Snowy Range Pass

Snowy Range Pass

Friday, April 13, 2012

Completed project with only a little drama


One project completed.  The deck project was completed today.  They did a nice job on the deck and also made some repairs that needed to be done on a door and window framing that was decaying.  It seems that we cannot deal with contractors without at least some drama.  It turns out that the reason for some of the delay in getting started was a crisis in the company we hired. 

After we gave them the deposit for the material and they collected on several other completed projects, one of the partners decided it would be a good time to abscond with the available funds.  This, of course, left his partner and the entire crew in a big bind.  When he offered this explanation for his several weeks of no show, I was really concerned we were going to have a big problem.  Instead, he proved to be a real professional and got started with the work.  







The workmanship was good but it did take two and half days to get it all done, since some of the time was consumed with trying to clean up the mess that his partner left behind including unpaid bills and unknown additional things he did or did not do.


After all was said and done, I would be willing to hire his company again for other projects.  There are actually few contractors we have used that I could say that about.


Victoria was part of the inspection team and is already enjoying the new deck.



We can now devote our time to the next big project.  We have an accepted offer on a house and we have completed the preliminary paperwork.  If all goes as planned, there will be a closing on 30 April. 

Monday, April 09, 2012

Easter fun




We hope that you all had a great Easter.  As we continue to work on lifestyle transition issues, we also have plenty of time to enjoy grandparenthood.  Victoria’s second Easter was a lot of fun, with the whole team taking part.

Since we have had wonderful weather this week, we have hit the beach, the playground and the pool.  We are also working on a project for our daughter’s family’s home, but working with contractors has never been easy. The project was supposed to be done two weeks ago, but some of the materials only appeared a few days ago.  After numerous no shows, the contractor promises to appear tomorrow.  No one is holding their breath.

Anneke also celebrated a birthday a few days ago but reminded me that she is still younger than me.

The picture of Victoria having dinner truly proves that there is enjoying food and then really enjoying food!