Do you get jealous when people in your neighborhood are having work done on their house?

What?

I only get pissed when neighbors do something that completely one ups you.

I had 60 yards of fill dirt brought in to level my back yard at my last house. Then another 40 yards of top soil, the skid steer broke before the last 20 yards of top soil. I spread it by hand. Then I laid 12 pallets of zoysia sod, by myself...in one day...by hand.

A week later my neighbor put in a baller arse in ground pool, new landscaping, etc.

I went from proud to pissed in a hurry

I see a guy having his shutters painted and I’m like “Damn that lucky son of a bitch”. Even though I don’t want to do it. It makes no sense that’s why I’m turning to the internet for comfort

I'm not jealous but I do notice construction workers when they're around. In another life I'd go into general contracting. Just really enjoy watching the process unfold. I could watch people work on their trade all day long. One of the houses in my neighborhood just had a really nice pool installed and what looks like a 40X60 garage with glass front garage doors. Looks really sharp.

I'll be getting my 40X50 shop concrete poured in March. Called yesterday to get the electric company to come give me a quote on getting the service ran to where the shop will go. I've been saving and planning this thing for about 4 or 5 years.

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Jealous because they're helping improve comps?

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Maybe jealous is the wrong word. I think I have a general anxiety about things wearing down and entropy in general. When you have repairs done it resets the clock. I’m envious that if I was them I’d feel a little more at peace. Even if it’s something like a plumber. I think I have a fear of an undiagnosed problem.

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What's a ball park figure on that? I'm starting my 4-5 year process.

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A bit of a longer answer than you want here, but trying to answer your question with as much detail as I can. I'm not simply building a 40X50 because that would be way too easy.

Concrete is almost half the cost although I'm extending a driveway 85 feet, the shop will have an additional 24X40 covered parking in front of it (so footprint will be 74X40), having them pour a 12X24 floor in my shed (currently a wood floor) and I also have a 280 sq ft office/ guest room I'm adding to the side of the shop. Concrete is right at $35,000 give or take a couple grand. Concrete was quoted at $8.60 a sq ft for the shop and $5.60 a sq ft for 4" flat work (driveway and shed). For reference, 16 months ago concrete was either $7 or $7.50 a sq ft. If I decide to do a 5" slab on the shop instead of 4, it's $9.25 a sq ft. I will not be attempting to do anything with the concrete on my own. I've learned that lesson a few times before.

I'll be doing the building construction myself and the material cost is around $25,000 for the shell. I'll also be adding an electrical service which the quote is coming next Wednesday for that but anticipate around $2,500 to $3,000. I'll be adding either a mini split or a full AC system at $8k and I'll be burying a septic tank for the bathroom in the shop. Shop will be 14' side walls with a 5:12 pitched roof. I lucked out and bought 12 Low energy windows for $200 a few years ago specifically for this shop. Deal from a friend that had a contractor order the wrong windows so he was trying to offload them. So I'll have plenty of windows. Roll up doors are around $4,000 for a 20' X 12'. And I'll also have an additional 8' X 10' door on the back side of the shop. I have $8,000 budgeted for spray foam insulation and another $4,000 for electrical.

I also have lucked out in theory on equipment. I have a buddy willing to lend me a skytrak to lift the frame as I weld it, and I have a neighbor with a skidsteer and excavator that I can use when I need it.

All in I'm around $85k for my build, but if you just want a 40X50 shell and concrete, I think you can get it done for around $50,000 give or take $5k.

Nope, never. Different houses age differently, some people need stuff you don't and vice versa. I had plenty of neighbors spending $$ on outdoor lighting in the eaves, etc., while I just had my roof droned for potential (5 year old house) shingle weak spots and nails backing out 2 months before hurricane season. Nobody else did this but me, but I also was not on the phone with an insurance company at any point about the roof. I also prioritized fertilizing and watering the shite out of the trees the builder planted, getting them trimmed to encourage growth (which cost me nearly nothing), etc. Nobody else did this, but it made me happy. Just make your family happy and stop the comparison.

If it comes to non-essential work, just remember there's probably a ridiculous HELOC or some other debt behind the vast majority of "upgrades." Houston area baws in O&G are notorious for putting in pools and stuff during good bonus years, then scrambling to pay property taxes in down years.

Well, yes. I need windows all around and I have been putting it off while 2 neighbors have their new windows……. Here I am holding on to a dollar…haha