Question of the Weekend: What would be your priority, Project House Hell, or Project Car Hell?
Forgive me for the lack of Weekend Content on Saturday. You see I have a project at Casa de Brennan that I really needed to finish, and this late summer weekend weather was the perfect time to do so. With September temperatures in the mid 80′s, and no rain in sight, it had to get done before the first flakes of snow decides to fall, which has been sometime around January lately.
Since I moved into my 1860′s Farmhouse in one of the Hartford suburbs almost 20 years ago, it has been one project after another. A kitchen remodel here, a new ceiling there, a new roof about 8 years ago, and of course all the little things like fractured plumbing, failing appliances, and painting…. a lot of painting. Anyway, the front entrance to the house had a concrete pad that was crumbling since the day I moved in, and all I did was clean all the lifting concrete surface (it was like a skim coat put on by the last owners) and try and ignore it. I couldn’t any longer, and so I chiseled the entire surface coat off leaving the original turn of the century cement, right down to the gritty sandstone like finish. I then took a bonding agent, and covered it. Then some concrete sealer on top of than, and finally two coats of garage floor paint. You can see the color of the floor is a light gray.
While I was at it I decided to add a “Shaker Styled” railing to the unadorned posts of the covered entrance way. This proved to be a task since the support posts are placed at various distances between each other. But I got it done. The last thing I’m doing is building a swing gate from the same materials used for the railings. You can see my progress right behind the Trailing Throttle Oversteer Corvair in the Garage.
So the question of the weekend is this: What are your priorities? Should you fix the house, or should you fix the car? those of you that are married may have different priorities dictated by your spouse, and if so, say so.
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Interesting question. While cars are more fun, houses generally are more low tech, easier (if not cheaper) to fix, and parts are as close as a Home Depot. Besides, sleeping in a car can be pretty uncomfortable.
I'd have to say the house it priority, seeing as it keeps you from A)Being homeless, and B) not freezing to death during the winter.
car, some sticks, some mud, i can have a house. I can't do that with a car.
Look to the bottom of your legs. I believe they're called feet. They serve a similar purpose.
Sadly, Project House Hell. My beloved Alfa languished in the garage for 7 years while I gutted and refreshed 3800 square feet of living space. I was shocked when I turned my attention to the car and had it back on the road in about three days.
On one hand, my house is only 22 years old, so it's still pretty low maintenance, and more importantly, it's my parents' house, not mine, so short of simple upkeep like mowing the lawn, I'm not responsible for too much of it. On the other hand, my car is six months old, and has approximately no needs, so house gets the priority.
Once I've got money for a house and project car, well, the house will still get priority – at that time, I'll be spouse'd, and she has no problems with me having a bit of PCH, as long as it doesn't interfere with practical, adult stuff.
Currently putting off project house hell while I'm buried in project car hell. The plan is to get out from under the big wagon and transfer Der Uberbird to a different chief mechanic…then go buy a house. SoCal real estate is pretty painful, but luckily prices aren't going anywhere quick.
Tangential: it really was project car hell today. I'm trying to figure out why my wagon's running so hot…check the weather and realize it's over 105. Still want to prevent it, but running hot in those temps is something I can forgive it for. But…hooo-boy, when you get all 700lbs of 390 up to 200 F, leaning into the engine bay is not a fun thing to do.
You sir had manifold destiny at your fingertips and did nothing about it? For shame.
Project House Hell, 1947 bungalow edition, accepts no excuses. A simple exercise in replacing living room baseboards and adding quarter-round turned into an all-day rant-filled cursefest in which I threatened to hunt down the former owner and pull his toenails out with rusty pliers.
At least this way, I'm inside when I scream profanities, so ALL of the neighbors don't hear me…
I live in a 1907 farmhouse that had a single story addition put on in 1985. Last August, I tore the roof off the addition, and added another storey. I've been building ever since, but I should be done by Christmas.
Today I sold my PCH, a '68 VW fastback that needed a master cylinder and some cosmetics at a loss of about $1000. I've clearly made my choice.
That said, by next spring, I'll have a 4 bedroom house with a kickass bathroom, a fat project car account, an empty garage, and 2 years of pent up wrenching that will need taking care of. Something something delayed gratification.
Rationally, my priorities should lie with the house. There are plenty of things that need my attention, but I have proven time and again that my attention is generally skewed more toward my vehicular projects.
Aside from when the water heater dies, or the pressure switch on the well goes bad, or the furnace and/or A/C quits.
When something goes wrong with the "project" house, it takes priority, just as repairs to the daily driver take priority over my many projects. A guy's gotta keep the necessities in working order, before any attention can be paid to the toys.
So fixing something that's wrong? House, Daily driver, project car, project bike. In that order.
Fixing something up? That's when my focus goes to the toys.
Sadly, project house hell wins for me. This old crackerbox was slammed together just after wwII and the upkeep on it (and putting my wife through nursing school) is what is keeping me out of project car hell for the next couple of years. -10 Hooniverse points for me.
Side note:
Does owning/maintaining 2 daily driven Saturn cars that are over 13 years old qualify as a project car hell of its' own?
Currently saving up money so I can achieve both PHH and PCH. Since I insist on driving cars well over ten years old, my every-day transport is rapidly becoming PCH and, since in SE England the only way onto the property ladder is to buy a terrible house that needs everything doing to it, I imagine I'll be straight into PHH by default.
I guess I win at life.
Now add two kids and paying for daycare into that and welcome to my reality. Fortunately property in TX is inexpensive, but it's hard to get traction on anything when the kids situation has you bent over a sawhorse. Project Daily Driver hell reached it's peak when I lived in an apartment, and the only car in the household was the 20 year old Volvo – whoo, talk about excitement every time you put a wrench on a nut, and think "is this the one that's going to strip and leave me stranded for a week?".
I feel for you over the whole kids thing, when we get some of those she can have the kids and I'll deal with the cars. Fair's fair.
Well, it all depends. If you already have a good late model driver that is reliable, then the house needs to come first. If not, and you have no other way to get to work, fix the car. just remember that the house will have the greater return on your investment in the long term than the car which will always be deteriorating faster than it will ever appreciate. Remember that project cars are optional, but you always need a place to live. Concentrate on the most important things first and the optional ones second.
I am actually dealing with this very question myself right now, and have had to come to the realization that the house is more important than my project cars. A limited amount of income coupled with the need to fix a lot of ills in my 1979 tract house have forced me to have to consider getting rid of the toys to concentrate on other things-like an education so that I can afford more and better toys in the future.
House has got to come first. We got lucky. We bought a house this spring that the previous owners had to leave for a job opportunity. They did most of the hell projects. We got a house built by a very skilled carpenter in 1938 (milled all the wood in the back yard), so it has substance and the old school touches of a serious carpenter. But it also got rewired, replumbed, the main bath gutted and redone, new windows and blow-in insulation. The yard…well that's a different story, but it's what i do so that's cool. But yeah, my back yard is a project hell after several decades of outright neglect.
I landscaped the front this summer and took some chunks out of the back, which will be concentrated towards food production. With that i'm currently thinking about buying a '71 Datsun 510 to be my project hell car. I should probably wait until i buy half the lot next door and build a garage…but i'm not sure if i can wait 'cause that car is calling me (even with the punkiness in the floorboards).
Answer: Yes.
An 80-year-old house and a herd of three vehicles, 20, 28 and 29 years old respectively.
As I am often heard to exclaim: It's always something… if it ain't one damn thing, it's another. But in terms of which I'd rather work on, it's the herd, without a doubt.
Sure, I could drive a newer car and live in a nice maintenance-free apartment, but my inner masochist says, "well, where's the fun in that?"
I am almost done with "house exterior paint hell". My wife and my summer project. after that I can get back to "project intermeccanica speedster hell". We'll get onto "project kitchen hell" next spring. IKEA cabinets should help to revitalize the 70 year old tiny mess.
Having bought my own house in February I can safely say that Project House Hell rests firmly prioritized a head of Project Car Hell, Project Snowmobile Hell or any other Project Hell I happen to find because when it comes down to it I have to live in this house day in and day out. I can't say that for any other one.
its all hell,i need siding,a roof,doors/widows,a/c-heating updated and flooring (built in 1978).so the 1984 Cuddy Caben & 1988 e30 &1980 spyder & 1993 mx5 will just sit cause x-mas is coming and i`ve been told we didn't spend enough on that last year
House Hell. It has to win almost every time, lest we be homeless. My crap box of a house was built in 1920 and it seems every time I go to touch something it snowballs in 'HUGE PROJECT'. Perfect case in point was "repaint the dning room". After removing 3 layers of wall paper I found out that was the only thing holding the plaster to the wall. Holy rerock bat man!
We could combine the two by living in a motor home……
I just bought a 55 year old ranch. I think I signed up for Project House Hell, even though I have enough parking for two jeeps or the F-2. Get the impending doom items done, and then maybe start a project. Course by that time the Jeep will be retired from DD duty and it will start to get "upgrades."
The wife says I have to finish Project House Hell before I can get a project car. I agree. The car can be transported from house to house, but the house can't really be sold until it is fixed up (and the market turns around). So, my 1940 bungalow will receive the bulk of my attention and my desire for a project car will be put on the back burner.
I did finish a major part of Project House Hell a few weeks ago. Several (ok, 4) years ago I gutted the 2nd floor — which is the master bedroom and a half bath in the 1-1/2 story layout — and rewired and replumbed the house and rebuilt the second floor bedroom and bath. That was a huge accomplishment, and one that made Mrs. engineerd quite happy. You can see my progress on my Flickr page.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/engineerd/sets/72157…
I did both for a while but it just didn't work that well. I.e. when going to Lemons, that consumes your life until it's over. The house definitely hit back burner while Lemons prep was going on. I finally took a year off project cars and finished the house. Now it's for sale in the worst market ever – great timing.
After enjoying the Hooniverse for some time as a quiet spectator, I now must chime in… My priority is Project House Hell, a not-so-quaint former cabin on what used to be a golf course at the turn of the century (20th century), before the town was incorporated. I've got a foundation that needs to be redone, I need to replace every window and door, fully replace the ancient redwood siding, and have it completely re-piped and re-wired…. thankfully the roof is ok! Not to mention redo the fences and retaining walls…
I only mention this because the house has no garage. You see, in order to start Project Car Hell (sights set on a '69 AMX) I must FIRST complete Project House Hell! Otherwise, the priority would be PCH…