Most of its materials have come from somewhere else and are getting a second life in this house.

For example, here’s the dope on the items seen on this page. The green corrugated metal was on the original structure--a garage--probably erected in the 1940s. That garage was carefully disassembled and most of it has been used in/on The Recycled House. The chocolate brown brick was left over from a government building project and had been sitting in the “boneyard” of Allied Concrete for more than nine years. The Recycled House’s plaque was carved at the local tombstone company out of a piece of leftover granite.

It will be available for short-term rental when it’s finished, hopefully by Spring of 2012.

You can watch the construction by popping up the slide show. Enjoy!

Inquiries should be sent to

This “he only takes cash” thing keeps coming up, and I’m sick of it. So I write a check to Bobby’s guy for $200, and tell Scott to give it to him and if he won’t take it, forget about it. Scott likes to come in my house at the end of the workday, plop himself in the comfy chair in my office and jaw for a while. It doesn’t matter if I’m in the middle of working. It doesn’t matter if I’m on the phone with a client. He just waits. Usually he’s updating me on stuff they got done that day, but most of the time that’s simply a prelude to brandishing a list of stuff he needs along with his hand out for my credit card or a check.

I originally had a home equity line that was supposed to finance this project. When that ran out, I applied for an increase. Due to the unfolding mortgage crisis, the bank only gave me half of what I asked for. When that was gone, I dipped into my rainy day money, spare cash in my brokerage account, my secret emergency stash, and then just started paying from my own earnings and praying that each week I would find enough money to pay for materials and labor. Then, I borrowed money from my mother, which I swore I wouldn’t do. Then, I decided to re-fi my house. Bank of America has taken its sweet time to do me. I applied for my loan on April 16, 2009. It’s now July 16 and still, no closing date. They say that I’m supposed to close before the end of August, but as of today, I don’t have anyone assigned to do me. I could turn this post into a long, angry rant about how I’ve been treated by Bank of America but I’ll spare you.

So, back to the story. Scott barges in, plops in the chair, and tells me he got the insulation. We were speculating earlier that it was so cheap because it probably “fell off a truck” somewhere, and I ask Scott if that was the case. He tell me that Bobby’s guy, whom we’ll call Wilbur, was living in a house with his girlfriend which was owned by her father. Wilbur is a very experienced construction guy and was fixing it up in exchange for rent. Scott says the house was in bad shape and that Wilbur was doing a bang-up job. According to Wilbur, he left for work one day and was barely out of the driveway (we’re talking about a rural area here, and the driveway can stretch quite a distance) when he realized he forgot something, so he turned around and went back. He walked in the house and discovered his girlfriend in bed with her father. Wilbur was sufficiently grossed out by that he decided not to live there anymore. So he’s got a bunch of construction materials in the yard that he’s not going to put into a house that he doesn’t live in. So that’s how we got a mess of insulation for a song.

Next thing I know, I see a guy in my yard that I don’t recognize. He’s small, wiry, shirtless, nearly toothless, and he’s drinking beer from one of those oddly tall cans. I only see him from the back, but I instantly suspect that it must be Wilbur. When Scott barges and plops later that day, he confirms it. Has he hired Wilbur, I inquire. No, he hasn’t, because he might drink too much, but he does specialize in a skill we might need later, and he’d do a really bang-up job. 

The original budget for the project was $71,000, which was the amount of my home equity line. In the beginning, Builder Scott told me he could turn the garage into something rentable for that. He even made me some budgets, which I found not so long ago and showed him. How naïve we were!

In June of 2008, I realized that we were going to run out of money. So I applied for an increase to my equity line. Since my house has increased in value more than 300% since I purchased it, I was fairly certain this would be a no-brainer. I asked for $50,000 more. Unbeknownst to me (and just about everyone, at least right then), the mortgage crisis was unfolding in all its glory.  Bank of America took 12 weeks to decide that they would increase me, but for $25K instead of the $50K I asked for.

As of January 2009, I have about $3000 left. I’m currently paying more on the equity line than I pay on my mortgage. So, basically, I’m paying for two houses every month. Except one of them isn’t finished. One of them has no roof, no wiring, no plumbing, no walls, no floors and no tenant. It has some really nice framing. And an unfinished wine cellar/storage area. It has uninstalled cabinets which currently live in my dining room. It has a really nice refrigerator, currently on my front porch. It has the Cadillac of wood stoves, the Tulikivi, which is in pieces all over my house.

I pay 4-5 guys every week to work on it. Yes, we have a lot of free/cheap materials, but there is lots of pricey wood from Nature Neutral. I feel like I’m the one that’s keeping Allied Concrete in business. I pay to rent scaffolding. I buy a lot nails. I still have to pay for the roof. The electrical. The plumbing. Flooring. More kitchen appliances. And what seems like a million other things.

How to do it?

Since I can’t afford to pay back any more than I’ve already borrowed, my only hope is that I can somehow EARN enough money to finish the cottage. I have no idea if this will work, but I’m going to give it a go.

So, for the cost of a little trucking, we now have enough brick to finish the porch columns and the back side of the Recycled House. We also have floor joists, bridgework, and some nice heart pine. And some steel beams that we will have cut, not fabricated. And some cool track lighting. Oh, and a package of GreenGuard insulation board, still wrapped, that costs like $40. Scott and Helper Cary are going back tomorrow to score some more. They are planning to rip out a wood floor and they are moving backwards out of the room.

It was going to go some landfill. We will be giving the materials a good home. So, a win-win!

Builder Scott called me late in the afternoon last Wednesday.

“I’m at Habitat. There are cabinets here. Come over.” he says.
“How many?” I say.
“There’s four. They’re hickory. They’re good. Come over.” he says.
“That’s not enough,” I say. “I think they should all match, don’t you?”
“It’s a small kitchen. These are good. Come over.” he says.

So I go. (Actually, my stupid car wouldn’t start, so Scott came and got me and we went back together.)

The cabinets are good. But there are only four. There are guys bringing other cabinets in the door as we’re standing there.

“What about those?” I say.
“They’re white,” Scott says.
“But there are a ton of them,” I say, “And they all match!”
He ponders.
“Maybe we could send them out to the cabinet shop and get them painted,” he says.
“Or maybe we could paint the walls some crazy color and clean them up and keep them white,” I say.
“Maybe could send them out to the cabinet shop and get them painted some crazy color,” he says.

We ask the guy to price them. We know that if we bought them at say, Lowe’s, or a custom shop, they would be anywhere between $2500 - $6000.
Scott predicts the guy will come back with a price of about $1500.
I make no prediction, because I don’t incessantly and compulsively hang out at Habitat for Humanity like Scott does.
The guy comes back with a price of $850.
I buy them on the spot.

Here’s how they looked on that day. I’ll put a picture of the finished result in the slide show.

Builder Scott left this cedar sample on my bench the other day. Since he starts work early in the morning, and I don’t get up till noon, we often communicate by me leaving checks and other stuff for him in my mailbox, and him leaving stuff for me on the bench on my porch.

You can smell the cedar-y loveliness through the plastic. When I saw him later in the day, I asked him what it was for. He’s already put in a wine cellar, which I think is ridiculous in a rental. We now refer to it as the “wine cellar/storage area.” So, I’m never quite sure when he leaves stuff like this on the bench.

“Everyone loves cedar closets,” Scott replies.
“It’s a RENTAL!” I say. That’s pretty much what I always say. Have I mentioned that costs are spinning out of control? The last thing I give a crap about is cedar in the closets. I parlay all this to Scott.
“I already have the cedar,” he says.
“And how much did I pay for the cedar?” I say, incredulously. I write all the checks. Scott usually tells me what they are for. I’m unsure how he’s snuck a bunch of cedar planks into our recent purchases, although we have been buying a ton of wood lately.

Scott goes on to tell me that I haven’t paid for it. He tells me that about a year ago, he’s at the gas station filling up his truck. He sees a guy there with a bunch of cedar logs in his truck. So, Scott being Scott, he approaches Cedar Guy and asks him what he’s planning to do with it. Cedar Guy tells Scott that he’s cut down a bunch of trees for his mother. He’s cut some of the wood into 3-5 foot portions because he thinks they would be nice to burn in his fireplace, but most of it is uncut and he’s not quite sure how he’ll get rid of it.

Scott offers to take it off Cedar Guy’s hands. Cedar Guy agrees, but he wants Scott to pay for his gas to get it over to Scott’s house. Scott agrees, and off they go. As a bonus, Scott offers to fill up the guy’s tank afterwards, too. Cedar Guy is thrilled, and Scott has a bunch of beautiful cedar logs, some of which are going into the Recycled House with the rest going into the house Scott’s building for himself, if he ever gets around to actually building it.

Builder Scott was mentioning for quite some time that we should have some sort of cornerstone for the Recycled House. I was rather ambivalent, but he kept mentioning it. Then, one day, I get something in the mail from a company called W.A. Hartman. It’s a big piece of paper, with “401 B Hedge” on it. It’s a pattern of some sort.

I mention this to Scott. He’s pleased that I’ve got it. W.A. Hartman is the local tombstone company. He’s contracted with them to carve us a cornerstone. They’ve sent the proof. They want a grand total of $34 for it.

I happily agree. We make some modifications to the layout. They make it. We send it back a few times, because we want to background to be brown, not black. So it ends up costing like $100. It’s nice, though, don’t you think?

When it comes to snacking, sweets aren’t my downfall. Potato chips are my weakness. Which is why I stopped buying them. First, I hate paying $3 - $4 bucks a bag for the fancy ones. They’re potatoes, for goodness sake, and potatoes are cheap. Second, it’s very difficult for me to remove a big handful, place them on a plate with my sandwich, and just eat those. I can basically eat a whole bag in just about one sitting. That makes me feel bad about myself. Hence, the Potato Chip Ban.

Simply because I’ve stopped purchasing them doesn’t mean I don’t want them. So every once in a while, I cut up a potato, heat up a bunch of oil in pan, and make them. They come out great, but I hate messing around with all that oil.

I was on the web a few weeks ago looking at baked potato chip recipes, which seem to be healthier. And then, I stumbled across a MICROWAVE recipe. Woo-hoo! After some experimentation, I’m now making them um, nearly every day.

Here’s how: (makes 1 serving)

1. Use one medium size potato. Not the waxy kind. The russet-y kind.
2. A food processor with the slicer blade makes slicing the potato take like one second. A mandolin would be good, too. Or just use a knife to cut thin slices.
3. Arrange in concentric circles on a plate. Spray with cooking spray, or brush with olive oil. Don’t drown them, and don’t spray the crap out of them. Turn over, and repeat.
4. Sprinkle with salt. Or salt and pepper, or whatever it is you like on your chips. Experiment with salting on both sides, or just one side. Note: do not think you can salt them after they’re cooked. You can’t. The salt doesn’t stick.
5. In my microwave it takes about 9 minutes. Microwave temperatures vary, so watch ‘em at the end. They turn brown at the very end. Just cook ‘em until they are as brown and crispy as you like. Toast your bread for sandwich, make your sandwich, do a few dishes from yesterday and play with your pets for a few minutes and they’ll be done.
6. Enjoy!

We’re finally starting to go UP! Builder Scott has started framing the back end of the structure where our little sunroom will be. The center part will contain one of our gigant-o windows, and although it’s a small space, it should be a pleasant one.

We’ve been lucky enough to have a young fellow named Jamison who’s been helping out Scott for the last couple of weeks. He’s been a pleasure, as he speaks English, takes direction well, and digs ditches like there’s no tomorrow.

Jamison is leaving town, so the search is on for some more helpers.