Building our Bateman: Getting Back to Work with Drywall and Brick

In our last post we noted how there seemed to be many unresolved issues that needed to be addressed prior to drywall. Well, they started drywall yesterday and only a few of the issues were addressed. The areas where we had problems had not been covered at the end of the day. A very harsh email was sent to our PM, SR and the local Production Supervisor. In the morning we got a call from our PM.

Our PM let us know that he had always planned on getting all the issues fixed today but he wanted to get drywall going so as not to delay the schedule. Fair enough but he never told us those plans and he could have had them all addressed in the nearly two weeks since we brought them to his attention. Now he's rushing to get the fixes completed before the drywallers can finish.

In our walk-through last night I noticed a few other issues that needed to be fixed:

1. The drywallers were removing styrofoam strips that were installed by the insulators. The strips are used to seal the gaps between the drywall and the top plate. More frustrating is that the drywallers were dumping the strips and their other trash into the wall crevices.

2. We had some fantastic wind come through for a few days and some of the insulation was blown out. The drywallers didn't bother to replace a few pieces of insulation in the eves so now someone has to crawl into the attic to replace.

Add to that all the other issues including - missing framing, no attic access to one area, a rafter in the middle of an attic access, loose electric boxes, missing Guardian wiring, and incorrect plumbing. We are really starting to wonder if our PM is looking out for us at this point. In fact, had we not mentioned any of this it would have eventually been covered in drywall. Out of sight out of mind.

Here's the bottom line: We're extremely happy with 95% of the house and the work they've put into quality. The subfloors are solid and no squeeks. The framing for the most part was terrific. The top notch HVAC installation. The brick looks terrific. The insulators did an unbelievably good job sealing the house. There is no doubt that we're going to be extremely happy in this house when it's complete. Our issues are the small details that seem to be overlooked and the absolute lack of action on our list of errors and concerns. Loose and incorrect plumbing. Guardian miswiring our TV drop. Use of the cheapest mechanicals.

I keep going back to the sloppiness of the work area and what the PM is letting subs get away with. Drywallers dumping trash in wall cavities. The dumpster out front is always full so debris is piled all around it. Bringing in crappy rock filled soil for backfill and grading. These are things that are easy to fix but Ryan chooses to do these things on the cheap.

Anyway, we're getting drywall and brick so soon my concerns will ease and my wife will start her list of fixes. Here is at least one picture that makes me happy: