The temporary and proper temporary supports for the existing structure were constructed today, not as our Structural Engineer drew them but they are sufficient. Seriously? Can’t even simple drawings be followed? This is almost a joke, it’s as if our GC and/or his subs just don’t care.
Nothing much to report however we did notice all of the bricks that will be removed from the existing house and thought that maybe we could find a way to use those, possible accent feature on an interior wall? Who knows? We like the idea though. Julie asked the GC if he could try to set them aside when they’re being removed. His remark, “we’ll do what we can”. Nothing more, nothing less. I have a feeling it isn’t going to happen. Great thought though and I would hate to see them go to waste.
Our Structural Engineer had a field meeting with our GC today. In her report she stated that he admitted that he didn’t have a plan or an idea as to how to connect the existing house with the new addition or underpin the foundation. He knew he needed to pour the foundation wall and connect it to the house for structural support as well as for waterproofing but he just didn’t know where or how? Concerning, when was he going to ask someone, is that why we’ve been on hold for weeks? Basically it came out during the meeting that he had no idea how to properly put in the foundation and shouldn’t have poured it.
It just won’t end, we also found out today that one of the walls in our carport should have been poured as a retaining wall but instead it was built as a foundation wall. So now our Structural Engineer will need to go back and redesign the framing plan to redistribute the weight of what is hopefully going to be built on top. Not sure if it was our GC or architect who screwed this up – thanks guys.
I wish that I could say that was all, however we also discovered that our GC not only forgot to install a drainage system for the basement but also, and for the 2nd time, he forgot to stub for the wet bar.
I’m going to bed, I can’t even imagine how it could get worse but that is one place where our GC continues to amaze me. How can one screw up so much? It’s as if he just doesn’t give a crap about it.
While I was instructed (told by Julie) that I couldn’t attend because of my anger towards our GC, Julie and our Structural Engineer actually met with him this morning and initially it seems as if progress was made – Wonderful!!! Our Structural Engineer had a slew of questions for him regarding his plans for the joist system, support of the existing structure since he removed the majority of the original support columns, various load bearing wall questions as well as a few about the carport foundation wall. Unfortunately but not surprising, both of them told me that it seemed as if it was all Greek to him and he actually kept making the statement that his plan was to “figure it out as we go along” – same line I’ve heard from him so many times and look where it got us.
As for the progress, he agreed to remove all of the framing this Tuesday as well as clean out the existing basement and then the Structural Engineer will meet with him and the foundation guy to discuss the next steps. Our Structural Engineer will design the framing as well as the roofing plan versus the one supplied by our GC which he admitted was created by a computer at a building supply store and not an engineer as he had previously stated…and billed. Our GC also said he was unaware that there were 2 entrances from the new to the existing basement – clearly marked on the plans and JUST discussed in our meeting on May 17th. I’m wondering if when he is faced with something confusing or for which he doesn’t have an answer if his solution is to act as if he forgot about it and hope that it doesn’t come back up?
Bottom-line, progress was made. We’re moving past what was previous done or not done. We’re making sure that everything is structurally sound and we’re going to get this house built!!! At least that’s the plan.
We went back to Bottega to look at the slabs Julie picked out for the kitchen. Damby Mountain White Marble, I know it has to be a little over what we were budgeting but she’s done an amazing job staying at or below budget for everything else so hopefully we’ll have enough cushion to absorb the extra expense. YOLO, right?
Due to all of the delays we did end up losing 1 of our 3 slabs that we had put on hold but we’re hopeful that 2 will be enough. Plus, we would love to have a wood top for the island in the kitchen but that is super expensive!!! I wish that we could find some reclaimed wood somewhere but I’m sure that it would still be $$$$. Last comment for the day, I was totally blown away by Bottega’s selection, not the quantity but the actual pieces. The slabs are like God’s paintings, absolutely amazing and simply beautiful.
We hired a Structural Engineer today to hopefully identify some of the structural issues created by our GC but more importantly provide us with a remedy. Part of me just views this as an added unnecessary expense however it is now obvious that we are going to need these services. She (yes, she) is very impressive and amazingly knowledgable, she feels certain that she’ll be able to get everything back on track however she did say that the recent construction (poured slab and framing) was beyond concerning and questioned if our GC had ever built a house before. Not Comforting at ALL!!!
Julie and our GC did schedule a meeting with our GC for June 1st, unfortunately they won’t allow me to attend.
So this morning I met with our GC and his concrete sub at the house to discuss the issues with the recently poured carport slab being in the wrong location as well as the lack of an elevation change between the basement and carport slab. Basically the purpose was to provide me a solution that would resolve the potential water issues. They certainly provided me with a few options, however none of them gave me any comfort and basically their “solutions” all revolved around accepting structural modifications to the house which would affect the overall plan as well as value of our home. They couldn’t give me an answer as to why such a mistake would happen however they did agree to pull the slab up as well as the foundation wall which was poured in the wrong location by three feet. Before leaving I had a conversation with our GC basically letting him know in person that I wasn’t happy with all that has transpired and that my confidence was fading fast. Interesting response on his end, acting like such an arrogant donkey he told me that our house wasn’t going to be perfect, Perfect. And that we were just going to have to learn to accept some things. Okay, Julie and I are more than prepared to compromise and we’re well aware that there will certainly be instances when we will be required to deviate from the original plan however this mistake is inexcusable. It was poured wrong and that mistake could very easily present moisture issues down the road. I’m not sure how to take his statement, but it certainly rubbed me the wrong way. We’re spending a lot of money with him and had a lot of faith in his abilities but now he is basically telling me that we need to make sacrifices that would affect the value, plan and structural integrity of our future home.
So, I stopped by the house on the way home from the office. I just wanted to look at everything again and I guess a big part of it had to do with me wondering if there were any other mistakes that I had missed. Having very little construction knowledge I really didn’t know what I was looking for but I do have the ability to work a tape measure. After measuring the various rooms and noting the differences in actual versus what was on the plans I decided to measure the ceiling height. I’m not sure why, especially being that just a few days ago our GC told us that the ceiling heights were fine, but I did. Expecting to find a height of 96″+ I was shocked when my measurements were from 92″ – 94″. 
Add sheet rock, flooring etc…and we’re basically looking at a finished ceiling height of 7′ 6″ versus 8′, that’s not even considering the mechanicals that will need to be run throughout. Mad, angry, dumbfounded, confused – I can’t begin to express to you all of my feelings. How could they not dig deep enough? How does this happen? This is basically the second time that they didn’t dig the basement foundation deep enough. This makes no sense to me.
To only add insult to injury I decided to spend a few more minutes looking at the framing. Oh boy, again, I don’t know much about framing but I would imagine that the walls would need to reach the joist and that everything is level, especially the floor above – not so with our house.
What’s even more disturbing is that some of these walls are load bearing. Further, the exterior walls are mixed with #2 & #3 grade lumber, which I quickly found out once I got home and looked at the building code that this is entirely against code. So for almost a month it has been like this and either our GC knew about it and just didn’t tell us or he didn’t even notice. I really don’t know which is worse in my mind.
I can’t begin to express all that I’m feeling however I did send our GC an email letting him know that I wasn’t happy about the slab not being poured at the correct depth as well as the significant deviations from the plan and the framing issues, being such I wanted both slabs removed and for it to be constructed according to the plans. This would alleviate a lot of the issues, both depth and footprint.
I’m curious as to his response especially after the way he acting today, however I can’t imagine that he wouldn’t be in agreement.
I’ve been continuing to ask our GC for the framing plan for the renovation and new addition as well as the roof, however he informed me today that his engineer doesn’t have the software to do it and they (GC & subs) would just design it in the field. No Way!! I’ve seen how they “engineered” our framing in the past, I would be an even bigger fool if I let this happen again.
Fortunately he did suggest that we hire a structural engineer and have that person can check everything and if anything is found to be questionable then he would “re-do” it. Sounds okay, I guess, but why not make sure we do it correctly the first time? Also, don’t most engineers have software to aid in drawing their plan? I’m sure that I could probably even find a free version/program online.
Morningside Renovation 