So, Dweebert and I own this one bedroom cabin in the woods. The Old Rattlesnake built it back in the day, circa 1961-4. We inherited it when TOR passed on.
Inexplicably, Dweeb and I both wanted to keep it. Older bro, the IT Guy, bailed. He was always the smart one. Not surprisingly, he said “Show me the money.“ Mashie desperately wanted me to do the Sensible Thing, too, but I wouldn’t. I’m that kind of guy.
Anyways, it’s ours now. The place is a wreck. It hasn’t seen much use over the last couple decades. The most use it got was the semi-frequent occasions it was broken into and used as a party house by the local yokels. Also, TOR was big on Deferring Maintenance. In short, there’s Problems.
One of the biggest is that it is a non-conforming structure. That means it was built before permits were being issued. It was built onto an existing miner’s cabin from the early 1900‘s. I remember it. It looked like it was from the early 1800’s.
The setback is 5 feet from the neighbor’s lot (to his consternation), and the current requirement is 30. This will prevent ever being able to enlarge the house. I believe the exact words of the inexplicably hostile building department lady were, “Make my day. Just try to get a permit.”
Other problems are due to Shoddy Construction. TOR was a master of cobby work. Dweeb thinks it was because he was drunk all the time. I don’t. I think it was because he was fundamentally lazy on top of being drunk all the time.
We go up there and try to salvage what we can. It’s not easy. TOR utilized some truly inexplicable building techniques. Some of his Framing Solutions must have been suggested by Pink Elephants. Being freed of constraints such as building codes and having your work inspected must have been liberating. I guess he felt that conventional framing members needn’t be installed in every case, and you really didn’t always have to nail them in.
His electrical wiring was the stuff of nightmares. He was an electronics technician, and knew about electricity. I think this led him down some slippery slopes. Like with his construction technique, he went his own way electrically. To be fair, the place didn’t fall down or explode into flames in almost 50 years. Surprisingly. You used to get quite a jolt off the shower faucets, now and then, though. And, the living room floor did cave in that time….
Other factors: Dweeb is really good at demolition. Unfortunately, he isn’t as well versed in construction. He is the industrious sort. In order to keep busy, he often starts tearing stuff out. This makes progress difficult. Eventually, you have to reverse the flow and start putting it back together.
Hopefully, if I’m patient, he will begin to see the truth in that.
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