Drywall contractor wants to bankrupt me!

[Diggin It]

Everyone knows the drywall and mud will be long finished after five months of time. Maybe there is some comfort heating for the workers as well ... not sure. But I will find out.

But again, why can't the furnace be installed a week or so after the drywall is sanded which should be long before Spring?

 

[Diggin It]

I did look into buying racing fuel and there is a blender 15 minutes away... 55 gallon minimum purchase...

I went through over 100 gallons of gasoline this past summer in small engines, 4 stroke and 2 stroke. 55 gallons would have been used twice.

 

[JimRB]

My question was this. Do you not want the framing to equalize before drywall? You build a house with lumber that sits outside get wet and absorbing humidity. OK, I live in Georgia where we do get rain and it can be humid. My house was framed in way too much time. I forget how long it took but I worked on framing crews where we framed house twice as big in less time. Anyhow when my house was built it rained when the foundation guy did his thing but before the plumber and and concrete guy did their thing. I dug some trenches to drain the water from the unplumbed basement. Then it did not rain for months so I could not pound fence posts while I was watching the framers work slowly. When they were finally done but before the house was dried in it rained. This may have been in May. So ponding on my plywood floors, I guess studs absorbed water too. I finished the electric after the HVAC and plumbers did their thing. Insulation guy does his thing. Drywall crew hangs the house in a day. Small house 1600 sf finished with an unfinished basement. 9 foot walls first floor and a sloped ceiling. I do not recall taping and finishing time but they were pretty fast also. Anyhow I was not expecting them to work so fast as I wanted to document some of my electrical work. We moved into the house in October. Now that the HVAC is running the house gets to equalize in wood moisture. No equalization is going to happen in a few weeks of HVAC , but it will in a few months. OK, rambling. How is the house going to dry out framing wise before the drywall is hung? I have a few cracks here and there and some serious shrinking around a Glulam. Ok, I had some cracks 20 years ago. I guess I should finish fixing them sometime soon and repaint.

 

[Beltzington]

I asked how long they need to run those heaters. Their response: until April! That's about 5 months of continuous electric heat, which I know is very expensive. Aaahhh. They say they don't want the house cooling down then heating up. Overnight temps over the winter are usually in the 20s, but I've seen it as low as 1F.

I have been following this post and have you told them they would be required to provide the heat and include the cost in their quote? I'll bet the temperature and time requirements will all of a sudden not be an important factor. Good Luck with this, I have found bidding out even small jobs is difficult, seems everyone wants to be a star on pickers.

 

[dragoneggs]

But again, why can't the furnace be installed a week or so after the drywall is sanded which should be long before Spring?

When I built our previous custom home in 1985. We ran the nat gas furnace to heat the house while the sheet rockers did their thing. No talk or issues back then. I replaced the filter after they were done and probably again upon move in. Still struggling to see the issue. Nothing fancy about furnaces except for maybe electronic filters these days. That can be plugged in later.

 

[plowhog]

When I built our previous custom home in 1985. We ran the nat gas furnace to heat the house while the sheet rockers did their thing. No talk or issues back then. I replaced the filter after they were done and probably again upon move in. Still struggling to see the issue. Nothing fancy about furnaces except for maybe electronic filters these days. That can be plugged in later.

One option that was commonly done in the past is to put multiple filters ahead of the return air. But invariably, I am told, those filters quickly plugged then you were stressing the HVAC by starving the return air. One thing I have learned about construction-- s*** will happen. Most trades only focus on their trade-- and nothing else.

btw, all framing lumber was kiln dried. I was very impressed with the excellent quality of lumber received in most deliveries. The framers sent a small quantity back but that was a very small amount. Not like going to Home Depot and having to toss 15 boards aside to get a few good ones .............

 

[dragoneggs]

One option that was commonly done in the past is to put multiple filters ahead of the return air. But invariably, I am told, those filters quickly plugged then you were stressing the HVAC by starving the return air. One thing I have learned about construction-- s*** will happen. Most trades only focus on their trade-- and nothing else.

btw, all framing lumber was kiln dried. I was very impressed with the excellent quality of lumber received in most deliveries. The framers sent a small quantity back but that was a very small amount. Not like going to Home Depot and having to toss 15 boards aside to get a few good ones .............

Good to hear on the framing material. Another thing that will never be like the good ole days. I remember my father complaining about the quality of 2x4s and ‘clear’ fir beams when he was building our lake cabin in the late sixties. I look at those beams now and think of my dad and smile.

 

[ovrszd]

My builder is getting the dimensional lumber at the local lumber yard. He orders 25% excess so he can be very selective and return the lower grade materials.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I have been following this post and have you told them they would be required to provide the heat and include the cost in their quote? I'll bet the temperature and time requirements will all of a sudden not be an important factor. Good Luck with this, I have found bidding out even small jobs is difficult, seems everyone wants to be a star on pickers.

We never include heating, cooling, etc in our bids. It is always an add on @ cost plus 10%. Otherwise we'd price way high to cover our butts, this way seems to be fair and weather driven.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

When I built our previous custom home in 1985. We ran the nat gas furnace to heat the house while the sheet rockers did their thing. No talk or issues back then. I replaced the filter after they were done and probably again upon move in. Still struggling to see the issue. Nothing fancy about furnaces except for maybe electronic filters these days. That can be plugged in later.

Exactly... change the filters and no harm. It's what they're for... And, a good drywall finisher doesn't need to sand that much...