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Who ARE These Guys?

January 4, 2008

No construction job is without its snafus. This week, Builder Scott has a mini-meltdown when Virginia Power refuses to sign off on our footer inspection. They say the power line that runs across the back of my yard (which doesn’t even carry power to my house) is too close to the structure. They say this when the excavation is nearly complete, and Scott is worried that we might have to re-dig or lop four feet off our building. Many phone calls ensue. More inspectors come. Excavator guys stand around and wait while charging me seemingly by the minute while they enjoy sandwiches. Problem somehow averted. All I hear is ...getting a private inspector to come...an extra $170 for him...excavators coming back tomorrow...concrete guys coming to pour. Then something about hitting soft ground...more concrete needed...an extra $500 for that...blah blah, it’s very cold, we need tarps and straw to cover it all up, only $100 for that.

Then we have Charles the Mason. I have no idea where Builder Scott found this guy. He presents a hand-written contract. He wants $2850 if I pay cash, or $3400 if I pay with a check. He also refers to the crawl space as the “cross base”. Several times. I tell Scott to tell Charles that I will get him a cashier’s check. But Charles won’t take that. I ask Scott to explain to Charles that a cashier’s check IS cash. You take it to the bank and they give you the money. But Charles is adamant. He doesn’t want to deposit anything. I re-explain. No deposit necessary. It’s a pile of cash in a piece of paper. Charles wants cash. So I go get it. Well, half of it. Charles will do the job, but he won’t get any of the materials. So Scott arranges delivery of all block, sand, bolts, etc., for Monday. But Charles wants to start Saturday. The place won’t deliver until Monday. But Charles is adamant. So, Charles calls the place and they deliver everything that day. Scott has instructed Charles to do the job a certain way. Charles is already complaining, and he hasn’t even started. I’m now referring to him as Charles Manson.

Scott found these fantastic old beams. They are huge...12x12. They came out of some old plantation. The two guys that have them, whom I’ll refer to as Darryl and his other brother Darryl, agree to sell four of them to us for $425. As I have mentioned before, Scott’s sort of competing with me for materials as he’s building his own house. So he’s taking two and I’m taking two. They are very, very heavy. Darryl and Darryl agree to drive them over here from some faraway place out in Podunkville. But they want cash, too. They agree to accept a cashier’s check. They do come, but they are in such a hurry to leave that they dump the super-heavy beams wherever they feel like it, which turns out to be where my neighbor parks his truck. So now my neighbors have my guest parking permit so they can park on the street until the beams get moved, which could be months from now.

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