Shortcuts and Narrow Gates We bought a house in 2016. It seems simple enough, and when you look at the photos I share here, it looks beautiful, doesn't it? But what you don't see are the hidden shortcuts taken by the previous owners. Deadly and costly shortcuts. The RV carport in the picture below was the first thing to go - it was the source of all of the dry rot. Dry rot is a disease to wood, it weakens the wood until the structure is no longer sound. Shortcuts are not an excellent solution to problems. Why show this? Well, because the temperatures are dropping in the Puget Sound and one of the other shortcuts the previous owners took was to install the back door themselves instead of having it done by a professional. This means when the winter wind blows, and yes, it can blow here in our temperate climate, it comes through the bottom of my door, keeping my kitchen cold and making it difficult to keep the whole house warm. Shortcuts a