Wait For It

Our 10-month-old puppy Durin,
waiting for the treats on his paws

Waiting and waiting. And leaping into action. And waiting. Ready, set, LEAP! And wait some more and then leap! The early phases of this project have been a lot of waiting, surrounded by periods of frenzied action.

This is what kairos is all about. Kairos is the opportune moment, the right time and place. But as I’ve been telling students for years, that right moment isn’t right at all if you aren’t ready. So waiting for the perfect time shouldn’t be idle time. Ours hasn’t been.

When I teach persuasion to my students, I also talk about two principles related to kairos: copia and economy. Most American students write in a mode of economy. They tend to produce only the writing they feel they need to include, and they include everything they write. Good writers don’t do this. Instead, they produce volumes – copia – though not all of it may be actually written. From their copiousness, they select the most appropriate points for the moment at hand. Copia is the principle that helps a rhetor – or a house buyer – prepare.

May 18th – Leap!

Our official house hunting began on a Saturday when Mary Rose Wells, our real estate agent, took us to our first set of houses. By the end of a couple of hours together, she had us pegged. We almost certainly weren’t going to find what we wanted in an already-built house. Toward the end of that day, she showed us some land.

May 18th-May 25th – Wait…

See, Mom! I'm waiting!

The week following, Carl and I talked about what we had seen and the idea of building a house.

Initially, both Carl and I were opposed, and we told Mary Rose this at the beginning. The couple I know who had the best experience building a house had the builder go bankrupt before the finishing touches were done. However, their marriage is still intact, which is more than I can say for some other folks. This week was spent in contemplation of what it would mean to build. No immediate gratification. Continuing to live in a house we don’t want to live in anymore. More time to save more down payment money. The possibility of headaches and arguments.

Could Carl and I do this? By the end of the week we had decided…maybe. Enough to say to Mary Rose, let’s keep talking.

May 25th-June 6th - Leap and Leap and Leap!

The next week, she arranged for us to meet the builder, Mike Salvador, and his real estate agent, Gary Smith, at the land. It wasn’t the same land she had originally shown us, but a plot a little closer to the main road. Wooded and rural and quiet. And even better, fairly square. Three acres of the stuff.

Mike walked us around the house site on the land. We went back to Gary’s office and talked for a while. I got a set of specs and house plans to start reviewing. Carl began his due-diligence work on the land itself.

I sought out friends about building and about their houses. What do they like? What do they wish were different? I researched the specs. Is R-30 insulation in the attic enough? No. How good is Certaineed siding? Good enough. I also thought about the things that we wanted that weren’t there: a masonry stove, a generator, adjoining offices.

I wrote up the changes for a meeting with Mary Rose, followed by revisions based on that meeting. Off went the offer letter.

June 7th-June 17th – Wait…

Just a sniff!

They were gathering prices. In the meantime, at our first meeting Gary had said that he could get us a tour of the same model house. Ok, we asked for a date and time. No reply. Mary Rose emailed. No reply to her either at first.

Carl and I weren’t idle, of course; copia was at play. In a variant of what I tell my students, waiting is preparation time. I worked some more on the specs and did some additional research. Carl spent more time in Mendon talking to folks in the government there to make sure that land wouldn’t end up in a subdivision.

June 17th-June 20th – Leap!

On June 17th, we got to see the house. For the most part, we really liked it, and the owner couldn’t say enough good things about Mike. The biggest problem was the second floor. I wasn’t sure it was going to work for adjoining offices. Carl wasn’t either, but we didn’t really talk about it. Instead, we niggled our way into a way to make it work, or so we thought – though we rethought that thinking later. Another set of changes to write up and send off!

June 20th-June 25th – Wait…

See! They are still there!
Can I have them yet?

They were still getting costs. We waited.  I know that it takes time to get contractors to put together quotes and bids. They are busy doing the work they have already been hired to do instead of writing up quotes for work they may not actually end up doing.

However, we were hitting the point where we weren’t sure whether this deal was going to go through. Mike and Gary had had our offer for nearly three weeks, since June 6th, without a response beyond the house visit, and I found myself worrying that this deal wasn’t going to work after all. Carl kept saying that he didn’t mind the wait; we'd just save more money.

One of the hard parts was judging how much effort to expend during this time. Any preparation I did on the interior of the house would still be worthwhile if we had to find another piece of land to build on, but I wasn’t sure whether or not we could use the floor plan I had been working with if we went someplace else. At the risk of sounding like some of my students, I didn’t want to put in work that would go for nothing. Time for some economy.

June 25th-June 29th – Leap!

We got some prices on Tuesday, and we arranged a meeting with Mike and Gary for Wednesday evening. I spent Wednesday marking up the specs and change lists thus far with questions and points for discussion. We met for two hours, during which we got through the whole list. My job was to write up the results, including everyone’s to-do list.

Writing up documents gives the author a certain kind of control. Even in a negotiated process such as this, the document’s author will better know the details and can choose to make clear or obfuscate the issues. For something like this, I wanted clarity. Let’s get it up front. We’ll know the actual purchase price, and Mike will know what to do. The result will be fewer change orders (we hope).

So this time, rather than a list, I wrote a spreadsheet, which Carl reviewed. I included details about the changes, prices where we have them, action items for Buyer and Builder alike. Copia paid off since I had most of the information that I needed at hand when I needed it. Our reply took only a few days to create.

Ok, Durin!
He didn't need to be told twice.

June 29th-July 2nd – Wait…

I worried about the lag times between sending and responses. I worried about the masonry stove, which Mike didn’t want to have anything to do with. I worried that we were becoming too difficult.

In the meantime, I found Houzz. Oh, wow! Just wow! Now my daydreams had full color pictures!

July 2nd – Little Leap!

We received a “changes to change” document, with notes from Gary and Mike about adjustments. Mike can’t leave the trees on the property for us to cut up; he needs to get them out of the way. Moving the stone wall won’t work. All hardwood floors will cost more than carpeting some of them. Nothing controversial, but there were still a lot of blanks about how much things will cost. So, really, we were still waiting.

July 2nd-July 16th – Wait…

Occasional emails from the realtors, as well as some from us, but very little movement on the deal directly.

During this time, Carl and I went out to the land to string some purple twine. We did some more research on propane and flooring. We looked at kitchen counters and cabinets. We finally admitted to each other that the second floor is really a problem, and we came up with a solution. All preparation, copia at work, which we needed. My summer is half over, and once classes resume, my ability to spend hours making decisions will be severely curtailed. So we need to get moving on at least some of the decisions.

Crunch!

July 16th-July 30th – Major Leap!

We got back a counteroffer. Really, it was an offer with my spreadsheet with some more notes and Mike’s initials all over it. We talked with Mary Rose, we made another set of adjustments, we focused our research on a few key areas: solar hot water, propane, windows. We prepared another offer.

This time it took longer to prepare our response. We were ready, but not as ready as I think we could have been. Mary Rose was on vacation for the first part, which contributed to our delay, but only a little. Honestly, I think it had more to do with me feeling like the process was dragging out, and we weren’t getting as much information as I wanted about costs, which was making me nervous. Besides, I really did (read, still do) have some research and fall class prep to do.

All gone!

July 31st – Wait…

But probably not for long. We got an email from Gary that the final version should be in tomorrow. We’re getting ready to move to the Purchase & Sale Agreement!

As soon as we heard that, Carl got on the phone with the lawyer we’re planning to use for the P&S, and then emailed Gary for some updates on outstanding questions. Once we have the P&S, we’ll be applying for a mortgage, as well as (I hope) getting a schedule for the building and the decisions that we’ll need to make.

I suspect that the whole process will look like this. For now, once again, we wait for it.

"Dad threw the TV Out the Window"

He lifted up the television and skipped across the rug
He opened up the window, and then I screamed "Dad, NO!"
But he gave the thing a heave and I watched the TV go...
-- Bill Harley

Yes, but... what kind of window was it? Double-hung traditional, Double-hung tilt-in, Casement, Awning, Gliding, or Stationary?
Double-hung tilt-in.  Because then you can clean the outside pane without actually... having to go outside.  On a ladder.  In the blazing hot sun.  Because let's face it -- there's no point in washing windows in the rain.

Wood, extruded aluminum, vinyl, or some combination thereof?
Whatever has the best cost/performance based on energy efficiency and maintenance costs.

So not vinyl.  Anderson, Pella, or Marvin? 
This is like asking whether to rent a car from Hertz, Avis, or Enterprise.  When I'm renting a car, I want something that will get me to where I want to go.  When I'm picking windows, I want something I can see out of.  I'm not motivated by glitz or status.  So I really don't care.

The builder mentions Anderson in the spec sheet.  Well then.  100 Series, 200 Series, 400 Series, or A Series?
Good grief.

Well, the 100 series is "builder's grade."

Based on my reading, "builder's grade" components and appliances are the low-budget things a developer buys in bulk when they're building an affordable subdivision like the one we used to live next to. Something that will not break down during the home warranty period, but not much longer than that.  In other words, it's the window you end up taking out a loan to get replaced as soon as you get tired of the drafts and condensation.

The 400 series is the standard expensive Anderson Window that you've "come home to" for decades.  Only branded for use in new construction.

The 200 series is a cut-down version of the 400.  I expect they created this line because they were losing market share to people who wanted something cheaper but not something cheap.

The A-Series is for people who fall into the union of two categories: they have more money than sense, and/or they want their windows to make a profound Architectural statement.  It's for people living in a glass house on the beach or a mountaintop who want the outdoors to become part of their interior space.

Seeing how cleverly you imbued emotional content into the semantics of your description... you're going with 400 series.
Why, yes.  Yes, indeed.

Although...  I've seen some pretty darn impressive windows while researching.  We're replacing the fireplace in the Great Room with a picture window facing northeast. It will look over OUR SWAMP, and the realtor said that in the winter when the leaves are gone we're high enough on Miscoe Hill that there is a vista towards Boston.  So we may splurge on an A-series window for this.

So that's a summary of a week's worth of thinking, researching, and then researching some more.  My work here is done.  Time for me to go blow up some tanks...

Wait!  There are still more choices!  Glass coating.  What goes between the two panes.  Cladding options.  Grille styles!  Insect screens!! Hardware fixtures!!!  Oh my God, the decisions never end *sob*.
Calm down.

• We'll get the most expensive glass coating.  It reduces ultraviolet into the house and and reduces infrared transfer both in and out at the expense of a little less visible light.  
• State of the art is no longer a vacuum between panes but argon gas blend that is part of the 400 series premium.  
• The outside cladding (ie the window frame) will depend on what Trish decides for the siding.  Inside cladding is going to get painted by Trish within weeks of our moving in, so whatever is cheapest that will hold a finish.
• I have no interest in a "fake grille" -- a divider you put into the full window to make it look like little tiny window panes being held in by grout.  I view it like wooden paneling on station wagons: a nostalgic aesthetic reminder of a previous generation's functional necessity.
  
  
  
• New state of the art insect screens have a finer mesh, thinner wire, and block less light.  We'll pay extra.  But not for the full width, just half.  I have no issue with having to shove the screen if we want to open the top half of the window for some reason.
  
• Fixtures are totally decorative and thus Trish's area.  We'll probably go with something burnished rather than shiny.

Can I go school some young punks now?

One last question.  Any amusing stories about your window search?

We went to the local Home Depot to look at their floor models.  I wanted to see and touch the 200 series and the 400 series to validate paying an extra 30-50%.  Not to mention letting me condense for Trish all of the findings from the past week.  She agreed that there was a significant quality improvement and would go against our realtor's recommendation and upgrade to the 400 Series.

On the way out I said to the helpful orange-shirted employee, "Thanks for helping me to convince my wife to spend another $25,000!"  Which triggered her usual emotional reaction at the thought of spending this much money on anything...

Lucy's Scream, by Tom Everhart