I read a few.

Hgtv.  All I can do to scream...."How stupid are you?"  I restrain. http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/chats/

FHB.  Seems to be centered in the NE.  Say one thing out of line, they jump on you.  Tough.  No flexibility. http://www.taunton.com/thetauntonpress/forums.asp

This one.  Forgiving.  Theme seems to be....I may or may not know what I'm doing...but I want to do it.  Tell me how.  Not a lot of egos.  A few questions, a few answers.

JLC.  Little better than FHB but you better know your stuff. http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/index.php

You know, everyone started somewhere. There is no "carpentry gene".  Nice to know there's a place where someone can ask a question and not get pounced upon.

I used to hit this web site infrequently.  Started looking at it more reguarly after the last HBA show.
Houses all the same.  Proportions all out of wack.
McMansions are us.

Thanks John, for providing a forum where "just folks" can talk about building their own houses.

"DITTO" I'll second this!

No other forum like it....good group of people....lots of caring....

Thanks John....
Chuck

Shelly:

Thanks for the feedback and your impressions of other forums.

Ego is such a huge killer of ideas and projects. It has just about ruined the entire profession of architecture.

The entire production housing industry also seems to have thrown their considerable objectivity to the wind and gone with the marketing call of ego...
— curb appeal over functional design, three story tall entrys... the list goes on.

One of the things simplicity can breed is trust and openness. For some reason we have been able to attract to this site a very high level of shared trust.

I'm going to write an article about this... Maybe today  .

I agree. This forum was the reason I decided to buy John's plans. It is a good thing, because my wife was not going to take "NO" for an answer after she saw the picture of the 2 storey house.
I'm sure a lot of the questions I have asked in this forum have been asked many times before.
You know what? I always get the answer I'm looking for.  

Thanks John! And all involved!

Is it time for a Group Hug?

Here's a new article on trust. One of the most valuable tools in the belt of an owner buidler.

http://countryplans.com/trust.html

Group hugs make me a little nervous, Jimmy -but I guess it's Okay as long as the girls are there too.

I don't do ego's and power trips and have quit several groups because of those things.  John asked me to help because obviously I have no ego.  Just ask my wife.  Okay-- I don't do power trips-- keep that in mind if you post something that may embarrass yourself because I likely won't censor it unless it's pretty bad.  Fortunately you can edit your own postings if you do embarrass yourself and change your mind later-- before everyone reads it.  I know-- believe me---- I do it all the time--.  Thanks for tolerating me.

I agree with everyone else - this is the best forum on the net.  We all make it that way, and keep it that way. Thanks to John for providing it.

Thanks to all with questions and answers.  Thanks again to all of our unofficial professionals for caring enough about others to give some of your time and help to me and other less knowledgeable ones.  I share what I know as a tribute to my old dead great-uncle (he wouldn't mind me saying that-we're all a bit irreverent) who started teaching me contracting, remodeling, driving and shooting when I was about nine.  He taught me freely (didn't pay me except food- didn't charge me).  Sure chewed out my hind end every time I screwed up though.

I guess I should step down from the pulpit now.  Can I get a little Amen

Amen and them some Glenn!

Here's to all our dead relatives who taught us more than we know...or need ever admit.  

Hi everyone-What can I add but "hear hear!" and another heartfelt thanks to John.             Sherry

Thanks for the forum and the article, John.

Mind, it doesn't always work out--our former landlords just stole our deposit money by making up ficticious damage and claiming we stole things that were never there...that's $2000 we no longer have towards building our house, and all because we trusted them.

Oh, well. The downside of trust is that if you're burned by employing it, that experience makes it very difficult to extend trust to the next guy in line. The upside is just what you said.

How about small claims court, Greenbank.  

I agree with John on the trust thing.  It used to be that you could tell a man something, shake hands and it was a done deal - both sides.  I still try that and people who trust me start forgetting to get contracts on things with me because if I say I'll do it they know, win, lose or draw, I will do it.  Many times they call me T+M and if I go over budget, we negotiate out a workable solution- no lawyer - no contract even if both companies have told me they had to go to contracts on everything.  I make it up next time.  Sometimes after I'm done they say -"Hey you're too high."  I just tell them "What do you want to see? ---Put it there and send me a check."  Granted I only do this with people I trust to be fair also, but with good honest people it works.

I give most people or companies credit unless they get to me, then I refuse to work for them any more and I give them way more value in word of mouth advertising than what they beat me out of.  Your network of trusted friends and business acquaintances is also a pretty good credit agency if it is in reference to local people or businesses.

Here's a story from a local friend:

Thank you for sending me your essay. It was so thought provoking, and so true. When we were re-building our old home here, we worked on it for 7 months to make it livable. Many people came and helped, some for hire, some were friends.

One weekend in particular sticks out. All of Rocky's employees and their wives and kids came over on their weekend off, to help us for free. There were people everywhere, on the roof, under the house, digging holes, it was incredible. I remember walking down to the waterfront and taking some photos, cars and trucks lined the streets, and there were so many people working at our home, they looked like ants everywhere.  it was a real community building event.

Thank you for causing me to think about those 7 months again.

Greenbank:

Sorry to hear you were ripped off by a small person. Getting past these wounds and still being able to trust again (usually with a slightly better tuned BS meter) is not easy to do.

Yet it is what we have to do. And only for our own selfish peace of mind. We are the ones who reinvent the wrong each time we think of it. It doesn't really exist anymore.

I know because I have a $63,000 wound I can pull the scab off of anytime I want. And I still open it up and lick it every once in awhile. But not as much as I used to.  

Ouch, John.  That hurts Or should I say

I have to work tomorrow so will be scarce again except for a quick look in about 5 AM.

You kiddies play nice until I get back.    

Glenn, we'll be filing in small claims.

John, that ouch beats mine handily.   I was really twisted up about this for a day or so, but let it go when I realized that giving myself an ulcer did nothing to right the wrong and the people who stole our money certainly weren't going to care.

Our latest landlord is seemingly a great guy, but we covered our behinds in the way we should have at our last place, which felt a little like putting a burden on him for the actions of the low-lifes. I'm a handshake kind of guy (I work without contracts in my business, which drives the Mrs. insane, but it doesn't bother me...I've only be burned over $4000, less than 1% of the gross of my business over the years).

Anyway, I'll continue hoping people treat me as I treat them--which means I'm pretty tolerent of tardiness.

Please keep us posted, Greenbank.  Do your homework and have your stuff well prepared when you go in there.  Notes, pictures etc.  Also if you get a judgment, be sure to follow through- have the sheriff sit on his doorstep and collect money as it comes in or whatever it takes.  Getting the judgment doesn't guarantee payment- it allows you to find a way to collect - I won a judgment about 30 years ago - only one I ever tried, but failed to follow through. I didn't have much motivation.  You have a house to build.

Of course I had a rascally great-grand-dad, well known for getting together with his buddies and churning land prices before they sold for real to a tenderfoot.