ᐅ Do you have a tendency toward perfectionism when it comes to your home?

Pinkiponk schrieb:

I personally don’t appreciate it when someone constantly looks over my shoulder while I’m working, and I assume the same applies to the construction workers.

There is actually a "magic of mistrust" (often used by micromanaging bosses), meaning that by closely supervising people, you plant doubts about their abilities until they actually fail (which then confirms the supervisor’s control). However, in my opinion, you are not the type of manager for whom this staff manipulation technique works ;-)

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I also follow the Pareto principle. I usually couldn’t enforce perfectionism, especially in the execution phase. I have to admit that I often lacked the backbone (and the time) to have work redone. (And the moving schedule was rather tight. Most of the mistakes only became apparent to me after completion. Not a single ceiling light outlet is EXACTLY where it should be…)

What was important to me was truly understanding every detail of the house and its consequences, and being able to justify decisions at least on a basic level. So far, everything important is working perfectly (walkways, power outlets, etc.).

In the building area, I often heard things like “Oh, I don’t really know that” or “I haven’t dealt with that.” That would never have happened to me. Perfectionism in planning within the given constraints of money and time.

It’s similar to the missing items in the scope of work description. You can only apply your perfectionism to things you know exist. Many planning details and dependencies are simply not apparent.

Whenever it was supposed to be perfect, it ended up being expensive... So most of the time, I didn’t go for it. Then I would wonder why I chose the cheaper option and feel annoyed. But then, when I go for a walk and see other houses, I think, oh, it’s not that bad after all, and it was affordable.

By now, we have lived in the house for over 6 years. The property has doubled in value, and I know everything was done right.

I tend to be very perfectionistic.

However, for me, this doesn’t mean it has to be particularly expensive or luxurious. First, I considered what I absolutely want to have, what would be nice to have as an option, and what I don’t need at all. For almost every single point, I have spent a lot of time over the past 1.5 years thinking it through and continuously comparing how much value I get for the amount spent on what matters to me. Since the budget is limited, everyone basically has to make compromises somewhere. We don’t live in the house yet, but I have put in a lot of effort and, by comparing with neighbors who have already moved into their houses under very similar conditions and on equally sized plots, I have already identified many aspects that I believe are better considered for our house.

Oraclefile schrieb:

I tend to be very perfectionistic.

That doesn’t mean, however, that it has to be especially expensive or luxurious. Rather, I first thought about what I definitely want, what would be nice to have optionally, and what I don’t need at all. For almost every single point, I have spent the last 1.5 years considering and comparing how much value I get for the amount spent on what matters most to me. Since the budget is limited, compromises have to be made somewhere. We haven’t moved into the house yet, but after a lot of effort and by comparing with neighbors who already live in their homes and have basically the same conditions with the same plot size, I’ve already identified many points that I have thought through better for our house.

And again a post without any real content.

We’ve seen this before... and we’re still waiting in vain.

driver55 schrieb:

Is there anything concrete to add?
A lot said, nothing conveyed. 😀

majuhenema schrieb:

Honestly, I’m pretty scared about that too! Could you maybe name two or three things that were like that for you?

By far, I got most stuck on planning the kitchen. Later on, also the bathroom and walk-in closet. We wanted everything there to be (in our view) perfect.

Less attention was given to things like the location of the supply and exhaust vents for the controlled ventilation system (these need to be adjusted in the utility room and kids’ bedroom), or the window opening directions (several windows have the same dimensions, but I was able to have them swapped so that the opening directions now fit).

Then, for example, the electrician planned a row of six switches in the living room as two rows of three side by side (this is being fixed 😀), and some other switch placements that didn’t make much sense.

Walls and door positions were removed or shifted here and there on the floor plan. I’m sure more changes will come, and I’ve probably already blocked some out again 🙂

So far, it’s all still manageable with some effort or with money.