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Freaking contractor!!!! - Printable Version

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Freaking contractor!!!! - anonymouse1 - 11-18-2012

Paid a boatload of money to the contractor to get all this work done BEFORE we moved in. Guy has done a lot of work for good friends, highest recommendation, licensed, etc.

He did some good work on the exterior, but almost everything inside the house has been a disappointment--obviously broken toilets gone unrepaired, lousy paintjob, electrical work undone, etc.

We moved in on October 31, and have had to do 3 full house damp-mop and damp-wipes to get rid of construction dust since then, even though all work was supposed to be one on October 27.

The good news is that he's having his team redo the paint, and the new job looks a lot better. But there's spackle dust everywhere--what a huge disappoint and pain in the a$$....And the ongoing turmoil is pretty upsetting to our five year old daughter.

Just needed to blow some steam off. It will get a lot better once we get through this next week. Of course, we're hosting Thanksgiving, and the place is going to smell of fresh paint......Sigh. Arggh!!!!


Re: Freaking contractor!!!! - space-time - 11-18-2012

sorry to hear this. did you buy this place recently?


Re: Freaking contractor!!!! - miK. - 11-18-2012




Re: Freaking contractor!!!! - cbelt3 - 11-18-2012

Sadly... Contractors are a lot like little children. While supervised, they can be great. Left to their own devices, you get bad stuff. A "General Contractor' is primarily the babysitter.


Re: Freaking contractor!!!! - Black - 11-18-2012

I think we're being unfair to some of the contractors on this forum with these sweeping generalizations. In the years I've been dealing with contractors I've come to see that it's 95% of them that give the other 5% a bad name.


Re: Freaking contractor!!!! - WHiiP - 11-18-2012

Unless he had to order parts to begin, money up front is not what I would have done. Maybe some sort of small deposit then payment weekly for properly completed work.

I see what you did, Black . . . cute.:confused:


Re: Freaking contractor!!!! - edgarbc1 - 11-18-2012

cbelt3 wrote:
Sadly... Contractors are a lot like little children. While supervised, they can be great. Left to their own devices, you get bad stuff. A "General Contractor' is primarily the babysitter.

:agree:

Contractors need supervision by the homeowner
I've learned and gotten burned by not taking time
Off work to do it.

The flip side is nothing ever goes exactly to plan in the time given
Be flexible for a job well done. I never expect time
Schedules to be perfect w a home contractor.

At work we supervise large building construction from
Time to time. Each morning there are meetings to review
Where you are and where we are going. Even with
A bunch of manpower and resources things always slip
A little. It just happens....


Re: Freaking contractor!!!! - lazydays - 11-18-2012

I have had similar experiences myself. The picture of Holmes is appropriate because even he says the home owner must be involved, ask questions and monitor contractors. I've also learned to be extremely specific about what I expect to be done including the cleanup. It's easy to assume a contractor will do things like cleanup at the end of the job but your version of cleaning up and his may not be the same. You have to be specific. That has been my experience.


Re: Freaking contractor!!!! - Surfrider - 11-18-2012

They're like wind up cars, they bounce here and there and finally run out of steam, usually well before the job is done!


Re: Freaking contractor!!!! - mattkime - 11-18-2012

i'm currently renting rooms on a weekly basis because a contractor couldn't get the job done within 3x the original estimate.

your complaint is minor. it could be much worse.