The Return of the Handyman

The finished job. New countertop and sinks.

 

 Everyone makes mistakes. I've made a lot of them.

One of the worst mistakes of my young life was letting Louise find out that I could work with my hands. 

After 58 years of remodeling, renovating, and sometimes repainting, five houses, two trailers, and building half of a barn, I was deathly tired of handyman work. I only did it because (1.) it was cheaper than paying someone; (2.) I usually thought I could do a better job than the people available for hire, and (3.) I like being married to Louise. (The third reason is the most important one.) 

But I never liked handyman work. I looked forward to spending my declining years in Knoxville without doing any more of it. Surely, she would have respect for my age.

Sadly, no. It was not to be.

The previous owners of our house had lived there since it was built in 1984. The old lady died there in the fall of 2022 at age 100. Some "upgrading" was needed.

After repainting everything, new carpets in the bedrooms, and new wood floors throughout the rest of the house (which thankfully, I didn't do), Louise's attention turned to the bathrooms. The sinks and mirrors must be replaced. By who? Me.

So the first order of business was replacing the mirror with medicine cabinets.

 New medicine cabinets from Wayfair.

 

I would have preferred to countersink the medicine cabinets, but our neighbors were just on the other side of that wall. 

The barn door came as a bundle of boards and hardware with "some assembly required."

 

 Next, there was no door between the master bedroom and master bath. A barn door came from Wayfair with total assembly required. 

 

And finally, we bought a slab of laminated acacia wood, which I cut to fit and to which Louise applied many, many coats of stain and varnish. The scary part was drilling the holes for the sink drains and faucets, because if I got them in the wrong places the whole project would have to be done over.

 

The physically most difficult part was installing the sink drains, each of which required two sections of flexible tubing and me laying on my back with my head and arms under the counter. But it all came together and it all works. The only thing left to do is install some tile on the walls.

 

Now, can I please remove my handyman hat and throw it away? I really don't want to do this stuff any more.

(Photos: Fuji X-T20 camera, Fujicron XC 16-50mm lens.)

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail me a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

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Photography and text copyright 2024 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography     handyman     home renovations     Fuji X-T-20 camera     Fujicron XC 16-50mm lens