By Heather Kestian
Builder’s Grade.
If one more person who comes to our house for the problem du jour and explains that issue with “well, that’s builder’s grade,” my head will likely explode.
Sinks rusted out? I know now that I have metal sinks with some coating to thank for leaking. Sure, I will replace those with porcelain sinks, because I think things should last a little longer in something I like to call “my home.” And my husband will do that work because he rocks, and You Tube is surprisingly educational.
Leaky faucets? Sure, let’s replace those too with something that has a name of the brand on the faucet. If I made something, and I make lots of things, I put my name on it, so people know it can be trusted. Apparently, not everyone thinks like me and this way of thinking seems to be contracting in our day and age. Wow, that last sentence made me sound like my father.
Toilet problems? I have been dying to get something far better to sit on for those precious five minutes of silence I get a day. Let’s replace those too, because, in the infamous words of the plumber, “well, that toilet right there, that’s builder grade.” Queue the YouTube, please! We have toilets to replace!
When did the art and craft of building a house become anything less than an art or a craft? Those walls will watch people grow, the halls will fill with memories and the carpet will likely have a tear or three shed on them from a game of tag gone horribly wrong. This house is going to be someone’s home. Someone might take their first breath in this house, or their last. This house requires a foundation built to last the years of memories that will fill it. Building someone’s home is an amazing job because the builders – the people who are here before anyone moves in – will build a safe haven, a quiet retreat from the storms of the world. I wish I had the skills of these talented men and women. But I don’t, so I – and many others like me – have to rely on those who are artists and craftsmen skilled in the labor of homebuilding. Of memory making.
Builders are special people who turn dreams into reality. Someday, maybe “builder’s grade” will be replaced by the phrase “builder’s trade.” Not a reference to the level of the supply, but to the skill of the person involved.
