On Thu, 16 Dec 2004 12:10:35 -0500, Mark scribbled
this interesting note:

On 15 Dec 2004 15:52:01 -0800, wrote:


You are not, in my opinion, in a position to tell the contractor how to
do the job.

BS. When a contractor works for me, he does the job to my liking or not at
all.

If he starts telling me how he's going to do a specific part of the job and I
don't want it that way, I'll tell him. I'll tell him to do it the way I want.


You guys need to remember where your $$ is coming from.

I think the point being made is, why bother to hire an expert if you
don't trust what he has to say about how a job ought to best be done?

Remember, this shouldn't be the first time this contractor has done
this. The contractor should have many, many times the experience you
do with this kind of work. To put it another way, would you tell your
surgeon how to do his job or would you listen to what he advises, ask
some good questions, and come to understand what the expert is telling
you?

Doing the job to "your liking" may not be the optimal way for that
particular problem in construction to be solved, despite what "your
liking" may be. This isn't a put-down, just an observation based on
years of dealing with particular people's likes and dislikes when it
comes to construction projects.

Not liking what the expert has to say does not change the real
possibility that it is the very best advice you may get. Chasing off
someone who has the guts to tell you what you may not like to
hear...well, let's just say that may not be the best solution to the
problem.....

BTW, the person who suggested that there may not be room inside the
wall for the line from the new toilet has the right idea. There isn't
room inside a 2X4 stud wall for a four inch cast iron pipe. Now the
wall inside that cedar closet could be torn open and the inside size
of the wall could be adjusted to accommodate that big pipe
(essentially making it a 2X6 instead of a 2X4 stud wall) but does your
wife really want all that cedar torn out? Besides, having a chase in
that closet might be really handy some day if you want to run
something else up to that floor.....................(just make sure
the contractor leaves it such that a portion of it can be opened up
easily, which is a good idea anyway...he could even install a
clean-out there just in case you ever need to clean out the drain!:~)


--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)