October 3, 201114 yr OK, well I'm glad to hear that at least the work that has been accomplished seems to be to a high standard. Once all is finished that will be the most important thing for your piece of mind. It does sound like you have a contractor that's promising the moon as far as time schedule, and that's a common tactic (one which I do not subscribe to). Like I said before, I've lost bids because of my honesty of time schedules. But it works for me, as most of my jobs stay on track. Remodeling is trickier than new construction, because you never know what you may uncover regarding previous work, so I always address those possibilities too. If your contractor is doing good quality work, then chances are he wants to get finished too. As time is money. He's probably dealing with sub issues and maybe just bad at organization and time management. As frustrating as that can be, it's at least better than poor workmanship, or worse yet work that they're quite aware is sub-standard. In other words it sounds as though he at least wants to do a good job. I imagine that you have a payment schedule, where payments are in 3 or 4 large lumps, dependent on completion of phases? I have adopted the practice of not excepting final payment until the homeowner lives with the space for a month (much to my partners dismay), but it gives them time to relax and gain assurance that everything works as planned. Of coarse that's on top of a warranty. It also establishes a trust between us, and is just good for business, as about 35-40% of my business is repeat business. And a hell of a lot of my business is from referrals of past clients. I'd strongly recommend that you talk about doing the same, once work has been completed. I'd also start keeping a punch list right away. Sometimes things can slip your mind. And don't hesitate to call the city inspector yourself, if you feel something may not have been done to code. Again, it seems that most of your issues are schedule related, and I feel your pain, really! If you have any concerns that you want to get advice on, don't hesitate to call Al. And do not pay ahead of scheduled plan! But I know you're smarter than that! Thanks for the responses, Steve, and offer of assistance if needed. I think this will get resolved soon and the work does seem to be done well, if not timely. And today he told me that the plumber sub was supposed to arrive last Monday and didn't show up until Wednesday (I thought it was Thursday) because of other jobs or some BS. I don't doubt that is true, but he knew the deadline and could have made sure the sub showed up in time to finish the work. On "move in day" the contractor gave me an invoice that covered three payments on the schedule. For some reason, he had stopped giving me invoices even though I had asked several times previously why he wasn't submitting them. Oh well, it's his problem now because I am only paying half until the job is truly complete. That sounds more like the work of a Spanish handyman crew than that of a serious company. I understand your anger. Unfortunately it won't change anything. Best wishes Al. Antonio, your comment is really the bottom line. I can be angry and bitch about this but there is nothing to be done except sucking it up and getting the thing done. I can't change anything by firing the guy or suing the guy, and I hate being mostly powerless like this. Once it is finished, though, all of this will start to fade and we can just enjoy what is starting to feel like a new house.
October 3, 201114 yr Al, hope it gets worked out for you soon. What's amazing is it's not surprising to me. Everyone I know that has had similar renovations has had similar dramas. Raffy, sorry. I don't think anyone knows how to feel or what to say or do when they first get news like you did. Just let yourself feel whatever shows up and talk with folks who care.
October 3, 201114 yr Al, sorry to hear about the problems. There will be a time in the not to distant future when this will be forgotten and you will be enjoying the results. Raffy, sorry to hear about your co-worker.
October 4, 201114 yr Like Reks said, that really sucks, Raffy. Hope you get your situation resolved soon, Al. Such a nice place you have there in town. I can't even imagine the need to do anything with it to begin with, so I'm sure whatever you're doing will turn out to be top class.
October 4, 201114 yr Watched my amazing wife give birth to our baby boy Benjamin. I can't believe I'm a dad. I can't believe she did it without any meds either. Feeling very very blessed. That's cool, congrats!
October 4, 201114 yr Thanks for all the condolences gang. I really don't quite feel like myself yet and I'm extremely distracted at work right now. I'm sure it'll change with time, just need to get over this period of shock.
October 4, 201114 yr My condolences raffy. You'll overcome it, but knowing it doesn't make this moment any less hard. Best wishes. Al, they're doing a good quality job, so that's the bright side. You just need to be patient, then sue them and enjoy the house
October 4, 201114 yr Hope you get your situation resolved soon, Al. Such a nice place you have there in town. I can't even imagine the need to do anything with it to begin with, so I'm sure whatever you're doing will turn out to be top class. The 1936 bathroom badly needed an update, and that was essentially the last room in the house we had not remodeled. Claire also wanted to do some built-in storage and work space in the garage, which was probably the biggest reason the job snowballed into something bigger. Well, that and the water damage caused by the contractor's early failings. We also changed the heat and hot water system, put on a new roof, completely re-did the interior courtyard and the front steps to remedy long-standing weather-proofing issues (leaks), and painted most of the interior (some due solely to water damage). Al, they're doing a good quality job, so that's the bright side. You just need to be patient, then sue them and enjoy the house Such good advice once again, Antonio!
October 4, 201114 yr This was actually yesterday, but we took Libby out to her first real beach - she thought this was the best thing in the whole wide world. Thus far, this vacation is working out well for Libby.
October 4, 201114 yr I'm in the middle of my first bleaching session. So far, so good. At least I haven't blinded myself. I started with my beard first, and will do my hair next but as a separate session since there is so much of it (hair, that is). Other than the smell, all seems to be going well. It would appear, judging by what I can tell by looking in the mirror through all of the goopy stuff in my beard, that it will turn out to be a rather pumpkiny looking thing in another 20 minutes or so after I've rinsed, shampood and conditioned. It will probably take about 3 sessions over the next couple of weeks to get it white enough to look Santa-ish.
October 4, 201114 yr I got some secret pics from Wayne's barber elf. Ho Ho Ho. I hope you are using one of those tubes to prevent breathing all that bleach. Yeesh.
October 4, 201114 yr Shouldn't you wait until closer to Christmas so that you don't have dark roots? Maybe beards and mustaches don't grow as fast as hair on the head. When are you going to get your rosy red cheek tattoos? Edited October 4, 201114 yr by shellylh
October 4, 201114 yr Good job, Al. I'm doing my hair now. A bit more invasive in terms of the skin irritation on my scalp. I've got to head to class tonight but will post some pics late this evening or tomorrow to show what I mean by pumkin! The next bleaching should get me to a yellowish color and the third one will result in white (or near enough). The biggest problem is that you really should wait a week between bleachings to give your hair time to repair (condition, condition, condition). As you will soon see, that means I'll look TOTALLY ridiculous for a week!
October 4, 201114 yr Shouldn't you wait until closer to Christmas so that you don't have dark roots? Maybe beards and mustaches don't grow as fast as hair on the head. When are you going to get your rosy red cheek tattoos? I think I will next year (if I stay white bearded and haired all year in between), but since this is my first time the advice seemed to be to start early so that I can make adjustments before my season starts. At the moment, that will be November 22nd for a tree lighting ceremony in front of thousands of people, so I thought I'd better get moving on it!
October 4, 201114 yr I'm not much for DIY, but I rigged a low tech death trap to catch the chipmunks under my storage shed. I don't know how many are under there but two are no longer with us.
October 4, 201114 yr Author I'm not much for DIY, but I rigged a low tech death trap to catch the chipmunks under my storage shed. I don't know how many are under there but two are no longer with us. Please send me your design. They have invaded my garage.
October 4, 201114 yr I'm not much for DIY, but I rigged a low tech death trap to catch the chipmunks under my storage shed. I don't know how many are under there but two are no longer with us. lol. Contraption pics please.
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