More Exhaustion

Sitting here in the condo, late Saturday night. Lisa's showering, I'm drying and writing this.

Why?

Because we needed to finish cleaning the condo before tomorrow's walkthrough with Wes.

And...

wait for it


wait for it



wait




for





it







We can't shower at our own FREAKING HOME.

Last night, in our first night home (on our anniversary no less), as Dad drained the tub from his bath and I flushed the toilet from my inagural dump, I noticed that my flush didn't go nearly as seamlessly as I am used to. Then it began to gurgle. Then burp, with large air bubbles popping up.

What the fuck. It was like I was living at SewerSide3 all over again.

Then when he tried to flush, he got the burping and bubbling. Great.

This morning, we told Jose about it and he spent much of the day working on it, to no avail. He called Frank, who sent a snaking tool around noon. Then two helpers around four. By this point, I had called Mr. Rooter and he was on his way. The guys from Frank were able to snake it to the point where they could get one good flush in, but then gurgling after that. Mr. Rooter wanted to know why we didn't have a four-inch clean-out.

good freaking question, my man.

As it turned out, there is one under the house... but he could only snake it so far. So we have a call into the dark lord (who, of course, does not return calls on the Sabbath)... so we're in a holding pattern (literally there for a while, as the boys held it until they could go over to the Coreys' to go to the bathroom this afternoon... the Coreys are out of town, but we have a key... thank goodness).

Meanwhile, Jose has spent much the of the time we have actually had with him dealing with issues not of our devising (most of yesterday--his first day back from dealing with his mom's non-heart attack--working on fixes from the City's last non-inspection pass... and today was spent on plumbing issues)... while he was able to help me put up the master closet stuff, he's only begun to work on the boys' desks (in the meantime, I've done the entertainment center on my own...) and of course with him unable to do some stuff, it's thrown off my schedule as well... Jack's bed isn't built yet, nor is Lisa and mine... and I haven't been able to set up the network or the upstairs entertainment center (DVD and PS2).

Also, there's been a snafu with Reeds: not all the furniture arrived (bedroom stuff for Kyle is missing until next week) AND they shipped the wrong barstools. Of course, that last one may be a blessing... we have no room in the house or garage at the moment (yesterday's move from Dad's was a nightmare of comic [or is that cosmic] proportions... wave after wave of furniture kept coming... we're packed to the gills...

Lisa's out of the shower now, and we'll head home to a house filled with two sleeping boys and one sleeping grandpa... my back is killing me... and I have only vague hopes that tomorrow will be any better.

Any hopes for moving into the house and being hit by a wave of euphoria or ecstasy has subsided into a fear of Lisa's that we're now trapped in a Money Pit...

Exhaustion

Move-in is in full force. We're all exhausted. Tonight should be the last night we spend in the condo (and the timing is perfect... there are NO extra parking spaces to be had... we drove the Cabrio back to the house tonight and drove Lisa back).

Yesterday we got the final (I think) fire inspection pass. City didn't quite pass, and when Steve 2 came by today, he had more fixes for the contractor. He doesn't seem to be enamored of lord voldemort... the inspector intimated that when he inspected the footings (way back in July), he and the dark lord "got off on the wrong foot"... and he doesn't seem all that impressed with he-who-must-not-be-named... who, with his crew, beat as quick a retreat as possible yesterday after the inspection, leaving only Jose behind.

Jose is great... but he wasn't here today (last night his mother suffered a heart attack)... don't know if he'll be here tomorrow... we need him badly as stuff is piling up... for evidence check out the photos in the viewer... suffice to say there are now pics of a mess of a house (as we attempt to move stuff in) and new carpeting. Cable is in (and if I get time tomorrow, I'll network the house). Carpet in in, POD is gone, and we're all exhausted.

But there is still work to do tonight (even though it's already after 10pm): we need to get stuff ready for the movers tomorrow: big stuff is to be moved, and to prep for this, we need to dismantle the TV and computer (and desk); and make sure that there are cleared pathways to the other big items (fridge, washer, dryer, beds, etc). So tonight will be another late one.

Tomorrow is also the shower doors... can't wait to take a shower in our new place (but that's at least 48 hours away...).

Will blog again when I get a chance... (don't forget to check out the pics)...

Merry Christmas and to All (but one) a Good Night

Christmas night... and as I listen to Sirius' E Street Radio play a Christmas concert from '03 (Southside Johnny making a killer transition from "People Get Ready" to Bruce [and Sam Moore] doing "My City of Ruins"... chill-inducing), while Lisa and the boys pack some more (I moved what had already been packed into the back of the Pilot and have been given dispensation to key in this entry), I'll give a really Readers' Digest version of yesterday (and today)... so cue the be-pop jazz background to my free verse:

Early morning head to the house
To wait for Verizon
No one's there until the shingle guy
So I set out to prep the electronic box in the closet
[but it's been sealed up with caulk... idiots]
Then the sprinkler guy shows
and I open the exterior phone box
Then Josef and Jose arrive
and I putz around looking for stuff to do
[the label maker I brought has run out of tape...
and I'm too nervous or well-prepared to look over the notes
for the day's later meeting with lord voldemort]

A call to Josef from he-who-must-not-be-named
Fire inspection will be @ 11
and he will be there... joy
Jason had wanted to be there,
but he would have to leave early
even to get there @ 2,
so I text him to tell him
about the deck contract issue and the change in time
J tells me to remember the gaps under doors
and "reasonable care"
a legal term for contractors
A Thank You and I'm off.

I tell Lisa of his impending arrival,
and tell her I'll call when he gets here...
[she tells me that the shower door guys will be here Friday...
and that Steve the City inspector is out til 08... great...
and that Reed's the furniture guys won't return her call... joy]
Then tell Josef of some items around the house that need fixing:
little things, things he passes on to Jose
[I hate the subservient way Jose (must feel he) must act
toward Josef and the dark lord]
I include the door gaps... and out comes more caulk
[I had hoped for actual repairs but feared duct tape
so I guess I should be happy]

And then he shows up [I call Lisa]... he seems almost angry,
definitely not his velvet usual demeanor.
Wants to talk privately first and pulls me over to his Caddy
[I'm paying for his next one]
He asks if I received his response... I say yes and
apologize for the deck issue [but mention that my recollection
is that the mentioned non-work-item was the kitchen deck,
not the deck in question,
but as it's not clear, it's my bad, and thus my apology].
He said that he thought I was going to apologize
for yelling at himon the attic Monday.
I tell him I didn't yell, and we go round and round over that
finally agreeing to disagree
Then he does what he does best:
telling me that he met with his two (2!) lawyers all yesterday
and that there are two ways to end this
with compromise
or with a court fight that I will lose.
Tells me that he doesn't need my references
[gee, has he read this?]
Tell me that any judge would look at the end result
and throw out what I have to say

I listen
[don't know... may have even cracked a smile...
he's so transparently now the bully]
but say nothing, save that I don't want to fight either
but that I'm not afraid of one either

And Lisa arrives.
And the velvet glove comes on.
And I know I did smile then.
[motherfucking
bully
slick
bastard]

He is insulted maybe even hurt by our accusation
that he took advantage of us
We counter with industry standard
of the 10-15% final payment.
He says that he's legal.

[ah, yes... when a guy dodges
questions of ethical impropriety
with "I am within the law"
there can be no doubt
lying
sack
of
shit]

We go inside and talk over issues:
He's willing to give us $$$ for materials for the stair rail
(then we can call Frank and pay him 200 to install)
at this I balk, and installation is included.
The roof will be replaced
(as the spray thing they've started isn't working).
The gutters will go up next week...
he says this like it's a favor to us
[FUCK HIM]
but I smile and say good.
The nook and the desks are out of the question:
he doesn't do finish... that's not his area of expertise... and
this is where he begins laying his groundwork
for his kitchen defense:
any cabinetry would have to be prefab
(something he says he said in July...
something I don't remember...
but Lisa thinks that "might" have happened).
He also says that he brought us a second bid
after the first was too high.
That didn't happen... lying sack of shit.
So he asks me if there is anything else that is bothering me.
Lisa mentions that it's the deviation from the plans that gets to me.
I concur... the plans call for east windows
(he says the plans were poorly done... not what he's said before)
the plans call for enlarged windows
(he says nothing)
the plans call for nooks and desks
(he doesn't do finish... and we wouldn't like it if he did...
haha, funny fuckin' guy that fr-- voldemort)
and this -- I tap the granite bar -- this really bugs me
(What do you mean, this is beautiful)
beautiful, yes, and so straight...
IT'S CURVED IN THE PLANS
LOOK IN THE PLANS, IT'S CURVED
(silence, wonderful, stony, oh fuck, silence)
(blink)
I wait.
(My mistake. Do you want me to replace it? I'll replace it)
Lisa says not to waste such a great piece of granite.
I don't want the fucker in my life any longer that I have to:
No, I don't want it replaced
I just wanted you to admit it, fucker, and you did...
[thought bubble that stays in my head]

And that was about it: repairs will be made
(the porch and shingles), gutters put up,
payments for rails,
clean-up, and Jose's help Wed-Sun.

And a roar is heard, as the fire sprinkler test goes off.
And we pass
(save for the replacement of two sprinkler heads in the garage).
After the City follow up inspection
[garage wall issues, water line inspection, gas reconnection]
we're home free.

lord voldemort tells us we can move in and leave
[I hope our lives for good]

Then Verizon shows up
seems like coastline had shingled over the access points
for phone and cable
VerizonGuy was cool... secured it to the eave and
let it dangle to the tele-box
so Cain can do his invisible magic
when he gets back from Mexico
[Incredible]
And for the time being no real phone service... great...

and today we started the move in earnest
(after the boys opened gifts and left with the grandmas for
National Treasure)
and tomorrow it will continue

And so it goes. Was anything truly accomplished? Not really. Did we get anything? Not really. But we both feel somewhat relieved. Who knows why... maybe because we can now move into the house.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) Jose begins his time with us: we'll put him to use moving out of the POD (since it gets picked up Thursday). Thursday, the cable guys show (and network us up... need to get the wired router tomorrow... note to self) and so do the carpet guys; also the POD gets picked up... I figure Jose will concentrate on putting stuff together: master closet structure, master bed entertainment center, master bed, dad's closet stuff. Friday, the shower doors will be installed, and the movers will move dad's stuff and our big stuff... and we can really move stuff in. I'm thinking Friday/Saturday will be Jose's day to build in a quick-n-dirty, scaled-down version the desk built-ins for the boys. Hopefully, the furniture will get delivered on Friday or Saturday. We hope to spend Friday night in the house, do the final walk-through of the condo on Saturday, and be done with all this... and take showers for the first time on Sunday.

Probably won't blog for a few days... no time, and might not have much web access for a couple of days (if the phone problems are symptomatic of what we'll see on the cable end... sigh

late!

Longer Day

Did some work on the house: some closet stuff, demo'ing the storage in the garage with Jason's help, and putting organizing our stuff in the garage.

He-who-must-not-be-named came around when I was trying to get stuff out of the POD (which had some door problems), so I really wasn't in the mood to talk. I gave him the letter, but he wanted to talk. I told him to read the letter and we'd talk tomorrow. He pushed the point, saying Frank had said something about the deck. I said yes, that it was in the plan. He came back with that he knew the "truth" about the deck and so did Lisa and that it was never included. I said we'd discuss it tomorrow, and left him there.

Late tonight, I checked email, found a jpg scan of the contract with "Work not to be done: ground deck"... so damn. How did we miss that? I do remember us talking about removing the KITCHEN deck from the table, but not the deck between the dining room and the master bedroom. But I guess not. Should have gotten that clarified. My bad. So I'll have to apologize about that. A bit chagrined about that one.

Here's his letter and my questions/issues:

12/23/2007

Re: Construction of Residence

Dear Bill and Lisa:

This refers to your letter to me dated December 23, 2007.

First, I want to thank you for providing Coastline the opportunity to build your new residence. I am pleased to see that you found the house to be beautiful and that you were satisfied with the care, workmanship and extras provided. However, I was disappointed that you found nd that the house does not look like the house you dreamed of. The house was built according to the blue prints, which you provided, except for the changes that you specifically requested.

At the outset, I want to impress upon you that it is our intention to take care of your legitimate complaints so that you will be a satisfied customer.

You will recall that when we started on the project, you advised me that you have a low budget. Consequently, we reduced the original price by approximately $25,000.

During the course of the construction you requested various change orders that were not part of the plans. For example: Install an access door to the garage; remove the door from the bathroom and install a window instead; change location of the data outlets; built a sofit for the air conditioner; and install tube lights [WHICH WE PAID FOR]. The original request for floor covering was laminate floor and we installed ½ inch solid hardwood floor [HARDWOOD'S IN THE CONTRACT] without any charge. I estimate that this is approximately $15,000 [GEE, LAST WEEK IT WAS $13K to LISA] that we never charged for.

[AND WHAT ABOUT THE KITCHEN AND MASTER BEDROOM DOORS WE PAID FOR? WHAT ABOUT THE MONEY HE SAVED BY NOT INSTALLING THE STAIRWAY EAST WINDOW AND THE MASTER BATHROOM EAST WINDOW, AND NOT ENLARGING THE BATHROOM AND GARAGE WINDOWS?]

I disagree with some of the statements in your letter. For example, you suggest that I implied that the contract bid was all inclusive. This is incorrect. If everything was inclusive, then why did you sign off on certain items that were not included? [I SIGNED OFF AND AGREED TO THE OWNER RESPONSIBILITES THAT WERE OUTLINED, NOT TO SOME VAGUE TO-BE-DETERMINED LIST THAT CONTINUED TO GROW]

I also take issue with your statement that I repeatedly made light of your concerns or ignored them completely. I pride myself with acting professionally and go to lengths to avoid any misunderstandings. If there was a pattern of making light of or ignoring your concerns, then why did you not bring that to my attention earlier? [WE FELT THAT WE WERE PUT OVER A BARREL IN OUR DESIRE TO BE IN OUR HOUSE BY THE END OF THE YEAR.] Instead of "biting your tongue," you had an obligation to bring anything to my attention that you disagreed with. I specifically requested that when you signed the contract.

Concerning the railing, while the contract does not mention that it is included, in an effort to satisfy you, I am prepared to refund the amount of the wood-railing in an amount of $2,500,00 - the price according to Lisa.

Concerning the schedule of payments, I disagree that Coastline took advantage. This was a negotiated agreement and most of the payments were only to be made on completion. Further, Lisa thanked me on several occasions for the liberal and convenient payment schedule as she was able to invest the money in CD's.

[BULL-FUCKING-SHIT. 10-15% OF THE TOTAL CONTRACT IS THE INDUSTRY STANDARD TO BE HELD BACK UNTIL THE COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT TO SATISFACTION]

Overall, I agree with you that the house looks beautiful. From my understanding, the only outstanding issue is the wood railing. As you know, we completed the project before the scheduled completion date.

The job is now completed. However, in an attempt to satisfy you, we will replace the painted sections of the roof and add gutters, clean the tile in the front and provide workers to assist you in moving in. I trust that this is agreeable to you

Very truly yours,

FT

OK, so he's somewhat conciliatory about the rail. Good. Tomorrow will be interesting. I still want to discuss the desk built-ins, the nook, the kitchen cabinetry overhangs. I don't feel as good about it, but I just want this over.

I'll be there much of the day, waiting for the phone guys, and maybe moving some stuff in.

I hate all of this, and just want it over.

Long Day

It's been a long day. But a good one, since most of it was remodel-free. After I returned from taking measurements for curtains (a stop-gap measure until we can afford the shutters Lisa really wants) and taking pictures (far too many to display here... a kind of snapshot of where we are now, pre-move... so check out the photo viewer ferchrissakes!), Lisa started a revision of the letter for he-who-must-not-be-named... one that I'll have on me tomorrow when Dad and I work on the closets in the boys' rooms... in case HE shows up... I can just hand him the letter and say, "We'll talk about all this tomorrow, but here's where we are coming from...". I uploaded the pics to the site, and we went to spend the rest of the day at Dad's for his birthday. We watched a UCLA basketball game (victory of course) and our bowl game (heartbreaker, as is the whole concept of Bruin Football anyway). No real news of the house, save for the delivery of the POD (which we will begin to toy with tomorrow). Nothing else seemed to happen... I cruised by the house to check on the POD around 2pm, and no one was there working on the trench/pipe/water supply... I'm a little concerned that all that stuff is out in the open with now no fence... but IT AIN'T MY RESPONSIBILITY, natch.

And with that, check out the photos, and good night now.

Too Much Time on My Hands

Lisa here.

So, this morning, while Bill was taking pictures and measuring windows, I decided to call my friend's husband who is a general contractor and just ask a few questions. Like, should we pay for the paint? What exactly does "as per blue prints" mean? After just a few minutes, he said, "Now I'm getting mad." He says we need to talk to the Better Business Bureau, talk to the city building inspector and hire a lawyer.

He's concerned about the decks. He says that if they are a part of the blueprints (which they are), then they should be part of the bid and the job. Also, the contract says, "build new stairway as per blue prints requirements," and the blueprints include a wood railing. He also said we should not have paid the paint and reiterated once again that we should have held back 10% of payment until completion. Actually, I think that's the part that angered him most as he said requiring full payment was unethical and possible illegal.

I told him my concerns about talking to the building inspector, that we would have to delay our move even longer. He said as long as everything is safe (I think it is), that we can obtain a something of occupancy while the final is pending. He also said that we need to be there at the final to ask the inspector about the deck.

After I got of the phone with my friend's very nice husband, I decided it was time to make a call. It's Saturday, so I had to leave a voice mail but I called the building inspector and told him that we had some concerns regarding things in the plans left undone. Hopefully, he returns our call Monday morning before he does any more inspections. If not, we will call him.

I also made banana muffins from scratch and have laundry going. All before nine o'clock. I love not having to go to work (though I love my job).

Hades

We can't get out of the shower door contract... they have--technically--until January 3 to install doors. Of course, when Lisa spoke to them today, they said they couldn't even schedule the appointment until after the New Year... so I guess they'll call on the 2nd and say, "hey, we'll be there tomorrow"... She also got the impression that the doors won't even be manufactured until the New Year... so the 3rd looks really optimistic. And if they can't live up to their end of the contract, I guess we're allowed to be disappointed. Joy.

Lisa got a call from Dana, telling us that final inspections have been scheduled.

wait for it

wait for it

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for





it






Wednesday, December 26. Lisa voiced her disappointment... but beyond that what recourse do we have? Nahmuch. And of course it wasn't HIM who called... the guy who on November 11 told Lisa and me "three weeks"... and when I left the room told Lisa "two weeks." ... the guy who on December 4 told both of us "two weeks... three if we get lazy"...

horseshit... or should I say

chickenshit

Lisa's pretty much devastated. We're scrambling to make the best use of our time between now and Wednesday. Lisa's calling Carpeteria to try to reschedule for Thursday (though Norm the manager said that they had no slots available Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun [which also means that we're screwed through New Years and into '08).

-------------------------------

Just talked to dad, prepping for a session Sunday to install some closet stuff. Tomorrow, we're just going to chill at his place, watch basketball and football and celebrate his birthday. In the midst of the call, HE called. I put him off, telling him I'd call him back. After dad, I called Lisa... wanted to see if she wanted me to call him or if she'd rather. She's so bummed, she actually wants me to. In the midst of THAT call, Carpeteria called: we're on for Thursday. And after that, he called back.

He outlined what was going on: We failed the fire inspection yesterday: not enough pressure. So they installed a 1.5" line from the valve to the house. [of course, all of this begs one MAJOR point of contention: back in September we were told that it doesn't matter what any ONE portion of the line from main to house is (main-to-valve, valve, valve-to-house)... they all have to be the same, otherwise it acts as a bottleneck... so I'm concerned that it doesn't matter that the valve-to-house is now 1.5... if the valve and the main-to-house is just 1.0, then we're still gonna be screwed... but I guess we won't know that until Wednesday... dear santa: can you pleez change the laws of fysics? i wuz a good boy this yeeer... billy]

He-who-must-not-be-named continues his litany: There are now temp stairs in the back. The exterior water outlets all have spigots. The garage door was approved... it just needs to be a firedoor. They bought a new one, but it doesn't open the right way, so they need to replace it. Wonderful competency there, eh, boys? So everything has passed inspection: Wednesday will bring a final Final inspection with both David from Fire and Steve from the City, and they'll go over the water pressure issue. So he says that we can move in after Wednesday. I tell him that we'll be moving in some stuff (not our bodies) over the weekend. He doesn't try to dissuade me, he only mutters, "uh okay."

I ask about the skylight (you know, the one he hadn't ordered by November 12... the one that on November 26 said "should be in this week"... the one that on December 3 he said would be in that day... ); he said it was ordered and paid for and that he's check it Monday.

He mentioned that he's be at the house both Sunday and Monday mornings. Whatever. He said that he also wanted to have a sit-down with Lisa and me after the final inspection.

Whatever. The end of the conversation was quick and without pleasantries (and certainly no apologies or commiseration). I just wanted to get off the phone without getting angry.

----------------------------------

so while keying in all the above:

He calls back again. "Everything is OK"... they're attempting to get the inspections done before Wednesday. I say that's going to be difficult as this is Friday afternoon (after 3), and Monday and Tuesday are holidays. He said that Steve's still in his office and Frank is trying to track down David. Great. His guys are returning the door as we spoke and they hope to have it replaced by the end of the day. And the skylight is here... he says the delays are because it was a custom size (both Lisa and I are pretty sure that Dave the architect made sure that this was one of the few "standard" sized items in the plan... but like he-who-must-not-be-named has ever followed the fucking plans before this). Whatever. But now, suddenly, he's concerned with the water pressure... he said the fire guy had said that there wasn't enough coming from the city. I told him that I had gone over this with the City guy in September and that he had coordinated with both the fire sprinkler designer and the Fire guys over the necessary size. lord voldemort said that it shouldn't be an issue for me to worry about, that the Fire guys and the City would work it out. Easy for HIM to say... he didn't shell out 6.8K in October for a twenty-foot stretch of street cutting.

So he thinks that they'll be done today; and he makes much to do about being two months ahead of schedule.

There are only, he says, two things left:

1. The cabinet guy will be in late next week to do the final touches and clean-up on the kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
2. He "hear(s) from Dana and some of the guys at the site" that Lisa and I are "angry" or "unhappy"... and he wants to meet on Monday to "clear this all up" because he "doesn't want to end the job with any hard feelings." What time works for me? Since he said in the earlier call that he'd be there Monday morning, I offer 10am as a suggestion. He doesn't want to meet in the morning... can we meet in the afternoon? Is this fucker on drugs? Seriously. I've been hitting Percocet and Vicodin over the course of last couple of weeks, and I know what it can do to one's concentration. OK, then So how about 2pm? "How about between 2 and 3?" ... Good god... whatever.
   

So that's when the sit-down will take place. Dad wants to be there, but I told him I want him there only as a silent witness. At least this gives me an opportunity to be at the house on Sunday and not have to talk to he-who-must-not-be-named if he shows up... I can just tell him that I'm busy and we'll discuss all this stuff at the sit-down on Monday.

Let's see if they can get the inspections done in the next hour and ten minutes. Given the short amount of time and my forty-four year-old's shortened lung capacity, I'm not holding my breath.

Hell

Today was supposed to be a day of escape and preparation: the one year memorial for Mom. I was hoping to maybe send Lisa and the boys home and for me to hang with Dad. But it was not to be:

9:15--Josef calls to verify location for the house numbers... he wants to put it on the wood. I pass him off to Lisa, who says: sure, put it there and we'll check it and if we don't like it, then we'll switch it.

9:30--Carpeteria calls. Again. The supplier doesn't have this carpet, either... even after I explicitly asked last night if the supplier had enough for our job. I let Lisa take over the call... as I talk to Dad in the next room, I hear her say, "We're not the ones who screwed up..." Go, baby, go. He says there's another option. Lisa says we'll cruise by after 11.

9:55--At the harbor, waiting to board the boat, I miss a call, only the catch the voicemail. Shower door guys: no installation tomorrow... they haven't even made the doors yet. What the fuck? They called me last Friday to schedule tomorrow's appointment. I immediately call them back. And sure enough, no doors made... they'll make them next week (late) and deliver/install around January 3 (or "next year" as the ever-so-[sarcasm alert]-helpful guy on the phone said.) "Oh, No, " I said and was about to lose it when Lisa took the phone away from me. Lisa said that she wanted to cancel the order (because the guy pissed HER off so much), but he said we'd have to do that with the HomeDepot store. Great.

The memorial went very nicely. Cried a lot. Held both my father and son (Kyle... Lisa held Jack) as we all cried.

After we went to Carpeteria. Round three. I told the guy I was in no mood to mess around today (and told him the circumstances)... they'll install the pad tomorrow morning and the carpet after it arrives tomorrow afternoon... it should be in by dark. Not that I am counting on anything.

After lunch, Dana called to tell us the preliminary inspection went well (they're going to let us keep the garage door... only we need a firedoor... he-who-must-not-be-named said he'll pick one up and we'll reimburse him for it... RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT. Not going to happen, my not-friend). She said that there's a couple of "little items" to be fixed (we're assuming skylight, plus???)... final inspection might be tomorrow... with more fixes Saturday? Lisa told her that we'd move around them. Dana said that we would be cleared to move in on Tuesday. Christmas? Huh? Lisa told her that we'd be moving stuff (not our bodies) in on Saturday and that we'd move around them. Lisa told Dana about the shower door issue (as the final inspection includes those)... they can "note" the shower doors and inspect them later... but Dana said she'd check into the "their" shower door guy. She called back in mere minutes with the number and the OK from lord voldemort to move stuff in on Saturday.

Kiss my ass, mofo. Anyway...

Then we dropped off Dad and took the boys to the Condo (to drop them off to play video games) and pick up the HomeDepot receipt. Lisa called HomeDepot, and is on hold as I type this in... before leaving again to check on the house (placement of the house numbers) and then go looking for shower door replacements.

Yeah, this day has turned out exactly as planned or wanted.

[sarcasm alert]

---------------

UPDATE:
Late night.

We went to the house to check out the numbers (there were on the wall below the stairwell window as we had envisioned)... looked good. What didn't look so good was: the front yard all dug up. They were putting in the expanded water line for the fire sprinklers (like we caused lord voldemort weeks ago). Oh, well. Frank is there as well.

We ask about the water: we failed the water pressure inspection. And there was a leak upstairs in Kyle's room (sure enough, you could see where the water fell). But even though it's been cleaned up, there's obvious concern in Josef. When we ask about tomorrow's carpet installation, he breaks bad news to us: We shouldn't install until the inspections are done and they've had a successful test of the sprinkler system... until then, we run the risk of ruining the new carpet. So we ask when that will be (because this will mean we'll have to eat crow with Carpeteria and delay the installation)... they hope to have the pipe done late today or early tomorrow. Then the city has to approve the line, then the fire guy has to run the test and approve it, then the city can complete final inspection. Frank doesn't think it can all happen tomorrow. If it does, then we can install on Saturday. If not... well, then inspections couldn't take place this week... and Monday is Christmas Eve and a city/county day off... which means Wednesday would be the earliest for inspections and Thursday the earliest for carpet installation. Great.

Frank reiterates the need for a fire door for the garage, and wonders if we can pick it up or at least order it. I bite my tongue, but Lisa jumps in and says that Dana told Lisa that Coastline would pick it up and we would reimburse them... but even that would need to be a matter of discussion. OK.....

Frank then asks about the landings/deck for the area between the dining room and the master bedroom. The inspector won't sign off without some kind of step. Lisa's on a roll: she says it's in the plan. Yeah, Frank says it was... like why wasn't it built? We let that hang in the air. Frank mentions again that something needs to be done. We sit in stony silence.

I chime in... since we were talking about stuff in the plans... what about rain gutters? Frank's turn to go silent.

It's not going well, and so the meeting just kind of peters out. Lisa makes a call to Carpeteria to say that Saturday's a possibility, but not Friday... we agree to let them know by 3 tomorrow if Saturday's a go... if not, then it looks like Thursday for installation.

Fuck.

So we head over to HomeDepot to discuss the whole shower door debacle (it doesn't look good, since Lisa found on the contract that they technically have until January 3 to install the doors... or else what? we get to be angry? who the fuck knows?). So we go to HD and of course the woman in charge of such things is already gone for the day... so we shop for closet stuff for the linen closet and garage storage stuff... and nearly (another) four hundy later, we leave.

We pick up Dad, and bring him home for dinner. And that really was the highlight of the day.

When I woke up this morning, I was hoping for some kind of cathartic release in my mourning for mom. And I thought tomorrow would bring installations of both shower doors and carpeting. Now I'm exhausted and expect only to work tomorrow. And hopefully tear down the existing cabinets in the garage over the weekend, and maybe hang some closet stuff myself before Christmas.

We're now thinking Dad will move in Thursday, regardless of our status. We may move in Friday or Saturday, and even if carpeting and furniture doesn't allow for the boys to sleep in their rooms until the New Year, at least we'll be in our home next weekend.

That is, if we don't have too many more rollercoaster days like today.

Distracted

Trying to work. Trying to make calls, re: the house.

But I'm distracted. Tomorrow's the day, and all I want to do is curl up in a ball, pull the shades, and sit tight.

Made some Lowe's returns today, and picked up some wall hangers, and delivered them to the house... a mailbox, too. I'll take over the numbers later.

Chest is still tight, but not nearly as bad as last night. I'm hoping day after tomorrow it'll magically disappear.
----------------------
UPDATE:
making calls:

Verizon... on hold FOREVER... freaking voice-activated phone tree... hate those... 5 minutes of yes-no-numbers and finally a person, and then 20min on the phone with her to get service... hook-up next Monday, sometime between 8-5

Carpeteria... our carpet is not yet out of production yet... Jan 4 install date... with other possible choices, next Saturday is a possibility... we need to talk to those guys...

now I sit with the speaker-phone on waiting for Lisa to pick up her classroom phone (she's supposed to be on her way from the office to her class [after class]), but I'm in my 5th minute of waiting...

this is not helping my chest or my attitude...
---------------------
UPDATE 2:
Lisa and I will have to trek out to Carpeteria this afternoon/evening.

Time/Worthless will be out next Thursday (the 27th) between 10am and noon.

Waiting to call Reeds for furniture delivery until we know more about the carpeting debacle...
------------------------
UPDATE the last:
Night: we went to Carpeteria... we're getting a replacement (higher grade, better padding, $100 off for our troubles) installed either late Friday afternoon or early Saturday morning.

We went past the house. They've removed the paper from the floors, so while it's beautiful, it's prone to scratches. The mirrors, vanities, and hooks are all up, and looking good. The air conditioner condensor is installed outside the west wall (and it's huge). The fence is gone. The cement chunks are gone from the driveway. The fire sprinkler covers are up. There's a black iron railing on the front porch and up on the second story deck (and it doesn't look as ugly as I feared, as it "kinda" matches the exterior lights).

The only things missing now are the skylight, the interior stair rail, the roof shingle cleanup, the porch tile cleanup, and water. Yep, for some reason, the water has been turned off (and there's a huge puddle near the water hookup on the west side of the house)... I'm figuring it has something to do with the fire sprinklers... but who knows.

After the commemorative harbor cruise tomorrow, I'll return to the scene to find out about the water and the rest of the stuff (I'm thinking we're nearing the inspection, as the blueprints and the inspection card were on the kitchen counter)... and to take some pics... but that's tomorrow.

Logistics

Stopped by the house today to go over placement of bars, etc. with Josef. That went easily enough. He "thinks" they'll be able to get the concrete off the driveway (they brought a jackhammer...). He "hopes" they'll be able to get the paint off the porch. He's "trying to figure out a way" to fix the painted shingles. He doesn't know anything about an ETA for the skylight... or the rails. Joy.

He called just a few minutes ago to update me: we bought two side medicine cabinets for the master bath... but they open the same direction... that's a problem, that I'll need to address. Damn... that probably means another trip out to Lowe's... of course, I have returns to make so that's not un-expected.

Unexpected was hearing the guy from Carpeteria tell me last night that the carpet was in transit, but he didn't have an ETA... sigh... looks like it'll be more like the 20th than the 18th (which is today)... damn.

We're reaching the point of no return on our return... I'm making calls to reconnect us to civilization. The POD will be delivered on Saturday the 22nd, with pick up on Thursday the 27th... that should give us enough time to pull stuff out of it (it only took us one day to fill it). And I'm about to call Verizon to hook us back up via telephone, and Time Worthless for television and internet (yes, I know... but as it turned out, the house doesn't seem ready for satellite--and since Cain and Sergio will be out of town over the break when we would have it installed... they said they'd help with the guiding of wires so it was exterior or (worse) ugly--it looks like cable it is) .

I'd make those calls... but right now I'm having chest pains.
-----------------
UPDATE: that was bad. I was hospitalized two years ago for chest pains... they couldn't find a definitive cause, ended up calling it esophageal spasms... the chiro I've been seeing thinks it might have been an alignment issue... hell, he might be right. All I know is that I had sublingual meds that helped whenever I had the chest tightening (used them during the design process and bidding process)... but I can't find them. The pains have subsided somewhat, but if they don't go away completely, I'll hit a vike with dinner... and we'll see how it goes.
-----------------
Just made calls to the pharmacy and the doctor to get a new prescription. It doesn't hurt as bad now (at least I can breathe), but it's still bad enough for a vike (which I won't take until dinner... I remember what happened last time, and no one needs to see Jack's daddy vomit during the Christmas presentation.

Acceleration toward the One Looming Thing

He-who-must-not-be-named called in the midst of baking cookies with Jack (as Kyle crashed on the bed)... I figured I needed to take the call as Lisa was in a meeting and I didn't want her disturbed again.

He needs me to go over the location of bathroom bars with Josef tomorrow morning. Then he began the litany of things that were done: all of upstairs (bathroom fixtures, toilet, showers, all tested); kitchen appliances installed, tested and working; water heater tested and working; stucco repaired. I let him go on, punctuated with as many quasi-enthusiastic "great" or "good" as I could muster. At the end of his list, he detailed the clean-up, and said that the only thing that remained were the rails, which will take place Wednesday... (it'll be really interesting Friday morning then... today a stair company returned my call from the weekend, and scheduled an estimate visit Friday morning).

I asked about the skylight, roof shingles and fire sprinkler supply lines... oh, yeah... those... those still need to be done. When I asked about the skylight, and its disappearance--since he has said three weeks ago that it was in and now it's not--he continued on his Sgt. Schultz routine of "I know nothing."... or in this case, "I don't understand it, either." Whatever. I reminded him about the roof shingles and his promise of three weeks ago that it would be "taken care of."... and he said that it would. Like I have so much faith in his word now. The fire sprinkler guy is supposed to be there either tomorrow or Thursday.

He-who-must-not-be-named then said that the final inspection will take place on Wednesday, or Friday at the latest.

I'd laugh, but that would be rude. There's no fucking WAY inspection will take place (or rather pass) Wednesday, without a check of the fire sprinklers (if the guy shows Thursday), or the installation of upstairs exterior deck rails or the stair rails... and I would think the lack of a skylight would be problematic as well... but maybe the whole inspection thing is just a rubber-stamp (though I'm dying to see what happens with the garaged/laundry door thing).

Anyway, I digress. He then says he'll be out of the state for the next three days and will return Thursday night and will be at the worksite Friday morning (making that stair estimate even MORE fun)... the shower door guys will be there, too. So it should shape up to be a heck of a week... we'll see how it turns out.

Maybe all this HECK-tic-ness will distract me from the one looming thing: Thursday is the one-year anniversary of mom's passing. I'm already a little funky (I'm pretty convinced that my illness of the weekend and today--I didn't get out of bed until 9 this morning--is at least partly due to the fact that it's pretty typical for my to physically manifest emotional stress). So may be all of this will be a euphoric and ecstatic diversion from the event that was the impetus for us to start this whole endeavor in the first place.

And maybe monkeys will fly out of my ass.

Fear and Self-Loathing in Port Hueneme

Here's the letter:

Fred,

As we enter the last week (or so) of pre-move-in construction, we feel that we must communicate with you what we are feeling.

The house looks beautiful, there's no doubt about that. The colors, the materials, the workmanship, the lighting. All of these things are everything we could hope for.

Yet while our house is truly beautiful, it doesn't quite look like the house we've dreamed of, the house we spent six months designing on paper.

At the beginning of the construction process, when you presented your bid, it was in a lump sum. When we asked for a line-by-line breakout of the budget, you said that it wasn't necessary and that it would take time. Your statement to both of us when we signed the contract was that if it was in the plans, and as long as it was not one of the contract's explicitly stated owner opportunities (front doors, sinks, faucets, appliances, shower door, toilets, vanities, granite slabs, tile, exterior light fixtures, kitchen cabinet knobs, or closet shelves/hangers), then it was included in the contract and thus included in your budget. Lisa asked you at the time if the contracted amount included everything in the plan, asking specifically about the wood stair rail. You replied, "Is it in the plans?", implying that you stood by your statement that the contract bid was all-inclusive (excluding, of course, the contract's owner responsibilities).

And yet throughout this process, you have used your budget as the reason why items have been reduced in scope in the construction (for example, the kitchen island overhanging cabinetry), reduced in materials (the stair rail), or left out of the construction completely (windows, deck, breakfast nook booth). And when we have raised our concerns over these issues, you have repeatedly made light of our concerns or ignored them completely. Your bid was supposed to cover all of the design, and yet it has not (by your own admission). How this failure could be our fault, our responsibility, or our problem, is beyond our comprehension. We are confused as to why our home is less than designed when your bid was based on the designs and blueprints.

We took you at your word at the beginning of this process that you knew our designs well and that you would be able to realize them. Lisa asked you twice on that contract signing day to go over the plans, page by page. But you refused, saying you "knew the plans like the back of (your) hand." But this has not been the case, if the results are any indication. We have had to repeatedly remind you of items in the plan throughout this process. You have responded most often with casual responses of "Oh, was that in the plan?" and sometimes the items ended up resolved (like the front yard planter demolition and alarm box, but only after repeated discussions and reminders), and sometimes completely ignored (the deck between the master bedroom and the dining room as well as the kitchen island bar... if you review the plans, you will see that the bar was designed to be curved, not straight as it was built).

But with many of these issues, whether it was reducing of the job in materials or scope, or ignoring the plans to begin with, we have held our peace and bit our tongues, attempting to just get through this and get back into our home. And now as that day approaches, we find that we will be entering a house that, while beautiful, is NOT the home of our dreams and of our design.

This is very disappointing.

This was our first contractor experience (and we hope our last). Had we known, either from our own experience or from others who have since been shocked to learn about our payment schedule, we would have never agreed to a payment schedule that did not hold back the industry-standard TEN PERCENT of fees for the final payment. So we are now feeling not only disappointed and unsatisfied, but also as if you may have taken advantage of us and our lack of experience from the start.

You have said time and time again that you want our home to be a showcase for potential customers. I would hope, then, that you would want those customers to come away from any discussions with us with a good feeling about employing Coastline on their projects. So please tell us what you can do to bring this process to a conclusion that is satisfying, one that would allow us to give only a glowing review of you and Coastline, one that would not force us to attempt to achieve satisfaction through other avenues.

Thank you,

Bill and Lisa

Yep, that's the letter.

The letter we're NOT sending tonight.

Why, you, the gentle reader may ask?

The answer is simple: we're afraid. Afraid he'll pull whatever skeleton cleanup crew he has scheduled for this week. Afraid he'll drag his feet in installing the rails and skylight. Afraid he'll put off even getting the inspection (that I still personally feel will fail) until after the holidays.

In other words, I'm pussy-ing out. Until we get the go-ahead for the inspection. And I hate myself. Lisa says it's the smart thing to do. And I think cowards always pull that "discretion is the better part of valor" bullshit.

Jeez, I hate myself. And I hate this whole endeavor.

I'm just hoping I'll get the chance and the courage to send the letter later this week...

--------------------------

UPDATE:
watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition... and the joy on the family's faces as they enter their house... isn't this the way it supposed to be... Six months ago, I thought these moments would be filled with a euphoria and an ecstasy... instead, all I feel is fatigue.

Calls and First Steps

Composed a long letter to he-who-must-not-be-named on Friday, outlining our concerns and disappointment in as non-confrontational a way as possible (maybe I'll post it, maybe I won't). Lisa didn't want to send it off, however, until we talked to him about the wood rails. Friday night, she told me that in her conversation with him, he had said that the wood rail was too expensive (6K), and that he was already spending 2K on the iron... like that's our issue... whatever.

So Lisa after screwing up courage (and a little rehearsal) called him this morning (no answer... message... and a callback).

With my pulse racing to 120 (no lie), I listened to one side of the conversation... here are some selected snippets ... the ones I found interesting or seemingly of note ("" is her statements; [] her recollection of the conversation):

"We want to move in ... " (raising of eyebrow)
[he said this coming weekend "if it all works out well" ] ... don't know if he was hanging this over our heads or what

"or iron"
[he said that we hadn't discussed wood specifically... uh no... so "or iron" was Lisa's response was that we hadn't discussed iron either... he went back to his usual tack of "it's finish," and he doesn't pay for finish... "I don't cover that. That's extra."] How it could be is beyond me, since it was all outlined in the plans.

(at this point she mentioned that we've priced some stuff online, and he seemed surprised... "oh, what did you find?" then he didn't seem to listen to Lisa's response)

"how difficult would it be to switch it out later?"
[he said that it was easy, that it happens all the time]... good, voldemort... then it should be easy for you to replace in '08 when the BBB arbitrates all this...

"no, we want to move in as soon as possible"
[Lisa didn't have the impression that he was holding our move-in date hostage]

"so we can move in stuff before the final inspection?" followed by a HUGE EYEROLL
[he said that he planned to bring only the inspection card to the final inspection... conveniently leave the blueprints at the office... in hopes that the inspector will simply sign off] I find this to be grossly dishonest. And it leaves us in a moral quandary... we want back in our house, but...

"so the whole wall?"
[this referenced drywalling in the garage... and the answer is no... just around the door... if it stays.] after talking to Cain the electrician today, I'm thinking that it might not pass inspection because of lack of first floor attic access... but whatever.

"I know. We paid a lot of money. I know it's not free."
[he said that his budget has been suffering] not our problem [it's costing him a lot of money... even though "it's not a big job... not making a lot of money on this"...though he "wasn't complaining"... and when we sit down at the end to de-brief, we'll see that there's been over 13K of stuff he should have charged us for but didn't] again, how's his inefficiency in budgeting OUR problem?

no "thank you" at the end... attababy, no pleasantries for the bastard (who, she admits after the call, is "very good at distraction"... she said that at multiple times in the conversation she had to remind herself that they were moving away form the point she was trying to make... she's not ready to call him a lying sack of shit yet...).

[side note: Cain took me around the house today to show me stuff, and told me that he-who-must-not-be-named balked at his list of materials saying that it was too much stuff... but Cain stood his ground and told him to look at the plans... and he relented... but Cain warned me that Fred will attempt to use statements beyond the plans... yeah, don't we know it, brother. Cain also said that the wires outside the house were for the condenser for future expansion... uh, condenser... isn't that for the air conditioner? future expansion? isn't that already in? I thought we had leaky proof of the drainage for the air conditioner back in October (though it seems unblogged now)... and I though this was visual proof of water to feed the air conditioner. Lisa said if the air conditioner isn't installed and that it's just a heater up there, he's a lying sack of shit... ]

So Lisa feels better after debriefing with me (of course, she doesn't remember everything in the conversation... but she said want she wanted to say). She's glad I wasn't on the phone, so that there was no escalation of emotion. I'm glad I didn't have to talk to him. And this lays the groundwork for sending him the email... so we'll go over the letter and make revisions based upon today's conversation... then we send it off... and it can become part of our documentation of what's happened when we go forward with complaints to both the BBB and the CSLB.

So, where are we now? Hopefully a week (or two) away from moving in our stuff (and our bodies)... and mere hours away from firing the first volley in what I think will probably be a protracted struggle to get what we paid for.

Dates

HomeDepot's shower door subcontractor called today: shower doors will be installed a week from today: Friday, December 21, first thing in the morning... 8:00am

So I emailed Coastline asking if the shower tile had been sealed since the shower doors.

Both Dana and lord voldemort called... I blew off the calls. No voicemail. A while later, I got an email from Dana:

I just left you massage on your cell phone.
XXX said the showers are sealed, and they can install the doors.
either way they will put anouther coast of seal by the end of next week.

Good to know.

He just called, and in a moment of lightheadedness (as I fight a head cold... damn standing outside in the cold for four plus hours), I answered.

He gave a status update: bathrooms all completely done and tested; kitchen done but not tested; hood finally installed (though they had to take down a cabinet and dig into the wall to do it... I'll need to check on this). He fervently told us to be careful with the hardwood floor (no kids, no outside visitors) for the next few days. Cleanup started today and will continue through next week. He believes we will be able to move in either next Friday or the following Monday (I'm assuming that the inspection is what lays between then and now). As I don't and didn't want to carry on any more than a perfunctory conversation with this guy, I answered with "great"s and "wonderful"s... so no questions about skylights, roof shingles, porch tiles or stair rails. He ended with what sounded like a half-hearted apology. Non-committal "no problem" from me... if he was expecting a returned apology, a hug and a "Kumbayah"... he must have been sorely disappointed. Wishes of "good weekend"s were exchanged, and then he said he'd talk to me Monday.

I'm all tingly. Whatever.

I've worked up a letter to send him over the course of the weekend. I want Lisa to look it over... it's basically a rewording and expansion of Lisa's letter from the other night. And the first salvo in what I believe will be a pitched battle for satisfaction at the end of this ordeal.

----------------
UPDATE:

Cruised by the house before dinner with the family... the appliances are now in position:


Dreaming of cooking:

and entertaining...




As I go outside to check the hood vent, I notice they've worked on building the kitchen steps:

and find that the "hole" under the boys' bath is actually the hidden exhaust vent...

pretty slick.

Looks like they've replacement fixtures for Dad's bathroom

(not the same ones, but close enough... I guess)

And they've installed the dryer lint vent finally

and piped the tube through the water heater area

and out into the front (where we think it'll get more attention...)


The master bathroom looks good

(supposedly it's sealed...)
and the vanity looks good, though bare...

we need to get a mirror and medicine cabinets... think I know what we'll be doing Sunday... spending MORE money

The attic access door has been installed


And the attic access attempt in the boys' rooms has been sealed over...


At dinner, Cain called me... he's at the house, so I rush over to open it up for him. He hasn't been paid for the rough electrical supplies... I tell him of the possible BBB and CSLB complaints and that if I submit the complaint and he hasn't been paid by then, I want to include that information in the complaint. He's all for that. We're keeping this finish work between us. (It's $200, but it's going to Cain, not to he-who-must-not-be-named... though I hate the idea of him getting away with it... I'll talk to Cain later and have him submit the receipts to Coastline, and if he gets paid, then he can reimburse me...)

A first rough pass at the BBB complaint (online form)

Complaint Summary (150 characters maximum)

Failure to follow contracted blueprints of home addition. Removal of plan specifications without owner approval. Disregard for owner complaints.

Describe your problem with Coastline DC, Inc. (1500 characters maximum)

Coastline claimed to know our plans "like the back of (his) hand;" his failure to follow those plans exhibits either gross negligence or malice. Issues include:

• Failure to enlarge two windows (garage and bathroom 2).
• Failure to install two windows (stairwell and master bath).
• Failure to install closet doors as per blueprint (linen/accordion; master closet/pocket).
• Failure to build kitchen island as designed (no overhanging cabinet structure; failure to install curved granite island bar).
• Failure to build kitchen nook booth.
• Failure to build upstairs bedroom desks (x2).
• Failure to create attic access for first floor roof.
• Failure to install wood stair rail as designed.
• Failure to replace shingles damaged by paint overspray of eaves.
• Failure to clean/repair porch damaged by paint overspray of eaves.
• Failure to build kitchen step landing as designed.
• Failure to build backyard deck between master bedroom and dining room as designed.
  

Coastline disregarded our attempts to discuss above matters, claiming budget issues on his part (despite his contracted bid's claim to cover the above items "per design" or "per spec" or "per blueprints"). None of above falls under the contracted OWNER responsibilities of: front doors, sinks, faucets, appliances, shower door, toilets, vanities, granite slabs, tile, exterior light fixtures, kitchen cabinet knobs, or closet shelves/hangers.

What would you like Coastline DC, Inc. to do? (500 characters maximum)

Go fuck themselves (just kidding).

Replace shingles so roof matches.
Replace porch tile.
Build kitchen landing & backyard deck as designed.
Replace interior iron stair rail with wood as designed.
Install CURVED granite island bar as designed.
Build breakfast nook booth & built-in upstairs bedroom desks as designed.
Owner forgives:

• loss of enlarged windows in garage & bathroom 2;
  
• missing windows in master bath & stairwell;
  
• kitchen island overhanging cabinetry;
  
• closet door issues & first floor attic access.

Tell us about the company’s product or service (70 characters maximum)

Coastline failed to satisfy owner expectations based on blueprints.

Needless to say this is a first draft... but it's enough to get my creative juices flowing...

Fear and Loathing in Port Hueneme

With apologies to the late great Hunter S. Thompson, as you can see from Lisa's first posting ever (below) and my postings of late, "Fear and Loathing" is what we're left with: Lisa's fear and my loathing.

If owning a home is truly the American Dream, then this truly is "A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream."

With apologies to the not late but still great Alice Cooper:

"Welcome to My Nightmare."

A nightmare of distrust and loathing.

As long as it doesn't turn out to be a Shakespearean tragedy of revenge, I think we'll be all right.

-----------

He (I'm not even going to use him name) just called. Given the gas shit, I took the call. He wanted to know what the outcome was from last night: he doesn't read his emails obviously.

He knew about the lock on the valve, though. Makes me suspicious that yesterday was a passive-aggressive wild goose chase... but I digress.

But then he asked why there was the smell of gas, and I said that if they tried to turn it on, the meter is obviously not connected to the house, and the gas would have jetted out, thus the smell (but it was locked... whatever). I told him that the gas company was coming out today to reconnect. I told him between 10 and 5... he said, "Perfect" and that he'd be there.

So I'm wiping my hands of this.

I told him I had meetings and appointments all day, so I might not take calls. He said he'd leave a message. Whatever. He wanted to know about the check. I told him it was in the drawer in the kitchen. "Perfect."

The cold was curt, short, without pleasantries.

"Perfect." I've not nothing pleasant to say to he-who-must-not-be-named.

-----------------------------------------

UPDATE:

Nor do I have anything pleasant to say about him.

He called Lisa, and spoke with her about stuff as he walked around the house:

He's now thinking that we won't get in next week, but the following... the week of Christmas. He wants the final inspection to take place on the Monday of that week; when Lisa reminded him that it was Christmas Eve, he thought they might be able to do it at the end of next week. Yeah, right.

Clean-up will begin Monday.

The water guy he wanted to bring in is unavailable (another death in a family)... so that's out.

They discussed the railing and Lisa voiced her displeasure over the wrought iron and said we expected wood. That, he said, was not in his budget. Lisa thought, but did not say, that that was NOT her problem. She didn't call him on the fact that he promised us wood. Well, fuck him. I'm loading for bear, captain.

The skylight is delayed again until next week. Though it was supposedly in last week. Let's face facts: one) he doesn't have the skylight, two) he's a lying sack of shit.

He asked about closet doors; Lisa said we hadn't yet found ones we liked. He said that once we have them, he'll have one of his guys to install them.

[I asked at this point when we'll get Jose for five days... that subject didn't come up.]

He wants a doorknob for the door from the laundry room to the garage. I want a lot of things. He still thinks he'll be able to get the door past the inspector by, get this--it's a doozy... no really, wait for it.... wait for it-- pleading ignorance. He's fucking delusional on top of being a liar.

They've had to remove a kitchen cabinet to work in the wall... I'm supposing for the range hood, though Lisa did not get clarification.

She raised the issue of the porch. If we provide the replacement tiles, he'll put them in. He didn't address the paint on the porch. [nor did lord voldemort discuss the shingle replaces... as both damage areas were caused by the eave painting]. He also "offered" to bring in his own tile if we pay for the labor. He has got to be fucking kidding. Uh, no.

[honest, I was trying to be as cool and non-bitter/confrontational/angry... but I admit to having some "emotional leakage"... but I cleaned it up]

I think that was it... I'm too pissed off to remember it all (that must be the HEALTHY FUCKING SIDE OF MY PSYCHE attempting to suppress all this).

I want to stop payment on that 19K check. I want to launch my scud to the Bitter Business Bureau (no pun intended) right this freaking minute. Lisa convinced me to wait until we're in the house [despite the fact that she had no response to my question as to what the hell else can he (NOT) do for/to us if we complain now]... at least she's not saying to wait until after the 30-day list.

I'm going after him full bore... the BBB asks for some info... I'm going to need to hone my writing to a razor edge as each question has a character limit: complaint summary (150 characters), describe the problem with "them" (1500), what do I want them to do (500), describe the service (70)... yep, I'm already starting to work on my entries.

I've got about an hour or so before Lisa comes home... and I want to be calm by then...

breathe...

Lisa Speaks

Here’s what I want to say to Fred, but I’m afraid his reaction may delay our completion:

The house looks beautiful, there’s no doubt about that. The colors, the materials, the workmanship, the lighting. All of these things are everything we could dream of.

Yet while our house is truly beautiful, it doesn’t quite look like the house we dreamed of, the house we spent six months designing on paper.

Case in point: the beautiful granite bar was designed with a curve to match the curve of the sink and the cupboards. The window in the front bathroom was a bit bigger to let in more light. We planned for lots of built-ins for storage and convenience, from the “banquette” in the kitchen nook, to the desks in the boys’ rooms, to the little attic-access door that opened from the family room side wall, and for whatever reason, some valid, these parts of our dream are not realized.

This week, I have been completely thrown off by the stair railings. Dana called to ask me if I wanted them to be white or black, but I thought they were wooden. She informed me that was “too expensive” and that they were iron. We (you and Bill and I) had just talked about the railings, and I told you I wanted something simple, just plain, unadorned, rails. I assumed we were talking about wood since we designed wood rails in our plan.

When you sat down with us in July, we were so excited to be with you. You told us repeatedly and emphatically that your bid included everything “in the plans.” When I asked about the wood stair railings, you replied, “Is it in the plans?” Unfortunately, we didn’t realize that many of our special features, features we loved, were “finishes” and not included (the banquette, the desk, the tall linen closet in the boys’ bathroom).

So, I guess you have been feeling our disappointment. Again, there is no doubt that the house is beautiful, it’s just not the way we dreamed it.

Gas and Explosion (II)

As you can tell, it's late. Really late. Here's why...

Around 4:30pm, while doing some banking (transferring funds from the corporate account to the personal to write Fred his 19+K penultimate check) and while chatting with Washington State Diana on the cell (waiting for Kyle to come back from buying his little bro a Christmas present), I get two phone calls (first from Fred, then from Dana). Since I was having a good time talking to Diana (a good time that I knew would be ruined by taking said calls), I blew off the calls... if it was important, they'd leave a voicemail. They didn't; teachable moment--I told Kyle that if it's important enough to make the call, at least leave a message.

We got to the restaurant where we were supposed to meet Dad and Jack for dinner, and I texted Lisa (who was at a union meeting) and asked if she received the call. No sooner than I hit "send" that I get a call from Dad, who said that Lisa had called him because the contractors had called her about a gas leak at the meter. Dad had already called the Gas Company (thank goodness), and they were sending a crew out sometime before 8... but someone had to be there to meet the service rep. I told him I'd head to the house and to meet me there (so he could take the boys for dinner while I waited for the rep).

When I got to the house at 5 'til 5, the foreman didn't know anything about the leak. Huh? Luckily, one of the guys who was doing the hardwood floor (now finished, even the staining of the stairs' nosings) did: he said that earlier in the day, when they had moved the water heater to its new location, Josef had attempted to test it and thought there was a leak at the valve. Now this guy gives me the impression that this happened not just earlier in the day, but EARLY in the day, so I'm wondering already why we don't get the call until just before quitting time, but whatever.

Dad picks up the boys, Lisa comes by after the meeting (bringing me KFC for dinner... love those bowls!), and I kill time checking out the downstairs and taking pictures (I'll upload them in the morning... I know, it's MORNING now, but fuck it, it's late and I'm tired, and I get a feeling this is going to take longer than I want to stay up). The floor and stairs look great. The dishwasher is installed, the hole near the northeast exterior light has been patched (though not yet repainted), and the water heater has been moved. All great progress, and stuff that I can spend time looking at.

By 6:45, Dad and the boys are back, Jason has arrived, but the gas guy has not. So I put in a call to check on the status. Our "order" has been sent to the rep's "handheld" so he should be on his way. Great. Dad, cold and tired, takes off for home. We wait some more.

7:45... another call. Our "order" has been sent to the guy. I ask where we are in the queue. She checks. We should be number two... the one he's working on now, then us. This is good, we think.

Jason and I talk about the progress. He thinks we should hold back 10% of the cost until we're satisfied. Ten percent, he said, is construction standard. We paying 19K tomorrow... closer to 5% (and which leaves only the laughable last grand to pay on completion). Jason in no way, shape, or form thinks we should pay this 19K until we're satisfied. I tell him we signed off on the payment schedule on day one... he gives me a little playful grief for not having him look over the payment schedule... and he still thinks we should hold back. Lisa disagrees, of course, and she writes the check, and leaves it in a kitchen drawer per Fred's instructions.

Lisa goes home with the boys. Jason waits for me in the cold. By 8:30, we can't take it anymore, and huddle in his kitchen to wait. @ 9, I make another call. Now our order has been sent... yeah, yeah, we've been through this... and she says that there's a bunch of orders and the service guy is now taking them in geographical proximity, so she can't tell us what order we are.

At 10, he arrives... I've been there 5 hours... I'm cold and my lower back is killing me. And the guy looks at the meter. It's not connected. As far as the guy is concerned, there's no way the contractors could have turned it on to get a leak. We need to reconnect it. Time to call and set up an appointment... which could take a week. Great.

So I thank Jason (and Joni who arrive around 9) for baby-sitting me and head to the condo.

...where Lisa and I get into the biggest fight so far in the process, and pretty much the biggest we've had in years. I am tired of placating Fred, and I am pissed off at Lisa for what I see as her taking Fred's side (maybe not rightly so, but the train has left the station and I'm on it). I tell her that just for once, I'd like her to agree with me on taking the battle to Fred. But she just wants this over. She says that I see the worst in people, and that she sees the inherent good in people. Great, I say, but when we're confronted with empirical evidence that we're not being dealt with in a way this is right, why not get angry. She says getting angry doesn't hurt anyone but ourselves; I say taking this shit from them hurts us more.

She says that it all comes down to the fact that she's OK with the house: it's beautiful, and so what if it doesn't match the plans... she never "saw" the plans anyway, she never had the vision in her head, so she's not missing anything. I counter that we're paying well over ONE THIRD OF A MILLION DOLLARS for something based on plans that we spent six months and over 10K crafting. If the plans didn't matter, then why did we spend that much time and money on them. Why did we craft them? If beauty was the be-all, end-all, then why didn't we just buy a new house? I'm done. I hate feeling what I'm feeling, hate what this is doing to me and Lisa and to us. I leave the house to go for a long walk on the pier.

I get back and she's gone to bed. So I write her a letter. One that apologizes for my being difficult, and then states that I will make every effort humanly possible to stay positive, and to say nothing negative about the endeavor to her or in front of the boys. In exchange, I ask for two favors:

1. to excuse me from all communication with Coastline. I say I want to send her a list of concerns/issues I want addressed before the end of next week, and for her to please forward it to Fred. I ask that she blogs her communication with Coastline, as I don't want to discuss/talk about it in fear of breaking my end of the bargain, but I do want to know what's been said. I concede that this is difficult and stressful at this time of year, but I ask that she do that for me.
2. to allow me 5 minutes a week to vent my frustrations to her (she can name the time), and in that five minute period for her to agree for me... just for that moment, even if it's a lie... just for that moment, I want to feel that she's on my side.

I close by telling her that I love her, but I hate all this. I hate biting my tongue. And that even though she may not think I'm restraining myself, I am. I tell her to think about how I would have responded at the beginning of our marriage, or even just 3 or 4 years ago, and then she'll see how much I really have been restraining myself. I told her that in doing this, I quite frankly feel emasculated, and that I'm tired of it, and to have her disappointed and upset with me for my being upset (even when I'm trying really hard not to) makes me feel even less valued.

I reiterate that I love her, but I hate what this, what Fred, what this entire stupid situation has done to me and to us. I just want her to help me get past these next couple of weeks so I can get into my home, and begin to put this all behind us.

Then I call the Gas Company to set up the reactivation/reconnection of our account... they can be there sometime between 10 and 5. Great.

And I send the following to Fred in an email:

Met with the service rep @ 10:15 pm... the gas is not connected, so I'm not sure how there could have been a leak.

There is a reconnection/service activation appointment scheduled for Thursday, December 13 (today), between the hours of 10am and 5pm. I have meetings and appointments all day, so you need to make sure someone is there to meet the service rep (and let him in the house so he can check all the connections for leaks).

Regards,

bw


Civil. But not warm. But not heated, either. And I hope the last one I'll have to send.

I'm hoping. But I ain't counting on it (guess that's just my "doom" nature of seeing the worst... please, oh gods of the remodel, prove me wrong...).

----------------

UPDATE: the morning after... didn't get to bed until 1:30 last night...

by the way... here are the pics taken last night

The front garden has been demo'd... we just need the debris cleared:


These are the kitchen drainvents that drive Dad crazy:

the far left one sticks out from the wall, the middle one is recessed, and the right one is just right (we got the three bears here, I guess)

The culprit...


The northeastern corner's lamp stucco hole's been fixed:


The water heater's been moved:


The baths now have fans


There IS a laundry drain, after all...

hmmmmmm, didn't see that one!

The stairs have been stained beautifully...

Aftermath (originally titled "Going On"... but looks like there was debris from the "explosion")

In the midst of a work conf call, got (but did not take) two calls from Dana. She left an abortive voicemail (just a hangup). Lisa said she wanted to know railing color, white or black. Lisa picked black, thinking she was asking about the upstairs deck rail, but on second thought decided to call back.

In the meantime, I headed over to the house to show the shower guys where to measure. Before they arrived, I had time to take a couple of pics with my phone:

The attic access is where it's supposed to be...

Was it really that hard, er, easy???

And the opening in the boys' closets (below is Kyle's) are are well on their way to becoming only a memory:


And the stairs look good...

The part of the step that extends over is called the "NOSING"... and those'll be stained later...

Not looking as good: missing doorknobs for the closets... I bought them, I've got the receipts... but they're nowhere to be found... so another trip to Lowe's in the next few days. Damn.

Also: the turnaround for the shower door installation: two weeks (of course, two weeks from today is Christmas... so I don't see that happening)... and after installation, we have to wait 24-36 hours to use them...

---------------------------------------

UPDATE:

...just when I thought I couldn't come down from my good feelings:

When I picked up Jack from school, I asked Lisa if she got back with Dana. She sighed, and said I wouldn't like it.

The railings are for BOTH the interior stairs AND the exterior deck rail... and
(drumroll, please)







wait for it






wait




for




it...

THEY ARE GOING TO BE BLACK FUCKING WROUGHT IRON.

WHAT THE FUCK?

Lisa doesn't want me to go thermonuclear (she now sounds like I used to, fearing him pulling the crew), but I want do... desperately, because my take is that this railing thing is him getting back at us for yesterday (just my opinion, not Lisa's).

She says that it should look OK in the house (matching the black appliances, maybe). Outside, even she agrees that this will look like shit... given that everything else is white.

What happened to the wood of the plans?

What happened to the wood of Fred's verbal promises?

Guess his verbal promises aren't worth the paper they're not written on. I didn't want to call him a liar yesterday.... but if the glass slipper fucking fits Cinder-fabricator, then it fits...

I cannot wait for this to be done... because step one of my "scorched earth" plan is to go to this page ... there's a number of links and options that I'll be using, but there's a button down that far-right column... the button reads "File Complaint" ... clicking that bad boy is just step one...

and step two?

let's just say www.coastlinedcSucks.com may not be available for long...

---------------------------------------

LAST UPDATE FOR THE NIGHT:

Just got back from Lowe's to get door handles (successful) and a new wiring box for the master bedroom closet (which is/will be wiring central for the house). I met with Cain the electrician at the house at five... he said we needed a larger box, that this one wouldn't cut it. He also mentioned that he had told Frank this a month ago, but they still installed this too-small one. I told him we would contact Fred and get a new one installed, but the more I went over the plan, the more I realized that it would be faster and easier for me to pick up the box and deliver it to Cain and have him install it (with me picking up the tab). On the subject of tabs, it seems (from what Cain has told Lisa and what he told me) that Fred hasn't completed his payment to Cain, owing him of some of the materials. Hmmmm, this isn't good.

Regardless, I'll call Cain in the morning and find out exactly where to find this newer, bigger box... or maybe I'll just hand him a hundred and have him use that to cover the purchase and installation.

Great.

Explosion

The phone is ringing now. It's Fred. I will not answer it. Let voicemail pick it up.

Flash back to one hour earlier... (no shit... this is really all happening)

The phone rings around 11:45 just as my job conference call is ending; caller ID shows it's Fred. I take the call.

There is a problem. The attic access that we had moved (because he had not followed the plans) to inside Jack's closet won't work... there are metal struts that support the beams there. And as the boys' rooms mirror each other in the construction, Kyle's closet is out, too. So our only option is to put the attic access in the middle (not exactly, but nowhere near any of the walls) of the family room. WTF? And he doesn't want ANY attic access. There's no reason for it, he assures me, and it'll look ugly. But what if we need to get to the heater/air conditioner? All this is new, he says; if in five years we need to get to it, we can cut access at that point, and the ceiling will still be beautiful for these five years.

[by the way, the phone is ringing again... it's him again. I do not answer it again.]

I (you can predict this, I am sooooo sure, my reader) don't like this. But I have no options. I ask about the areas to the sides (north/south) of the structure in the family room. Then he pulls an attitude with me and says, "Do you think I'm stupid? I already thought of that. It won't work because of the slope of the roof." This is truly fucked. I ask about the bathroom: nope, that has a separate roof (damn, forgot all about that). He wants to know what to (not) do. I feel we need access. He says that I should ask Lisa. I tell him I'll call Lisa and get back to him.

I call Lisa and interrupt her class (sorry, babe). I tell her. She says to see if they can go in either of the bedrooms, and if not... then it's my call. I vent my frustration with a couple of well-laid F-Bombs, and tell her I'm so done, that I'm not sure I can get through this without venting at him about the lack of following the GODDAMN PLANS. She says that I can calmly do this, but if I get angry that's ok. So I hop in the car and head down to the site.

I get there. He's on the phone. A van of guys is working on the hardwood floor. I leave him and walk in the house. Josef is working on the kitchen island faucet. More than half the boxes of flooring is gone. Josef asks me where the external stuff is for the shower in Dad's bathroom. Huh? They can't find it. They installed the internal stuff, but now want to install the spigot and shower head (like they did for the boys' room upstairs). I have no idea. He seems disappointed and somewhat chagrined.

Fred comes in. Josef speaks to him (in Yiddish? Hebrew? don't know) about the showers; Fred responds half in English something about it could be in the trailer. Great (that horse left town weeks ago).

I begin to head upstairs; I want this over as quickly as possible. He shows me where they cut into the closet ceiling (Kyle's, not Jack's... and we never go into the Jack's closet, but I'm assuming they cut into that one as well)... and there's no way anyone can fit through threre. Damn. He shows me where the attic access can go:

lousy location... not exactly a great set of choices here...

[the phone is ringing again... now it's the Coastline offices. Fuck them, too. I do not answer it again.]

I ask about putting the access inside one of the boys' rooms. He shows me that issue with the "different" roof. He says that we could have gone outside--he takes me onto the deck to show me--if we hadn't had to build the soffits to carry the air downstairs. He begins to take me inside, when I notice two cracks in the stucco next to the patio door. I point these out. He blows me off, saying these happen. I say something about them being patched; his response: "Sure, but they'll come back."

WHAT THE FUCK?

[the phone is ringing again... Coastline offices, again. I do not answer it again.]

At this point, I'm losing cool. But biting my tongue.

He takes me back into the family room, and into the hall. He shows where the access should go (which IRONICALLY FUCKING ENOUGH is where it was on the goddamn motherfucking plans), but it can't because that's where the HVAC unit is.

I stand by where the stair railing should be and stare at the family room ceiling. So, he says, what should we do? It's really six of one, half-dozen of the other. I point to the southern most access point, and say do it there. I shake my head and begin to walk away. And then he says it.

"Don't walk away. Don't act like a child."

And I fucking lose it.

"You know, Fred. I want to act like a child. I want to sleep in my own bed in my own house. No offense," (yes, I actually said that), "but right now. I'm hating all of this." He looks offended. "Look, I've been out of my house for five and a half months now, and it's getting old. And I'm getting tired."

"You think I don't want this job to be done?" he asks.

"Of course, you do, Fred. We all do. But I'm done. I just want to be in my house, and right now I'm given nothing but bad choices. No offense, but I'm tired of seeing us be bitten on the butt because we didn't follow the plans." I point ot the area in the hall above his head. "THAT is where the attic access is supposed to be.""

"But, Bill, the heater is there in the plans, too."

As you can see:

NOT the case, the top oval is the unit, the bottom oval is the access. Now, I'm not accusing him of lying... but I sure as shit am accusing him of NOT "knowing (our) plan like the back of (his) hand" as he did in June.

I shake my head, and wave my hands.

"Fred. I'm done."

His demeanor changes completely. Abrupt.

"I don't want to talk to you if you're going to have that attitude." He walked by me and headed down the stairs. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it. You leave and I'll call you later."

Whatever.

I head down the stairs, not to follow, but to leave, and hear him growl out to Josef, "Cut the ceiling."

And I leave.

I stop by school (interrupting again) to tell Lisa what had gone down.

"I'm FUCKING done with him," I say (so very fucking proud of swallowing every profanity I was thinking ... INVISO text on!). "I'm not talking to him, the sonofabitch, I'm not taking his goddamn calls, I'm not fucking meeting with him, I don't want to see his fucking face. When he's there, I'm not. You can communicate with him, you can write the checks. But I'm absoulutely posifuckingtively done. I'm going to move in and never think about him again."

She hugged me and I came home to write this... that was forty five minutes ago.

I just checked voice-mail... four calls and not a single voicemail... Guess they don't much want to talk to me, either.

Suits me just fucking fine and dandy.

---------------------------------------------

UPDATE:
It's an hour and a half later. And I feel ...

great.

Really. For the first time in a couple of months, I feel light (save for the fact that I need to order the wreath for Ma). I found myself smiling when walking to pick up Jack.

Coastline left a voicemail on Lisa's phone: Not to worry about the attic access. Also, about our concern over the schedule (I didn't say ANYthing about the schedule, though Lisa MAY have alluded to it in her email... ): even though the contracted date is February 15, they are making an attempt to finish by the end of next week. [of course, I found that preamble about the February date a veiled threat, the kind of thing that I worried about WAY back on OCTOBER 1, but fuck it, I don't care.] Though they didn't leave a voicemail on our condo line, they seemed savvy enough to try Lisa's cell (they didn't even try my line); guess they've given up on me like I've given up on them.

<irony-free>Wonderful.</irony-free>

I feel like a burden has been lifted.

Of course, that load could get dropped on me (and to paraphrase Dodgeball, they just don't make a "I just got killed by two tons of irony dropped on my ass" card, do they?), but for this moment, for the first time in a long time, I feel good.

[the only thing that lessens my--OK, I can't call it joy--vibe right now is this: now Lisa is trapped making all communications with Coastline (like returning Dana's call). She doesn't seem thrilled by it, but she doesn't seem disgruntled by it, either... thank goodness]

---------------------------------------------

UPDATE:
It's night now... after dropping Kyle off at swim and before I return to pick him up.

Have added Lisa as an author (since she'll have more first hand experience with the contractors now)... she's wiped out so she probably won't blog today. But here's the update:

Lisa returned Dana's call. They reviewed the email. They are shooting for the end of next week. Lisa raised the "fissure" issue on the granite (and I realize now that I hadn't blogged that yesterday: Lisa found a thin crack in the window-side granite... but research has shown this might be a meaningless fissure... or it might be a crack), and Dana said she'd tell Fred.

He called her back immediately and said he'd check it out in the morning. He also apologized for this afternoon. Thankfully, Lisa didn't return any apology from me (as there isn't one). He said that he'd open a hole in the hallway.

Lisa met me and the boys at the house just before dinner. More of the floor was in. And they began to work on the steps... I took some pics... I'll try to get them up late tonight.

After Fred's apology, Lisa said that I was feeling better about all of this (TRUE). She said that it was because I had gotten some of this stuff off my chest. When she told me this, I had to laugh. That's not why I feel so good. I feel so good because I don't have to deal with him anymore. She was, I think, a little disappointed in this.

Sad, but true.

-----------------------

UPDATE: late night... the pics I promised:

The entry way:


The floor in the hall

with protection down

The Master Bedroom floor


The beginning of the stair flooring

The edges of the steps (I don't know the technical term) will be stained to match the wood.

The wood looks good, nice and rich, without too much red (but just enough not to clash with the cabinets, I guess).