This weekend we finally started the Great Spring Home Improvement Project to repair the walls and paint everything anew. I know, I said we were starting last weekend. Only somebody (okay, it was me) was supposed to call the contractor on Thursday or Friday to confirm and did so on . . . Saturday instead. Oops!
After begging forgiveness and a second chance from the contractor, things finally got underway this Saturday. As of Sunday evening, the living room/dining room, entry, hall, and master closet are all done. The bedroom is halfway there, leaving Alpay's study, my study, the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the doors and frames left to do. As I'll be going on vacation later this week, the rest of the work will have to wait until I return, but that's okay. After two solid days of chaos, I'm ready for breather to re-group and consider the Lessons Learned from this project so far.
Lesson #1: Home Improvement Projects Always Take More Time Than You Think They Will
Everyone knows this, and yet: how very shocking it is to discover that after you have made your best time estimate and then doubled it for good measure, you're still behind schedule.
I gave our project two days. I then doubled it to four just to be safe, but now it's looking more like five. Since I won't be around this weekend, that's five days spread over a month's worth of weekends--and that's hoping everything from here on out goes smooth. The upshot: Don't get yourself into a time crunch. If you have a reason to get your home improvement project done--whether before holidays, for special guests or for a surprise--give yourself p-l-e-n-t-y of time. And don't be surprised if it's still not enough.
Lesson #2: Home Improvement Projects Always Cost More Than You Think They Will
At this point, I know what you're thinking: you call these revelations? Again, I thought I was being so careful. Again, I was caught by surprise. In this case, Lesson #1 has a direct impact, in that if the project takes 8 more hours than expected, that's 8 hours of wages to be paid. I'm delighted with the results so far and it's well worth saving my back and my marriage by contracting the job out, but next time, I think I'll try tripling my estimates instead of just doubling them.
Lesson #3: Dread Not: It Actually Doesn't Take That Much Time To Prepare For The Work
One of the reasons why I put off the repairs for so long (i.e. almost two years) is because I thought it would Just Be Too Hard to pull my bookcase and couch a few feet from the wall and to take down some pictures. The biggest danger of overestimating dread is procrastination. In fact, it took me all of a half hour to prepare for the contractor yesterday morning. I spent another forty-five minutes in the paint store with the contractor buying supplies because up to the last minute I kept changing my mind about what color blue I wanted ("Upward!" "No, Misty!" "No Upward!" "No, Pool house! Really!") This leads us to:
Lesson #4: Indecision Is Expensive
Those forty-five minutes in the store with the contractor were forty-five minutes the contractor could have spent actually painting, had I picked up the supplies like I was supposed to. Furthermore, each color tried and rejected added up as well. Finally, there is the potential for missed opportunities due to indecision: sales and promotions missed, not to mention fractured relationships--and possible late-cancellation fees--from contractors.
Lesson #5: Dread Plenty: It Actually Takes Six Times Longer To Put Things Back After The Work Is Finished
I have actual metrics on this one: 30 minutes prep work vs. three hours to put things away. Part of the reason for this is because once things are so thoroughly torn up, it's nice to clean before putting things back. In our case, it meant sweeping, dusting, wiping down surfaces, mopping, folding, tossing, and organizing. And so, yeah, that's going to take longer than just tossing everything in a pile to begin with. Or maybe the lesson here actually is:
Lesson #6: You Can Run But You Can't Hide
Chores left undone are chores that will come back to bite you. The last time some of the clocks in my collection got a good dusting was . . . when they were put up. That was nine years ago.
The top of the giant cat painting; the tops of door frames. The tops of the medicine cabinets and lights in the bathroom. The ventilation duct near the ceiling. Apparently any dusting that requires a step stool is dusting unlikely to get done. Ever. Obviously this is something that has to change.
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