As promised, here is another war story from the archives. About ten years ago, our neighbors (now close friends) hired me to design and renovate their master bedroom and bathroom.
It started as a typical job – it was a renovation of two rooms. By the time we finished the design work the adjacent bedroom and bathroom were added to the to make a powder room. Needless to say, this ended up to be a 6 figure project.
My trusty team started the demolition then proceeded to framing. Once they finished that portion, they began what is known as “rough-ins”. This is the stage when the plumber, electrician and HVAC subcontractors install all of the pipes, wiring and venting between the studs and between the floor joists.
Their house – typical for our neighborhood was originally built in the 1930s. Older homes have special challenges. Wiring and plumbing does not meet current code, and in a house of that age, the walls are plastered. When doing demo, the subs have to be very careful that they don’t hit the walls too hard because the plaster in the adjoining rooms can be cracked very easily.
We were forced into moving the shower drain slightly off-center because of the joists. We made the appropriate changes and the plumber moved to the jetted tub rough-in. This is fairly typical in any renovation.
One morning, I received a call from the plumber and he wanted me to decide where to install the motor and pump for the tub. It is always a challenge to find a location that hides the access panel (for future repairs and maintenance). He knew I would want to be involved in this decision.
Since I was in the middle of another call, I told him that it would be thirty minutes before I could meet with him. He said that was just fine, he would go to the store to buy a bag of sheetrock mud (to stabilize and support the base of the tub).
When I arrived, the contractor was working and the plumber wasn’t there. We started talking about the job progress. I noticed the tub, and as I looked at it, I felt that sinking feeling that the color was PINK! Not a garish pink, just a nice, soft color called Innocent Blush…our original choice in one of our early design meetings. I told the contractor that I thought it was the wrong color, and he said, “No way!” He pulled out his flood lights and pointed them on the tub – it was definitely a pink elephant!
About that time, the plumber returned with the bag of mud and we told him that we were very worried about the color of the tub. The correct color was Biscuit – and this looked more like a delicate pink rose. His face drained of color and his eyes were like saucers. We looked at the crate, and sure enough, it was labeled Innocent Blush (not so innocent).
I asked Steve what color he ordered, and he said, Biscuit. He immediately went to his truck and brought in his clipboard with his very first purchase order – the one for this tub. It said Biscuit.
Now you might think that this is no big deal, that we could just exchange the tub from local stock. Not the case! We spent hours on the phone, and of course the rep we worked with was no longer working with the plumbing wholesaler. Apparently, when he placed the order, he just went from memory and not from the fax that we sent that confirmed the new Biscuit color.
All of us were panicked. The client had moved out for the duration of the remodel and they were living in their Florida home. After we spent hours with the wholesaler discussing how to resolve the problem and getting the new tub expedited, we found out the bad news – it would delay our project by a month.
The client wasn’t happy, but at least they weren’t living in the house during the remodel.
Moral of the story: Even with the best follow-up, things happen. The contractor and plumber were extremely appreciative that I caught the problem before the tub was set in the mud base. Had it been set in the base, they would have bought a $3,000 pink elephant! This is a perfect example of why a designer needs to be provide job site follow-up. Thank goodness our eyes are trained to see subtle color differences.
