Contractor arrived at 10:10 this morning to begin what will henceforth be referred to as The Basement Project. The Project consists of putting in a powder room, walling off the storage/mechanicals area of the basemant, and adding two walls to make a separate storage area/closet.
They told us that the job would take two weeks. I am asking Loyal Reader "John Bocabella" to set an over/under figure on how many days beyond two weeks this project will take.
Updates will follow over the course of the Project.
Badger,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the opportunity to comment on "The Basement Project". Having completed 4 (count 'em 4) Basement Projects in the last 10 years, I feel like I have some credibility in commenting on this issue.
First off, no project completed by a contractor takes two weeks. I don't care if he is hanging a paper towell holder, it will drag on way past two weeks. Your biggest delay will actually be "other Basement Projects", that the contractor will hate to pass up for other customers, so he will give them the same "two week" promise he gave you. So now he has 8 of these things started, with all of them getting the same "two week" estimate.
he'll start off great, probably put up some walls and run some wiring. He'll even tell you to pick out paint colors and a bathroom vanity, just to lure you in to this false hope. Then he'll start to not show up for a couple of days...he'll tell you that he's waiting on some kind of tool he needs to rent, but meanwhile he is over some other poor schmucks house, putting up a couple of walls and telling him to pick out paint colors and a vanity too. He knows that once he starts he has you. Because you can't turn back after he's torn up your existing basement.
So, since it is right after the holidays, a very busy time for home improvements because people figured out their house is too small after the out of town relatives have invaded, he is trying to line up every job he can. I would say this will take at least four weeks.
So the over/under, after a slight stretch adjustment, will be end of day Friday, January 28th. FGE will cover ALL action on this by the way.
Good luck my firend and keep me posted. First day he won't show up...this Friday, January 7th. Next time you'll see him..Wednesday January, 12th.
I smell a pool!! You can put the vig toward the inevitable overage on the contractor's original estimate.
ReplyDeleteNow that you have been totally cheered up by the Boccabella fella, I would caution against a pool.
ReplyDeleteDefining "finished" will cost you friends.
As the cheerful Mr B might have put it, "Good luck, shmuck."
On the up side, if he totally stiffs you, you can do a tv report with Mary Robb Jackson.
Also, if this runs perfectly, your reports will be less amusing. (But Mr B warns that this is a never happen.
I am in for $10 on the "under."
ReplyDelete