I think a Friday rant posted on a Thursday is a great idea, kswl! Get it out of the way so you can actually enjoy your Friday! I'm going to do that in the future!

Lol.

Everyone has their meltdowns. I think you should be glad you went home to check on things and let the dogs out! Better you caught it before the floor was put down!

Always good to apologize if you think you've been rude, too, even if you were correct and justified in being upset. And I don't care what anyone says, there is still a big problem of men looking at women like they're crazy when they dare speak of business traditionally reserved for men!

I have found doing business to be maddening now. There is so much "take the money and run" with no responsibility. We are living in an age of severe "Caveat emptor."

LOL, Friday rant on Thursday. Reminds me of running into a friend in the store who was stocking up on more expensive items for the senior discount every Tuesday, but I reminded her it was Monday. She didn't think it was funny. I did.

Good for you for speaking up! It will save you from an upset stomach for the rest of your life every time you look at a mistake. My GC made an error when installing my new bathroom and I let it go. I now get that angry feeling for a second every time I take a shower and notice that the fixtures are not lined up the way they should be. You simply cannot be friends with your contractors. It is an employer - employee relationship and you have to demand they do things to your satisfaction, as agreed in advance.

"Gringo?" Wow.

I guess I was just hoping beyond hope that it was Friday, lol. A lot has happened over the past three days and I am just about ready to pack my bag and head for Florida for a few days and pretend I do not have this house with all its projects and workpeople who do not pay attention to their instructions.

Oakley, the installers speak very little English. When I went downstairs to check on the progress and saw what they were doing I asked them to stop, then had to mimic this by holding my hand out like a stop signal. We communicated by my pointing at the sponges and cloths and saying no, and taking the cleaning stuff outside. They had no idea why I did not want them to clean the bricks---which in their opinion were dirty---- and their body language and facial expressions clearly indicated that they thought I was a 1. crazy and 2. non Spanish speaking. It is not an offense to them or to me. In case you are not familiar with the usage, the Urban dictionary says this about the word "gringo":

If you know any Mexican people then you'll know this is a non-derogatory term used to refer to US citizens. Mostly because the term "American" does not make sense to the rest of the Americans (all those people who live in the continent named "America", wich is every body from Alaska to argentina), and the word "Estadounidense" (UnitedStatean)is too long.

So no need to be outraged either at me or for me for some perceived PC slight.

kswl ... From one "crazy Gringo Lady" to another, you really need to get the CDs from Amazon called "Spanish for Contractors"
And this:
DEWALT Spanish/English Construction Dictionary:

That and a basic English-Spanish dictionary will make everyone's lives easier. You can point at pictures and gesture.

What's with the "lime" on the bricks" - too much mortar?

There's a DEWALT Spanish/English Construction Dictionary?! That's brilliant. I've always wondered where I could go to learn to communicate better with contractors that primarily speak Spanish. My Spanish is poor (at best) and I'm much more capable of ordering another beer or asking where the bathroom is than communicating real world construction issues.

Is there a way to "re-lime"/"age" the bricks without a pull-out and re-do?

My sympathy to you for having to now "fix" your lovely floor and to also those workers who were just trying to do right by you.

I am getting that ASAP. How did I not know about that kind of streamlined language program, thank you lazy gardens! Am now almost able to laugh at the situation when I think of their looks..... Like, what kind of nut wants dirty bricks on her floor??

I think I will get that book or program for our GC and the flooring guy as well.

I remember your search for bricks with lime. I totally get it. I also get them, but their boss should know better.

I once started crying when I pulled into the drive and saw workmen had taken down the vines covering my pergola. They were dead, but I liked them all the same. I was having company the next day and I wanted them them there. The gardener, as a matter of course, cuts back the vines and powerwashes the structure every other year. PMS may have been a factor, but in hindsight it is embarrassing to lose one's composure.

Yes, there was foot stamping :-(

I have cried, wept, cursed during projects ... :)

And danced around the room (while the workmen backed away with sheer terror on their faces ..... LOL!) when a project has finally "worked" :)

I find that "Sorry about that ....." works wonders at times like this -- along with donuts and coffee ..... :)

Oak town, some of the bricks absolutely have to be replaced. We are looking into whether the too-red ones can be re-limed. And re painted--- there is white paint on the bricks that one guy was CHISELING OFF. I still cannot believe it.

I hope I will have something to dance about in the end, teacats!

Well, kswl, I have a Friday rant for this Thursday too! Totally of topic, but let me vent.

Anyone else notice that Toyota Matrixes are all missing hubcaps? I bought '08 new, then started noticing that seemingly every Matrix on the road was missing one, some, or all of their hubcaps. I was so hoping Toyota had fixed what was an obvious flaw by the time they made the '08s. But no! Five years into my ownership, I lost one six months ago and a second one last week. I now officially look like white trash driving around (no offense to any white trash that might be here, so please pardon my pejorative). Called the dealership. Service manager was all, "Whaaaa??? Why, I've never heard of that!" Yeah, right. "You can call Toyota. But I've never received a complaint about hubcap problems with Matrixes." He then told me that he doesn't actually make note of complaints! I said, "Do you hear yourself?"

Emailed Toyota. Got back, "Whaaaaa??? Why, we've never heard of this problem! Age and wear and tear, blah, blah, blah." Toyota then told me to contact the guy at the dealership who had told me to contact Toyota! I suggested both Google the problem, that there are all kinds of complaints ,and that I frankly didn't believe them when they said they were completely unaware of it being a problem. No way. It is SO noticeable. As I said, I noticed it immediately after buying mine and wondered why so many Matrixes had missing hubcaps. They're the cheap things toyota obviously put on as a cost-cutting measure.

I just cannot stand being lied to, condescended to, and mostly I am so sick of businesses and people not taking responsibility when they're wrong.

There. That is my Friday rant for this Thursday. Thank you.

So you see, kswl, we all have meltdowns.

This post was edited by Tibbrix on Thu, Feb 27, 14 at 18:28

So they were cleaning lime off bricks you bought BECAUSE they were limed?

Because they thought you wanted all clean nice new bricks\, but could only afford the icky used kind?

OOPSIE

Lol, tibbrix, a simple acknowledgement of obvious facts would have gone a long way, wouldn't it? Companies try so hard to avoid lawsuits.... I'm convinced their lack of acknowledgement in some instances generates lawsuits where there would have been none.

Lazy... yes, that is what they were doing. But the flooring company owner knew I did not want any water on, or cleaning of, the bricks. I told him sweeping and vacuuming only. HE is the villian in this burlesque. He has laid low ever since this happened, the GC does not want me to talk to him again. He wants everything to come through him (GC). I do not know how I feel about this development.

Oh your pretty pretty bricks- so sorry you had to see that. At least you didnt come home to a sparkly pristine entire floor. That might have been fatal.
Maybe Mercury is in retrograde?
I had a melt down too yesterday. I am officially a supernova BEACH to the new Project Manager(and probably the entire project team) on the project I am 'facilitating' as a 'favor' to a struggling business unit in my company. I told him that all he needed to do for the next week was write down everything I say and memorize it. I told him that I expected it written down quickly and subsequently the spelling mistakes corrected. I said that if I was taking 15 minutes to 30 minutes of my time to explain a very complicated concept that he darn well better be taking clear comprehensive notes because since the project was 1 year behind schedule I would not have the time to explain it a second time. I said that if I was the only person in the room that understood the issue the next time we met than was anyone else in the room was really serving a purpose and if not why were they there.
I do not feel bad. I gave them all weekend homework and I assume they will all get F's on Monday.

localeater, I'm afraid Friday rants are meant to be had on Thursdays.

New rule!

Lol.

I don't feel bad about hanging up on the toyota service manager. He's a liar. You can't accomplish anything with liars. No point in continuing a conversation. So, to keep from giving me hubcaps that probably cost Toyota $5 (they're certainly not worth more than that), Toyota lost a customer. Stupid business decision, on top of being dishonest and disingenuous.

Oopsâ¦I'm ranting again, and it's Sat.

::: totally off topic and I apologize in advance if any find this offensive, but I include it only because i thought it was interesting :::

In re the term "white trash". I always thought it was harmless and one of those things where you can make fun of your own "kind". Eg, whites can fun of whites. However, someone once enlightened me about this. They pointed out that the expression implies that trash is typically non-white, and so that one must use the modifier "white" to distinguish that it is a different kind of trash, if you will.

Thus, they pointed out, "white trash" is kind of a slur against black, hispanics, etc.

That had never ever occurred to me, but now I tend to avoid the phrase. I just thought I'd pass it along in the vien of something thought-provoking.

mtnredux, it was actually black slaves who coined the phrase, "White Trash". While it's definitely a pejorative, I don't ascribe any racism to it.

Tibbrix wrote;" (no offense to any white trash that might be here, so please pardon my pejorative)."

No offense taken, but as in Gone With The Wind, we prefer "gentile poor" :)

KSWL did you happen to get a pick of the bricks after the "cleaning"

When you make your story book of the adventures of the brick floors you can't leave the chapter out.

localeater - You are my hero!

"No excuses," "Do or Die," "Produce or Perish," "Do it Now" are my life mottos.

No offense taken, but as in Gone With The Wind, we prefer "gentile poor" :)

Uh ... "gentile" means "non-Jewish"

"Genteel" means "well-bred"

It's the non-genteel poor I'm talking' about!

No different than the non-genteel rich; or the non-genteel middle class!

Driving around with missing hubcaps, I consider myself to be as classless as the Kardashians!

Sorry ~I know not what I speak.
Frankly,should have known not to quote Gone With The Wind !

Still KSWL I would like to see the floor..
(this is my attempt to bring it back around..)

Oh yes --- the floors! --- sorry for the diversion, and make of whatever you will, it was just a way of looking at it that never occurred to me.

I will post a picture when I get home. To add insult to injury, i have spent the entire day at my office working on a project that I did not want to do, hate, and have put off until it is really, really, due. Ugh.

kswl:

Monday: (you) "Yo siento mucho." (I am very sorry.) Repeat it, as needed. Everything will be fine.

Get the foreman or GC to explain the peculiarity that you particularly chose the bricks for the lime "stains". Hey, it takes all kinds to make a world, and they won't forget your job any time soon, particularly because they probably were initially dismayed at the work they expected to have to do to clean the "stains" off to meet what they thought you would expect.

L.

I'm sure nobody will forget it for a long time, they are going to have to chisel up about a third of the floor. This photo was taken just after I found them "cleaning" the floor. Fans were set up dry out the bricks and the sort of blue haze has gotten worse since they've dried. They scrubbed off the thick lime and left a hazy something on the bricks, you can see it from the front right in a path straight back, then left across the floor. The bricks are much redder than they were and the color is more uniform than it was, aside from the hazy sort of path. The second photo is what it looked like before it was scrubbed.

I don't see any difference. Hmmmmâ¦..Top floor looks beautiful, IMO. Once you get it grouted and sealed and the furniture on top of it, will it be noticeable to you still? Maybe it's just the camera/pic that I don't see a difference.

Nice thing about rustic: boo-boos add to it.

Tibbrix - maybe it's your monitor but there is a definite blue haze evident on the right hand side of the photo.

What a disappointment and even if they replace them it's still going to be a delay in finishing the floor. We installed Verde Antique Marble in our bathroom and the painters left rags on the floor that wet with paint thinner. It etched the marble and they were quite unhappy that they had to replace it. It was only three tiles but when they tried to cut them out they chipped the adjacent tiles. We lost about 3 weeks on the project due to their delays.

I hope yours is solved sooner and to your complete satisfaction. Good luck.

This post was edited by maire_cate on Sun, Mar 2, 14 at 11:13

Yes it is going to set us back from our hoped for completion date, which is a shame as we are having back to back luncheons the end of the month and I had hoped at least the shell of the rooms would be finished.