Countertops and Floor Tile

And the house progress trudges on. Countertops and floor tile was installed the week of the 13th thru the 17th which will hopefully be followed by exterior flatwork, interior wall tile, electrical and plumbing trim out, setting of the electrical meter, and finally, installation of final exterior doors and interior trim in the kitchen and other tiled areas. I took a couple of pictures, but I left Sherman having fogotten to get my camera from my mom, and I won't see them again until Thanksgiving, so no pics in this post. I'll post them next week, along with the new ones I take next time.

Let me now take a little time to vent about one of the trades…

We used one company to select all tubs, countertops, and tile. Now while I have no problems with the actual installers, the people in the office couldn’t schedule the proper order for their own morning constitution, let alone manage material orders and installation labor in their small part of the construction process. Here’s the general run down:

1. I informed them of the date of cabinet installation, and asked that they come the following day to measure for countertops. They didn’t get the appointment on the schedule, so when they didn’t show up, they had to be rescheduled for the following day.

2. I informed them when the interior paint was to be complete, and requested installation of all countertops for the following day. When they didn’t show up, they swore I told them a different day. When they didn’t show, they had to be rescheduled.

3. They were a day late starting tile install as well (Notice the pattern?)

4. The powder bath countertop was cut too short.

5. The sewing room countertop was cut too long.

6. We were given a free sink because they cut the granite for one of their sinks, which we told them we were not using, as we had selected a different sink from a different supplier.

7. We ordered a jetted Jacuzzi tub, but they delivered a non-jetted garden tub.

8. We informed them multiple times to pick up the utility sink from the supplier so it wouldn’t be sitting out to be stolen off the job, however they showed up to install the countertop in the utility without picking up the sink, then asked us where it was. This also happened with the master bath and kitchen faucets, and on different occasions. We finally picked up the fixtures ourselves.

9. They cut both a granite countertop and a cultured marble counter top for the powder bath.

10. When trying to install the hall tub, they broke off one of the tiles, so they had to pull the tub so the tile could be fixed. They then were supposed to reinstall the tub so the tile installation could be completed on the walls. The only problem was they planned to install the hall tub at the same time they were going to install the master Jacuzzi tub, but that forces the tile installer to loose a day, as well as a plumber.

11. When helping with material selection, they failed to allow for access to the Jacuzzi tub motor.

And that’s just the short list I could think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there's more. All told, this company has cost me about a week of construction time. Needless to say, I would not recommend them to anyone (though again, I’ve been pleased so far with their subcontractors.) It’s because of them that inspired the quote of the day…

Quote of the day "There is always one more imbecile than you counted on." -- Red Green

Interior Paint

Not a lot to update this week, just that painting is complete.

Hopefully next weekend we will have all countertops installed, wall and floor tile completed (though I'm not holding my breath), the phone and TV cables run to the house, the sewer connected, and the driveway and sidewalks at least set up, if not poured. The stamped concrete patio is scheduled for 11/20.

Thanksgiving weekend is going to throw a kink in the schedule, so as a result, the house may finish on December 8th instead of December 1st. We'll just have to see how it play's out.

Until next week fellas, let's quote the Man's Prayer together from The Red Green Show. "I'm a man...But I can change...If I have to...I guess."

Amen.

Finished Brick and Stain

The brick and stone on the outside is now complete. Now I have to deal with the rain and try to get the yard graded, the sewer, electric, phone and cable undergrounds in, the exterior concrete poured, and the sprinkler, sod and landscape installed. I know we need the rain in the worst way, but wow...every time it dries out enough to do dirt work, we get another downpour, and since the grade isn't completed, the yard holds water and I have to wait another week. Luckily, though I'm loosing time on the outside, that isn't keeping me from progress on the interior...yet.

I have to say, this will be one of the nicest garages I've ever seen.

The box bay window in the kitchen nook has a paint grade window seat with storage.

The kitchen cabinets have been stained and covered to protect them from the rest of the painting process...


As have the family room built-in cabinets, mantle...



...and the pass thru from the family room to the kitchen.

I can't wait to get this house finished, for one thing to get it off my plate of things that I have to get done in a certain amount of time, for another that the holidays are fast approaching, but mostly due to the stress is is putting on my parents and myself. My poor parents have been living in a 30' fifth wheel since they sold their last house in June. Come the weekend before Thanksgiving, they will have lived in tight quarters for 5 months!!! I hope to have them where they can start moving in furniture by the first weekend in December. Wish me luck!!!

This weekend, the painting will be completed, the countertops will all be installed, and the security and HVAC will be completed. Next week will be reserved exclusively for wall and floor tile installation.

Until then, in the words of Steve Smith, "Keep your stick on the ice."

"I'm a leaf in the wind..."

So our little group doned our costumes, which were so painstakingly pulled together by our fearless leader, PoD over the last 8 months, and we entered the costume contest at last weekend's Dallas Comicon. Needless to say, we won hands down, and were the only people asked to stay after for photos. Of course, we took a not so small number of photo's ourselves.

One of my favorites...

To view the rest of the photo's, click here.

Next time, back to the house progress...