"Upscale" wrote in message
...
"Swingman" wrote in message

I hear you loud and clear. I am 62 and starting to feel myself slow down
also, Besides being a lot of physical work, it's almost impossible to
find
help that will stick around long enough to make hiring worthwhile. On
this
particular job I had one hired hand for less than 3 days during the
entire
fabrication and installation.

I agree that as you get older, something like kitchen construction gets
increasingly difficult. Even I'm starting to feel it at the tender age of
51. But what about the enjoyment part of it? Admittedly, if I was building
a
kitchen again, I don't have a wife urging me on to get the job finished,
but
I would be doing it for the sheer enjoyment of getting exactly what I
wanted. And later on, the pride I'd feel when I was showing it off to
friends and family.

An upstairs water pipe, busted over the kitchen, so it wasn't something I
chose to do for a hobby or for enjoyment.

I enjoy every aspect of Construction but not every stage. Demolition, maybe
best for getting out aggression, there is still a lot of **** to shovel.
They key to your point is the same as mine, we just took different paths. My
wife is Chinese, so color and materials (Feng Shui) are as important as the
quality of construction. I can cut tiles and some stones, but I couldn't
make the Silestone countertop or make the aluminum and glass doors (well I
could have but time, tools and material, make it more difficult and less
cost effective). So I made some trade offs, since the doors are full faced,
making the maple replacments for the 5 cabinets without glass doors, will
provide me with enough pride factor. Don't get me wrong I also enjoyed the
planning and design a great deal, but I also take a great deal of enjoyment
more so with the money I saved. This alone will buy me a new table saw, a
used motorcycle and two flat screens one plasma and one lcd TV's and still
have beer money and the rest gets re-invested....So the enjoment factor
grows.

But honestly if your looking at doing good work, pride, having enjoment and
getting whole family's to smile. I'd recommend Habitats for Humanity. I
worked on Wall St. for a good many years, the wife continues too. On 9/11, I
worked across from the WTC and she worked WTC II 70th floor, after that I
lost complete interest in the Street, and she buried herself into her work.
Habitats, I found to be therapeutic for us and I got to learn with hands on
from some sharp Craftsman on doing everything from building rock walls and
foundations all the way up to roofing and chimney brickwork. You wouldn't
believe the people you meet and work with everyone from Jon Corzine and his
son, to Joe Schmuck even met Jimmy Carter....every walk of life, race color
and creed. For just a few weekends you work as hard and as much as you want!

There are also two things I won't do anymore sheetrocking and spackle! After
I remodel the upstairs Bath.... I'll kick myself in the ass for not learning
from doing the kitchen