Just Gettin' Beat Up - Tradewinds of Idaho Builder Eagle Idaho

Tradewinds of Idaho building our custom home in Eagle Idaho. A little customer service thread for your amusement. I thought we were the customer and our concerns are to be heard. Nope! We are scolded for researching other properties and how they are built (with pictures and examples) before outlining the issue with ours. Our soffits were built and we noticed the irregular patterns in each area. We went out and looked at other jobs by other builders and also OUR builder, Tradewinds. None of them looked random like ours. So we sent a text with our concerns. Then, per usual, Leann just slams us in her responses. It's just unbelievable. Read the amazing responses down below the pictures...

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Text Thread Sunday Evening 2/6/2022 5:27pm.

Shelley
Hi all!
Please ignore me today. This is for Monday. As per Amy and I meeting on the lot, the front columns should be as pictured here.

1) Bottom band should be 12”
2) Top band should be 4”
3) Board across top should be around 9”. It’s clear how it should fit. The 9” is just an estimate.

They mocked it up, it seems, but it has craftsman detail that we do not want and is not shown in the picture above. I will post it below.
Thanks!
Shelley

This is their mock up which is entirely different than the picture they are supposed to be building to. Look at the right hand column

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Additionally, the siders seem to be doing a really nice job where there is clear direction on where the board and bat/siding goes as well as the placement. However, the back patio ceiling isn’t symmetric from the center outward on any of the ceilings. We wondered what other jobs looked like (both TW and other builders) and took some pictures to compare. I will send pictures below. Again, just trying to get this done today and don’t expect and communication back today. Thanks everyone!

Our job: The board and bat would look right if it were lined up with the peak of the roof.

Right and left sides of the house don’t match. Also, the left side, both lower and upper levels don’t match.

Note that this is not centered with the window. The right and left sides are not equidistant from the sides

Other jobs: Here is an example of some symmetrical work we saw

It seems like all other projects are done from the center out. Centered from the window to the sides...

In looking at other Tradewinds jobs in Avamor, we saw symmetrically built bats from left to right and centered on the window

Symmetric from left to right and centered on the door

Thanks for taking a look!

Monday Morning February 7, 2022

Leann Arkima:
Good morning, Shelley and Doug, and Happy Monday. Tradewinds is available for your questions Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm. Please do not text us outside of those hours, especially on a Sunday, a day of rest. It can all wait until normal business hours. Amy is out of hours, so please do not include her going forward.

I am going to switch to a different email trail at this point. ~ Leann

Shelley
Hello Leann! I too share your same interest in keeping business to the work week. However, just as TW has reached out asking if I could connect on that rare occasion, over a weekend, I felt a Sunday text was warranted. We have no idea when contractors arrive in the morning to begin working. We felt a little desperate to get out the information sooner rather than later. Thanks for understanding our concerns. We will wait for your reply by email.

Leann Arkima
Hi Shelley: I appreciate the explanation and validate your feelings. However, this all can be handled on Monday, despite your feelings…just hold off until Monday and be patient. Nothing is that important that can’t wait, unless of course your home is burning down, in which case please call the fire department first, and then text us second. 😉.
Also, I’d like to repeat to please NOT talk directly with the siders, which happened again on Friday, or other subs for that matter. You are to talk/text to Dave or me only…it is for your own good and to avoid much confusion and additional charges.

I’m sure you can understand there has to be a “chain of command.” We are the boss of them, not you. They are just being nice when you approach them and engage them, yet they are not desperate and need direction only from us. Please respect our process…again, it is for your own good.

Happy to clarify as needed. ~ Leann

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Thank you, Doug
From: Doug Renner
Sent: Thursday, February 3, 2022 9:03 AM
To: Douglas Renner (drenner@.com) ; Shelley Renner
Subject: Tradewinds Text 2022.02.03 Front Door Siding Questions

Shelley: Good morning all! So, while Doug was visiting our job yesterday, the siding company, on site, asked him if he might know what the measurements should be for the back columns and front pillars. They said nowhere in the plans does it give them what they need to complete the job. The plans provided show the old style front pillars. In my mind, although they weren’t built thinner as shown in the pictures i will provide next, Amy and I envisioned the more simple pillars to go with the front door we chose as drawn and approved by me in BT. Amy, can you provide feedback? Doug, of course, did not help them figure out the column measurements in the back. We assume this will be provided to them by TW. Thanks!

Original pillars with stone

Second version with new pillars drawn up with drafter.

Approved pillars and final door in BT

Doug Renner It’s not the column measurements exactly. It’s the column trim detail they have questions about. The top and bottom of the columns and how to trim them out.

Shelley Renner Hi Amy... thank you for your response to me personally to meet on the site. Can we chat here so we are all on the same page?

Amy Oates I am available to meet at the job site today between 1:00-3:00 today.

Shelley Renner Any time in there works for me! Thank you so very much Amy. It’s important to get his right.
Leann Arkema Good morning. Thx for the note and no need to worry. Dave had talked to the siders yesterday. Doug got involved w the crew which we ask you not to do please. The boss knew what was happening and it’s our job to make it right. You may always ask questions to us.
Leann Arkema Rick is out this week sick and we ask you and Doug to please give him space. Dave is handling and feel free to reach out to me anytime. Rick gave me Doug’s message.
Shelley So Leann, Is there a need for Amy and I to meet on the lot in your opinion? I would like to know which plan for the front pillars Dave is telling the siders to build

Leann Arkema You are always welcome to meet. And, Dave is using the approved and updated version.

Shelley
Also Leann, sometimes when we pop in on the job to see progress, there are contractors there who ask us questions. Although we always ask them to connect with TW, I believe yesterday was a different situation. They had been working off their phone since last week to see plans as there were none on site. Just yesterday they were given the plans. They told Doug the plans do not have measurements for the detail of the columns and pillars. He could have offered his advice since they were asking him for it , but he of course did not do this as it is TW job as you say.

Shelley Thanks all!
Dave McCarty
They thought Doug was the homeowner general contractor. We gotta get Doug on the books and have him check all my jobs 😉
Sorry about the confusion, they’re construction workers, they have questions, that’s what they do! 😉
Just following up on Leann’s message about Rick. Please wait till at least next week to give him some time. Thank you for your patience and understanding, we all appreciate it
Thank you
Doug The guys on site yesterday seemed desperate for direction on the front and back columns and also what to do on the bottom of the main large back sliding door. They said they spoke to you when you dropped off the plans but no direction was provided. I figured I’d reach out to Rick in case he might be able to drop by and help them.

It sounds like you’re on it now so let’s try to build toward the agreed upon overall design. I think that the front door column detail is still in question as far as specific sizes of wood to do the trim work at the top and bottom of the column. That’s the direction they were looking for. Plus the only plan they had (original elevations) showed stone still on the columns in front.

Doug’s comment 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

February Freezout with the Bus Pilot Association of Boise, Idaho

Saturday was a beautiful day for a drive to Emmett with the Bus Pilots. We set out from Meridan ID up Chinden to Highway 16 and on up towards Emmett. We cut off Highway 16 onto Freezout Road where we all took a group photo overlooking Emmett.

We went on from there down to Roe Anne's drive in for some awesome burgers and fries for lunch. Thanks Bus Pilots!

 Meet Fred!

Above Picture taken in McCall Idaho

Tradewinds Contracting in Boise Idaho Recommendations or References

Can anyone provide some recent feedback on working with Tradewinds Contracting in Boise / Garden City Idaho? The owner is Steve Martinez. 

They appear to be a premier builder in the Boise area however we are looking for some references. They appear in Houzz and other online publications. In this challenging building environment we are wondering if they are a viable candidate to build a home in Boise Idaho. We have found several other builders for the neighborhood we are looking at however the lot we want is "taken" by Tradewinds and they would be the custom home builder for this lot in Eagle, Idaho. http://tradewindsofidaho.com/ is their website. 

You can email drenner @ summitsol. com if you have any feedback good or bad on Tradewinds. You can also comment here on the blog. 

Thank you!

UPDATE 4/4/2022

These are my last text messages to Steve Martinez, Owner, Tradewinds of Idaho from February 9,2022:

Feb 9:  "Hi Steve, Just halt our project till Leann is fired.  Thanks.  Best, Doug

            I have never had a worse business experience in my life."

Feb 10:  "Hi Steve, when can we talk?"

Of note related to this.  Steve told me to my face on or about December 10th, 2021 that he was going to fire Leann in January of 2022.  She is still there as of 4/4/2022.   Furthermore, Steve has to date not answered either one of those texts.  I would not recommend them to dig a hole much less build a house.  UN-Customer service appears to be their MO. 

 

Cisco Umbrella, formerly OpenDNS, What's in it for your business?

Cisco Cloud Security

Cisco Umbrella uses the Internet's most core component of infrastructure to block malicious destinations before a connection is ever established. By delivering security from the cloud, it is both easy and cost efficient to deploy.  The full suite of Cisco Security products have superior threat intelligence features compared to many competing products. Cisco has an advanced threat research department called Talos which is a team of over 250 people who research worldwide cyber threats in real-time. These cyber threat updates are then automatically sent to their suite of customer security products every five minutes.

It's All About Layers!

Security these days is not a single product solution.  We have to employ many layers to catch malicious activity and bad actors attempting to infiltrate our users and our data.  There is the traditional firewall, the Unified Threat Management Firewall, Endpoint Security such as Antivirus or Intrusion Prevention, Behavior based analytics that look for unusual or non standard activity on user workstations or devices.  All of these typically require an agent or piece of software installed on each device.  DNS is something that is inherently used by every internet user so it is a natural place to build in security functionality for users.  Plus, it is extremely simple to deploy at it's most basic level and users are being secured immediately.   It can be deployed in as little as 30 minutes.   

Acquisition of OpenDNS - "Atmospheric Security"

In 2015, Cisco acquired OpenDNS and moved them into their growing Cloud Security product portfolio.   The acquisition was a good one for Cisco.  They acquired another large database of Internet based "gunk" and a solution that is very easy to install and begin protecting organizations and businesses both inside and outside the firewall.   I like to call it "Atmospheric Security."  It can protect users that are mobile, work from home or SOHO workers, mobile devices such as phones and laptops, and it can protect those using WiFi at all those vulnerable cafe's and coffee shops!  Doesn't it sound good to have "Atmospheric Security" surrounding your user base?

Advanced DNS Based Protection

New security threats are being introduced and propagated at a dizzying pace.   Anyone who is online is exponentially being exposed to more and more threats every day.   Your business must secure its users from malicious attacks coming at them faster than ever.  What governs nearly every transaction on the Internet?  DNS...

For reference, DNS is a layer of critical infrastructure for how the internet works. It resolves those complicated IP addresses to standard names like www.yahoo.com instead of remembering each website's IP address.   It’s no surprise that 97% of advanced malware use DNS as part of their attack. Unfortunately, most businesses do not monitor DNS traffic for malicious internet connections, which creates these blind spots – this is one of the reasons why Cisco Cloud Security experts agree that protecting users in this way one of the more valuable methods of implementing a multi-layered security approach.

Reasons to Look at Cisco Umbrella

• Cloud Delivered, Less cost– because of tight budgets, businesses, schools and colleges can get more for their money when it comes to cyber security. Cisco Umbrella’s cloud-based service is a much lower cost than on premises solutions, it also helps with internet compliance and content control.
• Fast deployment and management– Deployment can take less than 30 minutes… which is ideal for schools and universities or large organizations as it means no downtime and valuable study time will not be interrupted. The solution can be centrally managed via the cloud based dashboard, this greatly reduces the time wasted by IT administrators.
• Enhanced Web filtering (for education and non profits this is extremely valuable)- Internet connectivity is required in every office and classroom as it plays a vital part in the modern day environment. Because of this, schools must be able to control what students have access to and business needs to limit liability. Umbrella’s web filtering allows you to block malicious content and risky sites. There is no need to install web filtering software on each machine, Umbrella can protect all devices on the network within minutes.  A deeper deployment only makes it more granular.
• Scalability – Large bandwidth connections are the norm in business and education so that students can research and use online study resources and business can move at the speed of the Internet. While traditional on-premises filtering hardware can be tough-to-scale, Umbrella integrates seamlessly with available bandwidth and provides the capability independent of bandwidth upgrades or ISP changes.
• Reporting - The reporting functionality has only gotten better and better since the acquisition by Cisco.   You can drill into data and turn any current query into a regular report that can be scheduled with a variety of options.   Great to bring metrics back to the business leadership and make IT look like heroes!

Summing it All Up!

With more unmanaged devices connecting to the network and more users working from anywhere, security gaps are widening. 

Defending mobile devices, cloud data and user behavior is harder than ever. You need deep visibility to expose not only what files and users are doing on their devices, but where they try to connect to the internet. You need this visibility so you can find the offending machines or users and stop malicious behavior immediately.