In 17 hours I went from a non-handy, uninterested-when-it-comes-to-around-the-house-projects man to a confident, willing-to-learn-new-skills-around-the-house man. Lisa and I wanted to have wood floors in our home, so I got some quotes on what it would cost to have someone come in "turn-key" style and lay the wood. The verdict for this young, soon-to-be parents, couple: having someone install floors is outrageously priced. (I take that back. It's not outrageous. It's just expensive. In fact, after installing the floors with my bro's-in-law and a few generous friends, I understand why floor installers charge a lot--it's hard work! Actually, relative to how hard the work is, I'm now convinced they don't charge nearly enough.)

So I decided I'd learn how to install wood floors on the fly with some trusted advice readily accessible by phone. I learned how to cut wood to fit in corners, use a massive nail gun, remove, repaint and restore baseboards (fyi: I learned to always re-affix baseboards from right to left...I tried left to right and I can tell you firsthand that it doesn't work well), how to use a skill saw and a jigsaw, and how to rack a floor. I was a great experience. I'm glad I decided to jump in over my head knowing it would force me to learn.

And I saved around $3,000 by doing it myself. Come on over and enjoy the floors with us.