Scott Hall wrote:
> the high bidder (you get what you pay for) for the bathroom remodel
> provided a leaking shower. his expensive replacement (to fix the rotted
> subfloor from the leaky shower) managed to replace the floor so that a
> three-foot section wasn't level, and his tile guy couldn't/wouldn't
attempt
> a shower repair. *his* replacement was a 'handyman' old enough to be
> my grandfather. he bidded low fixed it, for what worked out to be
> something like slightly above minimum wage per hour. anymore, if I'm
> paying for you to screw me over (and this must be assumed, at least
> locally), I'm paying as little as possible.
I have recently gone through the same problems with contractors. I
attempted to serve as my own general contractor for the major remodel /
expansion of my house and it was a failure to say the least. I fired the
electrician after I saw too many 12GA wires heading into a 16cubic inch box,
and I knew that would not pass rough-electrical inspection. The HVAC guy
basically quit because I refused to give him more money to fix his
mistakes... which were largely hidden until I climbed up into the kneewalls
one weekend to see how everything was setup.
The first bid I accepted was from the siding contractor, who I already knew
was the best in the area... but he has a problem getting up before 11AM, so
it takes weeks for him to finish a project. But still his work is impecable
and he had the lowest bid. I ended up using the framing contractor that he
recommended for a 14x30 addition, with a Cathedral ceiling, as well. The
framing guys were great, took them three days to do the job. No one knew of
a good foundation contractor, so I took a gamble on that, and now I have a
mediocre foundation... the floor is a bit rough in areas, not enough time
was spent surfacing it correctly, and the framers had to shim one wall to
get it level because of a 1/2" dip in the concrete.
The second electrictian, also recommended by the siding guy, did a great and
fast job. Inspector was not even here 5 minutes before he gave me the
approval sticker. I am still looking for an HVAC firm to repair the job I
have, I have had at least a dozen guys out here and they look at it, shake
their heads for 10 minutes and then never call back... yes it is that bad.
The last guy seems to feel sorry for me and actually called me back, and
anticipates being out here in two weeks... we'll see.
I did insulation / drywall / painting / plumbing / accessory wiring (phones,
TV, etc) myself as well as all the finish work (tile floors, window/door
trim) ... I just did not have the time to do the full electrical on my own,
or else I would have.
Anyway, the HVAC problems are the greatest, a job that should have been
finished months ago is still not done and won't pass inspection... and no
one wants to touch the job to correct it. Every aspect of this project has
been a major hassle... I will never contract out work again unless I have
guarantees about the quality of the work, and I will not pay more than 50%
of the job until the work has passed local inspections. In the case of the
framers, they did not even ask for payment until building was erected...
probably the sign of a good contractor.
Kai (with a big hole in his pocket thanks to the HVAC butcher)
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