Monday, January 25, 2010 - Out of Patience

If my work performance was anything like that of my contractor's I would be fired and on the street. Lucky for him, we are too close to the end of the project to find someone else to finish the job. Needless to say, in was not a good weekend. I put in about 27 hours of painting over three days, but as exhausting as that was, it was my contractor that completely wore me out.

On Friday, we noticed water in three different spots in the basement. A quick inspection showed the downstairs window still had not been insulated, wrapped, and caulked correctly, so water was sneaking in between the window and the cinder blocks...all the way to the basement floor. An easy fix that was taken care of later that afternoon. And it wasn't the first time I had made him aware of the windows not being completed. Bullet dodged...until Sunday.

Cara took an early morning walk into the new master bedroom only to hear creaks and pops in the brand new hardwood floors. All of the sudden, the floors had a lot of play in them and you could tell by walking on them. We also noticed water under the hallway window and water in the corner right where the existing house and the addition meet. One of the issues was the fact that the back gutter runs straight into the brick of the new addition...no connection to a new gutter or into a downspout. Once they put the new gutters on, everything will tie together nicely, but that is the issue. No new gutters yet.

When it rains, as it did this weekend, not only does the water rush off the roof into any crack it can find under the lip of the shingles, it also flows from into the gutters and them smacks into the addition, where it bubbles up into the rafters, into the attic, and back down into the house. On top of that, there is a large triangle-shaped opening that will house a vent for the attic. I don't know how many more ways we can offer water to freely enter our house. I have raised my concern over the gutters and the vent opening on several occasions, but my contractor must love spending extra money on replacement drywall and insulation. No concern of mine, it is coming form his pocket, not mine.

I think the house has become a break-even proposition for the contractor due to cost over-runs on his end. It's things like these, however, that causes him to shoot himself in the foot. Now, not only does he still have to install the gutter and the vent, he will have to replace insulation and drywall...and possibly wood floors...all because of his own laziness and his lack of oversight...and his inability to respond to my requests and suggestions. I know he is tired of my emails and Post-It Notes on the walls, but I often wonder what kind of house I would have if I didn't speak up. He is losing money and I have long since lost patience.