Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 30 Gallons and Counting
Nine more gallons of paint purchased means more painting tonight. Failing our final plumbing inspection today and not hearing back from our contractor means more frustration.
Monday, February 15, 2010 - Snow Means No Show
Another snowy day on Monday meant no work on the addition, which gives all the sickos in my house a day to recover before the workers come storming back in. I wish I would have kept better track of how many days they have not on the worksite for one reason or another, because I bet they have been here as often as they have not been here.
I have been hesitant to post before/after photos of the front only because the porch handrails are incomplete, painting is half-done, and the shutters are currently non-existent. But if I get a wild hair and can also get a cool picture of the porch with the light on at dusk, I may very well get some posted soon.
I have been hesitant to post before/after photos of the front only because the porch handrails are incomplete, painting is half-done, and the shutters are currently non-existent. But if I get a wild hair and can also get a cool picture of the porch with the light on at dusk, I may very well get some posted soon.
Sunday, February 14, 2010 - A Bang Then a Fizzle
What started with great promise Saturday morning, ended not with a bang, but with a fizzle at best. Yes, we are getting closer and closer, but we are still struggling to get to the point where we kick the contractors out of the hose so the hardwood floors can be installed, sanded, and stained.
On Saturday, however, all of the wall repairs were completed and sanded, along with the completion of many other minor things. One of the big outstanding items to complete was the blowing of insulation into the attic. It took them most of the day to get the insulation 10-inches thick, but it was done, surprisingly, without much of a mess.
What also took them most of the day was playing in the mud...literally. Saturday, for whatever reason, was deemed the day to spread out the dirt/mud to start the grading process in the backyard. It seemed like everybody had their opportunity to have their fun spinning around in the slick mud, and actually moving a little bit of it here and there. Needless to say, there is a lot of mud spread in very large areas of clumps with the promise that someone else will come by, even it out, and prep it for seeding very soon. Not really planning to hold my breath waiting on this one.
The most exciting item, however, was the installation of our front porch light. This actually happened Friday, but it was not until Saturday before it was hooked up to the electrical source. It has kind of been the crown jewel we have been waiting on, and it does a fantastic job lighting up the new porch and the front of the house...and half of the block. Our porch has had a lot of onlookers over the past couple of months. It's nice to see people looking over as they drive by, or stop in front of the house as they make an afternoon stroll past the house. In fact, out contractor has received a number of calls from other people i our neighborhood who now want him to build porches for them. I'm sure the contractor wishes he would have hooked up the light weeks ago...I bet he would have had double the calls.
But with every up must come a down. The down came Saturday night when I heard F-bombs dropping from the back of the addition. One issue we have had since the beginning of the project has been the lack of consideration and cleanliness from the construction workers. Despite several trashcans in the backyard, fast food wrappers, soda bottles, and everything in between just gets thrown on the ground outside. Inside, they opted to throw it in the bathtub instead. I complained early in the project that they needed to keep all of the trash, nails, window screens, etc., out of the tub. Common sense, right? But common sense, or lack thereof, seems to have been lacking from the start of this project. I explained that if the tub were to be scratched, they would buy and install a new one. I raised this issue again before the tile was installed because it would be much easier to replace the tub, if needed, before the tiles were installed instead of after. Well, no one decided to listen to the voice of reason (me) and guess what? There is a scratch in the tub. I have notified the contractor that it will be repaired to our satisfaction or replaced...nothing less will be accepted.
So, this topped my list of things needing completion around the house before the floors can be installed. The contractor on Saturday felt there were just a couple of things left to do before they could get out of the house while the floors are being done...but I have heard this one plenty of times before. I have presented him with a list of 48 items that still need to be complete. Yes, I know, this is really his job to make the to-do list for his staff. As much as I want him out of the house, I also want everything completed. If he were making the checklist, there is no doubt he would be out of the house already saying he has looked things over and everything is complete. It's a long way from that.
On Saturday, however, all of the wall repairs were completed and sanded, along with the completion of many other minor things. One of the big outstanding items to complete was the blowing of insulation into the attic. It took them most of the day to get the insulation 10-inches thick, but it was done, surprisingly, without much of a mess.
What also took them most of the day was playing in the mud...literally. Saturday, for whatever reason, was deemed the day to spread out the dirt/mud to start the grading process in the backyard. It seemed like everybody had their opportunity to have their fun spinning around in the slick mud, and actually moving a little bit of it here and there. Needless to say, there is a lot of mud spread in very large areas of clumps with the promise that someone else will come by, even it out, and prep it for seeding very soon. Not really planning to hold my breath waiting on this one.
The most exciting item, however, was the installation of our front porch light. This actually happened Friday, but it was not until Saturday before it was hooked up to the electrical source. It has kind of been the crown jewel we have been waiting on, and it does a fantastic job lighting up the new porch and the front of the house...and half of the block. Our porch has had a lot of onlookers over the past couple of months. It's nice to see people looking over as they drive by, or stop in front of the house as they make an afternoon stroll past the house. In fact, out contractor has received a number of calls from other people i our neighborhood who now want him to build porches for them. I'm sure the contractor wishes he would have hooked up the light weeks ago...I bet he would have had double the calls.
But with every up must come a down. The down came Saturday night when I heard F-bombs dropping from the back of the addition. One issue we have had since the beginning of the project has been the lack of consideration and cleanliness from the construction workers. Despite several trashcans in the backyard, fast food wrappers, soda bottles, and everything in between just gets thrown on the ground outside. Inside, they opted to throw it in the bathtub instead. I complained early in the project that they needed to keep all of the trash, nails, window screens, etc., out of the tub. Common sense, right? But common sense, or lack thereof, seems to have been lacking from the start of this project. I explained that if the tub were to be scratched, they would buy and install a new one. I raised this issue again before the tile was installed because it would be much easier to replace the tub, if needed, before the tiles were installed instead of after. Well, no one decided to listen to the voice of reason (me) and guess what? There is a scratch in the tub. I have notified the contractor that it will be repaired to our satisfaction or replaced...nothing less will be accepted.
So, this topped my list of things needing completion around the house before the floors can be installed. The contractor on Saturday felt there were just a couple of things left to do before they could get out of the house while the floors are being done...but I have heard this one plenty of times before. I have presented him with a list of 48 items that still need to be complete. Yes, I know, this is really his job to make the to-do list for his staff. As much as I want him out of the house, I also want everything completed. If he were making the checklist, there is no doubt he would be out of the house already saying he has looked things over and everything is complete. It's a long way from that.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010 - Close, but So Far Away
Workers arrived at 7:30 this morning to hopefully finish up all they can do at this point before the floors are installed. It has been a busy week, but a frustrating week.
Everything was supposed to be wrapped up either Thursday or Friday of last week, or Monday of this current week. All three days came and went, followed by four more days of failing to complete everything. Friday, however, was the day our frustration boiled over. The invoice we received from the contractor for our fifth of six payments, contained an $800 charge for building out the bathroom in the basement, a charge we had been told would be "$150ish." When we first discussed this part of the job with the contractor, we were willing to pay up to $500. When we learned it would only be $150, we were ecstatic. Obviously, we were not so overjoyed when we saw the bill. We certainly want to be fair about it, but our contract says all additional charges need to be in writing, and we did not receive anything in writing for this. That is a battle that will play out over the next couple of days.
The biggest battle came when Cara called me in tears Friday afternoon after she arrived home. After being told we could paint, and spending a good 50 hours painting everything on the main level, they decided over the past two weeks to slam every piece of wood and equipment into the freshly painted walls. So when Cara arrived home, they had decided to patch everything...and not so neatly. There were five or six dozen patched spots throughout the addition, including about a dozen on the focus wall of our stairwell, that combined we spent a good 10 hours painting. That was pretty much the last straw for Cara, and I let the contractor know it.
He offered to re-paint the wall for us and I vehemently declined the request. Cara is done with them touching any wall in the house.
I say that was the biggest battle, but I may be wrong. The most heated disagreement has been about our leaking walls in the basement. All along we have claimed that if the windows were caulked and wrapped properly, we would not have water entering the house. The contractor really downplayed the whole issue and said it had been resolved. We told him to take the drywall and insulation off the walls under the windows and prove it. Guess what...the block walls were wet. So he brought in a colleague who specializes in wet basements who said that the water wasn't coming in from the under the basement, and since the water wasn't dirty, it wasn't coming from the backfilled dirt around the exterior walls either. His conclusion was the same thing we have been complaining about for weeks...the windows. He said if the windows were properly caulked and wrapped, there would be no issues. DUH!
So with half a dozen workers on site this morning, I sit here watching them rip out the wall in our living room so they can wire our front porch light. It is one of two rooms we thought would remain untouched in this whole process. Now the only room not destroyed in one way or another is the kitchen. I have promised Cara I will guard and protect that room with all my might since it was just remodeled a couple of years ago.
At the end of the day today, all interior work is supposed to be done so the floors can be installed next week. I find it hard to believe they will be done with all of the mile-long checklists that I have sent them throughout the week, but we will see. The floor installation, sanding, and staining process will take a week-to-10-days to complete. Then the contractor's crew will come back to finish the trim, finish the exterior painting, grade the backyard, finish all of the little remaining items, and clean the whole place, inside and out, before leaving us along for good. I am optimistic for an end-of-the-month completion. Cara is much less optimistic.
I can see the finish line ahead, but I have sneaked a peek at it before and somehow seem to be unable to get any closer to it.
Everything was supposed to be wrapped up either Thursday or Friday of last week, or Monday of this current week. All three days came and went, followed by four more days of failing to complete everything. Friday, however, was the day our frustration boiled over. The invoice we received from the contractor for our fifth of six payments, contained an $800 charge for building out the bathroom in the basement, a charge we had been told would be "$150ish." When we first discussed this part of the job with the contractor, we were willing to pay up to $500. When we learned it would only be $150, we were ecstatic. Obviously, we were not so overjoyed when we saw the bill. We certainly want to be fair about it, but our contract says all additional charges need to be in writing, and we did not receive anything in writing for this. That is a battle that will play out over the next couple of days.
The biggest battle came when Cara called me in tears Friday afternoon after she arrived home. After being told we could paint, and spending a good 50 hours painting everything on the main level, they decided over the past two weeks to slam every piece of wood and equipment into the freshly painted walls. So when Cara arrived home, they had decided to patch everything...and not so neatly. There were five or six dozen patched spots throughout the addition, including about a dozen on the focus wall of our stairwell, that combined we spent a good 10 hours painting. That was pretty much the last straw for Cara, and I let the contractor know it.
He offered to re-paint the wall for us and I vehemently declined the request. Cara is done with them touching any wall in the house.
I say that was the biggest battle, but I may be wrong. The most heated disagreement has been about our leaking walls in the basement. All along we have claimed that if the windows were caulked and wrapped properly, we would not have water entering the house. The contractor really downplayed the whole issue and said it had been resolved. We told him to take the drywall and insulation off the walls under the windows and prove it. Guess what...the block walls were wet. So he brought in a colleague who specializes in wet basements who said that the water wasn't coming in from the under the basement, and since the water wasn't dirty, it wasn't coming from the backfilled dirt around the exterior walls either. His conclusion was the same thing we have been complaining about for weeks...the windows. He said if the windows were properly caulked and wrapped, there would be no issues. DUH!
So with half a dozen workers on site this morning, I sit here watching them rip out the wall in our living room so they can wire our front porch light. It is one of two rooms we thought would remain untouched in this whole process. Now the only room not destroyed in one way or another is the kitchen. I have promised Cara I will guard and protect that room with all my might since it was just remodeled a couple of years ago.
At the end of the day today, all interior work is supposed to be done so the floors can be installed next week. I find it hard to believe they will be done with all of the mile-long checklists that I have sent them throughout the week, but we will see. The floor installation, sanding, and staining process will take a week-to-10-days to complete. Then the contractor's crew will come back to finish the trim, finish the exterior painting, grade the backyard, finish all of the little remaining items, and clean the whole place, inside and out, before leaving us along for good. I am optimistic for an end-of-the-month completion. Cara is much less optimistic.
I can see the finish line ahead, but I have sneaked a peek at it before and somehow seem to be unable to get any closer to it.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010 - Starting Month Five of Our Four-Month Project
Could it be that the completion of our remodeling project could be derailed by the same thing that caused things to be delayed in the first place? Yes, we have had more rain...and snow. As we start week 18 of our 12-16 week remodel, we struggle to think we will be done by the end of the month...or week 21.
The contractor predicted last Wednesday that he would be done Thursday or Friday of last week. After we picked ourselves up off the floor and stopped laughing, we realized he was serious although the prediction was completely ridiculous. Not only were the major items not complete - HVAC, plumbing, electrical...each a day-long job - but there were a number of other things, all of which I detailed in a far-from-complete manifesto to him. The gutters were finally installed, but not after I added them to the list. We need interior doors installed, the new back door to be replaced, the windows completed, drywall touch-ups, trim, a vent moved, every nook and cranny caulked, etc., etc. I didn't even include finishing the front porch, adding railings on the interior stairwell, building the custom bathroom cabinet, and grading of the yard.
As mentioned, the gutters were finally installed and look great. The tankless water heater is in, but water isn't flowing yet. The bathroom has been tiled and the vanities installed...and we are pleased with the progress in the bathroom. But they still have drywall screws that need drywall mud, lights need to be installed, and trim needs to be finished.
It would be nice if they could concentrate on a room, and I mean really focus for a complete eight-hour day, we could wrap things up this week. Let's say they focus on the bathroom on Monday, the master bedroom on Tuesday, the hallway and stairwell on Wednesday, the exterior on Thursday, and the remaining pieces of the basement on Friday. Voila, we're done...but that is easier said than done.
We are seeing more and more shortcuts and half-assed "completions." For instance, they closed in the doorway to our existing bedroom and moved the entrance to the family room side of the house. So, in order to close in the doorway, they had to frame it and drywall it. Well, the drywall was bulging a bit simply from not being installed quite right. So, when they went to put the trim back on, it didn't fit flush with the wall like it once did. In addition, the drywall didn't quite come all the way down to the floor, so there is a void of about an eighth of an inch between the bottom of the drywall and the top of the baseboard. They also tried to push off the job of caulking all the windows on the inside to us. That is a battle that I won, verbally, but hasn't been completed by the contractor yet. They also seem to have a problem slamming things into walls and leaving indentations in them that will ultimately have to be repaired. The list could go on and on.
So, as we embark on yet another week of contractors hanging around for what will be their final week, again (insert laughter), we plod along trying to keep our sanity intact.
The contractor predicted last Wednesday that he would be done Thursday or Friday of last week. After we picked ourselves up off the floor and stopped laughing, we realized he was serious although the prediction was completely ridiculous. Not only were the major items not complete - HVAC, plumbing, electrical...each a day-long job - but there were a number of other things, all of which I detailed in a far-from-complete manifesto to him. The gutters were finally installed, but not after I added them to the list. We need interior doors installed, the new back door to be replaced, the windows completed, drywall touch-ups, trim, a vent moved, every nook and cranny caulked, etc., etc. I didn't even include finishing the front porch, adding railings on the interior stairwell, building the custom bathroom cabinet, and grading of the yard.
As mentioned, the gutters were finally installed and look great. The tankless water heater is in, but water isn't flowing yet. The bathroom has been tiled and the vanities installed...and we are pleased with the progress in the bathroom. But they still have drywall screws that need drywall mud, lights need to be installed, and trim needs to be finished.
It would be nice if they could concentrate on a room, and I mean really focus for a complete eight-hour day, we could wrap things up this week. Let's say they focus on the bathroom on Monday, the master bedroom on Tuesday, the hallway and stairwell on Wednesday, the exterior on Thursday, and the remaining pieces of the basement on Friday. Voila, we're done...but that is easier said than done.
We are seeing more and more shortcuts and half-assed "completions." For instance, they closed in the doorway to our existing bedroom and moved the entrance to the family room side of the house. So, in order to close in the doorway, they had to frame it and drywall it. Well, the drywall was bulging a bit simply from not being installed quite right. So, when they went to put the trim back on, it didn't fit flush with the wall like it once did. In addition, the drywall didn't quite come all the way down to the floor, so there is a void of about an eighth of an inch between the bottom of the drywall and the top of the baseboard. They also tried to push off the job of caulking all the windows on the inside to us. That is a battle that I won, verbally, but hasn't been completed by the contractor yet. They also seem to have a problem slamming things into walls and leaving indentations in them that will ultimately have to be repaired. The list could go on and on.
So, as we embark on yet another week of contractors hanging around for what will be their final week, again (insert laughter), we plod along trying to keep our sanity intact.
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