I hate #!@#&*( Contractors

[watermelon83]

1.) Never pay a contractor up front. You can break off a chunk when materials deliver, but never pay up front.
2.) Squeaky wheel gets the grease. Call their cell, office, and even their grandmother if you can find her.
3.) For the ones who do have your money, look into the lien process.
4.) Whatever the bid, assume it will take twice as long and cost 3 times as much. Write early completion bonuses into contracts or liquidated damages for not meeting an agreed upon deadline.

#1 = win never pay a contractor for anything besides materials(with a receipt) until job completion. Even then hold back 5% for a few weeks.

 

[b-boy]

Soooo....how's it going?

No change. It's been 5 weeks. My roof is still not finished, my gutters still stop half way, and there is still a large roof jack on my roof.

I haven't heard from the roofer in several weeks. I'm trying to locate someone else to do the work, then I'm headed to small claims court.

I did file a formal BBB complaint, left a few reviews on some contractor websites, and blasted the guy on FaceBook.

I have an appointment to get my hardwood floors redone in 2 weeks. The last guy bailed on me. Unfortunately, I had to move into the house last week. I wanted to get the work done prior to that. In order to re-finish the floors, I now have to empty the entire house again.

I'm also re-doing the kitchen. I'm doing that myself. I ordered all my cabinets. They arrive on September 24th. If this new flooring guy bails on me, I'm totally screwed. I will have all my stuff plus 30-40 boxes of new stuff, plus unfinished floors. It will be a nightmare.

So, yeah - things are about the same.

 

[b-boy]

Hallelujah! I finally have some progress.

I hired a new flooring guy. He's pretty young, but he seems to really like refinishing wood. He only does old house restorations. He showed up Saturday. So far his work looks excellent. He sanded all my floors, patched up some rough areas, and even got the thinset off my tiled-over foyer. Today he's staining and adding the first coat of poly. I'm living in a hotel room until Thursday so everything can cure properly before I move all the furniture back in place.

I'm still stuck with my incomplete roof/gutter job. I sent a registered letter of demand to the guy that stiffed me. He never responded, but I know he signed for the letter. I found another guy to complete the gutters, but he's booked 10 weeks out. As long as I get the work done before the snow flies, I'll be OK. Now I have to take the roofer to court. Looks like the guy's been having a bad month. There have been 2 more BBB postings since August.

I started using Angie's List to screen some of these guys. It was $6.99 for a year. So far it's worked out. It's a lot easier to tell who the better contractors are. They do conflict resolution as well. I opened a case with them concerning my roofer.

 

[Rhumbline]

Thanks a lot for keeping us updated. I'm sorry that you had to go through this but there's something for all of us to learn.

And thanks for the info on Angie's list. I'd wondered if it was a good resource.

 

[Hoppity]

Glad to hear things are looking up. Eventually it can't be all bad news...things even out over time.

 

[SharonaZamboni]

I joined Angie's List, and really only looked at reviews, etc. That was good, but AL kept calling me to ask whether I'd used companies, and to review them. For that reason, I stopped looking. They never stopped calling until my subscription ran out.

 

[b-boy]

I joined Angie's List, and really only looked at reviews, etc. That was good, but AL kept calling me to ask whether I'd used companies, and to review them. For that reason, I stopped looking. They never stopped calling until my subscription ran out.

I have been getting emails from them. Mostly junk and daily deals, but so far nothing too annoying.

 

[b-boy]

In case anyone cares, I'm just posting a update to my contractor woes. It makes me feel better. Kind of like therapy. My yearly HBT membership fee is a hell of a lot cheaper than a real therapist. (Next week I'm going to post about some weird dreams I've been having involving lime Jello, Big Bird, and Flo from those Progressive commercials on TV. )

I finally got my roof and gutters fixed by another contractor. It cost me $600 to finish the job. I'm going to court with the first roofer in a few weeks. The BBB closed out my complaint and basically said the guy was a dirt bag (in somewhat nicer words). He has 9 unresolved complaints and an F rating. He's obviously a wonderful human being. He ignored my Angie's List complaint, so they black-listed him. At this point I have no trouble saying the guy's name. His company is Tony's Independent Contracting in Buffalo NY. Run away if this guy ever shows up at your home.

My floors got finished - sort of. The sanding/staining part went really well. The guys I hired did a nice job. They were supposed to come back and put down some new hardwood a few weeks back, but they disappeared. Luckily it didn't cost me anything. I gave up and just finished it myself.

My kitchen is moving along nicely (because I'm doing it myself). Countertops show up next week. After that I'm living the life. No more contractors on the horizon - Yippee!

 

[brettwasbtd]

Run away if this guy ever shows up at your home.

But we know that will never happen LMFAO

Glad things are headed in the right direction

 

[westo2]

Getting closer I suppose. We're three months into renovations here (just up the road from you I think). So far - the contractors I've used have been good. I sent you my flooring guy's info. I've got an HVAC guy and a drywall guy who I can recommend highly.

 

[b-boy]

I'm in Pendleton now. Good luck with your work. I'm doing it all myself now. No more contractors in the house unless it's something I absolutely cannot do.

 

[MaxStout]

In case anyone cares, I'm just posting a update to my contractor woes. It makes me feel better. Kind of like therapy. My yearly HBT membership fee is a hell of a lot cheaper than a real therapist. (Next week I'm going to post about some weird dreams I've been having involving lime Jello, Big Bird, and Flo from those Progressive commercials on TV. )

I finally got my roof and gutters fixed by another contractor. It cost me $600 to finish the job. I'm going to court with the first roofer in a few weeks. The BBB closed out my complaint and basically said the guy was a dirt bag (in somewhat nicer words). He has 9 unresolved complaints and an F rating. He's obviously a wonderful human being. He ignored my Angie's List complaint, so they black-listed him. At this point I have no trouble saying the guy's name. His company is Tony's Independent Contracting in Buffalo NY. Run away if this guy ever shows up at your home.

My floors got finished - sort of. The sanding/staining part went really well. The guys I hired did a nice job. They were supposed to come back and put down some new hardwood a few weeks back, but they disappeared. Luckily it didn't cost me anything. I gave up and just finished it myself.

My kitchen is moving along nicely (because I'm doing it myself). Countertops show up next week. After that I'm living the life. No more contractors on the horizon - Yippee!

After your small claims action is adjudicated (and he's paid your claim), do a nice little write up of the guy on Ripoff Report. That site is awesome. The review will rocket to near the top of Google search results in a day or two. I did a review of a roofer a few years ago. When I Googled the company's name shortly after, the Ripoff Review was second--right below the contractor's website listing.

Don't get mad. Get even.

 

[b-boy]

After your small claims action is adjudicated (and he's paid your claim), do a nice little write up of the guy on Ripoff Report. That site is awesome. The review will rocket to near the top of Google search results in a day or two. I did a review of a roofer a few years ago. When I Googled the company's name shortly after, the Ripoff Review was second--right below the contractor's website listing.

Don't get mad. Get even.

Thanks. I've been busy spreading the word wherever I can. I'll win the case, but collecting the $$ will be a problem. I'm assuming I won't get paid. I'll probably have to put a lien on his home/business.

 

[DrunkleJon]

In case anyone cares, I'm just posting a update to my contractor woes. It makes me feel better. Kind of like therapy. My yearly HBT membership fee is a hell of a lot cheaper than a real therapist. (Next week I'm going to post about some weird dreams I've been having involving lime Jello, Big Bird, and Flo from those Progressive commercials on TV. )

I finally got my roof and gutters fixed by another contractor. It cost me $600 to finish the job. I'm going to court with the first roofer in a few weeks. The BBB closed out my complaint and basically said the guy was a dirt bag (in somewhat nicer words). He has 9 unresolved complaints and an F rating. He's obviously a wonderful human being. He ignored my Angie's List complaint, so they black-listed him. At this point I have no trouble saying the guy's name. His company is Tony's Independent Contracting in Buffalo NY. Run away if this guy ever shows up at your home.

My floors got finished - sort of. The sanding/staining part went really well. The guys I hired did a nice job. They were supposed to come back and put down some new hardwood a few weeks back, but they disappeared. Luckily it didn't cost me anything. I gave up and just finished it myself.

My kitchen is moving along nicely (because I'm doing it myself). Countertops show up next week. After that I'm living the life. No more contractors on the horizon - Yippee!

There is already a thread for that. I made it a while back but it has fun dream stuff in it. Here ya go
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=508243

Glad that you finally got out of the mess.

 

[Hophunter]

Reviving but exactly the way I feel.

Had 2 companies bid an air sealing/blow in insulation for under 1000 sq ft of attic. Both initially quoted for fiberglass. I decided that cellulose would be better and emailed both for revised quotes. Only one got back to me. He was also more expensive by several hundred. Advised against cellulose but said they could do it.

Guys showed up on time but with fiberglass. I told them to do the prep but no insulating. Insulating rescheduled for next week b/c they never ordered the cellulose. Cut to the real problem. They finished prep work. I went up to check it out and found numerous penetrations that were not sealed. I mean obvious ones. Others were poorly done. Called the guys and they came back but asked for me to mark the problem areas. I did and even went up with them to point out the areas.

Even then, not done well upon further inspection. Before they left, they said if I found any other issues to mark them and they'd get them before they insulated. Wtf? Not my job. So I fired off a nice email to the owner with pics. I also fixed the remaining problems b/c fool me once...just glad they didn't insulate before I had a chance to check it out.

 

[MeatyPortion]

I've been fortunate that I've had good luck with contractors so far (knock on wood) and have a couple go-to companies. One of which didn't even bother to collect the 50% up front, he just said "it's okay, you can just send me a check when we're done." I think it was because it was a smaller job but I was still surprised. They did good work too. Angie's List and word of mouth from neighbors are the only ways I consider hiring someone. If they stop by my house and cold call me they can take a flying leap.

 

[b-boy]

I've been using Angie's list for referrals. I only contact A-rated contractors with 10+ reviews. Things have gone much smoother since then.

Although, I did call to get an estimate on getting some land graded. I called 2 contractors from Angie's List. Nobody showed up.

I don't chase them anymore. If they stiff me for an estimate, they're off the list permanently.

 

[MeatyPortion]

I've been using Angie's list for referrals. I only contact A-rated contractors with 10+ reviews. Things have gone much smoother since then.

Although, I did call to get an estimate on getting some land graded. I called 2 contractors from Angie's List. Nobody showed up.

I don't chase them anymore. If they stiff me for an estimate, they're off the list permanently.

I've had that happen a couple of times too, where I contact them after finding their listing on Angie's and then they never respond back. I guess they don't like money.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

As a contractor celebrating out 20th year in business I can say there is a large swing between good and bad contractors. Word of mouth is by far the best way.
I can say all contractors are not bad:

We still have out original license number
We've never had a single complaint against us
We've never taken a single penny for a deposit
We only get paid after a walkthrough with the homeowner and there happy with everything
The owner (me) is on every job start to finish
There are plenty of good contractors out there.You don't need to spend top dollar to get one and the way to cheap to be true usually ends In a nightmare

 

[Hophunter]

We've had good and bad. I have a great appreciation for the good. The ones we've previously used didn't do insulation. The company we chose had good reviews but I'm sure most people wouldn't check on the work before the insulation got blown on top.

Then again, it may have been a bad day for the guy who screwed up. Was a monday morning so perhaps he was hungover. Not an excuse but the owner seems pretty pissed so I would hope it wouldn't happen again.

I won't write a crappy review but I will steer friends away.

 

[b-boy]

Finally - I just got confirmation that my new pole barn is going up!

I hired an Amish guy to do the build, and another contractor to do the concrete. I'm pretty happy with my selections. Both guys seem very direct.

I won't do any electrical or plumbing until Spring.

So far, getting the permit has been the most painful part of the process.

It will be interesting to see how things go.

 

[littletommy]

Wow, just read through this thread, sorry you had to deal with all that! I consider myself lucky that I can do most remodel tasks myself, except hardwood floors, did a few years ago, and I am perfectly happy letting a professional do that job!

We had a large tree fall and damage the front of our house back in June, and other than the fact of having to spend several weekends working on the repairs, I really enjoyed fixing the damage. I even took down the rest of the offending tree and split and stacked a bunch of firewood!

Oh, and my wife was very impressed with my carpentry skills, it had been 12 years since the last time I did any major construction work.

 

[b-boy]

Not really a contractor story, but a really dumb phone repair guy story. I think it fits.

On New Years Eve a truck clipped the phone line to my house and pulled it off the phone pole across the street. The wire fell across the road, but was still connected to the pole and to my house. This is the 2nd time it's happened since I moved in. The wire is obviously too low.

I called Verizon. They told me they were too busy to fix it. I told them that the cable was lying in the road, and that it was a dangerous situation. Of course no one showed up for 2 days.

The Verizon guy finally showed up, walked over to the cable, and proceeded to pull on it. The result of this was that the wire lifted off of the ground about 2 feet. This wouldn't have been a problem, except for the fact that a car was driving down the road at the time. It was doing about 50 when it's bumper caught the cable. I heard a zipping noise as the cable was dragged taught, followed by 2 loud bangs as it was torn from the side of my house and under my porch. The cable whizzed by me and just clipped my right arm. If it was 6 inches higher, it would probably have decapitated me. It tore my jacket, ripped pieces of siding off of the house, and gouged my porch railing as it was pulled into the street. The car just kept going.

I looked at the repair guy. All I could say was 'What the ****?'. He freaked out, started apologizing, and told me Verizon would pay for the damage. He asked if I wanted the cable re-attached. I told him no way. He dragged the cable to the pole and took off. I filed a claim with Verizon for the damage.

I saw him pull the cable, saw the car coming, and knew what was going to happen. It felt it was in like slow motion. It felt, and sounded, like one of those scenes from Final Destination - Except I lived.

Verizon needs to teach their people the meaning of 'cause and effect'.

 

[ncbrewer]

You have all the luck. And don't try to give me any.

 

[Homercidal]

Trying to understand why you didn't just pull the cable across the road onto your side and out of the street.

 

[b-boy]

It was still attached to my house and to the pole across the street. The truck simply pulled off whatever attached it high on the the pole. My house is on a hill, so the cable was draped between my house and the pole. There must have been some slack in the cable where it attached to the pole.

I would have needed to cut the cable to pull it across the road. If it was my cable, I would have done that. Since it was Verizon's cable, I didn't want to mess with it. As long as you didn't pull it, it laid flat on the road.

 

[Homercidal]

I see.

 

[Kharnynb]

The phone company tried that joke once near our cottage, after 2 days, i took the cable off the pole myself(licensed electrician)

3 days later when the phonecompany guys showed up, I handed them a bucket with 1 inch cable bits and a note with their t&c that states a 48 maximum repair time...

 

[Homercidal]

Contractors.

Friend's son fell off a roof. I wonder how/if the contractor he worked for can/will cover medical expenses. I half expect there won't be any workers comp.

I mostly wonder who in their right mind does roofing in winter in Michigan!

 

[b-boy]

On the flip side, my pole barn is done. I'm really happy with the guys I worked with. It took longer than expected, and I wasn't thrilled about pouring concrete in December, but it came out really nice. I used Angie's List to vet the contractors I used. That's how I'll do it going forward. No more word of mouth recommendations for me.