At the end of day four, which turned out to be an 11 hour day – our contractor arrived at 7:15am and left at 6:15pm- this was the result.
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Five deck boards.
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Five.
Count ‘em… five.
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Three ‘picture frame’ and two others.
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After 11 hours… at $55 and hour.
Let me do the math for you… that’s $605. Which works out to $121 per board. Granted there was a lot of measuring and cutting around the existing railing posts, and at $96 per board we’re glad he’s precise and doesn’t waste material, but wow.
Sorry Mick, but in this instance… time is definitely not on our side.
While we really like our contractor, I have to admit he’s not the fastest worker we’ve ever seen. His motto is do it once, do it right… which is great in theory… but I have a feeling it’s going to be hard on the check book.
After three days of work….
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We have perfectly level framing (which was already there, he just sanded the boards) …
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And rubber sealant tape.
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And one loose laid picture frame board.
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And rain.
Yes, we had that as well.
It rained so hard the contractor gave up and left, which was fine. Until we realized he didn’t take down his tent.
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An hour later tent drainage surgery had to be performed.
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And there was a lot to drain.
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Water is heavy.
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Which is why the husband performed the surgery and I documented the procedure.
Three days.
16 billable hours at $55 and hour.
$880… for prep work and some rubber tape. This is going to be one very expensive deck.
One afternoon, when the temperature was near 90 and the humidity level was almost as high, my husband decided it would be a good time to start ripping up the old deck. You know, the one we hired a contractor to rip up and rebuild.
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It was hard, heavy, hot work. Which is why we’re paying someone else to do it.
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An hour or so into the demolition, said contractor showed up…
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And was a little surprised the husband had already started the project for which we’d hired him.
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But they worked side by side, in the heat…
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Because no one told him husbands who are bored with retirement need to keep busy.
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In less than three hours…
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All the rotted old wood planks had been ripped up…
Home repair projects are lining up faster than ever here at Casa River… and if my husband wants to go back to work instead of enjoying retirement? Then I’m going to spend his reinstated paycheck hiring a contractor to fix the things that need to be fixed.
New driveway? Done.
New windows for the master bedroom? Ordered.
New back deck? Materials being delivered today.
And then there’s the disaster we call a living room ceiling.
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The one that’s been damaged by roof leaks for the the past decade.
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( It doesn’t really look this awful, I had to increase the contrast for the pictures)
Thankfully the cause of the leak was finally found and repaired, but it’s left us with a mess that’s been screaming for help.
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Our house was built in 1974 and an addition was added in 1994. This bump out to the living room included a support beam like structure that has been nothing but trouble.
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It’s slightly sagging in the middle and of course it was also water damaged.
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The problem in fixing and replacing it…. is we don’t really know what’s up there. The only access is through a tiny hole in the den closet and though my husband has crawled up there numerous times, there’s no attic and no way to reach that particular area.
After one contractor quoted us $25,000 to fix it sight unseen, and another quoted $35,000 to completely rework the trusses, we despaired. But the guy who will be doing our back deck and windows agreed to give it a go and brought over some fun equipment to investigate.
This required moving the furniture into a pile on the other side of the room which Lord Dudley Mountcatten did not appreciate.
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How can you fling your mouse off the couch when it’s right next to the coffee table?
Oh, the horror.
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The first step was drilling holes in the ceiling.
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Second step… threading the spy camera lens into the holes.
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Third step… trying to figure out what the hell you’re looking at.
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Fourth step… drawing a highly technical schematic.
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The contractor wasn’t pleased with the outcome, something about overlapping beams and braces and trusses … but agreed to repair and replace it as best he could. This will involve an utter mess and temporary load bearing devices which I’m not looking forward to, but it has to be done.
And until that day?
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We have a beautiful Swiss cheese ceiling to enjoy.
We had multiple contractors come over and give us estimates on our exterior barn project… (Staining, trimming, soffiting) and after I picked my jaw up off the ground and cursed the fact we didn’t have any children to sell… we chose a locally owned and operated company.
We’re on their schedule, but I don’t know when they’ll start.
I’m sorry, that wasa cruel tease…. and a shameless attempt to lure aged disco fans to my blog. Please feel free to play Neutron Dance and curse me at your leisure.
Not trusting anyone else to pick out the trim boards, the husband dragged me to a lumber yard…
Where he closely examined and rejected dozens of 16 footers in the premium grade.
* Note to lumberyard workers – if you see my husband coming? Run. *
He refused so many, I swear the kid who was helping us starting sprouting grey hair.
After the first hour he delicately suggested we upgrade to the finish grade.
Which we did.
But…. silly boy, did he really think that would make a difference?
It shouldn’t surprise you to learn we were there the entire afternoon. And just when we were ready to leave?
The husband met a fellow Marine.
Another hour later… we left.
It’s amazing how exhausting it is standing around doing nothing. So much so, after we unloaded the truck…
As I was strolling the local hardware store the other day, I came across an item that was begging to be blogged about.
(Yes, I really heard it begging… so now I have to share.)
‘SnotTape.
Let that sink in a moment.
And then visualize some over paid ad exec on Madison Avenue yelling, “Eureka! That new product? Let’s name it after snot!”
I wasn’t sure where… or why they came up with that name, until I said it out loud a few times and realized it’s a contraction for “it’s not tape”.
Which, of course it is.
It’s tape.
So wth?
And because I’m a dedicated blogger, I did some research… which lead me to the heretofore unknown Professional Painting Contractors Forum. (Oh, the things I do for my readers)
While I agreed with this commenter’s review…
“Wouldn’t touch it simply based on the name. What a horrible advertising strategy.”
It was the next two responses that made me want to hire these contractors no matter what they charge.
“I think, “Taint Tape”, would’ve been a catchier name, but whatever“
And…
‘snot worth it.
Bravo Professional Painting Contractors Forum.
I agree.
But Snittens?
Now there’s a product worth having.
You’re welcome.
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