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Glass - handle with care
Feb. 11th, 2009 11:58 amOK, so I'm a perfectionist. At least in OTHER people's work. So for me, the whole remodel (which thankfully is drawing to a close) has been a frustrating and at times distressing process. I've accumulated a number of maladies that are stress related. I look forward to March, when I will NOT be doing anything remotely remodel/renovation related. I've decided to declare March "Remodel-free March".
Yesterday, in what I thought would be one of the easier steps, the glass company installed our shower enclosure. It looks great - from a distance. Two problems were immediately apparent to my picky eye; the clear plastic strip that is supposed to seal the edge of the door to reduce splashing was missing. And on the largest pane of glass, the top bracket doesn't actually make contact with the wall - instead, they'd back-filled a void behind the bracket with silicone filler. The reason they'd done that was that the glass should have been cut slightly-not-square, to allow for our slightly-not-square wall; but it wasn't. The result is a perfect fit at the bottom of the pane, and a half-inch gap at the top.
After several months I have a very short fuse when talking to contractors. I started out with the INTENTION of an argument. I called our contact at the glass company who was immediately apologetic, and said he'd either not entered the numbers correctly, or the factory had screwed up, but either way he'd fix the problem. What could I do but say a nice 'thank you' and hang up?
I certainly understand mistakes happening; my entire work life is pitted with them. I try my best, but coding sometimes gets away from you. But when I make a mistake, I just 'fess up, fix the problem, and move on. It's nice to have a contractor who understands that work ethic.
Yesterday, in what I thought would be one of the easier steps, the glass company installed our shower enclosure. It looks great - from a distance. Two problems were immediately apparent to my picky eye; the clear plastic strip that is supposed to seal the edge of the door to reduce splashing was missing. And on the largest pane of glass, the top bracket doesn't actually make contact with the wall - instead, they'd back-filled a void behind the bracket with silicone filler. The reason they'd done that was that the glass should have been cut slightly-not-square, to allow for our slightly-not-square wall; but it wasn't. The result is a perfect fit at the bottom of the pane, and a half-inch gap at the top.
After several months I have a very short fuse when talking to contractors. I started out with the INTENTION of an argument. I called our contact at the glass company who was immediately apologetic, and said he'd either not entered the numbers correctly, or the factory had screwed up, but either way he'd fix the problem. What could I do but say a nice 'thank you' and hang up?
I certainly understand mistakes happening; my entire work life is pitted with them. I try my best, but coding sometimes gets away from you. But when I make a mistake, I just 'fess up, fix the problem, and move on. It's nice to have a contractor who understands that work ethic.
