I'll huff and I'll puff...

I haven’t broken out a measuring tape or anything but I would say the shed today is about 1/3 of the way done.  Hubs has put in many long hours, cutting, bolting, measuring…and I hand him tools.  Oh, occasionally I will use the drill, never the saw, and also hold the level.  This shed, I think, is being built as if the big, bad wolf might someday try to blow it down.  To which, the response I received from hubs was “Have you ever seen the news after a tornado went through?”  Fair enough.

My initial fear, in deciding on the shed plan, was that it wasn’t going to be big enough.  We finally landed on the size based on building permits issued through the county.  Oh, and we have a new rule in our county that you cannot have more than one additional building, other than your house that is, on a lot without a variance.  That’s right.  Not two sheds.  Not a shed and a boat house down by the water, which carries a different requirement anyway as it would be in the flood plain and need a permit from the DNR.  Basically, the variance for the second building, say a garage, would mean application to the county, plans, inspection, approval, building permit based on size…oh,  and fee.  Don’t forget the fee.  You have to pay a rather tidy fee to be able to build that second building on your own lot, to pay for the variance, you see. 

We work pretty well together, actually.  Its years of practice. I try to anticipate the tool he will need next as invariably it will be on the other side of the project.  I keep an extra screw or two on me at all times as I know he will drop one, or one will be bad or not usable, and he will have gathered just the right amount, usually held in his mouth. I tend to ask a lot of questions, he tends to not always want to answer.  I know when to stop asking questions and he knows when to change his tone.  I am especially quick at adding numbers, even fractions, and he has a method he uses that has baffled me for almost 40 years.  I think the nuns taught it to him or something, so you know, it must be the way to do it.  I blurt out the answer while he goes through this crazy formula and then agrees with me.  Okay, as long as we both get there, and agree on the measurement.  I will just stand here and hold up this building while you calculate this all out. 

But, I am not good at algebra, geometry or any other higher math.  I can add, subtract, divide and multiply.  This week I have been party to the Pythagorean Theorem more times than I can count.  Said outloud.  I got that sucker.  I guess, if you are a builder or somehow in the trade or even a DIYer, it is something you can use your entire life! So, a math teacher could retort “When in your life will you ever use this? When you are building a shed!”