. (Have you started a thread of the clearing/build?)

Well, I've got it pretty good to be honest. I have all of my time to myself, and my property is adjacent to amazing mountain biking. I've had remote properties, but this is four miles from a city. And the people here are actually fairly human.

I don't need a vacation. I am on vacation. I am waiting for the espresso machine to warm up. When I've had my two awesome cups, I'll jump on the tractor and start trenching for the electrical down on the build site. Then I'll probably go on a bike ride after lunch. Many times I'll be on the tractor, and have to wait for the deer to finish what they're doing before I can continue.

I feel better today. The shower is back in working order. And I got the quote for my shop windows. That has been a serious issue, since the house has ten times the fenestration. And at the quote of $12k for the shop, I was freaking out. But last night the new quote came in at a reasonable price.

And I finalized the house floor plan last night.

So this is finally getting exciting.

One other thing I failed to mention, it has not been legal for me to even live on my property. And it won't be until I get my permit for the trailer. But by then the shop will be built. Talk about stressful. But it's a hundred acres, so nobody is snooping around.

Espresso time!

 

[KenBaker]

E-Tek, I have a lot of respect for someone who opens up to have others learn from your example. Gregg K, there is going to be a big payoff in the end for you. When I put in a 30x30 garage at my house, I had to get a 13 foot taken off my 40 foot easement in order to build mine. I only have a quarter of an acre for a lot and with the garage, I was built to 99% of build ratio to land. Several of my neighbors did not want it built and I fought with one through the whole process. I had to go to court three times with different issues with my house and garage and the county that I live in, even though that garage had already been finished. I fought with the President of the subdivision committee enough that I became the President about a year later. Fast forward to now and I have a great shop that I spend time in almost daily. It is hard for me to put into words the toll that it took out on me as well. I have lived in this house for around 30 years and did not want to move. It would have been a lot easier on me if I had just moved but I stuck it out and now daily reap the rewards, having built exactly what I want. Gregg, you are not at a point yet that you can visualize what you are creating but I assure you that 30 seconds after you get to use it for the first time, you will feel that it was worth it. I personally know the feeling when the Generator runs out of gas in the middle of the night. That *****!!

 

[Gregg K]

What a story! You became the president. That made me laugh.

I'm afraid it's not quite as positive as yours. I've been buying and selling every two to four years, not as a way of making money, but because I simply cannot find a place I can tolerate. Kind of sad. What most people think of as paradise, I see differently. Whether it's neighbors logging, or just too much growth. So I am building with the thought that when I'm done I'll be moving again. I'm kind of upset about it. That is the most overwhelming part of my project. I can work my *** off, but I can't take hopelessness. I grew up when there were dairy farms in the San Francisco area. It was quiet, with clear skies, and farms, and fields. Some people like it there now. But I can't even go there any more.

Having said all of that, I am having fun. I'll be filling this hole with a septic tank and a pump tank today. And yes, I know better than to be climbing in that hole. I hope no OSHA employees are watching this.