homebuilding fantasies
I re-visited a couple posts of mine on ownerbuilderbook.com. By the way, if you are thinking about building, this is an excellent site that could save you a ton of money (and as Ben might say, $50,000 saved is $50,000 earned). One of my posts asking for creative suggestions for handling a couple old grain silo pads had a few responses that for whatever reason did not show up in my email. One person suggested making a greenhouse out of at least one of them (I like that suggestion). One suggested his and her helipads (nice, but not practical). One suggested painting a pair of eyeballs that can stare at people flying overhead (funny). And another suggested looking into a cell phone repeater tower to make some extra money. Hmmm... Something that helps me pay my mortgage? I like that idea. Other ideas are variations on an idea we have to build a combo gazebo/fort/castle with a pole going up through the center and a zip line at the top extending across 3.5 acres (whoo-hoo!). There are two pads so we can mix and match ideas.I am trying to determine a way to provide a pool cover that could double as a floor for family gatherings. The surface would have to be solid (don't want food slipping through cracks into the pool - yuck!). It would need to be retractable (probably to the roof to be most convenient). It would have to be strong to support large gatherings and handle the stress of retraction to the roof. It would need to be attachable to the pool deck (preferably lockable). It will require a lighting system attached to the underside (unless it is clear). The cable to provide power would have to be detachable and retractable. The cables and winches to hoist the deck would have to be strong and dependable (definitely do not want a deck crashing down on swimmers below). Oh, and it would be nice if this were all affordable.In the next three years, we will have to revisit our designer to update our plans with our new ideas. I imagine that barring a sudden windfall, the plans will have to be modular in that they can be implemented in phases. The house will be one phase, the detached garage/workshop another and the swimming pool wing another. I would like to build all three together (it would be less expensive that way), but I doubt the budget will handle building all them initially. Which is a shame because it would be great if those things could be enjoyed by the kids while they are young(er), but even if they are grown, the grandkids would get a blast out of them (not to mention any neighborhood kids, kids from church, some adults, etc...). We'll get some good use out of anything we do regardless of when we build them.I need to start putting together a building plan and a construction budget so I can start determining the order to plan things and what things are going to cost (and where we'll have to make cuts). I told Becky last night that she is going to have to start reading our books on owner building so she is up on the process as well (since she will be supervising part of the time).
And while all this is going on, we also need to start prepping out house for sale. We're make progress here and there. I am just glad that we have three years to get it ready. I think we're going to need it. But it is going to require a concerted effort on the part of everyone in the family. And to think, I'm actually entertaining ideas about starting a business. Yes. I am insane.
blog hit, nuclear hit, pandemic hit
Hey! I got a hit! Yeah, OK. So it was my MIL approving of our idea for a swimming pool. Hmmm, I wonder if she would be interested in subsidizing the project? We'll probably just build in phases as the money becomes available.
Sorry I haven't posted to the blog recently. Life happens. Football season has started and my Cougars are 1-1. They narrowly lost to Arizona (13-16) on a last second field goal and convincingly beat the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (49-24). They face the Boston College Golden Eagles this week. Unfortunately, I have a previous engagement with my family. Unfortunate in that I will miss the game, not in that I have an engagement with my family :D. It's not too big a deal since I believe that it's not available on TV here anyway, which makes this the second week in a row that BYU football has not been available. The fans are getting mighty upset. The Mountain West conference made a major mistake in negotiating new TV rights with CSTV and dropping ESPN. They didn't procure any guarantees that we would be on and after three weeks, they are still trying to sign satellite providers on to distribute a new staion they created specifically for the MWC. If they don't hammer out a deal soon, we may end up missing a good half of the games this season and that will not sit well with fans at all.Work is going well. I read a couple articles this morning about how to survive a nuclear blast and the avian flu. The avian flu isn't too worrisome as long as we get our house built. The way it is designed, it is actually ideal for surviving the bird flu. It will have its own independant water source and septic tank. With solar panels, it will have it's own power source as well. We located rurally, so we could isolate ourselves relatively easily if needed. We have food storage (it's a good idea on so many levels). All around, we would be in a good position to sit out a pandemic.A nuclear blast is more worrisome simply because if it is going to happen in Indiana, it will most likely happen in Indianapolis and I work smack dab in the heart of Indianapolis. I know if I were inclined to detonate a nuclear bomb ( I am not) I would probably detonate it in the Hard Rock Cafe (which we used to work directly above), simply because they have a neon sign that declares "No drugs or nuclear weapons inside". Yep. That's where I would detonate it. A little terroristic irony. Now I work a little further from that ideal location about a block and a half away on Monument circle - the heart of the city with a large monument to America's brave soldiers and sailors and surrounded by financial institutions - the next best target for a nuclear blast in Indianapolis.Most likely, if either of those targets are selected, I will be among the lucky ones who will NOT survive the blast, but I did find the article's suggestions for blast survivors interesting, particularly the part about duck and cover, or more specifically, staying put and under cover for a few days. If the blast occurred far enough away that I were a survivor, my first inclination would be to hightail it out of Dodge and head home to my family (fighting my other urge to go help), but with all the fall out after a blast, that is supposedly a bad course of action. It would be helpful to have some food on hand too. I guess I could live off the chocolate in the Chocolate store downstairs for a couple days. :)They're interesting topics, but it's pointless to worry about it. As one of the articles pointed out, your chances of dying are the same as everybody elses - 100%. The when and where are up for grabs, but everybody dies at some point. Still it's nice to be armed with a little knowledge.
