Mason MIA

http://www.masonrydunnrite.com/pages/1/index.htm

Vern the Mason scheduled to start laying block was nowhere to be found. Efraim (concrete) is ready to kick his ass and has a cousin who does block (may be an option). Bec called Vern today who was delayed with another job but did not call to let us know - I'm getting sick of Vern's shit but he does nice work - check out the above link.

I had to call Mike the Electrician to cancel his coming out due to our Mason situation. Efraim poured the back patio this morning - it looks great. He added some brown color - very nice.

We also met Kevin the handiman. He is friends with Jacq and can fill in the gaps on many of the smaller projects.

Electric Update

I just spoke with Mike the electrician to determine if his trench needs to be dug before the concrete for the back patio is poured. He indicated the line will run outside of the patio and the old shitty line will be disabled.

Tile Preference

Here's some photos of a tile job that we hope to emulate. We want the tile as the baseboards and to extend to the front and back patio. The only question is - can the tile guy match the new saltillo to our existing or will we need to rip that up?

New Photos

The blocks for our new walls were delivered Monday and will be installed beginning Saturday. The back view of the house will give you an idea of where the new patio will be. The front patio is now poured and looks great. I have plumbers coming over today to give gas quotes.

Gas Man

I just spoke w/ Duncan plumbing. They were scheduled to come out today they will call back to reschedule for tomorrow.

Doors and Windows

Went to Home Depot tonight to price out new French doors ($1400-$3000 for what we want). They will be sending a dude out to bid the windows soon. We checked back in wi the Cabinet dept there but the price cannot match Victor's so far. The block was finally delivered at 4:00 pm today.

Tips from Kyle

I have worked with contractors a lot. If you file a complaint with BBB or file a suit against their bond - you will get the pay out from that bond (usually max $2K) and file against a name that is easily changed.

For instance you go to use Mikes Cabinets LLC - he takes your deposit $3000 and runs, or does a shitty job and will not fix it. You sue Mikes Cabinets LLC and the bond pays out cause it is an LLC and he keeps less than $500.00 operating capital in the bank. You get a lien and file a complaint with BBB.

Is Mike scarred for life? Nope - he takes is $175.00 and goes to the corporate commission and opens up M. Smith Cabinet Designs... Bonds up for another $250.00 and calls it a day.

Home Depot can not do that - they personally guarantee their contractors.

Updates

Yesterday, Oliver and I built the temporary wall that will support the corner of the house during the blockwork. It's not pretty but it should hold.

Friday, I placed calls to plumbers & electricians to setup work for next week. The mason starts tomorrow.

George Brazil

I've got a call into these guys to schedule an appointment.

http://www.georgebrazil500.com/Plumbing.htm

Paul the Framer

I had an unexpected visit from Paul the Framer today. He came by to see what he could to about reducing his RIDICULOUS original bid of $23,192. Through some creative book-keeping good old Paul reduce the bid to $15,302 which is still a mere $7,000+ higher than Jerry the Framer. I did learn a few things:

(1) Field Expenses = gasoline and other BULLSHIT. Paul generously reduce the original $1300 down to $700. Wow, only $700 for gas on a project that will likely take 3-4 days. What a freakin' great deal that is.

(2) Regular Labor and Foreman Labor - He dropped $1000.00 off of these...so he will only make $1,660 telling these guys what to do.

(3) Misc = $300.00 - I still have no idea what this is and why it's necessary.

(4) Profit = $3,374 - Why the HELL do we need to be raped on everything else on this bid and then have another $3,000+ added on?

This bid is a joke. I'll scan it and post it in the next few days so others can see the BULLSHI0T we have to deal with.

Also, Paul says he can do the roofing for arount $4,000 which he claims is about 1/2 of what others will bid the job for. I bet I can get a bid under $3,000.

E:Mail to Architech

Ed,

I just called and left you a voicemail. Our project is coming along fine but we’ve run into an issue with the columns for the back patio. One of them is directly in front of where the new French doors will be and we don’t want that. I talked to our framer today and we said our architect would need to revise this and we may need an engineer’s letter approved by the city.

Please let me know when you can stop by to see the progress and revise the design of the columns.

Sincerely,

T & B
Monterey Way Project

Framing Update

I just met w/ our Framer. We need to build a strong temporary wall about 2 feet behind where the new block wall will be (Oliver and I should be able to do that). Once we talk to Vern on Monday and get his schedule, we need to contact Jerry again to let him know Vern's gameplan so they can coordinate efforts. Jerry is involved in another project and it may push his involvement in our project back to the second week of October. Vern could begin in the front so and it woudn't impact Jerry's portion. He also said the framing of the garage will be done in a day or two.

As for the columns, we need to contact our architect and have him revise so they don't end up in front of the French Door or new windows. Some cities require an engineer's letter to approve such updates. Also, some cities require approval prior to building others will be ok upon inspection. We need to find out what Scottsdale requires. I'll call Ed today to talk about the columns.

Once we have the redesign approved, we need to contact Jerry so he can revise his order/bid.

Patio Columns

Efraim dug today for the new columns for the back patio. One of the columns is lining up in front of the new French Doors - Not Cool! I have the framer and mason coming by today - we need to figure something else out.

Remodel Update

Today, Oliver and I cleared out the laundry room and I took down the remaining pool fence. Esteban is here now working on the plumbing.

Last Wednesday, Mike the electrician came by and discovered that some of the outside line needs to be replaced - unexpected expenses...not fun.

!!! New Photos !!!

Here are some photos of the garage pad as well as the deconstruction of the storage room. Needless to say, I was not real happy with the corner of the house being without support. I put up a post and we called the contractor out to make sure all was cool. If the corner of the house colapses tonight, then it was not cool!

Framing 101

I just talked to Jerry the Framer and he will schedule a time later this week or early next week to go over the bid with this. He also said he can talk to Vern about the 8x2 beam needed for the corner of the house.

Vern the Mason

I just met w/ Vern the Mason. The 3' walls on the front patio are not in the original bid - extra cost, there - fantastic. The area near the corner of the storage shed will need to have an 8" beam for support. I have a call in to Jerry the Framer to get a timeframe on this. Also, the electric for the pool light will need to be moved so the block can be tied in there. I have a call in to Mike the Electrician on this.

Fun stuff!!!

Pads, Masons & Framers

Today, Efraim put most of the concrete pads in. We still need the front and back patio but it looks really good thus far.

I called Dunn-Rite Masonry today. Vern will be stopping by later to determine when he can begin his portion.

Finally, I called Jerry the framer (and left a message) to determine when we can meet to go over his bid.

Tonight, we have some friends stopping over. Going to Monte's for dinner then we will watch the ASU game!!!

Photos to follow once my wife brings gets the camera out the van!

Footers and Fightin' Words

Today, Efraim put in the forms for the garage and front patio pads. I called Vern, the mason to determine if the front patio needed footers to support the walls. He said yes. I let Efraim know that. Efraim basically said Vern was full of shit and lazy but he would take care of it for us. Picture this Vern and Efraim are both old, overweight dudes. I say we have a wrestling cage match. The winner was correct about the footers.

In other news, I called Victor, the cabinet maker - a referral from Esteban, the guitarist/plumber. He's coming out Monday to give us a bid. Tomorrow, we've recruited Oliver's friend Dan to help us clear out the storage room so that can be torn down and Vern can begin masoning (that's masonry jargon....I think). We'll get started after my wife gets back from selling more houses (today was her first sale...we think - how kick-ass is that?)

That's about it for now. The monsoon is filling up Esteban's trench so he will need to clean that out before he can continue. More photos and updates soon......

Recent Photos

Progress

So much has happened lately. The footings have been poured, a new trench has been dug for the plumbing and the kitchen drain pipe has been put in place. It is causing problems for the dog because she won't jump over the two trenches to get to the backyard. We hired Vern for masonry and have a framer in place, now to find a roofer and all around handy man.

I called for an inspector to come out today to check Esteban's plumbing but Efraim (concrete guy) said he checked the pipes and they leaked so I cancelled the inspector until Esteban can fix his leaky pipes. Thank god Efraim is looking out for us! He said the inspector will come out a few times for free but it doesn't put them in a good mood when they have shotty work to inspect and if they don't pass the work it means they will have to make another trip. Not the way I wanted to get started with the inspector!! Pictures to follow!