Well, as the year draws to a close, and we are finally settled or settling in the house, it´s time for a review of best and worst of the vendors involved in this project.
Let´s start with the good ones first.
1. Fabián Sosa Díaz and Luis Bogliaccini, architects.
This is not a kind picture, but they always refused to provide me with a presentable one. From left to right, Barbi, Luis, Fabian, and 8-month pregnant Julia, all doing the twist at a party recently.
It´s impossible for me to fully thank Fabián and Luis for their devotion and commitment to this project, above and beyond the call of any professional duty. We started out in 2001, when I was planning to build a water tower, and evolved from there. Almost a full economic cycle later, we are living in our dream house thanks to both of them. Also, our dream house has evolved and improved thanks to their invaluable advice and ideas. After all, it was just a dream shack originally. Beyond the design stages, Fabian in particular has spent countless days, weeks and months making sure the evil contractors (more on them later) moved their asses and actually finished the house. No small feat, with 12 months of extra work.
2. Marabierto.
Marabierto, the home-furnishings business led by my mother and in which I am a partner and buyer, deserves full credit for the financial aspect of building this house. Marabierto, in its new incarnation, opened its doors on Jan. 5, 2002, excellently poised to dive head on into the biggest economic crisis seen in my lifetime in Uruguay and Argentina. Still, thanks to my amazing Mom, it forged ahead, avoided bankruptcy and went on to grow well beyond our dreams. While the funds for the original modest shack had to be diverted in 2002 to the survival of the business, Marabierto returned the favor by funding a project that is three times the size and price of the original. There would be a very small and simple shack in its place had it not been for our business --- and while I´m at it, let me send a shout-out to our fantastic customers. Let´s hope it continues to do well, as I have a lot of “expansion” plans and lots of land...
3. Punta Ballena Jardines. Even though they came in fully at the very end, after 18 months of dealing with the evil contractors, the professionalism and overall good attitude displayed by this landscaping firm has left us truly amazed. We keep thinking, and saying out loud “If the contractors had worked like these people do, we would have had the house ready in 4 months.” Martín and Diego Añón, father and son, respectively, are extremely knowledgeable and also wise. They will not try to sell you the sexy part (the planting) but rather insist on laying out the correct infrastructure, and while I ran out of budget for the aforementioned sexy part, I am delighted with my barren expanse of cleaned-out land, knowing all the drainage is in place, the sprinkler computer knows when to water the lawn, it can be expanded without extra cost when I add more lawn or plants, my pool and house won´t get flooded by the runoff from the sloping land during a rainstorm, etc.
ThTelecom Ingeniería, the alarm and DirecTv guys. Extremely nice, accomodating, professional, serious, etc. All good things. They are based in Piriápolis.
Carlos Traibel, the satellite internet and Ruralcel guy. Great service, great guy. He travels all around the country installing satellite internet access, the only means of accessing the Internet for most of his clients.And now to the bad guys
1. The contractors. I will not name them because I´m still in negotiations with them over our last payment and I don´t want a lawsuit, but I can´t think of anything good to say about them other than that they grudgingly and belatedly accommodated Fabian´s demands, at least on second or third or fifth request, and thus the house is indeed the house we planned. However, in addition to their delays (the house was completed in 18 months, rather than 6 as promised) the last stages were basically abandoned, and thus to this day there is a pile of wood and corrugated metal blighting my yard (tomorrow is the last day before I donate it), every surface is stained by the paint used on other surfaces (windows, floors, walls, etc.) some walls have their edges all chipped, etc. etc. So in a way, they never really finished the job, I just moved in when I got tired of waiting for them.
2. The sofa guy. Big jerk. A supplier who does business with us year round, spent two months not making my sofas and saying “What, do you want me to make your sofas and leave behind the orders for the real customers?” meaning the orders for my customers... And what I am for godssake? Chopped liver?
3. The utilities guys. All of the utilities. Not only do they charge in advance and then come to install the service whenever they very well feel like, but they also lie (“I am standing in front of your house” while we stare at miles of empty road) and worse, much worse still, they NEGLIGENTLY START FIRES all over the place. There was one fire in August that reached across the street from our house. Another one last week, half a mile away, that consumed three houses. In both cases the fires were started because utility work crews MUST have their barbeque lunches every day, at any price. They are just assholes.
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