Bunch of Drips

Click now for JiffNotes

First off, thank you for the kind comments on my Easter Fairy. I should make a habit of posting progress pictures, because you all are better at seeing my progress than I am! =)

So if you've been asking yourself, "Hey, where has Heather been lately? Why no blog posts?"...or even if you haven't been asking yourself...the answer is: the joys of home ownership. Or, more precisely, the mind-numbing stress associated therewith. Our old place is still not sold, our new place has various issues, and the contractors have abandoned me to sub-contractor h#ll, which is where you place many, many calls trying to get people to come do stuff for you when you are not paying them for doing it. If that sounds nigh-impossible, then you've got it about right. Oh, yes, and my HR rep at work decided to abandon me.

I'm currently in process of trying to get subcontractors to resolve the following problems:

• The heat pump is not performing to spec. When it's 65 degrees (18C) outside, it's only putting out 85 degree (29C) air. It should be putting out 100 degree (37C) air. I've already been charged for a service call, during which they also fixed more gas leaks at the furnace (upstairs is furnace), but did not find "anything wrong" with the heat pump. The owner of the company is supposed to come out Thursday at 10:00.


• The downstairs faucet does not shut off...it gradually tapers off its flow until it stops. They've theoretically contacted the contractors to reorder the faucet, but since I'm dealing with the same company as the above issue, I'm not holding my breath.


• There's a giant crack in the drywall. It was patched last Thursday, and was supposed to be sanded/painted Friday, but the guy never showed up. I had rearranged my morning to accommodate him, and poor Michael had to get up early to make sure we had paint on hand. He's supposed to be coming back this Thursday...again, I'm not restricting my oxygen over it. But, this is going to necessitate taping up a bunch of plastic to try and thwart the inevitable creep of drywall dust across the entire premises...if you've had drywall work done, you understand. If you haven't, there's no way to adequately explain the insidious nature of drywall dust. It's like the Harry Houdini of construction debris, only in reverse: It can get in anywhere.


• The small window in the shower is cracked. I'm sure it happened because of the building shifting...one day, the crack was 4", the next, it went the entire diagonal of the window (about 15"). I was informed by the glass guy on the phone that they don't warranty windows, because "how are they to know how it got broken." So, basically, he called me a liar. I told him to call the contractor, because we were not paying for a window broken due to building shifting. I'm sure he called the contractor right away. I'll pause while you wipe that dripping sarcasm off your monitor.


• The shower door no longer closes properly (see building shifting, above). This is the same sub as the window, so again...my lungs will still regularly fill with air.


• There are a few leaks in the garage. We haven't called them on these yet, because they just finished fixing all the leaks coming in at the front of the unit.


• This very morning we discovered a leak in the bedroom which appears to be coming from the roof. We discovered it because the paint was bubbling on the wall. Can you say, "More drywall replacement, sanding and painting?" *sigh*

This is all not to mention the old place. I have been very slack with trying to get contractors out to help us, but when I do try, they either do not call me back, or say the job is too big, or I've gotten the scope wrong despite the fact that Michael has written it out for me, and I have to start all over. *sigh* An inspector is coming out early on Thursday (are you starting to see the pileup I have to deal with before I go to my haircut around noon??). I'm hoping once we get that report, it will be easier to get a contractor to fix the issues, since they will be concise. Then, we can start work on the things we can do ourselves (or with the help of our crazy friends). But still, I'm not starving my red blood cells over it.

And don't even get me started on the City of Atlanta splitting our property at the speed of moss, our ephemeral parcel ID tied to no physical address, and our homestead exemption paperwork...really. Fortunately, the husband of the year is taking care of that so I don't explode from stress...again.

I promise more interesting and non-ranty posts soon. I have actually made progress and even taken pictures...I've just had no motivation to post them.

JiffNotes
Double entendre: Your Key to Quality Blogging. We've got some leaks, but the real drips are our contractors.