Some progress? I would never have guessed.

I can't really say that things are going very fast on the job site, which I visited today but they are sort of going so I am not going to complaint (too much). We have received several of the steel beams we were waiting for but not all of them so we are not going on full blast (if there is ever such a thing in the construction world) yet. The workers have built the first floor of the house and the nice thing about it is that we can now clearly see how big the ground floor is going to be.

Personally, I think it looks quite spacious. Our builder said that people are often disappointed when they see the actual size of the home compared to the floor plans. It is true that things always appear bigger on paper, and that's because our imagination is running wild and lets us believe that we are building Versailles while we are building something much much MUCH smaller, obviously. It is sometimes hard to figure out what a 8'6" long x 3'6" wide hallway at a 3/16" scale would end up looking like. So, the best to avoid disappointment is to physically measure and template what things would be like in real life. Things will always appear smaller, yes, but at least, it won't be as much of a shock. Now, the walls are not up yet and that will shrink the space a little more. Since, it still seems so much bigger than our current place that I really can't see how I would be disappointed (unless I was a fucking Princess). 



The only thing I am not so happy with is the pace things are progressing at. That worries me "slightly" especially since we have just listed our current house with an occupancy date at the end of March, which is pretty God damn soon. Also it is getting colder and colder every day so the sooner we get that roof on, the better for everyone.....................................

The case of the missing electrician.

So as I said before, I met an amazing electrician a few months ago. I bought lighting fixtures for a client of mine and was looking for someone to install them. I called the store where I had bought the lights from and they gave me his number. Turns out he is extremely qualified and also has a great artistic sense which helps when you have to hang some fancykindoftrickytoinstall chandelier. He will basically tell you how it needs to be done, why it needs to be done that way and the final result of his work is always amazing. Anyways, enough said, the guy is awesome so I really really want him to work in my house. Only problem, as we all know, geniuses aren't perfect and this guy is unfuckingreliable... which really makes me wonder if I should even bother with him. Will his awesomeness make up for his unreliableness (I don't think this word really exists but who cares?)?

As an example, Tuesday night, we were supposed to meet with him at 6:30PM, meeting which he has scheduled himself. Anyhow, around 5:30, I was getting a strange vibe, so I called him and got his voice mail right away (not a good sign). I left a message asking if we were still on. 

6:00: nothing. 6:30: no one at the door (maybe he is late), 7:30: still no sign of him. 8:00: WTF, where the hell is he? 9:00: well, I think we can forget about it. 11:00: should I call the police and report a missing electrician? 

Now, one little question comes to my mind: why not call and cancel? Is it that so difficult? That makes me a little (that's obviously an understatement) mad to say the least. But but but but but BUT... since I really REALLY need him to do the job, I have to be extremely tolerant and realize that, being the genius that he is, these are just flaws I have to deal with and be understanding of. Ugh! Not easy and at this point, I am not totally convinced I am making the right decision with this fellow. Anyways, I spoke to him today and it was like he was reading right out of this little book my super cute little (well not so little anymore) sister got for me called "Excuses and lies, lines for all occasions" (You don't say, I think I am going to start using this book as well). It kind of went like this:


- me: "so what happened to you?".
- him: "I couldn't find my keys anywhere/ I wanted to wait until the laxatives kicked in/I was dealing with a personal matter/ Didn't we cancel that meeting/ I was at a client's until 11PM/ It is not you, it's me (huh?)/ two words - bad clams."
- me: "this sounds awfully familiar". O_o


What I want to say here is this: while it might be tempting to use the complete arsenal of ridiculous excuses you can think of, it might be smart to use caution when ditching a meeting with a potential client.  
Right now, I am very tempted to move on. I am giving him one more chance to prove that he can be somewhat reliable. I am not asking for absolute perfection in the reliability department, I am only asking that if a meeting can not be attended to, I will be given fair notice (via a phone call or even a text message saying "sorry I can't make it" will do... See I am not very demanding). I don't think it is THAT unreasonable, even for the construction industry extremely low standards.

I am my house and my house is me.

I hadn't gone to the site in the past few days because I was stuck in bed with the stupid stomach flu so it looks like I missed out on all the interesting actions such as weeping tile, basement walls blocks, capping, foundation inspection, angry neighbors, back fill. The last operation consisted in filling out the trenches surrounding the house with dirt (the technical term for this is back filling) and that really makes a difference in terms of appearance since the surroundings of the house now are clearly visible. It also allowed us to remove the huge disgusting stack of dirt that was sitting in the backyard and it now looks much cleaner all around. 

So now, what do we do? The next step is framing. However, because we have been waiting around for the structural work to be completed properly (structural drawings will show how steel beams and posts will be positioned based on the work of the engineer. These drawings then go to the Steel factory where the steel technician produces more refined drawings of what these items will look like, then the structural engineer has to stamped those and sent them back to the steel factory so they can start production. (Yes, it is very interesting, I know)). 
Anyhow, since it has to go through so many steps, a huge amount of time is wasted because not everybody is on the ball and also because "you are not our only clients, you know". Alright, got it. Sorry! Usually, it would take a few days for those beams to be fabricated. However, because we are not very lucky, a huge order for 3 shopping malls has come in before us and it looks like we will be waiting for a while. Ugh! Of course, nobody is able to tell us how long it will take. We have to guess it looks like, so I'll guess maybe 10 days.

Another interesting thing I have noticed: my latest interactions with my friends and people that I know which, in essence,  are like this:

Facebook wall posts: "hey, how's the house?"
Facebook chat: "Howdy, where are you at with your new house?"
Text messages: "What's going on with your house?"
Bbm: "Everything ok with the house?"
Emails from France: "Et la maison, ça va?"
Phone calls: "What's up with your house?"
Face to face conversation: "So tell me about your house."


Three words: Oh. My. God. See what has happened here? I have turned into my house and my house has turned into me. Consequently, nobody is asking how I am doing anymore, but rather how the house is doing. If the house is doing well, then I am doing well. That's just pure logic. So pure logic = scary logic? Hmmmm... not really. It makes sense that when you are involved in a DIY house project, it will end up taking a lot of your time. If you have an architect involved, you can probably rely on them to do most of the work (as I am writing this, it is funny but I am not convinced...). But then again, you'll have to pay someone an arm and a leg for a result that might not be very satisfactory (and that's pretty much a fact). So if you have time to take care of your house project, I'd say 'just do it'.

I feel electric.

After the bathroom headache, we are now dealing with the reflected ceiling plan and electrical plan headaches. Without an architect, we don't have a choice but to do it ourselves and as much as I think I am pretty qualified to plan a bathroom, I don't think I have inherited the same set of skills in the lighting and electrical departments. However, because I am lucky somehow, I have met a few months ago an electrician while doing a job for a good client of mine. It turns out that this electrician is a fucking wizard and knows everything about lighting and electricity. He came over last week and gave me a proper lighting tutorial. 

To my great distaste, it appears that the world of lighting is as confusing, even more in fact than the one of toilets and bathtubs (I didn't think it was possible). It also turns out that there are some unspoken rules about lighting here in North America. When it comes to how much light is needed, the rule of thumb is way more is less. What does it mean? It means that you have to plant a stupid pot light every 2cm for a forest of pot lights look. I am sorry but I just don't get this concept: whenever in my current house, if I ever turn on all the lights at the same time in one room without using the dimmers, I feel like I am in a fucking police station being interrogated for drug trafficking. It is so bright, it is like a landing strip. 

See, personally, I like the less is more concept better. Less pot lights, more indirect lighting such as floor lamps, wall sconces but nothing too bright, I don't want to feel like I am in the operating room about to perform some heart surgery with a ton of lights above my head. I like a more intimate feel, a darker atmosphere. At any rate, we have been told that it doesn't matter what we like (huh?), we have to think about resale (WTF?), and unless we sell to someone who has the same light sensitivity as us, we are going to have to put pot lights everywhere, just in case. Not to mention also that those things are not cheap and electricians usually charge per pot light for installation so the more the merrier. Great, again, I feel that I have no control over anything. But quite frankly, it is light that we are talking about and I don't think anyone is going to complain if a house is "reasonably" lit as opposed to a house that is so completely over the top lit that one would have to wear sunglasses when coming inside. So this time, I'll do what I want and what I am comfortable with. 

Turkey anyone?

After having spent most of this Thanksgiving week-end sort of enjoying the last few days of warm weather, here is what I will be most likely dealing with this week:

- messy and completely confusing quotes sent by suppliers.

- lazy suppliers who still have not provided quotes who I am going to have to nag/threat to send me pricing.

- electricians who need to sit down and look at electrical plans and provide me with an accurate and honest quote (almost sounds like a double oxymoron) for their work (that should take about a month).

Yes, surely, it sounds like an exciting week ahead, as I will probably get done about 10% (if I am lucky) of the items listed above. And that's because I have to rely on others to get most things done. And that's also because slowness and unresponsiveness are just two examples of the really high standards inherent to the construction world, an industry that is driven by the highest standards ever.

Like the other day, I get this email (and its attachment) from this supplier (who btw is VERY nice, just not that efficient). I thought the email was THE quote I was supposed to get 2 weeks ago... I open it and what do I see: a fucking recipe for Thanksgiving Turkey... A Turkey recipe, really?? Yes, a turkey recipe, not less. I was speechless for a few minutes but then questions came to my mind. How about sending me a recipe for how much my lighting fixtures are going to cost me? How about taking a calculator and adding the numbers of lights multiplied by the price, is that so difficult? So someone was able to find the time to type a Turkey recipe, but could not find the time to type a quote? O_o... That doesn't make any sense, but somehow it is not a joke, it is reality.

And the other thing is, I don't usually cook Turkey anyways so the email was a complete write-off. Great! Well, at least, it did make me laugh (well, I wasn't bursting with laughter either, let's be honest), it wasn't an email with the usual lame-O excuse about why the supplier wasn't able send the quote (I ate too many smarties so I had a tummy ache and couldn't send the quote, I was part of the group of Chilean mine workers trapped underground for over two month, I decided to take a sabbatical but forgot to send you the quote before I left...). No, it was just a recipe in lieu of a quote. Maybe next email will be the actual quote, who knows? Let's hope.

Absolutely DE-MEN-TED!!!!

It has been a few days since we have not heard from our "lovely" neighbors. This peaceful interlude has allowed me to lose myself in toilet world and I almost forgot about those shitheads idiots. But there is a say in French that goes "il faut se méfier de l'eau qui dort" which literally means "watch out for sleeping water" which of course doesn't translate that well in English. But in essence, what it means is "be careful when things are too quiet, something bad might be coming your way".

Well, I'll start with the funny anecdote of the week which involves #2 and her recent reconversion into a (old) cougar. 

While her husband is too busy trying to find new ways to break our balls even more, he's apparently been neglecting her so she is now flirting with the one of the workers. Way to go girl!!! Wait a minute... What??? Turns out that the object of her affection is our builder's son, C, who acts as a supervisor on the job site. Turns out also that she is 70 years old at least and he is about 24... So, let's see, that's 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9... a 46 year age gap!  

I have no word to describe this behavior. Actually, I have three words to describe it. What. The. Fuck. Who in their RIGHT state of mind would hit (well, most some men would but that's a different story) on a twenty year old while in their seventies??? Obviously, we have determined a long time ago that these people are absolutely fabulous demented but this is just the cherry on the cake. 

And frankly, she is not that type of cougar ...

But rather this type....

 
Anyways, it has been the big joke on the job site this week and, although we are all laughing about it, we are also wondering if we should buy the poor kid pepper spray and a whistle. And I have to say I am really tempted to ask her what the hell she thinks she is doing... Very very tempted, especially knowing the following.

  

We have heard yesterday from our truly-nice-neighbors (to the South of us), that the NFH (neighbors from hell) are now trying to convince them to team up and cause more problems for us on the job site. This could be amusing, but it is sad... So sad to find out that not only they have not given up but they are still out there trying to figure out ways to hurt us. 
Ugh! What terrible way to behave. As I said before, I can't help but wondering why they are so intensely obnoxious, especially now that the worst of the construction is done (demolition and excavation). My conclusion is that they are miserable people to start with and this situation has just accentuated their misery and has become an outlet for their frustration. And that means we have not seen the end of it either... unfortunately... (;_;)

My day is filled with toilets.

I would be lying if I said that building a house so far has been a complete nightmare. It is not really true. In fact, there are many things that I love in this adventure. 

One of them is the search for the perfect toilet. Yes, I am not ashamed to admit that it has become a quest and a very time consuming one indeed. Honestly, I don't think toilets are that attractive to start with. They can pretty much ruin an entire room if they are not picked carefully. So one has to make sure to choose the right W.C in order to save a bathroom from a complete disaster. 

For example this puppy here,
what's the deal with that?

Oh. My. God. What the hell is this?

The world of toilets is wide and intricate, and confusing at times. I have been losing myself for hours (make that days) trying to figure out where to get something nice at a DECENT price. Basically, the one thing that will make a toilet more acceptable is if it is wall hung. Wall hung toilets are a huge improvement from regular toilets. They look slicker, minimal and somewhat appealing. Plus they are much easier to clean and to clean around (this is a key argument for a cleaning freak like me). Only thing is: they are soooo fucking expensive and sometimes are not available in North America... yes, that's right, we only have hideous toilets here... 

I have called a few "toilet" suppliers and every time I was talking about a certain model, I would get shut down right away: NOT AVAILABLE IN NORTH AMERICA!!!! Damn, sorry... I forgot again: only ugly toilets are available here, right, right, I get it. Anyhow, after days of soul toilet searching, I finally found a few models that are available here at a decent (ahem, well a little bit expensive but IreallywanttogetitsoIwilljustsuckitup kinda of thing) price. 

One other thing I have noticed that is a direct consequence of the intensity of my toilet search is that every time I log onto a website, the advertisement I see is always about... TOILETS!!!! Holy sh*t, really??? I am now being stalked by toilets everywhere I go on the internet. This is very disturbing. It used to be purses and shoes (how strange), now it is toilets! Wow, my life is really becoming too glamorous! Next item on the list: freestanding tubs, definitely much more glamorous than toilets, that's for sure.


So here is my top three (check out those beauties) and I will announce the winner when we have made up our minds:

Choice #1

Choice #2

Choice #3