Lemme see....tab A goes into slot B....then fold and....

Progress report:  Here is the current status of the major addition to the already large home we built for for M/M W two years ago.  They've developed a bad case of the "while you're at it" syndrome, adding even more on the fly.  Now the home will have a combined total of over 10,000 sq ft.

They're like rich kids turned loose with daddy's credit card.  Now they've discovered the large unused space just below the roof, aka the attic, would be a good place for another media room.  Yes, I said another.  

 

They sent me this email attachment yesterday saying this was the look they wanted to replicate, including the LED star field in the ceiling.  My response:  "Sure.  Make the check payable to...."

It will be quite the estate, I must admit.  And today it begs my attention.  Gotta go.  Have a great day everyone.  :)

S

Catfight in Arkansas

Did you hear about the big stink in Arkansas *cue the banjo music* over who is the rightful owner of a million dollar lottery ticket? It seems a lady bought a ticket, then later scanned it at the store to see if she was a winner.  The scanner said "no" (or she misread it?...I mean this is Arkansas), so she threw the ticket in the trash.  Later another lady was sifting through the garbage and found a bunch of discarded tickets and took them.  She apparently checked them again and found one was worth a million dollars, so she claimed it. 


Enter the first lady again:  She said she paid for the ticket, it was hers, and she wanted her money.  Lawsuit, court, blah, blah....the judge agreed.  The dumpster diver was told to give up her winnings.  Really?


It seems to me when you throw something away you forfeit any rights you had to it.  If this is the new standard of ownership what about all those people who find a painting in their dusty 100-year-old attic or left curbside for anyone to pick up is worth a fortune?  Who owns it?  The same with a dropped winning ticket found at the racetrack?  Who do YOU think should get the winnings?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things continue to look bleak at work.  I still can't get over how the politicians and the greedy bankers have ruined our economy.  We have several small jobs dangling in front of us, but they just get us by month-to-month.  I'm extremely grateful to have them, don't misunderstand, but I need another real project to work on.  We have our eye on a lucrative commercial job that is in the talking stages, but that will be many months (a year?) before any $$$ changes hands.  A prospective client from last year said he should be ready to build a new home for his family starting in June, but with him things tend to get put off.  We're sending letters to many of our customers from years past asking if it's time for some updating.  We'll see.  

S

A sad commentary on what's important

This week my brother and I began a small remodel / repair job on a $1.1M home.  So far we've had our framing carpenters, plumber, tile setter, garage door guys, gutter people, drywall contractor, and trim carpenter working.  Today we'll have our painters begin.  What I've had confirmed is that just because a home costs over a million dollars doesn't mean it's a well built home.  I'm absolutely amazed at how shoddy this home was built.


I don't think the original framing contractor owned a level, or a square.  The floors upstairs are off 3/8" in less than 2 feet.  That's huge!  We're re-configuring closets and in trying to put in new shelving we've found none of the corners are square.  They're off 5-10 degrees.  How do you f**k up a simple closet that bad?  The water heaters are upstairs, a big "no-no" in my book, and don't even have working pans under them.  And the pressure relief valves were stuck closed.  They could have blown up!


BUT....and this was apparently what the original builder was counting on....the trim and cabinets and paint job look nice.  What the customer can see looks good.  But just under the surface it's junk.


I think this is the reason my brother and I have such a difficult time getting work.  We go overboard doing things right.  It's the only way we know.  Of course this means our prices are higher than almost all of our competition, and today people want a deal.  "Cheap" wins almost every time.  Others get work, I don't.  A few discerning people want things done right and hire us, and we don't disappoint. But more and more I'm just going behind the bad builders and fixing things up.  They get the 6-course meal, while I get the crumbs.  It's frustrating.


S

Branching out

Tomorrow we sign the paperwork with a new customer (actually the sister and BIL of one of our current homeowners) and will commence work on their new room addition.  This involves turning the attic over their existing 3-car garage into a media room and an artist studio.  In one sense I'm looking forward to it as it will be something different.  


The strange part will be doing pretty much the same type work with the same number of trades as we would in a 6,000 square foot home, but compressing it into <800 square feet.   It will be like cooking a four-course meal in a phone booth.  Odd, but do-able.  


Maybe with one of our signs in the yard some of the neighbors will call and ask us about adding on or remodeling their home, too.  We're very well known in the area for our new home construction, but I doubt many people think of us when it comes to small remodel jobs.  I think a little diversity will be good for us. We'll see.  :)


S