Thursday, November 7, 2013

It's Done

The body shop called last night and my truck is done. I will pick it up this afternoon on the way to an evening of very little work.
This weekend I will begin working on a house my mother owns. It is the house I grew up in and my sister and her family now live there. They had a small fire a couple of weeks ago. Between the fire, the smoke and the water damage there was a lot of work to do. Then the contractor that the insurance agency recommended did a lot of shoddy, substandard work. I will try to make things right and get a bunch of stuff the insurance company requires to be done before the claim is settled.
How does this sound for a contractor? When the dumpster was filled up he did not contact the insurance company and request a second one so the debris just accumulated. The painter was drinking on the job, the "plumber told us that he just went to class the night before and learned how to move a water line and someone else took the test for him. The GC convinced my mother to use OSB to save some money and now it is costing her hundreds of dollars more. And he cannot explain why. He cannot explain why it costs over five hundred dollars to cut a water heater loose and take it out side. He thinks a hole in the wall that shows daylight and flows air and is next to some waterlines is just fine. If you live in a cold zone you know this is a recipe for frozen, burst water lines. Oh and here is one of the best, the gas line to the new water heater is surface mounted and crosses the wall at a diagonal. And he thinks that's fine. Mom paid for a bunch of plywood and there were several sheets left over. Those have disappeared and a bunch of remnants showed up. Mom has fired him obviously but I sure hope he shows up while I'm there. I cannot stand folks that call themselves contractors, remodelers or home improvement companies when in fact all they are is scam artists that haven't the slightest clue about what it takes to be a craftsman.
On another note, I sure hate to turn in the Volkswagen Passat I've been driving. I give it high marks for comfort, gas mileage, braking and performance. It looks pretty good to.

2 comments:

Stephen said...

I hate fire damage...been there, done that. Good luck and I hope all goes well.

Dean Carder said...

Thanks friend. I have been working on her house as I am able. A little here, a little there and soon it'll be beter than before.