OT: "Once upon a time I loved this house;



M

modom

Guest
Now I'm thinkin' about burnin' it down."

The words are Steve Earl's, but the sentiment is almost mine. We're
having the house leveled. Workers began digging yesterday morning on
the first of 26 holes around our foundation. The plan was to remove a
cubic yard from each one, pour a footing, set in blocks, and jack it
back to normal, shimming with steel plates as they went. But it seems
that the footing at the beam is wider and deeper than usual, so when I
came home for lunch today I found a worker in a hole up to his neck
and still shoveling black "gumbo" dirt. This is major renovation,
y'all. One of our bathrooms will need a total redo before it's over.
And my yard will take years to recover.

Ironically, the current issue of Atomic Ranch magazine has a picture
of our house in it that I sent in back in the summer. At that time I
wrote to them of "modest" improvements like fixing the light fixtures.

OBFood: I had a cheap fried pie for dessert tonight.
--
modom

"My baby's got no clothes
'Cause she's makin' chicken soup."

-- Chuck E. Weiss
 
On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 23:14:16 -0600, modom wrote:

> The words are Steve Earl's, but the sentiment is almost mine. We're
> having the house leveled.

Sadly, it's typical for a house in Texas.
--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.
 
"sf" <[email protected]> wrote

> On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 23:14:16 -0600, modom wrote:
>
>> The words are Steve Earl's, but the sentiment is almost mine. We're
>> having the house leveled.
>
> Sadly, it's typical for a house in Texas.

Now, that's annoying, I don't have the original of this post,
either, could someone quote it for me, even just email it to
me? I think I must have screwed up my killfile.

nancy
 
This is so Nancy can see the OP.

"modom" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Now I'm thinkin' about burnin' it down."
>
> The words are Steve Earl's, but the sentiment is almost mine.
We're
> having the house leveled. Workers began digging yesterday
morning on
> the first of 26 holes around our foundation. The plan was to
remove a
> cubic yard from each one, pour a footing, set in blocks, and
jack it
> back to normal, shimming with steel plates as they went. But
it seems
> that the footing at the beam is wider and deeper than usual, so
when I
> came home for lunch today I found a worker in a hole up to his
neck
> and still shoveling black "gumbo" dirt. This is major
renovation,
> y'all. One of our bathrooms will need a total redo before it's
over.
> And my yard will take years to recover.
>
> Ironically, the current issue of Atomic Ranch magazine has a
picture
> of our house in it that I sent in back in the summer. At that
time I
> wrote to them of "modest" improvements like fixing the light
fixtures.
>
> OBFood: I had a cheap fried pie for dessert tonight.
> --
> modom
>
> "My baby's got no clothes
> 'Cause she's makin' chicken soup."
>
> -- Chuck E. Weiss
 
"Kathy" <[email protected]> wrote

> This is so Nancy can see the OP.

Thank you so much, Kathy. I am relieved to know that
Mike is not having his house *leveled*, but leveled. I
thought he meant demolishing it.

nancy
 
On Wed, 1 Mar 2006 07:56:13 -0500, "Nancy Young" <[email protected]>
rummaged among random neurons and opined:

>
>"sf" <[email protected]> wrote
>
>> On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 23:14:16 -0600, modom wrote:
>>
>>> The words are Steve Earl's, but the sentiment is almost mine. We're
>>> having the house leveled.
>>
>> Sadly, it's typical for a house in Texas.
>
>Now, that's annoying, I don't have the original of this post,
>either, could someone quote it for me, even just email it to
>me? I think I must have screwed up my killfile.

Here ya go, Nancy:

Now I'm thinkin' about burnin' it down."

The words are Steve Earl's, but the sentiment is almost mine. We're
having the house leveled. Workers began digging yesterday morning on
the first of 26 holes around our foundation. The plan was to remove a
cubic yard from each one, pour a footing, set in blocks, and jack it
back to normal, shimming with steel plates as they went. But it seems
that the footing at the beam is wider and deeper than usual, so when I
came home for lunch today I found a worker in a hole up to his neck
and still shoveling black "gumbo" dirt. This is major renovation,
y'all. One of our bathrooms will need a total redo before it's over.
And my yard will take years to recover.

Ironically, the current issue of Atomic Ranch magazine has a picture
of our house in it that I sent in back in the summer. At that time I
wrote to them of "modest" improvements like fixing the light fixtures.

OBFood: I had a cheap fried pie for dessert tonight.
--
modom

"My baby's got no clothes
'Cause she's makin' chicken soup."

-- Chuck E. Weiss

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA

--
"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"
 
"Nancy Young" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Thank you so much, Kathy. I am relieved to know that
> Mike is not having his house *leveled*, but leveled. I
> thought he meant demolishing it.

That's what I thought too! ;-)

I wrote yesterday about my last house built in 1982 that had some major
issues. The major structural problem was when the site was graded and
compacted before construction, it was not done properly. In addition, the
foundation was not constructed well. As a result, the foundation collapsed
under the shifting soil. I haven't lived there for many years, and the
problem still has not been corrected. It would have required something
similar to what modom was describing. The telltale sign that nothing has
been done is the landscaping I planted next to the house in the 1980s is
still there. It would have to be removed to address the foundation problem.

Speaking of having a house *leveled*, there was a beautiful 1920s era
English Tudor house in Washington, DC in perfectly good shape demolished to
built a crass new mansion for a local business mogul, Herbert Haft, two
decades ago. Here's part of a news clip about it that's kind of funny:

--
The house, like nearly everything else about Herbert Haft, is controversial.
In 1985, Haft bought an elegant 30-room English Tudor mansion on that site
for $1.4 million. A month later, he flattened it into rubble, shocking
Ribeth Appleby, the widow who sold it to him. "I would never have sold that
home if I knew he was going to tear it down," she said. "In a thousand years
I would never have sold it." In its place, Haft built a larger $4 million
house with seven bedrooms, six fireplaces and lots of fine marble and
detailed woodwork.
--

The new house is currently for sale for $20 million, if anyone here cares to
buy it. Here's a pointer to the MLS listing:

http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1052936210

--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )
 
On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 23:02:01 -0800, sf <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 23:14:16 -0600, modom wrote:
>
>> The words are Steve Earl's, but the sentiment is almost mine. We're
>> having the house leveled.
>
>Sadly, it's typical for a house in Texas.
>--

Really? Funny, when I first read that he's having the house
"leveled," I thought he meant torn down!

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
 
"wff_ng_7" <[email protected]> wrote

> "Nancy Young" <[email protected]> wrote:

>> Thank you so much, Kathy. I am relieved to know that
>> Mike is not having his house *leveled*, but leveled. I
>> thought he meant demolishing it.
>
> That's what I thought too! ;-)

I know he loves that place, I thought, oh no!

> I wrote yesterday about my last house built in 1982 that had some major
> issues. The major structural problem was when the site was graded and
> compacted before construction, it was not done properly. In addition, the
> foundation was not constructed well. As a result, the foundation collapsed
> under the shifting soil.

What a nightmare.

> I haven't lived there for many years, and the problem still has not been
> corrected. It would have required something similar to what modom was
> describing. The telltale sign that nothing has been done is the
> landscaping I planted next to the house in the 1980s is still there. It
> would have to be removed to address the foundation problem.

Probably all the doors stick. And worse. Geez.

> Speaking of having a house *leveled*, there was a beautiful 1920s era
> English Tudor house in Washington, DC in perfectly good shape demolished
> to built a crass new mansion for a local business mogul, Herbert Haft, two
> decades ago. Here's part of a news clip about it that's kind of funny:

We lost an historic house near me due to some moron's incompetence,
I am so upset about it I can't even bring myself to think about your story.
Damn shame, isn't it?

nancy
 
On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 23:02:01 -0800, sf <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 23:14:16 -0600, modom wrote:
>
>> The words are Steve Earl's, but the sentiment is almost mine. We're
>> having the house leveled.
>
>Sadly, it's typical for a house in Texas.

In this part of Texas, that's true, but in more sandy soil I believe
foundations are more stable.

--
modom

"My baby's got no clothes
'Cause she's makin' chicken soup."

-- Chuck E. Weiss
 
On Wed, 1 Mar 2006 08:26:54 -0500, "Nancy Young" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>"Kathy" <[email protected]> wrote
>
>> This is so Nancy can see the OP.
>
>Thank you so much, Kathy. I am relieved to know that
>Mike is not having his house *leveled*, but leveled. I
>thought he meant demolishing it.
>
>nancy
>
Oops. I should have phrased that more carefully.

Here's the chain of events, as I see them: We bought a house knowing
it had some foundation trouble. We moved in with our dogs. One dog
is senile and will not remain continent on the carpet. We got another
dog, a puppy. He will not be house trained when the senile one
continues to piddle on the rug. We bought bamboo flooring to replace
the rug. To improve the look of the house and to inhibit piddling.
The slab is too cattywompus to lay the floor. I don't know how to
spell cattywompus. We hired a contractor to level the slab. Now
there are seriously scary holes at many places around the foundation.
More are promised. One will be inside.

And they are CHARGING us THOUSANDS for this.

That's one expensive puppy. He sure is pretty, though.

OBFood: Hebrew National franks with kraut and caramelized onions for
dinner tonight. No picture.
--
modom

"My baby's got no clothes
'Cause she's makin' chicken soup."

-- Chuck E. Weiss
 
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