A Job Worth Doing

I had an employer once tell me, "A job worth doing is worth doing right." I remind myself of that once in a while when my motivation is struggling for doing some task that I don't want to put my whole effort into. However, I had a situation recently which will help me live by the advice much more diligently.

The builders of our house only insulated about half of the walls in our garage: only the parts with living space on the other side of the wall (there was no insulation or drywall on the other parts of the walls). Of course, it's not a crime to leave it like that, but what's the point of having a garage if it's going to be just as cold as outdoors? So I had to insulate it myself. Wow, that was a much bigger job than I thought. I had to:
Purchase the drywall, insulation, and other supplies
Rent a truck
Staple up the insulation
Measure the walls
Cut the drywall
Attach the panels to the wall
Fill in the cracks with drywall mud and tape

Now, I'm not necessarily opposed to home improvement. It's just kind of frustrating when the builders could have just completed the garage insulation much easier and faster than I could. They have all the tools and experience, plus probably getting a discount on materials.

There are two things to gain from this experience. First, I know a lot more about drywall and insulation than I did a few days ago, and I have more confidence in my home improvement skills. But second, I have experienced what it's like for someone to only half-complete a project and I have to come in and finish it without previously having the resources or experience. Next time I'm tempted to half-complete a project, I can recall what it's like for the person on the other end and go ahead and finish the project so that they don't have to.