Salesman's Visit

The siding salesman visited this morning. Before he arrived though, Rachel and I started a number of chores. The biggest was burning debris that we had piled up from the ice storm in December. The stuff was ten feet high and in the past, it was always too wet or too dry or too windy. It was just right this morning, so we got the fire going.

The salesman wanted full payment, but Rachel stuck to her guns (I was manning the fire) and said that the cap needed to be addressed first. They inspected the siding job and she took him up on the roof so that he could see how the cap was done. He agreed that it didn't look like a good job.

He made a bigger deal out of the fact that the guys left scrap, trash, etc. He went around and picked up a bunch of it. We agreed that we would pay about 90% of the balance, but that the last amount was held back until they do something about the cap. The salesman took pictures so that he could return to the office and discuss the matter with the company vp.

After he left, Rachel and I made a quick trip to get 6 40lb bags of manure for the gardens. We worked in the gardens most of the afternoon, although I did get some mowing done, and I also worked a tiny bit on the house. I put some plastic on the end of the pex we have out in the patio, to protect it from the UV rays. I need to protect the water supply line as well, but I'm hoping to do that with some pipe insulation (which we need anyway).

I'll be interested to hear back on what the vp of the siding company will agree to do. We feel that it is only right that the cap be done as we had been told it would be done from the beginning. That only seems fair.

I feel badly that the guys that installed the siding might have to return to finish the job. This will not make them happy workers, and because of the trash that the salesman picked up, they'll probably get some scolding over that. And we have no complaints with their work, other than the cap isn't what we'd originally agreed upon.
I just hope that if the same guys have to return to redo the cap, that they're not the type that will vandalize. We just want to have the job done the way we agreed on having it done, and paid to have it done. (and we didn't want to get anyone in trouble over it).

The Parapet Siding Is Done (but it's not as good as it should be)

The parapet siding is done, but not like we had understood it would be. For pictures, click here.

The guys finished, but after they left, I walked up on the roof to see it closer. The first thing I noticed (and Rachel agreed) is that the cap is wrong. It's in two pieces, not one. That cap is supposed to be a single piece that starts in front, goes over the top, and then down the back side of the parapet for a couple of inches.

At first, they incorrectly put a white cap up (but only for about 20 feet). They ran out of material and then figured out that it was the wrong color. The white cap was one piece. It looked good. We liked how it sloped down the retaining wall a couple of inches. When they replaced the cap with the right color, for some reason, the material is the right color, but it appears to be slightly different and they had to cap in two pieces.

Rachel was even more disappointed when she saw the cap. We also didn't like how they did it at the end where it's supposed to lap over the top of the retaining wall a couple of inches. This second time around, they didn't do that. It looks unfinished from the end. You can see the wood underneath the front of the cap. I'm not pleased.

The salesman called and he wants to come by on Saturday and get final payment. Rachel told him that she doesn't feel comfortable paying until the job is "finished". I guess we'll talk about it Saturday morning when the guy visits. Clearly, what we originally discussed with him, is not what we got.

I can tell you that as parapets, and from what people will see, the siding is fine, but now, with what we know, I wouldn't have this siding on the house walls. I don't think it looks good enough. It looks cheap. However, on the parapets, it is fine.

Parapets

The guys returned bright and early to get more siding done on the parapets. They've gotten most of the south side of the house done, and I figure they'll finish that side up tomorrow (they plan to work half a day on Saturday).

The siding looks good. Rachel is happy with it. We've noticed that from down the road, the house blends with the trees now, rather than being very obvious when the white parapets could be clearly distinguished through the trees.

We posted pictures (click here).

I took a lot of pictures today. I also went to a tour through the new BOK Center, which is still under construction. It's of interest to me because my hockey team will be playing there next season. Completion date is set for September 1st, but they've got a long way to go, and the schedule looks tight to me. I hope they can do it.

If you're interested, I posted pictures of that tour too. The link is in the navigation bar to the left. It's "Photos @ Google".

Parapet Siding

The siding guys returned this morning at 7:00. I opened up the gates and got them started. It was an overcast day, with thunderstorms in the forecast. The storms ended up coming after they left, so we got a day's work in from them (sort of). They left at 15:00. They did take off for over an hour for lunch, so it didn't feel like an 8 hour day to me, but on the other hand, I'm paying for the job, not by the hour, so it doesn't matter to me. The quality of work seems to be good, so I can't complain.

I took a few pictures (click here to see) and hope to get a few throughout the job until they finish in a week or so.

On another note, I called an electrician over a week ago. It's almost been two weeks, actually. The guy never called me back and he hasn't come by. I'm frustrated. I guess business is so good that he can afford to throw work away. I'll call someone else next week so that I can get the electrical work that's needed beneath the slab. I want to pour the slabs in a couple of months.

After the electrician gets his work done, I need to do the duct work for the ventilation system. I also need to install the central vacuum system, the stereo wiring, computer network cable, telephone cable, and security cabling. After that, we can pour concrete and get this house project moving again.

Parapets

The siding company had a schedule change and so we got in much earlier than expected (although I was hoping for this all along). Two guys showed up around noon today and started assessing the job. I think what we have scared them a bit. They left for a while and returned with some light lumber for applying to the parapets prior to putting on the siding.

Click here for initial photos.

The biggest problem the guys ran into is that they started putting up some 1x4s and found out that they need longer fasteners. The ones they had weren't getting into the concrete enough to hold. They made it through the insulation, but not enough into the concrete to do the job. So they quit early today, but we figure they'll make up for lost time tomorrow.

From what I understand, it's going to take a week of prep work before they can really start applying the siding. This siding is what we picked for the parapets. We're not ready for work on the walls yet, and Rachel and I still haven't determined if we'll brick the walls or if we want some other type of fascade. We still have time to decide that, but we wanted to go ahead and get siding up for the parapets, because that much we do know. Plus, we were in dire need of protecting the insulation that is on the parapets. They need to be covered.