Well....It might be done! The painters were at the house all day Saturday and when I walked up to feed the horses that evening, all the doors were locked. We don't have a key, so I don't know what the actual status really is. But, by the time you read this, I will have called the supervisor and ask him what's up.
Paint and Mirrors were the only remaining parts of the work on the house. The supervisor had asked if we'd be available this week for final walk through.
"Well, Dan, I'm really pretty busy right now. Can we hold off a bit?"
Right, Beans, that was not what I said.
Stumbled into a bit of good luck with regard to the road, and a bit of bad luck with regard to the road.
Ever the optimist, I'll start with the good luck. The company we had talked with about putting down the chip seal portion of the road called and asked if we were still interested. They had quoted us a price of $2/sq ft as a planning factor. The road is 2300' x 10'. (I can do that math without a calculator, $46K).
So that and the concrete water crossings were put into the house budget for $100K. Well, when the guy from the paving company came by and took a look at the actual site, he didn't know we were already going to put in the base. So, he dropped the price to $1.5/sq ft. or $34.5K.
When he called last week, he asked if we were ready to go, because his crew was between jobs this week and were available. If we were, he'd drop the price to $1.35 or just over $31K.
The problem is the low water crossing guy is on vacation this week, and he wasn't enthused when I asked him if the chip seal part could be done first. "Well, you CAN do it that way, but that's not the way I would do it."
When I explained that to the chip seal guy, he said, "Nonsense. You cut the chip seal and that saves you needing to build a frame for that edge of the concrete."
Which seems to make sense to me, but what do I know about this. I'm pondering this when the chip seal guy says, "Tell you what, we'll throw in the two water crossings for free." Well...15K is 15K.
So I told him to go ahead. He's supposed to start at 9 this morning.
I got a decided feel from my concrete guy that he's not actually real interested in the project. I've been trying to get him to commit to pour dates of somewhere between Aug 10 and 21. He's hesitant to do that.
But, because this is all on the house construction loan and that agreement says "All construction completed before Closing" any delay pushes move in later and later. So. If he returns from vacation and can't do it within the window, we'll have chip seal crossings. Not as strong as concrete but still better than mud.
If he can commit, the chip seal crossings can be cut out and concrete poured and it didn't cost us any more than the original plan.
So...we shall see what we shall see.
And by the way. I've discovered what the most terrifying phrase a wife can say to her husband at this time.
"I'm running a fever."
Holy crap, my world went south very quickly there after.
Fortunately, she took some tylenol, took a nap, had a light dinner, went to bed and woke up without a temp. She's got some pain in her stomach area, so she's going to see the doctor this morning. I don't think it's serious, but you just never know.
I've been conversing with the Big Guy a lot lately.
As one gets close to completion, that seems to be where all the little glitches and problems show up.
ReplyDeleteMy best to Mrs. J, prayers up for her health! (And your's too, of course.)
You’re right about that. The painters showed back up at 7:30 this morning. Fortunately, they said they’d be here all day. So assuming (yeah, I know) the road guys get here and get it done, should work out ok.
DeleteThanks
Diverticulitis ring a bell? Oh boy!
DeleteHad a bout of diverticulosis about 15 years ago, needed to change the diet.....more fiber for one thing. Prayers will be sent.
DeleteDiverticulitis rings a vast cacophony of bells, chimes, whistles, and the like. Tell Mrs. J she has my sympathy. Figure out what's causing it and avoid those like the plague! For me it's nuts and seeds. Fiber helps keeps the line moving, if'n you catch my drift?
DeleteSeriously, been there, done that, got the semi-colon...
Was there a method to figuring out the cause or just realizing what you'd consumed when it flared up? What's the time period between consumption of said ingredient and the flare up? Asking for a friend :-)
DeleteThese days, let's say someone sneaks a sesame seed into my food. I'm in pain within hours. When I first started having flareups, it was in the Air Force. My doc thought it might be diverticulitis and we both figured it was peanuts, which aren't all that easy to digest. So I laid off peanuts for a long time, until I forgot about them. Ate some, no problem, for a couple of years I was eating nuts with no problems, then boom. Happened again. Laid off nuts, then sesame seeds, had a flare up after some sushi in Virginia Beach.
DeleteIt varies from person to person from what I understand. Stress is a contributing factor, had a rough patch at work. After years of no problems, flared up bad, actually damaged my colon. I know quite a few people for whom it never gets bad. If it does, they take the antibiotics and not eat for a day or two, then bland (seriously bland) food for a week or so.
Just tell her to be careful and listen to the docs.
Test came back positive for diverticulitis, cat scan confirmed it. Her mother was British, so a week or two ago, she cooked some tomatos and had them with her breakfast. Evidently a very British thing to do. So, we're operating under the proposition that was the dietary change issue. She's back to her normal oatmeal breakfast as of today and I'm taming down the spiciness of the other meals. We'll see what we see. But thanks for the info.
DeleteBummer, but there are worse things it could've been.
DeleteTomatoes are one of the things I can't eat, it's the seeds. They get stuck in the little pockets and the next thing I know, pain.
Oatmeal is a nice meal during recovery. I don't have any issues at all with spicy food, knock on wood, it's the nuts and seeds which get me, every time.
Hang in there Mrs J!
Thanks, she's a lot tougher than I, so I think she'll be fine.
DeleteMine is that way as well, stuff that would make me whimper just makes her grit her teeth and press on.
DeleteFingers crossed on your concrete guy and prayers sent for the Mrs.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nylon
DeletePraying for her as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks STxAR
DeletePrayers up for Mrs. J. How exciting (and nerve wracking) to be so close to completion!
ReplyDeleteThanks TB
DeleteI'm glad to see progress on the road and it's not likely you will change your plans to having the low spots bridged.
ReplyDeleteYep, my brain is now playing the Colonel Bogey March tune.
And I agree that the words "I don't feel well" are doubly terrifying when said by a loved one.
Good wishes.
Well the road guys showed up on schedule. They're out scraping and leveling right now. Dogs are going crazy. Mrs J is off to her appointment, so we shall see.
DeleteThanks.
Now comes the frustrating part of the deal: the walk through, punch list, and the many months it takes to cross all items off of the punch list, and the squabbles with the punch list contractors that thought they were done with your job, have moved onto other things, and don't bother to return your calls thinking that eventually you will stop calling.
ReplyDeleteSuch fun to be had.
So...I've got that to look forward to...yay!
DeleteStill got high hopes though. We shall see what we shall see.
Lucky you. God, I hate being involved in new construction. My wife loves it, she gets involved in all of the choices in design, cabinetry, trim, etc. I always get to be the bad guy by making contractors do what they are supposed to do, but didn't.
DeleteI know the feeling. The road episode had me going crazy, I had no idea what to do until the pavers threw in the crossings. Then it became quite a bit easier and if the concrete guy backs out, cheaper. At least in the short term. The paver's stuff will have to be replace in a few years, but unless that price changes, I'll still be ahead for a long time.
DeleteGod loves to hear from His children. Our desire is always to do His will and inquire as to what that might be. We're praying that the Mrs.' stomach will settle down and you can worry about something else. I remember when we redid our kitchen in Santa Cruz. The hardest part was to place ourselves and our time and schedule in the hands of others. Especially us-all Juvat who've been taught for years that if you, and you alone screw it up, you're dead. That, and being totally anal in my lifestyle, hve been the biggest challenges of 55 years of marriage. Love helps all things.
ReplyDeleteThanks D4. Yeah, not everyone out there is a good wingman and those that are are treasured. Had a lot of them in the military and a few, very few, in civilian life. The supervisor is a former Marine, and so far, he's been pretty straight forward, so I have high hopes.
DeleteYes it does. Thanks
Glad things (except for the concrete guy) look to be finishing up. Surprised Chip-Seal guy didn't offer to send some business to a concrete guy he knows so you can cut out your concrete guy, but a contract is kind of a contract. Though if your concrete guy isn't officially your concrete guy, maybe your chip-seal guy could, you know, do you a favor.
ReplyDeleteClosing possibly by end of August. Sounds great.
As to your lovely wife, yeah, I know how you feel. It's bad when I notice Mrs. Andrew not feeling well, but when Mrs. Stoica says she's not feeling well, alarum bells go off upstairs and I get into over-hovering mode. Worse is when she wakes up and wants to go right back to sleep, and does so, hard. Or when she's so ill feeling that I can barely get her up for pill time.
Hope things go well. If issue persists, please hogtie her and drag her to your doc, pronto. They don't call wives 'the better half' for nothing.
She's at the Doc right now. We shall see. She does tend to get hard headed about seeing the doctor at times. Since she went with little argument, I think she's a tad scared also. We'll see.
DeleteGood that she's at the Doc. Bad that she's at the Doc. Hope and pray she will be okay.
DeleteWe're waiting on lab results, He thinks it's diverticulitis, but if not it's a urinary tract infection. Once those results are known, he'll order up the prescription and I'll make a trip to town.
DeleteThe “Big Guy” reminds us of what is truly important.
ReplyDeletePrayers from here.
My experiences with home construction/remodeling weren’t without adventure, but callbacks were never an issue.
Things were done right the first time.
Well, except for that one thing that the guy who developed the properties screwed up.
Thanks, Skip.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have a story worth posting. I'll go check.
It's done and will be there early tomorrow.
DeleteYou can decide if it is worth reading.
Having been on both sides of what you are going through, it seems overall your various tradesmen are above average. In the years ahead you will have the satisfaction of living in a place uniquely yours.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm pretty happy with the process so far. As I mentioned earlier, I like the project supervisor and think he's done a great job at keeping us up on what's going on, what the next step is, what's not up to his liking etc. He's made some good suggestions based on what we've told him we're planning to use each room for. So, I highly recommend the company.
DeleteHope Mrs j is going to be OK. My wife is an MD and has been battling similar issues for a few years. We have to watch her diet very carefully and manage flare ups quickly. Worse for her since she often knows, or feels she knows, a bit more medicine than the docs treating her. She's usually not incorrect in that assessment, And at times that does not make her a better patient.
ReplyDeleteHope the road thing works out OK - as well as the walk through
Sorry to hear that, Tom. Guess I need to do some dietary research on it, assuming the lab tests confirm. I think your wife's patience with being a patient is a variation of the old saw "You're always conservative about the thing you know the best."
DeleteMe too.
Thanks
Some income, even if less that quoted is better than NO income... Take it and run! Glad Mrs. J is at the doc. Women tend to wait WAY to long before they go.
ReplyDeleteThanks OldNFO. It's not like there won't be something else we "desperately" need to buy.
DeleteThey are at that. Not like us flyer guys, who viewed the Doc as the only human being alive who could shoot us down, just with a pen. Haven't gotten over that.
Ooh, I hate those gambles on construction projects. The Big Guy will definitely hear you, but maybe St. Joseph can intercede a little for you too.
ReplyDeleteWell, the chip seal guys showed up exactly as promised, prepped the base, Monday. And have been putting down the chip seal layers today. Had to deliver the Desks to MBD we rendezvous at SIL's parents house in Austin for the exchange. There are three sections to the project, "The Lane" which gives access to the property from the county road, the road from the lane to our current house and guest houses and the road from the lane to our new house, plus 3 parking area. The lane is finished,the road to our current house is also and I can hear them working the road to our new house. So....I'd say this part of the project is going well. Drove on the parts from the county road to our current house on returning from Austin. Hasn't been that smooth in years (millennia maybe). So I'm liking things so far.
Delete