Steve Cox drives an old, beat-up pick-up. He plays Scrabble and has a dog named Stella. Steve also lives in The Monarch Apartments – well, now he splits his time between the apartments and a new property in need of major work and fixing up. We decided to catch up with Steve and chat about the process of building a home on a new piece of land. This our second installment of People Who Do Real Things (vol. 1 here). 

Jake Uitti: You live in The Monarch Apartments and have been taking care of the building for a number of years. BUT you also recently bought a property in Washington with a big metal barn, lots of land and not much else. Can you describe what you’ve done to build up the new spot?

Steve Cox: It’s an investment in my future. I only hope it works out. Located a mile east of Toledo, Washington, my barn was built in 1950 as a shed for Lewis County… not sure what department, but I think it was used to store highway signs and snowplows or trucks. It is not metal, but instead completely old growth fir. Tongue and groove whitewashed on the inside and what is called “Dutch lap” or “German lap” siding on the outside, all on nominal 2″ x 6″ studs. With an interior space of 2000 square feet and a 14-foot ceiling. The Barn is a step up from the jam-packed garage I’ve been renting in the U-district for the last ten years or so.

I bought The Barn about a year and a half ago because I felt that renting a space in Seattle would be too expensive, and I would be at the mercy of the property owner. The Barn, though it faces directly on the 2-lane highway 505, has 5 acres of woods behind it, and someday I’d like to build small cabins (200 square feet or less) for use as weekly retreats for writers and artists. That’s just an idea for the future, but I think it would be a great space to get away as it’s only 5 miles off I-5 and 45 minutes north of Portland.

As far as construction projects, with the help of my two brothers and various miscreant friends, I’ve demolished an old rotted loading dock, sawed up the lumber, built a woodshed, installed basic electricity, tore out some existing dividing walls, built a couple benches and a picnic table, built an outhouse, limbed several trees and put in a French door and some cabinetry. I’ve also moved several tons of salvage lumber and materials down from the U-district, and purchased a 24-foot school bus for conversion into a poor man’s RV. I stay in the bus while working on The Barn. It’s warmer! I have not installed the woodstove in the building yet.

JU: What are the top three things on your to-do list?

SC: Well, I need to get some bulldozer/backhoe work done. Specifically, I need to have some grading done and a two foot deep ditch dug in front and one 350 feet long going to the well house. Then the well needs to be wired and the water line hooked to the water heater and sink. After that, I’d like to pour a 13-foot-long concrete footing where one of the large sliding barn doors are in front. Then, I can build the stud wall, eliminate the door, and sheath and side the outside wall. Next comes the 14-foot tall cool aluminum and glass roll up door!

JU: What other side projects do you have going on?

SC: Right now I’m in the middle of painting a house in Bellevue, but the weather isn’t cooperating so I have had some time on my hands. I’ve been listing items on Craig’s list and Ebay… playing viola and building some shelves for my apartment. I’ll probably mow the lawn at the Monarch today, then out to the garage to see if I can get the GS850 to run.

JU: Speaking of the garage, you often have garage sales on sunny days in the U-District. How do you get the things you sell, what are some of the weirdest things you’ve sold, and how have the customers been?

SC: Yes, the garage has become quite the venue in the hood during summer Saturdays…

I get stuff for garage sales when people move or when folks abandon possessions at storage units. Sometimes I find piles near dumpsters, and sometimes I actually buy furniture items at other garage sales hoping to turn a profit when I paint them up or do an artistic treatment on them.

The weirdest stuff usually sells to frat guys. I painted a skull on a stool and told them that whoever sat in the chair would always win at strip poker… it sold. I also put together a “kit” consisting of a blowup doll, a beer bong, poker chips and a “dog do stink finder”. The “kit” sold too.

I have also sold a hashish extractor, a disco ball and an autographed Madonna picture.

JU: What is the biggest surprise you have about people who can’t do things with their hands?

SC: I can’t believe people haven’t HAD to do these things. Change a tire, thread a stripped bolt, remove a toilet, gap some spark plugs, replace a starter… just stuff you do to maintain your life. I guess some folks just choose to pay someone else to do this. I suppose it’s easier, but some people are rendered helpless given this approach.