Building a stick frame house in the woods in 90 days

[J F]

There must have been a lot of old Europeans with bad backs. Mine hurts just thinking about it. I'll bet Pete would take some "quality" cabs. of that size at this point, though. :hissyfit:

 

[dave1949]

There must have been a lot of old Europeans with bad backs. Mine hurts just thinking about it. I'll bet Pete would take some "quality" cabs. of that size at this point, though. :hissyfit:

Not really. My Dad was 5'-6" on a good day and my Mom is well under 5' now (she's soon to be 87). So, do the math, 25" of base cabinet + 18" of tall pot = 43" or 3'-7".

That's elbow-shoulder height for a short person. People used to be shorter as a rule. Think about the really old doorways, wood beam ceilings you have to duck, etc. They were all hobbits. :laughing:

 

[J F]

I'm 5-7 myself, but we don't have any 18" tall "caldrons", to test the theory on. :laughing:

 

[dave1949]

I'm 5-7 myself, but we don't have any 18" tall "caldrons", to test the theory on. :laughing:

That's because you aren't cooking pasta or borscht for a family of twelve.

I liked to visit old castles in Germany. They often have complete suites of armor standing in the great hall. They were not large people that could fit inside those.

This isn't helping Peter I suppose.

 

[MarkV]

Like the others have said, you have the wrong sized upper cabinets.

I'm wondering how much of the problem is the rush to get it done. Quality takes times. Cut, fit and finish takes time. The better the finish, the more time it takes. This house is grossly expensive for what you are getting in square footage and a rather simple design, so I've just assumed the cost has to be based on the speed that it's being done. While I agree with the others that the contractor isn't building the a house that reflects attention to detail or any sense of pride in workmanship, he is doing it extremely quickly and I am impressed with how fast it's all happening.

Is the goal to have it done right away or to build the nicest house you can? The advice that I'm reading reflects quality workmanship, but from the beginning, it's been all about getting it done quickly.

Maybe it's just me, but I tell my clients that it will take me as long as it takes to do it to the job so that I'm confident that it's done right. Just a big bathroom remodel for me takes a month, and that's an existing house with everything already there!!!!

Eddie

Eddie I agree with you. I've also noticed you have elected not to get involved with this thread that much. There have been a number of pro's that have bowed out that might have offered Peter more real world advice. This never ending trashing of the builder and subs has been unfair the way I see it. It has made it useless to participate with those that know more than all, yet have never actually been part of the process. I have to wonder how much useful help Peter has lost as a result.

Peter and his Mom chose to go with, what I call a bulk builder, they have set plans that allow some customization. A semi custom home based on standard plans. Not a bad thing. For what the Sq Ft. price has escalated to, at least in my area, they could have had an architect design what they wanted and a custom builder dedicated to their job only, rather than one running 15+ jobs at a time. Their price has been run up a bunch because of change orders. That is where this type of builder gets you and makes his money. I spent 30 years as a sub contractor before retiring and early on worked for bulk builders. My experience was most of them were interested in "how much and how fast", craftsmanship was farther down the list than schedules. Look at the poor tile guys on this build. They have been put off multiple times trying to finish their job. All they have to do is have the proper size tile and grout the floor, but someone else is always being called in to fix/do something or the materials are not available. You don't really think they want to be on call and wait for their payment do you? You guys have been all over the hardwood floor guys. I heard many comments about "they should have compensated during installation". What exactly does that mean? Fix the out of square room or sliding door that was off set? Should they leave gaps in the field of the floor to make up for irregularities, stop the job and tell the framers to come back? Tell the contractor we are not doing anything until the place is fixed square, get real. They chose to minimize the irregularities at the least obvious place. Before anyone says they could have started in the middle and worked out to fix it, well that would have left a tapered finish at the sliding door as well as the bathroom threshold. It would have also required face nailing at least one course down the center line. I am sure someone would have commented on that.

As Eddie stated I think the project was conceived with a timing issue being the priority. When I started in the trades a veteran told me he did his bids by telling people they had 2 out of 3 three choices. Time..Money..Quality. All three at once does not happen often.

MarkV

 

[dave1949]

Eddie & MarkV:

It was the builder who said he could do it in 90 days after the foundation work was complete. To me that would be amazing, but I know it is barely possible with good subs, an on the ball super, and some luck. If the builder knew what he should know about his own company's limitations, he should have said he can't do it that fast.

Many of the delays are related to do-overs of poor work. Peter shouldn't have to run the super down on a regular basis to follow up on shoddy work. The builder didn't say he could do it 90 days--but it will be poor work. The tile hold-up is a good example, the facia trim, reworking the kitchen--along with a couple dozen others. None of that should happen and it's actually taking longer than getting it right the first time.

The builder is producing a product, he is responsible for the quality of the product. Imagine the end quality if Peter did not follow-up on those things. That shouldn't have to happen, period. The builder and most of the subs deserve all the criticisms mentioned here. I grant you some are on the perfectionist side, but that doesn't mean they are not valid.

As to bowing out, maybe some can't find something encouraging to say and are being polite by saying nothing at all.

 

[mjncad]

I sure hope the superintendent on Peter's job isn't a clown named C.B. Collins.

 

[hddnis]

I've been following this thread from the very beginning and my understanding is that the true 90 day mark that the builder had promised would have been yesterday, as in 5/18/2013. Taking into account the dozens of change orders, many from suggestions in this thread, the builder is doing a really good job keeping everything moving and staying anywhere close to finishing in 90 days. For example the first change order started before they even set the foundation, going from a single to a two car garage.

So far it seems that as issues are raised they have been taken care of, some sooner than others, but taken care of just the same.

Frankly some of the critical posters are getting really old, there is no need for negative cheerleading. The OP seems fully capable of figuring out what he wants fixed and getting the contractor to do it, which is the way it should be.

From what I can see many of the issues come from the tight timeline, which is just a fact and one of the reasons tight deadlines are considered to be a headache. Add in building in bad weather and it just compounds trying to get stuff done quickly.

I've enjoyed the thread and all the pictures, my hats off to the OP and the contractor, I'm looking forward to seeing the finished house and pics of moving in.




Mr. HE

 

[pclausen]

Appreciate all the feedback/comments as always. Day 90 will actually be the 27th of this month, so next Monday. Here's a picture from 2/27, which was when they started framing:

I meet with the builder yesterday and the reason he ordered the 36" upper cabinets in the first place what that he figured my mom would appreciate the extra space being how few uppers are in the kitchen to begin with. He also thought she was very short, but at 5' 8" or so, that is not the case. I think he had her confused with another customer he's building a house for right now. At any rate, he agreed to order 30" cabinets to replace the 36" ones currently installed.

He (the builder) was onsite from 8am yesterday until about noon supervising a crew (different from the Saturday crew) and they more or less reset all the cabinets. They were there until about 3pm. The tile crew came in at around 1pm and started grouting everything. They were done around 6pm.

As for the hardwood in the master bedroom, I believe the plan is to take out a few rows by the door and rip each one a tiny bit to even out the out of square, so that it is not all concentrated on the last piece, which catches the eye. On the tile being uneven against the exterior wall in the master bathroom, the plan to plane the baseboard a little, and also the shoe molding, to make that less noticeable.

Mom is going to call the moving company this morning to see what the next available date after 5/29 is, in case everything won't be completed by then, which I don't think they will be. Lead time on those cabinets are at least 2 weeks typically.

 

[s219]

I hope it goes well making the move date -- I wish you luck Pete (and your mom too). Coincidentally, we are set to move-in to our new house on the 29th as well, though the builder and 3-4 subs are going to have to hustle to make it (he's not worried at all, and we've been pleased with the work and pace so far). Plumbing and electrical trim-out are about 90% done, but we still need kitchen backsplash grouted, range hood and appliances installed, drywall/paint touchup, permanent hardware on entry doors, T&G fir floors installed on porches, and then a final coat of poly on the hardwood floors. And of course someone has to go through the house and vacuum/clean. I did what landscaping will be needed for final inspection, but will finish that, install in-ground gutters, and then put down more stone on the driveway after we're moved in.

Anyway, it's down to the wire and things are getting exciting for all. Our project started on August 1 2012, so if I make an "after" thread it will have to be titled something like "building a house in the woods in 298 days" !