I realize I have been neglecting my blogging. Home improvement projects should piss me off enough to make me go off on a real good rant about crap in the news. Can't seem to do it.
The guys who did my kitchen floor pulled up the old one and put in the new one in one day. They worked until 10:30 that night, but finished it. Then some other guys came the next day and did the grouting. Inconvenience time: one day.
The guys who put in the Great Patio of Dunwoody took three months. It was outside so the only inconvenience was not putting in the vegetable garden that year and not being able to grill for about a month. Hardly any inconvenience. Just aggravation over the delays.
This project my kitchen has been virtually unusable since Monday night. The dudes were supposed to be here by 10:00 this morning. It's now 11:00. The aggravation continues.
Update 1: Noon. No one is here. No one has called.
Update 2: 12:20. He arrives. Supposed to be here at 10:00. He's either over 2 hours late or almost 10 hours early.
Update 3: He's off to Home Depot to get some longer screws to remount my electrical outlets. Everything else is done except for the outlets and securing my dishwasher.
Update 4: 4:49. Done. He knocked $200 off the bill. Funny, that's the amount I came up with. Tonight I have to go out and buy a new faucet. The one I have looks like crap now. Pictures and more in a later post.
Posted by denny at November 29, 2007 11:00 AMJust get drunk and when they show up, live up to your alter ego.
Posted by: kerrcarto on November 29, 2007 11:29 AMFor what it's worth, imagine what is was like here about 15 months ago; it took the SEPTIC TANK replacement crew almost 3 WEEK's to finish that project.
My wife used the time to contact every online-rate-your-service site she could find. She let Chapman Septic have it with fact after fact.
Posted by: DanS. on November 29, 2007 12:27 PMStart mentioning the contracting company by name in here, It won't help your situation, but might help others in your area that stop by to read.
Posted by: Boss429 on November 29, 2007 12:45 PMDon't trash 'um too bad until they get the job done. I know what a vindictive shit I can be when I screw up and get called on it publicly.
But rip 'um to shreds when the job is done.
Boss429 - I plan to, but as chuckintacoma advises, I'm gonna wait until they finish the installation to my standards and then I'll tell everyone who they are. I'm also knocking some money off the bill. Bad service should be rewarded.
Posted by: Denny on November 29, 2007 01:49 PMUh, yeah...uh, our morning call seems to have run into a snag...uh, and the guy called in sick this morning after his truck broke down, but you know how these special orders go, I can't get any answers out of my supplier on the West Coast, besides my prostate is acting up and the phones have been down all day.........
Did I cover it?
Oh yeah, don't worry. I'll have a crew out there right away....or not.
Grouted the floor?
Did they put down a new tile floor in the kitchen?
Did they stop at the dishwasher?
If you had to replace said dishwasher, can you get it out without taking off your new countertops?
Injured minds want to know.
If the answer is..."damn..they've dammed in my dishwasher..." stop payment now.
Posted by: Dan on November 29, 2007 03:52 PMDan - My kitchen floor is travertine and they did stop at the dishwasher. The diswasher was secured to my old countertops. They should be able to do the same thing with the new countertops. I should find out in about 10 minutes or so.
Posted by: Denny on November 29, 2007 04:12 PMI work engineering/property mgmt./maintenance.
THIS is how bad things have become...
We had a job bid for the Hospital to have the outside waterproofed. This involved, among other things, pulling the old caulking and insulation behind it at the wall joints, spraying waterproofing solution on the masonry, and adding new insulation strips and caulking...
The Company had two Major requirements for the job. 1.) The contractor had to have a supervisor on site at all times that was fluent in Spanish and English. 2.) The Company would hire an independent Engineering Consulting firm to verify the job.
The day the Consulting Firm's inspector shows up, he immediately comes to my office and asks me to step outside. He points to the caulking in on of the expansion joints as he explains that one of his tests that a good job of this type must pass is simple. He says that he should be able to pinch the caulking between two fingers and when he pulls on it he should not be able to remove more than a quarter of an inch before the caulking breaks. He then proceeds to walk from joint to joint reaching above his head and pulling away nine foot strips of the stuff. He then points out that there are no insulation strips behind the caulking.
I demand to speak to contractor's man in charge. No one on the job that day could speak English (or admit it.)
The Consultant tells me that the reason that he could pull nine foot strips off was that the wall wasn't properly prepped and no adhesive was used.
Needless to say the Contractor was not paid. But just how much time and money did the company lose by taking the low bidder and having to make the extra requirements only to have to repeat the process time and again...
This is not an isolated incident nor is it limited to a few companies.
Posted by: Strnj1 on November 29, 2007 05:13 PMA new faucet...well, there goes the $200.
Why didn't the contractor install a new faucet for you? Pleazzzz don't tell me it's because he isn't a plumber.
Posted by: vicki on November 30, 2007 01:47 AMvicki - They don't do plumbing. It was right on the proposal. I didn't notice it and the person who came out didn't tell me. It's my own damn fault for not reading the proposal carefully. They did knock $200 off the final price. I was gonna do that anyway because of how long my kitchen was torn up.
Posted by: Denny on November 30, 2007 11:45 AM