The winds of change are blowing as the season’s turn is upon us, which means Spring cleaning! We here at the Alpine office took things a step further with clearing out the old and making room for new; We’re talking remodel.
After 25 long and wonderful years of looking at the same old same surroundings, there is only so much rearranging that can happen before there is no more Fung to Shui. We had reached a point where time allowed, finances were forgiving enough, and we were plum sick of pre-millennium vibes. So, why not switch it up a bit further?
Not typically one to tackle the nitty gritty on my own, it has been quite the adventure and learning curve watching our field technicians work in-house to complete the remodel job throughout this last month. From tearing through walls in true Kool-Aid Man fashion to setting new support beams to keep us from caving in, from custom-crafting housings that hide exposed piping to the finesse of watching the flooring guy carefully select the flow of color, there has been a lot of eye-opening realizations. One of the seemingly smaller realizations being that curse words are more colorful in the heat of an unexpected turn of events. The biggest realization? Easy – that I can’t believe there are real people out there in the world brave enough to tackle these sorts of projects alone and without professional help!
Understanding that we live in the age of DIY and online tutorials, I feel like it is vital and imperative to point out that not all advice is good advice. Not all directions are good directions. Not all DIY gurus possess enough expertise to be labeled as such. (Have you heard our #DamnitFrank ads?) Seeing first-hand the number of surprises that came up, the amount of redirection that needed to take place to get us to the finish (a finish still in progress) and knowing that this is by far not these guys’ first rodeo – again, I find myself baffled at the thought of someone getting their Google on to feel sufficient in never-before-attempted skills. I’m all for growth and learning, but I’m also a bit of a realist in terms of weighing risk & possible repercussions of said risk.
There are many things I am confident I could learn and excel in via the internet; How to get a stain out of delicate fabrics or how to execute the “Oops I Did It Again” choreography flawlessly, that sort of thing. What I am NOT confident I could learn from a quick google search and TikTok vide (and without hands-on training/guidance from a certified expert) would be things like rewiring electricals to move light switches form one wall to another, or how to best place support beams, or how to level an uneven floor, or how to reroute boiler piping, or how to build new trim from scratch. Y’all – I couldn’t even choose the paint without hiccups.
While I applaud the pluckiness of the brave souls out there going it alone with their remodels, the two biggest and glaring questions for DIY-ers I am left with after this experience would simply be:
- How are you so brave as to confidently assure yourself you got this?
- WHY?! Why would a person ever want to do this ALONE?
Alas, I suppose some questions are better left unanswered, especially if they help keep us in business! (Thank you in advance.) If you find yourself held up with unexpected turns during your next remodel – don’t be shy! Our guys are more than ready to help you get the job done right!