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I'm posting this because there are things I've learned in my recent home remodel (kitchen, master bath, other random items) that may be helpful to others. Perhaps I had a bad contractor, but many of these are things you don't always read about in home improvement columns or forums.
Here goes (in no particular order): 1. Insist on a detailed contract -- If I had signed the vague agreement presented by my contractor, we would now be in court. I ended up writing the contract in great detail, starting with the guidelines offered by my local consumer agency and itemizing every single last task required of the contractor. We even specified which materials and other items we would pay for and which of those would be included in the contractor's overall fee. 2. Try to check on subcontractors -- We had the distinct feeling that the subcontractors were chosen less for their skills than for their ethnic compatibility or friendship with the contractor. I don't know how you check this, but ask questions of the contractor as to how he/she chooses the subs. 3. Check the work daily -- Since I work at home, I was fortunate enough to check the contractor's work daily but also unfortunate enough, as they say, to see "how sausage is made." I found, and had the contractor correct, a number of mistakes, including things that were out of level or plumb, or procedures that were done to less than adequate standards (such as a cement board shower enclosure that was not going to get roll-on waterproofing or have wall gaps sealed until I insisted). 4. Buy items yourself and read the instructions -- I bought nearly all of the appliances, fixtures, etc. and saved a lot of money. By reading the instructions and specs on each, however, I found cases where the contractor or subs were not doing an adequate job. For example, the electrician bought an electric heating pad for the bathroom floor that was larger than necessary for the area covered and installed it without doing the manufacturer's tests required to activate the warranty. He also didn't read the instructions that indicated the heating pad needed its own circuit, a mistake I caught in time. 5. Pay attention to details -- Our contractor and his subs did not often treat our home as if it was theirs. Thus, the contractor installed certain doors with brass-colored hinges when the rest of the doors in the room were silver-colored. There was the aforementioned oversized heating mat. The tile guy used folded cardboard spacers when regular spacers are available for pennies at Home Depot. He left a skimpy amount of grout in a part of the kitchen backsplash, a situation I now have to correct. And on and on . . . 6. Insist that the contractor's walls be "paint-ready" -- Our contractor left the walls he touched in poor condition and actually said that application of drywall compound and sanding was not included in the contract. I told him that was like not including nails in the contract and we could stop all work then and there if the walls were not done. The next day, he sent a totally unskilled person to our home to try and apply compound in certain places. That work was shoddy and was later corrected by the contractor or by the painters, who had to charge us another $2K because the walls were in such poor condition. 7. Watch out for damage -- My contractor, in addition to rarely using a level, had a knack for denting and nicking things. Watch out for this and insist they are repaired or replaced. I watched like a hawk as our expensive stainless range hood was installed. (Per item 4, I also guided the electricians through the installation instructions because we were using inside venting and the fan motor had to be removed and reversed for it to work properly.) Also, our new wood floors were gouged in certain places. Our excellent wood flooring guys repaired the damage gratis, but I was prepared to deduct it from our contractor's bill. 8. Insist the work be done by licensed professionals -- In hindsight, I should have insisted in the contract that all work would be appropriately done by the right professionals. When we moved water and gas lines, my contractor hired licensed plumbers. However, he did much of the other plumbing work himself, undoubtedly to save money. When a sink water line later started to leak, the plumbers who repaired it said that no pipe dope had been used. Our new Kohler toilet still has the tank leaning forward because the contractor says it leaks when the tank is level. I am sure he damaged the seal or did something else wrong and I will need to contact the manufacturer to sort this out. 9. Make sure professionals are available during business hours -- Our contractor hired moonlighting electricians who were only available after 5pm or on weekends. Insist on regular hours in your contract. 10. Watch out for spackling and caulking to cover mistakes -- My contractor was big on these two materials to cover gaps and other mistakes When he installed wood trim on a living room wall, I noticed a gap where a corner of the wall wasn't plumb. "Oh, the painter can put caulk in there," he said. No, instead, I went to the lumber yard and bought a thin strip of trim for him to install over the gap. My trusted painter, a veteran of 30 years or so, just shook his head when I told him the story. 11. Ask how things will be installed -- My contractor initially installed a bathroom shower vent fan directly above the hot air inlet of our forced air heating system. He didn't understand that the fan would suck the heated air right out of the room. He was also prepared to vent the fan directly into the attic and not install a roof vent and ducting. 12. Make sure your contractor's skills are up to the job -- Our designer asked the contractor to build some custom cabinetry in our bathroom that turned out to be well above the contractor's skill level. As a result, I had to insist that his first effort be ripped out because there was hardly a level or plumb line to be found. The second attempt was better, although the painter has had to use inordinate amounts of filler to make it look halfway decent. Even today, it is still cracking in spots. 13. Do things yourself if you can -- I was so worried about the contractor drilling into our expensive kitchen cabinets that I installed the hardware myself. It looks great and it is even. 14. Review plans and blueprints closely with the contractor -- Had I not checked the contractor's work on the kitchen cabinets, they would have been installed about eight inches too far in one direction. I had to get the blueprints and designs and walk him through the installation and the various pieces. He had to rip out the cabinets and start over. 15. Make sure your contractor can read -- This may sound silly to some, but I believe my contractor had trouble reading English, although that should not have excused him from looking at all of the various instructions printed in other languages. I also remember a much earlier project where we finally realized the contractor had not learned to read. It had explained why he had had such trouble with the relative simple installation instructions for a bathroom sink. 16. Label your tools and ladders and keep them out of the way -- In the confusion of the workplace, contractors and their workers will sometimes mistake your stuff for theirs. It's an honest mistake, but you don't want to see your tools and ladders disappear.
I could probably come up with many more examples, but I hope this helps. And, hopefully, others will work with better contractors. If you're not handy or don't know what to look for, see if you can find a friend or neighbor who will help with these items. (I was fortunate in that all my online research and years of watching "This Old House" finally paid off.) And also let me heap praise on the various people who did their jobs exceptionally well -- the plumbers, painters, shower enclosure/mirror installers and the floor installers/refinishers. Unlike our general contractor, they were all terrific.
In the end, our projects turned out basically fine. However, there are some places that look good from 10 feet away, but mistakes are clear as you get closer. If we had to do it over again, we would do way more homework in selecting a contractor in the first place. That's probably the most important rule.
Last edited by longislander2; 02-14-2014 at 09:19 AM..
Thank you for that informative, detailed, and well-organized post!
We are about to start on a kitchen remodel and I am terrified, especially when I read about all the horror stories!
The one thing I might add is to find a contractor that is recommended by someone you know, who has used them before and has good things to say about them. And to see their work. As much as I have gotten some good people off Yelp & Angie's List, I can't help but wonder how many of the good reviews are fake.
Most of the above can be eliminated by not going with the lowest bidder.
Agree though that a more detailed contract is better than a vague one, one that spells out the scope of the work and expectations of BOTH Homeowner and Contractor.
Angies list and Yelp are total jokes. I know several "Contractors" who have posted glowing reviews for themselves before they even got their first job. $30-$40 a year for several accounts is cheaper than a couple ads in the paper, internet, or local TV.
The one thing I might add is to find a contractor that is recommended by someone you know, who has used them before and has good things to say about them.
Our contractor was recommended by our designer, who was recommended by a real estate agent we know. The designer's husband is a longtime general contractor who also vouched for this guy. I think your rule is still good, but it wasn't enough for us. We needed to do more homework. We went to the fancy kitchen places with established stores. Their prices were stratospheric and when they learned we didn't want the most expensive top-end cabinets and appliances, they seemed to lose interest. We wasted three hours with one designer, who then never got back to us.
In the end, we are generally satisfied with the renovation and we got it all done at a very fair price for our part of the country. Whatever the contractor's faults, he showed up and did not do anything absurd, such as stealing from us. When we go to sell, we think people will be impressed with the overall look, will not likely see the little flaws, and will have no idea of the aggravation involved. So, we should make out OK. It's just unfortunate that things only turned out OK because I worked diligently to keep on top of the project and not because the contractor was good at his job.
A couple other points:
1. Where I live, you don't need to go with the lowest bidder to get shoddy work nor do you have to go with the highest to get great performance. Both our flooring guys and the shower enclosure companies were the lowest of multiple bids we got and their work was absolutely flawless. The plumbers were local, they came when needed and their rates were quite a bit less than the typical prices we pay for plumbing work around here. We also used a mid-priced local company for countertops and their work was also excellent.
2. We have found excellent electricians and the shower/mirror company through Angie's List. Both got many A ratings and we found the reviews to be spot on. Angie's List isn't perfect (referrals from friends and neighbors are better), but it should still be included in the mix, especially if many people within a certain radius of your home are pleased with them.
First thing to do is make sure the contractor is licensed bonded and insured and how long has he been in business.
If you know what you're doing you can cut out the middleman and be your own contractor. And if you do it right and have the permit pulled the city inspector will Kelly you if it was donpe right or not.
You can always hire a consultant that will oversee the project who works for you not the contractor or the subs
Last edited by Electrician4you; 02-14-2014 at 02:55 PM..
We popped the top on a house in 1987.
$130K
We spent 1.5 years with the architect created detailed schedules.
Included door hinges. And, a myriad other items.
Forgot about electrical switches, outlets and plates. Got builder beige installed.
Our contractor was recommended by our designer, who was recommended by a real estate agent we know. The designer's husband is a longtime general contractor who also vouched for this guy. I think your rule is still good, but it wasn't enough for us. We needed to do more homework.
Wow. Just wow.
I am crossing my fingers that I picked the right guy. I've seen several houses he's worked on, and spoken to those that have hired him.
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You cannot spec too many details
