First, I hated the fractions. The class always seemed to start with the ruler and measurements. So before even using something like a circular saw or hammer and nails, it would always start with some math.
I was never a math guy.
Then came the fact that there were all the saws and power tools. While the idea of operating some fun power tools was exciting, it was outweighed by the idea of mangling my hands and fingers in a shop class accident.
So when it finally came time for me to start to tackle our first major house project, a basement remodel, I wasn't exactly sure where to start.
The quarantine had given me time to do the project. Of that, I had little doubt. The only question would be if I possessed enough patience and skill to actually follow through with the project. After attempting to prime and sand on my own, I saw the fear in my wife's face, and decided to go with a hired hand.
I got a few quotes, some from word of mouth recommendations, others from the internet. In the end we ended up going with LNG Remodeling after considering all of our options.
While the economic reasons were solid (they ended up being competitively priced somewhere in the middle of most of the quotes I received), the reason we ended up going with Liam and his team was a feeling of trust. Trust that they would treat our job, small as it might be, with just as much care and personal attention as anything in their own homes.
The first morning of the job, Liam arrived with his team of Chris and Bill. Being that I had some extra time to pop in from time to time, I asked if I could chip in. They laughed and agreed to let me handle some of the sanding and later offered to let me help out with the floor assembly.
Now...while I didn't take them up on the latter part, more on that in a moment, I want to share what it meant for me to have two complete strangers work in your home.
I wanted to make an effort to bond, to get to know what the people working on my home were all about.
First I opened up to Liam a little bit about myself. About growing up in State College, getting my degree in communication, and a little bit about being currently furloughed.
I wanted to know if he would be willing to help me out with a project by being willing to just talk a bit about himself and his current work and situation.
He was refreshingly open. Growing up in western Pennsylvania, his father worked in the FBI and how he, too, had graduated from Penn State with a degree in engineering. He had always had a knack for numbers and this steered him towards a career based in financial success.
However, he felt that that while he was doing the things society may have expected of him, he didn't find the experience as rewarding as he had hoped.
So Liam decided to go back to school, get his own MBA and control the projects and direction of his life, beginning with a community first approach.
"I wanted to do projects with the people around me. I wanted to build up areas locally."
To me, this backed my own values. I really believe, at this point in time in America, we desperately needed to talk to our neighbors, and work hard within our communities to rebuild trust and empathy. To hear that the team I had hired had deeply similar values was very reassuring.
We talked about expectations with mask wearing and social distancing, making sure everyone involved understood our mutual risk in this pandemic era. I'm happy to report that so far everyone on the team, as well as everyone in my family, have remained healthy, and I'd like to think part of that was due to the precautions we have all taken.
Being a relatively new homeowner, I had never had a team work on my house before and to be quite honest had no idea how I was supposed to act. Should I be completely hands off? Should I try to become an apprentice? Should I try to make small talk? What if they don't like me? Do they want water? Is it offensive to bring them things? Is it offensive to play Vampyre on a playstation upstairs while two guys paint? What if you write an article while they're doing hard labor?
I had small experiences in my past in terms of home improvement and repair. They weren't insignificant and I wanted to be of some help if able. I also wanted to learn a little bit about the process so I didn't feel so useless.
I was also aware of a certain commercial making light of the people that hire others and then try to help out, and I distinctly remember feeling like I didn't want to be that guy.
As the project got underway, I was introduced to Liam's partners, Chris and Bill; two brothers from neighboring Philipsburg who shared in Liam's vision of doing things on a more local and personal level.
I let them know to essentially make any adjustments they needed to make, and if they needed anything from me to just ask.
I think giving the team space helped allow them to adjust to their new work environment, but it kind of drove me nuts. I wanted to help, and in some very real way, wanted to know more about the people now working to improve my home.
After the first day, and mostly hanging back, I offered to the team that if they want to use me for any kind of simple labor that wouldn't get in their way, I would be on board.
Chris seemed pretty appreciative with the offer and suggested that the next day would be a good day for that since it would be mostly sanding the walls in preparation for painting later.
It ended up being pretty perfect for me. It gave me a chance to talk to both guys about their background.
They talked about how their family was a family of hard working entrepreneurs of various trades, including home contracting and a tow truck company.
I came under the impression that Chris and Bill may have been where Liam is now, at a younger age, but now enjoy doing the nuts and bolts of the job more than the oversight. Having gone from employee, to manager, to employee myself, I felt like I could empathize a bit with that thought process.
We shared stories of where we grew up and what we liked to do. They enjoyed the outdoors, fishing and hunting, while I was more into football and television. I talked about what it was like for me choosing between signing up for the military vs going to college after 9/11 and why I chose to study journalism. Our shared stories helping lead to a stronger relationship and what I hoped would be a positive experience for everyone.
The next two days of the job included more technical expertise and my assistance was not needed. I appreciated this to a large degree, because while I was eager to help, I was not eager to make any mistakes and potentially create more work and make the job more expensive.
I encouraged them to play music if they liked, and let them know if things came up in their personal lives that they needed to be taken care of, that would be fine by me. The quality of the job and their happiness was more important to me than the timing.
They did say that during the floor installation phase I might be useful again to help relay pieces and I thought that would be fine.
Now, when that phase happened, something else also happened, where I got inspired to write.
Like I said, I had studied journalism in college, and now being furloughed from my traditional job, I felt like if a worthwhile topic and thought provoking idea comes across my brain I need to put it to paper and try to develop it.
Regrettably, I didn't let Chris and Bill know I was writing with my headphones in, and they started that part of the job without me.
To be sure, I felt an odd sense of guilt where I felt like I had let the people I was paying to do the work, down.
Thankfully, as they finished for the day, and while they gave me a good natured hard time about it, there was only understanding and respect for each other.
Near the end of the job, there was a few changes we had made to our original contract that changed the end price that we were curious about.
After emailing Liam, he got back right away saying that he had recently lost his Grandmother to Covid-19. Devastating news to anyone and given that we were in the process of exchanging our stories, felt personal to me too.
I let him know to not worry about my question at the moment and that my thoughts were with him.
Chris and Bill were able to finish the job shortly after and Liam came by for a final review of the work and to debrief. The work they had done was beautiful and exactly what my wife and I had asked for. We couldn't have been more satisfied.
In a time where human contact and personal connections seem to be becoming increasingly rare, our experience with Liam, Chris and Bill was overwhelmingly positive and helped reaffirm my wife and I's faith in our neighbors and our community.
