First our contractor let us know that he was not in a position to build our entire house because one of his subcontractors (for the foundation) was not in a position to take on any work. This meant looking for a new contractor. We found one right away. It is someone who had been recommended to Paul a while ago and who so far has been extremely professional. So, we gave him a copy of our plans so that he could give us an estimate. Shortly after reviewing them , he gave us a call to schedule a meeting. We met with him twice and he let us know that our plans were not going to get approved as is. Why? Well the measurements on some pages didn't match the measurements on others, in addition to other inconsistencies. Guess what! He was right, the next time we called DPNR to check on the status of our permit, they let is know that there were measurement issues with the plans. The new contractor also told us that our upstairs plans wouldn't get approved because we had two bathrooms over the cistern. Apparently you can't put a bathroom over a cistern. I guess it can get pretty yucky if you end up with a leaky toilet.
We decided to hire the new contractor, who is also an architect to re-do our plans. Although we already invested some money with the draftsman, I'd rather get the work done right and in a timely manner. Our draftsman just made too many mistakes, and was not very responsive or timely. The new contractor/architect said that he will have the upstairs and downstairs plans done within 5-6 weeks and provided us with a written agreement stating so. He sat with us and listened to what we liked about our current plans and what changes we wanted made. Then we found out that Paul and/or I know about everyone on his staff, which made us feel a little more comfortable.
We also found out that we can use our Earth Change permit without a building permit, but we just can't start pouring concrete.
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Although starting over is causing some short term delays, I think it will save us time and money in the long run. I feel much better about the future our home.
Oh, the new contractor's estimate was pretty reasonable. I'll give you some more info on him soon, but first let me see how he does with the plans.
Your blog has been extremely informational for people like myself, and believe me I know how frustrating it can be just trying to get anything done in the VI. I was born and raised in the VI, went away for 10 years now I'm back with the goal of building myself but has got the run-around with just trying to get plans. Do you mind sharing the name or company that your new contractor is affiliated with?
ReplyDeleteMaria Thomas
It sounds like your new architect/contractor knows what he's doing. I'm looking forward to hearing more about him and the progress you are making. Keep the Faith!
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