Are all Contractors complete losers??

[Rock'n Robin]

I'm glad someone else spoke up. My DH is a contractor--he owned his own business for 10 years and then it failed; now he is sales manager for another remodeling company. He worked his butt off. One of the reasons we failed is because he is honest! If he had taken some of the dishonest shortcuts other guys use, we'd still be in business. But he won't do that kind of stuff. We are just now getting in the black a year later.
Also, not all customers are saints--you get customers who take advantage, esp. lawyers who know the loopholes, will get a whole job done and then find a reason to not pay. Some engineers can be trouble too. NOT ALL THOUGH--I will not generalize--and please don't generalize about contractors.
Robin M.

 

[kasar]

We built our home 5 years ago. Absolutely the worst experience with our contractor. He builds a nice home but what a complete jerk.

 

[pattyT]

Funny you say that Rock N Robin
I know sometimes people just KNOW and go with his price quote -
others have gone out to get other quotes thinking he is 'HIGH'
then we hear through the grapevine later that they had tons of problems
or they call him to have him FIX things

ps my husband is a workaholic most of the time - he works monday through friday 8 am to 4 or 5 pm - sometimes earlier in the am if the customer doesn't mind!

A word of advice too - don't ever hire a home improvement person who wants YOU to pull your own permuit unless you know them VERY WELL - Mark has has a few jobs where this was done - the guy came in finished the job got paid and was gone - then they came to inspect and it wouldn't pass - so they called Mark to have him come do the work all over - and to code!

 

[RitaZ.]

In our experience, 90% percent of home improvement subcontractors are dishonest and unreliable. I hate to generalize like that, but this was been our experience, as well as the experience of everyone I know. Most of them do not arrive on time (if they arrive at all) and will do a slip shod job unless you are there to personally inspect their work.

I have to agree. We usually try to go by "word of mouth" recommendations, but we've been burned anyway. All my friends have had similar experiences, very few positive experiences.

When they want to get your business, they promise you the moon, show you beautiful pictures, glowing recommendations... If they do sloppy work and you call them on it, they get upset and have an attitude. We had the exterior of our house painted a few months ago, I almost kicked one of the guys off my property. I just wanted them to finish the job, so I didn't. The owner was a very nice man and said that everything would be taken care of, but his employees, the ones doing the work, were absolutely horrible. Just the thought of having to hire a contractor to do work in our home, makes me want to .

 

[mickeyboat]

See I want to have our kitchen remodeled and I am scared to death about being left hanging. I said to my husband that I want to order everything and then when I can't walk in my LR or DR because there is countertops and cabinets and sink and flooring, etc. THEN they can come out and do it all! Tha way they can't say they are waiting for the countertop to come in before they can do the cabinets!!

When a contractor gives you a quote to complete a particular job, his profit comes both from an estimate of the hours required to complete the job AND mark-up on the materials he purchases to do the job.

It you purchase the materials yourself, he not only loses the profit he would have made from the mark-up, but he also must deal with problems with the materials, such as something not being measured properly, or something being of inferior quality. Then he has to spend MORE time than he would otherwise have because to complete the job because he had no control over which materials he had to work with.

Good contractors are often booked MONTHS in advance. If you call and say I have all the stuff, can you come, the only contractors who will be available on such short notice are the not so good ones. And you will likey pay a much higher labor rate.

Recommendations are the best way to find a contractor who will do a good job. Sometimes things happen which are beyond the contractor's control - material comes in wrong, subs don't perform as expected. But it is still the contractor's job to make sure the job runs smoothly and is done on time.

I'll give you an example. DH is a contractor and he is at the tail end of building a house. All of the subs were lined up to do their jobs starting the first of May (roads are posted before that time, and no large trucks can run on the roads during mud season). The homeowner delayed getting her financing in order until the first of June. The excavation and concrete took longer than estimated. So the project started late, and all the contractors were doing other work. The trusses came in wrong, the windows came in wrong, the siding supplier didn't have enough siding in stock. The project looked hopelessly behind.

To make it right, DH ended up doing the bulk of the work himself that he had intended to have subs do. He has been working 15 hour days. He's a great contractor, and he turns down work on a daily basis because he just does not have time.

So, get lots of recommendations for a good contractor, understand that you may have to wait a long time for a really good one, and try to work with them.

Sorry you are having such a bad experience, but there are some good ones out there.

PS DH really liked to do ceramic tile, and he is great at it!

Denae

 

[thelionqueen]

I am the wife of a self-employed contractor.

After reading the posts on this thread, I can tell you that "in general" contractors are "fly by the seat of their pants" kind of workers. I can also say that they often leave homeowners feeling helpless and "trapped". This is TOTALLY wrong, but happens the majority of the time.

Now on to my suggestions....My husband has 1 helper (his 21 year old son) and that's it! He contracts NOTHING out to anybody. He does EVERYTHING..plumbing, electrical, drywall you name it. He does an Impeccable job and has 100% YES 100% customer satisfaction since he started 16 years ago.

My husband starts around 8:00 (never later than 9:00), stays late, tries to get it done on time...usually doesn't...but tries and is the most honest person you will ever deal with.

He also charges about 25% more than any other contractor in the area. Why?? Because he does PERFECT work and is dependable! When people get his bids, usually they say..."that is really high" to which he responds "If price is the main obstacle for your project, there are many less expensive contractors you can hire, but you will usually not be happy with their level of professionalism". Many people think this is just a line, but honestly it is not. They find out on their own most of the time.

There are some people who do not hire him, but, honestly at least 75% call him back after they get screwed up by another company and it costs them twice as much.

The lesson here it, CHECK REFERENCES!!!!! Nothing is more important. CHECK A LOT of them, not just 1 or 2. Look with the BBB and most importantly (if at all possible) go with a referral from someone you trust.

Lesson #2 You Mostly get what you pay for! If you hire a reputable contractor, he is usually the most expensive and for a reason. Try to avoid contractors who over advertise...they have to pay for their advertising somewhere...it's from your pocket.

Final thought, a question to all posters who had issues with their contractors....would you think it to be worth an extra 25% to have a reputable, honest and hardworker in your home doing an immaculate job and respecting your home and time??? The answer, for the most part, is always yes. For those whose main focus is $$, they are usually the ones that have the biggest problems. These are just general thoughts of my own from many years of being in the business...I am not trying to say everyone is this way, just my opinion....no flames please

 

[RitaZ.]

The lionqueen, great post!

Is your husband in S. FL?

 

[tekmom]

As the wife of a contractor. ( closed circuit tv, nanny cams, alarms, wiring...etc.) my husband works his butt off for people and he is anal about the work he does. He's honest and all his work is through referral, so he can't risk alienating a client. Now...for home improvement, he can do just about everything, but it took him A YEAR to do our kitchen. I cooked for 2 kids on a toaster oven for a YEAR. I washed dishes in the TUB. I told him that if I had hired him...I would have fired him. My sympathies to the OP. We got a full rip on our roof 5 years ago and it took the contractor a month to complete. Everyday he was late or didn't show. I was so freaked out. If it makes you feel better, the finished job was beautiful and I would recommend him again...just with the warning that he's a turtle. Good luck to you!

 

[RadioNate]

We'll be contracting out some work soon so I do appriciate the thoughts of the people in the business.

I will say I haven't had a great contractor experience yet. Both my parents have reciently have had work done and it was a bad experience and one of the contractors was an old family friend. His 'guys' forgot to do something and then never showed up to finish the job, the good news is after she hired someone else to finish it the family friend found out and reimbursed her for the bill.

I never understand the show up when you feel like it attitude that is so common. I know when building our house that was so common. After we moved in and there were some fixes no one ever showed up on time and sometimes not at all. We did have a good builder who really worked hard to get his people there and I felt bad for him but ultimately it was his responsibility to get the people there.

I do see many complaints on the dis about illegals working and living off of the system here in the US, but I'll say it was the (probablly) illegals and Mexican nationals working for my builder who actually showed up, worked hard and did the job until it was perfect.

I'm dreading hiring the people we need to get. I just can't deal with managing them for the series of small jobs we have. I'm hoping to actually put off a lot we could do ourselves until FIL comes to visit 2 weeks at Xmas. He's a former construction worker turned engineer and is a huge help with projects.

 

[Tina]

I do see many complaints on the dis about illegals working and living off of the system here in the US, but I'll say it was the (probablly) illegals and Mexican nationals working for my builder who actually showed up, worked hard and did the job until it was perfect.

I agree. The only other work we didn't do ourselves in the basement was the drywall. We hired a guy through a recommendation of someone. He didn't really have a regular crew. He just picked guys up everyday at the 7-11 for day work. They showed up everyday and stayed all day until it was done. They worked hard and did a good job. This other bozo I'm dealing with is a Virginia native.

 

[Skatermom23]

Thanks Patty for some positive feedback. Is there any chance your DH does tile work in Northern Virginia???

I am in Northern Virginia and just had my entire basement done. I hired a guy and his son that I met at Lowes. They were the best! They showed up daily and did such a wonderful job. They pretty much do it all. We had marble put in for the bathroom floor and it turned out great! Unfortunatley all the good word of mouth leaves them very busy and you have to book them many months in advance. If you get desperate enough PM me and I will give you his name.

 

[jipsy]

My BF is a contractor. He gets up every day at 5:15 am to be at work at 7:00 am. He works like a dog, only getting a 10 minute break in the morning and afternoon and 30 minutes for lunch. He takes all the overtime he can get plus he does side jobs.

You get what you pay for. Where did you get the pictures of the beautiful work this guy did? Did he provide them? Did you get 3 or 4 references from him and call them? Did you get at least two other quotes from two other reputable contractors?

If you want reputable, you should: a. Call your local unions for the type of work you need done and ask for the best contractors they have. b. Call the local homebuilders association and ask for the best contractors they have. c. Check with all of the local lumber yards; plus Lowe's and Home Depot contractor's desks for the best contractors they have.

Get references, references, references. Eventually, you'll see the same few names given to you over and over again and choose one of those.

If I were you, I would explain to this guy that he has to be done by Friday; you expect it to be as professional as the photos he showed you and if he is not done to your satisfaction, not only will you not pay him, but he is fired and you will take him to small claims court. Tell him no uncertain terms you expect to see him tomorrow from 8:00-4:00 and on Friday from 8:00 till done. If he doesn't show up, do what you promised. Fire him, don't pay him and find someone else. Then file a small claims suit. Have a written record of when he was there and take pictures of the half-*** job he's done.

No, not all contractors are bad

 

[pyrxtc]

You should always have a "what if" clause written into a contract whenever you hire someone to have work done. The OP's what if could be that if he is not done in the appropriate amount of time, he is to take off the amount of money she would make at work instead of being home. Or it could be a 10% off for every day the project runs over. Or if he doesn't finish the job, they pay for the job to be finished plus will not be paid for any labor or and materials that you do not have in the house.

My parents just had a house built and the contractor was my cousin. I now know I would NEVER use him. His work is shoddy, he never showed up as promised and complained every step of the way. The end product looks nice but the work underneath has serious doubts. I don't know what I'm dig but I know windows should be level, there shouldn't be any bubbles in roofing or screws or splintering in Trex decking just for the few noticeable things.

 

[DVC-Don]

I did my basement on my own a few years ago and it took me 9 months. We did a complete kitchen remod and expansion a couple of years ago and the crew was wonderful. They told us "3 weeks and 2 days" and they were right on schedule. They's show up every morning at 7:30 AM and work straight through to 3:30 PM w/o any breaks or even stopping for lunch! There was one morning they got stuck in traffic and were 30 minutes late but they called from their cell and appologized and appologized again when they got here. The older fellow came here from Italy and they younger was his nephew. We gave them wine when they finished.

 

[snoopy]

We just had a great experience with a plumber for our condo in Bethesda.....let me know if you don't get anywhere with this guy. He will definately work in No. Virginia! He's not cheap, but he does good work and he is plenty reliable.

 

[graygables]

My DH is a masonry contractor. We do not get paid anything until the work is complete. He has never had to advertise and, as long as the weather holds and homeowners aren't antsy, he has plenty of work lined up. He is well-known as the "best mason in [our] county". He is not the cheapest and he's not the fastest (it's just him and his dad), but he is the best. In twenty some odd years, they've never had a basement leak. The contractors he works for are ONLY quality, honest, hard-working people just like him. They are easily at work at 7, 730 am, they take a lunch break and that's it, until 6 or 7pm when they are so tired they can't lift another brick/block. He works 6 days a week when the weather is good. He returns calls and answers questions, offering advice even to people who will never hire him (just fishing for information). He is honest to a fault (people are always trying to get a "cash discount" thinking that we don't pay our taxes on cash...nope, not happening)

My advice is to call the building department and have them give you names of contractors whose work has always passed inspection, ask them who THEY would hire to do your job. Also, contact the local builder's association and ask them the same questions. Many contractors slack off when they receive money up front, so keep that to 10%. Don't forget that most materials have terms, so usually don't come due until the following month...it's not like they have to go out to Home Depot and pay cash on the spot. If they do, I'd check those references again...they should have contractor accounts set up.

A lot of contractors go into it looking for a quick buck, but there are many out there who care about the quality of work they do. Doing your homework will prevent headaches down the line.

 

[Arielle22]

In 1993 DH and bought a modular house. We needed a contractor to attach the house to the foundation and do the finish work inside. Every step was a hassle. The contract called for a certain amt of $$ after each step was complete. He called us and said he didn't have the $$ to advance for payroll and if we wanted the work done we needed to pay before the contract called for. We paid and eventually the work was done. It should have taken 4 weeks and took about 8, including a water main break the day before we moved in. Well a month or so later a sub came by our house and talked to DH who was outside. The contractor had told the subs we hadn't paid him so they didn't get paid. It turns out the contractor was a druggie and used the $$ for his habit. Then he had a pyramid scheme with $$ from one house used to finish another. The scheme fell apart on the next house. It was only partially done and another contractor had to be brought in. DH and I sued because some minor work wasn't done. He never showed and we won.

On the other hand my brother hired a contractor for a kitchen renovation. 2 of our sisters had used the contractor and loved him. One day he didn't show up and my brother couldn't figure out what happened. Weeks went by and my brother thought he might have returned to Ireland (had immigrated about 10 yrs prior). The contractor calls my brother out of the blue and tells my brother that he had had a minor stroke (he was only in his early 30's). He had recovered and wanted to know if my brother still wanted work done. He went and completed the kitchen in no time. It looks wonderful.

So I am of the opinion that there are some good ones. It is like finding a prince, got to kiss a lot of frogs!

 

[Nancy]

I've been pretty lucky with the people we have hired. Usually because we know the work and it was a referral. When we had our addition put on they were so quick and polite. As a matter of fact, one of the younger guys swore and he got yelled at by the owner for using that language in front of me.

The only time I had a "bad" person was with my kitchen and bathroom floors. The guy did great work, but he was late and it took him forever because he spent so much time on the cell phone. He had to come back the next day to put in my bathroom floor...it took him a whole 1/2 hour (small bathroom.)

 

[mrsltg]

My experience has been that you get what you pay for. We have done several home improvement projects this summer. When it came time to do the deck we got estimates from a couple of different companies. One wanted to charge me $11k, and I felt like I was being ripped off. The other wanted $6k, and the third didn't show up for our appointment twice. I went with the $6k and it was about as frustrating as possible. The deck is now up, and it's fine, but far from spectacular.

When it came to my interior painting I went with a company that doesn't use any sub-contractors. Everyone works for the company itself. It cost an arm and a leg, but I am happy.

I feel for everyone who is having a hard time - it stinks!

Erin

 

[Tina]

You get what you pay for. Where did you get the pictures of the beautiful work this guy did? Did he provide them? Did you get 3 or 4 references from him and call them? Did you get at least two other quotes from two other reputable contractors?

The pictures were on a website from the contractor who recommended him to me -- and he wasn't the cheapest. As for references, I regret that I did not actually call anyone. I did however find several good comments about him on a local Home Owner's Association website where residents list work they've had done, who did it, and what they thought.

Quotes are a whole different story here in Northern Virginia. This place is booming like crazy and there is much more work than there are contractors. I called every tile person I could find. Of those 30 or so calls, I got about 10 responses. Most are so busy, they don't respond at all. Of those that responded, about half actually showed up for the estimate appointment. I even had one guy show up, spend an hour looking at the job and taking notes. His wife (who answers his phones) called us on a Sunday and asked if they could come over the next night to discuss the estimate. They never showed up and were never heard from again.

I had one guy call me and discussed the job on the phone. He told me up front that he wanted to get a sense for what I was willing to spend before driving out to my house. As it turns out, he works by the day, not the job. He wanted $1,000 per day and estimated our job to take 9 to 10 days!!!! Ummm.... no.

Then there was the illegal guy, Max, who tried to convince us to remodel our master by tiling over the existing tile - including around the garden tub base, etc. I asked him how we would close the bathroom door since the tile would block it. He said he would shorten the door. Ummmm... no.

I don't doubt that this guy does good work. What he had done so far has been very nice. The problem is getting him out here to finish it.