Building

BUILDING
5/22/08

I began a building project several months ago. It was one of those do it yourself projects, prompted by an excessive contractor’s estimate. It was the kind of estimate that started out at $500.00 and worked its way up to a $1000.00 within 24 hours. The sudden cost increase disturbed me enough to decide to do the job myself. The carpenter had miscalculated the time involved and the cost of materials needed, but whether my decision to do it myself was a matter of pride, or economy I decided to take on the heroic role of an All American do it yourselfer.

I’m not an experienced carpenter , nor did I have all the proper tools to undertake this project, but I had the determination and enough experience in banging nails and screwing in screws to decide to do the job myself. It seemed like a simple project at first. I wanted to enclose a car port into a secured storage unit. Eight sheets of half inch plywood, several packages of three inch nails, some weather sheathing, four door hinges, 8 2x4s and basically I had all I needed. The job seemed simple enough , and I thought it would only take a day or two to complete. Unfortunately I misjudged the duration of the unusual January thaw and got half done the project; when two feet of snow and sub zero weather arrived . Fortunately the car port had two enclosed sides and a roof .

It is now May and I just completed the project. I am proud of it , however I realize that the carpenter’s estimate was a realistic one. By March I was certain that $1000.00 was a bargain. At one point after a 60 mile per hour wind blew off my doors, one day after I put them up, I was convinced $2000.00 might have been a fair price.

Something in me refuses to be defeated. I ‘m not sure if it is a mental deficency or a birth defect , but I became even more committed to completing the project on my own . I had put in too much time , money and frustration to give up. With help from my neighbor , a retired engineer, and a new drill, I reinforced my doors, and replaced the hinges. Within a few days another foot of snow fell and the temperature fell below twenty degrees for several days. By the end of that week the weather warmed up again and a rain storm and mild weather melted most of the snow , however it also caused excessive flooding in the area and the floor of my new storage unit had three inches of water in it. The only good news was that my doors held up and are still holding well.

After I got rid of the water,sured up the 2×4 supported walls and finished off the floor of the second level, I was convinced the project would be finished soon , and saving the excessive monthly storage fees charged for storing all sentimental nonsense would be the monetary bonus for all the frustration and work . I am moving the stuff into the new storage unit this weekend. Memorial weekend seems like an appropriate time to do it. I have created a monument to my determination and to my incompetence in carpentry, however I am pleased with the result. I waterproofed and weatherproofed the building and feel it will hold up well, and if not I know the phone numbers to several good carpenters in the area, and have a pretty good idea of the real costs to rebuild my storage unit.

L.A. STEEL