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After reading some posts here about carpenters that do shoddy work and also are unethical I got to thinking.
I'm a builder in home renovations and restorations over 30 years and it kind of breaks my heart that what once used to be a craft has turned into...for some..."just" a way to earn a living...hence all the horrible work out there I see.
I don't see it just in building but in many other fields as well so I pulled out of my archives something I'd been saving for years now.
Thought it'd be a good time to post it...and remember..it really doesn't just apply to carpenters at all...something to maybe teach your children as well.
Be well
andy
The Carpenter
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.
The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.
When the carpenter finished his work the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter.
"This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."
The carpenter was shocked! What a shame!
If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.
So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then with a shock we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we'd do it much differently. But we cannot go back.
You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. "Life is a do-it-yourself project," someone has said. Your attitudes and the choices you make today, build the "house" you live in tomorrow. Build wisely!
Good piece Andy, but I also suspect that many of the "people building houses" (I won't insult carpenters by referring to them as a skilled trade) around here, would love it, and be on the phone to Mexico telling their family to sneak across the border and come on up, we have a house now.
Good piece Andy, but I also suspect that many of the "people building houses" (I won't insult carpenters by referring to them as a skilled trade) around here, would love it, and be on the phone to Mexico telling their family to sneak across the border and come on up, we have a house now.
Well...I thought the message was a lot more than about building houses..to me..it was more about do unto others kinda thing....sorta. The insensitivity people have for one another,,,not necessarily intentional which is usually the case..its more about people becoming desensitized and taking that trait with them where ever they go.
To me it was sort of about "building" real-ationships.
The people down south..the people out west...the people up north...doesn't much matter/ We all have feelings although more and more I see people not being able to see past the tips of their noses as much as they think they might...me included...but I'm trying : )
Well...I thought the message was a lot more than about building houses..to me..it was more about do unto others kinda thing....sorta. The insensitivity people have for one another,,,not necessarily intentional which is usually the case..its more about people becoming desensitized and taking that trait with them where ever they go.
To me it was sort of about "building" real-ationships.
The people down south..the people out west...the people up north...doesn't much matter/ We all have feelings although more and more I see people not being able to see past the tips of their noses as much as they think they might...me included...but I'm trying : )
Andy, I wish I were going to be building a home near you and could have you build it
Andy, I wish I were going to be building a home near you and could have you build it
lovesMountains,
Thank you so much I wish I was building me a house there too...lol. Soon as our house is sold here we'll be so gone from the flatlands...can't wait..hopefully before the next ice age. ..and if nothin' else, we could just say hello. Looking forward to getting into building me a small timber frame with my new sawmill.....wanna come to the barn raisin'? : ))
Honestly, I don't know what to make of this thread. In my heart I detect messages here and I don't want to go there. I found myself a 120 year old farmhouse and an AMAZING Contractor...I understand not wanting to ruin the mountains w/ new construction....but...is there a problem w/ fixing up houses that need fixing? EVERYONE I have ever dealt w/ here has been WONDERFUL....trust me...there are plenty of great CONTRACTORS HERE! I have met many people that want to honor the beautiful history here...my opinion....if you really love it here...fix up a house that needs fixing after hundreds of years.
BTW...I have yet to hear of an unethical carpenter in reading 100's of threads. What are you taliking about???
I'm not sure it was even in Western North Carolina..although somewhere in here I'm pretty certain there was mention of some builders that build gated communities that were unethical..I read a lot of posts in other states too but you can be sure there's enough unethical people to go around.....my post wasn't about dragging individuals names through the mud anyway...it was about the lesson in the post I left.
I'm not sure it was even in Western North Carolina..although somewhere in here I'm pretty certain there was mention of some builders that build gated communities that were unethical..I read a lot of posts in other states too but you can be sure there's enough unethical people to go around.....my post wasn't about dragging individuals names through the mud anyway...it was about the lesson in the post I left.
Your post was wonderful! I am going to save it as an illustration I am sure I will use some time along the way. A very provocative way of making a person think about what we are building, every day, in our own lives.
As for shoddy builders . . . I surely have seen it . . . not only here in the area I live now (Charlotte region) but also where I had lived for a while in the Kansas City metro area. We called them "sweetheart" houses - looked great on the outside, but shoddy workmanship at some stages of building and also - short cuts . . . you don't know you are getting into that situation until something goes wrong (plumbing problems, insulation, etc). So I have seen this first hand. It does happen, even w/ builders who have a decent reputation - it all depends on the crew and who is slacking off or trying to cut corners to save a few bucks.
Thank you again for your post.
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