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This is not how I wanted my Saturday evening to go...
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Man that sucks! I am so sorry to see that, wouldnt wish that on anyone. What happened do you know?
Saw on the news that there is fires in SoCal yet, Nor Cal and Oregon are getting an epic storm
(Called a Bomb Cyclone, gonna dump a ton of rain and snow).
Looks like even your camper is getting torched and that double sucks as at least you could otherwise temporarily shack up in that.
Much sympathy and for those in SoCal as well with the fires. -
My condolences for your loss..Hopefully nobody was injured?Comment
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Holy crap! So sorry man!Comment
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Damn it............ That's a huge bummer.............Comment
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For what it is worth, I really feel for you, I do hope no one was hurt.Comment
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What the hell happened ?
Is that a power line that went down ?
Real bummer . Looks like you had a lot of shit in that garage .
Really sucks, sorry to see that .Comment
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Thanks guys... everyone is ok. Firefighters even got the hampster out. I had been using a propane torch before the fire started... valve must not have been shut all the way. I left on my Suzuki, when I got back 10min later garage had flames out the door. We are set up at a hotel for now. Luckily we have insurance. But the sportster and dirt bike didn't. Sounds like my tools will be covered, I've been working on making a list of what I had in there. This has been a hard pill to swallow... especially considering it is my fault... I can't figure out how I could have not fully shut that torch off... but it is the only thing that makes sense. Fire investigators agree that the torch is probably the cause...Last edited by Taverner; 11-27-2019, 7:52 AM.Comment
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Yeah, that does really suck, sorry about your luck.
I sometimes use a burnz-o-matic torch on occasion.
Noticed before when I closed the valve all the way, a small flame still lingered.
Am always of the habit of removing the torch attachment from the bottle since noticing that.
And the oxy-acetyline gets those valves, at the tank closed, and the regulators and lines emptied too.
So, I too can see how that might of happened, but for you hind sight is 20/20 sorry to say.Comment
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That totally sucks but your and yours made it and objects can be replaced. Time for disaster recovery.
I don't store torches indoors, even little ones. All my flammables except a few spray cans live outdoors in old steel lockers. My torches and cylinders, BBQ jugs included, live in a steel building with open ends. (I'm kinda hardcore about fire safety and my rule is if most people do something it's probably inadequate.)
You can get quick onsite storage with a shipping container which can easily be moved into place later as a building. A 40 foot High Cube is best if you're buying. (If you use it for shop space I can write you a book on that.) Wood is for furniture and camp fires so I suggest doing what I plan to if my old house burns and going with cement block, steel studs and trusses, and modern steel roofing. More thermal mass and termites don't eat it. You can get an insurance discount for a sprinkler system which some areas require per code. Avoid flammable interiors too. Planning is free.
Attached garages exist for builders to sell cheap square footage. Make your next one detached and out far enough to not take out living quarters or vice versa.
(It's what Munitions folks call separation to prevent fratricide.) You can make steel containers look good by painting or siding them if local code requires. The street side of mine are camo'ed and blend with my shrubbery. They are set back so the house is what people see (fuck having them eyeball my stuff).
Dunno what your plans are but rolloff containers aren't usually expensive if you're wrangling the demolition to save money. Every bit helps. BTW sockets, wrenches etc are probably only cosmetically damaged so I'd make a pile to sort later. They ain't gotta be pretty to use them. I'd rent a backhoe, scrape it to the ground, then do whatever works. Dunno how deep your property goes but an inexpensive travel trailer might do for living quarters while you rebuild. Steelmaster and similar building kits erect quickly and are superior by far to pole buildings if you build a "shop" to live in or work from while doing the house. (Mine is a welding shop because it contains sparks and spatter. It can't burn. I have a 20x20 "trussless straight wall" and would buy any size I needed again. They erect easily because the panels are light enough for one person though two is much faster. I anti-seized the hardware and moved it from my other home when I got orders and only had to cut three bolts. This matters because it makes it easy to mod or extend (buy more panels) the shells too.
A good way to save money is get whatever shell built by contractors including all plumbing and wiring then do the interior yourself. You can live in it during most of the work and if your family are so inclined make what you can a group project.
You can get a plat map to show any easements from your county courthouse, and Google Earth is a good way to view your property from above. Do it right and you can have a much better, safer home. I'd cut down any nearby trees because those motherfuckers get expensive to remove when they get large and aren't kind to roofs or power lines. I just dropped several like the one in your front yard. (I run a winch cable or tree rope to my truck to preload them and control fall.)
When rebuilding don't get suckered into stupid designs like everything on this page. That "busy" style is space and money wasting:
A single storey (stairs cripple old people and if you have them someone will fall eventually) Colonial "breadbox" style is simple therefore easy to build and traditional enough for anyone.
You can shotcrete/stucco over cement block and never have to maintain it or replace siding that doesn't exist, and you can wait as long as you want to do that if that smooths cash flow. Shingle roofs are money pits because they require replacement while quality steel can outlive you and is light and easy to install while resisting wind damage, being easy to repair, and of course embers from wildfires bounce off. Most wildfire damage is from fire creeping up to siding then igniting the structure. Termites don't eat steel or concrete.
Make your doorways and everything else (especially the shithouse and shower) EASY for handicap access. It's pure win for moving furniture and a bonus when you get older.
Everyone else take heed and check your home and shop for fire hazards. A smoke detector saved me, my wife and our house. I fucking love those things. Some fire departments give them away. If you have an expensive bike/car/dildo collection in some wooden shitbox shop, consider replacing the wooden shitbox or adding a steel structure for your scooters so losing the shitbox won't hurt as much.Last edited by farmall; 11-27-2019, 9:44 AM.Comment
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Holy shit.. Sorry for your loss, bro..Comment
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Man that is a huge bummer. glad everyone is safe.Comment
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At least one bike survived... the only one that was insured... definitely learned a hard lesson about storage insurance...
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