Why I really dislike alot of people...

[whowey]

Things are EXTREMELY slow in the heavy construction industry this year and we have been taking short day and furloughs as a cost cutting measure.

I have been taking some maintence jobs on some local farms to help keep the bills payed. Overall its been good to be back on farms doing work for local farmers. Alot of the local guys can't afford to have extra hands around to do maintence work, or don't need someone full-time so this works out well.

I have done ALOT of brake work and wheel bearing work.. its almost I can see them in my sleep :D

A local dairy family lost their house to an electrical fire last winter and has had a fairly rough go of things since that point. Well, their air compressor for their milking system let go and they were in DEEP trouble. They attend a church in our area.. and this is how I came to be involved.

Someone at their church lent them a spare air compressor to get them able to milk again and at least generate some kind of income. An electrican/plumber that attended the same church wired and plumbed it in so it was good to go. But he warned them that the electrical system in their barn was woefully inadequite and the plumbing was a mess.
So their church held a secret fund raiser for them and raised $2500 for them. Someone from that church knew me, or knew my wife and said something to the priest at my wife's church.

I was called by the priest asking me if I would be interested in doing some replumbing and rewiring of their barn and some other maintence jobs to get their farm back in shape and help get this family back on the right path. Its hard enough to tell the local priest no, let alone when you don't attend Mass and your wife and kids do....

So I went out to their farm about 5 weeks ago to get a better handle on the situation.... IT WAS THE BIGGEST FREAKING DISASTER I HAVE EVER SEEN... If we had ever let our dairy get in this condition my ancestors would have risen from their graves and beaten us senseless. I was amazed the USDA hadn't pulled their permits to milk.... The condition of the buildings and equipment was deplorable.... Open circuit boxes.. pipes broken off and not capped.. the A/C was totally inadequate for the milk house, etc.,etc.,etc.

I contacted the priest and let him know I would repair as much as I could, but that the money they raised wasn't going to be enough to pay for everything these folks needed.

The wiring was just a mess.. it had been spliced and patched and cut and spliced and patched in so many places I ended up having to re-string the entire barn lighting system. I found alot of spots where the coating had worn off the wire and had made small burns in the beams and boards. Every single one had the potential of burning that barn to the ground.

The fuse box was the same way... almost 200 amps of electricity being pulled through a box orginally intended for 60 amps at most. The fuse that ran to the air compressor had burned out so someone wrapped in tin foil and screwed in back into the box. When that didnt work... they took a chunk of bare copper wire and jumpered past the fuse completely.

So after 3 weeks of 3 evenings a week and three Saturdays.. The electrical is finished.

I started checking the air-system by pressurizing it and looking for leaks.. or I should have said... trying to pressurize it. Seemingly every junction leaked.. And with 2 or 3 hours of pressurizing every day of the week without a line dryer, there were more than a fair number of leaks in the piping. So much of the piping had to be replaced...

So after 2 weeks of 3 evenings a week and 1 Saturday and Sunday. The air system has no leaks I can find... I fired up the air compressor.. it ran about 10 minutes and the unloader pops and the compressor goes into the idle mode. The owner of the farm asks what is wrong with the compressor, cause he has never heard it do that..... :sniper:


I haul his air compressor out of the barn and to his shop. Which is a 36x36 block building with 14 foot high ceilings having 12 foot doors. Which he cannot even get a car into.. because both bays are completely full of dead equipment, piles of parts, tools laying everywhere, etc., etc. This compressor has to sit about four foot inside the door as that is all the room there is.. the workbench I have is a sheet of 3/4 plywood set ontop of some old oil drums that were in there. The electric motor spins fine.. even with a bearing toasted in it. but the compressor itself is locked up so badly I cant even spin it with a 4 foot pipe wrench and my fat old 240lbs. jumping on the handle... I stuck my finger into the crankcase on the compressor and got dust on the end of my finger... there isnt even oil sludge in there...


So I get to spend this weekend tearing down the compressor to see if it can be saved... The churches are rapidly approaching the $2500 this stupid job paid.... Ohh.. and if the female half of the ownership team says one more time "jesus must have sent you to us"..I am going to bash her skull in with a pipe wrench...

[Mudderoy]

I'm not trying to make this into a political debate, so forgive me but as I read this it reminds me of the good intentions our government has when it tries to help people into a better life, and then how the people that are being taken care of turn out because of the help.

I think it is just amazing to me that you would be willing to help. I can understand going out and making as assessment and truly helping people is a good thing but as soon as I saw a few of the items you mentioned it would have been clear to me (as I am sure it was to you) that this wasn't a situation where people were just having a hard time and needed a little help to get back and they would help themselves for years to come.

I'd actually have to speak to the people to be sure, but this looks like a situation of something that was about to die for a very good reason. Had it died, the people would have either had to find something else to do or get with the program on their next venture.

The farm could have been sold to someone that either had the talent, money, or both to run it properly. They would have been more of a success and that is good for them, and the community. More taxes, and a better product.

No oil in the compressor? So much broken equipment that there's no room in the barn? A work bench that is a sheet of plywood? 200 amps through a 60 amp panel? All these things scream of stupidity, desperation, or both.

Tell your priest that you need to be considered for sainthood. I think most people would have just said NO WAY.

Thanks for sharing, very interesting story. I hope it has a happy ending.

[Voldemort]

You are a very good person for helping them,but may I ask why the people that live on the farm were not out there learning how to fix this stuff from you and helping you do the work? I mean I think that is what Muddy is trying to say is "Give a man a fish, and you've given him a meal. Teach him to fish, and he'll have food for a lifetime."

[xjarcher]

I understand where you are coming from. I enjoy helping people and I have started a simple project that turned into a full scale disaster many times. It's always more of a mess than they describe. I'm a perfectionist so just bandaiding something back together drives me quite batty. It happens more often than not.:( I'm building a woodshed for my neighbor and it's to his specs(hack job). I'm doing some extra stuff he isn't aware of because I don't want the snow load this winter to wreck it.
I get your frustration. However your restoration efforts will likely put them in a much better place than they could ever have put themselves in. Not every one does things first rate. Some "just get by". You are helping them do more than just get by.
Don't be frustrated by her gratitude, in today's society people aren't thankful for anything. As an educator of high risk kids, I can count on one hand the number of thank you's I've received in the past 4 years. You are ahead of me on one job! Give them all you can. Eventually that will come back to you.

[BlueXJ]

Whowey you need a second post to explain the first.

[GreenClassic]

This explains why the house was lost to an electrical fire.

I think this is where the phrase "No good deed goes unpunished" comes from.

[whowey]

I got involved with this project originally because of two factors. We really can use the extra cash. I dont like just scraping by on our budget. My wife and I both grew up that way and its a VERY uncomfortable feeling for us. The second reason is a bit more complicated. I'm not a big believer in organized religion. To me most seem to be like government, their primary reasons for existance is to ensure their existance. My wife however grew up as a fairly serious church-goer and is involved in that lifestyle. I believe that we were meant to live the teachings rather than sit around a few times a week and talk about them. I have been active in the parish "be the church" program where we go out in the community and help folks that need the help. The church splits the jobs into things that the members are interested in or have a talent.. An example... my wife cooks and bakes for folks that need it. If there is a funeral, you can guarantee that she will be the first at the fellowship hall cooking for the luncheon. But I generally help do painting or maintence projects. Some of the moer enjoyable ones have been reparing vehicles for folks down on their luck.

The family that owns this dairy are very nice people. But I'm not sure they are capable of the maintence requirements of a working dairy. They only milk about 80 head. Which in the modern world is an EXTREMELY small herd. And when you own a dairy farm you have no control over your income or expenses. The USDA sets the milk prices.. and your suppliers of course control the expenses(like every business). You are fairly capitive as a dairy farmer. Hence the reason many families are getting out and farming other things or just getting out of farming completely.

All of the things I have encountered are not sudden occurence things.. they are all the effects of years of negelected maintence. This farm has been in the owner's family for several generations. So it is a reasonable assumption that the neglect started before the current owners took over. Large portions of the piping we removed was decades old.. and some of the wiring was still cloth covered. I'm not sure if the culture was to not fix anything until it was completely unusable, or if they just have been walking the financial tight rope for that long.

The reason behind the workbench being a piece of plywood on some old drums, is that I can't physically get to the work benches that are built into the shop.. There is so much stuff,parts, broken things.. that it is simply too much to attempt to move around to use the workbenches. I actually found a truck chassis under a pile of boards and beams.. when I asked the owner about it.. he said that it was his father's dream to rebuild that old truck chassis. It is supposed to be a 40's International truck. But the owner of the farm no longer has any idea where the remainder of the truck is.

The sons of the farm owner have been helping me when they can. They are around my oldest daughter's age(13). So they also have significant farm responsibilities to attend to. The owner hasn't really helped beyond telling me the general area where I can find things usually. With him not having any farm hands he is busy trying to keep the farm production moving. Dairy farming is extremely labor intensive compared to grain production. Dairy farming never stops... its an all-day every-day type of operation during the summer months. The boys are nice kids, they have been asking questions and seemingly wanting to learn to care for the farm. The owner and I had a lengthy discussion about air system plumbing and getting a line dryer and the reasons for it. He showed a genuine interest in keeping the repaired plumbing in shape.


I'm not looking for sainthood.. how about a few good points to offset some of the bad things we all did when we were young???

I'm off for a few hours.. I've got some broken cement to repair and a sliding door to fix today. And maybe pull the heads off the compressor..

[Mudderoy]

Perhaps it's the "scanning" nature of my reading, but I didn't think you were getting paid. It sounds like the $2500 would be enough just to pay you.

[whowey]

The original deal with the church was that I was going to do a pre-set list of work with the $2500 and the remainder of the money after materials was to be mine. With the stuff I've finished I've got about $400 to get the parts to rebuild the compressor... If that is even possible....

[BlueXJ]

I do hope that the farmers kids break the cycle of "No maintenance" and you teach them a thing or two. I understand them a little better after your post explained the dairy business. I know nothing about the dairy industry except I love the products.
Maybe since you expressed interest in the truck you may be given it as a present for your work. It won't pay the bills but it would be a great gesture on their part. A fitting end for it I might add would be a complete restoration and it would be an example for those kids to see.

[whowey]

Well.. I had a fur-cation day today.. so I went and stripped the forms off of the repaired and re-poured concrete areas.. and finished fixing both broken sliding doors...

Just have to fix the compressor and I am done with what I agreed to do. I might actually come out with a little bit of money.. Certainly not what I normally charge.

Blue.. While having a 40's IH truck project would be outstanding.. Without a WHOLE lot more of the truck.. its not worth spending one more minute working out there.

[BlueXJ]

I assumed it was all therein the barn/workshop somewhere just in multiple places and pieces. I think that may be a fun project if parts are available for it from somewhere.

[Voldemort]

I got involved with this project originally because of two factors. We really can use the extra cash. I dont like just scraping by on our budget. My wife and I both grew up that way and its a VERY uncomfortable feeling for us. The second reason is a bit more complicated. I'm not a big believer in organized religion. To me most seem to be like government, their primary reasons for existance is to ensure their existance. My wife however grew up as a fairly serious church-goer and is involved in that lifestyle. I believe that we were meant to live the teachings rather than sit around a few times a week and talk about them. I have been active in the parish "be the church" program where we go out in the community and help folks that need the help. The church splits the jobs into things that the members are interested in or have a talent.. An example... my wife cooks and bakes for folks that need it. If there is a funeral, you can guarantee that she will be the first at the fellowship hall cooking for the luncheon. But I generally help do painting or maintence projects. Some of the moer enjoyable ones have been reparing vehicles for folks down on their luck.

The family that owns this dairy are very nice people. But I'm not sure they are capable of the maintence requirements of a working dairy. They only milk about 80 head. Which in the modern world is an EXTREMELY small herd. And when you own a dairy farm you have no control over your income or expenses. The USDA sets the milk prices.. and your suppliers of course control the expenses(like every business). You are fairly capitive as a dairy farmer. Hence the reason many families are getting out and farming other things or just getting out of farming completely.

All of the things I have encountered are not sudden occurence things.. they are all the effects of years of negelected maintence. This farm has been in the owner's family for several generations. So it is a reasonable assumption that the neglect started before the current owners took over. Large portions of the piping we removed was decades old.. and some of the wiring was still cloth covered. I'm not sure if the culture was to not fix anything until it was completely unusable, or if they just have been walking the financial tight rope for that long.

The reason behind the workbench being a piece of plywood on some old drums, is that I can't physically get to the work benches that are built into the shop.. There is so much stuff,parts, broken things.. that it is simply too much to attempt to move around to use the workbenches. I actually found a truck chassis under a pile of boards and beams.. when I asked the owner about it.. he said that it was his father's dream to rebuild that old truck chassis. It is supposed to be a 40's International truck. But the owner of the farm no longer has any idea where the remainder of the truck is.

The sons of the farm owner have been helping me when they can. They are around my oldest daughter's age(13). So they also have significant farm responsibilities to attend to. The owner hasn't really helped beyond telling me the general area where I can find things usually. With him not having any farm hands he is busy trying to keep the farm production moving. Dairy farming is extremely labor intensive compared to grain production. Dairy farming never stops... its an all-day every-day type of operation during the summer months. The boys are nice kids, they have been asking questions and seemingly wanting to learn to care for the farm. The owner and I had a lengthy discussion about air system plumbing and getting a line dryer and the reasons for it. He showed a genuine interest in keeping the repaired plumbing in shape.


I'm not looking for sainthood.. how about a few good points to offset some of the bad things we all did when we were young???

I'm off for a few hours.. I've got some broken cement to repair and a sliding door to fix today. And maybe pull the heads off the compressor..

You and your family sound a lot like my own (as in we share some of the same views and our significant other share some of the same views) and I can understand doing this for them to offset some bad thing from the past. Hell I would have to build about 20 free barns to do that.Even though I guess I do not know there financial situation cause I could not see continuing to run the farm till it was back into shape. What I'm trying to say is it seems as if it would be a 1,000,000 times harder to operate under those conditions, you know. Maybe not IDK

[whowey]

Well... the plot thickens a touch....


The compressor is junk.... It won't turn over because one connecting rod is broken and stuffed itself into the base of the crankcase. This would have made one HELL of a noise when it did it. So the story I have gotten that it just wouldnt start one day, has to be completely false....

The piston is cracked in half and jammed into the bore and really tore up the sleeve.

So a new a compressor will have to be put in to get this unit working again.

Then they asked me how much I would charge them to put brakes on their van. They didn't like how much my price was... I simply told them that they could call any shop in the area if they didn't like it.


I am SOOO close to being rid of these people... I can almost taste it...

[Mudderoy]

Careful the next question may be can you give me a loan...