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| Before |
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| After |
Monday, December 19, 2011
After The Lighting Changes
Well, I figured out how to take a reasonable picture of the bar to show the difference in the lighting I mentioned in the previous posting.
The pictures are taken with nearly the same camera settings. The only difference is the shutter speed for the "after" was 0.8 seconds vs. 0.6 seconds for the "before". And, to be fair, the "Before" picture was taken with all the lights on at full brightness. It's somewhat misleading on how bright it was. But it was still pretty damn bright.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
We'll Leave A (Lot of) Light On For Ya
I'll just put this out there up front and then I'll talk about our reasoning behind both what we started with and what we've very recently done (last night, in fact).
In response to customer comments, we've made the bar darker; it's now at least half as bright as it used to be.
One of the first complaints we had about the bar was variations on "It's so bright in here!" At the time, we didn't quite know what to do about it.
I know it seems like a simple problem to fix--turn off some lights. We tried turning off some lights around the beginning of August. Unfortunately, all that did (in our opinion) was made parts of the bar really bright while others stayed really dark and it just looked weird. In fact, one time we tried turning off some of the lights, a customer said something like, "They must be turning off the lights to save money"; a completely different reaction than we thought we'd get (especially since most of the lights are LEDs). The lights went back on as we considered other options. (In hind sight, we probably might have tried leaving those lights off to see if opinion changed.)
Over the next several weeks we made adjustments to the lighting in the bar. We removed the rope light from under the bar over the diamond plate, added a valance over the rope light on the wall behind the bear flag, lowered the light level from the track lights over the bar, and turned off two of our brightest signs.
Here's what we were thinking in our lighting; both originally and with the newest changes in roughly chronological order of when we made the changes.
We were (and are) very happy with the way the diamond plate looks on the bar and kinda wanted to both highlight it ("Ooh, shiny!") and add some indirect lighting to the bar. So, we put up the rope light under the bar on the customer side. It's bright white LED lighting so it doesn't cost a lot to run. I was very pleased with the way it looked and I *really* wanted this rope light to work out but it added too much ambient light and now it's gone. I cried a little.
(Actually, this rope light has just moved to the other side of the bar--the bartender side--I think it works out a lot better back there than on the customer side. Besides, it lights up the bartender's crotch nicely.)
We also turned off the beer sign near the front window. It's a nice enough sign with a color-changing effect but the damn thing was like staring into the sun and couldn't be made any less bright. It's now turned off.
Last week--and this is something that we'd been thinking about for a while but just finally got around to it--Karl added a valance on the wall opposite the bar which, basically, blocks the rope light there from glaring you in the eyes. (Now, about the only way you can see the rope light is if you stand underneath it and look up.) It's now what we think is the right amount of light on that wall.
We've also reduced the light coming from the track lights over the bar itself. (They're on a dimmer; if they're still too bright when you come in, let the bartender know; turning them down may have just slipped his mind.)
And the most recent change last night was the turning off of the Bud Light sign on the west wall. This was the first sign our distributor brought to us and we've loved the sign from the beginning. It's the right colors, the right size, it's LED, it's dimmable. In other words, everything we wanted. But, after turning off the sign for Halloween last month and the Bears' black out party two weeks ago we realized that leaving this sign off makes the bar look--well--more like a bar and less like the world's tiniest indoor football stadium.
We're a little embarrassed that it took us this long to make these changes but they've been made now. If you've stayed away from us because you our lighting had blinded you, give us another shot. If it's *still* not quite to your liking, there are still more changes we can make so let us know that it's still not quite right.
If you come in during daylight hours, there's a good chance you may catch us with our front curtain open and you may not see all these changes. But, that should only happen in the less-than-scorching and less-than-freezing weather of Fall and Spring. (We close it by the time dusk comes around.)
(On a related note, we really, really do want to hear what our customers think of the bar. If something's not quite right, we can't fix it for you unless we know what it is. So, please, let us know. We have our online suggestion box on our website where you can give us your anonymous suggestion or complaint if you think we'll not like you any more if you say something.)
In response to customer comments, we've made the bar darker; it's now at least half as bright as it used to be.
One of the first complaints we had about the bar was variations on "It's so bright in here!" At the time, we didn't quite know what to do about it.
I know it seems like a simple problem to fix--turn off some lights. We tried turning off some lights around the beginning of August. Unfortunately, all that did (in our opinion) was made parts of the bar really bright while others stayed really dark and it just looked weird. In fact, one time we tried turning off some of the lights, a customer said something like, "They must be turning off the lights to save money"; a completely different reaction than we thought we'd get (especially since most of the lights are LEDs). The lights went back on as we considered other options. (In hind sight, we probably might have tried leaving those lights off to see if opinion changed.)
Over the next several weeks we made adjustments to the lighting in the bar. We removed the rope light from under the bar over the diamond plate, added a valance over the rope light on the wall behind the bear flag, lowered the light level from the track lights over the bar, and turned off two of our brightest signs.
Here's what we were thinking in our lighting; both originally and with the newest changes in roughly chronological order of when we made the changes.
We were (and are) very happy with the way the diamond plate looks on the bar and kinda wanted to both highlight it ("Ooh, shiny!") and add some indirect lighting to the bar. So, we put up the rope light under the bar on the customer side. It's bright white LED lighting so it doesn't cost a lot to run. I was very pleased with the way it looked and I *really* wanted this rope light to work out but it added too much ambient light and now it's gone. I cried a little.
(Actually, this rope light has just moved to the other side of the bar--the bartender side--I think it works out a lot better back there than on the customer side. Besides, it lights up the bartender's crotch nicely.)
We also turned off the beer sign near the front window. It's a nice enough sign with a color-changing effect but the damn thing was like staring into the sun and couldn't be made any less bright. It's now turned off.
Last week--and this is something that we'd been thinking about for a while but just finally got around to it--Karl added a valance on the wall opposite the bar which, basically, blocks the rope light there from glaring you in the eyes. (Now, about the only way you can see the rope light is if you stand underneath it and look up.) It's now what we think is the right amount of light on that wall.
We've also reduced the light coming from the track lights over the bar itself. (They're on a dimmer; if they're still too bright when you come in, let the bartender know; turning them down may have just slipped his mind.)
And the most recent change last night was the turning off of the Bud Light sign on the west wall. This was the first sign our distributor brought to us and we've loved the sign from the beginning. It's the right colors, the right size, it's LED, it's dimmable. In other words, everything we wanted. But, after turning off the sign for Halloween last month and the Bears' black out party two weeks ago we realized that leaving this sign off makes the bar look--well--more like a bar and less like the world's tiniest indoor football stadium.
We're a little embarrassed that it took us this long to make these changes but they've been made now. If you've stayed away from us because you our lighting had blinded you, give us another shot. If it's *still* not quite to your liking, there are still more changes we can make so let us know that it's still not quite right.
If you come in during daylight hours, there's a good chance you may catch us with our front curtain open and you may not see all these changes. But, that should only happen in the less-than-scorching and less-than-freezing weather of Fall and Spring. (We close it by the time dusk comes around.)
(On a related note, we really, really do want to hear what our customers think of the bar. If something's not quite right, we can't fix it for you unless we know what it is. So, please, let us know. We have our online suggestion box on our website where you can give us your anonymous suggestion or complaint if you think we'll not like you any more if you say something.)
Friday, August 19, 2011
Why I'm Not a Sign Painter
You remember that awesome job I did of putting the address numbers on our front door?
Well, I've done and made it "better" I made a stencil of our logotype and (tried) to stencil it onto our front door. It's sort of a temporary solution until we get our sign finished. (The sign is lit up now, but there's still nothing on the one side of it and still says "The Den" on the other. It was supposed to have been ready for this weekend but when you come down for Bear Frenzy, you'll see that it clearly was not. Oh, well.)
Regardless, here's the "terrific" job I did on the stencil.
It's a nice idea but it really looks like crap up close.
At least it looks halfway decent from a distance:
Karl will be fixing my shitty stencil job later. For which we should all be glad.
Well, I've done and made it "better" I made a stencil of our logotype and (tried) to stencil it onto our front door. It's sort of a temporary solution until we get our sign finished. (The sign is lit up now, but there's still nothing on the one side of it and still says "The Den" on the other. It was supposed to have been ready for this weekend but when you come down for Bear Frenzy, you'll see that it clearly was not. Oh, well.)
Regardless, here's the "terrific" job I did on the stencil.
It's a nice idea but it really looks like crap up close.
At least it looks halfway decent from a distance:
Karl will be fixing my shitty stencil job later. For which we should all be glad.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Legal Extortion
A little more than a month since we opened and there is still absurd turmoil behind the scenes. Most notably, Music Licensing Fees.
Before I get into my extreme displeasure (that's a gross understatement) with having written checks to the big three (ASCAP, BMI, and Sesac) let me say that I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with paying for the rights for something I use. Being something of an artist myself (music, graphic design, photography, etc.) I'm more than happy to pay someone for the use of something they created. In fact, I *WANT* to pay them for it. In no way do I want to screw other artists out of money they are due.
However, ASCAP, BMI, and Sesac do just that.
Music Licensing Fees are little more than extortion. And here's why. These companies take a survey of music played on the radio in the US and distribute licensing fees based on extrapolated total airplay from that survey. Sounds alright, eh? But there's a problem. They only sample a whopping 1% of *all* radio airplay. (To be fair, sampling much more than that would be an overwhelmingly daunting task.)
If an artist's song is never played in that 1% of sampled airtime, they will never, ever see a check from these companies. And that's where The Phoenix comes in.
Because of its size and thanks to the Sonny Bono-introduced "Fairness in Music Licensing Act" from, I believe, the mid-1990's, The Phoenix is exempt from paying music licensing fees provided we only use music off the radio or over the television. And that seems fair. I'm fine with that. But, when we throw in karaoke or CDs or Internet Streaming music, we "have" to pay. (And paying for internet streaming music seems redundant; the internet stream has *already paid* these companies.)
The chances are very, very good that the music we use during karaoke never see the light of day on the radio anymore much less in that 1% sample these companies survey. When was the last time you heard "The Sound of Music" on the radio? Or "My Way"? Or, "Born Free"?
In other words, these three companies take money that is owed to an artist and give it to someone else. Rob the poor and give to the popular.
And the demand for money from these three companies amounts to mafia protection money. These companies sometimes send in spies to make sure a business isn't using unlicensed music that is in their company's catalog and then threaten the business with fines totaling thousands of dollars for *EACH AND EVERY* song that hasn't been "properly licensed" from their company. So they "advise" businesses to pay the "reasonable" license fees to avoid being threatened with a business-closing lawsuit. In other words, Mafia Protection Money.
If these companies sue a business and win, they won't send the money to the artists whose copyrights were violated; they'll use the money to sue other businesses. So, even if these companies win, the artist is *still* screwed out of money that is owed them.
There's a story on the Interwebz of BMI trying to sue an artist for using his own copyrighted arrangements of traditional Irish music in his performances. It was astounding. BMI claimed they owned the rights to all Irish music; even Irish music in the public domain. The artist eventually won the suit but it was a long time getting to that point and lost the artist at least one client and major source of income and goes to show the lengths (and arrogant stupidity) of at least one of these Big Three.
Before I get into my extreme displeasure (that's a gross understatement) with having written checks to the big three (ASCAP, BMI, and Sesac) let me say that I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with paying for the rights for something I use. Being something of an artist myself (music, graphic design, photography, etc.) I'm more than happy to pay someone for the use of something they created. In fact, I *WANT* to pay them for it. In no way do I want to screw other artists out of money they are due.
However, ASCAP, BMI, and Sesac do just that.
Music Licensing Fees are little more than extortion. And here's why. These companies take a survey of music played on the radio in the US and distribute licensing fees based on extrapolated total airplay from that survey. Sounds alright, eh? But there's a problem. They only sample a whopping 1% of *all* radio airplay. (To be fair, sampling much more than that would be an overwhelmingly daunting task.)
If an artist's song is never played in that 1% of sampled airtime, they will never, ever see a check from these companies. And that's where The Phoenix comes in.
Because of its size and thanks to the Sonny Bono-introduced "Fairness in Music Licensing Act" from, I believe, the mid-1990's, The Phoenix is exempt from paying music licensing fees provided we only use music off the radio or over the television. And that seems fair. I'm fine with that. But, when we throw in karaoke or CDs or Internet Streaming music, we "have" to pay. (And paying for internet streaming music seems redundant; the internet stream has *already paid* these companies.)
The chances are very, very good that the music we use during karaoke never see the light of day on the radio anymore much less in that 1% sample these companies survey. When was the last time you heard "The Sound of Music" on the radio? Or "My Way"? Or, "Born Free"?
In other words, these three companies take money that is owed to an artist and give it to someone else. Rob the poor and give to the popular.
And the demand for money from these three companies amounts to mafia protection money. These companies sometimes send in spies to make sure a business isn't using unlicensed music that is in their company's catalog and then threaten the business with fines totaling thousands of dollars for *EACH AND EVERY* song that hasn't been "properly licensed" from their company. So they "advise" businesses to pay the "reasonable" license fees to avoid being threatened with a business-closing lawsuit. In other words, Mafia Protection Money.
If these companies sue a business and win, they won't send the money to the artists whose copyrights were violated; they'll use the money to sue other businesses. So, even if these companies win, the artist is *still* screwed out of money that is owed them.
There's a story on the Interwebz of BMI trying to sue an artist for using his own copyrighted arrangements of traditional Irish music in his performances. It was astounding. BMI claimed they owned the rights to all Irish music; even Irish music in the public domain. The artist eventually won the suit but it was a long time getting to that point and lost the artist at least one client and major source of income and goes to show the lengths (and arrogant stupidity) of at least one of these Big Three.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Happy Birthday!
Hey! We've been open for four weeks now and some of you have been asking, "Where's the blog!?" (That's why I posted the earlier really, really short blog post.)
Well, we've been obviously busy getting the bar up and running smoothly and we're pretty close to achieving that. In fact, today is the first time I've actually had two days in a row I haven't had to be at the bar to do something. And, frankly, I don't quite know what to do with myself....
We've been asked how business is and it's going as expected. Yes, really. My pull-a-number-out-of-my-ass sales projections from four months ago have been met or vastly exceeded every week since we opened.
There is still much to do, too. First and foremost, getting a sign out front so people know we're open. We still get people coming in saying, "I didn't know you had opened yet." We think a sign out front will help a great deal with that. After that is probably getting music out on the patio. It's just too quiet out there. We don't want loud music outside but we need *some* background music out there. Then we got to trim the tree up a little; it'll eventually lean on the power supply wires again and that makes us nervous (as well it should). And then we gotta get our walk-in cooler working right; I don't think it *ever* turns off. And then we gotta get a cover over the outside "hallway". And then we gotta get the front window better insulated. And then.... And then..... And then.... It's never gonna stop.
We're still working on getting decorations up in the bar. We've got to find places for the mirrors and other assorted stuff. Seems everybody loves the diamond plate aluminium on the bar, too. And that makes me happy.
Well, we've been obviously busy getting the bar up and running smoothly and we're pretty close to achieving that. In fact, today is the first time I've actually had two days in a row I haven't had to be at the bar to do something. And, frankly, I don't quite know what to do with myself....
We've been asked how business is and it's going as expected. Yes, really. My pull-a-number-out-of-my-ass sales projections from four months ago have been met or vastly exceeded every week since we opened.
There is still much to do, too. First and foremost, getting a sign out front so people know we're open. We still get people coming in saying, "I didn't know you had opened yet." We think a sign out front will help a great deal with that. After that is probably getting music out on the patio. It's just too quiet out there. We don't want loud music outside but we need *some* background music out there. Then we got to trim the tree up a little; it'll eventually lean on the power supply wires again and that makes us nervous (as well it should). And then we gotta get our walk-in cooler working right; I don't think it *ever* turns off. And then we gotta get a cover over the outside "hallway". And then we gotta get the front window better insulated. And then.... And then..... And then.... It's never gonna stop.
We're still working on getting decorations up in the bar. We've got to find places for the mirrors and other assorted stuff. Seems everybody loves the diamond plate aluminium on the bar, too. And that makes me happy.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Heavy Sigh... Deep Breath....
Wow.
Today's the day. Nine long, painful months speckled with joy have lead up to tonight. In case you've been under a rock, The Phoenix is opening tonight at 4:00pm with Karl and I behind the bar. (Mostly Karl.)
I don't really know what to say now. I don't think I'm too often at a loss for words (some of my blog posts are a testament to that) but I'm not sure what to say at this point that hasn't been said before. So many people have to be thanked for making this possible for us: David, Red, Ray, Bradley, Vern, Paul, Lalo, Richie, Dwight, and George and probably more than a few others that I'm forgetting. Thank you all.
It's been an amazing ride. And one I'm not sure I'd want to get on again; but we'll see. Thank you for coming along with us; it has meant more to us than you might possibly know.
Today's the day. Nine long, painful months speckled with joy have lead up to tonight. In case you've been under a rock, The Phoenix is opening tonight at 4:00pm with Karl and I behind the bar. (Mostly Karl.)
I don't really know what to say now. I don't think I'm too often at a loss for words (some of my blog posts are a testament to that) but I'm not sure what to say at this point that hasn't been said before. So many people have to be thanked for making this possible for us: David, Red, Ray, Bradley, Vern, Paul, Lalo, Richie, Dwight, and George and probably more than a few others that I'm forgetting. Thank you all.
It's been an amazing ride. And one I'm not sure I'd want to get on again; but we'll see. Thank you for coming along with us; it has meant more to us than you might possibly know.
Friday, June 17, 2011
It's All on Us
I have an item on the schedule for tomorrow. When I made the schedule, I figured we'd be ready for it this weekend; the weekend before our opening day. It was "Panic." Well, as of last night, we were ahead of schedule; we had a panic last night with our water heater for the bar not working. But, a quick run to Lowe's solved the problem.
And, among the other items for this weekend was "Address Health Department concerns". That's something else we don't have to do. The Health Department inspector was satisfied that we had met all her requirements and signed off on a "Temporary Permit to Operate". And, combined with the earlier sign-off on our building inspection, we have finally cleared the last Magical Hoop™ to opening.
We.
Are.
Done.
Now, it's all on us to get the bar ready for Monday at 4:00pm when we fling the doors open and welcome the patient throngs of people at the door. (Ok, there will probably only be one or two at four pm...) And there's much to do. There's a lot of cleaning and putting up televisions and assorted A/V equipment and getting all that inventory sorted and properly tagged and probably a few more things I'm forgetting after today.
The tremendous feeling of unfathomable relief after so much consummate anguish is often overwhelming.
And, among the other items for this weekend was "Address Health Department concerns". That's something else we don't have to do. The Health Department inspector was satisfied that we had met all her requirements and signed off on a "Temporary Permit to Operate". And, combined with the earlier sign-off on our building inspection, we have finally cleared the last Magical Hoop™ to opening.
We.
Are.
Done.
Now, it's all on us to get the bar ready for Monday at 4:00pm when we fling the doors open and welcome the patient throngs of people at the door. (Ok, there will probably only be one or two at four pm...) And there's much to do. There's a lot of cleaning and putting up televisions and assorted A/V equipment and getting all that inventory sorted and properly tagged and probably a few more things I'm forgetting after today.
The tremendous feeling of unfathomable relief after so much consummate anguish is often overwhelming.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Why Us?
Maybe it's just the sheer number of contractors we've had to have dealings with. But we're running about 75/25 good to bad.
Our electrician, Max, has been spectacular. He will be getting business from us in the future. If you need an electrician, ask us; we'll give you his contact information.
Our roofer was great. Depite delaying starting on our roof for about a day, he was fantastic. Cleaned up all his debris and left the job done right and both Karl and I completely satisfied. (We're happy to give you his contact information, too.)
Our drywall guy was great, too. Came in on a Saturday to do some work and, over all, did a nice and professional job. (Need drywall? Let us know; we'll give you his info, too.)
Our A/C guy was darn good, too. His crew went above and beyond what they were supposed to do and helped make us satisfied customers. (Yeah, you know....)
On the other hand, our roofing framer (you know, the one who left us without a roof for a week in the rain...) I simply can not recommend at all. He can't even be counted on to hammer in a nail properly. (Literally.)
And, now most recently, our refrigeration guy for the walk-in cooler. He doesn't follow (or doesn't remember) directions well. He tromped around on our roof in the heat potentially damaging some of the brand new shingles beyond repair. (Roofer guy is coming to take a look at it to give us his opinion; hopefully tomorrow.) Claims to never leave a job without being paid right then and there for the work. (The first I'd heard of it was when he was demanding payment in full after the job was done.) Seems to have been offended that I found several problems with his work (which, if he had done it the way he had been directed by Karl, wouldn't have been a problem). He freaked out when we called him today asking about the damage to the roof threatening to come back and rip the condenser unit off the roof. (Which, by the way, is now ours since we paid him for the equipment yesterday. In other words, he threatened to steal my equipment; not exactly professional.)
And perhaps the cause of most concern is the fact he did not return our phone calls for three days. (Granted, one of those days was a Sunday.) We had expected the unit to be ready on Thursday. We called on Thursday afternoon and left a message. Left at least two messages on Friday; no call back. Same for Saturday. And one message on Sunday. Finally, on Monday, he called back saying that he'd be able to come Tuesday to install the unit. Communication does not seem to be this guy's strong point.
Honestly, I think the poor guy is just completely, utterly overwhelmed by having been handed the business by his father. He doesn't seem to have the business sense needed to run a business well (or at all). He volunteered that he had lost his credit because of the economy. I think the guy has a major cash flow problem and a major problem with listening to his customers. (Is it my fault he doesn't follow directions or take care to not damage the roof he's tromping on?)
Regardless, all the stuff needed for the fire repair has been done. (Aside from a little plumbing work I'm going to have to do on the roof tomorrow.)
You read that correctly. The fire repair is complete.
We have the county Health Department coming on Friday. I know we'll have some concerns to correct. Most likely having to do with clean up of the dust and assorted construction debris. And we'll take care of that over the weekend with a final inspection to take place on Monday. (Now that I'm reading all of this, I think I should have them come on Monday instead.... Meh! I'll think about that tomorrow!)
Our electrician, Max, has been spectacular. He will be getting business from us in the future. If you need an electrician, ask us; we'll give you his contact information.
Our roofer was great. Depite delaying starting on our roof for about a day, he was fantastic. Cleaned up all his debris and left the job done right and both Karl and I completely satisfied. (We're happy to give you his contact information, too.)
Our drywall guy was great, too. Came in on a Saturday to do some work and, over all, did a nice and professional job. (Need drywall? Let us know; we'll give you his info, too.)
Our A/C guy was darn good, too. His crew went above and beyond what they were supposed to do and helped make us satisfied customers. (Yeah, you know....)
On the other hand, our roofing framer (you know, the one who left us without a roof for a week in the rain...) I simply can not recommend at all. He can't even be counted on to hammer in a nail properly. (Literally.)
And, now most recently, our refrigeration guy for the walk-in cooler. He doesn't follow (or doesn't remember) directions well. He tromped around on our roof in the heat potentially damaging some of the brand new shingles beyond repair. (Roofer guy is coming to take a look at it to give us his opinion; hopefully tomorrow.) Claims to never leave a job without being paid right then and there for the work. (The first I'd heard of it was when he was demanding payment in full after the job was done.) Seems to have been offended that I found several problems with his work (which, if he had done it the way he had been directed by Karl, wouldn't have been a problem). He freaked out when we called him today asking about the damage to the roof threatening to come back and rip the condenser unit off the roof. (Which, by the way, is now ours since we paid him for the equipment yesterday. In other words, he threatened to steal my equipment; not exactly professional.)
And perhaps the cause of most concern is the fact he did not return our phone calls for three days. (Granted, one of those days was a Sunday.) We had expected the unit to be ready on Thursday. We called on Thursday afternoon and left a message. Left at least two messages on Friday; no call back. Same for Saturday. And one message on Sunday. Finally, on Monday, he called back saying that he'd be able to come Tuesday to install the unit. Communication does not seem to be this guy's strong point.
Honestly, I think the poor guy is just completely, utterly overwhelmed by having been handed the business by his father. He doesn't seem to have the business sense needed to run a business well (or at all). He volunteered that he had lost his credit because of the economy. I think the guy has a major cash flow problem and a major problem with listening to his customers. (Is it my fault he doesn't follow directions or take care to not damage the roof he's tromping on?)
Regardless, all the stuff needed for the fire repair has been done. (Aside from a little plumbing work I'm going to have to do on the roof tomorrow.)
You read that correctly. The fire repair is complete.
We have the county Health Department coming on Friday. I know we'll have some concerns to correct. Most likely having to do with clean up of the dust and assorted construction debris. And we'll take care of that over the weekend with a final inspection to take place on Monday. (Now that I'm reading all of this, I think I should have them come on Monday instead.... Meh! I'll think about that tomorrow!)
Finally Crossing our Fingers
It's been a long day.
BUT, we have our final building inspection scheduled for tomorrow. (Well, today now.) I expect to have a few corrections -- there almost always are -- but nothing show-stopping. And, depending on the corrections the inspector potentially wants, we may get signed off tomorrow!
We still have to get the Health Department's approval and I have a call in to them to get that scheduled hopefully for Friday.
Then, if that all goes well, we'll clean like mad over the weekend, fix whatever the Health Department needs done, get reinspected on Monday and throw open the doors at 4:00pm Monday!
Could this long process finally be *that* close to being over once and for all????
BUT, we have our final building inspection scheduled for tomorrow. (Well, today now.) I expect to have a few corrections -- there almost always are -- but nothing show-stopping. And, depending on the corrections the inspector potentially wants, we may get signed off tomorrow!
We still have to get the Health Department's approval and I have a call in to them to get that scheduled hopefully for Friday.
Then, if that all goes well, we'll clean like mad over the weekend, fix whatever the Health Department needs done, get reinspected on Monday and throw open the doors at 4:00pm Monday!
Could this long process finally be *that* close to being over once and for all????
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Coming Along
Things are coming along nicely. There have been a few additional surprise delays that have the potential to throw off our carefully constructed schedule. Mainly delays that could cause our inspections to take a day or two longer than expected. We're trying to get it right the first time now rather than doing what we think will pass and correct it later if asked.
The light fixutres are up and the A/C registers are in and the walls are mostly painted. It really is starting to look like a bar! And our LED pool table light looks quite nice!
The insurance adjuster has been out for the vandalism and I believe we're only waiting for a final determination which I expect to be favorable.
This weekend, we have friends coming by to help paint the rest of the place.
Next week, there's more clean up work to do and orders to place and inspectors to call and a bunch of small touches to finish up the job. And I think you'll find all the diamond plate you see on our sites will begin to make a little more sense. (It looks pretty darn cool if ya ask me!)
(And, ya know what? I kinda envy you guys (and gals) who will walk into the bar and get the impact of all these changes all at once. I've (obviously) been living with it for months and months so I've seen it change over time. We really think what we've done with the place will impress you. At least we hope it does.)
The light fixutres are up and the A/C registers are in and the walls are mostly painted. It really is starting to look like a bar! And our LED pool table light looks quite nice!
The insurance adjuster has been out for the vandalism and I believe we're only waiting for a final determination which I expect to be favorable.
This weekend, we have friends coming by to help paint the rest of the place.
Next week, there's more clean up work to do and orders to place and inspectors to call and a bunch of small touches to finish up the job. And I think you'll find all the diamond plate you see on our sites will begin to make a little more sense. (It looks pretty darn cool if ya ask me!)
(And, ya know what? I kinda envy you guys (and gals) who will walk into the bar and get the impact of all these changes all at once. I've (obviously) been living with it for months and months so I've seen it change over time. We really think what we've done with the place will impress you. At least we hope it does.)
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Mobile Blog Improvement
Just noticed this morning that Blogger has made improvements to the way blogs on the site appear on mobile devices! This blog is now much easier to read on them! Technology marches on!
Amazing People
We know some truly amazing people.
We're less than two weeks away from our planned opening (and still on track) and more and more friends are popping out of the woodwork to help us!
There's a guy we know who is going beyond the call of duty to help us change the look of the bar itself to something that's going to be really, really cool. (We think.) And it'll make the background of our website make a little more sense, too.
There're others who are helping just do "whatever we need". Yesterday, our ceiling got painted by one such of these. Our fence has been strengthened. A toilet was fixed (it was broken by one of two of our contractors but everybody denies it was them. Patches have been made for stucco. There are many, many examples; these are just a couple that I can think of right now.
Frankly, we could not even think about meeting our June 20 deadline without these people.
Now, back to work. The electrical and A/C guys are at the bar today finishing their work and should be done by early afternoon. Our refrigeration guy is coming tomorrow and he'll be done with his stuff tomorrow. Then, we think we're ready for our final building inspection on Friday.
(We did have a vandalism "issue" again this past Thursday night/Friday morning and again Monday night/Tuesday morning. Some donkey--and by donkey, I mean jackass--broke into the back yard and destroyed the old walk-in refrigeration roof unit as it was waiting to be put onto the roof. It should be covered by insurance (adjuster arriving this morning to check into it) but it has caused a bit of a delay; and that delay shouldn't be too bad.)
We're less than two weeks away from our planned opening (and still on track) and more and more friends are popping out of the woodwork to help us!
There's a guy we know who is going beyond the call of duty to help us change the look of the bar itself to something that's going to be really, really cool. (We think.) And it'll make the background of our website make a little more sense, too.
There're others who are helping just do "whatever we need". Yesterday, our ceiling got painted by one such of these. Our fence has been strengthened. A toilet was fixed (it was broken by one of two of our contractors but everybody denies it was them. Patches have been made for stucco. There are many, many examples; these are just a couple that I can think of right now.
Frankly, we could not even think about meeting our June 20 deadline without these people.
Now, back to work. The electrical and A/C guys are at the bar today finishing their work and should be done by early afternoon. Our refrigeration guy is coming tomorrow and he'll be done with his stuff tomorrow. Then, we think we're ready for our final building inspection on Friday.
(We did have a vandalism "issue" again this past Thursday night/Friday morning and again Monday night/Tuesday morning. Some donkey--and by donkey, I mean jackass--broke into the back yard and destroyed the old walk-in refrigeration roof unit as it was waiting to be put onto the roof. It should be covered by insurance (adjuster arriving this morning to check into it) but it has caused a bit of a delay; and that delay shouldn't be too bad.)
Friday, June 3, 2011
Chugging Along
Wow....
I just updated the status page on our website. I was struck by how damn close we are to finishing up everything that's required of us. We're nearly done!
It's been an unusual time for both Karl and me. Periods of massive stress followed by periods of major relief. Whatta rollercoaster this has been!
I just updated the status page on our website. I was struck by how damn close we are to finishing up everything that's required of us. We're nearly done!
It's been an unusual time for both Karl and me. Periods of massive stress followed by periods of major relief. Whatta rollercoaster this has been!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Passing Gas
It's been a long damn day. But we're closer to opening.
We were up and out of the house at 7:00am this morning and got back home about 8:00pm.
We had a plumbing and mechanical inspection today. Part of the plumbing inspection is a pressure test on the line. The gas line passed inspection. And, we passed the rough electrical inspection as well as the mechanical inspection. (That's the A/C and duct work.) Indeed. We passed gas.
All we have left to do for the city is get the dry wall up and the finish work for the A/C and the electrical. Then it's Final Inspection time. And final inspection could happen as early as June 9. (There will probably be a few issues that need to be addressed so we'll probably have a final final inspection on the 13th; which still gives us some time before opening on the 20th.) Unless we're misreading something, this is the final Magical Hoop™ we have to jump through for our building permit! (Thankfully, the Magical Hoops™ have stopped moving quite so much...)
We also figured out what to do with the bar wall coverings that the health department wants us to put up on the server side of the bar. (Ok, it's not a want; it's a requirement.) And we picked the fiberglass reinforced panels we need back there today as well.
And the final milestone passed today was we got our phone line installed! Our Phone number: "A.K.A. Buzz" which is pretty darn awesome if you ask me.
We're looking forward to Pride this weekend. You'll probably see Karl and I handing out little fliers about the bar. We would have done a float or something (Karl even toyed with the idea of just walking around with signs like those you'd see at a protest) but, quite honestly, we've had other major issues on our minds lately.
And that's today in a nutshell.
(P.S. The posting I made earlier today was done with the voice recognition thing on my phone. It doesn't capitalize anything and you have to speak the punctuation. It's a little annoying but it's a little faster than the on-screen keyboard and it does work. Mostly.)
We were up and out of the house at 7:00am this morning and got back home about 8:00pm.
We had a plumbing and mechanical inspection today. Part of the plumbing inspection is a pressure test on the line. The gas line passed inspection. And, we passed the rough electrical inspection as well as the mechanical inspection. (That's the A/C and duct work.) Indeed. We passed gas.
All we have left to do for the city is get the dry wall up and the finish work for the A/C and the electrical. Then it's Final Inspection time. And final inspection could happen as early as June 9. (There will probably be a few issues that need to be addressed so we'll probably have a final final inspection on the 13th; which still gives us some time before opening on the 20th.) Unless we're misreading something, this is the final Magical Hoop™ we have to jump through for our building permit! (Thankfully, the Magical Hoops™ have stopped moving quite so much...)
We also figured out what to do with the bar wall coverings that the health department wants us to put up on the server side of the bar. (Ok, it's not a want; it's a requirement.) And we picked the fiberglass reinforced panels we need back there today as well.
And the final milestone passed today was we got our phone line installed! Our Phone number: "A.K.A. Buzz" which is pretty darn awesome if you ask me.
We're looking forward to Pride this weekend. You'll probably see Karl and I handing out little fliers about the bar. We would have done a float or something (Karl even toyed with the idea of just walking around with signs like those you'd see at a protest) but, quite honestly, we've had other major issues on our minds lately.
And that's today in a nutshell.
(P.S. The posting I made earlier today was done with the voice recognition thing on my phone. It doesn't capitalize anything and you have to speak the punctuation. It's a little annoying but it's a little faster than the on-screen keyboard and it does work. Mostly.)
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Weekend Update
Opening day is three weeks and one day away and we've gotten everything done this weekend we were planning to get done! (Well, we had to adjust a few things because the schedule for yesterday was a little ambitious.)
Coming up next is finishing the stucco work and putting the siding up on the south end of the building and getting set up with vendors. We'll also continue planning our grand opening.
Coming up next is finishing the stucco work and putting the siding up on the south end of the building and getting set up with vendors. We'll also continue planning our grand opening.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Giant Silver Octopus
The bar was recently attacked by a giant silver octopus missing half of its legs.
HELP! We're being attacked!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Opening Day Fallout
Thank you all for the positive response to our opening date announcement(s) yesterday! For the first time in a while, I became excited about the bar.
It's really been a struggle at times to make this work out. On top of that, it's taken far longer than I had anticipated it would back in October when the discussions turned toward purchasing the building. It seems amazingly naive now but I first thought we'd be open by February! And we know how that worked out.
And, as it turns out, we'll be opening about three months after we got our building permit. Had things moved a little faster with engineering and The City, and we got the permit in November like I thought we might have (and we were told) we would have opened in February.
Which brings up another positive thing. As we get bids from contractors and the like, I've learned that my out-of-the-blue guesses on how much they'll be have been pretty darn close. That means we've been "Under Budget" since the beginning. (I'd still like to have a little more breathing room in that budget but what can ya do? Especially at this point...)
We're a tad behind on our contractor schedule right now (but by only about two or three days) but I still think we're on track. (We wouldn't have broadcast to the Interwebz the June 20 and 25 dates if we thought otherwise.) We came up with this schedule about two weeks ago when we were trying to find an opening day so there's bound to be a few little hiccups.
Regardless, Karl's at the bar today again with (I think) the electrician and (definitely) the AC dudes. I envy him that; one of the AC guys is kinda cute. He even seems alright with gay folks, too. He mentioned yesterday he saw our news story on ABC30 about the graffiti and laughed when I told him what it said and spelled it for him (F-A-G-E-T) he laughed. So, he's cool. Hopefully, we'll see him at the bar; regardless of whether or not he's straight. The world needs more Cool-With-The-Gay folks.
It's really been a struggle at times to make this work out. On top of that, it's taken far longer than I had anticipated it would back in October when the discussions turned toward purchasing the building. It seems amazingly naive now but I first thought we'd be open by February! And we know how that worked out.
And, as it turns out, we'll be opening about three months after we got our building permit. Had things moved a little faster with engineering and The City, and we got the permit in November like I thought we might have (and we were told) we would have opened in February.
Which brings up another positive thing. As we get bids from contractors and the like, I've learned that my out-of-the-blue guesses on how much they'll be have been pretty darn close. That means we've been "Under Budget" since the beginning. (I'd still like to have a little more breathing room in that budget but what can ya do? Especially at this point...)
We're a tad behind on our contractor schedule right now (but by only about two or three days) but I still think we're on track. (We wouldn't have broadcast to the Interwebz the June 20 and 25 dates if we thought otherwise.) We came up with this schedule about two weeks ago when we were trying to find an opening day so there's bound to be a few little hiccups.
Regardless, Karl's at the bar today again with (I think) the electrician and (definitely) the AC dudes. I envy him that; one of the AC guys is kinda cute. He even seems alright with gay folks, too. He mentioned yesterday he saw our news story on ABC30 about the graffiti and laughed when I told him what it said and spelled it for him (F-A-G-E-T) he laughed. So, he's cool. Hopefully, we'll see him at the bar; regardless of whether or not he's straight. The world needs more Cool-With-The-Gay folks.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Opening Day
We are planning on opening our doors on Monday, June 20 at 4:00pm.
That Saturday, June 25, we are planning a grand opening party complete with food, prizes, and other stuff! We'll post details as we get closer to the dates.
The next four weeks will be frantic, I'm sure. We got to get all the bridesmaids dresses made...
We'll see you on June 20 and the party on June 25!!!
That Saturday, June 25, we are planning a grand opening party complete with food, prizes, and other stuff! We'll post details as we get closer to the dates.
The next four weeks will be frantic, I'm sure. We got to get all the bridesmaids dresses made...
We'll see you on June 20 and the party on June 25!!!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
A Roof With a View
Remarkably exciting picture of the parking lot and dumpster from the roof. This is the first time this view has been posted on the internet and has previously only been seen by taggers and various tradesmen.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Weekly Theme Nights
A new survey to find out when you would likely come to a weekly theme night is up on our website. The URL is http://fresnophoenix.com/survey/index.php?sid=55435&lang=en
The survey expires on June 10 (the Newslink advertising deadline) so please hurry if you want your voice heard!
Tell your friends!
The survey expires on June 10 (the Newslink advertising deadline) so please hurry if you want your voice heard!
Tell your friends!
Theme Night Survey Results!
Remember our survey from almost two months ago? We asked for your opinion on which theme nights and events sound like fun to you. We've finally gone through the results and this is what we got.
63.33% of you either love theme nights or will attend if it sounds fun. (One of you hates them and 10% just don't give a rat's ass one way or the other.)
43.33% can't be counted on to show up but will occasionally. Fully one third of you will show up whenever the theme night you like is happening.
By far, the most popular was "underwear night" at 80% responding either that they'd be there or thought it sounded like fun. Next was Pizza and Beer night at 70% saying that they'd be there or that it sounded like fun. (Only one person said he or she would vomit at the thought of pizza).
Other popular themes were Open Mic, Stripper and/or porn star shows (all in the once-a-month category), Uniform , the new Five-minute happy hour, drink special nights. The only unpopular ones were Trivia Night, the Pool Tournament and Amateur Proctologist night. So those won't be showing up on the schedule on a regular basis. (Ok, so Amateur Protologist night was never really a serious question; though 10% of you said "Dude! I'm totally there!" Y'all worry me....)
The Secret Discount night came in at 50/50. So, it may not be a weekly theme but I still like the idea so it may stay as an special thing.
Thank you all who participated!
63.33% of you either love theme nights or will attend if it sounds fun. (One of you hates them and 10% just don't give a rat's ass one way or the other.)
43.33% can't be counted on to show up but will occasionally. Fully one third of you will show up whenever the theme night you like is happening.
By far, the most popular was "underwear night" at 80% responding either that they'd be there or thought it sounded like fun. Next was Pizza and Beer night at 70% saying that they'd be there or that it sounded like fun. (Only one person said he or she would vomit at the thought of pizza).
Other popular themes were Open Mic, Stripper and/or porn star shows (all in the once-a-month category), Uniform , the new Five-minute happy hour, drink special nights. The only unpopular ones were Trivia Night, the Pool Tournament and Amateur Proctologist night. So those won't be showing up on the schedule on a regular basis. (Ok, so Amateur Protologist night was never really a serious question; though 10% of you said "Dude! I'm totally there!" Y'all worry me....)
The Secret Discount night came in at 50/50. So, it may not be a weekly theme but I still like the idea so it may stay as an special thing.
Thank you all who participated!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
"What a Dump!"
This morning, I'm updating our Building Status page with updated info. (Why would I update it with outdated info??) I do it somewhat irregularly but mostly consistantly after certain items are completed. I made the list months ago when I still had this nice rosy idea of what the process would be like. Step 1 would be followed neatly by Step 2 and then closely by Step 3 and so on.
And, well, that's not quite the way it worked out and the previously nicely ordered list is now a jumbled mess. Kinda like the bar in this picture:
If I thought the Status Page would be used much beyond June XX (Oops! Almost accidently announced our expected open date!) I'd go back and reorganize it to make more sense now that opening day is only about X weeks away (Oops! Almost did it again; it's a number less than 6 but more than 1). After that time, the list becomes obsolete for evey purpose other than academics.
(Yes, I'm a tease....)
And, well, that's not quite the way it worked out and the previously nicely ordered list is now a jumbled mess. Kinda like the bar in this picture:
It almost looks like a bar!
If I thought the Status Page would be used much beyond June XX (Oops! Almost accidently announced our expected open date!) I'd go back and reorganize it to make more sense now that opening day is only about X weeks away (Oops! Almost did it again; it's a number less than 6 but more than 1). After that time, the list becomes obsolete for evey purpose other than academics.
(Yes, I'm a tease....)
Friday, May 20, 2011
Power UP!
Another tiny bit of progress. Karl tells me we now have electricity supplied by PG & E and no longer have to rely on generators at the bar to do work!
The new electrician is also at the bar working and we should have the roof and insulation inspected later today!
After so many delays and so much time in the past just watching nothing getting done this is starting to move quickly.
The new electrician is also at the bar working and we should have the roof and insulation inspected later today!
After so many delays and so much time in the past just watching nothing getting done this is starting to move quickly.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Way It Should Be
We have a roof.
We spent all day yesterday at the bar with the roofers. And, despite having to provide our own generator for them (for which we nicknamed the roofer "Blanche DuBois") the work was done and completed exactly as we expected to be. THIS is how hiring a contractor should be. Why couldn't Demo Guy have done the same?
Finally, aside from paint, the outside of the bar won't change very much from here on out. (Well, that you can see from the street anyway.)
Here are several progress pictures taken throughout the day.
We spent all day yesterday at the bar with the roofers. And, despite having to provide our own generator for them (for which we nicknamed the roofer "Blanche DuBois") the work was done and completed exactly as we expected to be. THIS is how hiring a contractor should be. Why couldn't Demo Guy have done the same?
Finally, aside from paint, the outside of the bar won't change very much from here on out. (Well, that you can see from the street anyway.)
Here are several progress pictures taken throughout the day.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Blogger Out
We apologize for not having our regular frequency of updates over the past couple of days. But the problem wasn't really our doing. Blogger, the site that hosts the blog was having, well, I guess "Fits" is the best way to describe it. Posts being lost, and that sort of thing.
But, all seems working well now so the updates continue.
But, all seems working well now so the updates continue.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Pulling Teeth
On Friday, we contacted our roofing contractor. He was to start today putting our roof on. Materials for the roof were delivered yesterday to the roof in preparation of installing said roof today.
This morning, just before Karl headed out the door to drive to the bar to basically supervise the roofing, we called the roofer to make sure he was going to be there today. Turns out, no, he wasn't going to be there today. (When was he going to tell us this?) Oh, and he dropped the bombshell that he'd need electricity. (Why doesn't he have his own? Is he Blanche DuBois relying on the kindness of strangers?)
So, here were are in more rainy weather without a proper roof on the bar. We impressed on this roofer that, yes, we know you may have other customers who might have a leak in their roof today because of the rain. But, he said he'd start on Tuesday and -- although I know our own problems are almost always more important to us than the problems of others -- my roof has a lot of leaks in it. You can't go more than four feet across our roof before you come to a leak. So, if Roofer is concerned with leaky roofs, why does my leaky roof (which probably has among the most leaks) not get at least temporarily fixed?
This is getting ridiculous. Why is it like pulling teeth to get some people to do the work I want to give them money for?
This morning, just before Karl headed out the door to drive to the bar to basically supervise the roofing, we called the roofer to make sure he was going to be there today. Turns out, no, he wasn't going to be there today. (When was he going to tell us this?) Oh, and he dropped the bombshell that he'd need electricity. (Why doesn't he have his own? Is he Blanche DuBois relying on the kindness of strangers?)
So, here were are in more rainy weather without a proper roof on the bar. We impressed on this roofer that, yes, we know you may have other customers who might have a leak in their roof today because of the rain. But, he said he'd start on Tuesday and -- although I know our own problems are almost always more important to us than the problems of others -- my roof has a lot of leaks in it. You can't go more than four feet across our roof before you come to a leak. So, if Roofer is concerned with leaky roofs, why does my leaky roof (which probably has among the most leaks) not get at least temporarily fixed?
This is getting ridiculous. Why is it like pulling teeth to get some people to do the work I want to give them money for?
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Lessons Learned (So Far)
Now that the roof framing has finally passed inspection and we're done with Demo Guy for ever (unless something awful happens in the next ten years) here's a few valuable (and the occasional expensive) lessons we learned the hard way when hiring contractors:
Check the contractor's license three different times: When you get the bid, when the contractor is hired and again before work is started.
Lots of things can happen between the time you get the bid and the time work actually starts. For example, the contractor might come onto hard times and have his contractor's bond cancelled and therefore have his license suspended.
Demo Guy's license was valid when we hired him but by the time work started the state's website for checking licenses said it was "under Contractors Bond Suspension". That means it was illegal for him to be doing contracting work valued at more than $500. (It also provides information to help determine if the license is no longer suspended.) And, to be fair, we don't know what happened with Demo Guy's bond and, frankly, it's none of our business what happened to cause the bond to be cancelled.
In construction (at least this project) there is not much worse than having problems with a contractor and then seeing "SUSPENDED" next to his license on the official site to check licenses. Your jaw drops, your heart falls into your butt and you stop breathing for a few seconds. (At least that's what happened to me.)
We're somewhat embarrassed by this. We really should have checked before he started work. It could have been one of our biggest mistakes. (In our defense, it seems the incidence of this kind of thing happening is fairly rare.)
As of today, the contractor's board website shows Demo Guy's license back in the "Active" category with a bond effective May 6, 2011. So that's good. Despite the problems we had with him and despite never recommending him to anybody ever for even so much as hammering in a nail I'm glad he got that SNAFU sorted out.
Take high quality pictures of the areas your contractor is going to work on.
Having documentation of what things were like when the contractor begins helps avoid the contractor saying "It was like that when I started." Here's the story.
Demo Guy claimed that some of the damage caused to the building was actually caused by the fire fighters who worked on the fire back in September, 2010. Specifically, the weather head that connects the electrical service box to the utility pole in the alley.
During the days the bar was without a roof, the weather head was left unsupported for four full days(contrary to what was agreed to) and was pulled away from the wall by the weight of the line to the utility pole. Being pulled away from the building cracked the electrical box which then had to be replaced at a cost of over $1,000 including materials and labor.
We didn't have to take Demo Guy to court to recover these costs but we were prepared to. Despite having what we believe would have been a solid case, we weren't really looking forward to small claims court. Part of that solid case is the pictures we had taken of the bar. Of special note in this case is a picture of the bar we took in February that just happened to show the weather head still attached to the roof; it was not removed by the firefighters as Demo Guy said could be a reason why the weather head was broken.
Keep a Blog
I suppose it doesn't have to be a blog, per se. A journal (which is like a blog) would work just as well.
This blog proved to be a valuable source of information in making the time line of what happened. For example, the "Vandals? Shocking!" post pin-pointed a time that we had PG & E out to fix some damage. (They never mentioned anything about a broken weather head.) Without that post, that part of the time line was "On or around February 2011". Changed it down to "Week ending February 18, 2011".) The more documentation you have in court, the more likely you are to win.
Don't pay the contractor until the job is finished.
Seems straight forward but it isn't necessarily so. By "Finished" I mean "Passed inspection".
We paid Demo Guy what he asked before the final roof framing inspection had been done since we thought it would pass easily the second inspection but it did not. (The first inspection brought up issues that seemed to be easily and relatively quickly corrected.)
What we should have done was pay him half of what he asked for at that time. And then paid him the other half when the roof framing passed its final inspection. In this case, this weakened our bargaining power with Demo Guy to eat the cost of his negligence with the weather head and delayed getting the final truss installed correctly (you know, like he should have done in the first place.)
Take clear pictures of the work.
This is especially true of any abandoned or incorrectly completed work; it'll help your small claims case should you have to resort to that.
Remember this: your camera's macro setting (the little flower; see my crappy example to the right) is your best friend in these cases. If you don't have good photo editing skills, make sure the lighting is clear in what you're photographing. And, if you're photographing small items, include something to show scale. If you've watched CSI, you've probably seen those little white "corner" things with rulers on them. That's what I'm talking about. It doesn't have to be a forensic-quality thing; lots of other things would work just as well for these pictures: a quarter, your finger, library card, your keys, etc.
I really don't mind learning new things but I hope these are the only lessons we learn from this project. They weren't massively expensive lessons (aside from delaying our opening date and the weather head problem) but they added far too much tension and anxiety to an already anxious process.
Check the contractor's license three different times: When you get the bid, when the contractor is hired and again before work is started.
Lots of things can happen between the time you get the bid and the time work actually starts. For example, the contractor might come onto hard times and have his contractor's bond cancelled and therefore have his license suspended.
Demo Guy's license was valid when we hired him but by the time work started the state's website for checking licenses said it was "under Contractors Bond Suspension". That means it was illegal for him to be doing contracting work valued at more than $500. (It also provides information to help determine if the license is no longer suspended.) And, to be fair, we don't know what happened with Demo Guy's bond and, frankly, it's none of our business what happened to cause the bond to be cancelled.
In construction (at least this project) there is not much worse than having problems with a contractor and then seeing "SUSPENDED" next to his license on the official site to check licenses. Your jaw drops, your heart falls into your butt and you stop breathing for a few seconds. (At least that's what happened to me.)
We're somewhat embarrassed by this. We really should have checked before he started work. It could have been one of our biggest mistakes. (In our defense, it seems the incidence of this kind of thing happening is fairly rare.)
As of today, the contractor's board website shows Demo Guy's license back in the "Active" category with a bond effective May 6, 2011. So that's good. Despite the problems we had with him and despite never recommending him to anybody ever for even so much as hammering in a nail I'm glad he got that SNAFU sorted out.
Take high quality pictures of the areas your contractor is going to work on.
Having documentation of what things were like when the contractor begins helps avoid the contractor saying "It was like that when I started." Here's the story.
Demo Guy claimed that some of the damage caused to the building was actually caused by the fire fighters who worked on the fire back in September, 2010. Specifically, the weather head that connects the electrical service box to the utility pole in the alley.
During the days the bar was without a roof, the weather head was left unsupported for four full days(contrary to what was agreed to) and was pulled away from the wall by the weight of the line to the utility pole. Being pulled away from the building cracked the electrical box which then had to be replaced at a cost of over $1,000 including materials and labor.
We didn't have to take Demo Guy to court to recover these costs but we were prepared to. Despite having what we believe would have been a solid case, we weren't really looking forward to small claims court. Part of that solid case is the pictures we had taken of the bar. Of special note in this case is a picture of the bar we took in February that just happened to show the weather head still attached to the roof; it was not removed by the firefighters as Demo Guy said could be a reason why the weather head was broken.
Keep a Blog
I suppose it doesn't have to be a blog, per se. A journal (which is like a blog) would work just as well.
This blog proved to be a valuable source of information in making the time line of what happened. For example, the "Vandals? Shocking!" post pin-pointed a time that we had PG & E out to fix some damage. (They never mentioned anything about a broken weather head.) Without that post, that part of the time line was "On or around February 2011". Changed it down to "Week ending February 18, 2011".) The more documentation you have in court, the more likely you are to win.
Don't pay the contractor until the job is finished.
Seems straight forward but it isn't necessarily so. By "Finished" I mean "Passed inspection".
We paid Demo Guy what he asked before the final roof framing inspection had been done since we thought it would pass easily the second inspection but it did not. (The first inspection brought up issues that seemed to be easily and relatively quickly corrected.)
What we should have done was pay him half of what he asked for at that time. And then paid him the other half when the roof framing passed its final inspection. In this case, this weakened our bargaining power with Demo Guy to eat the cost of his negligence with the weather head and delayed getting the final truss installed correctly (you know, like he should have done in the first place.)
Take clear pictures of the work.
This is especially true of any abandoned or incorrectly completed work; it'll help your small claims case should you have to resort to that.
I really don't mind learning new things but I hope these are the only lessons we learn from this project. They weren't massively expensive lessons (aside from delaying our opening date and the weather head problem) but they added far too much tension and anxiety to an already anxious process.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Framing Inspection: Passed
Just got word from Karl: The roof framing has passed the inspection. We can move on.
Babysitting
Yesterday, both Karl and I went babysitting. We spent the entire day at the bar babysitting Demo Guy's apparently mildly inept crew. We were there to make sure the final truss (that should have been installed an entire month ago today) was finally installed correctly and according to the engineered plans.
At first, I was very happy to see Demo Guy on the roof working with his crew to make sure the sign at the front of the bar was re-attached correctly to the roof (like it should have been done a month ago) to help ensure it doesn't fall off the building. (Karl had sort of secured it earlier; they just came back to fix their screw up in how the sign was handled during demolition.) I thought, "Yay! He's actually going to supervise his crew!"
There was a brief disagreement on how the strapping should be done to the final truss. (Demo Guy was still insisting he was doing and had done it correctly; I believe based on a much earlier conversation with the engineer and not at all on what was approved. For some strange reason, Karl and I believe that the installation should be done according to the approved plans I know! CRAZY!) Then Demo Guy said he had to go visit his dad in the hospital and left. I was a bit annoyed at him for leaving but, in the end, I'm glad he did.
His crew, which would have been unsupervised had we not been there, didn't quite know how to do some things and we were there to correct them and answer questions. As best we could, anyway. They didn't speak too much English and we don't speak good enough Spanish. Which is one of the problems I believe Demo Guy has; he can't communicate well enough with his employees to make sure the jobs get done right the first time. And I don't think it helps that these two who came by seem to me to be little more than two stooges with hammers; I just don't think they care all that much.
I also learned why you should both watch and not watch your contractor work. It's much like watching your food being prepared in a restaurant. These guys were using nail guns to nail in the strapping. I believe that the manufacturer of the straps may specifically forbid the use of nail guns for installation but I'm not certain; I do know that I read it somewhere, though. Nail guns can make things go faster but they can also cause problems. Like, perhaps, splitting a vertical truss member in a truss you're trying to install and then having to make a new one to replace the one you broke; it's likely that hand nailing the strapping would not split the two-by-four.
At about 2:30pm yesterday, Demo Guy's crew was done with this job. We think forever. We believe the installation will pass inspection which is scheduled for today and we can finally move on to other things. Like insulation and getting a damn roof on the place.
At first, I was very happy to see Demo Guy on the roof working with his crew to make sure the sign at the front of the bar was re-attached correctly to the roof (like it should have been done a month ago) to help ensure it doesn't fall off the building. (Karl had sort of secured it earlier; they just came back to fix their screw up in how the sign was handled during demolition.) I thought, "Yay! He's actually going to supervise his crew!"
There was a brief disagreement on how the strapping should be done to the final truss. (Demo Guy was still insisting he was doing and had done it correctly; I believe based on a much earlier conversation with the engineer and not at all on what was approved. For some strange reason, Karl and I believe that the installation should be done according to the approved plans I know! CRAZY!) Then Demo Guy said he had to go visit his dad in the hospital and left. I was a bit annoyed at him for leaving but, in the end, I'm glad he did.
His crew, which would have been unsupervised had we not been there, didn't quite know how to do some things and we were there to correct them and answer questions. As best we could, anyway. They didn't speak too much English and we don't speak good enough Spanish. Which is one of the problems I believe Demo Guy has; he can't communicate well enough with his employees to make sure the jobs get done right the first time. And I don't think it helps that these two who came by seem to me to be little more than two stooges with hammers; I just don't think they care all that much.
I also learned why you should both watch and not watch your contractor work. It's much like watching your food being prepared in a restaurant. These guys were using nail guns to nail in the strapping. I believe that the manufacturer of the straps may specifically forbid the use of nail guns for installation but I'm not certain; I do know that I read it somewhere, though. Nail guns can make things go faster but they can also cause problems. Like, perhaps, splitting a vertical truss member in a truss you're trying to install and then having to make a new one to replace the one you broke; it's likely that hand nailing the strapping would not split the two-by-four.
At about 2:30pm yesterday, Demo Guy's crew was done with this job. We think forever. We believe the installation will pass inspection which is scheduled for today and we can finally move on to other things. Like insulation and getting a damn roof on the place.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Sprucing Up
There are a number of small changes we're making to the interior. (And a few large ones; like the peaked ceiling.) One of them is replacing the bathroom doors. They worked fine but, after the fire, they just didn't look, well, spiffy enough.
Last week, we went ahead and replaced the doors. We don't yet have pictures of the replacement doors or what the old ones looked like. But here's a picture of Karl looking at me sternly while we were there replacing the doors.
(As you can see, we still do not have the drywall up over the insulation as the insulation needs to be inspected before we can do that and we don't really want to waste the inspector's time coming out for something so small. You can also see a portion of the electrical work in the ceiling.)
Last week, we went ahead and replaced the doors. We don't yet have pictures of the replacement doors or what the old ones looked like. But here's a picture of Karl looking at me sternly while we were there replacing the doors.
"Stop taking pictures and start working!"
(As you can see, we still do not have the drywall up over the insulation as the insulation needs to be inspected before we can do that and we don't really want to waste the inspector's time coming out for something so small. You can also see a portion of the electrical work in the ceiling.)
Monday, May 9, 2011
Spinning Wheels
I'm not sure what to say today.
This week we should be (finally) getting the work finished by Demo Guy. You know, the work that should have been completed a whole month ago. If it goes well, I suspect we can have a finished roof within a week or so. Demo Guy has caused us nearly two weeks (if not more) in delays.
We should also be able to get the electrical work finished. We've a meeting tomorrow with Electrical Contractor's former employee to see if working with Employee can work for us.
This was also supposed to have been the week we were going to announce an opening date. But I don't think we're quite ready to do that. First, we wanted to be open for the Rapture on May 21 and have a Post-rapture hang-over party on May 22; that's not happening. Then it was Memorial Day and that's looking increasingly unlikely. And finally, Fresno Pride on June 4; and that's not looking promising as an open date either.
This week we should be (finally) getting the work finished by Demo Guy. You know, the work that should have been completed a whole month ago. If it goes well, I suspect we can have a finished roof within a week or so. Demo Guy has caused us nearly two weeks (if not more) in delays.
We should also be able to get the electrical work finished. We've a meeting tomorrow with Electrical Contractor's former employee to see if working with Employee can work for us.
This was also supposed to have been the week we were going to announce an opening date. But I don't think we're quite ready to do that. First, we wanted to be open for the Rapture on May 21 and have a Post-rapture hang-over party on May 22; that's not happening. Then it was Memorial Day and that's looking increasingly unlikely. And finally, Fresno Pride on June 4; and that's not looking promising as an open date either.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Our Trump Impersonation
After a particularly serious lapse of judgement on the part of our electrical contractor which caused an unconscionable security problem and combined with a near complete lack of the ability to communicate with each each other (we have a very hard time understanding him; English is not his native language) we had to fire him yesterday.
Karl had been doing most of the talking with this guy until yesterday so I didn't fully understand the language barrier. His employee was able to understand him just fine (employee's native language is English) and we were dealing with him most of the time. We learned yesterday that Contractor had fired Employee the day before. Employee had been working with Contractor for about three years and the firing apparently came from out of the blue.
We would really have rather kept working with the same guy. But, after a conversation that lasted at least 5 minutes (if not longer) and I still was unsure whether or not PG & E even knew we existed--much less was coming out to hook up our power to the pole--and apparently talking in circles Karl and I decided we didn't want to continue with Contractor without Employee.
Karl had been doing most of the talking with this guy until yesterday so I didn't fully understand the language barrier. His employee was able to understand him just fine (employee's native language is English) and we were dealing with him most of the time. We learned yesterday that Contractor had fired Employee the day before. Employee had been working with Contractor for about three years and the firing apparently came from out of the blue.
We would really have rather kept working with the same guy. But, after a conversation that lasted at least 5 minutes (if not longer) and I still was unsure whether or not PG & E even knew we existed--much less was coming out to hook up our power to the pole--and apparently talking in circles Karl and I decided we didn't want to continue with Contractor without Employee.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
What's Behind Curtain Number 1?
Turns out, more curtains...
The soda shop style bar stools at the bar are quaint but difficult to work on and are slowly deteriorating. I've called them a "Law Suit Waiting to Happen". (I don't drink that much and even I've had, shall we say, "trouble" with the bar stools.) So, they have to go.
First step: Get rid of them!
Second step is... Uh, I guess there is no second step.
We started getting rid of them on Monday. First, we had to remove the carpet and reveal some of the structure to see what the heck was going on under there. And it turns out it'll be fairly easy to remove. Under the carpet is some delightful vinyl flooring. I'm sure it matched beautifully with the pink and turquoise the building used to be painted.
We have some nice ideas for what to do with the area down there below the bar on the customer side and, for the most part, you'll have to wait to know what that is until later.
From this point in removing the bar stools, we decided it'd be easiest with electricity. There's some wood that'll need to be removed and that'll be easiest with a circular saw. Electricity should be available in about a week. Until then, here are some pictures to entertain yourself with.
The soda shop style bar stools at the bar are quaint but difficult to work on and are slowly deteriorating. I've called them a "Law Suit Waiting to Happen". (I don't drink that much and even I've had, shall we say, "trouble" with the bar stools.) So, they have to go.
First step: Get rid of them!
Second step is... Uh, I guess there is no second step.
We started getting rid of them on Monday. First, we had to remove the carpet and reveal some of the structure to see what the heck was going on under there. And it turns out it'll be fairly easy to remove. Under the carpet is some delightful vinyl flooring. I'm sure it matched beautifully with the pink and turquoise the building used to be painted.
My! What lovely vinyl floor covering!
We have some nice ideas for what to do with the area down there below the bar on the customer side and, for the most part, you'll have to wait to know what that is until later.
From this point in removing the bar stools, we decided it'd be easiest with electricity. There's some wood that'll need to be removed and that'll be easiest with a circular saw. Electricity should be available in about a week. Until then, here are some pictures to entertain yourself with.
Don't touch that! You don't know where it's been!
Bryan getting ripped.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
In Too Deep
Well, well, well....
What a difference a day makes. Demo Guy called us a little before Noon today with a proposal.
He wants to fix the problems we brought up yesterday and one other major problem that we didn't notice until he had left. I told him I'd have to call him back after talking to Karl about the proposal Demo Guy offered. And, after a long discussion between Karl and I, we agreed with the proposal.
We will be watching pretty much every move this guy and his crew makes. I'm 100% certain that we all want to be done with this project and done with dealing with each other. And, frankly, Karl and I want to move on. (But that's not to say we won't take appropriate action later on.
What a difference a day makes. Demo Guy called us a little before Noon today with a proposal.
He wants to fix the problems we brought up yesterday and one other major problem that we didn't notice until he had left. I told him I'd have to call him back after talking to Karl about the proposal Demo Guy offered. And, after a long discussion between Karl and I, we agreed with the proposal.
We will be watching pretty much every move this guy and his crew makes. I'm 100% certain that we all want to be done with this project and done with dealing with each other. And, frankly, Karl and I want to move on. (But that's not to say we won't take appropriate action later on.
On the Plus Side....
It looks like we may have temporary electrical service sometime this week; it depends on how quickly PG & E can make it out to connect things up. And that will make construction work go a lot easier for everybody.
And, Jeff of Club Legends stopped by with a small entourage to take a look at the place. (I assume he was driving by and saw Karl's car.) He had some excellent advice that might save us a bunch of money. (Which may go a good distance to making up for the costs of completing Demo Guy's work.)
And, Jeff of Club Legends stopped by with a small entourage to take a look at the place. (I assume he was driving by and saw Karl's car.) He had some excellent advice that might save us a bunch of money. (Which may go a good distance to making up for the costs of completing Demo Guy's work.)
"Is There a Lawyer in the House?"
Turns out, it wasn't all resolved on Monday.
As I mentioned very briefly yesterday (it was a mobile blog posting) we met with Demo Guy yesterday afternoon. And it turns out we're going to have to take him to small claims court to recover the costs of repairing the damage we firmly believe beyond any shadow of doubt to have been caused by his construction crew and his own negligence.
Rolled into that claim is going to be money to finish the job correctly. We discovered yesterday that the two guys Demo Guy sent on Saturday did not install the truss correctly at all. Even after Karl had shown the crew the plans which clearly show the proper way to install the connectors they were not done correctly. At all.
We're considering naming names here with this contractor. We don't want to get caught up in a libel or slander lawsuit for defamation of character so we have to tread carefully. That's not too difficult; we just have to make sure that our opinions are clearly stated as opinions. There can be no defamation of character or libel or slander if what is said is true; the problem becomes being able to prove in court that what we present as fact is, indeed, factual.
As I mentioned very briefly yesterday (it was a mobile blog posting) we met with Demo Guy yesterday afternoon. And it turns out we're going to have to take him to small claims court to recover the costs of repairing the damage we firmly believe beyond any shadow of doubt to have been caused by his construction crew and his own negligence.
Rolled into that claim is going to be money to finish the job correctly. We discovered yesterday that the two guys Demo Guy sent on Saturday did not install the truss correctly at all. Even after Karl had shown the crew the plans which clearly show the proper way to install the connectors they were not done correctly. At all.
We're considering naming names here with this contractor. We don't want to get caught up in a libel or slander lawsuit for defamation of character so we have to tread carefully. That's not too difficult; we just have to make sure that our opinions are clearly stated as opinions. There can be no defamation of character or libel or slander if what is said is true; the problem becomes being able to prove in court that what we present as fact is, indeed, factual.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Meeting With Demo Guy Completed
The meeting went pretty much as I expected. But we're gonna have to see this guy in court. Whee.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Finishing the Job
Today, Karl's at the bar supervising the installation of the final truss that should have been installed four weeks ago. Why is Karl supervising? Because the contractor apparently doesn't supervise his own employees and with the changes made to the framing plans specific strapping and connectors are required to help prevent the roof from flying off in the event of, let's call it, a "wind event".
And it's a good thing Karl's there. Demo Guy had given his crew the wrong information on how to install the truss he should have installed four weeks ago. They were doing some kind of bizarre plan to make the studs in the wall line up with the vertical members of the truss instead of what the engineer designed, we (the client) agreed to, and the city approved.
Had Karl not been at the bar to stop the (unsupervised) crew, either Demo Guy would have to come back out again and fix what he had done or we would have had to go back through the process of revising the plans again. One wonders if this guy is trying to keep this job going forever.
There are other issues with this contractor that we will get resolved on Monday. If all goes to plan, that is. If all doesn't go to plan, it'll be resolved within 45 days or so.
We think it'll be resolved on Monday; it's in everybody's best interest. We'll be done with this guy and he'll be done with us. I'm sure we'll all be happier for it.
And it's a good thing Karl's there. Demo Guy had given his crew the wrong information on how to install the truss he should have installed four weeks ago. They were doing some kind of bizarre plan to make the studs in the wall line up with the vertical members of the truss instead of what the engineer designed, we (the client) agreed to, and the city approved.
Had Karl not been at the bar to stop the (unsupervised) crew, either Demo Guy would have to come back out again and fix what he had done or we would have had to go back through the process of revising the plans again. One wonders if this guy is trying to keep this job going forever.
There are other issues with this contractor that we will get resolved on Monday. If all goes to plan, that is. If all doesn't go to plan, it'll be resolved within 45 days or so.
We think it'll be resolved on Monday; it's in everybody's best interest. We'll be done with this guy and he'll be done with us. I'm sure we'll all be happier for it.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Fiberglass Filled Fortifications
The City of Fresno requested (Ok, required) us to install insulation in the fire-damaged wall. We wanted to do it anyway to help reduce utility costs so it's not a big issue. First off, we had to rip off the old interior drywall.
Both Karl and I are bemused by the rather strange pattern of studs and related bits. But, as I mentioned earlier, the "framing" does lend credence to the belief that the bar used to be some kind of housing. Regardless, here is the wall newly fortified with fiberglass.
Karl's been climbing the walls lately.
Both Karl and I are bemused by the rather strange pattern of studs and related bits. But, as I mentioned earlier, the "framing" does lend credence to the belief that the bar used to be some kind of housing. Regardless, here is the wall newly fortified with fiberglass.
Yes, the cutting of the insulation gave Karl Blisters.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Equal Permits
Well, that's one more Magical Hoop™ we've jumped through.
But this one pretty much stayed stationary and was actually pretty easy. We received our Reseller's Permit from the State Board of Equalization late last week. Next is getting set up with accounts with the vendors and such.
And why is it called the Board of *Equalization*? What exactly is being equalized?
But this one pretty much stayed stationary and was actually pretty easy. We received our Reseller's Permit from the State Board of Equalization late last week. Next is getting set up with accounts with the vendors and such.
And why is it called the Board of *Equalization*? What exactly is being equalized?
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Workin' on the Fence Line
We've begun the final work on putting in the rest of the replacement fence. Last week, we got the materials to complete the fence.
Then, on Monday this week (after our visit to City Hall), we dug the post holes and set the posts.
The pickets will be nailed up soon. The concrete hasn't quite set well enough just yet.
Karl has wood
I should probably help with the concrete rather than just taking pictures...
Here's what it looked like before we started doing anything.
(Someone really oughta paint this place.)
Then, on Monday this week (after our visit to City Hall), we dug the post holes and set the posts.
Dig, Bryan! DIG!!!
What? I'm diggin' here!
Karl beginning the Anvil Chorus.
No, he didn't miss. This was after he hit the metal thing with the other metal thing.
The pickets will be nailed up soon. The concrete hasn't quite set well enough just yet.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
"Return to The City; The Stamp of the Approver"
Our "back check" appointment with the City for the revised truss plan was a bit sooner than I had expected it to be--it was yesterday. It all went fine and we got the new stamp of approval (really. It says "Approved") and now we can proceed. We next need to have the roof framing contractor install the truss he should have in the first place and then get the framing job inspected and approved (there's that word again). We're not sure yet when that will be. Hopefully sometime this week or early next week.
Also on our agenda for yesterday was a new site plan revising the parking situation. The original site plan (which was approved) showed 19 spaces including two accessible stalls. We had to show a "path of travel" from the accessible stalls to the main entrance. There are rules about where that path of travel can go (which I've now become reasonably well-versed in). Since we showed two accessible stalls, the "path of travel" had to be in front of the two spaces which put them 5 feet further out into the parking lot than the non-accessible stalls and that was just, well, weird. (And probably would have caused some minor accidents in the parking lot.)
But, I learned after reading various parts of the building code that for the number of spaces we have in the lot, we only need one accessible stall and that the "path of travel" can be behind a person's own vehicle but not someone else's. So, we reduced the number of accessible stalls to one, moved it back in line with the rest of the parking spaces, moved the "path of travel", reduced the total number of indicated spaces to 13 and all is right in the world.
(In practical matters, the amount of parking has actually increased from what you may remember from The Den. The storage units are no longer sitting in the parking lot and the stage has been removed so that space is now available again.)
Also on our agenda for yesterday was a new site plan revising the parking situation. The original site plan (which was approved) showed 19 spaces including two accessible stalls. We had to show a "path of travel" from the accessible stalls to the main entrance. There are rules about where that path of travel can go (which I've now become reasonably well-versed in). Since we showed two accessible stalls, the "path of travel" had to be in front of the two spaces which put them 5 feet further out into the parking lot than the non-accessible stalls and that was just, well, weird. (And probably would have caused some minor accidents in the parking lot.)
But, I learned after reading various parts of the building code that for the number of spaces we have in the lot, we only need one accessible stall and that the "path of travel" can be behind a person's own vehicle but not someone else's. So, we reduced the number of accessible stalls to one, moved it back in line with the rest of the parking spaces, moved the "path of travel", reduced the total number of indicated spaces to 13 and all is right in the world.
(In practical matters, the amount of parking has actually increased from what you may remember from The Den. The storage units are no longer sitting in the parking lot and the stage has been removed so that space is now available again.)
Friday, April 22, 2011
...Often Work Out Just Fine
Yesterday, we got the revised plans from the engineering folks. We'll have to do some strapping to the south wall of the building to help prevent the roof from being ripped off in a tornado or hurricane (!?) but it's pretty easy. It involves knocking off some of the stucco (but not all of it, Phew!) and having the contractor do what he was supposed to have done in the first place--demolish the old south truss and install the new one. We'll have to add some metal strapping that is similar to the earthquake strap around your water heater tank only thicker.
On Monday, we have an appointment with The City to get the revised plans approved. (The "Back Check" appointment.) The correct truss should be installed sometime next week. Should. ("Shouldn't it have been installed weeks ago??")
I'm not sure if I should be but I'm kind of happy that Demo Guy is getting annoyed at this job. He should have done it right in the first place, don't ya think? Maybe he'll learn. ("Why hasn't he learned already??")
On Monday, we have an appointment with The City to get the revised plans approved. (The "Back Check" appointment.) The correct truss should be installed sometime next week. Should. ("Shouldn't it have been installed weeks ago??")
I'm not sure if I should be but I'm kind of happy that Demo Guy is getting annoyed at this job. He should have done it right in the first place, don't ya think? Maybe he'll learn. ("Why hasn't he learned already??")
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Best Laid Plans
If I were baking a cake and left out flour, it would not turn out to be a cake. And if I did, I could not go back later and add flour to the mess and call it cake. This is the type of problem I was facing yesterday. One ingredient was left out of our plans and since then many solutions have been put forth about how to fix the problem. "We could put this here, and that there, and then these could go here, and you would only need a few of these..."
Some of them sound like feats of engineering. Consider that the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, The Hindenburg, and the Chevy Vega were also feats of engineering. Others sound very "rednecks with duct tape". Before anyone objects, I know that NASCAR has made great strides with duct tape, but it hasn't yet been approved for new construction. If it was, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be selling it on TV.
But after careful consideration Bryan and I have reached the exact solution to this problem. READ THE PLANS.
Wow that sounds simple. Now let's see if we can get them to do it. Your favorite soap operas may be going off the air,... but stay tuned for Crisis with the Contractor!
Some of them sound like feats of engineering. Consider that the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, The Hindenburg, and the Chevy Vega were also feats of engineering. Others sound very "rednecks with duct tape". Before anyone objects, I know that NASCAR has made great strides with duct tape, but it hasn't yet been approved for new construction. If it was, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be selling it on TV.
But after careful consideration Bryan and I have reached the exact solution to this problem. READ THE PLANS.
Wow that sounds simple. Now let's see if we can get them to do it. Your favorite soap operas may be going off the air,... but stay tuned for Crisis with the Contractor!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Correcting the Corrections
We got the revised plans back from the resubmission (or whatever the real thing it's called) to the city yesterday. There's a list of corrections. It's a short list, but a list nonetheless.
And this whole thing is just $%@! annoying. We were told we could get any truss company to build the trusses for us; so we did. We found a company that would do the trusses cheaper than the company the engineering firm had recommended. What nobody told us, though, was that we had to inform our engineering firm that a different company was making the trusses. (If they're made to match the approved truss sheet, why does it matter who makes them???). That omission of information is costing us time and money.
Now, we have to wait through this ridiculous and slow back check bull$#!& to have corrections made that, quite frankly, make no sense to me.
And I question the thoroughness of some of the people doing work at various places. We were asked to move the insulation from on top of the ceiling to directly below the roof. Why wasn't this requested during plan check and back check two to three months ago? Why do we have to pay for this? Who the #*&! dropped the ball two months ago?? And how many more times are we going to have to go through revisions and spending more and more money to get new things approved that should have been caught in the first place?
I'm sure I'm just ranting and raving out of sheer frustration with dealing with something I have no experience in. But, fuck! Make it logical!
And this whole thing is just $%@! annoying. We were told we could get any truss company to build the trusses for us; so we did. We found a company that would do the trusses cheaper than the company the engineering firm had recommended. What nobody told us, though, was that we had to inform our engineering firm that a different company was making the trusses. (If they're made to match the approved truss sheet, why does it matter who makes them???). That omission of information is costing us time and money.
Now, we have to wait through this ridiculous and slow back check bull$#!& to have corrections made that, quite frankly, make no sense to me.
And I question the thoroughness of some of the people doing work at various places. We were asked to move the insulation from on top of the ceiling to directly below the roof. Why wasn't this requested during plan check and back check two to three months ago? Why do we have to pay for this? Who the #*&! dropped the ball two months ago?? And how many more times are we going to have to go through revisions and spending more and more money to get new things approved that should have been caught in the first place?
I'm sure I'm just ranting and raving out of sheer frustration with dealing with something I have no experience in. But, fuck! Make it logical!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
"Saving" Money
Later today, we're headed back to City Hall to pick up our revised plans because of the truss manufacturer "issue". (We didn't know we were supposed to have told the engineering firm that we'd have someone else make the trusses.) In the end, we spent a little more than $300 in order to save $100.
But, we learned a valuable lesson. Ask questions like, "How much is this going to cost us if we do this?" and "Is there anything else we'll need to do if we do X?"
On the plus side, the trusses should be inspected tomorrow and be ready for a roof to be installed.
But, we learned a valuable lesson. Ask questions like, "How much is this going to cost us if we do this?" and "Is there anything else we'll need to do if we do X?"
On the plus side, the trusses should be inspected tomorrow and be ready for a roof to be installed.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Were We Raised in a Barn?
Over the weekend, we got the siding put up.
First, the old falling away, burned stucco was removed:
The going theory is (I haven't bothered to verify for certain) the bar used to be some sort of housing for agricultural employees back when it was built. We believe it was built in the 1950's. The somewhat bizarre door-shaped and window-shaped framing lends credence to that theory so we'll go with it.
And, now the siding:
This isn't quite what we expected even though it matches exactly what our engineered plans show. We thought it would be vertical rather than horizontal. We're not complaining -- the siding is a lot more secure than the plain wallboard you see in the "Before" picture -- but it really does make the bar look like a barn. A bright, sunshine yellow barn.
Next on the list: Buy paint that isn't bright, sunshine yellow.
(The grey paint on the door is covering even more graffiti. It was just a tag and nothing like the graffiti that brought ABC 30 out earlier.)
First, the old falling away, burned stucco was removed:
The going theory is (I haven't bothered to verify for certain) the bar used to be some sort of housing for agricultural employees back when it was built. We believe it was built in the 1950's. The somewhat bizarre door-shaped and window-shaped framing lends credence to that theory so we'll go with it.
And, now the siding:
This isn't quite what we expected even though it matches exactly what our engineered plans show. We thought it would be vertical rather than horizontal. We're not complaining -- the siding is a lot more secure than the plain wallboard you see in the "Before" picture -- but it really does make the bar look like a barn. A bright, sunshine yellow barn.
Next on the list: Buy paint that isn't bright, sunshine yellow.
(The grey paint on the door is covering even more graffiti. It was just a tag and nothing like the graffiti that brought ABC 30 out earlier.)
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Oops Number 2
Here's another "Oops".
We were told we could have any truss company build our trusses for us. So we found one. They were cheaper than the others so we had them build our trusses for us. We had the city inspector out on Tuesday to do the inspection for the roof framing. Turns out, we needed to let the City know that we had a different truss company build the trusses than the one who was listed on the truss sheet for Plan Check.
So, we had to do another truss sheet and submit it to the City as an addendum to the plans. We can't get the inspector back out until that truss sheet has made its way through the inboxes it needs to. We're waiting for that to happen before we can move forward with putting the shingles on.
In the end, we could end up spending more in the addendum fees than we saved with the cheaper trusses. It's still cheaper than having a general contractor do all this for us but is still annoying.
We were told we could have any truss company build our trusses for us. So we found one. They were cheaper than the others so we had them build our trusses for us. We had the city inspector out on Tuesday to do the inspection for the roof framing. Turns out, we needed to let the City know that we had a different truss company build the trusses than the one who was listed on the truss sheet for Plan Check.
So, we had to do another truss sheet and submit it to the City as an addendum to the plans. We can't get the inspector back out until that truss sheet has made its way through the inboxes it needs to. We're waiting for that to happen before we can move forward with putting the shingles on.
In the end, we could end up spending more in the addendum fees than we saved with the cheaper trusses. It's still cheaper than having a general contractor do all this for us but is still annoying.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The New Ceiling
If you've been following this delightful process of opening a bar, you'll know that way back in December we posted some really bad renderings of the new ceiling. Much concern was expressed by many people about the ceiling. And, finally, we can see how well my crappy renderings match up with reality.
Behold! THE NEW CEILING!!!! MARVEL in its loftiness! REJOICE in its completeness!
Well, it doesn't really do justice to the sheer impact of having the higher ceiling. I tell ya, I absolutely love and am thrilled with the way it looks.
Obviously, we still have a lot of work to do on the ceiling itself. For starters, it needs to be a ceiling and not open trusses like that. (Which was our original idea; we like the look of the open trusses. We kinda wanted a "light construction" theme for the bar. Like it wasn't quite finished. Like you were walking into a construction site. But that was going to be expensive for various reasons.)
So, there ya go. Now on to the next bit of stress. The interior construction work. (When do I get a vacation, anyway?)
Behold! THE NEW CEILING!!!! MARVEL in its loftiness! REJOICE in its completeness!
Well, it doesn't really do justice to the sheer impact of having the higher ceiling. I tell ya, I absolutely love and am thrilled with the way it looks.
Obviously, we still have a lot of work to do on the ceiling itself. For starters, it needs to be a ceiling and not open trusses like that. (Which was our original idea; we like the look of the open trusses. We kinda wanted a "light construction" theme for the bar. Like it wasn't quite finished. Like you were walking into a construction site. But that was going to be expensive for various reasons.)
So, there ya go. Now on to the next bit of stress. The interior construction work. (When do I get a vacation, anyway?)
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Not-So-Lovely Rain and Other Bullstuff
(It's a long one; better strap yourself in.)
As you know, we got our building permit on Monday, March 21. That week, it rained pretty heavily so construction couldn't begin immediately. We had been in contact with the Demo Guy (our demolition and construction contractor; not his real name) and he said he'd be ready to start on March 28.
Well, March 28 rolls around and he's not done with the previous job. He blamed it on the rain the previous week. Seems fairly reasonable. Said he would be able to start on Wednesday and that he wanted to meet with Karl on Tuesday to go over the job one final time before getting crews there.
Also on March 28, the A/C guy was going to come and remove the on-roof A/C unit for cleaning and storage during the demolition. He comes with a crane and removes the unit. And that took pretty much all day so it's probably good that Demo Guy wasn't ready to start on the 28th.
Demo Guy and Karl meet on Tuesday to go over the job and Demo Guy says he'd have his crew start on Thursday. On Wednesday, Karl spent a lot of the day at the bar doing "stuff". Fixing stucco problems, building fences where there weren't fences before and that sort of thing.
Thursday rolls around and Demo Guy still isn't ready to start and he'd start on Friday. We start to see a pattern.
That pattern is reinforced on Friday, April 1, as well. He's still not ready. But he will be most definitely, positively, absolutely be ready and start on Monday, April 4. Careful readers will note that's one week after he first said he'd be able to start.
Early Friday afternoon (April 1) Karl heads from home to the bar to do some work (I forget exactly what). Later that day, the truss company called and told us the trusses would be ready for delivery on Monday, April 4; the same day that Demo Guy was to finally begin work demolishing the roof. That seemed perfect to Karl and me but the Demo Guy wanted us to delay the delivery of the trusses until April 11. This said to both Karl and me that the demolition would take a week. (Considering the work, a week always did seem a little long; Demo Guy originally said the entire job would take two weeks. But I digress.)
Karl spent the weekend in Fresno doing various work on the bar. Monday morning rolls around and Karl heads to the bar in the early morning and meets Demo Guy and his crew. They start removing the roof and its trusses and, after a while, Karl leaves to let them do their work.
Later that day, Karl returns and finds the demolition complete. All of it. Trusses, old metal roof, old shingles, old sheathing all ripped off and put into a dumpster. The process that we thought would take a week took a single day. (A very long day, to be sure, but a day nonetheless.) This was a nice surprise! (But then why did Demo Guy want to wait a week to start putting up the trusses and why did he have us delay the delivery of the trusses a full week?)
The demolition broke a few things in the bar--glass counter top, a mirror, a speaker, drink rail, things like that--but that was nothing compared to the problems that were about to occur.
Since the bar was going to be without a roof for so long (upwards of two weeks) Karl wanted to sit at the bar over night to help prevent any vandalism that might occur if nobody was there to watch the place. So, Karl spends the night on Monday sitting in his car staring at the bar. Fun.
On Tuesday, we ask Demo Guy why he is leaving us without a roof for a week. Turns out Demo Guy was doing two jobs at the same time; ours and someone else's. I'm sure Demo Guy has his reasons for leaving us without a roof for a week but I don't know what they could possibly be. Looks to me that this guy seems to have a scheduling problem. It seems more logical to me to knock out one job before starting another. Is this guy so good that he's in this much demand? (Quite frankly, I doubt it; in my opinion, his attention to detail and concern for his clients seems a bit lacking.)
On Tuesday afternoon, we received the lovely "homo fagét" graffiti. And that was annoying and disturbing. I also see that there's a 30 to 70% chance of rain on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. No roof and rain do not mix. Demo Guy has his guys off on his other job and I have no roof. We get in touch with the truss folks and they can deliver the trusses Wednesday afternoon. Why Wednesday? We want to try to get Demo Guy to start work on Wednesday afternoon in preparation of the 70% chance of rain on Thursday and we figured he'd be concerned about his client's project being damaged by rain. It was too late on Tuesday to get a hold of Demo Guy so we have to wait until morning.
For various reasons, we couldn't get a hold of Demo Guy Wednesday morning to see if he could start that afternoon. When we finally contacted Demo Guy, he said his crew could not work on our roof on Wednesday but would be working on our roof at 7:00am Thursday and, unless there's a downpour, they'd continue working to get us a roof. And, even if there was a downpour, we were assured that the crew would resume work when it cleared up.
Wednesday night, it rains. The bar gets wet. All of the bar gets wet. And Demo Guy didn't even bother to try to protect the interior with tarps or anything and didn't even offer to come help put up any sort of protection. (To be fair, we didn't either but that's not the point. The point is he didn't even seem concerned for anything but the pool table.)
Well, on Thursday Demo Guy's crew shows up at the crack of dawn again and beings working. A couple hours later, there was a 45-minute downpour and the crew left. Since Karl had been spending his nights at the bar keeping tabs on the place, he couldn't stay at the bar during the day; he had to sleep at some time, right? Before the downpour and after Demo Guy's crew had installed one truss, he went and took a nap. Mid afternoon, he gets up and heads to the bar to see what progress had been made after the rain had stopped. There was no crew working. The work had stopped, no progress had been made despite having no rain during the afternoon.
We called Demo Guy and asked him where his crew was. He did not know and could not get a hold of them! That's right, he did *not* know where his crew was and could *not* get a hold of them. To say that we were furious is a gross, massive understatement.
Demo Guy assures us up and down that, despite not knowing where they are, his crew will be there at 7:00am Friday to continue working and that his crew didn't come back on Thursday afternoon because "every time they picked up a saw, they were getting shocked" because the equipment was so saturated. (I thought, "SO IS MY BAR!!") (I don't mean to say that I wish his crew to be placed at risk of electrical shock, mind you.)
We have serious doubts about whether or not Demo Guy can even try to make good on his word about showing up on Friday morning; his track record is not exactly stellar in that regard. But, we can do nothing--literally--but believe him. What else could we do? Hire another contractor to finish the job? The place still had no roof. I'm sure we could have hired another contractor to finish the job but the annoyance of doing that would be unfathomably stressful for both of us.
Friday comes around and Demo Guy's crew shows up. I guess he finally figured out how to get a hold of his employees. Karl goes and lays down for his daily rest. Later that afternoon the crew finishes with the trusses and sheathing. The construction is complete in one day.
Also, ABC 30 comes out and does their piece on the graffiti. The police show up and assure us that they do, in fact, care about the (legally defined) hate crime of the graffiti. Ultimately, Friday ended up being a pretty great day for the bar. We simply love the vaulted ceiling (pictures coming tomorrow of that) and are thrilled to finally be at this point in the process.
In the end, Demo Guy scheduled two weeks for a job that only took two and a half days. Why he couldn't have just had the whole thing done by Wednesday before the rain started is simply beyond my comprehension. EVERYTHING was ready for him and he chose to delay things. He is the one who had us delay delivery of the trusses. He is the one with the apparent scheduling problems that made him unable to start when he first said he could. He is the one who couldn't communicate with his employees at a crucial time.
In all, the bar survived. The rain didn't cause too much obvious damage; there could still be some moisture problems with the drywall in the future but we're taking some proactive steps to help slow--if not prevent--that. It could have been a lot worse if the floor hadn't been concrete. But the problems and delays this guy caused for us are reprehensible and wholly unprofessional.
As you know, we got our building permit on Monday, March 21. That week, it rained pretty heavily so construction couldn't begin immediately. We had been in contact with the Demo Guy (our demolition and construction contractor; not his real name) and he said he'd be ready to start on March 28.
Well, March 28 rolls around and he's not done with the previous job. He blamed it on the rain the previous week. Seems fairly reasonable. Said he would be able to start on Wednesday and that he wanted to meet with Karl on Tuesday to go over the job one final time before getting crews there.
Also on March 28, the A/C guy was going to come and remove the on-roof A/C unit for cleaning and storage during the demolition. He comes with a crane and removes the unit. And that took pretty much all day so it's probably good that Demo Guy wasn't ready to start on the 28th.
Demo Guy and Karl meet on Tuesday to go over the job and Demo Guy says he'd have his crew start on Thursday. On Wednesday, Karl spent a lot of the day at the bar doing "stuff". Fixing stucco problems, building fences where there weren't fences before and that sort of thing.
Thursday rolls around and Demo Guy still isn't ready to start and he'd start on Friday. We start to see a pattern.
That pattern is reinforced on Friday, April 1, as well. He's still not ready. But he will be most definitely, positively, absolutely be ready and start on Monday, April 4. Careful readers will note that's one week after he first said he'd be able to start.
Early Friday afternoon (April 1) Karl heads from home to the bar to do some work (I forget exactly what). Later that day, the truss company called and told us the trusses would be ready for delivery on Monday, April 4; the same day that Demo Guy was to finally begin work demolishing the roof. That seemed perfect to Karl and me but the Demo Guy wanted us to delay the delivery of the trusses until April 11. This said to both Karl and me that the demolition would take a week. (Considering the work, a week always did seem a little long; Demo Guy originally said the entire job would take two weeks. But I digress.)
Karl spent the weekend in Fresno doing various work on the bar. Monday morning rolls around and Karl heads to the bar in the early morning and meets Demo Guy and his crew. They start removing the roof and its trusses and, after a while, Karl leaves to let them do their work.
Later that day, Karl returns and finds the demolition complete. All of it. Trusses, old metal roof, old shingles, old sheathing all ripped off and put into a dumpster. The process that we thought would take a week took a single day. (A very long day, to be sure, but a day nonetheless.) This was a nice surprise! (But then why did Demo Guy want to wait a week to start putting up the trusses and why did he have us delay the delivery of the trusses a full week?)
The demolition broke a few things in the bar--glass counter top, a mirror, a speaker, drink rail, things like that--but that was nothing compared to the problems that were about to occur.
Since the bar was going to be without a roof for so long (upwards of two weeks) Karl wanted to sit at the bar over night to help prevent any vandalism that might occur if nobody was there to watch the place. So, Karl spends the night on Monday sitting in his car staring at the bar. Fun.
On Tuesday, we ask Demo Guy why he is leaving us without a roof for a week. Turns out Demo Guy was doing two jobs at the same time; ours and someone else's. I'm sure Demo Guy has his reasons for leaving us without a roof for a week but I don't know what they could possibly be. Looks to me that this guy seems to have a scheduling problem. It seems more logical to me to knock out one job before starting another. Is this guy so good that he's in this much demand? (Quite frankly, I doubt it; in my opinion, his attention to detail and concern for his clients seems a bit lacking.)
On Tuesday afternoon, we received the lovely "homo fagét" graffiti. And that was annoying and disturbing. I also see that there's a 30 to 70% chance of rain on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. No roof and rain do not mix. Demo Guy has his guys off on his other job and I have no roof. We get in touch with the truss folks and they can deliver the trusses Wednesday afternoon. Why Wednesday? We want to try to get Demo Guy to start work on Wednesday afternoon in preparation of the 70% chance of rain on Thursday and we figured he'd be concerned about his client's project being damaged by rain. It was too late on Tuesday to get a hold of Demo Guy so we have to wait until morning.
For various reasons, we couldn't get a hold of Demo Guy Wednesday morning to see if he could start that afternoon. When we finally contacted Demo Guy, he said his crew could not work on our roof on Wednesday but would be working on our roof at 7:00am Thursday and, unless there's a downpour, they'd continue working to get us a roof. And, even if there was a downpour, we were assured that the crew would resume work when it cleared up.
Wednesday night, it rains. The bar gets wet. All of the bar gets wet. And Demo Guy didn't even bother to try to protect the interior with tarps or anything and didn't even offer to come help put up any sort of protection. (To be fair, we didn't either but that's not the point. The point is he didn't even seem concerned for anything but the pool table.)
Well, on Thursday Demo Guy's crew shows up at the crack of dawn again and beings working. A couple hours later, there was a 45-minute downpour and the crew left. Since Karl had been spending his nights at the bar keeping tabs on the place, he couldn't stay at the bar during the day; he had to sleep at some time, right? Before the downpour and after Demo Guy's crew had installed one truss, he went and took a nap. Mid afternoon, he gets up and heads to the bar to see what progress had been made after the rain had stopped. There was no crew working. The work had stopped, no progress had been made despite having no rain during the afternoon.
We called Demo Guy and asked him where his crew was. He did not know and could not get a hold of them! That's right, he did *not* know where his crew was and could *not* get a hold of them. To say that we were furious is a gross, massive understatement.
Demo Guy assures us up and down that, despite not knowing where they are, his crew will be there at 7:00am Friday to continue working and that his crew didn't come back on Thursday afternoon because "every time they picked up a saw, they were getting shocked" because the equipment was so saturated. (I thought, "SO IS MY BAR!!") (I don't mean to say that I wish his crew to be placed at risk of electrical shock, mind you.)
We have serious doubts about whether or not Demo Guy can even try to make good on his word about showing up on Friday morning; his track record is not exactly stellar in that regard. But, we can do nothing--literally--but believe him. What else could we do? Hire another contractor to finish the job? The place still had no roof. I'm sure we could have hired another contractor to finish the job but the annoyance of doing that would be unfathomably stressful for both of us.
Friday comes around and Demo Guy's crew shows up. I guess he finally figured out how to get a hold of his employees. Karl goes and lays down for his daily rest. Later that afternoon the crew finishes with the trusses and sheathing. The construction is complete in one day.
Also, ABC 30 comes out and does their piece on the graffiti. The police show up and assure us that they do, in fact, care about the (legally defined) hate crime of the graffiti. Ultimately, Friday ended up being a pretty great day for the bar. We simply love the vaulted ceiling (pictures coming tomorrow of that) and are thrilled to finally be at this point in the process.
In the end, Demo Guy scheduled two weeks for a job that only took two and a half days. Why he couldn't have just had the whole thing done by Wednesday before the rain started is simply beyond my comprehension. EVERYTHING was ready for him and he chose to delay things. He is the one who had us delay delivery of the trusses. He is the one with the apparent scheduling problems that made him unable to start when he first said he could. He is the one who couldn't communicate with his employees at a crucial time.
In all, the bar survived. The rain didn't cause too much obvious damage; there could still be some moisture problems with the drywall in the future but we're taking some proactive steps to help slow--if not prevent--that. It could have been a lot worse if the floor hadn't been concrete. But the problems and delays this guy caused for us are reprehensible and wholly unprofessional.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Lovely Sky Light
Now that the roof structure has been replaced and the building is once again as secure as it used to be, I think we can start showing what it was like with no roof on.
This is a lovely panorama of the "interior" from the front door. (Notice the grafitti on the mirror from the guy who doesn't know how to spell the things he hates so much.) This image was captured one week ago today.
(I'm starting to really like the panorama mode on the smartphone...)
Tomorrow's post deals with the sheer pain and suffering of not having a roof on the bar in the middle of rain storms and assorted, well, BS. It will go a long way to explaining why last week really, really sucked so badly.
This is a lovely panorama of the "interior" from the front door. (Notice the grafitti on the mirror from the guy who doesn't know how to spell the things he hates so much.) This image was captured one week ago today.
(I'm starting to really like the panorama mode on the smartphone...)
Tomorrow's post deals with the sheer pain and suffering of not having a roof on the bar in the middle of rain storms and assorted, well, BS. It will go a long way to explaining why last week really, really sucked so badly.
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