July 4, 2005 One week left & the foundation still isn’t poured.

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The Foundation Contractor

I am going to have some difficulty recounting last week’s events since so much happened in a relatively short amount of time.

First of all, I should mention that the concrete for the stem wall will need to cure for a minimum of one week before the modules are set on it. We are nine days away from the scheduled set date and as of today the framing for the foundation isn’t completed. In my last entry I wrote about how frustrated we were with the foundation progress. The following Monday the workers showed up and started the interior wall. David and I were very happy that they showed up at all and we were starting to become a little more optimistic about reaching the deadline. I drove by the site every other hour and noticed that they left at 2:30.

The following day the workers failed to show up. We promptly telephoned the contractor and left several messages, which again, weren’t answered. This day of missed work was really the last straw and we quickly began to weigh alternative solutions. We wanted to fire him. In order to resolve the situation ASAP we gave him one last chance to redeem himself, while at the same time remaining firm in our position. Our GC’s opinion was that we should treat him “like he’s a very bad boy.” He composed a “notice to cure” on Tuesday which explained how we felt he has abandoned our project, that the construction of our home was complete and that we were giving him one last chance before canceling the contract. We required that he respond in writing by 5 PM Friday and sent a letter via Fed Ex and next day certified mail. Since we are short on time and money, the most ideal situation would be one in which he finished the work.

We didn’t hear from him on Wednesday or Thursday. We called our friend down the road (the one who dug our trenches) to come look at the foundation. He used to do foundation work, is trustworthy and licensed but wouldn’t be able to start until after the holiday weekend. We decided that it would be better to have him work on it later than never. We called up the factory and the crane operator to let them know that we might have to reschedule the delivery. The crane company can’t reschedule until the end of July so we we’re now looking at a possible 2-3 week delay.

David received a phone call from the foundation contractor on Friday morning. He was extremely apologetic and explained that he was out of town and didn’t know that our home’s construction was complete and was very concerned to find our letter when he arrived home. He implored to give him a second chance and promised to work all July 4th weekend. We agreed, if he would sign a contract addendum. The addendum stated that he “shall endeavor” to have all the remaining contract poured by Wednesday; the contractor promised that it would be poured by the Tuesday. Today is Monday and as I stated earlier, the framing isn’t complete and the embedments* aren’t in either. David called him this evening and explained his concern that the foundation wouldn’t be poured by tomorrow. The contractor said that he was going to the valley first thing in the morning to pick up the anchor bolts and straps, and that the inspector and the concrete were on call. Tomorrow will be tense no matter what happens and I am very skeptical that the concrete will poured. We are happy that we got the workers to work all weekend, including Sunday and the 4th of July. Incidentally, tomorrow is also the contracted completion date for the foundation.

It’s my opinion that being out of town is a poor excuse for not finishing a job on time. Nevertheless, I am very eager to move on and to overlook my anger over the circumstance. I feel that I am continuously blind to the positive end that will eventually come and that we’re just slugging it out for the sake of it. Sometimes it surprises me to look through all of our new fixtures for the house and realize that they, and our house will soon be part of our everyday lives.

*Vents, bolts, straps, etc. that need to be inserted in the forms before the concrete is poured.

Set Crew

Another huge problem cropped up last week. We had been attempting to get in touch with the set crew contractor to make sure our date was confirmed and also to let them know that our set date was in limbo. Without leaving any details, we eagerly awaited a response. By Friday we hadn’t heard from them and determined to get a response, I called and was disappointed when I was told that they didn’t have time for our project and that they were planning to give us a phone call. Naturally, I was irate and the phone call quickly took on a very uncivilized tone.

I promptly called the factory since I remembered them saying that if we couldn’t find anyone in L.A. to set the modules, they would fly a couple guys from Utah. I am very anxious to see if they are able to find someone to come to our rescue since it’s at the last minute. Sensing the set crew’s flakiness earlier, we called several set crew contractors with no luck and it is way too late to find anyone qualified in L.A. to do the job. At this point, we are not concerned about cost since we stand to lose more if we don’t have a set crew. Anyway, tomorrow will be very revealing and I feel very terrible about having to call on the factory for such a favor.

Oak Tree Obstacle

After measuring the tree and road again we have determined that there is just enough room for the tallest truck to pass if they use the wrong side of the road.