Maybe I will like drywall again....

Maybe I will like drywall again....

December 6th -- I think I will need therapy to recover from drywall post-traumatic stress; either that or lots of red wine and a pre-Christmas miracle to get the drywall train back on its tracks...soon.

When I talked to the contractor's son the other day I mentioned that the painters, who I like a lot, told me that they also do drywall.  I like the painters because they show up early and when they say they will; they work hard; they do a great job; they clean up and don't make a mess; and besides being in a Reggae band, they are very pleasant, polite, low key, and just really sweet guys to have around.  

This morning I left the house a bit before 10:00 am and no drywall workers had yet arrived. The temperatures remain frigid as it was 10 degrees below zero this morning and the high temperature today was 8 degrees above zero.  All the drywall guys need to do is get here, because the new heating system is working well and it is actually very pleasant inside, especially in the new sections of the house where there are working heating vents and lots of insulation.  

A few hours later the contractor's son called my cell to ask if the drywall guys were working. Since I wasn't at home and would not be for a few more hours, I explained that they weren't there when I left the house, but I would call and let him know as soon as I got home later in the day.  The contractor's son repeatedly apologized and said that he was very disappointed about the drywall delay.  He also told me that if the drywall workers had not showed up to work on my house by the time I got home, he would get rid of them and get the painters to finish the job.  

Talk about ambiguously feelings -- on the one hand we need the drywall guys here working like crazy to get ready for the finish carpenters who arrive next week, but on the other hand, I was hoping that they didn't show so that the much beloved painters would be here to do the job (and maybe save the day). 

When I got home, sure enough, no sign that any drywall work had been done or that anyone had been here to do any work. The drywall crew has now cost me 4 weeks on this project.  As we agreed, I called the contractor's son and left a voice message and asked him to let me know what to expect next.

The contractor's son called me back to say that the former drywall crew is toast; gone; done; we've broken up and I'm over them.  The painters, a crew of three, plus one more guy called in for reinforcement, will start early Monday morning to tape, mud and sand the drywall.  They will do what they can as fast as they can, and there will be an attempt to see if the finish carpenter can delay his arrival by a day or so.  The contractor's son, again being very apologetic and also optimistic, told me to look on the bright side -- since the painters will be doing the drywall, they can't complain about the drywall job as painters usually do when it comes time for them to paint the walls that they actually finished themselves!

As soon as I finish my latte, I am going to have lots of red wine.

Why I have really come to dislike dry wall.....

Why I have really come to dislike dry wall....

December 4th --  So after we finally passed the drywall screw inspection last Friday I thought we were almost done with the entire drywall debacle.

Silly me.

 I started to prepare myself for the worst part of the drywall taping, mudding and sanding that was supposed to be completed by the end of this week, but no one came to work on the house on Monday (12-2), Tuesday (12-3) or today (12-4).  The cabinets are scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday (12-11) and the finish carpenter is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday (12-12) to start installing the mill work. 

 I'm pretty sure it is impossible to install mill work on walls that have not yet been completed.   Oh, and did I mention that my contractor is out of town this week?

The weather was beautiful on Monday and started going south on Tuesday afternoon when a front came in and the temperature dropped 26 degrees in two hours.  This morning it was snowing and 11 degrees, but was really minus 7 degrees with the windchill factor.  As my contractor has said to me, "When the weather gets cold, construction slows down."  This is more than a slow down; it is an all-out stoppage.  So, the three-week delay that the drywall has already cost me is now turning into a four-week delay or maybe even longer.  In realistic terms, this just means that I will have to wait even longer before I can once again sleep in my bed.

On the bright side, the new furnace, which is operating on a temporary construction thermostat that has one setting, 65 degrees, and is not operating on the official zone system, is actually doing a great job.  Sleeping under my down sleeping bag also keeps me toasty at night.  Of course, the new windows, roof, and ton of insulation also helps.  This morning when I got out of the shower wrapped in a towel, I stopped dead in my tracks as I had a "What is wrong with this picture" moment -- there was no usual cold draft in the bathroom!  In fact, this house has never been warmer, especially in this kind of cold snap, in the 26 years I've lived in it.

While my contractor is out of town, his son, who will eventually take over the business (I think) is in charge of things, but I haven't seen nor heard from him.  My contractor did not specifically tell me to call his son when he told me he was leaving town for a week.  

So, I contacted my architect by e-mail, explained the situation that no drywall work has been done since last Friday and the mill work is supposed to start next week, and asked him what I should do.  Within about 15 minutes of sending that e-mail, my phone rang and it was the contractor's son, explaining that he has been in touch with the drywall company and that they will be here and will bring in big heaters to dry the mudded walls this weekend and that he is doing his best, but it is clear that this is the first and last time they will use this drywall subcontractor.  Unfortunately, the drywall subcontractor that they regularly used was not available for my project, and with my contractor out of town, there really was no one who had almost 30 years of experience as a contractor to yell at the sub-contractors to get the job done.  I suggested to the contractor's son that I hope his father will teach him how to effectively yell at sub-contractors who are not doing what they are supposed to be doing.

After I got off the phone with the contractor's son, there was an e-mail reply from my architect who wrote that he had forwarded my e-mail to the contractor's son and with a message of something to the effect of  "WTF Chickenbutt."  At least that is my laugh for the day.  The architect also wrote that if I did not hear from the contractor's son, that I should let him know and he would jump in.  That architect is a good man and a brilliant designer.

As I wrote early on in this process, one of the most important things to do before undertaking a project like this one is to put together a team that communicates well.   Although the lack of a completed dry wall job after 6 months and 6 days since this project started is beyond frustrating, at least I know how  to contact my architect who has my back along with a sense of humor that often brightens my day.  

No matter, I still really dislike dry wall.