I know you should build up to the best awards, but I am starting with the Best of the Best award.
“Best of the Best” Award
Here are the nominees: (note if they were a nominee then they did good)
- Dave - The Trim Man
- Ziegler Landscape (The Second Landscaper)
- Sergenian’s – flooring Vic Ripp
- The Stone Mason
- American TV
- Capital Lawn Sprinkler
- American TV
- Madison Fireplace
And the winner is:
Sergenian’s – Vic Ripp
Vic Ripp provided the best service of anyone working on our house. Vic was patient, helpful, funny, and went the extra mile to make sure we got what we wanted and needed. The Sergenian’s crew, while not the fastest, had ZERO defects and did a great job. Above simply doing a great job, Vic went out of his way to make sure things went well. He made multiple trips to the house before and during construction, and after we were moving in he brought backsplash samples – perfect ones that match exactly to what we want to do – to our house and set them up for us to look at. Sergenian’s is NOT close to our house. It would be at least a 20 minute drive and he does not live out here either. This is just great, far exceeds my expectations, service.
“I Stand Behind my Product” Award
Here are the nominees:
- American TV
- Madison Fireplace
- Exterior Stucco and Stone
And the winner is:
American TV
Whaaaa? Yes American. We do buy a lot from American, and for this house we purchased our appliances and TVs from them. Because the cabinet people sent out the wrong shelf for the microwave we needed to get a trim kit. This was going to be $200. Plus during the move the refrigerator doors were scratched. The representative from American brought the trim kit to the house and worked to get the scratch off of the door. While working of the scratch, he noticed the doors were a little warped – it was noticeable but I was not going to ask to have them replaced. He immediately said that he was going to order new doors for the refrigerator and that there was no charge for the trim kit. We received good service from American through the whole process, and with this kind of great service they will continue to be our first option. You know that Best Buy and Home Depot would not have done the same thing for us.
“Charlie Hustle” Award
The nominees are:
- The stucco crew
- Ziegler Landscaping - Brandon
- Matt and Lucas on the sound system
And the Winner is:
Brandon from Ziegler Landscape.
Brandon is in his early 20’s but he has learned how to work and how to get others to work. In a very natural manner he got his crew to hustle and made sure they were doing a really good job. I ended up asking Brandon a few questions and he would always hustle over listen and make sure he understood the question and would make sure I got want I wanted. Good work, hard work, and getting the most out of his crew made Brandon one of the best we met.
“No Hassle just get my work done” Award
The nominees are:
- Dave - The Trim Man
- Capitol Lawn Sprinkler
- Sergenian’s
- The stain man
- Dave Jones Plumbing
- The Stucco Crew
- The Stone Mason
- Giese Concrete
And the Winner is:
All of the above. Cheap easy way out I know. But all of these people simply just did their jobs. There were mistakes, especially with the office staff at Dave Jones, but that has to be expected. Overall, all of these people / companies did a good job and did it without much fanfare or hoopla.
“You have got to be kidding me” Award
The nominees are:
- Dennis Acker Landscaping
- FEI Electric
- FEI Sound System
And the award goes to:
FEI Sound System
This may seem like an upset and in some ways it is; but Dennis still has an award coming. By award, this is not a good thing. While Dan Flanders at FEI made a few silly errors on the electrical that he will not own up to, the sound system is getting to be really strange. TVs that require separate controls for video versus sound, a master bath with FULL control and FULL sound, and a lower level with nada, zip, zero sound are at the top of the list. I should also throw in the part about taking up an entire closet with equipment when they should have only taken half. Matt and Lucas the installers worked hard and were even nominated for an award, but they could not overcome the bad design that Dan put together.
So Dan, you can say whatever you want but here is what I asked for versus what you delivered:
Wanted: Whole house sound
Got: Nothing in the basement
Wanted: A sound knob for the music in the master bath
Got: Overly expensive complicated equipment that should have gone in the basement
Wanted: Video and sound on my TVs with one click
Got: Not that
Wanted: The screen porch and patio on the same control because they will NEVER ever play anything different
Got: One control upstairs and another control in the basement wasting another expensive wall controller
Wanted: A control I could use in the Hearth room
Got: A control I can use only if I am sitting in one certain place in the Hearth room
“Mr. Weasel” Award
The nominees are:
- FEI Electric
- FEI Sound
- Dennis Acker Landscape
- Marling Cabinets, Dave Jones Plumbing, Devorak Countertops for the sink episode
And the award goes to:
FEI Electric
Come on, I can only turn on half the lights in the kitchen from the main switch? And apparently it was your “design” that I can turn on the lights under the cabinets from the main switch, but I have to turn on the main lights from the switch under the cabinets, hmmm. Dan this was not a design problem but an installation problem and you should fix it.
UPDATE ON THE TWO ABOVE AWARDS
I gave FEI the opportunity to step up and admit that what they did was kind of stupid and to make thing right with me. Nope, they will not even admit they made a mistake. Fine, I just want it fixed, so it is $200 to fix the kitchen switch. Then I asked that they give me a proposal for 2 wall speakers and a sound control knob in the basement. This is on a wall where the sheetrock is unfinished in the storage area and a speaker wire runs directly past where I want the speakers. Easy access!
What I got was a $2300 proposal (even though the total said $1500) for ceiling speakers (I didn’t ask for these), a full control expensive keypad (I didn’t ask for this), and other crap. No explanation, only a note that I can call them if I want to know more. Well actually, I am busy, so I asked for a write up on what they are proposing. What I got was two more proposals, one with the math fixed and now a real $1500 proposal for speakers in the wall. What is the functionality difference? I don’t know, I was told they are too busy to describe their proposal. Huh? Right, they are just too busy to put in writing what they are proposing other than a list of equipment.
After all of their errors I will not give them a dime until they describe what they are going to do.
In my humble opinion, Flanders Electric dba FEI in Cottage Grove, WI sux.
“I am going to do what I want instead of what you want” Award
The nominees are:
- Dennis Acker
And the Award goes to:
Dennis Acker Landscaping
Thanks Dennis for everything you did. Thanks for using the wrong stones despite every example we talked about being something different. Thanks for putting the wall where I said I did NOT want the wall. And most of all, thanks for the holes in the stucco.
“Most Unexpected Builder Comment” Award
The nominees are:
- Call my wife Mrs. Lucky
- I was just walking and “boom” I fell off the roof
- I cut the bottoms of my pockets out so I can scratch my privates
- No charge
And the winner is:
No charge
All of the above can be associated with our builder. He is quite a character. Even though the building process did not go as well as we would have liked, Wayne is as honest as they come in the building business. After seeing the work that Wayne’s brother Dennis did (see previous award) I asked Wayne how much it was going to cost us to get the wrong stone removed the and area graded again. As usual I did have culpability. He responded “no charge” we’ll take care of it. I could give several reasons why that was the right thing to do, but ultimately I had mistakenly signed a document with the wrong stone written in. He could have told me that I needed to pay for it, but instead Wayne took care of it. It was unexpected and appreciated.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Builder Rant
I was thinking about why I am a little dissatisfied with my builder. After all I do like the house a lot. I am happy with they way the house looks and it seems to have turned out fine overall. But yet I could not give my builder a glowing reference. Why? Here are a few reasons you can be happy with the end result, but not happy with the process that got you here.
My expectations were that the builder would get the permits, schedule the sub-contractors, be at the house daily to ensure quality, help ensure the right decisions were made, and to provide quality components equivalent to the price we paid for the house. Some of this happened. The rest is a bit questionable.
The builder did schedule the subs, but it was a fire-drill. We received many last minute hurry up phone calls that with just a little attention to the project could have been avoided. Several of the subs told us they got a call the day of or the day before the builder wanted them onsite. Our garage doors were not installed until after we were in the house, even after they had assured us these were ordered ahead of time – turns out not. Basically the builder did the whole house with a by the seat of his pants scheduling methodology.
The builder was AWOL too often when it came to quality. Their attitude seemed to be that each sub was responsible for their own quality and as long as the task was finished then it was fine. This is a little overly harsh as the builder really did do some things related to quality, but we have a long list of the things WE caught. Here is a sample:
Framing – Open gaps in many of the studs, some gaps were a half inch or more.
Drywall – some areas wavy and many of the seams not straight
Stucco – windows not even
Cabinets - nicks chips scratches uneven doors and even missing doors
Electrical - plugs in the wrong locations and switches strangely installed
Cement - the basement floor was uneven
Plumbing - missing and incorrect components
While it is not a defect per se, the builder did make commitments to keep the house clean and to not suck dirt into the air vents. He didn’t and then he did!
All in all we gave the builder over 60 defects in the house that we found.
As for helping with decisions the builder was not a part of the process. There are a lot of decisions to be made when building a house. Many of which are foreign to the typically home buyer. You are expected to make instant decisions related to plumbing, electrical, yard grading, and the like without any real point of reference with which to make the decision. I finally asked the builder if all buyers struggle with these decisions and the answer was “yes”. If this is true then the process is obviously broken. The builder should be more involved in helping the home buyer understand the ramifications of their decisions. Instead our builder took a hands-off “I don’t have any thing to do with that” approach.
One small example is in the placement of light switches. This may seem inconsequential, but it is not. We now have a situation where we can turn on half the lights in the kitchen from one switch then have to walk to another switch to turn on the other half. The electrician says that we signed off on that. We did? Not on purpose. Why would anyone EVER want the switches this way? The electrician simply screwed up and we did not catch it. Which leads me to the final part of this rant.
The builder should be there to review the key decisions the home buyer makes. When working with electricians, plumbers, cabinets, exterior, or flooring you have to make a lot of decisions. What we found is that sub after sub (but mainly the electrician) put in specs that were different that we discussed.
Using the electrician again as an example, you walk through the framed house to identify the locations of switches and to specify the functionality of the switches. This is a lot more complex than you might think, and you get one shot at it. We discussed options, locations, usage and more. The electrician took down note after note. Then a couple of weeks later you get a plan that you have to sign at the last minute because they are already starting. Unless you are an expert in this area AND you were a part of the walk through conversation you will not see the errors and omissions in the plans. So now we can only turn on half our kitchen lights from the main switch, and this is MY fault. This is obviously the electrician’s error and the builder does not want to get involved. It is not expensive to fix, under $200, but it should never have happened.
Lastly, there are number of items that go into your house that are not specified as a part of the building contract. You need to expect that the builder will provide supplies equivalent to the type of house you are building. As an example, and seemingly a small item I admit, are the toilet seats. We chose a much upgraded toilet – spiffy extra cost handle on the side of the tank, elongated, one is even a “comfort” height. But now the toilet “seats” are a cheap thin plastic that you would expect at a Motel 6. No I did not think to ask. Call me unreasonable, but if you are going elongated comfort height with the handle of the side, shouldn’t you be able to assume you would get a nice seat?
Oh well, I will just go watch TV on our neat distributed sound system and relax. Wait. What? I can’t turn on the TV and the SOUND at the same time? Oh I see, I did not specify that I wanted to listen to as well as watch my TV – my bad….
Note: While we do think the builder should have done more as described above, to be clear we love the house and Wayne, Jenny, and Matt are honest decent people. Would we build we Wayne again? Yes, but we would have a lot more in writing about the builder role and responsibility. Of course they might turn us down as customers :)
My expectations were that the builder would get the permits, schedule the sub-contractors, be at the house daily to ensure quality, help ensure the right decisions were made, and to provide quality components equivalent to the price we paid for the house. Some of this happened. The rest is a bit questionable.
The builder did schedule the subs, but it was a fire-drill. We received many last minute hurry up phone calls that with just a little attention to the project could have been avoided. Several of the subs told us they got a call the day of or the day before the builder wanted them onsite. Our garage doors were not installed until after we were in the house, even after they had assured us these were ordered ahead of time – turns out not. Basically the builder did the whole house with a by the seat of his pants scheduling methodology.
The builder was AWOL too often when it came to quality. Their attitude seemed to be that each sub was responsible for their own quality and as long as the task was finished then it was fine. This is a little overly harsh as the builder really did do some things related to quality, but we have a long list of the things WE caught. Here is a sample:
Framing – Open gaps in many of the studs, some gaps were a half inch or more.
Drywall – some areas wavy and many of the seams not straight
Stucco – windows not even
Cabinets - nicks chips scratches uneven doors and even missing doors
Electrical - plugs in the wrong locations and switches strangely installed
Cement - the basement floor was uneven
Plumbing - missing and incorrect components
While it is not a defect per se, the builder did make commitments to keep the house clean and to not suck dirt into the air vents. He didn’t and then he did!
All in all we gave the builder over 60 defects in the house that we found.
As for helping with decisions the builder was not a part of the process. There are a lot of decisions to be made when building a house. Many of which are foreign to the typically home buyer. You are expected to make instant decisions related to plumbing, electrical, yard grading, and the like without any real point of reference with which to make the decision. I finally asked the builder if all buyers struggle with these decisions and the answer was “yes”. If this is true then the process is obviously broken. The builder should be more involved in helping the home buyer understand the ramifications of their decisions. Instead our builder took a hands-off “I don’t have any thing to do with that” approach.
One small example is in the placement of light switches. This may seem inconsequential, but it is not. We now have a situation where we can turn on half the lights in the kitchen from one switch then have to walk to another switch to turn on the other half. The electrician says that we signed off on that. We did? Not on purpose. Why would anyone EVER want the switches this way? The electrician simply screwed up and we did not catch it. Which leads me to the final part of this rant.
The builder should be there to review the key decisions the home buyer makes. When working with electricians, plumbers, cabinets, exterior, or flooring you have to make a lot of decisions. What we found is that sub after sub (but mainly the electrician) put in specs that were different that we discussed.
Using the electrician again as an example, you walk through the framed house to identify the locations of switches and to specify the functionality of the switches. This is a lot more complex than you might think, and you get one shot at it. We discussed options, locations, usage and more. The electrician took down note after note. Then a couple of weeks later you get a plan that you have to sign at the last minute because they are already starting. Unless you are an expert in this area AND you were a part of the walk through conversation you will not see the errors and omissions in the plans. So now we can only turn on half our kitchen lights from the main switch, and this is MY fault. This is obviously the electrician’s error and the builder does not want to get involved. It is not expensive to fix, under $200, but it should never have happened.
Lastly, there are number of items that go into your house that are not specified as a part of the building contract. You need to expect that the builder will provide supplies equivalent to the type of house you are building. As an example, and seemingly a small item I admit, are the toilet seats. We chose a much upgraded toilet – spiffy extra cost handle on the side of the tank, elongated, one is even a “comfort” height. But now the toilet “seats” are a cheap thin plastic that you would expect at a Motel 6. No I did not think to ask. Call me unreasonable, but if you are going elongated comfort height with the handle of the side, shouldn’t you be able to assume you would get a nice seat?
Oh well, I will just go watch TV on our neat distributed sound system and relax. Wait. What? I can’t turn on the TV and the SOUND at the same time? Oh I see, I did not specify that I wanted to listen to as well as watch my TV – my bad….
Note: While we do think the builder should have done more as described above, to be clear we love the house and Wayne, Jenny, and Matt are honest decent people. Would we build we Wayne again? Yes, but we would have a lot more in writing about the builder role and responsibility. Of course they might turn us down as customers :)
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Last week in pictures
Matt (general contractor), Kari (countertop salesperson), and Ken (installer) talking about who was at fault for drilling faucet holes in the wrong places. .JPG)
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Our railing is done!
Granite installed
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Do you see anything odd in this pic? We were surprised that they sold us this type of install, as if the extra inch of granite would have been much more difficult to install??
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Retaining walls finally finished!
Retaining walls finally finished! We told them not to bother with the two-tone trim on our curved window... so this was a way cool surprise. :).JPG)
Huh?
Just received a call from the general contractor and it went something like this:
"Hey Michelle, it's Matt. I'm at the house and have a question for you. Do you want your bathroom light centered over the mirror or over the faucet?"
"What? Isn't it ALL centered? The sink, faucet, mirror, and light?"
"Well, no. If we centered the mirror over the sink, we'd have to scootch it over so the mirror was touching the center drawer unit. I don't think that would look too good. So do you want the light center over the faucet or mirror? (Long pause...) Have you seen the bathroom since the mirrors were installed?"
"Matt - I was out there this morning. The left light looks fine. The right one is goofy - it needs to be moved to the right a tad bit. Just make both sides look the same."
"Umm. Yeah, whatever we do I'll make sure they're the same. So do you want it centered on the faucet or mirror?"
" (Sigh)... What is the left centered on?"
"I think it's centered on the faucet, I'm not sure. The right one isn't centered on anything. It's all screwy."
"Please make it look like the one on the left. Whatever that one is centered on, do the same thing on the right."
"Oh, OK! That's all I needed!"
HUH???????????????????? Wouldn't you think there is a standard way of centering a sink, faucet, mirror and overhead light? My guess is the sink wasn't put in the center of the counter top......
"Hey Michelle, it's Matt. I'm at the house and have a question for you. Do you want your bathroom light centered over the mirror or over the faucet?"
"What? Isn't it ALL centered? The sink, faucet, mirror, and light?"
"Well, no. If we centered the mirror over the sink, we'd have to scootch it over so the mirror was touching the center drawer unit. I don't think that would look too good. So do you want the light center over the faucet or mirror? (Long pause...) Have you seen the bathroom since the mirrors were installed?"
"Matt - I was out there this morning. The left light looks fine. The right one is goofy - it needs to be moved to the right a tad bit. Just make both sides look the same."
"Umm. Yeah, whatever we do I'll make sure they're the same. So do you want it centered on the faucet or mirror?"
" (Sigh)... What is the left centered on?"
"I think it's centered on the faucet, I'm not sure. The right one isn't centered on anything. It's all screwy."
"Please make it look like the one on the left. Whatever that one is centered on, do the same thing on the right."
"Oh, OK! That's all I needed!"
HUH???????????????????? Wouldn't you think there is a standard way of centering a sink, faucet, mirror and overhead light? My guess is the sink wasn't put in the center of the counter top......
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Moving Day is Set!
We are scheduled to move in!
New furniture will be delivered on Friday, August 29th.
PODS units will be delivered on Saturday, August 30th.
Moving men will work on Sunday, August 31st to unload our four different storage units.
Woo Hoo!!! I can't wait!!
Any one who wants to help with good old manual labor -- feel free to stop by!
New furniture will be delivered on Friday, August 29th.
PODS units will be delivered on Saturday, August 30th.
Moving men will work on Sunday, August 31st to unload our four different storage units.
Woo Hoo!!! I can't wait!!
Any one who wants to help with good old manual labor -- feel free to stop by!
What a week!
We've been so busy this week that we literally didn't have time to post!
Let's start with WEDNESDAY.... I received a call from Marling's, the cabinet and countertop contractor. There was an "accident" at site while installing our kitchen granite countertops. Luckily, no one was hurt and the granite wasn't broken. Casualities included our granite kitchen sink, some floor tiles, and a cabinet door. To keep progress moving, they asked if I could go pick up a new sink and bring it to site ASAP. Negativo... I was in Milwaukee. So the fabricator, who broke the sink, ran to Home Depot to get a replacement. (BTW, I love that store. Even though he was honest about breaking it, the store replaced it for free.) Of course, the rest will be fixed at no cost to us... whenever they can get a replacement cabinet door.
I went to the house to view the damage that night, and found two other mistakes with the granite. (1) The edges were squared, and I ordered rounded, aka bullnose. What are we to do??? If we rip it out and have it redone, the entire house will be delayed for another FOUR weeks! Turns out we weren't charged for the bullnose, so we'll keep it squared. Don't tell me you don't like it... because I don't either. (2) The first floor bath has one sink, and the lower level bath has two sinks. The faucets I selected were different... as I went cheaper on the basement bath. Well, the fabricator drilled the holes opposite... so the bathroom faucets are drilled in the first floor countertop, etc. THIS was easy for ME. I told them to upgrade the house to the nicer faucets at no cost to me rather than find a new piece of granite and start over again! I must confess that the plumber, the fabrictor, and Marlings all took time to call me and explain that the mistake was not THEIR fault! Frankly, I don't care WHO screwed up as long as it's fixed.
THURSDAY: They continued to install the granite countertops and plumbing fixtures. I stopped by to approve something (I don't remember what), and discovered yet another additional cost. The house contract included a screen porch, tongue and grove pine siding. However, the contractor doesn't plan on sealing it! That's like drywalling and then asking "did you want paint?". He wants to charge another $900 to oil, seal, and paint the outside. Cripes.
FRIDAY: Lee had to meet the sprinkler company and the landscaper at site. They have finished the fine grading, and Lee finally approved the plan. I'm so thankful for Lee, because I wouldn't have the patience to work on the landscaping the way he did. Lee and I made a list of at least twelve mistakes or issues for the contractor to address. We also found out that they turned on the air return (furnace and AC)... so all of the construction and drywall dust is being sucked into our ventilation system!! WE ARE NOT HAPPY.
SATURDAY: We stared at more tile samples trying to select a kitchen backsplash. We took about five different options to the house, and none wowed us. Sorry, but we hate to spend a lot of money on something we don't really like. So... we'll be without a backsplash for awhile.
SUNDAY: Dust O' Dust!!! We learned the carpet is scheduled to be installed tomorrow. There is SO MUCH drywall and construction dust, that we were worried they would throw the carpet on top of it. Lee and I worked for 2-3 hours, both with separate ShopVacs, cleaning up as much dust and debris as possible. We met with a window blinds company and received a good case of sticker shock with their quote. We then spent a few hours assembling the new screen porch furniture. At LONG LAST, we enjoyed our first beverage with our friend Tom on the screen porch! It was wonderful!!
Let's start with WEDNESDAY.... I received a call from Marling's, the cabinet and countertop contractor. There was an "accident" at site while installing our kitchen granite countertops. Luckily, no one was hurt and the granite wasn't broken. Casualities included our granite kitchen sink, some floor tiles, and a cabinet door. To keep progress moving, they asked if I could go pick up a new sink and bring it to site ASAP. Negativo... I was in Milwaukee. So the fabricator, who broke the sink, ran to Home Depot to get a replacement. (BTW, I love that store. Even though he was honest about breaking it, the store replaced it for free.) Of course, the rest will be fixed at no cost to us... whenever they can get a replacement cabinet door.
I went to the house to view the damage that night, and found two other mistakes with the granite. (1) The edges were squared, and I ordered rounded, aka bullnose. What are we to do??? If we rip it out and have it redone, the entire house will be delayed for another FOUR weeks! Turns out we weren't charged for the bullnose, so we'll keep it squared. Don't tell me you don't like it... because I don't either. (2) The first floor bath has one sink, and the lower level bath has two sinks. The faucets I selected were different... as I went cheaper on the basement bath. Well, the fabricator drilled the holes opposite... so the bathroom faucets are drilled in the first floor countertop, etc. THIS was easy for ME. I told them to upgrade the house to the nicer faucets at no cost to me rather than find a new piece of granite and start over again! I must confess that the plumber, the fabrictor, and Marlings all took time to call me and explain that the mistake was not THEIR fault! Frankly, I don't care WHO screwed up as long as it's fixed.
THURSDAY: They continued to install the granite countertops and plumbing fixtures. I stopped by to approve something (I don't remember what), and discovered yet another additional cost. The house contract included a screen porch, tongue and grove pine siding. However, the contractor doesn't plan on sealing it! That's like drywalling and then asking "did you want paint?". He wants to charge another $900 to oil, seal, and paint the outside. Cripes.
FRIDAY: Lee had to meet the sprinkler company and the landscaper at site. They have finished the fine grading, and Lee finally approved the plan. I'm so thankful for Lee, because I wouldn't have the patience to work on the landscaping the way he did. Lee and I made a list of at least twelve mistakes or issues for the contractor to address. We also found out that they turned on the air return (furnace and AC)... so all of the construction and drywall dust is being sucked into our ventilation system!! WE ARE NOT HAPPY.
SATURDAY: We stared at more tile samples trying to select a kitchen backsplash. We took about five different options to the house, and none wowed us. Sorry, but we hate to spend a lot of money on something we don't really like. So... we'll be without a backsplash for awhile.
SUNDAY: Dust O' Dust!!! We learned the carpet is scheduled to be installed tomorrow. There is SO MUCH drywall and construction dust, that we were worried they would throw the carpet on top of it. Lee and I worked for 2-3 hours, both with separate ShopVacs, cleaning up as much dust and debris as possible. We met with a window blinds company and received a good case of sticker shock with their quote. We then spent a few hours assembling the new screen porch furniture. At LONG LAST, we enjoyed our first beverage with our friend Tom on the screen porch! It was wonderful!!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Stone masonry is ALMOST done!
I was summoned to the house today to look at the stone on the great room fireplace. I absolutely LOVE the stone! Anyway, the mason needed to show me my options for how the stone edge can look when it met the drywall. The corner pieces come in only two sizes, which are about 6" different in length. So, a "staggered" install looked goofy. Oh, and you can't just order a box of corner pieces... they come a few in each box of stone. In order to get them all the same, I'd have to buy double the amount of stone. Yikes! (Another one of the many "oh wow" moments I've experienced. Who knew the level of detail involved in all of this? :)
Anyway, here's the fireplace from the great room... the stone is just on the bottom so far..JPG)
Close-up of the stone....
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Fireplace from the hearth room. A TV will eventually be mounted on the wall above the mantle. I'm so happy with the dark stain I picked out for the mantle!
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Close-up of the stone.....JPG)
Fireplace from the hearth room. A TV will eventually be mounted on the wall above the mantle. I'm so happy with the dark stain I picked out for the mantle!.JPG)
While I was there, I took a pic of the front door. The stone masonry is almost done -- just finishing up the posts and the address stone. The front door still needs to be stained and the door frame painted, but you get the idea of what it will look like from the pic..JPG)
Our range hood was installed the kitchen too... thought I'd snap yet another pic.
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Lots of things are being done on the interior finish work, but it all takes time. We're still on track for moving in by month end!
Slide Show
Not sure if this really works or not.... it should be a slide show
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11145392@N03/sets/72157606829701128/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11145392@N03/sets/72157606829701128/show/
Monday, August 18, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
An update
Landscaping snafus abound. We've had the retaining walls redone twice already, and we're having one reshaped AGAIN. The lot has a very steep slope from one side of the house to the other. (not front to back, but side to side) It's difficult to visualize how best to build the retaining walls to allow for drainage, but also not use up all of the back yard. Very frustrating. And the builder and landscapers don't prepare an actual PLAN.. they just ask "What do you want?" I'm not a professional landscaper -- I don't know how to do this stuff! I just want as big of a yard as possible with water that drains away from the house. Period. Two of our exterior walls have fallen victim to the landscaper's bobcat. (In fairness this was landscaper #1, who has since been replaced with landscaper #2. :)
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But on a positive note... lots of progress has been made:
Patio has been poured, colored, and stamped. We love it.
Sidewalk and driveway are done. :)
Tile is DONE! Yea!
Cabinets are installed.
Sauna is completed.
Trim work is almost done.
They say we'll be in by month end. Woo Hoo!.JPG)
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This one's for Cassie...
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Our daughter, Cassie, pointed out how frustrating it is to view this blog. She merely wanted to see what the house looked like - from the outside. All she could easily find were photos of pieces and parts of the building. So, this one's for her!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Grading on my nerves
When building a house don’t do anything against your better judgment. Every time we have done this, usually for the sake of time, it has come back to bite us. We met with two landscapers. One listened, made good suggestions, but he was more expensive and really busy. The other did not listen, made rather stupid comments, kept saying the same things no matter what we told him, but he was cheaper and available. Being immediately available is at least a yellow flag. Our builder was really pushing to get retaining walls built so we could get the concrete moving. So, against our better judgment we went with the builder’s brother – the one that did not listen.
I met Dennis the landscaper - actually he really just smoothes out the yard and builds retaining walls, aka fine grading - at the house again early on Friday before leaving to go to Eau Claire. It took a lot longer than I thought it would and after explaining what I wanted, even being very direct with him, he still seemed to not listen well. It was to be a simple task. Bring the boulder wall out to about the edge of the garage and then taper the wall with a slight curve to the back corner of the house. We also talked about the weed barrier behind the boulders and I pointed to a few walls around the neighborhood as examples of what we wanted. I signed the paperwork and hurried off.
While I am in Eau Claire I get a call from Dennis telling me he put the wall 4 feet from the house and ran the wall past the first window. I told him to stop, to do no more work that I did not think that was right. When we got to the house on Sunday I popped my top. All Dennis Acker the hard-headed yard grader did was put the wall right where he wanted it to go not where I told him to put it. Plus he used limestone instead of boulders – turns out I signed paperwork stating limestone instead of boulders. This was my bad even though every example and all my conversations had boulders as the examples. But even had we wanted limestone, the crap Dennis brought to the house looked like he got it out of the city dump. It looked nothing like the other limestone used in the neighborhood.
Just to put the icing on the cake, Dennis put several scrapes and a couple of HOLES in the stucco. Nice!
BUILDER TO THE RESCUE
While we have a couple of issues with our builder, he is getting people to build us a nice house and he is a very honest person. When Michelle met with the NEW landscaper (Ziegler out of Deforest) on Monday, he again listened and understood. Michelle then asked Wayne (the builder) how much it is going to cost us to get the limestone out and the walls where we want them. I did sign the paperwork so he was within his right to say that I should enjoy the limestone I just bought. He said, “nothing, we’ll take care of this.” Alright Wayne! Time will tell, but I have no doubt that Ziegler will do a good job.
I met Dennis the landscaper - actually he really just smoothes out the yard and builds retaining walls, aka fine grading - at the house again early on Friday before leaving to go to Eau Claire. It took a lot longer than I thought it would and after explaining what I wanted, even being very direct with him, he still seemed to not listen well. It was to be a simple task. Bring the boulder wall out to about the edge of the garage and then taper the wall with a slight curve to the back corner of the house. We also talked about the weed barrier behind the boulders and I pointed to a few walls around the neighborhood as examples of what we wanted. I signed the paperwork and hurried off.
While I am in Eau Claire I get a call from Dennis telling me he put the wall 4 feet from the house and ran the wall past the first window. I told him to stop, to do no more work that I did not think that was right. When we got to the house on Sunday I popped my top. All Dennis Acker the hard-headed yard grader did was put the wall right where he wanted it to go not where I told him to put it. Plus he used limestone instead of boulders – turns out I signed paperwork stating limestone instead of boulders. This was my bad even though every example and all my conversations had boulders as the examples. But even had we wanted limestone, the crap Dennis brought to the house looked like he got it out of the city dump. It looked nothing like the other limestone used in the neighborhood.
Just to put the icing on the cake, Dennis put several scrapes and a couple of HOLES in the stucco. Nice!
BUILDER TO THE RESCUE
While we have a couple of issues with our builder, he is getting people to build us a nice house and he is a very honest person. When Michelle met with the NEW landscaper (Ziegler out of Deforest) on Monday, he again listened and understood. Michelle then asked Wayne (the builder) how much it is going to cost us to get the limestone out and the walls where we want them. I did sign the paperwork so he was within his right to say that I should enjoy the limestone I just bought. He said, “nothing, we’ll take care of this.” Alright Wayne! Time will tell, but I have no doubt that Ziegler will do a good job.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Let's Hear it for the Boys...
The Tile Guys, that is!!
Woo hoo!! They are making lots of progress. The master bathroom is DONE. The fireplace slate is DONE. The lower level bathroom is DONE. :)
And the main tile for our first level was delivered on Friday too!!.JPG)
Woo hoo!! They are making lots of progress. The master bathroom is DONE. The fireplace slate is DONE. The lower level bathroom is DONE. :)
And the main tile for our first level was delivered on Friday too!!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Waiting on "The Tile Guys"
They began installing the bathroom and floor tile ten days ago.
So far, they have ALMOST one bathroom finished.
Only 2 more bathrooms, a slate fireplace wall, and 1400 sq ft of mudroom, laundry room, kitchen, foyer, hearth room, office, and hallway to go!
The cabinet folks are waiting on the tile guys.
The interior trim carpenters are waiting on the tile guys.
The sauna installer is waiting on the tile guys.
The electrician is waiting on the tile guys.
The countertop fabricator is waiting on the tile guys.
It seems EVERYONE is waiting on the tile guys.
Waiting....
Waiting...
Waiting...
I feel like singing the Heinz ketchup commercial "Anticipation is making me wait..." But, it's not anticipation - it's "the tile guys".
My builder assures me that "the tile guys" actually kick other subcontractors out of the house if necessary. They are the prima donna of the building subcontractors and always get the right-of-way. He also said that they are paid by the square foot, ours are going extremely slow, but they seem to be doing excellent work - (which gives me a little comfort.)
You'd think they could do some creative scheduling... but oh no no no! The floor goes in first, so the cabinets can sit on it, then (and only then) the countertop can be measured, countertops fabricated and finally installed. The sauna needs a floor before the walls can be installed. Carpenters dare not create dust because it disrupts "the tile guys".
And so it goes....
And so we're waiting....
waiting....
waiting....
Rather IMPATIENTLY.
So far, they have ALMOST one bathroom finished.
Only 2 more bathrooms, a slate fireplace wall, and 1400 sq ft of mudroom, laundry room, kitchen, foyer, hearth room, office, and hallway to go!
The cabinet folks are waiting on the tile guys.
The interior trim carpenters are waiting on the tile guys.
The sauna installer is waiting on the tile guys.
The electrician is waiting on the tile guys.
The countertop fabricator is waiting on the tile guys.
It seems EVERYONE is waiting on the tile guys.
Waiting....
Waiting...
Waiting...
I feel like singing the Heinz ketchup commercial "Anticipation is making me wait..." But, it's not anticipation - it's "the tile guys".
My builder assures me that "the tile guys" actually kick other subcontractors out of the house if necessary. They are the prima donna of the building subcontractors and always get the right-of-way. He also said that they are paid by the square foot, ours are going extremely slow, but they seem to be doing excellent work - (which gives me a little comfort.)
You'd think they could do some creative scheduling... but oh no no no! The floor goes in first, so the cabinets can sit on it, then (and only then) the countertop can be measured, countertops fabricated and finally installed. The sauna needs a floor before the walls can be installed. Carpenters dare not create dust because it disrupts "the tile guys".
And so it goes....
And so we're waiting....
waiting....
waiting....
Rather IMPATIENTLY.
I saw the master shower, but Lee didn't!
So, here you go Honey... It's not quite done, but it's looking really good!
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Interior trim and garage doors
Our garage doors were ordered yesterday, with the row of windows on the top "row" of the door, and we have arches on the garage. Just realized today that it will look just like our neighbor's house. I think it looks goofy, and we should move the windows down to the second "row". See?? The arches cover up part of the windows!
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I had to meet the builder at site early this morning... sigh. ANOTHER emergency trip to site. Wish the builder had an OUNCE of project management skill - but that's an entirely different post subject. The carpenter says there are nine different ways to install our window trim. He had a couple tacked up for me to look at, and I selected this one. (It's a bad pic, but do you like it?
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I had to meet the builder at site early this morning... sigh. ANOTHER emergency trip to site. Wish the builder had an OUNCE of project management skill - but that's an entirely different post subject. The carpenter says there are nine different ways to install our window trim. He had a couple tacked up for me to look at, and I selected this one. (It's a bad pic, but do you like it?
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Was he trying to be nice?
Under the post Stone Fiasco we got this comment:
Mr. Shawn said... Hmm... your stone doesn't look so bad in relation to the rest of the new house! If in real life it does stand out that much - instead of replacing it - you can hire an artist to go in there and paint portions of each stone so that it blends in more with the house. Basically, pain each stone (or wash it or something), so that the colors balance out more and blend in more.
First we don't know Mr. Shawn. We didn't expect anyone to read the blog other than us really, so this was a bit surprising. Then we read the comment. "Hmm... your stone doesn't look so bad in relation to the rest of the new house!" This could be read, in comparison to the rest of your house the stone is not all that bad - or in other words the rest of your house sucks so badly the stone looks good. OK, we had not looked at that way. If we had not already had the stone removed we would have felt better about the stone..?.. We take solace that "in relation to" is not exactly the same as "in comparison to". As for the suggestion of painting the stone he obviously does not know about Tierny's tyranny -- a reference to the guy that runs the HOA and approves (more appropriately said “overlords”) any changes to the outside of the house. But we could have had a big getting our house stoned painting party.
Mr. Shawn said... Hmm... your stone doesn't look so bad in relation to the rest of the new house! If in real life it does stand out that much - instead of replacing it - you can hire an artist to go in there and paint portions of each stone so that it blends in more with the house. Basically, pain each stone (or wash it or something), so that the colors balance out more and blend in more.
First we don't know Mr. Shawn. We didn't expect anyone to read the blog other than us really, so this was a bit surprising. Then we read the comment. "Hmm... your stone doesn't look so bad in relation to the rest of the new house!" This could be read, in comparison to the rest of your house the stone is not all that bad - or in other words the rest of your house sucks so badly the stone looks good. OK, we had not looked at that way. If we had not already had the stone removed we would have felt better about the stone..?.. We take solace that "in relation to" is not exactly the same as "in comparison to". As for the suggestion of painting the stone he obviously does not know about Tierny's tyranny -- a reference to the guy that runs the HOA and approves (more appropriately said “overlords”) any changes to the outside of the house. But we could have had a big getting our house stoned painting party.
Picky picky picky
We confused our builder – again. On the form for the garage door (yes the “form” to indicate the style of garage door, style of the windows in the garage, placement of the windows on the garage door, and of course the color of the garage door) we wrote a color, scratched out that color then wrote the same color again. We see that as confirmation rather than confusion. As for the window style we wrote a style that was not on the form or in the brochure. I guess we understand how this could confuse some people. With that clarified, all that remained was picking the placement of the windows on the door: Top row or one row down. Think about Toad and the vertically challenged Fern, this decision was not that easy. The consideration was that for security the top row is better so people like our daughters and Fern cannot peek into the garage, without assistance. Fern wanted to see out through the window so she wanted the windows lower. Because moving the windows higher actually would deter the average Waunakee criminal and Fern ultimately will not spend that much time gazing out through the starlit garage door windows, we put the windows on the top row.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Rejected.... again
We did go back to the house today to mark the closet layout, but we really just wanted to see the new shower. The mud was dry, but were we able to see the floor? Nope, all covered with paper 'cause the shower walls are not done. I guess our tile guys pay a lot of attention to detail, which is a nice change from the builder, but man are they slow. But we take slow with an eye for detail over quick and sloppy. Maybe next weekend.....
This is the hidden floor at the entrance to the shower.
This is our wall.... on the floor.....
This is the hidden floor at the entrance to the shower.
This is our wall.... on the floor.....
Irony
This is a sign posted on the door to the ...... well, the Mud Room of course. No really, it is. This was a bit frustrating since I only get to see the house about once a week (ha, you should have looked closer Toad not Fern -- Fern made me an official poster today -- I have really created a lot of these posts under her name. By a lot, I mean one.) The "mud" for which the official sign was created is for the tile floor. They glue down an orange mesh that has a pattern a lot like one side of a sugar wafer cookie (yes you know what those are http://www.nationwidecandy.com/mmcandypb/KeeblerVanillaWafers.jpg) and then put a grout-like layer with a technical name of "mud" over the mesh. You cannot walk on the mud when it is wet. This meant I could not get in to see the bathroom which is where most of the work was done so until next week, all I was able to see was mud.
Well actually we are going out to the house today to see if the easy closet designs we came up with really fit -- as long as the mud is dry......
Closets Made Easy
http://www.easyclosets.com/ is a great tool for designing your closets. MUCH less expensive than California Closets and just as nice. Free shipping but 24 boxes worth of puzzle parts. The builder will assemble.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Another "urgent" trip midday
Got a call late morning from the tile guy, AJ. He wants me to come to the house to look at the bathroom tub tile. I need to "decide how the main tile meets the stone tub deck". What??? I thought the tiles just "meet"...
As I was rushing out the door, the stone guy, Lawrence, called. He wants me at site to approve the mortar color. I gave Lawrence executive decision-making control on the mortar earlier in the day, but he's very uncomfortable with the sheer power of the situation.
Lawrence introduced me to Neil, our new mason. I approved the stone sills and the mortar.... which I really didn't think was necessary anyway. I like Neil... he was playing some good 70's tunes while he worked.
AJ showed me four different ways that the two tiles can "meet".... but he already said two wouldn't work and the stone would break. Anyway, there is no way he could have explained it over the phone. If he made an "executive decision" I wouldn't have known the difference either. I did learn a few things in talking with AJ though...
As I was rushing out the door, the stone guy, Lawrence, called. He wants me at site to approve the mortar color. I gave Lawrence executive decision-making control on the mortar earlier in the day, but he's very uncomfortable with the sheer power of the situation.
Lawrence introduced me to Neil, our new mason. I approved the stone sills and the mortar.... which I really didn't think was necessary anyway. I like Neil... he was playing some good 70's tunes while he worked.
AJ showed me four different ways that the two tiles can "meet".... but he already said two wouldn't work and the stone would break. Anyway, there is no way he could have explained it over the phone. If he made an "executive decision" I wouldn't have known the difference either. I did learn a few things in talking with AJ though...
- Our concrete floor in the basement is uneven, so the tile would break if installed. Instead of fixing it, the builder is making the tile guys "deal with it". So, AJ is putting many layers of goop on the floor to level it.
- AJ made our builder remove the whirlpool tub and drywall in order to install the tile. Guess our builder wasn't too happy about it....
- As part of the design, the builder put rounded corners on the drywall in our house. But in the bathroom, tile looks kinda goofy butted against a rounded corner. Guess this happens "all the time" and is something that AJ would never do if he built a house. Boo AJ... Boo builder...
And lastly, I ran into Jim... the painter. He ran out of paint at a different house, so came to ours to "steal" some. (His words, not mine.) The odd thing is that he took a 5 gal tub of paint that is a totally different color than we ordered for our interior. It was opened and partly used, so Jim swears it must be on our walls "somewhere". I'll be taking my paint samples to the house to see if they truly put in the right colors... but, I do like what it looks like anyhow.... it's more of a curiosity thing now. :)
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
We're getting mail!!
We are receiving mail directed to our new address!
The first thing we received was an anniversary card from Sue and Tippy -- thank you!!
I just need to get to every company that sends us mail to get things changed over... a little hassle, but really exciting!
The first thing we received was an anniversary card from Sue and Tippy -- thank you!!
I just need to get to every company that sends us mail to get things changed over... a little hassle, but really exciting!
Three subcontractors called me in today...
I had a very busy day at the AT&T office. My PRESIDENT was in from Dallas, so we had internal meetings with him. (How can he be younger than me and be a PRESIDENT????) Also, a couple of customer meetings were on my calendar. I got a call from the electrician at 8:45 saying that her workers were at the house to install the light fixtures, but they didn't have any light BULBS. Well, I had no idea that I had to buy the bulbs for the electrician!! At first she asked that I drop everything and run to the store, buy bulbs, and get to the house with them. Twenty minutes later, she called me back to say her workers moved on to another site. They "may" be back later this week... but maybe not. Geez......
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And what our shower floor may look like...
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Our flooring guy says that everything, other than the main "concrete connection" tile will be done by 8/1/08. And ALL tile will be done by 8/8. I can't wait!!!
The stone company called to tell me that they began installing the new exterior stone. Do we like it? Do we want to stick with the "standard mortar" or go with the "colored mortar"? Obviously, Lee and I have no idea what mortar choices we have available to us.... we just want to see the stone and minimize how much you see the mortar. I think the guy was afraid to install too much, given we just ripped off a bunch of different material. (Our $3,000 mistake... :).JPG)
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And then, TWO calls from the "tile guys" came in...... Lee and I spent a good 90 minutes at the house two weeks ago marking down the outline of where carpet and tile should be installed. Evidently, the line is gone. So the installers worked "off of blueprints" to determine the space. Hmmm.... that can't be good. I told him that we'd mark it off again on Friday (once Lee is back in town). Frankly, that particular tile won't be here until 8/4, so they shouldn't rush us!
And then, TWO calls from the "tile guys" came in...... Lee and I spent a good 90 minutes at the house two weeks ago marking down the outline of where carpet and tile should be installed. Evidently, the line is gone. So the installers worked "off of blueprints" to determine the space. Hmmm.... that can't be good. I told him that we'd mark it off again on Friday (once Lee is back in town). Frankly, that particular tile won't be here until 8/4, so they shouldn't rush us! Here is a pic of the floor by our lower level bar area.... I LOVE it!!!
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And then, there is the stone floor of the shower.... The tile installer called me to make sure we were "OK with" the stone floor of the master bathroom shower. Evidently, the stone pieces do not come in flush square pieces... they are odd shaped. He thinks you can see the "square-ish" outline of each piece... but he also doesn't like the look of real stone either. So maybe we shouldn't give his opinion any credence???
This is what a single piece looks like....
And what our shower floor may look like... We just have to get through the floor install, and then our builder will/should manage the rest. I guess this is worth the money we saved going through a different flooring company than what the builder normally uses....
And lastly, no calls from the general contractor... but they installed the arches on the garage, and finished the garage interior, and began the installation of the wood trim around our windows. I love the way the windows are looking!!!! It looks like all of the interior doors were delivered and are ready go too...
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Our flooring guy says that everything, other than the main "concrete connection" tile will be done by 8/1/08. And ALL tile will be done by 8/8. I can't wait!!!
Monday, July 21, 2008
July 21, 2008 -- Painting complete
The interior painting is complete! Not sure if we used too much gray/brown or not, but it's DONE!!! After we move in, we can always repaint. I absolutely LOVE my office, which is painted "moody blue".
Below is a pic from our master bathroom looking toward the bedroom:
Pic of our lower level rec room... wall where the TV will be installed. Fireplace on the right, hallway on the left....
The contractors began finishing off the garage today -- it's all insulated and the drywall has begun.
Tile contractors are SLLLLOOOOWWWW. So far, they've only put the first layer on the master bedroom shower. I hope for better performance from Sergenian's in the days to come.. and both Lee and I have spoken to them about it!
The Ecuadorian masons removed the old exterior stone today. Hopefully, they will put up the new stone in the next couple of days
Below is a pic from our master bathroom looking toward the bedroom:
Pic of our lower level rec room... wall where the TV will be installed. Fireplace on the right, hallway on the left....
The contractors began finishing off the garage today -- it's all insulated and the drywall has begun.Tile contractors are SLLLLOOOOWWWW. So far, they've only put the first layer on the master bedroom shower. I hope for better performance from Sergenian's in the days to come.. and both Lee and I have spoken to them about it!
The Ecuadorian masons removed the old exterior stone today. Hopefully, they will put up the new stone in the next couple of days
"Trio of Happiness" - Craptastic hotel!
We moved into the GrandStay Suites, Madison for the time between selling our old house and moving into our newly constructed house. It was advertised as having a "fully stocked kitchen" and a "one bedroom suite with a queen-sized bed". Wow. Truth in Advertising has been stretched to new limits! It's very, very small... smoking room that reeks of cigarettes, burn holes in the carpet and furniture, and incredibly small! I'm even afraid of using the glasses and silverware that came with the room because it looks so grody. (Is "grody" a word??)
Our suite is less than 500 square feet. We have a "double" bed, not a queen bed. The bedroom is so small, you can hardly walk around the bed without hitting the wall! Also, they told us we'd have a "full bedroom closet" that was "wall sized". We ended up with a mere armoire with a single drawer. With the two of us, we have one drawer and two one-drawer nightstands! I immediately packed more clothes for our storage unit, and will wear the same things every other day!
The cat, Isabel, is terrified of every noise in the hallway. He has taken to hiding in the armoire below our clothes. After two days, I finally fished him out and made him come into the main area of the room/suite. He now lays almost exclusively in the one armchair that we have.
Our suite is less than 500 square feet. We have a "double" bed, not a queen bed. The bedroom is so small, you can hardly walk around the bed without hitting the wall! Also, they told us we'd have a "full bedroom closet" that was "wall sized". We ended up with a mere armoire with a single drawer. With the two of us, we have one drawer and two one-drawer nightstands! I immediately packed more clothes for our storage unit, and will wear the same things every other day!The cat, Isabel, is terrified of every noise in the hallway. He has taken to hiding in the armoire below our clothes. After two days, I finally fished him out and made him come into the main area of the room/suite. He now lays almost exclusively in the one armchair that we have.
July 12, 2008 -- Moving Day!!!
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July 11th is moving day for us. We will be without a home for about 6 weeks. We sell our Oregon home on July 14th, but can't move into the new house until the end of August at the soonest. To keep things easy, we will be staying at an extended stay hotel in the interim. (There will be future posts about the craptastic hotel I selected....)
We chose PODS as our moving solution. They deliver portable storage units to your home. You load them, and then PODS will store them in an environmentally controlled warehouse until you need your stuff. With a single call, PODS delivers your stuff to the new house. Sounds awesome.... (but didn't work so well for us - see future posts)
OK... so, I packed, packed, packed, and packed. Lee's work schedule is horrific right now, so I did the majority of the packing. (Basically, he packed the garage and his closet.) I've had horrific schedules when in the midst of a big bid, so I certainly understand what he's up against. He'll have his opportunity to rub my back or unpack... whichever is best for ME! :) We hired Two Men and a Truck to help me load up the PODS. Boy was I surprised at how much stuff we had! We had two PODs, but on moving day learned that all of our stuff wouldn't fit. Cripes. I ended up calling around to find an additional storage unit on moving day -- and on my seventh call, I finally found one. (Who knew "storage" was such a lucrative business right now?)
Moving day brought heavy severe thunderstorms. Much of the inside of the POD got wet. All the more reason for an additional storage unit to house the patio furniture, lawn mower, and grill. It didn't matter, because we needed the space!
Anyway, we finally got everything packed up by 7pm on Friday. Saturday we cleaned the old house, hosed out the garage, and touched up the interior paint. PODS picked up our units on Saturday, and we were officially "homeless". PODS does have a cool way of moving their units... see the pics above. They have a hydraulic lift that surrounds the unit, then lifts it onto a flatbed truck. Every wheel has it's own lift, which is awesome. (I do find power tools and mechanical stuff to be cool. Gotta love that Podzilla!!!).JPG)
July 12, 2008 - Stone fiasco
There is good and bad news tonight when we visit the house site.
Good news: Drywall looks to be just about completed. Good seams, no visible gaps. We even have our mailbox mounted and ready to go! Cool. Super Cool!
Below is our lower level rec room:
Bad news: Lee obsessed over the exterior stone choices. And I mean OBSESSED. It's all good though, because Lee really has an eye for color, texture and lines. He's really very artistic, even if he doesn't realize his own talents. After spending so darn much time selecting just the perfect stone, the mason started installing it today. And it looked like CRAP. We stared at it for a full hour, willing ourselves to like it. We asked other peoples' opinions. But to no avail, EVERYONE thought the stone was too gold for the grayish brown stucco colors on the house. ARRRG! We can only worry how much replacing it will cost us...
Good news: Drywall looks to be just about completed. Good seams, no visible gaps. We even have our mailbox mounted and ready to go! Cool. Super Cool!
Below is our lower level rec room: Bad news: Lee obsessed over the exterior stone choices. And I mean OBSESSED. It's all good though, because Lee really has an eye for color, texture and lines. He's really very artistic, even if he doesn't realize his own talents. After spending so darn much time selecting just the perfect stone, the mason started installing it today. And it looked like CRAP. We stared at it for a full hour, willing ourselves to like it. We asked other peoples' opinions. But to no avail, EVERYONE thought the stone was too gold for the grayish brown stucco colors on the house. ARRRG! We can only worry how much replacing it will cost us...
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