Finally getting my basement remodeled.

[waggy]

Can you expand the tracking to handle 2x2 tiles instead?

There are some decent looking ceiling tiles available; generally they drop through the ceiling track by 1/4" or so, which really helps it look less industrial (it makes cut panels a lot more work though).

not sure that's what i want to attempt. I don't mind the "industrial" look at all. these are going to be a playroom/gym and 2nd living room. nothing major

my main concern is the floor. i seen some 2x2 sections you can buy t hat snap together. they have a raised, channeled, rubber bottom that helps keep it insulated and dry.

Owing them money is not sufficient. You have to owe them more than the value of the remaining work.

they just have to put on the trimming. The last check is $2k. i think they will be back

though..they were supposed to be here 4 hours ago to finish..

 

[dfuze]

Surprised yours were going to try to show up on a Saturday at that. I've always had the worst luck with getting professionals to show up at an agreed on time. Wish you could deduct from their bill any time they don't show up.

 

[Humpy]

Unless it's a LOT of work, you really only need to owe them enough for a good steak dinner. Regardless, beyond the initial deposit/start of work stage, the customer is usually 'ahead' on work, and behind on payment, until the job is done.

That's right, the final draw is nothing more than play money to the contractor in case the customer tries to screw them. It's usually enough to give the customer the feeling of a little leverage and nothing more. A good contractor doesn't need threats of non-payment to be motivated to complete the contract.

The more successful residential contractors never let the customer get behind on payments. No need to get too far ahead either, but they don't finance your project.

 

[waggy]

sigh. STILL not done. though we bitched enough he is comeing over TODAY to finish. though i have issues. Such as the bottom inch of the walls are not painted and he did not install some trim he claimed he was.

Though i am at the point to just tell him its done and get the fuck out. I wanted the bathroom done this summer and he wants the job. yeah sure you lazy fuck.

 

[waggy]

This is getting frustrating. There is maybe 20 min of work left and he is refusing to come over and do it. Every time we talk to him he says he has no money in his checking account and ask if we can give him the last of the money we owe (roughly $2400).

all he needs to do is finish some trimming or mud or something.

Around the hearth is a .5 inch gap between the bricks and the drywall.

Around the door to the storage area needs trimework. I thought we talked about putting in a door. i asked once and he said no just the door frame. hmm

And going up the stairs again is a gap between the drywall and the side.

Now am i being to nit picky or am i justified?

 

[lokiju]

Sounds like the crap my brother is going through.

Cannot get over how common it is to pay someone to do work on a house and they're a slack POS with lame lies and sob stories about why they didn't do what they said they would when they said.

Damn shame there's not a better way to weed out the lame contractors.

 

[MotionMan]

Sounds like the crap my brother is going through.

Cannot get over how common it is to pay someone to do work on a house and they're a slack POS with lame lies and sob stories about why they didn't do what they said they would when they said.

Damn shame there's not a better way to weed out the lame contractors.

My parents dealt with something similar when they redid their kitchen 5 years ago. There was one cabinet that needed one part about 15 minutes worth of work. They held back the last $5,000 until the guy finished it and he just could not get his butt to their house to finish the work and collect his $5,000.

He had all kinds of stories. One time, he said he had to leave town for a sick relative. The next day, my dad happen to be in the neighborhood of the guys business office and saw the guys truck parked in front. My dad walked in and the guy was there. My dad said he was happy the sick relative was feeling better and walked out.

My parents ended up buying the part themselves and had a handyman do it for $50 (15 years ago my dad would have done it on his own, but he is not able to do such things anymore). The guy never did get his $5,000.

MotionMan

 

[MotionMan]

Now am i being to nit picky or am i justified?

Not nit-picky at all. You did not hire him to do a half-assed job.

That stuff would bother me forever.

MotionMan

 

[highland145]

Not nit-picky at all. You did not hire him to do a half-assed job.

That stuff would bother me forever.

MotionMan

Yep.

 

[waggy]

just got off the phone with the guy. he said he will finish it when he gets money so if i want it finished i better give him the check otherwise he don't know when it will be.

I said ok. well the contract had a time limit. that time limit passed 3 months ago and he hung up on me.

 

[highland145]

just got off the phone with the guy. he said he will finish it when he gets money so if i want it finished i better give him the check otherwise he don't know when it will be.

I said ok. well the contract had a time limit. that time limit passed 3 months ago and he hung up on me.

Cut your losses.

Unfortunately, there isn't much recourse to get back at the guy. Maybe Holmes on homes.

You should post his number here for our pleasure.

Use the $$ to buy yourself a miter saw/nail gun and do it yourself.

 

[SearchMaster]

Sounds like the crap my brother is going through.

Cannot get over how common it is to pay someone to do work on a house and they're a slack POS with lame lies and sob stories about why they didn't do what they said they would when they said.

Damn shame there's not a better way to weed out the lame contractors.

I've said for years that all you have to do to be a successful contractor is (a) be halfway competent, and (b) show up on time. My brother-in-law (a contractor) cringes at that but I'm convinced it's true.

 

[highland145]

I've said for years that all you have to do to be a successful contractor is (a) be halfway competent, and (b) show up on time. My brother-in-law (a contractor) cringes at that but I'm convinced it's true.

This.
My bro does excellent work, he shows up on time or calls and leaves the job cleaner than when he got there. People are happy to pay a premium, in most cases.

 

[PingSpike]

This is getting frustrating. There is maybe 20 min of work left and he is refusing to come over and do it. Every time we talk to him he says he has no money in his checking account and ask if we can give him the last of the money we owe (roughly $2400).

all he needs to do is finish some trimming or mud or something.

Around the hearth is a .5 inch gap between the bricks and the drywall.

Around the door to the storage area needs trimework. I thought we talked about putting in a door. i asked once and he said no just the door frame. hmm

And going up the stairs again is a gap between the drywall and the side.

Now am i being to nit picky or am i justified?

This looks like the shitty job my in laws and I did on my basement drywall. The difference is I got what I paid for. Mine actually looks not to bad after painting if you aren't obsessed with your own fuck ups like I am. There's one outlet hole that is just a huge fuck up though.

I'm actually nearing the end of my project. I'm putting in a cheap laminate floor with underlayment right now. Its being a bit of a bitch but I think it'll look decent when finished. Then I just need a door and trim. The trouble is my garage is full, its winter and my wife is giving me shit about stain fumes. In fact, she gives me crap out everything while also giving me crap about getting it done faster.

Why was your original job considered so awful it needed replacement if I might ask?

 

[waggy]

This looks like the shitty job my in laws and I did on my basement drywall. The difference is I got what I paid for. Mine actually looks not to bad after painting if you aren't obsessed with your own fuck ups like I am. There's one outlet hole that is just a huge fuck up though.

I'm actually nearing the end of my project. I'm putting in a cheap laminate floor with underlayment right now. Its being a bit of a bitch but I think it'll look decent when finished. Then I just need a door and trim. The trouble is my garage is full, its winter and my wife is giving me shit about stain fumes. In fact, she gives me crap out everything while also giving me crap about getting it done faster.

Why was your original job considered so awful it needed replacement if I might ask?

the basement flooded and stained the hell out of the wall. we corrected the issue that caused the flooding

 

[PingSpike]

the basement flooded and stained the hell out of the wall. we corrected the issue that caused the flooding

Ah, that sucks. I'm always a little worried about that happening but after a huge flooding year last spring and the basement staying bone dry I figure I'm good.

 

[waggy]

Ah, that sucks. I'm always a little worried about that happening but after a huge flooding year last spring and the basement staying bone dry I figure I'm good.

it seemed like EVERYONE with a basement flooded that year. I had a basement guy come in and correct a few things. he said i shouldn't have flooded if the builder did the sump pump pipe right. it was letting the water into the ground and not a leech field or such. it would pump into hard ground and back up.

so i had new pipe done so it would exit in a way that won't back up and put in a extra sump pump..heh

 

[D1gger]

That is really piss poor work. I wouldn't pay him a dime more until it is finished, and I would tell him that if he refuses to come over and do the work, you will hire someone else to finish it and deduct the cost from any final payment to him.

 

[PingSpike]

The TV show Househunters, Holmes on Homes and the like have made me realize that those of you who live in locations that have basements that can be finished have no idea how good you have it.

When you buy a house in LA, it has X bedrooms, Y bathrooms and a couple other rooms. With a basement, you also get additional bedrooms, bathrooms, offices, TV rooms, etc. - it is like getting two houses for the price of one!

You really have no idea...

MotionMan

Not saying basements aren't great, but I think you overstate them a bit. The huge square footage houses that seem pretty common in the southwest are really rare up here, so I'd say that the lack of a basement is partially made up for by house size. I can't speak for most northeastern states, but the raised ranch is probably the most common house type around here. And raised ranches are weird and use the basement as part of the living space from the start. Most of those houses are like 1800sqft and since the basement is already used that's it. I'm sort of shocked when I read threads from people in the south and western parts of the country describing 2500sqft houses as small. That's a big house around here with the exception of old ass farm houses.

Plus, just having a basement doesn't mean it even can be turned into regular living space. Tons of houses have regular (if minor) water problems in the basement. Especially the really old ones that use stone foundations. I think most people use their basement to store crap, like what people in the south use their garages for.

 

[waggy]

Not saying basements aren't great, but I think you overstate them a bit. The huge square footage houses that seem pretty common in the southwest are really rare up here, so I'd say that the lack of a basement is partially made up for by house size. I can't speak for most northeastern states, but the raised ranch is probably the most common house type around here. And raised ranches are weird and use the basement as part of the living space from the start. Most of those houses are like 1800sqft and since the basement is already used that's it. I'm sort of shocked when I read threads from people in the south and western parts of the country describing 2500sqft houses as small. That's a big house around here with the exception of old ass farm houses.

Plus, just having a basement doesn't mean it even can be turned into regular living space. Tons of houses have regular (if minor) water problems in the basement. Especially the really old ones that use stone foundations. I think most people use their basement to store crap, like what people in the south use their garages for.

Up until about 10 years ago you are right about houses and size. but it seems in the last 10-15 years they started building 3 story 3-6k sq ft houses WITH full basements. they are insane.

older basements have issues with flooding. newer homes seem to be flood resistant. They are designed if in a flood its captured in one area (sump pump area) with the sump pump and a disposal system to get rid of the water.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Wow, that is pretty ugly drywall work around the stairs. I agree that the drywall around the fireplace looks bad, but I'm not sure how you make that look good. Maybe just put a piece of trim running up the corner? That might look goofy.

I would put a door on your heater/water heater room, even if you have to do it yourself. It's not very difficult. If those appliances use gas, you need to maintain combustion air intake - either a louvered door or some vented grates on one of the walls in the utility room to a larger space. The grates are supposed to be:
- 1 within 12" of ceiling
- 1 within 12" of floor
- 1" square per 1000 BTU of the combined equipment in the room

Are you getting this inspected by your locality? I'd be somewhat concerned if electrical or plumbing work was also done, since you don't seem to be up on codes.

 

[vi edit]

Not saying basements aren't great, but I think you overstate them a bit. The huge square footage houses that seem pretty common in the southwest are really rare up here, so I'd say that the lack of a basement is partially made up for by house size. I can't speak for most northeastern states, but the raised ranch is probably the most common house type around here. And raised ranches are weird and use the basement as part of the living space from the start. Most of those houses are like 1800sqft and since the basement is already used that's it. I'm sort of shocked when I read threads from people in the south and western parts of the country describing 2500sqft houses as small. That's a big house around here with the exception of old ass farm houses.

You have to compare age of homes too...in the southwest a lot of that is newer construction family homes. 3-4 Bedrooms, 1800-2700 or so sq/ft. And that's it. No basement for storage. In my short time in Phoenix I noticed that almost no one parked their cars in the garage. Why? Because of no storage space in the house so the garage got treated as a basement.

In the midwest almost every recently built family home is that size or larger...ranch, or two story...it still has a basement. That's another 1/3 or more of living space available to you for a big family room, extra bedroom, and/or storage.

 

[vi edit]

Wow, that is pretty ugly drywall work around the stairs. I agree that the drywall around the fireplace looks bad, but I'm not sure how you make that look good. Maybe just put a piece of trim running up the corner? That might look goofy.

I would put a door on your heater/water heater room, even if you have to do it yourself. It's not very difficult. If those appliances use gas, you need to maintain combustion air intake - either a louvered door or some vented grates on one of the walls in the utility room to a larger space. The grates are supposed to be:
- 1 within 12" of ceiling
- 1 within 12" of floor
- 1" square per 1000 BTU of the combined equipment in the room

Are you getting this inspected by your locality? I'd be somewhat concerned if electrical or plumbing work was also done, since you don't seem to be up on codes.

The stairs should get some stringing/casing under the skirtboard.

 

[waggy]

Wow, that is pretty ugly drywall work around the stairs. I agree that the drywall around the fireplace looks bad, but I'm not sure how you make that look good. Maybe just put a piece of trim running up the corner? That might look goofy.

I would put a door on your heater/water heater room, even if you have to do it yourself. It's not very difficult. If those appliances use gas, you need to maintain combustion air intake - either a louvered door or some vented grates on one of the walls in the utility room to a larger space. The grates are supposed to be:
- 1 within 12" of ceiling
- 1 within 12" of floor
- 1" square per 1000 BTU of the combined equipment in the room

Are you getting this inspected by your locality? I'd be somewhat concerned if electrical or plumbing work was also done, since you don't seem to be up on codes.

No electrical or plumbing was done and we had electric checked after the flood. I have to swap out a few sockets. figured that was easy enough (have only done a lightswitch i broke so far) to do and didn't want to pay the guy for it.

the door seems..small. not sure if its standard size. but yeah i plan on putting one up if nothing else to keep the kids out of the back area.

 

[PingSpike]

You have to compare age of homes too...in the southwest a lot of that is newer construction family homes. 3-4 Bedrooms, 1800-2700 or so sq/ft. And that's it. No basement for storage. In my short time in Phoenix I noticed that almost no one parked their cars in the garage. Why? Because of no storage space in the house so the garage got treated as a basement.

In the midwest almost every recently built family home is that size or larger...ranch, or two story...it still has a basement. That's another 1/3 or more of living space available to you for a big family room, extra bedroom, and/or storage.

Yeah, there aren't many newer developments being built around here that aren't condos. The only one I drive by they are building GIGANTIC houses. Its not very profitable to build reasonable size single family homes so they only build huge McMansions and condo complexes. But my state aggressively prevents any development so not even that many of those get built. Around here you're pretty much stuck with old housing stock from the last major building period (the 70s, ugh) but I don't think that is to unusual for New England.

It seems like in the cold weather states much of a basements cost is sunk though. Here I believe you need to have a 4 ft deep footer around the perimeter just to deal with freezing. That's already a crawlspace amount of cement isn't it? I'd imagine when you couple that with the fact most people around here expect a basement (I never saw a slab house when I was looking, and I never would have considered purchasing one either) a builder may as well just build a full basement.

Maybe we're getting a little bit off topic here. I agree basements are awesome though. Even a sometimes wet one is great storage space and they're so much cooler during the summer.