Long lead-in, but it sets the tone … Trying to get the sheetrock started on an attic finishout. Had a hard time finding rockers and an a/c contractor. Didn’t want to use the same a/c guy as 6 mos ago cuz I didn’t like his work. Called several other, all said 3-4 months out due to peak season. Finally had to go with the first guy.
The existing second floor window is a single hung, finally got a guy to come out to pull the upper sash so the rock could be passed through. He came by on Friday to scope it out.
Ordered the rock a week early so I could have half a chance of getting the day and time I needed … first thing Monday morning.
Got some rockers lined up through a referral. Called them Saturday to remind them to show up Monday morning. Huh? Oh, gee, thanks for reminding us.
All the while I’m working my butt off trying to get the insulation in, and several other last minute details. Wish I had an extra day.
Monday morning: Sheetrock truck arrives 40 minutes early. Window guy is right behind them. Two choices on the window: over the driveway, or over the side lawn (corner house). Driver prefers the driveway cuz he doesn’t want to mess up the grass. Window guy starts to pull the sash, driver changes his mind, gotta pull the other sash. Goes smoothly until he cracks the outer pane. Driver and buddy load all the rock through the window, nice guys except the helper keeps trying to witness to me. A/c guy shows up and starts. Hey driver … where’s the box of screws? You didn’t order screws … oops, yes you did. Well, we’ll bring them back shortly.
Rockers finally show up at 9:30, I drive to Lowes to get a couple of small boxes of screws so they can start. 10:30 rockers get started. Doesn’t look good … most of the tools still have the price tag-lables intact. I try to leave them alone, check in occassionally. Ask them why they used 1/2″ on the ceiling? Why not? Well, there’s the 5/8″. Watch for a little while, they are trying to cut the rock to exact dimensions, like it’s cabinet work or something. Really fighting the rock. I come to the conclusion that one guy has done rock before, the other two are learning on my job.
3:00 pm and the rockers leave for lunch. 5:00 talk with my contact, ask why the crew hasn’t come back from lunch. And by the way, they worked about 4+ hours and got 7 sheets hung on the ceiling, and one of those has to come down.
Pass the valium. I love my job.
I’m sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
Replies
Jeez, Ed.
I thought those guys where out of business. I fired them off one of my jobs 13 years ago. However, it is good to see they have improved, and are able to afford their own tools. Way back then, they used my tools, and hung seven sheets (4x12) in 8 hours ( well maybe just five , since I helped with the first two)
Buy a DW panel lift, I did, and hire a labor to help you. More work for you, but less stress, when you control your own destiny.
BTW, can you contact a minuteman, and get those guys shipped back across the border<g>
Good luck, and I hope today fair better for you.
Dave
The sf price they quoted seemed a little high, but it's all 4x8 sheets so there a lot of joints to tape, and there's a 12 ft ceiling in one room. They are supposed to come back with a panel lift. I'll give them one more chance.
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
It seems like every time I hire anybody other than one buddy of mine (family), it's a new and sad experience. I have thought of getting bigger and running crews, then I either read a story like yours, or have my own hair pulling episode. Good luck... hang in there. (Remember, that's why you get paid those Big Bucks! Hah.)
BTW, can you contact a minuteman, and get those guys shipped back across the border<g>
Dave,
A long time ago I used to fill in with a guy who was a trim contractor. It worked out for him because he was always overbooked and knew if I said I would be there tomorrow, I would. Worked out for me because I was installing stairs and rails at the time and it was nice to be able to pick up the phone and salvage the week if that big job went bad.
Over time we got to be friends and he still calls me to help him on Saturdays every now and then. It's fun actually, we work well together and the day goes by fast.
I helped him put up a three piece crown a few weekends ago. The dryhwallers were hanging the house next to the one we were working on.
Every single time one of them would walk outside for a tool or to take a leak or get something from the van, they would al yell at the top of thier lungs the only english they knew when the guy came back inside.
All day long " Lucy, Honey, I'm home". It took us a while to figure out what they were saying but when we did the thought of these clowns hanging a $2M house made us laugh so hard we damn near wet ourselves.
About 2 months ago, I had to go to a house that I had trimmed 5 years previously, to fix a rotted exterior door. The HOs had neglected to clean the gutters<G> After exchanging pleasantries, the HOette asked me if it was normal for a hardwood floor to pucker! I looked and it was buckled. I asked if they'd checked the crawlspace (after seeing their gutter maintenance program), she said, "hell no, nobody's ever been under there!"It's about a 2000 sq' crawl, and after I'm about 30' under, it starts turning into a swimming pool (yeah, where was the low point drain?<G>). Looks like water is coming from the line to the icemaker in the fridge. I call the guy who plumbed it (he's a buddy), we pull out the fridge, I pop off the base, and right at the water line, there's nails in the base. Damn,and I thought it was plumbing problem!When we cut the pex out, it looked liked it had been gnawed, nail must have grazed it and on off pressure pipe movement finally wore through. Wish I knew how an alleged carp would nail any close to a water line, thing went between two nail plates, too, how lucky can you get?Dang good thing my son can refinish floors<G> Don't worry, we can fix that later!
go over and teach them ...
"Shaking the tree Boss ... shaking the tree ..."
let them know that's for bathroom breaks.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I know that feeling all too well.
Found out the sewer at the old house has collapsed. Plumber says it's gonna be as much as $5,000 to replace.
Combustion blower goes out on the furnace. Out of warranty, so might be $400+ to replace.
Exhaust manifold on tractor is bad. $170 for the manifold.
Water pump goes out on car. Don't have the bill yet.
Get riding mower out Sunday, and there's a puddle of engine oil under it. God knows what that's gonna cost.
They switched our health insurance at work, and the new policy is worthless. Have $600 worth of bills in no time, and insurance won't pay a dime. Max out of pocket expenses for a family of 4 is $16,000 per year. Utterly ridiculous
Then DW sends me an email, saying she doesn't think she needs to teach summer school, since we seem to be doing O.K. financially.
All this happened in the past 2 weeks.
"Found out the sewer at the old house has collapsed. Plumber says it's gonna be as much as $5,000 to replace."If you found out anything on the easement, location, etc please open the old thread and post it.
"If you found out anything on the easement, location, etc please open the old thread and post it."
Not yet. The "big dig" is scheduled for June 16th. So I have a bit of time to check it out.
Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place. [Frederic Bastiat]
Well, after having my car A/C recharged and checked last year for a few hundred and having all the freon escape, then charged and checked again this year, the conclusion is that it is the evaporator coil.Apparently, the instructions for replacing the coil start with "First, disassemble the car".Going to cost at least $3,000 I bet. Book rate is 21.5 hours of labor.
My wife's van needed a recharge, so I thought. I tried putting in some refregerant, air got a little colder, then warmer. Hmmmm.
Off to the dealer. Same thing, evaporator coil. $1,500. I tell my wife to tell them "No, not the gold plated one. Just the regular one."
If her's is gold plated, mine must be solid platnium...
wow, Ed. Sucks to be you right now, huh. I don't know what to say other than doncha love life? I mean, everything you do, no matter how much planning, all you do is insert "life occurs here" and all the best plans . . .
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
Went from good day to bad day.
Good day: found the long 7/8" spade bit in the bottom of the tool box, for drilling a hole to pull a wire in.
Bad day: once I was finished drilling the hole, (from the outside) there was light coming through, and I could see carpet and funiture through the hole. OOPS!
Guess i kinda mis-measured that one.
Bowz
Ouch! At least it isn't hardwood floors. Clip some of the carpet and stuff it in the hole, maybe nobody will notice (just kidding.) Man, the stomach does a nose dive when that stuff happens, at least mine does.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
he could've hit the carpet..
Or the furniture.
Hey! Why is there a 7/8" hole in my signed L. & J.G. Stickley sideboard? Where did that come from?
A knot musta fell out lady....
(I know, I'll burn in Breaktime he11 for that one.)
Why r my drywallers p..ing thru that new 7/8 hole in the floor?!!
Did a job for a very difficult homeowner. Last task was installing ####30' desk. 3/ 10' sections against octagonal walls. Got everything fittin right, went to screw through the base to the last top...I'll bet you guessed it, one long screw in my pouch...some beggin' and discountin' went down<G> Don't worry, we can fix that later!
Tough day. On the flip side, how much worse can tomorrow be?
(Don't get creative on answering that.)
...HO told me today that there is a leak in the new plumbing riser in the kitchen we just finished remodeling. I got that sinking feeling.
Then she says that the plumber thinks that a cabinet screw might have hit it (HO's friend installed the cabinets--so that might get me off the hook). Could be a drywall screw though (I did the drywall). Of course, it could just be a bad plumbing connection--I'm hoping for that one.
DW screws and copper pipe are fun companions.
I hung and finished 8,000 sf of DW in a log cabin many years ago. Builder was a PITA, HO was great. I placed a DW screw in a copper pipe in the basement bathroom ceiling. It too 4 mos. to rust out and start the new overhead shower. Of course it happen on a Saturday night, so you can imagine the off hours/weekend charge for the emergency plumbing call.
When the HO called me on Sunday I got that deep down in the bowels loose feeling that this was going to really cost me. You can imagine my surprise when the HO only ask that I repair and repaint the DW. He even wanted to pay me for the repair, but I had to decline that offer. Seems like the plumber was honest with the HO, and told him the pipe was to close to the joist edge and no nailing plate over it. He said it wasn't the DW hanger fault, but his, and he did not charge for his emergency repair either.
Some days that start off headed for the toilet, end up being banner days that you remember for life.
Sure was a lesson in integrity, and checking for pipe/wire depth placement for this, then young, 28 yo carpenter.
Dave
Started a job 2 weeks ago building a pool house.
Was going to deliver a decent profit and take approx 6 weeks work.
Turned up on day 1 and saw the final location of the thing now that the landscapers had got started etc.
Mentally crossed $1500 off my profits cos I now needed more concrete and boxing and labour.
Then the rain started. And it rained and rained and........
Squelched round in the mud and kept plugging away. Had to pump the concrete cos no way was a truck getting in now. Crossed more $$ off the list.......
Ordered shingle to fill the thing in before pouring the slab......still cant get a truck in despite no rain for a few days. Gut bister of a day and only 1/2 filled. The owner, ( may sunlight shine on him forever ) went and got a dinky lil tractor thing for moving the gravel after a few loads done by hand.
A small win.........
He will complete the rest tomorrow.
Pumping the slab cos still cant get a truck in. Damnit. Specially after seeing someone elses concrete delivery get mucho stuck today. Funny when it be someone else's arse, but still dont help me any. Cross more $$ off..........
If ya dont laugh ya go nuts. :-)
Everything, 100% of it, depends on how you look at it.
DW
Edited 5/25/2005 8:26 am ET by AJinNZ
Ordered shingle to fill the thing in What's shingle? Probably not the stuff you put up on the roof.I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
you know it's gonna be a bad day when . . .
you show up for work, toss your coat on a hanger, and the boss says "what are you doing here?"
the bird singing outside your window when you wake is a vulture
you put your bra on backwards and realise it fits better that way
your mechanic tells you "your spark plugs need a new car"
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
Shingle = gravel
In this case we call it tailings, river pebbles about 1 - 2 inches in size. Pour the foundation first, then fill up the inside with tailings. They dont shift or compact so make the ideal base for the slab. Plus they are cheap. The downside is they are an ahole to move if you have to use a shovel.
Roll out a layer of heavy plastic on top, lay reinforcing mesh on that, hold the mesh up with plastic chair thingumies and we all set. Pouring on monday if the weather god permits it.
Everything, 100% of it, depends on how you look at it.
DW
Just when I thought nothing else could go wrong. When I got home today, My oldest Son said "Did you see it yet?" I said: "See what". So he took me out in the garage and showed me. My old one ton truck was backed in the garage with some stuff loaded in it. Today he and DW decided to throw some more stuff in while I was at work. (Loading up for a festival this weekend) Apparently my 15 YO Son thought he could pull the truck out so they'd have more room. (The truck takes up most of the garage) It's a stick shift, and DW won't drive it. My Son has his permit, and thinks driving is cool. He pushes in the clutch and starts it. Then he lets out on the clutch to pull it out. As you might have guessed by now, the truck is in reverse. It shoots back a couple of feet before he can get it stopped. I have a roll-around tool chest that was sitting behind the truck. The back of the truck bed hit the tool chest and smashed it into the common garage/kitchen wall. It smashes the drywall, breaks a couple of studs, and pushed the base cabinets away from the wall. The drywall inside is cracked too. Gotta call next week and see if insurance will cover it...
Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse. [Lily Tomlin]
Boss - My condolences on your situation. As one more brick on top of the load, it stinks, I'm sure.
But you might want to think about the insurance call. There have been many stories lately about the reporting systems that the "blessed" insurance companies are using with, or more accurately "on" their insureds. Reporting a claim - it's charged against you. Calling to ask about reporting a claim - that can be charged against you too. Companies decide two claims - that's too many; find another carrier. Three claims - you really gotta be some risk. You say, "Fine, I'll find a new carrier." The problem is with the computers today, they all share info. Good luck, because it may not happen. You may become uninsurable, or labelled as high risk. (It happened to one of my relatives. A stolen bike from the yard, a minor car accident that was not her fault and a roof leak in about 15 years. Result - we don't want you.)
Do you really want the insurance world to know a) there's a new driver at the Boss Hog house and b) He's pretty unskilled at his new hobby?
What will it cost to fix the damage to the house? It won't cost you anything, because your son's going to pay it. But, if you go to the company, chances are the rates will go up somewhat. If it were me, after I got done beatin' the child with it, I'd strap on the tool belt, and he and I would be doing some work together.
Like I said, I know it sucks, but so do bigger insurance premiums, and those don't go away so easy.
Don
"...after I got done beatin' the child with it..."
No way would I do anything like that.
The first thing I did was ask him if he remembered all the times I told him to be careful. And I asked him how fast it had happened - Only took a second or 2, right?
I told him stuff like this is EXACTLY why I talk to him about safety to the point that it annoys him. (and his Brother)
And I asked him what he thought would have happened if someone had been standing behind the truck.
If nothing else, I figure it made a heck of an impression on him.
Laughing is the sensation of feeling good all over and showing it principally in one spot. [Josh Billings]
And what is the $ value of the damage?You should have a minium deductable of $500. And even better $1-2k.The difference in rates are enough to pay for things like this every few years.
I don't know how much the damage is yet. If the cabinets are damaged, ti will be over a thousand bucks. If it's just drywall and lumber, probably not so much. I'm thinking our deductible is $250. Honestly we had so much to do that I didn't look at it too close. I changed clothes and left, trying not to think about it. This is a tough weekend for us. I'll probably pull some of the drywall off Monday and see what things look like.
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. [Ralph Waldo Emerson]
Update: the guys have done a terrible job. Screws not set, too-big cutouts for outlets, bad corners. When they taped, they used the mud right out of the bucket, and as a result it went on globby and very unsmooth. It looks like they didn't care. They only got less than 1/2 the joints taped when they quit Thursday afternoon, and said they would be back Friday.
I called their boss Thursday night and left a message. No one showed Friday. I called and left a message again Saturday, told them they were through. Got word Monday morning that a group of about 10-12 had been arrested over the weekend for some type of lewd public sex thing. About 10 am two of the guys showed, and I told them to take their tools and go home.
The boss called and I explained things to him. He said that the supervisor claimed that i said the walls would be covered with something else, so they didn't need to be done well. I reminded him that one wall and one ceiling would be covered, but the rest needed to have a good smooth surface.
They told me to buy 100 sheets of rock, so I broke it down to 20 5/8 for the ceiling and 80 for the walls. Had to buy another 5 5/8 so that was 105 total. Ended up with 25 extra sheets of 1/2". That seems to be quite an error rate to me. Turns out they had planned to put a double layer of 1/2" rock on the ceiling rather than 5/8.
What a zoo.
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
thanks for that story -- I really needed to hear that.
"DW screws and copper pipe are fun companions."I worked on a house where one of those screws in the pipe waited six months to start leaking, but then it dumped enough water to blowout an entire livingroom ceiling. What a mess that was.I've also seen a small leak seap through a drywall ceiling and pool between the drywall and the latex paint. It started like a blister and then began looking like a cows udder hanging down from the ceiling. That stretchy latex paint must have been holding about a gallon of water, just hanging from the ceiling--waiting to burst.Update on the kitchen with the leaking riser...it turns out that it was the cabinet guy (owner's brother-in-law) who ran a screw into it. Could have been me though...whew--that was a close one. Ruined his day (I was just nervous for a day).