Ugg - contractors update post #7

[The Captain]

So we bought a (new to us) house and are in the process of getting some work done before we move in.

All Contractors came to us recommended by other people and they checked out fine on Angie's List.

The electician cross wired two dimmers to the same circut, DH doesn't have a license but he's really good with electricity and says that is a big no-no.  No of the lights work in that room (yet).  Electrician says he will get it fixed.

The plumber spilled some of that bright purple pipe glue all over the laundry room floor.  It's ruined (right off the kitchen on the main floor).  The laundry room and kitchens floors were the ONLY ones in the house we weren't replacing or refinishing.  There is still finish work to do on the drywall and the guy has been "tied up" for the past three days.  It's going to cost more to replace the floor than the job was quoted.

The flooring people did not wait the required 72 hours after the new wood boards were delivered to start installation.  That time is needed to give the wood a chance to acclimate to the new environment and we're told that should be a must!  The company is claiming the floor was previously stored in a climate controlled warehouse and everything will be fine.  Umm, no - we're talking a job worth major bucks here and I'm really pissed about the shortcut. 

In addition to the above we had a major leaking window in the basement that was not disclosed by the seller.  When DH went over last night to check it out one of the flooring guys was there disposing of debris from another job in our dumpster (at least thats DH was told was his reason for being there) and walking out of our house with his girlfriend in tow.  The dumpster is outside and, while they shouldn't be using it for other jobs, there was no reason whatsoever for anyone to be in the house at 7pm especially with an unauthorized person.  DH and I are really pissed about this. 

I'm dealing with the flooring people and leaving the plumber and electrician to DH.  We are supposed to have painter in one week from today and the flooring people are now telling me they may not be done until next Wed.  Umm, NO!  The floors need some time to cure and I need to get a cleaning crew in to wipe down the walls for the painter.  They were supposed to be done by EOD on next Monday and I've told them we will be happy to get out of their way over the weekend so they can keep on schedule. 

I swear if I make it through all this and the move with my sanity intact it will be a miracle.

[sesfw]

If these yoyos checked out OK on Angies's List then I wonder about the validity of the 'list'. I would also place my comments on the list. Be sure to document EVERYTHING.

I've come across some doozies and wonder how they stay in business.

Take a deep breath ....... and double check everything.

Good luck

[The Captain]

DH stopped by the house this morning.  They were still sanding the floors and were supposed to be out yesterday.  They knew we had a "cushion day" built in.  The cleaning people are coming tomorrow and the painter on Thursday.  Now I'm worried about the fumes and how the other folks will handle them.

Still no word from the guy who spilled the glue and the can lights still are not working.

DH and I will be there all this weekend "fixing" things and getting ready for the move in the next few weeks.

[greeniis10]

Oh, I'm so sorry!  What a mess.  Have to say it's par for the course.  SO disappointing but we've repeatedly had the same bad luck with contractors and rennovations.

Whomever it was on YM that was asking about building a home needs to read your OP.  It's hard to understand how stressful and time-consuming building and remodeling is until you experience it first hand.

Just yesterday we were supposed to have 2 small cement pads poured (one next to our existing front porch and one out back extending the 2nd driveway about 4 feet.  DH met with the guy last week, set an appt. for Mon. AM and no show.  No response to calls or texts.  Thankfully, DH is retired and tracked the guy down yesterday afternoon (benefit of living in a smallish town) and he promised he'd be there this morning.  I'm afraid to call or text DH to see if it got done or not...

[toomuchreality]

Ay-yi-yi....

Once when I had a complaint about the service I received, I called, but couldn't get an answer as to who to talk to. Finally, frustrated by the whole thing, I asked who do I talk to, if I want to compliment someone? The guy I was talking to said "Oh, that would be me!", to which I said "Okay. That's not what I'm calling for." and finished with my complaint.

I hope the rest goes smoother for you! 
This would be my luck ->

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Are the people Contractors or Sub-Contractors? Big difference - Sub-Contractors are usually (in many cases) untrained and unqualified with little experience.

Contractors are usually bonded for their work.

[truthbound]

Jun 12, 2014 11:25:19 GMT -5 sesfw said:

If these yoyos checked out OK on Angies's List then I wonder about the validity of the 'list'. I would also place my comments on the list. Be sure to document EVERYTHING.

I've come across some doozies and wonder how they stay in business.

Take a deep breath ....... and double check everything.

Good luck

There is no validity. Angie's list is a for profit site just like any other.

[The Captain]

Ok, so originally the flooring people were supposed to be done on Monday (two days ago), then it was "we may go over into Tuesday", then "we'll finish up during the day/evening.

DH and I went to the new house after work at 6:30 pm, the crew was still there sanding!!! (ie no finish, no two layers of top coat on the floors).  We called the owner (main contractor - it's his crew not subcontractors) who told us this happens all the time, they'll be done by midnight, the floor will have 8+ hours to cure before the cleaning crew comes in yadda yadda yadda.

DH and I were not happy, to say the least. 

So this morning we get up early, drag DD out of bed and go over to the house early to make sure everything is ready for the cleaning crew.

Guess what - no, wait - you really don't have to, right?  They were still there.  They ran out of product when they were just starting to put the second coat down.  At 6am and the supply store doesn't open until 9.

So I have a bunch of half dried first coat flooring and can't really tell how the floor looks, the house/work site is a disaster and I'm about to blow a blood vessel.

I've called to cancel the cleaning crew for today and am waiting to hear when they will really be done before I call our painter. 

Our painter is excellent and usually booked out weeks in advance.  If we blow our currently scheduled window I suspect we may be screwed and won't be able to get the painting done before we move in.  Painting while I'm living there is not happening due to my asthma so I may have to stay in a hotel for a few days if we have to reschedule.

I am seriously so upset that I can't even get angry, I'm just kinda numb right now. 

This impacts the livelyhood of the cleaning crew, the painter, and obviously impacts our move.

WTF is it with contractors?

[greeniis10]

"This impacts the livelyhood of the cleaning crew, the painter, and obviously impacts our move. " - AND it makes you look bad when you have to call mulitple times to cancel or reschedule even if it is obviously not your fault.  Then, if/when you do finally get your originally scheduled crews to do the job they're already annoyed and might not do as good of a job that they would've done in the first place!  It just spirals out of control.

IVY!!!  There HAS to be something about this industry that makes it this way but I have no idea what... 

[Deleted]

Oh boy! That sounds like a mess. I've had a horrible experience with a contractor that messed up everything he was suppose to do AND messed up some of my things that had nothing to do with the work he was hired to do, so I feel your pain.

My neighbor came over a couple of days ago because he needs to replace his roof and he was wondering who did mine a couple years ago and if I'd recommend them. The answer was no! Do not use them.

I personally know 2 contractors very well. They're both licensed, one in multiple areas, and have their own companies. I've learned a lot, just by listening and talking to both of them. One, I wouldn't recommend to anyone even though I feel kind of bad admitting that. The other one, it depends. If he does the job himself, he does excellent work. His employees, not so much. If I were him, I'd fire all of them. One thing I've learned is that (in my state), the owner of the company has the necessary licenses. The employees that do the work don't have to have licenses. That explained a lot when I learned it.

I think contractors tend to be a special breed. Some (a lot) are more special and less professional than others. I'll leave it at that because I don't want to insult all contractors by generalizing.

I hope it all comes together quickly for you.

[Deleted]

What a mess!!! Hopefully, you're through the worst of it.
Having to deal with contractors was the main reason DH and I decided to not go into the house flipping business.
One could have a heart attack or stroke working with some of those guys.

[Blonde Granny]

When we were building our house last year, we were down to the final days.....and the construction foreman who did all the final details, i.e towel bars, door knobs etc. got ticked at the builder and quit. To make matters worse, they were lifelong friends of 70 years.....

So, another guy on the builders crew knew a couple of guys who would do the work. They ended up being Dumb and Dumber.....one decided to hang a towel rod in the master bath on the wall to the right of the sink. He screwed it through the drywall right into a pocket door. We discovered that when we tried to open the pocket door. All the door knob levers were installed upside down, and when it came to the safety grab bars in the master shower, they gave up trying to dill into porcelain tile and left, never to be seen again Thank goodness!!!

You absolutely have to watch every thing they do, these workers can't be trusted to find their way home at night, let alone figure out what and how to do things when building a house or doing a remodel.

Hang in there Captain.....you will eventually be able to move. Worst thing we did or didn't do? We should have held back about $2K from the builder when we closed. That might have given him more encouragement to do the few details that we finally had to do ourselves.

[toomuchreality]

I knew there were good reasons why I chose to rent instead of buying again.

1- pool
2- All the maintenance is someone elses's responsibility.

I like things done (well). I'd never make it as a landlord.

Hang in there captain. You'll work it out. I know it's a nightmare now, but before long, it's going to be FABULOUS!

[The Captain]

Guys - I really appreciate the supporting comments.

We can't get the cleaning crew in until Monday.  So DD, DH and I are going over to the house after work and cleaning until it's done.  If the three of us hustle we should be out of the by 10pm.

We HAVE to get the painter in tomorrow or he won't be able to paint until after we move in.  I can't have that.  He's unhappy about the situation as it is because now he will have to work all weekend to get the job done.  I'm sure giving up your time off because of client "issues" gets old after awhile.

In addition there are issues with the floor finish - grit/debris embedded in the topcoat in a few areas.  The flooring people said they'd be able to fix it, it's common, etc - but I still hate that we have to deal with it.

DH was going to get the fans installed this weekend and I was going to work on getting screen, toilets, etc repaired.  Don't know now if that will happen.

I.just.want.it.all.to.be.over.with!

[Chocolate Lover]

Jun 18, 2014 20:51:42 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Oh boy! That sounds like a mess. I've had a horrible experience with a contractor that messed up everything he was suppose to do AND messed up some of my things that had nothing to do with the work he was hired to do, so I feel your pain.

My neighbor came over a couple of days ago because he needs to replace his roof and he was wondering who did mine a couple years ago and if I'd recommend them. The answer was no! Do not use them.

I personally know 2 contractors very well. They're both licensed, one in multiple areas, and have their own companies. I've learned a lot, just by listening and talking to both of them. One, I wouldn't recommend to anyone even though I feel kind of bad admitting that. The other one, it depends. If he does the job himself, he does excellent work. His employees, not so much. If I were him, I'd fire all of them. One thing I've learned is that (in my state), the owner of the company has the necessary licenses. The employees that do the work don't have to have licenses. That explained a lot when I learned it.

I think contractors tend to be a special breed. Some (a lot) are more special and less professional than others. I'll leave it at that because I don't want to insult all contractors by generalizing.

I hope it all comes together quickly for you.

You can't insult them with that, that's much too nice a description. As I've heard repeatedly, you know they're lying when their lips are moving.

The licensing thing is the same in my state, one guy passes the test and the rest, well.......

[Deleted]

I feel for you Captain.  I had major renovations to my house about twenty years ago; It was something I don't want to re-live.

Now it's time for renovations to my 20 year old condo, and I just can't face it.

[Deleted]

Sorry you're going through this    It does stand out in my mind that my parents were roofing contractors for decades, but built/are building their house entirely DIY partially because of junk like that.  They figured it was less hassle, and they could just work on stuff until the quality satisfied them for cheaper.  Dad is obsessed with quality work and even lines or totally hidden details, and mom is extremely curious, so DIY has been a very good match for them.  

I get the impression listening to them talk of their ventures into real estate when they were younger that delays and a certain amount of BS seems inherently probable, because there are so many people involved, often multiple contracts and bodies of laws, and so much lag time even just to buy or sell a piece.  One delay can grind the chain to a halt.  My parents said they really preferred not to deal with properties for investments, even though they had really high level construction skills just because of how many people were connected to projects, each with their own timelines and often conflicting agendas.

Hang tough!  If you can weather delay stress and BS, I gather that real estate can be a very good fit though