# Need "Atta Girl!" for My Mad Construction Skills **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 24, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497 "2008-05-24T21:46:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/1 "2008-05-24T21:46:08Z")
I did it! Today I knocked out a section of my kitchen wall (down to the studs), added some horizontal 2x4s between the vertical studs, and put up drywall! I even re-wired an old socket and put a new, purty plug in. On Tuesday I replaced our horrifying kitchen light with a new light-fan combo and it doesn’t even wobble an iota! The secrets to my successes this week have been: a) to acknowledge that I’m not very good at this stuff and to be okay with slowing waaaaay down and thinking things through; and, b) to stop when I’m frustrated and start doing sloppy things. Now, I need aspirin. Lots and lots of aspirin. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/2 "2008-05-24T21:49:44Z")
Wow. You have no idea how unwilling I am to do that kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/3 "2008-05-24T22:01:49Z")
Atta Girl! ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/4 "2008-05-24T23:03:05Z")
Very nice. Have you already done the taping, mudding and sanding? That’s the part I hate. Well, besides the everything else about drywalling. Re: the new socket. Black to brass, white to silver? ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/5 "2008-05-24T23:30:10Z")
Good for you! And you’re smarter than me: I get tired and I just want to be done so I start half-assing it. Fortunately I haven’t done anything permanent. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/6 "2008-05-24T23:36:43Z")
One minor nitpick. If they’re “mad,” they have to be “skillz.” 😉 Aside from that, atta girl! I’m like **Silver Tyger Girl**. My theatrical set-building experience is not a good thing for this kind of project. The axiom “Twenty feet covers a lot” doesn’t work well for home improvement. The fact that you’re going slow, thinking things through, and stopping when you get tired and frustrated leads me to believe there is NOT a man involved in this project. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![krisolov](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krisolov/32/3724_2.png) [@krisolov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/krisolov)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/7 "2008-05-24T23:41:09Z")
rock on Jenn! My better half prepped our bedroom floor so we can lay a new laminate floor on Monday. We just decided we would pull the trigger on the floor this morning. Nothing like planning ahead 😉 I wisely stuck to the more manly task of leveling of a portion of our brick patio. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/8 "2008-05-25T00:11:40Z")
Good job! I was real proud when I assembled our new futon today. I am the Queen of the Hex Key! I don’t do drywall or electricity though - Mr Rebo does that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/9 "2008-05-25T02:03:59Z")
You go, **Jennshark**!! ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/10 "2008-05-25T02:18:43Z")
Yay Jennshark! It’s amazing how impressed people are with women with mad skillz. I once cleaned out the trap under my kitchen sink, and a friend thereafter insisted on introducing me with, “And she does _plumbing_!” like I’d replumbed the whole house. But you just did a bunch of stuff that scares me – I don’t do _anything_ that involves electricity. Now, floors, those are easy. Plus Papa Tiger and I learned that if we could succeed in laying a laminate floor together, we’re probably divorce-proof. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/11 "2008-05-25T12:47:44Z")
i’m impressed with the electrical. i saw my father and uncles get zapped too many times to ever be comfortable with it. i’m looking to do some smashing and plastering in mid june. i’ll be looking for elec. help after i get the ceiling and walls prettied up. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/12 "2008-05-25T13:15:38Z")
Wahoo! Thanks for the props! Perhaps I overstated the wiring part: I replaced a few switch/plug boxes and the pluggy part (yicky black to white). I re-wired by following exactly how they were wired when I took things apart (and consulted my “Electricity for Dummies” book). I haven’t taped and mudd-ed yet. I still have to take down cabinets, smash crap down to the studs, and drywall the 3/4 of the kitchen still left. The previous owner(s) have five layers of crap on the walls: plastic tile sheets, artificial brick sheets, plaster, and two layers of old sheetrock. The studs are kind of random (not 16" on center, to understate the situation), so it’s a big mess. I have had to learn to stop when I’m frustrated. I have several crappy “frustration projects” I can visit in this house to remind myself that it’s better to stop, think about it, and come back the next day or week. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/13 "2008-05-25T13:16:52Z")
[QUOTE=Mama Tiger] Yay Jennshark! It’s amazing how impressed people are with women with mad skillz. I once cleaned out the trap under my kitchen sink, and a friend thereafter insisted on introducing me with, “And she does _plumbing_!” like I’d replumbed the whole house. But you just did a bunch of stuff that scares me – I don’t do _anything_ that involves electricity. Now, floors, those are easy. Plus Papa Tiger and I learned that if we could succeed in laying a laminate floor together, we’re probably divorce-proof. 😃 [/QUOTE] Wanna come do my kitchen floor in a few months? 😛 We should have a “Habitats for Dopers” club, where we gang up to contribute mad skillz to one another’s homes. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/14 "2008-05-25T13:23:16Z")
Yay for you! Even though your plug switching wasn’t the most complex task, you get an atta girl anyway for keeping your head and doing it right and not being intimidated by it. That’s miles ahead of most of us. One question, your kitchen fan/light combo: is that a ceiling fan/light or an exhaust sucking fan over the stove type? I put a small ceiling fan w/light in over my dining table, which is basically part of the kitchen not in a separate room, and got a lot of dubious looks from construction-type friends and relatives. Apparently it _just isn’t done_ but I did it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/15 "2008-05-25T15:01:10Z")
Atta girl! _pats your head_ Got any more projects on the horizon? ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/16 "2008-05-25T16:09:45Z")
[QUOTE=Queen Tonya] Yay for you! Even though your plug switching wasn’t the most complex task, you get an atta girl anyway for keeping your head and doing it right and not being intimidated by it. That’s miles ahead of most of us. One question, your kitchen fan/light combo: is that a ceiling fan/light or an exhaust sucking fan over the stove type? I put a small ceiling fan w/light in over my dining table, which is basically part of the kitchen not in a separate room, and got a lot of dubious looks from construction-type friends and relatives. Apparently it _just isn’t done_ but I did it anyway. [/QUOTE] The fixture I put in this week is a light/ceiling fan combo. I wonder why folks were looking askance at your fixture? The fan in the kitchen makes a world of difference for cooling off. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/17 "2008-05-25T16:12:56Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] Atta girl! _pats your head_ Got any more projects on the horizon? [/QUOTE] Well, I think the kitchen is going to be the Big Summer Project. I also need to finish trimming out the bathroom (put in vinyl floor in the fall; am avoiding having to cut angle-y quarter round and baseboards ☹ ). I also need to dig out about 12 million fence post-holes, square up the fence, and cement the posts in. The fence was part of the purchase deal last summer, but we got screwed by the seller (on a lot of things). My 6’ stockade fence posts have no cement in the holes, so the fence is leaning out from the winter freezes. In other words, I will have projects going until I’m dead. Possibly even after. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/18 "2008-05-25T16:41:52Z")
Atta Girl times 10.0 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/19 "2008-05-25T16:55:07Z")
Atta girl! Did I mention that Mad Skillz increase a woman’s Hawtness Index tenfold? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497/20 "2008-05-25T16:58:42Z")
[QUOTE=Jennshark] Wanna come do my kitchen floor in a few months? 😛 We should have a “Habitats for Dopers” club, where we gang up to contribute mad skillz to one another’s homes. [/QUOTE] Depends on what kind of floor. 😃 Seriously, next time we’re living in a house we own (we’re renting right now because we refused to pay the insane prices for houses in this area), tiling is going to be my next project. It’s just my kind of finicky. That was the big thing we learned putting down the wood floor – Papa Tiger is best at the scary power tool stuff (table saw), whereas I do best with the finicky, more delicate stuff (placing, spacing, jigsawing). Tiling would suit my talents perfectly. But this house we’re renting is the kind that I wouldn’t waste my time working on it, even though our landlord would not only have no objections but would probably thank us profusely. It’s a sow’s ear that is destined to remain a sow’s ear without a complete gut-and-insulate-from-the-ground-up job. But I do like your concept of Doper construction. Kind of like Amish barn-building! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-atta-girl-for-my-mad-construction-skills/450497.md?page=2)