What a nightmare! Can I scream now please. The hardwood floor fiasco continues. The floor is unfinished still, my house is wiped out. So this past Monday, on top of everything else, we had a guy come in to put recessed lights in the bird room. I had to move all that stuff out to clear the room. The 4 big cages, 3 big perches, and all the hanging gyms. SO we wake them up way early to clear the room since the guy was starting at 8AM. They were still sleeping at 6:45 and boy did I feel bad crashing in on them. So we gather everything and wheel cages into the kitchen, and perches to the family room. Of all the insanity of noise and construction over the past year, this one bothered the fids the most. Occy sat in his cage and screamed all day. Afa wouldnt eat a thing. And the most painful vision for me, was Mr Buddy ripping out chest feathers. To add insult to injury, the lights were not what I expected and I was disappointed. They were not put where I wanted them and they sit askew. I have issues with things being even so this is now driving me nuts. But the damage is done. John said my face actually turned purple. I could feel it getting hot and his eyes got wide and he said "are you ok?" I said "I dont feel good". So instead of filling the holes to run the wire with a mesh patch, they guy just over fills with spackle. It was nowhere near dry by 1:30. He told me to wait 6 hours and sand it. I just paid him $500 and now I have to sand a job I could have smooth spackled better myself! And to start sanding...AT 7:30PM?????? I have to clean the room ,re organize and get them to bed still! SO Mr Buddy continues pulling out feathers and my heart is breaking. I waited until 5, sanded what I could but the spackle was already cracked from being overfilled. I new I had additional repairs to do, so I said, thats it, IM DONE! I cleaned walls, scrubbed the floors, ran the air filters in there and had them settled in by 7:30. Afa was so exhausted she could barely stand up. I honestly thought I was gonna lose her. She was all puffed, legs wide apart. She was sooo hungry. So I made her a batch of monster mash, which is Gerbers hot cereal and Avian Trio mixed nice and warm. She gobbled it down and curled under my chin, making beaking sounds. The next day she was fine. But Buddy continues to clip feathers and now down is showing. They are pretty much back to normal otherwise. The lighting is much better and you can really see their colors now. I just feel bad. I tried to make it better and put them through hell in the process. But last night, I was getting them ready for bed, giving fresh water. Mr Buddy says in a very soft voice "hey" I look over at him and he looked back a second at me then said " I love you!" That made me cry. I just hope he stops the clipping soon. I fear I started a problem for him. At least I know he loves me anyway.

Oh gosh, what a nightmare this is turning out to be for you. I'm the same way, I want things done perfectly and little things like something being askew drive me nuts too.

I'm glad that things are settling back down for everyone.

i was actually JUST thinking about PMing you about how the house was going. i am sorry that was such a stressful day for everyone, my stomach knotted up just reading it. poor mr buddy, but what a sweetie, aw. i hope everything will settle back in ok. it's too bad this is all turning into such a fiasco. it's so hard to find good work, isn't it?

I feel for you Leigh. My house still isn't done and it's been since 2004. One more room to go and the whole outside. Tore all the ceilings and walls down. New drywall, flooring, lighting, ceiling fans appliances, french doors, windows and I don't know what else. Two totally new bathrooms, kitchen and bird room/office. I almost have a brand new house.

Yep Emily, its almost impossible to find someone who has pride in workmanship and good customer service. What makes it even harder is having to worry about the birds. Even though they drive me nuts sometimes, I cant imagine my life without them now. John and I do almost everything ourselves here. We put almost $100,000 of work in here, all ourselves. We do custom trim, custom paint techniques, murals, light fixtures, the 1100 gallon pond, the walkway on the side, the list goes on. We planted almost 50 trees on this lot and never lost 1! So when we have to hire someone, we go into super sensitive mode which doesnt help matters. Im big on being able to walk away and let people work with the exceptional interruption of "hey can I get you something to drink?"
But this time, giving freedom to work cost us big. Now we wont to any upgrades if we cant do it ourselves. Ill be taking pics and starting a new photobucket if anyone wants a virtual tour of "the crib!" lol Im waiting for John to reload the camera software on the main pc. Our hard drive crashed last week and took everything with it. Luckily he is a tech so he was able to recover everything. But thanks for letting me vent guys. btw, the fids ate all of their lunch today! Butts were high in the sky and they left empty bowls. Thank God for pasta!! They must be feeling better.

Its a nightmare isnt it!? But in a weird way you almost get use to the chaos. Its funny, we almost have a whole new house too. But its not even 7 years old to begin with! lol...I get bored

Wow Leigh...and here I am worrying about having to move with the fids if we find a house. Poor you and those poor fids. You can't feel too bad, you are trying to make things better for them. I just hope it all settles down soon. There is nothing I hate more then bad contractors, my father is a contractor and perfectionist ... so I know first hand there is no excuse for bad/sloppy work. Hope it's all over for you soon.

I worry about moving too. We will eventually pack up for NC when the market picks back up. I keep saying, "how will we move the birds for an 8 hour ride!"

Anyway, the floor guys are suppose to finish tomorrow. Im caulking the chair rail, shadow box, and base moulding in the up hall now and will paint that Monday. We still have to put up the chair rail and shadow boxes in the master suite and paint that. The top will get a Venetian Plaster technique in 2 colors. I still have to hang curtains and paintings. We are weeks away still. The fun continues. Ill take pics!

Wow, Leigh, I am full of admiration. You are so accomplished.

Regarding Buddy, I am really sorry. I hope you manage to curb the barbering before it's too late and it becomes a habit. They pick up on our stress, so I guess you could start with some deep breathing exercises Construction is a bummer and that's why my house is less than perfect...wood chewed up in many spots, extremely scratched doors, paint peeling, etc. but I think 'fumes', 'dust' and then decide 'If I don't see it it's not there'.

Leigh, I'm mad enough to spit nails myself over hearing about this! There is NO excuse for shoddy workmanship or rude workers.
My dad is a drywall contractor & he taught me - do your best work so the customer is satisfied & the finished product looks good. He takes HOURS to explain to his customers the best, most efficent way to do this or that. (Painting is the 1 he repeats constantly.)

Try finding somebody from here. Welcome to Angie's List: The Best Source for Local Home Improvement Contractors! They are the best. If you complain about the work that a company from there does, they will help you find a solution. Dad's a member & gets repeat business from his Angie's List customers.

Also, here's a BIG hug for you, Leigh -((((((((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))))))
- & a few smaller 1's.