Home Improvement Rules

 Working on a house seems to entail living in the past, present and future all at once. These beliefs/ mantras/ Rules help me navigate the trickiness of making decisions within this triple time frame and not regretting decisions later.

Beliefs/Mantras/Rules:

#1 Leave each place/ the house better than you found it. (I learned this from Girl Scouts and it has been a good mantra in life.)

#2 Respect the craftsmanship and quality materials of those that went before you... but know when to say when to "preciousness." (Yes, that "original" quarter round floor trim can be replaced instead of tediously "restored" but please don't paint that 135 year old quartersawn old-growth white oak trim unless it is the ONLY option- i.e. massive, irreparable damage) 

#3 Do not make your future-self or future home owners hate you for your decisions. (I'm looking at you square head nails and construction adhesive that require tearing things out with brute force or damaging things to the point of stripping down to the studs to restart. Also looking at the literal HUNDREDS of screws and staples I removed from our beautiful wood built-ins and trim work. Seriously, who uses a staple gun on a wooden handrail? ) 

#4 Know the level of quality that future-you will expect and that future home-buyers will notice. (Balance any overly critical or low expectations with what future home-buyers and owners will notice or find live-able.)

Less "Rules" and more "Guidelines":

#5 Know that it will never all be done and pace yourself. Don't feel bad that it's not all done.  One of the things I sometimes see in woodworking Groups says "As soon as you finish you first project, no matter the quality of the outcome, you're already ahead of 99% of the world who has never built anything." It has also helped to go on tours of architectural buildings from the same time period and know that everyone has some crackled or crumbling paint or plaster some where, everywhere has areas in need of restoration and it is quite common that there are construction projects underway. In fact most the homes we visited had at least one ongoing project. It also helps to know that Instagram and Zillow only show you the prettiest bits. They're not going to show you that a million dollar home also has a few unfinished closets, some trim work with poor joinery, some gaps along the baseboards, poorly cut tiles, and a whole host of other things hidden by rugs or just the right angle of photography. 

#6 DIY where you are able to do as good or better job than the professionals, but know when to hire out (then get at least 3 quotes and ask lots of questions). 

#6a While you might not have the experience to do a better job than pros on most jobs, you do have the DESIRE to have things done a particular way and with a particular outcome, it's important to know what you find important and use this to determine if it's better to just do it yourself. For instance no one does plastering or plaster repair anymore commercially in our area, so since I didn't want a pro to come in and start tearing out plaster and replacing it with drywall, I learned how to do plaster repairs and plastering as well as joint compound "mudding" and finishing  so I could have repairs the way I wanted. 

#6b Try to have the most expensive/experienced pro out first (In Chicago this is often the Polish guy with 25 years experience and an elaborate website with way fancier projects than yours, but the top rated Yelp company works for this too.) Use what they say and explain as a guide when interacting with the next two to formulate questions about their process, materials, timeline, pricing. 

#6c BE THERE during the work if at all possible. While to some degree I love asking questions and learning how things work from each pro, more importantly I have found that pros don't ask all the questions they should and will either make assumptions or cut corners in things where I have a very specific outcome in mind or have knowledge I didn't think to give them. From plumbers trying to rod out through a toilet and not a capped floor drain, and running into issues that were solved when I had them switch locations, to floor repair/restoration that didn't properly cut or stagger boards or weave in existing pieces, to coming up with creative plumbing solutions, I have found that being there made a huge difference with the outcomes. 

#6d Present/stage your home as if you were selling when Pros come for quotes and for work. When they see the place as a torn up mess they finish their work to the quality level of what they see around them. I'm still upset about cheap off cut braces and splattered flux on my walls from our  initial plumbing install, from the purple PVC glue dripped on and staining our washing machine, and the broken cabinet interior  from various plumber repairs when our house was having major renovations in the one month prior to move-in (3 different plumbers) Make it clear you expect quality, regardless of price and ask if they need drop cloths or cleaning supplies and what kind of clean up or potential damage to other items you should expect following their work or if they need you to move anything out of the room or areas of work.