Home Projects Vacations

Homeowner? Do-it-yourselfer?
Consider trips to home improvement centers "getting out?"
You're not alone. We understand.

We're homeowners. We're do-it-yourselfers. Partially because we enjoy it and partially because we're broke. Now, when I say broke, I'm not talking pan-handling broke. I'm sure we're much like the rest of the home-owning world - just trying to keep the home nice without breaking the bank.

Are we looking for sympathy? Absolutely not.
Company? You betcha!

If it sounds like "we could hang" (isn't that what the kids are saying these days?), then by all means, take a look around! You'll probably be able to relate to our Gallery of Home Improvement Projects and Vacation Log. You can also enjoy (term used loosely) our general blather-just keep scrolling down.

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Monday, June 23, 2008

How many tons have you moved?

As a do-it-yourselfer, I've moved a lot of materials over the course of my life. Sod, dirt, mulch, lumber, tile, bricks, brick pavers, cinder blocks, concrete, bags of grass seed and fertilizer, trees, shrubs, rocks, granite counter tops, toilets, appliances, furniture, water, etc. Even a hot tub. Twice.

Yesterday, while relaxing, I started to wonder how many tons of stuff I've moved. Consider this example - when we built our most recent house, we transported all the tile ourselves. At 55 pounds a box, it "only" took 37 boxes of tile to add up to more than 2,000 pounds or one ton. Now, consider we moved 50 boxes of tile three times (once onto carts in the store, once off the carts into the trailer, once out of the trailer into the house) just getting it to the house, you can see how quickly this can add up. That tile alone accounted for moving more than 4 tons (50 boxes X 3 moves X 55 pounds = 8,250 pounds).

Think about how much stuff you've moved - it adds up quicker than you might think!

Relaxing? What's that?

Yesterday was the first time in a long time we did not have any events or projects planned. In the morning, I asked my wife, "So, what's the plan for the day?" and she responded, "Nothing."

"Huh? Nothing? Well... Hmm... What are we going to do?" I responded. "I thought we'd sit on the deck and watch the kids play in the yard - maybe read a book," she stated.

Relaxing... hmm, what a concept.