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Above 1200 Sq/FT The Salvage Garage

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Dixie_Flatline

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Oct 30, 2024
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Tennessee
Didn't realize there were any fault lines in Maine, I would just assume maybe off the coast/continental shelf, but maybe its a case of I just never hear about them up there. Closest one to me is the New Madrid Fault, that 1811 event was insane, which makes me wonder if we are overdue for a really strong quake.
 

Old Man Roger

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Apr 6, 2017
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17,645
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Palm Coast Florida
Didn't realize there were any fault lines in Maine, I would just assume maybe off the coast/continental shelf, but maybe its a case of I just never hear about them up there. Closest one to me is the New Madrid Fault, that 1811 event was insane, which makes me wonder if we are overdue for a really strong quake.
I'm no seismologist so forgive my ignorance, but aren't some mountains essentially faults?
 

86turbodsl

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Jul 1, 2005
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6,558
Location
Michigan
Didn't realize there were any fault lines in Maine, I would just assume maybe off the coast/continental shelf, but maybe its a case of I just never hear about them up there. Closest one to me is the New Madrid Fault, that 1811 event was insane, which makes me wonder if we are overdue for a really strong quake.
We had one at our place in mid michigan a few years ago, didn't realize we had quakes either, but i guess there's faultlines everywhere, they just aren't that active.
 

kaymccampbell

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Feb 27, 2015
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Upstate New York
We had one at our place in mid michigan a few years ago, didn't realize we had quakes either, but i guess there's faultlines everywhere, they just aren't that active.
So true. IIRC the North American plate is slowly crawling away from the European plate and over the Pacific plate. So, in theory, everything on the Eastern side of the North American plate is sort of spreading apart , so mostly not so violent. Whereas the Western side is trying to crawl over the Pacific plate, thus there is more friction and the violent snaps kind of earthquake.

I think the Western side is a subduction zone and the Eastern side is a divergent zone.

Mind you, this is all memory from 60 years ago, and as such is tainted by decades of brain warp n whatnot.
 

Prospecter

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May 16, 2015
Messages
2,423
Location
Maine
So true. IIRC the North American plate is slowly crawling away from the European plate and over the Pacific plate. So, in theory, everything on the Eastern side of the North American plate is sort of spreading apart , so mostly not so violent. Whereas the Western side is trying to crawl over the Pacific plate, thus there is more friction and the violent snaps kind of earthquake.

I think the Western side is a subduction zone and the Eastern side is a divergent zone.

Mind you, this is all memory from 60 years ago, and as such is tainted by decades of brain warp n whatnot.
Good memory. The way I remember it is that the Norumbega fault is where Pangea and North America slam danced into one another, squeezing out the I-apedes Ocean. (No hyphen, but spellcheck overrides the spelling without it.) Vestiges remain on a road cut on 395 in Brewer, Maine, and also at the cliff at the edge of the Old City in Quebec.
 
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Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
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38,215
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Southern Maine
I got to use the 9' 6" V plow on the burb last night at the Salvage Garage, it works pretty well, I think one of the rams is on the way out as it has a area where it flops like a dead fish. It will probably make it through this year, but I will be doing some upgrades before next year for sure. Also got to test out the $250 Honda snow blower, it isn't perfect, will definitely need a carb rebuild, but it did a good job. Going to have to get some shear pins for sure, I didn't break any, yet.

IMG_1066.jpeg
 
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Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
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Southern Maine
This is an old Fisher, the tank version. I prefer the newer style, but hate the XV2 because they have really high sides and they block your lights when you are in scoop mode with the blade raised. It is really annoying as I am almost always using the plow in scoop so I can really get the snow away from the tight spaces.
 

Dixie_Flatline

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Oct 30, 2024
Messages
387
Location
Tennessee
All this talk of plows is bringing up bad memories! My first ****** apartment in NY was on the side of a hill, only the parking lot was flat, and there was a hill to drive up to get out of the lot onto the street which was also a steep hill. I was born and raised in Tennessee, I'd seen snow before, but not a really good CNY lake-effect snowfall. All night long I keep hearing this metal clanging noise out on the street. Its regular enough to ensure I wake up nice and exhausted the following morning.

I mentioned I am from Tennessee, so I do not have a snow shovel. In fact, the only shovel I have is a Soviet Spetznaz shovel. Now picture an Expedition on 33" tires with snow up to the bumpers. Not huge, but not sitting low like a sedan. The parking lot had not been touched, and there was this mountain of snow at the parking lot entrance from the plows passing all night along the street. I have to get to work, so I shift into 4-low and crawl my way out of the parking spot, then across the lot, only to be stopped by this mountain of snow. By the time I dug out a path barely wide enough to drive through my fingers were numb and I was physically exhausted.

In hindsight I should have just gone back inside and called in to work. I also made the mistake of thinking this just caught people off guard, and they will surely take care of the parking lot. Nope. I parked in a hole every day until it finally melted away. The path I carved out with my Expedition and stupid little shovel was the only route in and out of the parking lot for at least a week. I ended up breaking my lease and moving for a whole host of reasons, but I will never forget that first winter. FWIW, I still have the shovel.
 

Bob Heine

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Boca Raton, Florida
By the time I dug out a path barely wide enough to drive through my fingers were numb and I was physically exhausted.
Ah, memories from the old days. Our house was at the end of a cul-de-sac so the plow operator made a pass down the left side of the circle, backed up and made a second pass down the center, backed up again and made a pass down the right side. He then made a K-turn and headed down the street. We lived on that right side so we often couldn't see over the pile at the end of our driveway. Like you, I would dig a slot in the wall but mine was only big enough to get our smallest car through.

A few years of that I took matters into my own hand. When I heard the plow make its first pass I grabbed the two shot glasses of whiskey I had ready and went over the pile to stop the plow on its third pass. Handed the shots to the driver and navigator and thanked them for being out in such cold nasty weather. Then I asked if they could do anything to limit the pile in front of a poor cripple's driveway. Driver thought for a second and said: "I do have to turn around so I'll just hit the end of your driveway on my way out."

When approached by a neighbor as to why the end of my driveway was cleared I answered honestly and thought nothing of it. The next really big storm I went out to check and sure enough, the end of my driveway was clear. I also noticed four or five neighbors at the end of their driveways holding up shot glasses as the plow went by on the way out. Actions have consequences but I didn't think it would turn two plow operators into alcoholics. Our last winter storm in New York the end of my driveway wasn't cleared and I noticed two much younger guys in the cab. We got our New York passport and a Florida green card just in time.
 

kaymccampbell

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Feb 27, 2015
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Upstate New York
Ah, memories from the old days. Our house was at the end of a cul-de-sac so the plow operator made a pass down the left side of the circle, backed up and made a second pass down the center, backed up again and made a pass down the right side. He then made a K-turn and headed down the street. We lived on that right side so we often couldn't see over the pile at the end of our driveway. Like you, I would dig a slot in the wall but mine was only big enough to get our smallest car through.

A few years of that I took matters into my own hand. When I heard the plow make its first pass I grabbed the two shot glasses of whiskey I had ready and went over the pile to stop the plow on its third pass. Handed the shots to the driver and navigator and thanked them for being out in such cold nasty weather. Then I asked if they could do anything to limit the pile in front of a poor cripple's driveway. Driver thought for a second and said: "I do have to turn around so I'll just hit the end of your driveway on my way out."

When approached by a neighbor as to why the end of my driveway was cleared I answered honestly and thought nothing of it. The next really big storm I went out to check and sure enough, the end of my driveway was clear. I also noticed four or five neighbors at the end of their driveways holding up shot glasses as the plow went by on the way out. Actions have consequences but I didn't think it would turn two plow operators into alcoholics. Our last winter storm in New York the end of my driveway wasn't cleared and I noticed two much younger guys in the cab. We got our New York passport and a Florida green card just in time.
I had a neighbor who did nothing but *****. That girl could find something wrong about a pile of money. Their first winter here she called us and bitched that I had the temerity to plow my driveway, and a path to the state highway, but made tracks in the snow in the turnaround, and didn't plow down to her house nor plow her driveway. Then she called the cops. They talked to me. Thanked me and went about their day. When that didn't work she called the town. No traction there. There's no law or ordinance stopping you from dropping your plow and helping out a bit.

Then she started bitching about the plow driver with the town garage. At this time, the town was running big twin screw plow dumps. The kid who did our street was an artist. I used to leave a big pocket a bit up from my driveway, and he'd make sure he slammed the huge pile of snow he was pushing into it, then he'd angle his plow so most of what went to my drive was just the overflow, and not the whole push, then he'd angle back and bomb my front yard instead, so I'd get a lesser dose in the drive. It made it easier for my mini plow truck.

Well she started bitching about him doing his job improperly. So one snow he'd somehow slam the whole turnaround worth of snow into her driveway. So 4 feet deep, 50 feet down the driveway. Next time she bitched about there being too good a plow job, he'd turn around in my driveway and leave her whatever nature sent. Other times, he would do something with the plow, and totally rip out the last 4 feet of her driveway about 6 inches deep. Another time, a 5' high wall of snow 20' down from my drive. It was so much fun to watch, I'd sometimes be late for work because I was sitting there idling, waiting for the next installment.

Now we don't get so much snow, and we have a big pickup truck that plows the road. And the bitchy neighbor got divorced and sold to the nice couple who live there now.
 
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Bob Heine

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the bitchy neighbor got divorced
Kay, a little kindness (or whiskey) goes a long way on a cold night. The neighbor at the very end of the cul-de-sac called the town every time the pile of snow blocked her mailbox. Probably a coincidence their mailbox post was broken off every other time it snowed after that. I was smart enough to put my mailbox post in an old milk can with some drain holes and filled with bluestone (street topping) and topsoil. Placed the milk can right next to the power pole in our front yard and grew flowers in it. The two times it got knocked over it was a nuthin' muffin.

Of the 154 homes in our Wappingers Falls development, three had a fireplace in the living room. Our house was one of them. On a grocery run into town, Liane passed a crew filling a large dump truck with short pieces of oak from some deadfall along the road. She asked if they wanted to save a 12-mile trip to the landfill and dump their load in our front yard. They asked for her name and address and radioed the department. I'm not sure if they checked our voter registration but there was a 5-year supply of oak in our front yard when Liane returned with the groceries. My history teacher father told us to register with whichever party was in power in our locale, regardless of who we voted for. It was a heavily Republican county so that's what we registered as and then voted for the people with the funniest names.

Our first Florida neighbor called the police because my once every five year train party continued past 11 o'clock. Liane answered the door and cheerfully said "It's The Police -- we have all your albums" and then apologized and we moved the poolside party inside. A year or two later, instead of dumping my lawn clippings into a plastic bag, I spread them on the vacant lot next to her house. The policeman arrived and advised me to bag my clippings. A few hours later the Red Lobster our daughter worked at was robbed. She was the greeter and cashier so the gun was pointed at her. Never spoke to or acknowledged that ***** from that day forward.

Our bitchy neighbor (and nurse) died at 42 and I swear Liane never touched her. Probably ODed on something she stole from the hospital.
 

Bob Heine

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I wanna hear about your quinquennial train party.
@TurnipTruck, about nine months after my run-in with the train in 1965, we moved from Long Island to Wappingers Falls, NY and into our first home. We were about a decade younger than the rest of our neighbors but we all had young kids. Everyone got along and pretty soon we were having parties together, including some progressive ones where one family would make appetizers, the next family would make soup or salad, another prepared the protein and everyone brought sides. The last house was dessert. By 1970 we were going on group camping or boating trips together.

On September 9, 1970 I came home from work to a surprise party. There was a sheet cake with railroad tracks in the icing, a toy train on top and a little plastic baby doll arm behind the train with a trail of red icing. There was a kid's ride-on plastic locomotive and several other gag gifts. Just before we left for Florida in 1975 they threw another party but this time I was expecting it. More silly gifts and lots of fun stories about first encounters and some of the silly things I did at Halloween, like a Captain Hook outfit that one guest asked me to take off, thinking I was hiding a hand. Another year I dressed up as a one-armed wallpaper installer with hat, bib overalls and bucket with brush (not everyone got it).

In 1977 I gifted myself a college graduation present of a '69 Corvette and by 1980 we had been members of the South Florida Corvette Club and everyone had heard about the train party. Some people went a little overboard. One couple gifted me a custom Twister game, labeled Bob's Twister. This was back when you bought sheets of transfer letters to make signs,
Bob's Twister.jpg
Bob's Twister Spinner.jpg
The 1985 party included a blond mummy surfing on top of a locomotive.
Train Surfing Mummy.jpg
We were living in Australia in 1990 so we had an Aussie version of the Great Train Party. Coincidentally two couples from our Corvette club had made the arduous journey from Florida to Sydney. One of the husbands was on his bucket list dive on the Great Barrier Reef but three or four Australian couples attended as well. We always had a lot of laughs at the parties. It was never a sad event.
1990 Train Party 2.jpg
Got a hand at that party that matched the gray color of my skin after the accident. Lose a lot of blood and you tend to be extra pale,
1990 Train Party 1.jpg
Another party included a railroad crossing sign and a rubber
hand with a Long Island Railroad schedule with the 7:32 AM express highlighted (the one that got me).
Rubber Hand.jpg
There were many more gag presents over the years. We weren't thinking ahead for our 2005 party. I sent out invitations for a September 10, 2005 party completely forgetting the next day was the 4th anniversary of the 9-11 attack. The party was subdued but people still brought gag gifts, including an ashtray (I was smoking at the time), the perfect Dylan album and a couple of hats,
Train Party 1.jpg
I have also been gifted some Dashing Dan (Long Island Railroad Mascot. I have a nice T-Shirt and cocktail glass (I used to ride the bar car home at night).
Dashing Dan Complementary Glass.jpg
We might do something for the 60th anniversary this coming September but nothing firm yet.
 

Bob Heine

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Bob, are you saying you need a hand?

If only we all lived closer, we could all give Bob a hand and a ribbing...
Strouty, the older I get, the more people seem to want to help. Yesterday we went to Home Depot to pick up a few things. Put three bags of fertilizer, a big bag of Miracle Grow potting soil, a bag of pea gravel and ten bags of pine bark chips on the flatbed cart. While Liane was searching for perfect plants for the garden, I rolled my cart out to the parking lot and started loading the PT Cruiser. Got six bags of chips tossed in the back and pulled forward to the back of the front seats and a guy came up behind me. He asked if I needed a hand and I said "Yes, do you have a spare?" He wouldn't let me help and I told him the sign on my desk said: "Hire the Handicapped, We're Fun to Watch" and he said "It's good you have a sense of humor." I thanked him profusely but failed to mention I'd be unloading and storing this pile when I got home. Free physical therapy.

Another wonderful day in Crippleville.
 

kent_323is

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Nov 13, 2009
Messages
274
Location
South Dakota
@Strouty How are you doing? Anything to share with the group? Hopefully you're doing okay!

On the South Dakota side of things, we finally got a tiny, and I do mean tiny amount of snow yesterday, made the ground white and then most of it blew away. We're supposed to be getting measurable snow on Friday night into Saturday, and it will be welcome. It is so dry here that there are cracks in the frozen ground, almost like a frozen desert! I'm getting kind of tired of seeing brown grass.

Bob, great stories, you sure have a great sense of humor!
 
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Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
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Southern Maine
Kent,

I have been silent for a bit, basically my Dad upended things for the last time, so I am in process of trying to get things ready for a big move, the one I should have done last year, but fell for his "father like" plea for me to stay at the Hill. I have already been down this road too many times and I can't do it again, so I am done. It would have been much easier had I started last August and just been done with it, but here I am, snow everywhere and no easy way to do anything for the next couple months. I have started creating the full exit strategy, but it is tough as I really wanted to make things work, at this point even if he came to me and said that he would give me the Hill, I would have to say no thanks, I think he has fun abusing me in the way he has and the only way to stop it is to leave. So I guess I will be starting over, but at 50, most likely leaving any chance of reconciliation behind as he will see it as a slight.

So that is the update I didn't want to give, but half or more of you probably expected.
 

kent_323is

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Nov 13, 2009
Messages
274
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South Dakota
Kent,

I have been silent for a bit, basically my Dad upended things for the last time, so I am in process of trying to get things ready for a big move, the one I should have done last year, but fell for his "father like" plea for me to stay at the Hill. I have already been down this road too many times and I can't do it again, so I am done. It would have been much easier had I started last August and just been done with it, but here I am, snow everywhere and no easy way to do anything for the next couple months. I have started creating the full exit strategy, but it is tough as I really wanted to make things work, at this point even if he came to me and said that he would give me the Hill, I would have to say no thanks, I think he has fun abusing me in the way he has and the only way to stop it is to leave. So I guess I will be starting over, but at 50, most likely leaving any chance of reconciliation behind as he will see it as a slight.

So that is the update I didn't want to give, but half or more of you probably expected.
Sorry to hear that Strouty. Hopefully you can move some of the larger items and get some separation there. It does seem like he enjoys picking at you to see how far he can push you to the breaking point.
At least you have the Salvage Garage as a base, maybe not ideal, but better than nothing. As you make the move, it may be a good time to think about what you really want to focus on in the future, let some projects go bye-bye and focus more on projects that bring you joy.
50, while not young, isn't old yet either. While it's a hard decision to make, I think if you can make the move, you'll look back on it as the best thing you did to help yourself, so try to think of your future self, and focus on that future while you're enduring the pain during the move.
I try to do that with some of the unpleasant tasks to do... maybe I don't really want to do it now, but if I can just get that item done, then my future self will be glad its done. Example... I had an idler wheel on my snow dozer that blew a bearing, I wasn't looking forward to changing it as access to that wheel was a pain, but I got it done while there was no snow, and now this morning we had a fresh layer of 2-3 inches of fluffy snow, so it was great to use it for clearing the driveway, 4-stall wide garage pad, and in front of the 3 shed doors.

In making the move, will your G/F be able to help with some of the shuffling of vehicles? Regardless, we look forward to pictures, and we're rooting for you! Best of luck, and hopefully the weather cooperates the best it can during winter!
 
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Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
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Southern Maine
My GF would help as much as she can, but honestly it is going to be a lot of Perk, back and forth from the Hill to the Salvage Garage.

Logistically, I need another Conex, so I have a landing area forthe stuff from the Hill to go without making a mess inside the SG. Then, once the weather is better, I can start doing a larger shuffling of stuff inside the SG to make room for the things that need to get moved from the Hill.

On a good note, I confirm yesterday that there will be the local spring auction, so I can plan on that to help lessen the burden on a lot of things. I had spent a lot of time last year pondering what will go away and what will stay, so most of that is already fresh in my mind. The biggest issue that I have is the snow, not going to be able to do too much for at least another 45 days, maybe longer, I just don't have the space, especially when trying to deal with snow too.

Right now I am just trying to button up a million loose ends while the weather is screwing me up.
 

Dixie_Flatline

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387
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Tennessee
Sorry to hear it, but for your mental well-being I think its going to be a good decision. I am genuinely surprised you have stuck it out for this long. Hope you have a decent poker face, and can plan your exit strategy without tipping your hand, because no way in hell would I want to give him a chance to throw a wrench in the works.
 
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Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
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Southern Maine
He will throw a wrench in it for sure, I am just going to put my head down and deal with it in real time. He just nonchalantly mentioned he was going to have "his carpenters" (from the island project) fix the house so he can rent it. I was actually hit so off guard, I was actually confused and had to have him clarify. I am sure he thinks that I will continue to rent the shop and be his maintenance guy for the tenant, not happening, taking away the house destroys the only reason I wanted the Hill. In the end it all comes down to the ability to trust him, even with a signed deal I couldn't trust him anymore and he has deeper pockets if it came down to legal troubles. It isn't worth it, still ***** as I have spent years trying to make this happen, wish I had spent my time doing something else. :(
 
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Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
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Southern Maine
I am at the Salvage Garage now, I needed more totes for stuff at the Hill, also going to do a quick inventory of what I think needs to be done before I can really start moving the bigger stuff into the shop space.

I was working towards the stockroom layout anyways, so I guess it is time to actually do just that. If I reconfigure things a bit, I think there is enough space to build the stockroom without having to take much out of the SG, I only need one third of the inside space to be freed up, maybe a bit more than that so there is some room to work, but not much. If I do that, then I can build a floor over that and reconfigure the trusses so that there would be another 300 square feet of usable space for the "office" area. That would really be a game changer. I will still have too much stuff and I know it, but at least this will optimize the space and later on, I can dormer both sides to gain another 150 square feet or more. This has been the plan for the last couple years anyways, the Hill deal just made me push it off, as it wasn't needed.

The biggest hurdle is the weather, I will have to relocate the furnace and chimney, I think I will be better off (and less of a risk) just installing the "new" waste oil furnace and big oil tank, then it would be just a matter of installing a new chimney or relocating the existing one.

The truss redo is the scariest part about everything, but I think I have a plan for that as well, I will try and get some ideas from here as well.
 

bimmer1980

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Feb 5, 2009
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2,104
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York, PA
Strout,
Sorry to hear about the planned move. I wondered if things had taken a turn for the worse.

Do you have a time frame to get out of there? If so, is it your time-frame or dictated by your dad?
The small upside to deadlines and time restrictions is that it forces a person to push past hurdles and get it done.

Is your dad going on vacation anytime soon? Ideally, that would be a perfect time to make the final move to get out of dodge.

Is there a chance that one moving van trailer is available to use to cram some of the "smalls" from the hill to and transport and park at the salvage garage? Or something similar... and then the flat beds for the big items...

Or just say "f" it on the smalls and the random stuff, and only take the critical key items. The key is to get out and not have the hold over you.

My wife has a manipulative and domineering mother. It has been interesting watching and interacting throughout the years. She has less of a hold on me as I really don't "need" her for anything and I'm careful not to be put into that situation. I also call out the BS when I see it to my wife. That has helped her deal with it, but it is still challenging. The mother-in-law is also "great" at second guessing everything. It quickly erodes motivation and self worth. Yeah, she's a treat....

Regardless, with your family business ties, it makes it hard to divest out of the situation. As mentioned in another poster, be calm and calculated and tactful to get out of the situation. Do you have a trusted helper(s) for moving?
 

Dixie_Flatline

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Oct 30, 2024
Messages
387
Location
Tennessee
Hey, its a huge personal sacrifice, but I can come take that Power Wagon off your hands. You know, to help ease your burdens. Suppose I could help you move some stuff while I was there. Never been to Maine, could be an interesting road trip.

On a more serious note, you'll know you are good and ready when you are willing to walk away from it all. It was like that when I left my ex. I took only what fit in my truck as well as on the trailer, left everything else, and have no regrets to this day. The relief was actually a tangible thing. I really do hope you can finally put things into perspective and make yourself a clean break.
 
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