Construction Truck + South Philly Parking + Polar Vortex = ?
I guess the word is fiasco. Today the insulation contractors came to spray foam my house. Yes, they came even when there was a huge winter storm. So last night I came in to finish off the small jobs that needed to go in before the insulation, and to run around with my next door neighbor, asking the people parked in front of my house if they could move for my contractor this morning. It seemed like things were in order, and my dad kindly offered to work from my coffee shop after making sure that the contractor was able to get in.
Short story, they didn’t. The truck was too big to fit down my street. After wasting the better part of an hour looking for parking they carried the spray foam components into the house. He walked through what needed to be done in order to get the drywall in. Unfortuately, they didn’t finish any of these things before they were called back to the office. They’ll be back to finish the spray foam, and next time neither my dad nor I will be involved. The cellulose that they will be blowing in is a different matter. They will need a spot at the end of the block to back the truck in. Worrying about that is a few days off now. For now, here are some photos of what they’ve done. You can see that the insulation on the inside walls in the living room is finished; the front living room wall and back bedroom ceiling that are getting Sheetrocked and then filled with cellulose are not. It seems like everything’s going to turn out fine, but I don’t know if I can do justice to how neurotic all this made me. A co-worker told me that I was cut off of the coffee this morning because he’s never seen me so hopped up before.
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Wow, that is a heap of trouble! You, your parents, and the neighbors must be anxious to get this over with. May the renovation gods be with you.
[…] to be done, besides clearing the place out: remember, I was losing my mind when the drywall on the front bedroom ceiling went up. We didn’t do such a great job with it. Some screws didn’t bite into anything. I had to […]
I haven’t read ahead to see what happens, but I most truly feel your pain. If I do my 2nd-floor reno this summer, one of the potential contractors wants to rent a container for the debris and park it on the street for 2 weeks. That right there may put him out of the running. My neighbors will HATE me if I do that.
Rae, containers for the construction debris are standard practice in my state and required by some codes. Since material that comes out of old houses may have lead, asbestos and other hazards, there are rules about how it is to be transported and stored.
And do keep reading ahead! Chad is actually living in his house now–the transformation is incredible!
When I had my kitchen done (complete gut/reno) they didn’t use a container. They just hauled everything away in a truck. I’d be surprised if it would be code in Philly given the huge parking issues we have (unless it’s commercial construction). The whole thought of it gives me extreme anxiety! And ditto to what Chad says!
Or they’ll all use it…
Or the whole zip code will dump their trash in it
That happened (everyone in the neighborhood using the construction dumpster to get rid of old bulk trash) in Newport, RI at our friends’ mid-19th century house renovation. It didn’t happen here in our small town (pop. 2600) because here nothing is done anonymously. Everyone knows everything about you the day after you move in. Some old guy will stop by your house and tell you, “Hey, I noticed John Jones’ no-good brother-in-law put a sofa in your construction dumpster. I recognize it from the New Year’s Eve party at his mom’s house in 1968. That’s the same party after which John’s sister Mary Jones had to marry him, the bastard.”