Sunday, May 24, 2015

Mind blown. Sometimes you have a trapezoid instead of a rectangle.

Cutting three-quarters of an inch off the bottom of the bookcases fixed the height problem.  But as I was installing them I noticed something.  The first shelf went in and one side went further back than the other.  I did some exploratory pushing and things didn't even out.  So I kept on keeping on, which is often what I do when confused during projects. 

The next bookshelf had the same problem, but the amount of space covered kept getting bigger.  "Maybe this back part isn't square?" I mused.  Matt turned around, took one look and said, "nope.  There aren't two 90 degree angles on this end.

It took a while for my head to adjust, but these rulers prove it.  This end of the counter doesn't even measure 12 inches.  If you look at the other end, there is a silver 12-inch ruler that doesn't reach all the way across.  I've been living with a trapezoid and never noticed!

Here you can see how my trapezoid shrinks.  I'm pretty sure this was intentional.  Maybe to make the transition from great room to hallway/kitchen less abrupt.

2 comments:

  1. Interesting that you never noticed before. I'm wondering if it's because one's eye tends to see what it wants to see, or if the builders made it in such a way that a person won't notice. I certainly never noticed it either.

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  2. How interesting. And surprising!! Well done dealing with the unexpected findings!

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