Chimney Saga Conclusion

I first published a “ha ha, oh no!” story about our chimney last month.  It was my first post to be labeled home “improvement” (instead of home improvement).

The boss did come out the next week and agreed that the job hadn’t been finished.  There was no actual apology, but he was very gracious.  I decided that I did want to install a new damper on top of the chimney, so they said they would complete the original job for free, of course, but the standard damper charge was still $400 plus tax. 

So I called our nearest fireplace store and ordered a sealtight damper from them for $250, then called the company and let them know I had a damper they could install for me. 

They called back and said they would install it for $109 plus tax.

I called back and said that my chimney had had 2 1/2 years of weather damage from not being finished when I first hired and paid them.

They called back and said they’d install it for $50. Plus tax.

I looked at the directions for installation and decided that not climbing up a ladder with a corded drill and mason bit with 2 1/2 kids trying to climb up after me was worth $50. 

Of course, when they did come out, there was a kerfuffle that the damper I bought was the wrong size.  Since it clearly stated that this damper fit a myriad of sizes including the size he told me earlier, he tried to explain to me that the store had sold me a damper that only fit chimneys built on the east coast.  He asked me where I had bought it and when I told him, he was surprised that with their good reputation, they would do that.

Yeah, really.

But, again, he was gracious and sold me one out of his truck for exactly the price I had paid at the fireplace store and gave me the time to call the store to make sure I could return it for a full refund. (Overall, I saved over $100 and gained 3 headaches and 4 ulcers.)

The whole thing was done in less than an hour, and this time I had him go up with my camera and take pictures of the finished chimney for me.  I learned that trick after the most recent roofing debacle when the branch harpooned the dining room ceiling.   

Just one more follow-up note.  When I returned the original “east coast” damper to the store and explained to them the chimney man's explanation of why it didn’t fit our chimney, although I had given the correct dimensions, he scoffed at theory.  When he asked who had done the work and I told him, he was surprised that with their good reputation, they would do that.

It’s enough to make a steward cynical.

Ghosts of Home Repairs Past

We’ve had lots of problems with our roof since we moved in 8 1/2 years ago.  My first (but not only) mistake was hiring this guy on a neighbor’s recommendation.  He’s #1 on the list of bad Seattle contractors, though he didn’t make it onto the worst it the nation. It’s been fun running into his mugshot occasionally, most recently on Angie’s List of Worst Contractors.

We’re lucky—we only lost about $5000 to this guy and still had a leaky roof.  Could have been worse.  (Since then, I’ve found a roofer I would recommend to anyone. And another one I won’t let touch my roof again.  Let me know if you want names!)

 

Worst Seattle Contractors of 2010

Date Published: December 21 2010
Home Curb Appeal | Covington, Wash.

John Mulinski, owner of Covington-based Home Curb Appeal, faces up to 10 years in prison following his September arrest on 15 counts of felony theft. King County Sheriff investigators say Mulinski bilked homeowners, subcontractors and a business owner out of more than $1 million. No trial date has been set.
According to court records, Mulinski allegedly contracted with homeowners — and a restaurant owner in 2010 — for large-scale remodeling projects in Woodinville, Chelan and Bellevue that he didn’t complete, and he failed to pay subcontractors.
In June, deputies arrested Mulinski on three misdemeanor counts of unlicensed contracting. Two months prior, Mulinski admitted to violating consumer protection laws and agreed to pay consumers restitution and more than $12,000 in penalties.
“The guy is absolutely a thief,” says subcontractor Chris McIlrath, owner of AA Plumbing in Everett, Wash.
The state revoked his contractor registration in 2009 following numerous civil complaints. “We take these cases very seriously,” says Dan Donohoe, press secretary for the King County prosecutor’s office.
Mulinski, who’s released on bond, also faces 13 misdemeanor charges in California. His phone numbers are disconnected and his defense attorney could not be reached.

Best Thing About New Year’s Day

If you are reading this before noon on Saturday (1-1-11), tune in to The Capitol Steps on NPR.  They broadcast 4 times a year and the political comedy shows are genius. 

But, hey, this is from someone who likes the Daily Show and Broadway tunes.

http://www.capsteps.com/

Another Snow Day

We woke up to more snow today.  It alternated between heavy snow flurries, to melting, to snowing again, to melting, and after a few more rounds, we have slightly less than a inch at the end of the day. 

Kyla stands proudly by her snowman.  I helped her engineer it and it fell down within 30 minutes of us going inside for Christmas cookies and hot chocolate.

 

Not interesting in building a muddy snowman, Piper and Wesley enjoy being pulled around in the sled.  Piper likes to pull Wesley as well.

 

 

Kyla takes her turn giving her siblings a ride.  Doesn’t she seem so much older in this picture?

 

Piper amuses herself by putting snowballs on top of Wesley’s head, brushing it off, and piling on another one.

Genius, I tell you!

….not any of my kids, but this simple contraption.  It’s a ribbon that connects baby’s sippy cup to his high chair or stroller or carseat.  Eventually, the hope is baby can pull up his own dropped sippy cup.  But since Wesley is not there yet, we have found two uses. 

1) I don’t have to reach further than my knee  to retrieve his dropped (read: thrown) cup.

2) Like a hamster water feeder, Wesley can crawl over anytime and drink from his water bottle. 

For those who’d like to save the $5 this cost at TOP Foods (on one hand, a total ripoff; on the other, my favorite back saver), here’s the break down to make it.

You need:

1) A yard of ribbon and thread

2) A plastic “D” ring

3) velcro

Hopefully the pictures help, but if not, I will try to be more specific if you email me. The long end has a loop in it to attach to the chair/stroller.  The short end has the “hook” velcro at the end and twice the length of “loop” adjacent to that.

Kyla and Jenny

Santa brought Kyla a “big kid” doll.  Her name is Jenny and she likes to bake cakes.  In fact, she came with a bunch of cupcake baking accessories and her very own book.  I’ve loved playing with her myself, but what I was really thrilled with is the Dolly & Me clothing line at Sears.  It has matching outfits from 2T up to age 12, I believe, and when they are on clearance, they run about $10, for both outfits together.  Kyla and Jenny got matching jammies, as did Piper and her doll, named Baby.  More on Baby later.

These Guys Deserve Their Own Post

Uncle Brian holds a very happy Wes.  If I could get a Baby Wesley in my stocking every Christmas, I’d be a happy woman.