Being our own General Contractor

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

So, we aren't really looking at hiring another general contractor to finish the glorified bathroom off Sew & Sew if we can help it.  We need to move washer/dryer and have new fixtures set initially.  I have a call into one plumber to see if they can get us taken care of sometime this week.  Despite several emails from Ray, he has never shown up with any of our "stuff" that we paid for, most importantly is our corner tub/whirlpool (to the tune of $900).  Menards (local Home Depot type) has a good sale going on right now, along with an 11% rebate, which is actually a store card good for more Menards stuff.  So Bob and I talked it over this afternoon and decided we should just cut our losses and save ourselves a bunch of grief and heartburn.  If the jerk ever shows up with our stuff, we will accompay him to get a refund and then he can give us CASH for the return value.  I really don't expect that to happen.

My first full day being able to put weight on my right knee/leg and off we go to Menards to go shopping.  Did I say that the rebate/sale ends at midnight tonight?  They do have the cool little motorized vehicles in the store, which I graciously accepted their offer of tooling around the store in one.  Fortunately Ray left the spec sheet downstairs for the rough-in of the tub so I sent Bob down to pick that up before we left so we would make sure to buy the correct tub.  We tooled over to plumbing and picked out the tub, a heater element, drainage, faucet, hot/cold water handles and also a spray nozzle (too cool to fool!) and then a faucet, hot/cold water faucet for the sink as despite having bought one from H/D, that is one of the many small ticket items that never made it over here. 

I'm working hard on a plumber for this week as Ray dumped his left over concrete/grouting in my utility sink which is causing my washer to back up (plumbing is all interconnected -- the big reason we moved the washer/dryer to the new bathroom, plus the stack is in that room).  I was nothing besides seeing deep, deep red when I went in the laundry room to put the sheets in the dryer and saw water had backed up in the u. sink as well as all the crap Ray had left in the sink which I'm sure is causing the problem.  Live and learn as they say.  Just so weird as he did an incredible job at RIC.

Anyway, our rebate will be about $130 which will pay most or all of my light fixtures.  Once I get them, on of my niece's husband is an electrician and I'll see if I can sweet talk Jeremiah into installing them (in exchange for talking he and his lovely wife out for a nice meal).  That will solve two of our issues in my new room.

About the only thing left is changing room doors which is not really that big of a deal, just want it done.  Also we need the floor finished (quarter rods or something where the tile meets the walls.  Again, when I find someone who knows what they are doing, we can get that knocked out. 

So basically, that will take care of the new room.  The old laundry room needs the utility sink taken out and the platform the w/d sat on torn out, sheet rock to replace the water damaged rock that is in there now, vinyl put in where the platform is (we have a bunch of extra out in the garage) and paint.  We have a car wash across the alley from us.  I've done a couple of embroidery jobs for one of the guys who works there.  He saw the fixtures come in and asked me what we were doing.  He wanted to bid on the job and I thanked him and told him that we had already contracted.  For the little to be done (smidge of tear out, 2 or 3 pieces of sheet rock, mud and tape (not going to be that picky since shelving will be in front, and paint), I am going to check with this guy.  Heck, he can't do any worse than this jerk did.  I do need the doors put on the closet in that room, as well as a rod to hang clothes on and Ray was supposed to be making a 6 roll wooden vinyl storage system that would go where the u. sink currently is.  There is a woodworker in town that made a credenza for us that our TV sits on and has lots of space for different electronic components.  I'm going to call them to make the storage system and my saloon style doors for the changing room (it's an off-size width and I haven't been able to find any on-line to buy).  Since we've used them before, I know they do great work and they've been in business forever.  So, perhaps by the end of summer, this very unpleasant sojurn will be over.

On a positive, my leg handled today great.  I was up and downstairs 3 or 4 times, walked all over the basement (with crutches) plus to and from house to car, car to store and back.  It will be glad to get on the couch with an ice pack as soon as the dogs have settled for the night.  Right now, they are still running like crazy people.

Virginia

[MinUph]

Virginia,
  WOW I haven't read much about all this but reading this post I am amazed you haven't found this guy and sent some biker friends to visit him. It is a shame people are put through this kind of thing. Doesn't matter how good he was he has screwed you over now. I hope you find better people to finish up the work.

[Darren Henry]

I am amazed you haven't found this guy and sent some biker friends to visit him.

Probably not to many bikers in Kansas, but if he saw a herd of combines coming up his driveway he'd likely ruin his trousers LOL.

Seriously though; what kind of legal pressure would you have to use on him down there? Up here about all I could do would be to sue him in small claims court at a cost of about $2000 and then there is no enforcement in place once I win the judgement. Pretty much useless.

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

We now live in Nebraska (Grand Island) though we lived in Leavenworth, KS for almost 25 years.  Pretty similar though KS had the Flint Hills which are absolutely stunning!  Both have tons of combines and Nebraska and Kansas both have TONS of bikers.  Unbelievable how many bikers are around here.

I did talk to the police early on about filing charges.  Theft of services sounded good to me but because he had started and done some work we cannot file theft of services (so they said).  Officer said that we would have to go the civil route and hope for a judgement against him.  By the time we pay court fees and attorney fees we would probably be out as much, if not more, than we would hope to be awarded.  Then, as my late Mother used to say, "you cannot squeeze blood from a turnip" and at this point Ray is definitely a turnip.  He recently had his phone disconnected, I'm betting he doesn't have the $$$ to keep it juiced right now.

Best we can hope for is some day he actually brings some stuff over and then we take him to the bank to get cash out of his account (I really don't expect to ever see him again).

I am going to check out theft of services again since I have a huge list of items that we paid for up front and don't have.  I'd be happy just seeing his smiling mug spending a week or two behind bars for screwing us over like he has.  We're to the point where we can cobble the project together fairly easily I think.  I just had no desire to do the coordination that it needs but need this place finished up so, in best Larry the Cable Guy voice, "Get 'er done!"

Virginia

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

Cannot believe I am up this early as tired as I was last night,   Called and left a message with our regular plumbers.  One of them lives the next block over and he's about the nicest guy in the world.  Late 20's to early 30's and is a Marine Corps Reservist.  Eric called back just after my wedding party left.  I had just gotten upstairs as he called.  I asked him if he had time to pop over for a few minutes so we could talk and he and his step dad were both changing clothes to go to a viewing.  He asked what it was in reference to and how our schedule was today.  So I apologized for not insisting that they get the job to begin with but I told him that it was probably a good thing as it kept them from being p*ssed at my former contractor.  He just laughed at that and told me not to give it another thought as they understand that generally each contractor has a plumber and an electrician that they are comfortable working with so not to give that another thought.  At any rate, Bob and I have to run some errands this morning but will be back before 11 as Eric and Matt, his step-father are coming over at 11.  We'll go downstairs and show them the rough-in and see when they can get the washer/dryer connected (by top priority because of how Ray handled his clean-up from laying the tile in my utility sink) and then getting the tub over here and getting the fixtures set. 

Oh, and George, my BIL called me yesterday morning just to let me know how a real contractor works.  He said Marty called him at 6:30 (he knows George's schedule and knew George starts at 7) to find out what time he could come over and start work in their kitchen reno.  They did tear-out starting Wednesday and they are already in the "mudding" process.  No plumbing issues as they are keeping the sink in its original location.  George and his SIL did the electrical over the weekend.  I told laughed when George told me about Marty calling him and then, of course, showing up on time.  Maybe some day Ray will figure out how it's supposed to work but I doubt it.

Anyways, excited about our reputable plumbers showing up today.

Virginia 

[SteveA]

Is plumbing one of those trades that don't need repeat business - sure seems like it !   You can do the easy stuff yourself like change a trap, solder a pipe, change a valve but without those specialized tools and experience we all need a good plumber to depend on especially when gas is in the equation.  Where do you find them ?   
For years I've watched This Old House religiously and Richard Trethewey the master plumber is who I'd like to be able to call  - where are those craftsman like Trethewey when you need them ?
SA

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

Ugh!  What a day!  Got nothing work-related done all day.  We had a couple of errands to run this morning before Eric and Matt, plumbers arrived on site.  Had 15 minutes to spare when we got home.

So, we all go downstairs.  Honestly, they had to look hard to find anything, plumbing-wise, that was done correctly.  Washer can be used, just something wasn't done that keeps it from "gurgling", which I believe Eric is going to fix.  They are going to get the dryer vented, something Ray told us on 4 different occasions that he was going to do and never did.  No issues with what was roughed for the toilet or sink.  Just that the vanity Ray bought has the drawer stack on the wrong side so it is going to be a pain in the wazoo to get the line connected.  Isn't that special???

But the great new is about my corner tub.  He mostly did the rough in correctly.  One of the support walls should come out 8-10 inches further but that can be corrected with a stub wall.  The back of the rough in is going to have to be torn out and redone as he didn't use the moisture specific dry wall -- didn't use any dry wall at all.  WTF?????  Didn't have any electrical roughed in for the pumps, I believe Matt said so we need to get an electrician back.  If you go to the picture I posted that shows the rough in for the tub, I wondered how the wood was covered.  I thought maybe there was a side piece or something that came with the tub.  Nooooo, Matt said, the side needs to be tiled.  The other issue is that there is a big space between the wall and the end of the rough-in.  I don't know why Ray did that.  I think he thought he was going to slip a regular rectangular tub in there and that's why the wall was constructed that way and when I insisted on the corner tub (we had talked about this when he accepted the job).  So when the corner tub was roughed in, that left a gap between the end of the tub and where a rectangular tub would to.  I don't know that for sure, I'm just guessing, bbased on the amount of space left over.

However, that's not the best news.  Originally, we had agreed on a corner tub at Home Depot.  Before I gave Ray his retainer, I insisted he come over and measure the stairwell again to be sure that he could get the tub down the steps.  He did and said it would be a tight fit.  About a week into the construction, Ray said that the tub wouldn't fit through the doorway, so he wanted to get a standard tub.  We went toe to toe about that for a bit and then Ray said that he could get a three piece corner tub and would get a credit at Home Depot.  Several times during the construction, I asked him about the 3-piece tub and he said he just had to "pick it up".  Somewhere along the line when I was laid up on the couch, Ray came upstairs and we were talking about the tub and getting it downstairs and what a fit it was going to be.  I asked him pointblank "This is a 3-piece tub isn't it?" and Ray said "No, it is a one piece corner tub."  I did drop an "F" bomb when he said that and told him that no way was the tub going to make it downstairs. 

Anyway, we bought the tub that matched the specs he had roughed in.  After Matt & Eric discovered all the plumbing issues, they looked at the specs to make sure of the overall tub dimensions, went to the stairwell and, you guessed it, the d*mn tub won't fit.  Stairwell is wide enough but it's not particularly high.  So, our choices are to pay someone to tear out all the tub rough in plus the tile and buy a rectangular tub that will go down the stairwell or take the stairs out so they can get the corner tub in.  So, we are going to have the stairs taken out, drop the tub in and then have the steps rebuilt  Man, this project is so much fun!  NOT!!!

This doesn't include stuff that is missing, the crappy job they did sanding down after mud/tape, terrible paint job and a couple of places where the tile looks like crap. 

On the upside, Matt and Eric recommended a contractor, which we are definitely going to need with all the additional crap that has surfaced.  I know him.  When I worked at the feedlot, Tim did a complete reno on our office.  He's been a contractor for a zillion years.  We called him after lunch and he told Bob he would call back later this week and come by and look at the project.

Anyway, that was our fun plumber here today story.

Virginia
 

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

Our neighborhood plumber (they have been in business forever and were actually our first choice for doing the job) called a little before lunch to make sure that one of us would be home this afternoon.  They are here to get the dryer vented and then they will move the washer/dryer into the new room.  A huge WHO HOO on this.  I was just getting ready to start a load of towels when Eric called.   So, right after lunch Matt & Eric showed up.  They've been hard at it.  I did a little work while they were down there but I have a fitting at 4:30 and don't think they will be out of here by then so decided that I needed to pop up here and get the bathroom up here spruced up so we can do here fitting upstairs.

Just heard them start to move the appliances so that means that they have the dryer vented and I think they have fixed the "burp" issue with the washer as well.  Nice to see how real professionals get things done.

Virginia

[byhammerandhand]

Virginia,

I am going to be uncharacteristically rude (forgive me, mom.) I don't think anyone is coming to an UPHOLSTERY forum to read of the minutiae of your life.  I have been self-exiled for a couple of weeks, but looked at your recent posts (since Easter).  On and on about details of health, knees, what time you woke up, bathtubs, neighbors, what time everything happened, paint, plumbers, tile, steps, etc.  Write it down and stick it in your diary. I am just not interested and there is no "ignore user" button here.  If we worked together and you carried on like this at every lunch break, I'd find someplace else to have lunch.

My academic background is heavy in logic and one argument is, "What if everyone did this?"   Egad.  We'd be swamped in personal details.

I don't care if this gets me bounced off the site, because if your posts continue, I won't be back anyway.

[SteveA]

Keith
Calm down -  the crazy thing is you say you are reading the posts.  Sure we would all like more trade technique entries but you can't deny the recent political post had over 700 views. We're off the subject at times but I'm sure you can overlook what you don't care to view.  We all get to know each other by our posts whatever the content.  My impression of you is a detailed and advanced craftsman - am I wrong ?
How about going back to starting topics in lieu of taunting  - me for one appreciates someone like you who can post advanced interesting topics - so get to it ! 
What if What if What if - I don't like that logic -
SA

[sofadoc]

Well, it looks like Virginia left the group.

I'm sorry to see her go. I didn't always read all of her posts. But like Steve says, you can just overlook the ones that you don't care to view.

Frankly, there aren't enough members left on this forum to engage in upholstery-only topics.

We've talked every possible upholstery related issue into the ground. And because there are so few of us, we've all given our same handful of opinions umpteen times.

I rather enjoy reading about how fellow upholsterers live their daily lives. It's as relevant to me as discussing the proper way to tie springs or staple a skirt. And though I never get too terribly passionate about political rants, I thought that this group handled them well. Again, part of the whole upholstery experience is knowing how other "tackers" feel about the way our country is being run.

I hope that Virginia changes her mind about leaving. But unless this forum gets an influx of fresh blood, it probably isn't going to matter anyway.

[gene]

Why is it wrong to tell Virginia what to do but it is OK to tell Keith what to do?

Calm down

Yes Steve, let's tell others to stop taunting.  :o

I rather enjoy reading about how fellow upholsterers live their daily lives. It's as relevant to me as discussing the proper way to tie springs or staple a skirt.

Except for Keith's, right? I may not share his exact sentiments but I did appreciate his tack and manner of presentation. I don't think I have that much control.

And don't forget it's the internet. You can't say, "You're full of sh1t. Pass me another cookie, would you?" And you either get a cookie passed to you or thrown at you.

I stopped reading the political thread when Virginia justified Muslin terrorists being allowed to come into this country. It's the internet. I was wrong to expect rational discussions on politics.

And I too rarely read her other posts. And that was my choice.

When I post non upholstery related stuff I put "Friday" somewhere in the Topic line assuming folks know that an incredibly funny, witty, and often insightful joke is contained within the post. But not necessarily upholstery related. I'll make an effort to be more detailed in the Topic line of non upholstery related topics should I post any more such topics.

gene

[SteveA]

Why do you think Virginia left the group ?


Nothing against Keith - he's a great participant but judging content is a slippery slope.  Sending post cards and jokes are OK -   Virginia has submitted numerous upholstery topics and answered many questions. I guess I'd say Virginia is expressive - read or don't read but why challenge ?  Keith's writing did not sound like friendly rhetoric - my opinion.  Keith has the ability like Doyle to provide great topics - they are pros  - can we get back to that ?
The real issue is we need more participation.  Some topics are repeats but I still enjoy reading them on break time -

SA

[MinUph]

So how do we know Virginia left the group anyway? Is there some little birdie I don't know about?

  Anyway. I didn't read 95% of her contractor posts but that was my choice. As far as I'm concerned she or anyone can post anything they want. I don't have to read it if I don't want to.

  Have a great day everyone. I't a dead one for me here. But I have some things I can get done. Sent everyone home for the day. It's feast or famine and this is the famine LOL.

[sofadoc]

So how do we know Virginia left the group anyway? Is there some little birdie I don't know about? 

Her name now appears in black with the word "Guest" underneath it.