Ah yes, humor when dealing with the postal workers or you will lose your mind. I'm betting this though, my letter carrier and postmaster are the dumbest postal workers in existence. Back in the spring, I was having a lot of trouble getting my mail delivered to the mailbox outside the front door. Now the post office is not pleased with my box still on the door and not at the end of the driveway, BUT. we've explained time and again that we are not millionaires in my home and we are not going to continue to put the box down at the end of the driveway and have it smashed over every other week by some idiot that is illiterate and can not read the sign that says DEAD END. Instead of turning around at the intersection, and go back the way they came, the continue to speed down the short road, around the bend and right into the our mailbox. Well after replacing the box, 8 times over 12 weeks, we told the post office where they could go with the box at the end of the driveway and put it back on the house. So back to the spring, the cold, cold spring in MA and no mail for several days. then I came home and found a mail carrier box full of mail with elastics around packets of mail and on the front envelope on every packet read a date and SWARMING HONEY BEES ON FRONT WALK. After the initial mouth falling open and you no what going through my mind, I'm thinking, it's not me that's crazy, it's the letter carrier. It's 55 degrees that day, warmest all week, not a flower in bloom anywhere in sight, not even the crocus where up, the snow had just finally gone the week before. This idiot letter carrier can't tell the difference between flying ants and honey bees and it was too cold for bees still and why in the world would honey bees be swarming around dirt and brown half dead looking grass? So call the postmaster and get, "well, if the letter carrier says there where swarming honey bees then there where swarming honey bees, the letter carrier knows what he is talking about, and half the town is not getting mail delivered because of swarming honey bees, and he hung up on me. I'm like OK, now they both are crazy. The town is infested with flying ants and they postal service says the are honey bees. So next few days temps go down to freezing and below at night, and 40's in the day and I still got those "swarming honey bees". Hubby catches a few of the "swarming honey bees" and takes them to a pest control place to identify them, gets the formal paper work as to what they are, along with pics of the flying ants, as well as what honey bees look like. Brings home all the paper work and the collected flying ants. I show all this to the letter carrier and he hits the roof, telling me that my paper work is fake and they are honey bees and he knows what he is talking about. Needless to say, there was no talking to this idiot. So down to the postmaster I go with the same stuff and what to I get told? Yup, same thing as the letter carrier says. So now I blew my stack and told him I was going up the ladder, the chain of command and he will find out who is really correct. By the time this was settled, "the swarming bee" problem was gone, I never got an apology for the treatment and absurdity from both the letter carrier and the postmaster and if I'm out in the yard, and the mail comes, I get dirty looks from the letter carrier but I do get my mail delivered. I guess it's until the "swarming honey bees" arrive again next spring and I'm back to square 1 again. Fran

This is an ok introduction to some decisions that are part of the process of building a home, and can certainly help you avoid allowances--but just know that it doesn't cover everything. Also, you'll have some products named but this template gives no consideration to standards for execution (preparation and how the products are incorporated). Complete specifications would also describe quality control, tolerances, repair/replacement of damaged/defective/poor work, cleaning, among many other things to make sure that you get what you intended--not just that the products you wanted are there, but that it's all put together the way it should be. While you can acheive this without the CSI format, CSI is something that all of the professionals involved in the project should be familiar with. An architect would prepare specifications as part of standard design services.

Ask them (or better yet, their references) what they do if the seams need to be repaired. Sometimes there is settling and a seam will chip away or crack. Have them put in writing their response. Best case: they repair the seam within a week of being notified by you. I've been trying to get my granite fabricator to fix a cracked seam for 2 months now, it's not fun. I also agree about visiting the shop to confirm the layout. Even though they say they'll match the veining, make sure it's matched in a way that you like.

Hi, Thanks for your heads up. On the granite I selected there are some green spots that I don't want in a prominent space, particularly the 30" backslash behind the range. The fabricator is acting like if he can do this for me, it will be a big favor on his part. My KD said it happens all the time that someone wants or doesn't want a particular part of their granite on the island or used for the table. I appreciate your comments to make sure I'm there for the templating because then I can see exactly what they are doing. I find whoever is in charge of the job or that aspect of the remodel doesn't like me around watching. But the workers don't seem to mind me there and can be more helpful than the GC when answering questions. The GC even went as far as to tell me not to talk to the workers as it will only make the job take longer! So far my fabricator seems to have the same type of personality as my GC. But I'll make sure I'm there for the templating. Thanks again! Karen