Terrible contractor story...Custom Sundecks and Renovations

[GREENBOY]

Just want to share this nightmare and maybe prevent anyone else falling victim.

So, doing a reno on a very small guest bathroom. Guy comes around to check parts of the job out. Shows us past projects and seems to know his stuff and assured us he could tile and do the other things we wanted. Basic bathroom reno stuff, no plumbing work. Small cabinet, subfloor, tiling, drywall. His was the best quote so wife went ahead and gives him the OK (putting blame firmly with her on this one, ha).

Ended up taking literally WEEKS and weeks to do and working ridiculous hours, job wasn't ready for a family visit at Xmas (the whole reason we were getting it done). Had to have him work while family were here, which sucked big time...and we now basically need to get it all ripped out and get a pro to do the whole thing again. Here's the highlight: His last day trying to remove all the grout he left to dry all over the face of our marble mosaic (!!!) he uses acid and melts the chrome off the new shower, taps, plug, faucet and shower bar etc. THEN...tries to spray paint it with silver paint to hide it, also spraying the tile, tub etc before leaving our house for the last time. Total disaster. We stopped the last cheque to cover the cost of buying a new shower etc. He actually moaned about how many hours he'd worked and how he wasn't happy not getting paid that last cheque, even after we discovered the spray paint!!!

Wasn't until he left that day we saw how bad the rest of the job was...mostly the mosaic and finishing. Some was laid back to front with the backing mesh on view, some badly uneven, other pieces missing altogether with holes filled with thick white grout to disguise. The whole tile area has dried-on white grout set into the uneven surface of the rough marble and it's totally ruined. Looked like someone trying out tiling for the first time. He didn't cover the floor so that's done too, stained and grout lines trashed. It all needs re-grouting or tile removing and replacing altogether and going to cost more $$$$ to fix.

So just a warning and a laugh at my expense. We only recouped 700 bucks to buy new shower etc. Just going to have to suck up the cost and learn from our mistake. Next time I'll pay the extra for a pro...and not listen to the wife. After more than 5 grand in total (not just to this guy) bathroom still unfinished. Disaster!

[mr2mike]

Pictures of the crappy workmanship?

That sucks! You pay for something to be done correct and you get something any noob could do?!

[Sugarphreak]

..

[C_Dave45]

So sorry to hear about this. It happens quite a lot actually. At first I thought you were my current customer as I'm doing EXACTLY this right now. Homeowner hired a "contractor" who said he does tile as well. Total bathroom Reno. All marble. The job was so horrible the homeowner is having me remove EVERYTHING right down to the studs and doing it all over again.
We've spent two days ripping out 1800 lbs worth of marble and drywall.
Just doing the new subfloor, drywall and waterproofing today.

[C_Dave45]

If you need someone to take a look at it and give you suggestions on the best way to fix/repair, give me a shout.

[InRich]

I feel no remorse for you at all... you had a buncha quotes, and then picked the cheapest price... you get what you pay for... personally I hate when people do this to me and my company, I'm always the most expensive quote, and I always do the best job. I'm doing 60k in renovations right now to my basement. I always got a few quotes, and NEVER went with the cheapest. and they all sounded like they knew what they were talking about...

In the future... get the quotes you need and want. then have the most expensive guy come back, or the one you liked the best back and negotiate a price your both happy with...

btw I picked C_dave to do my bathroom tile. I'll let you all know how he does. I'm sure he'll do fine. cya in a couple weeks buddy!

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by InRich
I feel no remorse for you at all... you had a buncha quotes, and then picked the cheapest price... you get what you pay for... personally I hate when people do this to me and my company, I'm always the most expensive quote, and I always do the best job. I'm doing 60k in renovations right now to my basement. I always got a few quotes, and NEVER went with the cheapest. and they all sounded like they knew what they were talking about...

In the future... get the quotes you need and want. then have the most expensive guy come back, or the one you liked the best back and negotiate a price your both happy with...

btw I picked C_dave to do my bathroom tile. I'll let you all know how he does. I'm sure he'll do fine. cya in a couple weeks buddy!

Hahaha....Guess I better be on my toes!!

And yes, InRich brings up a good point. Unfortunately.
My current customer, who I'm completely ripping everything out for, did the very same thing. Sad part is, I just don't think he knew what the job SHOULD have cost him.

I asked how much his total bathroom reno cost him the first time. He said $5,300...like it was top dollar. When in fact, what he got done would normally be in the $7500-$10,000 range.

I like to tell people to get a large, reputable company to give them a proper, written quote. (Home Depot doesn't count). For renovations, call a company like "Ultimate Renovations", etc. That will give you a good "benchmark". If you get another quote that's half...red flag!

[GREENBOY]

Originally posted by InRich
I feel no remorse for you at all... you had a buncha quotes, and then picked the cheapest price... you get what you pay for...

I actually have to agree with you on that one. It was pretty basic stuff we were asking for and we figured it would be hard to screw up so didn't need a top-dollar guy to do it. Were we ever dead wrong!

[lilmira]

I'd say it's somewhat true but not always. Paying low dollars will most likely get you less quality but paying top dollars doesn't necessarily give you top quality.

Getting the people with good reputation/reference to do the job is key. Having some knowledge in what you want done goes a long way. However, do listen to professional advice and see if it makes sense. Last thing you should do is to read a few pages from the internet and consider yourself expert.

[derek_k]

Try a place called "Enhance Your Home" they do amazing work, fairly priced (nothing stupid cheap cause it's not a cheap company) and they get the job done on time and on budget. It is a one stop shop where you go to their showroom and pick everything out you want and your done, no need to run around to pick your tile/lighting/granite ect. They also have fixed pricing which is wonderful when your scared your bill will not be what they originally quoted you. They have a store you can visit in lake bonavista mall it is across from the td bank. Sorry to hear about your shitty service, it's people like that, that make customers scared to Reno their house when it's actually a pretty easy and pain free process.

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by derek_k
Try a place called "Enhance Your Home" they do amazing work, fairly priced (nothing stupid cheap cause it's not a cheap company) and they get the job done on time and on budget. It is a one stop shop where you go to their showroom and pick everything out you want and your done, no need to run around to pick your tile/lighting/granite ect. They also have fixed pricing which is wonderful when your scared your bill will not be what they originally quoted you. They have a store you can visit in lake bonavista mall it is across from the td bank. Sorry to hear about your shitty service, it's people like that, that make customers scared to Reno their house when it's actually a pretty easy and pain free process.

Yes, they do good work. I've done some tile work for them.

[CanmoreOrLess]

It is a shame these bandits get away with ripping off customers, then they move onward to the next mark. It could happen to pretty much anyone, getting someone in the know who you trust vouching for a company is the best policy. It could be a lot worse ($$$), tune into a Mike Holmes episode and see the tears, karma needs to work faster on these pricks.