Neener Neener

Occasionally I get the pleasure of telling folks “I told you so”. Rarely does it cause a stir.

Here is a short story that worked out for all parties in the end.

This case involved an exhausted client and a tile setter that had real life issues.

I should have seen the warning signs, but I am/was too forgiving. The work, when actually accomplished on time, was wonderful. I was given ample warning and had several opportunities to resolve the problem or fire the tile setter, but my fault was that I was willing to overlook the mess, the missed promises, the incomplete work, as well as the crazy scheduling, and leaving several times in the middle of the day.

I “got it” eventually, and now have a real Masonry Contractor, who I love. Oops, I’m jumping ahead.

So, Levco was ending the project, turning into the home stretch of the addition, and the guest bathroom was the final part. That is when the homeowner baulked at having us do the tile work. He essentially fired the subcontractor for me and hired anther “Tile Guy” from out in front of Home Depot. The home owner proudly told me it saved him $300.00 Ah, if only all tile guys were the same, I warned him.

Ya, Sure...I Do Tile Work

I had not heard a word and assumed that everything was fine, until I was asked to return to remodel the dining room. I noticed that the pluming fixtures had not been installed in the guest bath. Confused, I asked why. As it turns out, the owners were so concerned about the shoddy workmanship that they never even put water into the shower pan for fear of it leaking into their new addition.

That was is when they contacted me again, 3 years later. Enough time had passed, I suppose, allowing him to get past the anger of making a mistake. One day, he just tore out all of the shower tile. He was calling to have us return to replace the shower completely.

The project was a huge success and we laugh about it now, but I wish it had never happened. In reality, I gave the owner no option at the time.

As I get more experienced, or the “older” I get, the more I see the big picture. This theme repeats itself with painters and all of the subcontractors, I suppose.

So, if you are an inexperienced general contractor, take my advice.

• Don’t allow a substandard subcontractor to sour your projects.
• Maintain a low tolerance for anything but perfection.

Your clients will appreciate it and your reputation will flourish. After all, the reason they hired you was to avoid gambling with their hard earned money.

Disclaimer: Some of these images came from the WEB. If they are yours, and you object to them being used, please claim them and I will gladly remove and replace them at once.

What does being a client advocate mean to me. It is more than just words… It involves taking decisive action sometimes.

The Depot

The design phase was done and the components were selected in a small bathroom project. The construction phase was in full swing. In an effort to save a few bucks the clients selected a mid priced bathtub from Home Depot. They left the store feeling good about being frugal.

One of my favorite rants is “Like Pizzas, all (fill in the blank) are not alike.” The bathtub came in a box that I recall feeling light but it had a nice picture of a good looking tub. In questioning the plumber after the install, he said “I thought it was flimsy but didn’t want to say anything because the owner had selected it.”

Fortunately, I stopped in at the job site for something and was pleased to see the progress and leaned up against the tub. Although it looked like a tub and acted like a tub it was the flimsiest plastic thing I had ever seen or felt. I thought to myself, in whose best interest is it to leave this tub in place. NO ONE is the correct answer. I immediately told the owners that if we allow this thing to stay it would not last and cost lots of money to replace in the future. Luckily I was able to round up an acrylic one right away so we are in the process of scheduling the replacement early next week.

The Owner is not the expert in our field, they had no idea what they were getting into. Had we built the tub into the tile wall before we brought it to their attention (or worse they brought it to our attention),  I would have felt horrible. The momentary embarrassment the client may feel and the awkwardness of the conversation is nothing compared to the potential upside of being a true client advocate. Sure, it could have gone the other way. My client may have insisted upon leaving the tub but at least they would have been made aware of the situation and made an informed decision.

Cracked Bathtub

I have nothing against The Depot, to be fair, this quality of tub is unfortunately seen in modular homes. My feeling is that it was totally out of character in this application. In my opinion, a shampoo bottle falling would crack this tub. In followup questioning, the display was 7′ up in the air and from that distance it looked like a typical bathtub that you would see in any home.

Did it hold up the project? yes for a little bit. Did it avoid a huge problem in the future YES. This was an Owner Furnished item. There was no warranty on my part other than for the installation so why should I care? Because that is who we are. I define integrity as ” once you know the right thing to do… that is what you do.”

My dream is that with my team at Levco we would have caught this prior to installation and we are working towards that but for now I am especially proud that we were acting as the experts in our field and behaving like true professionals. I often say that we are always on the lookout for examples of “showing that we care”, well this is as bold and obvious as it gets.

Perhaps I am especially sensitive to this issue because I am working on a project where both a tub and the shower are fractured in a modular home. Talk about inconvenience, we will be fixing them one at a time.

This story is especially apropos because many of my remodeling clients are looking for ways to stretch the budget. When I was looking for the replacement tub I asked my sales person at Ferguson, sell me a tub that you would not be embarrassed to sell or soak in yourself. Time will tell, but I believe this story will have a happy ending.

Incidentally, in a post script, The Depot took the tub back no questions asked.

Waterfalls in Twin Falls

The concept of water conservation is not a new one, and industry has sprouted recently that addresses this in many ways. One is with hot water recirculation pumps to conserve water that is usually wasted while waiting for the hot to arrive say to your shower. Industry insiders tout 11 thousand to 15 thousand gallons savings per year in a typical home. For a perspective shot, I used 3,700 gallons per month in January, February, July, & August of 2010 (4 people 3 BR 2.5 BA).

Here is an informative article about where our water comes from, along with some other conservation ideas. Although the Northwest and Boise Idaho is experiencing a record setting wet season, water & energy conservation are subjects near and dear to my heart.

From an energy savings perspective the pumps use as much electricity as a 40 watt bulb. There may not be as much savings when you consider heat loss through uninsulated pipes.  If you use the provided timer and some pipe insulation, there will be more savings to be had.

On another down side, folks that are used to turning on the shower and waiting 3-5 minutes for the hot water to arrive are hard to break that bad habit. Instead of wasting cold water they compound the loss by pouring hot water down the drain. It is not always easy to teach old dogs new tricks.

From a pure convenience factor it is hard to argue with turning on the shower and getting hot water right now and all of the other appliances along the way. Each pump recirculates hot water from the water heater and cost is in the $400 -$500, less if we already have a project going simultaneously.

Levco has installed three types of pumps. Each time I do one, I notice that technology has been advancing and that makes me happy.

Grundfos pump

1 Grundfos units have a dedicated return line to the water heater. Grundfos  also makes many other styles for different applications.

Laing Pump

2 Laing brand has a recirculation that gradually pumps water back through the cold side to the water heater. This one has a temperature adjustment too.

Metlund Pump

3 Metlund brand brings a “wall of water” when you request it by pushing a button usually. The unit pumps the cold back down the cold side. This one is my favorite from conservation and energy savings. They also have other ways of triggering the flow.

At my home I mixed the potable “drinking” water with my tile floor radiant heating system. Technically this is a no-no but it works fine for me.

Each pump requires a 110 outlet in the vicinity. I usually fish the new wires from an existing outlet down into the cabinet and use a cut-in box to create an outlet. Kitchen sinks are even easier because they are already wired.

I installed one that is activated to bring hot water to the kitchen sink on demand. Now their entire dishwasher cycle is done with hot water rather than lukewarm increasing the cleaning ability dramatically.

Each brand and style has advantages and disadvantages the question is which one is right for you. I have interviewed each client to date and there is unanimous agreement that they would recommended a recirculation pump to everyone. Let Levco incorporate one of these fine units into a kitchen or bathroom remodeling project and you will be glad you did.

The Challenge:

Basement Bath

This was a basement storage area under the stairs and a perfect place to add a bathroom. determine what was under the floor. Finding a way to get the sewage out. It was a tight space and an enclosure would make it feel claustrophobic. Finding a way to access the sewage pump while it was hidden away beneath the stairs. Finding the right shaped curtain rod.

The Idea:

Add a sewage ejection pump. configure the floor with a sunken shower rather than a raised curb. Add a custom curved curtain attached to the ceiling.

The Solution:

We placed the ejection pump behind a rolling cabinet we had salvaged so it could be easily worked on. We found a supplier of mailable curtain rods.

The Details:

Sunken floor shower, custom curtain rod, can lighting and eclectic tile.

Investment Range $17,000

Time Frame 3 weeks

This project allowed us to be clever and resourceful, we found a place where water was entering by looking at the walls we could see effervescence and by digging outside we located the cold joint and patched it prior to furring out the walls. The floor was dirt already so plumbing was not as difficult as expected. We did have to provide a new vent to the toilet.

The Challenge:

This was a 1978 Original guest bath; it had an out dated color scheme and some typical leaking at the faucet and rim of tub. It had poor lighting needed refreshing. There was carpet on the floor and a high water use toilet.

The Idea:

To add a solar tube and update the look of the room while maintaining the charm of the home.

The Solution:

We cleared everything out and replaced the components of the room. We also added a solar tube and an exhaust fan on an electronic timer.

The Details:

Acrylic tub, Panasonic fan, vinyl flooring, Laminate top with tile splash.

Investment Range $11,000

Time Frame 3 weeks

The Challenge:

This was a 1963 Original guest bath; it had an out dated color scheme and some floor rotting issues from a poorly sealed toilet seal. There was minimal space between the tub and the cabinet to work with

The Idea:

To find a tub that was as narrow as possible and place the toilet at the minimum code clearance then let that set the width of the cabinet to meet code.

The Solution:

We cleared everything out and reinforced the floor. We re-plumed the bath and replaced every component. We located a remnant granite top and did the project quickly and efficiently. We also framed the mirror in the same material as the cabinet for a nice finishing touch

The Details:

Acrylic tub, comfort height toilet, medicine cabinet

Investment Range $11,000

Time Frame 3 weeks

New Master Bath

The Challenge

This is a 1936 vintage home with original charm that was too tight and lacked a large enough closet. Enlarging the home was not an option.

The Idea

We wanted to create a larger master bedroom suite while still having a bathroom that was accessible to the first floor. The challenge was to maintain the integrity of the home within the original envelope and the feel of the artisan ship.

The Solution

We rearranged the typical bedroom bathroom bedroom to master bedroom walk through closet master bathroom with a second entrance.

The Details

Carrera marble vanity top, Double ended cast iron claw foot tub, heated tile floors, custom closet package, sconces in the mirror. Pocket doors, Central vacuum, and a laundry chute.

Investment Range: $50,000

Time Frame: 9 weeks