I despise my builder part 759

[damonrpayne]

OK folks, can someone help me come up with a reasonable move-in date:

My roof is on, they are working on siding & moisture barrier. At the present rate of work I expect it to take about 2 more weeks for siding to be done. Since two things have never gone on at the same time I assume nothing else will happen during siding. My plumbing and electrica have been roughed in, however I have about 5 inspection failure tags so I'm not sure how much work it will take them to revisit this. It seems its easier to throw it in and redo it than to actually check codes first.

So, here's the list of stuff to do still that I know about:

-insulation

-fix inspectionf failure items

-gas pipes installed

-sewer lateral

-gutters

-basement floor needs to be poured

-garage floor needs to be poured

-attic OSB & trap installed

-tubs installed

-sinks

-cabinets

-hardwood flooring

-trim installed

-closet doors & other interior hardware

-all plumbing fixtures

-all electrical fixtures

-furnace installed

-drywall

-paint

-stain

-carpet

Any guesses as to reasonable move-in timeframe? My guess is April at this point.

[Jeff Matthews]

2 months if they hauled a**. But rarely does anyone have enough money to make a contractor do a good job that fast. So... April sounds good.

[colterphoto1]

Damon, if it's any consolation at all, those who purchase existing homes hate the previous owner, so none of us get off scot-free.

Michael

[damonrpayne]

I didn't hate the previous owners of any homes I've ever lived in...

I just yelled and screamed at the sales guy. I had been focusing on the expiditer before, but I thought I should let the sales guy know how upset we are that we were originally told we'd probably be in this home in October. They get their money, I don't have much of an outlet to smear them, and I put up with "Whenever they get around to it"; at least I feel a little bit better after letting this guy have it with both barrels. The owner refuses to call me back, probably does not want the double barrels of doubl-ot venom I have ready for him if I ever get a chance to speak to him.

[Tom Adams]

I realize you didn't ask for this advice, so it's ok if you tell me to go pound sand.

Iffin' it were me, I'd try my best to get a luncheon type meeting set up with the owner. The lunch setting will keep both parties relatively in-check emotionally and, god willing, focused on the issue. I'd let the owner know that the intent of the meeting is to "clear the air", "reset the clock", and establish what it will take to get things back on track. I'd also make it perfectly clear that the intention is not to point fingers but rather to re-establish a win-win working relationship. I'd even go so far as letting him pick the restaurant and paying the tab myself.

If that fails, I'd resort to plan B - dusting off my sandwich sign and standing out in front of his business. Freedom of speech you know.

Tom

[Zen Traveler]

I realize you didn't ask for this advice, so it's ok if you tell me to go pound sand.

Iffin' it were me, I'd try my best to get a luncheon type meeting set up with the owner. The lunch setting will keep both parties relatively in-check emotionally and, god willing, focused on the issue. I'd let the owner know that the intent of the meeting is to "clear the air", "reset the clock", and establish what it will take to get things back on track. I'd also make it perfectly clear that the intention is not to point fingers but rather to re-establish a win-win working relationship. I'd even go so far as letting him pick the restaurant and paying the tab myself.

If that fails, I'd resort to plan B - dusting off my sandwich sign and standing out in front of his business. Freedom of speech you know.

Tom

That's to assume that the owner gives a crap what damon thinks. I am guessing from these threads that damon is on the submissive end of a contract written from the contractors (ad) vantage point. Too bad.

"... interests and rights of some individuals take precedence over the interests and rights of others."

-AR

Especially when it comes to lessons learned by signing contracts (not that you had a choice)--Good luck.

{edit: I will be an optimist and predict you will be in March 3rd []}

[Chris Robinson]

I realize you didn't ask for this advice, so it's ok if you tell me to go pound sand.

Iffin' it were me, I'd try my best to get a luncheon type meeting set up with the owner. The lunch setting will keep both parties relatively in-check emotionally and, god willing, focused on the issue. I'd let the owner know that the intent of the meeting is to "clear the air", "reset the clock", and establish what it will take to get things back on track. I'd also make it perfectly clear that the intention is not to point fingers but rather to re-establish a win-win working relationship. I'd even go so far as letting him pick the restaurant and paying the tab myself.

If that fails, I'd resort to plan B - dusting off my sandwich sign and standing out in front of his business. Freedom of speech you know.

Tom

That's to assume that the owner gives a crap what damon thinks. I am guessing from these threads that damon is on the submissive end of a contract written from the contractors (ad) vantage point. Too bad.

"... interests and rights of some individuals take precedence over the interests and rights of others."

-AR

Especially when it comes to lessons learned by signing contracts (not that you had a choice)--Good luck.

{edit: I will be an optimist and predict you will be in March 3rd []}

Frankly, I think the ONLY thing that will get them moving off their *ss is to realize that their f*ck-ups are all over the internet. I think it would be interesting to send a link to this thread and post additional links to some larger threads that get hit by Google search engines a lot.

When he sees what's being said about him, he'll probably work a little harder to rectify this situation.

Try Googling his name and company name, and see if these threads come up. If so, it might really change his tune.

[damonrpayne]

The #1 google result for "Cade homes slow" happens to be one of these threads. Where's that devil smily icon?

[Tom Adams]

FWIW.....my suggestion was based upon my experience when it comes to folks "filtering" information up the food chain for fear of feeling the wrath of "The Man". I'm sure many of us here have witnessed someone giving a project status that wasn't entirely true. To wit:

I was getting a very bad feeling that my house (the one I'm in now) was behind schedule. The project person assured me everything was alright. From experience, I knew that wasn't true so I spoke to his next in command who said that based upon what he and the owner had been told, the house was proceeding as planned. Three days later I got the owner to meet me at the house. He was livid at what he saw versus what he'd been told and promptly called the project guy and told him to "get over here now" (this was at 6:30pm).

I'm willing to admit I'm completely wrong and that the owner of Cade Homes doesn't give a sh*t. But what if folks are telling him what he wants to hear instead of the truth and because of that, he perceives Damon as just a pest? It wouldn't be the first time miscommunication has happened. And whether one wants to hear this or not, the FACT is that Damon DOES NOT know if the owner is completely versed in what's going on since he's never talked to him one-on-one. So all I'm saying is that before I would take off on a "negative publicity" campaign, I'd want to make damn sure I knew what the truth/facts are. And if I find out that he really doesn't give a sh*t by either meeting with him or him not willing to talk to me, then I say take him down by whatever means are at your disposal.

And FWIW Damon.....I can't possibly empathize with you enough. With one house I got to the point where I thought my head would explode when I complained about a bow in a wall (due to a 4.5"OD pipe in a 2x4 wall) and was told "It's not that bad. From 10 feet away you can hardly see anything. It's just a house - you'll get use to it." My blood pressure goes up just thinking about that day - and that was 15 years ago!!

Tom