The Battle Of Wits

satchitananda · Jan 17, 2017

Viswamitra said: ↑

Dear Satchi,

You are not alone, my friend. I went through renovation of our kitchen and Master bathroom in the last quarter of 2016. It was a nightmare. The contractor who started the work in the bathroom did a bad job, I ended up firing him half way through. Later I found out that he was not even a licensed contractor. I don't believe in suing people. I decided to bite the bullet and redo some part of bad work he did. Kitchen design was done by Lowe's and I gave the kitchen to a new contractor who was much more creative. This time I made sure he was a real licensed contractor.

He did a good job and to get them out of our house was an uphill task. They always kept something or other open to be completed. Here, mostly one or two will start the work and when we think that they are going to ramp up with more people, the same two continue from start to finish. The work involved new electrical, new plumbing, moving fridge to a new place, installing kitchen cabinets, installing new granite stones, etc.

Now everything is done and dusted but my wife is leaving for India from the end of this month until March end. I am all by myself in a new kitchen with a lot of instructions from my wife not to mess with the kitchen.

Viswa
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Dear Viswa,

Didn't know the same kind of issues happen there too. Here, I doubt how many contractors are actually licensed. That is why I went for Asian Paints since they train their painters thoroughly and are meticulous. The local contractors and their workers can drive one crazy before any work is actually done.

Am waiting for the outside balcony to be done. Despite constant cleaning, it takes a while for the dust to literally settle! Putting things back is another story.

Wish you luck with keeping the kitchen shipshape!

satchitananda · Jan 17, 2017

soulful said: ↑

Why does this sound like me? oh yes, because it is me. Totally ME!
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LOL. Glad to know there are more people like me!

Rihana · Jan 17, 2017

Good one, Satchi. : ) Got some painting done recently, and when DH agreed easily to the suggestion that I hemmed and hawed and blurted out like a 20-something confessing "I want to do love marriage" to parents, I was immediately very suspicious (at his easy agreement). As a result of the painting though, the kitchen got sorted, and 5 pressure cookers were seen off with the solemnity reserved for bidaai's. And I discovered I can no longer sit on the floor (to sort lower shelves) and rise in time to pick up the ringing phone on the counter. : )

So, do you have to choose colors or you go with a neutral one or the already existing one?

satchitananda · Jan 17, 2017

Talk of such easy agreements Rihana. When the BH told me 'we can get the house painted when my mom is away for a month' I was quick to grab the opportunity before he changed his mind. Had to rush to get started while he was away other we would still been procastinating!

I got the hall, dining room and kitchen done in a lemon yellow shade (the previous colour was cream). Changed the colours of the other rooms too. 15 years of looking at the same colour has got me fed up! The company provides a colour consultant who comes, takes pics of the room and projects the colours and textures which you fancy so you get a fairly good idea of how it looks. Got one wall in the hall and 2 of the rooms done in texture. Am quite happy with the change. The new paint can be wiped down with soap and water so I hope it stays good for longer.

SGBV · Jan 17, 2017

Wonderful Satchi....

This reminded me of the construction of my house back in 2013.
When we had enough savings and energy to construct our own house, my H rejected the idea siting various stupid reasons.
I somehow could not make him say YES to my plans, nor did I go ahead without his YES. It was a pain.
So, I would chose to comfortably forget my plans and let it go.

But in 2013, I was too determined to build my own house. I started off when he was in abroad for a business meeting. Got a contractor and almost signed the contract. But my H stopped it, thanks to in laws.
The next time, I went through a different rout.
Booked a mason, got my plans and estimates done separately, and brought/booked the materials before he came home.
This time, he could not stop it because he knew stopping the work at this time means a great loss.
Although there were so much hiccups here and there, I finally build my dream house, and Mr is happily living there. In fact, he is bossing everyone else when it comes to protecting the house....

satchitananda · Jan 17, 2017

LOL SGBV, it has something to do with the Y chromosome! One of the characteristics, I suppose. The latest is complaining about the new curtains! Am tired of seeing the same old curtains for the last so many years. That is one more battle. Tell me should not all women be born warriors?

justanothergirl · Jan 20, 2017

Happy New year Satchi ! Got the paint job done at home as well few years ago...hated every min of it.
Contractor promised us it will be done in a week..they dragged it for 3 weeks.......my patience and my marriage were tested in the process !

Srama · Jan 20, 2017

Happy New year Satchi! Hilarious post. What happened to the 10 years to get your mils house painted? Work on that year after year. Not that I want to be mean to your Mil or anything but listening to the story and the the way the simple painting job has grown into this tail of Hanuman, you are better off putting it off and moreover I am assuming that is an even older house!

I do hope that after all this ordeal, you do feel it was all worth it. Enjoy the spank new feeling and resolve only to enjoy!

SGBV · Jan 20, 2017

@satchitananda
LOL my H is on a official mission to Bangkok. Mr will return only after a week.
Hurray... I am ordering my new curtains.

Its been 3+ years with our present curtains, and they are already out of shape.
With naughty kids are around, we can't expect them to last forever.
But my man is hell against this idea of getting new curtains. He thinks they are useless, and unnecessary expenses.
He is like, ask your mom or my mom.. they will stitch nice curtains.. OMG...
So much discouraging me when I pushed him hard on this.

Now that I am making the orders, and the vendor is coming this evening for the measurements.
By the time he returns we will probably have the new set. Let's face his reaction as he comes....

satchitananda · Jan 20, 2017

justanothergirl said: ↑

Happy New year Satchi ! Got the paint job done at home as well few years ago...hated every min of it.
Contractor promised us it will be done in a week..they dragged it for 3 weeks.......my patience and my marriage were tested in the process !
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Hey JAG, so good to see you. I had a few bad run ins with painters who did only the balconies in the past. No way I could drive myself crazy over independent contractors/painters over the whole house in addition to dealing with routine stuff!!! :-D So got Asian Paints. Yes, they took 1 month, but it was one room at a time and a thoroughly professional job with masking, cleaning etc. So no, on that score can't complain! Probably also the reason why I lived to tell the tale. :-D