What's on your mind?

[matt walker]

I figured it was Millcreek. There I times I almost sorta miss the area, then I come back to my senses! Just kidding, it is a beautiful spot and I do actually miss it at times. I had a great lifestyle when I lived in Utah, and the place was a big part of it. It has it's charms for sure, although sometimes you need to get a bit of distance to see that.

[SilverFlame819]

There are few other places around here that allow dogs... Most of the canyons are watershed areas. :\

I think there are some nice things about Utah, but I think, for the most part, that they are things that you appreciate more when you visit. Living here is a different story. Like - so many people move here for the skiing/snowboarding. Which sounds great until you realize that it's almost a hundred bucks a day at the slopes. Who has money to do that all the time? Or they come for the mountain biking, but a good 6-8 months of the year, the trails are covered in snow, so you can't bike them... Or they love to explore the southern deserts, but fail to realize that deserts are effing COLD in the winter. Most of the things you can do here, you can only do for 6 months max of the year, because of the extreme weather shifting. I just really miss 4 seasons. Summers that aren't insanely hot, and winters that aren't insanely long... Spring and fall are my favorite seasons. I'm in the wrong state for that.

[Lollykoko]

I'm looking at a gift horse ...

My brother found an ad in the Auto/RV magazine and notified me about it. Yesterday we made a trip to see a 40X60 wood frame/lap sided church that is available for taking it down and carrying it away. The price is definitely right. But to my untutored eye it looks like at least 3 days labor for a crew of 6 (or more) with some sort of backhoe or Bobcat for the heavy stuff. The building is located about 70 miles from the farm. From my house, it's an 80 mile trip and for my siblings living up north the one way trip is over 100 miles. Of course we can camp at the farm while the work is going on. Brother has an RV that he might be able to set up at the site so there is someone there full time while the work is going on.

The owner will provide a dumpster for the shingles & such, while lathe, plaster and broken concrete can be used in the cellar area as fill before they call for top soil. There are a dozen double hung windows that are in good condition and a lot of supports and acoustical tiles that are re-useable, I think. There is big box store wood paneling on the walls that should remove easily enough.

Anyone have experience in this sort of reclamation? Am I out of my mind for even thinking it's possible?

[pa_friendly_guy]

My neighbor tore down an old barn years ago and built his home with it. He used the large barn beams as support, The outside of the house is cement block, he finished the interior walls with the barn siding and used some of the wormy chestnut to build his kitchen and bathroom vanity. He was young and dumb at the time and had more time than money. The finished produce is a beautiful home with a lot of personality. It has evolved over the years I have know him, he covered the cement block with stucco, built a beautiful deck, put up stone walls around the place, and has done numerous improvements. The bottom line is that is can be done, and it can turn out beautiful given enough time and ingenuity. It is a lot of work, and demolition can be dangerous. It sounds like this guy is not worried about insurance on the demolition project but getting insurance to cover a demolition project can be difficult. I had a Company that would write coverage for demolition work, it was sold and priced by the job, the cost was normally about 10% of the demolition contract with a min premium of $500. Since I am guessing this church is out in the country away from other buildings and off the road far enough that traffic should not be a problem I would guess min premium would apply. Since no money is changing hands you could check with your Homeowners policy and see if it would cover you with out charge. The labor involved in removing nails from the old wood is pain staking, but you should get some very dry dimensional lumber in lengths that will work well for you. If you feel you have the man power to get it down and a way to transport the lumber to your place I would say go for it. But go in with your eyes open Lolly, Free is seldom Free, you will pay for it with sweat equity.

[matt walker]

I personally would be all over it Lolly. The fact that there will be a dumpster and a hole for the rest really takes out the biggest hassle of demo in my opinion. Since those things give you the option to cherry pick the good stuff, I think it's well worth doing. The lap siding alone will pull off relatively quickly and that stuff is gold in my opinion, for interior trim, as siding, and all sorts of farm projects like coops and stuff. Any beams and support stuff after that is bonus. The windows and some of the salvageable lumber will give you a greenhouse with an afternoon's worth of work. Fixtures, hinges, all that stuff adds up big time. I'd certainly make the time to make it happen if it were me.

[mannytheseacow]

I think it really all depends on your crew, Lolly. I helped a friend demo a house over the winter (where I got all the HVAC duct) and my help was minimal, maybe 3 days tops. He did the rest in about 2 weeks. That guy just seriously worked his butt off, and it was pretty inspiring to see what he salvaged. I can invision a larger group of guys, camping, maybe some alcohol involved ( ) and not much progress being made. Yep, it would totally depend on the strength of your crew.

[SilverFlame819]

On my first of 2 days off. Have a giant to-do list on my white board of things that need done today and tomorrow. Spending the night in the RV tomorrow while the carpets dry, and landlord will be here on Wednesday morning to inspect (and hopefully hand me my deposit back). Have to have all my crap cleared out on Wednesday or sometime thereabouts (the boys have told me to take my time, but I'd like to be out officially and literally by the 1st). I feel run-down and a bit ill, so I'm running on half my cylinders, but still trudging on. So many things going wrong in the last month, it's almost laughable. Give my official notice to the landlord, and shit hits the fan. The icing on the cake was spending over a hundred bucks on roof coating for the RV, and having a friend come out to help me put it on... 4 coatings of the crap, an entire day of work, and then unforeseen 36-hour pouring rainstorm made an appearance and ruined it all. Some crazy person keeps telling me that if I just go for it, things will work themselves out. At this point, I've just gotta laugh while the shit is going wrong left and right, or I'd sit down and have myself a good cry, and never stand back up... And God knows there ain't no time for a pity party around here, so... Back to work I go. Hope everyone's having a great day.

[pa_friendly_guy]

Keep at it young Lady. We are all rooting for you. I Know I cant give you more encouragement from this distance, but just keep going. you are well on your way.

[Lollykoko]

Silver, I have had those days when "I shoulda stood in bed" (as my grandmother used to say) rather than try to get something accomplished. When all the progress seems to be of the downhill, reverse, or 'skidding out of control' type it can make me a little crazy.

We got the word that the chapel is ours!! The owners need a few weeks to get their friends' stored large items out of the building before we can start removing anything structural, like windows. I'm not sure how soon we can start interior demo of removing paneling and breaking out plaster and lathe. [Would that nearly 100 year old plaster have any value for me in remediation of soil?] My brother indicated that he thought we might be able to have the site cleared by Labor Day and they were good with that idea. It will probably be Lenny and I doing a lot of the work ourselves, getting it ready for a couple of weekend pushes. After all, we are both retired and can spend time away from home at the project without creating a lot of stress.

Did I mention my new roommates?

[dave brenneman]

Lolly, the only thing I'd wonder about with that plaster is what sorts of paint were used on it. If I were considering using old plaster for soil remediation, I think I'd want to know if I'd be adding lead.

Good luck with the deconstruction/demolition. Sounds like a worthwhile find.