Today was a big day! I have to admit two weeks ago, today was not a day I was looking forward to. It's my Birthday. With the developments two weeks ago I was sure today was not going to be a "Happy" Birthday. I am pleased to say I was WRONG! I was totally wrong!
The new framing crew started today on the house. We went out at lunch to check on things and by lunch time the trusses were already fixed. After work, there were still two not installed. They said they'd figure those out tomorrow. They've also already started sheeting the house! It's all starting to come together.
Another good thing happened today. The County Plumbing Inspector approved the ground work!!! This is huge! I can get the plumber bill paid but most of all, we don't have to tear up the basement floor!!! This is huge!
Tomorrow the crew will be out there again. I am very thankful for a beautiful fall and the weather holding out. We're on our way to get the house "buttoned up" so if the weather can hold out for a couple more weeks, it will be all good!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Well today was a big day. I was hoping to get estimates and a "diagnosis" in writing from a contractor to include in the letter to the builder. Those things take time and it just wasn't happening quickly enough to help us move on with things.
I went out to the property, identified everything that wasn't installed, took more pictures and then identified the trusses that weren't installed properly. We then wrote it up for the attorney and he completed the letter for the builder.
This evening we needed to HAND deliver the letter. Yes, that's right HAND deliver. YIKES!
We'll see what happens next. Hopefully he'll sign the lien waver and be done with the job....I doubt it though. He's too stubborn for that.
I went out to the property, identified everything that wasn't installed, took more pictures and then identified the trusses that weren't installed properly. We then wrote it up for the attorney and he completed the letter for the builder.
This evening we needed to HAND deliver the letter. Yes, that's right HAND deliver. YIKES!
We'll see what happens next. Hopefully he'll sign the lien waver and be done with the job....I doubt it though. He's too stubborn for that.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Cleaning up the mess
Today we all went out to the property to begin cleaning up the mess that was left for us. Lauren and I worked for a long time on the west side of the driveway clearing brush and downed trees. Earlier in the day she also cleaning up a lot of trash that was left...pop bottles, cigarette packages etc...
Mark and Ryan were also helping with the brush and other things -- I'm not sure of everything they did, but we were all out there working. Even though our house isn't done, it really felt like home being out there.
Mark and Ryan were also helping with the brush and other things -- I'm not sure of everything they did, but we were all out there working. Even though our house isn't done, it really felt like home being out there.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Just when you think it can't get worse...
I feel like I'm in a really bad movie.
Today I met with the attorney at 9:00. As I was waiting to see him, my phone rang. It was the builder. HUH?? Is he calling to set up a time to meet to transfer the supplies over to me? Hmmmm....I'm not comfortable talking to him though. I choose not to take the call. I find out later he called Mark and left a voice mail for him.
The attorney calls me back and I tell him that I was a juror on a case he argued! That was so super-cool. He thought it was neat too. He asked me a lot of questions about what I thought of the case. At the end of the meeting he even remembered me sitting in on the jury. Wow. What a small world. I know we are in good hands with him.
Stan (attorney) and I started going over the case. In the mean time Mark is meeting with the county inspector, Sutton's, RP Lumber and the Truss Company. Come to find out the trusses are not the wrong size, they are simply installed incorrectly. So much so that not all of them would fit, so that is why there was a stack left on the ground in front of the house. When Mark showed me which ones were installed wrong it was so obvious. We both wonder how we didn't catch that before.
As I'm in with the attorney, Mark calls to give us this information and also to tell us the builder called him and said that he felt that the letter we sent him called him a thief and he would be putting a lien on our house. Hmmmm, I don't ever remember calling him a thief. I just asked for an itemized statement.
RP Lumber is working with "Mr. I think I can build a house" to convince him to provide us with the bills, but so far he isn't agreeing to. The manager told him and he wasn't a lawyer, but he felt that since we are willing to pay our bill it's in his best interest to hand it over. The builder said he would think about it. Someone is hiding something.
So, where do we go from here...
(1) The truss company is providing plans of how to reset the trusses. We will have that Monday.
(2) Sutton's siding and remodeling will take those plans and provide us with an estimate for repairs.
(3) Our attorney will prepare a letter to be hand delivered to the builder. In the letter we will give him two options. The first option he will have x number of hours to fix the problem upon receipt of the letter. The second option will be to walk away from the project and have him take the crane bill for the truss mess up and sign a lien waver.
We do not believe our builder will settle for option one or two. Once he defaults on option one though, we can get another crew in there to fix the problem and then finish the outside of the house!!!
Today I met with the attorney at 9:00. As I was waiting to see him, my phone rang. It was the builder. HUH?? Is he calling to set up a time to meet to transfer the supplies over to me? Hmmmm....I'm not comfortable talking to him though. I choose not to take the call. I find out later he called Mark and left a voice mail for him.
The attorney calls me back and I tell him that I was a juror on a case he argued! That was so super-cool. He thought it was neat too. He asked me a lot of questions about what I thought of the case. At the end of the meeting he even remembered me sitting in on the jury. Wow. What a small world. I know we are in good hands with him.
Stan (attorney) and I started going over the case. In the mean time Mark is meeting with the county inspector, Sutton's, RP Lumber and the Truss Company. Come to find out the trusses are not the wrong size, they are simply installed incorrectly. So much so that not all of them would fit, so that is why there was a stack left on the ground in front of the house. When Mark showed me which ones were installed wrong it was so obvious. We both wonder how we didn't catch that before.
As I'm in with the attorney, Mark calls to give us this information and also to tell us the builder called him and said that he felt that the letter we sent him called him a thief and he would be putting a lien on our house. Hmmmm, I don't ever remember calling him a thief. I just asked for an itemized statement.
RP Lumber is working with "Mr. I think I can build a house" to convince him to provide us with the bills, but so far he isn't agreeing to. The manager told him and he wasn't a lawyer, but he felt that since we are willing to pay our bill it's in his best interest to hand it over. The builder said he would think about it. Someone is hiding something.
So, where do we go from here...
(1) The truss company is providing plans of how to reset the trusses. We will have that Monday.
(2) Sutton's siding and remodeling will take those plans and provide us with an estimate for repairs.
(3) Our attorney will prepare a letter to be hand delivered to the builder. In the letter we will give him two options. The first option he will have x number of hours to fix the problem upon receipt of the letter. The second option will be to walk away from the project and have him take the crane bill for the truss mess up and sign a lien waver.
We do not believe our builder will settle for option one or two. Once he defaults on option one though, we can get another crew in there to fix the problem and then finish the outside of the house!!!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Lining up new contractors
Per our attorney, we needed to get people out to the property for an estimate to get the house fixed. Mark called a couple of people and was able to get one company to come out next Monday. In the mean time a friend of mine sent me contact information for someone willing to look at the house and give an estimate. We met him out at the property at 2:00. He spent a couple of hours out there and verified that the trusses are too short. He did say though that the truss company usually stands behind those trusses and if they are wrong, the will make them right.
This left me with more questions. I thought the builder walked away because he screwed up so bad and couldn't afford to fix what he messed up. If the truss company stands behind their product, then how come he would have hung the bad trusses instead of sending them back. Oh well. Maybe there is at least some hope that we can get them replaced.
The company that Mark arranged to come out next Monday called and there were three guys on the phone. They asked if they could meet earlier. Mark had arranged for the County building inspector to come out and they decided they would like to be there when he is so they will all meet Mark at 8:30 at the house.
I have a meeting with the attorney at 9:00...divide and conquer.
This left me with more questions. I thought the builder walked away because he screwed up so bad and couldn't afford to fix what he messed up. If the truss company stands behind their product, then how come he would have hung the bad trusses instead of sending them back. Oh well. Maybe there is at least some hope that we can get them replaced.
The company that Mark arranged to come out next Monday called and there were three guys on the phone. They asked if they could meet earlier. Mark had arranged for the County building inspector to come out and they decided they would like to be there when he is so they will all meet Mark at 8:30 at the house.
I have a meeting with the attorney at 9:00...divide and conquer.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
What the heck is going on???
Today I sent the certified letter. I wonder what his reaction will be? Here is what the letter said:
Dear Mr. xxxxx:
Here's the interesting part...tonight we took our former neighbor out to the house. We found a huge issue with the trusses. I've taken pictures and e-mailed the attorney. He called me back and we are officially hiring him. We meet on Friday to get the case started.
It's all starting to make sense why Mike walked off the job. He knew he messed up and now just wants payment so he can run before we realize what's going on.
Dear Mr. xxxxx:
Effective November 2, 2010 the residential construction agreement you had with xxxx x. xxxxxxxx and xxxx x. xxxxxxxx is null and void.
In order to rectify the situation and all bills be paid in full and/or settled the following things need to take place.
(1) Please provide us with an itemized list along with a statement either in person or mail no later that Friday, November 5, 2010.
(2) Call either of us at 483-9256 or 341-0683 to set up a time to meet at RP Lumber so the items we are expected to provide payment for can be inspected and arrangements can be made for the transfer of these items to us.
(3) Upon inspection of the materials to verify the items are correct for the house and are not damaged, Security Bank will be notified to begin the process of final payment.
(4) If all materials are in acceptable condition, Security Bank will be notified to make the payment. Zelle Title will provide payment to RP Lumber for the supplies, and at that time a lien waver will be required. Zelle Title will provide the paperwork for this.
(5) In addition, all personal items must be removed from 4200 Honeywell no later than Monday November 8, 2010. This includes the portable toilet and flatbed truck.
Sincerely,
xxxx x. xxxxxxx
xxxx x. xxxxxxx"
Here's the interesting part...tonight we took our former neighbor out to the house. We found a huge issue with the trusses. I've taken pictures and e-mailed the attorney. He called me back and we are officially hiring him. We meet on Friday to get the case started.
It's all starting to make sense why Mike walked off the job. He knew he messed up and now just wants payment so he can run before we realize what's going on.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
He quit!
Wow what a day. I drove out past the property at 7:50 am and no one was there. Something told me they wouldn't be there. Mark and I drove out at lunch....nothing.
In the mean time, Mark had contacted RP lumber again to see if they could give us information on the bills and they couldn't since the bills are in the builder's name.
I left work to get Ryan from the bus. As I was just leaving the parking lot Mark called me and said the builder left a voice mail on his phone. The voice mail said he felt like we were harassing RP lumber by asking where they bills are so he was moving all of his stuff off of the property and closing down the job site and if we didn't pay the bill he'd be putting a lien on the house. HUH???? How can we pay the bill when he refuses to give us the bill.
Mark called him back and left a message asking him for an itemized statement and I told him the same thing, but he never returned our calls. In the mean time I also contacted an attorney for advice. I was advised to provide the builder with a letter of termination (so that it's in writing) along with things that needed to be done to officially resolve the issue.
I worked on the letter and I will send it certified tomorrow. UGH!
In the mean time, Mark had contacted RP lumber again to see if they could give us information on the bills and they couldn't since the bills are in the builder's name.
I left work to get Ryan from the bus. As I was just leaving the parking lot Mark called me and said the builder left a voice mail on his phone. The voice mail said he felt like we were harassing RP lumber by asking where they bills are so he was moving all of his stuff off of the property and closing down the job site and if we didn't pay the bill he'd be putting a lien on the house. HUH???? How can we pay the bill when he refuses to give us the bill.
Mark called him back and left a message asking him for an itemized statement and I told him the same thing, but he never returned our calls. In the mean time I also contacted an attorney for advice. I was advised to provide the builder with a letter of termination (so that it's in writing) along with things that needed to be done to officially resolve the issue.
I worked on the letter and I will send it certified tomorrow. UGH!
Still not done framing
That's right folks, it's November 2nd and our beautiful new house still doesn't have sheeting on the roof, let along shingles. Why you might ask? I wish I knew the truth. Last week we had some very windy weather Monday - Wednesday. Thursday it was still windy, but not quite as bad. Friday it was beautiful. I went out to the job site and no progress. I went out yesterday after Ryan got out of school and once again, no one had worked there all day.
I called Mark and told him he needed to call the contractor. He did but he didn't answer his phone. I figured he just didn't want to talk to Mark. I reluctantly called him. I can't stand the guy, but needed to know what the hold up was. I figured there would be a long list of excuses. First he said he just didn't make it out there on Friday and then today he had other things come up that he needed to work on. We've suspsected that he's doing odd jobs on the side and putting our house last. I told him that if he's too busy to build our house that he needs to be up front with us so we can take a different direction. Then he started going off about some rather large bill from RP Lumber that needs to be paid because his account is maxed out. Ummmm, I've never seen a bill and upon further investigation this bill has windows and stuff on it. I've never seen the windows, the've not been installed. Now, had said contractor actually been working dilligently on the house to get it framed, this bill would not be an issue. Now though he's got himself in one hell of a mess because I honestly can't see the bank authorizing payment to the title company for windows that are not attached to the house. It's going to get interesting. I suspect I will get yelled at again for not paying the bills on time. I think last time this happened he gave me a bill on 10/11 that was due on 10/10 (no typo there). Then he said, and I quote, "You aren't working very hard at making sure the bills get paid on time." Hmmmm I think I'm going to tell him he's not working very hard at making sure my house gets built in a timely manner. They started framing on September 27th. I think that's a more than fair statement. Anyway, I eneded up hanging up on him. That dude is not going to yell at me yet again for his in ability to plan and prioritize.
Next I called Mark. I gave a brief description of what happened. He immediatley called him. Sounds like the contractor told Mark that I need to lay off and leave him alone. That wasn't a very smart thing to say. Not sure what happened with the rest of the call but this time the contractor hung up on Mark.
In the mean time I had called to see if my Dad could wire the house so we could get rid of this guy. Dad calls back with an answer of "he can, but...." Oh great! So then I explain what's going on. He ends up calling the contractor. Not sure what all was said, but the contractor promised to be out at the job site today and have shingles on by Friday. We'll see..... there are so many other things that need to be done too.
At this point we have small goals. Goal one....get the house framed, roofed and wrapped and get the windows in. A bonus would be to get the brick and siding on as well. THEN we can probably take the project over ourselves and be done with this completely USELESS contractor.
I called Mark and told him he needed to call the contractor. He did but he didn't answer his phone. I figured he just didn't want to talk to Mark. I reluctantly called him. I can't stand the guy, but needed to know what the hold up was. I figured there would be a long list of excuses. First he said he just didn't make it out there on Friday and then today he had other things come up that he needed to work on. We've suspsected that he's doing odd jobs on the side and putting our house last. I told him that if he's too busy to build our house that he needs to be up front with us so we can take a different direction. Then he started going off about some rather large bill from RP Lumber that needs to be paid because his account is maxed out. Ummmm, I've never seen a bill and upon further investigation this bill has windows and stuff on it. I've never seen the windows, the've not been installed. Now, had said contractor actually been working dilligently on the house to get it framed, this bill would not be an issue. Now though he's got himself in one hell of a mess because I honestly can't see the bank authorizing payment to the title company for windows that are not attached to the house. It's going to get interesting. I suspect I will get yelled at again for not paying the bills on time. I think last time this happened he gave me a bill on 10/11 that was due on 10/10 (no typo there). Then he said, and I quote, "You aren't working very hard at making sure the bills get paid on time." Hmmmm I think I'm going to tell him he's not working very hard at making sure my house gets built in a timely manner. They started framing on September 27th. I think that's a more than fair statement. Anyway, I eneded up hanging up on him. That dude is not going to yell at me yet again for his in ability to plan and prioritize.
Next I called Mark. I gave a brief description of what happened. He immediatley called him. Sounds like the contractor told Mark that I need to lay off and leave him alone. That wasn't a very smart thing to say. Not sure what happened with the rest of the call but this time the contractor hung up on Mark.
In the mean time I had called to see if my Dad could wire the house so we could get rid of this guy. Dad calls back with an answer of "he can, but...." Oh great! So then I explain what's going on. He ends up calling the contractor. Not sure what all was said, but the contractor promised to be out at the job site today and have shingles on by Friday. We'll see..... there are so many other things that need to be done too.
At this point we have small goals. Goal one....get the house framed, roofed and wrapped and get the windows in. A bonus would be to get the brick and siding on as well. THEN we can probably take the project over ourselves and be done with this completely USELESS contractor.
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