So I read "The Three-Martini Renovation" (WSJ, Sep 28, 07) with a mixture of awe and horror. Awe at the idea that people can -- and do -- rope gangs of friends into providing free labor around the house. And horror at imagining how that might play with me around.
The answer? Badly. I am the type of person who measures three times before cutting once; who breaks out the stud finder, two levels, a pencil and a measuring tape just to hang a mirror in the hall; who insists that the workspaces have everything laid out in a specific, tidy way because "that is my Switzerland, goddamn it! It is there for peace and order and its borders are inviolable!" I am not quite the Anal-Retentive Carpenter, but I get where he's coming from.
So assuming I could get over the shame of inviting my friends over to do manual labor for me, I'd have to then get over my innate suspicion that they'd screw up. And really, it's already a miracle that my friends forgive me my beady-eyed distrust and unreasonable perfectionism. I don't want to push it.
However, I just love working on other people's houses. I know, I know ... the contradictions kill me too.
I have done this, but without booze, with a couple of my friends. We all are single and own our own home. We also have the same low housekeeping standards. And there are projects where you need 2 or 3 people. We just went round robin once a month and the host person fixed a crock-pot meal for the end of the afternoon.
We are also doing maintenance type things rather than full scale remodeling. Weatherstripping all the windows, not replacing them.
Posted by: Bureinato | 2007.10.01 at 16:19
This topic sparks instant revulsion for me. You just don't use people that way.
Posted by: Kerry | 2007.10.02 at 04:15
Yeah, that was my first reaction, too: you're having people over to work, but you're calling it a party? Who do you think you're fooling?
That said, I can see how trading work (or round-robinning) with a party afterwards could be a lot of fun, or at least a reasonable situation (like asking people to help you move, knowing they will at some point reciprocate.) But you can't call it a party. That's just exploitative.
Posted by: ginger | 2007.10.02 at 13:16
You love working on other people's houses? You're welcome any time - how are your drywalling skills?
I can see a distinction, though, between demo work and actual construction. We had a friend with power tools over to rip out our basement, and we paid for beer and pizza afterwards. That's swinging hammers and destroying stuff, and is decent stress relief. I'd show up for a few hours of that. Cleaning up or building things is actual manual labor that requires thought, and asking for that does have a taking advantage feel to me. Contractors get paid good money for that sort of thing.
So I guess I'll rely on my engineer in-laws, who I can take advantage of with minimal guilt. :)
Posted by: Ellen | 2007.10.03 at 07:09
Just after reading this post, I ran across this one on another blog I read:
http://1902victorian.com/blog/2007/10/wsj-eutawans-are-drunks.html
The post and comments are from some of the people featured in the story, who feel that they were a bit misrepresented.
Posted by: Ellen | 2007.10.03 at 07:50
A bit? Holy cats, that's more than a bit.
Bureinato, I can totally see the advantage to round-robin work. And I should have made it clearer than I'm all for people working on one another's houses ... just don't call it a party and make like there's very little diff between witty reparatee over the white wine and razing a structure. It's like people who throw "moving parties" that are really all "pack and move my stuff and I'll throw in a pizza."
Hey ... THAT'S your story: negotiating the fine line between communal/reciprocal pooling of effort and being taken advantage of by your friends in a so-called social context.
Posted by: Lisa S. | 2007.10.03 at 10:27