Crap-The Gathering

Part 2 of this blog concerns 'Cheap'.

Perhaps growing up po' meant that I learned how to make do on less from an early age; now that I'm in my 'peak earning years', I still don't pay full price for anything if'n I don't have to.

Ergo, what do I need to build a house? I need lots of materials, a place to keep all that stuff while I get ready to build, and something to haul all of that stuff around in.

A truck for hauling stuff. Check. Used to have a beat up Nissan 5 speed that would have been perfect, but it was stolen from my house about two years ago. Man, I miss that truck! So, I put out 'feelers' for another cheap truck.

One day, my across the street neighbor, a retired Navy vet, came trudging across the cove towards me like Popeye after a weekend spinach bender. He glared at me and asked, "You still lookin' for a truck?" "Yeah," I said, wary that questions like from him tend to end with me doing slave labor for him for free or riding shotgun--literally--as he makes a run to Tijuana for Interferon on a "can't miss" deal he has.

He stretched out his hand; in it was a key on a cheap key ring. "Here's the key to my truck; I just bought a new one," he said.

Amazing. A 1993 Ford Ranger for free. Can't get much cheaper than than. And, it's a five speed, has a bed liner, and is an extended bed, to boot. Now I had something to haul my stuff in when I go dumpster diving around the construction sites. Total Cost So Far: $0

A storage shed. Ok, this also has a story behind it. My son's house in Mississippi sits next to a self-storage place. The town is in the exburbs (a suburb of a suburb) and prices are lower; thus, the cost of a 10'x10' storage shed is only $45 a month. I had an old pad lock set, so I rented the unit on a six month lease, knowing that by mid-summer I could either go month to month on the rent or start building the house with the contents of the shed. Cost: $45/month for six months= $270; Total So Far: $270

Another storage shed. Our next door neighbors got divorced. One man's misery is another man's...free shed. Jeremy, my neighbor, came over as he was loading his moving van and told me that I could have the 8'x4' storage shed--made by Rubbermaid and fairly new--and all of its contents. Within the hour, I had the shed broken down and moved to my larger storage shed. It will make a great composting toilet once I erect it at our site and cover the outside with some cob! It has its own floor, too, and is completely weather proof. The bonus here is that there were several tools inside--rakes, hoes, and shovels--as well as some solar patio lights. Cost: $0; Total So Far: $270.

Sliding Glass Doors. My work as a facilities specialist allows me to supervise rehabilitation of the properties we manage. One such rehab involved a 152 unit complex in North Mississippi located minutes from our house. The contractor in charge of the job is a good friend; when I saw that the job included the replacement of all patio doors in the complex, I immediately asked Ron, the contractor's job supervisor, to save two buildings' worth of doors for me. He did.

Now, I have 16 sets (32 glass doors total) of tempered glass doors in aluminum frames. Some of them will make a great south-facing wall for my house to gain thermal mass (and free light) in the winter; others will be employed to build the greenhouse that Jan will use to grow veggies and herbs year-round. Cost: $0; Total So Far: $270.

More cheap building material finds in the next post!