Deep Chat with My Contractor & The Plumbers

Talking to Strangers (About Music)

When you buy a house and decide to gut renovate it, you are suddenly in contact with a lot of strangers you have to learn to trust. Last November, I hired upstate contractor Andy Kane from Peak Builders, and he began to work on the fixer-upper we'd purchased in Elka Park, NY. It has been 10 months since then, and there have been an amazing cast of characters Andy has brought in do the plumbing and electrical, to tile the bathrooms, fix the roof, deliver the wood, to paint and help him with all the massive amount of carpentry. Despite wanting these guys to fix up my house as fast as possible (throughout a pandemic as well as all the normal disruptions that make a renovation last far longer than one thinks it should), I often stop to chat with them about...well, about whatever's on my mind, or theirs. It is a lovely bunch up on the mountain, and it has been fascinating to get to know them. On this day last February, I must have been thinking as usual about how much to trust or distrust others, how much people can count on other people, and the guys were more than happy to jump in with their thoughts. It is fitting that the walls were literally down around in the gutted master bedroom as we chatted about the walls we put up with one another as humans, and how in charge we are of what happens between us...right down to how much we can control ourselves from going to all-out war. A huge hearty thank you to Andy and his amazing team (including Jerry and Jesse chatting here, from Batavia Kill Plumbing & Heating) for all the good mojo they brought in to this crazy house we bought, for all their hard work on our behalf, and for their humanity. It has been a pleasure. Talking to the strangers you hire to help renovate, understanding them as humans and having them understand you, is a beautiful thing.