At Home In The Woods

[eepete]

When we built, I bought a new ladder and left it at the construction site- the "sacrificial ladder." I knew all the subs would use it. It was OK because at our last house build we saw most subs use buckets, jump, climb, or just do things wrong because they either did not have a ladder or just were to lazy to go get the one off the truck. After construction, we threw it away because it was all beat up. When asked who's it was, I said I did not know. This means they left it there (least they look like they stole some other persons ladder) and if they misused it and got hurt they would not think it was a good idea to sue us.

Did the same trick with a hammer, claw, couple screwdrivers. Bottom line is more stuff got done "right" instead of with the "Wrong tool short cut". I took the "they are destroying my stuff " stress and got that out the way up front not during the peak of the fog of construction.

The people that did the siding needed constant attention, my wife just set up shop watching them the entire time they worked- about 3 weeks. Plumber could have used the same oversight, but we had too many plates spinning. He did several things wrong, some of which we did not catch (but most of which we did). I hate plumbers the most .

We were constantly cleaning up after everyone, changing materials staging, covering materials left on site that were at the mercy of the elements. It's all part of what you do to get better than average results.

Yes, it is all anoying. Glad you could vent . Keep on them and carry on!

Pete

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Some of this tool borrowing (not that I condone it) is a result of building out in the boonies. Having a big box store a mile away would eliminate this excuse. I'm with Eepete, don't sweat the annoyances if the actual work is to your satisfaction.

I'm the kind of guy who if I see a worker needing something and I have one, I'll go get it for 'em. Maybe bring a glass of iced tea too. I bought 4 dozen tamales for a crew 1 day.

 

[brin]

Some of this tool borrowing (not that I condone it) is a result of building out in the boonies. Having a big box store a mile away would eliminate this excuse. I'm with Eepete, don't sweat the annoyances if the actual work is to your satisfaction.

I'm the kind of guy who if I see a worker needing something and I have one, I'll go get it for 'em. Maybe bring a glass of iced tea too. I bought 4 dozen tamales for a crew 1 day.

Kyle ..I did the same for my crew when we built our house..every Thursday I would buy them lunch and always had soft drinks and tea...I also let them use my tools and after they left. I ended up missing a saw, a pick, a rake and a box of roofing nails..I am sure it all got thrown in the back of their trucks when they left...some worker thought it was theirs and I could not micromanage every move so the tools got legs..LOL

 

[RadarTech]

We're Legal!
The Zoning Board approved our request to live in the camper while building the house. We can stay in the camper for 6 more months (until Jan 13, 2011) while we complete the house. That's a big relief! One less thing to worry about.

Obed

CONGRATS!!!!!


J

 

[RadarTech]

Kyle ..I did the same for my crew when we built our house..every Thursday I would buy them lunch and always had soft drinks and tea...I also let them use my tools and after they left. I ended up missing a saw, a pick, a rake and a box of roofing nails..I am sure it all got thrown in the back of their trucks when they left...some worker thought it was theirs and I could not micromanage every move so the tools got legs..LOL

When we built our house we had a similiar issue...
I think I lost a couple of hammers, a saw blade, and some little stuff... nothing major...
and the work crew left a few tools..
I tried to give them back but was told "that can't be mine I have mine..."

It seems they had several of the same tool and just noticed one on the truck and were not concerned........
A 3lb sledge, a drill attachement for mixing drywall mud, a shovel, an old drill and a couple squares...


I agree with Brin... if it is nothing major.. and you like the work...don't worry...

be happy...


J

 

[Pops15]

Glad you got the zoning board issue resolved!

The brickie laborer will move the mixer back. If not, you just made his job more difficult. Don't worry about the sand. There is ALWAYS extra sand. They always have extra so they don't need to scoop it off the ground and risk getting dirt or other contaminates in it.

I NEVER borrow or use customer's tools. Very unprofessional to do so!
I've had subs walk off with a few of my tools. Got everything back except for some 2X10 scaffold planks.

Scrap the aluminum step ladder and get the heaviest rated fiber glass ladder you can find........after construction is done because the subs will steal a good step ladder in a heartbeat.
I worked at a hospital that had bought a bunch of quality step ladders for the maintenance department. Contractors working on an addition stole all of them. The electrician had a call back so we stole some of the ladders back! They had painted over the hospital name. Seems that every department and employee in a hospital wants a good step ladder. The ladders eventually all disappeared again. I was able to keep the one longer than the rest but someone stole it too. I'd have to lock it up or hide it every time I wasn't standing on it.

I talk to customers before bidding a job. I like to get an idea of how "involved" they want to be. If I suspect they'll want to be involved at a level that will slow progress I'll adjust my price accordingly. I don't need a babysitter but I realize some guys do. I've had customers ask if I mind if they watch. I tell them I don't mind as long as they stay out of our way and don't slow progress. Customers put themselves in harms way when they get too close to the action. I'm fortunate in that most of my customers just give me keys to their houses and leave us alone to get the job done.

 

[PAGUY]

Guess it is nothing new. I had a water heater installed last year and offered my pocket size level to the plumber so he could level the heater. After he left I noticed my level was gone also. Decided no big thing as I have several and he did come promptly after I called him.

 

[Obed]

The icing on the cake was when the roofers were working on the front of the house, the couple pulled out they're lawn chairs, with big straw hats and drinks, and sat facing the workers watching every move...

That's a great story.

Yesterday morning, Saturday, the wife called the brick mason. She informed him that the workers had not covered anything, not even the mortar before they left Friday. The brick mason said he would send them back immediately and have them cover everything, that they knew better. She told him that she had already covered everything but took the opportunity to reinforce that she wanted him to make sure that they cover everything everyday before they leave.

Obed

 

[Obed]

... we picked some wild blackberries as the sun went down. I might even get a cobbler out of the deal!

When picking blackberries two days ago, I pushed a blackberry vine out of the way with a stick. When pushing the vine, it gave way with a whiplash like motion and a thorn lodged itself into the end of my thumb and broke off below the skin. That evening I spent 30 minutes prodding the end of my thumb with a sharp needle but could not get the thorn out. The thorn went straight down into my thumb at a right angle to the skin so there was no part of the thorn that I could catch with the needle. I finally gave up and decided I would have to wait for the thorn to work its way out naturally.

My thumb was extremely tender because the thorn was wedged deep in my flesh; my thumb throbbed all the way to the knuckle. While working on the house yesterday, I had to be careful due to the soreness.

This morning I noticed a small bulb of fluid on the end of my thumb where the thorn had entered. I decided to press down around that area to releave some of the pressure caused by the fluid. As I pressed, the thorn popped up out of my skin. I was thrilled. I expected it would take a week for the thorn to exit my thumb. It is afternoon now and my thumb feels noticebly better.

The human body is a fascinating organism. I never fail to be amazed that it self-repairs itself. In my case, foreign matter entered my flesh and caused a problem. The body is designed in a way that it will eventually dislodge splinters and thorns from the body naturally by building up fluid and pressure around the foreign matter and and pushing it out of the flesh. Nothing that man builds comes close to in comparison to the functionality found in the human body. The house that we are building will never be able to self-repair itself. If a limb pokes a hole in the roof, the house will not dislodge the limb and repair the hole. Quite the opposite will happen. Without outside intervention, the hole in the roof would eventually cause the house to rot and fall down. If my body could not repair itself, then the thorn in my thumb would likely lead to gangrene and kill me.

I know there are a lot of people who believe that the incredible human body occurred as a result of pure chance. Personally, watching the thorn work its way out of my thumb makes it very difficult for me to conceive that such an amazing capability is complete luck. I believe a designer purposely formed the body in a way so that it can self-heal itself.

 

[Obed]

Low Voltage Boxes

Yesterday the wife and I installed 16 empty low voltage boxes for the computer network, phones, etc. We drilled holes through the floor and dropped strings in the holes. I used the existing electrical wires running through the floor to help deterine where I could drill. I went down to the basement and verified I wouldn't be cutting through anything bad before drilling any holes. After we are in the house, I will run Cat 6 wire as I need it and have time. Someone in this thread suggested that I could install the boxes and string now but run the wire later. That was a great suggestion. Thanks.

Here's where we have low voltage boxes:
1 box in DR/office wall below window
1 box in DR/office closet
3 boxes in BRs (1 for each BR)
1 box in MBR walk-in closet
1 box on left side of FP
1 box on right side of FP
1 box for desk in LR
1 box under LR windows
1 box at breakfast nook
1 box beside kitchen/garage door (alt. kitchen phone location)
1 box on kitchen bar
1 box at kitchen counter (phone and/or computer)
1 box MBR toilet
1 box hall toilet
In addition, we have already run cat 6 cable to the front porch and the back porch.

When we run Cat 6 wire, we will run 2 cables at a time to any box. We can put up to 4 network jacks in a box. We ordered two 1000 ft boxes of Cat 6. It is as easy to pull two wires at a time as it is to pull one.

I had considered hiring out running the Cat 6 cabling but decided against it. I just don't think I would be satisfied with how the work would be done. There are specific rules about how close to run the wiring to existing electrical wires, etc. in order to prevent network noise. I'd rather run the wiring myself to make sure its done the way I want it. For example, here's how the electrician ran Cat 5 cables that go between the garage door openers and the control box. While running the blue Cat 5 wire right beside the yellow electrical wires might work for a garage door opener, that's a no-no for network wiring.

We finally decided on a location for the low voltage patch panel. In our foyer area, we have 2 closets right beside each other. I'm not really sure why the wife designed 2 closets in the foyer but that is coming in handy. One closet will be a coat closet. The other closet is partially filled with a H&A return duct. We are going to put the patch panel in this closet which I am calling the vacuum cleaner closet. The closet is more centrally located than the closet in the dining room/office. It also is on the main floor so humidity will be less of an issue than in the basement. We have easy access through the floor to the Cat 6 wiring in the floor trusses.

We also picked a sub to run the security wiring. He starts work on Wed.