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[Roger Austin <raustin3 AT nc.rr.com>]

Mark Turner wrote:
> I guess the moral to the story is you should plan to take the day off 
> and watch whomever puts it in
> like a hawk. It's much easier to fix problems before the concrete sets.

 These days it is absolutely necessary to check behind and watch
any contractor as they do the work. In my experience, even the best
and most respectable contractors will cut corners and hurry up a
job. All of them are accepting more work than they can do. They
over schedule and you pay the price. This is especially true for
smaller jobs.
 After every day (and sometimes at their breaks,) take a tape
measure, framing square and level to all the work done. If it
doesn't measure up, bring it up immediately to whoever is in
charge. We had guys misread detailed scale drawings that were
obvious and then fix their work.
 On the other hand, don't tell them how to do their job if you
don't know construction. Just make sure that things are measured
and make it known that you are paying attention. You might ask
questions of those in charge when things don't look right. Most
will be impressed when they know you are paying attention.
 My experience with general contractors is the same. They leave
the subs at a job and go off to make more money somewhere. You
can't trust them to be on the job and be your advocate in your
absence. Maybe once the Raleigh boom town slows down, the
remaining contractors will start to take pride in their work again.
 How many of us would accept this sort of quality and workmanship
in the software development gig? You test and verify everything
if you want a quality job.
 My $0.02.
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