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Trades people. What work needs to be …

| Posted in General Discussion on November 27, 2001 10:48am

*
Time to fess up, don’t deny it, we all know your own home is the last one to get worked on. So what needs to be done and how long has your spouse been pestering you to get it done?

I’ll be the first one in the confessional.

One piece of crown mould in the living room. About 5 months
The pantry (too many things there to list) When did we move in???
Paint the kitchen, 3 years
Paint the bedroom, 2 years
Finish repairing the window sash in the office, 5 months
Calking around the tub, couple months
Install the new light fixtures up stairs. 8 months

Awe heck I give up. Next!

Scott

Reply

Replies

  1. Terry_Smiley | Nov 25, 2001 05:53am | #1

    *
    Scott

    I hate doing building maintenance and remodel, so when I built my house 6 years ago the only thing I missed was an 8" piece of baseboard in the guest bath. I took care of it right away when my wife noticed it. Sounds like I have it figured out doesn't it? Well I don't, every year my wife comes up with a new addition or remodel, so I'll never finish. Did I hear someone say it
    b "YOU CAN'T WIN WHEN DEALING WITH WOMEN"

    Terry

    1. Rich_Beckman | Nov 25, 2001 05:53am | #2

      *Well, the family room/kitchen ceiling has needed painting for a long time.The garage door needs replacing (it had a automatic opener on it, but no reinforcement so it bowed in at the top).Quite awhile ago, I put down a wood floor in the living/room hall, but left the edge facing the entry unfinished because we were going to put ceramic tile in the entry. Still looking for tile we like.Not too long ago, the tile soap dish in the shower fell off with a few neighboring tiles. Looks like the tile was laid on drywall. So the shower needs to be retiled.I want to run some power to a couple of spots in the back yard, and some drainage, and water lines...that's been on the to do list for years.Thinking of refacing the kitchen cabinets and putting in a new sink and counter. The kitchen needs a new floor also.I built a small deck off of the back door a couple of years ago, but it is only a "down payment". We would like to extend it around the corner.I think the hot water heater needs replaced.The supplemental solar hot water heat has problems also. I need to post a question about that.There's probably something I'm forgetting.Rich Beckman

      1. Mark_McDonnell | Nov 25, 2001 05:58am | #3

        *Painting.......lots of painting....it's endless!

        1. lonecat | Nov 25, 2001 06:59am | #4

          *Its been 19 years since I lived in a house with all the baseboard down.

          1. Kevin_R._Craig | Nov 25, 2001 07:44am | #5

            *Several years ago a Contractor that I work for did a renovation for a gentleman that had won a substantial sum on the lottery. When we had finished the project the homeowner took all the trades and our spouses out for dinner. This was the first time many of our wives had met. As the women were talking they realized that they were all living in uncompleted homes. The electricians wife complained that she had no switch plates or lights in many rooms in her house, the plumbers(me) wife complained she had only one finished bathroom in her house and was washing her dishes in the bathtub. The general contractors wife after listening to all these women complain said "be thankfull your not married to a GC NOTHING in my house is finished.

          2. calvin_ | Nov 25, 2001 02:42pm | #6

            *Watch out boys. I smell a spiracy of some sort. First the list on this message board and tomorrow printed in big letters on a billboard in your town. Wives can be incredibly sneaky. Just ask Blodgett.

          3. Stephen_Hazlett | Nov 25, 2001 03:45pm | #7

            *Despite my inept efforts my kitchen is still fairly vintage 1940's.It desperately needs a total rehab.I usually at least re-paint 1-2 rooms each winter.I went ballistic one year when my wife leaned xc ski's up against walls I had painted only 2 days previously.

          4. blue_eyed_devil_ | Nov 25, 2001 03:58pm | #8

            *Hehehe, I swear, my wife just asked me to re-glue a door knob protector! It's been laying there for about a month. Occasionally, I re-stick it up there-it stays an hour and drops down.I've got a dripping tub faucet. I've had the thing apart and honestly tried to find parts for it. No one knows what kind it is. I swear, I was in the bix boxes yesterday trying to find a suitable replacement. They didn't have anything that we could use. I'm trying. I need a 3' piece of trim under a weird exterior door.Barn hardware.Hell, bulldoze the entire place and let someone else start over....There's no end to what could be on the list!blue

          5. Mike_Gabriel | Nov 25, 2001 07:27pm | #9

            *I don't make my living in construction, but here goes...DR: Finish the trim around exposed beams, hw floors, and once that's done, I can hang the door casings and chair rail.(This room was stripped to the studs about 2 years ago!-been busy outside)Trim out entry hallway. 1 monthI finally finished the deck(500sf,3 level), siding, gutters, spouts, drainage, etc, this year. Next spring-landscaping, stone wall, walkways.Maybe next year(funds permitting), we'll gut the kitchen/EIK combo. Maybe.My neighbors think I'm nuts, construction never stops. My sis has the same disease.Mike

          6. TLE_ | Nov 25, 2001 07:31pm | #10

            *Earlier in our marriage we would build a house about every 3-4 years. Always a lot of punch list items left undone when we moved in.Not much effort to finish up the list once we got settled.Once we decided to sell the place, I would get busy and wrap it all up ( I need a deadline ).Been in the current home almost ten years - still have items unfinished. Told the wife that if she really wants these done she just has to agree to sell the place.So far the logic escapes her.Terry

          7. Jason | Nov 25, 2001 08:10pm | #11

            *Oh boy. What a posting. I'm currently waiting at home for the past week, and next several weeks while we await our first child. Once the little guy got to be overdo, the wife presented me with a list; new shelves (cherry, mind you...not that cheesy looking oak), footstool, end tables. I'm told it's about time I put that huge workshop to use on our home instead of others. Oh, and dear, while you're at it, finish up the barn overhang you built two years ago (fasica, soffitt, celing), clean out the garage, winterize the mower, and start picking out colors; you'll be painting the house, barn, and garage next year. And make sure you've got that scheduled!The place, I must admit, is looking better.

          8. Scott_R | Nov 25, 2001 08:44pm | #12

            *A construction firm that I once worked for owned by a father and son are in the midst of building a log home for the son. Dads house mind you has been up since the mid 80's and is far from complete, makeshift railings, missing trim, kitchen cabinets still in the box, and the list goes on and on. Now the son vows that he will not move into his house until it is 100% complete. I'll believe that one when I see it. Even Norm Abrams admits in his book "Norm Abram's New House" that a multitude of projects remain unfinished at any one time in his own home.Scott R.

          9. David_Mason | Nov 25, 2001 10:22pm | #13

            *Trim out that bay window I put in 2 years ago Finish the railing on the deck Finish the siding on the back of the house Start the addition I promised to do when we moved in 7 years ago Thanks alot Scott , now I'm feeling guilty about sitting here when I could be doing something constructive.Dave

          10. Terry_Smiley | Nov 25, 2001 11:50pm | #14

            *ScottWho do you think you are, you just ruined a perfectly good lazy Sunday.No you didn'tb who cares?Maybe her next husband can finish it with the life insurance money she gets from working me to death.Relax a little,Terry

          11. Jeff_Clarke_ | Nov 26, 2001 12:21am | #15

            *I can't respond Scott - there's a prohibition against long posts.Our house is very apeeling - but enough about the paint ...Jeff (trying to keep 1932 alive and well)

          12. Dave_Richeson | Nov 26, 2001 12:49am | #16

            *I'm printing this whole post. It gets laminated and carried with me to the next faminly cathering, so when my wife starts with her stories..... I always knew I wasn't alone. Now you guys have given me printed evidence that I am only adhering to proffessional standards at home.Dave

          13. Jay_Honeycutt | Nov 26, 2001 01:32am | #17

            *Moved in the house eight years ago. The night we closed, ripped up bright red (whatthehe**weretheythinking!) carpet over the 110-year-old red oak floors the night we closed. It was going to be our bed room and the first room renovated.Flash forward to today. The bed room has shiny oak floors, beautiful wainscotting and, after only eight years, all that remains is for me to hang new crown — as soon as I finish the hallway trim, the kitchen trim, the dining room trim...The only thing that has happened on time is when I renovated a room for a nursery. I had a 9-month deadline — just barely beat it.

          14. Boss_Hog | Nov 26, 2001 02:01am | #18

            *Seems like I always have a few things in the works. Put a bunch of new doors in that aren't trimmed out. Don't quite have all the little pieces of siding back on where I added the garage on. Didn't quite get all the wiring into the new fuse box so I could do away with the knob & tube stuff. Don't have all the base trim down in the bathroom after we remodelled it. But the place looks a heck of a lot better than when we moved in.

          15. Carl_Shaw | Nov 26, 2001 02:08am | #19

            *Clean and organize the garage. I'm frequently digging through a stack of stuff to get what I want. I have the house itself about where I want it.

          16. GACC_DAllas | Nov 26, 2001 02:53am | #20

            *Painting...I hate painting.Ed.

          17. James_DuHamel | Nov 26, 2001 03:07am | #21

            *There's not a single room anywhere in my house that is finished. Doesn't matter though. It's now time to start remodeling every room, so I will complete them as I remodel them. I figure if I have lived in an unfinished house for 15 years, I must like it that way. Yeah, that's it! I LIKE it that way! (heh heh heh)James DuHamel

          18. Keith_C | Nov 26, 2001 03:42am | #22

            *Okay you IDIOTS....maybe this should be in the business folder but...I bring clients into my own home for closing the deal. Everything is done, and fresh. They know I finish what I start. Ask my wife and she says everything is done, every nail hole filled, every piece of trim in place...so will my past customers......success starts at home, are we not Homebuilders?.....JESUS maybe those uptight pricks over at JLC have a point... I HOPE NOT.

          19. Luka_ | Nov 26, 2001 03:51am | #23

            *They do. And theirs is located in the same place yours is.

          20. Keith_C | Nov 26, 2001 04:13am | #24

            *Luka...I hope not, because this thread and all the replies will cement all that they think of contractors...and I am not one of "THOSE type of contractors"

          21. TLE_ | Nov 26, 2001 04:34am | #25

            *What make you think that there is any connection with how I finish my house and what I will do for a customer?The point of this whole posting is that many of us have a double standard between what we will do for a customer vs. what we do for ourselves. It apparently is not an a unusual situation.I will compare the finish product that I provide my customers with anything you or anyone else puts out. And most any poster on this thread would probably do the same.Terry (One of "THOSE type of contractors")

          22. Keith_C | Nov 26, 2001 04:56am | #26

            *yes ,the double standard IS the point, "do as I say, not as I do". Nobody gets the point to get your own shit in order before you take to the streets, huh? JUST what you want to tell your families " my customers come FIRST and get THE BEST TREATMENT." Again I must say.....................oh F-ck it forget it...eventually you'll all learn it or start threads like "disgusted" on your own.

          23. Keith_C | Nov 26, 2001 05:04am | #27

            *Better yet...all the posters go tell your wifes, hey honey, just because I make YOU live with my little inconviences, and not my customers doesn't mean I don't love you, it's just that I'm to lazy and inconsiderate to take care of you, and your wants and needs. Dare ya. Sex huh?........too busy, too tired..... they'll give ya ALL the excuses. BE SMART, WORK SMART, PLAY SMART...keep smilin'

          24. Luka_ | Nov 26, 2001 05:08am | #28

            *BE ANAL, BE SELF-RIGHTEOUS, INSULT OTHERS ...keep muddlin'

          25. Keith_C | Nov 26, 2001 05:19am | #29

            *Live in a shack, shit in a bucket....see if I care.

          26. pat_white | Nov 26, 2001 05:37am | #30

            *finish the living room hardwood floor. 200 sq.ft.It's only been 11 years. Wasn't there a thread here a few years back called wwobb.?

          27. Luka_ | Nov 26, 2001 05:42am | #31

            *BE AN ASSHOLE, BE SELF-RIGHTEOUS, INSULT OTHERS ...keep muddlin'

          28. Keith_C | Nov 26, 2001 05:45am | #32

            *Yeah, that's what I read the first time. Get a JOB.

          29. Luka_ | Nov 26, 2001 05:47am | #33

            *Get a clue.This is getting fun. C'mon, Keith, don't you have any better insults than that ?

          30. Jeff_Clarke_ | Nov 26, 2001 05:50am | #34

            *... and just after I finished telling everyone at JLC that everything is fine here ....

          31. Luka_ | Nov 26, 2001 05:53am | #35

            *ROFLMFAOWhat do you think this is all about ???heheheMe and Kieth is best buddies, in reality.b : )

          32. Keith_C | Nov 26, 2001 05:59am | #36

            *Heh... we might fight like cats and dogs amongst ouselves, but if you attack us we will band together tighter than F-CK and annialate you.

          33. Keith_C | Nov 26, 2001 06:00am | #37

            *Right trailer trash.......?

          34. Ron_Teti | Nov 26, 2001 06:00am | #38

            *moved into a house 2 1/2 years ago, back yard is dirt, kitchen need remodeling so gotta build the cabs run new electrical for dw and microwave and fridge ect, did the wood floors and now in the process of replacing interior doors, house needs trim and repainting. my wife was telling me i need help she says her cousin have 3 of them helping them. I told her Ill get it when i need it. right now im dong ok.

          35. Luka_ | Nov 26, 2001 06:06am | #39

            *Absolutely.And by the way, flattery will get you nowhere, you sanctimonious nazi.b : )

          36. Keith_C | Nov 26, 2001 06:10am | #40

            *nazi....nazi....well Thank You.

          37. Luka_ | Nov 26, 2001 06:15am | #41

            *ROFLMFAODangit !!! You made me laugh just when I was about to let loose a verbal volley. I am eating and got a chili bean stuck in my throat. I hope yer happy now !!

          38. Gunner_1750 | Nov 26, 2001 06:19am | #42

            *Ron, Do you need my SIL and her kids to fly out there and help?

          39. Keith_C | Nov 26, 2001 06:20am | #43

            *Beans... great...tomorrow we get the fartin'. Hey, go hang out at JLC for the day...bring back info. Help out he cause. yes?

          40. Luka_ | Nov 26, 2001 06:24am | #44

            *Hey, I'm getting pretty good at playing the drywall compound bucket as a wind-instrument.Maybe I'll get a recording contract if I learn to play "swanee river"...b : )

          41. Keith_C | Nov 26, 2001 06:33am | #45

            *Great VH1..." how the stars got their starts" Luka on the drywall bucket.......

          42. Luka_ | Nov 26, 2001 06:46am | #46

            *LOL I believe that would be a "pay-or-view" event.

          43. Keith_C | Nov 26, 2001 06:51am | #47

            *Pay-per-view I believe...webcam...how many movemnts a day can we get from the star eh?

          44. Luka_ | Nov 26, 2001 06:54am | #48

            *You missed the point. I think people would pay not to view that one.b : )

          45. Keith_C | Nov 26, 2001 06:58am | #49

            *It's a sick world...we can get more cash my way....now what will it be?

          46. Luka_ | Nov 26, 2001 07:01am | #50

            *ROFLMFAOYeah, I suppose those sickos out there would pay a lot of money, wouldn't they ?Ewww, but I wouldn't be able to take enough showers to feel clean again.Aw, what the hey, it's a job, right ?Sign me up.

          47. Scott_R | Nov 26, 2001 07:15pm | #51

            *Keith, my friend, relax! I started thread as a look at the lighter side of being a self-employed builder, handyman etc. and many were able to roll with it. However you... must be a real laugh riot at a party!I realize their are some like yourself that are able to keep up on all the little things in their own houses. More power to you.Then I also realize that there are many more like me. And we share good company together. Now let me give you a look at the not so lighter side of why my own house remains an eternal list of projects.Sometimes I forget what the house looks like in the daylight because I'm on the job. If I do get home early it's so my wife can go to grad class and I can fix dinner for the kids. But not before my oldest is dropped off/picked up at what ever sport of the month, and what kind of dad would I be if I didn't attend all the games. My youngest, she can be a hand full if I try to get into even the smallest project. Cutting a couple acres of grass takes a while. Not to mention my neighbors too because she 91 and a real nice lady. Now theirs the money issue, oops the well needs replacing. Oh gee now that we have much better water flow it hid the fact that the septic was going bad. A lot can go wrong with a house over 160 years old and needs a lot of basic TLC. Think I'll stop there, you get the picture.Must be nice to be you.... NOT!Scott R.

          48. Andy_Engel_ | Nov 26, 2001 08:10pm | #52

            *My wife and I have been married for 13 years. In that time we've live in finished houses for 2 days.Andy

          49. xJohn_Sprung | Nov 27, 2001 10:48pm | #53

            *A finished house? No house is finished until they tear it down. We still have the temporary push button switches in the house we built 30 years ago. It's just that the things left to do get smaller and smaller like that, until you get to the ones you ignore forever.-- J.S.

  2. Scott_R | Nov 27, 2001 10:48pm | #54

    *
    Time to fess up, don't deny it, we all know your own home is the last one to get worked on. So what needs to be done and how long has your spouse been pestering you to get it done?

    I'll be the first one in the confessional.

    One piece of crown mould in the living room. About 5 months
    The pantry (too many things there to list) When did we move in???
    Paint the kitchen, 3 years
    Paint the bedroom, 2 years
    Finish repairing the window sash in the office, 5 months
    Calking around the tub, couple months
    Install the new light fixtures up stairs. 8 months

    Awe heck I give up. Next!

    Scott

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