Larry Hnetka Goes HMmmm

Photo Theme: DIRTY

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This is not a war zone. It is my living room while renovations were being done to my place. I still cringe at the thought of how dirty the workmen left my place every day. After a few weeks, I think I just became numb to all that was going on around me. If I had been thinking straight, I'd have kicked his sorry butt up one side of the street and down the other. Dirty rotten bastard that he is.

All the photos have descriptive captions to help you picture the dirty mess I lived in during the renos. [Click and hold your mouse to drag the photo to another position on your screen if you have difficulty reading the caption.]

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At the left of the picture you can see the dirt barrier the contractor made. He enclosed the living room area with plastic sheeting so that I could have someplace to sleep during construction. For a few weeks I thought it would be fine. When the job dragged on for five months, I was almost going crazy from the dirt and drywall dust. I should have sued; but I didn't.

This Saturday’s theme is DIRTY.

Here’s a major tip if you’re planning to do renovations to your place. Put your stuff in storage and move out.

I lived for five months in the construction site you see in these photos.

What still confounds me is that I actually lived in my dining room during August and September while these renos were done.

The contractor kindly installed a false 2X4 wall and enclosed the dining room with heavy plastic sheeting. It was a living nightmare.

Here’s the background info to this reno from hell.

A while ago we had some exterior work done on my condo. I innocently asked the contractor we had hired if it was possible to add a small en-suite bathroom to my master bedroom.

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This is my master bedroom piled high with all my belongings and safely secured under plastic. Did you know drywall dust gets into everything no matter how well you wrap and seal it?

My rationale for this renovation was sound, or so I thought. My master bedroom is a large, high-ceiling loft type space. But the roof has quite a steep slope as well. Backing on to my main bathroom was a very large walk-in closet.

I had already done my research and knew that a sink/shower/toilet would fit into the space. The knowledge I lacked was in the technical end of things like plumbing and electrical stuff.

The contractor looked at it and said, “no problem; simple job.”

In the throes of renovation dreams, I got the bright idea to move the full-size washer and dryer from its location upstairs and install a stacking washer and dryer downstairs in a spot adjacent to a small “powder room” off the dining room area.

The space gained from re-locating the washer/dryer and by snatching some “air-space” from the main stairwell added about 60 square feet to the second bedroom.

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This is a similar shot to the first photo. My dining room may be a bit messy but it certainly isn't dirty like it was during the renovations.

The contractor came back with what I thought was a reasonable quote and a five-week timeline. In hindsight I should have known something was up when he told me that I had to designate the “powder room” for the exclusive use of his workers.

Let’s just say, worker #1 made a half-hour pit-stop every morning. It was so nasty, I ended up holding the can of Glade right under his nose and yelled at him to use it or else.

I won’t bore you with all the details except to say the five weeks turned into five months. Each and every wall in my entire place had been touched in some way and new drywall had to be installed. I lived in the dining room as the rest of the house was piled under plastic in my bedroom.

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The finished en-suite bathroom sink and vanity. By the way, the small three piece en-suite ended up including a shower, tub, toilet, sink and vanity with opening windows that overlook my living room. I may have been mad at the time but it is my small oasis of calm where I often take long baths just because.

I had an exterior window replaced as it had those stupid little openings that made no sense. That window arrived and sat in my carport for two months. When the time came to install it, I was informed that I had to rent the scaffold as the window was on the second floor. I refused. The contractor trucked in enough scaffolding to build a skyscraper.

Five men arrived one morning, ripped out the old window and don’t you know, oooops, the window had not only been measured incorrectly but had been constructed backwards.

For six weeks there was plastic stapled to the hole where the window was. The tale of woe goes on and on and on.

The best part though was at the end of the project when some of the finishing stuff still had been neglected, the contractor arrived with a one-page, hand-written invoice for an additional $15,000 over what he had quoted.

Needless to say, I refused to pay. I asked for a detailed listing of where these “overruns” had come from. After another six months of argument over this bill, threats that I would be taken to court, etc. etc. we compromised on a figure about 1/10 that of his original invoice. And even that I insisted on writing on his invoice that I was paying him that amount under protest and was not satisfied that he had fulfilled his contractual obligations.

I tried to think where and when the project went off the rails. But it was so insidious and energy sucking that I can’t pinpoint when or why other than it did.

All my advance research and planning was for naught. The completed renovations have added considerable value to my condo but what a dirty five months of my life.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 31st, 2007 at 11:34:29 PM and is filed under JOURNAL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.