Not a Fan of My Contractor...And Then a Fan.

Well, the day started off on an exciting note!  While cooking breakfast, my roofing contractor showed up to make the repairs to the roof.  He was to add a cricket to divert the water away from the side of the house and install new flashing and ice and water shield.

I noted the time that the two-man crew started out of curiosity for how long it would take a professional crew, all the while wondering if this is something I could do.  They started in the cold 35-degree temps at 8:50 A.M.

I had annoying phone calls to make today and spent over two hours on the phone this morning, so no house work got done for me.

The more shingles I saw come down, the more I was happy I went with a contractor.  Lots of work!

But at 11:50 A.M., the contractor knocked on the door and said he was done.  I asked if it went easy, and he said it was hard to work with, but he installed new flashing in the valley.  I asked about the cricket (THE reason I went with this contractor), and he said he did not install one.

You have got to be kidding me.

So I had him take me out back and literally on the roof to see what he did.  He basically flashed under the shingles, in the valley, up the wall, and around the corner, and then added a diverter to keep that water off of the back of the house (never even a part of the work).

I was frustrated.

I told him that I paid more money for the cricket, and he said he wasn't even sure why his boss had him do what he did.  He thought the entire valley should have been redone or better yet, the entire section of roof.  He pointed out various places where the shingles were brittle in the valley and did not take any concern for not stepping on them (you're not supposed to!).  I am almost positive he cracked more shingles as I looked up the valley.

But he was not happy.  I was not happy.

I called his boss and said the work was done...but that I didn't have a cricket, the exact reason why I went with him.  He said he would fix that.  So then I had a ticked-off worker who thought he was leaving...now throwing around his tools in my backyard (I could hear them being flung around).  He had already packed up, but now I could tell his boss had called him and told him to do it over.  It was a pretty hairy situation.  A worker just worked three hours doing something he was not to do, and now he is furious at the work he is going to do.  I sensed I needed to stay out of his war path, but at the same time, I needed to make sure he is doing his job right!

So in order to keep the peace AND show this guy that I'm not being difficult, I calmly explained to him that I chose his company because of the cricket.  I had numerous other roofing companies offer to just do flashing, and frankly, they came in cheaper!  Sometimes much cheaper!  So I went with a more expensive company for the very thing that wasn't done!  I felt duped!  I explained my frustration, something he readily understood.

He explained that he was going to do a cricket, but the steep roof, the tight places, and the massive water flow coming in, he couldn't figure out a way to make the cricket work!  He said the amount of water and speed of water coming down that valley would totally negate the diverting aspects of the cricket.  The water would simply ramp right up the cricket, hit the wall, and then come back down.  He explained his frustration with his boss because he knew the boss didn't get up there to see what needed done!  The bid was made from the ground!  So he released some pent-up frustrations about his boss!

Then he let me know that he disagreed with his boss on this one and thought he was just doing a temporary patch job on a valley that is going to leak anyway.  So the entire time he worked, he was pretty sure that the water in the valley may get under the shingles above him and negate his work anyway.  "But my boss is my boss, so I do what he says."  Well, not necessarily!  So I have a boss who guarantees that the roof will be "bone-dry" and a worker with "boots on the ground" who thinks the roof is still going to leak.  I asked "Then why are you doing this work if you think it's going to leak?!"  "He's my boss, so I do what he says."

Oh dear me.  I had a situation on my hands.

But he said he would do whatever I wanted as the home-owner.  Well, that's not right, either.  Listen, I WANT the roof not to leak!

So I asked him point-blank:  "Do you think this roof is going to leak"?  He said his area would not but if he put a cricket in there, he thinks it would.  He explained that he put so much flashing in there that it couldn't leak.  He still said he would have just done the entire section of roof to re-do the whole valley, but he said he was confident that the corner would not leak.  He said water was just pooling in that area as he found holes in the shingles and holes in the flashing.  So he said that is all fixed.  Water will not leak in the corner.  He is still not sure it wouldn't come down the valley under the shingles from way up top, but that wasn't what he was to do anyway.  And he then mentioned that he still didn't know how he would even do a cricket in that area...but that he would do one if I wanted one.

Agh!!!

The new shingles (can't see) and diverter (was never a part of the plan).

So I took him inside to show him another roofer's design picture of a cricket, and he said it would be doable.  A lot of work, and he wasn't sure what to do with the flat "drop-off" point at the bottom, but he would do whatever I wanted.  So after lots of conversation, LOTS of asking him if he thought his current work would leak, I called his boss in front of him and said, "Listen, he is confident in his work.  He disagrees with your cricket assessment.  Let's do this.  Let's keep it as-is and see how the rains do on top of it.  If it leaks, you're fixing it.  If it holds, then we're good to go.  You can have him move on to another project this afternoon.  But I paid you for the cricket.  So about this pay..."

The boss said he would see what parts were spent and add a little extra, but that "it would be nowhere close to the $800."  So IF it's fixed, then the boss is happy a project is done and he gets his crew back (although maybe not much money made), the worker is happy that he did something that is done, and I am happy that I have a fixed roof.

But I just HATE putting that "if" on there!  I was so excited to have this leak gone forever!  And now I won't know...until the spring.  sigh.  Not exactly how I was planning on this going.

This whole contractor thing is just ridiculous.  Where is an honest man?

This afternoon I decided to put my floor trim pieces back up in the kitchen.  I have so many laying around, and with my previous house not selling, I am at least months away from a new floor.  So I might as well store them where they go!  On the wall!  Besides, it just looks better, too.  :)  I had to cut away some of the GreatStuff insulation on some walls.

Cutting away the very-expanded insulation!  But, hey, no air leaks!

Putting the trim back up.

This evening I decided to tackle what turned out to be a pretty big project!  For whatever reason (I just can't explain it away anymore), the Master Bathroom fan was missing.  Yes, missing.  I just figured it was gummed up for when I hit the switch to turn it on, nothing happened.  So I took down the light to spin the fan by hand, and that's when I noticed there was no fan.  I can't even imagine what happened.

The good news is you can buy replacement fans.  The bad news is not only is the fan missing, but the grille for the light is, too!  So even with a new fan, I still won't have a grille.  I needed a new fan.

The "fan" as I acquired the house.

Oh, hey, look!  No fan!

Well, as the story goes, last week Dad and I took down the fan from the Main Bathroom and put it in the Master Bathroom since that is where I shower.  Well, as the story goes even further, the reason why I shower in the Master Bathroom is because the diverter spout in the Main Bathroom didn't work.  Well, since we fixed that (the exact same day as swapping out the fans, nonetheless), I didn't need to shower in the Master Bathroom anymore as I could now do it in the Main Bathroom.  Well, with the fan now out of the Main Bathroom, I needed to shower in the Master Bathroom.

Long story short, I needed two fans!  In two bathrooms!  So I bought a fan last week to install.  And I decided to do that tonight.

It required me going up into the attic.  And once up there, I quickly realized that no soul has been up here since 1991.  It was obvious as the blown-in insulation was perfectly blown!  And it was THICK!  So at least it's nice to know I have insulation up there!  Well, I quickly made my arrival known.  The insulation was so thick it was actually hard to find, let alone feel, the rafters to walk on.  But I managed.  It was like walking in 24" snow!  And I left my footprints!

Thick, unmolested insulation.

Not a soul has been up here since 1991.

Just like walking in snow.

I traced down the fan that simply exhausted into the insulation, much like my last house.  No ducts were connected.  All this did was make the insulation directly around it black, but no other issues were noted.  I disconnected the wires and tried to remove the fan.  Well, that ended up being nearly impossible.  It appears that the fan was installed before the drywall, for the four screws were all angled downward like it was attached from inside the bathroom.  Getting a screwdriver into the last screw was impossible at that angle.  Impossible.  So I had to pry the metal fan off the screw...it's seriously ridiculous how something so simple (unscrewing a drywall screw) can turn so difficult.  These projects simply amaze me.

Found the fan!

The black insulation from where the fan has vented out the last 26 years.

Looking down into the bathroom with my new hole.

I made myself a nice big area to work.  It was quite uncomfortable having to balance on rafters!

I had to cut out a larger hole in the drywall for the new fan, so I did that.  Then I connected the wiring to the new fan and eye-balled where I thought level with the ceiling would be.  I was a bit nervous about how off I was going to be, but it ended up being pretty good once I went downstairs.  So I headed back upstairs, tucked away the wires, and tried to get rid of my footprints!

The new fan installed.

All in all, I think this took about an hour and a half.  But it needed to be done.  And the fan works perfectly.  So now I can take a shower in ANY bathroom!  :)

The new fan and light!

I must have done something right!  It works!

But as I was cleaning up, guess what!  I found something else. Well, first off, more dog hair.  But that was to be expected.  Seriously, this vent was gross, too!  But for whatever reason, my bathtub has pulled away from the wall.  It's a pretty big crack!  This is the same bathtub that pools water in the bottom (it all doesn't drain), so I wonder if they have the right supports underneath it.  What a house.  I'll have to caulk this like crazy up the wall.  Seriously, it's a big gap!

Look at all of that dog hair!  SO GROSS!

Left side dirty, right side vacuumed.  What a difference.

Found yet another project.  The wall has pulled away from the tub (or vice versa).

I cleaned up more of the kitchen tonight, but that was it.  A frustrating roofing fiasco and a successful bathroom fan install.  I just hope this roof doesn't leak.