Learning to Expect the Unexpected (or, Adventures with Installers)

While we've done pretty significant renovations before, most of that work was DIY. So while we had the odd plumber or electrician come through the condo, our experience with having contractors or installers has, up until now, been pretty limited.

We're starting to realize that managing that process is a very specific skill and one we'll have to develop over the course of this renovation. In addition to that, however, we've also learned that things can sometimes... get weird. Two quick stories:

Some Like It [Exceptionally] Hot

When we bought this place, we knew it needed A/C. Some previous owner had installed pretty nice furnaces, done the ductwork, and even started to run a coolant line outside, but didn't quite get to the part where you actually put an A/C compressor in. So, OK, this should be pretty easy. Right?

Nope. We got a couple quotes, which varied by a many thousands of dollars, but both salespeople seemed to think the installation process wouldn't be too bad. So we booked a day to do it. Then it took another day. And another day. And another day. And... you see where I'm going with this.

So, on day ten hundred of the install, I took Chief for an afternoon walk. When I came back, the two installers (call them Sam and Danny) were out on the front lawn just kind of... looking at me. I came up, asked if everything was OK, and Sam is like, "bro, Danny knocked out." At which point I was like, "yeah...?" (aka, what the hell does that mean, exactly?)

Danny then chimes in, "what? What are you talking about, bro?" (There was a LOT of "bro" in this conversation, I'm not really embellishing). 

"Bro, you passed OUT bro." 

"No I didn't, what?"

"Yeah, bro, I just dragged you out here. You kept asking about another crew."

"Where's the other crew?"

"BRO, THERE IS NO OTHER CREW."

"..."

"..."

"I did...?"

"Yeah, bro I kept asking if you were OK and you just kept leaning over and then you fell and then I dragged you out here, man, you're heavy."

[Danny starts nursing his shoulder]

"Wait, what...?"

Fast forward 10 minutes, Danny regained his senses, and was understandably shaken about having lost consciousness. So, apparently the attic got up to about 125 degrees and they just... kept working. So then Danny indicates that he wants to finish the job, I strenuously assert that's a horrible idea, and we decided to push the install into day ten hundred and one.

The Good, The Bad and The Berber

As you read from our previous blog post, we had new [crappy remnant] carpets installed upstairs to get us through the period before "real" renovations start. The company that agreed to install them was a little overbooked, so there was literally one guy knocking out the whole job. He was a man of few words. His triceps, specifically, looked like they'd spent time in jail. The basic read on this guy was that you didn't expect much in terms of pleasantries and you could basically expect him to give zero shits about your opinion of him.

But we are frail primates, after all. We crave the acceptance of our social group. There are few fates worse than being seen as an outcast. So, say you were installing carpets in someone's home, and needed to unleash an atrocious McDonald's-fueled bowel movement. And then, only after doing so, you realize that the water to that toilet had been shut off and flushing that beast away was not in your future. You might just close the lid and leave it there, too.

Then it's two days later and the homeowners are scared to death that another excrement-related plumbing issue has resurfaced, only to find a two-day-old deuce in the upstairs bathroom.