Our Water System Had To Be Repaired

We have water again (sort of). I got a well service to come out to work on the problem. I dug up half the trench to find the leak, but it turned out to be in three different locations along the pipe. We ended up having to dig almost the entire trench in order to find the last location where the water line had been pulled loose. It was loose at the pvc connections.

This ordeal costed me $120 to get it fixed, and now I have all this dirt to have to back fill into the trench. I'm leaving the trench open for a while because at least I know where that line is now, and before we run the propane, water and electric lines to the house, I want to make sure we can avoid damaging them again.

The day was a bad day, but at least now we have a new electrical pole and I can now dig a trench for those utility lines to the new house.

The well needs to be shocked now. The system was open and so it's not sanitized. Rachel and I will shock the well with bleach and wait a day and then flush the system. So, we'll be without usable water until after the system is shocked and then flushed.

One Step Forward / One Step Backward

It feels like every time we make a little bit of progress, something happens and we step backwards and there's no progress at all. It was like that today, and as of right now, it is a step backwards, not forwards.

First of all, we needed a power pole added for the new house. I marked a place for it to go so that it would be conveniently located, yet clear the water pipe from the well head to the shed where the pressure tank and other water-related stuff is. Well, the auger that the power company used was huge and powerful, but it wasn't powerful enough to not be moved by the rocks we have in our ground. It moved too far to the south and got into our water line. It broke the water line, but somehow didn't seem to hurt the power to the well. So we had to shut the circuit off because the well was just pumping water like crazy and it went all over the inside of the shed and out on the ground.

Now we have the new pole for electricity to the new house, but we don't have water. Now I have to fix that.

So I had to start digging a trench from where the damaged pipe is, over to to where it enters the shed. I had a tough time even finding someone that could come out and work on it, and finally got a guy that is located 40 miles west of Tulsa, and so he's going to have to drive this long distance (at an additional charge) to get out to our location and fix this mess.

And when this is all fixed, we'll have to shock the well again because now the water system has been compromised. So we'll be without drinking water for a couple of days until we can get that cleaned up.

The Cap Blew Off Again

The cap blew off again and we still haven't gotten any callbacks or follow up from Burnett, Inc. I was supposed to call the salesman today but I was busy with other things and he wasn't in the office when I called. I'll have to escalate things.

Even with the rocks I had weighing that section of cap down, the wind gusts were enough to blow the cap off. I put it back on, but weighed it down with additional rocks.

I believe that the cap is an issue because it was a rushed job. I thought it was odd that they could do the entire thing in about an hour and a half, and one guy was doing it while the other guy was picking up their tools and getting ready to leave. I was amazed when they finished and left.

I was hoping that they would've been out last week and replaced the cap and done it correctly, but they didn't. I'm disappointed that I paid. Every time we do this we pay before the job is done and we always end up regretting it.

Shouldn't have paid balance on the siding

I now regret paying 90% of the balance on the siding job until it was properly finished. The salesman showed up that day and pressured us and so we agreed to pay 90%. That was a mistake. The work still hasn't been done and this weekend, we had strong winds that blew the cap off. These winds weren't the 70mph winds we sometimes get. These were merely 30mph gusts and the cap should've been able to hand that.

Click here to see.

I'm a bit frustrated. The company, Burnett Inc, has called us a couple of times, indicating that they want the balance paid, as if the work has already been done. It hasn't. They acted as if it had been.

I even received a call last Thursday from one of the guys that had done the installation, and he asked if he could show up after 17:00 to finish the job. So it appeared that they do intend to finish the job, but the thing is, he was wanting to do it after 17:00, as if to say that it's a lower priority than their day jobs. And the guy never showed up, so it's definitely not a priority for them.

I don't like to have these confrontations, but I'm going to have to call the people at Burnett on Monday and remind them that we're waiting for them to finish the job. I also plan to tell them that we're never going to pay a balance again until the work is complete. This was a mistake to do it this time. We were trying to be nice. We were trying to do the right thing, and unfortunately, they have not done the same.

No Callbacks, No Progress, Frustrated

I'm a bit frustrated this last few days. We were told by the siding salesman that we'd be contacted with regards to the issues we raised the past weekend. We expected this call on Monday. We expected it on Tuesday. It didn't happen yesterday. I'm frustrated. It seems to me that their lack of followup is a sign that they do not intend to make things right. I'm glad we didn't pay them the last little bit.

I'm frustrated that we haven't gotten a callback from the concrete contractor that I spoke with late last week. He was supposed to call and come out on Tuesday. That never happened.

I'm frustrated that the first electrical contractor we gave a plan to hasn't called us. He was supposed to get back with us this week, but never called. He wouldn't even come to our site, and we had to take the plan to him. And of course, we don't see how he can get a clear picture of what we need when he wouldn't come on site to look things over.

I did get a second electrician out to look over the site and I gave him a copy of the electrical plan so he'd be able to make notes on it while walking through the site. He said he'd get back to us, so I'm hopeful that maybe he will in a week or so.

I have determined that we'll need to get another storage container rented and brought out to the site. We had one a year ago, but finished using it in August or so and saved money by not renting it any longer. We need it for a while now, to clear out the house and let whichever electrician room to do his work in the section of the master suite where some of our building materials are currently stored. We'll need to put them in the storage container.

I don't know of a good spot to put that container, but I suspect it'll be between the house and the road, and I can live with that, although it means covering up the spot that I was hoping we could put some of the excess concrete when getting the slab poured.

I haven't done as much in this last few days as I had hoped. I haven't been feeling as well, and now that I might feel better, the weather is going to turn bad for a couple of days.

I'm frustrated.

It has almost been a year since we broke ground, and we still don't even have the sub poured. We don't have the electrical work in the slab done. I'm frustrated. My hopes are that the frustration will force me to make things happen. It's motivation, I guess.

On a lighter note, if there is one, I've also been frustrated with this hosting site. I've been trying to upload pictures for a few days, and they aren't there yet. I'm going to have to put in a technical support issue report and hope that it'll be resolved soon.

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.