I have not slept in two days. Our framing contractor is hungry to start and unfortunately we had to fire our plumber on Thursday after only 3 days on the job. Apparently there were IRS issues and he would not tell us what they were, only that he had them and preferred to be paid in cash. There were a few other signs that rung a few bells and one was the reluctance to provide us with the insurance we requested prior to starting and then his refusal to sign a contract or accept any of our provisions to help protect ourselves from the IRS. Another was the fact that a few of his associates who accompanied him would smoke on the job site without any consideration or even asking if it was okay. While I have nothing against smokers or even a good cigar with a healthy scotch, you should never allow people to smoke on a construction site. It can lead to real problems and no professional does this. It is written in the building code that it is to be strictly forbidden. At this point we cut our losses and moved on. We think it was the right move.
Along with firing the plumber, the polar vortex has now put me into a scheduling hard spot with my framing contractor as we have penalties and bonuses in our agreement with him and it is just too cold to work. Fortunately I had interviewed multiple plumbers and have a solid plan-B lined up. It is currently warmer outside the building than it is inside.
So, I have spent the last 28 hours huddled in a freezing basement trying to jumpstart the boiler. Well, we did it and I have to say that I am pretty proud. In the last 3 days I have learned how to be a plumber, sweat joints and how to speak spanish. I think it was quite an accomplishment and I now know more about boilers than I could have ever imagined Thursday afternoon. Filling the heating system with water is kind of like driving a 5-story stick shift, opening and closing valves on different floors and adjusting the pressure to get the system working. What a mess that was. Whenever you are buying a building you really should have good understanding of the engine that runs the car. I just got schooled.
Even having said all that, I am excited to get into bed with my wife tonight and not be spending it in a tiny concrete cooler in a basement with Angel and wet feet. Although, I have to say this is the first night with heat in the building and I am worried that one of those PEX joints may let go or one of my sketchy soldering jobs…
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