Most of my
life I have been in the financial position that if I needed something done, I
had to learn to do it myself. I have learned
carpentry, plumbing, electrical wiring, gardening, masonry and automobile
mechanics through books and manuals.
My work is
not professional quality, but I have always been self-sufficient.
Yesterday I
installed an Andersen Storm Door that I purchased from our local lumber
company. There are three versions of
this door; Rapid Install which takes 45 minutes, the Rapid 2 Install that takes
two hours and the Professional Install that is not DIY recommended. I purchased the Rapid Install – 45-minute
door, that comes mostly assembled.
I began the
installation yesterday at 11-o-clock, on a damp, cold, overcast morning. Three hours later I completed the
installation.
My wife
always rolls her eyes when I am beginning a project and tell her how long I
expect to take to complete.
I don’t
doubt that this door can be installed in under one hour; but I’m fucking
old. And that’s my story and I am
sticking to it.
the Ol’Buzzard
So long as it's now installed, that's the only thing that matters!
ReplyDeleteDebra is right. If it is installed and opens and closes properly, it doesn't matter how long it took. Every job I ever undertook that should have taken a half hour took me at least a half day.
ReplyDeleteIt took David exactly 47 minutes to put in our Anderson Storm Door Rapid Install. I was amazed. He didn't have to go to Home Desperate two or three times at all like he usually does. Only problem was that he had to order a different lock for it because it came with the wrong type of lock. Don't ask me I have no idea what kind he needed for the locksmith to set it to our keys. I love that door because when it's warm I can lower the glass panel on top and the screen comes down and lets air in. It's sooooo nice.
ReplyDeleteOl'Buzzard 1 door 0
ReplyDeleteI actually sell building materials including doors and window as well as lumber. I was a carpenter back in my 40s, but I can tell you that even when I know what I'm doing it takes much longer now. It also takes more time to recover.
ReplyDeleteHofstadter's law, conceived by the cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadter, goes like this: any task you're planning to complete will always take longer than expected - even when Hofstadter's law is taken into account. Even if you know a project will overrun, and build that knowledge into your planning, it'll simply overrun your new estimated finish time, too, Hofstadter says.
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