Stressful Times

We've come to the realisation that there are so many things that we will have to juggle throughout the entire renovation process. It's almost a case of anticipating a potential problem and trying to pre-empt the problem. When we showed the electrician our brass wall sconces, we realised that the sconces were too heavy to install directly on to gyprock. In our naivety, we assumed that little details like these would be overseen by the builder. This is not the case and we had to ask the builder to install additional timber supports into the wooden frame so the sconces can be screwed on to the timber. We learnt from this that no detail should be overlooked, no matter how small.

This has shaken our confidence in our builder. Being complete neophytes in the renovation game, we had counted on him to provide us with his expertise and experience. Not installing timber battens for hanging heavy objects is a novice mistake that we would pay for very dearly during second fix electrical.

It has also come as a surprise the number of decisions that we have been called to make with no advance notice. Some things like the placement of the sconces are not difficult decisions to make as we can envision the space. Other decisions like how to deal with an uneven hip in the roofline, we had no expertise or knowledge to even make a decision.

During our first building inspection, the builder pointed out that we had an uneven roof hip joint in our existing roof. The building inspector's advice was to take the roof back to the uneven joint and redo that portion so the roofline will be corrected and straight. The builder said he would have to uncover what's underneath in order to provide a solution. We have not been able to make any decision on this at all as we are at a lost as to what would be the best decision. So at this point, we are waiting to see what unfolds.

The plumbers came back to complete the rest of the plumbing work today. Their work and attitude have us extremely worried. They chased copper pipes into our masonry walls without wrapping the copper pipes with a permeable flexible material as per building code. We only realised this because hubby sent photos of the work being done to a friend who is a master plumber. Mayhem ensued as we had to insist that they comply with the building code. The plumbers who were on site had no idea what material was meant to be used. One of the younger plumbers went out and bought rolls of thick foam to pack the pipes. The builder arrived then and a heated argument ensued. The builder insisted that there was no need for the pipes to be wrapped. We had to contact our building inspector who sent through a segment of the building code to prove that to the builder. We refused to allow work to continue unless they complied with the code. After much stressful debate, and consult with our plumber friend, a compromise was made to wrap the pipes in duct tape.

This latest development has really shaken our confidence in our builder and the plumbing company he's contracted. If they are not even familiar with the requirement of the building code, how do we know if the work they're carrying out complies with the code? We have decided that from now on, we will have to check every single detail fo work that is done on the house. This is shaping up to be a very stressful renovation, and we have only just begun.

#Basbuild #DKDaltonPlumbing #plumbing #BetterHomeBuildingInspectionService #roof #brasswallsconces