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Great news on the Groovy Ranch front. First, the foundation will be completed this week. Take a gander at how the foundation looked yesterday. Aren’t those bricks breathtaking?
Second, Mrs. Groovy and I finally had a fight. Check out the front of Groovy Ranch below.
Notice how there are no railings on the porch? We love that look, and would like to keep it that way. But here’s the problem. We decided to put the house mechanicals in the crawl space rather than the attic. It doesn’t make any sense to put a water heater, an air handler, and a duct system in an environment that can get up to 140 degrees in the summer. This means the crawl space will be three feet tall at the front of the house and four feet tall at the back of the house.
Now, because our crawl space will be a mini-basement, the height of the front porch will be too tall to forego railings. If I’m not mistaken, any porch 32 inches or taller is required to have railings by North Carolina code. So I brought these concerns to Mrs. Groovy, and here’s my recollection of the conversation.
Mr. Groovy: “I think the drop off from our porch is going to be too large and we’re gonna need railings.”
Mrs. Groovy: “I don’t want railings.”
Mr. Groovy: “Why?”
Mrs. Groovy: “Because they’ll block the view of the windows.”
Mr. Groovy: “Yeah, so. What’s so horrible about that?”
Mrs. Groovy: “I just don’t like it. Can the railings be low enough so the windows aren’t blocked.”
Mr. Groovy: “I don’t think so. I think railings have to be a certain height by code. Otherwise, if they’re only two feet high or something, they’ll be a tripping hazard.”
Mrs. Groovy: “Well, how about raising the height of the windows?”
Mr. Groovy: “Alright, forget about it. We’ll go without railings.”
Mrs. Groovy: “No, let’s not forget about it. Let’s talk to Terry.”
Mr. Groovy: “What for? You don’t want railings, so we won’t get railings.”
Mrs. Groovy: “No, I don’t want railings. But I also don’t want fall on my face either. You know what a klutz I’ve become lately.”
Mr. Groovy: “So you want railings now?”
Mrs. Groovy: “No, you idiot. Maybe there’s a workaround we’re not thinking about. As soon as we get home, we’re calling Terry, and we’re going to see what he has to say.”
Well, we talked to Terry and he said he could add enough dirt to the perimeter of the porch to obviate the need for railings. The height of the porch will be low enough to meet code and make Mrs. Groovy to feel safe. In other words, Mrs. Groovy was right again. Damn it! Why do I bother? Shouldn’t I just go to a doctor and have my cojones professionally removed in one fell swoop rather than have Mrs. Groovy slowly stomp them into gonad puree?
[Mrs. Groovy here. Firstly, don’t make me out to be worse than I am. I admit I called you an idiot, but not the way you explained it. I called you an idiot after I suggested we talk to Terry and you got in a snit. Secondly, I think you won this fight because I’m willing to go with railings if it makes sense for safety. Luckily, Terry said we have time to make a decision about railings later on. And it’s not just the windows I’m concerned with—it’s the entire front view of the house, you know, curb appeal.]
Cost of Groovy Ranch to Date
Since the cost of Groovy Ranch should be soaring over the next several months, and since I saddled myself with a new goal of keeping the total cost of Groovy Ranch below $300K, I think it’s only fitting to start publishing monthly cost updates. I got to get that accountability thing going. In that spirit, then, here is the cost of Groovy Ranch as of July 1.
Final Thoughts
Okay, groovy freedomist, that’s all I got. Have a wonderful Fourth. Cheers.
The vast difference between Mr. and Mrs. is that we see so many “possibilities” and many “what-ifs” and sometimes try to cover them all….often time, that create scope creeps as we call it in the healthcare construction because all these things…but, have to say, this is your forever home, you got to do it right or you may do it over:-)) We have a saying, pay now or pay later, you always pay MORE later.
Enjoy the journey of building your dream home.
Looking good! I like no railing too.
I’m sure Terry knows all the workarounds. Good idea checking with him. I wonder if there will be sloping if you add dirt to just one area. Maybe you’ll need a retaining wall or something like that.
Joe recently posted…June 2018 Goals and Financial Update
“And have my cojones professionally removed in one fell swoop rather than have Mrs. Groovy slowly stomp them into gonad puree?” As a new writer, I am awestruck on your ability to turn a phrase. I bow down in your honor sir!
We used to have railings on our porch and later we added brick and never replaced them. Nobody has fallen off. I think as long as there is enough width to have space to walk in front of chairs you should be good.
The brick looks great! It must be exciting seeing things start to take shape. Or maybe there’s not enough excitement and that’s why you had to disagree a bit. Either way, it’s all good now. Happy 4th to you both!
Gary @ Super Saving Tips recently posted…The Best Savings at 4th of July Sales and Beyond
Dude, take advice from a Jedi Master, I mean I just passed 40 years of married bliss with my patient and incredibly intelligent wife. Do not argue with a superior being, arguing with your wife is like your dog arguing with you. Just always be incredibly happy to see her and find new ways to explain to her why she is absolutely correct, again! You can’t keep making these rookie mistakes, grasshopper.
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I guess we’re both rookies compared to you. Congrats on the 40 years!
Superior being? I’ll have to remind Mr. G of that often.
Great to see ya’ll fighting again. And if you’re going to fight then fight about dirt. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere….
It was getting bad, AF. We were almost at the point where we’d need to fabricate some arguments. Too much harmony makes the Groovy Two boring.
I love your fights! And the brick work is awesome.
Thanks, Jaime. I have a feeling you and Chris are a little bit more civil. And it would be tough to call him in idiot in front of the girls, I suppose.
#gonadpuree
all i can say is “it’s always something.” gilda radner said it better than me. we’re trying to decide our 3 color paint scheme. they start tomorrow.
freddy smidlap recently posted…Good Eats for Cheap #2 – Grilled Cabbage Salad
Good luck with that! I was doing a little research on exterior colors and the 3 color scheme seems to be highly recommended!
Well glad you resolved it that kind of makes everyone happy! For the record I’m a klutz too so I’d want to make sure I wasn’t falling on my face either! 🙂
The klutz factor has gotten worse. It makes me worry about about aging.
Cheers!! Happy 4th… You nit!
Happy 4th to you!
I had an idea about our group Countdown to FI episode if we continue doing them. You’ve heard of a “Master Mind” — well we can call ourselves the “Disaster Minds”. What do you think?
The brick is gorgeous. Gosh darn safety and codes, telling you what you can and can’t do in your own land. I thought this was ‘murica! haha I’m glad there was indeed a workaround you hadn’t thought of so that everyone’s happy. Can’t wait to see the finished product! Happy 4th!
Happy 4th to you too!
By code we won’t need a railing but once you decide to install a railing, the railing itself has to follow code. I.E. it needs to be a certain height, and the width between the spindles have to be small.
Love the look of brick. The place is going to be amazing!
Oh, by the way @gonadpuree is available on Twitter (and everywhere else I’m sure) – you could get some mileage out of that 😂
Oh, man. You’re giving me ideas.
It’s funny but we thought we chose a kind of classic, middle-of-the-road brick. But even Terry, who has built many homes, told us he loves the brick.
Mr. G,
The poet in you sounded almost like an old Ziggy cartoon. Think line drawing of a squiggle holding a
wilted flower, with the caption, “Love is your nuts in a blender.”
I’m using this one for Valentine’s Day. Meaning there will soon be need for a Crispy fight o’meter.
Full of love for the both of you. If your fighting gets bad, you can count on my love alone to keep you together, Captain and Tenille style.
Fondly,
CD
P.S. Jeffrey is right. If you build it, we will come.
Love Will Keep Us Together! 🎶🎶🎶
A Crispy Fight-O-Meter? We may start a trend.
I was a bit taken a back by the gonad puree but hey, Mr. Groovy calls the shots when it comes to the blog.
Wow. This house is still going to be standing when the bearded dude comes back in his flip-flops. It will super quiet too, for amazing sleeps.
Can’t beat the brick.
I notice that even when you win the fight Mrs. Groovy gets the last sane word in 😉😛
You noticed that pattern, huh?
I’m so used to sleeping with a white noise machine but maybe I won’t need one in our house. It should be very quiet.
I got a good laugh over that conversation. Mr. MMM and I seem to have similar ones all the time.
I totally understand the desire to not have railings but the safety concerns as well. Can’t wait to hear what you guys finally decide!
Do you call Mr. MMM an idiot too? I can’t help myself sometimes but I should do better.
OK, I’m liking everything but NO railings whatever has to be done It would Take Away from The Overall Appearance!
Cost…….Please ADD…approximately $500-750…. because by the time the G-Ranch is complete …there will be no less than 500 followers that will be in attendance at the Ceremonial Ribbon Cutting, and there fore funding needed for Booze&Eats….well at least to get’ em started!
I agree with you totally on curb appeal.
Ceremonial Ribbon Cutting — I love it!
Congrats on the ground breaking! Now things are moving and it is going to feel real. What’s the expected completion time frame?
If we’re lucky, our home will be ready by Thanksgiving. But more likely, Christmas. It depends on weather, materials delivery, etc.
I’m glad things are coming together. I’m not sure how to call this fight either. It sounds like she acquiesced! Maybe Terry is the true winner?! 😉 Here’s to curb appeal, great views, and not tripping or falling!
Yes, I think I acquiesced, too!
Between realtors and HGTV I’ve got curb appeal drummed into my head. But we’ll go with safety first if the front porch looks high.
Congrats on the win Mrs. Groovy.
At least with this fight you ended up with a great solution to the problem. The railing free porch that’s still safe sounds like a big win.
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We’ll see how high the front porch is and wait to make a decision. We’ll probably be using the screened in porch a lot more so rail-free may be OK.
Slowly stomping them into Gonad Puree. Man, that Mr G can write! I almost winced in real pain as I read those words.
Happy to see those beautiful bricks! Congrats on the progress, excited for you!
My husband exaggerates just a little.
We drove by today (4th of July) and the mason guys were out working on the brick. They should be done tomorrow!