Tag Archives: projects

Finally!

November 21, 2023 Rivergirl 29 Comments

Thoroughly disgusted with everything about Hammond Lumber due to our ongoing window fiasco, we instructed our contractor never to buy anything from them for us again. This includes the back doors that poorly run excuse for a store couldn’t manage to find after 3 weeks of trying.

The mind boggles.

With those instructions… our poor, beleaguered, probably sick of us contractor went across town to another building supplier called Hancock Lumber and opened an account.

Within minutes they found the odd sized bedroom door with the decorative window we wanted in the correct size.

It’s a miracle!

They actually laughed when told what an issue we’d been having with it.

And not only did they promptly order that door, but they had the full glass panel door with built in blind we need for the living room…the one that baffled the other place… on the display floor.

Another miracle!

Our contractor was so thrilled he took photos and texted them to me.

And that my friends is how it’s supposed to work.

You go to the store.

You tell them what you want.

They order it.

In a matter of minutes.

I’m not religious, but thank you Jesus!

Oh, sure. We paid more than I expected…but the damn things will here in 10-14 days and with any luck will be installed before it snows.

Finally!

Some good news.

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Please tell me I’ll laugh about this one day.

November 18, 2023 Rivergirl 31 Comments

You know how they say war is Hell? While I’m sure that’s true, I’d like to add an addendum…

Custom made windows are the absolute bottom, flame filled, covered in kale and cilantro, merciless pit of no return, bad hair day Hell.

After waiting a month and half with two faulty windows already installed, and after having two separate store rep / window experts make home visits to tell us the windows were indeed faulty, we went to the store from which they were purchased to seek satisfaction yesterday.

(Please keep in mind both supposed experts suggested we get a refund.)

Our plan was to shop for a similar high grade window made by a different company. After explaining our problem, a nice salesgirl helped us start looking and things were going well until we were interrupted by the manager.

It went downhill from there. And it went downhill very quickly.

Ice covered mountain road with bald tires slathered in butter kind of quickly.

We introduced ourselves politely, stated our issue succinctly and got absolutely nowhere. After a long discussion about quality control at the manufacturing level (it’s non existent), and a longer discussion about expecting to get what you pay for (that was us) we were told –

1. No refund would be forthcoming because it was a special order.

And –

2. I’m quoting here, “Nothing is perfect.”

To say we were stunned is an understatement.

To say my husband was ready to explode is right on the mark.

Oh, the manager said if the report filed by the second store rep expert came back showing faulty construction they would replace the off square sashes, but chuckle chuckle, hey…. they might be off square as well.

What the utter f*ck?

Are we supposed to pay over $5,500 and shrug our shoulders at defective merchandise? Apparently so.

My husband didn’t punch the manager. He didn’t even curse him out which I felt like doing repeatedly, but he did threaten to get a lawyer as we walked out.

Here’s the problem with that… technically we did not purchase the windows. Our contractor did… for us. So by the letter of the law the store doesn’t owe us anything. I’m having a hard time making my angry as all get out husband understand that, but that’s where we are.

We spoke with our contractor after this fiasco and he will be going to the store as soon as he can to fight for a refund on our behalf. To be honest I don’t see it happening.

But I’ll keep you posted.

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The post where we waited a month to find out what we knew a month ago.

November 17, 2023 Rivergirl 27 Comments

The day finally arrived, as did the supposed window expert.

We’d had rain, sleet and snow in the morning but by the time he showed up at 2:30 it was just wet and cold.

After a thorough exterior examination with our contractor, the inspection moved inside.

Measurements were taken, levels were checked…

Pieces and parts were removed and given a complete going over.

The result?

A determination that the windows themselves weren’t square and one was 3/16ths off plumb. Which is what we told them a month ago.

Pictures were taken for the report and we were left with two options.

1. Completely new sashes could be ordered for four out of the five windows. This would take at least 7-8 weeks with no guarantee they would be any better than these.

2. A complete refund could be requested and 5 new windows ordered from a different company… which will also take 7-8 weeks.

I can’t stress how much of an inconvenience this has been and will continue to be. Either option will force our contractor to be installing windows in January.

In Maine.

Grrr… not to mention brrr.

We’ve decided to go with door #2 and will be heading over to the store later today to argue for a full refund and begin the entire window selection process again.

Needless to say I’m not looking forward to it.

😡

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This should be fun. Not.

November 16, 2023 Rivergirl 18 Comments

The Marvin window specialist didn’t show up the day they were scheduled, which for once was a good thing. Our contractor is back in town now and thankfully will be meeting the rep at our house later this afternoon.

That’s the good news.

The bad news looks like this :

Not exactly optimal window repair and/or extraction weather.

And while I feel sorry for our contractor… it seems like the expert is getting what he deserves for making us wait an entire month.

😈

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You can’t make this stuff up.

November 14, 2023 Rivergirl 18 Comments

Well, alright you could.

But I’m not, I swear.

When last I blogged about the bedroom renovation project from Hell, we’d decided to throw in the towel and get a full refund on the faulty custom built windows. Our contractor was going to handle that for us since they were purchased through him on his account. It’s not the route I wanted to take, but something had to be done.

Yeah, I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.

Our contractor attempted to get the refund and spent a half hour arguing with the sales rep before being bumped up to the manager who told him no refund could be made by the store until the Marvin window service expert approved it.

This is the expert for whom we’ve been waiting over three weeks and the reason my husband has smoke coming out his ears while he sputters about small claims court. They keep saying he’ll be here but he hasn’t shown yet.

After endless phone calls our contractor tentatively got a date to meet the service expert here and then… yes, you know there had to be a then…. then he had an unexpected death in the family and had to fly to Virginua.

Of course he did.

I expected nothing less.

Our contractor wants to be here because he knows if the expert tries to weasel out of a full refund they’ll blame him for faulty installation and he wants to defend himself. I want him to be here because while I know he tried everything to make the windows work… I don’t know exactly what steps he took.

So as it stands now… the expert is supposed to be here tomorrow, but our contractor won’t be, as his flight doesn’t get in until midnight.

I’m honestly hoping the expert is true to form and arrives a day or two late as I don’t want my husband to burst an artery arguing with the guy.

What a f’ing mess.

🥴

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Bedroom renovation project part whatever… I’m not sure I even care anymore.

November 7, 2023 Rivergirl 18 Comments

Einstein said time is relative and while that may be true in most cases, when you’re seriously considering slashing the tires of a building supply store’s sales representative you have to wonder at the veracity of his statement.

Time has been crawling… and often standing stock still for our small, nothing special, should have been completed long ago project.

We ordered windows in July. They were delivered in October. On day one of the installation the first was found faulty. On day two the second was found faulty.

And then we waited. And waited. And waited for the Marvin window specialists to come inspect the problem. We waited and we complained to our contractor. Who in turn waited and complained to the store’s sales rep. After a full three weeks of waiting and complaining and wind whistling through the gaps, we issued an ultimatum to our contractor who issued an ultimatum to the store’s sales rep. Come out and fix the issue or take back your windows and refund our money.

When pressed the sales rep said the specialists could be here in 3 weeks. Three more weeks? That would put us at the end of November… which in Maine can mean snow. And if we wait those three weeks and the specialists determine the new windows are indeed faulty and need to be replaced? We’d be another 3 weeks behind schedule.

Nuts to that.

Our contractor is coming back in a few days to remove the two faulty windows and reinstall our old leaking nightmares. We’ll demand a full refund and will have to order another set of custom built windows at another store because the customer service at this one…. which is local, Maine owned, and highly respected… sucked the big root.

And after I put a curse on the manager? I’m never dealing with them again.

I’m beyond disgusted at this point. The new bedroom flooring and furniture I’ve been anxious to buy has been put on hold again and there’s no telling how long it will take for 5 new windows to be built elsewhere.

The doors? Do not get me started on the doors. That problem hasn’t been solved yet either.

This project has been such an utter clusterf*ck it makes me shudder at the mere thought of redoing our two bathrooms. They were supposed to be next on the list… but to be honest I’m not sure my nerves can take it.

🥴

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O.M.G. … is this a man thing or am I losing my mind?

November 2, 2023 Rivergirl 23 Comments

We have to special order two replacement doors.

I have told our contractor numerous times what type of doors we want. He relays this information to the store rep he orders through.

And while the rep was on track with the living room door for some reason the bedroom door is still a problem.

I gave our contractor the door catalog and circled these three styles.

I texted him this photo from the website.

I specifically described the shape and style of the top window door we want. I gave him everything he needed to order said door which he passed along to the sales rep… so you can imagine my surprise when he emailed me this.

Does that look like the door we wanted?

No, it does not. So a few days later he emailed me this.

Does that look like the door we wanted?

Again, it does not… so a few days later he emailed me this.

Okay, we’re getting closer… but this half fan model is a bit old fashioned and not the door that we want.

Help me out here. Am I being unclear… or is this a man thing?

Do all pretty windows look the same to the male eye?

I swear this door will be the death of me. Or at the very least the death of my sanity.

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Bedroom renovation project, part 7… a recap.

October 29, 2023 Rivergirl 9 Comments

Eleven days in, this is where we are.

Status: Suspended. No progress. Work stoppage until further notice.

Mood: Annoyed. Aggravated. And basically bat shit crazy.

Part one, the windows –

We have two brand new custom built windows that are leaking air, gap ridden and nonfunctional. Our bedroom is still empty, torn apart, blind and curtainless.

We’re waiting to hear from one of the five specialty crews from the manufacturer who have been assigned to fix our problem. They cover the entire state and while they could be here tomorrow? They could also be here two weeks from now.

We are not happy.

Part two-

When last reported, our contractor had been sent out into the world to procure a door.

A stinky little nothing special door which I figured everyone would have in stock and didn’t bother to special order because it would take too much time. I was wrong.

Boy, was I wrong.

Our contractor scoured the area, checking big box stores and small mom and pops. He even tried the Habitat for Humanity re-store.

Nada. Nothing. Zilch.

There isn’t a replacement door available in the size we need anywhere within a 300 mile radius. And probably beyond that. Hell, at this point I’m beginning to wonder if they exist at all.

So we’re going to have to do the thing I didn’t want to do in the first place, special order one. The contractor has been tasked with that job because if I have to think about doors any more than I already have? My brain will explode.

And because he’s special ordering one door?

We’re having him special order a replacement for the other door which will eventually have to go as well. At least this way they’ll both be new at the same time.

As I write this, I have no idea of the lead time on special order doors. With my luck it will be sometime in mid December when there’s 3 feet of snow on the ground.

As always…

I’ll keep you posted.

🥴

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I wish I could laugh about it, but I’m not there yet.

October 28, 2023 Rivergirl 13 Comments

Remember the long searched for door we bought the other day?

The one the salesman assured us was rated for exterior use?

Turns out it wasn’t.

And according to our contractor, it’s not even close.

Of course it wasn’t what we needed. This is a renovation project at our house where all attempts to improve things are doomed.

Destined to fail.

And more than likely cursed by an angry pickle God.

As I said previously, I’m done. We will take this useless door back to the store and send our contractor out to buy the next one. Maybe he’ll have better luck.

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The door nightmare continues… and ends with a few margaritas.

October 25, 2023 Rivergirl 13 Comments

Since our contractor has to wait for the window company service reps to inspect that particular nightmare, he’s decided to replace the bedroom door now instead of later.

To recap… the door.

Nothing special, just a regular door.

As I said earlier we wanted to replace it with something like this, though not in brown.

Just a pretty little window at the top. How hard could that be?

After our multiple trips to Lowes with inadequate dimensions the other day, I had the contractor pull off the trim and take the rough opening measurements himself.

I even had him fill out the form and check all the boxes so there would be no doubt.

Height, width, depth and swing.

Those are the four things you need to know to purchase the correct size. I thought we were home free.

I was wrong.

Of all the doors they had in stock, and trust me… we checked all of them… not one could check all four of our boxes.

We spent over an hour and a half driving the sales guys nuts looking for one with a window before we had to change gears and settle for the same type of plain 6 panel door we currently have.

Boo to that.

Of course it wasn’t easy finding one of those in the correct size either. After another half hour of searching the hundred doors they had in stock? We found two.

The one on the bottom shelf had busted up trim, the one we made the salesman drag down from up top? Had a massive dent on the front.

At this point I was ready to call it quits, grab a piece of plywood and go home to seal up the bedroom wall.

But from the corner of my eye, way down the aisle, in a different section… away from every other GD door we’d looked at… was a row of fire safe doors. I asked if this door was suitable for an exterior entry and was assured it was.