How predatory remodeling ruined my house in a matter of days after closing
Amáda had the idea to add 3 lights to the stair well. She wanted them centered over stair treads, and spaced evenly along the wall. As luck would have it, one of those light junction boxes landed right on a stud. I had to cut out the stud and do some custom framing. It was a real pain, but it will look nice on the other side.
To conserve energy, we add pipe insulation to all of the hot water pipes.
After 5.5 years of mostly personal labor, all repairs, remediation, and prep work is complete. Drywall is staged for installation.
To a flipper, drywall is the first step. They just want to hide the problems that are inside the walls. But we’ve done years of preparation, with patience, permits, and inspections. Drywall is one of the last steps, and it is so satisfying to know that we’ve done everything to code and with craftsmanship. It’s also pretty fun that mold-resistant drywall is purple!
The drywall crew went so fast that they did the entire basement in two days. Because they were reckless, they destroyed a light switch and a smoke detector. I’ll be subtracting those costs from their fee. Everything else looks pretty good.
I need to keep the drywall dust confined to the basement so it doesn’t spread all over the house. I erect a temporary cover over the open stairwell.
The drywall mudding and taping has started. It’s only the first layer, so it looks pretty rough at this point. My contractor tells me not to worry, and that any mess will get cleaned up eventually. I’m not feeling very reassured.
Over the years I found several old, hidden junction boxes filled with drywall mud. The flipper did that. So the last thing I would expect from my drywall contractor is to fill up my new junction boxes with drywall mud! My new wiring is encased in dried mud! I am so tired of sloppy contractors! I’m furious and I let him know it. I demand that he clears and cleans every box back to pristine condition.
My drywaller returns to continue mudding. He also brings an assistant who gets busy breaking dried mud out of all of my junction boxes.
My drywall contractor finishes his work and collects his tools. Meanwhile, Amáda picks up a large order of primer and paint.
It’s only a first coat, but it’s great to see the walls getting a uniform coat of white primer. Amáda is working room by room, starting with the laundry room. Meanwhile, I start working on trim carpentry, such as the window sills.