I’m certainly not what anyone would call a carpenter — not by a long shot. When I was a pre-schooler, my parents built a lovely three-bedroom, Cape Cod style house. I got pretty good at identifying tools and handing them to my dad. I knew the difference between a Phillip’s and a slot screwdriver, and where to find the hammer Dad used the day before.
In the early years of my marriage, we did a lot of house remodeling, and (again) I was good at finding the right tools and developed a familiarity with the use of many of the tools in our workshop. But I had never tackled a building project all on my own.
A few years ago, while living on some rural acreage, I needed an outhouse on a remote portion of the property. So, I thought, “I bet I can do this!” I drew the little shed-roofed structure on paper and figured the number of 2-by-4s and sheets of plywood I’d need. It was a two-holer, so to make things easy, I made the dimensions 4 by 8 to take advantage of the size of a sheet of plywood. The most difficult part of the job was cutting the top of the studs at an angle to accommodate the shed roof. But I did it — the whole thing — all by myself. I did need help moving it to its final location, but all of the construction was done by me. I was very proud of myself!
What building project have you done all on your own that you are the most proud of? Share your story in the comments section below.
