I want you to remember as you look at this finished project that there is no such thing as "rough framing".  Contractors that are sloppy and unskilled create a domino effect and pass their work off as being rough carpentry and leaving it to the next contractor to fix.  They create problems for the rest of the contractors invoved with the project down the road.  This client was fortunate that I "bid" the project (as there were hours of extra work involved in this project that was not "finish carpentry").

The sheetrock around all of the doors had to be scribed back 2”.  Then I had to cut the rock and chip it out so that the trim would lay flat against the wall (or as flat as possible.  The jambs were out of plumb so severely that on some the tops were flush with the finished face of the drywall and the bottoms of the legs were flush with the framing.  This is a variation of over a half an inch in 7 feet! This is absolutely unacceptable and is the mark of inexperience and/ or carelessness.

The windows were also trimmed out with 1 x 12 oak.  The deviance of these window openings was ¾” in 50”.  This led to a lot of extra time on each window as each extension jamb had to be scribed cut, belt sanded and repeatedly test fit for accuracy.

The corners were taped without bull nose appliqués installed.  These are applications that go on the bottom 4” (approx) of the corner bead.  They transition the bull nose to a square corner on the bottom.  This allows the trim carpenter to install the base with mitered corners instead of the rounded bull nose.  These rounded bullnose are acceptable however the taper that tapes these corners needs to be right on the money with their work as severe deviances can throw these corners way out of whack and cause the bullnose corners to look ugly and create unsightly gaps.

I could go on and on with the deficiencies of this project, however, the point I am trying to make is the low bidder is not always the best option for your projects.  Remember just because contractor A gives you an estimate for a project and it is x dollars and contractor B gives you an estimate for x dollars for the same project DOES NOT MEAN THE END RESULT IS GOING TO BE THE SAME! 

Also remember that bringing in a general contractor such as myself (which this client chose not to do on this project) will save you a LOT of headaches and probably some money.  This is going ot cost you a little more on the backend but this client has vowed to never build again because of the experiences on this project.  This client acted as his own general contractor and after dealing with umpteen contractors is frazzled!  The clients have vowed to never build again as it is not easy to manage these project alone.  There is a reason we as generals charge the money we do is to take care of the headaches so you don’t have to.  A general will come in, present a project price for you and they will take care of all of the scheduling, contracting and being present onsite (or at least a good one will).

Please enjoy looking at this project and if there are any questions that you may have please don’t hesitate to ask.

You can see the specs of the materials used on this job in each photo section.  The color of stain used on this project was a custom mixed Pratt and Lambert 2 parts Rich Mahogony and 1 part Cherry Bark with a conversion varnish topcoat and results in a beautiful rich combination of colors which seperates this project from the traditional golden oak found in many homes. 

Due to all the rough openings being framed too short all jambs and slabs had to be cut down 1 3/8". 

1)  First step was doors were layed on their sides

2)  Second, jambs were cut down to proper height.

3)  Hinge pins were removed

4)  Slabs removed from jambs

5)  Slabs were then set up and cut

6)  Slabs were then replaced back into jambs

7)  Hinge pins were replaced and slabs rehung

8)  Doors were then brought to respective opening

9)  Doors were hung  

These steps were performed 9 times.

Here are some of the other things that were included in the "low" price:

Walls so severely out of plumb...

That some jambs were 9/ 16th" off being flush with the sheetrock. 

Miscuts around junction boxes never fixed (8 of them throughout the basement)

Miscuts, tool marks and visible screw spots

Here are more pictures of the finished product. 

Once again please remember that the "lowest" bidder is not always the best contractor. 

Thanks and please revist me for another project that I will be kicking off in the next week or two where I follow up and fix another contractors poor workmanship.  I say this as this is the second project of this nature posted on these pages (see the "North Fargo Basement Repair" tab above)  I will be posting the befores of this next project and if you think this one is bad... it gets worse!

Baseboard and bullnose corners

Baseboard is a 2 3/4" solid oak colonial base with coordinating bullnose apliques

Window Jambs

(milled from 1 x 12 solid Oak)

Doors & Casings

Casing is a colonial 2 1/4" door and window casing

Doors are 6 panel Oak in various widths

Miter shown before fill or putty is used to show the tightness of the miters.

 All door throughout basement are the same as those shown above

Thanks again and please feel free to check out some of the other completed and in progress projects here or at www.paragonbathrooms.com