Keeping Communication Lines Open

Today was a cold and rainy day at the project’s location, but it was a day in which the owner had off and he has come out to talk about the progress and ask questions.

So, today I took him our to see the little shed (4’ x 8’) I added to the back of his ADU to house the water manifold, the hot water heaters and the electrical panel. We were going to have the manifolds in the attic above the master bedrooms walk -in closet, but if there is trouble in the future that is one of the likely places to look. Because of that I wanted to move these manifolds out to the shed. I don’t like hot water heaters exposed to the elements and feel the surface mounted electrical panels are an eyesore.   

I had run the ideas of the shed by him and told him the architect approved it so its built. He then said he wanted the manifold on the joint wall between the two. I expressed my concerns about the sharp turn the pex would have to make even though there would be sleeves the lines coming through from the ADU into the shed.  I started drilling the wholes for the water lines and then pulling them through. Upon entering the shed I noticed that it would be cleaner and the lines were in line do place the manifolds above the drop ceiling and they would be out of the sight of the renters and would be less likely to be messed with so I asked him to come out and look. I explained that I would give him two removable panels to slid back in order to give excess to the manifolds. He loved the idea. We place the electrical panel so it opened inside the shed out of the weather.  I told him I would make a removable wall to seal in the water heater so the panel would be shielded if the heater leaked.

He was getting excited about the shed again and told me it was dark in there. I told him we could add a light and an outlet inside and outside it. He asked about have outlets outside under the eves for Christmas lights I told him they wouldn’t present problems.

For those of us who do this type work we see little thing that may make a huge impact on the owners. I believe it is our responsibility to keep the communication open. The other day some of his friends came by to visit with him and he walked them through the project pointing out little details that he put in his ADU. Those people saw me working and they knew who had done the work but it is important that my clients take ownership of the units I build for them. Two of his friends asked for my business card. It is important to keep communication open and free.

Note: Images on this blog site are from a free source or taken by the author. No image or group of photos is intended to represent the people the author serves. The author does not care about Race (that is a politically correct term that he does not like because we are all of the same Race, the Human Race. He prefers the term ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender, marital status, disability, genetic information, national origin, source of income, Veteran or military status, ancestry, citizenship, primary language or immigration status.) He is a service provider for all people. We will all rise together when we band together and help one another. Joseph Erwin is a Real Estate Broker, DRE # O2131799, and a CA general contractor # B 696662. He’s a member of the CRMLS and The East Valley Association of Realtors located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California.