How to keep a parking space clear, crazy lady failed to keep moving. After I typed up the posts I got ready to head out and just kept hearing her, expecting the loud incoherent babble to die down as she moved down the sidewalk. When I got outside, she had parked herself on B & IT’s porch to smoke a cigarette. B&IT were out so I gathered it was up to me to remove this interloper from their property.
I asked her to to move. Nicely. Babble, babble, “call the police then.” I responded, “OK, I’ll do that,” and went inside to call 311. I described the woman as mentally ill to the dispatcher. Maybe ‘crazy’ would have been a better word as I am not a psychologist, never took a psych class, so it was just my layman’s opinion. The dispatcher questioned me about the ‘mentally ill’….. Anyway, I described how the woman was acting, yelling at people and so on.
I waited about 5 minutes, keeping an eye on the woman from my 2nd floor window. She looked up at me and more babbling. I saw a police cruiser come down the street and when I saw him, she finished her cigarette and got up from the porch. I figured I could leave now. The officer stopped the woman and talked to her. When I came out, I asked the officer if he needed me. He asked if I had called it in, I said yes, and he said no. I went my merry way and prayed that the crazy lady would get the help that she needed to be less crazy.
On Renovation 2007: Postpone? I am going to move forward. I picked contractor #1 as we found a way to make it more affordable and he said he could do the project later in fall. But he’d really, really, really, would like to start as soon as possible. Really. Electric and plumbing permits, as far I understand it are up to the plumbers and the electricians. I’m not putting in new outlets. The newest electric thing would be the AC. The contractor also suggested reusing some things like my toilets (provided you can get the one encased in tile out without breaking it) and one bathroom sink to cut down on costs and keep things out of the landfills. Keeping the bedroom light fixtures, the radiators, and we’ll go around later to pick out what stays. The carpet goes.
Sorry, I’m a little confused. Is contractor number 1 the guy who did your kitchen or the kind, yet disorganized guy?
Contractor #1- did kitchen, put in superboiler, somewhat organized, slightly, and was the super expensive bid, which we paired down.
Contractor #2- recommended by friends, came across as disorganized, very enthusiastic and so were his references.
Tough call. But, if it were up to me, and I have a fair amount of experience with renovation now, I’d go with your choice — the organized one.
When I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, I also default to the appearance of more the organized.
Depending on the size of the job, and how many stages are required, you might want to break the payment schedule down. Say Draw No.1 to be paid upon completion of the framing. Draw No. 2 to be paid upon completion of the plumbing. Draw No. 3 to be paid upon drywall installation. Final payment upon final inspection.
Responsibility for the permit is usually in the contract although a smart contractor wouldn’t want to start without a permit since they can get in trouble. I would talk to the contractor about whether they have done a job this size before, how many they have done. What kind of license they have. that sort of thing. One thing to keep in mind is that ac work involves pulling a mechanical permit. You want the contractor to pull the permit since he will know what documents he will need and hopefully will be familiar with the project in DC.
Plumber and electrical contractor work details are very nice.