Hello everyone,
Today, I want to look at the topic of help from family, friends, and acquaintances from a different perspective.
A good friend and teammate from our football team recently bought a house and is now renovating most of it himself. Although I work in an office job, I consider myself a fairly skilled craftsman, so I have offered my help to him several times.
Recently, he accepted my offer and asked me and another friend to help with the drywall work. The task was simply to finish the newly built dormers in two rooms with drywall panels and prepare them for wallpapering.
Here is how it went:
After two weeks of work, only one room will be finished.
Conclusion / Self-reflection:
I have offered my help multiple times and am glad to assist when I can. Still, as a helper, I can’t drop everything; I have hobbies, family, and a job, too. Therefore, I can’t always help and – even though I’m a skilled craftsman – I need much more time than a professional, who probably would have finished filling and sanding all the rooms in three days.
What I want to say is:
Don’t overestimate the help you get from family, friends, and acquaintances. After work, progress is much slower, even when skilled people are involved. Also, helpers won’t keep doing it forever.
I hope my post helps some of you better understand this topic.
Today, I want to look at the topic of help from family, friends, and acquaintances from a different perspective.
A good friend and teammate from our football team recently bought a house and is now renovating most of it himself. Although I work in an office job, I consider myself a fairly skilled craftsman, so I have offered my help to him several times.
Recently, he accepted my offer and asked me and another friend to help with the drywall work. The task was simply to finish the newly built dormers in two rooms with drywall panels and prepare them for wallpapering.
Here is how it went:
- Saturday 12:30 PM - 6:30 PM: We were there for the first time on Saturday. Unfortunately, the carpenters hadn’t done a good job, so we first had to build a complete substructure. Everything took a bit longer because we didn’t have all the necessary tools with us, and the delicious refreshments took up quite a bit of time.
- Sunday: Football
- Monday 5:15 PM - 8:00 PM: First, we went to the local building materials supplier to get the needed materials. Afterwards, we managed to finish one side wall.
- Tuesday: It’s not worth starting between the end of work and football training. Besides, my wife also wants to see me sometimes.
- Wednesday: Unfortunately, I’m away on work until late at night.
- Thursday: We will probably manage the other side wall and the front wall.
- Friday: It’s not worth starting between the end of work and football training. Also ...
- Saturday: In the morning, we hope to finish the ceiling and be able to do the first filling. If the weather is dry, I will probably have to cancel and go chopping wood with my father (which I promised some time ago). In the afternoon, there are football and a birthday planned.
- Sunday: Rest day ... my wife is happy about that.
- Monday: The plan is sanding and filling again (unless I still need to catch up on Saturday’s work).
- ...
After two weeks of work, only one room will be finished.
Conclusion / Self-reflection:
I have offered my help multiple times and am glad to assist when I can. Still, as a helper, I can’t drop everything; I have hobbies, family, and a job, too. Therefore, I can’t always help and – even though I’m a skilled craftsman – I need much more time than a professional, who probably would have finished filling and sanding all the rooms in three days.
What I want to say is:
Don’t overestimate the help you get from family, friends, and acquaintances. After work, progress is much slower, even when skilled people are involved. Also, helpers won’t keep doing it forever.
I hope my post helps some of you better understand this topic.
B
Bauexperte15 Nov 2016 15:48Hello Jochen,
I have been hoping for a firsthand post like this for a long time. Nobody believes me anyway; but you certainly do! Thank you for that!
Best regards, Bauexperte
I have been hoping for a firsthand post like this for a long time. Nobody believes me anyway; but you certainly do! Thank you for that!
Best regards, Bauexperte
K
Knallkörper15 Nov 2016 16:46You could have also arranged an evening meeting to define the required tools and materials. Then you would have taken a day off and spent half or a whole Saturday on it, and that would have been it. Either do it right or not at all. Where I agree: you don’t need helpers after working hours.
H
HilfeHilfe16 Nov 2016 15:20Knallkörper schrieb:
You could of course have met one evening to define the necessary tools and materials. Then you would have taken a day off and added half or a full Saturday, and it would have been done. Either done properly or not at all. One thing I agree with: you don’t need casual helpers after work.Sorry, but I’m not going to sacrifice a day off for a friend... everyone may see that differently.
As a family person, at least my vacation time belongs to my family and children.
What Jochen104 describes should definitely be taken seriously. If you try to do the work yourself alongside your job, it will take forever. And friends will only be willing to sacrifice their vacation time to a limited extent.
Even if you take full time off yourself and work diligently, you will probably need twice as many man-days as the professionals. It would be sad if they weren’t faster...
Best regards,
Andreas
Even if you take full time off yourself and work diligently, you will probably need twice as many man-days as the professionals. It would be sad if they weren’t faster...
Best regards,
Andreas
H
HilfeHilfe17 Nov 2016 07:24That’s saving money in the wrong place. You can do some of the work yourself later on the exterior, but not when it’s time to move in. We have a similar case in our circle of friends, so Jochen’s opinion is understandable. There is one difference, though: the homeowner is in the hospital, and his family is completing the construction of the house...
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