Home projects...everything takes so long!
 

This weekend my home project (besides the usual cut the lawn , etc) was to replace the handle on a sliding glass door.

OK , I know I had a handle I already bought (maybe 5 years ago :) ) so by some miracle I find it in like 5 minutes. I'm thinking this job will be done in 10 minutes. It actually has some screws in the handle holes so I bring it to the door and there are already holes drilled. Great. Then I try it on there and Ut Oh , the screws are not long enough. This brings back flashbacks as to why this job didn't get finished half a decade ago. So now I measure the door width and determine I want 1 1/2 inch flat head machine screws so that I can use the locking (airplane) nuts on the outside. Now this has to be pretty exact to use the locking nuts I want but not have the screw heads stick out past the top of the nuts where someones finger etc could get cut , scraped ,scratched. So its off to the hardware store. I find the screws no problem. However....the nuts I want don't come for that size screw. So after looking in every box there for the right size I determine I must go up in size of the screw to match the minimum size of the available airplane nuts. Fine , I get the matching nuts and bolts, drive home.

I try the handle again and because I had to buy bigger screws , they will not fit the holes I had drilled years ago. OK , where's the drill and bits. Drill is miraculously right in front of me but it takes a while to find the set of metal drilling bits (sliding door is metal frame around the double ply glass). OK up the stairs , open the drill box and every bit is in there...except the one I need. Back down stairs , go through all the tool boxes , find the right drill. Back up stairs. Drill the holes , insert the screws through the handle and door , tighten everything down. Perfect fit for the screw and airplane nuts..job is complete and at 100% quality level.

Now the bad news....its been a total of three hours since I started the job!! :( I hate when that happens. :)

Not a real home project without at least three trips to the store...then a fourth on Sunday after everything is closed so you have to drive twice as far.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

everything with home ownership seems to take 3 times as long and cost twice as much.

i recently had that same drill bit problem it was 1/8 ,i keep thinking i should go get one,i hate it when that happens

If it were a boat it would take at least 6 hours!

so funny and so true, now I add the 4yr old and 2yr old "helper" multipliers and its a whole weekend job!

i'll do it tomorrow