Living in a reality distortion field…
So here’s the joke. The big fat irony that lives within the walls of this house that is to be.
When you set out on any endeavor, especially if it’s a construction project, you typically set yourself some check points. Or maybe they’re just navigation points; something that you use to guide you as you make your way from one safe harbor to the next. And of course, as you pass each point, you not only gain a sense of accomplishment, you gain a sense of safety, because you’ve made some kind of progress as you’ve moved from point “A” to point “B.” The framing is one such guide.
While there are few sure things when it comes to construction projects, ask anybody who’s ever built a house and the one “absolute truth” that you’ll hear is, “Dude, the framing is the fastest part.” (Mind you, I did most of my framing in California…) Everything else may seem like it’s taking forever. In fact, anything that takes place after the framing will seem like it’s taking centuries, but the framing? That’s a sure thing. A 100% guaranteed truth. As axiomatic as 1 + 1 = 2. You’ll start it and before you know it you’re done. Everything else will move at a snail’s pace, but the framing? It just flies. You can count on that.
And these were the promises I made to my wife. My check points in our navigation from no house to new house. “Watch hon. This is why I loved to frame. It goes so fast. You see so much progress in such a short time. Every day you can come out here and see some serious changes. Three weeks, four weeks max, and we’ll have the roof on and the windows in and the plumbing work will start. You just watch. Framing is the absolute best part.”
We began to frame our house on July 15th, a little over a week delayed because the foundation was out of square by about 3″ in 50′ and we had to figure out exactly how we were going to handle it. (While we figured, the framers moved on to a small, one week job.) The framer’s insanely optimistic estimate on completed framing was three weeks. Reality, barring weather, was probably more in line with four weeks. By any reasonable estimate, we should have had the the roof on by the week of August 15th. Quite frankly, we were right on track. A few rain delays notwithstanding, and we were prepared to set the ridge beams on August 13th. Reasonably speaking, the roof could have been on by the end of the following week. One month from first frame to final shingles to windows in.
Here’s what you can’t figure for:
An ill-timed rainstorm on the day your beam is supposed to be set.
The implosion of a 20 year friendship/partnership within the framing company that you hired.
The fact that these two events coincide with each other, resulting in a delay of insane proportions on your framing job.
Reality distortion field? You bet your life.
In no other world does:
MINUS
Equal 73 days.
Framing is the fastest phase?
You bite your tongue…