Shedding some light
Im almost done with my storage shed and boy, have I learned a lot. Not about construction, but about myself. To recap, Im building a 10x10x10 shed in my backyard…
Im almost done with my storage shed and boy, have I learned a lot. Not about construction, but about myself.
To recap, Im building a 10x10x10 shed in my backyard so I can remove all the garage junk from my shop to do a complete revamp of my shop layout. In my last blog, I detailed how the kit I bought was deficient in some areas things like too-short or too-long components that had to be replaced. There were also a few things the instructions called for that I simply found to be sub-standard with regards to strength and design efficiency, which I also had to correct.
Now that the project is wrapping up, Ive learned the following:
Im not as young as I used to be. Constructing a 100 sq. ft. building by yourself aint easy. Im sore, aching all over, and Im covered with bruises and scrapes. Also, I cant work as long as I used to, and I take more breaks while I am working.
Cost doesnt always equal quality. This kit was not cheap; in fact, I had to budget this thing for a year and wait till the fall sale to get it. Still, that doesnt mean that it didnt come with a lot of junk components, which it did.
Heights bother me now. As my wife and I have both done a lot of rock climbing and rappelling, this came as quite a shock. But I had more than a few moments of vertigo while up at the peak of the gambrel roof. This bothers me a lot because that didnt used be the case I suppose this relates to the not as young as I used to be theory opined earlier.
And finally, I dont impress myself like I used to. There was a time when accomplishing a major task like this would have me boasting more to myself than to others for weeks. Now I accept it as something I can do because I have the skills, judgment and experience to do it. On this thing, at least, Im good and I know it. And you know, that last item above has a tendency to cancel out the negatives that came before it.
I think thats a fair trade.
Till next time,
A.J.

A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.