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Next on our list of things to accomplish is the interior finish work. After reviewing a half dozen bids, we narrowed the field to two...(the bids ran the gamit from double what we paid to half what we paid...about $10,000.) and included all the framing, sheet rock and texture for the entire 3000 sqare feet. To better understand the work here...keep in mind the building is 22 ' at the highest point to 14' at its lowest wall hiegth. With a double layer 5/8" sheet rock"fire wall" on the west walls and the south walls.The restrooms have a 10 foot ceiling (don't ask why) And the office aread (aprox 16'x 32'6") is finshed with a "knocked down" texture. The framing contractor arrived on the site 3 days after all the steel studs and sheet rock. They had two other jobs running and he split crews between them...luckily he was so busy he made the decision to work on ours over the week end and completed nearly all the framing in 3 days. Then, one man was left on site to finish all the "short" work like the bathrooms and office (his work made for 3 more days) in the mean time the "rockers" (and all mexican team of 6...mostly family members) came in and started rocking the first framing to go up. These guys were absolutely amazing (they worked by the sheet and they were fast (and good). As I said in the last chapter this is about the time my production days ended at the shop...I remainded on site all day, everday from here on out. Mostly answering questions...making decisions...but most importantly cleaning the mess made each day. Cleaning as you go makes for a major difference in time spent at the end of the project (instead of having to hire a waste removal I put it all in the dumpster myself ,every day). The rockers were there for about a week with only one break for 2 days between.
Following them were the Tape and bed guys ...they were the most amazing, I fugured it would take them a good four or five days to do their thing...(they did the shop side and office 2000 sq. ft. in a little over 3 hours then returned 3 days later to do the lease side. Boy was I impressed! Well...there is always something to make all the easy stuff seem like luck...ours came in the form of "Houdini" the cement contractor. If I had known the problems we were going to have with this guy ...he'd have never set foot on our lot. Even tho he did an acceptable job on the slab he spent the rest of his days on the job site finding every excuse he could to either not be there or leave after he arrived. to top it off his helper was the biggest slacker I'd ever met. The contractor would bring him and another laborer tell him what to do.... then leave ..at this point the "helper"would brow beat laborer and make him do what( he ) was told to do while he spent time harrassing everyone on site...then when the "boss" showed back up and nothing was done he would blame the poor laborer for it (never within ear shot of the laborer mind you) . I actually had to tell the contractor he needed to shed himself of the guy (he finally did ...on our job anyway) then it was up to the contractor to get things done...he'd show in the morning (about 10 oclock dump of this or that )and if I had to leave for some reason...so did he. Once I went to get him and his helper some ice water and when I returned he had vanished. Add this to the fact that everyday he brought his 7 year old son with him and nothing was getting done. (he said he couldn't stand leaving him with strangers during the day) Actually there couldn't have been anyone "stranger" than he...To shorten the story here what should have taken him and one "good" helper 3 days to do took over 3 weeks (an hour and a load here...two hours and two loads there) Things shaped up when I got fed up and told him the only reason he was on site at all was he was recommended by our building contractor. And if he couldn't get it together he needed to let me know. As for the little kid... I had to watch him like a hawk (first off I didn't need him mamed or killed, even tho the thought crossed my mind ...but mostly because he could get more trouble in 5 minutes than any of my 4 kids ever did in their whole lives) I actually caught him one day scratching his name into a siding panel (fortunately on the back wall) ARRRRG...like I didn't have enough problems with everything else I'm paying some jerk so I can be his baby sitter (something wrong with that picture). I know the obvious answer here was to fire this guy and hire someone else...but I would have been faced with backing up everything another month or two trying to reschedule another contractor (it was peak construction season) so we gutted it out. When he asked if he could send potential clients to see his work ...I told him "It might not be in his best interest '. HE UNDERSTOOD ...(no ones been by). The only thing that made the concrete contractor tolerable was the fact that we were paying him by the square foot for finishing and paying the concrete supplier for every load as they delivered it. It minimized the cost and brought the cement work in way under budget. My biggest mistake here was not giving it to another contractor in the first place...(spend a good deal of your time checking out your contractors so you don't get a Houdini like I did). Actually you never know till you're in the middle of things.
As if I didn't have enough problems...my best friend came in to give a hand doing the "little stuff" and I'm afraid I didn't treat him as well as I could have...thankfully we have been friends for over 30 years and he knew I was stressed out . We have made up and are on "best friend" first name basis again...but I'm afraid I came really close to ruining a beautiful friendship. (You might want to avoid this senario when you build yours and be careful how you treat your wife as well). Our concrete cutter was a saint (also a friend) and came by when ever we need him ...there have been no unexpected cracks and we attribute that to the fact he did his job how he needed to...when he needed to. I'm looking at the remainder of construction from this point and feel as tho the next chapter will most likely be the last...watch for it and more pictures as we settle into the new digs.
Next up...Chapter 8...Final inspections and "Moving in".
[ October 28, 2002, 09:26 PM: Message edited by: Monte Jumper ]
-------------------- "Werks fer me...it'll werk fer you"
posted
Wow Monte, sounds like you had loads of fun! Yea once they started pouring the job, kinda hard to fire the finisher. I can tell you some horror stories about finishers. Had one who did the finishing for a industrial contracting company who was doing jobs on the side. I mean he had the company tool trailer doin these side jobs during company time!
Rolled up on a job where he was pouring a slab surrounding a pool. By the time I arrived he had'nt smoothed the last truckload out and it was setting up on him. He took the whilly bird and ran it on top of the piled up concrete to "chop it".
After he got that situated, I finished my load and it started RAINING on his freshly poured masterpiece!
Takes all kinds or as Bob Rochon puts it. . .some peoples kids!
Bet ya glad its done!
-------------------- Tony Broussard Graphic Details Digital Media Loreauville, LA Posts: 395 | From: Loreauville, LA | Registered: Jul 1999
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posted
There's a funny story about that Neil...I pulled it in there before the drive was complete on one of the few days that "Houdini" showed up...he put up his forms for the drive while I was at lunch and I had to block up the forms to drive out.
This guy was a real genius...but I guess you could say the same about me...hahaha
But you're right it did feal really good!
[ October 29, 2002, 01:44 PM: Message edited by: Monte Jumper ]
-------------------- "Werks fer me...it'll werk fer you"
posted
That's a good one indeed Monte. Lol, kind of like painting yourself into a corner! Congratulations on a great shop, one of these days I hope to build my own one as well, for what I'm paying in rent here I could have my own building for about the same or even less per month, but that time will come.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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Then, one man was left on site to finish all the "short" work like the bathrooms and office (his work made for 3 more days) 
in the mean time the "rockers" (and all mexican team of 6...mostly family members) came in and started rocking the first framing to go up. These guys were absolutely amazing (they worked by the sheet and they were fast (and good). 
If I had known the problems we were going to have with this guy ...he'd have never set foot on our lot.
The contractor would bring him and another laborer tell him what to do.... then leave ..at this point the "helper"would brow beat laborer and make him do what( he ) was told to do while he spent time harrassing everyone on site...then when the "boss" showed back up and nothing was done he would blame the poor laborer for it (never within ear shot of the laborer mind you) . I actually had to tell the contractor he needed to shed himself of the guy (he finally did ...on our job anyway) then it was up to the contractor to get things done...he'd show in the morning (about 10 oclock dump of this or that )and if I had to leave for some reason...so did he. Once I went to get him and his helper some ice water and when I returned he had vanished.
Things shaped up when I got fed up and told him the only reason he was on site at all was he was recommended by our building contractor. And if he couldn't get it together he needed to let me know.
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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