new garage $2 1/4 million | FerrariChat

new garage $2 1/4 million

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by bundas, Oct 19, 2015.

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  1. bundas

    bundas F1 Veteran
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    Dec 31, 2005
    7,090
    lexington ky usa
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    mitchell barnes
    my, 'new garage' thread has been blocked under Rosa. so I guess I have been a bad boy. I may get kicked off. old geezer will miss all. thanks for allowing me here. me 34 car garage is moving ahead painfully slow. I have posted before these things but because it was under Rosa many did not see. heading says it all. what started out as a $50,000 project quickly went to $250,000. and after a year. well, heading says it all. I never was good at budgets. this started April 2014. and this week I have given up on finish dates. the architect and the structural engineer he hired are not up to this project. my contractor(second one) is not paying attention to the plans and not checking the subs. so guess what, a big mess. steel is up(30 tons) and ready for glass. no glass company has been contacted until I called last Friday. min. of two months to get glass in. the basement is being dug out now because 700 sq ft. was filled with dirt. architect assistant was not supervised. I only caught the mistake after 100 yards of concrete was poured. a pool was included. but the architect did not consult a pool company. so today I get a quote. I had to call the pool contractor. the poured walls done for the pool have to come out. steel beams remade etc., pool is enclosed. pools are gunite. the architect had concrete walls poured. not leaving room for any gunite liner. there is more but I am worn out from the stress today. looking to an Austin get away this week.
     
  2. GordonC

    GordonC F1 Rookie
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    Aug 28, 2005
    4,119
    Calgary, AB, Canada
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    Gordon
    Mitchell, a moderator replied to your other thread - your Rossa subscription has expired, that's why you can't see the thread in Rossa. You're not blocked, but you need to renew your Rossa subscription!

    Cheers,
    Gordon
     
    rampante550 likes this.
  3. bundas

    bundas F1 Veteran
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    Dec 31, 2005
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    mitchell barnes
    My message box was full and would not accept any more
     
  4. ag512bbi

    ag512bbi F1 Veteran
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    Nov 8, 2003
    7,540
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    Armen
    What a mess. I'm building a home right now and went thru similar situations until I fired my contractor. Good luck to you man, Would love to see progress photos.
     
  5. Nelsonc275

    Nelsonc275 Formula 3

    Sep 27, 2013
    1,626
    Pictures please!
     
  6. bundas

    bundas F1 Veteran
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    mitchell barnes
    #6 bundas, Oct 20, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    But one at a time. My computer is not happy with my user skills. Inside. The garage part(also a man cave and a pool area) will hold 24 cars. This part is finished except for the walk paintings
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  7. bundas

    bundas F1 Veteran
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    Dec 31, 2005
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    mitchell barnes
    #7 bundas, Oct 20, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  8. energy88

    energy88 Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Jan 21, 2012
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    Wonderful! Is the blue "L" shaped area in the Architect 3 D drawing the pool?
     
  9. bundas

    bundas F1 Veteran
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    Dec 31, 2005
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    mitchell barnes
    Is the pool. But that design has changed. Architect was not up to this job so no 'L' pool. Pool ended up 45x10 X 4' deep. Current auto cover and heated. Light blue glass pebble lined with underwater lights.
     
  10. bundas

    bundas F1 Veteran
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    Dec 31, 2005
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    mitchell barnes
    dead right now. it's been a year knowing I need glass. one sub bid, price was good. then I could not get questions answered for two months. so I started looking for other suppliers a month ago, calling. finally, tomorrow the first meeting. winter is here. glass takes two months. unhappy. increasing the basement size adding 700sq ft. to correct the mess made by the architect. engineer tell my contractor I can have a 7' basement door. engineer tells me I can have an 8'. real smart people. so much for my general contractor. why did I think I could get this done without problems, I have no idea.
     
  11. 19633500GT

    19633500GT F1 World Champ
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    Nov 9, 2010
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    Who the hell is the contracted GC down there? Sheesh, my Platoon of Army Engineers could knock this project out, and I bet for a 1/4 of the cost. I say you fire the whole team and start completely new in the spring, bring in a new Contractor and get guarantee's, this isn't rocket science.
     
  12. bundas

    bundas F1 Veteran
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    Dec 31, 2005
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    mitchell barnes
    Any help from Lady Luck at all. This is the second contractor. I have fired one sub as well. Seems that I continue my poor judgement. Taking people as honest first will not work. Reference is not working.
     
  13. JasonMiller

    JasonMiller F1 Rookie
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    Jul 16, 2004
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    I was a GC in Texas for many years, Ive built projects from custom homes to large restaurants, lube stations and other commercial projects.

    There are always two sides to each story and I cant tell you how many huge money making jobs I simply declined due to owners that have a grand idea in their mind but not the willingness to step back and let the process take its course without changing things, adding things and micro managing the job.

    With some contracts I built in a 5k change order agreement, if ANYTHING was changed from the original plan they paid me 5k just to sit and listen to it, not counting the additional cost to make the changes. I usually pocketed 15k per job in these changes.

    I am not accusing our friend Mitchell of these things, but I have read a lot about this project and it seems changes are happening at every turn, maybe the fault of the contractors? I dont know, but this is in no way a 2+ million project in my humble opinion.

    I wish I had the time and energy, I would send Mitchell on a 5 month vacation to the beach and have this wrapped up when he got back :)

    but alas, life is calling.
     
    Doug. likes this.
  14. Fast_ian

    Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

    Sep 25, 2006
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    Ian Anderson
    Having now (tried to) work with a few here in CA, I am 100% convinced the contractors license board exam goes something like this;

    Q1 - Are you a flake? Yes? Proceed to Q2.
    Q2 - Can you *promise* to be "back by 8am tomorrow" and them disappear for a week? Yes? Proceed to question 3.
    Q3 - How much "extra" do you you expect to rape your customers for before the job is almost (but not quite) finished;

    +20% - Poor, you should know better.
    +30% - Getting closer to standard.
    +40% - Now we're talking! You can pick up your license in the bar later.

    And I'm only being very slightly cynical here....... :(

    Cheers,
    Ian
     
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  15. JasonMiller

    JasonMiller F1 Rookie
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    LOl thats pretty funny, but pretty sad just the same.. I think ethics in all ways of life are a thing of the past unfortunately.
     
  16. Fast_ian

    Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #16 Fast_ian, Oct 28, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Fair comments.

    See my often posted pic below..... ;)

    I've done jobs with tens of pages of architect drawings that quite simply didn't "add up". At least without a couple of "sky hooks" & infinitely small drainage lines! ;)

    I dunno, but it seems to me that at least around here GC's are held in about as high regards as whale ****; You gotta have one for the permitting process, they know it, & don't just expect the client to bend over at every turn (change) but indeed *expect* every job to run ~25-50% over budget, no matter what was agreed.

    /Rant. ;)

    I understand it's a two way street, and I'm not a big fan of architects (and "engineers"), but, with all due respect, there's a reason (many) GC's don't garner much respect and/or trust.

    Cheers,
    Ian
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  17. bundas

    bundas F1 Veteran
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    Dec 31, 2005
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    I met with the first glass contractor just now( and so far the only one). Budget called for $112,000 glass. But the company would never call back. This quote, $368,000.
     
  18. bpu699

    bpu699 F1 World Champ
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    Follow up thread will be about a 6.5 million dollar garage as the bids roll in ;).
     
  19. Fast_ian

    Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

    Sep 25, 2006
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    +1 :(

    But that's a whole other debate!.......

    I've absolutely no problem with the good ol' fashioned "fair days pay for a fair days work". In fact, the local roofing guys just finished a great job for me - More or less on time & on budget! Seems subs are OK, it's the general that screws it up.

    But, it just seems to me that (many) GC's want to load the scales, heavily, in their favor and take advantage of folks who thought they knew what they were getting in to.

    My last guy simply abandoned the job. Fixed price, but I'm reasonable with unexpected issues. He'd already way overspent the *agreed* quote - Like I'd signed up for a time & materials contract after very much specifying the job ahead of time. [Little example; 220V to laundry room & kitchen. Simply didn't happen.]

    Cheers,
    Ian
     
  20. Alden

    Alden F1 Rookie
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    Apr 25, 2010
    2,903
    Central Florida
    First of all a budget figure is not a bid.

    If the GC budgeted the glass at 112K based on the 1st glass companies ballpark estimate, then the project changed, well the cost of the glass is going to change.

    No offence meant, but reading through your posts it seems that you have "problems" with everyone who does work for you whether it is car work or contracting.

    I have a feeling that you are getting well known for this in your area too.

    That may be why no one will call you back, they don't want to be another "problem" for you.

    I was a GC for a long time in the south with a sterling reputation. There were some customers I could not and would not work for, no matter how we structured the contract.

    I know you have had health problems too and that makes this type of project difficult for everyone too.

    Good luck with your project, I sincerely hope it all works out for you.
    Alden
     
  21. Fast_ian

    Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #21 Fast_ian, Oct 28, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 28, 2015
    +1

    However, I can't help thinking I'd be pissed if the "budget figure" was roughly 1/4 the actual!

    Agreed. The cost is going to change, but by a magnitude of three x!?

    Cheers,
    Ian
     
  22. bundas

    bundas F1 Veteran
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    Dec 31, 2005
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    Thank you for your good faith input. Saying what you believe. A rare thing these days. Blaming the victim is always a good thing. About ten on this site have done the same thing. So you are not alone. I remember my first time I was accused. The judge told me it was my fault that things were stolen. Why, well I had the stuff. That was just one of many comments. Over 50 years. In 1973 I lost $5 million to arson. A 17 and 15 year old judge said the same crap. Now as to this project. Yes there were changes. Lots. And I paid for the time it took. Never questioned a bill. Then the changes stopped. Architect knew s 20' elevator was ordered. He ordered the thing. But I cannot use the full capacity because when it drop down there is a 18' 6" opening😡 Basement way to be 26' wide. Without asking his assistant made it the 18' 6". 100 yards of concrete was poured before I discovered the mistake. Now the pool that the architect claimed was discussed with the pool company will not work without major expense. Go ahead and blame me. As for my opinion of this I cannot put in print what I think. And since I am ventin. The A holes that basically robbed me. Working on my cars that is my fault as well sure it is.
     
  23. bundas

    bundas F1 Veteran
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    Dec 31, 2005
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    Glass estimate vs. cost. I think the first company really had no clue
     
  24. 99_Carrera

    99_Carrera Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2010
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    Mike
    Don't give up, M! Keep rolling with the punches. It'll be worth it in the end! :)
     
  25. bundas

    bundas F1 Veteran
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    Dec 31, 2005
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    mitchell barnes
    I have been counting my penny's for a month now trying to figure out how to pay for all that remains. Today I got hit hard. The result. I may not go any further with this. Glass budget got blown out of site jumping from $112,000 to $368,000. That means I need over a million to finish this instead of the $515,000( there were other issues that came up) that I had covered. Ain't gonna happen. I am calmed down now like the wind has been knocked out of me. Earlier my blood pressure got to stroke country. Upset will not describe my feelings. I really was looking forward to this as my retirement home. Dream gone. I did try. Won't be the first or last setback
     

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