Projects you wish you never started....

[BTDT2]

I have quite a few of these... but 4 years ago I set out to replace the entire heating system in my old house on a new basement. There is now 2000 feet of PEX routed in the sub-floor with a 10 port/zone manifold, each room has its own thermostat and the basement slab is heated but is only 1 zone. 2 years ago I ripped out the 60 y/o cast iron boiler that they reinstalled after moving the house to its new basement. I replaced it with a 95% efficient unit and rigged it up to get by the winter last year. And as you would guess, I put off finishing it up until I absolutely had to... which is now, right before winter... again!


wish this project would end already!

NEVER AGAIN! I'm building my next house how I want from the start...

So let me get this straight- you are going to build a house to avoid projects you don't like?

 

[Diggin It]

Keep repairing old shed in which should have been torn down 15 years...just something about that shed.:confused3:

We just replaced a lean to that was like that, needed rafters, a wall rebuilt, and, and, and...
Now there is a nice pole barn in its place.

Aaron Z

I've worked on an old shed twice now. First time was to close one side in as it was only a three sided animal stall. Second time was to open up a different wall and extend it out several feet. Now with the new SCUT, I'm finding I still don't have enough room and the doors are too low. Trying to decide on changing it again, building a second one in a different spot, or tearing this one down and starting over.

 

[HillStreet]

I have thought about that many times... I even ask my wife if she thinks its a good idea to build or own house... the verdict is still out on that one but we think we narrowed it down to buying a SIP panel house kit and paying someone else to do "some" of the other work.

Actually though the things that drive me crazy is trying to make all the "old stuff" work with new stuff in the short amount of time I have to work on them. But I'm totally aware that everything I touch will likely turn into a long term project!

I致e built 4 houses from scratch and rebuilt two. I approach the construction with minute details. Every door knob, tile style, flooring, room colors, amount of paint, all tools, extension cords, contractor list, phone list. And I mean every single detail, name, phone, model numbers, etc.
then the build goes like clockwork. Early on I had to juggle money to keep everybody happy. Now, money is enough. If you plan, you will enjoy it. If you don稚 you will curse the job. Also, I found the self-help do-it-yourself build a house books to be mostly fiction.

 

[jdom84]

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So let me get this straight- you are going to build a house to avoid projects you don't like?

Well, just at the end of my rope with this house and if we weren't trying to sell it I would probably just leave the heating system as it is for a bit longer, I've done a lot to this house that I should not have done. The new house will not be this big and the will be designed better from the start. And I wont live in this cold of a climate again. Once we sell and move we are not coming back. Great place to visit spring and summer but done with the cold

This house is pretty much new now even though it was built in the 50's. We did all the work our selves except hired the spray insulation and paid the father inlaw to put the new roof on.

new roof
new siding
new windows
the metal egress window wells were installed wrong and were to small for as deep as they were, so I had to tear them out and put in concrete ones (over 5 feet deep)
spray foam in all the walls
was 2x4 walls now 2x6.
all new wiring/boxes
all new plumbing
new heating system
landscaped the entire property because it was just a flat weed field
Every room has been completely remodeled
added a bathroom so now its 2 and 1/2 bath instead of 1 and 1/2

... the list goes on. and while we got a good deal on this place it was basically like building a new house because it was moved to a new lot with no landscaping and a new basement. It was once a house on the college campus, and they moved out to the valley, to make room for more dorms. We have learned a lot from this place and will take that knowledge and put it into our next place.

 

[joeu235]

a couple years ago I ripped out all our kitchen cabinets and replaced them with cherry Shaker style cabinets I built entirely myself. It took me 6 months it completely finish. Wife how much I would charge to do the same for someone else. I told her at least $30K. I'll never make my own kitchen cabinets again.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Did you run into any unexpected issues when replacing the boiler? I need to replace mine; seems like a fairly straightforward project.

Just make sure you follow the manufacturer's install manual to the letter, especially on the new piping to the old system. Make sure you have an air vent at any high point to get the air out. Trapped air will stop flow. If you go with a condensing burner think about where you are dumping the condensate, it is very acidic. Never pipe a drain any distance w/o using 1" pipe with clean outs at direction changes and do not trap except as detailed by the instructions, this is critical. In setting up the burner for proper operation you will need instrument not normally in a DIY tool box. Again, the instructions. A service company may refuse to tune up your burner as you cut them out of the install. Best to have a friend in the business. With the internet now a lot of suppliers are selling to anybody whether qualified or not, big change from my days in the business. Boilers are not forgiving when mistakes are made.

Keep us posted, Ron

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Oh god, so many...... Don't even want to talk about them!

Fact: If you care a *lot* about the aesthetics and/or function of your home, almost any existing home is a total gut-job, whether you do it all at once, or bit-by-bit over time (life-long project). I fully realize many folks are more laid-back about this stuff. They are lucky.

New Rule: Buy land and have a modular home built to my specifications. Note: this is different from a *manufactured* home. This is a regular house that is constructed as normal, but in sections in a large factory and then assembled on a standard foundation. In a couple weeks versus 6 months to a year. Plus the cost is around 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of normal new construction.

For example:

Modular Homes - Home Plan Search Results

 

[Sebculb]

Couple years ago I tried to build a sawmill with a 24" circular saw blade and a 5hp gas engine. Looked kind of like a giant baloney slicer. Probably invested close to $1k in that project. The only good thing that came out of that project is that I got a lot of my early on welding practice. Figure it was like paying a thousand dollars for welding classes.

Back the I didn't know how much the heat will warp metal so all the rolling tracks aren't completely straight and true, causing the 24" blade to sieze up in big wood , or heat up and get really crazy wavy. Finally walked away from it cuz the thing was totally dangerous, would've killed me eventually.

One of these days I'll saw it up and incorporate the metal in a barn I wanna build.

 

[Beltzington]

Oh god, so many...... Don't even want to talk about them!

New Rule: Buy land and have a modular home built to my specifications. Note: this is different from a *manufactured* home. This is a regular house that is constructed as normal, but in sections in a large factory and then assembled on a standard foundation. In a couple weeks versus 6 months to a year. Plus the cost is around 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of normal new construction.

For example:

Modular Homes - Home Plan Search Results

Modular Home Build

I spent several weeks researching modular homes and found one the wife and I really liked. We had the land, the cash, even went so far as to drive 300 miles to see one somebody was using as rental property. I contacted the builder to determine build dates and delivery costs and that was when things started to unravel. I mentioned I would get back with him to determine delivery dates after I had gotten the building permits lined-up. His response was you really don't need a permit and we ended the call. I scheduled a meeting with a local inspector and found our county did not have much experience with modular homes and as a result were being very stringent in interpreting the building codes. For example they required certified engineering drawings for all pre-assembled structure if the could not visually verify all structure, electrical and plumbing construction. Ok, I figured the builder could provide these drawings so I called him back to request them. This "proffesional" actually started yelling at me on the phone saying he told me not to call the building inspector I didn't need a permit. I hung-up on him and decided I was lucky not to have gotten involved with this business.

Lesson learned start with your local inspectors and insure the builders can meet their requirements.

 

[TractorGuy]

Pretty much every project I start I get tired of before it's finished.

Been stumping 5 acres for 3 years. So far it takes me nearly a year per acre to get it smoothed out and grassed.

Wife decided she wanted to help with the mowing. She hasn't mowed in 30 years. She mows around the house one time and says she needs a bigger mower. I shopped and shopped and ended up buying a pair of John Deere F725s. PROJECT MOWER! Neither has a good deck but he gives me a 54" deck off a newer JD of some sort. Had to cut all the brackets off and use the brackets off one of the 725s to adapt. Got it all fitted and mowing so now I'm coating the underside and then I need to do body and paint work on it.

Need to get on top of the shed out back and clear the vines and limb up the oak that hangs over it. That should be a 1/2 day job.

Then it's back to stumping.