-6 straight weeks of rain
-concrete guy pouring my footers wrong (had to cantilever my framing)
-had to cut out framing after it was done to run pipe for gas logs
-roofers flashed incorrectly around chimney and windows not caulked so had flooded master bedroom and family room
-had flooded crawl space due to brick guys not building up crawl space opening (rain would run down side of my house and into crawl space) - bought sump pump to pump out water on a consistent basis until crawl space opening was built up 8 inches - spent many days under there moving dirt around to limit the amount of water build up and to level it out (back took a hurtin' on those days)
-tankless water heater pipes busted due to extreme cold weather, flooded crawl space even more
-determined there was a natural spring on the left side of my lot where the driveway was going - landscaper had to put in a drainage system to send the water out the back of the lot
-grader busted main water line going to the house, water was spewing everywhere (plumber fixed same day so not that big of an issue)
-tried to get painters to the house for 3 weeks, they never showed - had to go with different painter who was more expensive but he was really good and accommodating
-tried to get garage poured for 2 weeks, they never showed - called different company, they were out there in less than 2 hours to pour it for me
-pushed back 2 weeks on getting driveway poured due to freezing temperatures
-tile ordered wrong, had to re-order (took over 2 months from start to finish to get tile work complete)
-double oven cabinet ordered wrong, had to modify cabinet to lower double oven
-one of the three French doors leading to back porch was sent from the manufacturer with a faulty locking mechanism (took over 2 months to get fixed)
-3 times, my heat stopped working; 3rd trip to fix it was a charm; have not had any problems since
-our white Carrera marble top for the master bath was installed with a seam in it - we had told to the fabricator we wanted a solid piece - we waited a month and a half to get it replaced
I'm sure there are some obstacles I missed but these were the main ones I can remember. Overall, being the builder and homeowner definitely increased my stress level but I keep reminding myself that it will be worth it once complete. Being the first house I've built from start to finish, I learned a lot. There are so many things I didn't realize that goes into building a house, so many decisions that have to be made spur of the moment in order to keep production moving.
The #1 issue I encountered was subcontractors not showing up, not calling back, not completing their work in a timely manner. However, here are a few of the good ones:
-cabinet specialist and the installers were always on time, very knowledgeable and did everything I asked of them
-electrician was efficient and extremely respectable
-plumbers always came out same day when asked (which was a lot)
-hardwood flooring installers finished in one day with no issues (and there is quite a bit of flooring, they didn't speak English but luckily, they didn't have any questions for me)
-framers (whom I knew from previous work) were great and had fun while working (every time I would go out there to check on them, they had their latino music playing and singing; it was a lot of fun to be out there with them)
-painters did everything I asked, they worked after hours when needed
Again, it was a great experience and I learned so much. After 7 months of construction, we can't wait to move in next week and get settled in our home. Below are a few random pics of the process. I will do another blog once fully completed with more pics of the finished product.
