Not posting to gripe about it but, thought I'd confirm something I've heard.
Spent most of the day digging out a set of pier holes for the patio I'm building for my ever loving spouse.
Dug out the area for the concrete, dug the pier holes (24 inches X 24 inches wide, 2 feet deep for Cedar Posts to sit on. Used my head and utliized my tractor powered rotiller to make the rest of the digging easier, clear that material and dug the pier holes (same as post holes). The Cedar posts will sit on concrete, not in the ground. Regardless, since it wasn't enough concrete to have a Concrete Truck deliver it with their additional transportation charge, I went to Lowes and got 80 lb. bags to get this project done.
Used a formula I found on Google to get the correct amount of 80 lb bags of quickcrete. My Lord those things are heavy. Anyway, even though I checked and triple checked the math, I still got way more bagged concrete than I needed. The formula I used must have been set up by someone who sells concrete.
Got some help from my son and another Paramedic friend of his to mix the concrete in an electric rotating mixer while I hauled concrete and spread it in within the forms I built.
The task is done but, I'm a whipped pup. Told my wife that I used to toss 120 pound bales of hay 10 foot in the air to another guy. Don't pretend to understand where all my strength went but, it ain't where it use to be. I'm sure I'm alone in this situation. All you Studs are still kick'n butt.
The concrete was screeded and smooth as a 2X4 can get it so, I took the extra bags of concrete back to Lowes and rushed home, that gave me about an hour to allow the screeded concrete to dry up a bit. Once I got home, I immediately got busy trying to finish that concrete. While it's not perfect, it looks decent. What I should have known better, upon getting home, my son and my grandson both left their handprints in the concrete (intentionally). Of course, my loving spouse knew all about it. What they failed to understand (apparently) is where they left those handprints is precisely where those Cedar Posts will sit.
Edited: One thing that happened I had not mentioned is my son brought both his son (Rowdy. two years old) and his dog over. Most folks know that children and animals shouldn't be anywhere near a concrete project but the dog walked right through the concrete twice. She got tied up. But, Rowdy couldn't be tied up and Granny was supposed to be occupying him. Remember those pier holes (two feet deep) I mentioned earlier. Well, Rowdy decided to walk across that still wet concrete and yes, that's where he decided to cross over. Ever seen a two year old about two feet tall standing in a two foot hole full of wet concrete? While Rowdy was screaming his head off, we reacted quickly and got him out but, it was funny after it was all over. Was too busy to get a picture but, I wish I had thought of that.
Still have one other concrete project to do, it's a smaller one but, still not big enough to pay for that concrete truck to come, only about 30 feet long, 12 inches wide and about a foot deep. Not really looking forward to that project but, it's got to get done. That concrete will be the based of the lean to I'm adding to my shop being built now. Can't do that until the slab is poured but, once that happens it'll be assholes and elbows in action getting it done before the shop materials are shipped here.
Any of you Young Studs needing something to do, speak up, I'm getting too old for this kind of work.
------------------ Rams Learning most of life's lessons the hard way. . You are only young once but, you can be immature indefinitely.
Older guys fall into three categories when it comes to doing work:
Those that buy power tools and other expensive equipment to make the job easy.
Those that hire someone else to do it.
Those that did the work like they did when you were younger. The next morning they wished they were one of the other two categories when they can't get out of bed.
Older guys fall into three categories when it comes to doing work:
Those that buy power tools and other expensive equipment to make the job easy.
Those that hire someone else to do it.
Those that did the work like they did when you were younger. The next morning they wished they were one of the other two categories when they can't get out of bed.
That thar's funny................
Would have fallen into the second category but, limited funds to get this project done made me fall into the third. But, you're pretty much right except, the next morning I got out of bed just fine and was happy as hell it was done. The clue here is, Happy Wife, Happy Life.
I feel your pain. Trust me. At least from my own perspective. Concrete is a b!tch, even for younger guys. A tip of my hat to you, sir.
I just finished installing a drop ceiling, including 2'x4' LED troffers, in a room that I had framed and sided. I did the electrical and insulation, and was going to do the inside wall paneling too. But I didn't feel like wrestling with 14 sheets of 1/4" MDF. So I hired that out. The thing about ceilings is that everything is, wait for it... overhead! It's certainly not heavy work, but in order to reach the "overhead", I had to go up and down 2-3 ladder steps about a million times, before I completed the job. The paint tray on a stepladder only holds a limited number of things, and I was always forgetting something I needed. (Another "suck" aspect of getting old.) So yeah... kind of like a stairmaster workout. Dragged out for several afternoons. While juggling stuff, and trying not to fall off the ladder.
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 11-20-2024).]
Older guys fall into three categories when it comes to doing work:
Those that buy power tools and other expensive equipment to make the job easy.
Those that hire someone else to do it.
Those that did the work like they did when you were younger. The next morning they wished they were one of the other two categories when they can't get out of bed.
I have done all three. But I still hate paying someone to do stuff that I know how to do. Like the wall paneling that I mentioned in my previous post. Wish I would have done that too, in retrospect, but wasn't physically up to it, having had surgery at the end of July.
Today was "Put Up New Window Blinds" day. The whole time I was doing it, I kept asking myself what was wrong with the old window blinds.............
Did that up and down the ladder at least a million times or at least it felt like it. Had to make a trip to Home Depot to get screws that would do the job. The crap that came with the blinds my wife ordered were the cheapest things I've seen in a while. These were not cheap window blinds but the screws were junk. I tried following the directions and almost every screw strip out. Threw all of the screws away and got some good quality ones. Made the entire install a lot easier.
Now I just have to figure out what to do with all those window blinds I took down.............. Hmmm........... Steve? Sell them to you for half whatever you think they are worth.
Rams
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 11-20-2024).]
Now I just have to figure out what to do with all those window blinds I took down.............. Hmmm........... Steve? Sell them to you for half whatever you think they are worth.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm still behind the 8-ball on one of those deals.
Originally posted by blackrams: Today was "Put Up New Window Blinds" day. The whole time I was doing it, I kept asking myself what was wrong with the old window blinds.............
I know I would have to have been involved to understand but I kept wondering what was wrong with the home you personalized in Kentucky. The same thing about the home you personalized in Mississippi.
I know I would have to have been involved to understand but I kept wondering what was wrong with the home you personalized in Kentucky. The same thing about the home you personalized in Mississippi.
All I can say is it's one of the hazards of marrying a woman who can't help but doing that. I married her so, I guess it's my fault (again). Most things are (I'm told).
Rams
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 11-21-2024).]
OK, I'm through confirming that Old Age Sucks (for now), wanted to wish all a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the time you have with friends and family, time is quickly running out for all of us.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Yes, getting old does sometimes suck. I'm still pretty active, but not near as strong as I used to be either and I still think I can do it. Ouch!
As of march 1st I'm now missing a prostate and currently getting radiation treatments in an attempt to nuke the little buggers that seem to have jumped ship prior to surgery. I'm starting to realize that the golden years are mostly about the color of my urine.
But hey, when I look around, I realize I'm doing a heck of a lot better than many others and still having fun. Enjoy life when you can.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Yes, getting old does sometimes suck. I'm still pretty active, but not near as strong as I used to be either and I still think I can do it. Ouch!
As of march 1st I'm now missing a prostate and currently getting radiation treatments in an attempt to nuke the little buggers that seem to have jumped ship prior to surgery. I'm starting to realize that the golden years are mostly about the color of my urine.
But hey, when I look around, I realize I'm doing a heck of a lot better than many others and still having fun. Enjoy life when you can.
Marc
Marc, Right back at cha on the Thanksgiving wishes.
Glad you're doing well (or better) health wise. You're correct about us doing better than some. If I had known in my youth what I now know at my age, I'd have been much more careful about some of the things I did. Probably would have still done those things but..................... Bad knees directly related to football and jumping out of perfectly safe airplanes are just some of the things that come to mind. Those knees are the main reason I added a Valk trike to my collection and considering a sidecar for another in the garage.
But we can't go back in time so, just doing the best I can with the time I've got left. Decisions have consequences. Sometimes it just takes a while for it to catch up with ya. Have a great Thanksgiving with family and friends and a Merry Christmas.
------------------ Rams Learning most of life's lessons the hard way. . You are only young once but, you can be immature indefinitely.
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 11-25-2024).]
I have done all three. But I still hate paying someone to do stuff that I know how to do. Like the wall paneling that I mentioned in my previous post. Wish I would have done that too, in retrospect, but wasn't physically up to it, having had surgery at the end of July.
I totally agree with you, and honestly... almost every single time I do pay someone to do something for me, I wish I had just done it myself.
Like... I hate to be that guy, but most people don't care about your stuff like you do.
In my Texas house, I had tiled the kitchen, dining room, pantry, guest bathroom, etc... and then wanted to continue it down the entire hallway and into the great room. But I was running out of time and decided to pay a group of people contracted from the local tile store.
When they arrived, they didn't do anywhere near the job that I would have done. The tile didn't line up well (meaning that the ridges weren't level). Like... I went with a rubber mallet and would carefully tap down the tile in each area to make sure it was flush before I laid the next tile. And then near the baseboard in the hallway, there was a section of tile that needed to be cut really narrow... like 1" wide of a 10" tile. They swore up and down that it was impossible, and they told me that instead, I should just use quarter-round on the baseboard, and then proceeded to tell me what quarter-round was. Note, I'd already removed all the baseboard around the house so that they could install the tile beyond where the baseboard would be. I friggin' hate quarter-round.
Anyway, they flat-out told me they couldn't do it. So when they went to lunch, I whipped out my tile saw, and cut several strips of tile exactly how they said it couldn't be done. It was not hard to do at all, of course, but they were just being lazy. I also asked them arrange tile in a particular area in a particular room, and even laid it out for them, and they totally ignored it and put multiples of the exact same tile next to each other.
Like... WTF... I'm not a perfectionist, but it pisses me off. If I do a job for someone else, I insist on doing it right, and doing it to the best of my ability because it's a reflection of me... for whatever that matters. I dunno, maybe they have the right idea, but yeah.
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: I totally agree with you, and honestly... almost every single time I do pay someone to do something for me, I wish I had just done it myself.
Like... I hate to be that guy, but most people don't care about your stuff like you do.
SNIP
Like... WTF... I'm not a perfectionist, but it pisses me off. If I do a job for someone else, I insist on doing it right, and doing it to the best of my ability because it's a reflection of me... for whatever that matters. I dunno, maybe they have the right idea, but yeah.
Yep, I can relate. My dad was a contractor and built homes. While no expert, I have done a lot of things with his advice and supervision. I also worked much of my way through college working for a concrete contractor and have done concrete projects for every home I've owned and helped friends and neighbors so; I do know a bit about the techniques and ways to do it. I'm currently having a shop built. The contractor I hired to pour my footers, stem walls and slab was doing a lot of things that went directly against the way I learned to do them.
First, my contractor tried to cheat me by pouring the footers with 3K lb. concrete mixture when my contract specifically called for 4K throughout. Then he built his forms both inside and out for the stem walls which was fine but, proceeded to fill the interior with three dump truck loads of fill dirt. He did not intend to compact that fill dirt. Obviously, non-compacted fill will eventually settle and sink leaving me with voids that will eventually lead to cracked concrete. He also informed me that he did not intend to remove the inside forms (plywood) once the stem walls were poured and set up. This is another no go, not supposed to happen and I wasn't about to let him get away with that. Our contract specifically stated that all work must meet code and that simply wasn't going to meet code nor my acceptance.
Well, he did bring his crew back in and compacted the outer edges of the fill dirt but, I also made him dig pier holes (support legs) into the fill dirt down into solid soil. Rain and time have helped the fill dirt settle but nothing like what a compactor would do. Since then, it's rained several times and there's no way for a concrete truck to get back to the site and I told him from the get-go that I wasn't going to pay for a tow truck to come and recover a concrete truck.
Regardless, I still don't have a finished slab to put my building on and have told the contractor that he was about to be replaced, and I would tell anyone that asked how he did his job. You're right about most contractors not giving a damn about the quality of their work. They just want to get paid and move on to the next inexperienced sucker. My project may still not be done but, I can assure anyone that when it is completed, it'll be done right.
------------------ Rams Learning most of life's lessons the hard way. . You are only young once but, you can be immature indefinitely.
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 11-25-2024).]
I totally agree with you, and honestly... almost every single time I do pay someone to do something for me, I wish I had just done it myself.
Like... I hate to be that guy, but most people don't care about your stuff like you do. ...
So, I found yet another thing to throttle the guy about.
The first thing - which I didn't mention in detail - the paneling. The walls are just short of 8.5 feet tall. I was planning to install a drop ceiling. Think I mentioned that I had done that, in the first post. Idiot installed the paneling right up against the joists above, leaving about 5" at the bottom. I was going to do baseboards at the bottom, but now I have to find wide baseboards. Do-able, but a pain in the ass.
I went and bought doors, a couple of days ago. Gotta do those before I do the baseboards. Need a total of three. So when he framed the walls (same guy, many months ago), he left the 2x4 base plate across the bottom of the doorway. Strange, but okay. I can cut that out with my sawzall, when I go to finish the room (which I am in the process of doing.) I cut out the 38" section of 2x4 from the bottom of the opening, and stood the door up in the opening. Guess what doesn't go all the way to the top of the opening, by about two inches. I have no effing idea what he was thinking. I even told him that I wanted to roll engine stands and other heavy stuff through the door (concrete floor) so he had to have known it was in the way. Of course I can "ghetto-fab" the door into place, and fill the gap at the top. But then I have to cover a ~1/2" gap above the door frame/casing and the paneling. Probably with a piece of quarter round, or cove molding. Grrrr...
I was so pissed when I came up from the shop, last night, that my wife and dogs even left the room.
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 11-25-2024).]
After my previous rant, I need to step back a minute, and wish everyone here a happy Thanksgiving.
I am so much more fortunate - and have way fewer challenges - than so many people who I know. And for that I am eternally grateful. I like to b!tch, but at the end of the day, I am still blessed way beyond what I deserve. I jokingly like to tell people that "Any day I wake up on this side of the dirt is a good one, and I'll take it." But it's the truth.
So, I found yet another thing to throttle the guy about.
SNIP
I was so pissed when I came up from the shop, last night, that my wife and dogs even left the room.
All I can say is Incompetence has run amuck. It's all about getting paid and moving on to the next project, not about doing it right. The only thing that has kept the quality of my concrete project in line quality wise is the fact that I'm there watching. My contractor lied to the Permit Inspectors but when I took pictures and showed them what I was talking about, he was cornered, the Inspectors agreed with me.
That thar's funny................
