Much has happened which is why I’d abandoned this blog for so long. I will post more about some of the issues and some things to expect as the house ages and settles. I should have been the annoying client who demanded higher quality.
Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve.
The content below had been tucked away as a draft since October 17, 2012. I was obviously hesitant to post it shortly after closing but given some recent events, it deserves a little daylight. It remains unedited.
Disclaimer: The post is filled with negativity. Building a house with anyone is bound to result in some disappointments of varying degrees. Of all the things to complain about, I'm glad it's not structural and only cosmetic.
I truly wish people (in general) would take more pride in their work. I can tell you that our finishing team was not detail-oriented and they definitely were not perfectionists by any stretch of the imagination. I'm trying hard to look past the imperfections but now that I've actually documented them, it's hard to overlook this lengthy list. Perhaps it's just not me being overly critical. Perhaps they were just that lackluster. I honestly think that they just didn't care at all: another house, another job, get in, get out as fast as possible. If I had one word to summarize my current overall feelings it would be "craptacular".
This post had many potential titles. I'll omit the ones with expletives seeing how this is supposed to a family-friendly blog.
"Things I can't stand about the house"
"What happened to craftsmanship and pride in one's work?"
"WHY?!"
Before we get to the (attempted) finishing, let's roll back to cleaning crew. They came not once but twice. The first was before the demonstration (a Tuesday) and the second was the day of closing (a Friday). We had asked for the second cleaning because, well, the house just was not cleaned very well. Little did I know at the time that the cloudiness that we saw on the cabinets was not a lack of cleaning but actually a smearing of paint. (More on that later.)
Immediately after closing, we headed to the house and saw a pile of boots and shoes on our stoop so we decided to do some shopping to give the cleaning crew time to wrap up. When we returned, I was on the verge of tears. No, these eyes did not water from of happiness or joy or elation for entering what was officially "our" house but of disappointment. Perhaps the overreaction was from funky hormones but my heart did sink. I just signed away hundreds of thousands of dollars for something "meh"?
The cleaning crew went to town with the Old English. It was dripping down the sides of the kitchen cabinets. The haze on the island just would not go away (even with my own elbow grease). Our socks were ruined from the Old English on the floor. There were blobs of putty randomly scattered all over the hardwood and the putty that was intentionally placed there to fill the cracks didn't even match the stain so they stuck out like a sore thumb. Between Tuesday and Friday, someone had managed to scratch, crack,and gouge the planks.
The staircase was bathed in Old English -- the steps were glistening like it had just rained polish. I placed my hand on the railing. Yup. it was completely brown from Old English. The white risers and balusters had a wonderful brown sheen to them as did the wall. (recall that these walls are super absorbent). I have this love-hate relationship with the staircase. I so want to love it but the "finishing" has left me sorely disappointed. The painters had slapped on what appears to be a single super thick coat. I can still see bare wood in places, I can see drips and streaks -- definitely not professionally done. Heck, even I know multiple thin coats are needed for a nice finish and I bet your tushie that I could have done a better job. In fact, I had asked the back-up PM for pint of paint to do some touch ups. We were completely surprised to find a painter IN our house -- unannounced. (Um, hello, this is a residence now, please knock... and he was so very lucky the dogs were at my parents' house) I felt a little at ease with the thought that some touch-ups would be done while I was busily slapping on some Very Berry pink paint elsewhere. Yeah, no. The only thing he did was paint over the Old English on the balusters and risers. We ended up getting a gallon each of wall and trim paint so I can do it myself. While I appreciate that RH gave us extra paint, the point is that we should not be in this position in the first place.
Poor drainage
The basement furnace doesn't drain properly. The pipes are parallel to the floor so there's no gravity-assisted movement of water from the furnace to the drain pipe. Standing water = not so good.
Water issues with HVAC
The attic furnace needs some attention: Either there's a crapload (technical term) of condensation on the line or there's a water leak in the exhaust pipe/roof. We had a puddle of water sitting on the furnace. Thankfully, the now-ruined manual soaked up most of the water but there was water dripping on the electrical wires within the unit itself. Somehow in all of this too, two nylon (?) straps where shreaded and stripped from the walls. The last time we saw something like this was when we had a water-logged HVAC line.
Cold bedroom
BR#4 (M's room) is dramatically colder than any other room on the second floor. We're not sure if it's because of something with the HVAC line or if those windows are super drafty. I compared the rear windows with the ones in the dining room (immediately below) and there was a significant difference in the draft. Not sure if anything will/can be done about this.
Unwanted Paint
The cabinets in the master bath are speckled from the spraying.
Vanity counter in master bathroom is scratched/splotches of paint
Kitchen island cabinets have a cloudy haze from smeared paint
Paint on the step trimwork
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