Tuesday, May 23, 2006

WHY DO I HATE CONSTRUCTION?

“For which of you, intending to built a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?”  (Luke 14:28)

Some time ago, I wrote a blog entry entitled, “Why Don’t I Like Change?”  THIS one is, “Why Don’t I Like Construction?” I know that Tim the Tool man Taylor from “Home Improvement” likes construction.  I know the guys on “This Old House” like construction.  For the most part, I don’t like construction.  Well, I generally DO like it AFTER IT’S ALL DONE, but there’s something about that messy “stuff all over the place”- everything is inconvenient and looks and seems like, well NOT like Heaven, that I just DON’T LIKE!

Within the next week, we’re demolishing the 18-year-old rear deck at our residence and building a replacement deck.  Mary Ann’s sister Lynn is married to Randy who is a carpenter’s carpenter and a contractor’s contractor.  He will be providing free labor as long as a few of us from the church help him.  A guy from the church is demolishing the old deck later this week.  According the Randy, the building of the new deck can all be done on Saturday and Monday.  I guess it will be nice when it’s done.  The lumber is being delivered today.  At our house, there’s really NO good place to drop the lumber, so I will lose my driveway for a few days.  Being terribly unhandy, not liking change, and not liking messes, (yes I’m a real life Felix Unger) this is really hard for me.  

A new roof was put on the parsonage two years ago.  I’m glad it was done, but I picked up well over 100 nails on my driveway and on the grass around the house.  After the roofers finished, our attic was full of boards, nails, old shingles, and dirt.  I mean FULL.  It was a nightmare to try to clean it.  I wish a new roof could have just miraculously appeared on the house.  The roofer had promised he would not leave one stray nail.  He lied.

In 2000, our bathroom (we only have one) was completely gutted and redone.  The contractor took a vacation in the middle of the job.  For a couple of nights we had no shower or toilet.  We slept at the church and washed our heads in the sink there.  The bathroom was not finished for almost a month after it was started.  In fact, the contractor never completed some of the fine points of the room- you can see nail holes, etc, so technically it never was completely finished.

My sister just had a retaining wall rebuilt at her Canton home.  The mason came with high recommendations.  He did a poor job.  She is holding off final payment until the wall is done to her specifications.

Most pastors love building programs, blueprints, the smell of new sheet rock, etc.  Honestly, the thought of all that stuff makes me want to throw up.  You know, as much as I generally hate surprises, maybe I WOULD like one of those extreme makeovers on a residence.  You go off to Disney World or somewhere, then you come back and it’s all done.  That’s a pretty good deal.  Again, I typically DO like it when it’s all done, but I just hate the construction process.  

Am I weird?  What do you think?  Do you like construction projects?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i hate them too, tho i do live here  and have to do the whole head in the sink thing as well, so maybe i can't give a valid point of view. however, when evangel was building the stupid new academic building, i felt like you. first of all, they took away half of the grass on campus! then, we on the north side had to listen to the noise of the construction machines all day and everything. it was all just a big pain.

Anonymous said...

Bob, you need to look at the bright side.  Oh, never mind there isn't a bright side.  LOL!!!!!!!!!!