2/3/2019:
Building Summary: Today I stubbed up the cold water intake line for the hot water heater, and I researched how to glue together CPVC piping (not much different than normal PVC piping aside from the glue that is utilized). Padre and I also planned the entry plumbing and where we might eventually hook in a solar hot water line.
Commentary: There seems to be three different types of days when it comes to building Jacobhouse: work days, supply days, and planning days. Each has its own pros and cons, but I’m not going to write about all that at the moment. I’m only going to write about the progress, or rather the feeling of progress.
On work days, it is easy to gauge improvement, because there is usually a visual and tactile representation ofthat work by the end of the morning. Supply days are similar; they can be measured by the physical supplies that have been gathered. Planning days, however, are the most difficult when it comes to gauging progress. How does one make comparisons between a ‘pipeline plan’ versus actually measuring, cutting, and piecing together the actual thing? Does it count for more, less, or the same?
The logical answer would be that it counts for at least the same amount. Without a good (or just plain passable) plan, both time and materials are bound to be wasted. Thus, even though I do not like planning days (there, I said it!), I cannot deny their value. Take today as an example. If I had just gone to work on the entry piping without any thought, I don’t even know what sort of pipe-and-valve amalgamation I would have created to allow for both a ground-to-heater intake and a solar-to-heater intake. All I know is that I would have used at least double the number of valves that are included in the present plan and probably quadruple the number of elbows. With the current route that Padre and I devised, though, I will only need to use one extra valve, Tee, and elbow.
The point I’m attempting to make is that even though planning days do not strike me as productive whilst they are occurring, they are actually some of my most productive days.