The Old Folks Home

[Peep_Show]

The chick pic makes me nostalgic.
I miss the noise of peeping. (but don't miss the maintenance)



corrected for spelling

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Yeah... I'm thinking I need to hatch.

Not much is laying right now but most of my cornish are broody. I'm hesitant to add more birds to that coop, though.

 

[perchie.girl]

Building codes, inspections? I got busted. Was rebuilding my garage hoping to have it done before the leaves fell off the trees, and was setting our new outside wood boiler onto a free bluestone slab I got from my father with my backhoe when the building inspector visited...ohh crap...There is only one spot coming down the hill you can even see the garage, he noticed the new lumber. He says looks like you got a lot going on. Yup, trying to finish some stuff up before the snow flies. You need a permit for the garage. No I don't. Yes you do. Nope, had a garage it burned down, rebuilding it same dimensions same place.
You can fix or repair, but this is a little more than that, you need one for that boiler also. For a wood stove!?? Permanent outside boilers require a permit. Your kidding me!?? ( I knew this, also knew it is against code to put them on a bluestone slab, a guy in town had to remove his and pour concrete, lol)
He said he was supposed to charge double for building before permitting, but he wouldn't do that, and said he'd do me a favor and put both the garage and boiler on the same permit, one cost. Took the $150 or so check and I never saw him again, he never even looked at the garage or boiler. Lol!
If I was a city person or a contractor I bet it wouldn't have not been good at all.

Shhhhh dont tell anyone but my whole house doesnt exist. the only thing that got permitts was the pump house and well. Thats why my power and phones are run underground to the house.

Thats why I have to do all the repairs OR hire trades people who will work for cash.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
There are code inspectors that do the rounds but mostly people have to turn you in. My neighbor got turned in and she was an 88 year old Mexican woman. My neighbor Tom lives there at the time he was her caregiver hired by her son. The inspector was going to fine her when Tom realised he was Hispanic and told him to go talk to Maria.

That was his downfall. Maria was delighted to have company By the time the conversation was done... he told Tom that the paperwork would accidentially fall behind the file cabinet... He couldnt evict a nice Grandmother. They were facing a 500 dollar a month fine for living in a mobile home with a wood room addition and a roof over the top of it all.

Maria has since passed on. Her son Promised Tom he could live there as long as he wants. Tom assumed the task of paying the property taxes and he has a home for life. Tom is the one who feeds my horse for me. I feed his animals in return and the occasional bottle of Gin.

The woman who turned him in got her place reposessed because she was a Jerk to the people she owed money to. We called her the 5150 lady. Same woman left her cattle dogs in their kennels when she moved out.

deb

 

[Alaskan]

@Alaskan
  boonies? Town of 5K? Ours is 1,300 only one gas station, no stores. Most towns here are that size and smaller. I'm only 15 miles either way of towns of 3 and 4k, one has two grocery stores. And I can take a back dirt road to a highway and be in a small city of 13K in 20min driving 70mph, they have several cheap grocery stores, small mall, all sorts of stores and shops.
Nearest Trader Joe's, 100 miles, 1hr 40min, the other 180miles about 3hrs...Whole foods one, 100 miles 1hr 40min...
We only pay around $2.50 for a gallon of milk at the gas station though, what's it cost up there in the 'Yukon'? Is it cows milk or muskox? Lol.

Milk here is over $4 a gallon for regular 2%

Most food up here is expensive.... Because most things have to be shipped or flown in.

Alaska grows its own potatoes and carrots though.

 

[Alaskan]

Deb, how can there be codes in the middle of nowhere?

Crazy.

Up here the only worry is the taxman.

 

[Beer can]

Nah, he was for real, I don't know him personally, but I knew who he was. Didn't want to see him in my driveway. I didn't get turned in either, my neighbors wouldn't have known or cared. He said he was driving down the road to inspect a addition some city people put on a trailer and just happened to notice the new lumber. There's only one spot coming down the hill you can see the garage for about a second. House is a hundred yards from the road and garage behind the house. I didn't want a permit cause I knew he would make me replace the concrete cause it was in a fire. The garage is built on cement blocks around the pad, I did replace the top layer of blocks. Rest is underground and wasn't damaged.
I think he left me alone cause he knew I was a local, just wanted the $.

 

[tjo804]

Nice looking group @ronott1

 

[Beer can]

Lot of places don't exist around here either deb. If you don't bother with a final inspection you don't get a seal of living approval or something. I didn't get one yrs ago for a trailer I put in. There is some good reasons for it all, and some dumb rules and regulations. I had to pay for a flood survey when I got a loan from the bank to put that trailer in, it's on the top of the highest mountain in the area...
I set that trailer on dirt, town code requires floating concrete slab. Next town, four foot below frost level concrete piers. Another town layer of gravel. I know a guy that didn't get his seal because he didn't put tie downs on his brand new trailer. He argued we are not in a hurricane zone and it's not a state regulation.

 

[Mutt Farm]

There are code inspectors that do the rounds but mostly people have to turn you in. My neighbor got turned in and she was an 88 year old Mexican woman. My neighbor Tom lives there at the time he was her caregiver hired by her son. The inspector was going to fine her when Tom realised he was Hispanic and told him to go talk to Maria.

That was his downfall. Maria was delighted to have company By the time the conversation was done... he told Tom that the paperwork would accidentially fall behind the file cabinet... He couldnt evict a nice Grandmother. They were facing a 500 dollar a month fine for living in a mobile home with a wood room addition and a roof over the top of it all.

Maria has since passed on. Her son Promised Tom he could live there as long as he wants. Tom assumed the task of paying the property taxes and he has a home for life. Tom is the one who feeds my horse for me. I feed his animals in return and the occasional bottle of Gin.

The woman who turned him in got her place reposessed because she was a Jerk to the people she owed money to. We called her the 5150 lady. Same woman left her cattle dogs in their kennels when she moved out.

deb

Deb, how can there be codes in the middle of nowhere?

Crazy.

Up here the only worry is the taxman.

Ha! Cause this is CA! Codes and permits for everything! I'm county, not city, zoned rural residential agricultural. I had to submit a Plot Plan and get a permit ($1300.) before I could obtain a kennel licence (another $300. bi-annually) so that I could own more than 4 dogs! I'm allowed 10 now and submit to routine random inspections and really strict rules.
I feel ya @Beer can ! When I went to build my barn, 24X112, the permits alone would have been over $7000. So, we graded and waited, poured cement footers and waited, then put up a kit barn. We call it "portable"! The downside is that when we sell, it won't be included in the appraisal. Ca regulates everything. I think your prices are still higher for things like fuel and groceries though. I'm looking to move soon. Tx or TN are looking pretty good.