Chapter 11
Koyaaniqatsi
Table of Contents
Days 305 & 306 - Saturday is the first day of Spring.  I shop for light switches.  Sunday, I move back in.  I am ambivalent.  I have pizza for dinner.
Day 304 - I go up to the apartment at about 11 a.m.  I'm meeting Robert and a tile guy, Charlton.  When I get there, John isn't there, but Louie is out in the hallway painting.  We have to get the hallway painted and all the stuff that can make a mess out of the apartment, so the Board will see that for all intents and purposes, I am done with the renovation and there are only minor things left.  Nevermind that I am meeting Charlton to discuss fixing and possibly redoing my entire front bathroom tiling.  Anyway, I go in and Robert is there.  I walk towards the kitchen, the floor looks very good.  Louie told me that he put a second coat of polyurethane on this morning and will put one more on today, then a final coat on Monday.  I can still move in, but I will literally tread lightly on the kitchen floor.  I also see that they took the paper off of the floor in the back of the apartment.  Unfortunately, the only way to get there is through the kitchen and the polyurethane needs to dry.  Charlton finally comes (he had trouble finding a parking spot-- welcome to the Upper West Side!).  I show him the blue glass tiles, both the ridges (he also thinks they used a notched trowel) and the jaggedly cut tiles (he think John used the wrong saw blade. Duh.).  He's going to give me a price for fixing it (on an hourly basis) and for redoing it (yes, the whole thing) (on a project basis).  BTW, while we're discussing this, Louie comes in... (I think he's my snitch).  I also ask Charlton to look at the bumpy floor.  He tells us that with mosaic tile, preparing the area is the MOST IMPORTANT thing.  No, really?  So, he's going to give me a price for redoing the floor, too.  Now, I'm trying to come up with a number that is high enough that he will come in at or below it, but not so high as to make me physically ill.  What price peace of mind?
Day 303 - I go up to the apartment in the morning.  Louie and Otto are there.  Lyric Hi Fi came yesterday and installed the speakers.  They're round, flush-mounted ceiling speakers.  They look nice, innocuous.  I'm not sure what Louie and Otto did yesterday.  John didn't come in, so they didn't polyurethane the floor, or stain the wall unit, and other than a few more things cleared out, I can't see anything different.  Oh, well.  I got a call last night from Lenny at Lyric,something about my phone system and finalizing my equipment choice.  I don't like dealing with Lenny.  He reminds me of a used car salesman and I always feel like I'm going to be taken.  I call him back today and tell him that we never discussed a phone system.  He says, they always recommend someone to set up and install the phone system, and terminate the wires.  I ask, "you don't terminate the wires?"  Apparently not.  They only terminate the stereo wires.  How to terminate the phone, cable and computer wires is determined by the phone, cable and computer system.  Huh?  He also got (from John) the idea that I wasn't going to go ahead with everything.  I said, I had mentioned before that I might start out using my old stereo equipment for now.  He asked me for a list of the equipment, to see what's usable.  Any bets, not much?  Anyway, he suggests that we schedule an appointment to finalize things and discuss the phone system/wire termination issue (which he says isn't as big a deal as I seem to think it is).  At which point, I tell Lenny that this is the part of the renovation that I am least comfortable with and I always feel like he's giving me the runaround.  He seems surprised and says, he doesn't know why and tells me when we meet I can ask him anything and he'll try and clarify things for me (I'm paraphrasing).  I say, fine, but I don't set up an appointment with him.  I also got a call last night from the Managing Agent of my Co-op (Gary), who asked if I got the letter that he sent (both regular and certified mail)?  It said when they were going to start assessing late penalties.  I said, yes, I had.  So today, I called an attorney friend of mine to see what he has to say about the length of my renovation, my contract with John, the penalties the Board is assessing me and the possibility of this turning ugly (read-- lien and lawsuit).  Well, it's funny, you'd think he'd push for me fighting John, if it comes to that (being an attorney and all), but basically he counselled (as has my brother), that there is something to be said for just being rid of John, even if it costs me some money.  And I think I'm of the same opinion.  You can't put a price on avoiding aggravation-- which is what it will be-- a longterm headache that in the end may not be resolved to my satisfaction. 
Day 302 - Wed., March 17, 2004 - Happy St. Patrick's Day! I go up to the apartment in the morning.  Louie and Otto are there.  The kitchen floor is done and it looks really good.  This time I look at the finished product with a critical eye, not with the eye of somone that is just happy to have something finished.  They need to stain the seams of the dark tiles and they need to roll the tiles with a heavy roller.  Hopefully, John will pick one up and do it today.  The Tre Piu closet doors are hung and look good, too.  I think they need to be adjusted slightly, because they don't open and close  easily.  Tre Piu also put the locks on the sliding bathroom doors.  The only problem is, is that where the striker plate for the lock is, has to be painted one color or divided at the striker plate into the bathroom color (white) and the bedroom (Skylight) and hallway (Weston Flax?  I'm not sure, but it's beige-y), which will look funny.  So, I opt for the room and the hallway colors on the whole thing which will only be really noticeable from the bathroom when the doors are closed and then people are usually occupied with other things.
Day 301- I couldn't sleep.  Something John said last night made me nervous.  He asked about the adhesive on the "pre-glued" cork tiles, which made me think he didn't know what he was doing (again).  So, I was up at 2 a.m., looking on the internet for how to lay cork flooring.  DIYers do it, so a "professional" contractor should be able to, right?  Which is why I was in the shower at 6:30 a.m. and got to the apartment at 8:30 a.m., to go over things again.  It hasn't started snowing, yet, so John is there (no excuse, yet).  I ask him about laying and cutting the tiles, I give him an article from the internet, I ask him to rent a heavy duty roller (as suggested in the article) and plead with him to call Durodesign (the cork company) if he had any questions or concerns.  Robert comes in at 8:45 a.m..  I go over how I want the border (I went back and forth on my decision last night/this morning, while I wasn't sleeping) and he agrees with my original decision.  We go over a few more things and then I leave, slightly relieved, but still nervous and I think rightly so, don't you?  I call in the afternoon to find out how things are going.  John says they've tiled from the hallway to near the island.  He's up to the Barriga.  He says it looks good (after I ask).  I ask if he got a heavy duty roller.  He says, no, the hardware store  near me didn't have one or know where he could rent one from, but he tells me there's cardboard down and they're walking on it, so that should help.  I think he realized that didn't impress me and he said he would try to get one out where he lives. and bring it in tomorrow.  I know it's not going to happen.  The snow started at about 9:30 a.m., but didn't get bad until about 4 p.m..  Maybe John got stuck in the city and finished my floor.  Ha!
Day 300 - Monday the Ides of March, 2004 - I go up to the apartment in the morning. I want to go over the floor plan with John one more time.  I also want to make sure the floor is flat and grit-free.  I check the floor and notice little ridges and tell John.  He says they will put another coat of the floor prep stuff on and start laying the tiles tomorrow.  He wants me to come up later or tomorrow.  I have a meeting tomorrow morning, so I'm not sure what I'll do.  We go over the lights in the living room and decide on how to bend the Tech Lighting Monorail.  Robert has to order angled connectors before we can put them up.  Before I went up to the apartment, I met Robert outside and I mentioned something to him that I had brought up before and he sort of glossed over.  I have stone sinktops, not vanities.  The sinks he ordered (and which are installed) are for vanities, that is, they are supposed to be hidden and therefore the outside is unglazed and looks a little icky in the front bathroom and is passable in the back bathroom.  We'll be discussing this again, I'm sure.  I decide to go back to the apartment in the evening to go over the floor.  This way they can start laying the tile first thing tomorrow, as planned (barring John not coming in, because of the snow forecast).  John has laid out the cork squares in the pattern on the floor, so we can see how it's going to look.  We go back and forth over where to put the two inch armagnac Barriga strip and finally come to a decision-- cut into the natural Edipo on the short side of the room and the coffee Cleopatra on the long side of the room.  It's hard to explain.  Anyway, John shows me that they hung one of the Monorails.  It's satin nickel with am amber strip running through it, but the screws they sent are stainless steel.  So, it's up, but we need to get other screws. Now for the best part-- John asks me for money.  Ha, ha, ha.  I said, no.  I also said, with the amount of time we've run over, when the Co-op Board is done charging me and I in turn, tell him to pay (per our contract), I'm not going to owe him anything.  He says, "Well, I think we're going to argue about that."  I said, "I'm sure we will."  Then I mention to him that I have less than 10% held back from him at this point.  Then I go into the front bathroom and start pointing out all the work that's done badly and ask who's going to pay for all of the new tiles (both blue glass and mosaic).  He says, he is willing to take everything out and redo it.  I ask again, "who's going to pay for the tiles?"  He finally says, we can work something out... he brings up Robert not taking responsibility or blame for anything.  I ask, what about the crappy insatllation was Robert's fault?  He is of course referring tothe amount of time.  I say, "Fine, it's almost ten months, how much of that is Robert's fault?  One month?  Two months?"  John had said, the job would take four and half to five months, knocking off two as Robert's fault (and believe me that's being generous to John), John's still three months over.  Then I remind him (oh, I was on a roll), that when he asked me for money the last time, and I paid him, I specifically asked if that check would take us through until we were done; if that check would buy me Louie and Otto until we were finished and he said, "Yes."  Suffice it to say, I'm not paying him.  That's showing some backbone, eh?  Finally.
Days 298 & 299 - It's the weekend.  The sun is shining.
Day 297 - I go up to the apartment in the morning to see how the wall unit looks.  It's all in place (unstained) I could have sworn John said yesterday that he was staining it, but maybe he said, sandind?).  It looks really good.  Today they are going to coverit so Otto can paint the living room.  Louie and John are going to prep the kitchen floor to make sure it is perfectly flat and spotlessly clean.  ANY bumps or grit WILL show through the cork tile (given the track record, you can imagine how nervous I am).  John tells me the polisher guy came (he just showed up, so neither Robert nor I were there).  John says the polisher guy said it can be done, but will be so expensive, I should just pick out the sections I want redone, remove and replace that tile.  I tell John I don't want to just pick out the worst parts, I think it all could have been done better and I think we should redo the whole floor, except the shower.  John suggests we wait until we break out and replace the wall tiles (he's going to see about getting a glass cutter.  NOW?  I begged him for weeks to get a glass cutter, he said he used one and it made the same kind of cuts.  Uh-huh.), then we'll pick up the paper and see what we're dealing with.  Sigh.  BTW, they have to take another piece of the granite backsplash off (I was right.  Ahem.) and John is going to take it to Gem Marble to cut and polish one piece, the rest he can do in the apartment. 
Day 296 - I don't go up to the apartment today.  I speak to Robert about the shower enclosure (which I thought he had ordered weeks ago), ordering more blue tile than we need, just in case cracks appear later on (and apparently, they might, because John used a wet saw and not a glass cutter), ordering more tile for the floor (both calcutta for the field and the blue and white mosaic), scheduling Lyric to come and hook things up (I've been asking Robert for weeks to get them in to at least terminate the wires, if not install the speakers and volume controls, and a few other things.  I call John  to ask if the floor polisher guy is coming.  He doesn't know, yet.  I ask him to give me and Robert a call if and when the polisher guy is coming, so one of us can be there.  At this point, I don't believe anything that spews out of John's mouth.  But, actually, it really doesn't matter because I have decided to redo the floor (except the shower stall, which isn't bad and ripping out the tile to redo it might compromise the lead shower pan liner, opening up a huge can of worms.  Ick.  I'll pass.).  John says he is staining the wall unit, Louie is prepping the walls in the living room and he's not sure what Otto is doing.  I hear Otto singing in the background.  Well, whatever he's doing, he sounds like he's having a good time.
Day 295 - Wed. - I got up early (remember, no drapes, blinds, or curtains), showered, dressed, went out and got coffee and bacon and egg on a roll.  After breakfast, I went to the front bathroom and started putting blue tape on all the tiles that have ridges or were cut poorly.  The glass tile people say there was an installation problem, but they will give me some tiles free (I don't know how many), to maintain their good relation with Waterworks.  I mark about 30 tiles.  Louie comes in around 8:30am and Otto about 15 minutes later.  They were both very happy that I stayed over.  Louie was able to get the backsplash off without it breaking  (no, really), and he fixed the wall pretty well.  He and Otto were going to spend the day fixing the walls, priming and painting.  When I left, John hadn't gotten there, yet.  I met Robert later and we went looking for the shelf unit I wanted (and thought I had ordered.  Unfortunately, I ordered it with brackets that have a silver finish and now it only comes with a gold finish), lights (for the back bedroom), and furniture.  I think it was in June the first time Robert and I looked for furniture.  How naive was I?  I go back to the apartment in the late afternoon.  Otto is priming the living room, Louie is painting the kitchen in Mayonnaise (the paint color, not the condiment).   It looks a little light, but Louie says after he gives it a second coat and it dries, it will look better.  Okay.  John is not there and hasn't been there today.  I give him a call on his cellphone and he tells me he is on his way, with the rest of the wall unit  and will be there in 15 minutes.  He comes a half hour later (not bad).  John, Otto and, Louie bring in the wall unit.  He says he is going to stain and install it tomorrow.  We go over how I want the cork floor done (again, but I realize there is no such thing as too many times) and the timing of it (clean and prep on Friday, lay the tile on Monday and Tuesday, polyurethane on Tuesday and Wednesday-- by next weekend, March 20th, I'll be moving back in (please, please, please).).  He tells me (after I ask) that the floor polisher guy is supposedly coming sometime tomorrow.  After the ceilings are painted, they can put in the rest of the light fixtures.  All my appliances work.  The New York City Plumbing Inspector was there yesterday and can sign off on the plumbing as soon as someone can find a set of sealed plans.  Yuk, yuk, yuk.  No, really.  Uff.  I show John some minor things that need fixing.  He tells me to mark what I want fixed with blue painters tape and they will take care of it as they see it.  I will probably be putting a piece of tape somewhere on every wall in every room.  I hope they have a few rolls.
Day 294 - [Drum roll] [Trumpets] Well, I did it!  I stayed over in my apartment.  I slept on the queen-size Aerobed with (apparently) twin-size sheets, no pillow, and a beach towel for a blanket (see the bed).  I went up there in the evening, took a quick look around and then started cleaning (bathroom, closet, and bedroom floor), performed the Native American "smudging" ceremony to exorcise the bad spirits from the apartment (Yes, really.  Well, it couldn't hurt), then went out to take a walk in MY neighborhood. I picked up some Chinese food, a bottle of red wine and a corkscrew, came back to the apartment (realized I needed a bowl and utensils for the Chinese food), went back out, went to Subway and had a turkey sub with my red wine (in a thermal cup).  It was delicious (although, I think pizza was the way to go, though.  Well, next time.).  Then I read my book and went to sleep.  Unfortunately, it was bright (no drapes, blinds, or curtains) and cold (no blanket).  But, I was sleeping in my own apartment and it felt good.
Day 293 - Monday, March 8, 2004 - I meet Robert outside the apartment at 9:30am.  I don't really care to deal with John on my own (isn't that just great?).  We go up and I am somewhere between snorting fire and bursting into tears.  Today the locks on the doors work.  What a surprise.  Apparently, on one door, the striker plate was on upside down or backwards and they couldn't find the other one at all.  So, John knew that at least one door didn't lock.  We discuss fixing the wall behind the sink.  John is going to take off three pieces of the granite (I think they have to take off four pieces, but no one is listening to me), fix the wall, have Fordham Marble come and measure the backsplash, recut it and reinstall it.  With any luck, the granite will come off without breaking.  But, honestly, do I have ANY luck?  Yes, but it's not particularly good.  We go over some other stuff  and then we get to the heart of things-- the front bathroom floor.  He says he installed it correctly, I say, everywhere I've looked and everyone I asked (and I went on tiling geek website and bulletin boards) says , you put down thinset, the radiant heat mats, more thinset, let it dry, then more thinset or self-leveling cement and then the tile.  He says, that's not what the instructions say.   One of the nice people on the John Bridge Tiling Forum was nice enough to tell me the exact page on the Warmly Yours Installation Manual that says what you should do for mosaic tile (not what John did).  You can be sure I'll be showing it to John.  Anyway, John suggests that we get a floor guy in to see if it can be ground down t be more even and then polished.  I say go ahead and ask, but the more I think about it, the less I want it fixed in some half-assed way because he did a crappy job.
Days 291 & 292 - It's the weekend.  It's raining.
Day 290 - I meet Robert at the apartment a little after 5 o'clock.  No one is there.  We go through a few things.  Part of the wall unit is there (two top shelves and two bottom cabinets!), and it looks good, although it is unstained.  John had said it would be stained once by the cabinet guy and again by him onsite.  I guess if the cabinet guy was going to do it, it would take another three months or so.  Robert tells me Warren wants $1600 to change  the switches from the basic ones that he put in (without asking me) to the ones that I like.  Thanks, but no thanks.  I can live with the ones I have.  I decide to try "Mayonnaise" in the kitchen (it's a Benjamin Moore color).  I brought some things (toiletries, etc.) with me tonight, because I thought I would stay over.  My parents are away and I was just going to wing it.  I have no blanket, but I could set up the AeroBed mattress near the radiator.  The fact that I have no shades or drapes would just get me up and going earlier.  Robert and I look at a few more things (take a level to that front bathroom floor!), and then we decide to go out to dinner.  We go to leave and I see that John has (finally) changed the front entrance door (BTW, there's no doorknob).  Robert tries to lock it and after many attempts, we realize that the catch for the lock doesn't line up with the lock itself.  All you have to do is push the door to open it.  Undaunted, I say, I will wedge a chair there and still stay over.  I go to the back door, to lock up and go out that way.  There is a doorknob, but the inside part of  the lock is  on the counter along with the third key (i.e., I have one, Robert has one, and John had one, now it's on  the counter).  I try to lock the door from the inside and Robert tries to lock it from the outside and it doesn't lock.  Basically, you can push either door open from the outside, so John doesn't need a key.  He's so clever.  Defeated, I have dinner with Robert and then schlep out to Queens.
Day 289 - Thursday, March 4, 2004 - I speak to Robert in the evening.  John came today and  brought in part of the living room wall unit (even though it rained).  My guess is he brought in pieces that couldn't be installed (e.g., the three shelf tops with no bottom cabinets).  Warren came and put transfomers for the Tech Lighting Monorails in the closets.  I hope he rearranged the kitchen light switches, but I doubt it.  Louie is now of the opinion that the cork floor should be done after the kitchen is painted, so they are not prepping the kitchen floor this week and since they are now going to fix the wall  and reinstall the backsplash, I don't know when they are going to paint..., prep the floor..., install the floor...
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