• Zurf
  • Zurf
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  • From: Virginia, USA
  • Registered: 2007-06-27
  • Posts: 7,522

Topic: I give up

But just for the day.  I'll do my best to care again tomorrow. 

While I was cleaning out the basement to demolition the wall coverings from the flood we had in June, I noticed water on the floor in my workshop.  It's been raining for about three days here.  I figured what the heck.  I have to take the paneling off anyway to replace it from the last flood so I may as well bump that up in the sequence and pull it off now before I finish emptying the stuff out.  Sure enough, there's a leak.  But this leak is water pressuring through the walls.  So I went outside and saw the problem.  The gutters weren't getting the water far enough away from the house and the ground was saturated.  So off to Home Depot to buy some drain tubes.  With a deep, dry hacking cough and congestion, I had the pleasure of digging a ditch in the pouring rain to get the water away from the house.  At least I had the opportunity for immediate feedback by seeing where the water ran while I was digging the ditch.  This apparently has been going on for a while because the paneling is moldy and the firring strips are too.  It's right below my eldest daughter's bedroom (in fact, her bed).  Getting rid of all that mold from underneath her can only be a good thing.  Still, now that the immediate water problem is resolved and it's dinner time, I give up for the remainder of the day.

I swear.  If it's not one thing it's another.

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude
  • upyerkilt
  • upyerkilt
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  • From: Balloch, Scotland, UK, Earth
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 3,290

Re: I give up

nae luck Zurf,
Hope you get it all sorted soon.
Ye might think it is a big hassle just now and it probably is but once it is finished it will seem like good hard work done with the result of a new part of the house.

Good luck


Ken

ye get some that are cut out for the job and others just get by from pretending

3 Reply by bensonp (edited by bensonp 2009-10-17 22:27:23)

  • From: Tooele Ut
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 4,049

Re: I give up

Winston Churchill said "Never, Never, Never give up."  I feel your pain.  If it ain't one thing.......  Good luck, Zurf.  Hope you get it under control tomorrow.
Youtube has everything.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaNyRpP1jt4

You can see all my video covers on [url]http://www.youtube.com/bensonp1000[/url]
I have finally found happiness in my life.  Guitars, singing, beer and camping.  And they all intertwine wonderfully.
  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-03-29
  • Posts: 953

Re: I give up

When it rains, it pours, no pun intented, I'm glad you found the problem, tomorrow is another day!

    Cam

Keep a fire burning in your eyes
Pay attention to the open sky
You never know what will be coming down
  • From: Madeira Beach, Florida
  • Registered: 2007-12-05
  • Posts: 3,312

Re: I give up

bensonp wrote:

Winston Churchill said "Never, Never, Never give up."  I feel your pain.  If it ain't one thing.......  Good luck, Zurf.  Hope you get it under control tomorrow.
Youtube has everything.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaNyRpP1jt4

Reminded me of one of the greatest speeches I have ever heard. I was attending NC State during Jimmy V's run to the National Championship. He truly was an incredible man.

Jimmy Valvano's 1993 ESPY Speech. "Don't give up, don't ever give up."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuoVM9nm42E

Rule No. 1 - If it sounds good - it is good!
  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2007-02-08
  • Posts: 1,914

Re: I give up

Sorry to hear it but at least you found it before you replaced the paneling and then it rained heavy again... I'm assuming that it has block walls?? If so it may not hurt to roll a good coat of Drylok on if you think it could be a problematic area. It's a block sealer/waterproofer made by UGL that works really well. It's also fairly inexpensive, around $20 a gallon and I think that covers 75-100 sq ft.

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

Guitarpix's Website

  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 2,662

Re: I give up

topdown wrote:
bensonp wrote:

Winston Churchill said "Never, Never, Never give up."  I feel your pain.  If it ain't one thing.......  Good luck, Zurf.  Hope you get it under control tomorrow.
Youtube has everything.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaNyRpP1jt4

Reminded me of one of the greatest speeches I have ever heard. I was attending NC State during Jimmy V's run to the National Championship. He truly was an incredible man.

Jimmy Valvano's 1993 ESPY Speech. "Don't give up, don't ever give up."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuoVM9nm42E

Jimmy Valvano is a true hero to all of mankind. Any person unable to mentally feed in a positive manner from the words of this great man is beyond reach from anything or anyone that is positive in this universe.

Thanks Jeff

JIMMY V !!!!!!!!!!!!

Give everything but up.
  • From: Clarion PA
  • Registered: 2008-05-18
  • Posts: 328

Re: I give up

Oh the joys of being a home owner.

Don't take life too seriously, you're not getting out alive anyway
  • Registered: 2007-03-24
  • Posts: 1,108

Re: I give up

Sorry to hear about your "should've bought a townhouse" moment. If it's any comfort, we all have them at one point or another.

I used to be disgusted; now I try to be amused.
Elvis Costello
  • From: NY
  • Registered: 2009-08-26
  • Posts: 4,320

Re: I give up

I hear ya Zurf.  We own an older home and there is ALWAYS something that needs to be done!  Every time we start a new project, we find that there is 10 times more work that needs to be done than "should" be.  Like the time my husband thought he'd throw a new roof on the back room in the house cuz the patch jobs just weren't cutting it.  He found out that it had already been done once (completely WRONG) and the original roof trusses had NEVER been removed!  I don't know too much about building, but I get that 2 roofs had to be removed, trusses rebuilt and then new roof on.  Um... yeah... simple jobs turned into huge projects and way more $$ than planned!  We dub our house the "Money Pit".  Good movie that brings us back to reality every time.

Art and beauty are in the eyes of the beholder.
What constitutes excellent music is in the ears of the listener.

mekidsmom's Website

  • Zurf
  • Zurf
  • Blunt but well meaning moderator
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  • From: Virginia, USA
  • Registered: 2007-06-27
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Re: I give up

Mekidsmom, I think you've nailed it.  Everything is bigger than it seems it ought to be.  With the house that is.  My bank account is much smaller. 

Drylok is wonderful stuff.  This is the part of the basement that I haven't redone yet since moving in.  I have Drylokked the snot out of every other corner of the basement and will to this one as well.  It's useful if you can get to the outside and paint it too, but this is subsurface so that won't be possible without far more work than I'm going to do.  I think my new trench, once deepened and improved with pipe, will do the job. 

And with all due respect to those inspirational speeches, giving up is exactly what is needed sometimes, or at least a temporary respite. 

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude
  • From: Tooele Ut
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 4,049

Re: I give up

Like you said Zurf, it's not giving up that will get you there.  It's the rest needed in between tough times before you tackle the problem again that sets us aside from average people.  I always think about Col Sanders.  He tried selling his recipe to thousands of resteraunts before one finally gave him a chance.  Wow!

You can see all my video covers on [url]http://www.youtube.com/bensonp1000[/url]
I have finally found happiness in my life.  Guitars, singing, beer and camping.  And they all intertwine wonderfully.
  • From: Georgia
  • Registered: 2007-07-09
  • Posts: 381

Re: I give up

Hang in there Zurf. The sun will shine again and all of your problems will be gone for a while anyways. Rest well and get over your cold before you have much more to worry about.

  • G S E
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  • From: Detroit Lakes , Mn , USA
  • Registered: 2008-01-30
  • Posts: 330

Re: I give up

Hi All ,
   Interesting thread Zurf , and you're right about the " if not one thing then another " ...
   We bought our forth and final house three yrs ago , and last year about this time we paid it off and then started putting the payment money aside for some not needed , but wanted improvements ... Well , we decided it was time , so we put in new concrete driveway , patio , outdoor hot tub with a small deck , privacy fencing , wood railing around the patio , and landscaping ... Well halfway through the concrete work , our water heater crapped out , so had to stop and replace that , then the furnass went , so replaced that with a new 95 plus , ( something that we kinda figured on doing anyway ) , luckily we had put aside more than enough so it did'nt hold up the stuff that we wanted to do , but it's always something ... Anyway we got it all done and now just waiting for a couple nice days so that we can get all the wood stained before the weather turns for good ... Gotta say though , there's nothing like sitting in that hot tub when it's forty degrees out with the steam so thick my wife and I can't see each other across the tub ... We were in there one night and it was snowing so we were both sitting there with snow on our heads , L O L ... We disovered that the only problem with being in there in cold weather is " who's turn is it to get out and run to the shop fridge and get more beer ", L O L ....
   Anyway , hope the rest of your project works out and you don't overdo it and get a cold any worse than it is , remember , at our age , you don't recover from that stuff like when you were younger ...
                                 Jerry

" Just reading the lyrics , it's hard to hear the song , but if the words tug at the heartstrings......it's enough for now........... "