Memorial Day

Well...the crew came to work today despite being a holiday. Since it was Memorial Day we grilled out burgers and hotdogs for the crew.My list of things for them to do...they pretty much knocked out all of them!

Except one...because yet more LVL problems. Remember the issue of the house being longer and wider than it is supposed to be because of the surveyor (Torbet Surveying) nailing the footer at the brick line instead of the block line? Well, because of that the ridge beam for the study/nursery off the Master Bedroom is too short. It should be right at twelve (12) feet long. Instead we need one that is 12'3". Doesn't sound like a big deal right? Well....actually the ridge beams are two LVL's laid in side by side. We have a twenty four (24') foot LVL on site. If you cut in 12'3" then you end up with 11'9" of waste! ARGHHH!!!!!!

How will I deal with it? I'll call Brian in the morning...he'll work his magic and get me the LVL's. I've been tough on Brian in this blog, but let me tell you if you are going to contract out your house yourself you contractor sales guy at your hardware store/lumber yard of choice will be invaluable to you. All the subcontractors like to moan and groan about how wrong the work that has been done before is (the block guy's say it was the surveyor, the framing guys say it was the block guys...and so on). The constant is the contractor sales guy. He helps supply you every step along the way. He (or she) will have referrals for you if your chosen subs don't pan out (or they can help you chose the subs in the first place). I'd highly recommend using a local lumber yard over contractor sales from one of the big boxes (Lowes and Home Depot). I could be wrong, but I can't imagine someone from those stores being on my site as often as Brian is.

One other thing to know if you contract your house yourself.... There are millions of decsions to make and I'm not talking about the paint color or patina for the door hardware (that's the easy stuff). No...how about, "hey we are getting ready to cut the stair treads and we need to know now whether you want carpet or hardwood because we cut the treads differently." I never knew the stair treads are cut differently. Or how about, "hey this lvl is three (3) inches short, we can make it work if you are okay with it...what do you think?" Well...what are the implications? It's a little short section of roof with very little load. Does it really matter? Will it pass code? Everyday it is something. Some decision that seems semi-major and has to be made on the spot. I think it's a little like being a CEO. You make little decisions all the time that help determine the direction of your company, but you are making those decisions with incomplete information with short deadlines. If only I made CEO type money...I'd take me golden parachute and hire a contractor!!