A narrow escape

[damonrpayne]

Just when things started going well (My roof is on and electrical/hvac/plumbing is going in) my expiditer tells me

"Yeah, make sure gas and electric are coming in"

"Yeah, I filled out a form 3 months ago and gave it to the architect, he said you guys file for that"

"no, we don't"

"Shit, I'd better call them"

I first call the City where our electric comes from. They've never heard of me but there is no delay in getting it on the schedule. The guy warns me though "I hear the gas company is about 14 weeks out on installations"; of course they can't finish my house in december/january/february without the heat on, so I'm seeing a 3.5 month delay in my mind. I call the gas company and they have never heard of me but they are only 14 weeks out for Electric installs, my gas can go in in about 3 weeks. Today the builder's office called to explain that the architect usually helps people choose where to put the incoming gas line on the house, and somehow in the office they did in fact lose the paperwork I had filled out for them.

They said they can get all the way up to taping the drywall before they NEED the heat, so this probably won't delay me after all. I was going to be pretty insane if there was a 3.5 delay due to gas when THEY dropped the ball yet again. You guys might have seen me on the news...

[Chris Robinson]

Damon, you poor fellow. I read the other posts with interest and went to the builder's website. Felt like sending him a nasty-gram.

Hope you get through all this. It just seems to never end, doesn't it?

I'm starting a new business this fall and the to-do list to get going is ENDLESS. We're both building and maybe experiencing some of the same frustrations ....

[SCOOTERDOG]

Man I would be having a serious cow! I feel for you damon as I to have

had similar problems in the past. Hope it all turns out the way you

anticipate. Keep on top of those sorry ba^^^!rds.

scooter

[formica]

At least things do seem to be settling out... with actual crews on your site.

In our market, the contractor (actually the licensed plumbing and

electrical subcontractors) make the service applications. It

insures the Utilities that the installation was done by a licensed

individual. Guess it varies from area to area...

Maybe you should ask your builder if they expect you to anything else

to complete their work? That way, if something is forgotten, the

delay responsibility won't be passed on to you....

Just a thought...

ROb

PS: OT, but Chris, what new business are you getting into?

[colterphoto1]

Damon, it's gonna pay for you to quit your day job and take over supervision of this nightmare. Idiots!

You did see it coming when they couldn't file the paperwork for permits before the first shovel of dirt was turned though.

I do feel for ya though man. A man's dream house turns into a nightmare.

I'm kind of in the same boat, bought a 1955 house so it was sturdy and in good area of town. I hear low flying jets all night, thumping stereos, season high water table means septic field doesn't work right sometimes and you can't flush a toilet. Electrician ripped me off, did $7000 worth of work, only replaced outlets, didn't bother putting new wire with ground attached, bath vent fans have no ductwork. Neighbor is running a business out of the pole barn in back.

So it's not just you.

Some of us guys just get all the luck.

Hang in there buddy.

You'll be moved in soon and then you can really start having fun.

Michael

[Tom Adams]

And then some sonafab*tchin' as*hole like me comes along and has the unmitigated audacity to remind you that on Extreme Home Makeover they do a house 1.5 times larger than yours, fully furnished, fully landscaped, with all the lastest bells & whistles in like, what? 8 days or so??

Tom (running and ducking for cover)

[] just kiddin'

[damonrpayne]

That's a valid point. The thing is they have a schedule where all tasks are planned out.

My builder cannot share a construction schedule with me because they do not have one. It is willy-nilly where one task is not even scheduled until its dependencies are done. Despite the importance of management skills, I have yet to hear of a home expiditer who could get even an entry-level Project Management job, since in any other line of business they might be expected to actually know what's going on.

[j-malotky]

Damon, that has got to be so frustrating dealing with people who can

not manage a project! How have these goofs stayed in business all

these years?

Just an FYI, even if the gas and electric is delayed, you could rent a

propane heater. It is basically a big burner that sits on the

gravel in the basement temporarily heating the house.

If you ever need to come over for a Heritage break and a beer, let me know.

JM

[colterphoto1]

Get it insulated, VAPOR BARRIER, then hang drywall. But don't even let them think of doing any finish work until you get a good constant source of heat in there. It'll crack all to hell.

Oh, and make sure to travel with the inspector when he goes through your mechanical systems and not anything suspicious. Don't let him just sign off to get you out of the way. Get it all THROUGHLY inspected, since you're dealing with idiots. They'll botch this phase up if you give them a chance. Get it right before it gets sealed up with drywall. Make sure everything is leak checked, ducts rattle free, etc.

And insulate any interior walls where the drain/waste water flows, otherwise you'll hear every flush.

So are they gonna let you run speaker wires for house speakers before drywall?

idiots

[damonrpayne]

I hadn't thought about house speakers, I'm not really big on the idea of a whole house system honestly. I'll have a pair of something in the livingroom, the Ht room, promedia in the office, and something TBD for the bedroom.

[TheSoundBroker]

Wire for a ZON system. It is dead easy to wire (just run CAT 6 to where

each control panel will go and run speaker cables from that spot to

where the speakers will go). Prewire now and you can always install and

hook up later. Besides, it is a Klipsch product so you are of course

obligated.

[Tom Adams]

That's a valid point. The thing is they have a schedule where all tasks are planned out.

My builder cannot share a construction schedule with me because they do not have one. It is willy-nilly where one task is not even scheduled until its dependencies are done. Despite the importance of management skills, I have yet to hear of a home expiditer who could get even an entry-level Project Management job, since in any other line of business they might be expected to actually know what's going on.

Once again, I feel your pain. None of the 4 builders I've delt with have ever had a formal "project schedule". Now, I don't expect a detailed schedule like what I have to develop, but certainly they could put together a simple high level schedule with milestone dates. Seriously, I really don't know how they do it. But I've come to the conclusion that they ALL do it this way. Sadly, most of their willy-nilly planning is your basic heel-toe method. []

I'm sure the bigger, more structured builders like Centex do a better job, but I think the willy-nilly keep it in your head method is some kinda right of passage thing amongst their kind.

Tom