Remodel issues!

[Italiahaircolor]

I know, I know...when you remodel your home, you''re going to run into hiccups and problems. I was totally prepared for that...and I consider myself very blessed that we''ve made this far without serious issue. But now, all of a sudden, it''s like problem after problem...and I can''t decide if I want to cry, laugh or quit!

The main source of my headache is my flooring. I bought these fantastic handscraped hardwood floors. They are, if I may gush, beautiful. They are a deep chocolate brown, warm and rich---and so, for lack of a better word, yummy. I had to order them from a company in CA...and they were not cheap. The cost of shipping was insane, at over $30.00 per 17sq foot (roughly one box). But, I work hard and my home is my haven...so, it was totally worth it. I ordered a decent amount of overage...better safe than sorry, right? But some how...as I arrived home after an extremely stressful day at work, I find that...not only aren''t my floors done (today was D day...according to my contractor)...they don''t have enough wood to finish my kitchen! Oh, that...and the 2nd installer didn''t show up.

I''m certainly not a tyrant ... and am all for "days off" ... but, the plan was that they would arrive early, install my baseboards, finish the kitchen flooring while working in tandem and then, I could finally move back into my life. But, not only is my flooring incomplete, not a single BB was installed

. My oven and stove are still in my family room, as is my dishwasher. So, I cannot even use my kitchen!

I called to find out about purchasing more flooring, and it will be more than a week before it arrives....so, that means another living with a "look don''t touch" new kitchen. I''m just thankful I have the cushion in my budget to afford more... After sorting that out, I confronted the installer about "what happened"...he explained that he was installing them in a pattern my contractor didn''t anticipate, so we never had enough from the start. Ugh.

Then, to add insult to injury, my contractor calls to ask me if I would like to pay an extra "$200.00" to the installer because he had to do something with the subfloor that (big surprise) my contractor didn''t anticipate. I told him, "I would love to...although, it''s not going happen because all of his unanticipated surprises have dried up my money well... and that he can just figure it out, as I have been forced too as well".

I guess there was no point to this posting...other than my DH doesn''t "vent" the way I do, and just shurgs as he writes the check. I, on the other hand, get pissy...so please, forgive me.

 

[pennquaker09]

Virtual Hugs

 

[LaraOnline]

Well, the most frustrating part of this is that you CAN'T quit. You must feel like you are kind of held to ransom when your kitchen is unusable.
Hmm, that probably is a large part of your frustration - the fact that there IS no real choice but to keep going!
So commiserations there!
As for the tradesmen, did you specify the particular pattern that is more expensive? If you did discuss it, I guess the tradesman didn't think to point out that you'd need more floor. Strong silent type that tradie, ey?

I would investigate the problem in the sub floor. If it is a structural problem, or a leak, unevenness, etc, it would be wise to treat it. So much of the durability of surfaces actually comes from the preparation of the area... so it is important not to skimp on this.

I can see that you wanted to prove a point about the tradesman wandering off mid-job, but perhaps it is better to stay focused, and see how often he turns up / wanders off in future, and call him for delays directly.

After all, it is not his fault if you actually requested (or he thought you requested) a certain expensive floor-laying pattern - although it would have been nice if he'd thought to inform you that you'd need more wood - and it's also not his fault that the sub-floor needs extra materials/attention.

If you needed more wood for his pattern, he couldn't have laid the floor even if he had turned up at the scheduled time. He might have known you didn't have enough supplies, and so went to another job, forgetting that he hadn't actually told you to order more.

Just my brainstorm.

All the best with it,

L.

 

[justjulia]

I'm living in a remodel, too. It's like I want to wake up and it's magically done! Ha.
My sympathies to you... How about this---our kitchen floor was DONE and the next day a hot water tank line broke.....flooded the kitchen....can you picture rippling hardwood???? So, now it is sitting here taken up and 1/2 way done again. Only diff is dh laid it himself and doesn't have a lot of time to replace...so it'll take WEEKS..... (pulling hair out...)

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Penn, Lara and Julia thank you very much for taking time to weigh in on my situation.

Lara...upfront no "design pattern" was discussed. But, once the flooring was being laid, the design made sense and is very appealing. The flooring is more "plank" in style which means it has wider boards, they have "stagger" set the flooring, using more wood to make the cuts. The trademen (I love that term, btw) decided, on their own, to lay the floor this way...however, they never mentioned before yesterday that we didn''t have enough wood to finish the job. I would have never said "no" to their idea, since I do like it...but I certainly would have ordered more flooring before the day it was supposed to be done, so that it would have arrived in a time matter and not pushed our D-Day back any further. Sadly, I didn''t have that option.

As far as the subflooring, it was only because, true to condo form, the prior flooring was vinyl tile. The original builders used double plywood in the kitchen...and since the other flooring was carpet, they only used one sheet of plywood. The general contractor, when he priced out the job, never bothered to look into what the subfloor was made of, hence not knowing the variance in plywood. So, the tradesmen had to tear out the subfloor, and lay a new single sheet. No big deal...but, not my problem pricewise either. He should have looked, and if he had, and said in the beginning before we signed out contract....we would have easily and happily paid it...but since it was like "oh and by the way...you can feel free to pay more" I feel like I shouldn''t have to...so I wont. But, the flooring is in great shape (the condo is less than 5 years old).

Julia, I am so sorry to hear about your wood. Ugh, big hugs and support being sent your way. I cannot imagine how frusterating and sad that situation must be. To have it done, and then wake up to ruined product and knowing you have to start all over. Ugh, ugh, ugh. I think, in general, wood is such a risk in the kitchen--wear water junk happens...but it just looks soooo nice.

I think my main frusteration was that it was supposed to be done last week. They got pushed back an extra day due to the surprise with the subfloor, and that was disappointing enough as it was. And we''re actually hosting our friends this weekend, and I was so excited to show her everything nice and neat and complete. Since she lives over 4 hours away, I don''t know when she''ll make it back here again--and now it''ll be like "heres the general idea and half a kitchen floor complete". I mean, until the flooring is done, nothing else can get done. I''m just sad and whining about it...sorry.

 

[moremoremore]

Guys I feel your pain. We moved into the house April, with our apt lease being up, and our contractor who turned a 4 week job into a 3 month job turned into a lazy sob who didn''t really care about deadlines.....it was a nightmare coordinating the kitchen people, flooring people, painters, etc...it was SOOO stressful....And how many months later- I"m still waiting for my painters to stain my handrails.They are bailing and haven''t returned my calls for weeks. I just now found out that the kitchen people messed up with the range hood panel...and I still have unfinishd pot lights months after the fact..It really doesn''t stop. Oh yeah, a month ago I had to have almost the entire first floor re-stained and poly-d bc the first people were fired after messing up twice. Had to move all my stuff out and stay upstaris for days with a mini-frig and then go to a friends house. Renos are nightmares. Best of luck.

 

[justjulia]

Well, we have decided to rip up what was laid down 1/2 in the kitchen and hall and start all over with terra cotta tile. I can''t believe it. I love wood but it is just not practical for us. Maybe a nice, rich orange will be okay...It''s not a lot of square footage, so not like it''s the end of the world, but I would SO like for it to be done. I can''t have people over here with this like it is! And it is really discouraging. Oh well, live and learn..

 

[puffy]

i am so sorry for all the stress that this is causing you! it''s such a pain to have to deal with contractors and vendors. i totally know how you feel. we are going through a pretty big remodel right now. we''re having our kitchen totally redone, the two upstairs bathrooms were completely taken apart and back and front porches are being redone also. i guess i''ve been lucky *so far* in that my contractor is a friend so i knew he was good and very prompt before we hired him. but it''s still stressful.
in the end, i''m sure your home will be beautiful and you will enjoy every inch of it. i know that isn''t the point, but try not to stress about it too much.

 

[LaraOnline]

Ugh, these stories are really turning me off renovations! It all sounds awful. But, in a few years you''ll laugh at the problems - camping out during the renos will be just another funny story about your life - and you''ll be enjoying your lovely homes! Keep your eye on the horizon and row, row, row to shore I guess!!

L.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Well ladies, as of Thursday, I stopped being passive agressive...and just got plain old agressive!

My contractor knew I was unhappy with the flooring set back, but since we flipped the entire house, there was still plenty of work he could/should be doing. His list, handed to him on Tuesday, including...painting, moving the bathroom light fixture, hanging a light fixture in the vaulted ceiling area, installing all baseboards, door trim and crown molding, install the kitchen skin, garbage disposal, stove and dish washer. IMO he had more than enough to keep him very busy all day long.

Since this also happened to be the day we were having our backsplash installed, he said he would happily come early/stay late and work around the other trademen. This gesture my DH and I appreciated since it would mean less coordination on our part---and told him, if he wanted to arrive at 9 am that would work well.

P.S: He shows up at around 12 noon...takes a one hour lunch break at 3...and leaves for the day at 6. And the only work he got done was trim work in our powder room, formal living room, family room and part of the kitchen. I was livid. His behavior was totally unacceptable IMO, and I finally let him know...

I placed a call to him Friday and explained that my husband was taking time off work to be available when work was being done in the house, ergo, we expect work to actually get done, and get done in a timely manner. We hired a contractor, set hours and paid good money to have the job done---his lax attitude is absolutely not going to be tolerated anymore. I also explained that he is costing himself money by being lazy...that if he put in full work days, he would finish the job sooner--have to drive less in from Chicago to our suburban home--and could move on to another job where he would be getting a fresh paycheck. He seem receptive to my "rant" (although I said everything in the nicest way possible, without coming off as weak).

I guess i finally realized, just like my assistant--or support staff--or MUA/HS employees--he works for me, on my time, and on my dime...and since I don''t let my other employees come and go as they please, I shouldn''t let him either. I didn''t "rent-a-friend".

And to all you ladies who kindly posted your frusterations here too....hopefully you all see the light at the end of the tunnel soon!

 

[justjulia]

Good for you!