Finally Some Progress... Not
With the doors all finally weathered correctly, bricking work has resumed at a brisk pace. Frank and Pat have been really great. They are cheerful and good-natured. A cup of coffee a day keeps them both happy.
And of course with our slight progress comes the crushing blow of yet another problem. This morning the brickies informed us of a potential fault - the top of the new laundry door and top of the new WC window do not line up with the top of the existing family bathroom window. We quickly pulled out the plans to check. They were right. The measurements in the door schedule were incorrect. Our builder, in his hurry to go away on his holidays, had ordered the doors based on the plans instead of having it accurately site-measured. When the doors were ordered, the wooden framework was not even up, so there was no way we would have known that the measurements in the door schedule of the plans did not allow for the top of the laundry door to line up with the top of the WC window, and they are side by side. So before we could even gather momentum, work grinds to a screeching halt yet again!
A stressful phone call to the builder, who was on the other side of the world yielded even more frustration. He insisted that we approved the order for the doors and windows, even though we never signed any authorisation, and they were all ordered before the wooden framework was even up. We did not know what to do. Hubby refused to settle for the uneven line up of the window and the door.
This was when the brickies came to our rescue. They suggested we contact Craig, the carpenter who had assisted the builder in building the kitchen floor, and helped weather the doors. A quick phone call to Craig, with a bit of persuasive pleading from the brickies, saw him arrive on site within half an hour. He quickly cut through the metal screws holding the laundry door frame in place. Another phone call to the joinery supplier yielded further good news - they would help us out by picking up the door frame and the door, trimming it to the required size, and delivering it back to us. And Crag the carpenter will re-install them. After further discussions with the brickies and the carpenter, it was decided that the brickies will continue with the bricking work, and the the carpenter will reinstall the laundry door and WC window then they come back from the joiner. Careful measuring and lots of double-checking ensued to ensure the door was bricked to the right height.
This exercise will not come cheap, and will probably set us back about a thousand dollars. Hubby is furious with the builder and I think stern words will be had when he gets back. For now though, crisis has been averted...
