On Thu, 09 Dec 2004 01:29:07 GMT, someone wrote:


.... He has various carpentry type skills, and has contacts with various
skill sets (electrician, plumbing, etc).

The problem with DIY homes is not usually the physical skills. A
person generally knows if they know how to solder a pipe or not. What
is usually lacking is DESIGN skills.

A person often (maybe usually) doesn't know that they have none. One
of the worst house I ever saw was designed & built by a carpenter -
beautiful workmanship, on a crappy house. Two others I can think of,
one a friend the other an in-law, in one case as I approached the
house, I stopped and asked my friend "Uh, did you design this
yourself?", it was that obvious. The other, I saw the "plans" they
had drawn up, so wasn't surprised at the result.

In both cases, the architects that signed off on the plans for code
compliance, required disclaimers from the people that the architect
wasn't responsible for the design.

The usual problem (generalizing again) is that the unskilled design
only in "plan view". How the house lays out in "section" and even
"elevation" is often short changed.

Whatever, its a generalization so is not consistent with every single
individual case - but that doesn't mean it isn't true in general!

-v.


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