Horror stories. Everyone has heard of one, and they are one of the main reasons why many people are reluctant to undertake a remodeling or new home project. Building is a complicated, expensive and emotional task, and for some people the risk of encountering a problem is too high.
But for others, the challenge and excitement of creating something completely new and unique is irresistible. Designing and building a new home or remodeling the one in your home can be a very rewarding experience, if you’ve done your homework and prepared for the possibility that everything may not always go exactly as planned…in these two stories real:
Carved in stone (Nope)
Chuck and Jim opened the back doors of Chuck’s truck and carefully removed the new polished granite countertop. They parked the truck in the driveway at the back of their client’s house, flush with the kitchen door so the countertop could go straight in. Large stone countertops are fragile, but this one was especially so because of the holes that had been pre-cut to allow for the sink and stove to be dropped in later. Inside, Chuck and Jim positioned themselves next to the cabinets where the countertop would be installed and began slowly turning it into place.
Jim heard it first: a soft “pop,” just before the countertop shattered on either side of the sink opening. The heavy chunks of stone slipped from their hands and landed with a double thud on the kitchen floor.
The customer was watching when the disaster struck, and the sound it made was nothing like a pop, a crack, or a thud; it was more like a gasp. This was too much to bear. It was the third time Chuck and Jim had broken the kitchen counter.
Too good to be true
Jim and Tracy desperately wanted to build their new home in Cherrington Woods and couldn’t believe their luck when they discovered that the last lot in the subdivision was still for sale. Lot 43 was in a cul-de-sac and was backed by a ravine. The price was reasonable, even cheap for the area, and since the rest of the lots on the street had already been built, Jim and Tracy wouldn’t have to put up with anyone else’s construction mess once they moved in.
After closing, Jim called the Architect his real estate agent had recommended and scheduled a first meeting. Among the topics discussed was the need to carry out an investigation of the subsoil of the site, to try to discover any conditions that might require special foundation engineering. But since it was the last lot in the subdivision and no soil problems had been found on adjacent lots, the chance of bad soil or rock was low. Jim decided not to spend the money on the soil tests.
Which was unfortunate, because a soil test would not have found bad soil; would have found very little land. What he would have found is tree stumps, old fence posts, driftwood, and other construction debris at a depth that exceeded Jim and Tracy’s planned foundation depth. When Cherrington Woods was being developed, the bulldozer had used the lot for a garbage pit. Much of what had been cleared from the top of the subdivision during grading had been pushed into the area later known as Lot 43 and then buried under five feet of dirt.
Ultimately, the foundation had to be dug six feet deeper than planned to reach stable ground. Jim and Tracy ended up with a huge hole in their checking account and a nice racquetball court in their basement.
hold on until the end
When something goes wrong on a construction project, it may be the fault of one of the parties involved in the project, or it may be one of those things that no one can seem to predict. Either way, the goal is to get the project back on track and up and running as soon as possible.
Some problems have to be taken in stride. In the vast majority of cases, the joy and satisfaction of a fresh new living space soon fades the memory of any problems during construction.