Year’s End…

but not wits end…

In that world of alternate reality, where responsibility reigns supreme and contractors and other related professionals perform their promised and/or expected duties, we would have been moving into our house within in the next couple of weeks. Of course, as those of you who follow this little "Beast" know, dereliction of responsibility has been more the norm around these parts.

That being said, there are a thousand thanks to be given to those contractors who have come to the plate and delivered , not only as promised, but in a manner that has been patient and understanding when money could not be sent by the bank because the framers hadn’t completed thier work; who have provided guidance above and beyond the call of duty; who have appeared at a moments notice when a moments notice was required. So to these I deliver a hearty (and happy) Thank You Very Much!

DiCesare Excavation, Glenham, NY, 845-831-5310—Gerri DiCesare has proved to be the kind of contractor you want to call your friend. Honest, straighforward, providing excellent guidance on issues found "deep beneath the surface" of our property. In the end end we always had the sense that Gerri’s chief interest was the quality of his work and our well-being as his customers.

Smith Brother’s Concrete, Walkill, NY, 845-778-2997—You’ve seen the house. The House, as my wife so deftly put, is not a box. In fact, its shape really defies description. Needless to say, because of our proximity to our stream and our neighbor’s property line, accuracy was paramount. While Smith Brother’s certainly makes bold assertions at the beginning of a job—they recently won a contest for perfectly completing the most difficult foundation in the nation—the end result proved that there was no hubris in their promises.

Is the foundation square? Not perfectly, but that was easily traced back to an architectural error in the blueprints. Bottom line, our foundation was built exactly as it was specified. And better yet? These guys ALWAYS delivered hours and sometimes days before they promised. You gotta love that!

Ancora Construction, Newburgh, NY, 845-926-7405—Who do you go to when your framers bail? Who wants to pick up where other goombahs leave off. Who has done a stellar job of completing the job? Ancora Construction. James has continued to provide me with carpenters who all have a stellar work ethic and who made it their job to get our house to a liveable condition.

Michael Haynes, Pella Windows, Poughkeepsie, NY, 845-224-4004—Beautiful Windows, unbelievable price, excellent guidance, all-around perfect experience. Yeah, they cost a bit more than the average, but they’re worth every penny.

Todd @ Craftsman Doors dot Com—You’ve seen the door and the window and while I can only speak for myself, I really, really, really think this is a beautiful door. Not to mention that Todd went the extra mile to make sure that all my needs were met and he gave great guidance as to how to select a door so it wouldn’t look just like every other door in the world.

We’re thankful Todd! Thanks so much!

E-Z Plumbing and Heating, 845-206-3319—He’s a busy boy, Eric, but his work is primo and he gets there when he says he’s going to be there. Without his help, chances are, we wouldn’t be living with hot water and heat.

JD Parella Electric, Newburgh, NY, 845-562-4112—I’ve worked with these guys at my office for years. Always friendly. always great advice. Always a pleasure to have on your side.

Tony, Sigma-Tremblay Heating and Air Conditioning, Wappingers Falls, NY, 845-297-4000—Yeah, we spent more money here than we expected to. But Tony made some offers that were very hard to resist. In the end we put all three fireplaces in our house, instead of the "one, with two to be named later" that we originally expected. But we saved more than $3k over what we would have if we waited until some "future date." (As anybodyt knows, future dates and reality very rarely run into each other, so we just sucked it up.)

TJ the Flooring Guy, Beacon, NY—I only have this guy’s direct connect number in my hands at the moment, which I’m not going to give out, but without TJ I have no carpenters, no sheetrockers, and perhaps no sanity. Not to mention that his price for hardwood flooring was more than $2k less than the nearest competitor. He does great work too!

So, are we where we expected to be at this time when we initially started the project? The answer is no. But the end is truly in sight.

So let’s all say a loud hurrah for March of 2005! One year from our good beginning and three months from our happy ending…