ARGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! (you better just agree with me, I am in a MOOD!)

[DawnM]

Back in late November, when I met with the contractor and showed him all the work that needed to be done, he asked if it would be ok to start in January.  I said, "Yes, as long as ALL the work is done by January 31st."  NO PROBLEM!  He said.

Here we are, mid-Feb, and there is still work to be done.   And now, we are looking at 2 solid weeks of rain, which means work has halted.....until the rain stops......outdoor work and painting work around new said outdoor work.

No idea what the forecast will be in March as I can only go out 2 weeks on my weather app.

Then college kids start coming home for Spring Breaks.  We can list anyway, but I work and can't monitor their cleaning habits while I am at work if the house needs to be shown (both are a bit on the slob side!). And my weekends are spent driving college kids back and forth for 3 weekends.

Yes, I am being a control freak, but honestly, what ticks me off is that I did MY part to get this house ready.......relying on others to do their job so you can get on with yours is frustrating.

Just a reminder.....JAWM.

The END

[Chris in VA]

I HATE relying on others this way. For me, it's relying on directions from people who, invariably, forget a turn or a fork or some feature that means I don't get to my destination. 

I'm sorry it's so frustrating for you!

[Another Lynn]

(((DawnM)))  (I think we need a new acronym:  ybjawm - iaiam)

[ashfern]

I feel ya. We're wanting to move and need to paint & carpet the interior but my kids will just mess it up. So stressful!

[JustEm]

Relying on other people to get work done was what slowed the progress when we were getting our house ready for the market.  We had a contractor who was so flighty and unreliable that dh and I just decided to learn to do a lot ourselves, like cutting bifold doors to fit, hanging interior doors, and rerunning electrical to move light fixtures.  It saved us a lot of money to learn it but it took up so much time and brain power that we were completely exhausted after the house was done.  

[historically accurate]

That is frustrating! I am sorry, Dawn.

[school17777]

I’m sorry your contractor is causing your house to be delayed going on the market.  I was just thinking about you and the status of all this.

[TheReader]

Oh, that IS frustrating! Ugh. It'd be one thing if the weather in *January* had caused the delays (so, hadn't been his own dumb fault), but this is beyond frustrating. I'd be ticked too. And I totally hear you on the college kid bit and weekends and such....yep, yep, yep. I hope the weather clears and the rest gets done before the college kids get home, &/or at least all goes well and you can list soon! 

[PrincessMommy]

Oh my! I feel your pain.  I've thought about coming here to complain about my issues with my contractor too.  I've been waiting for our kitchen remodel since last May.   Lots of emails... what is going on??!!  Why the delay??!!!  She sent me a 2nd draft of the plans in Nov. but there were several things missing or wrong.   I sent an email explaining the mistakes and I said I'd been waiting months without much information and I didn't want to wait until Feb. to start (and here we are!!).  She told me then "we can start in as little as 2 weeks."  Yay!! Finally... it would be Christmas, but I didn't care, I wanted the job done.   We finally got together to order cabinets..  At that meeting it was revealed that she had had a 2nd occurrence of breast cancer and mastectomy over the summer.  Long recovery...lots of issues.   Good grief. Felt like a heel.  Why didn't she tell me!!? On one hand I understand that they don't want to lose customers, but on the other hand a little heads up would have saved a lot of annoyance and frustration on customer's part.    

After that meeting - silence again.  She'd been sick, she'd been out of town... etc. etc.  And here it is mid Feb!!  My cabinets were delivered 3 weeks ago and sit in my sunroom. I'm so annoyed.  I should have left them last year in Aug. when nothing was happening, but I had worked with them for my masterbath (in Mar/April) and I had a good experience.  We'd already had draftsmen and engineers at the house over the summer.  She'd sent me plans to work up.  I felt committed.  It's hard to find a trustworthy contractor you work well with.  But, I feel stuck.  

   I'm having similar problems with installing my propane fireplaces.  I'm talking about plumbers and propane suppliers. No one gets back to me... no dates, lots of delays.  The only people who have been on top of it are the people selling me the fireplaces. 

 

My recommendation is to start looking at other contractors.  Talk to your realtor, they may be able to push too.  I'm sorry.   hugs

Edited February 12, 2019 by PrincessMommy

[Scarlett]

I totally agree with you!   My parents have a major remodel project going on and it is in its third month now.  Very frustrating. 

[DawnM]

2 hours ago, Another Lynn said:

(((DawnM)))  (I think we need a new acronym:  ybjawm - iaiam)

 

That would be AWESOME! 🤣

[TechWife]

I despise most contractors with a passion. It's what I am dreading about putting my house on the market later this year - especially the painting and the trim repair. Ugh.

[JustEm]

After the ordeal with our contractor with the house we were selling I dreaded the idea of having to help get my parents' house ready.  There is stuff at their house that I simply can not handle on my own like replacing a french door with a window, and some plumbing work in the bathrooms.  I'm so thankful that a reliable contractor sort of fell in our lap when we needed to find someone to fix their front door.  It is always a crap shoot with contractors, so when he showed up to replace the door on time and on the right day I was over the moon.

I hope your contractor gets the work done as soon as he can.

[Carol in Cal.]

Honestly, I have heard so many stories like this that I have a working theory that contractors become contractors specifically so that they will never have to stick to a schedule.

[Alicia64]

I've heard that what you're going through is common. I know somebody who had a pool constructed in her backyard. She noticed how the company was super pushy about getting her to sign the contract, but completely laid back when it was time to get the job done.

She was irate and kept talking about a lack of work ethic.

Hang in there,

Alley

[SKL]

Similar happened to me.  They said they would get it done before our June end vacation.  Ha!  Ultimately they didn't finish until September.  The whole house was in disarray; for a while most of us couldn't even get into our bedrooms to sleep.  Meanwhile I had ordered furniture for the new rooms and it was all over the place. 

Then a couple years later with the city digging a new sewer line in our driveway.  It started many months late, last fall, but it was still supposed to be done before winter.  Well it still isn't done.  Will I live to see the new driveway they promised us in the end?

So ... I feel your pain.  I would have warned you up front that you can't count on construction projects to be on time.  Sorry.

[KungFuPanda]

We were so traumatized after a major remodel that we’ve let some things fall apart just to avoid dealing with contractors again. In this area though, I wonder how they’re pulling off these outside jobs when it rains every other day and never dries out in between. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re all behind and scrambling to finish work between raindrops. 

Mug I ever get brave enough to call another contractor I think I’m going to work some dates into the project. Is that even a thing? Ugh. Hope they get you squared away soon. 

[SanDiegoMom]

I guess we were pretty lucky -- we just finished a kitchen remodel that only went over 2-3 days!  Granted, we weren't doing any rewiring or replumbing -- just a basic demo of cabinets and countertops, then an install of new ones. They fixed the floor, walls, etc. but we did the backsplash, installed recessed lights, painted the ceiling... So it was somewhat of a combined effort.  They told us two weeks and it took two and a half.

The downside was our fridge and dishwasher both broke during the remodel. The fridge was first - we have a home warranty but it took a full month to get fixed. Our dishwasher we just ended up getting a new one and my husband is still attempting to install it.  It's been a long month.  The worst is trying to homeschool with people working in the house, always wondering if they needing to ask a question of me -- I was constantly on alert.  I'm so glad to have my house back!

[Catwoman]

I’m so sorry you have to deal with this incompetence, Dawn! You have been working so hard, and now you’re stuck in a holding pattern. I would be livid, too!

[Annie G]

I totally agree with you! Contractors -even good ones- can sometimes drive you crazy. 

‘We hired our floors refinished in the new house- start date was Jan 28, and takes four days. Also hired movers to transport our stuff and deliver on Feb. 25.  Four weeks to do a four day job. They did not do an acceptable job and have fiddle-farted around and have ten days to redo it and let it cure enough so we can move our stuff in. As of two hours ago they don’t have a plan for how long it’ll take or when they’ll start, just a ‘oh, we have ten days-no problem’.  I’m about to drive that 900 miles just to smack that guy in the head. 

Our house has been on the market and I set HIGH expectations for my family who is historically quite messy and unreliable at cleaning. They have risen to the challenge and I have been so pleasantly surprised. I hope you have the same results.  My family has the added incentive that They know I am not a fun person to be around when I’m ticked off. 

[PrincessMommy]

1 hour ago, SanDiegoMom in VA said:

I guess we were pretty lucky -- we just finished a kitchen remodel that only went over 2-3 days!  Granted, we weren't doing any rewiring or replumbing -- just a basic demo of cabinets and countertops, then an install of new ones. They fixed the floor, walls, etc. but we did the backsplash, installed recessed lights, painted the ceiling... So it was somewhat of a combined effort.  They told us two weeks and it took two and a half.

The downside was our fridge and dishwasher both broke during the remodel. The fridge was first - we have a home warranty but it took a full month to get fixed. Our dishwasher we just ended up getting a new one and my husband is still attempting to install it.  It's been a long month.  The worst is trying to homeschool with people working in the house, always wondering if they needing to ask a question of me -- I was constantly on alert.  I'm so glad to have my house back!

Just sent you a PM

[DawnM]

5 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Honestly, I have heard so many stories like this that I have a working theory that contractors become contractors specifically so that they will never have to stick to a schedule.

 

The thing that makes me the maddest?  This is the realtor's HUSBAND!  You would THINK he would want her to get it listed so it can sell and so she can make some money!

[Catwoman]

11 minutes ago, DawnM said:

 

The thing that makes me the maddest?  This is the realtor's HUSBAND!  You would THINK he would want her to get it listed so it can sell and so she can make some money!

 

Wow! No wonder you thought you could trust the guy to get the work done correctly and on time!

[PrincessMommy]

59 minutes ago, DawnM said:

 

The thing that makes me the maddest?  This is the realtor's HUSBAND!  You would THINK he would want her to get it listed so it can sell and so she can make some money!

how frustrating.  yes, I would have thought I could trust him to get it done on time too. 

[Carol in Cal.]

1 hour ago, DawnM said:

 

The thing that makes me the maddest?  This is the realtor's HUSBAND!  You would THINK he would want her to get it listed so it can sell and so she can make some money!

I can just hear it now--"They HAVE TO work with me, so I'll get to it when I can and prioritize something else."

(Gosh, I hope the two of them are not fighting.)

I have friends who want to redo their kitchen.  They just moved into a new to them house within the last year, and a relative of theirs is a contractor so they think it will go really fast.  Bless their delusional little hearts.

[Robin M]

 

11 hours ago, DawnM said:

relying on others to do their job so you can get on with yours is frustrating.

Amen dear heart! 

I totally agree with you. It's very frustrating.   We closed on a house we decided to renovate for our business the end of 2016. Spent 6 month going back and forth with the architect because he kept changing my design, before finalizing plans and getting all the permits.  Three contractors later (we fired two for failure to progress), we are now 65% done and cost a whole heck of a lot more because 3rd guy had to fix 2nd guy's mistakes. Fingers crossed and everything else, the finish line is in sight and he said it should be done by mid march.  I told hubby never will I ever agree to remodeling anything in our home, because I simply don't have the patience.

Honest to God conversation we had the other day when he made our front counter too short and had to redo it.  We were discussing it and suddenly out of left field he say's "I don't speak Chinese, Greek, Italian, French or German."  I looked at him and said. "An obviously female,"  Then bopped him with the ruler.  Which must have reminded him of school days because he said "You must be a teacher." 

"Yep, I am."  

I'll join you in a glass of wine lamenting the idiosyncrasies of contractors and cheers to hoping your remodel gets done quickly and smoothly.  Hugs! 

[Farrar]

Ugh indeed. I always triple any estimate given by any contractor. I'm sure they don't mean to be such liars, but I've never known one to finish on time.

My mother got embroiled in a legal battle with a contractor not long ago. They said the work would be done by a certain date. My mother made it clear that she was leaving the country for several weeks a couple of days after that. Get it done by then or I cannot approve the work and pay you. You can see where this is going. She finally had to block all their phone numbers while she was gone. They would not stop calling and threatening her. And then when she got home... again, you can see where this is going... Good thing she didn't pay them because they had not really completed the work. They'd left a giant mess. There were things that had been not done to code and other things left undone that was agreed on in the contract. Bah.

[Pink and Green Mom]

Moving = worst thing ever.

[Mimm]

Very frustrating, as you were perfectly clear.

I had a lot of work done on the outside of my house this year and it was a learning experience. The main thing I learned is never trust when they say things will be done by. I don't know why they lie. They must know they're lying. Did they think I'd walk away if they told me exactly when a thing would get done? I had already signed a contract and given them thousands of dollars, it's not like I was going to flip out and try to back out of the deal if I knew the windows were going to take a week and a half instead of three days. Just TELL ME THE TRUTH! Unlike you, I wasn't even on a deadline. So why not tell me when it'll actually happen instead of making stuff up??

I don't get it.

[Liz CA]

Whenever a contractor gives you a date, automatically add 2 months to it minimum.

[DawnM]

4 hours ago, Liz CA said:

Whenever a contractor gives you a date, automatically add 2 months to it minimum.

 

Normally I would, but in this case, he really said it would take a max of 2 weeks, and not even 2 full weeks.  So, that would be 6 weeks.  We are past the 6 week mark already if you look at it that way.

 

[SamanthaCarter]

21 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Honestly, I have heard so many stories like this that I have a working theory that contractors become contractors specifically so that they will never have to stick to a schedule.

I know someone who went into contracting that makes me think there is truth in this. He is a friend, and a bit too unreliable as far as not missing days of work to hold an hourly job for long. He likes contracting because he can “set his own schedule.” Except that schedule barely makes him enough to survive. I so want him to  grow up and get a job with a boss. 

[PrincessMommy]

9 hours ago, Liz CA said:

Whenever a contractor gives you a date, automatically add 2 months to it minimum.

A contractor friend of mine told me many years ago to add 3 weeks to any "finish date".   That was 30yrs ago... I assume it's only gotten worse.  But, I've always mentally done this. 

That was one of the things I liked about the contractor's I'm using (trying to use)... they set a timeline and were only off by a day or two.  There's was always some kind of progress and he was great at updating me at the end of each day.  When they knew they weren't going to be there because of waiting for items and once going out of town, he told me.   For me the long wait has on the front end.

Edited February 13, 2019 by PrincessMommy

[fairfarmhand]

My dh is head of our church building project. The time for this project *should* be about 6 months. 9 months of the weather is uncooperative. We’re at about a year and a half. 

This is a million dollar project. 

For us, we run into the fact that building is a hopping business right now. They really don’t need any more work because they’re already so far behind it’s not funny.  

Maybe one day I’ll have my dh back on Saturday mornings.

[forty-two]

13 hours ago, Farrar said:

Ugh indeed. I always triple any estimate given by any contractor. I'm sure they don't mean to be such liars, but I've never known one to finish on time.

My mother got embroiled in a legal battle with a contractor not long ago. They said the work would be done by a certain date. My mother made it clear that she was leaving the country for several weeks a couple of days after that. Get it done by then or I cannot approve the work and pay you. You can see where this is going. She finally had to block all their phone numbers while she was gone. They would not stop calling and threatening her. And then when she got home... again, you can see where this is going... Good thing she didn't pay them because they had not really completed the work. They'd left a giant mess. There were things that had been not done to code and other things left undone that was agreed on in the contract. Bah.

My parents recently had their siding replaced, and their contractor tried to put one over them.  When it was done except for the gutters being put back on, they asked Mom to go ahead and officially approve it, just as a formality, even though they were of course still going to finish up.  Mom refused - no official approval till she's 100% sure she's happy with it.  Well, turned out there was a problem with putting the gutters back on: they wouldn't fit with the new siding and instead they would have to be replaced.  My parents had gone through Home Depot, and there was some wrangling between the contractor and HD over who was going to have to eat the cost of the new gutters, but eventually they got their gutters.  It's really hard not to think that the contractor was already fully aware of the gutter problem and was basically lying about "just a formality; of course we will finish" as he tried to get Mom to sign early, in order to make the gutter problem her problem instead of his. 

[gardenmom5]

sorry.  

 

dh's favorite november journal entry by a first party seattle pioneer was: "we'll finish the cabin when the rain stops"...  in seattle… in November... they'll be waiting months.