Pre-Construction Meeting

March 15, 2007

My husband and I just finished meeting with a contractor who is supposed to build a solarium with an attached porch on the back of our house this summer. This meeting was intended to work out a lot of details, but I think it has generated more issues. The main problem is that the area where we intend to have the solarium built has a large air-conditioning unit in the middle of it as well as several vents, window wells, some sort of meter, and a water spigot. All of those items need to be moved or covered up. The contractor also asked what we want to do with the portion of the siding that will be on the inside of the solarium once it is finished; do we want to cover it up or remove it and have either drywall or some sort of wood paneling done? We decided it would be much nicer to have the siding removed, and it would be nice to have some sort of wood paneling to replace it.

So, now we need to contact plumbers, electricians, and perhaps a handyman. We also need to contact a landscaper to move a very large azalea bush. What is irritating me is that we signed a contract and paid a large amount of money, but it looks like we are going to have to pay even more to take care of all these little things. Oh yeah, we also will need to buy carpeting, blinds, and furniture for the solarium once it is complete.

I need to keep in mind the final goal: at the end of all this work, we will have a wonderful new addition to our house in which to relax and socialize with our friends. Right now I'm still wondering what we've gotten ourselves into, though.