Cindy Hamilton wrote:
On Dec 22, 9:35 am, "Steve B" wrote:
"Colbyt" wrote in message
m...
Wives don't understand home repair.

W: What are you doing today?
H: I need to install that last 4x5 area of insulation in the attic.

Seven hours later I come home to a skeptical wife. Seven hours
because:

To install that 20 square foot of insulation and finish the attic
portion I need to first install the bathroom vent duct.

To install the duct I need to locate the fan assembly. To locate
the fan assembly I need to trim some plaster. Before I can trim
the plaster, I need to cover a hole in the floor to minimize the
mess.

And I went ahead and installed the fan to hold the duct in place.

Geez. I knew what I had to do!

Well, why didn't you tell your wife when she asked, rather
than leaving her in the dark?

--
Colbyt

From my experiences, women just want to see results.

I built a house. I'd take my wife there daily or every other day to
see the progress. What I was seeking was her approval. During the
framing process, she could grasp nothing except that the workmen had
left their lunch sandwich wrappers and Coke cans on the floor. She
did not notice that they had framed several walls, or put the
trusses on, etc. It got worse, with her picking apart every minute
detail, every scarred stud, every hanging wire that was awaiting a
receptacle. I finally just had to bring her once a week, or at the
end of a stage of construction where she could see a final result,
i.e. after the drywall was up, after the painting was done, after
the cabinets were hung, etc.

When we explain or even describe what we are doing, it's just a
search for approval, and that's not going to happen because most
women don't understand that it really does take seven hours to put
in a little insulation when you run into things that you never
expected before you popped the first bit of sheetrock off. So stop
seeking it, and bring them in when the job is done enough so she can
see definite progress, or that stage is covered up, and there's just
some sort of finished work to cover the internal exposed parts.

And don't turn it over to her until you say so, or she'll have the
pots in the cabinets before you even have the range/stove/oven
installed.

AND tell her not to talk to the hired help. That's your job.

HTH

Steve

Balls.

Sorry, I mean, "It depends on the wife".

Although I don't fully understand every detail of a project, and
my husband's skills are far superior to mine, I'm right there
with him on every project. I've got pictures of me working
concrete, using the pneumatic nailer or the compound miter
saw. Usually it's faster and easier for him to do stuff himself,
so I hand him things, run out to the workshop for something
he forgot (or didn't know he needed until he was into it),
run to Home Despot for something neither of us could find
in the mess that's his shop, etc.

Because I don't understand all the details, I sometimes
get a little panicky when things don't look as I expect,
but sometimes when I say "Hey, that doesn't look quite
right", he says "It isn't. Thanks for pointing that out."
More often he says, "It's right; just wait until
the next bit is done. Here's how they'll fit together..."

He wants to put in a pulldown attic stair and estimated
one hard weekend for the installation and another, easier
one for the paint and trim. I said, "Nothing in this house
ever goes to plan; let's count on four weekends."
If I'm wrong, we get a weekend or two off.

Cindy Hamilton

in my house, it's always a factor of 3: cost, time, number of trips to the
hardware store, or all of the above.