Not a good day

This morning while I was getting ready for work, the cell phone rang. It was "Beth" from the electrical contractor. She was trying to explain that they can't even begin their work until the cabinet-removing/installing contractor gets a permit to do their work. I told her I didn't know anything about it and to call Home Depot.

When I got to work, I called her back to ask her whether she'd received the letter from the condo, and she said she hadn't. She then went on again about the other permit, saying that the other contractor is trying to reach me to get money for their permit. (No, they haven't been.) I then told her again I didn't know anything about it and to call Home Depot. I also called the condo office and left a voice message asking them to please fax an original of their letter to the electrical people.

I then faxed Beth my copy of the condo letter and asked her again to contact Home Depot about the other stuff, quoting a sentence from the contract, which reads, "Permits may be necessary to obtain and will be the responsibility of The Home Depot Authorized Representative."

At the next opportunity, I called "Helen" at Home Depot and first told her about the electrical permit. "They're just getting around to that now?!" she said. (I told her they had first called me about it last Thursday on the cell, which I'd left at home.) I then told her about the other permit they were talking about, and Helen voiced some skepticism over the necessity for that. I asked her to please call the electrical contractor and talk to them and get back to me.

Several hours passed and I hadn't heard anything, so I called Helen back. She said she had left a message at the electrical contractor but that no one had returned her call. I asked her to keep me posted and then called Beth back. I told her Helen had called and left a message, but Beth said she hadn't received one. (What's that about?!) Then she said she'd tried calling Home Depot earlier (more than one, in fact, and none mine). She read one of the numbers she'd called (not the right one) and I then gave her the correct number and told her Helen was there at the moment and to please call her right away. This is not the first time the electrical people have had a problem getting these numbers right.

I never heard back from Helen (or the other contractor who needed money from me, for that matter). I called her several times and left a message at Home Depot and also a voice mail on her cell phone.

So I'm in limbo now. I was pissed and said so (to the electrical people). I could tell Helen was pissed, too (and told the electrical people), since she's the one running the show, so to speak. If the cabinet people need money from me to pull a permit, why haven't they called me? They have all my phone numbers.

It's out of my hands as I sit here with no kitchen and the days pass in a tangle of snafus and botched communications, with no progress being made.

Electric update

Well, the condo manager wrote the permission letter today and got it faxed off to the electrical contractor. The electrical contractor said the letter will be delivered to the City tomorrow.

About those granite countertops

See this article.

SHORTLY before Lynn Sugarman of Teaneck, N.J., bought her summer home in Lake George, N.Y., two years ago, a routine inspection revealed it had elevated levels of radon, a radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. So she called a radon measurement and mitigation technician to find the source.

“He went from room to room,” said Dr. Sugarman, a pediatrician. But he stopped in his tracks in the kitchen, which had richly grained cream, brown and burgundy granite countertops. His Geiger counter indicated that the granite was emitting radiation at levels 10 times higher than those he had measured elsewhere in the house.

“My first thought was, my pregnant daughter was coming for the weekend,” Dr. Sugarman said. When the technician told her to keep her daughter several feet from the countertops just to be safe, she said, “I had them ripped out that very day,” and sent to the state Department of Health for analysis. The granite, it turned out, contained high levels of uranium, which is not only radioactive but releases radon gas as it decays. “The health risk to me and my family was probably small,” Dr. Sugarman said, “but I felt it was an unnecessary risk.” . . .

Update on electrical

Last Thursday morning the electrical contractor left a message on my cell phone, telling me I needed a letter from the condo association approving the electrical work, and that that was holding up the issuance of a permit from the City. That was the first I'd heard of such a letter.

Unfortunately, I hadn't taken my cell phone to work that day and didn't get the message until Thursday night. The electrical contractor had been calling me at work up to that point, so I don't know why the person (I'll call her Beth) didn't try to reach me at work after failing to reach me on the cell, especially since the letter was holding up their job (as Beth said).

The next day I called the contractor back and asked Beth exactly what they needed. I then called the condo association. The manager said they needed a description of the work from the electrical contractor in order to write the letter, so I called Beth back and asked her to fax the information to the condo association.

I waited several hours and called the condo association to inquire about the status of the letter. The manager said she had never received the information from the electrical contractor, so I called Beth back. It turns out, Beth had faxed it to the wrong number. I then called the condo manager back, and she said the letter would have to wait till Monday, since the secretary had left for the day (this was late in the afternoon already).

So I call the condo manager first thing in the morning and then call Beth back. If I'd known about this letter beforehand, the City would have it already. I would certainly do everything in my power to get the ball rolling here and get out of the mess I'm living in now. (If I could shave even one day off of living under these conditions, I would.)

Update

Called Vozzcom today to check on the status of the permit. They said they're still waiting to hear from the City of North Miami. I asked them how long it might be, and they said it could take up to three weeks. Ugh. A friend had warned me it might take that long. Called Helen at Home Depot to relay the news (left a message).

Sounds like a reputable outfit, though, judging by the website. I just found it today.

Tile sample for backsplash

Got that today. It seems to be a tad too dark. I guess I'll buy this tile at a local tile store and not risk getting the wrong stuff over the Internet and then having problems returning it (and spending a lot on shipping). Surely I can find something suitable around here.

Update

The August issue of Consumer Reports just happens to feature kitchen make-overs. Below are the ratings for countertops. I'm getting Silestone countertops, which are quartz (good choice, eh?).

Cabinets aren't rated in this issue; the emphasis is on refurbishing existing ones. (If I'd had decent cabinets, I would have considered refurbishing them.)

I have yet to hear any word from the electrician about the permit. This project is now on hold.