Contractor Challenges

Ah, the wonderful world of contractors!

I consider contractors to be professionals. After all, they are often paid substantial sums to do what some consider the impossible. They need to be licensed. They are trusted with keys to homes and businesses and often have access sensitive materials and valuable objects. It's too bad that the reality is that they often come across as flaky and unreliable.

Case in point: we contracted with a company to move our furnace to the attic with a promised deadline of Friday. I visited the jobsite finding the contractor M.I.A. Repeated calls go unanswered and the promised deadline is missed. Now, I've been in the business long enough to know that schedules need to be reasonably flexible. All he needed to do was let me know that he needed more time....no problem. But failure to communicate with a client (me) is a cardinal sin and creates a loss of credibility for the contractor. A vital part of any contractor's livelihood is referrals. Will I refer him in the future? No.

I'll hear from him on Monday because he's done this before. I also have not paid him in full. Never EVER pay for everything upfront. That way you have some leverage over the contractor. An upfront deposit is fine so they can buy materials, but pre-paying in full is a huge mistake.

I also had to fire our new electrician. He came highly recommended and I was very impressed with him when we walked the job together. However, during the time he was working on the house last week, he suffered some kind of breakdown. I received a very disturbing, agitated call from him having nothing to do with his work. I was also alerted by a neighbor that he was pestering other workers on a project across the street. Not wanting to wait for a third strike, I decided it was best to move quickly and let him go. I wish him the best and hope he gets the help he needs.

It's never easy or pleasant to fire anyone, but I need to be concerned for the safety of my neighbors as well as the other people working on the job. Locks were changed and a new locking side gate installed.

Like all of us, each contractor has their own baggage. Its important to do your best to communicate with them often, as well as show up at the jobsite unannounced. Its also important to realize that no schedule is set in stone and dates will change. Also, a renovation is a collaboration, not a dictatorship, so drop any notion that you as a client have the right to disrespect your contractors. That doesn't mean you can't be angry and let them know your frustration when things go wrong or deadlines are ignored. Just keep the lines of communication open.

Contractors need to remember that they are providing a service, and that includes "customer service". Contractors need to realize the importance of communication as well, and that it is far better for a client to hear bad news from the contractor instead of finding it out for themselves without an explanation. Communication can only increase the credibility of the contractor. Finally the old addage of "under-promise and over-deliver" is crucial for the client/contractor relationship.

Cliche but true, working with contractors can be like herding cats...just be prepared for the unexpected and be flexible. Keep a sense of humor as you use the broom (or club) to guide the cats to the finish line.

Now, about breakdowns....I have no guidance on that. Sometimes even when you go with a great recommendation and a good gut feeling, you get surprises!

The good news for the week is that the kitchen has been gutted and the construction debris removed (thanks Reggie!). I'm happy to report that the old appliances will be recycled. I also got a solid recommendation for a new electrician as well as a new contact for flooring.

And the adventure continues!

Shipping Container Living

Affordable housing has been an issue for a long time. An intreging use for the thousands of old shipping containers is to use them for housing. They are the right size at eight feet tall by eight feet wide and 20 or 40 feet long. Some very creative architects are combining them to make some interesting livable spaces.

For those with the room, a shipping container could be fashioned into a usable studio, guest house or cabin.

The Work Continues....

I'm happy to report that work is proceeding nicely on the renovation. It certainly looks chaotic, but we've made progress! The furnace is being relocated to the attic, and in it's place a combination utility/linen closet has been framed. An awkwardly placed closet in the new dining room wall has also been walled off. The closet has been removed from the living room and a new larger closet has been created in the adjoining bedroom.

Electrical upgrades have also started today. The original wiring is aluminium, which over time can short out and cause a fire. The best solution would be to replace all of the wiring with copper, but that is not in the budget. The next best solution is "pigtailing" at all of the outlets and switches. When properly done, it creates a "bond" between the aluminium household wiring and the new copper outlet wiring. This greatly lessens the chance of fire. This is not a do-it-yourself project...hire a licensed electrician to get the job done right.

The electrician is bringing all of the kitchen and restroom outlets up to code as well as adding new exhaust fans in the restrooms and ceiling fans in the bedrooms.

The next step after the furnace and electrical are done is having everything inspected. Do I see light at the end of the tunnel?

Asbestos is gone!

The asbestos that was a component of the "cottage cheese" ceiling, old floor tiles and ductwork has been removed. AQHI did a great job, securing the permit from the Air Quality Management District, scraping and hauling it all away and disposing of it properly. AQHI specializes in environmental waste remediation, and I could not be happier with the results.

For many years asbestos was used in construction, and the houses in this community built in the mid 1960's were no different. Now it is commonly known that asbestos is a dangerous carcinogen, but in the past the public was kept in the dark for many years about how serious the health effects of asbestos exposure often are. In fact, as early as 1930, an internal report by the John-Manville Corporation reported employee fatalities related to asbestos exposure. Other documents reveal that Owens-Corning, John-Manville and other companies were complicit in supressing information on deaths, illness and general misery brought on by asbestos exposure. This is a sad example of unbridled corporate capitalism where the only interest is the bottom line.


Currently it is estimated that each year 10,000 people die in the United States from asbestos-related disease, which includes one out of every 125 men who die over the age of 50.

Laws have been enacted to limit public exposure and asbestos generally is not used in new construction, although it is still not banned outright. The website for the EPA has great information on asbestos use and mitigation. Luckily, in most cases asbestos can be lived with if it is left undisturbed. It becomes a danger once the tiny fibers get into the air and they are breathed deeply into the lungs.


If you have a house built up until the early 1980's that has a textured "cottage cheese" or "popcorn" ceiling you are considering removing yourself, do yourself a favor and have the material tested for asbestos. Search "asbestos testing" to find a qualified testing facility in your area. They can provide a simple kit where you can provide a small sample to verify if it is contaminated.

Now that the asbestos headache is past, we can get on with the rest of the renovation! Next...moving the furnace and more demolition!

Ceiling Fan in Your Future??

Ceiling fans are great. They allow you to turn down the air conditioning and circulate the air so you can feel cooler. Naturally, the fans don't cool the air...they just bring air in contact with your skin and you feel cooler as your body evaporates moisture. Simple, yet very effective. In the winter months the blades can be reversed and the hot air at the ceiling can be circulated around to make the whole room feel more comfortable while you use less heat. Ceiling fans are a "green" solution in the summer and winter months allowing you to use less energy to cool or heat your home depending upon the season.

Ceiling fan styles range from Traditional to Modern and everything in between. In fact the selection is so large that selecting the right one for your home can be a challenge. If you need a fan with a light fixture, look into a fixture already outfitted with a fluorescent lamp (bulb). If it takes a standard screw-in lamp, switch it with a screw-in fluorescent. Just be sure the color temperature (a way to measure the lamp's visual warmness or coolness) is between 2700 k and 3000 k or listed as "warm white". The difference between a warm fluorescent and a standard incandescent is minimal and you will save money over the long run in electricity. 


If you are using the fan for lighting, just be sure to add table lamps or floor lamps to your lighting scheme. There is nothing worse for a room or for the people in that room than a single light source attached to the ceiling, but that's for another post.


Take a look at some of my favorites...

Work on the renovation continues...

Work continues on a house my partner and I own in a beach town here in Southern California. What should have been a fairly quick remodel has turned into a long slog with delays caused by my day job (the nerve!) as well as....well, life. It was a case of "out of sight and out of mind" for a period of time for which I was completely responsible. Had this been a regular job with a regular client this remodel would have been on the front burner and finished. I now believe that the most challenging client I can have is me. What is that saying about any lawyer representing himself has a fool for a client?

There was (and is still) quite a lot to do. The place had sat empty for several years and needed a lot of work just to get it up to 1980's standards. We are having the asbestos acoustic ceiling texture (cottage cheese) removed, as well as the contaminated flooring and duct work. This is scheduled for early November. After that comes plumbing and a new furnace and.....the list goes on and on.

We're both very pleased with how the exterior turned out. It's a different color than any of the other houses on the block and it helps to set it apart from our neighbors. Since this is a very small mid-century house, I decided to keep things simple and big for maximum curb appeal. The subdued paint scheme helps give it a more upscale feeling. The house is not located in Tuscany, so no columns or terracotta, thank you. Two large pots help frame and define the entrance, while the Energy Star rated fluorescent light fixture, believe it or not, gives off a great soft light. Helpful hint--get a very low wattage lamp (bulb) that is "warm white" or a color temperature of 2700 k. It doesn't take much light to accent the front door. The inexpensive 6" address numbers from Home Depot project off of the low wall and reinforce the general mid-century feel.

Once the front door is painted and installed the exterior will be done. Can't wait!

Ready. Set. Go.

Gee, just what the world needs....another blog!

I doubt I 'll be able to say or show anything new or different that hasnt already been posted before, and that's OK. Besides, who should care about what I think anyway?

My purpose is only to post things I find interesting and inspirational. I believe that through this exercise I will be able to become a better designer by pulling disparate ideas together and incorporating some of them in future work. And if anyone can glean anything from my process...fantastic!

So here we go.