Feb 10 2009
Building a House with your Spouse
Building a house with your spouse is really, really asking for trouble. If you were not absolutely crazy about this person before, you certainly won’t be after.
This year marks the ninth anniversary of our attempt to build our cabin with our own four hands. The desire to hang each other from the rafters faded away after the first year or two. The cabin is still standing, thanks to the foundation and framework done by someone other than ourselves. We did, however, do the entire interior of this two story cabin all on our own. It was ——-shall we say —interesting.
When you attempt a project of this enormity, you find out right away what your spouse is made of. (Mine is made of good materials but everything is slightly off-center and I’m thankful he did not aspire to be a brain surgeon.
These are the things you should remember if you attempt to build anything with your spouse:
1) Levels are what they say they are; they are not hammers.
2) Hammers are made for driving nails, not for killing bugs on the new floor tiles.
3) Glue for floor tiles is very sticky and works well, glue remover does not work very well, therefore you must always wear clothes you don’t care about. (p.s. always have your body covered because floor-tile glue sticks to bare skin very well too.
4) You can build a house with a Roto-Zip.
5) You should have a big box of Band Aids on hand.
6) Always buy the BIG plug and switch covers, and pay attention when someone says “oops”.
7) You should know if you are afraid of heights before you rent the scaffolding and try to do your ceiling.
One box of Band Aids is not enough.
9) “Almost” is not tight enough for some plumbing fixtures.
10) “I told you so” is not acceptable language and should be banned until the house is completed and you have been living in it for more than two years.
Word to the wise: Keep all tools of throwing weight within view at all times, or else spend the extra bucks and hire a contractor.
Nine years later, it is holding up very well, but there are still those times when an “I told you so” sneaks in and you find yourself looking around for something to throw.
