My brother-in-law told me I was working too hard on a simple patch job

He's a framer, not a taper, and he saw me spending 45 minutes on a 2 foot by 2 foot patch in my own garage. He said, 'You're putting museum quality work into a wall that's gonna get a bookshelf in front of it.' It hit different because he was right. I was doing three coats, sanding between each, for a spot nobody will ever see. Made me question if I'm overdoing it on every little thing just out of habit. Do you guys ever dial it back on non-showpiece work, or is perfect just what we do?

3 comments

3 Comments

sarah53123d agoMost Upvoted

Honestly, I had to learn to match the effort to the job. Tbh, if a patch is behind a bookshelf, I'll do two coats max and just knock down the big lines, no sanding to glass. My rule now is, if you won't see it from six feet away in normal light, it's good enough. Saves so much time and mud.

the_ivan22d ago

Used to believe every job needed my absolute best work no matter what. That comment from your brother-in-law would have made me mad a few years ago. Now I get it. Wasted so much time making stuff perfect that was going to be covered up anyway. You have to pick your battles or you'll burn out and make no money. That garage patch is a perfect example of a battle you don't need to fight.

black.val17d ago

Took me a long time to learn that lesson too. You can't pour your whole soul into every single task, especially the hidden ones.