POST #200(!): "A House Is A House, Of Couse, Of Couse"

I'm really glad I'm not claustrophobic.

Back in The Spring, I had a new CPVC hot water line run under my house to the kitchen sink. So, with colder weather approaching, I thought it a wise idea to insulate the same to avaoid any breaks and leaks come a hard freezing. This involved crawling on my stomach on the dirt underneath my house, snaking myself over sewage and gas lines with a clearance of anywhere from 12 to 18 inches, then wrapping tubing insulation around these pipes and using duct tape to secure them.

To a surprize even to myself, I had this accomplished in less than a half an hour. Wish I could have fixed the hot water side of the faucet in my tub as easily. From numberous past attempts of replacing seats, that side is now "frozen" where I can't even seem to loosen it with vise-grips or channel-lock pliers. Guess it's time to call in an actual plumber. 'Course, if I'm going to go that distance I may as well just have the faucet replaced with a "washer-less" one and avoid any such reaccuring problems with it.

I was pretty busy today. Went by the local flea markets, but few set up due to the colder weather. Came home and also did a couple of loads of laundry and mowed/mulched up more of the ever-increasing falling leaves which have already re-blanketed my yard even tho' I just raked last Wednesday; plus, I emptied out the back gutter for the second or third time this season. All of this being done on my day off from work, of course.

But when you own a home, there's always "something" that has to get done around it. If it's not repainting, it's repair work, or yard work, or plumbing problems or electric problems, or...something.

I've got four large trees and I'd love to have at least a couple of them just chopped to the ground, or cut way back, but even that has been quoted to me for at least $200. per tree. I asked one roofer about putting metal (instead of shingles) over the back part of the roof and got quoted $1600. Re-doing some electric was quoted at $1200. Re-plumbing at about the same. Blowing insulation into the walls (just the walls, mind you, and not the attic) at $800. So right there with just "the essentials" I'd like done is over $4000.. Each year I try to have one thing done, so "maybe" in another 5 years, I'll be satisfied with those. But naturally, there'll be a whole NEW bunch of things that'll be needed done by then.

And so, a word of advise to any and all who are comtemplating purchasing a house. Buy an Expensive One! No, really; I mean it. "Why" buy a home under one hundred grand that'll end-up just costing you that in the long-run anyway, when you can be paying for a house that's pretty much problem free instead? If you can afford the monthly payments, go for it, and just forget those "fixer-uppers" because you just think they're saving you a few bucks and that you will have the time to do the maintenance yourself. Enjoy life in a nice house!