U is for Unknown Variable

U is for Unknown Variable

With any project there is always an element of risk or unknown, especially if you have never done it before.  Quite frequently this for me is the planning of how long it will take.  Almost always something unexpected comes up and I need to spend some time scratching my head trying to figure out how to make something work.  I tend to do some planning before I begin the job figuring out how much material and what tools I will need to do the work.  On bigger projects I do some risk analysis to determine where the likelihood of something going wrong is and then try to minimize it where I can.  Due to a lot of inexperience in things other than cabinet making I am not usually successful in finding those things that go awry before they do.  For this reason I really prefer working with new components that I am installing rather than making old things work or to modify old things.  I do not have the time allotted for that kind of work or the tools to make the old things work well. 

For example, I recently changed the supply line on the dishwasher as it had developed a pinhole leak.  In my mind this is a simple fix as I just go to Rona and pick up a new one and connect it in place of the previous one.  Well, when I closed the isolation valve and took the hose off, the valve was also leaking.  It was a soldered on valve, but I cut that off and began directly from the copper piping.  I did not want to use a solder on valve as it was in under the cupboard, so I tried a compression fit valve for the first time and it worked very well. When I connected to the dishwasher there was a very small drip that I could not determine if it was coming from just above the connection I had just made or through the threads of my new joint.  I doubt it is my joint, as I have lots of Teflon tape on those threads.  What was supposed to be a quick and simple fix had several unknown variables come up during the project.

Share some of your stories about some unknown variables that have come up during projects you have worked on.. 

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