Julie informed our GC today to go ahead with pulling up the carport slab as well as removing all of the previous concrete debris from past pour failures since he just had piles/chunks of it scattered throughout the backyard which we were concerned was creating a potential safety hazard for neighborhood children. She also asked him to cover the unused lumber so it wouldn’t get wet. Hopefully he’ll be able to salvage some of the lumber, I would hate to see it all go to waste.
Tag Archives: Home improvement
Lack of Communication or Just Incompetent?
I received a rather rude email from our GC today, his response to me asking that the carport slab be pulled up and poured correctly and re-poured as according to the plan. Basically his feeling is that I’m being unreasonable for asking this and we should be satisfied with it. The slab was poured incorrectly and can definitely present a water issue with the house, it’s not our fault that he did it wrong.
I also asked about the repeated delays, his crew has yet to work more than 3 days in a row, of course he wouldn’t address that question. The carrying cost is costing us a lot of money, we were originally supposed to be in the house in May however now we are at least 4 1/2 months away if they hustled. He also chose not to respond to my request for a meeting to discuss how we can prevent further problems and delays – a lot of the issues that have arisen had already been discussed numerous times and should not have occurred. Really makes me wonder if there is a lack of communication between our GC and his subs or if it is just simple incompetence?
I Hope He Understands
Today I sent an email to our GC letting him know that we want to stick with the construction plans as drawn. Further, that I wasn’t comfortable with the way the carport slab was poured, being that it slopes to the house and that there isn’t an elevation change between it and the basement slab, both noted on the construction plans. I’m also wondering if the supports he put up for the existing structure are permanent or temporary – I hope temporary. 
All of this is starting to make me curious if there are other issues with the work that he has already done and we just aren’t knowledgable enough to know about it? I would love to know all that Mike Holmes would discover – although I think even he would be overwhelmed.
Poor Pour and Not the First Time
I asked the architect today about his initial plans with regards to the foundation pour and would he be concerned about the carport foundation slab being flush with the basement slab. He was very quick to point out that it was a poor pour. YIKES!!!!. He said that he’s unsure how to handle this – I do, rip it up and do it correctly. Also, found out that this isn’t our GC’s first time to have foundation problems and even more concerning is that he is currently dealing with the same issues at another house.
I need some help, someone who can give me some guidance without having an agenda but is knowledgeable about construction.
Like the Attittude
I received an email today from our GC basically saying that he agreed that the current pour of the carport wasn’t correct and that they will figure something out. Possibly add a curb to it – I’ll need to find out more about it but hopefully this will achieve what was in the plans.
Fix a Wrong
Our GC informed us today that tomorrow they will remove the carport retaining wall which was poured in the wrong location and then they will start excavating the area closer to the house as well as install pier pads and posts to support the existing structure. Hopefully this will help us achieve a footprint a little closer to what was shown on the plan. Not sure why this wasn’t done originally but I’m just happy that they’re finally doing it.
Hope this Helps
Our GC informed us today that because of the issues surrounding the pour they are going to dig closer to the existing house to try to gain more square footage and hopefully achieve what was written in our plans. He said that his engineer is working on the plans now so hopefully we’ll be able to come closer to achieving what we wanted.
The Meeting
First, it is hard to believe that we’re spending so much money with someone to construct our home and this is the first official meeting that we’ve had. We’ve tried but he has repeatedly told us that it wasn’t necessary yet and has basically made it feel as if we were being unreasonable and somewhat crazy for wanting to do so. Anyway, our first meeting and it is to discuss all of the issues created with the slab as well as the framing. Where do I start?
I let him know that I was pissed(politely), and that I couldn’t understand how any of this could happen. As for the footprint of the slab not being correct, he said that it had to do with the elevation in the plans (he ignored my comment about field verifying) and that they couldn’t dig closer to the house. Not sure why? They did the first time they excavated. Then he admitted that this was the first time that he had ever connected an existing structure with new construction. What? Why didn’t he tell us this when we first met with him and asked him if he had ever worked on similar jobs before and his response was that he was quite experienced and comfortable with it. Also, if he didn’t know what in the hell he was doing why didn’t he at least enlist someone’s help that does have the needed experience? What have we gotten into?
As for the carport wall and slab being incorrect, he said that he “honestly doesn’t know why it was done this way” but he did agree to remove the carport retention wall which now we might move further back to give us more carport area. We asked him about the ceiling height and he said that he had checked it and it was correct – good at least it was dug deep enough.
In regards to the plumbing he couldn’t explain how it ended up in the bedroom but he offered to have it moved into the correct location if we paid for it.
Seriously? You or your subs screwed it up and you want us to pay for it? He then said that we could leave it where it is and just make the bedroom in the basement smaller by 2-3 feet – it’s already a pretty small bedroom – what is he thinking and the guts for him to even suggest that we pay and or make a heavy sacrifice for his mistake. This ultimately would affect the value of our home as well if we ever decided to sell it.
We said that we would get back with him shortly, I literally thought that I was going to go crazy because I was so mad. The carport retaining wall will be removed so we’ll decide on the rest and get back with him but my feeling is that I want the whole thing either ripped up or him off the job and he can refund us what we have paid that he hasn’t done correctly.
Last, I asked again for Lien Waivers and of course he said that he would get them to us. I’m not holding my breath.
Morningside Renovation 