There are three reasons I’m writing this: 1) to make sure that I get this garage project right; 2) to invite additional thoughts and comments that could add value to the project; and 3) to share my experience with anyone who is considering spending the time and money to build and furnish a garage, but who may not know how to get started...
...However, without a plan, sorting out the details as you go can lead to forgetting things, or actually getting lost in those details, and thereby losing sight of equally important details and/or the overall purpose of the project.
It’s human nature. It’s certainly my nature.
It's OK to be brutally honest with yourself, but like others have shared don't be too hard
on yourself. Using myself as an example, here's some perspective on all this.
1) First off, after several iterations of 20/20 hindsight over the years, I've come to the realization
that once Road Trip starts a project, this photo says it all:
'Press on Regardless'
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(credit: Found long ago, Unknown)
Let's just say that the desire to push a project over the finish line often places me mentally in a situation
where I get the tunnel vision, and I no longer take full advantage of what I've learned
(the hardest possible way) over the years. :0)
You know, where the desire to 'get it done' starts to outweigh rational thought about 'getting it right'.
I think it says a lot that you are stopping and re-evaluating before instead of after. I'd call this Large Project
Maturity, and by your actions you're obviously ahead of me in this area. (!)
Years ago I actually had a mentor share with me a phrase that puts all this into proper perspective:
"Quality is the Constant, and Time is the Variable."
When I was younger, there was no time for philosophical nonsense like that. But now that I'm working on
stuff that will (hopefully) remind others of what I was like before I checked out, I find that phrase puts
everything into the proper perspective for yours truly. I actually wash everything against this statement
to make sure that my project eyes aren't larger than my project stomach.
To the point where if I can't use that mindset on what I'm currently working on (normally due to lack of
planning turning into serious time constraints by others) ...then I'm working on the wrong stuff. And these
days I'll hear myself saying, "This is not a good use of my time", followed by actually disentangling
myself from that project. (Even better when I decline an invitation at the outset to work on something
when I *know* that the owner of the project lives the "Time is the Constant, and Quality is the Variable"
philosophy.
So much less frustration in life since adopting Step #1 fully.
2)
Even a good plan, executed once, often leaves opportunities discovered after the fact. There is a saying akin to you need to build a house three times to get it right - same goes for garages. You need to build one, live in it, and take note of all the things you would have done differently.
Or, listen to folks who gained that experience the hard way and you won't have to repeat it.
I absolutely agree with this. Especially when tackling something outside my comfort zone, I used to
beat myself up when I didn't get something 100% right on the first try. Using math and a more reasonable
90% improvement for each pass at a project, you end up with:
1st pass: 90% of the goal
2nd pass: 90% improvement (10% remaining x 90% = 9% gain = 99% of goal)
3rd pass: 90% improvement (1% remaining x 90% = 0.9% gain =
99.9% of goal)
Math majors refer to this as an asymptote function. (
Definition) I refer to this as there's
always room for improvement...but that's OK, and this math function absolves me of
having to feel bad when a signature piece is never quite done. :0)
3) What do I focus on before starting a project?
Using the hobby of engine building as an example, once I had fixed enough of my
own stuff to have enough confidence to help others with their engines, I successfully
put together a lot of powerplants that achieved the initial (oversimplified) goals we had
in mind, but at the same time none of us were very happy to actually live with the results?
The bottom line is that back then we were always chasing a single HP number. (A greedy,
unrealistic number at that. :0) Essentially when making that HP, the engine was great.
The rest of the time it was a ill-behaving diva that made driving a chore instead of a reward
in the real world.
Instead, when we changed our focus to building to a (more end goal specific) desired torque curve
**
...this allowed us to build towards something to be enjoyed for how *we* were going to use it
in the real world -- instead of building to some HP number that only made us feel good while
bench racing.
We actually ended up Trying Easier, spending less money chasing the dream, etc, etc. In this
area, by your comments I think that you are actually in a good place with your garage build.
****
I could go on & on, but IMHO I would consider you still in the sweet spot of this project, especially
if you take the long term view. My AWD DD has developed an exhaust leak in the midpipe that may not
stay together until spring...and it's snowing, so of course I'm deferring maintenance until I get a
dry day to get under there and fix it in the driveway. So from my perspective you have some
fantabulous problems to solve.
Cheers --
**(especially when we included the transmission + rear end gearing & ending up with a better
idea of how much sheer overall push there was. Or how much improvement at a specific mph in
each of the usable gears at that speed. Or how much would it be better able to climb a specific
section of road featuring a significant grade that was driven regularly.)
