When my husband and I starting building our home last year, we were delighted to
learn that there was a quiet enclave of Russian craftsman whom had settled in
the area. We asked them to stucco the outside of the house and were so impressed
with their skill and work ethic, that we asked them to stay and help with the
odds-and-ends that still needed to be done.
Building a house is an unbelted roller-coaster ride of paralyzing money fears
and exhilarating joy. My husband and I knew going into the process that our
home would give shelter and "place" to us for the rest of our natural lives--no
pressure, right?
*Disclaimer: I love my husband, I really do...
...but I don't know what he was thinking when he had the had the concrete
workers frame up and pour a 4 ft x 5 ft pad, 4 inches thick, in the middle of
what would be our living room. It was supposed to be the fireplace mantel pad.
He said he put it there because it was close. I had to admit, it was a lovely
thing sitting in the middle of the unfinished floor. He even added red coloring
to the concrete and framed a graceful arch on one end.
The only problem is it weighed eight-hundred pounds!
We gamely rented an appliance dolly, but couldn’t even get the lip under on edge
of the slab to hoist it up. I called a moving company, but they lady laughed at
me, and said something about "worker's comp," and "no way." We considered using
a car engine-block lifter, but then realized the legs would just push through
the wood subfloor. I even called the high school football team--great
fundraising opportunity--RIGHT?
Wrong.
Finally, we accepted that we could not use the mantel and we would have to cut
it up and move it out of the house piece by piece. Just another one of those
missteps of time and money on the road to home ownership. *Argh* To say I was
aggravated, would be putting it mildly.
I mentioned the sad, slab story to two Russians brothers who were blocking in
the roof eves. Instead of shaking their head, they looked thoughtful.
"Let us think on this," Oleg said.
“Sure,” I said, “knock yourself out.”
They looked confused by the idiom, so I clarified. "Absolutely, think away."
They still looked confused, so I added. "Whatever you can do. Yes."
The next day, I was overjoyed to come inside the house and find the mantel off
the floor and on the steel fireplace frame! I looked at the open space on the
floor where the slab had been, then to the fireplace and back again in astonishment.
"How did you do that?" I asked.
The brothers grinned ear to ear. “You don’t need a football team," Andrey said.
"You just need two smart Russians.”
Indeed. I had to agree!
Eventually, they told me how they pulled off the feat. The braced the roof
trusses with 2 x 4 boards, and used ropes and a winch to carry the slab across
the room and heft it onto the frame. I wish I had seen it. The whole maneuver
sounded decidedly Egyptian-esque, or Easter Island.
This is one of our favorite building-the-house stories now. And we still see
Oleg and Andrey frequently, there is nothing those 2 smart Russians can't do.
How about you? Have you built a house or had project go horribly wrong?
Do tell!
All my best, and Happy Holidays,
Susannah Scott
PS> And if you love Paranormal Romance, my latest dragon shifter book DRAGON HER BACK is out now!
Ah Susannah every house that has been built by the owners has it's pile of stories to
be told :-). My husband and I designed and built our home 22 years ago and we too have
stories. I was a former architecture student so we designed our perfect home and I drew
the plans...that passed the building permit process the FIRST TIME through...amazing
for my first plans! Then we found a building contractor to build it while we oversaw
the whole process to make sure all the details were done right, hah! Then we had so
many things to do ourselves. Like having 12 hours after work to put in the piping for
our underground sprinklers before they backfilled the foundation...finished up by
flashlight in the dark at 2 am. Then there was the wiring for the cable and stereo
speakers we did ourselves before the drywall went up and taking pictures of all this so
we could locate those suckers when all was said and done. Best laid plans and all that,
yah know. Didn't exactly work like we thought and that was before instant digital
cameras so we took the pictures and couldn't see how well they read because we got them
back from developing AFTER the drywall went up. We had arguments with the framers as to
how to frame the closets and bathroom doors. Listened to the foundation guys swear
about the stupid plans cause they couldn't find a starting reference spot to start the
forms. What a ride but we worked as a team for the first time and really did have a
blast doing it. Now if I get frustrated at the placement of a light switch or window I
know it's my fault, lol. Enjoy your house and Merry Christmas! I'm looking forward to
reading your series. I've got it on my Nook.
(Lenna Hendershott 6:30pm December 19, 2014)
I KNOW ONE PERSON WHO BUILT THEIR OWN HOME MY COUSIN MARIE AND HER HUSBAD FRED, THEY DID IT ALL THEMSELVES AND LIVED THERE FOR SEVERAL YEARS WITH THEIR TWO BOYS, WHEN MARIE PASSED ON FRED COULD NO LONGER LIVE IN THE HOUSE THEY BUILT TOGETHER SO HE SOLD IT AND MOVED ON TO LIVE NEAR ONE OF HIS SONS PHILLIP IN CHESHIRE, FRED STILL GOES TO THE CEMERTRY EVERY DAY TO SEE MARIE...
(Rebecca Delio 12:55pm December 21, 2014)
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