Rule of Three

So I have this theory.  I'm not a fancy scientist like some of my other friends (yeah I'm talking about you Nikki) so my theory might actually be a hypothesis, but that's not what I'm here to talk about.  My theory goes like this: Any home related project you decide will be more cost effective to "complete" yourself instead of paying a professional to do will result in a minimum of three trips to your local home store.  It doesn't matter what you need or think you need; a bolt, a box of galvanized screws, one washer, an air compressor; you will eventually find yourself at a home-store at least three times before  you can fully begin your frugal project.

I know this theory to be fairly accurate because I tested it this past weekend.  My father came to town (as he so graciously does from time-to-time) to help me with a significant house project.  I decided it would be a good idea to install ducting in my house so I can install a gas furnace and replace my electric baseboard heat.  As a bonus, this new ducting could also accommodate air conditioning; and that's reason enough for me to take on such a project.  It didn't seem like a difficult task since my house is only one story and all the infrastructure would be in the basement so I invited my father up for a weekend of fun, merriment, and heavy lifting.  

Well, after a screaming hot start on Saturday morning, things slowed to a crawl.  The long and short of it is this: we spent fifteen hours working on Saturday and another eight working on Sunday (before I sent my father home).  We made four trips to various home stores (all on Saturday); we destroyed one "professional" drill; we (meaning I) spent a bunch of money buying new tools and other tool accessories; we cut five holes in my floor (out of fourteen); we managed to hang about twelve feet (out of a total of about fifty feet) of duct.

The saving grace is that this weekend was blue bird days in the high seventies, so ideal for outdoor activity.  Fortunately we were solidly held-up in my basement so we avoided any chance of enjoyable outdoor activities.  Lucky for me we didn't get anywhere close to finishing so I'll get lots more cellar time in the near future.  Sun exposure can be rough you know...