b'PRESIDENTS LETTERChris WalkerHow hard could it be?Ivebeenfi nishingmybase- level of performance. ment $200 dollars at a time forI had the opportunity to over-the last few years. Its more of ahear a very well-meaning young stressrelieverthanadedicatedmanhostingatiledemonstra-project.Forthebenefi tofalltion in a Big Box store early on humanity,Ihavebeenabletoa recent Saturday morning. I can confi rm two absolute truths: unequivocallysaythatevery-1.Practice makes perfect.thing he told an eager group of 2.YoucantbeanexpertatDIYerswasincorrect.Insome everything. instances, he was guaranteeing a Ascraftspeople,wehaveallpoor result. I listened for a while runintotheweekendhandy- then began to back away slow-man, superintendent, builder orly,cautiously,afraidifIcaught homeowner who proceeds to tellsomeonesattentionIwould you how easy it is to do this orbecompelledtowarnthemof that. I did the tile on my kitchenthefollythatawaitedthemif backsplash; it came out perfect;theyfollowedthisyoungmans itwaseasy. Youguysjustover- advice. I mourned for the many complicatestuffbecauseyourewastedhoursthesefolkswere all greedy. If I had a nickel about to spend in the endeavor Professional craftspersons whoof beautifying their space. are continually evolving in theirTheoutcomeofthesefolks trade are not gaining their train- efforts will likely elicit the same ingfromthealways-reliable,responsefromanexperienced highlyaccurate,well-informedtilepersonastheresponseI platformslikeHGTV,BigBoxreceived when I proudly showed instructionalseminarsandoffmywiring/electricalskills YouTubevideos.Ittakestime,toaseasonedelectrician.The effort, money and a little bit ofwires go to the right locations on pain. Mostly it takes dedicationthe fi xtures, outlets and switch-and the desire to achieve a highes. Its just not as neat, tidy and 18 TileLetter | August 2019'