For your reading enjoyment

Okay, so technically this isn't about DIY, though maybe it will serve as some encouragement to those who wonder if the money they are saving by DIY is worth it.

Our house is currently being sided by professionals. They worked last Thursday and Friday. So Saturday, as usual, I washed a load of clothes, and then put them into the dryer. I went shopping for a couple of hours, and when I came back, the dryer was still running. When I opened it, I found that there was heat, but the clothes were still soaking wet, and the lint had collected on the door. I double-checked the placement of the lint trap, cleaned the door, checked all the connections, and tried again. An hour later, I checked again, and found the same thing. I was distraught, because my bathroom sink and oven are already broken, awaiting the funds to fix them. I just COULDN'T add the dryer to the list. Well, suddenly it occurred to my husband and me to look outside.
Yup. They sided over the vent. They didn't cut a hole, they didn't remove the existing cover. They just sided right over it. So I now have a bunch of wet clothes that are turning musty, and smell a bit like burning plastic.
I've never sided a house before, but wouldn't you think that NOT covering the dryer vent would be close to the first page of "Siding for Dummies"?
And we're paying for this.....

Wow, that's amazing. I have seen some pretty stupid things following other repair guys around in my line of work, but your issue sounds like it's way up there on the Blooper scale.

KatyE said:

we're paying for this.....

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My questionis, did you pay them yet? Is the installer a 1 man show or did you hire a company? Kinda makes you wonder about the quality of the rest of their work, doesn't it?

We have not paid for it yet. We're having this done through a city program called Get the Lead Out. We have a representative from the city who will inspect all work, and anything that doesn't cut it won't get approved, and they won't get paid until it's done right. He's also out occasionally to inspect while they're working. Unfortunately, he had already been here on Friday before they sided that section. It was the last section that they did before leaving. The city rep is meticulous. He was showing me some dirty finger smudges on the window trim wrap that they would have to clean off before he would pass the job. Also, the company gets a lot of their business from the city programs, so they don't want to mess around. It's been fixed today. Honestly, the guy in charge seems really conscientious and helpful. But when he's off at another site, the other guys seem to be standing around smoking a lot. There are two guys who are working most of the time, but the rest.....I think I heard someone say something about it being hard to find good workers right now. Hard to believe, but it seems to be true.

KatyE said:

Honestly, the guy in charge seems really conscientious and helpful. But when he's off at another site, the other guys seem to be standing around smoking a lot. There are two guys who are working most of the time, but the rest.....I think I heard someone say something about it being hard to find good workers right now. Hard to believe, but it seems to be true.

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Are you saying that when he leaves, no one is in charge? Seems like poor management of the job.

The fact that a person gets paid for doing something, doesn't mean he's a professional.

There are professional tradesmen that are incredible. There are others that are horrible and stupid. Unfortunately, you don't always know which is which.

The fact that a person gets paid for doing something, doesn't mean he's a professional.

There are professional tradesmen that are incredible. There are others that are horrible and stupid. Unfortunately, you don't always know which is which.

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Amen to that!

Pretty ridiculous story there. Sorry about your clothes.

Trying to make sense of this blunder, I'm wondering if the job had been fully completed when you fired up your dryer? I can see punching the holes for the exhaust after doing the siding, and maybe he hadn't reached that point?

I remember a few years ago, a buddy of mine had a custom home built. A few hours before the final inspection, his wife thought she would fill the upstairs whirlpool bath and do a nice soak, only to realize the air lines had yet to be connected, and flooded the entire downstairs.

I guess they didn't read "Siding for Dummies"! Don't get me started when it comes to getting a contractor to do a job without having problems at the end it.
We had a new roof a couple of years back and then had a leak...? I wouldn't mind, but we didn't have any leaks in our roof until the new roof was put up. After several attempts by the contractor to fix the problem my husband got up on the roof and fixed it himself... Happy days, eh!

Just make sure that someone you know that knows about siding looks at you work before you pay them.

Sound like your city cares and they have probibly seen these installers before. good reason for people to get permits.

if you want something done right, gotta do it yourself lol