Dumb things I do as I get older...

[electra225]

Six weeks ago, we hired a landscaper to cut down a worthless orange tree so it would not be in the way of the shop. He must be a relative of the framers, because he never did it. So I thought it was not such a big project. Why couldn't I do it myself? Just because I sold all my tools, how big of a deal would that be? I drive by Harbor Freight on my way to work, so I stopped and bought a reciprocating saw. I cut the small limbs with loppers, then the bigger ones with the sawzall. I got the tree down and also got a nice blister on my thumb. And I have a huge mess to clean up. But I saved money. Jeez.....

[19&41]

That's one of things you imagine could've been worse. At least you got a power tool blister instead of a damaged, mangled hand tool blister. Most of my trimming I do with a pole saw these days. I just had the first layer of leaves pulverized by the lawn guy.

[electra225]

I wish I had a pole saw. I thought about renting one, but with the cost and having to fool with it, I decided a "sawzall" type of tool might work just as well. I got a long demolition blade. A pole saw would have worked much better. A Harbor Freight sawzall is not a deluxe rig by any stretch.

[19&41]

My pole saw is self powered. Myself. It has a detachable saw blade. That and a can of lithium grease spray gets the job done. It also has a bypass shear.

[electra225]

Here's a picture of the carnage.......

[William]

I see that photo was taken before the shop walls went up.

Bill

[hermitcrab]

yep... every year my wife wants the trees trimmed so when cutting the grass we don't get clubbed in the head by low branches ...and every time we end up with a pile of branches and limbs about 10 feet tall that we have to burn , 2 years ago we cut down a medium sized apple tree ... that looked like no big deal as well ... until it was lying across my back yard... just like the time I wanted to fill in low areas in my yard and got 5 yards of dirt dumped in the yard.... you know how long it takes to move 5 yards with a wheel barrow?... won't ever do that again

[Firedome]

I've noticed in. pics of folks I know who live in AZ that a large majority seem to have concrete block walls surrounding their yards unless they are located in a quite rural area... any particular reason for this?

[electra225]

Yep, sure is. Privacy, noise abatement, tradition and building codes. Our plan is to have our walls stuccoed. We did that to our walls when we lived in Phoenix. Most of the higher-priced homes have stuccoed walls as standard equipment. Our house is in the very back of the development, one of the first built in this sub-division, 2008. The house to the north of ours is a rental. The house on the other side has stuccoed walls. The house we lived in in Phoenix was built in 1954 and it had walls. I don't know when the tradition started, but it was a long time ago. The very newest homes they build don't have walls extending to the front of the property. Only behind the house. This, I believe, is strictly a cost-saving measure. The thing I find oddest about the homes out here is that they are built on a concrete slab on the ground. No basements. Most, if not all, of the new homes are built on grade.

[19&41]

No basements with good reason. Can you imagine the animals that would take up residence there? Mice, rats, rattlers and sidewinders to get the rats. Scorpions, and then the spiders.

[walyfd]

I couldn't live without a basement. We used to play in the coal bin when we were kids. That space is where my car parts live now. Basement is the workshop, laundry and storage. There was a shower down there from the original owners but we took it out.

I could give op the living room, dining room and even the bedroom but I need a kitchen and a basement!

[electra225]

Out here in the desert where it's dry, you'd think everybody would have a basement. Not so. I don't know how to spell it, but there is a hard pan called "colleci" (col-ee-chi). You almost have to dynamite it to break it up, hence no basements. We enjoyed the basement at home as well. Us kids could go down there and play and not disturb the grownups gossiping about something we shouldn't hear. Grandma did here laundry and canning in the basement. It was a semi-walkout with just a small door, rather than a garage door.

[TC Chris]

My childhood home came with a basement where there was a Sonora console acoustic phono with a bunch of 78s. On bad weather days or when bored I'd crank it up and play the old recordings. Still have the Sonora. It was also where the workbench was found, and later a pool table.

Chris Campbell

[Firedome]

I too couldn't conceive not having a basement, on a rancher it essentially doubles the size of the house. I chose our current house, which is quite small, mainly because it has a very dry basement with 8' headroom. It even has a 8 x 10' bomb shelter built in 1961. The basement a great work, laundry, and storage area, a place for the cat's litter box, a sewing area I put in for the wife. and takes some stuff that otherwise would have to go in our 3 car detached garage. This time of year it provides space for a small model train platform that we Baltimoreans used to call a Christmas Garden, as they were sometimes put up under the tree. Anyhow a good basement is one of the first things we consider when looking at a house. The summer place in VT being near water is on piers, so has none of course. We wish it did, but lifting it for a foundation is too expensive to consider and not a great idea in that location due to water table.

[danrclem]

I don't think I could do without a basement either. It's mostly finished with a family room and a half bath in it. It's a walkout and the family room has a woodstove in it that heats the whole house. I have a woodshed just outside the door and the woodstove is very close to the door. I have a wood box close to the stove that I try to keep full so I don't have to go outside to get wood very often.

I built a lot of my house myself and if I had it to do over again I would make some changes but definitely would still have the basement.

[William]

They say you need to build a house three times to get it right. I have never had a house built, just had second hand homes. I have had four homes in my life time, all nice, all different sizes, and all have certain amenities. I think if I took things I liked from each one I would come up with the perfect home for me. And, a WALKOUT basement would be part of that plan.

Bill