Mike, questions about our project
It was a pleasure meeting with you yesterday regarding our upcoming project…. I am sure Giuseppe has told you that I ask a lot of questions so I figured I would put it in an email so I make sure I cover everything 🙂
I also email as it’s sometimes easier when the kids are sleeping and its also my only free time and I do forget to call people while the kids are up so I apologize if email is not your preferred way of communication. You can feel free to call me with the answers or email I just didn’t want to forget anything and have to go back and forth.
With the price given for granite pavers are you able to do any better being the amount of business we have given Gappsi in the past 6 months? With upcoming driveway door and portico.
Once we give a deposit can you come and mark out where the driveway will go so I can coordinate having the landscaping removed and to make sure of which trees have to be taken down.. In town of Oyster Bay I have to get permits to have trees removed so it could be a couple weeks as last time any company that came wouldn’t do without the permit
I know you mentioned doing some sort of design on the aprons and/or different directions on entrances and some sort of bump out in the center of the driveway to line up with the steps as well as by the driveway. Was curious to see if you have any pictures of such designs or if its in your head… I know sometimes it just comes to you as you see the job. If not it really doesn’t impact the job but was just curious
What material are the steps going to be made of? Is it granite to match the driveways or pavers??
How big is the platform for the steps? Is it enough to accommodate the portico without compromising aesthetic look?
How thick are granite pavers?
I currently have some electrical run in the front in tubes under the old driveway.. Will this be affected by the removal of the old driveway or can we do something to ensure that it is not ruined if possible??
Currently you have the walkway from the driveway to the side door in granite pavers. I think I will need to change that as we originally never planned on adding a front door and gaining a side door so we never planned on a path from the gate entrance to the side door to the pool. I think I need the granite to the fence line and then the mixed large mocha travertine from the fence to the side door to the pool area. I am not sure if you need to come here to measure or I can take pictures and send to you of the side yard and current back patio to help you with the estimate on this portion.. Giuseppe also has the survey if it helps that shows the side door and the back deck where the travertine patio currently begins, so just let me know what you need to figure this into the estimate.. I am looking for a standard walkway nothing too crazy.. Is a standard walkway 3 or 4 feet? Let me know how to proceed with that…
Once we give deposit for project can the design be emailed to me so I can take a look again and make sure of layout including the new walkway layout from the bullet above?
OK so I think I asked anything and everything possible and I thank you again for your time and look forward to hearing back from you and going forward with the job.
Courtney & Scott

Hope you are enjoying your weekend. I don’t want to forget to email you about the door that I have chosen so I figured I would email instead of trying to remember to call you tomorrow 🙂
I went to windowrama in Commack yesterday and they were so busy I took a look, grabbed a catalog and left and didn’t speak to anyone.
The door I have chosen is S771. It is the Blackstone glass style with the full sidelights S6003SL. The transom is BSRT. Brushed nickel coming please.
Can you get me prices on the door with the sidelights and then the door with the sidelights and transom so I can make my final decision on that…. The transom is square for this particular door so I am not too sure what ideas you may have about the portico arch based on that as I know you said if it was a half moon you could follow that structure…
When speaking with Mike and Giuseppe yesterday they said that they want to do the mason work prior to the door this way you come in and don’t have to come back which may work well so we can get the door and paint it prior to you installing it…
Can you send me the final estimate based on the door I have chosen? I believe all I need to provide after this is the chandelier and door handle.
Also any help on the price is greatly appreciated as in the past couple months and months to come we will have given Gappsi lots of business 🙂
I thank you for your time and hope to be working with you in the future soon…

Hi it’s your favorite person again writing you some sweet poetry :-). Scott has a question that I know you can answer and probably assist us with since you are the cement man, pool man, paver man, construction man and everything else!!!
Anyway, we are digging out the basement and are placing floor jacks for temporary support. We are going to do cinderblock walls 2 feet away from the existing foundation and will need footings, cement poured in the cinderblocks and a floor poured. Not too sure if the footings and the floor get done at one time and the cinderblock walls we do with bags after or it can be done all once. Anyhow, the size of the area is 12×24 and was curious to know if you could pump cement from Scotts driveway through our basement window to complete this? If so, got a rough estimate??
I made an appointment fro next Tuesday night to see you and Charlie but Scott really wants to be here for the driveway piece and basement piece and is only available on weekends so I am planning on calling Farah to see if you do estimates on weekends so we can discuss this also…. I love to keep you thinking 🙂
We were planning on waiting on this but as usual Scott forgot a minor detail which is that I don’t want cement truck on my new driveway once you do them!!!
Don’t worry after this years work we are thinking cabana in the backyard for the following you so you wont be rid of me for a while!!
Courtney
Hello Courtney,
The floor should be poured first and then where the walls will be built you should leave rebar’s sticking out of the floor, this way when the back walls are built the rebar’s will tie the walls to the floor once the back walls are filled with concrete.
Also how are you guys taking the dirt out? Because it could be cheaper bringing the cement in the same way, because to pump the concrete would be too expensive the pump alone would coast $1000 and you only need 3.5 yards of concrete and if you bring it in by buckets it would be about 180 buckets of cement.
One suggestion is you should install the block wall first and just put about 4 ” of concrete as a footing and bury half of the first block below the finished floor level this way you can just bring in some sand and some bags of cement and after you are done building the walls get a truck of concrete. Then when I come over I want to see if we can just create a shoot to pass the concrete trough the window by making the cement liquid. You do not need a pump but some extra help to do it and pour the floors and fill the walls at the same time.
Let me know how did I do?
You did great and we appreciate your help.. We are about 60% dug out and the dirt is coming out through a small basement window and also being walked up the basement stairs and out the door into dumpsters an old drywell cesspools… I think we are going to put this on hold for a little bit but still undecided as to what to do as their is so much going on in this house lately..