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The House That ‘SAM’ Built
© - Tom Hyland - 12/9/11
PAT ... CONTRACTORS ... AAH ...
THAT'S ANOTHER WHOLE 'BALL OF WAX!'
In '79, after living in our first home for 9 years, we decided to build a custom home. Got a 2nd mortgage for 20 Grand, purchased 2.5 Acres in Carroll County for $16K. At that time, 1 acre in Baltimore County cost $25K.
Had an insurance client who just started building homes - 'Knight's Home Improvement' - Sam Knight was a 'Nam Vet' who showed us some custom plans on homes he had already contracted which were truly impressive! And he had 'charisma'!
Picked out floor plans from 2 different homes in 2 different books, we wanted to 'blend' together. No problem! Architect drew up our plans.
All Brick Rancher, 80' Foot Wide, by 30' Deep, 3 Bedrooms & 2 Baths on concrete slab on Left, 2-Car Over-Sized Garage with Full Pantry, Laundry Room, & Powder Room on slab on Right, 30' X 30' Basement w/Oil-Fired Furnace & Central A/C in Center, All Capped by a ‘Hip Roof’, Fold-Down Stairs in Garage to Huge Attic Storage Area, w/Plywood Flooring.
Huge Family Room w/Heat-Olator Brick Fireplace & Hearth in Center, French Doors to Patio Exit, Formal 6' Wide Foyer, Sunken Living Room, Raised Dining Room w/ Parque Wood Tile Floor, Huge Eat-In Country Kitchen w/Custom Wooden Cabinets & Butcher-Block Counter-Top, All the Rest was Fully Carpeted, Anderson Cantilevered Thermal Windows Throughout!
Other Amenities too numerous to mention - Total Contract Price was Only $45,000.00. We Signed quickly on the proverbial 'Dotted Line'!
Everyone who saw the Plans said: "NO WAY!"
This Home would have to cost $80,000.00!"
Sold our $15,000 home for $45,000, moved into a Townhouse Rental, and Broke ground in October 1979. IT RAINED 19 DAYS THAT MONTH!
In order to keep his men working, Sam asked permission to build the A-Frames & Walls inside his huge Barn - Agreed! When the ‘Rains of Ranchipur’ finally ended, one morning in late October, this Huge Flat-Bed Truck came slowly rolling down the hill, to our dead-end Cul-de-Sac. It was truly a sight to see!
The Hole had been dug, Block Foundation constructed, Plywood Underlayment installed, Land Graded, Well Dug, Septic System installed, and our basement ‘Swimming pool’ all Pumped out!
The crew of about a dozen men went to work quickly. Exterior Walls up in a Flash! Rafters installed. One by One, each A-Frame gingerly lowered in place by a Crane. The sound of hammers pounding in nails everywhere was ‘Music to our ears!’ Plywood roofing capped it all.
It was like a Miracle - from Nothing to a Structure - in One Weekend!
Our ‘New Custom-Built Home’ was ‘Under Roof’ - Truly a REALITY!
Our first ‘Hint’ became obvious when, one morning I noticed that Sam was ‘Knocking Back’ his Third Beer at 8 AM! He had to bring in another Roofer to do the Shingles on the Hip Roof - he Didn’t Know How! Meanwhile the inner walls were constructed - Sub-contractors - Electricians, Plumbers, were busily doing ‘their thing’ ... each and every ‘change’ or additional Receptacle, or whatever COST EXTRA!
The day the concrete slabs were poured, we found out Afterwards that Sam FORGOT to have the DUCTWORK laid in FIRST! DUH? The entire Ductwork that fed the two End Wings had to be installed UP in the Attic!
We found out the Very Next Winter how much ‘Heat Loss’ occurred because this Huge Metal Ductwork had NOT been INSULATED! I later did this job MYSELF!
We had hoped to be snugly in our home for Christmas - DIDN’T HAPPEN!
Two weeks before Christmas Sam showed up LATE at our Attorney’s office, DRUNK AS A SKUNK! “Don’t worry, I’m gon’na finish yer little house!”
Those were his famous Last Words! He had already filed for Bankruptcy! Everything he Owned, including his own Farm, Homestead, and Business were all in his Wife’s Name! Three other ‘Suckers’ ahead of us were Stranded with uncompleted homes, and had already Filed to SUE him!
As our Attorney advised - “You can’t get Blood out of a Turnip!” Trying to file would be throwing good money after bad!
The only thing that Saved our Butts was that the Real Estate Agent who had sold us the property, had ‘Made a Deal’ with Sam - he had Himself on the contract as the Builder, and Sam was only a Sub-Contractor. Dick thought he was going to make a ‘Quick Easy Buck’ for doing Nothing! As he had a very good reputation in this county to uphold - He Was STUCK!
“Thank God for Small Miracles!”
My wife and I learned quickly how to make phone calls, to compare prices, and hire new sub-contractors to finish various jobs. Dick brought in some ‘Hill-Billy’ as the main Sub. WE WERE SCARED!
One week-end, we got the whole extended Family from Both Sides to show up. Set up ‘Hobby-Horses’ in basement, people used rags to stain all the finish moldings, others came behind and ‘wiped down’ the long strips, others brought them up to my nephew, Dan Sizer (WHO SAVED OUR ARSES) - and myself, and other male relatives who did the finish cutting and nailing. It was like an assembly line in a factory!
Still others went all around the property, picking up all of the multitudinous scraps and junk and waste from construction that were strewn everywhere. A Huge pile about four feet deep was made, that had to be later hauled away. NOTE: Much later, we found out that Sam had a huge amount of the same crap BURIED out back by a Bulldozer! Nothing would GROW in that area!
One weekend while doing a ‘walk-through’ Dan and I discovered that the 'Hill-Billy’ guy had the overhead Bulk-Heads in the Kitchen ‘roughed in’ with flimsy 1 X 3 firring strips - Dan took a crow-bar and knocked them all out - ditto on the Shower frame in the Master Bedroom area. We put up notes for ‘H-B’ that WE will do these! Dan re-did all properly with sturdy 2 X 4’s.
Dan and I rented a Paint Sprayer, and did all the walls ourselves. We also installed all the necessary receptacles and hoses for a Central Vacuum System. And Dan, one of his ‘Biker’ Buddies, and myself did all the Paving and Troweling of the Cement Sidewalks and huge Patio. What a Back-Breaking job that was!
There’s plenty more that went WRONG - but suffice it to say, that I Swore that I would Never Ever build a Custom Home Again!
It took a Second Mortgage to finally finish this Sucker, at a Total Cost of $71,000.00 ... and Still a BARGAIN!
We finally got an ‘Occupancy Permit’ in mid-April of 1980 - paid out RENT for 9 Months, instead of the planned 3 months! After 5 years, I was so SICK of MOWING those 2+ Acres that all I wanted afterwards was a ‘Postage-Stamp’ size Lot!
To end this apparent ‘Tale of Woe’ with GOOD NEWS ...
We lived in this Fine Structure, which we were extremely PROUD of, for Five Years, with many fond memories of enjoying Nature ‘Out in the Sticks’.
Flora and Fauna Abounded Everywhere - Visitors seen: Deer, Quail, Partridges, Bunny Rabbits, Snakes, ONE RAT ... and even one beautiful Spring day, a young Heron alighted on our driveway ... everyone in the neighborhood was delighted. After resting awhile, and getting a ‘drink’ of water we supplied - Whoop - Whoop - Whoop ... off he went, flapping his 3-5 Foot Wing-Span!
OH ... Yes, we SOLD this Beauty for $135,000.00 -
Not a Bad Profit - Eh Wot?
Moved back into Reisterstown, into a much smaller home, took a 9-day Vacation trip to Disney in Orlando, Florida, and for the First Time in our lives - had $13,000.00 IN THE BANK!
GOD BLESS SAM ... ANYWAY!
© - TKH.
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And LOL at old Brother Jersey below!
Regis
Good write Tom. Thanks Dick