It has been brought to my attention that sometimes the moderators here act as if they know the answers.
I have to apologize if that's how we come off. Here is the problem. Most of us have worked in the field for decades working 40 plus hour weeks. We do this stuff in our sleep, and during our lunch breaks. We have tried every conceivable way of doing things, finding out which ways work, and which ones don't.
It would be a rare, rare occurrence if a homeowner can think up a method that hasn't been tried before by one of us. I remember working with a homeowner with three doctor degrees, and having to hear him tell me that there is nothing in my decades of experience that could trump his mighty brain. It was pretty funny a week later when he called in a very alarmed way when his ideas were were causing him grief. I reminded him that he was only experiencing what everyone before him had, when attempting the same method of installation. There isn't really a lot new under the sun. We have made countless mistakes and countless correct installations. Like I mentioned above, we can do this stuff in our sleep.
A second point I would like to make is this. When we broke into the trades, decades ago, we were made fun of, made to do disgusting things, worked until our hands were stiff and hurting and our backs sore. Crying wasn't allowed, nor was back talk. We had to endure whatever they came up with. We were not allowed to have our own ideas, we were only allowed to do exactly as we were told. Sometimes we had to avoid getting into fist fights when tempers got the better of people. Construction can be high stress at times. There were a few people that I worked with that thought they were cowboys. I had to remind some of them, that we had laws on the books that would consider their acts as felony's. I wasn't above taking someone to court if they wanted to assault me. I worked with 150 plumbers and 150 electricians, and of course every job was surrounded by other tradesmen. There was plenty of opportunity to be in fights.
So my advice here is; when the old timers freely give out their hard gotten advice, seriously consider it. They have earned the right to be a little cranky.
There are friendlier forums where you may hear things like:
Yes, that will work. Great job! You're smarter then the tradesman working on your home. I've never done that, but it looks good.
The old guys don't do that here. If you want nice and pleasant, you can talk to the big box "shelf stockers" and get two thumbs up on whatever you wanna dream up. The old guys here have been pulling permits and having jobs inspected for entire careers. We're not guessing anymore, and we're not working for $8.00 an hour either. But there is also no better place to learn this stuff either.
Anyway, we invite you to learn as much as you can here. We prefer that you do get it right the first time, that everyone is safe, and everybody feels pride of accomplishment at the end of the day. It does feel much better when you know it's done right.
Best regards,
Terry Love
(It helped that my fathers doctor's degree was in law. I learned a lot at dinner.)
I have to apologize if that's how we come off. Here is the problem. Most of us have worked in the field for decades working 40 plus hour weeks. We do this stuff in our sleep, and during our lunch breaks. We have tried every conceivable way of doing things, finding out which ways work, and which ones don't.
It would be a rare, rare occurrence if a homeowner can think up a method that hasn't been tried before by one of us. I remember working with a homeowner with three doctor degrees, and having to hear him tell me that there is nothing in my decades of experience that could trump his mighty brain. It was pretty funny a week later when he called in a very alarmed way when his ideas were were causing him grief. I reminded him that he was only experiencing what everyone before him had, when attempting the same method of installation. There isn't really a lot new under the sun. We have made countless mistakes and countless correct installations. Like I mentioned above, we can do this stuff in our sleep.
A second point I would like to make is this. When we broke into the trades, decades ago, we were made fun of, made to do disgusting things, worked until our hands were stiff and hurting and our backs sore. Crying wasn't allowed, nor was back talk. We had to endure whatever they came up with. We were not allowed to have our own ideas, we were only allowed to do exactly as we were told. Sometimes we had to avoid getting into fist fights when tempers got the better of people. Construction can be high stress at times. There were a few people that I worked with that thought they were cowboys. I had to remind some of them, that we had laws on the books that would consider their acts as felony's. I wasn't above taking someone to court if they wanted to assault me. I worked with 150 plumbers and 150 electricians, and of course every job was surrounded by other tradesmen. There was plenty of opportunity to be in fights.
So my advice here is; when the old timers freely give out their hard gotten advice, seriously consider it. They have earned the right to be a little cranky.
There are friendlier forums where you may hear things like:
Yes, that will work. Great job! You're smarter then the tradesman working on your home. I've never done that, but it looks good.
The old guys don't do that here. If you want nice and pleasant, you can talk to the big box "shelf stockers" and get two thumbs up on whatever you wanna dream up. The old guys here have been pulling permits and having jobs inspected for entire careers. We're not guessing anymore, and we're not working for $8.00 an hour either. But there is also no better place to learn this stuff either.
Anyway, we invite you to learn as much as you can here. We prefer that you do get it right the first time, that everyone is safe, and everybody feels pride of accomplishment at the end of the day. It does feel much better when you know it's done right.
Best regards,
Terry Love
(It helped that my fathers doctor's degree was in law. I learned a lot at dinner.)
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