Do it right

We installed 2 exterior doors this week. I like to put the door knobs in before the door is put in the rough opening. That way it is easy to tell if you have it in square or you need to shim it at top or bottom. If the door latches it is in square.

Do you see the problem here? The first one I installed this week, at the end of the day when I went to lock up the house both the dead bolt and the knob were in backwards. The keys slots were on the interior. If the door was locked you needed a key to unlock if you were inside the house but outside, just turn the knob. Good job, Royce! That is some "outside the box" thinking. 

As we were installing the second door yesterday, I was telling Micah about my earlier brilliant move. When the door was finally set in place (with close to an 1/8th inch clearance on each side, it was a tight fit.) Micah said, hey dad, you put the lock in backwards again. I guess I am just trying to be inclusive and not lock anyone out.

It took a gallon of paint to paint just the east side of this old garage. I am glad the other 3 sides have steel on them. The wood was mostly devoid of paint and sucked the new coat in. I started with the sprayer but could not get the paint on thick enough to get a good coat so it was brush time.

Had some tenants move out and there was a wall with paint missing in spots. Time for an accent wall. It actually turned out pretty good. Even Sharon said it looked alright.

At some point a door knob had gone through a wall. It had a patch put on it at some time, but the patch had failed. Now there are 2 ways to fix a door knob hole (no, one of those patch kits from Walmart is not appropriate, just saying, see last sentence). One you carefully cut it out square, fill in a piece of sheet rock and then mud over it. After that, you come in and feather the mud back, and after that, come back when it is dry and sand it smooth then paint. 3 day process. Or you go buy one of those door knob wall protectors for $3.49 and stick it to the wall in 15 seconds. Guess which one I did.

When we bought this property, some previous owner had fixed the garage windows by cutting plywood to fit and then running a bolt through to a 2x4 and cinching it tight in place. We had left it for 3 years but with new tenants moving in it was time to get it fixed right. (sorry Chris and Bethany, I should have gotten it fixed when you were living there, and congrats on owning your home now). I have the wood all out but I am waiting for the glass to be ready. As they are steel frames it could be interesting putting the new panes back in. By this time next week, I may be wishing I had left it as it was.

Megan called me this week. She was landscaping and wanted me to see what she was doing. It was a hot afternoon and she was out there working and making the place beautiful. This was after working a twelve hour shift the night before and looking at another 12 hour shift starting that evening. I can not say often enough how much I appreciate tenants who want the house they live in to look nice. I hear people comment as they drive past a house and yard that are a mess, "That must be a rented house". Well, often that is wrong. Many of our tenants take great pride in where they live and want it to look great, and they are willing to invest their own money to make that a reality. Thanks Megan for making my day.

There seems to be 2 ways to do most anything. usually one is the right way and the other, at best is not the right way. You can install door knobs keyed inside the house, not a good choice. You can just do a quick spray paint job and have a lousy cover, not a good choice either. You can try to match paint on a wall or repaint the whole wall. You can fix holes in sheet rock with a cheap patch or one of 2 better ways. You can cover a broken window pane the right way or create an eye sore. 

Or you can do some work and get the job done right. Megan did some work and the job is done right.

Don't take short cuts or the easy way in life. Do it right. When you get older like me, you look back and think, it only would have taken a little more effort to do that right the first time.

That holds especially true for relationships. I have never regretted being kind, but I as I look back I wish I could go back and change the times I was not kind. There are conversations I wish I could make have never have happened, but I can't. There are times I wish I could go back and change my actions but I can't. Maybe I am naive, but I think  actually need to have some of the doors in my life the locks opening from the outside. Come on in and share your story. That way I know where you are at and I will be better able to do the right thing.