Aarrrggghhhhh!!!!! I know it’s too much to ask for a remodeling job to go perfectly. It must be a rule of the universe that there will be at least one problem before the work is done. And I ran into mine today. A day after the work was supposed to be complete, of course, so I suppose it’s actually the second bump, though I wasn’t even going to complain if a one day overrun was the only headache.
I was looking at the bathroom this morning when the workers arrived and realized that there was no shower door. Nor was there one sitting around in a box. I asked the contractor what was going on, since the work was (and I was told this just this morning) gong to be done today. He said I needed to speak with his boss, who would be coming by in a few minutes.
Sure enough, the manager showed up just now with the answer. The shower door is not going to be installed today. But “their” work is complete because they use a subcontractor that specializes in them to custom cut and install my shower door. Someone from that company was supposed to call by now, after the shower panels were in place, to make an appointment to measure the opening and a date to come back for the installation.
What? I asked the manager. Why didn’t he ever mention this subcontractor? He said that it was clear from the contract and pointed to the section titled Payment Schedule. Which showed a payment due today (the “last” day of work) except for the shower door. I mean the line actually says, at the side in parenthesis, except for shower door. And from this I am supposed to understand that the door installation will follow later. He claimed that the salesperson/designer with whom I worked was supposed to have explained this before I signed the contract. Of course, the manager said he always was very clear about this to his customers and would discuss the matter with the salesperson.
One of, if not the most, important reasons I chose this company to do the work is because they are both a general contractor and a supply house. No fingerpointing between companies with different objectives and schedules, just one place for me to go for any answers or with any problems. Too bad this wasn’t explained, too bad for me. Hell, the manager himself was here the very first morning and went over the schedule with me, day by day, and this bit was never mentioned. Never, and he didn’t claim to have done so when I asked. He did apologize.
And I am stuck with that apology. Just supposed to understand that this is standard practice, nothing else to be done about it, live with it, lump it. Of course. The contractor still expects the payment, the next to last due them, to be made today. Swell. No wonder contractors get into trouble even when there isn’t any need–too many assumptions, stuff that seems routine and simple to them but is unknown to an outsider, and you know what happens when an assumption is made. I repeat, Aarrrggghhhhh!!!!!
Fair is fair: I would point out that overall I’m quite satisfied with the job done to date. A big part of my upset stems from the surprise at finding this out right at the end and also because I scheduled the new carpet installation for Monday. When the contractors were supposed to be gone and no more dust, mess, or heavy stomping boots would be around.
The parts supplied all appear to be solid, good quality. The work is clean, neat, no loose edges or unsealed holes. The workers have been quick to ask my preference when there is any choice to be made. In the end, I will have waited a little longer than desired for this to be finished but I (from all that can be seen now) will be happy and have a great new bathroom.
BillSaysThis 