Pere Pere: Our Jack of all Trades

I’m writing about my grandparents this month.  (Please consider reading Grandpa, My Mere Mere, and Dessie.)  As I wrote last week, my grandparents have been a big part of my life and they’re in my thoughts frequently.  One of my earliest childhood memories is of the four of them working together as a team, trying to get me to stop crying.  I was staying with my Mom’s parents and they couldn’t do anything for me, so they took me over to my dad’s parent’s house.  Pere Pere carried me in, I remember going through the dining room and the kitchen with him.  That’s the only memory I have of mom’s dad.  Years later, when I shared this recollection with Mom, she said that they’d been out of town for the weekend and that I was teething.  That’s why I was crying and why the four of them had such a tough time with me.  This makes sense; sharp teeth coming in/out.  That was a good reason to be upset.  After that, it was smooth sailing for all of them and I was pretty much a maintenance free little boy. 


1965

Pere Pere passed away on Tuesday, August 26^th, 1969.  He was not yet 58.  He was an electrician, but the epitome of a jack of all trades who worked on scores of construction projects in and around southwestern Ohio.  His adult working life was spent on these job sites while asbestos was used to build just about everything; drywall, caulk, joint compound, roofing tar, siding, shingles, filters, pipes, countertops, plaster, and a whole lot more.  Back then, asbestos was considered a wonder material because it is indestructible.  Our family has never known definitively what took my grandfather’s life.  It was lung cancer, mesothelioma, or some other type of occupational lung disease.  Because we lost him too soon and because I renovate old homes, I’m mindful of the hazards of asbestos and Pere Pere is on my mind as much as ever when I start the demolition process. 

On his own time, Pere Pere was a business minded husband and father with three daughters who built new houses for his family and bought old homes when they came with farmland for his livestock.  I grew up playing on those farms, learning to climb in/around his old barns and in the trees he'd planted.  We built hay forts in his old lofts, I played in my sandbox where his cows once grazed, and I built stuff in those trees he left behind for us.  So even though he was taken from us early, I grew up thinking of and appreciating him.

My mom’s dad had some Angus cows and the whole family was proud of this small herd.  Documentation is a big part of this business and my maternal grandparents both understood that record keeping added to the livestock’s value.  However, the way I understand it, Pere Pere didn’t keep these books on a daily basis the way Mere Mere might have liked.  When he died suddenly, she was anxious about his cattle books.  After his funeral she reluctantly turned her focus to the Angus paperwork and books, but to her surprise, everything was current and up to date.  The cows were ready to be sold.  Pere Pere had gotten everything in order before he passed away.  Mere Mere was not only relieved, she was proud of him for doing this.             

My dad’s side of the family traces its roots to the Pennsylvania Dutch and my paternal grandfather was always organized and orderly.  I aspire to be more like this and him, but I’m not there yet.  Maybe someday.  I think I’m more like my Pere Pere when it comes to organization and I don’t really tighten things up until the end of my project.  I know where my tools and supplies are, I’m organized in my head, but not everything has a designated place.  I’m comfortable working this way.  It creates more opportunity for Pere Pere’s influence since I have some of his old tools and they are, at times, spread out amongst everything else on site.  I may have one of his old chalk boxes in my tool belt, or use an old hammer of his if its close by when I need one, or maybe I’ll make use of some miscellaneous hardware that he dropped in a jar back in the sixties.   I’m definitely not as disciplined and methodical as my Grandpa.  I’m a little more haphazard and flying by the seat of my pants… and speculating that in that way I’m more like our Pere Pere as I bounce around my properties.  But I have a way I like to work and I know how to get to the end with a house renovated the way it needs to be.  I think Pere Pere would love helping me with my Pig's Ears.  I sometimes wish he could actually be with me on the job site, but in many ways he always is.


He was an electrician and he may have loved building more than I do.

Squeaky the Cat

When I was in college I volunteered for a student run experiment that tested and showed how our senses of smell can trigger memories.  In my freshman year, some upper class girls had me smelling perfume and cologne samples while they simultaneously showed me pictures or words.  In round two of these tests, the visual cues disappeared and the young women asked me what I could recall with each scent card.  I remember they were excitedly impressed with the results I helped them compile with each of my correct answers.  I wasn't 100% accurate, but I think I did pretty well and was amazed at how memory is impacted by smell.

Fast forward to 2013.  I'm at home this weekend painting the front door when I start thinking about my old cat Squeaky.  Although he's still alive and well cared for, we've been separated for close to a decade and it was strange.  It took a while to make the connection.


Squeaky loved playing with the lizards he'd spot on the job  site. 
However, the lizards weren't in to it like he was.  This one day, he ripped off
a lizard's tail.  (When this happens, it's like with a snake and the tail still has 
life and moves.)  Squeaky wasn't sure whether he should play with the
moving tail or the lizard who was trying to escape to safety, so he took
them both on and kept bouncing back and forth until the tail stopped.

Squeaky was given to me by a neighbor back in the spring of 2002.  He'd been rescued from some desserted country road and this kind-hearted neighbor decided that I needed a pet.  Squeaky was weak and was given his name by his rescuer because the pitiful sound that came out of his mouth was more like a squeak than a meow.  We didn't think he had much of a chance.  The Fire House was complete and I was busy getting the next project ready for move-in.  The puny kitten was not going to derail my daily routine so I said, "Sure, I'll take him."  Saving houses, saving strays.  I was up for the challenge. 

Squeaky perked up quickly.  He happily lapped up the milk I set out for him and a week or so later he was crunching on cat food like a pro.  At first, The Fire House seemed a little too big for him and he slept with me.  He grew healthy and strong, but didn't fall out of the habit of curling up with me each night.  His routine was consistent, unique, and undetered. He'd hop up onto the head of the bed and wake me with the pat of his paw on my cheek.  If I didn't lift up the covers, he gently scratch my face until I did.  Once he was under the sheets, he'd cozy up to me in a little ball and when he had enough comfort/warmth he'd crawl out in the middle of night and sleep on his own until morning.  This was our drill at The Fire House and this kept on after he moved with me to The Cottage... until I went away for a weekend without him.  I took Frosty, my dog, but left Squeaky (who was more mature and independent) alone to keep an eye on The Cottage.  I guess I should have sat him down for a talk.  He was not happy and that little booger peed on me in the bed two nights in a row while I was sleeping.  Squeaky immediately became an outside cat.  We were still friends, but never slept together again.  Eventually he charmed my neighbor Charlotte and she's been spoiling him ever since. 



Squeaky hanging out with Frosty.  These two were best freinds and
Squeaky would also curl up in a ball on top her when she slept.

Back to April 2013.  I'm painting the door Sunday and being flooded with thoughts of my old buddy Squeaky the Cat.  I'm wondering why until I figure it out: my drop clothe for painting.  I placed it inside the doorway to protect the wood floors.  Squeaky used it for a litter box too.  It's splattered with paint, but I've never felt a need to wash it.  It smells like Squeaky and I don't mind.  He was a good cat. 

He got P.O.'d and I got peed on, but it's all good.  Thinking of you Squeaky.  

Superstorm Sandy Is A Reminder That Insurance Claims Are Complicated

In 2002, I lost a detached garage to a fire when a tree near the structure was struck by lightening (see Fire #2 at The Fire House).  My insurance company concluded that I was due over $5000 for the contents lost and another $10K to rebuild (plus repair some minor damage to the house).  However, the designated dollars to repair and rebuild came with specific strings.  I received a payment for 75% up front, but would not get a full reimbursement until the construction portion was complete.

Explanatory Sections for my Four Reimbursement Checks

What I'm sharing is the bottom line of how things turned out.  The math to get to this point was full of details, deductibles, and percentages.  I've been through multiple college calculus and accounting courses. With that said, the math/computations for my claim were harder than they needed to be.  They left  me scratching my head and wondering, why? 

Once, when I was in Chinatown (New York) I watched a team of resourceful dudes working the crowd using a box as a table on a parking meter, three bottle caps, and a rubber band wound into a ball.  They were playing the shell game with anyone willing to whip out some cash for a chance to double their money.  The complicated calculations and arithmetic thrown at me by the insurance people reminded me in some ways of the mind-boggling shiftiness of those street hustlers.  The insurance company team had a solid sense of what was going on because they went through the drill regularly and I (as the policy holder making a claim) was at their mercy due to my lack of experience.

This gets me to the people of the East Coast with losses from Hurricane Sandy.  They are in the middle of a messy situation and part of the problem is the insurance companies.  If it sounds like I'm blaming the insurance industry for the problems in the aftermath of Sandy, I don't intend to.  These are not monks, nuns, and future saints, the agents and the powerful companies they represent are business people.  Businesses are focused on the bottom line and the more money they disburse to their policy holders the less they have for themselves and their shareholders.

Politicians were not involved in my garage fire, but if you've seen the news in the last two months it's obvious that they're wrapped up in Hurricane Sandy and I see this as part of the problem more than the solution.  Our Washington legislators get a lot of money for reelection campaigns from the Insurance Industry.  Once again, the insurers are just looking out for their own interests, most obviously money.  If the Insurance Industry can pass off any part of the expense to us, the American people, that's better for them.  Furthermore, do I believe the insurance industry wants to cut checks to rebuild after Sandy?  I do not.  They will because they have to, but not because they want to and when a camera is around they do it with a smile.  I think it works to their advantage to have the national reps in Washington in the picture so they can justify some postponements of claims and explain that they're waiting for the folks in D.C. to take anticipated action.  And no matter how much the taxpayers help out now, the insurance companies are still going to cover themselves by raising home insurance rates and using Superstorm Sandy as their justification.  They must have money in the vault for the next storm and they'll get it from us because they can.

I rebuilt the Hurricane House sixteen years after Hugo hit South Carolina and I'm certain that more than a few homes on the East Coast will still be in need of repair from Sandy in 2028, sixteen years after the superstorm.  It won't always be tied back to politicians and insurers, but in some cases it will. 

My garage fire claim was basic.  Replacement of a small, two-car garage, the contents, and some money for damage done to the house.  The people in the East Coast have bigger and more intricate claims and if the numbers and percentages are as twisted up as mine were, that just adds to their confusion...but that's how the shell game works.

See also - After Hurricane Sandy, Rebuilders Take Notice

Step 27 - Completing Tops on Cabinets

Countertops are the obvious partner of cabinetry.  However, I'm describing them as two separate steps because they're different scopes that can have unconnected craftspeople.  When you visit a big home improvement retailer, you'll see all the cabinet and counter samples displayed in the heart of their respective Kitchen Departments because they go together.  Home Depot and Lowe's would love for you to sign them up for everything in your kitchen (Steps 26 & 27), but it doesn't have to be that way.  Keep this in mind and don't be misled by remarks that insinuate some unspoken industry expectation of cabinets and tops always being purchased/installed together as a team.  Or plainly stated, be alert to comments like, "You need to buy it all from us.  This is just how it's done.", "We always do the cabinets and countertops in the houses we do,"  or "Every cabinet shop does all the mill work and tops in the entire house."

To take this point a step further, I'll add that it's not too tough for a DIYer to find someone to do all the cabinetry and counter work, have it completed in a few work days, and then write a check before moving onto the interior doors.  I've done it this way many times myself, but when you're trying hard to stretch your budget (and actively playing the part of the do-it-yourself rehabber) you need to at least realize that paying two separate tradespeople for cabinets and counters is a possibility.  And also keep in mind that it might even help you more to break it down further by considering the kitchen cabinets and their counters as one thing and the bathroom vanities with their tops as something else.  There's more than one way to skin a cat and it's okay to deal with your cabinets and countertops in whatever way works best for your rehab and your bottom line.

And finally, understand that this separation of the cabinets and tops is not just a dollars and cents issue.  You may have a great option to complete Step 26, but maybe this cabinet contractor doesn't install the type of top you've planned for (i.e. granite, marble, tile, etc.).  Don't settle for something if it's not really what you want.  For example, finding yourself saying, "Since our cabinet guy does laminate I guess we'll just go with that instead of the countertops we really wanted."   One trades person can usually do it all, but it may be more economical (and a better match for your vision) if you think of cabinets and tops as two separate scopes of your project.  Link Steps 26 and 27 together if you can, but don't do it because you think you have to.

I'm not going to get into the details of how best to install them, etc.  because Step 27 is something I typically prefer to hire out.  I've done a few kitchen counters myself, but it's not something I'm highly skilled at.  If you can do you're own I'd say "Go for it," but if not just keep in mind what I've said regarding the relationship between cabinets and tops along with my advice in previous posts; ask questions, spend some time getting more knowledgeable, and work hard to get multiple quotes. 

Top Ten Kitchen Countertops at About.com

Jump to Step 28 - Interior Doors

Step 18 - Exterior Caulking and Painting

The Fire House - Just before be painted.

A great time to dig into the exterior is while the plumbing, electrical, and heating/air conditioning crews are busy with rough-in on the interior.  Clearly, the painting of the exterior is closely tied to Step 16 - The Exterior Façade.  However, if the home has been buttoned up with maintenance-free materials, the exterior caulking/painting may be minimal.  As I've written previously, all of my properties have been different inside and out so the scope of exterior painting and caulking has never been the same either.  For example,  The Fire House got painted from top to bottom; the exterior walls (with their weeping joints removed), the soffitt, the fascia, the front porch posts, and porch ceiling...all of those areas were brightened up with paint.  The Bungalow was fiber-cement sided and comparable in terms of painting on the outside, but on this one the soffitt was vented vinyl.  The Hurricane House was brick, but with maint.-free metal fascia and vinyl soffitt.  The front door and matching wooden shutters were painted on the outside of this home, as well as the trim around the windows, but that was it. 

Paint makes a big impact.

Caulking serves more than one purpose, but it's main job is to seal up small gaps.  It helps keep water and small critters from finding a way inside the house.  However, caulk can also make an average carpenter look good and great carpentry work look perfect.  I never really understood the impact of caulking until I worked on a prison where everything had to pass what we called 'the razor blade test' - if an inmate could slip a razor blade into any gap or crevice, we had to have it caulked with 'security caulk.'  On this big project we hired a caulking subcontractor.  The company sent us a three man crew that did nothing but caulk eight hours a day for weeks.  It was a lot of tedious (and sticky) work, but it was necessary and it made a big difference in how secure things were when we were finished.  In addition to that it helped make everything look clean and tight visually.  This project really drove home for me how caulking can give a painting job the finished look that oftentimes makes a professional's paint work look so much better and more complete than an amateur's.  So, don't forget about caulking before you paint.

A decade ago, I didn't really enjoy painting.  However, I can't say that now and periodically I like getting lost for a few days in a large painting task.  There are two things I've learned that make painting more enjoyable for me.  First, you have to keep your brushes clean.  Secondly, you have to take the time to prep properly (which includes caulking before-hand and allowing adequate drying time).  These two things make a huge difference and understanding the importance of them makes painting more fun and productive.

It took this painter three years to finish the siding and exterior trim on The Bungalow, but she wrapped things up just in time to start kindergarten.  Use big paint brushes for large areas & smaller brushes for trim.  Don't break out the watercolor brushes unless you're painting intricate details on a Victorian or ... teaching a toddler how to paint. 

Jump to Step 19 - Pulling Wire:  Electrical Rough-In

 

   

Bring in the Reincarnation of Einstein

“If I had my life to live over again, I'd be a plumber.”

Albert Einstein

When the framing is complete, I bring in the plumber.  The electrician or the heating and air team may want to do their rough-in work first, but in my view the plumber needs the green light before those other two trades. It's easier for the electrician to weave his wires around the plumbing and a good HVAC contractor can set up his system after the other two are long gone.  Like I've said before, what I'm describing is how I do it and a routine that I've grown into over dozens of projects (commercial and residential) and renovations as well as new construction.  It's not the way, it's just what I do.

Now, I always supply my plumbing contractor with the things people will see and touch when the project is complete; faucets, sinks, shower units, etc. ...those are all chosen, grabbed up, and paid for by me.  Understand that I don't buy the supply lines, PVC pipes, connections, or fittings.  They take care of what goes inside the walls, under the cabinetry, beneath the floors, and up in the attic while I provide the fixtures everyone will see when the tradespeople have moved on to the next job.

After Step 16,  I am responsible for a few key things as part of the plumbing rough-in.  For one, I make sure the tub/shower units I've purchased are in the house before the plumbing crew starts.  Along with that I also have the shower or tub valves ready.  Water heaters, kitchen faucets, commodes... the plumber doesn't need any of these things until trim-out (after the painting, cabinets, and counters - See How I Do It), but he needs the built-in bathroom units and the valves right away, so if you do it like me (and supply them), have all this material ready on the plumbing crew's first day.  After this, all I do for the plumber is make sure the house is unlocked and try to stay out of the way until he passes his rough-in inspection.

I don't want to make this sound harder than it really is.  Furthermore, this is not textbook information.  Like a good chunk of what I get into on BSAPE, I figured some of this out over time working for other people and parts were learned the hard way...like having the plumber calling me at seven in the morning saying, "Dude...where'd you hide the shower valves?  I thought you were providing them."  The handles that you turn to start the water in the shower are part of what I know I have to buy, but it comes in the same box with the rough-in materials (that aren't seen because they're behind the tub walls and between the studs).  I'd like to tell you this is a one-time oversight (forgetting to have the valves on hand right away), but I've done this on a few jobs and had to scramble so the plumber could stay on track.

There are a few reasons I do it this way, but basically it's just works out better and is more efficient for me to buy the units myself.  For example, I don't want to leave buying the toilet up to the plumber and then come into the bathroom at the end of the project and find some dinky little thing that looks cheap and wrong for my house. Also, I don't want to see some funky, Lady Gaga type fixtures either.  Maybe the plumber would mean well in his selections, but he doesn't know what look I'm after.  Besides, his time would be better spent focusing on the craft he's licensed for.  

And to take this method-behind-the-madness a little further, how would I expect my plumbing contractor to estimate how much the fixtures will cost if he doesn't know exactly what I want when he's quoting my job? I'll tell you what he's going to do.  He'll do what I'd do if I was him.  He'll error on the side of caution and price up the higher end options so he's covered.  If there's a $200 faucet, a $150 unit, and one for $99, he'd have to assume I might expect the $200 one.  In the end, maybe I'd choose the one in the middle and maybe he gives me a $50 credit on my final bill, but I doubt it.   If this same guesswork goes into all the plumbing needed to trim out, I could find myself wasting a lot of money because I had them buy my plumbing finishes for me.  I'd rather do it myself and in most cases, the plumber feels the same way.

Now I get that I can hand the plumber a spec sheet and he can fill it at his supply house, but without going into the mind-numbing details, I'll tell you how that goes in a nutshell:  I end up spending more time and money and I don't get exactly what I want.  That's why I don't bother with a plumbing list of specified items and I do it the way I'm saying.   It's more practical, it's easier, my money goes a lot further, and we're all good. 

Jump to Step 17 - Bring the Reincarnation of Einstein