Somehow I don't think I ever mentioned that last November just before Thanksgiving, a severe thunderstorm blew through Norton (even developed a tornado just a few miles east of us), and wreaked $25,000 worth of damage to our house. Totaled the roof, 3 sides of siding, fascia, gutters, window trim, 2 air conditioners, 1 window, all the screens on the west side, etc. We are so thankful for home insurance.
So I've been dealing with this mess pretty much since then. I got the damage assessment done after Thanksgiving 2015, started contacting contractors in January 2016, and spent several months going back and forth with contractors, assessors, claim adjusters. The air conditioners were replaced in March, the roof was done in June, and then the big headache of all the rest finally started Thanksgiving week. And this is where I'm just so over this crap and ready to be done because I told this contractor back in February that the window with the broken vinyl was drafty and I wanted it replaced as soon as possible. I had wrapped it on the inside with bubble wrap for insulation, but still felt a draft. He said no problem, he just wanted to do the roof first so that they had somewhere stable to stand for it. Well then he put me off until June, fixed the roof and said, "See ya later in September." Um, no, we need the window done. "Oh, right. I'll see what I can do about that." I spent months harassing this guy and you want to know when he finally got it done? Second week of December. And he did it from the inside. Well then why couldn't you have done it last winter when I told you that was first priority? And he was pushing the rest of the work til September so that he could do roofing all summer in the warm weather. But then fall never got cold, so guess who got pushed back to November? And the work still isn't done because somehow, whether my fault or his, the contractor didn't know we wanted to repaint all the trim a different color so that it'd all match. So that we wouldn't have one side with new paint and the rest of the house all chipped and peeling. But now it's too cold to paint. So he'll finish in the spring. And he's going to wait and re-wrap the porch pillars and replace the front storm door until then so he doesn't drip paint on them. But he did at least take down the west side trim and paint that in his workshop. So our west side is the new color (which came out wrong), and all the rest is the old color still. Until spring.
Well that feels good to get out. Ah, but did I mention that this November work took nearly 3 weeks and he just kinda left all his stuff and debris in the kids' fenced yard? So they pretty much couldn't play outside for all those 3 weeks. One day, when Samson wasn't being so fussy and needing a nap (yeah, napping was hell those 3 weeks of pounding and hammering), we decided to make a break for it and head to the park. And then we stepped outside and the wind froze us. Instead, we drove out the the lake to drive around a bit. We even ventured out to throw rocks into the water. That lasted all of 60 seconds and snow flurries started falling in that time.
So we learned to enjoy indoor play. Like water bead baths. Samson still hates baths, but Thora asks for them now. Score!
Here are our lovely new air conditioners. Thank you, Jed Lindsay, with Lindsay Cooling and Heating! Jed is the best and I will forever be loyal to him as long as we live in Norton.
I don't think I ever took pictures of the damaged siding, but it look like someone shot up the whole side of the house. Holes everywhere. The new color of paint that is the same color as painter's tape. It wasn't a mistake--the paint just dried that way. We'll have to go for a darker shade. But in the spring.
There's my new roof. Gray instead of brown, and upgraded to storm resistant shingles, saving us 30% on our home insurance. Oh, and the contractor is holding on to the window trim until spring. So this is what my house looks like.
I could go on and on, but I'll just end with saying I would NOT recommend Sanders Construction.
