I hired a contractor..... is it me or is it him???

Question

I hired a contractor & paid him a deposit on June 21st of half up front.... And the work is still not done! The contractor was to tape and float the seems in my drywall in a bedroom which is approx 10 X13 and a bathroom which is 5X10. The job was to be completed while I was out of town and And finished by the July 15th. Once I returned home I came back to the bedroom spackled with spackle all over my carpet as well and the bathroom not even touched. I spoke to the guy and was told he would finish by the 25th becuase he thought that was when i was returning. When spoken to again with no more work being done by the 25th. I was told the job would be completed by monday the latest. Now he did work on it over the weekend but this job is still not finished. My bathroom is covered in spackle and I can even get in there due to his mess. So any advice on what to do or does working with contractors always go this long and does it take this long to do 2 small rooms????

Answer 1

Tell him that he has 3 days to completely finish the job AND leave the rooms clean. For every hour after that date that the job is not done, you will subtract $50 from the balance to be paid. He can't really complain since he's already wa-a-a-a-y overdue on the finish date.

If he gives you any lip, tell him you'll report him to the State Attorney General's office for fraudulent business practices. That will get his attention because he could lose whatever license he has to do his work.

Be sure you wait until the drywall mud is dry and sanded smooth before you pay him one cent more than you've already paid. He should put tarps or dropcloths down on all the flooring and hang some in the doorways of the bath and bedroom before he sands the seams or it will get everywhere in the house.

Good luck!! : /

Answer 2

Honestly- I would throw his tools out in the yard, and tell him not to come back. He does not care about getting this job done so why let him in your home?

Yes, you could call a lawyer,BBB, and others but you and I know he doesn't care-you can't hurt his reputation because he does not have one.

Fire him - and this time get somebody in there that is not a one man show. You need a contractor - a person in business with employees. He/she will want to get your job done to get the money. Your problem was you paid him up front - and that was probably all he needed to get drunk for a few days.

Don't ever pay a handyman or one man show up front. A good contractor would not even ask you for money up front.

Cut your losses and your headaches - throw his stuff out and move on - it's your house - yes you can throw his stuff out.

Answer 3

I am a contractor that does this kind of work and in my opinion the fact that the job is small is even more reason to just get it done. I would start off by contacting your local county courthouse and finding out if this individual has a license to do business. Either way I would also contact the district attorneys office and see what your options are. Depending on the laws in your area he might be commiting a serious offense. This kind of thing is seriously frowned on in Texas. In fact here in the next week there are some pretty stiff regulations that are being passed to protect the home owner from shady contractors.

As far as the contractor goes I would be pretty upset myself. The job is small and other than waiting for the mud to dry is pretty quick and strait forward. Tell him he a day to get this job done or you are hiring "a real professional" and suing his a$$.  Even if the guy was drunk or high there is no reason this should take longer than a day for even one man.

If he does not comply do just that, bite the bullet. Look in the phone book find a good reputable company, and get your home back in order. I hate people like that, you know it makes it alot harder for those who still believe in quality craftsmanship and customer service. Contrary to the home owner aboves experiances not all contractors are crooks. There are many if not most contractors are honest, and hard working. I know several who will go above and beyond any thing stated in the contract. Me for instance, if a job ends up taking one and a half days instead of two it is not uncommon for me to ask the home owner if there are any related tasks that I could take care of while I am there. As long as the requests are reasonable and do not take me longer than I had planned on being there I am happy to oblige. After all the customer has paid me for 2 days worth of my time when I bid the job. For instance I recently spent 3 hours pressurewashing a drive way, side walk, and deck. It needed it, I had the pressure washer, and it was only lunch. Think positive good people are out there.

Mike

Answer 4

your job is probably small to this contractor, thus he's making room for it while working on larger, more profitable jobs & probably using YOUR money to do it.

Answer 5

Tell him if it isn't completely finished and cleaned up TOMORROW you are turning him in to your state Department of Labor and  Industries. That will probably get him in a hurry to get it done. Is he a licensed contractor? It doesn't sound like it. He willl be in a heap of trouble if he isn't, especially if he said he was. Give him that one day, then do it. But once you turn him in, don't expect him to complete the job, because he will get fined hundreds of dollars and will probably be more than pissed at you.

It should take no longer than a half day or at most a day to tape, spackle and sand the seams in two small rooms. By the time they finish the taping and spackling, the first seams should be dry enough to sand.

If he is an unlicensed contractor, and he doesn't finish the job or does poor work, you have little recourse other than to stir up some trouble for him and sue him in small claims court.

If he is licensed, there are specific rules and standards he has to follow or he can lose his contractor's license. So report him to the state agency that issued the license if he does shoddy or untimely work. If he belongs to a carpenter's union, also file a complaint there.

Lastly, file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. They can't make him do the work, but they will try to assist you in getting what you paid for, and if he doesn't comply, a permanent public record will go in their files so the next person thinking of hiring him can check his track record for free at the Better Business Bureau and will know up front that he is unreliable.

You  can also call the State Industrial office and file a complaint. If he is unlicensed, he probably hasn't been paying his State Industrial fees, either, and that will get him in more trouble.

Next time you need to hire a contractor,  ask to see his actual contractor's license and write down his number. Then check with the Dept of Labor to verify if they are licensed and if they have had any complaints. You will pay more for a licensed contractor, but will have more options if he botches the job.

Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if he had any previous complaints, and if so, whether or not they were resolved satisfactorily.

Also ask around at businesses that sell the materials needed for your job to see if they know him and his reputation. They usually know who the scammers are and who is reliable. Your local lumber store, home improvement stores such as Lowes and Home Depot or Sears all maintain a list of reputable, licensed contractors that they work with regularly.

If a contractor has a waiting period before he can do your work, that's an indication that he is busy, which also means he has a good enough reputation that lots of people want to hire him.

If he can start right away or the price seems low, it's probably because he's not that good. Ask him for references from 3 similar jobs he's done in the past, then actually call the references as soon as he leaves. That way he doesn't have time to set up bogus relatives to pretend to be former customers.

An established contractor won't usually ask for upfront money to start the job. The ones who do that usually say they need the money up front for materials. But established contractors have enough credit to maintain a 30 day account at their supplier and don't need your money to get supplies. I'd be very leary of an arrangement like that.

As an alternative, you could offer to give them a partial payment at various phases of the job, when you know they have earned the money. Or give them a post-dated check. Then if they don't complete the work, you can stop payment on the check, and the most you would be out is a $20 bank fee.

But the job you described is piddly by most contractor's standards. They should be in and out in one day, so paying at the end of the job should not be a big deal on such a small job.

Answer 6

If you have a contract, and the contract specified a completion date, he's already long overdue. Always, always have a contract, no matter how small the job. It doesn't have to be fancy but it must note things like scope of work, completion date, etc.

The suggestions posted earlier--contacting the contractor's licensing board, state consumer affairs dept, etc--are good. Sounds like this situation isn't going to get better, though, and you may have to formally (in writing) dismiss him from the job based on non performance and hire someone else to complete the work.

For future reference, here's how to hire a contractor:

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/...

Answer 7

I have had only nightmare experiences with contractors.  I will not bore you with the details.  A relative of mine who works for a major lumber company says that most contractors are like the one you describe.  Instead of finishing two lousy rooms and marking you off they are out there promising performance and deadlines to 6 to 10 people like you.  I know squat about repairs.  All I have learned is that they operate by disrupting your home and leaving you hanging.  We call a case of the contractor not being the remodeling business.  His real business is "putting out fires."  You call, the homeowner from a week earlier calls, and on like that.  So, if you want practical advice I would simply offer him a bonus to keep his word.  I know that does not set well; but it is really the only way I have ever been able to have a job finished.  Yeah, bribe him to do his job.  Its absurd but I have never been able to complete without the bribe approach.  It is really sad.  In fact, you question has gotten me off the urge to have a "simple job" done.  It is not worth the h**l to which the family is subjected.