[biotechee]

Seems like lately everything has been going kaput in our house. First, our water softener started acting up. Then our dehumidifier in the basement crapped the bed. Now I think something is wrong with the whole-house humidifier on our HVAC unit (it is off, but condensate is forming on the outside of it). I'm on borrowed time with the AC unit (yikes! - $$$$). My front door is rotting at one of the jamb bottoms.

Sooner or later, and most likely sooner, I anticipate some of our kitchen appliances will go to that big appliance store in the sky.

I have about 9 million projects going on at once and not enough time in the day to get any of them done. The basement looks like a tornado went through it, as does most of the rest of the house.

I'm overwhelmed!

Which reminds me, I need to call Aprilaire and ask about the condensation on the humidifier...

I'm having one of those weeks where I just want plug in my sawzall and do a little demolition!!! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]

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[banditsc]

When your done there, I could use some painting around my house..

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[biotechee]

Don't get me started!!!

Along with everything else, we started a sunroom addition this past Fall. I am finally to the spackle stage (joy!) so I will be painting in the near future. I am dreading the sanding stage. After the sunroom, we're probably doing the kitchen (more painting, spackle, ugh!).

And I have to mow the friggin' lawn when I get home from work. Stupid sun comes out for a day or two and the damn grass grows about 8-1/2' overnight!

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[flash]

houses are almost as bad as boats when it comes to being money pits - we will also have to likely change out our hvac system this season - it is 20 years old, and i have rubber-banded and bubble-gummed it for 3 years now

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[ds968]

And that's one of the reasons it's a bit tough to justify buying another 968 just to mothball it ; there will always be a " this money
is better spent on that landscaping we're constantly putting off , or the upgrade to the......yada yada ", that comes into the equation. Damn houses, they always take priority, don't they ? [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

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[Ryan]

A/C is suppost to remove moisture from the air. There is no way you should be running a humidifier with the A/C.

Fix up the car and move in to it.

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[rxter]

And there are 2 coupes out there right now that come very, very close to meeting your requirements DS (I am still looking for you - I want that $50 [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

Hang in there Jim. Clearly you have set expectations in your household too high. I come through the door at 10 PM to the squealing delight of my children "oohhhh Daddy's home and he doesn't smell like perfume and liquor tonight - yeyyyy!!!!!"

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[Monstrous4Banger]

This is why I still rent! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] Then again, Im single and pay my landlord too much. If something breaks tho, he can drag his butt over here and fix it.

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[biotechee]

[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.gif[/img]

Humidifier is actually not running at the moment. Turns out the condensation on the outside of the housing is developing due to the higher than normal humidity level in the basement... The level is above normal because we're in a humid spell at the moment and my dehumidifier is shot. So, one issue resolved- only now need to worry about getting a new dehumidifier for the basement. I took me a couple of days to put two and two together - kept getting "5" when I knew the answer was "3".... [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]

I suppose I could move into the car- but then I would need to get an AC unit for the garage- a little too warm out there in the Summer! I also don't have cable/FiOS in the garage so I would be kinda bored sitting in the car listening to the stereo all day.

[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

Wish I could mothball a 968 - wait - I sorta already am since I don't drive the cab that much. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif[/img]

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[ds968]

" - I want that $50 " I may have to pay you the fee NOT to point these 968s out anyomre, that way I can't be tempted back into buying one , now that I'm sure ( almost sure [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img] ) I have reached a different conclusion.

But that's OT , this thread is all about BIOs' house so let's see if we can get a habitat for humanity-like group of 968-ers together, go over to his place and fix stuff [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img]

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[968Syncro]

It isn't by chance, these problems are intentionally created. It is really hard to see but, the cause is either the Communists, Republicans, Democrats, Corporations, Federal government, or Terrorists. It's true, I saw it on TV. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]

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[biotechee]

I KNEW IT!

Maybe it was Ralph Nader and his people though... He's pretty shady. I think he's in cahoots with Big Pharm, the Tea Party, and my next door neighbor, Ed, who installed an outdoor shower near his front door, with no privacy screen! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]

I can't accept a posse of 968's - I don't have enough beer in the fridge nor do we keep any good wine in the house. I don't want a riot on my hands!

BTW- Anybody ever bought a new entry door? Holy crap there's a sh!tload of options/styles/features/everythingandthekitchensink things to consider. While I dilly-dally around trying to figure out what to get, Mother Nature keeps peeing on my jambs!!! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif[/img]

The good thing is we are nowhere near the Tom Hanks / Shelly Long / Money Pit stage, and I can do most everything myself as long as I can figure out the issue.

I sorta miss the rental days for sure. We almost did a townhome as our first house, but then this place popped up and here we are. I just finished mowing a wet lawn. Double JOY!

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[ds968]

As much as I like our house ( and I do.. a lot ) the land , the peaceful botanic garden my wife had built [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img] , etc.. I still miss living in the townhome we had for about as long as we owned this house.. about 12 years each.. Granted, the architecture of those townhomes was such that they were incredibly private, in essence two story, 2,300sq ft single family homes connected only by a common backyard fence ( separated by each units' own side fences of course), but no common walls among them. You would not even know you had neighbors. But I digress.. the point is that a very reasonable monthly fee ( smaller than our current gas and electric bill ) took care of all the groundskeeping, fresh paint of all exteriors including doors every five years or so, the roof always kept in top notch shape, the fee also covered the fire/flood/earthquake insurance of the building(s), trash collection, and swimming pool maintenance. Never had to worry about a damn thing or spend a penny on anything other than interior appliances and stuff which rarely broke down or needed upgrade anyway. Sigh, I miss that hassle free living. Would go back to that without hesitation.
This is either a sign of growing old ( er ) and lazy ( ier ) and/or stingy. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif[/img]

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[rhudeboye]

We have lived here for 7 years now and have replaced every appliance in the kitchen our hot water heater and in the fall of 08 we replaced our entire HVAC inside and out. Had the gutter replaced last month as last Feb's snow storm damaged them pretty bad. We had our entire back yard regraded to take care of a water issue, then had a retaining wall built. After all of this it appears we are starting to get our heads above water and finish some long over due projects.

We are currently refinancing and discussing adding in a little extra to expand the kitchen.

PS Thanks Bio, its nice to know I'm in good company and I love a good rant [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img]

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[flash]

i've spent about $165k cash on work/remodeling on the house in the last 3 years - no new rooms - no square footage increases - this was not an old house (at least not in east coast terms)

feeling better now?

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[ds968]

and then you realize that in about 48 states you can buy a decent house for $ 165k [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif[/img]

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[rhudeboye]

" you realize that in about 48 states you can buy a decent house for $ 165k [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif[/img]"

MD DC VA not being one of those states.

FL on the other hand. If my money wasn't so tied up in other places I would buy a vacation home there. You woulndt believe how far your dollar goes in sunny FL.

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[biotechee]

It would take about 2-4 times longer to get to work if we were to move into an area where there were $165K homes (in good condition). Then we would also be in what could be considered a less-than-optimal school district where not enough emphasis is placed on the kids and learning. We've thought about moving numerous times to other areas (within the current school district) in order to get a larger yard and/or larger house, but the distances increase almost exponentially for areas that we could afford. Right now, it is a double-edged sword. Our value is about double what we paid, but to get something with slightly more land and/or more sqft way exceeds any reasonable facsimile of a budget for us!

Always a trade-off I suppose!

Going back to my sort of original rant... I got my wife a new cat- her cat, which she had for about 13-14 years, developed cancer and had to be put down this past November. We picked up the new addition in late January. She is sort of a "left over" and has a few problems. She is partially deaf (very easy to sneak up on her!!! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img] ) and as it turns out, she also has some sort of problem with the tail end. So we have two litter boxes in our basement. My basement floor is covered with Dricore panels - raises the floor off the concrete, creating a space between the concrete and the OSB portion of the Dricore. Acts as an insulating layer as well as keeps any flooring off the concrete and away from moisture. The exposed area of the basement has exposed Dricore. Since it is basically OSB, it doesn't do well under exposure to liquids. See where I'm going with this yet??? So this cat has some sort of intestinal/colon problem and all her poop is like runny mud. No logs! (Sorry for the mental pics) And, her aim is not great. So basically, I have to pull up a bunch of these damn Dricore panels and replace them due to poo damage!!! For the past 3.5 months, we have been through 4-5 different cat foods, had two stool tests done by our vet (both negative) and now we are potentially looking at prescription food and medication. She's gaining weight (only 14 months old) and no behavioral issues so she's a good cat. I figure I need to put something down over the Dricore to protect it and make her misses easier to clean. And hopefully we can get this crap (pun intended) cleared up!!!

Did I mention she's easy to sneak up on?! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]

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[rhudeboye]

very easy to sneak up on her!!!

[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] Shame on you. But I find it very funny.

Our Cat is impossible to sneak up on. He has the hearing of a .. well, a cat. I use to drop a ten on the table and tell my son or daughter that if they can get to our <b>sleeping </b>cat and touch him w/o him waking and turning to look at them, they can take the ten. It always returned to my wallet.

Where about to add a dog to the fam and from what i see from my friends, dogs are a lot more expensive and prone to illnesses. All of their dogs are on meds. Whats up with that?

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[biotechee]

We will eventually get a dog, but we just don't have the time yet for training, socialization, playing with a rambunctuous puppy, etc. And when you are interested in a Dobe, you need to do those things. Lots of neighbors have dogs which are mostly untrained. Not a big fan of that. That's one of the really nice things about cats - they require a lot less attention. I'm pretty sure I mentioned I can sneak up on my wife's cat - Ahh, good times! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.gif[/img]

I really like the $10 bet! Classic!

Additionally, our other cat, my cat (solid logs - who's a good boy?!) is really old for his breed. He will be 12 in July and the average expectancy is 10-12... I really don't want to push him over the edge and cause a coronary with the addition of a puppy that will soon outweigh him 7 to 9:1!! Last but not least, our youngest daughter is not mature enough at the moment to be around a puppy. She might not fare too well either, with a puppy that will outweigh her 2 to 3:1!!! We figure 2 years or so and we'll be able to get a female Dobe.

I hear ya about the dog meds... All the meds must be necessary due to all the "selective" breeding!! At least that's my opinion.

And apparently prescription diets for dogs and cats ain't cheap!

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