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| Keep Murphy Away On Delivery Day |
| Breaking Murphy's Law |
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| By Jim Cooper
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After months, maybe years of planning, dealing with lenders, finding subs, scheduling and
re-scheduling, there is no greater reward than that moment when the first truckload of logs rolls into view. Delivery day for most log home buyers is a time of excitement second only to moving day. For some, it means they can now watch as their dream home becomes a reality. For others, it means time to roll up their sleeves and get to work.
As I drove away from a job site recently after delivery, I had a strange feeling. I've delivered a number of homes in the past five years, but something was missing from this one. Suddenly I realized, it wasn't something, it was someone. Murphy never showed.
You've all met Murphy. He's the one who leaves out the instructions. Or packs the
wrong-sized screws. Or sends too few of something that can only be replaced by going through a parts department with an overseas area code. He's the one who makes it rain right after you mow the lawn or wash the car.
Murphy is a powerful individual. Like gravity, he even has a law: If anything can go wrong, it will.
Although Murphy doesn't confine his activities to log home builders, I've noticed that he has a special fondness for delivery day. I've spent considerable time trying to discourage him from attending, but he usually manages to put in an appearance anyway.
On this most recent delivery, I thought I'd seen him coming at least twice, but something happened and he faded out of view without so much as a nod. So I began to speculate about what had offended Murphy.
In my mind, I went back over the delivery and the preparations for it. I went back to the phone conversation I had had with customers Wayne and Tracy a week before delivery.
"Is everything set for next Wednesday?" I asked.
"You bet," Wayne replied. "They're finishing the road this Thursday, so everything should be ready."
I sensed Murphy in the background, eavesdropping. "Have you got a
back-up plan" I checked, "in case the road isn't ready?"
"Sure do. We can use the neighbor's road. There's a small field close to our property where we can unload."
"Sounds good. Be sure that you have a way to get bundles as wide as 16 to 18 feet down the drive. It's tough to get a load of
18-foot rafters between trees that are 14 feet apart. How about your forklift?"
"It's all lined up. And I'll have a chainsaw handy, just in case. I don't think trees will be a problem, though." Wayne had obviously done his homework.
"What kind of forklift?" I asked.
Occasionally, I've had customers want to use a front-end loader, the type used for digging
foundations--or a backhoe equipped with forks. After one experience with such a makeshift rig, I've warned people away. Those pieces of equipment do not offer the fine control necessary to slip forks between tightly stacked bundles of materials. The risk of damage to materials and trucks is much higher, and the time required is much greater.
One customer who ignored my warning tried to use a loader equipped with forks. In two hours, he unloaded only three bundles of logs. The forks had gouged deep furrows in several logs, and two of the three bundles had broken open, requiring
hand-stacking the logs back on the forks. Thankfully, on the third load, one of the forks broke, ending the attempt.
Then a helpful neighbor showed up with a fork-rigged backhoe. On its first try, one of the forks bent.
We then waited an hour for a forklift to arrive from a nearby rental company. It ended up taking a full day to accomplish a
half-day's work. In addition, materials were damaged and trucks delayed.
The overtime on the trucks cost more than was paid to rent the forklift.
"It's a four-wheel drive with big tires," Wayne replied, adding, "It's a
mast-type lift with a 5,000-pound rating. Does that sound good?"
"That'll work OK," I said. Since I've learned from experience that forklifts are not all created equal, I offered a suggestion: "But you might want to consider an alternative."
I've found that unloading goes faster and materials can be stacked neater using an extendible boom forklift. Instead of a mast, which limits the forks to traveling straight up and down, a
boom-type lift has the forks on the end of an arm, which can be extended and retracted. The forks can also be tilted forward and back and rotated from side to side. It has a couple of real advantages. First, because the boom extends, you can unload an entire truck from one side, then either turn the truck around or move the forklift to the other side and sometimes have the driver roll the truck forward or backward to allow the lift to pass with each load. Rotating the forks can allow you to keep a load level, even when driving on sloping terrain; there's less chance of a load sliding off sideways. Finally, the boom can be extended to place loads exactly as you want them, without having to risk hitting other loads with the lift.
I gave Wayne the number of the rental company I use that has the boom-type forklift and suggested he call. "Remember," I added, "I'll need a cashier's check for the balance of the kit before we can start unloading."
"It's all arranged. But I haven't received the final invoice yet."
I sensed Murphy chuckling again. Having just received a letter myself that traveled nine days from a business three blocks away, I wasn't trusting anything to chance. "Have you got a fax there? I'll get a copy of the invoice to you today."
Wayne gave me his fax number. We confirmed that the trucks would arrive by 8 a.m. and that I would call the night before for one last check.
It rained the next three days. When I called Wayne the night before delivery, I already knew the answer to my first question: "Did you get your road in?"
"Nope, but I've got my back-up plan ready. We've taken down some fence so the drivers can turn around in the field."
"Did you look into my forklift suggestion?"
"Sure did. I'm using it. They said it would be there by eight. It actually was a little cheaper, too."
"Great. Did you get your invoice OK?"
"I got the fax the day we talked. I have the check here now."
"Good. One more thing, you may want to have some additional scrap lumber to set materials on, too."
"Already got it."
"Then I'll see you tomorrow at 7:30."
Delivery day dawned with turquoise skies and the smell of summer. When I arrived at the job site, a line of three
60-foot tractor-trailers snaked down the driveway. Wayne and the drivers were swapping yarns, waiting for the forklift. I noticed a large mowed area on the high end of a field right next to the trucks. Fifty feet of fence had been removed to allow free access to the meadow. Across the field, a dirt pathway marked the first stages of Wayne's road.
The forklift arrived. After confirming the cashier's check, we started to unload.
As Wayne lifted the first bundle, his helper arrived and started laying out lumber to set materials on. I took the material list and climbed onto the first truck, counting and measuring each item before checking it off. I looked for signs of damage and checked lumber lengths and linear feet of logs; counted boxes of spikes, nails, caulk and sealants; checked sizes and hinge swings on the
pre-hung interior doors; and calculated footages of log siding and
tongue-and-groove flooring. I worked to stay ahead of Wayne, so I inspected and counted each bundle before it came off the truck.
Wayne had driven regular forklifts before and took a little time getting the feel of the boom lift. He wasn't used to the additional movements, but by the end of the fourth trip he handled it like a pro, using the extendible boom feature to separate tightly stacked materials before lifting. Thirty minutes later, the first truck rumbled into the field, empty, to turn around. Trucks two and three followed as smoothly. By 10:30, all three had been unloaded and were headed home.
While Wayne rearranged materials to get those needed first closer to the house site, I crossed off question
marks-notations on my list of materials that were buried in bundles and could not be confirmed until I could get a better look. When I had crossed off the last item, I called Wayne over and we went over the list. He signed and dated each page, then handed me the cashier's check.
(Some owners prefer to check the delivery list themselves. They provide a forklift operator and accompany me as I inventory materials.)
Before leaving, I offered Wayne a few last tips. "Don't break the bands holding the dimensional lumber and siding until you are ready to use it. As soon as
2-by-4s and such get loose, they can twist and bow. If you do need to open a bundle, you may want to separate materials to let air circulate. Be sure they're protected from moisture, too, especially ground moisture.
"When you start construction, set aside an area for waste. Keep your waste materials until you are sure you have enough to complete the project. That way, if you run short, I can verify that the shortage was not caused by excessive waste. Then we can issue you a credit, ship additional materials or reimburse you for anything you have to buy."
Just before noon, I pulled away from Wayne and Tracy's new log home, sitting in orderly piles on a freshly mowed patch of meadow. That's when the sensation of Murphy missing hit me.
Then I realized what had happened to him. There are three things that Murphy cannot face: preparation, organization and a sound backup plan. With those three things taken care of, you can look forward to an exciting, rewarding delivery day with little prospect of a visit from Mr. Murphy and his nasty little
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