The Great Escape

[Jizaboz]

Also on the flags: We have the same deal here. “Call before you dig”. If they fucked following flags after proper procedures well.. now they fucked up.

[Flack]

I forgot to mention the best part. They are moving the electric line because instead of burying it in the easement, they ran it right through the middle of my yard. So they did it wrong in the first place. When they left, they sent me a bill for $984.

[Flack]

Monday, the contractor had 6 loads of dirt delivered. That's $150/load, cost directly to me.

Tuesday, I was told I needed a french drain installed. $1,000 to me.

Wednesday, I was told I needed concrete reinforcement added around the pad. $2,500 to me.

Thursday, 16 more loads of dirt were delivered, also at $150/load. Also, the delivery driver severed my cable line. We have no cable television or internet at the moment.

Today, Friday, I am waiting on the cable repairman to arrive.

[Casual Observer]

I think we're going to need some pictures of this adventure.

[AArdvark]

Is the current cost of the building exceeding your estimated budget?

[Flack]

Is the current cost of the building exceeding your estimated budget?

The current cost of the building has exceeded the cost of our first home.

[Flack]

I think we're going to need some pictures of this adventure.

This is what ~$3k worth of dirt looks like.



This is one half of a French drain:



This one is called "French drain running at 45 degree angle instead of a straight line"



Bonus, this one is called "where my fence used to be."

[Tdarcos]

Flack, see if this 1948 movie is available on Prime Video, Netflix, or any illegal streaming service: Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House where a husband and wife decide to move from crowded New York City to suburbia and the hilarious incidents that keep happening to them that cause the costs of their new home to keep rising. And every time he turns around, someone has their hand out for money for something else that needs to be done.

One part: they need to drill a well for drinking water, which costs $1 a foot. After drilling 300 feet they still haven't found any. So they drill another well a few feet over and strike a strong pressure pocket of water at 19 feet. So the well costs him $319, in 1948 dollars, probably equivalent to $3,000 today. This is before the backhoe digging for a cesspool strikes an underground lake...

Your travails reminded me of that movie.

[AArdvark]

Nah, The Money Pit. I imagine Flack standing on his back porch making airplanes out of hundred dollar bills while yet another truckload of topsoil gets delivered. And this is all because of the outbuilding's foundation. Would it have better (less egregious, anyway) if you had simply added on a room?

THE
BATCAVE
AARDVARK

[Flack]

Short version, not really. And it wouldn't work for what I want.

[pinback]

Hadn't heard his name in six years, then heard it twice in one day.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Did you post it here because Flack posted all that dirt in the ground?

[Casual Observer]

Wow, Flack, what a huge awesome lot you have. Space like that would cost millions here. You should put in a pool next.