Should I fire my contractor (dry wall and painter)?
5/13/2017 at 7:37:24 PM
Hi,
We've had a pretty bad experience with our dry wall and painting contractor. He comes across and a really decent guy but his work is dreadful.
First red flag for me was when he told us he was using concrete board for our bathroom but then showed up the next day with green board because "it was easier" to install. I made him use the concrete board which we had agreed that he would use.
Next we asked him to put in a niche in our bathroom. He did that but it was a different shape to the picture we had given him and he also didn't centre it over the bath. When I pointed that out to him his response was "you didn't tell me you wanted it centred".
Once the bathroom dry wall was complete (I wasn't there at the time) he text me to say would could proceed with tiling. Our tiling guy came and found the dry wall to be completely un-level on one wall. Unfortunately the tiler just went ahead and tiled over it but now the wall is ruined (the tiler has since agreed to come back and re-tile for free, but only if the dry wall is installed by someone else since it was "the worst dry wall he's ever seen".
At this point I called the contractor and explained my concerns going forward. He was apologetic and said everything from this point would be good. They went full on with completing the dry wall/mudding and went straight into painting.
I went to the house last week to take a look and the dry wall/mudding looks really bad. Walls they have put up aren't level, there are lumps and uneven surfaces. The holes they cut out for recessed lights are too big (even though there was trim in the room available for them to check) and once bathroom wall has been left incomplete. My contractor is under the impression that all they have to do from this point is a few pain touch ups.
Since they moved forward with painting (for which they needed to use 3 coats of Benjamin More on top of primer over almost white walls!) I'm assuming they considered the drywall and mudding to be complete.
I've told him work still needs to be done and he says he will fix it but I don't think he understands quite how much work needs to be done. Even if he does come I honestly don't think he's capable of fixing everything. Like I said to my wife "I don't think he's a scammer, I just don't think he knows what he's doing!".
We've paid 2/3 of what he has invoiced for. My intention is to have the repairs done by someone else and take the cost of that out of what we owe him. If there's any money left we'll pay him the rest. Is that reasonable? And is there any action he can take against us? I think he genuinely believes his job has been done and I know he's going to be angry and that I'm screwing him over. I don't want to rush into this without being informed.
Thanks
5/13/2017 at 10:12:31 PM
if you have an architect designer have them review the works and provide findings
Most contractors have to abide by the designers architects deficiency list and do corrections
If you feel the works are inferior you have every right to withhold funds this is your protections to a finished product for you The contractor(s) will have to step up their game and perform the works to a satisfactory level.
If you cant agree with your current contractor you can use an arbitrator Usually the consultants.
Good Luck!
5/13/2017 at 10:18:24 PM
Hi Mark,
You can release a contractor from a contract with the appropriate reasons as you have stated above and it needs to be documented . You will need to have the appropriate documentation I.e stop work order/termination of contract and both parties need to sign.
Hope this helps and feel free to contact us for anything else.
Kind Regards
5/13/2017 at 10:20:34 PM
Hey Mark. As long as you're upfront with him kicking him off of the job due to his quality of work is a homeowner's/customers right however I would at least give him the opportunity to fix all of his mistakes before deciding to kick him off the jobsite withholding his pay until you're 100% satisfied with the work.
5/13/2017 at 11:08:25 PM
If the case ends up in court, you must be able to prove you gave the contractor ample opportunity to fix this work or prove that he gave up.
5/14/2017 at 10:43:18 AM
Hire an inspector, a new contractor and take lots of pictures of the defects. Did you get him from Trusted Pros?
5/15/2017 at 11:20:45 PM
Thanks for the replies everyone. Things have changed in the last couple of days. I repeated my dissatisfaction to the contractor after finding even more mistakes. I've also had more people look at the work and the verdict from all of them is very damning.
Anyway, I sent him a message earlier asking him to come by to look at the work and his response was "you're full of sh**t" and "you can finish it yourself". Pretty crazy! So the decision of whether to fire him or not has been taken out of our hands, however we have paid for the drywall/plastering portion of his work and he's leaving it unfinished. Unfortunately we don't have a contract with him, although the quote and most conversations have been in writing. Payment was made via email transfer after he invoiced and he acknowledged receipt. I have a 15 minute video detailing the work along with several photographs. I'm pretty sure he's legally obliged to finish the job right?
We have about $2200 outstanding on his invoice which we will use to get the job fixed and finished. I think it will cost more (although I'm not sure how much) and if its significant I'd like to at least try to get it from him. Any advise on pursuing that would be greatly appreciated!
Many thanks!
5/16/2017 at 9:34:05 AM
I always advise my clients to make sure the contractor is licensed and insured. But 9/10 times they always go for the lowest $. Now isn't it cheaper to do it right the first time. If the cement board or Hardibacker was too hard to cut he should have went with Kerdiboard. It's a relatively new material but awesome, a little pricey but it saves major time. If I'm using cement or Hardi board I cover it with a membrane also before tiling. Kerdiboard replaces everything, install directly over studs and tile on top. Being licensed and insured will cost more but you're covering your ass as well. Sorry for your bad experience, I've heard the same song repeatedly over the years.
6/20/2017 at 3:03:26 PM
Cut your losses. Fire him
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