Fiddling on the Roof

Alright, we made our first bad sub choice.  I will not include names in this post but if you are looking for a roofer locally, please contact me.  We’ve been told over and over that “roofers are a dime a dozen” but I don’t believe this anymore.  The individual I chose was personally recommended to me by one of our local vendors – someone who used the contractor on his own personal residence and who deals with him on a day-to-day basis.  I got two other recommendations on him, checked the BBB, met with him, and felt comfortable when I found out he was roofing the house down the street.  Obviously, this was not enough.

After paying him in full (mistake #1)…he stated, “I bet you all are glad that you’re dried in.”  Well, that wasn’t exactly true.  When the next rain hit, we had a waterfall in our kitchen.  Thank goodness Rusty knows something about construction…he simply stated, “I wonder if he tucked the flashing under the house wrap?”

That was most definitely the issue.  We called the roofer who stated that he installed our roof the “standard” way and that you “have to ask” to get your flashing tucked.  Huh?  You have to ask to not have your roof leak?  His reasoning was that once we got the siding on, we wouldn’t have an issue.  There is some truth to this statement, but what about the possible 2-month interim that the house sits before siding is installed OR better yet if water gets behind your siding???

Yes, that is me way up there...Rusty isn't a picture kind of guy so this may be the only evidence we get of me working;-)

Oh, well.  Guess what the Carters learned to do?  I am now proficient at cutting house wrap, cutting tar paper, layering according to the direction weather travels, hammering sideways, and straddling roof ridges.  My 10-year-old also knows how to walk on a roof without ruining the shingles;-)

Check out this HGTV Pro Best Practice video on Step Flashing to find out more about doing it the “unstandard” way…

HINDSIGHT IS 20/20:  Lots of them…1) If your roofer doesn’t know what a Closed Attic Assembly is (in reference to possibly using spray foam instead of traditional insulation), don’t hire him.  2) If a sub outright criticizes the work of one of his competitors, don’t hire him.  3) DO NOT pay in full until ALL work is done, regardless of how small the job is.  4) Be the squeaky wheel…the phrase, “I will call and leave a message on your phone every day until you call me back or show up,” seems to work well;-)  5) Know the steps your subs should be taking and be a stickler for quality.  6) Never wear shorts when working on a hot roof.  Ouch.

Cement Pond

What I’m finding as we build is that there is sometimes a big discrepancy between “up to code” and “best practice.”  I’ve also learned that just because something is “the way it’s always been done” doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the best way to construct my forever home (or any home for that matter).

Our Cement Pond aka the Garage

The best example of this was my first trip to a local block company last fall.  Our designer, Lynn Taylor, had spent a lot of time and energy putting together a very detailed plan of our foundation.  At the time we were unsure whether we would be going with brick or stone covering our foundation – actually we were quite confused about the structural differences needed behind the scenes to plan for the different exteriors so I was completely ill-equipped for the trip.

Needless to say, I left very frustrated.  The first question I got was, “Why would you do it like that?”  Next came the, “I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I’ve never seen it done like that.”  My response should have been, ”I’ve seen a lot of houses built in the last 25 years that are falling apart.”

Lynn had prepared us…she had said that we would get some questions about some of the details on the plan.  She confirmed that she would lay out some construction and historic detail that would go against “how it is always done” and that we would have to pay attention to execution.  Her plans focus on “best practice” according to each trade and that we may have to go to bat to get the quality we desired.  This interaction at the block company became the basis for an ongoing joke between Lynn and us…we called it the “your-designer-is-smokin’-crack” look.

Lots of People Order 20 Tons of Sand...Right?

And so it goes this past week…I got questioned on why we were wanting to take an extra step on drainage (see previous post titled Draining Work).  Likewise, I’ve had to decide between two polar opposite views of how to pour concrete – fiber vs. wire.  I think I made the right choice but both subcontractors came with outstanding recommendations and both were equally convincing with their explanations about why his way was the best.  It did force me to do some research regarding the topic, however.  I can’t say that my research pointed out a clear winner but it did teach me that there is a difference between cement and concrete…I never knew.

HINDSIGHT IS 20/20:  Knowledge is power.  The Clampetts incorrectly referred to their swimming pool as the “cement pond” – they would have been correct in calling it a concrete pond.  Cement is merely a component of concrete;-)