troycockblow
Hard Member
Posts: 104 Join Date: Nov 7, 2018
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Post by troycockblow on Mar 17, 2019 13:03:08 GMT -5
Not a homeowner - don't have any chance at all of owning anything any time soon. But I always fantasize about building a DIY natural swimming hole at a house someday.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2019 13:11:19 GMT -5
LOL i wish
My landlord is super chill tho and was like idc do whatever
So I repainted the entire house stark white. I have one black wall in my bedroom and I cleaned up the garden boxes in the back.
I need a new light fixture in the kitchen above the sink.
Like everything ive done has made the place 1000x nicer and is also reversible.
Our deck is half lattice and we want to make the entire thing lattice because it overlooks our driveway/back lane and homeless people are always digging through our trash. So if it’s all lattice I can grow ivy to cover the entire thing so no one can see me lol
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troycockblow
Hard Member
Posts: 104 Join Date: Nov 7, 2018
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Post by troycockblow on Mar 17, 2019 13:31:23 GMT -5
We stayed at an "eco-village" on vacation once that had a natural swimming hole. It was like swimming in a pond. The person who built was still learning what worked and what didn't. They used burlap on the sides which the algae loved, so it was a little gross getting in and out. I want to make one out of a container crate. I love the photos I see of these things, but your tale here is exactly what has me super tentative of ever really going for it.
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ehmvincent
Turgid Member
Posts: 1,223 Join Date: Jan 11, 2019
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Post by ehmvincent on Mar 17, 2019 19:32:11 GMT -5
Just cleaned up my yard and garden today getting ready to plant for the summer, but a couple weeks ago I ripped up my carpet and redid the hardwood floors. I got an old ass house so every couple months we got projects going on. Gonna work on my back yard next and turn into more of a BBQ patio thing.
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bravecaptain
Pulsating Member
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Post by bravecaptain on Mar 17, 2019 19:36:13 GMT -5
This’ll be the slowest moving thread
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bandrus1
Quivering Member
Posts: 321 Join Date: Jun 27, 2018 Likes: 279
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Post by bandrus1 on Mar 17, 2019 19:41:28 GMT -5
I'm hoping to have a ventless fireplace insert installed here shortly. I'm doing more research at the moment but may have to go vented
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foggy
Throbbing Member
Posts: 3,229 Join Date: Nov 8, 2018
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Post by foggy on Mar 18, 2019 8:16:32 GMT -5
Projects on the horizon:
Replacing my garage door opener Aerating my lawn (around mid-May) Power washing my front and back porch
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Post by escapedfromthevalley on Mar 18, 2019 9:17:04 GMT -5
6 years into owning a 1960 ranch that sits on 3/4 of acre. Love the house, yard, and the neighborhood. Early on we stripped carpeting, refinished hardwood floors (original from 1960 and never previously refinished!) and painted two of the three bedrooms. Put in full perimeter drains in the basement last year (after taking on 7 inches of water last fall). We've got LOTS of dream projects, but not a ton of time since we both commute 3 hours every day. Next BIG $$$ project is going to be asbestos abatement (vermiculite in attic) which I'm not really looking forward to, but I cannot even change out an exhaust fan in the bathroom right now without having it done. Both bathrooms and kitchen need Renos, but those will definitely wait some more. I have a small project to install RCA jacks in the living room walls for rear channel speakers, or possibly built in wall speakers. We'll see.
Outside is where I really shine.I love working in the yard every moment I can. I've removed over a dozen shrubs (all as old as the house I think) around the house over time and replaced them with flower beds for my wife (in front) and herb/vegetable beds (in back)l. I've built two raised beds in the backyard for more vegetables and herbs. CAN NOT WAIT for it to get a little warmer and start yard cleanup and garden prep. Finally putting in a trellis for the hops I planted 5 years ago. They are now VERY healthy and climb all over the place.
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thelonelywaltz
Quivering Member
aka chrisND666
Posts: 407 Join Date: Jun 29, 2018
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Post by thelonelywaltz on Mar 18, 2019 9:36:39 GMT -5
moved in about a year ago.. spent probably 6 months completely gutting and remodeling the inside, hoping to have a new roof and siding put on this summer
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Post by escapedfromthevalley on Mar 18, 2019 9:46:16 GMT -5
It's crazy that so many people put carpet over their hardwood floors. I vote for built-in speakers. I've got four surround and four ceiling speakers, all flush with the walls and its super clean. I need to pressure wash our back porch too. The dogs get it real muddy and the hose just doesn't get it all off. Looking at that Worx portable pressure washer that runs on a battery. I have their wheelbarrow and its awesome. I'm all about the battery powered stuffs...got the Kobalt 80V lawnmower and dense nuggs of fat buds wacker. They all share the same batteries and work like a boss. No gas or oil to worry about. I've had great luck with gas engines so far (lawnmowers and snow blower). You just really need to keep them maintained and treat the gas. Some research on how to clean a carb has come in damn handy as well. When they go I'll def consider electric though. It really is easier. I've had an old non working 2-stroke chainsaw hanging around I want to see if I can get running too but that's more fun project than necessity. Last electric chain saw I used was so awesome I'd probably buy one of those when the time comes that I need one.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0 Join Date: Jan 1, 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2019 10:22:51 GMT -5
Moved in just shy of two years ago. Aside from painting, the only real projects we've done is putting up a small picket fence that I STILL haven't stained (but I'll be taking care of it soon), new carpet in the basement, and "wood" tile in the master bath.
We had a leak in our finished basement about 6 months ago, right before we got married, and are still waiting on a contractor to come replace the insulation and drywall. Once that done, I've got some serious reorganization to do.
Need to replace our front steps and porch. Not looking forward to what that's going to cost. Few lights need to be replaced, want to strip and re-stain our kitchen cabinets.
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rowan
Engorged Member
bexxxy
Posts: 2,402 Join Date: Jun 27, 2018
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Post by rowan on Mar 18, 2019 11:06:21 GMT -5
I bought my childhood home from my mom three years ago in May after watching her struggle for years with the maintenance on this 100+ year old place. Place needs so much work any loan I would need to take to get the major stuff done will be close to what I currently owe on it. I would never be able to afford home ownership on my celery and since I have three rental units plus my 4BR house in my building, it works. I'm just sick of throwing bandages on things and always handling smaller projects when I know so much needs to be done.
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mouthofinfinity
Pulsating Member
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Post by mouthofinfinity on Mar 18, 2019 16:24:27 GMT -5
Currently a condo owner and getting the place painted and ready to sell over the summer. I know whatever I move into is gonna have some projects because it’s impossible to get a move in ready place at a decent price in the part of NY I’m in.
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chuggingpus
Engorged Member
Posts: 2,650 Join Date: Jul 1, 2018
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Post by chuggingpus on Mar 18, 2019 16:43:14 GMT -5
Bought a trashed house that was built some time before 1760. It actually was part of an estate that belonged to Napolean’s brother who lived and died here in my city. He built homes for family members and my house is one of them.
I gutted the place and redid everything, added a half bathroom downstairs for my wife’s Yoga studio she teaches out of. Added a third floor since the place needed a new roof anyhow. It was previously an attic. Have 2 bedrooms up there and a bathroom I still need to finish. For now it just houses drums, a massive zine and record collection and various other shit we don’t want to throw away.
There’s arsenic in the soil so I’m waiting for the EPA to dig that out and resoil it. Once that happens I’ll possibly do something with the yard.
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Post by kneedeepinthedead on Mar 18, 2019 17:05:02 GMT -5
my wife and I are remodeling our office right now. it is one of the only rooms we haven't touched since we moved in over 7 years ago. it still had the same shitty particle board desk from the previous owners and it was the only room that still had carpeting in it, since we put hardwood floors throughout the whole house. after clearing the room out and removing the carpet, we painted it. We're not incredibly handy and figured hardwood would be harder and more expensive, so we decided to put down Pergo laminate planks, which is fairly easy to do after working with it a little bit. once we're done with that, i'm going to replace all of the door and floor moulding, and add crown moulding.
other projects we have in mind are replacing the planks on our wood deck, which I started doing last summer, renovating our laundry room, and probably hiring someone to finish our basement because i highly doubt i can do that.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2019 8:44:18 GMT -5
other projects we have in mind are replacing the planks on our wood deck, which I started doing last summer, renovating our laundry room, and probably hiring someone to finish our basement because i highly doubt i can do that. Not sure how handy you are, but pro-tip: If you're replacing boards, pre-drill holes in your new planks, and use screws, NOT nails, and fix any holes in the joists with wood filler. Before the people next door sold their house six to nine months ago, they had a crew "replace" the entire deck, but I saw them using nailguns instead of screws. And I already noticed one of the boards bowing because YOU DON'T HALF ASS A DECK WITH NAILS. Sidenote, I don't think they replaced or repaired the joists, so that's also probably why the nails are slipping out. So many fucking nail pops in my piece of shit deck. Called a reno company yesterday and having an estimate done Thursday. Buddy at work is their commercial banker, and he's going to try to mention that I'm having them do work to hook up a discount. Not counting on it, but hoping.
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foggy
Throbbing Member
Posts: 3,229 Join Date: Nov 8, 2018
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Post by foggy on Mar 19, 2019 8:57:03 GMT -5
Anyone dealing with shitty neighbors?
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leftbeef
Engorged Member
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Post by leftbeef on Mar 19, 2019 10:01:11 GMT -5
I've been in my house for about 3 years now. My wife has more projects in mind than I do, I don't really have any ambitions for the place besides living there and fixing shit when it breaks.
My neighbors are cool. Will have a beer with them and shoot the shit if it's nice out and we see them outside.
We did buy someone else's flip (was bought in Aug 2015 for $70K, back on market Nov 2015 for $180K, which is what we ended up paying for it in Mar 2016), which means there were some totally half-assed renovations. Everything looked nice, but the inspector (VA loans require one) pointed out (and we had the sellers fix):
- Upstairs bathroom sink was not hooked up to water or drainage - Upstairs crawlspaces on either sides of dormers were not insulated properly, filled with rats-nest looking insulation debris - A couple jets in the jacuzzi-tub (which is totally wasted on me, I'm 6'4" and like 280 lbs, I haven't sat/laid down in a bathtub since I was like 10) didn't work - No switch to turn on vent fan in upstairs bathroom - Kitchen sink would not drain, spewed brown debris into sink when garbage disposal was turned on - PVC plumbing had no purple primer on it to indicate properly glued pipes - Breakers were not labeled - Sump pump motor was dead - No internal on/off valve for exterior spigots
After all that was fixed, and we bought the place, we ran into the following issues:
- The "Pull this tab before installation" tab was not pulled from HVAC condensation pump, found out the first day we used the AC and it flooded our basement. - Moving bolts were not removed from washing machine before installation, so it walked across the room the first time it wen't into spin-cycle. - Roof (which inspector said had 8-10 years left in it) leaked, needed to be stripped and replaced as it had already had 3 layers of shingles on it. - Corrugated steel pipe from kitchen sink drain rotted through, so when the dishwasher drained a huge plume of water would appear on our outside wall on the side of our house (thanks, neighbors, for pointing that out) - Internal on/off valve for exterior spigot was installed, however they installed it in a place where if you turn it off, it not only turns off the water to the outside spigot, but it also turns off the cold water to the kitchen sink. - Thermometer sensor in the oven (which was new) died after 1 year of use.
Current things that are more inconveniences than emergencies are all pretty much electrical: - No external outlets, so I have to run an extension cord out the door to use outdoor electrical appliances. - Livingroom overhead recessed flood lights aren't on a dimmer, so either they're off, or bright as fuck. Bright as fuck is cool when I'm cleaning or searching for my keys or something, but not cool for any sort of chilling-type applications. Also, the on/off switch for said lights is also the on/off switch for the ceiling fan, so we don't really ever use the ceiling fan. - Kitchen needs some under-cabinet lighting and some brighter lights in general. When cooking I like my work-space to be operating-room bright. - Light bulbs in basement are those super-energy savers which take like 5 minutes to get fully bright, which is not what I'm looking for while carrying a laundry basket down the stairs. Those are one of those easy swaps that I've just never thought about any time I was anywhere that sold light bulbs.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2019 10:09:20 GMT -5
Anyone dealing with shitty neighbors? Not right now thankfully, but I grew up in a white trash neighborhood, so I feel like I'm at least fairly adept at navigating these kinda situations.
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crimsonotter
Throbbing Member
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Post by crimsonotter on Mar 19, 2019 10:30:52 GMT -5
I bought a nice chunk of property recently. Not sure what I’m going to build on it or if I’m going to just throw a camper on it.
That’s as close as I get to owning a home
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foggy
Throbbing Member
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Post by foggy on Mar 19, 2019 10:33:39 GMT -5
Anyone dealing with shitty neighbors? Not right now thankfully, but I grew up in a white trash neighborhood, so I feel like I'm at least fairly adept at navigating these kinda situations. I have hippie renters who live next door to me. They've chilled out lately, but in the past they've had parties that've been too loud (on weekdays, weekends I don't care). In the summer they spend all of their time outside blasting reggae music, pretty annoying if I ever have people over to hang out. Pretty much makes my back yard useless.
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Post by kneedeepinthedead on Mar 19, 2019 10:43:28 GMT -5
other projects we have in mind are replacing the planks on our wood deck, which I started doing last summer, renovating our laundry room, and probably hiring someone to finish our basement because i highly doubt i can do that. Not sure how handy you are, but pro-tip: If you're replacing boards, pre-drill holes in your new planks, and use screws, NOT nails, and fix any holes in the joists with wood filler. Before the people next door sold their house six to nine months ago, they had a crew "replace" the entire deck, but I saw them using nailguns instead of screws. And I already noticed one of the boards bowing because YOU DON'T HALF ASS A DECK WITH NAILS. Sidenote, I don't think they replaced or repaired the joists, so that's also probably why the nails are slipping out. So many fucking nail pops in my piece of shit deck. Called a reno company yesterday and having an estimate done Thursday. Buddy at work is their commercial banker, and he's going to try to mention that I'm having them do work to hook up a discount. Not counting on it, but hoping. thanks for the advice. that sucks that I have been replacing planks and using 3" deck nails for them. why shouldn't I use nails? because they have a tendency to pop out? all of the planks had nails previously and I was pretty much replicating how it looked previously.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2019 10:43:49 GMT -5
Not right now thankfully, but I grew up in a white trash neighborhood, so I feel like I'm at least fairly adept at navigating these kinda situations. I have hippie renters who live next door to me. They've chilled out lately, but in the past they've had parties that've been too loud (on weekdays, weekends I don't care). In the summer they spend all of their time outside blasting reggae music, pretty annoying if I ever have people over to hang out. Pretty much makes my back yard useless. Look into your local noise ordinance. All else fails, you can always counter the reggae with the first two Deicide albums. That shit even bums one of my dogs out.
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ehmvincent
Turgid Member
Posts: 1,223 Join Date: Jan 11, 2019
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Post by ehmvincent on Mar 19, 2019 10:48:05 GMT -5
Neighbors behind us across the alley like to get the fuck down during the summer, they throw shindigs that go til 2-3am with mariachi bands, bounce houses the whole thing. I don’t mind so much cause I’m distant enough where it’s not too loud and I like to have people over late sometimes too. I’m just surprised the direct neighbors haven’t said shit. Plus I just want an invite haha. Got some side neighbors that just don’t give a fuck and the place looks ran down but it looks like the landlord is slowly fixing it up as he can make more money since we got a housing crisis going on and people are paying out the ass for rentals, so they’ll probably be gone soon enough. Across the way It’s a polar opposite it’s a family of law enforcement folks who have bought up like 4 houses where there kids live and shit, barely see them except the retired dad who would bug me about my lawn and continually ask what I was gonna do with it like I had time on my hands like he does. But he’s laid off since he sees me doing shit when I’m Not working. Not a bad neighborhood.
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Yung Nick
Pulsating Member
troubled yoot
i enter the dragon no condom
Posts: 24,604 Join Date: Jun 27, 2018
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Post by Yung Nick on Mar 19, 2019 10:52:33 GMT -5
My apartment was a nice pad for about the first 2 months and now it looks like a 14 year old billabong hoodie wearing kid's bedroom
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0 Join Date: Jan 1, 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2019 10:57:53 GMT -5
Not sure how handy you are, but pro-tip: If you're replacing boards, pre-drill holes in your new planks, and use screws, NOT nails, and fix any holes in the joists with wood filler. Before the people next door sold their house six to nine months ago, they had a crew "replace" the entire deck, but I saw them using nailguns instead of screws. And I already noticed one of the boards bowing because YOU DON'T HALF ASS A DECK WITH NAILS. Sidenote, I don't think they replaced or repaired the joists, so that's also probably why the nails are slipping out. So many fucking nail pops in my piece of shit deck. Called a reno company yesterday and having an estimate done Thursday. Buddy at work is their commercial banker, and he's going to try to mention that I'm having them do work to hook up a discount. Not counting on it, but hoping. thanks for the advice. that sucks that I have been replacing planks and using 3" deck nails for them. why shouldn't I use nails? because they have a tendency to pop out? all of the planks had nails previously and I was pretty much replicating how it looked previously. I'm going to preface this by saying "I'm a banker, not a contractor," but I've talked about this project with dudes that have built way more complex shit than small decks, so I've kinda confirmed my logic. Plus, I've seen what the previous home owner half-assed and figured out some of the "why" to the nail pops, cracked boards, etc. Think about it like this: a nail has no real bite, so when the temperature fluctuates, the wood expands/contracts, so over time those fluctuations are going to drive the nail out of the wood. It's a much faster/easier way of replacing boards or building a deck from scratch, but will NOT hold up over time.
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agunrack
Engorged Member
reasonable and rhetorical
Posts: 2,267 Join Date: Jul 6, 2018
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Post by agunrack on Mar 19, 2019 10:59:48 GMT -5
i built a shed last year so that I can stuff it full of shit that's in my garage while I turn it into an actual little shop for working on my motorcycles and shit
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ehmvincent
Turgid Member
Posts: 1,223 Join Date: Jan 11, 2019
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Post by ehmvincent on Mar 19, 2019 11:15:24 GMT -5
i built a shed last year so that I can stuff it full of shit that's in my garage while I turn it into an actual little shop for working on my motorcycles and shit Did you build from scratch or get those assembly required? Currently looking to do this.
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foggy
Throbbing Member
Posts: 3,229 Join Date: Nov 8, 2018
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Post by foggy on Mar 19, 2019 11:16:57 GMT -5
I have hippie renters who live next door to me. They've chilled out lately, but in the past they've had parties that've been too loud (on weekdays, weekends I don't care). In the summer they spend all of their time outside blasting reggae music, pretty annoying if I ever have people over to hang out. Pretty much makes my back yard useless. Look into your local noise ordinance. All else fails, you can always counter the reggae with the first two Deicide albums. That shit even bums one of my dogs out. We've had bad encounters with one another, they mouthed off to my wife and that was my breaking point. We got into it and had to get broken up. Now I just call the cops whenever they get loud after hours. Hoping they don't renew their lease.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0 Join Date: Jan 1, 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2019 11:27:38 GMT -5
Look into your local noise ordinance. All else fails, you can always counter the reggae with the first two Deicide albums. That shit even bums one of my dogs out. We've had bad encounters with one another, they mouthed off to my wife and that was my breaking point. We got into it and had to get broken up. Now I just call the cops whenever they get loud after hours. Hoping they don't renew their lease. Oh hell no. I don't call the cops, but that shit would be on speed dial if someone mouthed off to my wife.
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