Nothing is more enlightening than an apples to apples comparison among similar products to inform the mystery shopper, in this case, me. And what am I looking for? Is it any of my business to be some hell spawned secret Santa ruthlessly disparaging other builders’ work? Can’t seem to help myself either from doing this. Killarney is ground zero this year for observing construction specifications because without exaggeration there is a semi detached building (or three) underway on every block in this community (which is why I abandoned building here, and good riddance, a rare instance of some wisdom gained and applied from many years of building). Fertile ground to analyze quality, craft, and materials on essentially identical projects at all stages. I’m seeing a disturbing trend of turd like specs being masqueraded under a veneer of phony farmhouse newness. It is like a builder has an internal radar to costcut any item he believes the home buyer won’t know to look for. I don’t believe this is a healthy approach to creating a happy client. It helps to not care about that outcome when putting together the specs package.