RSS FeedJun 16 2009
On Kindred Spirits and Schadenfreude
I want to thank a couple of you who took the time to forward the following story to me and also to those of you who’ve sent quick notes just to confirm I’m still alive. For those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter, I have been working a series of 80 work-weeks the past few weeks. I apologize for new posts being scarce. I’m just having difficulty finding time to sleep let alone do anything like write for something other than work. If things don’t get better by the middle of July when the projects I’m in charge of shepherding through 2010 budgeting season should be wrapped up, I swear I’m going to run off and become a barrista. Just you wait and see.
Anyway, the most recent issue of ReadyMade features a story by Adam Fisher. Adam purchased a run-down houseboat in Sausalito’s floating home community. Like me, it sounds like Adam has had his fair share of adventures in the process of making his house truly habitable after a stint with less-than-responsible renters:
“I ripped up the pee-soaked carpets and hired a cut-rate plumber to replace the septic tank festering in the boat’s engine room. It was a disaster. The man was a crook, and worse, he turned on the bilge pump after demolishing the waste lines, flooding the back of my boat with raw sewage. The first half of the worst day in my life was spent in a blind rage, screaming bloody murder and chasing him off the dock. The second half was spent putting an ax through the floorboards, in order to get to the filth—human filth—which pooled at the bottom of the hull below.
I moved on to undertake a top-to-bottom renovation. The houseboat was made largely from used materials: scrap and salvage. The wiring, my electrician commented, showed evidence of having been stolen from the Navy. My carpenter took the paneling off the one structural wall in the house and gasped: There was not a 2×4 in sight. Even the hull—which holds the house together—was once just trash. The sash windows likely came from a Victorian house in a neighborhood pulled down in the 1960s as part of a slum clearance program. The boat itself was a lifeboat, made obsolete by newer technologies and likely sold as scrap steel.”
For those of you who’ve followed my own restoration saga, some of Adam’s tale should sound eerily familiar. I have to admit that while reading his article, I had to stop more than once having been over come with fits of giggles. Not only was I delighted to discover another soul who could understand some of the pain I’ve been through, but I have to admit to taking some small amount of delight in Adam’s suffering. Apparently misery really does sometimes like company.
Thankfully, though, it appears from the photos that Adam has steadfastly endured the trials of his descent into renovation hell and that he now has a lovely home to show fo it.
If you haven’t already seen it, definitely go check out the story on ReadyMade.
Photos by Philip Harvey
I want to thank a couple of you who took the time to forward the following story to me and also to those of you who’ve sent quick notes just to confirm I’m still alive. For those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter, I have been working a series of 80 work-weeks the past few weeks. I apologize for new posts being scarce. I’m just having difficulty finding time to sleep let alone do anything like write for something other than work. If things don’t get better by the middle of July when the projects I’m in charge of shepherding through 2010 budgeting season should be wrapped up, I swear I’m going to run off and become a barrista. Just you wait and see.
Anyway, the most recent issue of ReadyMade features a story by Adam Fisher. Adam purchased a run-down houseboat in Sausalito’s floating home community. Like me, it sounds like Adam has had his fair share of adventures in the process of making his house truly habitable after a stint with less-than-responsible renters:
“I ripped up the pee-soaked carpets and hired a cut-rate plumber to replace the septic tank festering in the boat’s engine room. It was a disaster. The man was a crook, and worse, he turned on the bilge pump after demolishing the waste lines, flooding the back of my boat with raw sewage. The first half of the worst day in my life was spent in a blind rage, screaming bloody murder and chasing him off the dock. The second half was spent putting an ax through the floorboards, in order to get to the filth—human filth—which pooled at the bottom of the hull below.
I moved on to undertake a top-to-bottom renovation. The houseboat was made largely from used materials: scrap and salvage. The wiring, my electrician commented, showed evidence of having been stolen from the Navy. My carpenter took the paneling off the one structural wall in the house and gasped: There was not a 2×4 in sight. Even the hull—which holds the house together—was once just trash. The sash windows likely came from a Victorian house in a neighborhood pulled down in the 1960s as part of a slum clearance program. The boat itself was a lifeboat, made obsolete by newer technologies and likely sold as scrap steel.”
For those of you who’ve followed my own restoration saga, some of Adam’s tale should sound eerily familiar. I have to admit that while reading his article, I had to stop more than once having been over come with fits of giggles. Not only was I delighted to discover another soul who could understand some of the pain I’ve been through, but I have to admit to taking some small amount of delight in Adam’s suffering. Apparently misery really does sometimes like company.
Thankfully, though, it appears from the photos that Adam has steadfastly endured the trials of his descent into renovation hell and that he now has a lovely home to show fo it.
If you haven’t already seen it, definitely go check out the story on ReadyMade.
Photos by Philip Harvey
See? It could always be worse
Don’t say that too loudly, James. I’ve still got work to do on my place.
Seems like a tremendous amount of money spent for what it is ( although beautiful).
I just bought a log cabin on wheels, interior floor space 400, 150′ sleeping loft, plus a built on screen porch including screened floor ( 8′x12′), all full size appliances, regular bathroom ( w/ tub), 21, yes 21 windows w/ blinds, 29 gauge roof, pex plumbing, smart board siding, ALL cedar walls and ceiling, cedar kitchen cabinets, electric fireplace, central A/C & heat, 2 built in wardrobes, queen size bed frame and mattress, hot water on demand, wide front door with built in blinds, plenty of electric outlets inside and outside, 2 ceiling fans and 4 cathedral windows all handmade to order in Alabama by the nicest folks you would ever want to meet! $40,000. ! ( oh yes, built in bar with overhead cabinets).
I am bragging. I am so happy with my cabin. My kitchen at home is not as nice. I say I have a house wrapped around a kitchen!
I feel my cabin is so well made that it is a life long purchase/ investment. I have it in a camping resort because I have a 14 year old son ( for the activities). Some time down the road I plan on buying a piece of property and moving it there. Since the cabin is on 8 wheels, it is considered a trailer, hence no property taxes for having a house!
Here is a link to photos, see for yourself! http://picasaweb.google.com/cbb333/Cabin#
I LOVE this company’s product. And, I bet you could put one on a barge!
jim@stonecanyonparkmodels.com