It’s Raining Men, part II
Wow, big-time action on the riverbank. Starting from the most recent:
As promised, August 15 was the day for NEW WINDOWS. The company (Renewal by Andersen, btw) said the crew would arrive at 7am and sure enough they did, despite the rain that had fallen all night and threatened to persist through the day.
All I can say is Wow. Andy and Terry and Terry’s two sons (sorry guys, I forgot your names) were highly organized. They even had a popup tent set up in the front yard to protect the portable saw from the weather. Andy estimated they’d be done by 1:30 or so, which was good news, since I had scheduled the county inspector for 3:30pm on another matter — more on that later.
They had such a production line going that by noon they were packing up tools, gathering drop cloths, and vacuuming floors, and after a brief show-n-tell from Andy on how the windows work, the caravan of guys was out the driveway and gone.
For the rest of the afternoon, every time I went through the living room, I was hypnotized by the view — just like back when the house was first set down and I was amazed by being able to look out and see the riverbank, the trees, the river. Seen through such a luxurious new frame, not to mention CLEAN GLASS, even my Bucky-hut and the burn-barrel have acquired a new glamor.
And that’s not all that’s happened in the last couple weeks! Eric and his carpenter crew were back to build the front deck, incorporating Lenny’s stairway into the new layout. They’ll be back to install railings this weekend, but in the meantime Sandra and I have already had a couple sessions of settin’ on the deck.
—and Brad the drywall guy came to do the code-compliance thing with drywall on the interior of the foundation walls.
I’m already having an idea on how to finish those deep window sills.
(May I just mention, it looks like a perfect spot for a kitty to sun itself? No pressure…)
Next up for the basement: organize the workshop and finish the stairway with the home-grown oak treads and railings. I’ve gotten used to the 2x6 temporary solution, but it’s not legal and too scary looking for a lot of people near & dear to me.
But here’s where the story takes a darker turn….
Looking closer at the exact scenario for finishing the stairwell walls and fitting the treads, I noticed—for the first time—that the last stud on that wall is bowing. This is not just a wide-angle camera effect; the spacing is a full inch wider in the middle that at top or bottom.
I pointed it out to the drywall guy and he said ‘yeah that’s not right.’
I buttonholed Eric the deck builder and he shook his head and said ‘yeah that’s not right’ —or words to that effect.
sigh
So I thought back to how argumentative the original contractor was. Obviously he’s the guy who should be accountable if this was built insufficiently, but I really don’t relish taking him on again, nor any of his ill-tempered crew. I distinctly remember the two pirates who built that framing: yelling at each other, throwing tools, complaining nonstop, using short little pieces of 2x4 that looked to be leftovers from some other project. Do I want any of those guys back? No I do not.
But I did want to give him a chance to do the right thing, just in case he’s got a conscience. So I emailed the photo to him last weekend, asking if he’d come look at it and suggest a remedy. Tick tock, tick tock...
By Wednesday with no reply, I decided I needed a little more official validation. On the way up to the house, we stopped at the County inspections office and showed them the photo. They agreed it needed a closer look, and added it to the list for the building inspector who was to check out the new windows, and by great fortune, he had an opening in his schedule for Thursday afternoon.
Happy to report that he corroborated the other guys’ assessment and offered the very same solution: double up the 2x4s on the end for both sides, even though the other side is not bowing (yet), and he wrote that recommendation directly onto the studs so there will be no question what’s expected.
Around suppertime, I checked my email again and found a reply from the contractor: “Should have brought this up at the walkthrough. You can have another 2x4 sistered onto that one. I have jobs up north and wouldn’t be able to get there anytime soon.”
Now, ‘sistered’ is just what the other guys all suggested (doubling up the lumber), so for what it’s worth I now have a 4-way consensus. And I’m not waiting to find out what his “anytime soon” means.
I am, however trying to think of how to reply back to him. Let’s call him Dick (with apologies and sympathy to all the Richards of the world who are swell guys but saddled with an unfortunate moniker). Preliminary thoughts:
1) Dear Dick, message received: 23 miles is a long way, much too far to drive to back your workmanship on a project that you never took very seriously. Have a nice day, Dick.
2) Dear Dick, I didn’t bring it up at the walkthrough because the stud wasn’t bending like a noodle at that time. And if you recall, for everything that I brought up at the walkthrough, you only suggested how someone else could take care of it. So have fun with your projects up north. Check for ticks, or don’t.
3) Dear Dick, Never mind, I found someone who listens, provides detailed estimates of time and cost, and stays on the job until the job is done. I realize now that those are qualities I want in anyone whom I’m paying for good work. Not throwing tools across the room is also a plus.
That feels better already.
The windows look fabulous and the studs will be reinforced. And the maples are starting to redden—gotta keep moving forward.
