This is the time in the house building process when you feel like throwing in the towel
So here is a nice photo of the view. Sometimes it helps to focus on the view and try to forget all the mess and stress.
The turkeys are still around and getting bigger by the day. We had a couple of them get into a fight on the back patio yesterday. No photos to share but it was quite a sight.
Warning: If you don't like to read about these homeowners whining about the building process, skip the next section. At least it is therapeutic for us to vent.
Most of the work going on with the house is on the inside and we have been too busy to take any photos. We didn't have to sand as much this week because we ran into a problem. The stain on the wood trim went blotchy. Our wonderful and favorite contractor of all time said he thought it was rustic and matched our knotty alder doors. Let me say this. It is NOT a rustic house and even if it was, blotchy stain looks terrible. So some of the trim had to be sanded down and the wood sealed so that the stain would be take evenly. Two steps forward....
The next wonderful event was the bathtub. We did not buy a fancy jacuzzi tub. We ordered a soaking tub that is cast iron with an enamel finish. The tub has been sitting in our bedroom since May all wrapped up and ready to go. The plumbers arrived in November, a month later than promised, and unwrapped the tub to discover a crack in the enamel, which cannot be repaired. A new tub was ordered. Hopefully it will be here in two weeks. Who knows when the plumber will come back?
The next thing that happened was in the wine closet. We purchased a 'whisper quiet' wine cooler unit that helps regulate the temperature in the closet. We happened to be there when the installer turned it on. It sounded like a jet engine warming up. He then advised us that it had to run 24/7. It is so loud you can here it through the closed door and is not something anyone would want to listen to. Back to the drawing board...
Then there is the reverse osmosis water filter. A spiffy item that filters your water for drinking. Our well water is softened through a filtering system that runs your water through rock salt (a common practice). This takes out all the hard minerals that can screw up your plumbing and that can also make the water taste 'hard'. The filtered water is not salty but it was recommended that we use a reverse osmosis to refilter a small portion the softened water for drinking and cooking. Sounds good to us, even though it required buying an extra fixture. So the guy comes out and hooks it up. Problem is it drains into the kitchen sink drain pipe and makes an annoying gurgling noise, 4 hours at a time! The installer informs us that the plumber should have put a drain in so it would go directly outside which would have solved the problem. This was not something we knew about and no one advised us that we should do it so it didn't get done. Seems a contractor would know this... Of course now there is an extra cost to have the plumber install the drain and we have a plumber who loves to charge exorbitant prices as is common in the trade. Of course, we will have to wait until he decides to show up. One more thing since the plumber installed copper from the filtering system to the reverse osmosis so we may have green ice cubes down the road. It should have been plastic. Oh well.
Lastly. OK, probably not lastly, I started to vacuum the house one night and noticed the the lights dimmed significantly when I plugged in the vacuum cleaner. This happened in several places in the house. The electrician tells us its not his problem and to call the power company because it's their fault. We bring this to the attention of Mr. Fabulous (a.k.a. our -------contractor) who says it's not his job to do that. Excuse me, isn't he the one building the house? Knowing that the contractor will probably not do his job, Gary calls the power company. They come out and check the transformer and the wire to the house. Everything is done right from their end. Gary did some research and found out that the lights and the plugs might be wired on the same circuit which could cause the problem. So, after telling EVERYONE who should be doing their job that it is not the power company, the electrician comes out and tells us that the lights and the plugs ARE on the same circuit and that they will need to separate them. We are still in disagreement over how many rooms need to be fixed. Hope they choke on the insulation upstairs. The good thing is it is not an extra cause because they should have done that way in the first place. The amount and time and effort getting to the end result is an example of what we have been going through these days.
Maybe things will be a bit more positive...Someday. For those of you who plowed through this rant - thanks for listening.
1 Comments:
Sending you positive thoughts and holiday wishes.
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