electrical wiring

[VJ]

Highly overdue for an update...

I had some conferences, and then had to wait for the window sills, but on Wednesday, they came to install them. The plan was simple: remove the old ones (metal!), put the new ones, have the painter fix the damages, and then renovate the floor.

The guys came and started to remove an old window sill in the bedroom. But it turned out to be quite solid, so they decided to first go with those in the living room: they were loose, which would make them easier to remove, and thus it would be easier to see just how they were attached. For a short moment, they suggested to install the new ones on top of the old ones, but as those in the living room were loose, it was not a good option (it would also have given problems with the hinges of the windows, and may have been visible). It was easy enough to pull the old windowsills upward, and even forward: they just came of! Along with part of the wall ... A row of concrete and tiles about 6-10 cm high of wall the wall below the window sills fell out... This was the reason the windowsills were loose: the whole wall was loose. Of course, this means they had no wall anymore to put the windowsills on: first a mason would need to come to fix it. Then the continued to remove the other window sills - which was a bit more work, and involved some more damages to both the wall below the window sills and the side walls.

Today (Sunday), a guy will come to see what will need to be done, and his guys will come on Monday to fix the wall. The guys from the windowsills already said they would be available, so on Monday (when we know when the wall would be finished and how long it would have to dry out), we can schedule them. There is still a slight chance the walls could be fixed and painted before Christmas, but I'm quite sure we will not manage to finish the floors...

[VJ]

Ok, this is turning out interesting... the guy who came today said they should not have removed the old ones, but just put the new ones on top. Apparently, he did not see/realize how loose they were, and he is completely ignoring the fact that the window hinges would prevent that. So he is calling the other guys cowboys, but it basically is his bad planning that resulted in the situation...

He suggests that I just ask for the new window sills to be delivered, and he will install them and fix everything. I'm not sure what to do, he often comes over as a guy who does everything, but it sometimes feels to me that he is not good at some things... And I'm not sure about those things now: how good will he be at e.g. connecting 2 marble window sills (so that the seam would be nearly invisible)? Difficult...

[degrub]

i would suspect if you take delivery of the sills, you will own them. Until he installs them, he owns them , and you have some leverage.
Trust your gut, you may need a different contractor. But check your contract to see what options you have.

[VJ]

Also, the people who recommended me the guy also would not trust him with the windowsills, mainly based on some comments he had. These are: 1. putting the heavy window sills on top of the loose old ones would stabilise it, and 2. that you can put 6cm of glue to support the window sills - this may be true, but I've heard from other people that in that case the glue should not dry under pressure or it will give problems. Another issue is that he is in no way connected to the company of the window sills. So basically, I would own them, and have him install them. I'd feel much safer if the company how delivers them also installs them, then I own them when they are full installed - not before. To make it more interesting, he set this ultimatum: either he fixes the wall AND installs the window sills or he does not fix the wall.

As is no contract between him and me (contracts are not common here for this kind of work), in a way I have all the options in the world. We will now contact a different guy (a contractor) to just fix the walls, and prepare them for the installer of the sills.
It does mean getting a new guy, and it implies a bit more planning, but it is the situation I'm most comfortable with...

[VJ]

Ok, the contractor came over, and he appeared very knowledgeable and professional (asking the all right questions). He would send me an offer soon - first he wanted to verify some things (e.g. contact the guys where the window sills were bought). He also seem so think they had no alternative, but he does question the poor call of painting first (which was because of the previous guy) and was a bit surprised that I needed a new person at this stage of the renovations. But somehow it gave me a good feeling...

[VJ]

The contractor really seems knowledgeable and also seems to know his limitations. At the meeting, he also mentioned that he can install window sills, but after having been in contact with that company he fully grasped how big they are and confirmed it was best to let them install the window sills. He said that sills of that size need people that are experienced with it (they are approx. 1.5m x 40cm, 3cm thick marble).

I was a bit surprised by the price, and even moreso by the list if materials: 300 kg of concrete, 40 kg of steel, ...

Work starts tomorrow, in 5 days it should all be finished (and painted even)...

[VJ]

Ok, walls are fixed, new window sills are installed and the damage has been repainted. And today work will start on the parquet floor!
There was a scary moment when the window sills were installed, and they were not cut correctly. But they managed to fix and polish it perfectly.

But...

I discovered that one window sill is cracked. We already contacted the company, and they can only come from next week on to fix it. (they claim they can; and apparently they are the number 1 company in Poland for marble, and often get to renovated palaces and musea) But because of the parquet fixing, they will have to wait longer.
Then I discovered that the previous painter used the wrong paint on the radiators: it is already peeling off! So they would have to be done again. According to the new contractor, best would be to remove them, sandblast them and paint them anew. He said he can paint them now, but it would all be temporarily. So that will also have to wait as the heating is switched on.
Then I discovered that the previous painter did quite a lousy job (but it was not visible due to lack of lights and dark winter days): one wall with airbubbles in the paint, some parts where he forgot a second layer (from the looks of it: parts where he would have needed a finer brush), and a wall that was not smoothed properly.

So today work on the parquet floor was started, and it was scheduled to last 3 days and be finished by Saturday... but my building administration does not allow work on holidays (and they particularly notified me about it), so now it will last till Monday/Tuesday; requiring me to find an alternative place to stay for one week. Luckily, a colleague was so kind as to invite me...
A bit excited about the parquet now... as for the first time the rooms will look almost finished!

[degrub]

you realize that in 2-3 weeks your baby is due ?

[VJ]

Yes, this can't be happening... something must go wrong still...

I can then already schedule my furniture to come, and start living there! Renovating the radiators and repainting one last time is not urgent, so I'll wait for that. Still a bit worried about the window sill: if they have to replace it, it will be quite a mess again, so I hope they can fix it.
Bathroom then is the most urgent, with kitchen a close second. Still hoping to do them this year.

[VJ]

Parquet is finished! He said I can put things on it, but I should not drag anything on the floor and walk with socks. But to be on the safe side, I'll refrain from putting anything there, an extra week will not make a big difference for me. I have notified the furniture shop, so they can prepare for shipping my stuff (this was put on hold due to the delays in the planning).

Probably next week they can come to fix the cracked window sill... Still a bit worried about that one, but they assure me they can solve it. So just a bit of cleaning to do, put a big wardrobe back together, and the rooms are finished!

Still problems with my main cable (no word from my electrician, I'm trying to cancel him and have him give the necessary documents), but that only prevents renovation of the corridor - and this will be the last thing to be done (first bathroom and kitchen).

[VJ]

Aaargghh
The thermostat knob of a radiator fell off, and damaged the parquet... not much, and the guy will come back to fix it... but come on...

Furniture is said to be delivered next week (they will contact me for a specific time).

[Umfriend]

One thing I learned from this: I will _never_ move to Poland :d

[VJ]

Haha... the main problem is that it grew wrong. At the point when I noticed the whole electricity needed to be replaced, I should have acted differently. I should then have decided to do the whole apartment at once, getting an architect and setting nice deadlines in a contract. I then would not have to deal with this myself and for sure it would have been finished faster. But it was my first renovation; I was naive in thinking it were all just little things, and of course I was living there - although that could have been overcome (e.g. by renting something for one or two months). Don't get me wrong, most things were little things, but I was just unlucky with some of the workers. So that is the lesson I learned from this.

For the bathroom and kitchen, I'll go to proper installers and get everything set in contract. For the corridor, I'll go with the contractor who rebuilt the walls and painted afterwards: I'm really happy with his work and ideas (and he speaks English).