At Home In The Woods

   / At Home In The Woods #3,101  
Obed,
I used to own a landscaping company and I didn't much like cleaning out gutters but as such with the business it had to be done. If you have a leaf blower, backpack style works best, and you and your wife seem confident on the roof, you wait for a couple dry days and everything just pops right out of the gutter. I suppose a handheld blower would work as well, but the backpack offered more power, I had them for the lawn care, and with the more power I could stay farther from the edge of the roof. Plus with all your trees a backpack style leaf blower will probably be very handy on your property. Something to consider.
 
   / At Home In The Woods
  • Thread Starter
#3,103  
A week ago we had this shower door delivered and installed in the master bath.

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When the installer was almost finished, my wife observed that there was no threshold at the bottom of the shower door. When we were shower door shopping, we saw doors without thresholds and ruled them out. We wanted a threshold along at the bottom of the shower entrance to keep shower water from run under the shower door. So we showed the installer the manufacturer's spec sheet and installation instructions from the internet that included at threshold. The installer claimed that the company does not normally ship the doors with thresholds and that they (his company) installs the doors without thresholds.

The door has a plastic sweep along the bottom of the door. The installer said he thought the sweep would keep the door from leaking. I told him that we want the threshold. In addition, the color of the handle on the door does not match the the rest of the metal around the door.

They guy said they would order a threshold and try to get a door handle that matches the rest of the shower door. I don't know if I believe the installer's story about the threshold. He partially put together the shower door at the store and brought it to our house without the packaging. It would not surprise me if the threshold did come with the door but he accidentally left the threshold at the store and tried to install the door without it so he wouldn't have to make a second trip. The installer could be telling the truth but I'd give a 50% chance that he's may be trying to cover his tracks.

We later tested the door by taking a couple showers and the water leaks under the door significantly. We have hardwood flooring in the master closet beside the shower and can't have water puddling up outside the shower door.

In addition, the door was installed cock-eyed. When closed, the door is not parallel to the tile "curb" that is below the door. One side of the door is 1/4" off. There is a grout line right below the door so it is extremely obvious that the door is installed askew. A 1/4" offset over 2 1/2 feet is very noticeable.

We suspect that in order to install the threshold, the door frame will have to be raised. I so, that means the door will have to be completely uninstalled, the holes that were drilled through the tile will need to be filled, the clear silicone caulk will have to be somehow removed, and then the door will have to be installed again from scratch.

The installation of the shower door should have been a simple matter. I cannot imagine how we could have done anything to avoid this problem. The good thing is we haven't paid anything for the shower door or installation so the shower door company will have to rectify things to get paid.

During the building process, we learned that we need to inspect the work closely before making the final payment. The subcontractors almost always ask to be paid the moment they finish the work. Toward the latter part of our house construction, my wife started telling the subs that I needed to inspect the work before the final payment would be paid and that it might take 24 hours before I could inspect the work. That policy has saved us some trouble. Often, you won't notice things the first time you look at the work, especially if the subcontractor is right there putting pressure on you to do a quick inspection. Having at least a full day to inspect the work helps you to find issues you might not notice at first glance. In fact, there have been many problems we did not notice during the first look.
 

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   / At Home In The Woods #3,104  
<Sigh> Doesn't it get old after a while? I mean you expect that someone will do what they are asked to, but it seems the percent of good ones is like only 20% or so.

Very good advice on taking time to inspect. I have noticed the same thing - you spot more things when you aren't pressured. I think the clause I will add in regarding this is that payment will be issued upon passing the building inspections and the owner inspections, owner inspections to be completed within 1 week of end of work. That gives enough time to check things out but not stretch it out so long as to cause trouble.
 
   / At Home In The Woods #3,105  
Dateline had an interesting story on this tonight. Seemed to follow about the same percentage.:( Pretty sad when you think about it. What ever happened to American integrity?
 
   / At Home In The Woods #3,106  
Dateline had an interesting story on this tonight. Seemed to follow about the same percentage.:( Pretty sad when you think about it. What ever happened to American integrity?

80% of the good work is done by 20% of the people?

I don't know about the integrity thing. Lots of stuff going on there.
There is no real penalty for people who do shoddy work, take people's money and leave a pile of troubles behind. And sometimes I wonder just how bright - or not - some of the people are who do the poor work. I don't know if its a 'you get what you pay for' thing or what. How many bright people want a career that involves installing a shower door? Too many social pressures and prejudices against that.

Maybe part of the question is what happened to American expectations? Clearly Obed has some but he, like all of us, is at the mercy, more or less, of the general situation.
Dave.
 
   / At Home In The Woods #3,107  
Obed, I checked the shower door that I have like yours and it has a threshold about 2-1/2" wide and with a nice lip to ensure any water dripping off the bottom of the door will be directed back into the shower. I would be trying to get in contact with the company to see if a threshold was supplied with the door or I'd tell the installation company that they needed to provide me with installation instructions and parts list from the supplier. My threshold was installed by the glass and mirror company who custom built my door. It is probably cut from standard stock. Just the fact that your installer tried to give you a BS story about not needing one would make me believe his word is not to be trusted.

I would check your door frame carefully for plumb and squarness. I'd also do the same with the door and record all the numbers so you have facts and figures to show exactly how far off the door was installed. If you opening is not plumb or square, you may have a harder time getting a proper installation. My guess is that your opening is fine and the door is off as you noted, but to ensure there are no surprises, I'd sure take a few measurments.

Good luck! I know you will be so happy when you no longer have to deal with shoddy workmanship.:(
 
   / At Home In The Woods #3,108  
That is a nice desk. Watch out for heat from your laptop, it could toast the finish on the desk. Just like toasted thigh syndrome :)
Dave.

I agree. I just refinished my oak/maple wooden desk I had for nearly 15 years. I have no idea how old it is either, but it is a very simple wooden desk and you can't buy that quality anymore. After I refinished it, I bought a glass to fit the whole top desk from a local glass gallery company with one edge finished for under 90 bucks. Since your desk is visual all the way around, I recommend a finished edge all the way around and have corners rounded. I did not get mine rounded, but I wished I did. I think the glass on the desk is awesome for my laptop, and my coffee:thumbsup:!
 
   / At Home In The Woods
  • Thread Starter
#3,109  
I agree. I just refinished my oak/maple wooden desk I had for nearly 15 years. I have no idea how old it is either, but it is a very simple wooden desk and you can't buy that quality anymore. After I refinished it, I bought a glass to fit the whole top desk from a local glass gallery company with one edge finished for under 90 bucks. Since your desk is visual all the way around, I recommend a finished edge all the way around and have corners rounded. I did not get mine rounded, but I wished I did. I think the glass on the desk is awesome for my laptop, and my coffee:thumbsup:!
I will eventually get a glass cut for the desk. I'm already paranoid about drinks and such on the desk.

Obed
 
   / At Home In The Woods
  • Thread Starter
#3,110  
We now have drains for the remaining four gutter downspouts. We have 45 degree Y connectors as cleanouts. I asked that the Y-connectors be installed so they are parallel to the drain pipes in the ground to make running snakes easier through the pipes. For the most part the pipes were installed by the workers the way I would have installed them. I'm not terribly thrilled about the path they ran the drain pipe beside the back deck. They did not take the shortest route to daylight. I'm guessing my wife had them route it that way to avoid going below a future ramp we will build at the end of the deck but I'm not sure.

We have two more drain lines yet to run from the basement floor drains.
 

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