Time and Timing

We’ve been away for a few weeks. Not literally – just from the blog. That’s what happens when Real Life intrudes. The past few weeks have involved some family crises that needed to take priority, including a trip to Virginia and a trip to the ER (everyone is fine, more or less, now). So blogging about the house hasn’t been at the top of the list.

At the same time, our conceptual work on the house and our decision-making haven’t stopped. Over the same few weeks’ crisis period, we have:

Image by OCAL at Clker.com

• worked through the window issue (at least for the time-being);
• met with a lighting vendor and picked out some of lights and fans;
• decided on the appliances for the kitchen;
• picked out flooring for the entire house;
• begun working with the kitchen designer;
• chosen a siding color;

and perhaps most importantly,

• received a signed offer letter!

So the process is moving apace. It’s only our writing that is trailing behind, and each of these elements will be getting an update soon.

Before those updates, though, I wanted to say a bit more about how copia and kairos are at work in our process – or at least how I’m borrowing (adjusting, altering, even warping) those terms for application to our situation.

Refresher: Copia is the idea that in order to be a successful person of the persuasive persuasion, a rhetor must be familiar with a wide range of arguments, positions, proofs, relevant factual information, etc., regarding the issue at hand. Kairos is the idea that there is a right time and place, an opportune moment, in which to engage with others over such an issue so as to successfully persuade them. Of course, we aren’t persuading anyone of anything, hence my admission that we are rather warping the definitions. However, both serve to explain some of the ways that Carl and I are working our way through this process.

For example, as soon as we got the specs for the house, we began researching. Neither of us knows much about house building – nothing more than a layperson’s knowledge really – but we do know how to find out stuff. We researched the materials, the brands, the models, the measurements, the amounts. We researched the builder, the town, the land, the history. Whenever we found information, we made notes, jotted questions, and recorded changes in the margins. This marginalia became the basis for further notes, questions, changes, and ultimately decisions.

We could have waited. We could have waited until we had a signed offer or even a purchase and sale agreement. We could have waited until the builder told us that he needed a decision. But operating on the principles of copia and kairos, we opted to gather as much information as we could (copia) so that we were ready to deploy it when the time was right (kairos).

Part of our decision to research early and often has been driven by the fact that once classes start on September 4th, my time will be limited. I will not be able to spend three or four hours thinking about cabinets or flooring. However, we’re also motivated by a desire to be able to think through decisions carefully. Neither of us is particularly spontaneous, and we like being thorough and thoughtful. Having to make any significant decisions under pressure gives us both hives; if we had to make as many as it takes to build a house (hundreds!), I think we’d both go into shock.

Of all of the decisions we have made in the last few weeks, the builder hasn’t asked for any of them. Only the windows show up in the offer letter, and that only because we insisted that something be written in now. In general, we have taken it upon ourselves to find out whom we should talk to, what we should find out, and where we should go to gather enough information to make our decisions. This way, when the builder wants the information, we’ll have it.

I suspect that this has made us a bit of a pain during negotiations, particularly over the windows. That was a case where information is only partially available, and so the whole process was confusing. I’ve written about this once, and I’m sure I will again. We landed on an allowance for the windows rather than a firm price, but it’s enough that I’m satisfied. Our builder has a reputation for doing excellent work and being honest. We researched that, too.

Copia and kairos go hand-in-hand because to be ready at the right time, a rhetor – or a home builder – has to have worked through the issues in advance. By the time classes start in a week and a half (yikes!), we’ll be mostly ready – at least on the big decisions. That’s what our research is showing us. You’ll certainly hear about it if we missed anything significant.

Clear Windows

Photo from
Andersen Windows

I teach writing at the college level. Not creative writing (though I have taught creative nonfiction… once). I teach expository writing, persuasive writing, professional writing, technical writing, writing about science, research writing, just about any other kind of writing – and I am in the process of working with every department on our campus to develop writing goals for their majors. So when I say something like “clarity in writing is important,” I have a bit of expertise behind me.

Clarity isn’t a simple concept. Each of us says and does things that we think are perfectly clear but that others find confusing. Clarity involves cognition and perception, as well as the contexts in which texts are both written and read. At a minimum, a writer has to know the audience and the situation if she has any hope of being clear.

Now for the irony: Our windows aren’t clear. We are one or two steps from a Purchase & Sale Agreement, but we’re stuck on the windows (yes, our windows are stuck, too).

Problem 1: Casement vs. Double-Hung
As long as we were picking and everything was equal, I wanted double-hung, tilt-wash windows. Carl did some research and found that Andersen 400-series is worth the investment. So we put that in our addendum of changes to the specs and plans fairly early in the process. In response, we heard about problems with sizing and getting the Andersen brand (to which we said “equivalent is fine”), but we didn’t hear anything about a requirement that the windows be casement until a few days ago. And even then, I thought that the requirement only referred to the windows on either side of the picture window we’re putting in place of the fireplace.

It has taken about four or five email exchanges for Carl and I to understand that the reason Gary, Mike’s realtor, has been saying “casement windows,” instead of double-hung, is because the builder’s plans list casement windows. I am guessing that this means that the plans would have to be significantly altered if double-hungs were used.

If someone had said, “Look at the plan. See that box in the upper right corner. Look at the list there. They almost all say casement. If you want to have double-hung, here is what would have to happen…,” then I would have understood much sooner.

Sometimes it’s helpful to speak in short, simple sentences, even to those of us who work in language all the time. Remember what I said about context? In this context, I am out of my depth. I have research expertise, but I don’t know house-building lingo, my ability to read a floor plan is amateur, and I don’t know what to be on the lookout for. With just a bit more information, I could have understood the problem.

I still don’t know for sure why the windows can’t be changed out, but at this point, I’m ok with casements. I just want windows that work and that I can clean relatively easily (not that I clean windows often, mind you). Carl has decided he’s ok with this, too.

First problem solved.

Problem 2: 400-Series vs. Energy Star
We have been told a number of things about the 400-series windows. The most recent is that Andersen doesn’t make casement windows in the 400 series. Color me very confused, since I can find that information easily online.

As a replacement, we’re told that Andersen has an “Energy Star” line that will be used. The upcharge is $10,000. Now, I’m not only confused, but I’m also bothered.

My understanding is that all Andersen windows are Energy Star efficient. The company has had the certification for more than 10 years. And there is no “Energy Star” line. A-Series. E-series (E for “Eagle”). 400-series. 200-series. 100-series. No “Energy Star” series. Or, more accurately I believe, all Energy Star.

In our face-to-face meeting, Mike said he normally uses the 200-series. The 400-series is one step up, and that’s what we want. If we’re not getting that step up, I’m not interested in paying an upcharge.

I am certain that the problem is confusion, not an attempt to get something past us. Neither Mike nor Gary has struck me as that kind of person at all. So I’m back to clarity.

I sent an email to Gary saying the Problem 1 was solved, but asking for clarification on Problem 2. In that email, I tried to lay out my confusion as clearly as possible. I haven’t heard back yet, so I don’t know whether I succeeded.

If Gary doesn’t understand, though, I will have to try again – because the onus for clarity is mostly on the person trying to communicate.