Week Two Is Underway

Since my last post about the house, there have been quite a few changes. I stopped by on Sunday to get the mail and my Japanese maple tree (so I can try and keep it watered and alive) and walked around to see if there were any new changes. It appears that the phone company finally showed up and disconnected the line from the house. However, instead of doing anything with the line, it seems they just kind of left it dangling in the back alley. I hate to break it to them, but I have no intention of them reconnecting that line so they may as well come on back out and cut it completely. 

Monday afternoon I stopped by and discovered that the new meter box had been installed on the side of the house. It isn't hooked up yet (we have to pass inspection first), but that should happen some time this week I would think. On the inside of the house, a hole had been cut in the inside wall adjacent to where the new meter box was installed in order to run a line from the meter box over to the breaker box and there was a hole in wall where the breaker box was as well. Other than those few things, it didn't appear like much had been done on Monday other than someone getting their muddy footprints in the bathroom which isn't supposed to be used by anyone (that's another post for another day). Thankfully, the port-o-potty should arrive this week. 

Tuesday morning I got a call from the contractor who was concerned about some food that had been left in the fridge. The power had been off for about five days and he was concerned the food would be rotting. But, there were only some sodas and condiments inside so I assured him I could come by and throw them out that afternoon. I stopped by after work and cleaned out the fridge and freezer. There were only condiments and sodas in the fridge as I suspected. The freezer, however, had some ice cream bars and creamed corn which I apparently didn't notice when I dumped some things out last week. There were also a lot of chocolate chips and pecans, all of which I gave to my friend Cindy who will be making desserts for my cousin Tyler's wedding in May. Maybe she will be able to use some of those things. 

The workers had torn out all of the hardwood flooring and taken the dishwasher out and started taking down the trim around the doors and windows in the rooms that are going to be knocked out. The cinder block for the reinforcement of the slab was also delivered and the dumpster finally arrived and was placed in the front yard, not the back, which was not what I was expecting, but hey, less grass to mow. I moved the furniture from the front porch down the street to my cousin Anna's house as well as my ironing board and a couple of bins that were missed in the move to the POD. When moving things down the street, I almost stepped on the skeleton of a possum that was laying in the front yard. So, I sent a text to the contractor and asked him if it had been found under the house. He ended up calling me and saying that yes, it had been found under the house when they disconnected the dishwasher and then proceeded to tell me what a hot mess my plumbing was. 

Y'all, first let me say I was not at all surprised to find out about the plumbing. When my dad, granddad and I renovated the house 11 years ago, we sub-contracted all of the work. One day I came by the house to be introduced to the plumber and about fell off the porch when I discovered that it was a guy I had gone to high school with and immediately knew this was not going to be a good situation. The guy's name was Kevin Sisk and I'm publishing his name only because I want EVERYONE to know it and know he should NEVER be hired for any plumbing work. 

Y'all, first let me say I was not at all surprised to find out about the plumbing. When my dad, granddad and I renovated the house 11 years ago, we sub-contracted all of the work. One day I came by the house to be introduced to the plumber and about fell off the porch when I discovered that it was a guy I had gone to high school with and immediately knew this was not going to be a good situation. The guy's name was Kevin Sisk and I'm publishing his name only because I want everyone to know it and know he should NEVER be hired for any plumbing work. I voiced my concern to my dad and granddad because the guy was a few bulbs short in high school, good looking, but dumb as a rock, and I didn't think he would be capable of putting anything together, let alone plumbing. My granddad, bless his soul, wanted to give Kevin the benefit of the doubt and let me tell you, my dad and I had to show up at his house in the wee hours of the morning just to catch him at home and make him come finish the shoddy work he started. 

The bad plumbing resulted in my having to spend thousands of dollars to have the flooring and sub-flooring replaced in my spare bedroom because the floor had rotted because the washing machine wasn't connected to the sewer line. The flooring in my den has been rotting away for years and I had always thought it was from the HVAC unit condensation, but it now appears it could have been from the dishwasher because apparently it wasn't hooked up to the sewer line either and all the water was just being sent under the house. The contractor went on to say that whoever did the plumbing wasn't a plumber and he has seen some things he has never seen before. How in the name of the Lord that plumbing passed inspection 11 years ago is beyond me. I'm thinking either Kevin paid the inspector or the inspector was too lazy to crawl under the house and actually inspect the plumbing. If I wasn't having to use the inspection department right now, I might sue them. I think it goes without saying that this situation has made me a little hot under the collar. At any rate, if you ever need a plumber, DO NOT HIRE KEVIN SISK! 

So, that's where we are as of Tuesday afternoon. No doubt there is more drama to unfold.