Why ordinary Americans are prohibited from building and renovating their own homes

[IdeomotorPrisoner]

You remind me of a reverse Yakov Smirnoff.

In Russia all man chop down tree for house material. In Russia man fight bear for right of passage on eighteenth year. In Russia all men make own hospital. When Russian man break arm, he reset bone with rusted scrap metal and rags. Russian man have immunity to tetanus. Russian child walk nine kilometers to market in one meter snow for potato.

Honestly, what are Russian zoning laws like? Is it all red tape of licensed contractors, approvals, set back limits, height limits, utility placements, and inspection?

You can do it that way in rural places but even they have county or state oversight. As a country there are tons of stories of people's whose "great-grandfather built his house in 1914 for $3,000." Everyone could just do the wildcat building thing. That's no longer the norm.

* Only 45% of the 1.4 million people in my city own property. The 55% have landlords contractually obligated to maintain the premises for them.

We're just too bureaucratic and rental prone for that to still be a valid example.

Turkey also has really lax laws for home building. Just build whatever, wherever if you own the land. They forgot about The Anatolian Fault though.

[UltraBudgie]

lol this thread with all the boomers owning houses.

diy everything costs jobs and hurts gpd. just pay the $1000 and get someone certified to fix your furnace. if you can't afford it do some extra work delivering food or such. create value. that's 2 jobs created and $2000 more for growing the economy.

diy also leads to inconsistent quality. the bank has less data to value their asset, so insurance estimates are unpredictable leading to higher premiums. the next tenant gets hidden surprises.

it is a waste of labor too, doing uncertified repairs and spending all that time to perfectly fix something that is designed to be replaced every 10-15 years anyway. on the job, this is called time theft.

buy, don't build. use what the free market provides in the way your community says you should. it's called coloring inside the lines. if you want to live in the wild west, move there.

not everyone wants to stand in russian bread lines and live their ideal of a controlled economy that is really chaos where the government does nothing for the people.

[RussianTroll]

You remind me of a reverse Yakov Smirnoff.

In Russia all man chop down tree for house material. In Russia man fight bear for right of passage on eighteenth year. In Russia all men make own hospital. When Russian man break arm, he reset bone with rusted scrap metal and rags. Russian man have immunity to tetanus. Russian child walk nine kilometers to market in one meter snow for potato.

Honestly, what are Russian zoning laws like? Is it all red tape of licensed contractors, approvals, set back limits, height limits, utility placements, and inspection?

You can do it that way in rural places but even they have county or state oversight. As a country there are tons of stories of people's whose "great-grandfather built his house in 1914 for $5,000." Everyone could just do the wildcat building thing. That's no longer the norm.

We're just too bureaucratic now for that to still be a valid example.

Turkey also has really lax laws for home building. Just build whatever, wherever if you own the land. They forgot about The Anatolian Fault though.

You forgot about balalaikas, home nuclear reactors and girls jumping over fires))))

In fact, they are trying to force us into the framework of bureaucratic rules. For example, they tried to ban making shashlik and burning garbage in barrels closer than 50 meters from buildings. They tried to control this with the help of drones. They tried...
But all in vain. It came to the courts, but the state bodies lost all the courts. As a result, everything remained as before, and responsibility arose only in criminal cases, or if neighbors suffered.

So the Russians live as before, freely.

[RussianTroll]

lol this thread with all the boomers owning houses.

diy everything costs jobs and hurts gpd. just pay the $1000 and get someone certified to fix your furnace. if you can't afford it do some extra work delivering food or such. create value. that's 2 jobs created and $2000 more for growing the economy.

diy also leads to inconsistent quality. the bank has less data to value their asset, so insurance estimates are unpredictable leading to higher premiums. the next tenant gets hidden surprises.

it is a waste of labor too, doing uncertified repairs and spending all that time to perfectly fix something that is designed to be replaced every 10-15 years anyway. on the job, this is called time theft.

buy, don't build. use what the free market provides in the way your community says you should. it's called coloring inside the lines. if you want to live in the wild west, move there.

not everyone wants to stand in russian bread lines and live their ideal of a controlled economy that is really chaos where the government does nothing for the people.

Millions of free settlers to the lands of the Wild West will not agree with you))))

[putnam6]

Hi DI!


Lots of questions. Answer them to me, a Russian, please.

Thank you.

Life is full of give and take, one has to wonder which country has more home fires from substandard wiring practices.

For perspective, Russia in 2020 had 8313 fire deaths while the US had 3500 fire deaths with over double the population, China for perspective had 1183 fire deaths with 9 times the Russian population.

The number of Russian fire deaths per 100,000 is 5 times the American fire deaths per 100,000 next closest country is Ukraine at 4 per, guess the electric apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

All of this with the Russian home mortgage rate thats how high? No wonder the Vladimirs and Ivans of Russia are trying to jerry-rig their home electrical systems, they can't afford to have them professionally installed or repaired.

Sberbank, Russia's largest mortgage lender, has raised mortgage rates for the second time in a month, to more than 28%.
Source: The Moscow Times
Details: From 15 November, the rates increased by 3.5 percentage points, resulting in new indicators: the minimum rate in the secondary market is now 28.1%, while in the primary market it is 28.4%. Overall, Sberbank mortgage rates have risen by 7.4% since the beginning of October

https://ctif.org/sites/default/files/202...27_ESG.pdf








Lastly pretty sure some homeowners insurance coverage becomes invalid if you don't have your electrical system and wiring up to code.

While Ive run the basic outlet switches and lights, ceiling fans, recessed lighting, and added a breaker in basement remodels, with no issues I usually leave the appliances to the professionals. 

When we had our hot tub installed, I felt much better we had its breaker box done professionally total charge 600 bucks

[UltraBudgie]

Millions of free settlers to the lands of the Wild West will not agree with you

Well that was my point, you know. Are you saying Russia is like the Wild West? It sure does sound like that's the trope you're drawing on.

Yee-haw!

Let us all ride shirtless on horseback, comrade.

[Maxmars]

Hi DI!

I am glad you posted this.  It kind of speaks to one of my interests... how Americans are perceived by other people, given narratives that they are exposed to, and their own experiences with Americans in general.

I notice that you are a professional journalist.  That's good too.  I'm sure you are well aware of the trust such a profession carries.

You offer that common general competence is distinct from American.   That we lack the ability or means to 'take care of' our homes as "Russian men" can.

I can only congratulate you on your ability to intercede in restoring the electricity to your home.  Of course, the knowledge to repair that junction box problem must be common in Russia, so if it hadn't been you, given what you say, anyone else would have done it... that is fortunate.

Here, a different scenario would unfold.  I would hesitate and maybe even inquire if I saw a fellow tenant fiddling with the complexes' junction box.  Here, in America, our tenant communities are not such that we all glow with a confidence that "this guy must surely know what he is doing."  Here, I would think... "Huh... how do I know he is not going to accidentally start a fire, that he has any idea of what he is doing, or that he won't make matters worse?"  Never mind the possibility that the responsible agency for that equipment won't object so extremely as to invoke the law... which is just as likely to "undo" the fix... leaving us without power for as long as it takes to resolve the added 'unauthorized tampering' event.

But that's all hypothetical.

I feel the tale of your friend is what happens when politically-appointed authoritarian bureaucrats impose strict regulation on private matters... but that's just what you choose when you move to certain places which figure prominently in 'interceding' third-parties.  'Fines' are how they make their money...  In other places around the world, it is concealed within having to 'please' certain people to get good service... or any service at all... but it is there... and you seem to think that the narrative surrounding it makes all the difference. 

That idea is not unusual... we do that here too.  I've even heard of people "punished" just for confronting it... more 'fines,' enhanced 'scrutiny.'  This is what some people do for a living... the worst of them enjoy it almost as a sport.  I don't think that's just an "American" thing.  I'd bet it happens in Russia as well.

By the way, how the infrastructure of the US electrical system makes use of 110 volts vs. 220 volts is not about "power bragging rights"... it's about efficiency.  We get 220v where we need it... it's how the system is engineered; your comment reeks of "mine's bigger," the kind of 'political thespian' trope that doesn't really serve your purposes.



I sometimes feel like you paint an image of the United States as a bunch of hapless morons being led by self-serving political clowns, complete with circus music....

Well, we're not... The people of the United States are bunch of regular good people being led by self-serving political clowns, complete with circus music....

Just like the Russians (and most everyone else.)



I suspect your editorial sources appear concerned with making certain that "America" is always looked down upon...  and I can't fault you for that because the opposite but equal effect is felt here in media talking about "Russia."

"America" and "Russia" both are in quotations in that last sentence because unless you are a programmed person you know just as well as I that the people of Russia and America are extremely similar to one another... we laugh, we cry, we want things... the rest of it is just 'window dressing' for someone's narrative.

[FlyersFan]

Can you at least write something on the topic of the post,...

EVERYTHING I posted is on topic and is in direct response to your chest thumping.

EVERYTHING.

I notice that you, as always, are off topic.   

Americans take care of our homes just fine.   We do our own fixing ups .. and we hire experts for those things that are more complex.   It is a hell of a lot better than what you just said that you do .... half-ass it yourself so that if someone else was to move into the apartment or the house that you were mucking around with, they wouldn't have something that is up to code and standards .. just a Russian jury-rigged mess of crap holding itself together with duct tape and chewing gum.    That's how homes and apartments burn down .... 

 

MAKE RUSSIA SMALL AGAIN

[FlyersFan]

 can you breed domestic animals (chickens, geese, pigs, etc.), vegetables, fruits (apples, pears, etc.) and sell these products freely wherever you want?

Oh geeeze .... 

There are HEALTH CODES for a reason.  It is UNHEALTHY to breed chickens and pigs in tight housing.

If there are no health codes in Russia, like you are now claiming, then I'm very glad I don't live there.

What a stinking mess.  And I do mean STINKING.  Those animals breeding and eating and crapping in a neighborhood would be a health nightmare.

  ​​​​​​​

MAKE RUSSIA SMALL AGAIN

[UltraBudgie]

By the way, how the infrastructure of the US electrical system makes use of 110 volts vs. 220 volts is not about "power bragging rights"... it's about efficiency.  We get 220v where we need it..

spot on max. rt invites a certain tone in his threads. that's not a bad thing, imho.

by the way rt if you need 220v from american wiring just go to the junction box and swap the wire from neutral to the other phase! no problem! you can run awesome british water kettles that way!

do not do this