You would be something of a rarity in our society if you’ve never heard someone say, “They don’t build them like they used to.” It’s something of a mantra, I suppose. A car gets dented, a lawn mower quits working, a tool has to be replaced, a roof begins to sag. No matter what it is, seems like someone in the group will say, “They don’t build them like they used to,” and bystanders will nod in solemn agreement.

Well, after my forty years of remodeling experience, being in houses, under houses, on top of house, in attics, basements and crawl spaces, my response is, “Be grateful they don’t build them like they used to!”

I’ve seen old houses built with the same kind of shortcuts, cheap tricks and inferior materials that people talk about in new construction. I’ve seen two-by-fours used for rafters and ceiling joists when two-by-sixes would have been the minimum. I’ve seen studs, joists and rafters set on twenty-four inch spacing when sixteen inches would not have been any too close. I’ve seen floor and ceiling joists jointed together in the middle of a span and held together by a piece of wood with only two nails on each side of joint.

I can’t imagine that there has ever been a time in the history of humankind when there haven’t been those too cheap, too greedy, too impatient or just too contrary to do something the way it should be done. Some of those people were carpenters. And so, cheap, inferior houses were built. But I suspect there have always been those others who were too honest, too determined, too caring and too decent to take the easy route at the expense of others. They used two-by-eights when two-by-sixes might have been OK. They culled out weak lumber, put in an extra nail, added cross bracing and used supporting walls.

This is the kind of carpenter who worked out your salvation. And when it comes to building lives, he’s still doing that the same way.

H. Arnett
3/17/10