I know that Contractor's have to take on multiple jobs to earn a living but is there one out there that can give you a schedule a stick to it. I have one guy working like a Trojan but the rest of the crew is off working on other jobs while my deadline gets further and further away.
Despite that we have made progress. The HVAC is 90% done, the complete rewiring of this house (an unexpected expense) is done and we're hoping for a Monday inspection. While we're on the subject of electrical inspection, I'm currently on hold with the Electrical Safety Authority for 17 minutes and counting. Who has the time to sit and wait and listen to the same recorded message forty times? The plumbing is 80% done and the house has been painted.
Next week should see the kitchen delivered, windows delivered and hopefully get a start on the siding, soffit, facia and eavestrough.
Here's some pictures and hopefully the next ones will show us closer to completion.
Nothing new to show with the photos but I thought I would share some points on things we have encountered on the way that tend to confuse us and slow us down:
1-You know those HGTV shows where the host flips out because someone has butchered the wiring in the home they live in. This place is a "poster child". I can't count the number of times we opened a wall or ceiling and found two wires taped together or a wire laying underneath a piece of drywall waiting for someone to hang a picture and put a nail through the wire. When we're doing our renos my #1 focus is to make sure all of our re-wiring is done safely and to code. Can you imagine selling a house to someone and it burns down because we took a short cut.
2-While we are on the topic of wiring, our Electrical Safety Authority inspector came to look at our new breaker panel while a 4th year apprentice did the installation. I guess he was ticked because the master electrician was nowhere in sight. He proceeded to shut us down with no power because we were missing one of three clamps on our service mast which is outside the house and not even part of his inspection request. One clamp, are you kidding me.
3-Contractors-Unless you're dealing with a large company with a large crew, which takes a lot of the profit out of the project, then I guess you have to expect some less than effective project management. The work our Contractor does is excellent but getting them focused on one job is a bit of challenge. We have them for a couple of days and then they're gone to another project. Hopefully we've got them for at least a full week coming up and that's when we will see the real progress.
4-Prices-You know what it's like when you buy something and then you see the same thing for less at another store. I went to Rona to buy a shower enclosure for the master ensuite bath and fortunately I couldn't get it that day, and then Linda saw the exact same thing at Costco of all places for 25% less. Buying smart is another critical component of a reno and I spend way to much time price shopping, but you have to do it.
There are other trials and tribulations that I might get to in a later post but who wants to read an essay.
Well, things have to get worse before they get better and by looking at the pictures they are definitely getting worse. All the siding is off now so I'm hoping we don't have a re-visit of our masked bandits because there are lots of places for them to climb in now. I stamp my feet and make a lot of noise when I come in every morning.
The demo is pretty much complete now, all the walls are out that are coming out, the new 2 piece bathroom is framed in and the siding is ordered so hopefully next week sees some progress.
I just need my contractor to show up on a regular basis now.
