The View From Cloud #13

>sigh<....O! how I dislike/distrust contractors...

As an Architect, I have had many dealings with shifty contractors not-of-my-choosing. This is not to say ALL contractors of the building trade are disreputable. I have worked with a number of professionals whose reputation is arguably beyond reproach (and I've learned quite a few things from them, too). But, there is a large enough population of knaves to leave me leery of entrusting someone to work on my house.

That said, I shall show you yet another expensive misdeed from contractor laziness/carelessness. This particular instance is from a PO's hire. The window you see is neither clouded by glare nor paint overspray, nor overzealous sneeze. The window has been pitted by sandblast. When this house was painted some time ago, a contractor chose to sandblast the exterior window frames/trim prior to repainting, rather than stripping them by hand. It appears that they didn't subscribe to the "95% preparation, 5% decoration" rule, thereby not bothering to mask the windows well beforehand. Besides, cutting time in half for painting, sandblasting does a good job at cutting the wood down, too. You sandblast engine blocks and steel ships, not wood windows! The exterior trim now has softened edges and I have counted some 13 panes of glass sofar that have sandblast damage, the one shown here being the largest (8'-0" x 3'-0"). This will be the most costly to replace, as I will have to HIRE SOMEONE TO DO IT FOR ME!!!