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Ever noticed how doing something correctly — not extravagantly, not luxuriously, just with care, precision, and intention — feels almost impossible unless you’re stupid rich?
I’m not even talking about building a mansion. I mean something as modest as:
→ A small house where every corner is truly square
→ Floors that are actually level
→ Materials that don’t peel, warp, or squeak within a year
→ People who show up, do the job thoroughly, and give a damn
You try to go down this path and realize:
You need money to hire a project manager, and then money to hire someone to manage them. You need time to catch every cut corner before it’s hidden behind drywall. You need to fight the entire system — builder standards, supply chain slop, everyone being “fine with good enough” — just to get something that aligns correctly with gravity.
It’s insane. Like, to build a modest 1,500 sq ft house that’s actually built with care, you probably need $2M+ and a net worth in the $5–10M range just to not get steamrolled by mediocrity.
And if you don’t? You either:
- Accept the inevitable misalignments (literal and metaphorical)
- Lose your sanity micromanaging trades who think you’re “too picky”
- Go broke trying to fix everything yourself
Sometimes I wonder if I’m just wired wrong for noticing these things. But once you see a crooked line, a warped wall, a 1-second time drift… you can’t unsee it. You just learn to ignore it. Kind of. On a good day.
I’ve had to make peace with my imperfect, brand new construction.
Curious — do you guys notice this too? Do you care? Ever tried to actually get something done "right"?
What did it cost you?
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