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Thread: My "not fancy" just for fun build

  1. Back To Top    #231
    ~Paw~Paw})]<^>¥ Hic's Avatar
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    Re: My "not fancy" just for fun build

    There were new regs introduced after the bubble broke for houses and traveling became different after a Lil incident some years ago - 911
    Viewing Smilies , you trying to access privileged system?¤Somewhere 0ut There¤}]

  2. Back To Top    #232
    Owner BigAl205's Avatar
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    Re: My "not fancy" just for fun build

    Quote Originally Posted by wheelieking71 View Post
    Yea, and its not like we have bad credit either. We are both over 760.
    Allison has been self-employed, doing the same thing under the same name over 20 years.
    And, I am at 4 years, with pretty solid tax returns.
    I just don't understand why this was soo damn difficult, and convoluted!
    Allison had the house we just sold, built before we got together, 15 years ago. At 5 years of self employment. She said it was as easy as buying a new car.
    She just walked in the bank, and said: "I make this much money per year, how much can I spend on a house?"
    They told her, and that was that. She didn't even have to prove it. This process we just went through has been ridiculous!

    Like I said, never again! I am soo glad it is over.
    White privilege!

    I'm glad to see things are finally moving forward. Make sure to post lots of pics of the new digs.

  3. Back To Top    #233
    Big Daddy chad's Avatar
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    Re: My "not fancy" just for fun build

    Quote Originally Posted by wheelieking71 View Post
    Yea, and its not like we have bad credit either. We are both over 760.
    Allison has been self-employed, doing the same thing under the same name over 20 years.
    And, I am at 4 years, with pretty solid tax returns.
    I just don't understand why this was soo damn difficult, and convoluted!
    Allison had the house we just sold, built before we got together, 15 years ago. At 5 years of self employment. She said it was as easy as buying a new car.
    She just walked in the bank, and said: "I make this much money per year, how much can I spend on a house?"
    They told her, and that was that. She didn't even have to prove it. This process we just went through has been ridiculous!

    Like I said, never again! I am soo glad it is over.
    The concept of self-employment baffles many, many that it shouldn't. at one point I asked "What is so hard to understand? I worked, I got paid, I paid my taxes, I bought stuff to support my job, I still made money. Isn't this what we all kinda strive for but never really have the balls to do because we move out of mom and dad's house and are afraid to really "leave the nest?""

    Granted I did it the opposite of most, I started off largely on my own then ended up employed.

  4. Back To Top    #234

    Re: My "not fancy" just for fun build

    Well, I have not been in here in a while! The last 5 months have been a wild ride to say the least.
    So, the whole idea for my business from the beginning was to bring it home. Which is no small feat due to the nature of what I do.
    Machine shop. Big machines that require 3-phase power. Around here, it is damn near impossible to find residential 3-phase.
    And, HUGE $$$ to have it brought in. If they are even willing. There is 3-ph on the pole at the corner of my street, and they would not even entertain the idea.
    But, there are ways around it. It will limit a guy, but there are ways.
    Anyways, after we moved in, I had to get my ass to work! The lease on the space my business was occupying was running out.
    And, the place I was taking it (the shop in the back-yard at the new house we had just moved in to) was not only full of all our belongings. It was a disaster.
    Too add to the insurmountable task/s! The house was a mess as well. And, Allison (my much better half) had given the marching orders: "gut this motherfucker! It is disgusting!"
    So, before I could even touch the shop, I tore out a kitchen, two bathrooms, all the flooring (980sq/ft of tile, plus lots of pee soaked carpet).
    Not to mention the original wood-burning fireplace (that almost killed me when it crashed out!), and a metric shit ton of other stuff she absolutely could not have in her sight.
    I handled all the plumbing, most of the inside electrical, and installed the new propane fireplace. The rest we hired out (thank god!).
    Few random shots working in the house. The old fireplace coming out:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    New going in:

    20170205_143735.jpg

    Random shot of the floor going down:

    20170111_183008.jpg

    And, that is about all I have. Allison has a ton of pics. But, I am not gonna go through the hassle of shuffling them around.
    The floor turned out amazing. Probably the flattest tile floor I have ever seen (besides travertine or marble). And, I used to set tile.
    I actually worked for the guy we had do the floor for three years when I first moved to AZ. So, there was no doubt in my mind who was doing our floors, LOL.

    Eventually, I got to the point that I could get Allison to let me break away and start working on the shop. I had to! I was quickly running out of time!
    And, I could not afford a bunch of down-time to accomplish the move, and get the new shop up and running.
    So, I would wake the old shop up every morning at 5am. My guy would show up at 6am. I would stay till noon, then jet home and work in the shop, while my guy kept the machines going.
    And, I would work in the new shop until 11-12. You would be surprised what you are capable of if you push yourself. (I felt at times like I was on the biggest looser, LOL)
    I moved everything myself with minimal help. Every day when I went home, stuff went with me. It is amazing how much stuff you can accumulate in 4 short years.

    That is enough for one post. Will start another shortly.........

  5. Back To Top    #235
    Owner BigAl205's Avatar
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    Re: My "not fancy" just for fun build

    Excellent progress! Are those the ceramic tile strips that end up looking like wood flooring?

  6. Back To Top    #236

    Re: My "not fancy" just for fun build

    Quote Originally Posted by BigAl205 View Post
    Excellent progress! Are those the ceramic tile strips that end up looking like wood flooring?
    Yea, they are. It looks really nice.

  7. Back To Top    #237

    Re: My "not fancy" just for fun build

    So, moving always sucks. No matter who you are. But, moving your home of many years, and your business (that happens to be a machine-shop) at the same time SUCKS! LOL
    Especially when you cant just shut the shop down to move. I had to keep it running. It was miserable.
    More work than I would wish on an enemy. There were times I thought it was going to break me. I somehow pulled it off though. Still not sure how.

    This day was one of those days. Go rent trailer @10am. Then go to shop, and grab one of the smaller machines. Load it on the trailer with the little forklift.
    Then drag the trailer with the machine and forklift on it to the new shop. Unload machine, put forklift back on trailer. Run back to shop. And do it again.
    Three times. The third time the forklift stayed home for good! All in 4hrs because trailer rent for 24hrs was 4 times as much ($375 for 24hrs, $100 for 4hrs).

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    That was a great day, because one: I wasn't sure how I was going to get that stuff home cheaply. And two: the forklift got to stay home.
    A buddy of mine told me about a place that had those drop deck trailers for rent, and it worked awesome. The whole trailer deck drops level, to the ground. made it super easy.

  8. Back To Top    #238

    Re: My "not fancy" just for fun build

    All the while, while moving, and remodeling was happening, I also had the issue of not enough power in the shop to deal with.
    The shop only had 100amps in it. And, it was a sub-panel, fed from the house 250ft away, on aluminum wire no less! That was not going to work!
    I needed 400amps just for the phase-converter alone. Before I even turn the lights on. A big electrical service upgrade to the property was in order.
    This turned out to be about as difficult a process as buying the damn property. Dealing with the power company (or at least the project manager that my project got assigned to),
    was a nightmare. Everybody but him was a pleasure to deal with. He was an idiot. I digress......
    The electrical service originally was fed by a 50KVA transformer on the same corner of the property as the shop.
    Which the mains had to run from it, about 325ft to the meter/main panel, on the house. The house panel then fed a sub-panel in the yard, which then fed each building, as more sub-panels.
    What a mess. So being as how I needed 400amps for the Phase-Converter. And 200amps for the house. And, at least 100amps for the single-phase stuff in the shop:
    I needed a 600amp service. It was like pulling teeth to get the power company to agree to install a 600amp service. They wanted nothing to do with anything over 400amps.
    I had to prove I needed it for my business. Before I dared do that I had to make sure all the business stuff was up to snuff. License, insurance, permits, taxes. Holy jumpin' through hoops!
    Then I had to hire an engineer to come design everything. This is where the stupid began!
    The power companies original plan was to upgrade the 50KVA transformer to a 100KVA unit, and all would be fine (and free).
    Then the neighbor informs me that his 400amp service going to his shop, is also coming from that transformer.
    Wha-huh?! You better double check that with SRP, because according to them, that is not there. SRP had no records of his 400amp service. But, sure enough, it certainly did come off that transformer.
    So, now my needed 600, plus the 200 going to each of two houses behind us, makes a 100KVA unit too small.
    And, now rather than go even bigger, SRP wants to set a second (because technically the 50 that is there is already too small).
    Pull me off the 50 entirely. And, set a 75 next to the 50 just for me. Great! I like more pixies! The problem? Now I have to pay! At minimum, I had to flip half the transformer. HOLY SHIT BALLS! They are not cheap!
    This, is all because Maricopa County has new rules for electrical services. It used to be: you could have two meters (two services) on one property. New rules state only one meter per property less than 5 acres.
    The neighbor pulling 400amps for his shop falls under the old rules. He has two meters. Why couldn't i do this two years ago. It would have been soo much easier, and cheaper!
    So, back to the engineer: the new service puts the meter on the shop, instead of the house.
    The new panel on the shop is huge, and has 3 dumps. 400amps for the phase converter. 200amps for the house. And 100amps for the existing panel in the shop.
    Good deal. That is less wire needed to get to the Phase Converter = saves $$$$.
    Then I get the quote for said huge ass panel! Holy cheet! At this point I am adding all this up in my head thinking "no effing way! What have I got myself in to?!"
    I will put it this way: I budgeted $20k for electricity. Not nearly enough! No choice but stay the course, too deep now to turn back! So I cut the checks, and the work started. And it progressed, slowly. very slowly.
    Last edited by wheelieking71; 04-28-2017 at 12:43 PM.

  9. Back To Top    #239
    Noob AccordUno's Avatar
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    Re: My "not fancy" just for fun build

    Damn... Bro. You might want to invest in get a electrician license and everything that comes with that. damn that sucks.. I got lucky only time i had to deal with shit like that, my old man was the Guy doing the work and the Shop was already wired for all that and the inspectors trusted my old man. so all was kosher, but fuck pulling the wires..

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