Ronnie didn't show up for work today, as he said he would yesterday. However he called around 10:00 am with some good news. He said the slab preparation would get inspection on Friday.
I had been thinking I should have qualified my previous offer to advance $670 after inspection was passed with the further proviso "and get the wire mesh installed" as that would, no doubt, mean another day of delay (given the way Ronnie works 2-3 hours per day on my project). And with the forthcoming holiday weekend, obviously no work would be done on Monday July 4. And that would be all the greater opportunity for my latest money to disappear, like the last time Ronnie disappeared after I advanced him $1500.
So, I asked how soon he could get the wire mesh in. "Right away" he said. I left it at that.
Around 11:45 I called the GE Reaves engineering company, seeking to find out whether the engineering document Ronnie had provided me was an authentic document, and not a forgery made by Ronnie based on some previous but similar engineering document Ronnie had come across in the past. The first person to answer the phone said there were few people in the office right then because most were out to lunch. I got transferred to someone else in the residential foundation division. That person explained he was a file clerk and couldn't answer any questions, but would have someone call me back. I had hard time explaining my question in both cases. I gave the second person my residential address and cell phone number.
Finally someone else did call back around 1pm. I once again had a hard time explaining my question (never using the name Ronnie) but finally they said that yes, Masterlink had gotten an engineering design for my foundation, and further added that they had also ordered an inspection on Friday at 1pm. This was a lady, and I wondered if she was the MERI listed on the document for design and drawing.
After completing my midday nap, around 2:30 I took a look at the slab site and took some higher resolution pictures than usual using my Canon digital camera (instead of my iPhone 3G, which has been used for all pictures posted so far). While taking the pictures, I noticed that several of the rebar pieces were drooping against the vapor barrier. That was clearly wrong, but perhaps what Ronnie had been planning to fix.
I called Ronnie right then and left a message. I called him again at 5:00 and left another message. Finally he called back around 6:30 and said he needed to pick up some spacers on Friday and would come over before the inspection and get the rebar properly supported. I thanked him.
Around 8pm I dropped by Sears Roebuck and picked up a package of replacement bags for my 17762 wet dry vac. One bin was clearly labeled for model 17762, and the price shown was $11.98. However, the cash register rang up $14.98. I said that was wrong and went back to check. It turned out the bag I had picked out of the correct bin had not been the correct bag. Another salesman came out and found the required bags in another (wrong) bin. I then thought maybe the more expensive bag would also fit and do better filtering. The packages seemed to be exactly the same size except the more expensive bag was thicker. But the correct bin for that bag didn't list model numbers, it only said "15-25 gallon shop vacs." I doubled checked and my vacuum is called "wet dry vac" and not "shop vac". Back at the register, the first salesman had disappeared and did not answer to call. I was glad that the second salesman got to ring up the bag since he had taken so much time and trouble helping me find the correct bag.
I had been thinking I should have qualified my previous offer to advance $670 after inspection was passed with the further proviso "and get the wire mesh installed" as that would, no doubt, mean another day of delay (given the way Ronnie works 2-3 hours per day on my project). And with the forthcoming holiday weekend, obviously no work would be done on Monday July 4. And that would be all the greater opportunity for my latest money to disappear, like the last time Ronnie disappeared after I advanced him $1500.
So, I asked how soon he could get the wire mesh in. "Right away" he said. I left it at that.
Around 11:45 I called the GE Reaves engineering company, seeking to find out whether the engineering document Ronnie had provided me was an authentic document, and not a forgery made by Ronnie based on some previous but similar engineering document Ronnie had come across in the past. The first person to answer the phone said there were few people in the office right then because most were out to lunch. I got transferred to someone else in the residential foundation division. That person explained he was a file clerk and couldn't answer any questions, but would have someone call me back. I had hard time explaining my question in both cases. I gave the second person my residential address and cell phone number.
Finally someone else did call back around 1pm. I once again had a hard time explaining my question (never using the name Ronnie) but finally they said that yes, Masterlink had gotten an engineering design for my foundation, and further added that they had also ordered an inspection on Friday at 1pm. This was a lady, and I wondered if she was the MERI listed on the document for design and drawing.
After completing my midday nap, around 2:30 I took a look at the slab site and took some higher resolution pictures than usual using my Canon digital camera (instead of my iPhone 3G, which has been used for all pictures posted so far). While taking the pictures, I noticed that several of the rebar pieces were drooping against the vapor barrier. That was clearly wrong, but perhaps what Ronnie had been planning to fix.
I called Ronnie right then and left a message. I called him again at 5:00 and left another message. Finally he called back around 6:30 and said he needed to pick up some spacers on Friday and would come over before the inspection and get the rebar properly supported. I thanked him.
Around 8pm I dropped by Sears Roebuck and picked up a package of replacement bags for my 17762 wet dry vac. One bin was clearly labeled for model 17762, and the price shown was $11.98. However, the cash register rang up $14.98. I said that was wrong and went back to check. It turned out the bag I had picked out of the correct bin had not been the correct bag. Another salesman came out and found the required bags in another (wrong) bin. I then thought maybe the more expensive bag would also fit and do better filtering. The packages seemed to be exactly the same size except the more expensive bag was thicker. But the correct bin for that bag didn't list model numbers, it only said "15-25 gallon shop vacs." I doubled checked and my vacuum is called "wet dry vac" and not "shop vac". Back at the register, the first salesman had disappeared and did not answer to call. I was glad that the second salesman got to ring up the bag since he had taken so much time and trouble helping me find the correct bag.
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