Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Aargh!!

We finally got to investigating the mysterious wall problem, after the wall problem got worse. (I noticed flaking paint in our laundry basket). There were a number of possibilities tossed out there-maybe our chimney needed a liner, or maybe the high efficiency boilers have prompted problems.(I'm still upset about those boilers because they have not lowered our heating costs and have instead increased our operating costs. Great recommendation American Vintage!).

Well, today we had our roofer come in to make sure there wasn't a leak. He called us at 6 a.m. about stopping by, again at 6:45, then I called him back at 7:30 to find he was in our neighborhood. I don't know if I've ever gotten dressed so quickly!

Glenn was home, so all three of us trapsed up to roof to find our chimney cover cracked and some disintegrating brick. (actually, a pile of a single brick on the ground). It was clearly a problem with the parapet walls and the installer not using okay brick.

So now, we need to figure out what we should do. The roofer said we can just cap off the chimney and put a covering over the bricks to prevent them from decaying, caulking cracks etc. I can call the parapet wall contractor and get them to come fix their work(but do I want them to "fix" their work?) The lawyer in me is thinking of the cause of action. I can call our trusty mason (who was too busy to rebuild the parapets in the first place). Another option is a fancy mason who we saw at a historical building conference in Chicago. Regardless, I want the problem fixed, and not a bandaid.

After we repair the parapet wall situation, we then will have to do massive work in the bedroom-taking down bad plaster, drywalling around a chimney, painting, etc. We are supposed to move forward on the rehab. Sure we might have maintenance issues (mowing the lawn etc.) but we are supposed to shut the door on certain projects when they were done. (like plaster repair!) I think those are the "issues" that frustrate me the most with an older home restoration. The problem solving skills you need to figure out molding an unsquare wall is a challenge, the fact that projects take longer because of little issues that pop up, or doing it the "right way" which takes MUCH longer-I can handle.

Redoing contractor work, or retracing our steps---AARGH!!!!

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1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry you are experiencing all of that. You're not alone I too have found everything is a big project .... actually need to have my chimney done also its the one thing left from my inspection report from closing I havn't addressed. Think of it like a puppy the first year housebreaking you question why did you adopt him / her and the next 15 years you can't imagine life without.

Good luck and best wishes, Bill

June 27, 2007 10:25 AM  

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