Craftsmanship is its own reward. Will anyone know? YES! YOU will know. As Mike Holmes (“Holmes on Homes”) says: “If you’re going to do it, do it right the first time!”

One of my pet peeves about modern “construction” is that it is an assembly line. Tradesmen — I cannot call them craftsmen — are paid on a piecework basis. So there is no incentive to do it right; just to do it fast. When they work on 10, 20, or 50 of the same cookie cutter design for the same developer, the same mistakes will propagate to all of the jobs.

Even your century old home and storefront suffer from workers who meant well but did not fully appreciate the “damage” they were causing with their mistakes.

Will your buildings be here in 10 years? Probably. It will take longer than that for the virus of poor workmanship to bring them down. Will they be here in 50 years? They will if you apply your skills to rehabilitate them properly. Consider the “turret tower” on your store. If you had not repaired the siding and rooflet, how much longer would it have been hanging on the corner of the building? Now with new shingle siding and new roofing it will be good for another 25-50 years.

There may be ghosts, but quality work and appreciation for what has gone before you will more than honor those ghosts and should keep them from haunting you.