Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for December 18, 2015

Been there.

Well, it’s a moat point.

Must have paid the money up front…

A minor punch list problem.This way, when they’re done, the moat will have a covered bridge.

Results of a non union contractor.

The wading boots come free with this job…..wait…..did you want the moat stocked?

It all went wrong when they went from “Regular” to “King size”.

So glad I let the Plumber serve as general contractor for my bathroom remodel. He became responsible for screw-ups and challenges for all his subs..When I tried to tell the guys not to put the vent pipe between the studs where the medicine cabinet would go (clearly shown on the plans), they treated me like a dumb broad and did it anyway. When the drywall guys went to install the medicine cabinet, they had to call back the plumber to move the vent. .And new floor concrete poured over the lip of the floor drain so that the flooring wouldn’t fit right, twice? I finally played dumb and called the boss ("Is it supposed to be like this? Will it shrink when it dries?”), who called his guys stupid *#@&! and had them chip it back. .More stories on this “little” project I could put in a book.

HERO program in SoCal; insulation, paid for in property tax increments, right? BUT electricians have to replace attic knob-n-tube, code requires extra outlets; how do we get around stuffed rooms? Moving company, PODS? Somebody will have to fix (replace) interior chimney, bricks ‘flying in formation’ with white powder and SUNSHINE between! “Not our job!” Project manager replaced with one just as unable to plan nor communicate- UGH! Sound familiar?

Back in the 70s, when I had a real life, I was framing houses. My partner and I arrived one morning at a new site.The slab had been poured upside down and backward.This was on a small corner lot. That left almost zero front lawn, and since the garage opened to the back, the entire back yard had to be concrete for the driveway. Some years later I was in a bookstore near this house and got in conversation with a lady about construction. Some construction disaster had occurred recently.I told her about that house. Her face lit up and she said, “We bought that house and love it.” She told me her husband liked because of almost zero yard work. The kitchen was at the front of the house, which she liked.The garage and patio faced the back fence and they could leave the garage open without everyone seeing what was inside.So ya never know.

Is that a cantilever or a canilever?

Okay, so instead of a draw bridge, they have a retractable, heavy duty awning. Guess the bridge comes extra.

Meh… It’s a minor detail… Let’s really screw the pooch and call in the lawyers…

Like a bridge over troubled…. never mind.

“It’s your new cabaña, Sire!”

One moat problem, and something to be really cross about.

Back in my electrical contracting days, I was in the middle of more than one of these – LOL!

One kitchen comes to mind where the architect had it laid out with a bunch of recessed (can) lights in zones. The homeowner wanted EACH can light on it’s own switch. She wouldn’t take NO for an answer so she wound up with a row of 30 switches at each entrance to the kitchen. Fortunately I had my pocket digital voice recorder running when SHE made the changes. She tried to blame the architect, but the recording shut her right up at the lawyer’s office. End of story.

The contractor had the plans upside down……

My wife keeps a book in which she records all dealings with contractors. When it comes to “he said – she said” in a court of law, he who documents best wins.

We hire a main contractor to do all our work. He gets to fight with the subcontractors and gets to do things like send the warped lumber back. Yes, we pay more, but he’s good and there is a lot less aggravation on our part. We pay him to get the ulcers.

This reminds me of my favorite WA Sup. Ct. quote:

“These are such stuff as dreams and law suits aremade on—a builder, an architect, an owner, and greatexpectations unfulfilled.”

Justice Frank Hale for theWashington Supreme Court inArmstrong Construction Company v. Thomson64 Wn.2d 191 (1964)

And yes, it’s a real quote. Check the cite.

“Hey, youse just gotta take bigger steps. You got a problem with dat?”

Obviously, they need a consultant …

And the blame game continues!

It’s the arctitects fault because he didn’t label the blueprints, “This side up.”

Bruno, yeah the only thing he could draw was flies…

How many Software Engineers does it take to change a Light Bulb?

None. It’s a Hardware problem.…How many Hardware Engineers does it take to change a Light Bulb? .None. You can Fix Anything with the right Software..

What?

You didn’t want an Awning over the Canoe Landing?

Just like the small 3 bedroom tract homes they built in the 60s. There was often one built with 2 garages, so the sales office could be there, they added a bathroom. These were great for large families, they would put 3 kids of the same sex in the large dorm room. the problem, was that the rest of the house was made for a 4 or 5 person family, so they had to eat in shifts, and never could fit the whole family in the living room. New houses are larger now.

been there, right in the middle. In one of the MIC megacorps. where 2 guys, in desks that faced each other, never talked to each other to find the problem. All they did was write memos(this was back in the late 70s on a major weapons system that was about to be fielded.)and blame someone else. When I left, 2 years later, they were still not talking and still blaming a different division. and the problem still existed but was not being solved as no one was talking. That was a very crazy place and I was extremely glad to leave.

He held the drawing upside down?

They need to bridge their differences.

so true

Was this project initiated and supervised by Congress? No wonder!!