Baby It's Cold Out There, Again!

As forecast, the north wind shifted since yesterday, coming out of the south now. While this resulted in the temperature getting into the mid-20's, it felt colder than yesterday. It was bitter.

While no work was accomplished in the back yard, the new vaulted trusses showed up. I observed the flat bed truck back into our west neighbor's drive and the driver started unstrapping the trusses. I called "Our" Mike to ensure he was aware they had arrived. He said he was aware and that he was on his way. I told him that I hoped he had consulted with our neighbor prior to using their driveway. Mike said he told the driver to let Mike know 30 minutes prior to arrival (he did not) and then to wait until Mike arrived (he did not). When Mike arrived, he and the driver unloaded the four trusses and placed them along the west side of our house (half way through our gate).

Mike came to the door before he left. Since I never was told the outcome of Frank's (HVAC) analysis of mounting the interior unit of the heat pump on the vaulted truss, I asked Mike if that was finished. Mike said it was and there was plenty of room. When I asked about the plan to start raising the trusses, I got a vague response about it may be a bit warmer next week.

A little later, we got a call from our west neighbor. They have been very accommodating and patient during our project. Today however, not only did we fail to secure their permission to use their driveway, but the flat bed truck got off the drive and into the yard. To top it off, the steel bands and cardboard used to bind the trusses were left in the neighbor's yard. Needless to say, the neighbor was very upset, as I would be as well. The neighbor told me that he wanted the person responsible for today's activity to know that they were not pleased and that the use of their drive was not to be taken for granted. I apologized and made sure he knew I understood. I immediately called Mike. I told him that the neighbor was very upset and now I was as well. From the beginning of this project I have made it known to all the contractors that special consideration was to be given to not inconveniencing our neighbors. Today's events went past just inconvenience. I told Mike that today we "burned a bridge" with the west neighbor and that Mike was not to make any future plans on the assumption that we could use their driveway. I told him to "not even ask"!

Today is the 150th day since our construction permit was granted. The permit was for 184 days to February 11, 2015.