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Want to tackle a kitchen make-over? Would you like to re-do the bathroom? Curious about doing electrical work? First there is the work. There are, I am sure, somewhere, codes to be viewed. Look around, ask around, browse the web, you will... after a long time... get somewhere with that. Check the dates though, code can change, and drastically, quickly. What codes are you looking at? You do realize that federal, state, and county codes may apply, right? Okay, you find the codes, you draft a plan, and it is not just the easy way. You do know that beyond code, there is a cheap way to do something and a right way to do something, right? Okay, you are all set up. You know where to put 2 x 4s and not 2 x 2s or 3s. You realize that 6mm is what you should use, not the 4mm sheet code suggests. You know that wiring in metal fixtures needs shielding for several possible reasons. You have, after a great deal of research, found the right price for the supplies you will need. Next comes the work. Much of it is not difficult. Time consuming, tedious, nitpicking, sure. A few spots might take a little more muscle than what you can supply. Mechanical means or asking around might make that work well, but those things are not frequent. Stamina, here like fighting, is more important than strength (at least in my experience). Now, you do realize, while you are digging into your home, you may find things that cannot simply be covered back up without treatments? An inspector would not allow it. Oh, you did not realize an inspector might not allow something? Or that common sense, health, and safety (not even simply the stuff unions have shoved into law, which they often ignore, but that is not the point) might demand that you make fixes? Follow me a bit further on this, please.
How much can a simple repair or upgrade turn into? Imagine if you set aside $15,000 for a kitchen renovation and it turned into a $60,000 (or more) job? What in the world is one to do? Honestly? What if you cannot even close up the job or the inspector, further, condemns your property either because the repairs are code required or what you opened up is necessary for habitation and yet cannot be finished due to the uncovered code violation(s)? Yes, it does bug me. I think most work, anymore, requires paperwork. I have not found out what all needs that, but my guess is almost anything that involves electric, gas, digging, or structural concerns would need to be filed. You could probably get away with not filing for a permit. But that sounds a lot like not getting a driver's license or hunting without a license. It is fine until you get caught. As well, if you ever plan on selling your home, code will become a huge issue. Pay now or later.
Frustrated? A bit. Both with the legal tangles, the need for them, and the abuses surrounding it all. To be honest, I have not really checked into much of this, other than on the periphery. I have not contacted the county, or at least the one I live in. I have not checked this or that. I have simply been studying things I want done and running into walls, questions, doubts, and troubles. I have watched good professionals in several fields fix problems left by others, and at great expense. Doing something wrong can easily end up with expenses greater than the initial costs which is really sad when actually doing it right the first time might have been cheaper in the beginning. Further, even a single, let alone several, minor mistake can make your home dangerous or lethal. Many contractors simply cannot be trusted. Even if they are decent, they may well cover up something knowing you cannot pay. Many are good at one thing but totally ignorant about other areas. Others are completely unscrupulous. Just some things to note.
On to politics. I hope the Republicans are taking notes. If they win as big as is predicted, or bigger, they best understand that there is a very small list of wants from the electorate. We do not want corporatism. That is just the opposite (in the vein that, in a circle, the opposite taken full circle is the same) of socialism. If these politicians stick to hammering funding cuts, tax cuts, and reducing both personal and corporate regulation in a reasonable manner, they will win more room to wiggle. Lets be honest though, even good representatives HAVE to kick back something to those who supported them. Let us not lie here. It is more a matter of how and what they do that will count. (for example, spending reasonably and helping a business or community expand versus putting money in the pockets of a politician's children) They have no mandate to try new socialist programs, to push through regulations which hurt competition in favor of the big dogs, to do anything at all but stop the machine or reverse it if they can. They best not work with or for the current administration. At this point, it looks like closing down the government might actually be better than allowing Obamacare to continue, for example. The judgments will be as swift as three months, the punishment will be in two years. I honestly believe the Democrat party may be dead and the Republican party may well be on it's way out... if we have enough Republicans who are more for doing the right things than continuing this left and lefter two party game of the last half a century. It might take time to create a third party that is functional and strong enough to rout the Dem party and contest Republicans. But if the Republican party does not figure out that it is our tool rather than the other way around, it will cease to hold power.
The bouncing from Republican to Democrat and back should be a warning to both parties. Neither is fulfilling our needs or wants. Perhaps this is all about jobs and the economy, but I doubt it. I think these last half a dozen cycles have been about people looking for people to do the right things and do them well and consistently. Neither party has pulled through and the third parties have not been rational enough, or simply have not resonated with people (problematic as we are, that is what is). I am amazed though. I honestly thought the Republican party, and the Republic, was over. We will see.
On to health. Drinking that much water (4 x 16 ounces so far) is actually difficult. My throat is dry. The back of my tongue down the throat a ways is a bit sore... raspish. I have tried it room temperature but I simply cannot get it down that way, I gag. My water is both softened and then run through reverse osmosis, so it is not bad water. A few ice cubes per glass has helped. How odd. For as much water as people suggest I drink, I have to wonder about the reality of doing so long term. Maybe it will become easier in time? I have never really felt thirsty, though I know I do not often always feel my body and what it wants well. From physical pain to cold or heat, in different ways, I simply do not have a close association with my body.
As well, I keep reading about others who have similar symptoms, of the mind and body. Some are much worse off, others are more functional. There are always variations. Some of those are real, some are perceived I would guess. When dealing with the mind, objectivity is almost impossible. As bad as things can be for me, I actually am not all that bad off. Life closes in on me sometimes, but I often have freedom. And when I am free, I have enough income and time to enjoy, at least the little things. Further, I am neither addicted to anything (illegal), violent, truly paranoid (like in the movies), or even really hateful. I enjoy a plethora of emotions and moods. I enjoy cats and plants and tinkering. I can still mess with math, up to and sometimes well beyond calculus. I can read, write (within my skill level), and be with people (or not). I guess my sadness is that I do not quite have enough financial freedom to do more, I have too much time, and yet I am not quite functional enough to be a professional or otherwise more useful, productive, active. Bugs, crickets, and frogs, I say!
I watched the new zombie mini-series. Not bad, mostly. Typical egalitarian picks for "good guys", the usual dolt of a hero, and not a lot of explanation (yet). Considering there is some time, I can bide that time. I am hoping the rest of the series shapes up to something decent. The love triangle thing already has me edgy. I know it is a part of life, but do they need to infect every part of every story with it? Yeah, I like women. Sure, families are nice. I realize the drama all of it brings. But me, I am looking for a good scary story. KISS, remember that.
Well, that should be enough. Good night, probably. I am going to try and get my 6:00 wake-ups back in the schedule. Plus, I want to be up early to remember to go vote, and make sure I have enough time to shower, groom, and zoom in order to 'castigate' my vote. :P Sleep well.
Your renovation sounds like a real nightmare Doom. 20 thou turning to 60, that sounds like a new house in some parts. Tread carefully alright, perhaps it's a good idea to get someone to do it, assuming they know what they're doing that is.
ReplyDeleteAs for politics, waiting in anticipation here, i'm hoping the dems get wiped out and the right republicans win office, not them useless rinos.
Oh, I will start slowly and work my way into figuring things. I definitely will not start with the kitchen! A front stoop, a door or two, maybe a window (or not). I will also make sure I have enough cash to pay to have someone take over should I find myself hopelessly lost. But the kitchen does scare me. I could lay flooring (but before or after new cabinetry? Probably after tearing out the old, so as to have the whole floor level). But electric, gas, and maybe even some of the wall treatment... I just do not know. Further, having one's kitchen out of commission for a month or two...
ReplyDeleteI am hoping as you do. Only time will tell. It will then be a matter of keeping their feet to the fire and not forgetting by the next election cycle!
Yup. Remodeling on that scale cannot be undertaken lightly. There is stuff on my Tucson house, done by the previous owners fifteen or twenty years ago that is giving appraisers and inspectors indigestion. Stuff that was OK by FHA when I bought the place, suddenly they've become picky about in the current climate.
ReplyDeleteThe nice thing about remodeling a mobile home is that no one expects it to be kept up for the long haul--they are designed to wear out and be discarded. County building codes do not apply. They won't issue permits or do inspections. It's a state-level thing here in AZ, and frankly Scarlett my dear, I don't give a rip. Since the code requirements for a mobile home are much looser than for a fixed residence, everything I do is an improvement.
Now exterior improvements (utilities and whatnot) still fall under the County's jurisdiction, and I've pulled permits for all that stuff. The inspectors have been fine with all my efforts to date.
Knowing what you're doing is essential. If they suspect you aren't up to professional level work they will give your work much closer scrutiny. You are engineering-caliber, so it is within your grasp to make it so if you devote sufficient time to learning the requirements.
My solar tower is definitely skirting the issue however. As long as the neighbors don't make an issue of it I'm fine. If they do, there is no way I could make that fine example of ingenuity fit the arbitrary confines of the code.
Yes, I figure I can get the material down. The problem is actually finding it. I have not found a cohesive, let alone comprehensive, presentation. What I have found is often in quite an indigestible form... written for 5th grade level reading using advanced ideas means much of the material is simply missing. Imagine a calculus book written for 5th graders, if you need an example. There are areas not covered because the language and expectation of understanding and math skills are not there. Bah!
ReplyDeleteI suspected inspectors will give a verbal exam during the inspection. If I fail, you are correct, they will tear into work already done. It is good, in a way. Unfortunately most contractors, good and bad, know what to say if not what to do or how to do it correctly. It is messy. I think, actually, my first project will be a rain stoop over my front entrance. There is some electrical, some simple (and not so simple) mechanical, and light code. Further, if it takes me a month, I rarely use that door anyway. I would guess even that will cost $2k. Bah! But if I can get through that, I will probably move to an expansion and revision of my master bathroom. Again, I have a second full bathroom so it is less time critical. Only when these are eventually done will I contemplate what parts of the kitchen I will do. Subcontractors may be called in for the electric until I get the swing of that, but always on gas when I get there.
A spooky thing, indeed. Actually, when I have enough for a check, I will find out about the fireplace. But that, for a number of reasons (though with me looking over their shoulders and researching their design ideas), I will have someone else do that (save perhaps for the finish, if I will have them help me figure some of that out, along with my own research). And again... BAH!!!