The Fire Meany says: "DIY"

So we have been progressing on the house, but why is it so difficult to actually find someone, other than my now handy husband/contractor, to do any actual work? Particularly with plumbers, what is so difficult to do?

Let me back up a little bit. In May, on the hottest day of the summer, we started our new construction project giddy with delight at the daily work of our contractor. Slowly this fell apart, and we started to see some flaws in the general work quality and accuracy, which ultimate led to him walking off the job. Fine. Great.

Now the coldest day of the year rolls around, and we still don't have heat. 2 new radiators were to be installed as part of the plumbers contract. They have been floating around the house since June waiting for their new home. Tried to get 2 different guys out over the last 2 weeks to no avail. Bryan stayed home on Friday waiting for guy #3 only to have a guy show up and say, "I was just here to fix a leak, I can't do an install". Great. Today I come home at noon to wait for the same company to come again and do the install. Too bad they weren't actually planning to install the radiators, but just to look around and estimate. Great. Now in addition to no heat, he tells me that we have 1/2" rough in work tied into the 3/4" system, which won't get enough water to the 3rd floor to properly heat. Also, Bryan looked at the install sheet for the radiators, and they in fact REQUIRE the 3/4" supply. Great.

What part of this wasn't clear to the first plumber, who we paid specifically for this work? Was the store out of 3/4" copper that day? Did they just not want to spend the extra money? What would possibly make that seem like a good idea?

With any luck, a friend from work will save the day with his relatives who are plumbers, but if not I might just try to conjure the Fire Meany to live in the living room until Spring. I think that would be easier than finding a plumber to show up, do what you expect, and not have thoroughly empty pockets at the end. Great.

Breaking up is NOT hard to do....

So it's been a couple of weeks since I've last vented on the interwebs. Where to start....hmmm...oh yeah, our contractor has officially QUIT. Left. Took his tools. Good riddance if you ask us.

It all started so well. The guy was nice, showed up on time, and really started off well. It was pretty exciting as you can see in our early June entries. But like a ball of yarn with rusty nails in it, things slowly unraveled and became a dangerous pain in the ass. First off, in his quote there was only one sub listed, and that was the plumber. Christina in fact met the plumber, but that was the owner...not the guys that did the work (again, this is in a previous rant I posted so I'll refrain from rehashing). So then the weirdest thing happened; more and more subs showed up! They multiplied, like little late to work, throwing trash everywhere, moody Tribbles. Where was Captain Kirk when we needed him!?!?!

The electric subs screwed up half of the lines and lights by not following the plans Christina made. Again, this is in a previous rant, so I'll move on.

Oh, a footnote to all of that. We got a bill from the contractor for a combined $4,250 for OVERAGES from the plumbers and electricians. I'll say that in the line items, about $600 from the electricians that were from increased scope, and that close to $1,000 from the plumbers was because what we wanted was more than the "standard" bathrooms that they do. What?

So in early July I got this bill and called our contractor to hear a great defense of the overages. In so many words, I was told that the subs probably billed us for overages because we (Christina and I) are a pain to work with. That we change scope (like I said, it was for one thing...an extra outlet for a window AC) and that the subs had to redo work the entire time. Note that last part, it's a running theme.

After talking with him and looking at the work I took up the position that we'll just pay the money and move on. Christina was pretty pissed about the entire thing and REALLY pissed that our contractor wasn't keeping overages under control from HIS subs. I blindly argued a slightly different position...I was wrong now. I see that.

Anyway, next up were the drywall subs. Ok...whatever. The guys took almost 6 days to hang the drywall, and then brought in ANOTHER guy to tape ans mud the entire space. Not only did that guy take 4 days to do his thing, but he only applied 1 coat of mud (and sanded) to the entire space. Crap work. But hey, no overages!!!!

The drywall ended in the middle of July. After that Christina and I were now seeing some issues with the place. First off, all of the framing that our contractor ACTUALLY did, was off. Our main closet was finished to a length of 5'11" (speced to be 6'), and two linen closets finished to 22" (speced to be 2' even). What this means is that we cannot get any standard out of the box closet system as they come in 24" spans. Our fault I guess, we should have put the dimensions on the plans. Oh wait...that's right they were on the drawings, all of them.

The windows that were ordered for us were in fact NOT the custom Andersen windows that we had specified and that were in the contract. They are stock Andersen 400 series and so we waited close to 6 weeks for standard windows that can be ordered and delivered in less than 2 weeks. They were also ordered without hardware. We were quoted for custom Andersen 400 windows with hardware. We were ripped off. But by the time we had waited 6 weeks, endured torrential in the bathroom downstairs, and the hallway, and dining room, any windows were an improvement

Anyway, as I write this I'm getting tired of the nonsense. I'll boil it down to the fact that we created an "Action Item" list for our contractor that included items still left to be done (per our quote), items that are in progress, and what I called "items of concern". The last set of things included the closet dimensions as well as the lack of adequate framing around the windows that were put in. This resulted in an additional $650 during the stucco work to put the brick back in the wall. Totally unacceptable items.

Also in that last list was our stack plumbing that has been incorrect and a point of drama since the plumbers did it wrong to start with. Refusal to do anything about it was raining down like...well...I don't know. I was going to say my fists to this guy's face, but this is a family friendly blog.

Anyway, with this "Action Item" list we wanted just to talk and do a walk through with our contractor about the items. But the funniest thing happened during this; he stopped answering our calls! He must have been thanking God for caller ID on cell phones, because it helped him avoid acting like a professional and talking to his clients. After about 2 weeks of trying to get ahold of him (and I did once where we scheduled a date and time to do the walk through, where I think he lied about a family emergency to not have to show up) I got an email.

It was THE email. The "I can't work on your house...I'm losing money when I go there...I can't keep redoing work" whine-fest. It was all crap. He just decided that he didn't want to deal with us and do the work that we expected and that he PROMISED us. Sounds like a contractor in Philly alright.

The best part to all of this is that the guy has the cajones to tell us that he has not paid the plumber or electrician and that we are responsible for amount due to them. The amount he owes them is like $5,500 while the last payment to him was to be $4,600. See a problem there? But if you're paying attention there are a few problems here.

1. We have only the final payment to make to him (obviously that isn't happening) and the amount he owes those subs are more than we owe.
2. That he is saying we in essence have to pay 110% for 80% of the work. Not happening
3. That we have to pay the subs to finish the work and in effect we'd be paying them TWICE
4. That he paid himself before his subs.

Homey don't play that. At all. Not happening. He has threatened that if we don't settle up with the subs that we'll get a mechanic's lein on the house. I'm going to skip the legal stuff, but if he isn't smart to pay them himself we're not going to pay a dime.

At this point we've done a little back and forth with Christina using her great friends in the architecture and commercial contracting world to really do a number on all of this. I'm playing the bad guy and I'm fine with it. In fact, with this stuff I'm loving it.

Don't even get me started on the upside down mismatched window sills that were installed. I think that was the breaking point, both for us with the contractor and for the contractor when we requested they all come out. But at least I was able to buy a new table saw over the weekend to do the sills! SILVER LINING INDEED!!!

The sky's did seem to part a bit today, and we have a stucco contractor that has been great and sent over a friend of his that might just be able to help us out of this pickle. Stay tuned, hopefully for more pictures of complete work and less rants, but then again it would not be called "working on your house" if it was all easy........

A view from the top, and Netflix tips

Often people have come to our house over past couple of years, and immediately they say "hey, have you ever seen the Money Pit"? Cue our eye rolling and then say "yeah, it's pretty funny, that Tom Hanks sure can act". But the real question I have after this occurs, is why do people think that buying an old house and fixing it up means you bought a "money pit"?

Sure old houses need some TLC, and in some cases (like ours) they need some pretty major surgery. So they can leak in bad storms, but chasing down that leak is morbidly fun at times in my sick mind. McMansions, in my opinion, are even worse than buying a "money pit" nowadays.

When you buy some Toll Bros monstrosity, do you have any clue what is in the walls, or for that matter what the walls are made out of? Christina and I have driven past many a track development and seen that in lieu of wood 2x4s many developers use the metal studs. Not for nothing, but what's wrong with good ole' lumber? I know what my house is made of. Yes, it's probably because at this point I've lost any trepidation in knocking a hole somewhere and seeings what is up. But I think that's part of the fun of an old house...you GET to knock holes in things and really get a feel for the bones of a house. New construction has lost that. The time was when people built their houses by hand and knew every square inch. That's why I own a "money pit".

Plus I get to buy LOADS of tools, and unlike confused suburbanites with thin interior walls, I know how to PROPERLY use them. They're dirty, they sometimes cough and wheeze, but that's the point.

Anyway, if you haven't seen the movie for whatever reason, rent it. It's great. And the "two weeks" line repeated throughout it is the best...and most accurate part of it.

Enough of that soapbox preaching, on to the show! Family and friend status on the house:

The third floor drywall is 90% complete, and the final taping will be today. Our friend Niko will start tiling the bathroom floor and shower in earnest tonight, with it taking at least this weekend. I'm going to "help" by staying out of the way and priming the bedroom walls.

We're STILL WAITING (thanks Sonia and company) for our wall mounted sink. That means the half wall of tile might have to wait another week or so, but let's have a drink tonight and hope not.

Christina took some artsy fartsy pictures last evening, and I'm willing to share these artistic endeavors with everyone. The picture on the right is a shot of the space on the landing to the third floor. Good stuff. The hole you see in the left part of the picture is a niche that will be there for...I guess a hanging picture as it's pretty damn narrow. Maybe I can squeeze some Star Wars figures on there for good measure as well.

On the left is a decent shot from the bedroom into the bathroom. It's pretty self explanatory now that I'm looking at it this morning. Eh...

The second one on the right here is just a shot of the closet where you can sort of see the stair railing and the little side closet poking out. We liked this one because you can really get a sense of the angles in the room with the ceiling slope after I pulled down all of the dropped plaster ceiling that was there before. BAM! Not to be some prick, but dropped ceilings are NOT the way to go in a house (I'll give you the basement if you want).

And lastly, but surely not least...I made a decision in the whole compressor/nailer debate I was having with myself (and my wife). In the end I bought a Bostitch "3 pack" that had a pancake compressor and three finish nailers in it. After research and seeing all of the various projects that we are discussing over the next 6 months, it just made sense. As a compromise, I didn't get a framing nailer and instead I'll be stealing my friend's for the time being (he has a new 4 week old daughter...I think he's out of the framing jobs for now).

Anyway, here's yours truly getting oh so gangsta, as the kids call it nowadays, with the nailers last night. Christina insisted on the picture, and since I don't mind being embarrassed on the interwebs, here you go:

Some thoughts from a troubled home improvement mind...

So we all see the news on the economy. I mean if you're reading this then you have eyes and can at least see the (-) next to the Dow every week. The two of us have been pretty lucky so far in that we have jobs that relate (in some way) to the health care/insurance industries. It’s not that we feel insulated from the doomsday upon us; it's just that I try to think of puppies and ice cream instead.

Also a lucky deal so far has been that 3 years ago we decided to buy our house in an awesome neighborhood here in Philadelphia. So far it means that while the national housing numbers are down, our neighborhood is selling fairly well and still for some eye popping numbers. It's crazy really.

But at the same time we're shelling out money every few weeks as our third floor suite is in its last stages. So I have to ask myself...

When do you just hold on for the ride and not rock the boat?

For example: I'm a guy. I have a beard. I drink beer. I want a framing nailer. But to get to that point it's the nailer ($200), the compressor ($250), hoses ($50?), and nails ($50)...and that's without the needed finish nailer for most projects around the house. So if you’re like my wife, right then you just rolled your eyes and said "Yeah...OK".

Why? Because when the contractor leaves in a couple of weeks (after his last payment of course) I'm going to have a room that has plumbing just hanging out along two walls (we've posted various pictures before). I have to build a soffit there to hide that stuff. On top of that the boss and I have decided that we are going to forgo any more contractors for the foreseeable future and go DIY. We weren't capable of putting in a brand new bathroom ourselves, so we hired out. Super. But hanging drywall? Cake. Make a standard door a French door? Pfft, easy. Create the 60" plasma TV built for the man room? Not - A - Problem. But I need a nailer. I actually justify it by thinking that in the end it will save us tons of time and money.

But am I just being delusional? I mean of course I want one, but is it a smart move financially?

When the markets are volatile, banks are crashing, and debt is the ruin of man…does it make sense to keep working on your house and shelling out money? Granted we went nuts with this current project, and the rest are going to be much more low key. I get that 100%. But still it’s like I have check writing fatigue that no amount of red bull can fix.

Is it just that I’m crazy at this point? I think the jury is still out on that one…

- Bryan

The first 'punch' list: the anti-DIY part 2

In keeping with my theme from yesterday, I have attached the first punch list my wife has created.

(On a side note: I've asked her a couple of times why it's called a 'punch list' instead of something like 'Stuff to get right' list, or 'We are paying for this?' list. Never got a straight answer on this one. I think it's because you feel like punching something quite often).

Anyway here's the list right now. Again, I'll say that Christina (more so that myself) is very accurate and exact in what she wants done. While that's a great mentality for all of this, it creates a list like:
According to Wikipedia (because it's always 100% accurate):
The phrase takes its name from the historical process of punching a hole in the margin of the document, next to one of the items on the list. This indicated that the work was completed for that particular construction task. Two copies of the list were punched at the same time to provide an identical record for the architect and contractor.

The stark reality of NOT doing it yourself

It's Bryan. So, in the past 2 weeks we've had the framing in the bathroom start, the electrical get roughed in, and as of yesterday most of the return plumbing installed. And it's about 65% correct. that means that for the most part Christina and I walk in the door now, not excited to see what's new, but rather expecting something to be incorrect.

Now, a little history here. In my day job I coordinate various software development endeavors between what my bosses think they want, and the developers that will be grinding the code. It's usually a dance, but my job is to make sure that when the developers start work...they have every possible piece of info to make the application close to 100% as requested, (virtually) bug free, and on time. So I take the requirements from the business units, translate them to 'tech speak' and lay out the technical architecture for everyone to look at and understand that the knee bone is going to be connected to the thigh bone, and it's going to use REST web services and the like.

I'm basically a contractor...only a nerdy one.

Now, what I don't understand about the shenanigans we are seeing, is that there is no communication (or very little) going on between all of the parties involved. The contractor walks the plumber and electrician through the house, and even with my wife (an architect) there to explain the plans. Great! But the funny thing is that when the plumbers showed up on Friday to start, they weren't the same guy(s) that had toured the house. They had been 'briefed' on the project, and had 'an idea' on what is going on.

Come again? You mean that for our third floor OASIS that we've been planning and saving to do for years...you have an 'idea' about where the entire BATHROOM is going to be? It's the general passing the orders down the ranks, and somewhere in there I'm watching and wearing my life jacket...because I know this ship might sink. Quickly.

The electricians have run almost an entire wall of lines (carved into the brick party wall) that are...oh...about 5 feet too low. There are switches where a pocket door will slam into them upon closing. I know what you might be saying..."details, details". Well that's me. The devil is in the details all right.

Let me be very clear here: Our contractor is great. Seriously, he's been great, and pretty much available at all times when we freak out and call him. I know he trusts his subs, and that's one of the reasons that we went with him. The problem might be that my mother thinks I'm type-A, and I would argue that my mother-in-law says the same about my wife. I mean our jobs for years have been to herd cats day in and day out, to prepare for the best and worst and to make s@#t happen. I feel handcuffed.

I can't frame a bathroom, knock a hole in a wall for a new window, or lay tile everywhere. I know that. But I think my mind says "you know Bryan...it's not that hard to do...plus you can control every last detail". My mind is a dangerous place to be in right now.

Anyway, we're really hoping that some of the plumbing things are fixed today (I won't get into the stack connection right now...that'll be tonight probably), and the electricians are coming back tomorrow I think.

In the mean time we have friends in town this weekend, and I guess they'll be sleeping on an air mattress in the living room. Sorry Susan and Steve, you’ve entered the Danger Zone. Time to listen to the Top Gun soundtrack and get pumped for plumbing!