Crown Heights Reno

« the good: part two saving grace »

October 14, 2007

the bad... and the ugly

the building of the extension was the last thing that went right
and that progress ground to a halt in late july once the roof went on.

the bad: part one
the extension has a flat roof with the slope coming from rigid insulation
which was engineered by firestone to give us drainage.
and it does drain,
some what,
but not completely
and since it will be covered by a deck
(which will greatly slow down the evaporation process)
and since we have MAJOR mosquito issues,
any ponding is an issue

the main problem here is that the grade is only 1/8" per foot
and the overlap of the roofing material running horizontally is also about 1/8",
so
the water gets trapped

also there is a low area of the roof nearest the house.
in other words, you will step straight out from the kitchen and then go up 2 steps to the main deck
this transition is because the ceiling height of the studio creates a level that is above the floor height of the parlor floor,
this isn't draining very well either

the bad: part two
how many things can go wrong with one set of doors that were custom made and took 1.5 days to hang?

let's see:
1. the active and the passive doors are reversed
2. the door knobs were not securely fastened and it seems as if the screws used didn't come with them
3. the knobs are brushed the hinges are not
4. there is supposed to be a 9" panel of wood at the bottom, it's 6"
5. there is a 1/4" gap at the top so the doors don't even connect to the gasket
6. THERE IS NO ROOM TO PUT A SILL!!!

and the ugly
this siding is a cement board that is impregnated with pigment so it does not have to be painted.
it is designed to act as a rain screen,
the boards are not fixed directly to the exterior wall
nor do they touch each other

basically the exterior waterproof sheet rock is covered with plastic sheeting,
then furring strips are mounted to which the board is afixed.
this allows any moisture that does penetrate to be shed off the waterproofing material and run into the ground, allowing the building to breath and avoiding the problems that can happen when water does penetrate and cause either cracking or mold problems.

but since this IS the exterior cladding, it needs to be installed cleanly, percisely and with care.

screws need to line up, edges need to be clean, the spacing between the boards needs to be even. the boards cannot be over tightened or the facade will be uneven
and it needs to be predilled

but our contractor treated it like sheet rock,
force drilled the screws which resulted in breaking bits,
screws driven in at an angle
and an uneven surface.
it was so bad that the neighbors thought we were going to be putting something over it

it was at this point, that it became painfully clear that this contractor did not have the same concept of "finished product" that we did
and that from here on in it would be a constant battle

suffice to say there were other areas of the job not being done correctly
and with the exception of the doors
we were expected to assume all financial responsibility for correcting them.

this coupled with the proverbial "why isn't there a full crew working on my house"
which turned into to the oft heard "my contractor has up and split for 2 weeks"
led us to the unavoidable conclusion
that we were going to have to part ways.

nb
this all came to a head mid september but since the messiness has taken some time to resolve, it's taken me this long to confront everything head on and post.
the good news is that work has started again
and we have a short term (if not final) solution.

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Comments

It's very unfortunate about what you're experiencing with the contractor. Not to rub salt to the wound as it were, and speaking as a project manager and owner's rep, the flaws you highlighted were all results of poor workmanship and/or lack of experience on the GC's part. It doesn't strike me that your project is particularly challenging difficult or challenging, except if it happens to be in the wrong hand.

Please document all the backcharges to your ex GC and hopefully you will get enough credit back to rectify these issues. And yes, the 1st sign of a incompetent GC is when they don't staff your project properly and you don't have a full time crew. I can't tell you the number of times and how hard I've had to work to ensure proper staffing. If it helps, write into the AIA contract a clause re working site hours as insurance.

Good luck.

Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 3:04 PM

thanks for being honest and showing us both sides of the renovation coin. it's tough now, but it'll be worth it. and, from a distance i think the siding looks kind of cool :)

will be interested to hear how you handle these contractor issues.

Posted by: Jimmy Legs at October 15, 2007 3:28 PM

oh boy!

Seems like everyone who rennovates has the same issues. We just rennovated a bathroom and kitchen, a fairly simple job that we were told would be 1 month, took three. We kept the GC, but I fired two cabinetmakers during the process. One of which, who was profiled in the NYTimes, gave me "finished goods" that were nicked up, finished unevenly and had woodfill in them.

In any case, you'll get through this and when you're finished, you'll be happy. I promise.

Best of luck. I know it will be awesome!!!

Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 3:29 PM

That just breaks my heart. And it looks like it has to potential to be so beautiful.
I can't understand the mindset of contractors ( or anyone, for that matter) who feel like they can pass this sort of work off on their clients. When working with special order/custom materials I would think that they'd want to ensure that they were fully confident in their skills and workmanship before starting. Not like one can shoot over to Home Depot and grab a replacement.

I'm sure everyone has their own feelings regarding this, but is it possible to name names? Guest 3:29, who were your cabinetmakers? I'd consider it a public service if you'd divulge their names. And who was the hamfist that hung the siding?

Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 3:59 PM

unbelievable that you'd build so deep into our yard, your poor poor neighbors

Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 5:44 PM

My heart was sinking as I read this post. I really feel for you as Ive had a bad contractor experience in my past and it still annoys me to this day.

Im convinced construction is the only industry where incompetanance not only runs wild but is seemingly rewarded as there isn't much out there that is better.

Im glad you found a solution even if its not final. Sending you the best of luck to get the job done.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at October 15, 2007 6:16 PM

The question that comes to my mind here is: who is supervising the job? Is there an architect? Is there a construction supervisor? As common as these things you describe are they are easily preventable, and easy to spot symptoms of early on. Was the door cut down? Was the rough opening framed for with the finished door and a saddle in mind? And so on. What a shame.
Raphael

Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 6:41 PM

Siding: was this specified by your architect? I think I'm well versed in building materials, but I've never seen this usage, and the thought of discrete non-overlapping panels being the weather layer is...quite strange. Won't water just pour into the rain screen layer as eh panels move or shrink?

It seems you almost needed interior-level finish carpenters to install this correctly. Not sure I don't sympathise with your contractor. But then it was really his responsibility to tell you if he couldn't do it, I suppose.

Posted by: cmu at October 15, 2007 7:11 PM

CMU, as desriibed above: The boards are affixed to furring strips which are affixed to a vapor-barrier covered sheathing. Thus they are no different than clapboards, really; they provide air circulation and drainage and have ample space between boards to account for swelling and shrinkage. However, since they are cement-fiber movement should be minimal.

Why would you sympathise with the contractor? It seems like the end result is pretty straightforward and any contractor with even a modicum of sense would understand the importance of precision. This IS finish work; if a carpenter isn't up to the task it behooves him to bow out before wasting time, effort and materials.

Posted by: guest at October 16, 2007 10:02 AM

We have a theory, after our experiences with contractors, that the men who go into that business are those who have severe issues with authority figures and are unable to be employed by a larger company or in a corporate or business setting. So they are rebellious in their attitudes towards the homeowners who hire them, to the point of almost deliberately doing hurried, bad work, just to feel more ruggedly independent. Some may think our theory is crazy, but we have found it applies as an explanation for these dudes every single time.

Posted by: guest at October 16, 2007 11:55 AM

There's quite a difference between installing clapboard or shingle or a monolithic material like stucco, and having to line up and space this tile-like cover exactly. That's all I meant. Did not mean to imply that your contractor was right. However, I don't think of outer covers as "finish" work (in the same sense as, say, cabinets).

But I still don't buy the equivalance to clapboard (or shingles), which is overlapped and therfore inherently waterproof (the gaps being underneath), and this, which has gaps. A vapor/moisture barrier under this will not keep out driving rain (since its meant to be a secondary barrier, not subject to continuous water), unless I'm missing something crucial, which I probably am.

Posted by: cmu at October 16, 2007 1:49 PM

just so the blogger can see the proper way the cement boards are hung as exterior cladding, click on link below and do search for 'megan morton' to see her photos, a modern grey looking clapboard house with a couple of decent detailed shots.

http://desiretoinspire.blogspot.com/

I think in your case the project architect has done a huge disservice in light of the mistakes, which won't be cheap to rectify.

Posted by: guest at October 16, 2007 9:37 PM

instead of answering everything here,
i will do a follow up post in the next day or so

thanks for all the responses
it took me a while to face up to posting this
and now i am glad that i did

Posted by: neene at October 17, 2007 10:37 AM

Since you never posted what your contractor was charging you for the work I feel comfortable quoting the old saying "You get what you pay for"

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 12:40 AM

@ guest 12:40
no, the problem is that we paid for things that we didn't get
but thanks for your insightful comment

Posted by: neene at October 24, 2007 2:21 PM