perfect

well, building a new building, or for that matter, a new piece of furniture, or, in fact, building anything requires that we have a vision in our mind when we start.  usually, that vision assumes that we can execute our concepts perfectly, there will be no flaws, and that we will be 100% happy with our progress as we work.  not often the case. throughout the building process, and particularly,  as we approach the final few weeks before sam moves into his new metal shop, we have been "encouraged" by a number of realities that often rear their ugly heads to make some compromises.  don't get me wrong, i am THRILLED with everyone's efforts on this building from the first shovel full of earth to the last board nailed up on friday, but i have often worked on projects with more substantial budgets of $ and time, and therefore know this one could have been 'better'.  maybe.  we could have used the new, more efficient spray foam insulation ... +$2000 at least.  we could have gone for the fancier door units that i saw when i first entered the window and door showrom at miles ... +$8000., the next level up of windows ... $2500., and we could have finished the upstairs this year and been done with it ... + who knows? $15,000.?  more?  as mr. cheek's article from the times above mentions, we have arrived in the land of mr. wither's 'all right', and, as always, we're happy to be there. her's a link to the times article online if you can't read the one above.

 land of 'all right' .. fits into the existing landscape ok ... one of my builder friends commented that 'it will look like it's always been there'.  good enough for me ..

 where we are as of today ... i had always envisioned a pair of formal 'entablature like trim details' like the one on the main shop, but i personally never got around to executing them before matt and nat arrived there friday with the siding.  they were always 'off budget' items that i was going to add in on some weekend or other, with some sweat equity, but as we were all studying the situation friday, off the list they went .. move on ... 'all right'..

so, in the end, we did 'pretty good' .. the doors can open wide for work in the summer, check.  radiant heat in the concrete floor, check ... slate roof to match the other buildings, check, no posts in the main work area, check ... up to code wiring and welding fume exhaust .. check, soon ... we've definitely arrived in mr. wither's 'land of all right'.

for more of mr.cheek's thoughts on boat building, see this link 

his writing is full of little gems of observation, like the one below... food for thought.

"Mr. Greenley was never perturbed about a mistake; he simply set about finding the most efficient fix. He understood intuitively that surges of negative emotion not only interfere with problem-solving; they also get built into the object you’re working on."

and for a few interesting thoughts on moving your thninking skills forward, try this article in the new yorker from atul gawande ...