Morningside Renovation

Our Journey Through The Renovation Process Of Our Future "Forever Home" In Morningside (Atlanta,GA)

Tag Archives: morningside


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So Our GC says that I’m Unreasonable

I received an email today from our GC stating that “while the goal for the basement was to have a ceiling height of 8 feet,  we’re as close to that depth as they could get based on the site”.  Why did he tell us during our on-site meeting with him on March 31st that the ceiling height was correct?  Was he lying, I hope it was more ignorance than deceitfulness.   Side note – I checked on this and this just is not true, there was nothing physically or structurally that would prevent someone from digging any deeper. The subs told me that they dug to the depth of what was told to them by our GC. 

He also informed me that he will not remove the slab, that he can’t afford to remove it because he has already spent what we have given him and that “any reasonable person” that saw the site would agree.  So now I’m unreasonable wanting what was 1) shown in the plan and 2) highly achievable.  He stated that he’s going to put everything on hold until we decide what we want done. 

I guess that means either we accept the slab that was poured at an incorrect depth, at least 8″ too shallow, or he’s walking? 

So he screwed up and we have to accept it or else I’m unreasonable?


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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?


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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.


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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.


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Counter Top for the Kitchen

I went with Julie this afternoon to go back and look at a few slabs she had selected for the kitchen at Bottega Stone.  Definitely not something that I find very interesting but I love what she picked, Mountain White Danby marble.  I’m a little concerned about the fact that it’s marble and we have two boys but it’s supposed to be less porous than traditional marble.  It’s more expensive but we saved money on clearing the property so that will help to make up the difference.  Plus I love to see Julie getting so excited about the house.  It’s been a hard year for her and even though we have been experiencing some pretty significant setbacks with the construction it’s great to see her having some fun.

They were going to pour the slab today but for whatever reason they didn’t.  GC couldn’t tell us why but said that he’s “anxious to get started”.


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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.


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I Don’t See How This Could Be Good

So I went by the house today after work and besides the fact that the retaining wall for the carport is in the wrong spot, I also noticed that the carport foundation is even(flush) with the basement foundation, plans call for it to be 1″ – 2″ lower with a gradual decline to aid with channeling water away from the house.  If that wasn’t bad enough, the carport foundation slopes toward the basement, basically channeling any water towards the house.  How does this happen and why am I the one catching it?


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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.