NOTE: When reading this post, please picture me in denim overalls with a red flannel shirt on underneath, a piece of straw hanging from my lip that was picked from a field of golden wheat. I have on a pair of work boots that are slightly muddy, but not to the point where you wouldn’t invite me into your home. I’m standing next to a rickety, old wooden wagon with my leg up on it, standing next to a dusty field off a long, dirt road. The sun is shining bright and turning my skin cherry-red from a hard day’s night. Once this is pictured, please proceed with reading.
I don’t know if you know this, but I’m kind of a big deal.
All joking aside, I don’t know if you know this, but I kind of build homes. I’ve built many a homes in my day. Homes that can stand up to an earthquake; even Category 5 hurricanes and F5 tornadoes!
Yes, sir, my homes are the strongest ones when compared to others on the market. They’re the kind of homes you want to move into and start a family!
However, my homes aren’t available to everyone. They are reserved for a select few, mainly my family and me (and a couple a bottles of good ol’ whiskey).
You can certainly move into my home, but common law in these here parts state that if you want your own home, you can’t take it from me and you need to build it yourself.
And the best place to start is with the foundation!
Too many times have I seen a home simply fall apart because the foundation just wasn’t strong enough to weather a storm. Too many times have homes simply crumbled because the foundation wasn’t properly laid.
Well, dang it, people, the foundation is the most important part to any home! Just ask Jesus (he was a carpenter, so I’ve heard) if you don’t want to take my word for it!
Building the foundation on a home might seem like easy work, what with throwing around a slab of concrete here or there. But it’s much more work than that, my friend. It’s a lot of time and effort, and with my expertise in home building, I can tell you this, you should not build the foundation alone.
Ask for help, because after all, someone else will be living in the home with you, so you should all carry the weight in equal portions when putting down your foundation.
But be careful not to use Quickrete on your foundation. Quickrete is just like putting an ol’ Band-Aid on your foundation. You want to try and get it right the first time and patch it up later if it starts to crack!
And don’t fret if it does start to crack because you’re asking your foundation to hold a lot of weight.
Hell, I’ve seen some foundations (even ones on homes that I’ve built) get some cracks in ‘em. They’re not a big deal and if you work hard with members of your home, you can patch ‘em up in a jiffy!
This one home I built about 13 years ago had a few cracks in it after a hurricane, and although it took some time to patch the cracks up, I worked with members of my home to get the job done.
You should’ve seen us out there, slinging all types of concrete mixes known to man (except Quickrete), taking our time to analyze the cracks in our foundation that needed fixin’, and diving in head first once we found the best solution.
Yes, sir, I’ve built some great homes in my day and that one is still standing strong! It’s the kind of home you drive by and think to yourself, “Man, I’d like to own me a home like that one of these days!”
I built another home very similar to that one about a year ago. I built it with two other members and man is it something only dreams are made of!
I’ll tell you what; we were in the planning phase on that thing for well over 2 years! We had a solid foundation for the dang home, but for some reason, we couldn’t get the roof just right.
We built it up about three times, and it looked good for a couple of weeks each time, but it just came crashing down hard into the ground after a while!
Luckily, as I mentioned, that foundation was solid as a rock! So my team mate and I got back to work and built up an immaculate house! So big that we brought in another team mate to maintain it. He’s a quick learner and he’s already dreaming up schemes to build his own home one day.
But man oh man, what a team we all make!
Anyways, all I’m saying is that if home is where the heart is, then a foundation is where the soul is.
Building homes is an important job, and it’s one that must be taken seriously in a world where homes are broken down, burnt to the ground, foreclosed, sold and repurposed on a daily basis.
Building a home is easy work these days, but you gotta be patient and start with the foundation.
You can pick out the paint colors later on!