Prepare for the Mushroom Factor

As a professional carpenter, I have lots of tricks up my sleeve when working on projects. For example, before I dismantle a door opening, I examine the lay of the land—the door, whatever it shares a wall with, and any doors and windows nearby. That”s because in old houses, one thing is often connected to another—this door was a good example of how projects can mushroom out of control if you don”t think them through (and sometimes even if you do!).

My initial survey lets me work out an order of operation and set reasonable expectations for how complicated (and how messy) the job will be. All of this means that when you reach for your flat bar and hammer for the initial demo, you should also be ready with every other tool you in your arsenal, because you will probably need it. In the case of our door move, we had to deal with the following extras:

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