Silly rich people

[Beirut]

So, we get a five-day contract to clean up the storm damage at a customer's property. Lots of trees all over the place.

This is just one small corner of her property. There are at least a dozen spots like this.


And I still think they're lucky this didn't set off the propane tank.


The "silly rich people" part of all this is that the customers are tearing down their house and putting up a new one fifty feet away. Why? "Because the hallways are too thin. You have to hold the laundry basket sideways to get through to the kid's bedrooms." That's what she said to me.

So...



The crazy part is they left all kinds of stuff in the house. She, the customer, told me the house is getting torn down Thursday so take whatever you want. OK! Me and a few buddies looted the place like madmen. In the pic above you can see the windows that got cut out. Nice double pane crank case windows. We got about a dozen out. We also tore out all the kitchen cabinets (which still had stuff in them), wood paneling, bathroom fixtures, lighting, and a few truckloads of other stuff. They even left brand new stuff in there like a $200 Italian coffee maker which now sits comfortably in my kitchen. The bathroom upstairs had a jacuzzi bathtub and a really nice walk in shower with a glass doors, a 5x6 mirror, and a wall heated towel rack that bolts to the wall. We took the towel heater and the cabinets, but the rest had to stay. No time to take it out.

I also, with some effort, managed to abscond with a 400LB piece of granite which is going in my backyard. (I used small pipes to roll it out onto the balcony and right over the edge onto the grass. It landed and sunk a foot into the grass and stood straight up. Thank you God. Much easier to tip it into the truck.

Right now I'm in my computer room which is stuffed full of kitchen cabinets and chairs we took, and the downstairs is full of drawers and small tables and kids toys they left as well. My buddy loaded two full trucks (Ford F350 dumper) of stuff out of there just for him. It was like Christmas. The customer didn't mind a bit but it take a helluva lotta work to get all that stuff out.

Rich people... I tell ya. I'll get a few shots of the house today. Should be flat by lunch. Can't wait until the day is over, it's been a huge week, Work all day, loot all night, Not a lot o sleep. (But lots of free stuff!)

[Warmaster Horus]

That must of been fun!

[doc_bean]

e a $200 Italian coffee maker

Nice !

Though $200 seems a bit on the cheap side for a decent espresso machine...

[Csargo]

I don't see what makes them silly.

[Hepcat]

So is half the stuff bound for Ebay? Having a garage sale? Or are you going to keep everything?

It might be a good idea to befriend the owners if they are that loose with money.

Actually a similar thing happened at my friend's grandmothers house, people cleared the place out, took everything, even the back door. Except it wasn't with her permission.

Oh and Ichigo:
That's because you are a rich American

[Csargo]

So is half the stuff bound for Ebay? Having a garage sale? Or are you going to keep everything?

It might be a good idea to befriend the owners if they are that loose with money.

Actually a similar thing happened at my friend's grandmothers house, people cleared the place out, took everything, even the back door. Except it wasn't with her permission.

Oh and Ichigo:
That's because you are a rich American

Hilarious. They didn't need any of the stuff, so they didn't waste their time taking it out.

[HoreTore]

A friend of mine works as a carpenter, and he was fixing some guys cabin, when he noticed that the guy was dragging a 50" flat screen tv to the terrace. He asked him why he was doing it, and he responded that he bought the tv a couple of months ago, but he had just bought a new and better one, so he was going to through it off the terrace onto the hanger to his car he had stationed under the terrace, before driving it to the dump...

My friend kindly asked if he could do it instead, and is now the proud owner of a big freakin' TV, with a price tag of 40.000 NOK, or about 6.500 dollars...

Some people simply has too much cash on their hands.

[SwordsMaster]

Remember, Beirut, to pillage before you burn. Or tear down in this case.

Ah, they are good days when a man can loot his living...

[The Stranger]

Daddy... =D can i get a piece of the loot... you know... fair share and all... =D please!!!

[The Spartan (Returns)]

Well you got a big loot, let's call them generous rich people. Did you take the food too?

[edyzmedieval]

That's got to be like the best thing evar!
Looting a place with the owners consent. Oh man, I would love to do that!

[macsen rufus]

Nice pickings, Beirut, a great windfall indeed

I agree though, I can't undertsand this attitude "well, I've got a lot of money so it doesn't matter what I waste", and though I'm the last one to get hung up on "stuff", this stuff still took people time and effort to make, resources to be used etc etc. Gah, gah and thrice gah, I say!


But, boy oh boy, I sure hope it was the owner and not the babysitter you were talking to

[Beirut]

Nice !

Though $200 seems a bit on the cheap side for a decent espresso machine...

It wasn't one of the electric ones, though I wish it was. It was a stove top model like this. We paid $120 for ours and it makes 2 cups at a time. The one I found, which looks brand new, makes four cups.



The Stranger,

No work - no candy.


I wasn't kidding about the house going up fifty feet away. Where the shovel is, is where the house was. Where the dirt is, is where it's going.


Boy am I glad the week is over. Time to eat, drink, and sleep. Looting takes a lot out of a man. And stupid me cracked my big piece of granite in two this morning while getting it out of the truck. Gah!

[lars573]

And stupid me cracked my big piece of granite in two this morning while getting it out of the truck. Gah!

and lots of it.

Also my brother (who worked as a surveyor for 2 years) was wondering why it would take a week to clear out a dozen or so storm felled trees?

[Beirut]

[IMG]Also my brother (who worked as a surveyor for 2 years) was wondering why it would take a week to clear out a dozen or so storm felled trees?

I wish it was as easy as it sounds. It's not a dozen trees, it's a dozen sections of trees. Cutting a tree down is usually very quick. Cleaning it up... ahhh, therein lies the rub. You have to cut it down, then take the branches off, then make piles with the branches and drag the branches to the chipper and chip them either into the truck or into the woods, then cut the trunk in sections that can be carried, then you have to carry the wood to the truck, then you have to pass the rake and pick up the shnut (our word for rakings). Then you have to drive five miles back the yard once the truck is full, dump, then drive five miles back to the job, set up the truck and chipper in the next work area and do it all over again.

The trees that are in the woods on the property within sight of the house have to be dragged out of the bush. Cutting a forty-foot balsam is nothing. Cutting down a dead dry prickly forty-foot balsam that is half down, stuck in other trees is a mess. Then you have to clean up the mess. It isn't fun. Even the stuff that can stay in the bush has to be cut down, unstuck, branched, the trunk cut up, and everything moved into neat piles that you can't see.

Also, half the trees have to be climbed and some of the sections taken down with ropes. The big spruce in the first pic took the climber a half an hour just to get unstuck out of the maples it was in. There was serious tension with all the weight, the maples were bent over about 30 degrees. You have to get into the mess up there and cut it out without the whole thing snapping shut on you and taking your arm off. Also, you have to save the maples because Mr. & Mrs. Customer love their trees and get really mad if you wreck any. (Or the flowers which are inevitably under or near the tree in question. You want to piss off Mrs. Rich Customer - drop a big piece of wood right into her hostas. Goes over real well.)

This is the clean version of the mess by the shed. Compare it to the pic in my first post. It took some time, believe me.


You also have to maintain your tools. Hit a nail in the tree or a rock under a log and you get fifteen minutes of down time at the truck sharpening your chain, drinking coffee. Mmmm....

[SwordsMaster]

I think I like your job, Beirut. You need a hand for next season? I can imagine it gets trickier in winter though. Hence your ultra-caloric baking experiments. It all makes sense.

[FactionHeir]

I suppose that explains why Beirut is a "Tree Killer".
Nice looting. Happens often?

[Beirut]

Nice looting. Happens often?

First time.

I think I like your job, Beirut. You need a hand for next season? I can imagine it gets trickier in winter though. Hence your ultra-caloric baking experiments. It all makes sense.

Any time, brother. I'll pay for the plane ticket. Very hard to find good help. There are only two or three guys in town who can/will handle work like this and everyone wants them. When we get someone who will give us even two days a week, we treat them like gold in order to keep them. That's why 99% of our jobs it's just me and my partner. We've had lots of people quit after one or two days.

Winter is pretty quiet, mostly emergency jobs and some log home building. Biggest problem in the winter is keeping your hands warm, especially the climbers. Very hard to find gloves that stay warm, dry, and have a good tactile feel for hanging on in the tree. The stretchy wool ones with rubber palms and fingers are best, but far from perfect.

Lots of flightsims and cleaning the house in the winter. Good time to get fat.

[lars573]

I wish it was as easy as it sounds. It's not a dozen trees, it's a dozen sections of trees. Cutting a tree down is usually very quick. Cleaning it up... ahhh, therein lies the rub. You have to cut it down, then take the branches off, then make piles with the branches and drag the branches to the chipper and chip them either into the truck or into the woods, then cut the trunk in sections that can be carried, then you have to carry the wood to the truck, then you have to pass the rake and pick up the shnut (our word for rakings). Then you have to drive five miles back the yard once the truck is full, dump, then drive five miles back to the job, set up the truck and chipper in the next work area and do it all over again.

See this is what I though. My brother had the advantage that he only had to remove enough trees and undergrowth to get LOS for the survey gear. Plus they could just leave their junk there for the guy like you to deal with.

The trees that are in the woods on the property within sight of the house have to be dragged out of the bush. Cutting a forty-foot balsam is nothing. Cutting down a dead dry prickly forty-foot balsam that is half down, stuck in other trees is a mess. Then you have to clean up the mess. It isn't fun. Even the stuff that can stay in the bush has to be cut down, unstuck, branched, the trunk cut up, and everything moved into neat piles that you can't see.

Most trees in new developments around HRM are new growth. Not many more than 6 metres tall.

You also have to maintain your tools. Hit a nail in the tree or a rock under a log and you get fifteen minutes of down time at the truck sharpening your chain, drinking coffee. Mmmm....

That reminds of one of my little bro's adventure in tree killing. When the chainsaw kicked and cut-up his hand. Not serious, chainsaw glove took most of it. But my mom (being my mom) acted like his hand had been mutilated beyond repair. She tends to overact.

[CountArach]

Beirut, your job is awesome.

*Starts singing the Lumberjack song*

[SwordsMaster]

First time.



Any time, brother. I'll pay for the plane ticket. Very hard to find good help. There are only two or three guys in town who can/will handle work like this and everyone wants them. When we get someone who will give us even two days a week, we treat them like gold in order to keep them. That's why 99% of our jobs it's just me and my partner. We've had lots of people quit after one or two days.

Winter is pretty quiet, mostly emergency jobs and some log home building. Biggest problem in the winter is keeping your hands warm, especially the climbers. Very hard to find gloves that stay warm, dry, and have a good tactile feel for hanging on in the tree. The stretchy wool ones with rubber palms and fingers are best, but far from perfect.

Lots of flightsims and cleaning the house in the winter. Good time to get fat.

Hehe, I might still take you up on that, so be careful. Since academia finally releases me at the end of the month I'll be jobless and in debt by the end of summer...

Cutting trees in Canada might be better than programming in the UK...

[AntiochusIII]

Brings out the Viking in you.

[naut]

To get all that free stuff you have awesome karma.

[Hosakawa Tito]

Silly rich people don't get rich by being stupid. They're probably utilizing an insurance write-off for storm damage of some of that property. A win-win for both. Nice score. Can we expect to see pictures of the new addition on the Beirut Estate any time soon? A new family room and outside deck overlooking the cement pond and English Garden perhaps?

[Beirut]

Can we expect to see pictures of the new addition on the Beirut Estate any time soon? A new family room and outside deck overlooking the cement pond and English Garden perhaps?

I wish. I can get you a nice photo of my broken piece of granite, though.

Not sure when we'll be able to afford to put in the windows we took or the kitchen cabinets. The windows shouldn't cost too much and it will really make the house look better, inside and out. Putting in the kitchen cabinets will cost a chunk. Our kitchen is very small and we'll have to rip out part of the bathroom upstairs to make room for the new cabinets, which is ok because the bathtub we're getting rid of is redundant as well as leaky and unusable, and it would be great to have a bigger kitchen.

I can handle some of the destruction to save a few bucks, but I'm utterly incompetent as a carpenter, so we have to hire someone.

[Hosakawa Tito]

New windows are a joy. I just replaced all of my 34 year old wooden windows, 30 of them. I installed triple pane low e-glass vinyl ones, and though it cost me a pretty penny, was well worth the investment. No more rope caulking before winter, watching the curtains waving in the breeze even though the windows are closed, having to use a hammer and 2x4 block of wood to persuade swollen, sticking, windows with broken balance springs to open. A joy indeed.

A larger kitchen with more cabinet & counter space sounds nice, saving on the materials is a step in the right direction, too bad about the granite. Hope you can pull it off soon. I'm fortunate to have a few friends with different construction skills, I can do drywall, flooring, and some rough carpentry, but plumbing, furnace, and electrical stuff that is beyond the basics is not within my competency either. However, I do a little flooring job and get some electrical work done in return and everyone's happy.

[Beirut]

New windows are a joy. I just replaced all of my 34 year old wooden windows, 30 of them.

30? That's beaucoup windows. You live in a Hosakastle I guess.

We replaced four last year (and a patio door) and we thought it was a big deal. Mind you, we did the septic system as well at the same time, so maybe it just seemed big. But as a first time home owner, my woman got a grant from the government that covered about 75% of the cost. Very nice. She's allowed to apply for another grant but not for five years.

I'm fortunate to have a few friends with different construction skills, I can do drywall, flooring, and some rough carpentry, but plumbing, furnace, and electrical stuff that is beyond the basics is not within my competency either. However, I do a little flooring job and get some electrical work done in return and everyone's happy.

Except for killing trees, I'm quite the unskilled worker, however, my cement foundation work is pretty good and my cement pillars, for decks and house extensions, are second to none.

Always nice to trade work for work. Having an electrician you can trade with sounds great. Quite the luxury. I have a good buddy I've known for more than twenty years who is a good electrician and absolutely a master plumber, but getting the guy out of his house is nearly impossible. When he's off work and in front of his TV, he ain't moving for no one, no how, no where.

Another buddy built us a really nice 25x10 deck last fall (labour, not materials) in exchange for firewood (which I get free on the job). That was sweet. I've got another winter's worth of wood for him already and that will cover extending the deck around the front of the house. I think's he's already refused to do the kitchen. Too bad. Might be able to get him to do the windows, not sure. My small town is in the midst of a building boom and getting a carpenter on less than a few month's notice is very difficult.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

At least you're in a job for a while.

[Mikeus Caesar]

As someone who was also once given permission to loot a house, i can understand your glee. Nothing better than you and some buddies taking everything that isn't secured down properly.

And as for your job - i'm very jealous.

[Fragony]

If they are rich and live in a dump like that they are silly indeed.

ps, one of these?