Saluting the sub-trades

There are always unsung heroes over the course of any renovation project.

Whether it’s the commercial rep who hastens a delivery to ensure a job remains on schedule, or the sales rep who calls a manufacturer to expedite a replacement item that arrived damaged, everyone plays a crucial role.

At a condo project earlier this year, two sub-trades performed in an exemplary manner to guarantee the bathroom remodel stayed on track, despite several earlier and unfortunate delays.

Hurdles can sometimes create a domino effect — in this case, a jetted tub arrived with the wrong-hand drain. Having waited nearly eight weeks for it to arrive the week before Christmas, the prospect of swapping the left-hand drain tub for the correct one seemed bleak. Fortunately, the supplier was able to order and expedite a replacement tub over the Christmas break. Although it would arrive a week later than needed, this timeline would suffice.

However, pushing the bathroom remodel tasks had created another issue — the electrician at my disposal was no longer available, as he was away on vacation as a result of the seven-day delay.

As such, it was necessary to reach out to another electrical company. Having briefly discussed the situation with the condo-owner, she mentioned having dealt with Insight Electric in the past, for a kitchen remodel roughly a decade prior. In lieu of making a bunch of calls, I thought it was warranted to at least contact Insight to inquire, primarily because they had been there in the past.

Lo and behold, after a brief discussion with the company owner, it was indeed possible for them assume the electrical tasks required for the 20th-floor condo bathroom remodel.

Because the condo building has one main entrance for multiple abodes, a commercial permit was required. Insight pulled the appropriate permit, which entailed introducing several separate ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) to the bathroom. Isolated circuits were required for the jetted tub and bidet, and a GFCI outlet would be mounted near the sink.

Finally, due to code requirements, the light switches were too close to the tub and also required a GFCI circuit. Other than the GFCI outlet near the sink, the remaining three circuits were protected by GFCI breakers within the panel, which satisfied the proximity issues of the switches, which are mounted near the door along the inside of the space (it is unsafe to be within arm’s reach of light switches while in the tub).

The Insight crew prepped the rough electrical for the preliminary inspection. The final electrical inspection would then be achieved once the bathroom was fully populated.

Oddly enough, during the electrical modification process, the electrician on site did not recall having been in the condo unit nearly 10 years ago, but admitted it was indeed his handwriting on the panel — how strange is that?

Another domino fell when my usual plumber was unable to tackle the tub and shower-faucet tie-in tasks, due to scheduling conflicts that again arose from the delays that forced the job back by a week or so.

My first instinct was to contact the on-call in-house plumber for the building — Paul Lesiuk, at Lesiuk Mechanical. Not only was he familiar with the building’s inner workings, he also had a long-standing relationship with the superintendent, which aided in expediting any requests.

After a brief discussion, Lesiuk accepted the task and also offered to obtain the appropriate commercial permit for the plumbing changes (which in a commercial building, is separate from the electrical permit).

Fortunately, the plumbing prep would be more straightforward than the electrical — all new bathroom elements (tub, toilet, vanity sink) would simply tie in to existing feeds and drains.

Thus, the preliminary inspection would mainly consist of ensuring there were no impending changes to the existing rough plumb. Once that was established, the inspector was confident the new elements would be easily retrofitted.

After discussing the faucet and drain requirements for the new tub and shower stall, I prepped the copper stems needed to satisfy the shower head and separate hand-wand. Once soldered together and onto the faucet, the ABS drain and overflow were pre-mounted to the new tub.

Upon Lesiuk’s arrival on “tie-in” day, he simply had to solder the hot and cold stems of the pre-prepped shower faucet array to the existing feeds and tie in the tub to the existing drain. We then verified full function with no leaks using a small camera while testing the drain junction after filling the tub. Lesiuk was satisfied all was well, and the entire tie-in process only took an hour or so.

The commercial permit process is considerably more comprehensive than residential permits for single-dwelling homes. A separate permit is required for electrical and plumbing, and each required preliminary and final inspections.

Fortunately, both tasks passed without issue, thanks to the wonderful gents at Insight Electric and Lesiuk Mechanical, respectively — these guys really came through for me and it shall not be forgotten. It’s always nice to have several trustworthy options when it comes to sub-trades, and these guys are now at the top of my list.

The unexpected can sometimes derail a job site. Had the incorrect tub not been delivered, my timeline would not have been affected, and my usual subs would have been ready for their tasks. Unfortunately, the slight delay caused by needing to swap out the wrong tub for the correct one wreaked havoc on my schedule, and the dominoes began to fall.

Luckily, these two sub-trades came to the rescue. And not only did they both do fantastic work, they did so while making every effort to keep the project on schedule, greatly benefitting me and the homeowner.

Not only was the bathroom completed in spectacular fashion, all said and done, my subsequent activities (post electrical and plumbing) were ramped up allowing me to finish the entire project within a day or two of the originally anticipated completion date, in large part due to the sub-trades, the unsung heroes to whom I am forever grateful.

RenoBoss.Inc@outlook.com

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