Updates on the Cabin Part 1

As you know, we headed to Michigan for Christmas to spend time with our family. While we were there, the contractor (R) was scheduled to get a good bit of work done including the electric, hvac, and the plumbing. Much to our displeasure, we returned to the cabin after our trip (Wednesday, Jan 2) to find that not only had the work not been completed, but also that the work that had been done had not been done right. We were exhausted from the trip, but we immediately jumped on the phone to find out what was going on. Later that evening, we finally got in contact with R, and he said that he’d be out the next day to find out what was going on.

The next day (Thursday, Jan 3), R arrived, and we went over everything. He assured us that everything would be made right. The electricians came and took care of the hvac (or so we thought). We later found that they did not do what they said they had done, and the work was not complete. In fact, due to their incompetence, we ended up heating up the under side of the house. This was after we had just complained that the insulation was still not installed, so we had gone through an entire 250 gallon tank of propane heating the place up. GRRRR!!!  Little did we know the huge change that was going to take place….

The following morning (Friday, Jan 4), I received a phone call informing us that the company had fired R. What????  Apparently, we weren’t the only people who were having issues. (Side note: I will say that the R was not the entire problem. The subcontractors were also a huge issue, but when you’re the general contractor, the buck stops with you.)  He (K) introduced himself as the contractor who would be taking over on the job.  He said that he could make it out the next week to talk to us. I told him that he was welcome to come out that day. lol!  To his credit, he did end up coming out that day. We went over everything, and he appologized over and over.  He said that he needed to get his boss (P) out there so we could go over the numbers and all other factors involved in the situation.

I talked to P later that day, and he came out on Saturday, Jan 5.  We walked the job, and then he and I sat down to go over the numbers while D worked on getting the proper framing up. (Yes, at this point, we decided that we were going to take the reigns and start really getting things done. D has the background for this, and we have the skill set to do most of the work.)  P was shocked to see how much time and work we had already put into all of this and how little the company had done. He was also very apologetic about the work that had been done wrong. He asked that we give him the opportunity to make it right. He asked for me to give him until mid-week to get the paperwork together, so we could start moving forward with everything. We agreed, but also told him that we needed to get some work done as D had already taken too much leave while waiting for them to actually do work.

After P left, we continued to get work done. By the time that we left on Sunday, everything was framed in, the pocket door frame was installed, and the subfloor had been laid. It was all set for the electricians to get everything wired in. (They had said they hadn’t completed the work because the framework wasn’t done.) We had completed more work in 2 days than had been accomplished since the construction company had been sent by our insurance company back in November. D had to get back to work, and I had things that I needed to get done at home.

To be continued….