Site Member Introductions

[KSever]

Just found this thread some how. Any way I'm KSever, not retired yet but hopefully soon.
Married to a wonderful lady who knows her construction business who I met through working in apartments (she actually told me how to do my job as a tenant), she grew up with a father in the electrical supply business, she went to school for construction and now serves as Director of Construction for a Large shoe store developer.
We just recently BOUGHT our first own house which was built in 1885, first project was to move the entire kitchen from the location upstairs to it's new location on the first floor and level the floor in the new kitchen area.

Have lived and worked all over the country (USA).
Building Engineer since 1979, have worked hands-on in several different environments. Hotels, High-rise, Class-A apartment homes, strip center malls, and hospitals.
HVAC certified
Pool Water Tech
Currently working on certification for waste water treatment plants

History:
Asst Chief Engineer at Orange County Hilton, California
Lead Building Engineer for several Apartment communities in Southern CA
Chief Engineer Commercial High-rise in Chicago,IL area
Director of Engineering for several Apartment communities in Chicago,IL area
Chief Engineer Apartment High-rise in Detroit,MI area
Director of Maintenance for 18 commercial properties in Milwaukee, WI
Chief Engineer Woodfield Suites Hotel Madison, WI
Chief Engineer House on The Rock Resort Spring Green, WI

[Troy]

quote:Originally posted by dkpbxman

Hi, I'm Dan. Born and raised in NYC. Engineering college for two years till I dropped out (after all the hard stuff and it was just getting interesting-----Duhhhh!)
Went back to the City, NYPD for 16 years, retired, RAN out of the City, took up skydiving/parachute rigging, got my Real Estate license, did that until I closed on a house, worked in Home Depot (Lumber/Bldg Supplies dept.)until it felt like my fingers were being pulled out of my hands-those bags of cement/gravel/sand etc. are heavy!
Now I try to fix up the house and do as much of the work as possible, till the money runs out and I have to go back to work.

Dan

Welcome to the forum!

Try

[dkpbxman]

Hi, I'm Dan. Born and raised in NYC. Engineering college for two years till I dropped out (after all the hard stuff and it was just getting interesting-----Duhhhh!)
Went back to the City, NYPD for 16 years, retired, RAN out of the City, took up skydiving/parachute rigging, got my Real Estate license, did that until I closed on a house, worked in Home Depot (Lumber/Bldg Supplies dept.)until it felt like my fingers were being pulled out of my hands-those bags of cement/gravel/sand etc. are heavy!
Now I try to fix up the house and do as much of the work as possible, till the money runs out and I have to go back to work.

Dan

[floorman]

Whats up'names DAve and i have been bouncing around in the trades my whole life(41) now siding,roofing,windows,rehabbing,went to school for home inspector which i'm still trying to pursue, before ending up in flooring with ceramic tile and marble being the specialty.
Was offline for a while while the computer was on vacation or crashed or something like that.So back on now and hopefully will be here for a while.
Good idea whoever that was that suggested this[8D]

Floorman
floorlayers union local 1310

[tin_man_don]

Just stopped by to say Hello

My name is Don also known as tin_man_don on ebay

I do all my own projects and love it

Don

[fauxfinisher]

hello all
My name is Jan and I am a decorative painter from Atlanta GA
glad to find this site
because I am also a stubborn do it myselfer
with a weakenss for woodworking tools
I was at a yard sale this morning and actully passed up buying a 12 "
dewalt compound miter saw for $150[:0]
I already have a makita
but not a compound one!!
I am telling you my inner resolve is awsonme!( plus I didn't have the extra $150 today)[V]

are there any more fancy painters around?
I have come across some exceptional brushes for mural painting and faux.
if you are interested I 'll send you some info

nice to meet everyone
Jan





If you love to Faux but need more clients

https://www.FauxBizSuccess.com

free report, seminar & e-course

[craignlisa]

Hi, I'm Craig. I live here in the beautiful horse country setting of St-Lazare, Canada. Just moved here from the city of Montreal.

I had been working in Engineering for 20 years, the last 4 in upstate NY. I was a structural mechanical designer. Loved my work (being an inventor was great), but could no longer handle the stress of ridiculous deadlines set by ridiculous people. My sideline has always been renovations and one day I decided to leave it all and change careers. I took a chance and moved to a calmer setting where people still say, "Good Morning", or "Have a nice day". -Sounds silly but I wanted to raise my kids in an area that reminded me of the time when I grew up and being a good person meant something.

The renovation business is booming out here. The homes range from $150,000 to 4 or 5 million! The work is slower pace (for me, that is). My specialty is crown mouldings or chair rail/wainscoting or any other type of trim. I can do most general renos ranging from basement finishing to deck building to kitchen/bathroom remodeling, etc... Just love the challenge!

My Engineering skills help because I design in 3D. It truly helps a client envision the outcome of his project-even before he spends a penny.

I am consciencious about what I do. I love what I do. Although Engineering is a noble profession, I have to say working for myself, meeting people one-on-one and less stress is already paying off (don't have those upper shoulder muscle pains anymore).

I just wanted to end by writing that this forum is great! I can tell you it really helps to have all the professional contractors out there giving us a hand (from their experience). I hope I can one day be able to help somebody with a problem or query.

Anyhow,

Signing off,

Craig

PS to Hayzee518: I worked in Plattsburgh, NY on the old Airforce base for a company that designs and manufactures train parts for major train builders. Very beautiful area-especially those Adirondacks!

[tech77]

I am brand new to this forum as you can see this is my first post. However I am from the Kansas city area and I am an Audio Visual Technician for a school district. I do have a degree that doesnt have a lot to do with my occupation but thats normal. I am 28 with a happy family.

I guess I am what people call a MR. FIX IT. Every where I go, everyday I wake up I deal with broken stuff and never tell people that I cant Fix it because it depends on how much the person is willing to spend to solve the problem. I use that about everyday...Thats what my grandfather taught me.

I hope that I can ad some know how to this forum to save people time and money...

[Moonmaedyn]

Okay...my life story...

I'm one of those typical "Yuppies" but I never intended to be. I am female, in my mid-forties and had it "up to here" with the establishment. Didn't want to be what I was doing when I grew up (managed 2 large shopping centers in Northern California). Wasn't the game plan, but when you have a $1200 mortgage, you do whatcha have to do. There has to be more to life than being management.

Went in one morning and quit my job. Yep. Walked right up to the boss and said, "I'm going to school. Never had a chance to before. Can't afford to and work part time here. Sellin' my house and movin'."

And I did. Bought a really big old weird farmhouse in Ohio 10 months ago and have been redoing (more like UN-doing) things ever since. Have already sunk my nest egg in it and still haven't finished one room. Well it WAS really bad off, but at least I don't have that stupid payment hanging over my head every month. That's what keeps me going![:I]

Enrolled in school for the fall--going to become a "building restoration techinician" and already have a tentative position with a firm in the Boston area when I graduate. Graduation isn't for two years and yeah, I know I'll be forty-seven, but hell, I'll be forty-seven ANYWAY, right?

In all honesty--all the problems with this place aside, it has been a rebirth of sorts. Neither my husband (bless his heart, he came willingly into this mess with me) or I have worked outside the house for this entire time and we don't have television and believe it or not we have NOT killed each other, so it's been a rebirth of our commitment to each other, too. It's easy to let things get lost when you're doing the forty hour a week thing with a bunch of strangers or people you don't even like very much. Nearly 18 years and I still like him. Whatzupwiththat?!

So, I guess I'm what you might call a "new age" type of person and I have taken the vital steps to healing my soul. That may seem like a goofy thing to say, but I feel better about myself working on this crappy house than I have in a LOOOOONG time. Yes, it IS truly all about ME. There, I said it and I feel BETTER! LOL!

[LazyPup]

Hi Anne, and welcome to the forum...I think i can speak for all when i say we look forward to helping you.

Do not be too overly concerned about knowing all the words, especially in the plumbing field. While knowing the proper nomenclature does help communicate problems, designs or ideas, there is also a long list of words common to plumbers that simply doesnt bear repeating in mixed company..

[asprentz]

I guess I'd better introduce myself because I think I'm going to be hanging around here alot! After putting 20 yrs in the army, my husband retired 2 yrs ago and we bought our first house. Now, he's working crazy hours and has no time for home repairs. This house was built in 1956 and needs alot of repairs. I'm the one who does anything dealing with the house, and hubby is the one who works and makes the money. So, I'm new at all this, but I have the time, and the interest in getting my house fixed up. I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, but I lack the knowledge to do alot of things. That's where this site and you wonderful people can help me!

Anyhow, I'm Anne, and I hope you all don't get tired of me. I don't know all the correct words to use, so bear with me, please.

[BevTheBuilder]

Hi Everyone,

I live in Winnipeg, Canada, have been a police officer for 20 yrs. Hubby and I purchased a house two years ago, it's about 18 yrs old so we bought it just in time to upgrade everything! We both try hard to do some of the work ourselves but sometimes that just isn't possible. Since 2003 we have replaced the furnace, new lino, new carpet, ripped off wall paper and painted, built a deck, chopped out some trees and the list goes on. By the time we get this place the way we want it, one of us will get transferred! (Hubby's in the military so we move often) The big thing this year will be new shingles on the roof. Lots of projects but all worthwhile. We both enjoy doing these home improvement projects - well, maybe I like them more than he does. In addition to projects, I live for gardening and yard work. I hope our next move takes us somewhere that I can do it 12 months of the year!

So happy to have found this forum, it has been extremely helpful and the advice has been just great. Thanks everyone.

"Incontinence Hotline...can you hold please?"

[gypsy55]

Hi,
Im sorry hayzee thinks the worse of me,thought he cared alot for me ,I guess hes kind of put out because Im a member here.Oh well guess its not big enough for both of us,so Ill bow out graciousely.We are not bf/gf in a few days,So I will wish him the best.He does get very jealouse on here by some of the good responces from these nice people,so watch out,hes not who he seems to be,for anyone who would like to know.Im sad he has put a bad word in here about me,guess everyone is intitled to their oppinion.Thank you for the warm welcome for me here.

Linda Lee

[C Benware]

[:I]
Oops! I goofed up on my first post...the bun left the oven
9 months ago, that was right about the time that all of my
home improvement projects came to a screaching halt. So, no
I have no medical excuse for my lack of motivation...

...Stress is when you wake up screaming & realize that you weren't even sleeping...

[C Benware]

Hello everyone,
I am really stoked to have found this site...so far a lot of my questions have been answered and I can feel the embers of motivation heatin' up.
I am a CAD Drafter, I'm supposed to be going back to school to get my degree in Engineering, but haven't figured out what area I am most likely to be happy with.
Up until we purchased our first home last year, I didn't have any experience with major home improvements/repairs. Since the purchase I have layed a ceramic tile floor, stripped and repainted my kitchen cabinets, put fluted glass inserts in said cabinet doors, stripped more wallpaper than should be legal for 1 house, put back up just about that much paint/wallpaper, faux finished 3 rooms worth of walls and put down peel and stick linoleum. Now that the bun is in the oven, I have ideas but no time or energy.
A lot of apprehension, and never enough money...that's my excuse.
It's been a year since we've taken ownership and I have about 10 years worth of projects...so I expect that I will be here a lot.
You all seem like a friendly bunch (w/ the exception of a couple of not so nice posts from a couple of people) and your advice and instructions are very re-assuring. I can't wait to post.[:I]


...Stress is when you wake up screaming & realize that you weren't even sleeping...