Entropy

Our beautiful windows and doors are taking a beating.

en·tro·py  /entrəpē/  noun: 

     2. ...gradual decline into disorder.  

         synonyms: deterioration, degradation

Caution, I'm letting off a little steam below.

Entropy starts wearing away one's work, even during the creation effort.

With each new trade comes the very real possibility that they will:

- damage the hard work of others

- ignore instructions and do the wrong thing

- not perform to expectations

- point out that the previous trade got it wrong, now leaving the current trade unable to meet expectations.

Almost daily, there are small defeats.  There is something to be said for having someone else be responsible for making the sausage.

Some are fixable (adds to the personal workload, because you aren't going to trust that guy to take care of it adequately), and some are just going to have to be that way now.

Paint on a window?  It will be a pain, but we can sand it off and refinish.  It might not, if we are lucky, be noticeable.

Collide a ladder with the door frame?  Thanks for that gouge, that will be there always.

Make a big wet mess on the covering over the finish floor?  Hmm.  We'll find out later if that did anything or not.

It is hard to find a good balance between keeping a close eye on things, and giving professionals room to do their job.

I'm beginning to understand why some of the career construction superintendents have the kind of personalities that they often have.

Is a detailed conversation at the start of the job, combined with an annotated drawing printed out and put in the workman's hands, enough to communicate expectations?  Apparently not.

Do I really need to tell someone to be careful around the new drywall, or that those expensive finish materials they kicked into a pile are delicate?  

Apparently I do.

And so it goes, every day.

Can't we take that outside, 5 steps away?