There's been a delay and I want more money. That goes without saying.

Yesterday, I asked my husband what I should be talking about in my next post. His answer was "delays, delays and more delays". To that I added "money, money and more money". 

Let's start with the "delays" part, and the observation that people in the construction world have their OWN sense of time whom nobody else clearly can relate to. A couple of examples to illustrate: 

- getting a quote: "I will have a quote ready for you in a week from now". OK, that sounds reasonable. Except that one week in construction language kind of means more 3 weeks. The only way to get a quote back faster is to ride everyone's ass to death to call/email/call again/email more until the quote finally shows up. In other words, make yourself look like a total pain in the ass because you are asking for something they promised you'd get in a week time.
 - getting drawings back from the various consultants (engineers, draftsmen...). Again, what you are up against here is the quasi-impossibility to get a hold of these guys on their phone, the fact that they almost NEVER return your calls, and the fact that for them too 1 day really means two weeks. How about if you'd call your doctor's office and 1- they would not pick the phone -2 they would not call you back -3 they would show up 2 days late for the appointment??? That would be totally unacceptable... Well, apparently in the construction world, you can do whatever the hell you want and it is just acceptable to all. This is an industry that has extremely low politeness standards it turns out. One way to reverse this tendency: the old  "the-squeaky-wheel gets-the-oil" tactic. Keep on calling, keep on bugging and eventually, you'll get the attention you need. But frankly, it is quite exhausting and frustrating.

Let's continue with the second part of this post: the money issues. Building a house has mostly consisted so far in keeping the budget in line with what we can afford. The problem is, when you are building a house, people seem to think that you have suddenly turned into Bill Gates (the richest person on earth) and that you can afford pretty much everything (but of course). 

It is not like we have a skimpy budget and are asking everyone around us to take a huge loss and give us what we want at the price we can pay. We have a decent budget that should allow us to get most of what we want PROVIDED the suppliers don't try to stick it to us, screw us over , take advantage of us every chance they get. Last one to have tried this on us is the window supplier. His first quote was decent and in line with our budget. Next thing you know... as we are about to order and are kind of pressed by time, he sends us a new quote with a 10% increase (seriously, WTF is that all about?) that apparently took place in September and a 5k increase on top of the initial quote. That's because he forgot to price some windows in his first quote, he said. Ok, two things:

-firstly, why the fuck didn't you tell us about the 10% increase before it actually took place??? Maybe we would have placed the order before. But maybe, you are not a very honest person and thought "hum, now I have these guys wrapped around my finger, how about I fuck them over by adding a 10% increase (that came out of nowhere) that they will have to suck up". Now that's unimpressive and totally slimy.

-secondly, how did you miss windows in your pricing??? Windows and doors are listed in their very own section called Window and Door schedule and missing items in there is like missing several ingredients in a recipe. It is not that difficult to just follow the list and get the price right... unless you are omitting these items on purpose to produce an initial quote lower than your competitors'. Once you have been retained by the client because your quote is so much lower than the others, you pull your trick out of your hat and produce a higher quote based on the fact that " boooo, very sorry but I forgot to price a few windows so it is going to cost you another 5k". How graceful...Frankly I am impressed... NOT! *_*


So now what? Obviously I don't want to justsuckitup and pay this dishonest price so I have to make more phone calls and try to get pricing from other suppliers, crossing my fingers that they will be somewhat honest. But again, they might also get back to me in three weeks (well, 2 days in construction language) and that's going to cause more delays on the job site... That's just terrific!

When the cat's away...

The mice will do FUCK all nothing is happening on the job site. Our builder has been on vacation over the past few days (his annual trip to Europe) and although work was going at a fast pace before he left, we have noticed that nobody has been to the job site in the past three days. 0_O


So the job site looks like this today and it looked like this last week. Now, this would not be a problem if we lived in a place where it is nice and sunny all year round, it wouldn't matter, since the weather would not impact the work at all. However, we live in a nordic cold country where winter is about to start in a few weeks and generally you'd want to have the house closed off before it starts to snow.  So... then... WHERE THE FUCK IS EVERYONE??? how come nobody is there??? Shouldn't they be busting their asses off and get work done instead of neglecting the site? 

Well, it turns out that they have been called and asked why they were not working. They PROMISED that they would be on site this morning at 7. I drove in front of the house at 11 am and who do I see: NOBODY! Lesson learned from this story: when someone promises something in the construction world, it means... NOTHING! That's right, it means nothing at all. When I promise my client or anybody else that I will do something, I do it. No doubt. But for some of these guys, promises are just something they throw in to appease you. Nice try but it is not helping at all.  The thing is, there is not much left to be done, there is maybe another day of work to get to where we need to be. 

But it is like everything else, 90% of the job gets done but to get the last 10% complete, it takes a huge amount of either: threats, bribery, anger, guilt trips, scare tactic, money pressure. That's pretty much our range of options at this point.
It it almost like dealing with toddlers: "c'mon, finish cleaning up your room and I will: give you a candy/buy you a car/take your toys away/put you in your room/give you a time-out/put you to bed without dinner/ cancel your play date/ confiscate your DSI/ buy your ice cream". Usually you end up cleaning up alone while your toddler comfortably sits in front of the TV and eats his chocolate mousse. The big difference is that these guys are not 4 years old and we are paying them to do the work.


What we need right now, is for the cat to come back. The thing is, we are the clients, not the builder so we are not in direct contact with the workers, although I would have liked to be so I could call them and tell them to get their sorry asses back to work.
So next week, our builder is back and hopefully, he can get everybody to shape up and start taking things a little bit more seriously.
MAKE SURE THIS HOUSE IS CLOSED OFF BEFORE SNOW FALLS, THAT'S ALL I AM ASKING FOR!!!

Tens of thousands of dollars... That sounds about right.

The one thing about not having an architect is that we are responsible for figuring out ALL budgets for the interior of the house (which is actually fine). This implies dealing with the suppliers and dealing with the suppliers has somewhat turned into a social observatory of human behaviors. Here are the conclusions of my various encounters:

First case scenario: the perfect supplier (let's be realistic: NOT THAT COMMON). This person will basically bend over backwards (well, not literally, thank God, that would be a little too much) to please you and to fulfill your expectations. You will sit down with them and they will explain the product to you in great details, figure out what you need and get back to you very quickly with a quote, they will also answer your emails and phone calls if you have any questions. Chances to meet one of these perfect sales people: very low. 

Second case scenario: the really-competent-but-somewhat-rude supplier. The "attitude man", so to speak. The first interaction will be a mix of useful information as well as condescending remarks associated with bold and offensive statements, such as: "my product is the best and you'll be lucky if I sell it to you". See, in this scenario, it is like the roles have been reversed. There is no sales pitch at all, of course. It is like bizzarro world, you have to convince the supplier to sell you the product (almost). Chances to meet this kind of supplier: medium.

Third case scenario: the really-competent-but-super-lazy supplier. Again, very knowledgeable and very pleasant, and making promises that obviously they have no intention to keep. When can you have this quote ready for us? Oh, well, how about in two weeks? Well, that sounds great, thanks! 6 weeks later: still waiting for the quote. Wow impact: none. Frustration level: very high. Chances to meet this kind of supplier: high.

Fourth case scenario: the kind-of-competent-but-not-really supplier with a somewhat annoying attitude. This is, of course, my least favorite type of supplier. And although I am amused by all the ridiculous/outlandish selling tricks displayed by this type of individual, I find it extremely difficult to not show my discontent.

Often, this supplier is completely put off by the notion of budget: just like most architects, this individual seems to think that money grows on trees (that goes without saying), that budgets are for losers (thanks for the compliment) and that if you want your house to look good, you've got to spent the big bucks (naturally). Often this supplier doesn't really pay attention to what you are saying, has no idea what style you are really after (cuz they ain't really listenin') and acts like you have been best pals for years.  

So here is an example of conversation that I had today regarding some fixtures I was planning on purchasing for the house:

- supplier: " I have this awesome product which will look absolutely amazing in your house, all your friends will be impressed, man!". (now, why is that the biggest argument used to sell you a product???  Do you really think I am building my house to amaze my friends, I find this kind of insulting in a way. To assume that I am big show off and want to impress everyone with my $$$ stuff is beyond ridiculous, it is simply retarded and irritating. And please don't call me "man", we are not BFFs).

- me: "hum... well, to be honest, I don't really give a sh*t care about that, I am not building a house to impress my friends. Can you show me something else, more in line with my budget?"

- supplier, using some other bullshit cheesy sales pitch: "well, you know, this stuff is expensive, it is Italian... We are talking tens of thousands of dollars here."

- me: *_* (here we go with the European product nonsense). "You know, I worked in a furniture store, selling Italian furniture, I roughly know how much things cost. As I told you before, I am on some sort of a budget. Let's try to figure out a good quality product at a non-extravagant/decent price. Just find me what I need at a price I can afford".

Seriously, WTF what is this? Tens of thousands of dollars???? Please, please, PLEASE, give me some credit here and stop treating me like I am a rookie. Needless to say, I am not impressed with this kind of selling technique. It's really unconvincing.  Chances to meet this type of individual: medium to high.

Same sh*t, different day.

Just as I was thinking that the neighbors had finally moved on with their life, as I was slowly waking up this morning, I hear my phone ringing over and over again. Holy sh*t, who wants to speak to me sooooo badly at 7:30 in the morning??? (Better be Jon Hamm calling to invite me out for dinner!).

Our super-nice builder, whom I could tell was pretty unhappy from his tone of voice, is on the phone and announces that #3 has requested that the Building Inspector comes to the site (what, again???? The City is going to think we are trying to break some kind of a record) because it looks like the shoring work was not done properly. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! Is this some kind of a joke???? Our structural engineer has come to inspect the work (on many occasions) and has let us know that the shoring is so strong that we could build a 20 storey building on top of it. In fact, he was extremely impressed. The work done is quite complicated and you'd need to know what the initial plan is to assess if it was or not done properly. Well I guess #3 and his little "snoop-around-and-cause-trouble" engineer have decided otherwise although they don't exactly know what the fuck is going on. This new complaint comes as a surprise for me for two reasons:

- the access to our private property is RESTRICTED... so what are these two doing snooping around on a job site where they are not allowed to be? That rubs me the wrong way big time. Not that we have anything to hide, obviously, but in order to produce a CONCLUSIVE report, the engineer would have had to come down into the pit by TRESPASSING... FYI... TRESPASSING IS AGAINST THE LAW... is it not?
- if they didn't trespass, how could they analyze what has been done without actually seeing anything (the property is fenced off). This means that the report was based on NO FACTS! Ugh! So someone is critiquing a peer's work but without backing his own work with tangible information. What kind of an engineer does that? This is very disturbing. Not to mention highly unethical...


At any rate, we were asked to meet the Building Inspector on site and I can say that he looks pretty pissed off to be called to this location again. He is not impressed at all and tells us that "this is not a very normal way to conduct construction". I hear ya! Unfortunately, what can we do? The inspector can't take side (why?) and has to show up to the site every time there is a complaint, even if the complaint is based on a whole bunch of nonsense. After a quick look at the shoring, he tells us that "Everything looks great, I have no concerns. Keep on working". He also mentions that the report he's received from #3's engineer wasn't very impressive (apparently the engineer said several time "that he believes" that the shoring is not done properly... Hum, yeah... we are going to need more than your beliefs to even consider the seriousness of your report, just so you know...).


Well, again, another case of complete waste of time for all of us. No to mention the stress and aggravation associated with the process. 
I keep on thinking that they (the whack jobs next door) are going to leave us alone but they keep on coming back with something ridiculous every time: it's becoming very frustrating at this point! (*_*). I am trying to NOT blow up, and it is quite challenging, especially for someone with very little patience like me.

The one post where I am not complaining about the neighbors... well sort of.

Until a few days ago, we weren't 100% sure about the exterior finishes for our house (Yup, a little scary since we have started construction... hum hello... maybe we should be busting our asses to figure it out. Well maybe if we were not wasting so much time on the assholes neighbors next door, we would have made up our minds already).

We actually have tried several ideas, all satisfactory but always felt that we could push the design a little bit farther. However, without an architect on board, it is sometimes difficult to make a decision (I can't believe I am writing this). Well, it is not that it is difficult (let's not exaggerate, it's not rocket science either), it is just that you are constantly wondering if the decision you are making is the right one. 

At any rate, we were driving around on the week-end and spotted a very cool house with a finish that we had looked into in the past but kind of left aside as we were not sure about it. We had only seen examples on brochures and it really didn't convince us. Turns out that it looks super awesome in real life so we are now strongly considering it for the front of the house. It is called Prodema, it is a high density, resin core panelling faced with natural wood coasted with a proprietary acrylic finish. I know, it sounds really exciting... It is made in Spain (I love Spain.) and it can endure really though weather conditions, which is why it is good for our application. It comes in various colors but the one we like is called Mocca and here is a picture of it. Not only is it sharp and beautiful (kind of hard to tell from the picture), but it is also very interesting when applied as cladding, because it comes with a riveting system that looks totally cool and architectural.

I have to say, I am pretty relieved and happy. This might just do the trick and give our house the extra kick it needed. Of course, we have to price it and figure out how much it will cost. It might be a wash with the other finish we were supposed to use.  I am keeping my fingers crossed because I truly love it. I hope it won't cost an arm and a leg. We showed it to our super-nice builder and he absolutely loves it, he was thrilled about it and is excited to use it. Phew ! That's another thing we would have had to worry about had we kept an architect on board: every revision, big or small, (granted, this is a big one...) would have been billed for and every change would most likely have been accompanied with a huge guilt trip (I can hear the architect: "What???? You want to change the door knobs, that's outrageous! I am going to have to charge you, that's way more work for me and I don't work for free". O_o). Our builder is easy going, he doesn't care as long as we are happy. 

Apart from that, the construction is going very well, the shoring has almost been completed, the neighbors-from-hell have left us alone over the past few days, which doesn't mean anything. These people are so vicious that they are probably cooking something poisoneous for us. Expecting the worse, but hoping for the best though, always.

How about you get lost????

It is about 9:00 AM this morning when I get a phone call that our neighbors have asked the Building Inspector to come and inspect the job site. Oh, well, good morning to you too!!!

The building inspector generally comes to the job site during construction, usually once to inspect the foundations and then when the house is completed: so twice basically. I have a feeling that we are going to see this guy on the site several times, courtesy of the ball breakers next door. 

So today, the complaint was that the laneway was collapsing. OK, quick drive to the house (where I was yesterday and didn't notice anything) and quick inspection: no, the lane way is not collapsing but it is clearly not passable, which we have said over and over again in the past few days. I forgot to mention that we got a nasty email last night from #3 insisting that we re-open the lane way right away... because it was affecting the health and well-being of the old lady. Mmmmmm... really? These two things are connected? Passable lane way = healthy old lady... How does this work? I am not a doctor but this woman is 94 and almost a vegetable so I don't see how the fact that the passage is open or close matters to her health... But I digress. 

Back to the site where we are now all waiting for the Inspector to show up. Meanwhile, #3 is on his side of the property, looking at us through his cheesy sunglasses. I had some time to observe him (unfortunately for me, he is not a pretty sight), and I realized that he looks like a mix between Gargamel and the French Minister of Labor, Eric Woerth (who is in the middle of a huge financial and political scandal at the moment...how surprising!). Absolute dead ringer! He seems pretty happy with himself, somewhat confident he is going to stop the work this time. He is either seriously out of his fucking mind or he is missing some very important information. One crucial fact that he doesn't seem to be aware of is that the building inspector for that area is known for being very laid back, actually, he is almost retired and some say (namely our super nice builder) that "he barely has a pulse". In other words, I am not too worried. 

Anyways, the inspector finally shows up and follows #3 to the back of the property, they start to discuss something. A couple of minutes later, our super-nice-builder shows up to explain what the shoring work will consist in and how long it will take. The Inspector asked that we have the engineer on site once a day to make sure the shoring is done properly (totally fine). He asked that we put the laneway back to its original state as fast as we can (naturally). The thing is, it will be passable when the concrete is strong enough and that can take a few days, even a couple of weeks. So the Inspector solemny declares" I will ask that the laneway remains closed until the engineer certifies that it is safe to go through". In other words, #3's little scheme is a total failure! There you go asshole, when you stir up so much shit, you eventually get splattered right back in the face. Now how about you get lost! Try to spend your time on something useful for a change!