1/18/19:
Building Summary: Today’s primary task was making a list of materials for Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Sparr Farm & Building Supply. It primarily included lumber, pvc piping, and pocket-door hardware. Despite this taking up a large portion of my morning, I was still able to get down to Jacobhouse and put up the remaining two boards on Wall #4’s postern side (inside of the bathroom).
Commentary: I’ll just start off by saying that I’m not a master at finding the best deals when it comes to buying supplies, and I will also admit that my foresight when it comes to this building project is still in its developmental stages. They are faults – ones that are slowly improving – but in spite of those faults, Jacobhouse has come a long way from being a plain (and admittedly old) refrigerated shipping container.
This has taught me something about life, though.
Research is important. I’ll say that much. It’s how I learned how to take out rivets, prepare metal for paint, use a miter saw, build to code, and so on and so forth. To tell it succinctly, research is how I get by problems that have me absolutely confounded.
However, there is such a thing as too much research. Too much research results in as much if not more inactivity than solving the problem yourself through trial and error (there are numerous ways to solve almost every problem, I’ve found, and just as many opportunities for learning). Too much research also results in losing the monetary value of a long sought-after deal.
In the words of Scott Wadsworth over at Essential Craftsman (on Youtube), “I think it’s easy to stand around talk about how to do something better when if you simply put your head down and went to work, it would be done and well done by the time the discussion on the best possible method was just beginning to slow up enough for somebody to begin picking up a tool.”
Final comment for today. I know there will always be times that I have to make supply lists, and I know it is optimal to keep costs as low as possible. Spending hours, though, finding and comparing prices may not be as cost efficient as many think. Sometimes, it’s just better to get those materials coming and do something.
For those who are interested, here is the video where Scott Wadsworth spoke the quote above. It is a good watch:
Great post and the video link made me miss my friend Art because the guy in the video remindediting me much of him. Besides that the “do something” philosophy resonates deeply with me.