The New Column

Before

The new column is in. It was one those situations where the contractor didn't really help out much. They left it to us to decide what it should look like. We knew we wanted it to be fairly simple and more substantial than the previous column, but didn't know how big to make it. I went with 1 foot for the width, which is the width of the stucco keys. When it was done I wasn't so sure. Helen was sure - it was too big. She thought the steps were too big and was sure the column was too big. We decided that we would paint it and if we didn't like it then we would just have to pay someone to redo it. The column was supposed to be done before the house was painted, but it didn't get done, so I was not happy when the contractor informed us that painting was not included (?!). I ended up painting it myself. We weren't sure if it should be painted the shutter color or the trim color. Since it was so big already we decided to paint it the trim color. I think the color ended up picking up the trim line of the gable above the column and I thought the width matched the trim line as well. So I was happy with the column. It took other people telling Helen that the column needed to be that big to match everything else before Helen was OK with it.

We thought we would be done by now, but the contractor messed up when they applied the sealant to the paver walkways. They didn't fully clean the polymeric joint sand before applying the sealant. I printed off the joint sand installation instructions from the manufacturer's website and told the contractor that they were applying the sand improperly when they were putting it in. They insisted they knew what they were doing and it would look good. I trusted them - they're the pro's right? Wrong! I pointed out how they didn't even bother to push back the mulch where it extended over the edge of the walkway and how the sand had adhered to the paver surface and was now sealed in. Instead of admitting their mistake, the contractor told me in an offhanded way that there were different ways to do things and that I should go into the paver business if I knew so much about it. I didn't back down and showed the owner the installation instructions again and where they didn't follow them. Tempers settled down and they agreed to power wash and reseal, but I'm not too confident. It doesn't look terrible - just more rustic and rough than what it should be. It will all wear off from weathering over time.