Law of Diminishing Returns

After 9 months of doing things by ourselves (of course with help from friends and families), we're getting to the point where we need to start bringing in experts. Surely, we are not alone in this affliction. We have it on good word that Jay's stepbrother John Jr (building a house from the ground up by himself) also suffers from this malady.

It goes something like this: The further along in a project you get, the more tasks and sub-tasks arise demanding your attention and resources, thus breaking any focus or concentration to the point where you develop an intimate understanding of the old analogy, "Like a chicken with his head cut off." As focus is broken, productivity drops and you begin to question how you got here.

That's when you say screw it - it's time to call for help! Sometimes, this is a neccesity. For example, Jay's stepdad John, in assessing our bathroom addition plans, was visibly disturbed when noticing that our main water service line is 1/2" galvanized pipe. This pipe (commonly used in 90 year old buildings) has a tendency to develop calcium deposits along the insides which in turn restrict water flow. Since normal size pipe in new construction single family homes averages 1" supply, we are short to begin with, and excess buildup over 90 years is not encouraging. What this basically means is that we'd be lucky to have water pressure above a slow drip if we expand as planned without upgrading service.

Cue calls to plumbing contractors to investigate and estimate the cost of this further! We've settled on a local outfit who has experience dealing with the village's building permits dept, and thus ensure timely permits, inspections and most importantly... completed work! They'll be coming by Wednesday to tear up our basement and give us brand new and improved water service.