I had my own small construction company a few years ago and when I say "small," I mean "small." I had one full-time carpenter, a second I could usually count on when I needed more help, and several independent electricians, plumbers and painters I'd sub-out to when I got a job.
It was a re-model that led me Jeannie and the experiences I'm about to share with you. She and her husband, Robert, signed me to re-do the bathrooms in their 1930s-era house, plus enlarging several closets and a den.
It was pretty much a straightforward job, except for one of the bathrooms; it looked as if it might have been re-done at some time in the past and re-done poorly. So there I was, one morning, running my new-fangled electronic stud finder back and forth over the suspect wall and trying to determine the underlying structure before taking down the wall.
Enter Jeannie, a 30-something cutie with a pixie haircut, a short compact body and a very out-going personality. She was wearing a short-sleeved pullover shirt and a rather short, flouncy skirt.
"Whatcha doin', Don?" she asked.
"I'm checking out this wall where it backs on to the next room," I answered. "It looks a little funny to me."
"What's that in your hand?"
"Oh, this? It's called a 'stud finder.'"
"A 'stud finder'? How does it work?"
"Well, it's got a magnet, a pretty sensitive magnet, inside it and when I run it over the wall, this little red light comes on when it passes over nails. Knowing where the nails are tells me where the studs are. And then I have some idea of how the wall was built."
"Oh."