Don’t tell Nathaniel Boyce / Boyce Masonry Co. how to do his business.

We finally redid our 100-year old front steps.  Receiving four bids, we chose the low bid (around $4000) Boyce Masonry.

Nathaniel Boyce is a good ol’ boy who will call you “Mr. So and So.”  To his credit he was the only one who creatively (and correctly, I think) told me:  Don’t rip up those stairs; use them as the foundation and pour a new 3″ slab right on top of them.  I immediately liked his time- and money-saving approach.  (Most bids were twice as high; one was five times as high.)

Here is what irked me:  our contract specifically called for “protecting against freezing,” one night after finishing the sidewalls of the steps was projected to drop to 28 degrees F, and he didn’t cover his work–I had to do it.

I did it because everyone knows you don’t let new concrete freeze!  One article describes concrete that freezes too soon (generally, within 24 hours)  can lose 50% of its overall strength and durability.  How to Pour Concrete in Freezing Temperatures | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5534841_pour-concrete-freezing-temperatures.html#ixzz2OEH6cmlv.  One engineering professor describes the “common sense” of cold weather curing:  “…covering the slab with an insulating blanket for the first night should keep the
concrete warm enough until the next day.”  http://www.stanleytools.com/xhtml/p_concrete.htm

But not Nathaniel Boyce.  Here’s how he responded to my email expressing concern that he didn’t cover:

“The concrete we poured had set long enough for it not to freeze i have been during this for 52 yrs i don’t need a book to tell me how to do my job. If the concrete we poured had not set all day i would have covered it you did not have to cover the concrete it will not freeze it had set long enough we poured that concrete at 9: 30 am it set all day i would not leave a job that i am during to freeze.”

How do you politely tell someone like him that he has been doing at least this one aspect of his job wrong for 52 years?

 

 

 

Review on Mark Perigo / Wade Davis, DC Contractor

First, astute readers will note that my last post was exactly two years ago–the day my lovely wife gave birth to our two sons.  You can imagine that not as much renovation got done in the last two years as I decided to be a dad first and foremost.  Doug Crouch, carpenter extradinaire, rebuilt our front entrance, trusted sidekick Jose went back to Guatamala, and more.

 

I had hoped to limp along with a contractor that I found on Craigslist named Mark Perigo, but he also went by Wade Davis.  A good rule of thumb in life–that I ignored here–is don’t trust anyone who goes by two names.  And that shows up with a different helper every week.  And that can’t accurately keep track of his hours.  And that weekly asks for advances.  And that has incredible stories about what happened to his car (“it got sideswiped in the parking lot, no wait, it got totalled by my wife’s best friend, who didn’t tell us she did it for the first few weeks….”).   And who asks for $30 to buy supplies, but then never does (and the receipt he never gave me was in his “buddy’s truck”).  And whose wife “forgot” to call me and tell me he wouldn’t be coming on a day I needed him.  And whose phone number suddenly changed because he “lost his phone.”  I could go on, but you get the idea.

So Mark promises to pay back a $50 advance and end the relationship “with a smile.”  Then he disappears for SIX MONTHS, leaving his tools in my basement!  [Editorial comment:  Hmmm, a “professional” without his tools for six months?  How can he make a living?  Or was he somewhere that didn’t allow tools?]  Anyway, he suddenly reappears two weeks ago.  I reminded him that I expected him to reimburse me for the $50 + $30 that he owed me, and here is what he said verbatim in a voicemail:

“Hi, Steve it’s Mark Perigo.  Sorry to call you so late, I got your message.  I’m so sorry that you feel so bent to hell about your 80 bucks.  But let me tell you buddy, I’m going to get my tools from you in the next day or so if I have to bring the police there, and you can take your 80 bucks to civil court, ok.  On top of that my friend, I’ve spent 35 years in Washington DC, and I know everybody there. So let me tell you what buddy, if you like you job, you better kiss some ass somewhere because I’m about to kick it.”

So there you have it.  For those of you wondering whether to hire Mark Perigo, DC contractor, caveat emptor.

Paul Compton Painting

Ok, this post and the last two posts are kind of negative:  today I’m ranting against Paul Compton of Compton’s Plastering and Painting.  Here’s why:  he stood me up recently on an appointment to bid on some work.  Here I am, trying to send business–and LOTS of business, both plastering and painting– to my neighbor, the underdog, and he doesn’t even have the courtesy to call and cancel.  He told me that business is slow, yet he has no idea how much business he just threw out the window.

After dealing with some of the contractors, I’ve developed a new theory why America is in a recession:  too many people just aren’t willing to SHOW UP!  It’s not that hard, Paul!

To be sure, I’ve run across some wonderful contractors:  Colorado Electric, Angel Floors, Doug Crouch.  Use them, please.

Don’t use Bel Pre Glassworks

Stay away from salesrep Jonathan Pond at Bel Pre Glassworks!  Don’t get me wrong–their product is fine, but I judge a company on followup service and how they handle problems.  Jonathan sure was eager to return my calls during the pre-sales process–and now we have a wonderful, custom glass door for our master bathroom shower.

I had a question or two, though, and emailed and voicemailed Jonathan.  Nothing.  No response.  Loser!

Nastygram to HD Johnson

DC plumbing company, HD Johnson, really disappointed me.  To be sure, they were patient with me as our job took longer than everyone expected.  Last year, when I had them do some work outside of the contract, they did their best to define the term “price gouging.”  One charge, as I recall, was about $200 for 15 feet of pvc pipe–nice little profit there, eh?

In any case, I always paid them promptly.  We should have been treated with a little respect due a $30,000 customer.  Since they so desperately wanted done with the contract, I thought they would’ve jumped through hoops last June when I called them to schedule the final tasks:  install the master bath fixtures and toekick radiator.

Unfortunately, as you see below, four months passed before they finally finished.  Luckily, we had other construction work to do, and didn’t yet need the heat source.  Still, the fact that I had to threaten breach of contract really left a sour taste in my mouth.  I won’t use HD Johnson again.

—

This is my FINAL REQUEST FOR PERFORMANCE.
 
For the last four months, I have nicely requested and patiently waited for HD Johnson to provide and install a toekick radiator in my home’s 2nd floor master bathroom.  A summary of my requests follows:
 
June 29, 2010–I emailed my initial request for your company to complete work under the contract (Rhonda’s June 30th response:  “I spoke with Dave and we can get this scheduled after July 4th. I will get back to you and let you know exactly what date we can have you scheduled on.”)
 
July 21, 2010–hearing nothing, I again inquired about the schedule (Rhonda’s July 21st response:  “I know it’s going to be the later part of August first part of September, we are really busy. I will get with you on a definite date as the time get’s closer.”)
 
Aug. 30, 2010–hearing nothing, I again inquired about the schedule (crew arrived Sept. 1 to install fixtures but not toekick heater.)
 
Sept. 23, 2010–Rhonda did not call back with an installation time as she had promised in an earlier phone call, so I again wrote to request the toekick heater installation (Rhonda’s Sept. 24th response:  “I will get with Dave to see when we can get you back on the schedule, I do apologize it has been so busy.”)
 
Oct. 1, 2010–hearing nothing, I again inquired about the schedule (Rhonda’s response:  “I will definitely get it in this Month, I was just looking over the schedule and it looks like it will be the later part of this Month. I will get back to you with a exact date toward the middle of the month.”)
 
It is now the end of October.  No one called me “toward the middle of the month” to schedule; it is clear that you will not “definitely get it in this Month.”
 
Our March 8, 2008 contract does not have performance deadlines.  Without specific dates, performance must be on a “reasonable” schedule.  Here, it is not reasonable for a professional contractor to continually postpone a small project for four months, especially as we enter heating season.
 
 
HD JOHNSON IS hereby notified that the FINAL Deadline for performance shall BE 6 p.m., November 5, 2010.  Should HD Johnson not perform, it shall be in BREACH OF CONTRACT. 
 
In a breach of contract, the non-breaching party may mitigate.  Should HD Johnson breach the contract on November 5, I will hire an alternative contractor on November 6, 2010, to provide and install a “K-8400 toe kick hydronic fan coil unit” or equivalent.  The $1000 I still owe HD Johnson under the contract shall be used to pay for mitigation.  If a balance remains, I will send that to you in full and complete satisfaction of the contract.
 
To avoid the costs of mitigation, I encourage you to contact me immediately and schedule a time to install the toekick radiator.

[Update:  the above letter prompted them to set an appointment and finish the job last week.  Jeez, how hard does this have to be?]

Dominique

Do you ever get certain songs stuck in your head?  I did, while building the rock walls in the back yard.  For some reason, my memory resurrected the catchy song, Dominique, by the Singing Nun.  Watch the English video here, featuring Debbie Reynolds and Ed Sullivan.  There really was a famous singing nun, known in French as Sœur Sourire (Sister Smile).  Her story is here (tragically ending in suicide); her original French version is beautiful.   Here is the translation of the French lyrics so you can understand the song. 

Warning:  if you listen to this song, you will be singing “Dominique, -nique, -nique” to yourself for the next month!  It’s fun for about the  first 100 times, then…

 Ahhhhh!!!

Our new backyard!

After many weekends of building rock walls and laying herringbone-patterned bricks, we’re almost done with our backyard!  All it needs now is a short sidewalk, a gate, and a picnic table (the new water fountain arrived today and will be set up this weekend).

Here’s a view of the backyard a week ago, in the midst of construction.  Note the prolific roma tomato bush in the rear, the grape and squash vines hanging over the fence, and the overgrown herb garden up front.  Can you spot the water fountain mock up?

Then we added some topsoil and had the landscapers come in and plant native vegetation, courtesy of the RiverSmart homes program:

Can’t wait till spring when the red bud, columbines, and phlox all bloom:

And just to put all this in perspective, here’s what the backyard looked like four years ago (ahh, the bamboo plant):

Refinished second floor hallway and main steps

Tony, at Angel Floors, worked magic again with these 100 year-old floors.  See for yourself:

Before:

After:

The halls are stained with Minwax’s Golden Oak.  Here are the main stairs stained with “Jacobean”:

Before: 

After:

My wife can walk barefoot on the floor again without feeling in grave danger of being pierced by a splinter or worse.

Rubber mallet vs. finger

Famous last words:  It’s only a rubber mallet–how much can it possibly hurt?

Better version:  Wow–look at all that blood!

Torino Water Fountain

I’ve been hard at work on the back yard in preparation for the planting that will hopefully happen in two weeks.  The loose-laid rock walls are in; the concrete retaining wall has been covered by handcut pieces of rock to match the rest of the wall (except they’re only 2″ thick); I’ve compacted the base that will hold the brick in a herringbone pattern; and now, the water fountain has been ordered! 

After looking at countless water fountains and solar-powered bird baths, we chose a “Merino”–check it out here.

The fountain will go on the west side, mid level.  

Here’s a peek at what Michele Falcon, landscape designer, put together for us:

  

You might not be able to zoom on the graphic.  Trust me, it represents some wonderful and beautiful flowers like Penstemon digitalis (beard tongue) and Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed).  I can’t wait to see it all in place!