A Bang-up Job

Well, they've been working on the siding for a couple of days now, and I've discovered that it's a nerve-wracking, noisy experience. Yesterday, they pounded so hard on the wall that the pictures fell off! And they haven't even begun to put up the new stuff yet--they're still pulling off the old.

They've made a lot of progress, having removed the old wood from one end and the entire front, plus installing the housewrap. But they've made a huge mess in the process and don't seem in any great hurry to clean it up. In fact, I had to sweep the driveway last night just to get the sharp wood fragments and nails up before I could back out of the garage!

Their seeming lack of consideration for the homeowner was also demonstrated by the way they trapped me inside the house for an entire day! Not only were their trucks and cars in the way, the debris pile filled the area outside the garage door, along with a stack of siding and their makeshift tablesaw setup. When my eldest daughter home from school, she had to ride her bike to her piano lesson because I couldn't get the car out. The youngest daughter didn't even get to do that--she missed her lesson altogether because her bus dropped her off at the time her piano lesson was to begin. There was no way to get there fast enough on bike or foot. We just had to cancel the lesson, which really made me angry!

The work crew also tossed their empty paper coffee cups into the gutter in front of our house. They still haven't cleaned up the loose insulation (my favorite thing, as we all know) that came from under the soffitts. And they scratched our brand new garage door, I suppose while tossing some old siding onto the ground. They also dropped a large pile of broken siding onto our deck, blocking exit from the back door for some time. I had to clean up that myself, just so the dog could go out to potty!

What's with contractors these days? They put a sign in our yard that says, "This house being carefully restored by . . ." Carefully? I don't think so. Of course, when I tried to talk to the workers, they couldn't understand me, nor could I them. Only one spoke English, and it was halting. I'm not blaming them for the problems, but I am blaming their employer. The company needs to have a supervisor on site to handle these kinds of problems and to let the workers know what the expectations are. Believe me, we're going to have a little discussion with that gentleman come Monday. After all, this is a $20,000 job! Give me a break!!!!